Research Article
    
    
    
        Izida I. Ishmuradova, Sergei P. Zhdanov, Sergey V. Kondrashev, Natalya S. Erokhova, Elena E. Grishnova, Nonna Yu. Volosova
    
    
        CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 17, Issue 3, Article No: ep579
    
    
    
    
    
    
        
        ABSTRACT
        
            The development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has started a conversation on its possible uses and inherent difficulties in the field of education. It becomes essential to understand the perceptions of pre-service teachers about the integration of this technology into teaching practices as AI models including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini acquire popularity. This investigation sought to create a valid and trustworthy instrument for evaluating pre-service science teachers’ opinions on the implementation of generative AI in educational settings related to science. This work was undertaken within the faculty of education at Kazan Federal University. The total number of participants is 401 undergraduate students. The process of scale development encompassed expert evaluation for content validity, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and assessments of reliability. The resultant scale consisted of four dimensions: optimism and utility of AI in science education, readiness and openness to AI integration, AI’s role in inclusivity and engagement, and concerns and skepticism about AI in science education. The scale demonstrated robust psychometric properties, evidenced by elevated reliability coefficients. Cluster analysis unveiled distinct profiles of pre-service teachers based on their responses, encompassing a spectrum from enthusiastic participants to skeptical disengaged individuals. This study provides a comprehensive instrument for evaluating pre-service teachers’ perceptions, thereby informing teacher education programs and professional development initiatives regarding the responsible integration of AI. Recommendations entail the validation of the scale across varied contexts, the exploration of longitudinal changes, and the investigation of subject-specific applications of generative AI in science education.
        
        
        
            Keywords: generative artificial intelligence, science education, scale development, pre-service teacher’s perceptions
        
        
     
 
    
    Research Article
    
    
    
        Carmen Köhler, Johannes Hartig
    
    
        CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 16, Issue 4, Article No: ep528
    
    
    
    
    
    
        
        ABSTRACT
        
            Since ChatGPT-3.5 has been available to the public, the potentials and challenges regarding chatbot usage in education have been widely discussed. However, little evidence exists whether and for which purposes students even apply generative AI tools. The first main purpose of the present study was to develop and test scales that assess students’ (1) knowledge about ChatGPT, (2) actual ChatGPT usage and perceived value of use, and (3) attitude towards ChatGPT. Our second aim was to examine the intercorrelations between these scales, and to investigate differences (a) across five academic fields (i.e., human sciences, social sciences, teaching profession, health sciences, and law and economics) and (b) between stages of education (i.e., number of semesters). N = 693 students from various German universities participated in our online survey. Quality checks (Cronbach’s alpha, MacDonald’s omega, and confirmatory factor analyses) show satisfactory results for all scales. The scales all positively relate to each other, except for the knowledge and attitude scales. This means that more knowledge about ChatGPT is connected to a less favorable attitude regarding the generative AI tool. Lastly, MANOVA and subsequent Bonferroni corrected ANOVA tests show that ChatGPT is mostly used by law and economics students, and most frequently by students in the third year of higher education.
        
        
        
            Keywords: ChatGPT in higher education, student knowledge, student use, student attitude, scale development, assessment, large language models (LLMs)
        
        
     
 
    
    Research Article
    
    
    
        Melike Ozudogru, Fatma Ozudogru
    
    
        CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 1-24
    
    
    
    
    
    
        
        ABSTRACT
        
            With increasing global requirements for the use of technological tools and resources in K-12 settings, there is a need to examine the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) levels of mathematics teachers because technology use in class may enhance students’ engagement and motivation in learning mathematics. Hence, the purpose of this study was to develop and validate a TPACK scale to be used in investigating mathematics teachers’ knowledge levels in TPACK components, and investigate if mathematics teachers’ TPACK levels differed in terms of gender, teaching experience and level of school. This study is based on survey research design. Data were collected from 202 mathematics teachers in the spring semester of 2016-2017 academic year. MANOVA was used for data analysis.  As a result of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the TPACK instrument was developed as a valid and reliable 39-item 5-point Likert scale consisting of six scales: 1. Technological Knowledge, 2. Pedagogical Knowledge, 3. Content Knowledge, 4. Technological Content Knowledge, 5. Pedagogical Content Knowledge and 6. TPACK. The results also revealed that there were significant differences between gender and technological knowledge domain in favor of male teachers. However, it was found that teaching experience and level of school had no significant effect on TPACK domains.
        
        
        
            Keywords: Technological pedagogical content knowledge, TPACK, Scale development, Mathematics teachers
        
        
     
 
    
    Research Article
    
    
    
        Bahadir Eristi, Cahit Erdem
    
    
        CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 3, pp. 249-267
    
    
    
    
    
    
        
        ABSTRACT
        
            This study aims to develop a reliable and valid scale to identify the levels of media users’ media literacy skills. The scale development process was carried out in nine steps as recommended in the literature. Before the scale was administered, the items were reviewed by field experts and language experts and a pilot study was carried out. Responses from 322 pre-service teachers, selected via purposeful sampling, were included in the analysis. Item discrimination was tested via item-total correlation and it indicated that none of the items were below .30. In the confirmatory factor analysis, it was found out that the scale and the theoretical model showed a fit between good and acceptable. Convergent validity, divergent validity and 27% upper-lower group means were also examined. As for the internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha value of the scale was calculated as .919 and alpha values of the factors were calculated as .768, .833, .720 and .838 respectively. The results revealed that Media Literacy Skills Scale, which consists of 45 items gathered under the four main factors of ‘access, analyze, evaluate and communicate’, is a reliable and valid measurement instrument. This up-to-date scale covers all main skills of media literacy and it consists of a sufficient number of questions to obtain rich data and ensure measurement precision. In addition, it covers new media as well as mass media and this
        
        
        
            Keywords: Media literacy, Scale development, Media literacy skills, New media, Confirmatory factor analysis
        
        
     
 
    
    Research Article
    
    
    
        Zeynel A. Misirli, Yavuz Akbulut
    
    
        CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 4, pp. 249-262
    
    
    
    
    
    
        
        ABSTRACT
        
            The use of emerging technologies shape learners’ knowledge creation and transformation processes. In this regard, this study aimed to develop a scale to investigate 8th graders’ competencies regarding the educational technology standards based on ISTE-NETS. After a review of relevant literature, an item pool was prepared. The pool was improved through expert opinions and pilot implementations. The items were administered to 620 Turkish students from six different cities for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A four-factor structure with a total of 21 items emerged and explained 51 percent of the total variance. Factors were named technical proficiency, creativity, digital citizenship and participation, and innovativeness. Each factor had acceptable internal consistency coefficients. For the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the scale was administered to 210 new participants from a different city in Turkey. A few modification indices led to acceptable fit values. Thus, the suggested factor structure was considered plausible. Implications of the study were provided, followed by the recommendations for further research.
        
        
        
            Keywords: Technology integration, Technology literacy, Educational technology standards, NETS-S, Scale development
        
        
     
 
    
    Research Article
    
    
    
        Bahadir Eristi, Celal Akdeniz
    
    
        CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp. 141-161
    
    
    
    
    
    
        
        ABSTRACT
        
            The present study aimed at developing a scale for diagnosing instructional strategies to be used to determine the instructional strategies applied in the instructional process. In the process of the scale development, first the related literature was reviewed. Following this, field experts were asked for their views, and the instructional activities to be carried out in the instructional process were identified. Afterwards, considering the similar and different features of the instructional activities, they were grouped by associating them with instructional strategies. The draft scale, which made up of a total of 291 items in the beginning, was exposed to a four-phase application process prior to the actual application. At the end of this process, it was transformed into a 70-item scale applied to 614 home teachers and field teachers. For the content validity of the scale, field experts were asked for their views. Data collected were analyzed with the methods of principle components analysis and exploratory factor analysis. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis conducted to determine the construct validity of the scale, the factor load of each item in the scale was found over .30. In order to determine the factors involving the items in the scale, the orthogonal rotation was applied with the Varimax technique to the data collected. The scale included two sub-scales. The rate of the factors in the sub-scale of meeting the total variance was 43% for the sub-scale of focus strategies and 62% for the sub-scale of process strategies. The value obtained by testing the internal consistency for the whole scale was found as α=.964. With respect to the item-whole scale correlational consistency, the items in the scale ranged between.406 and .816. The findings obtained in the process of developing this five-point Likert-type scale demonstrated that the scale could be used successfully in determining the nature of instructional strategies applied in the instructional process.
        
        
        
            Keywords: Instructional strategies, Instructional methods, Instructional tactics, Instructional approaches, Scale development
        
        
     
 
    
    Research Article
    
    
    
        Suzan Duygu Eristi, Ozden Sahin-Izmirli, Serkan Izmirli, Mehmet Firat, Halil Ibrahim Haseski
    
    
        CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 1, Issue 4, pp. 348-366
    
    
    
    
    
    
        
        ABSTRACT
        
            The purpose of this study was to develop a scale which could be used to evaluate instructional website designs from the perspective of visual perception theories. For this purpose, a scale of 50 items was developed based on the literature and expert opinions. Visual perception theories such as Gestalt Theory, Brunswick’s Probabilistic Functionalism, Neuropsychological Theory, Theory of Direct Perception and Ecological Optics, Constructivist Visual Perception Theory and Computational Approach to Visual Perception provided a basis for the development of scale items; also a focus group discussion was employed. 196 students from the Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT) Department filled the scale. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied along with the principal component method on data. Following the factor analysis, a single factor scale was developed. The loading of each item in the scale was found to be over .30. The internal consistency coefficient of the overall scale was high (α=.961). The corrected item-total correlation coefficient of the items was .301 and over. Through factor analysis, it was revealed that the scale had a single-factor structure with an explained variance of 35%. At the end of the study, several recommendations were presented for future studies.
        
        
        
            Keywords: Visual Perception, Scale development, Instructional website, Factor analysis