Research Article
Chooi Yi Wei, Yoke Chin Kuah, Chee Pung Ng, Wai Kwan Lau
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 3, Article No: ep303
ABSTRACT
The rapid technological development and revolution have transformed the education field, promoting the betterment of learning and teaching quality. Augmented Reality (AR) is becoming increasingly popular for its ability to help educators to create an engaging and creative method of teaching. The increasing use of technology has piqued researchers’ interests in studying its efficiency. Following this observation, this study aims to explore educators’ readiness in embracing AR as an enhancement teaching tool in the future. This study employed a quantitative methodology and collected 223 respondents’ data from five private universities in Malaysia. The data was analysed using the Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) software. The results demonstrated that there were significant relationships between educators’ innovation towards the intention to adopt AR moderated by perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU). This study provides some insightful AR applications in the education industry, which is in line with the Industrial Revolution 4.0 theme. It successfully identifies the importance of motivating educators and students in embracing AR as an enhancement learning tool, providing a valuable discussion for the government, learning institutions, and educators on the implementation of AR in Malaysia.
Keywords: augmented reality, educator innovation, technology acceptance model, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness
Research Article
Vusumuzi Maphosa, Bekithemba Dube
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 3, Article No: ep301
ABSTRACT
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused unprecedented global socio-economic disruptions. One of the areas negatively impacted is the education system. The country’s over reliance on traditional face-to-face teaching has brought about serious challenges to policymakers who have to decide how learning would proceed in the absence of physical contact between the teacher and the learner. This has been exacerbated by the general lack of access to textbooks and other teaching and learning materials which makes it difficult for parents to assist with home schooling. The potential use of mobile apps to support and enhance early childhood learning has received little attention in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, yet its impact in supporting early childhood education would be enormous during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The study seeks to develop a numeracy-based app prototype that uses a local language (IsiNdebele) in a classroom or home-based schooling in response to the COVID-19 pandemic or other natural disasters or man-made situations that may make face-to-face interaction impossible. The analysis showed that kindergarten teachers had positive opinion towards the app as they perceived the prototype to be useful, easy to use, simple and that learners would be eager to use it. The results of this study can inform policymakers and educators on optimising technology based early teaching and learning at school and home.
Keywords: COVID-19, kindergarten, mobile apps, home-based learning, technology acceptance model
Research Article
Mangale Vadivu Vivakaran, Neelamalar Maraimalai
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 9, Issue 3, pp. 284-296
ABSTRACT
Computers, during its entry into the academic domain, were forecasted to revolutionize the entire educational system across the globe. At present, similar expectations have been encircling the social media technologies. Many researchers claim that social media, when introduced in higher education environments, tend to enhance the students’ learning experience by facilitating heightened levels of instructor-student interactions, peer learner support and learners’ collaboration. Though social media is claimed to take the higher education learning to the next level, it is crucial to identify the readiness and proficiency of the instructors who play the main role in efficiently implementing these technologies in their classrooms. Especially, instructors belonging to the institutions present in developing nations are less likely to have proper access to some of the basic facilities (such as power supply or internet connectivity) required for social media integration. Hence, the present study aims at identifying the feasibility of introducing social media aids to the higher education classrooms present in Tamil Nadu – one among the eight Indian states having the highest number of colleges in the Nation
Keywords: Social media, Higher education, Technology acceptance, Educational interventions, Atttudes toward social media
Research Article
Emmanuel Fokides
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 56-75
ABSTRACT
The study examines the factors affecting Greek pre-service teachers’ intention to use
computers when they become practicing teachers. Four variables (perceived usefulness,
perceived ease of use, self-efficacy, and attitude toward use) as well as behavioral intention
to use computers were used so as to build a research model that extended the Technology
Acceptance Model (TAM) and structural equation modeling was used for parameter
estimation and model testing. Self-reported data were gathered from 487 pre-service
teachers studying at the Departments of Primary School Education in Greece. Results
revealed a good model fit and of the nine hypotheses formulated, seven were supported.
Overall, the TAM, with the addition of computer self-efficacy beliefs, adequately
represented the relationships among the factors. It also possesses the explanatory power
to predict pre-service teachers’ intention to use computers when they become practicing
teachers since a high percentage (68%) of the variance in behavioral intention to use
computers was explained, while the most influential factors were perceived usefulness and
attitude toward computers. Implications for practice are also discussed.
Keywords: attitudes toward computers, perceived ease of use, pre-srvice teachers, self-efficacy, structural equation modelling, technology acceptance model
Research Article
Hicham Ziyad
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 314-330
ABSTRACT
In the past fifteen years, Web 2.0 social networking technologies have ushered in a new era of
information production, distribution and consumption with significant implications for
language teaching and learning. An example of such technology is Moodle, which is a learning
management system with several useful features that can transform the learning environment
into a site for interactivity, connectivity and great amounts of extensive learning. With this in
mind, the present case study aims to investigate tertiary education students’ acceptance of and
engagement in a Moodle-hosted writing course. Using case study methodology, qualitative
data were elicited from 24 semester-two students on the basis of focus group interviews
constructed in line with Technology Acceptance Model 2. Another source of data is Moodle log
reports, which offered a detailed account of students’ contributions and activities in the online
writing course. The results showed that almost all the students perceived Moodle as a useful
tool for sharing, collaboration and learning. The results also uncovered three different
categories of students in terms of level of engagement; namely, highly engaged, moderately
engaged and poorly engaged. The implications of these results for an effective implementation
of Moodle are discussed.
Keywords: ELT, Moodle, Technology acceptance, Engagement, Blended writing course