Research Article
Jamaal Young, Christina Hamilton, Marti Cason
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp. 303-318
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of integrating Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) technology on middle school mathematics achievement in an urban school. Propensity score matching was used to create a comparable control group in order to isolate the effects of IWB technology on mathematics achievement. An initial experimental group (n = 716) of ethnically diverse urban students receiving IWB instruction was matched to a control population (n = 856) based on propensity scores generated from demographic and ability data. Student achievement data were analyzed with 2 × 4 ANOVA to access treatment main effects and the effects of demographic variables such as gender, ethnicity, and ability. Ethnicity was a significant moderator of the effects. Specifically, a positive effect size was observed for White students, and the achievement gap was also reduced for Hispanic students. Implications for mathematics pedagogy with an IWB are provided based on these conclusions.
Keywords: Technology integration, Interactive whiteboard
Research Article
Gokhan Bas
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp. 319-337
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to examine metaphorical conceptions of high school teachers (n=224) in Turkey about information and communication technologies (ICT). Phenomenological research design was adopted to examine teachers’ perceptions about ICT in the current study. The results of the study showed that teachers produced a total of 46 valid metaphors clustered under five (knowledge source, guide, reform, plant, and problem) main conceptual categories. Although teachers produced a large number of metaphors, there was no significant differences between their metaphorical conceptions about ICT with regard to gender.
Keywords: ICT, Metaphor analysis
Research Article
George Gyamfi, Panida Sukseemuang
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp. 338-358
ABSTRACT
The study examined EFL learners’ perceptions, practices and achievement with the online language-learning program Tell Me More (TMM). A questionnaire and semi-structured focus group interview were used for data collection. A sample of 340 EFL learners were surveyed for their perceptions and practices; of them, 10 were further selected for an in-depth semi-structured focus group interview. Data on the learners’ scores at four proficiency levels were analyzed for learners’ achievement. The results indicated that the learners perceived TMM moderately useful and easy to use for learning English. With regard to learners’ practices, they multitasked and sometimes left the program on to count the hours of use. The Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between learners’ perception of the usefulness and ease of use of TMM. However, there was no correlation between learners’ perceptions and practices. The analysis of learners’ scores indicated an improvement in achievement for learners at the beginner and advanced proficiency levels, while learners at the intermediate and intermediate+ proficiency levels had a drop in their achievement. The findings do not only expand the knowledge base of learners’ perceptions, practices, and achievement with computer-assisted language learning programs but also guide institutions on how to make effective use of educational technologies to improve learning practices and performance.
Keywords: Tell Me More
Research Article
Hatice Yıldız Durak, Fatma Gizem Karaoglan Yilmaz, Ramazan Yilmaz
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp. 359-369
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to identify whether computational thinking skills among secondary school students differ depending on the type of digital games they play. The participants of this study were 202 secondary school students at 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades during 2016-2017 academic year. Correlational survey method was used during this study. Furthermore, there were three different data collection instruments used. The first one was “Personal Information Form”. The second one was “Computational Thinking Skills Scale” and the third data collection instrument was “Questionnaire for Type of Games Played with Digital Tools”. Results indicated that students scored higher compared to other sub-scales while their scores from the critical thinking sub-scale was the lowest. The most frequently played game category of the students was found to be dress up/make-up games.
Keywords: Computational thinking, Digital game types
Research Article
Julia S. Fuller, Kara M. Dawson
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp. 370-389
ABSTRACT
In this article we share how a district-level technology integration specialist used literature on implementing student response systems (SRS) for formative assessment, based on Desimone’s (2009) core features of professional development design, Guskey’s Levels of Professional Development Evaluation (1998, 2000, 2002), and Danielson’s Observation Cycle (2007), to support 12 middle school teachers in using SRS in their classrooms. The work reported here provides an example of incorporating literature-based best practices to support teachers in effectively using technology in the classroom. The findings of this study indicate that the teachers learned to use the SRS technology and associated strategies to collect formative data and appropriately adjust instruction to meet learners’ needs. This work has implications for SRS in K-12 classrooms, technology integration professional development, and for preservice teacher education.
Keywords: Student response systems, Professional development
Research Article
Unal Cakiroglu, Huseyin Yilmaz
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp. 390-405
ABSTRACT
This article draws on a one-semester study to investigate the effect of videos and 3D animations on students’ conceptual understandings about basic computer units. A quasi- experimental design was carried out in two classrooms; videos and 3D animations were used in classroom activities in one group and those were used for homework in the other group. A three-phase concept test was used to determine the misconceptions, and clinical interviews were conducted to explain the improvements in conceptual understandings. The results indicated that using videos and 3D animations positively affected to remedy misconceptions and no significant difference was found among two groups in terms of conceptual change. Students’ perspectives reflected that the videos and 3D animations facilitated the conceptual understanding via concretization, pausing, slowing down, replaying, and enlarging features. Along with the study findings, some implications were included for the use of videos and 3D animations in conceptual learning studies.
Keywords: 3D animations, Conceptual change