Educational Robotics And Computational Thinking In Elementary School Students, Sonia D. Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of educational robotics in fostering computational thinking in elementary settings, both in classrooms and extracurricular programs. Among growing concerns over K–12 students’ computational thinking deficits, the research evaluated the impact of Lego EV3 and VEX IQ platforms. Data was sourced from lesson plans, student work surveys, and teacher interviews and then subjected to thematic analysis using a qualitative approach. The participants were Texas educators engaged in robotics instruction, even though specific robotics statistics are absent in the Texas Education Agency. Instructional strategies varied from hands-on experiences to translating mathematical concepts into robotic actions. A key …

Enhancing Stem Education For East Tennessee In A Post-Covid World, Jennifer L. Lauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I have identified a need for an analysis of the middle and high school STEM education curricula in the East Tennessee Region which does not effectively integrate technology into their current instruction, which results in low student engagement, motivation, and achievement in the instruction and learning of algebra and geometry. I propose a program to identify specific applications and methods to be integrated into these programs which will improve the abilities of teachers to positively impact their students' understanding and mastery of algebra and geometry. Using emerging and novel STEM subject instruction, teaching, and engagement methods, and focusing on the …

An Evaluation Of Hospital-Based Health Technology Assessment Processes In The United States., Scott Skinner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored the practices of hospital-based health technology assessment (HTA) in the U.S., as experienced by healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals. HTA can play an important role in helping to evaluate health technologies at both the macro (e.g., policy) level as well as at the micro (e.g., institutional) level of the public health ecosystem (C. S. Goodman, 2004). HTA seeks to broadly evaluate the effects, properties, and other impacts of various health technologies (C. S. Goodman, 2004). Common goals of HTA are to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and cost-benefit of health technologies. A primarily phenomenological approach was used …

Islamic Studies Teachers' Perspectives Of Applying Technology In Saudi Arabia Elementary Schools, Amal Abdulmohsen Alsaif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the use of technology in education has been on the rise around the world, and Saudi Arabia is no exception. The integration of technology in Saudi education has the potential to enhance the quality of education, increase access to education, and provide students with the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world. It also has the potential to facilitate collaboration between students and teachers, both within and outside the classroom, and to promote lifelong learning.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate Islamic Studies teachers' perceptions of using technology in their classrooms …

Affording The Value Of Technology: Normalcy And Moral Frameworks, Mitchell Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is often held that technology is value neutral. That is, technology is merely a means to an end and has no intrinsic moral worth. However, as some theorists have demonstrated, this view of technology may be mistaken. One theorist, Michael Klenk, offers what he calls an “affordance theory of embodied values” as one principled way of understanding how technological artifacts embody moral values. Under this view, artifacts embody affordances, or possibilities for action. These affordances are then judged in order to assess the moral status of the artifact which embeds them. In this paper, I develop one problem with …

Comparative Analysis Of Fullstack Development Technologies: Frontend, Backend And Database, Qozeem Odeniran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accessing websites with various devices has brought changes in the field of application development. The choice of cross-platform, reusable frameworks is very crucial in this era. This thesis embarks in the evaluation of front-end, back-end, and database technologies to address the status quo. Study-a explores front-end development, focusing on angular.js and react.js. Using these frameworks, comparative web applications were created and evaluated locally. Important insights were obtained through benchmark tests, lighthouse metrics, and architectural evaluations. React.js proves to be a performance leader in spite of the possible influence of a virtual machine, opening the door for additional research. Study b …

For Black Girls, By Black Girls: Examining The Experiences Of Black Women In Historically White Learning Spaces And Reimagining Spaces With Our Needs In Mind, Florence Takeshia Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the experiences of Black women in historically white learning spaces and our needs in reimaged learning spaces developed for us. The conceptual framework for this study was Black Feminist Thought, critical geography, and Afrofuturism. Using sister circle methodology, participants discussed the simultaneous racialized and gendered experiences that Black women navigate in learning spaces and how technology and Afrofuturism could be beneficial in creating spaces for Black women. Despite our achievements in academic spaces, Black women experience microaggressive environments that have traumatic impacts on our psychological health and our overall experiences in learning environments. Our successes are acts …

For-Profit Business Leaders’ Perceptions Of Technology And Conflict Resolution In The Workplace, Sherry Hamilton Latten

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored for-profit business leaders’ experiences with technology and conflict resolution. With the rise of technology in communications in the workplace and the risk of miscommunications leading to negative impacts on organizational and individual performance, understanding leader experiences is vital to organizational success. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand for-profit business leaders’ (1) perceptions of technology and conflict resolution in the virtual workplace and (2) perceptions of their leadership styles and the impact on conflict resolution in the virtual workplace. Prior literature regarding the impact of technology on communications revealed mixed results with some studies …

Investigating Relationships Between Diabetes Distress, Diabetes Self-Care Behaviors, Intention To Use And Actual Use Of A Personal Health Record Within 30 Days Of Hospital Discharge In Persons With Type 2 Diabetes, Khaliah Fisher-Grace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Diabetes distress (DD) is defined by emotional and behavioral challenges caused from diabetes and its management. Diabetes self-care behaviors can be compromised by DD. Personal Health Record (PHR) use has been associated with improvements in HbA1c, blood pressure, and LDL-C, but the relationship between DD and PHR use is unknown. Aims: 1) to determine differences between sociodemographic variables and intention to use and actual use of PHR in hospitalized persons with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), 2) to investigate the relationship between DD, intention to use a PHR and actual use of a PHR within 30 days of hospital …

A Phenomenological Study Examining How The Covid-19 Pandemic Changed The Way Teachers Use Technology To Deliver Instruction From March 2020 - May 2021, Dedra Lamb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine teacher perception of changes in the instructional delivery and learning opportunities via technology during and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 until May 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected educational organizations. School closures in March 2020 forced teachers to change their instructional delivery from an in-person platform to a virtual platform. This disruption to the delivery of instruction with the use of technology changed the way teachers plan for learning, delivery content, present learning activities, and assessment. The urgency required teachers to develop new strategies and experiment with adaptations …

A Study Investigating The Experience Of Teachers’ Innovative Adaptation Of Teaching And Learning, Andrea Lowery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to identify and examine the technology-based instructional strategies and digital tools being used by teachers in grades 3-5 that engage children in problem-solving learning opportunities. The study included 11 purposely sampled participants from a school district in East Tennessee who responded to questions during a Zoom interview. Seven of the participants submitted artifacts to provide examples of how they have incorporated technology and problem solving in their classrooms. Participants provided information about the digital tools and technology-based instructional strategies they have used to enrich problem solving in their classrooms. Participants in the …

Linguistic And Cultural Diversity: Examining Support For English Language Learners In Canada Through Multiliteracies And Sociocultural Theories For Teaching And Learning, Rasha Qaisi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores and analyzes the use of multiliteracies, multimodalities, and sociocultural perspectives as pedagogical practices for the teaching and learning of secondary school students and adult learners for literacy and second language acquisition. This qualitative, comparative case study research questions the impact of the theory of multiliteracies and the use of multimodalities and technology has on student experiences across the curriculum and language acquisition with English language learners (ELLs). More specifically, this research study investigates the implementation of multiliteracies, multimodalities, and sociocultural theories of education in language acquisition classrooms, the use of technology in the classroom, and the role …

Technological Change And The Practice Of Healthcare Communication: Implications For Patient-Centered Care, From A Communication Ethics Perspective, Emmalee Torisk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Written in a historical moment marked in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it has wrought, including the increased availability and use of telehealth services, this project attempts to consider the implications of the continued integration of technology into health care, centering on the following essential question: How do technological changes affect the contemporary practice of healthcare communication, particularly that which occurs between the patient—the consumer of health care—and their provider? This dissertation thus considers the ways in which such linkages of technology and health care seem to fit into a larger shift within health care …

Sustainable Technology Research Center: Strc, Shahira Radwan Aliwi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increase of carbon emission levels has been a critical challenge for the environment since the beginning of the twentieth century. There are many reasons behind this, such as industrial development, population increase, and the global growth in affluence. The responsibility for mitigation of the consequences of these human activities should be taken seriously by every member of society, including architects. This thesis investigates how architecture can take the lead in decreasing carbon emission through using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. The project implements a variety of Eco-Technology tools, such as renewable energy solutions (water turbines, wind turbines, and …

Select Life/Delete/New Page, Jeremy D. Scherer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The novella Select Life/Delete/New Page" by Jeremy Scherer follows the story of Nopok, a young man who works in a computer lab while pursuing a political science degree. Lacking any direction in his academic or professional lives, Nopok suffers at home, where his parents use him and his brother Sammy as proxies to act out their obvious dysfunction. Nopok's only escape is his online life, where he finds meaning as a user on the gaming website Gamefaqs, where he provides people with gaming advice and fits into an odd, but endearing community of artists and gamers. When Nopok's mother threatens …

Awareness And Utilization Of Smart Mobile Devices And Mobile Apps As Teaching Tools For Community College Faculty, Denise Sherry Malloy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over 90% of faculty members in higher education have access to smart mobile devices. However, data are lacking about community college faculty members’ use of smart mobile devices and applications for instruction and content delivery. The purpose of this study was to examine Tennessee community college full-time faculty’s use of smart mobile devices, to determine if there were any significant differences in the mean scores measuring attitudes and use of smart mobile devices by generational age grouping, teaching discipline, rank, years of teaching and to determine if Tennessee community college faculty members who under-utilize mobile technologies for teaching also hold …

Safety In The Educational Environment: Rural District Administrator Perceptions Of School Safety In Northeast Tennessee Public Schools, Richard A. True

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative research study was conducted to identify, describe, and understand the perceptions of administrators of public school districts in northeast Tennessee regarding school safety. Using a semi-structured interview process, the researcher identified emerging themes regarding the factors most associated with safe school districts, the factors most associated with unsafe school districts, the items identified as needed to improve safety, and the topics identified as future safety issues at the school and district level. Through such study, the researcher was able to develop an understanding regarding the overall safety of school districts in northeast Tennessee and the specific components that …

Making Vacationland: The Modern Automobility And Tourism Borderlands Of Maine And New Brunswick, 1875-1939, Sean C. Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modernizing nineteenth and twentieth century mobility reshaped and re- commodified the predominantly rural environments of Maine and New Brunswick. Landscapes like these can be better understood through the tripartite intersection of environmental commodification as “picturesque,” a democratizing tourism culture, and the development of modern individual mobility. The intersection of these forces produced a unique tourism borderland comprised of primarily second nature landscapes, which rapidly adapted to motor-tourism. All three themes are products of modernity, and their combination in Maine and New Brunswick produced a “tourism borderland” and “mobility borderland” between automotive spaces and the unprepared environments of pre-auto “Vacationland.” Before …

Image-Based Sexual Violence: Victim Experiences And Bystander Responses, Michelle A. Krieger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advances in internet-enabled and social networking technologies have permeated modern life, changing the nature of social interactions, including how sexual violence is committed and experienced. A novel form of technology-facilitated sexual violence is the use of technology to take, share, or otherwise use sexual images of another person without their consent, termed image-based sexual violence (IBSV). This is not widely thought of as a form of sexual violence and the impact on women and girls is often minimized despite emerging evidence that these experiences are both common and distressing. This form of violence has only begun to be studied, but …

An Investigation Of Technology Implementation Through The Lens Of Student Centered Learning And The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Paradigm, Adam Wasilko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

National statistics show that there are increases in access and availability of computers, and technology, in both the classroom and students’ personal lives (Culp et al. 2005, Hoffman & Ramirez, 2018). However, Tas (2017) and Wachira and Kenngwee (2010) posit that there is stagnation, even declines in certain cases, of the integration of instructional technologies in delivering student center learning in the classroom. This decline is even more prevalent in the science classroom (Vickrey, Golick, & Stains, 2018). Teachers face many challenges in the classroom; especially when technology integration is considered (Blackburn, 2016). This study seeks to determine which conditions …

Learning That Sustains The Use Of An Appropriate Technology: A Case Study Of Residential Solar Energy, Tracey Gurbin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Appropriate technologies, as simple, energy efficient advancements that are appropriate for the context, improve lives locally and around the world. The continued use of these technologies is fundamental for solutions to address concerns about the environment and standards of living today. It is important to understand the learning of these technologies as meaningful connections to facilitate their ongoing use. This qualitative research with case study methodology and a focus on social learning, specifically investigated the learning that occurs which sustains the use of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. This study defines sustaining learning, demonstrating that the process: is motivated by …

Antitrust In Times Of Information Technology: An Analysis Of Big Tech Monopoly Cases, Shamayeta Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The information technology industry is one of the most rapidly growing yet concentrated markets existing today. Big Tech monopolies and their increasingly anticompetitive behavior posits risks for competition, technological innovation and consumer welfare. This ranges from price discrimination, limiting consumer choices to the unethical use of data. The particular nature of information technology, with its network effects and negligible marginal costs, incentivizes and facilitates predatory market practices making antitrust analysis in this industry extremely complex. Certain schools of antitrust thought are more sensitive (namely the post-Chicago school) to these implications than others, though antitrust application is still lacking in both …

System Update: Technology Based Intervention For Students With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Marisa C. Simoni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Post-school outcomes are unfavorable to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Despite these outcomes and significant academic challenges, students with IDD have the potential to learn adaptive and life skills that lead to a more independent and fulfilling life through intentional intervention strategies. This dissertation explores technology-based interventions for students with IDD. Manuscript 1 presents a synthesis of literature related to technology, IDD, and a system of supports that schools utilize for tiered intervention delivery. Based on the findings, a new framework, Systems of Support for Technology Intervention (SSTI), is introduced to help guide school psychologists in choosing appropriate …

Faculty Members Attitudes And Self-Reported Actions Towards Accessibility In Online Higher Education., Habibah Khan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to an increasing number of students gaining access to online courses, online education is quickly becoming more prevalent within the learning paradigm. In order to accommodate students with disabilities (SWD), a need arised to create an inclusive learningenvironment which allows all learners to feel comfortable in their learning without feeling any prejudice. Federal laws were passed to protect SWD and thus, educational models were developed to create an inclusive learning environment especially SWD. Amongst one of the models developed to create an inclusive learning environment is the universal design for learning (UDL). However, despite the existence of UDL research …

Assessing Public Health Workforce Informatics Competencies: A Study Of Three Health Departments In Metro Atlanta, Olatanwa Adewale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: There is a need for the public health workforce to be current and versatile in technology usage. Public health leveraging technology usage in service delivery has the potential to improve efficiency and bring it to the forefront in the provision of healthcare services. The purpose of this study was to assess public health workforce informatics competencies in select Atlanta health districts and determine the correlates of public health informatics proficiency.

Methods: A 10-item instrument adapted from the recommendations of a Working Group document by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 2015 Informatics Capacity and …

The Impact Of 1:1 Technology Initiatives On Lesson Planning, Michael Amick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Districts across the country are quickly moving toward a 1:1 student to laptop ratio. Where computer labs or carts were once the norm, many districts are now purchasing all students a laptop to start the year. This movement is occurring at a rapid pace, despite a growing body of research that shows that increased technology does not automatically lead to achievement gains. The teacher plays a vital role in student outcomes, with or without technology. In particular, the manner in which teachers plan lessons is significant to classroom outcomes. This is evident in that the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching …

When Humanity Meets Technology: Contemplating Neil Postman's Critique Of Advertising, Yingwen Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project aims to contemplate Postman’s critique of advertising and offer insights to understand Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in today’s mediated environment. As an essential component of IMC, the history of advertising demonstrates and documents that the medium of communication has an extensive influence on IMC practices. The concern about how communication media affect human perception, understanding, and behavior, resides within the central claim of the study of media ecology. Thus, this project investigates IMC through the lens of Postman’s media ecology perspectives, and argues that Postman’s prescient ideas provide both hope and constructive insights. Moreover, Postman’s thermostatic perspective, rooted …

The Postman Always Rings Twice: Neil Postman's Views On Education Are Relevant Again In The 21st Century Classroom, Jennifer Spiegel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The public education system in America has long been criticized for its inability to prepare students for success as adults. While some engage in a narrative of blame, others ask what can be done to solve this problem. This dissertation examines a narrative crisis in the 21^stcentury classroom through the lens of Neil Postman, a 20^thcentury media ecologist whose fears about television may finally be realized with the advent of the personal digital device and its impact on the educational sphere. First the past narratives that guided the American school system will be traced from colonial …

Technology For The 21st Century Workforce: A Case Study Of A Rural East Tennessee Workforce Community, Kim Bolton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess technology use, on-the-job technology training, education levels, and salary ranges of employees in low-, middle-, and high- skill jobs in a rural county in East Tennessee to create an example of a small town workforce. For this study, technology included computers, robotics, and mobile technology. A survey determined the technology used, training provided, salaries, and job skill levels based on education obtained and required by major employers. The study identified the level of jobs requiring more technology skills and salaries or training related to these job skill levels. Participants included 336 persons …

The Evolving Digital Divide Within Higher Education Institutions: A Quantitative Study, Brent Owens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology has become an integral and important aspect of our world. As such, the author of this study aims to research how technology is used by college students, the people who hope to be tomorrows leaders and innovators. Ideally, all college students will complete their degrees with a comprehensive and well-versed understanding in the most basic and widespread technologies. However, strong technology literacy can be hampered by a students background. This notion is often referred to as the digital divide and can cause some people to have a weak technological background. This study will investigate the digital divide at different …