Education Commons^™

Undergraduate Student Sense Of Belonging And Edtech Tool Engagement: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of The Virtual Campus Experience, Veronica Wilson

Dissertations

The contemporary postsecondary learning experience is heavily mediated by educational technology (EdTech) tools and yet little is known about the ways in which these tools impact student engagement and sense of belonging, two indicators which are important to student persistence and graduation. Using Strayhorn’s (2023) critical socioecological sense of belonging framework, this convergent mixed methods study offers insights into these relationships by examining student engagement with EdTech and student sense of belonging and the impact of student traits on the relationship between EdTech and sense of belonging. This study was conducted at a private, broad access Hispanic-Serving Institution in the …

The Importance Of Data Privacy And Security During Emergency Remote Learning, Emma Antobam-Ntekudzi

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic forever changed the world. The virus’ rapid spread forced federal and local governments to enact quarantine mandates. On March 11, 2020, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2022) announced COVID-19 as a pandemic. Two days later the United States declared an official nationwide emergency. Institutions were required to shut down and persons deemed non-essential participated in quarantine. Remote working became the standard, thus affecting all aspects of individual lives and institutions, especially education. Primarily in-person universities and colleges across the world scrambled to address the COVID-19 health concerns, comply with local shutdown rules, and attempt …

Practical Leadership In Implementing Online Education Programs, Felix O. Quayson, Christopher Zirkle

Journal of Research Initiatives

The growing presence of online education can become a challenge for academic leaders and institutions to lead, manage, and explore in higher education. Online education can be complex when considering the social presence (Keast, 2022; Quayson, 2022), course development (Martin et al., 2019; Orlando, 2019), and economic outcomes (Burnett & Conley, 2013; Rubin, 2013; Seaman et al., 2019). However, unraveling the fundamentals of practical leadership can help educational leaders to facilitate, maintain, and implement online education programs. The study found published research studies that helped us to extricate the fundamentals of practical leadership in implementing online education programs in the …

Faculty Perspectives On Online Teaching In Higher Education: A Qualitative Approach To Understand Faculty Members’ Challenges And Experiences, Felix O. Quayson

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored faculty members' perspectives on online teaching in higher education and described, analyzed, and interpreted faculty members challenges and experiences of teaching online courses. Participants were twelve (12) faculty members who have taught online courses or currently teach online courses. Data was collected from 60-minutes semi-structured interview sessions, 78 open-ended questions, three research driving questions, background questionnaire, and personal artifacts from faculty members. Five major themes with subthemes, 15 code categories, and code co-occurrences emerged from the data collection, field notes, memos, and data analysis. However, not all of the code categories were replicated by all of the …

Beta - An Overview Of Instructional Technology, Susan Dumler

All Open Educational Resources

In today’s K-12 education, technology is integrated into the classroom. Pre-service teachers need to have a good foundational knowledge of technology for instruction. An Overview of Instructional Technology is designed to teach a vast array of digital tools available to make the classroom and life more interactive, efficient, and connected. Fifteen-chapters cover everything from a brief overview of computer basics to popular productivity systems, learning management systems, and web-based tools and applications for a variety of content areas. The top resources for educational technology are highlighted and a section on OER is included. An entire chapter is dedicated to Google. …

Designing For Inclusiveness In Edtech Projects: The Case Of The European University Of Technology’S Xr Vr Team, Deirdre Mcquillan, Susanna Nocchi, Odette Gabaudan, Ana Schalk, Anna Nicolaou, Antigoni Parmaxi, Esther Hernandez

Conference Proceedings

This paper will present the case of the XR VR project team within the European University of Technology (EUt+). The team is tasked with developing an extended reality (XR) virtual reality (VR) approach to help students and staff overcome language and cultural barriers in international mobility. The aim of the project ultimately is to enhance the experience of physical student mobility and to ensure international opportunities for students are more inclusive. As research on the problem is still in progress, the team found themselves constructing their own understanding of designing for inclusiveness in the project. This paper presents the case …

Enhancing The Edtech Ecosystem In A British Columbia School District, Suzanne J. Chisholm

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Technology has brought significant opportunities to education, but they are largely being lost. In many cases, spending on educational technology (EdTech) has not resulted in improved student outcomes. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) addresses the problem of practice (PoP) of a lack of a framework and supports for K-12 teachers to effectively utilize EdTech in classrooms in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). Using a BC school district as a case study, I propose strategies for how leaders can craft and implement a change plan to enhance an EdTech ecosystem that best supports teachers and learners. Establishing a framework …

Research Methods For Education With Technology: Four Concerns, Examples, And Recommendations, Daniel B. Wright

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

The success of education with technology research is in part because the field draws upon theories and methods from multiple disciplines. However, drawing upon multiple disciplines has drawbacks because sometimes the methodological expertise of each discipline is not applied when researchers conduct studies outside of their research training. The focus here is on research using methods drawn largely from psychology, for example, evaluating the impact of different systems on how students perform. The methodological concerns discussed are: low power; not using multilevel modeling; dichotomization; and inaccurate reporting of the numeric statistics. Examples are drawn from a recent set of proceedings. …

Preservice Teachers' Perceptions Of Readiness For Teaching In A 1:1 Classroom, Laura Jeffery

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

With the emergence of digital technology as a primary means to communicate and learn, it is imperative that educators become proficient in utilizing 21^stcentury digital tools and apps. However, research has shown that preservice teachers' levels of readiness for teaching in 1:1 classrooms are not sufficient. Preservice teachers need to increase their proficiency with technology, both hardware and software, in order to maximize student achievement and prepare their future students for a wide array of post-secondary options.

This study examined the perceptions that preservice teachers held regarding their readiness to step into 1:1 classrooms upon completion of their …

Correlating Technology Surveys And Third- And Fifth-Grade Proficiency Levels In Math And Reading Throughout Tennessee., Gary L. Lilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study used two different sets of data collected through two distinct means during the 2002-2003 school year. To fulfill the federal accountability requirements related to the distribution of monies known as EdTech (2002), the Tennessee State Department of Education required every school within districts that accepted the formula EdTech funds to complete an online survey called the EdTech Tennessee Online Technology Evaluation or E-TOTE. The E-TOTE survey collected information on a variety of topics related to educational technology including questions about teaching and learning, educators' preparation and development, infrastructure, and equipment counts. The other set of data came from …