Educational Technology Commons^™

Understanding Learners' Experiences Of Using Eportfolio In A High School Physics Course, Daniel P. Carroll

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

There has been a move toward personalized learning and alternative types of authentic assessment in K-12 education. This shift toward personalized learning and authentic assessment has been partly driven by increases in the available technology that can support those types of changes. This dissertation is a basic qualitative study aimed at understanding the experience of learners in a first-year physics class working with an ePortfolio as the primary method of assessment for that class. The school in which this research took place fully implemented a 1:1 program and has been piloting personalized learning strategies for the past five years. The …

The Impact Of Virtual Radiographic Positioning Simulation On 1St Year Radiography Students’ Clinical Preparedness Through The Lens Of Activity Theory: A Mixed Method Approach, Christopher Ira Wertz

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Radiography education programs are designed to prepare students to perform radiographic examinations and acquire diagnostic medical images of real patients in the clinical setting. Radiographic Science (RS) education, like all healthcare education, is uniquely different from education in other professional fields. Students must not only acquire the technical, cognitive learning required, but they must also master the psychomotor skills necessary to apply didactic knowledge to patients in a clinical setting. In medical imaging, when students are hesitant or lack knowledge and skills they are prone to produce images with decreased quality or expose patients to unnecessarily high amounts of radiation. …

Middle School Students' Reported Self-Regulation Strategies In Completing Online Mathematics Homework, Pepper Erlinger

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study is to benefit our understanding of the potential of online homework as it relates to developing and supporting students’ self-regulated learning (SRL). This descriptive case study explores the use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies reported by students in the context of completing online mathematics homework (OHW). Eighth-grade students (10 total) from a traditional middle school were interviewed using a validated data collection instrument, the Self-Regulated Learning Interview Schedule or SRLIS (Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons, 1986, 1988). Students’ open-ended responses were interpreted using a framework of self-regulation theory and coded using 14 self-regulation strategies …

Medical Simulation As A Competency-Based Assessment Within Physician Assistant Education, Michele Toussaint

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Simulation-based practices are widely utilized in medical education and are known to be a safe and effective way to train and assess learners, improve provider confidence and competency, and improve patient safety. Competency-based initiatives are being more broadly utilized to assess learner proficiency in health professions education. Recent publication of competencies expected of new graduate physician assistants, and updated accreditation requirements which include assessment of learner competencies in non-knowledge based domains, have led to the creation of this simulation-based summative assessment of learner competency in communication and patient care skills for Physician Assistant students.

The purpose of this quantitative study …

Effects Of Robotics Instructional Methods On Computational Thinking Skills Of Middle School Students, Andrew Patrick Cook

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

As a tangible and motivating medium for students to engage in computational thinking, robotics has drawn interest from educators and researchers as K-12 schools continue to integrate STEM into curriculum. Through this mixed methods study, the researcher sought to explore the effects of robotics instructional methods (task-based and project-based) on the computational thinking skills of middle school students, including the problem-solving strategies used and the role of peer collaboration. The quantitative results of this study indicated no significant difference in the computational thinking skills of students participating in task-based or project-based robotics instruction. Interviews consisted of open-ended questions in which …

The Influence Of Course Community And Personal Community Support On Learner Engagement In Online Courses, Kristin Kipp

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Borup, Graham, West, Archambault, and Spring (2020) theorized that a student’s level of engagement in an online course is influenced by course community support and personal community support, with both factors helping a student to achieve a level of engagement that is not possible independently. In other words, an individual student’s ability to engage in an online course can be explained by the kinds of community a student finds within a course and their social support from friends, family, and community as they take the class. The purpose of this study is to understand to what extent course community support …

Faculty Views Of Online Competency-Based Education, Self-Efficacy, And Institutional Support: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study, Christopher Russell Prokes

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Competency-based education (CBE) is essentially an online approach to teaching and learning featuring flexible pacing, robust competencies, and an emphasis on student completion. CBE’s differs from traditional education that focuses on seat time, credit hours, and academic objectives. Though CBE has existed on college campuses in many forms, faculty are often inexperienced in teaching CBE. Facing growing demands for CBE (notably from non-traditional students), institutions must find ways to prepare faculty to take part in CBE. This mixed methods study explored faculty views of CBE, their self-efficacy, and beliefs about support mechanisms needed for those teaching and delivering CBE. Findings …

Exploring The Relationship Between Different Smartphone Reading Annotation Strategies And Students’ Comprehension, Brandon J. Comstock

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between different smartphone reading annotation strategies and students’ comprehension. Subjects in the study are 139 teenage students enrolled in a religion class in the Southwestern United States. Each of the participants utilized a digital reading app on their personal smartphone to read an 842-word religious text. Subjects were encouraged to look for, highlight, or tag passages in the text that they felt were important to understanding the meaning of the text. After completing the reading, participants completed a multiple-choice quiz with both factual and inferential questions and wrote a short essay on how they felt …

Lessons Learned From Creating Videos For Online Video-Based Instructional Modules In Mathematics Teacher Education, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Laurie O. Cavey

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Video can be a powerful tool, with a long history of use in teacher education. Despite the increased popularity of using video in teacher education over the years, questions remain about effective ways to create and use video in online video-based instructional modules. Given this, in this paper we describe some lessons learned creating videos for online video-based instructional modules for secondary mathematics teacher candidates, as a part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) IUSE program (Award No. 1726543) funded project. We specifically focus on how we recorded interviews with middle and high school students, and iteratively developed the online …

Community And Connectedness In Online Higher Education: A Scoping Review Of The Literature, Jesús Trespalacios, Chareen Snelson, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Lida Uribe-Flórez, Ross Perkins

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Community and connectedness are important concepts in online higher education. However, researchers debate how they are defined, operationalized, or enacted in practice. A scoping study was conducted to review the research literature on the extent, range, and nature of research in community and connectedness in online higher education. A total of 66 studies published from 2001 through 2018 were identified for review. The findings illustrate how research on community and connectedness has focused on areas such as course design, technology tools, faculty, and students as well as highlight the important role these concepts have played in the last two decades …

Teaching Mathematics Education Online: Instructional Theories, Strategies, And Technologies, Angie Hodge-Zickerman, Cindy S. York, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This overview chapter provides an introduction to instructional theories, strategies, and technologies that can guide teachers new to teaching mathematics (both content and methods) online in a formal online classroom setting. We begin by discussing different types of online learning environments, including synchronous, asynchronous, bichronous, and HyFlex environments. We then focus on different theories, such as cognitive apprenticeship, individualized/personalized instruction, social learning, and inquiry-based mathematics education theories. After that, we focus on some common technologies and strategies, such as think/pair/share, student groups, whiteboards, discussion boards, and more that someone new to teaching mathematics teachers online may use to engage learners.

Exploring The Self-Efficacy And Perceptions Of Virtual Mentoring Of Teachers Participating In A New Teacher Induction Program, Katie Peila

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Teacher turnover is an issue plaguing states and districts around the country, particularly among novice teachers. Research indicates that strong induction and mentoring programs can provide novice teachers with critical support and guidance as they make the transition from the pre-service environment to the professional workforce resulting in higher levels of self-efficacy and performance. Teachers with high self-efficacy exhibit more enthusiasm and persistence and higher levels of organizational commitment. While there is a considerable amount of research on traditional, face-to-face new teacher induction (NTI) programs, there are few studies that investigate the integration of technology for a virtual experience. This …

Impact Of Internet Connection On Gifted Students’ Perceptions Of Course Quality At An Online High School, Stacy Hawthorne

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Online learning is on the rise in K-12 education and, with the lockdowns and social distancing measures implemented as a result of COVID-19, has gained increased prominence. While the demand for online learning is on the rise, many U.S. students lack adequate Internet connectivity to have a successful online learning experience. Connectivity issues, particularly when they impact audio, can cause students to tune out or even drop out of online learning. This is problematic for online schools and course providers who often have no control over the speed of a student’s home Internet connection. Online schools also have to balance …

Examining The Role Of Enjoyment, Anxiety, And Emotional Intelligence In Online Graduate Students' Self-Regulated Learning: A Control-Value Theory Perspective, Achraf Touati

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

As online learning continues to grow, particularly amid the COVID pandemic, so too has interest among educational practitioners and researchers to understand the personal and contextual factors that shape students’ emotions in these environments. The control-value theory of achievement emotions has emerged as a useful framework for examining the antecedents and consequences of different emotions that students experience in online learning. The purpose of the present study was to validate the assumptions of the control-value theory in an asynchronous online graduate program, and to examine the role of emotional intelligence in this social-cognitive process. Data were collected from 102 graduate …

Social Presence And Online Discussions: A Mixed Method Investigation, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Joanna Dunlap

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Researchers have been investigating social presence in online learning for decades. However, despite this continued research, questions remain about the nature and development of social presence. The purpose of this mixed method exploratory case study was to investigate how social presence is established in online discussion forums in an asynchronous online course. The results suggest that social presence is more complicated than previously thought. In particular, situational variable such as group size, instructional task, and previous relationships influence how social presence is established and maintained in online courses. In the following paper, we report the results of our inquiry and …

A Library For Everyone: Building A Model For Library Digital Accessibility, Rebeca Peacock, Amy Vecchione

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

Want to know more about the ways libraries can support digital accessibility? Learn from the expertise of Boise State University librarians Rebeca Peacock and Amy Vecchione using their digital accessibility research to show how you can apply the lessons learned in your library. In this presentation, you'll learn what digital accessibility is and how meeting digital accessibility needs supports everyone! In addition, they will share easy to implement techniques and tools to improve the library experience for everyone.

'Education As A Geisteswissenschaft': An Introduction To Human Science Pedagogy, Norm Friesen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human Science Pedagogy is ‘a strange case,’ as Jürgen Oelkers has recently noted: In the Anglophone world, where Gert Biesta has compellingly encouraged scholars to ‘reconsider education as a Geisteswissenschaft’ (a human science) its main themes and the contributions of its central figures remain unknown. For Germans, particularly in more ‘general’ or philosophical areas of educational scholarship (i.e. Allgemeine Pädagogik), this same pedagogy is recognized only insofar as it is critiqued and rejected. Taking this strange situation as its frame, this paper introduces Human Science Pedagogy to English-language readers, providing a cursory overview of its history and principal contributors, …

Technology Integration Self-Efficacy Reframed Through The Iste Standards: An Investigation Among Urban K-12 Teachers, Frank C. Gomez Jr.

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a descriptive research design and a theoretical framework based on self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997), this quantitative study examined self-efficacy as a factor on teachers’ technology use and integration efforts in urban K-12 classroom settings of 327 Catholic school teachers in Southern California. To measure teachers’ self-efficacy in using and integrating technology in the classroom, this study employed an online survey that included the Technology Integration Confidence Scale (TICS) version 3, an instrument developed by the researcher which is aligned to the ISTE (2017) Standards for Educators, and seven key demographic questions. Chief among these is the frequency of technology-oriented …

Using Admissions Data To Create A First-Semester Academic Success Model, David James Byrnes Jr.

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Higher education is attracting more students from diverse background especially at public community colleges. These institutions can help these students attain a quality education at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, community colleges have lower graduation rates than 4-year institutions in part due to the diverse needs and variety in academic preparedness amongst their populations. It can be difficult to identify students most at risk of performing poorly until it is too late. There are multiple ways to predict students’ performance. In this study, three common data mining techniques are compared for their accuracy in predicting academic success using only data collected …

Understanding Middle And High School Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Towards And Use Of Technology, Julia Eden Hill

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

While many educators are consistently searching for ways to use technology for teaching and learning as new technologies emerge and older technologies are improved, not all are enthusiastic about the changes (Dobo, 2016). There is a positive correlation between teachers’ beliefs about the effectiveness of technology and its use in the classroom (Petko, 2012). Teachers who have positive beliefs about technology tend to use it more in their classrooms. This mixed-method study seeks to answer the question of how do secondary mathematics teachers’ use of technology in the classroom reflects their attitudes towards technology and its use. The first sub-question …

Teachers’ End-User Attitudes Toward The Implementation Of School-Based Social Networking Sites In K-8 Schools: An Extension Of The Technology Acceptance Model, Barak D. Stanley

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Advancement in technologies, such as smartphones and social networking sites (SNSs), are transforming traditional school-based communication in education. School-based SNSs are a web-based system that enables administrators and teachers to (1) create or join a semi-public online school community within a bounded system, (2) construct a virtual classroom with individual student profiles, or avatars, (3) invite parents and guardians to create a profile and link with their child’s profile, (4) and communicate with students, parents, and guardians about students’ school experiences using the classroom management and communication platform. ClassDojo, a school-based SNS, has over three million teachers and 35 million …

Teacher Self-Perceptions Of Skills And Beliefs Using Technology In Classroom Practice, Geri R. Gillespy

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

New technology and innovations over the last decade have created a global economy that incorporates people communicating and making connections all over the world, twenty-four hours a day. With this continuous drive in society, there is added pressure to integrate more technology in the classroom and into the hands of students. Although there is a great push to add technology in education, studies demonstrate that teachers are reluctant to modify and change their current practice. Educational leaders, politicians, and district administration are spending valuable resources on devices to drive daily instruction in schools where teachers tend to have more of …

Video Feedback: Is It Worth The Effort? A Response To Borupe Et Al., Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is easier than ever to provide video feedback. Research has shown that video feedback, among other things, can help increase conversational and afective communication. However, research also suggests that despite its benefts, instructors and students might prefer text-based feedback. The following paper responds to research by Borup, West, and Thomas (Educ Technol Res Dev 63(2): 161–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-015- 9367-8, 2015), describes the value of their research, how it can be applied, some limitations, and future areas of research in a time where colleges are shifting to digital

Makerlab Annual Report 2020, Calina Glasgow, Amanda Baschnagel, Yitzhak Paul, Amy Vecchione

MakerLab Documents

The MakerLab and the Emerging Technology and Experiential Learning Unit team serves the Boise State University students, staff, and faculty. We offer access to emerging technologies, coaching on emerging technologies, and formal instruction on emerging technologies. In 2020, we welcomed a faculty member, a part time staff member, and two new student assistants. We welcomed Associate Professor Yitzhak "Yitzy" Paul who joined us as a faculty member in August 2020. Marisa Hadley joined us as a part-time instruction assistant also in August 2020. This is in addition to our existing team of Cali Glasgow, Amanda Baschnagel, and Amy Vecchione. This …

A Mobile Learning Community In A Living Learning Community: Perceived Impact On Digital Fluency And Communication, Devshikha Bose, Krishna Pakala, Lana Grover

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Though mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and tablet computers have an immense potential for improving student learning, there is little empirical research which reports ways in which students actually use these technologies for learning, especially in fields like Engineering. Based on a social-constructivist approach to learning, the purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate student perceptions regarding changes in mobile device based digital fluency and communication, after participation in a Living Learning Community (LLC) based Mobile Learning Community. This study contributes to existing literature in the field in that it reports student perceptions of how mobile devices can …

Makerspace Culture And Its Impact On Learning, Amy Vecchione

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

"Makerspaces are about community. We need to ensure everyone from the community can participate."

—Participant in a Drexel ethnography about makerspaces

Many library workers want to discuss and reflect on makerspaces. A common issue present since makerspaces in libraries first began revolves around what types of equipment a library makerspace should have. This question often comes up as "What should I buy?" or "What equipment do I need?" or "What should I buy to make my makerspace successful?" Individual library workers who are starting to incorporate makerspaces into their libraries or who are trying to deepen, develop, and reinvigorate their …

Using Technology To Support Student Learning In An Integrated Stem Learning Environment, Dazhi Yang, Sally J. Baldwin

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper provides the first review and illustration of technology-use strategies for supporting student learning in different integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning environments. An integrated STEM learning environment may focus on integrating and learning science and mathematics or integrating and learning engineering and technology simultaneously for multiple levels of learners. An integrated STEM learning environment breaks down disciplinary boundaries and allows students to apply multidisciplinary knowledge in solving problems. This study illustrates four technology-use strategies to support student learning in an integrated STEM learning environment: a) providing authentic learning contexts, b) offering web-based inquiry environments, c) expanding …

Perceived Impact Of Virtual Scenario-Based Branching Simulations Among Radiology Program Students, Kimberly Lynn Onstott

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The influx of medical technology and medical knowledge creates challenges for healthcare providers in maintaining up to date knowledge and skills for their practice. Healthcare educators are further challenged in that the goal is to encourage learners to become competent healthcare providers who are knowledgeable and skilled, self-directed, and who will think critically and ethically when faced with challenging situations. Advancing imaging technologies and new complex procedures in radiology increase the risk of harm for patients and providers as advanced imaging is often learned outside of a primary degree in radiology with real patients through on the job training. Online …

The Expatriate And Transnational Distance Student Phenomenon: A Series Of Investigations, William H. Stewart Iii

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The scale and scope of distance education has changed significantly over the last 250 years. Technology, from the early days of correspondence courses to radio, television and satellite broadcasting, has continually increased the scope, scale, and access potential to education. Distance courses and programs, however, were typically serving local, regional, or national communities. The Internet, by contrast, has transformed distance education by enabling access to education by virtually anyone, anywhere in the world. Students are no longer limited or constrained by geography or residency, yet how such potential has been conceptualized, identified, and subsequently researched has been limited by homogenous …

Ideological Misalignment In The Discourse(S) Of Higher Education: Comparing University Mission Statements With Texts From Commercial Learning Analytics Providers, Leif A. Nelson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes, interprets, and compares texts from different educational discourses. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis method, I reveal how texts from university mission statements and from commercial learning analytics providers communicate and construct different ideologies. To support this analysis, I explore literature strands related to public higher education in America and the emerging field of study and practice called learning analytics. Learning analytics is the administrative, research, and instructional use of large sets of digital data that are associated with and generated by students. The data in question may be generated by incidental online activity, and it may be …