Sustainable Innovations: Bringing Digital Media and Emerging Technologies to the Classroom

Because traditional schools struggle to effectively understand, implement, and sustain digital learning initiatives, innovating with digital media in classrooms is a difficult endeavor. Practitioners need examples to better understand conditions necessary to move forward with digital media and learning (DML) in schools. This article provides examples and supports research proposing that context and culture matter when innovating in schools. Three classroom cases using Web 2.0, app development, and game design are discussed, offering educators a pathway to consider similar pedagogical and participatory approaches to foster learning. Classroom contexts, teachers' perspectives, district supports, technical requirements, and scalability are highlighted. The examples suggest innovative DML initiatives can flourish within schools when participants are mindful of context and when a participatory culture is supported (Jenkins, Clinton, Purushotma, Robison, & Weigel, 2006).     

Negotiating democratic relations in a doctoral project examining university conditions and pedagogical praxis

This article is a critically reflexive account of how collaborative processes and democratic relations were negotiated in a doctoral research project which combined elements of institutional ethnography, self-study, and, significantly for this article, critical participatory action research. The critical participatory action research dimension of the project involved a group of academics working in the same university faculty, critically and collaboratively examining their own pedagogical practice and the conditions which constrain and enable critical pedagogical praxis in their setting. The article explores what possibilities for democratic participation were created and limited by the circumstances and conditions that constituted this critical participatory action research. I consider the kind of democratic participation that was possible, what enabled this kind of democratic participation, and challenges that emerged in attempts to realise democratic goals. The discussion highlights some of the complexities of fostering democratic participation in critical participatory action research within doctoral research.     

Investigating pre-service teachers’ acceptance of Web 2.0 technologies in their future teaching: a Chinese perspective

In recent years, there has been an exponential growth of the explorations around the pedagogical use of Web 2.0 technologies in China. This study offers an alternate perspective by examining predictors of pre-service teachers’ uptake of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching purposes. On the basis of prior related research focusing on the pedagogical use of ICT, an eight-factor research model was hypothesised. Data were collected from two universities in China through a questionnaire (N?=?464). Structural equation modelling analysis results suggested that perceived usefulness, perceive enjoyment, subjective norm, technological pedagogical and content knowledge, and facilitating conditions had statistically significant direct effects on intention to use Web 2.0 technologies. The findings can help stakeholders in China (e.g. teacher educators, school leaders, and education policy makers) develop a better understanding of the realities of teachers’ pedagogical use Web 2.0 technologies in China.     

Head in the clouds: a review of current and future potential for cloud-enabled pedagogies

This paper reviews the research on the disruptive and transformative potential of newly-emerging cloud-based pedagogies. It takes into consideration the extent to which Cloud Computing can be leveraged to disseminate and scale web-based applications within and across learning contexts. It examines ideas from current literature in Web 2.0- and cloud-based education that might serve as useful when deploying cloud-based services and infrastructure. The paper draws on several key ideas to clarify how cloud- and Web 2.0-based pedagogies are informed by the shifting knowledge landscape, including a review of the concepts of disruptive pedagogies and transformative technologies. With recourse to emerging research on participatory cultures, the importance of coming to terms with newly emerging literacies, modalities, types of citizenship and ways of interacting and collaborating is addressed. Referring to notions of dialogic literacy, constructionist and co-constructivist learning, as well as possible models for online collaborative writing, the paper reviews current research on the capacity of web-based applications in enabling transformed learning and explores how this might enable broader, web-enabled participatory cultures within and beyond the institution, in light of the economies of scale made possible by cloud-based infrastructure.     

Electronic reading and digital library technologies: understanding learner expectation and usage intent for mobile learning

Mobile information technology is changing the education landscape by offering learners the opportunity to engage in asynchronous, ubiquitous instruction. While there is a proliferation of mobile content management systems being developed for the mobile Web and stand-alone mobile applications, few studies have addressed learner expectations and usage intent in consuming digital documents from online content providers and digital libraries with specific emphasis on formal instruction. Understanding usage intent and actual usage of a mobile learning agent as a result of ease of use and usefulness of mobile devices will be addressed in this study. A research framework for instructional technology usage is proposed to help better articulate critical success factors in implementing formal learning using a mobile device, specifically an electronic reader or a tablet computer.     

Perceptions of pedagogical formation students about Web 2.0 tools and educational practices

This study aims to examine pedagogical formation students’ perceptions about Web 2.0 tools and educational practices. A case study approach forms the methodological framework of this study. This study was conducted with 42 pedagogical formation students of an Instructional Technology and Material Design course during the 2014–2015 spring semester. During the course, the students created digital materials such as puzzles, concept maps, worksheets, presentations and posters by using software including Prezi, Glogster, and Webspiration. Furthermore they were introduced to numerous Web 2.0 tools which were required learning for the purpose of the course. The data for this study was collected by the researcher through a questionnaire and open-ended questions developed in order to identify students’ views on Web 2.0 tools and educational practices they will face in their future professional life. Content analysis, frequency and percentage were used in the analysis of data. Answers to the following were sought from the data analysis: (1) which Web 2.0 tools do students use or planned to use in their current and future professional life (teaching profession); (2) what are the reasons students want to use Web 2.0 tools in their professional life as a teacher; (3) what are the views of students about their use of Web 2.0 tools in the educational context; and (4) what are students’ views about Web 3.0 technologies and the changes and innovations that will be brought about by these technologies in the field of education.     

Dominant Discourses and Teacher Education: Current curriculum or curriculum remembered?

Research findings from a longitudinal, classroom‐based study of Bachelor of Education students in Tasmania suggest that three dominant discourses of schooling are powerful shapers of pre‐service teachers' pedagogical decisions in relation to the teaching of SOSE (studies of society and environment). These discourses appear to inform teaching practices and contribute to uncritical SOSE learning experiences for children. The findings from this naturalistic research grounded in teacher education suggest that teacher preparation programs should encourage far greater critical reflection on curriculum documents. In particular, the findings highlight tensions for teacher educators in selecting between experiential and/or interdisciplinary, critical approaches to teacher education. These issues are illustrated in the teaching of SOSE as locality focused knowledge. What this means for the selection of fieldwork sites for children's learning and teacher education pedagogies is explored in this paper.     

Use of Web 2.0 technologies in K-12 and higher education: The search for evidence-based practice

Evidence-based practice in education entails making pedagogical decisions that are informed by relevant empirical research evidence. The main purpose of this paper is to discuss evidence-based pedagogical approaches related to the use of Web 2.0 technologies in both K-12 and higher education settings. The use of such evidence-based practice would be useful to educators interested in fostering student learning through Web 2.0 tools. A comprehensive literature search across the Academic Search Premier, Education Research Complete, ERIC, and PsycINFO databases was conducted. Empirical studies were included for review if they specifically examined the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on student learning. Articles that merely described anecdotal studies such as student perception or feeling toward learning using Web 2.0, or studies that relied on student self-report data such as student questionnaire survey and interview were excluded. Overall, the results of our review suggested that actual evidence regarding the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on student learning is as yet fairly weak. Nevertheless, the use of Web 2.0 technologies appears to have a general positive impact on student learning. None of the studies reported a detrimental or inferior effect on learning. The positive effects are not necessarily attributed to the technologies per se but to how the technologies are used, and how one conceptualizes learning. It may be tentatively concluded that a dialogic, constructionist, or co-constructive pedagogy supported by activities such as Socratic questioning, peer review and self-reflection appeared to increase student achievement in blog-, wiki-, and 3-D immersive virtual world environments, while a transmissive pedagogy supported by review activities appeared to enhance student learning using podcast.     

Towards an environmental education without scientific knowledge: an attempt to create an action model based on children's experiences,emotions and perceptions about their environment

The paper presents an alternative approach to environmental education which focuses on children's ideas and action rather than scientific knowledge. The approach is based on children's willingness and ability to act and participate in their community and environment. The paper contributes to the development of an alternative pedagogical proposition for environmental education that is inspired by critical education. The proposed action model has emerged from a one‐year qualitative, participatory research in a pilot primary school in Athens, with the active engagement of 60 children, aged 9–12. The action model describes a path from denial of action to willingness for action. It can be used to encourage children to become involved in their environment and community and to feel strong and confident to act.     

Techno Savvy: a Web 2.0 curriculum encouraging critical thinking

This paper reports results from a case study focused on understanding student practices regarding production-oriented problem-solving with digital media. Thirty-seven students participated in an elective curriculum called, “Techno Savvy,” a nine-week course focused on student exploration of global issues, and designed around Web 2.0 tools. Socio-constructivist theory provided the theoretical lens to write and study the curriculum. Complexity in student practices using digital media tools to determine critical thinking is highlighted. Data were analyzed for patterns observed in student practices, video, artifacts, oral, and written work. Results suggest that student interaction and practices afforded by tools and content within the curriculum encourage critical thinking. This study implies a need for further classroom research linking pedagogical approaches with digital media to critical thinking and achievement.     

‘I’m just not that comfortable with technology’: student perceptions of and preferences for Web 2.0 technologies in reflective journals

Encouraging reflective practice and developing reflective practitioners is a goal of many disciplines in higher education. A variety of pedagogical techniques have been used to promote critical reflection including portfolios, narratives and reflective journals. Over the past decade, the use of Web 2.0 technologies with students has been increasingly adopted in higher education settings and many educators have integrated these technologies into reflective assignments. These educators assume that students, who are members of the Net Generation, are technologically savvy and have the ability to integrate the use of Web 2.0 technologies into learning. However, while there have been studies examining the outputs of reflective assignments using Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, e-portfolios and wikis, there has been little research examining whether or not students actually use technology for these types of assignment if given the choice. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore if technology was appropriated or rejected by students for a reflective journaling assignment. Results are based on a content analysis of 42 student journaling assignments and interviews with eight students. Findings suggest that (1) students are not as technologically competent as assumed; (2) students chose to use basic/fundamental technologies (e.g. word processing) because they viewed it as the easiest way to complete the reflective journaling assignment; (3) student perceptions of what makes an assignment ‘good’ influenced their choice to use Web 2.0 technologies; and (4) overarching student perceptions of higher education and learning impacted their appropriation of technology. Implications are discussed and recommendations for both research and practice are made.     

Participatory mapping with urban youth: the visual elicitation of socio-spatial research data

Participatory mapping attempts to engage youth in the generation of personalized maps, as a way to both harness the value of individual knowledge about geographic space, and to concurrently empower the research participants by inviting them to take an active stake in the representation and explication of their spatial environment. Engagement in the mapping exercise facilitates a nuanced process of reflection – often unrealizable through purely textual methods – and can stimulate youth empowerment by seeding critical conversations around personal safety, mobility and technologies of spatial representation. Findings from a study that implemented participatory mapping in the context of an after-school program for urban high school students are used to demonstrate the potential of this research strategy as a participatory pedagogical intervention, and to extract methodological recommendations for its effective implementation in urban educational settings.     

Social software and academic practice: Postgraduate students as co-designers of Web 2.0 tools

In order to develop potentially transformative Web 2.0 tools in higher education, the complexity of existing academic practices, including current patterns of technology use, must be recognised. This paper describes how a series of participatory design activities allowed postgraduate students in education, social sciences and computer sciences to contribute to the development of new Web 2.0 tools to enhance an existing virtual collaboration environment. In the course of these design activities, students reflected on and articulated the existing and emerging academic practices in which they were involved as they managed their transition from undergraduate courses to postgraduate research. The tools that were developed can therefore be seen as reifications of participants' emerging academic practices and the challenges they face as new researchers. This highlights the need for flexible design approaches and adaptable technological frameworks if Web 2.0 tools are to be successfully integrated into higher education settings.     

The Potential of Web 2.0 Tools to Promote Reading Engagement in a General Education Course

General education classes involve extensive course readings. College instructors have a limited time to cover every detail of the materials students are supposed to learn in class; thus, they expect students to learn through course readings. However, many college students demonstrate a low level of engagement in course reading tasks. Existing research has reported that most college students do not complete their assigned readings or they only engage in shallow levels of reading such as skimming and literal comprehension. Despite this negative phenomenon in college, a lack of research has been conducted to promote reading engagement in college classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to provide college instructors with practical guidance on using Web 2.0 tools to enhance student engagement in this task. According to self-determination theory (SDT), Web 2.0 tools share several engagement-enhancing factors. The paper discusses the potential of Web 2.0 technology to engage students by aligning with SDT. Based on the potential of Web 2.0, the paper suggests practical ways of using different Web 2.0 tools (i.e., GoogleDocs, Blog, Twitter, and Facebook) to promote reading engagement in a college classroom.     

A Community College Instructor’s Reflective Journey Toward Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Nature of Science in a Non-majors Undergraduate Biology Course

Research supports an explicit-reflective approach to teaching about nature of science (NOS), but little is reported on teachers’ journeys as they attempt to integrate NOS into everyday lessons. This participatory action research paper reports the challenges and successes encountered by an in-service teacher, Sarah, implementing NOS for the first time throughout four units of a community college biology course (genetics, molecular biology, evolution, and ecology). Through the action research cycles of planning, implementing, and reflecting, Sarah identified areas of challenge and success. This paper reports emergent themes that assisted her in successfully embedding NOS within the science content. Data include weekly lesson plans and pre/post reflective journaling before and after each lesson of this lecture/lab combination class that met twice a week. This course was taught back to back semesters, and this study is based on the results of a year-long process. Developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for NOS involves coming to understand the overlaps and connections between NOS, other science subject matter, pedagogical strategies, and student learning. Sarah found that through action research she was able to grow and assimilate her understanding of NOS within the biology content she was teaching. A shift in orientation toward teaching products of science to teaching science processes was a necessary shift for NOS pedagogical success. This process enabled Sarah’s development of PCK for NOS. As a practical example of putting research-based instructional recommendations into practice, this study may be very useful for other teachers who are learning to teach NOS.     

An inquiry into the delivering of a British curriculum in China

This paper reports a qualitative inquiry on teaching a British undergraduate management programme to Chinese students in China. The research objectives were to develop a deeper understanding of challenges students face in their academic learning within an English speaking and study environment, and to enhance organisational learning through developing practical pedagogical techniques to improve classroom interactions. A longitudinal participatory action research strategy was employed. The subjects were second and third year undergraduate students who were studying for dual-degrees in international tourism management at a Sino-Foreign educational institute. The inquiry found that various instructional techniques could help the students engage with fellow students and the lecturer in the classroom setting. We conclude that, in addition to linguistic factors, normative values of education in Chinese culture ought to be appreciated so that Chinese students’ learning needs can be better served.     

Teaching with Social Media: Disrupting Present Day Public Education

Because social technologies present illuminating educational, ethical, economic, and structural challenges to existing constructions of public education, they catalyze a fundamental examination of what public education should look like and be like in a democracy. Given their performances in other arenas, mobile and electronic technologies have the potential to further critical pedagogical praxis by enabling more democratic and participatory discursive practices. At the same time, they are significant vectors for market infiltration. They intensify surveillance, reproduce existing structures, and constrain conceptions of the possible. To examine what emerges regarding the construction of teacher as a subject when these latest technologies are incorporated, this article reports on findings from a multiple case study of five secondary school teachers using social media in their teaching.