MAXIMIZING COMPUTER USE AMONG THE ELDERLY IN RURAL SENIOR CENTERS

Two prominent trends are simultaneously occurring in our society today: the aging of our population and an increased reliance on computers. Through a federal grant, Iowa Legal Aid provides computers in 85 rural senior citizen centers across Iowa to foster increased knowledge about program services for the elderly and to enhance their social connectedness with others through e-mail. To understand the attitudes of rural elderly toward computers, focus groups were held with two groups in the community senior centers. The results identified strategies that are necessary if seniors are to maximize the use of computers available to them. This article has three purposes: (1) to review the literature regarding computer usage among the elderly; (2) to describe the findings of focus groups held with elderly; and (3) to identify strategies to enhance computer use in senior citizen centers and maximize the connectivity of elders in their communities.     

Developing scales to measure parental mediation of young children's internet use

With children using digital media at ever younger ages, media-education becomes a pressing issue for parents. As there is hardly any research on how parents guide the online activities of toddlers and young children an internet-survey was held among 792 Dutch parents of children aged between 2 and 12 years. Factor analysis revealed that for the internet, parents partly use the same strategies they also apply for television and video games: ‘co-use’, ‘active mediation’, and ‘restrictive mediation’. In addition, they also utilise new strategies: ‘supervision’ and ‘technical safety guidance’. Mediation was mainly predicted by the child's age and online behaviour (e.g., gaming, social networking), as well as by the number of computers in the home and the parents' gender, education and computer/internet skills. Finally, parents also use more mediation when they expect that the internet has a positive effect and particularly when they believe that it has a negative impact.     

Enlist micros: Training science teachers to use microcomputers

A National Science Foundation grant to the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) at The Colorado College supported the design and production of training materials to encourage literacy of science teachers in the use of microcomputers. ENLIST Micros is based on results of a national needs assessment that identified 22 compentencies needed by K–12 science teachers to use microcomputers for instruction. A writing team developed the 16-hour training program in the summer of 1985, and field-test coordinators tested it with 18 preservice or in-service groups during the 1985–86 academic year at 15 sites within the United States. The training materials consist of video programs, interactive computer disks for the Apple II series microcomputer, a training manual for participants, and a guide for the group leader. The experimental materials address major areas of educational computing: awareness, applications, implementation, evaluation, and resources. Each chapter contains activities developed for this program, such as viewing video segments of science teachers who are using computers effectively and running commercial science and training courseware. Role playing and small-group interaction help the teachers overcome their reluctance to use computers and plan for effective implementation of microcomputers in the school. This study examines the implementation of educational computing among 47 science teachers who completed the ENLIST Micros training at a southern university. We present results of formative evaluation for that site. Results indicate that both elementary and secondary teachers benefit from the training program and demonstrate gains in attitudes toward computer use. Participating teachers said that the program met its stated objectives and helped them obtain needed skills. Only 33 percent of these teachers, however, reported using computers one year after the training. In June 1986, the BSCS initiated a follow up to the ENLIST Micros curriculum to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a complete model of teacher enhancement for educational computing in the sciences. In that project, we use the ENLIST Micros curriculum as the first step in a training process. The project includes seminars that introduce additional skills: It contains provisions for sharing among participants, monitors use of computers in participants' classrooms, provides structured coaching of participants' use of computers in their classrooms, and offers planned observations of peers using computers in their science teaching.     

Computer Literacy as Ideology

Some of the most prominent policies in schools throughout the industrialized world today relate to the rapid introduction of computers. The most common rationale for introducing educational microcomputing is the concept of ‘computer literacy’. It is a concept, however, which is so poorly defined and delineated, and so unclear as to purpose and procedure, that it may best be investigated as a form of ideology. The justificatory arguments for computers in classrooms are primarily vocational or practical. They are based on assumptions that computers will be pervasive in the workplace of the future, or that they are soon going to be ‘everywhere’. The more purely pedagogical arguments are secondary: that learning about computers is a worthwhile experience in and of itself, and that computers can be useful productivity tools for other academic work. Drawing upon empirical evidence from an evaluation of computer use in two Canadian high schools, this paper shows how a critical treatment of computer literacy as ideology raises important issues about the computerization of education. It suggests that educators should question whether they have simply taken the ideology of computer literacy at face value, and whether this almost universal policy has received the critical attention it deserves.     

The Digitally Disadvantaged: Access to Digital Communication Technologies among First Year Students at a Rural South African University

Considering the importance of digital skills in university education, this article reports on a study which examined access to technology among first year students at a rural South African university. The study focused on the digital readiness of students prior to their admission to the university, since many universities provide access to computers and the internet. The survey of 156 first year students revealed that 73 per cent of the students had no access to computers at their high schools and 82 per cent of students from rural high schools had no computer access and internet at their schools. Most students from rural areas used a computer for the first time when they were 19 years and older. Many students gained access to computers and the internet for the first time at the university. As a result, they enter the university digitally disadvantaged. Solutions that involve initiatives to provide access to technology are required in addition to digital literacy for educators at high schools.     

Secondary school students’ intentions to learn AI: testing moderation effects of readiness,social good and optimism

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly integrated into existing technologies which has brought forth the fourth industrial and learning revolution, designing curriculum for AI education has become an important strategic development for education authorities throughout the world. Framed broadly from the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examined a structural equational model to establish the interrelationships of students’ perceived usefulness, attitude towards using AI, subjective norms to learn about AI, basic literacy about AI and their behavioral intention to learn about AI. In addition, it examines the moderation effects of readiness, social good, and optimism on the research model. The findings confirm the hypothesized model. In addition, various moderation effects were found among students’ perception of readiness, social good, and optimism for AI. The implications of the study point towards the need to consider these factors in designing AI curriculum to foster students’ behavioral intention to learn AI.

     

Technology and educational choices: Evidence from a one-laptop-per-child program

This paper provides the first causal estimates of the effect of children’s access to computers and the internet on educational outcomes in early adulthood, such as schooling and choice of major. I exploit cross-cohort variation in access to technology among primary and middle school students in Uruguay, the first country to implement a nationwide one-laptop-per-child program. Despite a notable increase in computer access, educational attainment has not increased; the schooling gap between private and public school students has persisted, despite closing the technology gap. Among college students, those who had been exposed to the program as children were less likely to enroll in science and technology.     

Cross‐cultural Similarities in Attitudes toward Computers and the Implications for Teacher Education

ABSTRACT

Results of a three year longitudinal study of elementary school children's attitudes toward computers in Japan, Mexico, and the United States of America are presented, along with implications of the findings for teacher education. Two types of attitudes toward computers (importance and enjoyment) were found to be positively influenced by the introduction of computer activities in primary school. No novelty effect was found regarding enjoyment of computers, and perceived computer importance declined less from Grades 1–3 than several other dispositions measured. No consistent gender differences were found for attitudes toward computers among the three nations. These findings imply that students begin school eager to learn about computers and lacking the gender biases often found in older age groups, and that teachers should be educated to help preserve interest in and access to information technology for all students. Reflections for teacher education conclude the article.     

To be Hypermedia‐literate is to be Liberated: Reading,Writing, Arithmetic and Hypermedia Literacy as Basic Skills

Abstract

This paper deals with the ability to access, analyse, create and evaluate information through a variety of media. This ability is considered part of different kinds of literacy

The paper argues that the use of interactive hypermedia CD‐ROMs and networked services in society and in the classroom influences the way in which students acquire and retain both basic and high‐level literacy skills.

Media and computer literacy are new forms of literacy which have arisen as the result of the increasing use of electronic mass media and computer technology. Currently, media and computer literacy are evolving into a new form of literacy designated ‘hypermedia literacy’. Hypermedia literacy is considered to be the ability to use hypermedia CD‐ROMs and networked services as versatile problem‐solving tools and as a means of communication.     

发展中国家学生ICT水平对个体科学素养的影响研究——基于PISA数据

教育大数据的发展离不开信息与通信技术(ICT)的广泛应用。基于PISA 2015学生ICT问卷和科学素养得分,通过对基础教育阶段学生个体科学素养表现的综合测评,可以详细探究包含中国在内的10个发展中国家的学生ICT水平与其科学素养得分之间的潜在关系。研究发现,以上发展中国家的学生如果在6岁及以前第一次接触电脑从一定程度上将对学生的科学素养产生积极影响;学生在学校或校外使用网络的时间如果超过4个小时或继续增加,科学素养则会出现显著下降趋势;允许学生在可控的时间范围内(如1~2小时)高效合理地使用网络,能在一定程度上提高学生的科学素养。对于中国学生,家校首先应鼓励并倡导其在"6岁及以前"接触诸如电脑等ICT设备,从而促进学生科学素养的形塑与提升;其次,工作日期间,无论是校内还是校外,家校都应严格监督并限制学生ICT电子产品以及网络的使用;再者,周末期间,家校应倡导学生在可控的时间范围内高效合理使用网络,"一刀切"或者肆无忌惮的放纵都将产生难以估量的恶性影响。     

A follow‐up study of the ABRACADABRA web‐based literacy intervention in Grade 1

This paper reports the follow‐up of a randomised control trial study of the ABRACADABRA web‐based literacy intervention that contrasted synthetic versus analytic phonics (Comaskey, Savage & Abrami, 2009) in kindergarten children from urban low‐SES backgrounds. Participants who received a ‘synthetic’ phonics+phoneme awareness training (n = 26) or an ‘analytic’ phonics+phoneme awareness training literacy intervention (n = 27) were tested on standard measures of literacy 1 year later. Results revealed a significant main effect (p < .01) for the analytic group performing better on passage reading comprehension. Modest advantages for children who received the analytic phonics programme were evident. We obtained an effect size favourably comparable with other studies, after adjusting for intervention duration (ES = .41). It is concluded that analytic phonics programmes may provide modest but significant sustained advantages in literacy for kindergarten children from low‐SES backgrounds.     

Investigating older adults’ intention to learn health knowledge on social media

ABSTRACT

Abundant health knowledge resources are available on social media to facilitate technology-enhanced knowledge learning among older adults. The objective of this study is to investigate the predictors and the underlying formation mechanism of older adults’ intention to learn health knowledge on social media. We propose a novel model to examine how older adults’ emotional state (i.e., health anxiety) and cognitive state (i.e., e-health literacy) during knowledge acquisition influence threat appraisal (i.e. perceived severity and perceived susceptibility) and coping appraisal (i.e. self-efficacy and perceived benefits), thereby shaping older adults’ intention to learn health knowledge. Survey data from 337 Chinese older adult users of social media was collected to test the research model. Results reveal that perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy and perceived benefits exert positive effects on older adults’ health knowledge learning intention, while the impact of perceived severity on health knowledge learning intention is not statistically significant; health anxiety is positively correlated with perceived severity and perceived susceptibility, and e-health literacy is a powerful predictor of self-efficacy and perceived benefits. This paper enriches the literature related to technology-enhanced knowledge learning and online health behavior among older adults. Effective strategies are proposed based on the findings for practitioners dedicated to promoting health knowledge via social media and older adults who apply health knowledge to address health-related needs.     

Computer skills of initial teacher education students

Abstract

A constant challenge for teacher education lies in keeping courses up to date. This article provides a view of the current skills, attitudes, and perceptions regarding computer technology in the classroom from a preservice candidate perspective. The intent of this research is to help foster discussion about how to further develop pre-service educational technology courses that best meet the needs of a continuously evolving and changing student-teacher population in terms of computer technology skills. The primary instrument was a self-assessment survey of the skills, attitudes, and perceptions about utilizing computer technology in the classroom among firsttime students enrolled in introductory education courses at a large midwestern university in the USA in the fall semester of 1999. Surveys were administered to a total of 205 students. Questionnaires were given to preservice teachers during their initial courses rather than mailed to their homes, in an attempt to increase participation rates. Participants were categorized as being either a ‘Beginner’ or ‘Experienced User’ of computer technology, based on their responses to the skill section of the survey. The article includes an overview of the results and segments them as they pertain to three general issues: general attitudes with regards to teaching with computer technology, intended use of computers when beginning to teach, and perceived problems to be expected with computer technology when beginning to teach. Finally, an informal discussion regarding student expectations of future teacher training programs and the corresponding implications for school districts are presented from the free-response section of the questionnaire.     

A STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF FEMALE ADULTS TOWARD COMPUTERS

This study investigated the attitudes of female adult subjects toward computers. The population consisted of 63 subjects, most of whom were enrolled in allied health curricula. The instrument used was the Computer Attitude Scale. It was found that computer anxiety existed only to a moderate degree. Subjects who had taken a computer literacy course expressed on some items, a more positive attitude toward microcomputers. No evidence was found of a significant relationship between age and their attitude toward computers.     

The Effects of Computer‐assisted Systematic Observation on the Attitudes and Efficiencies of Pre‐service Teachers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of computer‐assistance during systematic observation on the attitudes of pre‐service teachers towards systematic observation and on the time required to analyze the data gathered. During their field experience, pre‐service teachers were randomly assigned to conduct systematic observation in a computer‐assisted group or traditional ‘pencil and paper’ group. Results indicated that pre‐service teachers who used computer‐assisted systematic observation required significantly (alpha – 0.01) less time to perform quantitative analysis. The data also revealed several significant differences in attitudes between the pre‐service teachers who used computers and those who used the traditional ‘pencil and paper’ methods of systematic observation.     

Developing a Collaborative Research Strategy with Teachers for the Study of Classroom Computing

ABSTRACT

This paper reflects on a three‐year study of computers in high school classrooms undertaken by members of an education faculty. By reviewing the process we followed, we hope to encourage another iteration in the development of a model of educational research which respects the needs and abilities of teachers, while at the same time striving to achieve theoretical insights which can enrich education as both an academic discipline and a professional practice.

In designing a collaborative research strategy for a study of computers in high school classrooms, a number of difficult decisions had to be faced. Choices had to be made between styles of ‘research’ and ‘evaluation'; among competing methods of data gathering and analysis; and among many different ways of relating to the participants in the study.

In making these difficult choices, we were guided by the basic ethical and epistemological demands of a social constructionist perspective, and by the central imperative of providing a ‘fair trade’ to all the parties involved. By adhering to these guiding principles we were able to fashion a research strategy which moved beyond the technical issues of computer implementation, to provide a story of action within a theory of context.     

Informatique Pour Tous: a case study of information technology in teacher education in France

ABSTRACT

The national program Informatique Pour Tous was announced in France in 1985. This paper describes a resulting training program conducted in French secondary schools, the assessment of this program, and conclusions that can be drawn from it in terms of contents for pre‐service and in‐service teacher training in the educational use of computers. In this article, after a short background on the French policy of computer equipment in schools, the objectives of the training program are presented. Then the activities of the teachers who were trained in this program are analyzed, on the one hand through information gathered during their annual meetings and on another hand through interviews with the heads of some of the teachers' schools. Requirements for training contents and practices in teacher education are developed.     

The Fifth Generation and training strategies*

Fifth Generation computers should not simply be regarded as an enhancement of current computer technology: the intention is that a fresh approach should be taken to computer science and to the use of computers. The argument of this paper is that the fresh approach must encompass education and training, with implications that extend far beyond the simple use of computers.     

Computer Anxiety,Computer Self-efficacy and Attitudes towards the Internet of First Year Students at a South African University of Technology

Notwithstanding the benefits that information and communications technology (ICT) offers to learning processes, the majority of learners in rural and township areas in South Africa either do not have access to computers and the internet, or they lack sufficient skills to exploit the benefits of ICT. This lack of skills and access to computers may lead to computer anxiety and low computer self-efficacy among undergraduates entering higher education. Low computer anxiety and high computer self-efficacy levels are important factors in assisting students to be academically successful in the present technological era. This article reports on a study that assessed the computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy and attitude towards the internet among first year students at a South African university of technology. Data collection was done through a five section survey. The research revealed that students suffer from moderate computer anxiety; they have a moderate compute self-efficacy; and their attitude towards the internet is positive. The results, research contributions, and limitations are discussed, and implications for future studies are suggested.