Digital natives and digital media in the college classroom: assignment design and impacts on student learning

The use of multimodal learning techniques is becoming more widespread, however, the pedagogical discourse surrounding its implementation into classroom and course design is complicated as these technologies are either demonized or viewed as the panacea for curriculum ills. Educators are faced with unique challenges when investigating how to experiment with the best ways to produce classroom experiences that use digital media. This case study examines the implementation challenges and learning outcomes related to such an experiment by reviewing and assessing the use of digital media in a health communication course, specifically through the development of documentaries. Creating an effective assignment requires addressing the development of technical skills along with course content and providing guidance and feedback throughout a semester-long project. Creating an effective assignment is pointless without sufficient learning outcomes. Because this assignment engaged students with both the course content and digital media, their learning experiences were enhanced and improved their group collaboration, critical thinking and media literacy skills.     

Exploring the digital natives among pre-service teachers in Turkey: a cross-cultural validation of the Digital Native Assessment Scale

This study aims to explore the digital natives among a sample of pre-service teachers and in the process, examine the validity of a Turkish adaptation of the digital native assessment scale (DNAS) [Teo, T., & Fan, X. (2013). Coefficient alpha and beyond: Issues and alternatives for educational research. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 22(2), 209–213]. Five hundred and fifty-seven participants completed a survey questionnaire in Turkish measuring their responses on the DNAS, developed from a proposed four-factor research. Confirmatory factor analysis and multiple indicators, multiple causes modelling were used to analyse the data and an acceptable fit was found, suggesting that the DNAS is a valid measure for participants who are older living in another culture. While the pre-service teachers had mostly regarded themselves as digital natives, significant differences were only found by years of computer use and perceived competence but no significant differences were found for gender and age.     

An investigation of middle school science teachers and students use of technology inside and outside of classrooms: considering whether digital natives are more technology savvy than their teachers

The purpose of the study is to investigate the popular assumption that the “digital natives” generation surpasses the previous “digital immigrants” generation in terms of their technology experiences, because they grow up with information and communication technology. The assumption presumes that teachers, the digital immigrants, are less technology savvy than the digital natives, resulting in a disconnect between students’ technology experiences inside and outside of the formal school setting. To examine the intersection of these generations and their technology experiences, this study used a mixed-methods approach to survey and compare middle school science teachers’ (n = 24) and their students’ (n = 1,060) inside–outside school technology experiences, and conducted focus group interviews to investigate any barriers that prevented them from using technology in school. The findings imply that the concept of digital natives may be misleading and that the disconnect between students’ inside–outside school technology experiences may be the result of the lack of sufficient teacher training concerning technology integration strategies.     

All better than being disengaged: Student engagement patterns and their relations to academic self-concept and achievement

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Student participation and cognitive and emotional engagement in learning activities play a key role in student academic achievement and are driven by...     

It is better to light a candle than to ban the darkness: government led academic development in Saudi Arabian universities

At first glance, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s current multi-billion dollar investment in its social sector, especially in setting up new schools and universities, seems to have as its primary aim the preparation of the Kingdom for a future that is not dependent on its oil resources which are predicted to run out in less than a 100 years. However, there is another consideration that warrants examination in the current context. KSA is also positioning itself to assume a dominant role firstly among the Gulf countries, secondly in the Arabic world and thirdly globally. The two ambitions are obviously intertwined but are likely to have distinct impacts on the international academy. To this end, the Higher education sector has seen unprecedented growth both in student numbers and infrastructure due to the expenditure of massive amounts of money. More than 13 billion dollars is pumped into education and of this Higher Education receives more than two billion annually. However, because the main concern for KSA’s Higher Education development is to maintain its Arabian base whilst striving to become internationally relevant, the funds are applied in a centrally controlled manner that aims to balance the two ambitions. In practice, the gender-based segregation is one issue that continues to be an unresolved and contested complication. This paper argues that ultimately international competitiveness is likely to be impact significantly and possibly irrevocably on Saudi cultural traditions and religion norms.     

Digital Feast and Physical Famine: The Altered Ecosystem of Anatomy Education due to the Covid-19 Pandemic

This article explores the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic on the evolution of both physical and digital cadavers within the unique ecosystem of the anatomy laboratory. A physical cadaver is a traditional and established learning tool in anatomy education, whereas a digital cadaver is a relatively recent phenomenon. The Covid-19 pandemic presented a major disturbance and disruption to all levels and types of education, including anatomy education. This article constructs a conceptual metaphor between a typical anatomy laboratory and an ecosystem, and considers the affordances, constraints, and changing roles of physical and digital cadavers within anatomy education through an ecological lens. Adaptation of physical and digital cadavers during the disturbance is analyzed, and the resiliency of digital cadaver technology is recognized. The evolving role of the digital cadaver is considered in terms of increasing accessibility and inclusivity within the anatomy laboratory ecosystem of the future.     

Action speaks louder than words: young children differentially weight perceptual, social, and linguistic cues to learn verbs

This paper explores how children use two possible solutions to the verb-mapping problem: attention to perceptually salient actions and attention to social and linguistic information (speaker cues). Twenty-two-month-olds attached a verb to one of two actions when perceptual cues (presence/absence of a result) coincided with speaker cues but not when these cues were placed into conflict (Experiment 1), and not when both possible referent actions were perceptually salient (Experiment 2). By 34 months, children were able to override perceptual cues to learn the name of an action that was not perceptually salient (Experiment 3). Results demonstrate an early reliance on perceptual information for verb mapping and an emerging tendency to weight speaker information more heavily over developmental time.     

Creating spaces to belong: listening to the voice of girls with behavioural,emotional and social difficulties through digital visual and narrative methods

While interest in the voice of children and young people has grown alongside concern for their rights and participation, for those excluded from mainstream education or with a label of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, the issue of student voice takes on particular relevance. Yet the voices of these young people, and particularly girls, are often hidden and unheard both in education and educational research. Using digital visual and narrative methods we have been listening to girls excluded from mainstream education. They attend Kahlo School, a small special, girl-only secondary provision in the south of England, and our focus has been on gathering their views as stakeholders in the school and engaging them in curriculum and school development. In this paper, we reflect on the affordances of visual and digital methods and on how the girls perceive their educational inclusion and exclusion. We discuss the themes of space, identity, relationships and community that have emerged from analysis of the data, and conclude by outlining the importance of the core messages about belonging and not belonging that we heard in the girls' accounts.     

从"夷多汉少"到"夷少汉多"的转变--唐、宋、元、明时期云南的汉族移民及其作用

汉族人口很早就进入云南地区.自秦汉开始至唐宋,云南的汉族移民人口数量远低于少数民族人口,处于"夷化"的过程中;元代,云南首次设立行省,汉族聚落初步巩固;明代随着大规模的汉族入迁,汉夷比例发生显著的变化,汉族开始成为云南的主体民族,在云南的社会历史发展中发挥着重要的作用.