Psychosocial predictors of the use of enhanced podcasting in student learning

The current study examined the influence of psychosocial constructs, from a theory of planned behavior (TPB) perspective, to predict university students’ (N = 159) use of a newly offered on-line learning tool, enhanced podcasts. Pre-semester, students completed questionnaires assessing the TPB predictors (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control) related to intended enhanced podcast use until the middle of semester. Mid-semester, students completed similar items relating to podcast use until the end of semester. Self-report measures of podcast use were obtained at the middle and end of semester. At both time points, students’ attitudes predicted their intentions and, at the initial time point, subjective norm also predicted intended podcast use. An examination of the beliefs underlying attitudes, the only construct to predict intentions at both time points, revealed differences between those students higher, rather than lower on intentions to use the podcasts, especially for the perceived educational benefits of podcast use later in the semester. Intentions to use enhanced podcasting only predicted self-reported use in the second half of the semester. Overall, this study identified some of the determinants which should be considered by those aiming to encourage student use of novel on-line educational tools.     

Pre-service teachers' perspectives of the diffusion of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the effect of case-based discussions (CBDs)

This study investigates pre-service teachers' perspectives of the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in elementary education and the effect of case-based discussions (CBDs). The sample consisted of 170 first-year pre-service teachers from elementary teacher education programs of the largest teacher education college in Turkey. The cases used in the study were obtained from a case repository at http://ornekolay.org, indexing teaching cases from elementary classrooms of the capital city of Turkey. The cases were mainly text-based and presented stories of elementary teachers' in-class usage of ICTs. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was executed to test the effect of pre-service teachers' perspectives on ICTs diffusion in elementary teaching. Three scales were developed based on Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory (2003) to measure pre-service teachers' preferred innovativeness, innovation perceptions, and innovation decisions in the use of ICTs. The results showed that pre-service teachers had pre-established perspectives, mainly positive, about the diffusion of ICTs in elementary teaching; their perceptions about innovativeness and relative advantage were the main indicators of persuasion and decision; and CBDs positively affected their perceptions such that their computer-related persuasion and decisions positively increased.     

Pre-service teachers' perspectives of the diffusion of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the effect of case-based discussions (CBDs)

This study investigates pre-service teachers' perspectives of the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in elementary education and the effect of case-based discussions (CBDs). The sample consisted of 170 first-year pre-service teachers from elementary teacher education programs of the largest teacher education college in Turkey. The cases used in the study were obtained from a case repository at http://ornekolay.org, indexing teaching cases from elementary classrooms of the capital city of Turkey. The cases were mainly text-based and presented stories of elementary teachers' in-class usage of ICTs. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was executed to test the effect of pre-service teachers' perspectives on ICTs diffusion in elementary teaching. Three scales were developed based on Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory (2003) to measure pre-service teachers' preferred innovativeness, innovation perceptions, and innovation decisions in the use of ICTs. The results showed that pre-service teachers had pre-established perspectives, mainly positive, about the diffusion of ICTs in elementary teaching; their perceptions about innovativeness and relative advantage were the main indicators of persuasion and decision; and CBDs positively affected their perceptions such that their computer-related persuasion and decisions positively increased.     

User acceptance and corporate intranet quality: An evaluation with iQual

We developed a model for intranet quality and acceptance; it was applied to data collected by the sales and marketing division of an international manufacturing company obtained via a Web survey (n = 131) and tested using partial least squares path modeling. A strong explanation of behavioral intentions was revealed. The results showed that intranet quality (composed of usability, design, and information quality) was a significant factor in determining behavioral intention to use, although it was less important than perceived usefulness and social influence. Comments collected from respondents were analyzed via content analysis and further used to illustrate the findings.     

Pre-service teachers' self-efficacy perceptions on Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge

21st century classrooms call for teachers to integrate technology into their instructional practices. This requires the ability and willingness to combine technological, pedagogical and content knowledge. The main purpose of this study is to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers' perceptions of their self-efficacy regarding Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge (W-PCK) and attitudes towards web-based instruction. Turkish adapted version of W-PCK scale (Horzum, 2011) originally developed by Lee and Tsai (2010) was used as the data collection instrument. The survey was administered to 120 EFL pre-service teachers studying at a Turkish state university. The results showed that pre-service EFL teachers attained high scores on the Web-general knowledge and Web Pedagogical Knowledge subscales while lower scores were measured in Web Communicative and Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge sub-scales. The participants' level of general self-efficacy regarding W-PCK was positively correlated with their attitudes towards Web-based instruction. No significant gender or year level differences were observed.     

Behavioral intention in social networking sites ethical dilemmas: An extended model based on Theory of Planned Behavior

The expanding use of social networking sites (SNSs) and their flexible functionalities allow individuals to use these sites in unexpected and unethical ways. SNS users face ethical dilemmas each day and they need to decide how to behave in these cases. The aim of this study was to identify the influential factors that have an impact on individuals' ethical decision-making and propose a model of the factors that are significant in the ethical decision-making process in the SNS context. This study employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and included personal normative beliefs, moral intensity, perceived threat of legal punishment to the main constructs of TPB namely attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control to predict the behavioral intention using a scenario based questionnaire. The moderating effects of several factors, including age, gender, level of income, ego strength, locus of control and religion, were investigated for the probable effect on the proposed model. Derived from a designed procedure, several scenarios were constructed, of which four were selected to be embedded in the survey instrument. With 441 returned questionnaires in hand, the collected data were analyzed using the partial least squares–structural equation modeling technique. The results showed attitude to be the most influential factor, followed by subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal normative beliefs, and moral intensity. Level of education, age, and scenario also showed a significant effect on the relation between predictors and behavioral intention.     

Technology practices: Confirmatory factor analysis and exploration of teachers' technology integration in subject areas

It is thought that gains in student learning from the use of digital technologies are more likely to be related to teachers' practice than the technology itself. In secondary schooling, a key aspect of this is concerned with understanding how digital technologies are used to support teaching and learning in specific subject areas. Subject areas have their own conventions and expectations for learning that will influence teachers' technology use and technology-supported student tasks. The aim of this paper is to present confirmatory factor analysis of a scale considering common technology-related tasks in three subject areas. Data included in the current analysis are teacher questionnaires collected in 2010 (N = 3624), as part of a large-scale one-to-one laptop initiative in Australia. Results from the 2010 data confirm a five-factor structure revealing significant differences in teachers' professional and instructional uses of digital technologies among three core subject areas: English, Mathematics and Science. Trends are confirmed through a second teacher data set collected in 2011 for Wave 2 of the same one-on-one laptop initiative. Implications of these findings in relation to understanding and supporting effective technology integration and areas of future research are discussed.     

Investigating teachers' adoption of signature mobile pedagogies

This study investigated how teachers are using distinctive pedagogical features of mobile learning: collaboration, personalisation and authenticity. The researchers developed and validated a survey instrument based on these three established constructs (Kearney, Schuck, Burden, & Aubusson, 2012) and used it to interrogate current mobile learning practices in school and university education. This paper focuses on data from school teachers (n = 107). Findings indicated that teachers' perceptions of authenticity were high but aspects of online collaboration, networking and student agency were rated surprisingly lower than expected, given the rhetoric about enhanced connection and flexible learning opportunities afforded by mobile technologies. Device ownership was identified as one factor influencing adoption of these mobile pedagogies. Implications for effective use of handheld devices in teaching are addressed.     

Use of blogs in pre-service teacher education to improve student engagement

Web 2.0 technologies allow average computer users to be able to publish on the Internet without having to know complex computer technical knowledge, which gives these technologies powerful potential to facilitate student engagement in various learning environments. However, a knowledge gap exists in the literature related to factors affecting student engagement with Web 2.0 technologies. The purpose of this study is to understand factors affecting student engagement in a pre-service teacher education program that uses blogs to expand in-class discussions about technology integration. First year pre-service teachers in a mathematics education department participated in the study. Data were collected with a survey that was developed to measure student engagement with blog use. Results show that student motivation, reasons to use blog in the course, and level of challenge perceived by the students affect students' engagement with blog use. Gender and technical ability of students do not impact students' engagement. As a result, blogs can be utilized to expand in-class discussions equally well for all students.     

Domestic Technology Adoption: Comparison of Innovation Adoption Models and Moderators

Domestic technologies, such as assistant robots, have the potential to provide considerable assistance to families in societies with aging populations and increasing labor costs. This study intends 1) to test a series of innovation adoption theories to examine which models may better predict consumer behavioral intention toward the use of domestic technologies and 2) to examine whether lead‐usership and global identity predict intentions. With the floor cleaning robots as target products of the survey and employing a sample of 299 potential consumers in Taiwan, a rapidly aging society, this study finds: 1) the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model accounts for 55% of the variance and better predicts purchase intention than the technology acceptance model and the theory of reasoned action. 2) In the nested TPB model, the effects of usefulness and ease of use on intentions are fully mediated by attitude. 3) When including 2 additional constructs, global identity and lead‐usership, the explanatory power of the extended TPB model rises from 55% to 66%. 4) Lead‐usership moderates the link between attitude and intentions, that is, the stronger the lead‐usership the weaker the effect of attitude on intentions. 5) As lead‐usership and global identity are included in the model, the impact of perceived behavioral control vanishes. 6) Subjective norms moderate (weakening) the effect of attitude on adoption intentions; thus, word of mouth and peer pressure could be powerful communication tools to persuade follower consumers to adopt domestic technologies, such as family robots.     

Enhancing pre-service teachers' self-efficacy beliefs for technology integration through lesson planning practice

The purpose of this study was to identify how pre-service teachers' self-efficacy beliefs for technology integration (SETI) can be improved during the coursework intervention, and which of the course factors (instructional media development skills, knowledge on technology, and lesson planning practice) has the highest impact on the SETI. This research also attempted to explore a more inclusive path of the direct and indirect influences between SETI and other non-course variables (computer use, teachers' attitude towards computers (TAC), changes in TAC). A total of 136 undergraduate students at a teacher education university in Korea participated in the study. Our data analyses illustrated significant increase of prospective teachers' SETI after their completion of education technology course resulting mostly from lesson planning practice. The hierarchical multiple regression revealed that the pre-service teachers with higher positive attitudes toward computers and greater ability for lesson planning showed higher increase in their levels of SETI. The path analysis indicated that these two factors influenced the SETI directly, rather than indirectly. Lesson planning practice did not affect pre-service teachers' attitudinal growth. Implications on effectiveness of the lesson planning and attitudinal factors on SETI, and suggestions for teacher education course design are discussed.     

Pre-service teachers' experiences of using social software applications for collaborative inquiry

This case study focuses on the use of social software applications for supporting pre-service teachers' collaborative inquiry. Second year pre-service teachers (N = 98) were instructed to carry out an inquiry using a selection of suitable applications to support their work in a forest ecology field course. Although they were not specifically instructed on the use of the software applications, the assumption was that being ‘digital natives’ they would be familiar with them or would readily adopt them. The study reports the students' experiences of the course. Results show variations in their experiences: differences in the way they saw the adequacy of their ICT skills, the suitability of the software, and in their opinions about familiarizing themselves with the software applications as part of the inquiry process. The results also indicate that in future it is important to: (i) concretize and explain the pedagogical aspects of using social software applications as part of the learning process; (ii) highlight the reasons why software applications are used for supporting learning, i.e., the added value; and (iii) encourage students to explore and make use of different software applications for different learning purposes.     

Professional development to enhance teachers' practices in using information and communication technologies (ICTs) as cognitive tools: Lessons learned from a design-based research study

Technology integration in K-12 classrooms is usually overly teacher-centered and has insufficient impact on students' learning, especially in enhancing students' higher-order cognitive skills. The purpose of this project is to facilitate science teachers' use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as cognitive tools to shift their practices from traditional teacher-centered methods to constructivist, student-centered ones. This paper describes the outcomes and lessons learned from an application of design-based research (DBR) in the implementation and refinement of a teacher professional development (PD) program that is a key component of the overall project. This DBR study involved 25 middle-school science teachers from 24 schools whose implementation of cognitive tools with their students in science classrooms and virtually through a social networking site were observed over four years. A mixed-methodology was utilized to examine the impact of the cognitive tools intervention on teachers' classroom practices and students' development of new literacy skills. Identifying reusable design principles related to technology integration was another focus of the DBR study. The results revealed teachers' positive changes in their classroom practices by gradually allowing students to take control over the use of technology, and positive impact on students' ICT skills and science learning. Design principles for future professional development programs aimed at preparing teachers to adopt a cognitive tools approach are described.     

The effect of electronic books on enhancing emergent literacy skills of pre-school children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of e-books on enhancing Jordanian preschool children's emergent literacy skills (experimental group), in comparison to children who were exposed to regular printed books (control group). To achieve the objectives of this study, the total of 92 children were assigned to either experimental group (n = 48) and control group (n = 44). The pre- and post-test data was collected on print awareness, vocabulary, alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness skills to determine the effectiveness of e-books. The results indicated that children in experimental group performed significantly better than the children in control group. Moreover, significant differences were found according to gender, as the female children exhibited superior emergent literacy skills to the male children. Regarding the different emergent literacy skills, children in the experimental group achieved better improvement in the areas of print awareness and vocabulary. Based on these findings, it is recommended that pre-school institutions incorporate e-books activities into their classrooms.     

The cognitive impact of interactive design features for learning complex materials in medical education

To identify the most effective way for medical students to interact with a browser-based learning module on the symptoms and neurological underpinnings of stroke syndromes, this study manipulated the way in which subjects interacted with a graphical model of the brain and examined the impact of functional changes on learning outcomes. It was hypothesized that behavioral interactions that were behaviorally more engaging and which required deeper consideration of the model would result in heightened cognitive interaction and better learning than those whose manipulation required less deliberate behavioral and cognitive processing. One hundred forty four students were randomly assigned to four conditions whose model controls incorporated features that required different levels of behavioral and cognitive interaction: Movie (low behavioral/low cognitive, n = 40), Slider (high behavioral/low cognitive, n = 36), Click (low behavioral/high cognitive, n = 30), and Drag (high behavioral/high cognitive, n = 38). Analysis of Covariates (ANCOVA) showed that students who received the treatments associated with lower cognitive interactivity (Movie and Slider) performed better on a transfer task than those receiving the module associated with high cognitive interactivity (Click and Drag, partial eta squared = .03). In addition, the students in the high cognitive interactivity conditions spent significantly more time on the stroke locator activity than other conditions (partial eta squared = .36). The results suggest that interaction with controls that were tightly coupled with the model and whose manipulation required deliberate consideration of the model's features may have overtaxed subjects' cognitive resources. Cognitive effort that facilitated manipulation of content, though directed at the model, may have resulted in extraneous cognitive load, impeding subjects in recognizing the deeper, global relationships in the materials. Instructional designers must, therefore, keep in mind that the way in which functional affordances are integrated with the content can shape both behavioral and cognitive processing, and has significant cognitive load implications.     

Understanding behavioral intention to use a cloud computing classroom: A multiple model comparison approach

Cloud computing is an innovative information technology that has been applied to education and has facilitated the development of cloud computing classrooms; however, student behavioral intention (BI) toward cloud computing remains unclear. Most researchers have evaluated, integrated, or compared only few theories to examine user BI. In this study, we tested, compared, and unified six well-known theories, namely service quality (SQ), self-efficacy (SE), the motivational model (MM), the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of reasoned action or theory of planned behavior (TRA/TPB), and innovation diffusion theory (IDT), in the context of cloud computing classrooms. This empirical study was conducted using an online survey. The data collected from the samples (n = 478) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. We independently analyzed each theory, by formulating a united model. The analysis yielded three valuable findings. First, all six theoretical models and the united model exhibited adequate explanatory power. Second, variance explanation, Chi-squared statistics, effect size, and predictive relevance results revealed the ranking importance of the theoretical models. Third, the united model provided a comprehensive understanding of the factors that significantly affect the college students’ BI toward a cloud computing classroom. The discussions and implications of this study are critical for researchers and practitioners.     

Students' abilities to evaluate the credibility of online texts: The role of internet-specific epistemic justifications

Previous evaluation studies have rarely used authentic online texts and investigated upper secondary school students' use of evaluation criteria and deep reasoning. The associations between internet-specific epistemic justifications for knowing and credibility evaluation of online texts are not yet fully understood among adolescents. This study investigated upper secondary school students' (N = 372) abilities to evaluate self-selected authentic online texts and the role of internet-specific epistemic justifications in students' evaluation performance when solving a health-related information problem. Students selected three texts with Google Custom Search Engine and evaluated their credibility. Students' evaluation performance across the three texts was determined according to the different aspects evaluated (author, venue, intentions, evidence and corroboration) and the depth of their evaluations. Students also filled in the Internet-Specific Epistemic Justifications (ISEJ) inventory previously validated with pre-service teachers. The results revealed considerable differences in students' abilities to evaluate online texts. Students' beliefs in justification by authority and justification by multiple sources positively predicted their evaluation performance similarly in both topics. The findings suggest that the ISEJ inventory is also valid for upper secondary school students. Students should be explicitly taught to evaluate different credibility aspects and scaffolded to deeply engage with online information.     

Teaching in flipped classrooms: Exploring pre-service teachers' concerns

To effectively promote the student-centered movement, it is important to understand pre-service teacher concerns about teaching in technology-integrated flipped classrooms. This study surveyed more than 470 pre-service teachers' concerns on teaching with flipped learning instruction. To understand the role of individual differences, personal characteristics such as self-efficacy for teaching, teacher knowledge, and other demographics were investigated. The results indicated the pre-service teachers had mostly self-concerns. Self-efficacy and non-technological teacher knowledge were associated with most stages of concern. Females had more awareness and management concerns; non-science pre-service teachers had more information, personal, and collaboration concerns; seniors had the highest awareness for flipped classrooms, and the effects of other personal characteristics on stages of concern were identified. The significant findings draw implications for teacher educators and teacher education programs in updating curriculum and instruction so as to equip pre-service teachers with the essential knowledge and skills for teaching effectively in 21st century classrooms.     

An analysis of multiple factors relating to teachers' problematic information security behavior

Given the high Internet penetration rate and the huge repository of data stored online, there is a growing trend urging people to utilize data. However, the potential for the malicious use of data disclosed online necessitates attention. Risky information security behavior often leads to damage. Previous research has focused on information security behavior in the workplace; however, there has been little research on teachers' perceptions of their own information security behavior, in particular for teachers in primary and secondary education. For students at this age, their teachers can serve as models. Through understanding teachers' information security behavioral intentions and related protection motivation, we can design training programs for teachers and hence increase teachers' as well as students' normative judgment with regard to information security behavior. The purpose of this research is to explore those factors that relate to teachers' information security behavior as grounded in Protection Motivation Theory. Additionally, the construct of social norms was incorporated based on several studies. Overall, we wish to examine how perceived severity, vulnerability, response-efficacy, self-efficacy, response costs and social norms related to teachers' problematic information security behavior. Structural equation modeling was implemented to analyze the relationships. The results and implications are presented.     

Personalization–privacy paradox and consumer conflict with the use of location-based mobile commerce

This study empirically explored consumers’ response to the personalization–privacy paradox arising from the use of location-based mobile commerce (LBMC) and investigated the factors affecting consumers’ psychological and behavioral reactions to the paradox. A self-administered online consumer survey was conducted using a South Korean sample comprising those with experience using LBMC, and data from 517 respondents were analyzed. Using cluster analysis, consumers were categorized into four groups according to their responses regarding perceived personalization benefits and privacy risks: indifferent (n = 87), personalization oriented (n = 113), privacy oriented (n = 152), and ambivalent (n = 165). The results revealed significant differences across consumer groups in the antecedents and outcomes of the personalization–privacy paradox. Multiple regression analysis showed that factors influence the two outcome variables of the personalization–privacy paradox: internal conflict (psychological outcome) and continued use intention of LBMC (behavioral outcome). In conclusion, this study showed that consumer involvement, self-efficacy, and technology optimism significantly affected both outcome variables, whereas technology insecurity influenced internal conflict, and consumer trust influenced continued use intention. This study contributes to the current literature and provides practical implications for marketers and retailers aiming to succeed in the mobile commerce environment.