Past,present, and future barriers to digital transformation in manufacturing: A review

Research in digital transformation (DT) is burgeoning. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only influenced both day-to-day functions of firms dramatically, but also their efforts to become more digitally mature. In this review paper, we discuss the barriers to DT before, during, and what may well continue after the COVID-19 pandemic and offer a new strategy discipline—Strategic Doing—that may be useful to manufacturing firms in achieving successful DT. We discuss the divergent definitions and drivers of DT diving deep into the barriers for manufacturing firms to mature digitally. We briefly describe digital readiness and current efforts of DT in manufacturing while describing the impact of COVID-19 on DT initiatives. We conclude by describing Strategic Doing and suggesting new paths for research in this area.     

Digital dysfunctions in primary school: A pilot study

Learning often involves complex cognitive and motorical processes, and while most learners cope adequately with these challenges there are always some that struggle. When new kinds of knowledge are introduced there is a possibility that some learners will find this new knowledge hard to acquire, and thus manifest a dysfunction. Today the new knowledge can be found within the digital domain. Some learners need more time and more efforts to master the different aspects of digital literacy, some of these even need special attention from friends, teachers or others. Is it possible that this group of learners is experiencing some kind of dysfunctions? It is likely to think so, there are a variety of different learning dysfunctions related to many learning domains, and when a new domain is established it would not come as a surprise that a new form of dysfunction is discovered. This article seeks to answer the question: “Do digital dysfunctions exist?” The answer is given as indicators more than as solid proof. In this study a group of 144 pupils is reduced through a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods, and ends up with three cases where there are obvious lacks of digital literacy without any obvious reason. The study also deals with definitions on “digital literacy”, and tries to point out what construct the term “digital literacy” in the study material. This construct is then used for measuring digital literacy.     

Are young generations in secondary school digitally competent? A study on Italian teenagers

Digital competences amongst the younger generations and the role of schools faced with the spread of new youth practices are topics of increasing interest. Some commentators state that, thanks to the intensive use of digital media, young people are developing significant competences that also correspond to important cognitive processes and new learning styles. However, other authors emphasize that there is no evidence about the positive impact of new technological practices on the development of significant cognitive abilities.In this paper we present a research study carried out in Italian schools on adolescents’ (aged 14-16) digital competence. On the basis of a preliminary theoretical model, a digital competence questionnaire was formulated and subsequently administered to a sample of secondary school students.The aim was to verify whether adolescents’ digital skills are limited to simple technical aspects or expand beyond them including a range of more significant knowledge and skills related to a conceptual understanding of technology, socio-relational knowledge and high-order cognitive skills. Like other studies, this research shows that when attention is shifted from strictly technical aspects to critical cognitive and socio-ethical dimensions involved in the use of technologies, students’ knowledge and competences result inadequate. The authors conclude that the optimistic portrayal of younger generations’ digital competences is poorly founded. Furthermore, it is pointed out that understanding students’ digital competence levels through fast assessment tools is a fundamental opportunity for schools to analyse deficiencies and prepare adequate intervention strategies.     

Using the Internet: Skill related problems in users’ online behavior

This study extends the conventional and superficial notion of measuring digital skills by proposing definitions for operational, formal, information and strategic skills. The main purpose was to identify individual skill related problems that users experience when navigating the Internet. In particular, lower levels of education and aging seem to contribute to the amount of experienced operational and formal skill related problems. With respect to information skills, higher levels of education seem to perform best. Age did not seem to contribute to information skill related problems. Results did reveal that age had a negative effect on selecting irrelevant search results. Individual strategic Internet skill related problems occurred often, with the exception of subjects with higher levels of education. Younger subjects experienced far less operational and formal skill related problems, but there was no difference regarding information and strategic skill related problems.     

如何在中专计算机课堂教育中融入生本教育观念

郭思乐教授提出的生本教育理念对传统教育理念形成巨大的冲击,成为新时期现代课堂教育理念的必然发展趋势,也是附合社会经济发展对教育新需求的教育理念。中专教育是以人的个性发展和能力发展为目标的教育,生本教育理念的提出和应用对中专教育的发展和改革有着极高的价指。本文以中专计算机课堂教育为基点,对生本教育理念的应用进行了探讨。     

How the ICT development level and usage influence student achievement in reading,mathematics, and science

The main purpose of this study is to investigate how national ICT development level and individual ICT usage will influence achievements in reading, mathematics, and science for 4th and 8th grade school students. Large-scale international databases, including TIMSS 2011, PIRLS 2011, and PISA 2012, were employed in the current study. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) were applied to examine both country- and individual-level variables. According to the findings of this study, the national ICT development level is a significant positive predictor for individual academic performance in all three subjects for both 4th grade and 8th grade students, while the national economic development level was controlled for. Such finding indicates a similar trend of the ICT influences for both groups, although there exists a difference in terms of the extent of the relationships. In addition, individual-level ICT use is a significant predictor, even if students' gender and socioeconomic status are controlled for; however, its influence is mixed across different student groups and subjects depending on the ICT usage type.     

How to replace an old email system with a new

All organizations that use email face changes in their email systems. While some of these are only a change of version that has little effect on the organization, many will replace old email systems with new ones, and this may have severe consequences. A case study is presented where the replacement of two old mainframe-based email systems with Lotus Notes failed. Based on this failure, seven important requirements are defined to reduce problems organizations face when replacing old email systems with new ones. These requirements are supported with results from other research.     

Microelectronic control in schools

Abstract This paper reviews various approaches to electronic control which are possible in secondary schools. It presents the case for including elements of work on control in CDT courses, in courses on computer studies and computer awareness. Resources for work in schools are reviewed.     

Toward an integrated model for designing assessment systems: An analysis of the current status of computer-based assessments in science

Drawing upon an integrated model proposed by Bennett and Bejar (1998), this review study examined how 66 computer-based science assessments (CBSAs) in basic science and medicine took advantage of advanced technologies. The model regarded a CBSA as an integrated system, included several assessment components (e.g., assessment purpose, measured construct, test and task design, examinee interface, and scoring procedure), and emphasized the interplay among these components. Accordingly, this study systematically analyzed the item presentations of interactive multimedia, the constructs measured, the response formats in formative and summative assessments, the scoring procedures, the adaptive test activities administrated based on the algorithms related to the item response theory (IRT) and other rules beyond IRT, and the strategies for the automatic provision of informative hints and feedbacks in the CBSAs. Our analysis revealed that although only 19 out of 66 assessments took advantage of dynamic and interactive media for item presentations, CBSAs with these media could measure integrated understanding of science phenomena and complex problem-solving skills. However, we also found that limitations in automated scoring may lead to infrequent use of the automated provision of hints and feedbacks with open-ended and extended responses. These findings suggest the interrelatedness of the assessment components, and thus we argue that designers should repeatedly consider the relationships between components of CBSAs to ensure the validity of the assessments. Finally, we also indicate the issues for future research in computer-based assessments.     

OpenDLib: an infrastructure for new generation digital libraries

This paper presents OpenDLib, a digital library infrastructure that provides capabilities for new-generation digital libraries. In particular, the paper introduces a document model that can be used to represent a wide variety of document types and describes the open architectural infrastructure that allows for the expansion of the digital library through the dynamic plugin of new services.     

Junior high school students’ Internet usage and self-efficacy: A re-examination of the gender gap

This paper investigated the gender differences in junior high school students’ Internet self-efficacy and their use of the Internet. A total of 1080 eighth graders were randomly selected from all junior high school students in Taiwan. The Internet Self-Efficacy Scale (ISES) was developed and used to examine students’ Internet self-efficacy in two dimensions: online exploration (explorative ISE) and online communication (communicative ISE). A survey including the ISES instrument was administered to all the subjects and finally 936 valid questionnaires (from 466 males and 470 females) were returned for data analyses. No significant gender difference was found in students’ total ISE and explorative ISE; however, a significant gender difference was found in students’ communicative ISE. Surprisingly, the girls had significant higher communicative ISE than had the boys. In addition, there was no significant gender difference in students’ Internet using experience and computer ownerships; however, there were significant gender differences in their Internet using purpose and intensity. In spite of the boys showed a significantly higher Internet use intensity than did the girls, the boys were more exploration-oriented Internet users and the girls were more communication-oriented Internet users. And this orientation played a significant role in their Internet self-efficacy. These results suggested that the gender gap may no longer exist in young students’ confidence in using the Internet. However, boys and girls used the Internet for significantly different purposes suggesting that the Internet played different roles for boys and girls in Taiwan. With a large scale examination by using a valid and reliable instrument, this study provided representative results for further related studies.     

How digital scaffolds in games direct problem-solving behaviors

Digital systems offer computational power and instant feedback. Game designers are using these features to create scaffolding tools to reduce player frustration. However, researchers are finding some unexpected effects of scaffolding on strategy development and problem-solving behaviors. We used a digital Sudoku game named Professor Sudoku to classify built-in critical features, frustration control and demonstration scaffolds, and to investigate their effects on player/learner behaviors. Our data indicate that scaffolding support increased the level at which puzzles could be solved, and decreased frustration resulting from excessive numbers of retries. However, it also reduced the number of unassisted placements (i.e., independently filled cells), and increased reliance on scaffolding tools, both of which are considered disadvantageous for learning. Among the three scaffold types, frustration control reduced the potential for players to feel stuck at certain levels, but also reduced the frequency of use of critical feature-making tools, which are thought to have greater heuristic value. We conclude that the simultaneous provision of critical feature and frustration control scaffolds may increase player reliance on available support, thereby reducing learning opportunities. Providing players with critical features and demonstration scaffolds at the same time increases reliance on available support for some players, but for most it encourages the development of solving strategies.     

Design thinking and imitatio in an educational setting

Schools are expected to prepare students for the future, providing them with methods for dealing with the emergent world. This article considers how teachers can work with digital productions at primary schools even when they are not acquainted with the new production genres. We propose a methodological framework to assist students and teachers in their exploration of unknown media genres based on a case study. We revive the ancient concept of imitatio and integrate it with contemporary design thinking to support production dynamics that lead to increased digital literacy.     

Computer education in secondary schools: an electronic survey

Abstract This paper describes a survey of computer use in secondary education carried out through the Times Network for Schools using a form of electronic questionnaire. The survey was a small part of a much larger project, the 'Skills for the Future' project, which is investigating the links between information technology (IT) in education and in employment. Although the nature of the sample inevitably means that the results are biased towards schools whose involvement in IT is above average, the survey does pose some interesting questions — particularly when its findings are compared and contrasted with those of the DES survey of 500 secondary schools at the end of 1985. The results of the survey indicated that Computer Studies is still dominant within the secondary curriculum, although many schools see the use of IT across the curriculum as their main goal. This paper highlights some of the factors preventing the diffusion of IT into the areas of the secondary curriculum it has seldom reached.     

Analyzing academic achievement of junior high school students by an improved rough set model

Rough set theory (RST) is an emerging technique used to deal with problems in data mining and knowledge acquisition. However, the RST approach has not been widely explored in the field of academic achievement. This investigation developed an improved RST (IMRST) model, which employs linear discriminant analysis to determine a reduct of RST, and analyzed the academic achievements of junior high school students in Taiwan. An interactive interface was created so that students could answer questions to predict their academic achievement and they could learn essential skills for improving their academic achievement. Empirical results showed that the IMRST model selects crucial information from data without predetermining factors and can provide accurate rates for inference rules. Hence, the developed IMRST model is a promising alternative for analyzing academic achievement data.     

Exploration of secondary students’ creativity by integrating web-based technology into an innovative science curriculum

The purpose of the study was to investigate how web-based technology could be utilized and integrated with real-life scientific materials to stimulate the creativity of secondary school students. One certified science teacher and 31 seventh graders participated in this study. Several real-life experience science sessions integrated with online teaching were used for one semester. The study used an interpretive methodology, which was qualitative analysis rather than quantitative analysis. The main data included students’ online data, interviews, videotape recordings and the teacher’s journals. The results also showed that this study provided information to enhance students’ expression of sensitivity, fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration of scientific creativities. Students’ creativity was motivated by the online interactivities and the teacher’s inquiry. The difficulties and limitations of the teaching and learning environment included strong attraction toward the Internet, poor ability of students in word processing and discussion online, students’ utilitarianism due to the pressure of entrance examination, and large amount of time spent on explorative activities.     

#gathercreateshare: How Research Libraries Use Pinterest

This work investigates social curating activities on the website Pinterest and relates them to the librarian's traditional role of curating information. Pinterest is a social curation site that combines features of gathering, creating, and sharing with the information management characteristics of successful data curation. Libraries have begun to think about pushing services into social networking sites and adding social networking features to their own services. This study evaluates the webpages of Association of Research Libraries member libraries for presence and use of Pinterest, and suggests ways research and academic libraries can use Pinterest to support their patrons.     

Understanding the effect of e-learning on individual performance: The role of digital literacy

With the diffusion of easy-to-use Web 2.0 tools, such as podcasts, blogs and wikis, e-learning has become a popular mechanism for individual training. While individuals use these tools in the hope that their training will improve their performance, this relationship is not a given. This paper proposes that an individual's level of digital literacy affects her performance through its impact on her performance and effort expectations. To explain the influence of digital literacy on the intention of individuals to continue using e-learning and their performance, we integrate the concept of digital literacy with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and test our model using survey data from New Zealand accountants working in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The results indicate that these relationships were significant: digital literacy on users' performance and effort expectations, performance expectations on users' intentions to continue using Web 2.0 tools, and continuance intention on performance. These findings suggest that individual digital literacy facilitates the use of e-learning, and should be considered when examining the impact of the latter on performance.