Educating online student teachers to master professional digital competence: The TPACK-framework goes online

In this article we study how online teacher education programmes may enhance innovative ways of teaching and learning with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). We explore how online teachers are practising professional digital competence, in general and within subject areas, and to what extent they encourage student teachers to develop their own professional digital competence. Based on online teacher education programmes at two distinct higher education institutions (HEIs), we applied mixed method design including quantitative and qualitative approaches to illuminate the aims and the scope. Our study revealed that even if online teacher education programmes represent good avenues for stimulating teachers and student teachers to develop digital competence for pedagogical purposes, this aspect is poorly integrated within the actual programmes, although some interesting examples were demonstrated. By looking at the origins of the discourses on online education and on digital competence, we found that they derive from different stakeholders: while the discourse on online education originated from the management side at both HEIs, the discourse on digital competence derived from certain teaching staff at the two HEIs. Our study indicated that there is still some way to go to innovative solutions and to develop the potential of professional digital competence in online teacher education programmes.     

高校教师课堂教学评价系统的设计与实现

开发基于校园网络的高校教师课堂教学评价系统,是为了更好的提高教育质量．保证学校教育教学管理工作向网络化的方向发展。高校教师课堂教学评价系统的评价指标体系．按照教学流程的各要素来制定．系统运行在Windows 2000以上的操作系统,以SQL Server 2000作为数据库平台．实现了学生、同行教师和考评组对任课教师的课堂教学情况进行在线评价。     

The TRiTS model: teacher roles in introducing digital technology into a school curriculum

The wide use of digital technology for educational purposes opens up some issues regarding its integration within the school curriculum. Our research aims to contribute to the current discussion about how mobile/portable technology can be integrated into formal education. In this perspective, we consider digital technology and media as a potential integral part of school activity that could effectively support educational achievement. However, the way in which it is applied by teachers in a real context can substantially change its impact on effective achievements. In our research, we extensively investigated the role of the teacher in using digital technology for stimulating and prompting classroom activities in class in-line with the school curriculum. In this paper, we first present a model that illustrates the roles of teachers in transforming digital technology as a resource for developing skills as required in educational curricula. The teacher role in introducing technology at school—TRiTS—model has been conceived by combining relevant literature and findings from a case study that we have been running in a primary school over the last 4 years. We then discuss the influence of the different teacher roles on students (their attitude and level of participation), as emerged from our study.     

Storytelling by a kindergarten social assistive robot: A tool for constructive learning in preschool education

Kindergarten Social Assistive Robotics (KindSAR) is a novel technology that offers kindergarten staff an innovative tool for achieving educational aims through social interaction. Children in a preschool setting have previously been shown to benefit from playing educational games with the KindSAR robot. The experiment presented here was designed to examine how KindSAR can be used to engage preschool children in constructive learning. The basic principle of constructivist education is that learning occurs when the learner is actively involved in a process of knowledge construction. In this study, storytelling was used as a paradigm of a constructive educational activity. An interactive robot served as a teacher assistant by telling prerecorded stories to small groups of children while incorporating song and motor activities in the process. Our results show that the children enjoyed interacting with the robot and accepted its authority. This study demonstrates the feasibility and expected benefits of incorporating KindSAR in preschool education.     

Motivating factors in online language teacher education in southern Argentina

Online teacher education is of growing interest and so is the study of motivation as a key factor in technology-mediated learning environments. This study is based on a pre-service language teacher education programme in Patagonia, a southern Argentinian region with no face-to-face training offers, limited Internet access and a large number of unqualified teachers. Our goal is to broaden the understanding of online teacher education programmes at undergraduate level in contexts where most trainees are practicing teachers and where online education is the only possibility for holding a teaching qualification. We focused on the motivating factors that led 71 trainees to enrol and to remain in this online teacher training course. Through a mixed methods approach, the trainees completed an online survey (n = 71) and participated in a follow-up interview (n = 24). Results showed that obtaining a teaching degree, autonomy, and individual activities were key factors in initial and sustaining motivation. Participants' experiences challenged collaborative learning in an online environment.     

IT in education and teacher education in Australia

Abstract Responsibility for education at all school levels in Australia is the constitutional prerogative of the states and territories while almost all the funds are produced via Commonwealth taxation. On the other hand, university education, including those faculties responsible for teacher education, come directly under Commonwealth control. These arrangements have been questioned often, particularly in terms of assuring the Commonwealth that 'they are getting value for their money'. In recent years, there has been a number of moves towards a more national approach to education and many of these have incorporated statements concerning the role of technology in education. This paper sets the context of these developments as they have impinged on teacher education and provides specific examples from two institutions.     

Informatics in teacher education in Japan

Abstract This paper charts the developments in information technology (IT) policies in education in Japan over the past decade with particular emphasis on the impacts on teacher education. Beginning with the work of the National Council on Educational Reform in 1985, the Japanese education system initiated a thorough analysis of the role of information technology in all aspects of education from kindergarten through to high school, vocational education and pre- and in-service teacher education. The various approaches culminated in guidelines and statutory requirements relating to both schools' curricula and teacher training, published in the period 1990–1992. More recently other ministries have contributed to developments including the Ministry for International Trade and Industry which has categorized the different types of information engineers and among these is the new Educational Engineer. The paper reports the processes leading to these developments.     

Conceptual change in science: A research programme*

Abstract Studies undertaken in the UK and elsewhere have shown that secondary school pupils have difficulties in understanding certain theories in the physical sciences and, moreover, that certain conceptual problems in these areas may even persist among science students in higher education. The aims of this research project are to understand this process of conceptual change better, and to devise and test ways in which such a change can be promoted in classroom teaching programmes. Particular attention will be paid to the role that computer software tools can play in promoting such a change. The effectiveness of these software tools will be investigated in small-scale studies and in the context of classroom teaching. The findings will be made available to science teachers, teacher trainers and to those involved in educational software development.     

Teacher interventions in a synchronous,co-located CSCL setting: Analyzing focus,means, and temporality

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments facilitate collaboration between students. There is a growing interest in studying the role of the teacher during CSCL. This study aims to contribute to the conceptualization of teacher interventions during CSCL. A teacher and his class worked in a CSCL environment for 8 lessons. Focus and means of teacher interventions were analyzed across these 8 time points. The results show that the teacher’s behavior varied greatly between lessons and also between groups, which contradicts research that has aggregated teacher behavior to types or teaching styles. Findings consistent across time points include the predominance of the teacher’s focus on students’ cognitive rather than social activities, and a higher number of interventions in groups where student activity was higher. Suggestions are made for future research, which include studying the effectiveness of supporting tools for teachers.     

Effects of real‐time visual feedback on pre‐service teachers' singing

This pilot study focuses on the use real‐time visual feedback technology (VFT) in vocal training. The empirical research has two aims: to ascertain the effectiveness of the real‐time visual feedback software ‘Sing & See’ in the vocal training of pre‐service music teachers and the teachers' perspective on their experience with VFT. Forty participants from an undergraduate music teacher education programme were randomly assigned to three groups. The first two groups were assigned the teacher and student versions of Sing & See, respectively, and the third group served as a control group without access to the software. The experimental groups were given 12 weeks to use the software for vocal training on a self‐regulated basis. The technique of complex selections (TCS) was designed to assess the pitch accuracy and richness of vocal timbre. Pre‐ and post‐test singing tasks showed that the participants from the experimental groups significantly improved their vocal timbre. A questionnaire survey conducted after the training period found that most of the participants in the experimental s were positive about the effectiveness of VFT software in vocal training. As future leaders in the implementation of music education technology, pre‐service music teachers expressed a positive attitude towards the use of VFT as a technology‐enhanced learning (TEL) component in music education.     

任务驱动法在《计算机组网》课程教学中的探索与实践

针对《计算机组网》课程,传统的教育方法过份强调理论课在教学中的作用,却忽略对学习者积极性和创造力的培养。在该课程的教学中,采用任务驱动式教学方法对课程教学结构进行改革,以实际网络项目为目标来展开知识点的讲解,加大实验教学比重,充分调动学习者的积极性。经班级对比教学结果证明：任务驱动教学法对学习积极性的提高优于传统的教学方法,对培训高技术人才有很大的帮助,值得教学推广。     

ICT in teacher education in an emerging developing country: Vietnam’s baseline situation at the start of ‘The Year of ICT’

In many developing countries, integration of ICT is a key component of an educational reform agenda. These countries can draw on a tradition of research in the developed world on factors determining integration of ICT in education. In this tradition, this study investigates the current situation of ICT integration in teacher education in Vietnam, an emerging developing country at the beginning of integrating ICT in education. 783 educators of five Vietnamese teacher education institutions completed a questionnaire. This analysis illuminates teacher educators’ access to ICT, their intensity of use, their related skills, and their confidence in using ICT, as well as their conceptions of learning. Exploratory multiple regression analysis addresses the importance of these different factors at the level of the educator for use of ICT in teaching practice. Even though teacher educators adhere to a constructivist approach to student learning, the use of ICT applications in teaching practice remains limited, mostly replacing traditional teaching practices. The factors currently determining the use of ICT in teaching practice are ICT skills (β = .522) and computer confidence (β = .158). Suggestions are provided for the country to move beyond an access and skills based approach of integration of ICT in education and for emerging developing countries to cease the promise of ICT for education.     

基于GP-DINA的教师继续教育的自适应学习系统设计

针对现有教师继续教育的培训效果不佳问题,从教师继续教育模式出发,结合知识图谱技术和DINA模型,设计了一个教师继续教育自适应学习系统.为了提高系统的推荐学习的准确性,采用知识图谱技术表现知识和其相互关系,并加入了知识融合和质量评估模块,保证知识的多样性和质量;提出一种基于DINA模型的教师认知诊断模型,并引入了潜变量和...     

乡村振兴背景下乡村教师信息素养提升策略

在乡村振兴背景下,乡村教育振兴和乡村教师的发展受到了关注.提升乡村教师信息素养,促进乡村基础教育教学改革,为乡村学习者拓宽知识视野、提供优质教学服务,从而实现乡村教育振兴.从主观因素和客观因素两方面分析乡村教师信息素养提升面临的困境,从个人层面和管理层面提出乡村教师信息素养提升的策略.乡村教师要有主动学习的意识,将提升...     

I Know My Professor: Teacher Self-Disclosure in Online Education and a Mediating Role of Social Presence

Acknowledging the importance of teacher–student relationship for effective learning experiences, the present study examined the role of teacher self-disclosure and social presence in online education. An online survey was conducted from a sample of 262 undergraduate students with online class experiences. The findings suggest that students’ perception toward teacher self-disclosure increased students’ feeling of social presence about their teacher. Then, social presence in turn led to teacher–student relationship satisfaction, which ultimately increased perceived knowledge gain. Importantly, the association between teacher self-disclosure and teacher–student relationship satisfaction was mediated by social presence.     

大学非计算机专业计算机基础教学改革思路

＂Intel Atom处理器＋Intel GMA 950集显＋160GB硬盘＋1GB/2GB内存＂,读者可能对这一配置很眼熟,对,它就是上网本的标准配置。这种普通上网本的＂孱弱＂性能并不能让人满意,10英寸的小屏幕和键盘使用起来也并不舒服。因此,市面上逐渐出现了上网本的差异化产品。这些＂另类＂上网本可以用来干啥？有什么特别的优势？笔者将为你一一点评。     

一体化视角下的免费师范生信息技术课程体系构建

教师教育一体化是教师专业化发展的基础,信息技术能力培养是教师能力培养的重要组成部分,同样需要一体化考虑。本文针对教师教育的不同阶段,结合信息技术能力要求,设置免费师范生的信息技术类课程体系,探索基于教师教育一体化的免费师范生的信息技术课程体系构建。     

教育知识管理视域下的教师专业化发展

学校是知识的源生地,教育本身是一个知识管理领域,教师是学校的灵魂,因此将教育知识管理的理念与方法引入到教师专业化发展中,对教师的专业成长具有重要的现实意义。此研究主要讨论如何将教育知识管理的理念与方法融入到教师的专业化发展中,在此基础上提出教师专业化发展的对策,尤其是学习型组织的构建,对教师的专业化发展具有增智、增能的作用。     

Promoting argument in the science classroom: A rhetorical perspective

Abstract:

This paper draws on contemporary scholarship in the field of rhetoric and on recent research in science education conducted from a rhetorical perspective. Beginning with a brief sketch of the principal ideas used in the study of rhetoric, it argues that such a perspective provides a useful insight into the aims and purposes of the science teacher, arguing that science teachers are, in essence, engaged in a process of rhetorical argument. Likewise, a rhetorical characterization of the practice of science itself shows that argument is one of its central features. Therefore, if developing epistemic goals and an understanding about science within science education is important, the consideration of argument and reasoning should be a core feature of the practice of science education. A number of problems are identified with such change, including a shortage of suitable pedagogic materials and the lack of experience of science teachers in the use of deliberative discussion. More fundamentally, it is suggested that there is an inherent contradiction between the ‘rhetoric of conclusions’ practised by science teachers and the ‘rhetoric of dialogical argument’ practised by scientists. The resolution of this contradiction can be achieved only by a radical disjuncture in the nature and form of contemporary science education.