It represents a universally applicable attitude and skill set everyone, not just computer scientists, would be eager to learn and use.

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Computational Thinking 計算論的思考

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Unplugged Coding Using Flowblocks for Promoting Computational Thinking and Programming among Secondary School Students

A substantial body of literature has well-documented and demonstrated the potential of using three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds (VWs) across various learning subjects and contexts in primary and secondary (K-12) education. However, little is known when it comes to issues related to child-interaction research and the impact that design decisions have on the user experience (UX), especially when game-based learning approaches are employed in 3DVWs. Hence, in this systematic literature review, we appraise and summarize the most relevant research articles (n = 30) conducted in K-12 settings, published between 2006–2020 and that elicit information related to (a) the interaction design (ID) of game events and trends associated with game elements and features that were utilized for the development and creation of game prototypes, (b) the research methods which were followed to empirically evaluate their teaching interventions, and (c) the design-related issues and factors affecting ID and UX by identifying the most frequent set of learning and game mechanics that were adopted in various game prototypes in different learning subjects. The vast majority of game prototypes enhanced students’ engagement and participation, affecting their achievements positively. This systematic literature review provides clear guidelines regarding the design decisions that educational stakeholders should consider, and provides recommendations on how to assess and evaluate the students’ learning experience (i.e., performance, achievements, outcomes) using 3DVWs.

https://www.mdpi.com/2414-4088/5/6/28/pdf

A Systematic Literature Review on the User Experience Design for Game-Based Interventions via 3D Virtual Worlds in K-12 Education

Advances in Information Technology (IT) and computer science have without a doubt had a significant impact on our daily lives. The past few decades have witnessed the advancement of IT enabled processes in generating actionable insights in various fields, encouraging research based applications of modern Data Science methods. Among many other fields, education research has also been adopting different analytical approaches to advance the state of education systems. Moreover, developments in software engineering and web-based applications have made collection of education data possible at large scales. This systematic review aims to explore the 21st century’s state of the art applications of text mining methods used in the field of education. We analyse the metadata of all publications that use text mining or natural language processing in educational settings to report on the key themes of application of text mining methods in educational studies providing an overview of the current state of the art and the future directions for research and applications.

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Text Mining in Education—A Bibliometrics-Based Systematic Review

This study explores university instructors' opinions regarding emergency remote education practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research included 248 university instructors from 29 universities in Turkey. The findings revealed the instructors' positive and negative opinions, educational preferences, and support demands. While instructors found the process useful in terms of cost-effectiveness, providing individualized learning environments, and supporting ubiquitous learning, their negative opinions stemmed from course-, student-, technology-, and instructor-related factors. The instructors demanded support in technology and training aspects, and they preferred face-to-face education rather than blended and distance education. This study suggests considering the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework for professional development programs. As well, it emphasizes the importance of open educational resources and collaboration efforts at the institution level to share digital resources to eliminate the digital divide and digital literacy issues.

The University Instructors' Opinions About Emergency Remote Education in Turkey

The computer science (CS) unplugged approach intends to teach CS concepts and computational thinking skills without employing any digital tools. The current study conducted a systematic literature ...

Computer Science Unplugged: A Systematic Literature Review:

There has been a growing interest to integrate “coding education” into K-12 curriculum in recent years. Teachers play a major role in this integration process, and in order for it to be successful, they should have strong sense of efficacy. Hence, the primary purpose of this chapter was to examine the self-efficacy skills that teachers should possess for effective coding education. In addition, teachers’ opinions about the benefits and potential barriers of coding education were investigated. Convergent parallel mixed-method design was employed to address research questions. Participants of the study consisted of two independent groups of samples with 15 and 272 participants, respectively. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected concurrently through a series of semi-structured interviews and the application of an online survey form. Results revealed six main self-efficacy skills themes: content knowledge, personal characteristics, motivating students, pedagogical knowledge, classroom management, and material development. Furthermore, findings suggested that the most significant challenges experienced during coding education were infrastructure-related problems, lack of resources, and inadequate teacher skills. The present findings have important implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to deliver effective and efficient coding education.

Self-Efficacy to Teach Coding in K-12 Education

Usability is an important term for systems related to learning and teaching because usability issues can negatively affect student achievement. The aim of this study is to investigate the usability of a specific online examination system, OSSI, which is used by a public university for midterm and final exams. Researchers examined mean differences between System Usability Scale (SUS) scores of students from different departments with different usage frequencies. Usability issues were investigated by gathering students’ ideas. Both quantitative and qualitative data procedures were employed. Quantitative data were analyzed through analysis of variance, while content analysis was applied to qualitative data. Scores showed no statistical mean difference between usage frequencies but did show a statistically significant mean difference between CEIT and other two departments. Qualitative analysis revealed the importance of screen size, placement of buttons, question formatting, and other screen elements. The results of this study contribute to the design and development of OSSI and other online examination systems.

Investigation of Usage Frequency and Department on Usability Issues with the Online Examination System (OSSI)

The main purpose of this study is to understand the satisfaction level of students to teach the basics ofprogramming in 3D virtual worlds and investigate the factors affecting their satisfaction. Multiple casestudy with three cases were conducted in three different educational programs: as curricular (Case-1),extra-curricular (Case-2) and after-school (Case-3). Satisfaction scale adopted from previous study wasused to understand current level of satisfaction and semi-structured interviews were conducted withparticipants to reveal factors affecting satisfaction. Descriptive analysis of quantitative data showed thatthat the most satisfied students were those from Case-1 (M = 4.35), Case-3 (M = 4.28) and Case-2(M = 3.99), respectively. Single case analysis of qualitative data revealed the factors increasing anddecreasing satisfaction of the students. Apart from the story about the tasks, group study, objectconstruction, having tasks, off-task activities, 3D environment and tour in the environment emerged asan increasing factor across all three cases at different ratios. Technical problems, studying alone,difficulty of the tasks, and avatar-related problems were the factors stated by some of the students acrossall cases as decreasing factors. Cross-case analysis provided a table which shows the similarities anddifferences among the cases.

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Ali Battal

Papers

Computer Science Unplugged: A Systematic Literature Review:

The University Instructors' Opinions About Emergency Remote Education in Turkey

Self-Efficacy to Teach Coding in K-12 Education

Investigation of Usage Frequency and Department on Usability Issues with the Online Examination System (OSSI)

Investigating the Factors Affecting Students’ Satisfaction in a Programming Course Designed in 3D Virtual Worlds