The power of feedback.

Despite increases in computer access and technology training, technology is not being used to support the kinds of instruction believed to be most powerful. In this paper, we examine technology integration through the lens of the teacher as an agent of change: What are the necessary characteristics, or qualities, that enable teachers to leverage technology resources as meaningful pedagogical tools? To answer this question, we discuss the literature related to four variables of teacher change: knowledge, self-efficacy, pedagogical beliefs, and subject and school culture. Specifically, we propose that teachers’ mindsets must change to include the idea that “teaching is not effective without the appropriate use of information and communication technologies (ICT) resources to facilitate student learning.” Implications are discussed in terms of both teacher education and professional development programs. (Keywords: teacher change, teacher knowledge, teacher beliefs, technology integration)

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Teacher Technology Change: How Knowledge, Confidence, Beliefs, and Culture Intersect

The purpose of this research was to explore teaching and learning when mobile computing devices, such as cellphones and smartphones, were implemented in higher education. This paper presents a portion of the findings on students' perceptions of learning with mobile computing devices and the roles social media played. This qualitative research study focused on students from three universities across the US. The students' teachers had been integrating mobile computing devices, such as cellphones and smartphones, into their courses for at least two semesters. Data were collected through student focus group interviews. Two specific themes emerged from the interview data: (a) advantages of mobile computing devices for student learning and (b) frustrations from learning with mobile computing devices. Mobile computing devices and the use of social media created opportunities for interaction, provided opportunities for collaboration, as well as allowed students to engage in content creation and communication using social media and Web 2.0 tools with the assistance of constant connectivity.

Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media

Mobile devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants, and mobile phones have become a learning tool with great potential in both classrooms and outdoor learning. Although there have been qualitative analyses of the use of mobile devices in education, systematic quantitative analyses of the effects of mobile-integrated education are lacking. This study performed a meta-analysis and research synthesis of the effects of integrated mobile devices in teaching and learning, in which 110 experimental and quasiexperimental journal articles published during the period 1993-2013 were coded and analyzed. Overall, there was a moderate mean effect size of 0.523 for the application of mobile devices to education. The effect sizes of moderator variables were analyzed and the advantages and disadvantages of mobile learning in different levels of moderator variables were synthesized based on content analyses of individual studies. The results of this study and their implications for both research and practice are discussed. This is a meta-analysis and research synthesis study for mobile-integrated education.110 published journal articles that were written over a 20-year period were coded and analyzed.The application of mobile devices to education has a moderate mean effect size.The effect sizes of moderator variables were analyzed.The benefits and drawbacks of mobile learning were synthesized.

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The effects of integrating mobile devices with teaching and learning on students' learning performance

Informal science is a burgeoning field that operates across a broad range of venues and envisages learning outcomes for individuals, schools, families, and society. The evidence base that describes informal science, its promise, and effects is informed by a range of disciplines and perspectives, including field-based research, visitor studies, and psychological and anthropological studies of learning. Learning Science in Informal Environments draws together disparate literatures, synthesizes the state of knowledge, and articulates a common framework for the next generation of research on learning science in informal environments across a life span. Contributors include recognized experts in a range of disciplines--research and evaluation, exhibit designers, program developers, and educators. They also have experience in a range of settings--museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, state parks, and botanical gardens. Learning Science in Informal Environments is an invaluable guide for program and exhibit designers, evaluators, staff of science-rich informal learning institutions and community-based organizations, scientists interested in educational outreach, federal science agency education staff, and K-12 science educators.

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Learning science in informal environments : people, places, and pursuits

/pdf/linking-data-and-learning-the-grow-network-study-summary-46tphx05ts.pdf

Linking Data and Learning - The Grow Network Study: Summary Report.

During the last decade, standards, assessments, and accountability have emerged as three prongs of a national education reform movement that has asked district and school administrators to think very differently about educational decision making and the use of data. However, research about data-driven decision making is limited, especially concerning teachers. This article describes findings from a 2-year exploratory study that examined how educators within the New York City public school system are using data-made available to teachers through the print- and Web-based reporting systems of the Grow Network-to inform decisions about teaching and learning. In this article, we summarize what we learned about the specific ways in which teachers and administrators make use of the Grow Reports® to inform educational practices.

Linking Data and Learning: The Grow Network Study

Using survey data, the authors examined the relationship between intensity (as opposed to duration) of a technology-focused professional development program and specific participant characteristics in predicting successful outcomes. The four participant characteristics chosen were: teachers’ feelings of preparedness to support student technology use, teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness of creating technology-based projects with students, teachers’ perceptions of the relevance of the pedagogical approaches emphasized, and teachers’ prior use of featured software. Two outcomes were defined: (1) Use of new software applications/technology skills and (2) implementation of new technology-rich lessons. Analyses indicated different combinations of personal characteristics predicted each outcome. In addition, intensity of the program only predicted the latter outcome. Implications of this research are discussed within the framework of the professional development literature.

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Factors Influencing Outcomes from a Technology-Focused Professional Development Program

With the continuing decline in costs of technology, programs are proliferating worldwide to put networked laptop computers into the hands of millions of students on a routine basis. The reasons policy-makers support these programs are based on economic arguments, equity concerns, and widespread interest in education reform. Studies of laptop programs in schools report that they increase students' engagement in school, improve technology skills, and have positive effects on students' writing. However, evidence of the effectiveness of large-scale laptop programs in other learning domains is scarce. Research in many nations suggests that laptop programs will be most successful as part of balanced, comprehensive initiatives that address changes in education goals, curricula, teacher training, and assessment.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/323/5910/82.full.pdf

Laptop Programs for Students

The research on which this paper is based has been funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. REC 03356653. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the staff of the NSF evaluation framework project and other colleagues – Cornelia Brunner, Juliette Heinze, Hannah Nudell, and Luz Ruvas. This paper is based on a presentation made at the Wingspread Conference on Linking Data and Learning, October, 2005.

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Daniel Light

Papers

Linking Data and Learning - The Grow Network Study: Summary Report.

Linking Data and Learning: The Grow Network Study

Factors Influencing Outcomes from a Technology-Focused Professional Development Program

Laptop Programs for Students

A Theoretical Framework for Data-Driven Decision Making