In the education process, students face problems with understanding due to the complexity, necessity of abstract thinking and concepts. More and more educational centres around the world have started to introduce powerful new technology-based tools that help meet the needs of the diverse student population. Over the last several years, virtual reality (VR) has moved from being the purview of gaming to professional development. It plays an important role in teaching process, providing an interesting and engaging way of acquiring information. What follows is an overview of the big trend, opportunities and concerns associated with VR in education. We present new opportunities in VR and put together the most interesting, recent virtual reality applications used in education in relation to several education areas such as general, engineering and health-related education. Additionally, this survey contributes by presenting methods for creating scenarios and different approaches for testing and validation. Lastly, we conclude and discuss future directions of VR and its potential to improve the learning experience.

https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/10/10/318/pdf

Virtual Reality and Its Applications in Education: Survey

Business operations are undergoing drastic changes due to the disruptive effects of technology innovations; however, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the acceptability and consequences of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in the education sector. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study explores the readiness of the education sector for 4IR. We adopted face-to-face semi-structured interviews to explore the views of 33 key stakeholders in the education sector, to understand the readiness and acceptability of 4IR in the sector. Findings show that the education sector, especially in Africa, is unprepared for 4IR, although there are indications for opportunities to harness the potential of the much-anticipated 4IR. Moreover, our study demonstrates a mutual symbiotic relationship between the education sector and technology innovations. The findings show that 4IR can facilitate students’ learning experience and transforms the workplace, although there is a need to assess the learning environment, to understand the facilitators and barriers to 4IR diffusion. The findings indicate the opportunity for the education sector to harness the innovations associated with 4IR through research and teaching to enhance learners’ experience; however, this may require a significant improvement in education curricula, as well as investments. The findings contribute to the theory and practice of technology in education and the limited literature on 4IR in the education sector, particularly in Africa.

Innovations in Teaching and Learning: Exploring the Perceptions of the Education Sector on the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR)

First-year students are compelled by South African universities to use the Moodle e-learning management platform. Recent studies outline that this creates challenges during the learning process, since students struggle to use Moodle owing to their disadvantaged school background; however, they are familiar with and good at using the WhatsApp social media platform. While these studies have attempted to provide possible solutions, there is a need for an alternative option. This qualitative case study proposes alternatives and the possible use of WhatsApp to supplement Moodle, depending on the personal needs of the student. Twenty five first-year students doing Physical science education modules were purposively and conveniently sampled, and the data generated from semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion, and emailed reflective activities were thematically coded to produce a theory of e-learning platforms. Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) theory was used to direct the study and make sense of the data. The findings revealed that a personal e-learning platform which has been neglected in the past could be used to improve e-learning. It also revealed that while students only had the option of using a formal e-learning platform (Moodle), they would prefer to use their more familiar informal e-learning platform (WhatsApp). The study concludes that without considering the use of a personal e-learning platform that blends both Moodle and WhatsApp, the problem might be further escalated.

Is Moodle or WhatsApp the preferred e-learning platform at a South African university? First-year students’ experiences

In this article, we consider the benefits and challenges of enacting creativity in the K-12 context and examine educational policy with regard to twenty-first century learning and technology. Creativity is widely considered to be a key construct for twenty-first century education. In this article, we review the literature on creativity relevant to education and technology to reveal some of the complex considerations that need to be addressed within educational policy. We then review how creativity emerges, or fails to emerge, in six national education policy contexts: Australia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, and the U.S. We also locate the connections, or lack of, between creativity and technology within those contexts. While the discussion is limited to these nations, the implications strongly point to the need for a coherent and coordinated approach to creating greater clarity with regards to the rhetoric and reality of how creativity and technology are currently enacted in educational policy.

Creativity and Technology in Education: An International Perspective

Baglantici dijital teknolojiler 21. yuzyilda yasamin tum alanlarinda derin etkilere neden olmaktadir. Bu durum yasadigimiz cagin otesinde bir caga - dijital caga – eristigimizin bir gostergesidir. Bu yeni cagda bireylerin toplum icinde etkin bir sekilde rol alabilmeleri icin yeniden tasarlanmasi gereken alanlardan biri de egitimdir. Sanayi caginin sartlari ve gereklilikleri uzerine kurulu okul paradigmasi 21. yuzyilda ogrenenlerin ihtiyac ve isteklerini karsilamada eksik kalmaktadir. Gunumuzde ortaya cikan baglantici dijital teknolojiler ve bu teknolojilerin tetikledigi acik egitim kaynaklari (open educational resources), kitlesel acik cevrimici dersler (massive online open courses) ve ogrenme analitikleri gibi  yenilikci egitim uygulamalari sanayi devriminden kalma ogrenme surec ve yapilarini derinden etkilemektedir. Bu nedenle, yeni bir egitim paradigmasi gelistirilmesine ihtiyac duyulmaktadir. Sozu edilen yenilikci egitim uygulamalari, yeni cevrimici sosyal platformlarda yapilandirilmamis (informal) ve zenginlestirilmis ogrenme deneyimleri saglayarak ogrenmenin geleneksel egitim kurumlarinin disina tasinmasina imkan tanimaktadir. Ayrica bu yenilikler ogreneni zaman sinirlarindan kurtarmakta ve ogrenenler hem bilgiye ersme hem de sosyal etkilesim ve isbirligi yoluyla bilgi insa etme firsati elde etmektedir. Icinde yasadigimiz cag yuksekogretim acisindan koklu degisim sancilarina ve firsatlara gebedir. Bu nedenle, egitimle ilgilenen politika ureticiler ve yoneticiler baglantici dijital teknolojilerin egitim alani baglaminda sagladigi firsatlari ve surunlari degerlendirerek yuksekogretime dair katma degeri yuksek politikalar ve uygulamalar gelistirmelidir. Bu makalede yuksekogretime iliskin ogrenen, ogreten, ogrenme ortamlari ve yonetim boyutlarinin baglantici dijital teknolojilerden nasil etkilendigi ele alinacak ve sonuc olarak bu cagda daha iyi isleyebilmesi acisindan yuksekogretim icin yol haritasi onerilecektir.

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Higher Education in The Digital Age: The Impact of Digital Connective Technologies

Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America

Barriers and pathways to use extended reality in stem classrooms: perspectives of key stakeholders

This causal-comparative study explored the effects of risk factors—family status, parental marital status, family income, and parent education level—on Belizean adolescents’ academic behaviors and grit (passion and perseverance in goal achievement) following prolonged absence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected online using a demographic survey, the Grit-S Scale (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009), coupled with eight additional items to measure academic behaviors (attendance, preparedness, attention, note-taking, participation, organization, use of out-of-school time, and homework completion and submission) for success (Farrington et al., 2012) from secondary and tertiary students in Belize. With rare exception, Belizean education took place in person before the pandemic. This changed to remote teaching and learning during the pandemic. Findings showed that adolescents from the defined risk factor of single-parent households experienced greater declines across all eight academic behaviors. Additionally, this effect was more pronounced for adolescents who experienced the loss of a parent from divorce or death of a parent. For grit, there were two key outcomes: (a) adolescents from nuclear and higher income families had slightly higher levels of grit;and (b) adolescents from parents with lower educational attainment had significantly higher levels of grit than their peers. Based on these findings, recommendations include more study of schools that invest in becoming trauma responsive when evaluating engagement and performance during prolonged absences. Future research should assess adolescents’ level of academic behaviors, grit, and other noncognitive factors. © 2022 The Author(s).

Frank C. Gomez

Papers

Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America

Barriers and pathways to use extended reality in stem classrooms: perspectives of key stakeholders

Effects of Risk Factors on Belizean Adolescents’ Academic Behaviors and Grit after Prolonged Absence During the COVID-19 Pandemic