While collaborative learning is universally recognised as a process of considerable pedagogical value, and the enhancement of standard application interfaces to promote collaboration has formed the subject of previous studies, the literature addressing the degree to which Multi-touch technology is used remains limited. Multi-touch, multi-mouse tools are a novel category of groupware, which can enhance learning through collaborative use of those tools. The research aim is to develop a framework and a software tool known as the Learning to Program through a Computer-Aided Collaboration (LPCAC) tool. The LPCAC is a Multi-touch software tool that enhances the learning of computer programming in university through collaborative use of this tool. Subsidary objectives are pursued in the form of research questions, with most comparatively investigating and evaluating the use of the Multi-touch tool compared to the standalone PC-based approach. University students were selected to take part in a study to measure their performance improvements using the Multi-touch tools in a collaborative environment. A two-part process was followed to analyse the difference between student collaborations using Multi-touch with multi-mouse devices cmpared to standalone PC-based system with a single mouse device. Data collection involved video recording and a questionnaire analysis. Data analysis followed an eight-step process to evaluate the process of collaborative programming, which includes an analysis of collaboration patterns, time on task, equity of participation and design quality. While the Multi-touch tool is limited in a number of ways, its multiple points of contact and the collaborative activity promote a more favourable software design process when compared to the standalone PC-based condition. Although further research is needed, this study has found that Multi-touch technology represents a promising prospect for application in teaching computer programming in educational establishments, as well as improving the software development process in the wider collaborative software development.

Social inequalities in educational attainment are widely reported despite educational reforms aimed at providing equal educational opportunities for all. Variation in attainment between different socio-economic groups is apparent in the early stages of . education, at primary level, and continues through compulsory into further and higher education. Many research studies have investigated the effects of social factors at different points in the education system but there is less research into how such influences develop throughout the school career and into adult life. Much education research now focuses on investigating educational progress and the factors that have an impact on attainment and progression throughout the education system. The research presented here has two related and equally important aims. The first is to investigate appropriate statistical modelling techniques for the analysis of education data, in particular for examining educational attainment and progress. However, progress is a dynamic concept and can only be examined using longitudinal data. The increasing availability of large scale longitudinal data, on a national basis, provides new opportunities to explore the effects of social and other factors on educational progress. Hence the second main aim of this research is to investigate the scope of national longitudinabstudies for examining the changing and developing effects of influential factors, such'as social background and school, on educational attainment and progress. The statistical modelling techniques are applied to data from one such study, the British Cohort Study of 1970, and the analyses provide a case study to illustrate how education data from longitudinal studies can be investigated. The fmdings from the analyses are compared against current and existing research in order to evaluate the potential of data from national birth cohort studies for the investigation and monitoring of socio-economic trends in educational attainment and progression.

Understanding how to develop instructional materials for distance education students is a challenging problem, but it is exacerbated when a domain is complex to teach, such as computer science. Visual representations have a history of use in computing as a means to alleviate the difficulties of learning abstract concepts. However, it is not clear whether improvements observed are as a result of improvements in the visual representations used in instructional materials or due to individual differences in students. This research examines the two themes of individual differences and visual representation in order to investigate how they collectively impact on improving instructional materials for distance education students studying computer science. It investigates the impact of different representations on learning while additionally investigating the relationship between individual differences and student learning. The research in this thesis shows that visual representations are important in designing instructional materials. In particular, texts with visual representations have the power to cue students to perceive instructional materials as easier to process and more engaging. Investigation into the impact of concrete high-imagery versus abstract low-imagery visual representations illustrated that concrete visual representations incurred fewer cognitive overheads for computer science students and were able to ameliorate the challenges of learning computing. The research in this thesis into individual differences demonstrated that Imagers did benefit more from studying instructional materials containing text with visual components. However the research indicates that appropriate selection of individual difference tests is dependent upon the application, i.e., whether the results are to be used to assess generalised tendencies or episodes in learning and whether the tests examine underlying approaches to cognition or practices in education. An underlying question was whether students studying instructional materials containing low-imagery visual representations would cope as well as those studying high-imagery ones. Accomplished learners demonstrated that they could perform as well as with those receiving high-imagery visual representations. However, studying and recalling these materials did incur more cognitive processing. This thesis argues that improving instructional materials by including appropriate visual representations is a useful basis for improving learning for distance education computer science students.

The International Conference on Informatics in Schools: Situation, Evolution and Perspectives – ISSEP – is a forum for researchers and practitioners in the area of Informatics education, both in primary and secondary schools. It provides an opportunity for educators to reflect upon the goals and objectives of this subject, its curricula and various teaching/learning paradigms and topics, possible connections to everyday life and various ways of establishing Informatics Education in schools. This conference also cares about teaching/learning materials, various forms of assessment, traditional and innovative educational research designs, Informatics’ contribution to the preparation of children for the 21st century, motivating competitions, projects and activities supporting informatics education in school.

In this article, we propose a model for an understanding process that learners can use while studying programming. We focus on the “small step” method, in which students learn only a few concepts for one program to avoid having trouble with learning programming. We also analyze the difference in the description order between several C programming textbooks on the basis of the model. We developed a tool to detect “gaps” (a lot of concepts to be learned in a program) in programming textbooks.

This article is a summary of the work carried out by the Ministry of Education in Turkey, in terms of the development of a new ICT Curriculum, together with the e-Training of teachers who will play an important role in the forthcoming pilot study. Based on recent literature on the topic, the article starts by introducing the “F@tih Project”, a national project that aims to effectively integrate technology into schools. After assessing teachers’ and students’ ICT competencies, as defined internationally, the review continues with the proposed model for the e-training of teachers. Summarizing the process of development of the new ICT curriculum, researchers underline key points of the curriculum such as dimensions, levels and competencies. Then teachers’ e-training approaches, together with selected tools, are explained in line with the importance and stages of action research that will be used throughout the pilot implementation of the curriculum and e-training process.

<p>Doktorska disertacija razvija nastavni model za elektronsko učenje preko Interneta namenjen razvoju informaciono-komunikacionih kompetencija nastavnika u osnovnim i srednjim &scaron;kolama i drugih zaposlenih u obrazovanju.</p><p>Informaciono-komunikacione kompetencije nastavnika i drugih zaposlenih u obrazovanju su veoma važne za obrazovni i ekonomski sistem i potrebno je omogućiti njihovo sticanje, unapređivanje i upotrebu u obrazovanju zbog njihovog uticaja na promenu stavova prema obrazovnoj tehnologiji.</p><p>Za potrebe doktorske disertacije urađeno je pedago&scaron;ko istraživanje u novembru 2014. godine, sa dve grupe ispitanika, kontrolnom i eksperimentalnom grupom. Istraživanje je u potpunosti sprovedeno preko veb portala: www.azomjns.com/moodle.</p><p>Uticaj predloženog nastavnog modela za e-učenje &quot;5 koraka&quot; na razvoj kompetencija kod zaposlenih u obrazovanju za kreiranje multimedijalnih prezentacija za nastavu, pokazao je bolje rezultate u odnosu na uticaj klasičnog modela za e-učenje &quot;Isporuka sadržaja&quot;.</p><p>Ponuđeni nastavni model &quot;5 koraka&quot; može se primeniti na različite uzrasne grupe i nastavne predmete &scaron;to otvara mogućnosti za dalja istraživanja.</p> / <p>The thesis develops a model of online e-Learning for improving information and communication competencies&nbsp; of teachers and other employees in primary and secondary education.</p><p>Information and communication competencies of employees in education are of great importance to the educational and economic system. We must enable their acquisition, improvement and use in education because they change attitudes towards educational technology.</p><p>For this purpose, the main pedagogical research was carried out in November 2014, with two groups of respondents: a control and an experimental group. The research was conducted entirely online through the web portal: www.azomjns.com/moodle.</p><p>The impact of the proposed &#39;5-step&#39; teaching e-learning model on the development of competencies of employees in education in creating teaching multimedia presentations showed better results than the classical model of e-learning, viz. &#39;learning by distributing&#39;.</p><p>The offered &#39;5-step&#39; teaching model can be adapted to different age groups and subjects, which opens up possibilities for further research.</p>

The increased use of technology has affected almost every aspect of how data are collected, stored, retrieved, and analyzed across the health care system. The health information management (HIM) workforce in the United States is predominantly composed of women. With HIM employment rising by 2020, additional education of the current workforce is a necessity. This qualitative phenomenological study evaluated women working with HIM associate degrees and RHIT certifications to determine their perceived need for advanced education for career advancement. This study used the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to determine how women in HIM perceive needs based on self-efficacy, expected outcomes, and goals. The research questions evaluated education type, subject matters, and ability to advance. The study recruitment process included the use of HIM online research forums resulting and narrative inquiry data collection from 22 personal interviews across 19 states in the Unites States. Colaizzi's data analysis strategy demonstrated themes of HIM education access, barriers, preparedness, and role interests. The data gathered showed need and interest in further education directly correlated to time remaining in career and role aspirations. Recommendations for further research include evaluation of advanced HIM education needs in a male population or individuals with post-graduate education. To affect positive change, dissemination of this study's findings to HIM leaders may create awareness and rationale for women to obtain technology and data related advanced education. In addition, this study may influence educational institutions to promote HIM as a field of study and fill the anticipated gap in HIM field expertise in the coming decade.

Esta pesquisa tem como foco compreender como os professores utilizam o laboratório de informática e os dispositivos móveis – notebooks, tablets e smartphones – na escola, como possíveis mediadores nas práticas pedagógicas. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo exploratório. O quadro teórico foi constituído por conceitos da teoria sociointeracionista de Vygotsky (1998), articulados ao conceito de “cibercultura” de Lévy (1999), de “cultura digital” de Lemos (2003), dentre outros. A criação do corpus de pesquisa foi realizada a partir de informações de oito entrevistas semiestruturadas, gravadas e posteriormente transcritas, com professores do Ensino Fundamental, de uma escola num município do Rio Grande do Sul. O corpus foi analisado segundo a análise textual discursiva, de Moraes e Galiazzi (2006), que se utiliza basicamente de três elementos: unitarização, categorização e comunicação. Nesse processo foram identificadas as categorias emergentes: “Laboratório de informática para a busca de informações na internet”; “Laboratório de informática para aprender conteúdos técnicos com o instrutor de informática”; “Laboratório de informática para jogos educativos orientados pelo instrutor”; “Professores que não utilizam o laboratório de informática por opção”; “Professores que não utilizam o laboratório de informática pelo atual formato técnico em que se encontra”; “Laboratório de informática utilizado para outras funções”; “Utilização dos dispositivos móveis nas aulas”; “Fatores que levam à não utilização dos dispositivos móveis” e “Falta de esclarecimento da regra de acesso ao wi-fi e de dispositivos móveis na escola”. O metatexto, com vistas a responder à pergunta de pesquisa, indica que os professores consideram o laboratório para buscas de informações na internet pelos alunos, contudo não desenvolvem práticas pedagógicas nesse espaço. Assim, os conteúdos programáticos desenvolvidos em sala de aula são desvinculados do laboratório. Apenas o instrutor de informática é responsabilizado pelas atividades didáticas, propondo uso de jogos educativos e ensinando conceitos de informática. Os resultados sugerem que há desconhecimento dos professores em como utilizar os computadores nas suas práticas. A internet da escola não tem um bom funcionamento e o atual formato do laboratório é precário, com computadores obsoletos e falta de tecnologias adequadas – cabos, tomadas, extensões –, levando ao desuso do mesmo. Considerando todos esses aspectos, as atividades pedagógicas desenvolvidas no laboratório são inadequadas para desencadear processos interativos entre os alunos. Em relação aos dispositivos móveis, estes são utilizados por alguns professores nas práticas pedagógicas para buscas de informações na internet e atividades com softwares. Suas verbalizações revelam que possuem pouco conhecimento de como esses recursos funcionam. A falta de esclarecimento quanto ao uso dos dispositivos móveis e do wi-fi na escola podem ser fatores que levam certos professores a não utilizarem smartphones, tablets e notebooks nas práticas de ensino e aprendizagem. Esses resultados sugerem a necessidade de formação para os professores, de forma que possam redimensionar suas práticas, incluindo as tecnologias digitais como elementos mediadores do processo educativo. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2017-04-13T14:29:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Amanda Souza Santos.pdf: 1450102 bytes, checksum: 63f4cbf692cc52b2cc33eb5762141eba (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-13T14:29:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Amanda Souza Santos.pdf: 1450102 bytes, checksum: 63f4cbf692cc52b2cc33eb5762141eba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES. / This research aims to understand how teachers use the computer lab and mobile devices - notebooks, tablets and smartphones - in school, as possible mediators in pedagogical practices. This is an exploratory qualitative study. The theoretical framework was constituted by Vygotsky's concepts of socio-interactionist theory (1998), articulated with Lévy's concept of cyberculture (1999), Lemos's digital culture (2003), among others. The creation of the research corpus was based on information from eight semi-structured interviews, recorded and later transcribed, with teachers from Elementary School, from a school in a city of Rio Grande do Sul. The corpus was analyzed according to the discursive textual analysis of Moraes and Galiazzi (2006), which basically uses three elements: unitarization, categorization and communication. In this process, the following categories were identified: "Computer laboratory for the search of information on the Internet"; "Computer lab to learn technical content with the computer instructor"; "Instructor-led educational games computer lab"; "Teachers who do not use the computer lab by choice"; "Teachers who do not use the computer lab because of the current technical format in which they are"; "Computer lab used for other functions"; "Use of mobile devices in classrooms"; "Factors that lead to non-use of mobile devices" and "Lack of clarification of the wi-fi and mobile device access rule at school". The metatext, in order to answer the research question, indicates that teachers consider the laboratory to search for information on the Internet by students, but do not develop pedagogical practices in this space. Thus, the syllabus developed in the classroom is disconnected from the laboratory. Only the computer instructor is responsible for the didactic activities, proposing the use of educational games and teaching computer concepts. The results suggest that teachers do not know how to use computers in their practices. The school's internet is not functioning properly and the current format of the laboratory is precarious, with obsolete computers and a lack of adequate technologies - cables, plugs, extensions -, leading to its disuse. Considering all these aspects, the pedagogical activities developed in the laboratory are inadequate to trigger interactive processes among students. In relation to mobile devices, these are used by some teachers in pedagogical practices for searching information on the internet and activities with softwares. Their verbalizations reveal that they have little knowledge of how these features work. The lack of clarification regarding the use of mobile devices and wi-fi in school can be factors that lead certain teachers not to use smartphones, tablets and notebooks in teaching and learning practices. These results suggest the need for training for teachers, so that they can re-dimension their practices, including digital technologies as mediators of the educational process.

Esta pesquisa tem como foco compreender como os professores utilizam o laboratório de informática e os dispositivos móveis – notebooks, tablets e smartphones – na escola, como possíveis mediadores nas práticas pedagógicas. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo exploratório. O quadro teórico foi constituído por conceitos da teoria sociointeracionista de Vygotsky (1998), articulados ao conceito de “cibercultura” de Lévy (1999), de “cultura digital” de Lemos (2003), dentre outros. A criação do corpus de pesquisa foi realizada a partir de informações de oito entrevistas semiestruturadas, gravadas e posteriormente transcritas, com professores do Ensino Fundamental, de uma escola num município do Rio Grande do Sul. O corpus foi analisado segundo a análise textual discursiva, de Moraes e Galiazzi (2006), que se utiliza basicamente de três elementos: unitarização, categorização e comunicação. Nesse processo foram identificadas as categorias emergentes: “Laboratório de informática para a busca de informações na internet”; “Laboratório de informática para aprender conteúdos técnicos com o instrutor de informática”; “Laboratório de informática para jogos educativos orientados pelo instrutor”; “Professores que não utilizam o laboratório de informática por opção”; “Professores que não utilizam o laboratório de informática pelo atual formato técnico em que se encontra”; “Laboratório de informática utilizado para outras funções”; “Utilização dos dispositivos móveis nas aulas”; “Fatores que levam à não utilização dos dispositivos móveis” e “Falta de esclarecimento da regra de acesso ao wi-fi e de dispositivos móveis na escola”. O metatexto, com vistas a responder à pergunta de pesquisa, indica que os professores consideram o laboratório para buscas de informações na internet pelos alunos, contudo não desenvolvem práticas pedagógicas nesse espaço. Assim, os conteúdos programáticos desenvolvidos em sala de aula são desvinculados do laboratório. Apenas o instrutor de informática é responsabilizado pelas atividades didáticas, propondo uso de jogos educativos e ensinando conceitos de informática. Os resultados sugerem que há desconhecimento dos professores em como utilizar os computadores nas suas práticas. A internet da escola não tem um bom funcionamento e o atual formato do laboratório é precário, com computadores obsoletos e falta de tecnologias adequadas – cabos, tomadas, extensões –, levando ao desuso do mesmo. Considerando todos esses aspectos, as atividades pedagógicas desenvolvidas no laboratório são inadequadas para desencadear processos interativos entre os alunos. Em relação aos dispositivos móveis, estes são utilizados por alguns professores nas práticas pedagógicas para buscas de informações na internet e atividades com softwares. Suas verbalizações revelam que possuem pouco conhecimento de como esses recursos funcionam. A falta de esclarecimento quanto ao uso dos dispositivos móveis e do wi-fi na escola podem ser fatores que levam certos professores a não utilizarem smartphones, tablets e notebooks nas práticas de ensino e aprendizagem. Esses resultados sugerem a necessidade de formação para os professores, de forma que possam redimensionar suas práticas, incluindo as tecnologias digitais como elementos mediadores do processo educativo. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES. / This research aims to understand how teachers use the computer lab and mobile devices - notebooks, tablets and smartphones - in school, as possible mediators in pedagogical practices. This is an exploratory qualitative study. The theoretical framework was constituted by Vygotsky's concepts of socio-interactionist theory (1998), articulated with Lévy's concept of cyberculture (1999), Lemos's digital culture (2003), among others. The creation of the research corpus was based on information from eight semi-structured interviews, recorded and later transcribed, with teachers from Elementary School, from a school in a city of Rio Grande do Sul. The corpus was analyzed according to the discursive textual analysis of Moraes and Galiazzi (2006), which basically uses three elements: unitarization, categorization and communication. In this process, the following categories were identified: "Computer laboratory for the search of information on the Internet"; "Computer lab to learn technical content with the computer instructor"; "Instructor-led educational games computer lab"; "Teachers who do not use the computer lab by choice"; "Teachers who do not use the computer lab because of the current technical format in which they are"; "Computer lab used for other functions"; "Use of mobile devices in classrooms"; "Factors that lead to non-use of mobile devices" and "Lack of clarification of the wi-fi and mobile device access rule at school". The metatext, in order to answer the research question, indicates that teachers consider the laboratory to search for information on the Internet by students, but do not develop pedagogical practices in this space. Thus, the syllabus developed in the classroom is disconnected from the laboratory. Only the computer instructor is responsible for the didactic activities, proposing the use of educational games and teaching computer concepts. The results suggest that teachers do not know how to use computers in their practices. The school's internet is not functioning properly and the current format of the laboratory is precarious, with obsolete computers and a lack of adequate technologies - cables, plugs, extensions -, leading to its disuse. Considering all these aspects, the pedagogical activities developed in the laboratory are inadequate to trigger interactive processes among students. In relation to mobile devices, these are used by some teachers in pedagogical practices for searching information on the internet and activities with softwares. Their verbalizations reveal that they have little knowledge of how these features work. The lack of clarification regarding the use of mobile devices and wi-fi in school can be factors that lead certain teachers not to use smartphones, tablets and notebooks in teaching and learning practices. These results suggest the need for training for teachers, so that they can re-dimension their practices, including digital technologies as mediators of the educational process.