This research study investigated the professional development of teachers as they integrate learning technologies into classroom practice. In particular, the study was concerned with the specific role of the learning technology coordinator in this professional development process. The views of classroom teachers were sought concerning factors in their professional development which they found useful together with the relevance of the role of the learning technology coordinator. So too, the views of the learning technology coordinators and principals were sought regarding effective professional development as teachers integrate learning technologies into classroom practice. Two processes were used to ascertain these views. Focus groups and interviews were conducted at the LaTTiCE (Learning and Teaching Technologies in Catholic Education) and Navigator schools. The Navigator and LaTTiCE school were specially funded pilot schools for the integration of learning technologies into classrooms. These technology rich schools provided detailed data from a specific group of people. A survey was also sent to randomly selected primary schools in Melbourne to see if similar responses would be gained from the general population of schools less privileged in terms of learning technologies and the associated professional development. Analysis of this data led to some important insights related to the professional development of teachers as they integrate learning technologies into classroom practice and to the specific role of the learning technology coordinator in this process. This study found that the main reason why teachers integrated learning technologies into classroom practice was to benefit their students and to improve their own skill levels. The important factors in the professional development of teachers integrating technology were that it was collaborative, embedded in practice, ongoing over time, had the support of the principal and was supported by a learning technology coordinator. This study focused on the role of the learning technology coordinator and found that the most important aspect of this role was related to the professional development of teachers and the coordination of the school’s technology program. These findings led to recommendations that priority be given to funding at a system level for a school based learning technology coordinator to be appointed in each primary school and that principals provide for this coordinator to focus on the professional development of teachers integrating technology into classroom practice.

As technologies for learning become increasingly available in K-12 schools, the role and responsibilities of campus principals continue to evolve. Incorporating technologies in schools requires shifts in practices, the development of new skills, and in some cases, changes in the mindset of stakeholders. Schools should be capable of absorbing the knowledge and creating the systemic structures required for the implementation ICTs. The purpose of this study was to research the principals' perspective to lead the implementation of ICTs for learning in public schools. As campus leaders, principals are increasingly required to support the utilization of ICTs for classroom instruction. It is of particular importance, therefore, to study and explore the needs school principals identify to lead the implementation of technologies for learning. More specifically, the goal was to gather relevant data to analyze topics that campus principals believe positively and negatively influence the implementation of ICTs in schools.

This dissertation explored the cost and value of 1:1 computing programs in high schools in Texas. The study examines whether the total cost of ownership of these programs can be justified by the student testing gains and graduation rates. It investigates whether student learning outcomes show a definable correlation between positive gains and the implementation of 1:1 computing programs. The study also explores whether there is a measurable return on investment of 1:1 programs based on testing gains and graduation rates. The research used the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness exam scores to validate assumptions and test the hypothesis. The study found no clear link between the addition of 1:1 computing programs and the realms of student success. While there is marginal improvement in student outcomes, there is only circumstantial evidence that laptops and devices are the catalysts for the change. The dissertation also found that the total cost of ownership (TCO) is a significant portion of the district's spending, costing millions of dollars, and that the financial disclosure and budget information data was either missing, incomplete, or over-generalized, causing an issue for assessing program effectiveness or ROI. Despite this lack of transparency, there is a slight positive ROI trend based on the data reviewed during the observation period.

The thesis reports on the evaluation of a digital information literacy program (DILP) to determine the program’s effectiveness in enhancing students’ digital information literacy skills. The program was originally designed and developed for the South African student, as member of Generation Y, but was adapted to suit the demographics and characteristics of Generation Z. New learning technologies were incorporated to enhance students’ learning experience. One of the characteristics of information literacy programs that illustrate best practice is the evaluation of the program itself to judge it’s effectiveness and validate the program as a learning tool. A review of the literature confirmed the paucity of the evaluation of such programs using assessment of student learning through outcomes assessment instruments, based on information literacy competency standards, designed with proven validity and reliability. The literature review found no evidence of the evaluation of the effectiveness of such programs through meaningful assessment of student learning using outcomes assessment in South Africa. For these reasons, the evaluation of the DILP was undertaken. To evaluate the effectiveness of the DILP, a non-randomised quasi-experimental research design, focusing on a single-group pre-test/post-test design which incorporated a combined quantitative and qualitative research approach was used. The primary research instrument was a pre- and post-test. A group of students, belonging to Generation Y and Z, completed a pre-test, worked through the DILP and completed a post-test. Telephonic and e-mail interviews were used to collect further data. The statistical analysis is presented by using descriptive statistics (stacked bar charts for the quantitative data and pie charts for the qualitative data). Inferential statistics were used to reach conclusions beyond the immediate data presented in the charts. The final step was to judge the overall effectiveness of the DILP. The difference between the means was statistically significant, indicating that the DILP was effective in enhancing the digital information literacy skills of students. Based on this research, additional research could be the evaluation of a DILP designed specifically for “digital natives”; the development of online outcomes assessment instruments for web-based tutorials with proven validity and reliability and research in the area of integrating emerging learning technologies with such programs, evaluating their effectiveness. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Mokyme plačiai naudojami informatikos mokslo pasiekimai, ryšiams tarp mokytojo ir besimokančiojo palaikyti yra naudojamos naujausios telekomunikacijų priemonės, taip pat vis svarbesnis tampa nuotolinis mokymas. E. mokymasis yra orientuotas į besimokantįjį, suteikia jam galimybę pasiekti mokomąją medžiagą bet kuriuo metu ir bet kurioje vietoje, kur tik prieinamas interneto ryšys, o taip pat pakeičia ir mokytojo vaidmenį. Technologijos iš esmės keičia tradicinį mokymosi būdą ir plačiai jas pradėjus naudoti švietime esminiu rodikliu, tobulinant pedagogų profesinio rengimo sistemą, tampa mokytojų bei dėstytojų technologinės kompetencijos. Pedagogai, kuriems trūksta žinių, kaip naudotis technologijomis, pristabdo inovatyvių mokymosi metodų plėtrą bei inovacijų pateikimą besimokantiesiems. Šiai problemai spręsti sukurtas savivaldaus mokytojų mokymosi modelis virtualioje erdvėje, kuris padės realizuoti turimas technologines žinias, efektyviai organizuoti mokymosi procesą, bei labiau įtraukti mokinius į inovatyvių mokymosi metodų naudojimo procesą, naudojant nuotolinio mokymosi technologijas. / The teachers training field in Lithuania’s education system is not really design for today needs because quickly evolving information and communication technologies are changing the teaching and learning situation. Recently the documents about education systems improvement of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania documents focuses attention on the teacher. The younger generation's future directly depends from the teacher, so there is a need to raise the prestige of the teaching profession, improve teacher training and to diversify their qualifications. There are many innovative computer technologies applied in the educational process which expands learning opportunities and transforms the traditional learning into e. learning which makes learning process more accessible, attractive and individualized, but not many teachers in Lithuania knows how to take the best of it. The self-directed teachers learning model in virtual space is implemented in the virtual learning environment Moodle supplemented with social networks interactions and synchronous communication which ensures convenient and smooth communication and collaboration. Also it gives opportunity to easier gather information on a specific topic or for a particular purpose. Using the model, teachers will be able to include emerging and constantly evolving ICT to the training process and will be able to apply not only traditional but also blended and distance learning methods and techniques in... [to full text]

The thesis reports on the evaluation of a digital information literacy program (DILP) to determine the program’s effectiveness in enhancing students’ digital information literacy skills. The program was originally designed and developed for the South African student, as member of Generation Y, but was adapted to suit the demographics and characteristics of Generation Z. New learning technologies were incorporated to enhance students’ learning experience. One of the characteristics of information literacy programs that illustrate best practice is the evaluation of the program itself to judge it’s effectiveness and validate the program as a learning tool. A review of the literature confirmed the paucity of the evaluation of such programs using assessment of student learning through outcomes assessment instruments, based on information literacy competency standards, designed with proven validity and reliability. The literature review found no evidence of the evaluation of the effectiveness of such programs through meaningful assessment of student learning using outcomes assessment in South Africa. For these reasons, the evaluation of the DILP was undertaken. To evaluate the effectiveness of the DILP, a non-randomised quasi-experimental research design, focusing on a single-group pre-test/post-test design which incorporated a combined quantitative and qualitative research approach was used. The primary research instrument was a pre- and post-test. A group of students, belonging to Generation Y and Z, completed a pre-test, worked through the DILP and completed a post-test. Telephonic and e-mail interviews were used to collect further data. The statistical analysis is presented by using descriptive statistics (stacked bar charts for the quantitative data and pie charts for the qualitative data). Inferential statistics were used to reach conclusions beyond the immediate data presented in the charts. The final step was to judge the overall effectiveness of the DILP. The difference between the means was statistically significant, indicating that the DILP was effective in enhancing the digital information literacy skills of students. Based on this research, additional research could be the evaluation of a DILP designed specifically for “digital natives”; the development of online outcomes assessment instruments for web-based tutorials with proven validity and reliability and research in the area of integrating emerging learning technologies with such programs, evaluating their effectiveness. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

La creatividad es una habilidad de especial interés para el desarrollo humano dado que es una de las dimensiones que permite al individuo y en última instancia a la sociedad enfrentarse a nuevos problemas y retos de forma satisfactoria. Además de entender la creatividad como una serie de factores relativos al individuo creativo, debe tenerse en cuenta que el grado de motivación intrínseca, el entorno y otros factores sociales pueden tener un efecto relevante sobre el desarrollo de esta importante habilidad, por lo que resulta de interés explorarla en el contexto de utilización de tecnologías de la información. En particular, dado que los procesos comunicativos, el intercambio de ideas y la interacción colaborativa entre individuos son un pilar fundamental en los procesos creativos, y también que en gran medida todas ellas son características mayormente facilitadas por las mesas interactivas, una de las principales contribuciones de esta tesis consiste precisamente en la exploración de la idoneidad de las superficies interactivas en tareas creativas colaborativas de construcción en estudiantes adolescentes. Partiendo del estudio realizado, que aporta evidencia empírica acerca de la adecuación de las superficies interactivas como tecnología de potencial para el fomento de la creatividad, esta tesis presenta AGORAS: un middleware para la construcción de ecosistemas de juegos 2D para mesas interactivas, y cuya idea final es entender actividades de aprendizaje más enriquecedoras como aquellas que permiten la propia creación de juegos y su posterior consumo. En el contexto de esta tesis también se ha desarrollado un toolkit básico para construcción de interfaces de usuario para superficies interactivas, se ha desarrollado un modelo de ecosistema basado en entidades que son simulables de acuerdo a leyes físicas; y se ha dotado al modelo de aproximación basada en reglas de comportamiento enriquecidas con expresiones dataflows y de su correspondiente editor para superficies. / Catalá Bolós, A. (2012). AGORAS: Augmented Generation of Reactive Ambients on Surfaces. Towards educational places for action, discussion and reflection to support creative learning on interactive surfaces [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/16695 / Palancia

Beginning in 2000 and continuing today, the University of North Carolina (UNC) German Consortium offers online German courses to undergraduate students across sixteen of the seventeen UNC public universities. The delivery of online classes differs per faculty member and little previous research investigated the UNC German Consortium's learning technologies. This dissertation investigates the evolution of learning technologies within the UNC German Consortium over the last sixteen years among German faculty from different UNC public universities. Seven faculty and one administrator shared their experiences through interviews. The methodology for this research was hermeneutic phenomenology. Interviewees shared their experiences with learning technology and teaching in the UNC German Consortium including how learning technologies changed over time. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to deduce themes. Themes included the importance of the North Carolina Research Education Network (NC REN) for teaching German online, an asynchronous versus synchronous debate, how professors taught in synchronous courses, the importance of learning management systems (LMS) systems, the resilient characteristics of UNC German Consortium faculty, and the need for continual learning as an instructor.

[pt] O presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a percepção dos alunos dos cursos de Administração, de cinco Universidades particulares de ensino superior do estado do Rio de Janeiro, acerca do investimento destas universidades nas tendências acadêmicas apontadas para os próximos anos, de acordo com o relatório anual de 2017, da New Media Consortium em parceria com a EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, a saber: i) tecnologias de aprendizagem adaptativa; ii) Mobile Learning; iii) Internet das Coisas e iv) ambiente de aprendizagem virtual. Na análise dos dados, cada tendência foi dividida em duas sub-tendências. Este trabalho teve como objetivo secundário, avaliar o quanto estas tendências são consideradas importantes para seu principal público-alvo. Sendo assim, pudemos concluir que na percepção de tal público, as IES pesquisadas (PUC, UFRJ, UVA, UCAM e UNESA) têm investido pouco nestas novas tendências acadêmicas, sendo a PUC a que mais investe nas quatro tendências citadas acima. Apenas uma sub-tendência dentro de tecnologias de aprendizagem adaptativa e outra dentro de ambiente de aprendizagem virtual ficaram com percepção média acima de razoável, no quesito investimento, ambas associadas à PUC. No entanto, os alunos da PUC foram os que avaliaram a grande maioria das tendências como de menor importância quando comparados aos alunos das outras IES. Apesar disto, a média de avaliação de importância das tendências foi de razoável a muito importante. Enfatiza-se que novas pesquisas sejam feitas constantemente, visto que novas tecnologias de aprendizagem, que substituem as anteriores, estão surgindo com frequência. / [en] The present study had as a primary objective analyze the perception of students from business courses of 5 private universities of higher education in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about the investment of these universities in the academic trends pointed out for the next years, based on the annual report of the New Media Consortium in partnership with the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. These trends are: i) adaptive learning technologies; ii) mobile learning; iii) internet of things and iv) virtual learning environment. In the data analysis, each trend was divided into two sub-trends. As a secondary objective, this study aims to evaluate how much these trends are considered important for its main target audience. Thus, we could conclude that in the perception of such public, the universities surveyed (PUC, UFRJ, UVA, UCAM and UNESA) have invested little in these new academic trends, with PUC being the one investing most in the four trends mentioned above. Only one sub-trend within adaptive learning technologies and another within virtual learning environment were perceived to be above average as reasonable in terms of investment, both associated with PUC. However, PUC students were those who evaluated the great majority of trends as less important when compared to the students of other universities. Despite this, the average valuation of trends importance was from reasonable to very important. It is emphasized that new research needs constantly being done, as new learning technologies, which replace the previous ones, are emerging frequently.

Актуальность темы исследования. Интенсификация процессов глобализации, переход многих стран к цифровой экономике и усиливающиеся процессы информатизации и цифровизации набирают оборот и ведут к стремительному развитию информационно-коммуникационных технологий. Иная практика диалога и взаимодействия участников образовательного процесса, приобретающая опосредованный характер, и смена поколенческого состава образовательного процесса ведут к смене образовательной парадигмы и требуют принципиально новых креативных подходов к пониманию и реализации образовательной деятельности. Объектом исследования являются современные технологии онлайн обучения, используемые при обучении иностранным языкам и их дидактический потенциал применительно к обучению РКИ. Предметом исследования является виртуальная образовательная языковая среда для обучения русскому языку как иностранному. Цель исследования заключается в создании научно-методической разработки уроков РКИ для курса «Руслан и Людмила», которая наглядно продемонстрирует лингводидактический потенциал интерактивной платфор-мы и системы управления обучением Edvibe (ранее ProgressMe) в контексте обучения РКИ на уровнях А1-В2. Для достижения поставленной цели были сформулированы следующие задачи: рассмотреть понятие «педагогическая технология» и существующие информационно-коммуникационные технологии как новейшие средства реализации образовательной деятельности; исследовать происходящие трансформации в социальной и экономической сферах общества и их влияние на осуществление образовательного процесса и обучение иностранным языкам; обобщить результаты существующих исследований в области дистанционного обучения и онлайн-обучения РКИ, а также рассмотреть особенности существующих дистанционных обучающих средств обучения РКИ; рассмотреть феномен виртуальной образовательной среды и понятие «система управления обучением», а также проанализировать содержательные, дидактические, организационные, и технологические особенности платформы Edvibe как системы управления обучением; разработать характеры персонажей онлайн курса «Руслан и Людмила», а также визуализировать их в компьютерной графике; создать пять методических разработок в рамках онлайн курса «Руслан и Людмила» для разных этапов обучения РКИ с целью демонстрации лингводидактического потенциала и возможностей платформы Edvibe как системы управления обучением. В процессе решения поставленных задач были сделаны следующие выводы: 1) цифровизация информационной и образовательной среды есть ни что иное как часть общего процесса технологического развития, который несет в себе новые возможности для обучения РКИ, развития электронной лингводидактики и образовательного сектора в целом; 2) цифровые технологии обучения иностранным языкам в наибольшей степени способны реализовать лингводидактический потенциал в дистанционной форме организации учебного процесса; 3) онлайн-обучение русскому языку как иностранному – это совершенно другая, новая концепция обучения, отличающаяся от привычных аудиторных уроков; 4) исследованы содержательные, дидактические, организационные и технологические особенности платформы Edvibe, разработанные уроки для разных этапов обучения РКИ демонстрируют значительный лингводидактический потенциал платформы и ее практическую значимость в преподавании русского как иностранного. / The relevance of the research topic. The intensification of globalization processes, the transition of many countries to a digital economy and the increasing processes of informatization and digitalization are gaining momentum and are leading to the rapid development of information and communication technologies. A different practice of dialogue and interaction between participants in the educational process, which is acquiring an indirect character, and a change in the generational composition of the educational process leads to a change in the educational paradigm and require fundamentally new creative approaches to understanding and implementing educational activities. The object of the study is modern online learning technologies used in teaching foreign languages and their didactic potential in relation to teaching Russian as a foreign language. The subject of the research is a virtual educational language environment for teaching Russian as a foreign language. The purpose of the study is to create a scientific and methodological development of Russian as a foreign language lessons for the Ruslan and Lyudmila course, which will clearly demonstrate the linguodidactic potential of the interactive platform and learning management system Edvibe (formerly ProgressMe) in the context of teaching Russian as a foreign language at levels A1-B2. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were formulated: to consider the concept of "pedagogical technology" and existing information and communication technologies as the latest means of implementing educational activities; to explore ongoing transformations in the social and economic spheres of society and their impact on the implementation of the educational process and teaching foreign languages; to summarize the results of existing research in the field of distance learning and online learning of Russian as a foreign language, as well as to consider the features of existing distance learning tools for teaching Russian as a foreign language; consider the phenomenon of a virtual educational environment and the concept of "learning management system", as well as analyze the content, didactic, organizational, and technological features of the Edvibe platform as a learning management system; develop the characters of the online course "Ruslan and Lyudmila", as well as visualize them in computer graphics; create five methodological developments within the online course "Ruslan and Lyudmila" for different stages of teaching Russian as a foreign language in order to demonstrate the linguodidactic potential and capabilities of the Edvibe platform as a learning management system. In the process of solving the tasks set, the following conclusions were made: 1) digitalization of the information and educational environment is nothing more than part of the overall process of technological development, which brings new opportunities for teaching Russian as a foreign language, the development of electronic linguodidactics and the educational sector as a whole; 2) digital technologies for teaching foreign languages are most capable of realizing the linguodidactic potential in a remote form of organizing the educational process; 3) online teaching of Russian as a foreign language is a completely different, new concept of learning, different from the usual classroom lessons; 4) the content, didactic, organizational and technological features of the Edvibe platform were studied, the developed lessons for different stages of teaching Russian as a foreign language demonstrate the significant linguodidactic potential of the platform and its practical significance in teaching Russian as a foreign language.