[pt] As tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TICs) vêm avançando de forma continuada e se amalgamando à cultura de uma grande parcela da juventude mundial, inclusive a brasileira. Nessa pesquisa, citamos o processo pelo qual está passando os espaços de ensino-aprendizagem, do qual, aos poucos, estão acolhendo a demanda desse público-alvo, de jovens estudantes, que desejam estar conectados durante suas atividades escolares. Contudo, muitos games com suas habilidades e competências têm contribuído para o aprendizado e podem cumprir muitas tarefas, inclusive a de reaproximar estudantes que estejam desestimulados com o ensino do dia-a-dia. A sociedade, por sua vez, vem acompanhando esse processo e, nesse documento, apresentamos um histórico de como evoluímos com os games desde os arcades até chegarem aos celulares. Como consequência dessa evolução tecnológica, há uma profusão de títulos de games para os dispositivos móveis, muitos deles educativos, o que vem de encontro com a necessidade de crianças e jovens em idade escolar. Em seguida, apresentamos um estudo dos artifícios que fazem desses games tão atrativos a esse público. Com todo esse subsídio, a pesquisa propõe a formatação de uma taxonomia para games educativos, a fim de oferecer subsídios para que alunos, seus pais e professores tenham facilidade em identificar games que possam contribuir para o seu aprendizado. / [en] Information and communication technologies have been consistently moving forward and impacting a segment of the youth population across cultures, including Brazil. In this research paper we examine the transformations occurring in the field of education, both from a teaching and a learning perspective. These two arenas have gradually been taking on current demands from their target audience, the youth, who desire to stay connected while performing their typical school work. As a result, many educational games emphasizing particular skills contribute to learning and can end up playing a number of roles, one of wich is to reengage demotivated students in their day to day learning activities. Meanwhile, society as a whole has been paralleling this transformation. This paper presents a history of the evolution of games, from the arcades to the latest cell phone platforms, and how the myriad of mobile educational games has been meeting the academic needs of school age children. We present a closer look at the tools and devices that make them so attractive to this particular age segment of the population. Our research proposes the implamentation of taxonomy exclusively of educational games, aiming to facilitate their identification of games that contribute to learning for students and their parents and teachers.

5 ABSTRACT The diploma thesis deals with the topic of digital education at primary school and its acceptance among pupils. The project is an inspiring attempt to link formal and informal education in the learning process. This study has become an inspiration for making digital teaching more effective and developing digital literacy for primary school pupils. The theoretical part is divided into three main chapters, which deal with the area of cognitive development of early school age children, digital education and digital technologies used in teaching. The knowledge from the professional literature in the theoretical part is the basis for the practical part, which through the creation of two educational geolocation games researches the development of individual digital competencies on a sample of two classes. The aim of this work is to find out how digital literacy and its individual competences can be developed in the primary school with respect to the age and cognitive development of pupils. On the basis of qualitative research in the form of observation, field notes and recording sheets, it was possible to analyze the basic level of development of individual digital competencies at elementary schools. The output is a description and evaluation of the possibility of development of digital literacy and...

This thesis sought to address the management challenges of using ICT in advancing secondary school administration in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Despite the Kenyan government taking an initiative towards transforming her education sector to be ICT compliant, much emphasis has been laid on the pedagogical aspect at the expense of managerial and administrative functions. This study sought to investigate the underlying challenges in the use of ICT in secondary school administration. A mixed mode method was used in which both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. The target population comprised 18 principals and 54 teachers; inclusive of two heads of departments and one computer teacher in each school. Sampling was done using the purposive technique. Structured and semi-structured questionnaires, administrative documents and face-to-face interviews were used. The principals responded to questionnaire one whereas the HoDs and ICT teachers responded to questionnaire two and three respectively. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. The findings from the literature review and the empirical study attest that; a) The government in its ICT policy formulation has not adequately defined the roles and responsibilities of various key actors in education for tangible integration. b) A relatively high number of principals (41.2%) and HoDs (36.1%) had only undergone ICT training at informal levels despite their attendance to ICT integration courses in school administration. c) ICT integration in school administration saved time for easy monitoring and evaluation of the school programmes. The conclusion was that vivid ICT policy framework, school administrators and teachers’ ICT training play a crucial role in the integration of ICT in schools’ administrative functions. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

ICT (Information Communication Technology) has enormous potential to positively impact educational institutions in developing countries. This thesis presents the results of a five month participatory study conducted in Bushenyi, Uganda on the impact ICT and ICT training had on a local primary school. This research specifically investigated the benefits and the problems associated with ICT in education, as well as, the impact of culture, training methods and research methodology.

ICT (Information Communication Technology) has enormous potential to positively impact educational institutions in developing countries. This thesis presents the results of a five month participatory study conducted in Bushenyi, Uganda on the impact ICT and ICT training had on a local primary school. This research specifically investigated the benefits and the problems associated with ICT in education, as well as, the impact of culture, training methods and research methodology.

This thesis sought to address the management challenges of using ICT in advancing secondary school administration in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Despite the Kenyan government taking an initiative towards transforming her education sector to be ICT compliant, much emphasis has been laid on the pedagogical aspect at the expense of managerial and administrative functions. This study sought to investigate the underlying challenges in the use of ICT in secondary school administration. A mixed mode method was used in which both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. The target population comprised 18 principals and 54 teachers; inclusive of two heads of departments and one computer teacher in each school. Sampling was done using the purposive technique. Structured and semi-structured questionnaires, administrative documents and face-to-face interviews were used. The principals responded to questionnaire one whereas the HoDs and ICT teachers responded to questionnaire two and three respectively. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. The findings from the literature review and the empirical study attest that; a) The government in its ICT policy formulation has not adequately defined the roles and responsibilities of various key actors in education for tangible integration. b) A relatively high number of principals (41.2%) and HoDs (36.1%) had only undergone ICT training at informal levels despite their attendance to ICT integration courses in school administration. c) ICT integration in school administration saved time for easy monitoring and evaluation of the school programmes. The conclusion was that vivid ICT policy framework, school administrators and teachers’ ICT training play a crucial role in the integration of ICT in schools’ administrative functions. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

Mobile learning has developed into an essential component within the education landscape and, with two billion users worldwide, the social media platform WhatsApp has become a prominent feature in this domain. Nevertheless, with ambiguity in the literature about the effects of WhatsApp on teaching and learning and especially a paucity of research measuring collaboration on WhatsApp in relation to students’ academic achievement. The purpose of the study was to explain and predict WhatsApp’s effect on academic achievement using a quantitative questionnaire. The results suggest that increased collaboration on WhatsApp may improve academic achievement. Additionally, improving other aspects, such as active learning, trust, support, formality, interaction and interdependence, may enhance collaboration and, in turn, improve academic achievement. The study has value by providing measurable scientific evidence about the effects of WhatsApp on learning that can be incorporated into the design of teaching and learning activities with WhatsApp to improve academic achievement. / Uhlelo lokufunda uhamba (Mobile learning) selikhule ladlondlobala laba yisigaba esibalulekile ngaphansi komkhakha wemfundo kanti, lolu hlelo selunabasebenzisi abangamabhiliyoni amabili emhlabeni wonke jikelele, uhlelo lwenkundla yezokuxhumana komphakathi lwe-WhatsApp seluyinkanyezi egqamile kulesi sizinda. Yize-kunjalo, kukhona okungacaci kahle mayelana nombhalo wobuciko kwimiphumela yohlelo lwe-WhatsApp mayelana nokufundisa kanye nokufunda, kanti ikakhulu, uhlelo lwezocwaningo olulinganisa izinga lokusebenzisana kohlelo lwe-WhatsApp okumayelana nokuphumelela kwabafundi kwizifundo zabo. Inhloso yalolu cwaningo kwaye kuwukuchaza kanye nokuhlahla umphumela wohlelo lwe-WhatsApp kwezemfundo, ngokusebenzisa uhlelo locwaningo lwemibuzo egxile kumanani (quantitative questionnaire) . Imiphumela iphakamisa ukuthi izinga lokusbenzisana ohlelweni lwe-WhatsApp lungathuthukisa umphumela wezemfundo. Ngaphezu kwalokho, lungathuthukisa ezinye izinhlaka, ezinjengohlelo lokufunda olumatasa. Lungaletha ukwethembana, ukuxhasana, ukwenza izinto ngendlela esemthethweni, lungaletha ukuxoxisana kanye nokusebenzisana kwangaphakathi, lungaqinisa ukusebenzisana, kanti ngakolunye uhlangothi, lungaletha impumelelo kwezemfundo. Ucwaningo lubalulekile ngoba lunikeza ubufakazi bezesayensi obulinganisekayo mayelana nemithelela yohlelo lwe-WhatsApp ohlelweni lokufunda, okuwuhlelo olungafakwa ngaphansi kohlelo lokudizayina imisebenzi yohlelo lokufunda nokufundisa ku-WhatsApp ukuthuthukisa ukwenza ngcono imiphumela yezemfundo. / Mobiele leer het in ’n noodsaaklike komponent van die onderwyslandskap ontwikkel en met twee miljard gebruikers wêreldwyd, het die sosiale mediaplatform WhatsApp ’n prominente kenmerk van hierdie domein geword. Nogtans bestaan daar dubbelsinnigheid in die letterkunde oor die uitwerking van WhatsApp op onderrig en leer, en is daar veral ’n gebrek aan navorsing wat die samewerking op WhatsApp in verhouding tot die studente se akademiese prestasies meet. Die doel van hierdie studie was om WhatsApp se uitwerking op akademiese prestasie aan die hand van ’n kwantitatiewe vraelys te verduidelik en te voorspel. Die resultate stel voor dat ’n groter mate van samewerking op WhatsApp akademiese prestasie kan verbeter. Dit kan ook ander aspekte soos aktiewe leer, vertroue, ondersteuning, formaliteit, interaksie en onderlinge afhanklikheid verbeter en kan samewerking verhoog, wat op sy beurt akademiese prestasie kan verbeter. Die studie is waardevol in die sin dat dit meetbare, wetenskaplike bewyse oor die uitwerking van WhatsApp op leer verskaf het, wat by die ontwerp van onderrig- en leeraktiwiteite geïnkorporeer kan word om akademiese prestasie te verbeter. / School of Computing / M. Tech. (Information Technology)