Binbin Zheng

Wikis and Collaborative Learning in Higher Education.

While collaborative learning and collaborative writing can be of great value to student learning, the implementation of a technology-supported collaborative learning environment is a challenge. With their built-in features for supporting collaborative writing and social communication, wikis are a promising platform for collaborative learning; however, wiki-supported collaborative learning cannot function without an effective learning design. This article highlights theory and prior research on wiki use in education and uses a design-based approach to develop strategies for using wikis to support collaborative learning in a classroom environment. In order to explore and refine these strategies, an iterative, design-based research method is used to create wiki-supported collaborative classroom activities. The authors discuss the design approach as it relates to wikis and consider the strategies that develop over four design iterations, including suggestions for learning community management, inquiry-based topic selection, teacher scaffolding, student evaluation and supporting wiki technology with other social media. This study demonstrates that while wikis can be a tool for post-secondary collaborative learning, appropriate pedagogical supports are required for successful implementation.

Learning in One-to-One Laptop Environments: A Meta-Analysis and Research Synthesis

Over the past decade, the number of one-to-one laptop programs in schools has steadily increased. Despite the growth of such programs, there is little consensus about whether they contribute to improved educational outcomes. This article reviews 65 journal articles and 31 doctoral dissertations published from January 2001 to May 2015 to examine the effect of one-to-one laptop programs on teaching and learning in K–12 schools. A meta-analysis of 10 studies examines the impact of laptop programs on students’ academic achievement, finding significantly positive average effect sizes in English, writing, mathematics, and science. In addition, the article summarizes the impact of laptop programs on more general teaching and learning processes and perceptions as reported in these studies, again noting generally positive findings.

Balancing the One-to-One Equation: Equity and Access in Three Laptop Programs.

Seeking to improve teaching and learning and to narrow gaps between students of high and low socioeconomic status, many school districts in the United States are implementing one-to-one laptop programs. In this comparative case study, we examine one-to-one laptop programs in Colorado, California, and Alabama, all of which deployed low-cost netbook computers and open source software with the aim of enhancing digital participation and increasing educational equity. In spite of overlapping goals, the projects had very different outcomes. We analyze the roots and implications of these differences.

DIGITAL WRITING AND DIVERSITY: THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL LAPTOP PROGRAMS ON LITERACY PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES*

Over the last decade, the number of one-to-one laptop programs in U.S. schools has steadily increased. Though technology advocates believe that such programs can assist student writing, there has been little systematic evidence for this claim, and even less focused on technology use by at-risk learners. This study examined the effect of daily access to laptops on the writing outcomes and processes of 2,158 upper elementary students in two school districts, and the effect among diverse students. In a California district, students showed improved English language arts achievement in both a partial laptop program year and a full laptop program year. In a Colorado district, overall writing test score gains were not statistically significant; however in both districts, at-risk student groups (i.e., Hispanics and low-income learners) showed significant gains. In addition, survey results, interviews, and observations indicate that at-risk learners used the laptops more frequently than their counterparts at school for a variety of learning purposes. This study suggests that well-planned use of laptops and digital media can help diverse learners improve their literacy processes and outcomes.

Laptops and Inspired Writing

Can daily access to laptop computers help students become better writers? Are such programs affordable? Evidence from the Inspired Writing program in Littleton Public Schools, Colorado, USA, provides a resounding yes to both questions. The program employs student netbooks, open-source software, cloud computing, and social media to help students in grades 5 through 10 develop their skills and identities as writers, all at a total hardware and software cost of less than

One-to-one laptops in K-12 classrooms: voices of students

280 per student. Students use these tools to learn about diverse genres and write in them for authentic purposes and audiences.

Wiki-Based Collaborative Learning Activity Design: A Case Study

In planning educational technology initiatives, the concerns of many stakeholders are typically taken into account, including the concerns of administrators, teachers, parents, and employers. The perspective of students are recognized as valuable, but not often queried or considered. This paper explores the opinions of K-12 students about a one-to-one laptop programme implementation through content analysis of 362 blog postings made by these students expressing their thoughts on the topic at three time points in two years. Employing a bottom-up coding strategy, this paper identified seven themes that represented students’ opinion of technology use in schools: more efficient and productive learning, tools for better writing, access to information, engagement with new media, remaining relevant in a technological world, share and learn from peers, and individualized and differentiated instruction. This study suggested that, when new technology tools are used in schools, students should not only be viewed as learners but also be considered as real writers with valuable opinions. Students also should be provided the opportunity to write for an authentic purpose and audience using diverse forms of digital media.

Chinese Language Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology and Instructional Use of Technology: A Path Analysis:

As a collaborative social tool in web2.0 ear, Wiki has a great potential in supporting learnerspsila collaborative learning. After analyzing the present Wiki research on learning activity, this paper focus on undertaking a case study of using Wiki in a collaborative learning activity, proposes activity design of the wiki activity, then provides some findings on the transformation of studentspsila performance and teacherpsilas role, finally proposes conclusion of this activity and discussion about difficulties faced in present research and aspects that need to be improved in similar further activities.

Language Development and Epistemic Engagement Among Upper Elementary Students in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication:

This study examined internal and external factors affecting pedagogical use of technology among 47 K–12 Chinese language teachers in the United States. Path analysis of the survey data was used to examine the relationships between the teachers’ instructional use of technology, on the one hand, and on the other, their perceptions of three internal factors (i.e., technology’s usefulness, its ease of use, and subjective norms) and one external factor (i.e., facilitating conditions). The results showed that these teachers’ pedagogical use of technology could be predicted by two of the three internal factors (i.e., perceived usefulness and subjective norms) and by the external factor. Additionally, the external factor was found to have a significant influence on both perceived ease of use and subjective norms.

Participation, interaction, and academic achievement in an online discussion environment

This study examined the synchronous computer-mediated communication of 48 fifth-grade students and their teachers in a public school for large numbers of English learners during a school year. We collected all participants’ discussion threads in the first 2 months and last 2 months of the year-long activity. Students’ language complexity was assessed through descriptive statistics and content analysis of student posts. In addition, an epistemic engagement framework using a combination of top-down and bottom-up coding schemes was developed to further examine students’ collaborative engagement in knowledge construction. The results suggest that well-designed online synchronous computer-mediated communication among linguistically diverse upper elementary students is related to increased complexity in language use and sophistication in interaction.