George S. Ioannidis

Assessing children's understanding of basic time concepts through multimedia software

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of the computer with multimedia software in assessing the perception of the basic time concepts by children. Special multimedia software was developed, using a high level language which simulated standard time perception tests. A random sample of 374 school and pre-school age (4-11 years old) children was used in the comparative study divided into two balanced groups. Results indicated superiority in childrens judgements when multimedia software was used. This superiority was most pronounced in experiments that involved motion or action. A positive correlation between age and comprehension was detected. The subjects sex or parents occupation did no seem to make an appreciable difference. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of the applicability of computer multimedia technology, in the area of assessing the concept of time in children.

Energy concept taught using ICT

A new curriculum together with a novel educational software was designed and developed to teach the physical concept of energy. The software design has been previously discussed while the educational trial to examine the suitability of this new material followed. In this educational trial, 3 groups of students of various age participated. Experimental Group A was taught the subject with the aid of the novel software, experimental group B was taught the same curriculum without the use of the software, while group C served as control group and had not followed any special teaching except the one provided by the conventional education at school. In the present study a comparison will be made between the results obtained from the experimental group and those of the control group. The study focuses, therefore, on how well the newly developed curriculum (-as contained in the new software) prepares the students on the subjects taught and tested, and whether or not this teaching is more successful than the conventional one.

Assessing the Learning Process Playing with Kahoot – A Study with Upper Secondary School Pupils Learning Electrical Circuits

The present study investigates the extent to which the popular game-based online platform of Kahoot can be used as a creative and effective tool in the teaching practice and specifically in the teaching of basic concepts of electric circuits. A comparative study was conducted for this reason with two groups of 67 learners in total, where the experimental group participated in the design of their own questions within the framework of formative assessment with the use of Kahoot, whereas the second group followed a traditional way for their assessment. According to the results, the integration of Kahoot in the teaching process improved learners’ understanding of certain concepts on electric circuits, enhanced their active participation in the lesson, motivated them towards learning and constituted a creative and fun-tool to use for teaching purposes.

The Effect of Switching the Order of Experimental Teaching in the Study of Simple Gravity Pendulum – A Study with Junior High-school Learners

The present study focuses on the educational value of lab work while teaching and learning Physics. Specifically, it investigates and compares the learning outcomes between three different experimental groups, in the study of the Simple Gravity Pendulum in the lower secondary school, using a sample of 61 students aged 14-15. The first group comprising 25 students practiced first on virtual and then on real lab, while the second group of 24, first on real and then on virtual lab (change of order in the tasks).An additional third group, involving 12 students, used sensors and data loggers during experimental practice. The educationally optimum order of use of such labs is investigated herein. The learners exploited the capabilities of the lab equipment, in that they themselves designed, constructed, and analysed the simple gravity pendulum. The focus in the teaching and learning of the pendulum was on examining subject relevance in the context of everyday applications, the independency of the period from the mass of the bob, or the amplitude, and the dependence of the period from the pendulum length, and the local acceleration of gravity. The research tools used were a stabilised questionnaire, with 16 closed-type questions and 7 questions asking for a justifying answer, in addition to a semi-structured interview. Data were taken and were appropriately analysed and compared, and conclusions are presented herein. The results confirmed that concerning some teaching objectives, learners’ understanding is positively affected by the order the real and the virtual labs are used in teaching. This result applies when addressing this age-group, and when teaching the simple gravity pendulum

Enhancing and assisting laboratory teaching of electrical circuits using ICT: An evaluation of educational software

The present study aimed at the evaluation and comparison of two example of educational software by Vocational School students - namely of Edison 5 and of Crocodile Technology 3D 6.1.0. Both these software packages can be used not only for the teaching of Vocational School speciality third grade courses but also for the teaching of the physics courses at Junior and Senior High Schools, as well as for those of the first and second grades of Vocational Schools. For the purpose of this evaluation, 76 participants, from a Vocational School (aged 16 to 20 years old), were asked to use them for 8 hours and in parallel with ordinary lab work to design simple electric circuits, through both of the aforementioned software packages, and through these to study circuit laws, formulate conclusions, and finally select the software they considered the most appropriate for the teaching of electric circuits. Upon completion of their tasks, students went through a closed type questionnaire, resulting to a definite choice as the most preferable and most appropriate software package for the teaching of electric circuits. The results are discussed herein and some interesting conclusions are drawn.

Data Processing, Systematic Errors, and Validity of Conclusions in Education Research

The aim of the present study is the investigation of the validity of various results in education research, due to the way these have been derived from the data taken. The use of simple statistical tools for data analysis is seen as the mail culprit, leading to results that are not supported by the quality of the data taken. The repeated use of purely statistical tools, albeit simple in execution and convenient as they really are, ignores the presence of systematic (non-statistical) measurement errors. It is precisely this failure during data analysis that very often leads to erroneous results. The non-repeatability of various experiments is thus explained, while some suggestions are offered to improve the situation.

ICT Used to Teach Geography to Primary School Children – An Alternative Teaching Approach

Nowadays a huge number of ICT-based tools such as Google Earth, Google maps, search engines, crosswords, as well as word processors, presentation software and more can be used in Geography teaching and learning. Creating school presentations containing locational sightseeing or school magazines, be they printed or electronic, referring to monuments, famous people originating from a locality, customs etc. are also tools that can be used for this purpose. The educational trial presented herein aims to: (a) encourage pupils learn geography in a more creative and interesting way; (b) to familiarize students with basic ICT skills; (c) teach students to seek and evaluate information about specific topics; (d) and perhaps more importantly show students ways to use computers for self-education. The trial took place in two different school years and the participants 42 altogether aged 10–11 years (grade E). The school was an ordinary one in the suburbs of Athens. An impromptu computer lab was setup in classroom with rudimentary networking utilising a projector. Most students were so excited that they were willing to sacrifice part of their break to create another crossword or complete a presentation. At the end of the test, most students had acquired basic skills in using general purpose software. They learned to carefully evaluate information content found on the internet and try checking its relevance to geography. This approach has also improved students’ communicative and cooperative skills.

Mobilizing the Semantic Interpreter Pythia – Teaching Engineering Students to Integrate GIS and Soil Data During In Situ Measurements

A novel mobile Semantic Interpreter Pythia (SI) has been created by codifying an equally novel model-driven expert knowledge algorithm. Integrating data from databases and automating soil profiling, it offers consolidated knowledge and provides much-needed help to engineers in situ, operating either on-or off-line. Thus, preparatory work volume is reduced, and so is uncertainty. Pythia implements an ICT-based GIS-driven model focusing on the geotechnical aspect of soil conditions, while the mobile component undertakes in situ operations under GIS-guidance, by constantly exchanging and updating data. As the first SI Pythia trials have already been successfully completed, the need for appropriate education and training of future engineers looms large.

Energy transformation in everyday devices taught to primary school children, using web-based software

A special real-life usability test was conducted, in which a number of teachers used a web-based educational software to teach energy transformations, occurring inside everyday appliances, to 230 primary school children, with the aim to study the way ordinary teachers behave when using such tools and measure their success rate in guiding pupils achieve knowledge. As the quality of the software is already proven, this qualifies as a test of its ease of use in everyday school situations. Knowledge improvement is measured and some interesting results are drawn.

The effectiveness of virtual laboratories as a contemporary teaching tool in the teaching of electric circuits in Upper High School as compared to that of real labs

The present article compares the effectiveness of virtual labs, and that of real school-labs in teaching electric circuits at Upper High-School. The 73 participating learners were divided in two groups, the group that used the virtual lab (VEL), and the group that used the real lab (REL). The data were collected using a DIRECT (v. 1.0) type questionnaire, containing 29 suitably formulated questions, clarified by oral interviews. The data analysis revealed no significant difference between the 2 groups in their conceptual understanding, regarding the basic concepts of electric circuits. Those individual differences that did appear to be significant were observed in the 3 out of 12 teaching objectives, and all were in favour of the real-lab group. All these 3 were further investigated in detail and found to relate directly to the teaching approach followed. Overall, either of the teaching approaches tested will decisively help students to develop an investigative attitude relating to everything scientific, their cooperative skills, and their ability to express important queries with clarity and precision.