Ugur Kale

Teaching style, ICT experience and teachers' attitudes toward teaching with Web 2.0

Emphasis on 21st Century Skills development has increased expectations on teachers to take advantages of emerging technologies to support student learning. Yet it is not clear whether teachers are well equipped with the necessary skills, support, and positive attitudes toward integrating them in their practices. Even though student-centered teachers are considered receptive to collaborative technologies and likely to use technology meaningfully in teaching, to what extent teaching style influences their Web 2.0 adaption requires further investigation. This study attempts to identify K12 teachers’ attitudes toward the use of Web 2.0 technologies in their teaching. 161 teachers from eight middle and high schools in both rural and urban locations of West Virginia participated in this cross sectional survey study. Overall, the findings indicate that while teachers are fairly proficient in their computer and internet skills and have fairly high computer self-efficacy, their workload and a structured and standardized curriculum were inhibitors of Web 2.0 adoption. Age, self-efficacy, workload, and views about Web 2.0 in teaching were observed to be significant factors predicting teachers’ likelihood to find Web 2.0 appealing for teaching. Teaching style was not a significant predictor. The findings suggest infrastructural improvements, workload adjustments, and increased professional development opportunities allowing teachers to observe, discuss, and practice Web 2.0 technologies in their particular disciplines.

Past Research in Instructional Technology: Results of a Content Analysis of Empirical Studies Published in Three Prominent Instructional Technology Journals from the Year 2000 through 2004

This article reviews and categorizes empirical studies related to instructional technology that were published in three prominent journals: Educational Technology Research and Development, Instructional Science, and the Journal of Educational Computing Research from the year 2000 through 2004. Four questions guided this review: 1) What instructional technology research topics have been conducted? How do these topics fluctuate over the five years? 2) What types of research methods have been applied? How do these research methods fluctuate over the five years? 3) What data collection methods are prevalent in instructional technology research? How do these data collection methods fluctuate over the five years? and 4) In what settings have instructional technology research been conducted? How do these settings fluctuate over the five years? Based on these findings, we discuss current research trends and possible implications for which future research in instructional technology research can take.

Can they plan to teach with Web 2.0? Future teachers’ potential use of the emerging web

This study examined pre-service teachers’ potential use of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching. A coding scheme incorporating the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework guided the analysis of pre-service teachers’ Web 2.0-enhanced learning activity descriptions. The results indicated that while pre-service teachers were able to consider various Web 2.0 tools for teaching, the technologies regularly used in their programmes and observed at their placement schools seemed to influence their choice. Although the majority of the pre-service teachers lacked the knowledge to relate the affordances of Web 2.0 to teaching particular content, 3D-Exploring tools were more intuitive to designing learning activities across a range of subjects. The findings highlighted the importance of content-specific teaching strategies and modelling activities when assisting future teachers’ technology integration efforts.

Pre-Service Teachers' and Teacher-Educators' Experiences and Attitudes toward Using Social Networking Sites for Collaborative Learning.

Extensive use of social networking sites by students and teachers makes educators and researchers to think whether they can be incorporated in instructional process to facilitate students’ learning. This survey-based study records and examines Pakistani pre-service teachers’ and teacher-educators’ current uses of Facebook, and their attitudes toward using Facebook for collaborative learning, and to see if there is a significant relationship between participants’ intensity of Facebook use and their attitude toward instructional use of Facebook. Results of the study indicated that pre-service teachers’ and teacher-educators’ motives for their current Facebook use are mainly limited for social purposes. Pre-service teachers’ use of Facebook is more intensified than the use of Facebook by teacher-educators. Further, pre-service teachers showed more positive attitudes toward using Facebook for collaborative learning than the attitudes of their faculty. Findings also indicated a positive relationship between participants’ Facebook intensity and their attitudes toward its use for collaborative learning.

The urban–rural gap: project-based learning with Web 2.0 among West Virginian teachers

To overcome the digital divide in West Virginia, schools are urged to integrate emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as Web 2.0 and alternative pedagogies to develop students’ twenty-first-century skills. Yet, the potential effects of the digital divide on technology integration have not necessarily been part of planning for professional development programmes. As a first step to identify the potential digital divide between rural and urban school settings, this study examined West Virginian teachers’ Web 2.0 access levels – namely, motivation, physical, skills and usage accesses. Analysis of the survey responses from 161 teachers suggested that the divide persisted at physical and usage access levels, signifying teachers’ unique needs and conditions for the use of emerging technologies. While teachers’ usage access was observed to be a significant factor for their Web 2.0-associated project-based learning, attending professional development programmes seemed to minimally benefit such practices.

From Print to Digital Platforms: A PBL Framework for Fostering Multimedia Competencies and Consciousness in Traditional Journalism Education.

The project-based learning (PBL) approach closely reflects the tenets of journalism and provides a potential pedagogical guide for transforming traditional journalism education. This study operationalizes and applies a PBL framework in digitizing a print journalism course. The findings illustrate how the presence of seven key elements of PBL enhanced the quality and experience of student learning, and increased multimedia consciousness and competencies. Providing choices minimized cultural resistance and cultivated ownership and accountability to the student projects, fostering collaboration and critical thinking. Weaker students expressed greater need for a more structured pedagogy.

Structuring Video Cases to Support Future Teachers' Problem Solving

Abstract This study examined preservice teachers’ problem-solving skills through the use of an online video case study. Eighty preservice teachers participated in the study with a three-level video presentation by a two-grade-level between-subjects factorial design. The study incorporates a content analysis framework to examine both the components and the levels of teaching knowledge elicited during a problem-solving activity. The findings provided explanations for preservice teachers’ ability to use their teaching knowledge in video-based problem solving. The elementary education preservice teachers generated pedagogical and content solutions at a higher level than the secondary education preservice teachers. This paper also discusses findings and implications.

Development of an instrument to measure Faculty’s information and communication technology access (FICTA)

The phenomenon of “digital divide” is complex and multidimensional, extending beyond issues of physical access. The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure a range of factors related to digital divide among higher education faculty and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Faculty’s Information and Communication Technology Access (FICTA) scale was tested and validated with 322 faculty teaching in public and private sector universities. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation confirmed an 8-factor solution corresponding to various dimensions of ICT access. The 57-item FICTA scale demonstrated good psychometric properties and offers researchers a tool to examine faculty’s access to ICT at four levels – motivational, physical, skills, and usage access.