Yoram Eshet-Alkalai

Changes over time in digital literacy.

The current study is a follow-up on the 2002 empirical study by Eshet-Alkalai and Amichai-Hamburger, which investigated digital literacy skills among different age groups. This study explores changes through time in digital literacy among the same participants 5 years later, and their performance is compared to new matched control groups. Results indicate an improvement over time among all age groups, but especially for the adults, in the tasks that require proficiency and technical control in using technology (e.g., photovisual and branching literacy skills). On the other hand, results indicate a drop in the skills that require creative and critical thinking (e.g., information and reproduction literacy skills), especially for the younger participants. Results show two major patterns of change over time: (a) closing the gap between younger and older participants in the tasks that emphasize proficiency and technical control and (b) widening the gap between younger and older participants in tasks that emphasize creativity and critical thinking. Based on the comparison with the matched control groups, we suggest that experience with technology, and not age, accounts for the observed lifelong changes in digital literacy skills.

You Can Teach Old Dogs New Tricks: The Factors That Affect Changes over Time in Digital Literacy

The expansion of digital technologies and the rapid changes they undergo through time face users with new cognitive, social, and ergonomic challenges that they need to master in order to perform effectively. In recent years, following empirical reports on performance differences between different age-groups, there is a debate in the research literature concerning the nature of these differences: whether they reflect age-related cognitive abilities of the users, or that they are related to the usability and experience of users with the technologies. This study attempts to establish whether changes in digital literacy, through a period of five years, are age-dependent or the result of experience with technology. The study is based on empirical findings from two independent studies of Eshet-Alkalai & Amichai-Hamburger (2004), which investigated digital literacy skills among different age groups, and of Eshet-Alkalai and Chajut (2009), which investigated changes over time in these digital literacy skills among the same participants five years later. In order to distinguish between the age-related and the experiencerelated factors, the present study reports on findings from control groups of a similar age and demographic background, which were tested with tasks similar to Eshet-Alkalai & Chajut (2009). Results show two major patterns of change over time: (1) closing the gap between younger and older participants in tasks that emphasize experience and technical control (photo-visual and branching tasks); (2) widening the gap between younger and older participants in tasks that emphasize creativity and critical thinking (reproduction and information tasks). Based on the results from the control groups, we suggest that experience with technology, and not age-dependent cognitive development, accounts for the observed life-long changes in digital literacy skills. Results, especially the sharp decrease in information skills, suggest that the ability to find information or use digital environments does not guarantee an educated or smart use of digital environments.

The effect of format on performance: Editing text in print versus digital formats

In light of the present-day proliferation of digital texts and the increase in situations that require active digital text reading in learning, it is becoming increasingly important to shed light on the comparison between print and digital reading under active reading conditions. In this study, the active reading abilities of 93 university students (83% females) were examined. Participants were asked to read, edit, recognize errors and improve the quality of short papers (600 words each) on the topic of environmental awareness, in both print and in digital formats. Surprisingly, and in contrast to many recent reports about print versus digital reading, no significant differences were found between the performances of participants in the two formats. Similarly, no significant differences were found for all categories of text errors as well as for gender. It was found that the digital readers completed their tasks faster than the print readers but their performance was not lower. Results of this study have important implications for the current debate in higher education concerning the use of digital text for learning and for designing, reviewing and editing academic works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the medium affect the message? The effect of congruent versus incongruent display on critical reading

With the expansion of digital information resources and the increasing amount of books and articles that are available online, people frequently read texts in incongruent reading conditions. That is, text, which was designed to be read from paper, is read online, and vice versa. This study investigated the effect of incongruent reading conditions on critical reading. A group of 80 11th graders were asked to read news items in congruent and in incongruent reading situations. Results show a negative effect of incongruent reading, in which text is converted from one display to another without adjustment. The effect was strongest for reading from a computer screen text that was designed to be read in print. Findings demonstrate the importance of format-specific text design, and suggest that universities, information repositories and other text providers should consider format adjustments in making their texts accessible for readers.

Back to the Future: An Historical Perspective on the Pendulum-Like Changes in Literacy

This article focuses on the pendulum-like change in the way people read and use text, which was triggered by the introduction of new reading and writing technologies in human history. The paper argues that textual features, which characterized the ancient pre-print writing culture, disappeared with the establishment of the modern-day print culture and has been “revived” in the digital post-modern era. This claim is based on the analysis of four cases which demonstrate this textual-pendulum swing: (1) The swing from concrete iconic-graphic representation of letters and words in the ancient alphabet to abstract phonetic representation of text in modern eras, and from written abstract computer commands “back” to the concrete iconic representation in graphic user interfaces of the digital era; (2) The swing from scroll reading in the pre-print era to page or book reading in the print era and “back” to scroll reading in the digital era; (3) The swing from a low level of authorship in the pre-print era to a strong authorship perception in the print era, and “back” to a low degree of authorship in the digital era; (4) The swing from synchronic representation of text in both visual and audio formats during the pre-print era to a visual representation only in print, and “back” to a synchronic representation in many environments of the digital era. We suggest that the print culture, which is usually considered the natural and preferred textual environment, should be regarded as the exception.

TPACK Revisited: A Systemic Perspective on Measures for Predicting Effective Integration of Innovative Technologies in School Systems

TPACK (Technology Pedagogy Content Knowledge) is currently considered one of the most useful frameworks for describing the types of knowledge that teachers should master in integrating technologies effectively in their teaching. According to the TPACK framework, these types of knowledge consist of technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), and content knowledge (CK). This article suggests improving the authenticity and the holistic nature of the TPACK framework by (a) adding a new aspect (the affective aspect, which involves teachers’ attitudes toward change) and (b) elaborating on the systemic-organizational aspect (associated with the teachers’ perception of school as a learning organization) and the cognitive aspect (related to the cognitive skills required for effective use of educational technologies), which are not discussed in enough detail in TPACK.

The ethical dissonance in digital and non-digital learning environments

This paper explores the rapidly-expanding phenomenon of technology-based academic dishonesty (AD). One hundred and twenty seven 7th graders received scenarios of AD, based on Pavelas (1997) framework of AD types (i.e. cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, and facilitation), in digital and non-digital settings. Participants reported on the pervasiveness of AD types in their class and on the perception of their legitimacy. The Ethical Dissonance Index (EDI) is calculated as the difference between the pervasiveness and the legitimacy of AD types. The ethical dissonance that learners experience when conducting academic dishonesty behaviors is expressed by the consistent findings, that the pervasiveness of all dishonesty types was significantly higher than the perception of their legitimacy. These findings indicate that students conduct AD despite its perception as unethical. In the digital setting, plagiarism is the most common type of AD, perceived as the most legitimate, and characterized by the greatest EDI. In the non-digital setting, cheating and fabrication are the most common types of AD, perceived as the most legitimate, and characterized by the greatest EDI. Educational implications and suggestions for further research are discussed. We compare digital vs. non-digital cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, facilitation.Ethical Dissonance is found between the dishonesty pervasiveness and legitimacy.The pervasiveness of dishonesty is higher than the perception of its legitimacy.Plagiarism is the most common and legitimate type of digital academic dishonesty.Cheating and fabrication are the most common and legitimate non-digital dishonesty.

Cheating and Feeling Honest: Committing and Punishing Analog versus Digital Academic Dishonesty Behaviors in Higher Education.

Editor: Janice Whatley An earlier, shorter version of this paper was presented at the Chais conference 2016, in Raanana, Israel, and included in Y. Eshet-Alkalai, I. Blau, A. Caspi, N. Geri, Y. Kalman, & V. Silber-Varod (Eds.), Proceedings of the 11th Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies 2016: Learning in the Technological Era. Raanana: The Open University of Israel. Cheating and Feeling Honest: Committing and Punishing Analog versus Digital Academic Dishonesty Behaviors in Higher Education

A Decade of Chais Conferences: Introduction to the "IJELL" Special Series of Chais Conference 2015 Best Papers.

The seventh issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELLformerly Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects IJELLO) special series includes a selection of best papers presented at the 10 Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Technological Era. The Chais conference 2015 was held at The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel, on February 10-11, 2015, and was organized by its Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies. This preface presents the mission and activities of the Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies at the Open University of Israel. It describes the objectives and themes of the Chais conference 2015, explains the special series synergies with IJELL and the Informing Science Institute, chronicles the topics that have been published in the series, and introduces the papers included in this special selection.

Analyzing the Discourse of Chais Conferences for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies via a Data-Driven Approach.

The current rapid technological changes confront researchers of learning technologies with the challenge of evaluating them, predicting trends, and improving their adoption and diffusion. This study utilizes a data-driven discourse analysis approach, namely culturomics, to investigate changes over time in the research of learning technologies. The patterns and changes were examined on a corpus of articles published over the past decade (2006-2014) in the proceedings of Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies – the leading research conference on learning technologies in Israel. The interesting findings of the exhaustive process of analyzing all the words in the corpus were that the most commonly used terms (e.g., pupil, teacher, student) and the most commonly used phrases (e.g., face-to-face) in the field of learning technologies reflect a pedagogical rather than a technological aspect of learning technologies. The study also demonstrates two cases of change over time in prominent themes, such as “Facebook” and “the National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) program”. Methodologically, this research demonstrates the effectiveness of a data-driven approach for identifying discourse trends over time.