A reflexive evaluation of technology-enhanced learning

The integration of interactive web-based learning media is essential to address challenges in teaching hydrocarbon materials at SMAN 1 Sungai Pinang. Traditional teaching methods, while effective, often lack student engagement, motivation, and interactivity. This study explores the need for digital learning tools to enhance chemistry education. A needs analysis was conducted through surveys and questionnaires to assess student and teacher perceptions regarding existing teaching methods. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed to ensure accurate data collection. The study also examined school facilities and academic challenges that impact the implementation of interactive learning. Findings indicate that well-equipped school facilities support the adoption of interactive and digital learning strategies. While traditional methods remain beneficial, a blended learning approach is necessary to optimize student engagement and academic performance. The study also highlights various academic and non-academic challenges faced by students, necessitating further support and development. Regular evaluation of teaching strategies is crucial to adapting to students' evolving needs. The study underscores the importance of interactive web-based learning media in improving teaching effectiveness and student engagement. The findings suggest that supplementing traditional methods with digital tools can enhance comprehension and motivation. This study supports the development of interactive digital learning media to complement traditional chemistry instruction. Implementing blended learning strategies can address current educational challenges, fostering a more engaging and effective learning environment.

Using online digital media is increasingly the primary form in which young people will access information and entertainment – even at the age of 3 to 4 years of age, approximately half the children in the United Kingdom now have access to a tablet device to access online content whilst almost a quarter of 8 to 11 year olds have a social media profile (Ofcom, 2017). Digital online networks have altered much of society, enabling increased access to multimedia information, interactive content and communities on both a local and global scale. When knowledge is increasingly seen as existing in networks, and learning as forming and navigating these networks, many existing aspects of education are perceived to be subject to change (Siemens, 2005; Mitra, 2006; Downes, 2012). It might be argued that the attributes of digital environments facilitate patterns of learning more appropriate for an information society that requires creativity, divergent thinking and lifelong learning, enabling an ability to adapt to the rapid changes that typify a post-industrial world (Florida, 2006; Robinson, 2010). Pupils’ immersion in digital media and online networks means they inevitably expect education to be a participative, engaging, and active environment (Dede, 2005). Moreover, evidence suggests that pupils’ motivation and attainment can be improved with the intervention of digital learning strategies (Underwood, 2009; Baytak, Tarman and Ayas, 2011; Mitra and Crawley, 2014; Education Endowment Foundation, 2018). However, digital strategies for learning have been met with criticism and a cautious reception. It has been suggested that the use of digital strategies undermines the teaching profession, making the role of the teacher increasingly obsolete whilst reducing learners to passive receptacles of information, subject to instrumental targets and assessment, which fail to develop deeper levels of understanding (Bauerlein, 2009; Oppenheimer, 2004; Carr, 2011; Selwyn, 2014). Prominent theories of digital learning are contested for failing to provide a sufficient explanation of learning and the role of human agency within the process. This chapter therefore explores whether digital learning theories, strategies and environments enhance or limit pupils’ learning and to what extent the role of the teacher is still important in learners’ development.

The change from in-person to in-home schooling and the rapid digitalization of the system impacted the access to education and the quality of the outcomes during the pandemic, but the extent to which digital measures helped school administrators to face that impact is difficult to understand without hearing from them directly. To give those who had to adapt to digital learning some voice, this report discusses the experiences of one national education policy expert, one Learning Resources Coordinator in a public school in Northern Chile, and one Technology Coordinator in an elite private school in Santiago during the process of adapting to digital learning. The goal of these semi-structured interviews was to explore the different digital learning strategies among systems and regions at the school-home level, to then compare them with the national vision and the information that official documents and Aprendo en línea provide. The interviews took place from November, 2020, to February, 2021, right between the end of Chile’s 2020 school year and the beginning of the 2021 one.
 The findings of the exploration indicate that school administrations, but also the type and position of schools within the education system, determined which digital strategy schools adopted and how successful it was. They further revealed the social disparities that prevailed by the lack of digital tools, but also new socio-educational challenges. In all, current Chilean officers stood out as the ones accountable for addressing the digital divide, which in this case can be understood as those who learned how to use digital tools (US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), 1999), and those who are learning to create them.

The study has focused on determining the impact of social media on the teaching and learning practices. The design of this study is quantitative as the data has been gathered from the students and teachers through survey questionnaire. The number of respondents were 280. The analysis was carried out on SmartPLS in which the Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used. Therefore, the data was analysed using measurement model and path assessment with reflective constructs. The results revealed that there is overall significant effect of collaboration and interaction, creativity and knowledge sharing on learning practices. On the other hand, creativity, knowledge sharing and use of SNS had significant influence over teaching practices. The study is limited to the educational practices as it determines the effect of SNS on the teaching and learning practices.

Background While numerous models propose principles for designing digital learning environments (DLEs), most remain fragmented, unifaceted, or insufficiently grounded in pedagogical theory and empirical evidence. This fragmentation has left a clear gap—a lack of an integrated, empirically based framework that unites diverse pedagogical insights into a coherent model for effective DLE design. Objectives To synthesize the findings from previous studies and offer evidence‐based pedagogical recommendations for any future course of action, this study presents a systematic review of pedagogical frameworks, models, and sets of principles for designing DLEs, culminating in the proposal of a comprehensive model. Methods The review spanned from 2010 to 2024, employing the PRISMA method to distil key insights from 42 selected articles; the quantitative phase classified the records in terms of participants, methodology, validation, scope, and comprehensiveness. The qualitative phase employed thematic analysis to explore the included studies in the first phase and discover the needed components to propose a comprehensive model. Results and Conclusions The quantitative results highlight a focus on higher education, methodological diversity, varied levels of coverage and comprehensiveness, and a significant proportion not employing robust validation methods. The qualitative synthesis resulted in the SAFE Model—comprising Situated Engagement, Aligned Curriculum, Facilitated Learning, and Empowered Learners—which integrates theoretical and empirical insights into a unified pedagogical model. The model advances theory by reconciling key theoretical tensions and supports practice by guiding educators, instructional designers, and policymakers in creating coherent, evidence‐based digital learning strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the value of digital technology – in preserving work, play and learning – at a time when physical interactions are constrained. Given the challenges involved in the sudden conscription towards digital teaching and learning, the reception of both teachers and students towards the adoption of digital technologies for home-based teaching and learning has been mixed. While appreciating the affordances of digital technologies in supporting the continuity of teaching during the lockdowns, concerns have been raised by teachers on the effectiveness of digital learning. Our chapter discusses the teacher’s use of semiotic technologies to design learning experiences for students. From the perspective of design considerations, we explore the different ways of meaning making in digital learning – in particular, how knowledge can be represented, pedagogic relations expressed and learning organised through the affordances of semiotic technologies. We do this by studying three types of semiotic technologies, namely, the ubiquitous video lectures, digital games for learning and social media, specifically in its appropriation as a learning platform. Our chapter concludes by reflecting on losses and gains in digital learning and the need for teachers to expand their pedagogical repertoire in the post-pandemic education normal.

Few studies have explored the specific internal mechanisms and links by which digital literacy impacts learning outcomes. This study investigates the complex relationship between digital literacy and learning outcomes among college students, using social cognitive theory (SCT) and structural equation modeling (SEM) as theoretical frameworks. Data were collected from 589 college students in China’s northwest region. The results reveal that digital literacy affected learning outcomes indirectly through the digital atmosphere, self-efficacy for digital technology, and digital learning. Specifically, digital atmosphere and digital learning mediate the relationship between digital literacy and learning outcomes. Self-efficacy for digital technology and digital learning jointly mediate the relationship between digital literacy and learning outcomes. Digital literacy has a positive and significant impact on the digital atmosphere and influences students’ self-efficacy for digital technology, thereby motivating them to participate in digital learning and ultimately having a positive impact on learning outcomes. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of developing digital literacy, optimizing digital learning atmospheres, and enhancing self-efficacy to fully leverage undergraduates’ learning potential in the digital age.

Social media as a learning tool in the digital age: A review

Discussions of rural America often summon images of pastoral farmland, country roads, and close-knit communities; this vision offers a sharp contrast to contemporary perspectives of rural America, which highlight unemployment, entrenched poverty, economic decline, and geophysical isolation. However, both narratives share one characteristic: the belief that a high-quality education can open a world of opportunities for rural children. This chapter fills an existing gap in research by documenting successful practices of digital learning to support students, teachers, and families in rural education settings. A qualitative study identified the challenges faced by rural schools and then explored the digital learning strategies used to meet these challenges. Across the country, innovative practitioners are expanding Internet access, addressing teacher shortages, and increasing course offerings, which has in turn contributed to the academic achievement and future prosperity of today's rural students.

Facebook and the others. Potentials and obstacles of Social Media for teaching in higher education

Dear Reader, Welcome to this special issue of the Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning the journal of the Irish Learning Technology Association. This issue comprises a selection of papers based on submissions to the Next Generation: Digital Learning Research Symposium in November 2016. This symposium was held in partnership between theIrish Learning Technology Association, the Educational Studies Association of Ireland, and both theInstitute of Education andNational Institute for Digital Learning at Dublin City University. The Symposium was framed around the notion of building capacity in research in digital learning. The Symposium’s title not only alluded to generations of teaching and learning but also to learning futures and how we might ford the chasm of the great promise of the digital with evidence of its actual effects. The symposium sought to foster discussion, debate and above all a community of scholars by discussing and debating the big issues we face in digital learning research. The event gave voice to a wide range of Irish educators and researchers across all levels and sectors. The articles in this issue represent a selection of the highlights of presentations at the symposium in extended written form. Professor Gráinne Conole’s keynote served in many ways to set the scene for a broad gathering of educators and researchers from across all levels and sectors. Her article in this issue - Research through the Generations: Reflecting on the Past, Present and Future - traces a broad arc of research in educational technology framed around key technologies and methodological developments. She identifies five transformative technologies: the web/WI-FI; Learning Management Systems (LMSs); mobile devices, Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs); and social media. Her piece considers the characteristics that made these developments transformative, along with the challenges to their usage. This examination is followed by an overview of the field of digital learning research and divides digital learning research into three main types: research around the pedagogies of digital learning, research on underpinning technologies, and research at an organizational level. Using this framework the reader is afforded an insight into how digital learning has emerged as a new interdisciplinary field. It is always at the tectonic plates of previously separate disciplines that new terrain emerges and Professor Conole’s piece will provide an invaluable contextual overview to readers both new to the field of digital learning research but also to those more experienced researchers who may be too close to see it. As such it is a richly rewarding read for Ed Tech visitors and residents alike. A second position paper in the issue by Tony Murphy also invokes Educational Technology futures. It examines a key area, and one the three broad themes identified by Conole, that of organizational forms in digital learning. Behind the provocative title of The future of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) is in the hands of the anonymous, grey nondescript mid-level professional manager is an informative and insightful research-informed commentary on how technology confronts existing practices and boundaries in higher education. Key insights that this paper affords arises from how it draws on well developed concepts from literature of organizational forms outside of education and uses them to interrogate the emerging practices of work and professional roles for 21st century educators. The theme of contemporary professional practice is central to Exploring higher education professionals’ use of Twitter for learning by Muireann O’Keeffe. Using a Visitor and Resident typology this paper reports on research into how higher education professionals were involved in a range of types of participation (and nonparticipation) on Twitter. It shows how participants both use and sometimes fail to use social networking for professional learning and attempts to unpick the complexities of participation in online spaces. This paper makes an important contribution to the topical area of how we participate (or resist participation) in online spaces as a professional community. Professional practice is also to the fore in a fascinating research piece by Michael Hallissy that looks at practices in Synchronous Computer Mediated Conferencing (SCMC) which is, relative to asynchronous environments, an under researched area. Sharing Professional Practice – Tutors have their say reports on research into teaching in synchronous environments. Using Pedagogical and Content Framework (TPACK) in parallel with the Flanders Interaction Analysis Category the practices of teachers are explored with the aim of challenging and changing them. The findings of this research enjoin us as educators to share our practice critically and reflectively. Its core message is perhaps encapsulated in that both teaching and teaching development are a form of dialogue. Appropriately then, this article is written in a style that immediately engages the reader, draws them into a story and is a richly rewarding read. A number of current trends are captured in Barry James Ryan’s research article Near Peers: Harnessing the power of the populous to enhance the learning environment. This research investigated the impact of a tool called NearPod used in third level educational settings. Using a case study methodology it shows a practical implementation of some key trends in higher education and reports on its aims to enhance the student learning experience through the integration of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and flipped classroom learning. Methodologically this study is interesting for its use of student and teacher reflective forms of data and provides a valuable vignette of contemporary research informed teaching. To conclude it is hoped that the diverse array of articles in this issue offers something for every interested reader. Indeed this is reflective of the diversity of the Irish community that is engaged in practices informed, mediated or enabled by some kind of digital learning technology. Conole’s article sets this out from a research perspective and the picture has been painted elsewhere of what “Ed Tech” as an emergent discipline might look like. To this end it is hoped that this issue goes some way towards helping us build our community through the critical lens of research. On behalf of the Irish Learning Technology Association and the journal editorial team we wish you happy reading (and hope to see your work in a future issue). Best wishes, Eamon, Tom and Fiona [1] Irish Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning Ireland, 2017. © 2017 E. Costello. The Irish Journal of TechnologyEnhanced Learning Ireland is the journal of the Irish Learning Technology Association, an Irish-based professional and scholarly society and membership organisation. (CRO# 520231) http://www.ilta.ie/. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.

This study looks at how students in the English Department at Universitas Panca Marga's writing skills change when they use social media and have organized interactions with their peers. Participants were chosen using a saturated sampling method, and the study used a quantitative method analyzed through SmartPLS software. The level of English writing skills was the dependent variable, and the amount of time spent on social media and structured peer contact were the independent variables. Multiple signs were used to measure each variable, and reliability and validity tests were used to evaluate them. The results indicate that both using social media and structured peer interaction have a good impact on students' writing skills, with structured peer interaction having a bigger effect. Participating in social media helps build vocabulary and writing speed, and working with others in an organized way improves grammar, coherence, and the ability to think critically about what you've written. These results show that digital and collaborative learning settings work hand-in-hand to help students improve their writing. The study suggests that students can improve their writing skills by doing structured peer activities and seeing real English material on social media. It gives useful advice to teachers who want to improve the way they teach writing and ideas for more study into how digital and interactive learning strategies work together in language classes.

Education is always evolving, and most recently has shifted to increased online or remote learning. Digital Learning and Teaching in Chemistry compiles the established and emerging trends in this field, specifically within the context of learning and teaching in chemistry. This book shares insights about five major themes: best practices for teaching and learning digitally, digital learning platforms, virtual visualisation and laboratory to promote learning in science, digital assessment, and building communities of learners and educators. The authors are chemistry instructors and researchers from nine countries, contributing an international perspective on digital learning and teaching in chemistry. While the chapters in this book span a wide variety of topics, as a whole, they focus on using technology and digital platforms as a method for supporting inclusive and meaningful learning. The best practices and recommendations shared by the authors are highly relevant for modern chemistry education, as teaching and learning through digital methods is likely to persist. Furthermore, teaching chemistry digitally has the potential to bring greater equity to the field of chemistry education in terms of who has access to quality learning, and this book will contribute to that goal. This book will be essential reading for those working in chemical education and teaching. Yehudit Judy Dori is internationally recognised, formerly Dean of the Faculty of Education of Science and Technology at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology and won the 2020 NARST Distinguished Contributions to Science Education through Research Award–DCRA for her exceptional research contributions. Courtney Ngai and Gabriela Szteinberg are passionate researchers and practitioners in the education field. Courtney Ngai is the Associate Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Artistry at Colorado State University. Gabriela Szteinberg serves as Assistant Dean and Academic Coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the zombie learner phenomenon in Vietnamese higher education and examines its impact on students’ learning motivation and academic performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on the research model adapted from previous research, which considering “zombie learner” by its manifestations, and consolidating its scales through qualitative studies; using survey data from 999 university students in Vietnam, the authors applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the impact of this phenomenon on academic motivation and performance. Findings The results reveal that the “zombie learner” phenomenon significantly negatively affects students' motivation to learn, which in turn leads to a decline in academic performance. Among the identified characteristics, “lack of autonomy” and “lack of engagement” from classmates have the strongest negative effects on students' motivation. Additionally, academic motivation is shown to have a direct positive impact on learning outcomes. Research limitations/implications The research focuses on university students in Vietnam and reveals the directions for further studies in other contexts. Practical implications This research provides valuable recommendations for educators and academic administrators to foster a more engaging learning environment that encourages participation, thereby mitigating the “zombie learner” effect and improving students' academic performance enhancing teaching quality and student motivation. Originality/value Besides the confirmation of the effect of the existence of zombie learners on motivation and learning outcomes, like other studies, this study adds two controlling variables with the “major” and “tuition fees” on the two dependent variables “learning motivation” and “academic performance.” Studying an attractive major will lead to higher motivation and academic performance. Similarly, having to pay high tuition fees can also be both a motivation and a pressure for students to study, thereby achieving better academic performance.

The development of information technology requires teachers to have adequate competence in designing and implementing digital-based learning. Teachers are not only required to master the teaching material but also be able to utilize technology as an effective learning media and resource. However, elementary school teachers still encounter obstacles in optimally integrating digital technology into the learning process. Based on these conditions, this Community Service activity was carried out in the form of a Digital Learning Workshop for teachers at SDN Sampangagung 1, Mojosari District, Mojokerto Regency. This activity aims to improve teachers' understanding and skills related to digital learning concepts, the use of digital media and learning resources, and the use of the internet, blogs, YouTube, and social media in learning. In addition, this activity also aims to equip teachers with the ability to design innovative and contextual digital learning in accordance with the needs of the community.The characteristics of elementary school students were examined. The participants in this activity were all teachers at SDN Sampangagung 1, Mojosari District, Mojokerto Regency. The workshop was conducted online, combining discussion and practical sessions. The results showed that the Digital Learning Workshop improved teachers' conceptual understanding and practical skills in utilizing learning technology. Overall, this community service activity was deemed successful, based on the achievement of participant targets, the implementation of the material, and the improvement of teachers' skills in mastering digital-based learning.