Can questions sent to Open-Educational-Resource (OER) websites such as Ask-An-Expert serve as indicators for students’ interest in science? This issue was examined using an online questionnaire which included an equal number of questions about the topics “space” and “nutrition” randomly selected from three different sources: a 5th-grade science textbook, the “Ask-An-Expert” website, and questions collected from other students in the same age group. A sample of 113 5th-graders from two elementary schools were asked to rate their interest level in finding out the answer to these questions without knowledge of their source. Significant differences in students’ interest level were found between questions: textbook questions were ranked lowest for both subjects, and questions from the open-resource were ranked high. This finding suggests that questions sent to an open-resource could be used as an indicator of students’ interest in science. In addition, the high correlation of interests expressed by students from the two schools may point to a potential generalization of the findings. This study contributes by highlighting OER as a new and promising indicator of student interest, which may help bring “student voices” into mainstream science teaching to increase student interest in science.

Students of Ethiopian origin belong to one of the weakest sectors in the Jewish population of Israel. During their studies they have to deal with social alienation, cultural gaps, economic hardships, and racial stereotypes which reduce their chances to successfully complete their academic degree. In this respect, the present research asks whether online social media could provide those youngsters with tools and resources for their better social integration and adaptation to the academic life. For this purpose, the study was conducted in one of Israel’s largest academic colleges while adopting a design-based research approach, which advanced gradually on a continuum between ‘ambient’ and ‘designed’ technology-enhanced learning communities. The interventions applied for this study aimed at examining how they may encourage students of Ethiopian origin to expand their activities in the online social learning groups. The findings indicate that the main pattern of students of Ethiopian origin online participation was peripheral and limited to viewing only. Nevertheless, the level of their online activity has been improved after a series of two interventions, which also led to a slight improvement in indicators of their social integration and in a change in their usage of online learning groups from social to academic uses.

There is a growing interest in the assessment of tangible skills and competence. Specifically, there is an increase in the offerings of competency-based assessments, and some academic institutions are offering college credits for individuals who can demonstrate adequate level of competency on such assessments. An increased interest has been placed on competency-based computer simulations that can assist learners to gain tangible skills. While computer simulations and competency-based projects, in general and particularly in management, have demonstrated great value, there are still limited empirical results on their benefits to e-learners. Thus, we have developed a quasi-experimental research, using a survey instrument on pre- and post-tests, to collect the set of 12 management skills from e-learners attending courses that included both competency-based computer simulations and those that didn’t. Our data included a total of 253 participants. Results show that all 12 management skills measures demonstrated very high reliability. Our results also indicate that all 12 skills of the competency-based computer simulations had higher increase than those that didn’t. Analyses on the mean increases indicated an overall statistically significant difference for six of the 12 management skills enhancements between the experimental and control groups. Our findings demonstrate that overall computer simulations and competency-based projects do provide added value in the context of e-learning when it comes to management skills.

Self-efficacy is essential to learning but what happens when learning is done as a result of a collective process? What is the role of individual self-efficacy in collective problem solving? This research examines the manifestation of self-efficacy in prediction markets that are configured as collective problem-solving platforms and whether self-efficacy of traders affects the collective outcome. Prediction markets are collective-intelligence platforms that use a financial markets mechanism to combine knowledge and opinions of a group of people. Traders express their opinions or knowledge by buying and selling “stocks” related to questions or events. The collective outcome is derived from the final price of the stocks. Self-efficacy, one’s belief in his or her ability to act in a manner that leads to success, is known to affect personal performance in many domains. To date, its manifestation in computer-mediated collaborative environments and its effect on the collective outcome has not been studied. In a controlled experiment, 632 participants in 47 markets traded a solution to a complex problem, a naïve framing of the knapsack problem. Contrary to earlier research, we find that technical and functional self-efficacy perceptions are indistinguishable, probably due to a focus on outcomes rather than on resources. Further, results demonstrate that prediction markets are an effective collective problem-solving platform that correctly aggregates individual knowledge and is resilient to traders’ self-efficacy.

Empowered by and tethered to ubiquitous technologies, the current generation of youth yearns for opportunities to engage in self-expression and information sharing online with personal disclosure no longer governed by concepts of propriety and privacy. This raises issues about the unsafe online activities of teens and young adults. The following paper presents the findings of a study examining the social networking activities of undergraduate students and also highlights a program to increase awareness of the dangers and safe practices when using and communicating, via social media. According to the survey results, young adults practice risky social networking site (SNS) behaviors with most having experienced at least one negative consequence. Further, females were more likely than males to engage in oversharing as well as to have experienced negative consequences. Finally, results of a post-treatment survey found that a targeted program that includes flyers, posters, YouTube videos, handouts, and in-class information sessions conducted at a Mid-Atlantic Historically Black College or University (HBCU) increased student awareness of the dangers of social media as well as positively influenced students to practice more prudent online behaviors.

Creative computing is one of the rapidly growing educational trends around the world. Previous studies have shown that creative computing can empower disadvantaged children and youth. At-risk youth tend to hold a negative view of self and perceive their abilities as inferior compared to “normative” pupils. The Implicit Theories of Intelligence approach (ITI; Dweck, 1999, 2008) suggests a way of changing beliefs regarding one’s abilities. This paper reports findings from an experiment that explores the impact of a short intervention among at-risk youth and “normative” high-school students on (1) changing ITI from being perceived as fixed (entity view of intelligence) to more flexible (incremental view of intelligence) and (2) the quality of digital self-representations programmed though a creative computing app. The participants were 117 Israeli youth aged 14-17, half of whom were at-risk youth. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control conditions. The experimental group watched a video of a lecture regarding brain plasticity that emphasized flexibility and the potential of human intelligence to be cultivated. The control group watched a neutral lecture about brain-functioning and creativity. Following the intervention, all of the participants watched screencasts of basic training for the Scratch programming app, designed artifacts that digitally represented themselves five years later and reported their ITI. The results showed more incremental ITI in the experimental group compared to the control group and among normative students compared to at-risk youth. In contrast to the research hypothesis, the Scratch projects of the at-risk youth, especially in the experimental condition, were rated by neutral judges as being more creative, more aesthetically designed, and more clearly conveying their message. The results suggest that creative computing combined with the ITI intervention is a way of developing creativity, especially among at-risk youth. Increasing the number of youths who hold incremental views of intelligence and developing computational thinking may contribute to their empowerment and well-being, improve learning and promote creativity.

In today’s job market, computer skills are part of the prerequisites for many jobs. In this paper, we report on a study of readiness to work with computers (the dependent variable) among unemployed women (N=54) after participating in a unique, web-supported training focused on computer skills and empowerment. Overall, the level of participants’ readiness to work with computers was much higher at the end of the course than it was at its begin-ning. During the analysis, we explored associations between this variable and variables from four categories: log-based (describing the online activity); computer literacy and experience; job-seeking motivation and practice; and training satisfaction. Only two variables were associated with the dependent variable: knowledge post-test duration and satisfaction with content. After building a prediction model for the dependent variable, another log-based variable was highlighted: total number of actions in the course website along the course. Overall, our analyses shed light on the predominance of log-based variables over variables from other categories. These findings might hint at the need of developing new assessment tools for learners and trainees that take into consideration human-computer interaction when measuring self-efficacy variables.

As a result of the rapid development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the growing interest in Internet-based tools for language classroom, it has become a pressing need for educators to locate, evaluate and select the most appropriate language-learning digital resources that foster more communicative and meaningful learning processes. Hence, this paper describes a mixed research project that, on the first hand, aimed at proposing a Checklist for evaluating language websites built on the principles of the Communicative Approach, and on the second hand, sought to strengthen the teachers’ Knowing-how-to-do skill as part of their digital competence. To achieve these goals, a four-phase research procedure was followed that included reviewing relevant literature and administering qualitative and quantitative research methods to participants (i.e., language teachers, an expert in the Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) field and a college professor) in order to gain insights into problematic issues and, thereafter, to contribute to the creation and validation of the Checklist model and the Study Guide. The findings revealed that: (a) evaluating language websites leads to the enhancement of the teachers’ practical skills and their knowledge of the technological language; and (b) having an assessment instrument allows educators to choose the materials that best meet their communicative teaching purposes.

The purpose of this research is the exploration of the opinions and level of self-efficacy in the usage of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) of teachers in Greek pre-schools in the learning process and administration of nurseries. By using the term “usage and utilisation of ICTs in the learning process” we mean the utilisation of the capabilities that new technologies offer in an educationally appropriate way so that the learning process yields positive results. By using the term “self-efficacy” we describe the strength of one’s belief in one’s own ability to use the capabilities he or she possess. In this way, the beliefs of the person in his or her ability to use a personal computer constitute the self-efficacy in computer usage. The research sample consists of 128 pre-school teachers that work in the prefecture of Kavala. Kavala’s prefecture is a representative example of an Education Authority since it consists of urban, suburban, and rural areas. The approach that is deemed to be the most appropriate for the exploration of such research questions is content analysis methodology and correlation analysis. The main findings of the study have shown statistically significant differences regarding the opinions and stances of the pre-school teachers for the introduction of the ICTs in the administration and the usage and utilisation of ICTs in the administration and preparation of teaching. Lastly, there were statistically significant differences between the opinions and stances of the pre-school teachers for the usage and utilisation of ICTs in the learning process. Instead, there were no statistically significant differences regarding the level of self-efficacy of the pre-school teachers in the usage and utilisation of the ICTs in the learning process. The research results could be used in the educational field as well as by Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs in order to take any corrective action, after the effort of Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, to integrate ICT in the learning process with training courses since 2006.

Soft skills are becoming increasingly important and will be critical for success in the Information Systems profession. Employers complain about a lack in soft skills among graduates from tertiary education institutions. No agreement exists about what these skills actually are, which are of importance, and how acquiring these soft skills should be approached in higher education. The aim of this paper is to research the perceptions of lecturers, industry, and students on soft skills development of students and to identify important soft skills that need to be developed. The paper starts with a problem statement emphasizing the importance of soft skills and the possible lack thereof. This is followed by a literature review, a description of the methodology followed for this research, the results, conclusion, and the references. The research was done at a university in South Africa. Questionnaires consisting of open questions were distributed to lecturers, industry, and students respectively, and qualitative analysis was done on the results. Results show that stakeholders feel that soft skills of students are not developed adequately, that there is some uncertainty about who should be responsible for developing soft skills, and that the development of soft skills is seen as a difficult task. A list is compiled of the most important soft skills according to literature, lecturers, industry, and students. This list can be used in further research on the soft skills of IT-students. Recommendations are made for the teaching and learning of soft skills.

Aim/Purpose: The present study aims to describe existing peer-to-peer, social network-based sharing practices among adult students in teacher colleges. Background: Ubiquitous social network sites open up a wide array of possibilities for peer-to-peer information and knowledge sharing. College instructors are often unaware of such practices that happen behind the scenes. Methodology: An interpretative, qualitative research methodology was used. Thirty-seven Israeli students at a teacher college in Israel participated in either focus group discussions of (N = 29) or in-depth interviews (N = 8). Contribution: Whereas knowledge sharing has been a main focus of research in organizational and information sciences, its relevance to educational settings has thus far been underscored. Recent research shows that peer–to-peer knowledge sharing is wide-spread among teenage students. The current study extends that work to an adult student population. Findings: The findings show that knowledge sharing of this type is a common and even central feature of students’ college life and study behavior. It takes place through a variety of small and larger social network-based peer groups of different formations, including mostly college students but at time also practicing, experienced teachers. Sharing groups are formed on the spot for short term purposes or are stable, continuous over longer time periods. The contents shared are predominantly lesson summaries, material for exams, reading summaries, and lesson plans. They are used immediately or stored for future use, as students have access to vast data bases of stored materials that have been compiled throughout the years by students of previous cohorts. Teacher students mentioned a range of reasons for sharing, and overall regard it very positive. However, some downsides were also acknowledged (i.e., superficial learning, exclusion, attentional overload, and interruptions). Recommendations for Practitioners: College faculty and teaching staff should be cognizant and informed about these widespread peer-based knowledge sharing practices and consider whether perhaps changes in teaching formats and task assignments are required as a result. Future Research: Future research should extend this work to other higher education settings, cultures and countries, and should map the perceptions of higher education teaching staff about peer-to-peer, online knowledge sharing.

Aim/Purpose: Students face many challenges improving their soft skills such as critical thinking. This paper offers one possible solution to this problem. Background: This paper considers one method of enhancing critical thinking through a problem-solving game called the Coffee Shop. Problem-solving is a key component to critical thinking, and game-playing is one method of enhancing this through an interactive teaching method. Methodology: Three classes of Vietnamese high school students engaged in the Coffee Shop game. The method seeks outcome measurements through the use of analysis of multiple surveys to assess and interpret if critical thinking may have been improved. Contribution: The study may help to understand the importance of problem-solving in the context of an entrepreneurial setting and add to the variation of methods used to deliver the lesson to students in the classroom. Findings: The findings show that practicing problem-solving scenarios with a focus on critical thinking in a time limited setting results in a measured improvement of this skill. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings suggest that educators could use games more as tools for problem-solving to contribute to their students’ learning outcomes around developing critical thinking. Recommendation for Researchers: More research could be devoted to developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills through game-play models. Impact on Society: Improved critical thinking skills in individuals could make a greater contribution to society. Future Research A comparative study between different high school grades and genders as well as between different countries or cultures.

Aim/Purpose: The research investigates the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Iranian refugees’ settlement in Australia. Background: The study identifies the issues of settlement, such as language, cultural and social differences. Methodology: The Multi-Sited Ethnography (MSE), which is a qualitative methodology, has been used with a thematic analysis drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews with two groups of participants (51 Iranian refugees and 55 people with a role in assisting refugees). Contribution: The research findings may enable the creation of a model for use by the Aus-tralian Government with Iranian refugees. Findings: The findings show the vital role ICT play in refugees’ ongoing day-to-day life towards settlement. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results from this paper could be generalised to other groups of refugees in Australia and also could be used for Iranian refugees in other countries. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers may use a similar study for refugees of different backgrounds in Australia and around the world. Impact on Society: ICT may assist refugees to become less isolated, less marginalized and part of mainstream society. Future Research: Future research could look into the digital divide between refugees in Australia and main stream Australians.

Aim/Purpose: The research work investigated the information seeking process of undergraduates in a specialised university in Nigeria, in the course of a group assignment. Background: Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (ISP) model is used as lens to reveal how students interact with information in the affective, cognitive and physical realms. Methodology: Qualitative research methods were employed. The entire seventy-seven third year students in the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas and their course lecturer were the participants. Group assignment question was analysed using Bloom’s Taxonomy while the information seeking process of the students was garnered through dialogue journaling on WhatsApp Messenger. Contribution: The research explicates how students’ information seeking behaviour can be captured beyond the four walls of a classroom by using a Web 2.0 tool such as WhatsApp Messenger. Findings: The apparent level of uncertainty, optimism, and confusion/doubt common in the initiation, selection, and exploration phases of the ISP model and low confidence levels were not markedly evident in the students. Consequently, Kuhlthau’s ISP model could not be applied in its entirety to the study’s particular context of teaching and learning due to the nature of the assignment. Recommendations for Practitioners: The study recommends that the Academic Planning Unit (APU) should set a benchmark for all faculties and, by extension, the departments in terms of the type/scope and number of assignments per semester, including learning outcomes. Recommendation for Researchers: Where elements of a guided approach to learning are missing, Kuhlthau’s ISP may not be employed. Therefore, alternative theory, such as Theory of Change could explain the poor quality of education and the type of intervention that could enhance students’ learning. Impact on Society: The ability to use emerging technologies is a form of literacy that is required by the 21st century work place. Hence, the study demonstrates students’ adaptation to emerging technology. Future Research: The study is limited to only one case site. It would be more helpful to the Nigerian society to have this study extended to other universities for the purpose of generalisation and appropriate intervention.

Aim/Purpose: Following the widespread use of social networking applications (SNAs) by children, adolescents, and young adults, this paper sought to examine the usage habits, sharing, and dangers involved from the perspective of the children, adolescents, and young adults. The research question was: What are the usage habits, sharing, drawbacks, and dangers of using SNAs from the perspective of children, adolescents, and young adults? Background: Safety has become a major issue and relates to a range of activities including online privacy, cyberbullying, exposure to violent content, exposure to content that foments exclusion and hatred, contact with strangers online, and coarse language. The present study examined the use of social networking applications (SNAs) by children, adolescents, and young adults, from their point of view. Methodology: This is a mixed-method study; 551participants from Israel completed questionnaires, and 110 respondents were also interviewed. Contribution: The study sought to examine from their point of view (a) characteristics of SNA usage; (b) the e-safety of SNA; (c) gender differences between age groups; (d) habits of use; (e) hazards and solutions; and (f) sharing with parents and parental control. Findings: Most respondents stated that cyberbullying (such as shaming) happens mainly between members of the group and it is not carried out by strangers. The study found that children’s awareness of the connection between failures of communication in the SNAs and quarrels and disputes was lower than that of adolescents and young adults. It was found that more children than adolescents and young adults believe that monitoring and external control can prevent the dangers inherent in SNAs, and that the awareness of personal responsibility increases with age. The SNAs have intensified the phenomenon of shaming, but the phenomenon is accurately documented in SNAs, unlike in face-to-face communication. Therefore, today more than ever, it is possible and necessary to deal with shaming, both in face-to-face and in SNA communication. Recommendations for Practitioners: Efforts should be made to resolve the issue of shaming among members of the group and to explain the importance of preserving human dignity and privacy. The Internet in general and SNAs in particular are an integral part of children’s and adolescents’ life environment, so it can be said that the SNAs are part of the problem because they augment shaming. But they can also be part of the solution, because interactions are accurately documented, unlike in face-to-face communication, where it is more difficult to examine events, to remember exactly what has been said, to point out cause and effect, etc. Therefore, more than ever before, today it is possible and necessary to deal with shaming both in face-to-face and in the SNA communication, because from the point of view of youngsters, this is their natural environment, which includes smart phones, SNAs, etc. Recommendations for Researchers: The study recommends incorporating in future studies individual case studies and allowing participants to express how they perceive complex e-Safety situa-tions in the use of social networking apps. Impact on Society: Today more than ever, it is possible and necessary to deal with shaming, both in face-to-face and in SNA communication. Future Research: The study was unable to find significant differences between age groups. Fur-ther research may shed light on the subject.

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents some of the issues that academia faces in both the detection of plagiarism and the aftermath. The focus is on the latter, how academics and educational institutions around the world can address the challenges that follow the identification of an incident. The scope is to identify the need for and describe specific strategies to efficiently manage plagiarism incidents. Background: Plagiarism is possibly one of the major academic misconduct offences. Yet, only a portion of Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) appear to have well developed policies and procedures aimed at dealing with this issue or to follow these when required. Students who plagiarize and are not caught pose challenges for academia. Students who are caught pose equal challenges. Methodology: Following a literature review that identifies and describes the extent and the seriousness of the problem, procedures and strategies to address the issue are recommended, based on the literature and best practices. Contribution: The paper alerts academics regarding the need for the establishment of rigorous and standardized procedures to address the challenges that follow the identification of a plagiarism incident. It then describes how to streamline the process to improve consistency and reduce the errors and the effort required by academic staff. Recommendations for Practitioners: To ensure that what is expected to happen takes place, HEIs should structure the process of managing suspected plagiarism cases. Operationalization, workflow automation, diagrams that map the processes involved, clear in-formation and examples to support and help academics make informed and consistent decisions, templates to communicate with the offenders, and data-bases to record incidents for future reference are strongly recommended. Future research: This paper provides a good basis for further research that will examine the plagiarism policy, the procedures, and the outcome of employing the procedures within the faculties of a single HEI, or an empirical comparison of these across a group of HEIs. Impact on Society: Considering its potential consequences, educational institutions should strive to prevent, detect, and deter plagiarism – and any type of student misconduct. Inaction can be harmful, as it is likely that some students will not gain the appropriate knowledge that their chosen profession requires, which could put in danger both their wellbeing and the people they will later serve in their careers.

Aim/Purpose: This research inquires how students perceive the role of Technology Education and Cultural diversity (TEC) instructors in improving their 21st century skills. In addition, this study examines the students’ preferred learning style: face to face, synchronous and asynchronous. Background: 21st century skills include, among others, collaboration, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills, higher order thinking, and multicultural communication. These skills are core elements for modern life and are the focus of this study as teacher critical career and life skills. This article presents the uniqueness of the TEC model, which provides a strategy to develop gradually various 21st century skills for teacher training in a multicultural technologically rich environment. Methodology: This study examined (a) the level of ICT skills students acquire from the courses; (b) students’ perceptions of the instructor role in developing 21st century skills; and (c) students’ preferred learning style. A questionnaire was delivered to 99 students, who participated in courses based on the TEC model. Students from eight different Teacher Education Colleges and different cultural backgrounds – Arabs, Jews, religious, and secular – participated in this study. Contribution: This study could shed light on the instructor’s role as a facilitator in developing students’ 21st century skills in a multicultural society. This study may provide a model and ideas for policy makers in teacher training programs to employ 21st century skills along with continuous development and adaptation to suit the rapid changing reality. A larger study needed to examine additional aspects of the 21st century skills in the teacher training programs in general and in multicultural societies in particular. Findings: The findings show that students complete the course with a high level of ICT skills, and that their preferred learning communication style was face-to-face (F2F) (45.45%) and blended method (43.43%), over the fully online (11.11%). Regarding online learning, students mostly preferred the mixed method of synchronous and asynchronous (59%), followed by asynchronous (29%), and synchronous (12%). As to student preference of the instructor role of enhancement, the results were prioritized as follow: Higher order thinking (M=3.99), online group collaboration (M=3.87), multicultural communication awareness (M=3.82), pedagogical use of digital tools (M=3.73). Recommendations for Practitioners: Teacher education lecturers ought to: (1) design the online courses in a way that integrates F2F meetings and both synchronous and asynchronous methods; and (2) employ the wide range of skills in TEC courses that comply with 21st century principles; hence, the importance of widening such courses in teacher education colleges. Recommendation for Researchers: It is recommended to perform a similar study using a pre-post method, as well as taking into consideration cultural uniqueness (such as language differences) and group comparison, where we can identify the effective components of the course design that would lead to a higher level of 21st century skills competencies among teachers. Impact on Society: 21st century skills are life skills, hence developing these skills in an appropriate educational setting reflects better utilization among all the members of society. Future Research: More research should be done to widen the knowledge and address the importance of the instructor role as a course designer and facilitator in order to turn 21st century learning into a more meaningful and relevant one.

Aim/Purpose: Most research on work-based learning and research relates to theory, including perspectives, principles and curricula, but few studies provide contemporary examples of work-based projects, particularly in the Australian context; this paper aims to address that limitation. Background: The Professional Studies Program at University of Southern Queensland is dedicated to offering advanced practice professionals the opportunity to self-direct organizational and work-based research projects to solve real-world workplace problems; two such examples in the Australian context are provided by this paper. Methodology: The paper employs a descriptive approach to analyzing these two work-based research projects and describes the mixed methods used by each researcher. Contribution: The paper provides examples of work-based research in (a) health, safety, and wellness leadership and its relation to corporate performance; and (b) investigator identity in the Australian Public Service; neither topic has been examined before in Australia and little, if anything, is empirically known about these topics internationally. Findings: The paper presents the expected outcomes for each project, including discussion of the ‘triple dividend’ of personal, organizational, and practice domain benefits; as importantly, the paper presents statements of workplace problems, needs and opportunities, status of the practice domain, background and prior learning of the researchers, learning objectives, work-based research in the practice domain, and lessons learned from research which can be integrated into a structured framework of advanced practice. Recommendations for Practitioners: This is a preliminary study of two work-based research projects in Australia; as these and other real-world projects are completed, further systematic and rigorous reports to the international educational community will reveal the granulated value of conducting projects designed to change organisations and concordant practice domains. Recommendation for Researchers: While introducing the basic elements of research methods and expected out-comes of work-based projects, examples in this paper give only a glimpse into the possible longer-term contributions such research can make to workplaces in Australia. Researchers, as a consequence, need to better understand the relationship between practice domains, research as a valuable investigative tool in workplaces, and organizational and social outcomes. Impact on Society: Work-based learning and research have been developed to not only meet the complex and changing demands of the global workforce but have been implemented to address real-world organizational problems for the benefit of society; this paper provides two examples where such benefit may occur. Future Research: Future research should focus on the investigation of triple-dividend outcomes and whether they are sustainable over the longer term.

Aim/Purpose: Work-based learning has been identified in the literature, and is established in academia and in the global worlds of work; however, an examination of work-based research, particularly at the doctoral level, has been less well articulated. Moreover, a paucity of published literature on either work-based research or Professional Studies means little is known about the dynamics and drivers of these domains. This study aims to begin addressing the shortfall in literature on work-based research and Professional Studies programs, using the program at University of Southern Queensland as an example Background: This paper examines work-based research in the context of the Professional Studies program at University of Southern Queensland in Australia, with which the authors are affiliated. Methodology: Analysis of work-based research includes discussion of ‘messy’ research environments and the changing nature of workplaces, along with the opportunities and challenges such environments pose for action researchers. Contribution: In addition to addressing a shortfall in the published literature on work-based research, the paper also contributes insight into the mechanisms used to promote reflective practice and the generation of professional artefacts. Findings: Often driven by altruism, work-based research as implemented in the Professional Studies program results in a so-called ‘triple dividend’, designed to benefit the individual researcher, work environment, and community of practice. Recommendations for Practitioners: To be successful contributors to work-based research, practitioners need to reflect carefully and deeply on experience, planning and outcomes, using what in this paper we call ‘micro-reflective’ (personal) and ‘macro-reflective’ (program) cycles of reflection. Recommendation for Researchers: In addition to generating new knowledge and expanding the frontiers of workplaces, work-based research is often motivated by complicated and wide-reaching imperatives; work-based researchers therefore need to consider the goals, objectives, priorities and vision of their work environments, as well as understand issues related to bias, ethical practice and the nature of insider research. Impact on Society: Work-based learning and research address the complexities, challenges and future demands of Australian workplaces along with the work, mobility and personal development needs of mid- to senior-career professionals. Future Research: In addition to the multitude of action research programs possible in work-places in Australia, more research is needed to understand higher education work-based learning and its relation to, and impact on, work-based research, particularly when applying mixed methods research to work environments.

Aim/Purpose: In the modern world, simulation has become a new phenomenon in education, which conveys new and innovative ideas of curriculum, instruction, and classroom management. It makes certain of Aristotle’s words when he said that “The things we have to learn before we do them, we must learn by doing them”. One might think that simulation in education is one of these technologies. This study examined preservice and new teachers’ perceptions about the con-cept of conflict and educational conflict management in a simulation workshop conducted at the Academic Arab College’s Simulation Center in Haifa, Israel. Background: Simulation engages learners in “deep learning” and empowers their understanding. In other words, simulation provides an alternative real world experience. As part of our work at the Educational Simulation Center in the Arab Academic College in Haifa, Israel, we examined the performance and contribution of educators who visit the center and participate in educational conflict management simulation workshops. Methodology: A mixed methods study was conducted. A total of 237 participants of preservice teachers from diverse professions were divided into 15 groups to examine the research question: How does the experience of participating in a simulation workshop affect preservice teachers’ perception about the concept of conflict? Contribution: This study seeks to contribute to simulation and conflict management in education. This contribution to the body of literature can help researchers, scholars, students, and education technology professionals to advance simulation research studies. Findings: The study findings indicate that there is a high degree of satisfaction (more than 90%) among preservice teachers in participating in the workshop. It also indicates a positive and significant change in participants’ perceptions of the concept of conflict and the management of conflict situations. Recommendations for Practitioners: In light of the study findings, it is recommended that new teachers be exposed to simulation workshops with a variety of scenarios dealing with different conflict situations. This exposure could contribute to their professional development and conduct in a more efficient and convenient manner in schools.

Aim/Purpose: To examine how positive/negative message framing – based on peripheral cues (regarding popularity, source, visuals, and hyperlink) – affects perceptions of credibility of scientific information posted on social networking sites (in this case, Facebook), while exploring the mechanisms of viewing the different components. Background: Credibility assessment of information is a key skill in today's information society. However, it is a demanding cognitive task, which is impossible to perform for every piece of online information. Additionally, message framing — that is, the context and approach used to construct information— may impact perceptions of credibility. In practice, people rely on various cues and cognitive heuristics to determine whether they think a piece of content is true or not. In social networking sites, content is usually enriched by additional information (e.g., popularity), which may impact the users' perceived credibility of the content. Methodology: A quantitative controlled experiment was designed (N=19 undergraduate students), collecting fine grained data with an eye tracking camera, while analyzing it using transition graphs. Contribution: The findings on the mechanisms of that process, enabled by the use of eye tracking data, point to the different roles of specific peripheral cues, when the message is overall peripherally positive or negative. It also contributes to the theoretical literature on framing effects in science communication, as it highlights the peripheral cues that make a strong frame. Findings: The positively framed status was perceived, as expected from the Elaboration Likelihood Model, more credible than the negatively framed status, demonstrating the effects of the visual framing. Differences in participants' mechanisms of assessing credibility between the two scenarios were evident in the specific ways the participants examined the various status components. Recommendations for Practitioners: As part of digital literacy education, major focus should be given to the role of peripheral cues on credibility assessment in social networking sites. Educators should emphasize the mechanisms by which these cues interact with message framing, so Internet users would be encouraged to reflect upon their own credibility assessment skills, and eventually improve them. Recommendation for Researchers: The use of eye tracking data may help in collecting and analyzing fine grained data on credibility assessment processes, and on Internet behavior at large. The data shown here may shed new light on previously studied phenomena, enabling a more nuanced understanding of them. Impact on Society: In an era when Internet users are flooded with information that can be created by virtually anyone, credibility assessment skills have become ever more important, hence the prominence of this skill. Improving citizens' assessment of information credibility — to which we believe this study contributes — results on a greater impact on society. Future Research: The role of peripheral cues and of message framing should be studied in other contexts (not just scientific news) and in other platforms. Additional peripheral cues not tested here should be also taken into consideration (e.g., connections between the information consumer and the information sharer, or the type of the leading image).

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to explore positive and negative aspects of teacher-teacher communication via Facebook, as perceived by teachers in secondary education. Background: Teacher-student relationship is key to teachers’ wellness and professional development and may contribute to positive classroom environment. In recent years, as social networking sites (e.g., Facebook) became popular, these connections have extended to such platforms. However, most studies of the use of social networking sites in the school context are pedagogically-driven, and research on the ways teacher-student relationship is facilitated by these platforms is meager. Methodology: We utilized a qualitative approach, analyzing responses to open-ended questions about this topic by middle- and high-school teachers’ all across Israel (N=180). We used both top-down and bottom-up analyses. Contribution: This study contributes to the growing literature about the overall impact of using social networking sites on the educational milieu. Specifically, it contributes by shedding light on teachers’ perspectives of that phenomenon. Insights from this study are important for educators and education policy makers. Findings: Overall, teachers who were connected to their students de facto, as well as teachers who expressed a wish to be connected to their students, acknowledged the advantages of befriending their students on Facebook, in terms of both teacher- and student benefits. Teachers’ overall viewpoint on the negative aspects of Facebook-connections with students is multifaceted. As such, our findings highlight the complexity of using social networking sites by teachers. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that educators who wish to extend the relationship with their student to online platforms do so wisely, taking advantage of the benefits of using these platforms, and being aware of (and cautious about) potential draw-backs. We encourage educators to learn more about the potential uses of social networking sites and instant messaging services, and then to examine whether these uses may fit their educational agenda. We recommend that education policymakers make evidence-based decisions regarding the use of social networking sites by teachers and encourage school communities to discuss these issues together. Recommendation for Researchers: As technology develops rapidly, we recommend that researchers examine the topics raised in the current research with regards to other platforms, in order to better understand the technological aspects that may affect students’ perceptions of the use of social networking sites and instant messaging services to communicate with their students. The issues studied here should also be studied in different cultural contexts. We recommend broadening the research and making results available to policymakers when making decisions regarding social media in educational contexts. Impact on Society: Understanding teachers’ perspectives of their relationship with their students in today’s digital, networked world gives us a better understanding of the changing role of teachers; hence, it may assist in planning teacher training and professional development, with the ultimate goal of realizing a better educational system. Future Research: Future studies should focus on other social networking sites and instant messaging services, as well as on other countries and cultures.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of faculty and student perceptions of the importance of resource, interpersonal, information, systems, and technology management competencies in the hospitality industry Background: The increasing complexity and technological dependency of the diverse hospitality and tourism sector raises the skill requirements needed, and expected, of new hires making education and competency development a strategic priority. Identifying the skills needed for hospitality graduates to succeed in a sector that is continuously being impacted by digitalization and globalization must be a continual process predicated on the desire to meet ever-changing industry needs. This study seeks to update and further explore an investigation started a decade ago that examined the skills and competencies valued by hiring managers in the hospitality industry. Methodology: The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), comprised of representatives from business, labor, education, and government, developed the framework, of workplace competencies and foundation skills used in this study. This research used a survey methodology for data collection and descriptive and inferential statistical methods during the analyses. The data for this study were collected from faculty, staff, hospitality industry stakeholders, and students of a Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management located at a small eastern Historically Black University (HBU). An electronic survey was sent to169 respondents and a total of 100 completed surveys were received for an overall return rate of 59%. Contribution: This study provides research on a population (first-generation minority college students) that is expanding in numbers in higher education and that the literature, reports as being under-prepared for academic success. This paper is timely and relevant and can be used to inform hospitality educators so that they can best meet the needs of their students and the companies looking to hire skilled graduates. Findings: The findings of this study indicate there is inconsistent agreement among academicians and students regarding the importance of SCANS-specific competencies in hospitality graduates. At the same time, there is no argument that industry skills will be critical in the future of hospitality graduates. Overwhelmingly, participating students and faculty found all of the SCANS competencies important with the highest ranked competencies being interpersonal skills, which, given the importance of teamwork, customer service skills, leadership, and working with cultural diversity in the hospitality industry, was expected. Additionally, participating students indicated their strong agreement that internships are effective at building professional skills. Finally, the hospitality students included in this study who were enrolled in a skill-based curriculum were confident that their program is preparing them with the necessary skills and competencies that they will need for their future careers. Recommendations for Practitioners: Higher education hospitality programs should be exploring the skills valued by industry, teaching faculty, and the students to see if they are being satisfied. Recommendation for Researchers: This research should be expanded to additional institutions across the United States as well as abroad. This particular research protocol is easily replicated and can be duplicated at both minority and majority serving institutions enabling greater comparisons across groups. Impact on Society: Several reports identify gaps in the 21st century skills required for the workplace and the effectiveness of higher education in preparing graduates for the workforce. This study helps to propel this discussion forward with relevant findings and a research methodology that is easily replicable. Future Research: A follow-up study of employers is currently being conducted.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to explore positive and negative aspects of student-teacher communication via Facebook, as perceived by students in secondary education. Background: Student-teacher relationship is key to students’ cognitive, social and emotional development. In recent years, as social networking sites (e.g., Facebook) became popular, these connections have extended to such platforms. However, most studies of the use of social networking sites in the school context are pedagogically-driven, and research on the ways student-teacher relationship is facilitated by these platforms is meager. Methodology: We utilized a qualitative approach, analyzing middle- and high-school students’ responses to open-ended questions about this topic (N=667). We used both top-down and bottom-up analyses. Contribution: This study contributes to the growing literature about the overall impact of using social networking sites on the educational milieu. Specifically, it contributes by shedding light on students’ perspectives of that phenomenon. Insights from this study are important for educators and education policy makers. Findings: We found that student-teacher communication is mostly practical, although students who are not connected de facto but wish to connect romanticize it as more appealing. Furthermore, we found that students’ perceptions of negative aspects of such communication is complex, reflecting a deep understanding of the social media. Students were mostly concerned with privacy issues, and much less with other pedagogical, technological and social concerns. Altogether, it seems that the students acknowledge the benefits of connecting with their teachers online and implement this communication rather responsibly. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that educators who wish to do so wisely use social networking sites and instant messaging services as part of their professional conduct, taking advantage of the benefits of using these platforms, and being aware of (and cautious about) potential drawbacks. We encourage educators to learn more about the potential uses of social networking sites and instant messaging services, and then to examine whether these uses may fit their educational agenda. We recommend education policymakers make evidence-based decisions regarding the use of social networking sites by teachers and encourage school communities to discuss these issues together. Recommendation for Researchers: As technology develops rapidly, we recommend researchers examine the topics raised in the current research with regards to other platforms, in order to better understand the technological aspects that may affect students’ perceptions of the use of social networking sites and instant messaging services to communicate with their students. We also recommend studying what types of resources are available to education policymakers when making decisions on relevant policies. Impact on Society: Understanding teens’ perspectives of their relationship with their teachers in today’s digital, networked world gives us a better understanding of this generation, hence may assist in planning and realizing a better educational system. Future Research: Future studies should focus on other social networking sites and instant messaging services, as well as on other countries and cultures.

Aim/Purpose: This article aimed to design and evaluate a pedagogical technique for altering students’ classroom digital multitasking behaviors. The technique we designed and evaluated is called course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). With this technique, the students wrote a research article based on a multitasking experiment that the instructor conducted with the students. The students conducted a literature review, developed their own research questions, they analyzed experiment data, and presented results. This study evaluated the how the CURE contributed to student multitasking behavior change. Background: Multitasking is defined as doing more than one thing at a time. Multitasking is really the engagement in individual and discrete tasks that are performed in succession. Research showed that students multitasked very often during courses. Researchers indicated that this was a problem especially for online teaching, because when students went online, they tended to multitask. Extant research indicated that digital multitasking in class harmed student performance. Multiple studies suggested that students who multitasked spent more time finishing their tasks and made more mistakes. Regardless of students’ gender or GPA, students who multitasked in class performed worse and got a lower grade than those who did not. However, little is known about how to change students’ digital multitasking behaviors. In this study, we used the transtheoretical model of behavior change to investigate how our pedagogical technique (CURE) changed students’ digital multitasking behaviors. Methodology: Using a course-based undergraduate research experience design, a new classroom intervention was designed and evaluated through a content analysis of pre- and post-intervention student reflections. As part of the course-based undergraduate research experience design, the students conducted a literature review, developed their own research questions, they analyzed experiment data, and presented results. This study evaluated the how teaching using a course-based undergraduate research experience contributed to student multitasking behavior change. Transtheoretical model of behavior change was used to investigate how our pedagogical technique changed students’ digital multitasking behaviors. Contribution: The paper described how teaching using a course-based undergraduate research experience can be used in practice. Further, it demonstrated the utility of this technique in changing student digital multitasking behaviors. This study contributed to constructivist approaches in education. Other unwanted student attitudes and behaviors can be changed using this approach to learning. Findings: As a result of CURE teaching, a majority of students observed the negative aspects of multitasking and intended to change their digital multitasking behaviors. Sixty-one percent of the participants experienced attitude changes, namely increased negative attitude towards multitasking in class. This is important because research found that while both students and instructors believed off-task technology use hinders learning, their views differed significantly, with more instructors than students feeling strongly that students’ use of technology in class is a problem. Moreover, our study showed that with teaching using CURE, it is possible to move the students on the ladder of change as quickly as within one semester (13 weeks). Seventy-one percent of the students reported moving to a higher stage of change post-intervention. Recommendations for Practitioners: Faculty wishing to curb student digital multitasking behaviors may conduct in-class experimentation with multitasking and have their students write a research report on their findings. Course-based undergraduate research experiences may make the effects of digital multitasking more apparent to the students. The students may become more aware of their own multitasking behaviors rather than doing them habitually. This technique is also recommended for those instructors who would like to introduce academic careers as a potential career option to their students. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should explore changing other unwanted undergraduate student behaviors with course-based undergraduate experiences. Researchers may use the transtheoretical model of change to evaluate the effectiveness of techniques used to change behaviors. Impact on Society: The negative outcomes of digital multitasking are not confined to the classroom. Digital multitasking impacts productivity in many domains. If techniques such as those used in this article become more common, changes in multitasking intentions could show broad improvements in productivity across many fields. Future Research: This paper constitutes a pilot study due to the small convenience sample that is used for the study. Future research should replicate this study with larger and randomized samples. Further investigation of the CURE technique can improve its effectiveness or reduce the instructor input while attaining the same behavioral changes.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to uncover how Social Network Sites (SNSs) active users who are eager to be knowledgeable about a specific domain develop a professional identity, what practices they use, and how do SNSs afford professional identity development. Background: Some researchers have shown that SNSs play a central role in personal development, but there is a lack of studies tracing the actual role of SNSs affordances in professional identity development. Methodology: Seven participants were followed during a whole year; we examined their professional identity development based on data collected from interviews, cued retrospective reports, and online activities. Contribution: The study shows that SNSs create a new context for professional identity development, a context whose new characteristics bring specific actors to a spectacular development in their professional identity. Based on the findings we suggest a new framework of professional identity development with SNSs. Findings: We identified a wide range of activities and changes in the perceived professional identity. We found that there are four phases of SNS’s professional identity development. The study also uncovers the three aspects of identity development: self-presentation, around-the-clock sociality, and interaction with information. The model of professional development through intensive use of SNSs is validated by our reports on the actual behaviors afforded by SNSs. Recommendations for Practitioners: The conceptual framework displayed in the article can help educational institutions to implement SNSs in order to enhance professional identity development. Guidance will allow students to handle self-presentation, sociality, and information management. By doing so, the guides will help achieving meaningful SNS activities and encouraging students to be involved in their fields of interest, thereby enhancing their professional identity. Future Research: Future studies may examine the implementation of SNSs for the exploration process leading to identity development in various educational institutions. A few years longitudinal study may examine the lifelong professional identity development in varied SNSs. Moreover, in the COVID-19 world crisis when life is in digital spaces more than ever, it will be interesting to study the role of SNSs of professional identity development in the population that lost their jobs.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discover usage differences in task performance by students of different cultures, by examining procrastination patterns from a national cultural perspective and exploring the effect of multicultural virtual teamwork on students’ individual procrastination. Background: This study aims to examine higher-education entrepreneurial learning in the context of multicultural virtual teamwork, as performed during participation on a Global Entrepreneurship course. Methodology: The methodology consists of quantitative comparative data analytics preceding and subsequent to intercultural team activities. This research is based on analyses of objective data collected by Moodle, the LMS used in the In2It project, in its built-in log system from the Global Entrepreneurship course website, which offers students diverse entities of information and tasks. In the examined course, there were 177 participants, from three different countries: United Kingdom, France and Israel. The students were grouped into 40 multicultural virtual (not face-to-face) teams, each one comprised of participants from at least two countries. The primary methodology of this study is analytics of the extracted data, which was transferred into Excel for cleaning purposes and then to SPSS for analysis. Contribution: This study aims to discover the effects of multicultural teamwork on individual procrastination while comparing the differences between cultures, as there are only a few studies exploring this relation. The uniqueness of this study is using and analyzing actual data of student procrastination from logs, whereas other studies of procrastination in multicultural student teams have measured perceived procrastination, collected using surveys. Findings: The results show statistical differences between countries in procrastination of individual assignments before team working: students from UK were the most procrastinators and Israeli students were the least procrastinators, but almost all students procrastinated. However, the outcome of the teamwork was submitted almost without procrastination. Moreover, procrastination in individual assignments performed after finishing the multicultural teamwork dramatically decreased to 10% of the students’ prior individual procrastination. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results from this study, namely, the decline of the procrastination after the multicultural virtual teamwork, can be used by global firms with employees all over the world, working in virtual multicultural teams. Such firms do not need to avoid multicultural teams, working virtually, as they can benefit from this kind of collaboration. Recommendation for Researchers: These results can be also beneficial for academic researchers from different cultures and countries, working together in virtual multicultural teams. Impact on Society: Understanding the positive effect of virtual multicultural teamwork, in mitigating the negative tendency of students from diverse cultures to procrastinate, as concluded in this study, can provide a useful tool for higher education or businesses to mitigate procrastination in teamwork processes. It can also be used as an experiential learning tool for improving task performance and teamwork process. Future Research: The relation between procrastination and motivation should be further examined in relation to multicultural virtual teams. Further research is needed to explore the effect of multicultural virtual teamwork during the teamwork process, and the reasoning for this effect.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to introduce a digital thinking skills (DTS) theoretical model (DTSM) that could support and enhance digital instruction best practices in schools. Methodology: We have taken a mixed-methods approach. Our respondents represent diverse cultural, linguistic, pedagogical, and social heritages. Contribution: The study provides a theoretical model developed by Eshet-Alkalai and Aviram that could impact subsequent digital teaching in schools. The highly accessible model may help teachers understand the cognitive learning outcomes that derive from frequently used digital tools. Findings: We found that teachers do not have a pedagogical concept of digital thinking skills, though many believe such skills might have a positive effect on their learners’ achievements. School culture plays a key role in effective DI delivery. Teachers want better in-service IT instruction. Recommendations for Practitioners: When distance learning has become the order of the day, we recommend practitioners connect pedagogical methodology and disciplinary content with new technology to boost learning outcomes. Recent world events have shown that in many cases practitioners have not been exposed to multiple digital options, especially those that not only present and review learning content but also boost the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. Recommendation for Researchers: We recommend researchers review different types of available resources and their effective implementation in the school curricula in order to foster creativity and more profound thinking among teachers and learners. Impact on Society: Better informed and greatly improved DI in schools is clearly crucial for twenty-first-century systems. As we go to press, in the middle of the coronavirus world-wide lockdown, these words resonate more than ever before. Our research both highlights this obvious need and provides a heuristic bridge between basic research and classrooms. Future Research: Future studies should focus on a pedagogical digital model that can enhance DI best practices in schools.

Aim/Purpose: Using Artificial Intelligence with Deep Learning (DL) techniques, which mimic the action of the brain, to improve a student’s grammar learning process. Finding the subject of a sentence using DL, and learning, by way of this computer field, to analyze human learning processes and mistakes. In addition, showing Artificial Intelligence learning processes, with and without a general overview of the problem that it is under examination. Applying the idea of the general perspective that the network gets on the sentences and deriving recommendations from this for teaching processes. Background: We looked for common patterns of computer errors and human grammar mistakes. Also deducing the neural network’s learning process, deriving conclusions, and applying concepts from this process to the process of human learning. Methodology: We used DL technologies and research methods. After analysis, we built models from three types of complex neuronal networks – LSTM, Bi-LSTM, and GRU – with sequence-to-sequence architecture. After this, we combined the sequence-to- sequence architecture model with the attention mechanism that gives a general overview of the input that the network receives. Contribution: The cost of computer applications is cheaper than that of manual human effort, and the availability of a computer program is much greater than that of humans to perform the same task. Thus, using computer applications, we can get many desired examples of mistakes without having to pay humans to perform the same task. Understanding the mistakes of the machine can help us to under-stand the human mistakes, because the human brain is the model of the artificial neural network. This way, we can facilitate the student learning process by teaching students not to make mistakes that we have seen made by the artificial neural network. We hope that with the method we have developed, it will be easier for teachers to discover common mistakes in students’ work before starting to teach them. In addition, we show that a “general explanation” of the issue under study can help the teaching and learning process. Findings: We performed the test case on the Hebrew language. From the mistakes we received from the computerized neuronal networks model we built, we were able to classify common human errors. That is, we were able to find a correspondence between machine mistakes and student mistakes. Recommendations for Practitioners: Use an artificial neural network to discover mistakes, and teach students not to make those mistakes. We recommend that before the teacher begins teaching a new topic, he or she gives a general explanation of the problems this topic deals with, and how to solve them. Recommendations for Researchers: To use machines that simulate the learning processes of the human brain, and study if we can thus learn about human learning processes. Impact on Society: When the computer makes the same mistakes as a human would, it is very easy to learn from those mistakes and improve the study process. The fact that ma-chine and humans make similar mistakes is a valuable insight, especially in the field of education, Since we can generate and analyze computer system errors instead of doing a survey of humans (who make mistakes similar to those of the machine); the teaching process becomes cheaper and more efficient. Future Research: We plan to create an automatic grammar-mistakes maker (for instance, by giving the artificial neural network only a tiny data-set to learn from) and ask the students to correct the errors made. In this way, the students will practice on the material in a focused manner. We plan to apply these techniques to other education subfields and, also, to non-educational fields. As far as we know, this is the first study to go in this direction ‒ instead of looking at organisms and building machines, to look at machines and learn about organisms.