Nowadays, we are surrounded by artifacts that are capable of adaptive behavior, such as electric pots, boiler timers, automatic doors, and robots. The literature concerning human beings’ conceptions of “traditional” artifacts is vast, however, little is known about our conceptions of behaving artifacts, nor of the influence of the interaction with such artifacts on cognitive development, especially among children. Since these artifacts are provided with an artificial “mind,” it is of interest to assess whether and how children develop a Theory of Artificial Mind (ToAM) which is distinct from their Theory of Mind (ToM). The study examined a new theoretical scheme named ToAM (Theory of Artificial Mind) by means of qualitative and quantitative methodology among twenty four 5-7 year old children from central Israel. It also examined the effects of interacting with behaving artifacts (constructing versus observing the robot’s behavior) using the “RoboGan” interface on children’s development of ToAM and their ToM and looked for conceptions that evolve among children while interacting with behaving artifacts which are indicative of the acquisition of ToAM. In the quantitative analysis it was found that the interaction with behaving artifacts, whether as observers or constructors and for both age groups, brought into awareness children’s ToM as well as influenced their ability to understand that robots can behave independently and based on external and environmental conditions. In the qualitative analysis it was found that participating in the intervention influenced the children’s ToAM for both constructors and for the younger observer. Engaging in building the robot’s behavior influenced the children’s ability to explain several of the robots’ behaviors, their understanding of the robot’s script-based behavior and rule-based behavior and the children’s metacognitive development. The theoretical and practical importance of the study is discussed.

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.

Teacher-student relationships are vital for academic and social development of students, for teachers’ professional and personal development, and for having a supportive learning environment. In the digital age, these relationships can extend beyond bricks and mortar and beyond school hours. Specifically, these relationships are extended today while teachers and students communicate via social networking sites (SNS). This paper characterizes differences between teachers (N=160) and students (N=587) who are willing to connect with their students/teachers via Facebook and those who do not wish to connect. The quantitative research reported here within is based on data collection of personal characteristics, attitudes towards Facebook, and perceptions of teacher-student relationship. Findings suggest differences in characteristics of the two groups (willing to connect vs. not willing to connect) within both populations (teachers and students). Also, in both populations, those who were willing to connect, compared to those who were not willing to connect, present more positive attitudes towards using Facebook for teaching/learning and are more opposed to a banning policy of student-teacher SNS-based communication. We also found that students who were willing to connect showed a greater degree of closeness with their teachers compared to those who were not willing to connect. This study may assist policymakers when setting up regulations regarding teacher-student communication via social networking sites.

Transforming a school from traditional teaching and learning to a one-to-one (1:1) classroom, in which a teacher and students have personal digital devices, inevitably requires changes in the way the teacher addresses her role. This study examined the implications of integrating 1:1 computing on teachers’ pedagogical perceptions and the classroom’s educational discourse. A change in pedagogical perceptions during three years of teaching within this model was investigated. The research analyzed data from 14 teachers teaching in a junior high school in the north of Israel collected over the course of three years through interviews and lesson observations. The findings show that the 1:1 computing allows teachers to improve their teaching skills; however, it fails to change their fundamental attitudes in regard to teaching and learning processes. It was further found that the use of a laptop by each student does not significantly improve the classroom’s learning discourse. The computer is perceived as an individual or group learning technology rather than as a tool for conducting learning discourse. An analysis of the data collected shows a great contribution to collaboration among teachers in preparing technology-enhanced lessons. The findings are discussed in terms of Bruner’s (Olson & Bruner, 1996) “folk psychology” and “folk pedagogy” of teachers and “the new learning ecology” framework in 1:1 classroom (Lee, Spires, Wiebe, Hollebrands, & Young, 2015). One of the main recommendations of this research is to reflect on findings from the teaching staff and the school community emphasizing 1:1 technology as a tool for significant pedagogical change. It seems that the use of personal technology per se is not enough for pedagogical changes to take place; the change must begin with teachers’ perceptions and attitudes.

Implementing inquiry in the outdoors introduces many challenges for teachers, some of which can be dealt with using mobile technologies. For productive use of these technologies, teachers should be provided with the opportunity to develop relevant knowledge and practices. In a professional development (PD) program in this design-based research, 24 teachers were involved in adaptation of a learning environment supporting inquiry in the outdoors that included the use of mobile technologies. They first experienced the learning environment as learners, then adapted it for their own use, and finally, enacted the adapted environment with peers. We examined the scope and character of teacher involvement in adaptation, and the consequent professional growth, by analyzing observations, questionnaires, interviews and the adapted learning-environments. Findings indicate that all teachers demonstrated change processes, including changes in knowledge and practice, but the coherence of the learning environments decreased when substantial adaptations were made. Some teachers demonstrated professional growth, as reflected by their implementation of ideas learned in the PD program in their daily practice, long after the PD program had ended. This study demonstrates how the Teachers as Designers approach can support teacher learning and illustrates productive use of scaffolds for teacher growth and professional development.

This study seeks to explore what factors influence students’ ICT use and web technology competence. The objectives of this study are the following: (a) To what extent do certain elements of Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI) explain students’ ICT use, (b) To what extent do personality characteristics derived from the Big Five approach explain students’ ICT use, and (c) To what extent does motivation explain students’ ICT use. The research was conducted in Israel during the second semester of the academic year 2013-14, and included two groups of participants: a group of Educational Technology students (ET) and a group of Library and Information Science students (LIS). Findings add another dimension to the importance of Rogers’ DOI theory in the fields of Educational Technology and Library and Information Science. Further, findings confirm that personality characteristics as well as motivation affect ICT use. If instructors would like to enhance students’ ICT use, they should be aware of individual differences between students, and they should present to students the advantages and usefulness of ICT, thus increasing their motivation to use ICT, in the hopes that they will become innovators or early adopters.

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.

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

In recent years, schools (as well as universities) have added cyber security to their computer science curricula. This topic is still new for most of the current teachers, who would normally have a standard computer science background. Therefore the teachers are trained and then teaching their students what they have just learned. In order to explore differences in both populations’ learning, we compared measures of software quality and security between high-school teachers and students. We collected 109 source files, written in Python by 18 teachers and 31 students, and engineered 32 features, based on common standards for software quality (PEP 8) and security (derived from CERT Secure Coding Standards). We use a multi-view, data-driven approach, by (a) using hierarchical clustering to bottom-up partition the population into groups based on their code-related features and (b) building a decision tree model that predicts whether a student or a teacher wrote a given code (resulting with a LOOCV kappa of 0.751). Overall, our findings suggest that the teachers’ codes have a better quality than the students’ – with a sub-group of the teachers, mostly males, demonstrate better coding than their peers and the students – and that the students’ codes are slightly better secured than the teachers’ codes (although both populations show very low security levels). The findings imply that teachers might benefit from their prior knowledge and experience, but also emphasize the lack of continuous involvement of some of the teachers with code-writing. Therefore, findings shed light on computer science teachers as lifelong learners. Findings also highlight the difference between quality and security in today’s programming paradigms. Implications for these findings are discussed.

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of distance learning courses for the purpose of interdisciplinary continuing education in Speech Pathology and Dentistry. Methods: The online course was made available on the Moodle platform. A total of 30 undergraduates participated in the study (15 from the Dentistry course and 15 from the Speech Pathology course). Their knowledge was evaluated before and after the course, in addition to the user satisfaction by means of specific questionnaires. The course was evaluated by 6 specialists on the following aspects: presentation and quality of the content, audio-visual quality, adequacy to the target public, and information made available. To compare the obtained results in the pre- and post-course questionnaires, the test Wilcoxon was carried out, with a 5% significance level. Results: the teaching/learning process, including the theoretical/practical application for the interdisciplinary training, proved to be effective as there was a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post- course evaluations (p<0.001), the users’ satisfaction degree was favorable and the specialists evaluated the material as adequate regarding the target public, the audio-visual information quality and the strategies of content availability. Conclusion: The suggested distance-learning course proved to be effective for the purpose of Speech Pathology and Dentistry interdisciplinary education.

Teaching object-oriented programming to students in an in-classroom environment demands well-thought didactic and pedagogical strategies in order to guarantee a good level of apprenticeship. To teach it on a completely distance learning environment (e-learning) imposes possibly other strategies, besides those that the e-learning model of Open University of Portugal dictates. This article analyses the behavior of the students of the 1st cycle in Computer Science while interacting with the object-oriented programming (OOP) discipline available to them on the Moodle platform. Through the evaluation of the level of interaction achieved in a group of relevant selected actions by the students, it is possible to identify their relevancy to the success of the programming learning process. Data was extracted from Moodle, numerically analyzed, and, with the use of some charts, behavior patterns of students were identified. This paper points out potential new approaches to be considered in e-learning in order to enhance programming learning results, besides confirming a high level of drop-out and a low level of interaction, thus finding no clear correlation between students’ success and the number of online actions (especially in forums), which reveals a possible failure of the main pillar on which the e-learning model relies.

This study attempts to present the variety of possible uses for iPads, in the learning process. The objective is to evaluate a unique implementation model that was tried out at a teacher training college in Israel. The methodology is based on a qualitative research paradigm. The findings show that students’ use the iPads in various contexts: (a) for ongoing personal use; (b) for planning lessons; (c) for active integration in the classroom; and (d) for reading and developing content and games. These findings are summarized in a chart that shows the different uses as levels in a hierarchical taxonomy. Analysis of the iPad’s pedagogical uses may shed light on the various skills students need to acquire in order to become teachers in 21st century. In addition, understanding the various iPad uses and their frequency can affect decision-making at the level of policy in the field of implementation of the use of mobile technologies in educational institutions.

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.

This paper reports on a case study of a group of six non-native English speaking migrant women’s experiences learning English vocabulary in a mobile assisted language learning (MALL) environment at a small community centre in Western Australia. A sociocultural approach to learning vocabulary was adopted in designing the MALL lessons that the women undertook. The women provided demographic information, responded to questions in a pre-MALL semi-structured interview, attended the MALL lessons, and completed a post-MALL semi-structured interview. This study explores the sociocultural factors that affect migrant women’s language learning in general, and vocabulary in particular. The women’s responses to MALL lessons and using the tablet reveal a positive effect in their vocabulary learning.

Digital solutions have substantially contributed to the growth and dissemination of education. The distance education modality has been presented as an opportunity for worldwide students in many types of courses. However, projects of digital educational platforms require different expertise including knowledge areas such as pedagogy, psychology, computing, and digital technologies associated with education that allow the correct development and application of these solutions. To support the evolution of such solutions with satisfactory quality indicators, this research presents a model focused on quality of online educational solutions grounded in an approach aimed to continuous process improvement. The model considers of three maturity levels and six common entities that address the specific practices for planning and developing digital educational solutions, targeting quality standards that satisfy their users, such as students, teachers, tutors, and other people involved in development and use of these kinds of educational solutions.

Campus discovery is an important feature of a university student induction process. Approaches towards campus discovery differ from course to course and can comprise guided tours that are often lengthy and uninspiring, or self-guided tours that run the risk of students failing to complete them. This paper describes a campus self-discovery induction game (Geospatial Crypto Reconnaissance) which aims to make students aware of campus resources and facilities, whilst at the same time allowing students to make friends and complete the game in an enthusing and exciting way. In this paper we describe the game construct, which comprises of a location, message, and artefact, and also the gameplay. Geospatial Crypto Reconnaissance requires students to identify a series of photographs from around the campus, to capture the GPS coordinates of the location of the photograph, to decipher a ciphered message and then to return both the GPS coordinates and the message for each photograph, proving that the student has attended the location. The game had a very high satisfaction score and we present an analysis of student feedback on the game and also provide guidance on how the game can be adopted for less technical cohorts of students.

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

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in teacher education poses new challenges to faculty and students. This study was carried out to examine factors facilitating and hindering ICT implementation in teacher education institutes in Israel. Findings from our study, administered at two points in time, revealed that providing technological-pedagogical support to teacher educators and their perceptions and beliefs regarding ICT usage were consistent with being either facilitating or hindering factors in the integration process in colleges of education. Professional development of teacher educators in ICT skills and guidance in applying advanced technologies are additional facilitating factors. Resources, mainly time and infrastructure, were mostly a hindering factor with adverse influence on ICT integration. Three levels of successful ICT integration indicated successful implementation: teacher educators’ level, students in their practice, and the organization level in terms of policy.

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.

The characteristics of successful MOOCs were explored in this study. Thousands of student reviews regarding five xMOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) in the fields of software, science, and management were extracted from the Coursetalk website and analyzed by quantitative and qualitative methods using the Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) Community of Inquiry (CoI) model. The 14 characteristics found to contribute to the success of MOOCs (e.g., teacher, atmosphere, exercise) were partitioned into the teaching, social, and cognitive presence elements. In addition, cluster analysis revealed five types of learners, based on the characteristics they mentioned for course success: atmosphere, exercise, teacher, exam, and unspecified. This divides learners into groups that may prefer social, cognitive, or teaching presence. The findings of this study negate the perception that xMOOCs mostly contain teaching presence elements. This research contributes to the understanding of characteristics that contribute to successful MOOCs and sheds light on the students, too. Listening to the voices of the students and the types of characteristics that they chose to mention, enables further exploration of their preferences and expectations regarding MOOCs and, accordingly, to future adaptation between students’ preferences and MOOC characteristics.

This study examined a professional development program designed to support Civics teachers in their efforts to promote empathy among Israeli Jewish students towards Israeli Arabs. The design rationale for the program is that teachers should experience empathic processes themselves before supporting their students in such an endeavor and that meaningful empathic processes can occur online if activities are properly designed. All phases of the program were designed to support teachers to participate as part of an online community of practice. Sixty Jewish teachers participated in two iterations of the design study. Refinements were made in the second iteration to provide teachers with explicit definitions of empathy and specific instructions for reflection. Findings indicate that these changes were reflected in higher degrees of empathic responses among teachers. Teachers also indicated that being a part of an online learning community contributed to the learning process they experienced during the program. We interpret this as a first step in enabling teachers to assist their students to develop a more empathetic approach toward the minority group and conclude with a discussion of recommended design principles for promoting such an approach.

CAPTCHA is one of the most common solutions to check if the user trying to enter a Website is a real person or an automated piece of software. This challenge-response test, implemented in many Internet Websites, emphasizes the gaps between accessibility and security on the Internet, as it poses an obstacle for the learning-impaired in the reading and comprehension of what is presented in the test. Various types of CAPTCHA tests have been developed in order to address accessibility and security issues. The objective of this study is to investigate how the differences between various CAPTCHA tests affect user experience among populations with and without learning disabilities. A questionnaire accompanied by experiencing five different tests was administered to 212 users, 60 of them with learning disabilities. Response rates for each test and levels of success were collected automatically. Findings suggest that users with learning disabilities have more difficulties in solving the tests, especially those with distorted texts, have more negative attitudes towards the CAPTCHA tests, but the response time has no statistical difference from users without learning disabilities. These insights can help to develop and implement solutions suitable for many users and especially for population with learning disabilities.

This study examined the phenomenon of academic dishonesty among university students. It was based on Pavela’s (1997) framework of types of academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, and facilitation) and distinguished between digital and “traditional”- analog dishonesty. The study analyzed cases of academic dishonesty offenses committed by students, as well as the reasons for academic dishonesty behaviors, and the severity of penalties for violations of academic integrity. The motivational framework for committing an act of academic dishonesty (Murdock & Anderman, 2006) and the Self-Concept Maintenance model (Mazar, Amir, & Ariely, 2008) were employed to analyze the reasons for students’ dishonest behaviors. We analyzed 315 protocols of the Disciplinary Committee, at The Open University of Israel, from 2012-2013 that represent all of the offenses examined by the Committee during one and a half years. The findings showed that analog dishonesty was more prevalent than digital dishonesty. According to the students, the most prevalent reason for their academic dishonesty was the need to maintain a positive view of self as an honest person despite violating ethical codes. Interestingly, penalties for analog dishonesty were found to be more severe than those imposed for digital dishonesty. Surprisingly, women were penalized more severely than men, despite no significant gender differences in dishonesty types or in any other parameter explored in the study. Findings of this study shed light on the scope and roots of academic dishonesty and may assist institutions in coping effectively with this phenomenon.

This preface presents the papers included in the eighth issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL) special series of selected Chais Conference best papers. The Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Technological Era, is organized annually by the Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies, The Open University of Israel. The 11th Chais Conference was held at The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel, on February 16-17, 2016.

This paper provides an overview of the impact that social media has on the development of collaborative learning within a cohort environment in a doctoral program. The researchers surveyed doctoral students in an education program to determine how social media use has influenced the doctoral students. The study looked at the following areas: a) the ability of social media use to develop a collaborative learning environment, b) access to social media content which supports learning, and c) whether social media use has contributed to the enhancement of the doctoral students’ academic achievement and learning progress. As social media use and on-line learning become more prevalent in education, it is important to continue to understand the impact that social media has on improving students’ ability to achieve their academic goals. This study provides insight on how doctoral students used social media and how social media use has influenced academic development in their cohort environment. In addition, this paper provides a discerning view into the role social media plays when developing a collaborative learning environment in a cohort.

Learning objects originally developed for use in online learning environments can also be used to enhance face-to-face instruction. This study examined the learning impacts of online learning objects packaged into modules and used in different contexts for undergraduate education offered on campus at three institutions. A multi-case study approach was used, examining learning impacts across a variety of course subjects, course levels (introductory and advanced undergraduate), student levels (undergraduate and graduate), and instructional goals (i.e., replacement for lecture, remediation). A repeated measures design was used, with learning data collected prior to viewing the online module, after completion of the module, and at the end of the semester. The study provided a broad examination of ways that online modules are typically used in a college classroom, as well as measured learning effectiveness based on different instructional purpose and usage contexts. Results showed the effectiveness of the modules in serving as a substitute for classroom lecture, remediation of course prerequisite material, introduction to content with follow-up lab practice, and review for final exams. In each of these cases, the use of the modules resulted in significant learning increases, as well as retention of the learning until the end of the semester.

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.

Personalization is one of the most expected features in the current educational systems. User modeling is supposed to be the first stage of this process, which may incorporate learning style as an important part of the model. Learning style, which is a non-stable characteristic in the case of children, differentiates students in learning preferences. This paper identifies a new hybrid method to initiate and update the information of children’s learning style in an educational system. At the start-up phase, children’s learning style information is gathered through the modified Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (MMTIC) questionnaire, which is based on the well-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This primary information will be tuned by tracking children’s behaviors during the learning process. Analytical data mining helped us to cluster these behaviors and find their patterns. The proposed method was applied on 81 fourth grade children in elementary school. Delivering results suggest that this method provides a good precision in recognizing children learning style and may be an appropriate solution for non-stability problems in their preferences.

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: As online video lectures rapidly gain popularity in formal and informal learning environments, one of their main challenges is student retention. This study investigates the influence of adding interactivity to online video lectures on students’ attention span. Background: Interactivity is perceived as increasing the attention span of learners and improving the quality of learning. However, interactivity may be regarded as an interruption, which distracts students. Furthermore, adding interactive elements to online video lectures requires additional investment of various resources. Therefore, it is important to investigate the impact of adding interactivity to online video lectures on the attention span of learners. Methodology: This study employed a learning analytics approach, obtained data from Google Analytics, and analyzed data of two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that were developed by the Open University of Israel in order to make English for academic purposes (EAP) courses freely accessible. Contribution: The paper provides important insights, based on quantitative empirical research, on: integrating interactive elements in online videos; the impact of video length; and differences between two groups of advanced and basic learners. Furthermore, it demonstrates how learning analytics may be used for improving instructional design. Findings: The findings suggest that interactivity may increase the attention span of learners, as measured by the average online video lecture viewing completion percentage, before and after the addition of interactivity. However, when the lecture is longer than about 15 minutes, the completion percentages decrease, even after adding interactive elements. Recommendations for Practitioners: Adding interactivity to online video lectures and controlling their length is expected to increase the attention span of learners. Recommendation for Researchers: Learning analytics is a powerful quantitative methodology for identifying ways to improve learning processes. Impact on Society: Providing practical insights on mechanisms for increasing the attention span of learners is expected to improve social inclusion. Future Research: Discovering further best practices to improve the effectiveness of online video lectures for diverse learners.

Aim/Purpose: This study took place in a school with a “paperless classroom” policy. In this school, handwriting and reading on paper were restricted. The purpose of this study was to gain insights from the teachers teaching in a paperless classroom and to learn about the benefits and challenges of teaching and learning in such an environment. Background: In recent years, many schools are moving towards a “paperless classroom” policy, in which teachers and students use computers (or other devices such as tablet PCs) as an alternative to notebooks and textbooks to exchange information and assignments electronically both in and out of class. This study took place in a school with a “paperless classroom” policy. In this school, handwriting and reading on paper were uncommon. Methodology: This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers teaching in a paperless school. The research questions dealt with the instruc-tional model developed, the various ways in which the teachers incorporated the technology in their classrooms, and the challenges and difficulties they encountered. Contribution: This study provides important advice to the way teachers have to work in paperless classrooms. Findings: It pointed out the contribution to students in three ways: preparing students for the future; efficiency of learning; empowerment of students. The teachers presented a variety of innovative methods of using the laptops in class and described a very similar structure of the lesson. The teachers described the difficulties involved in conducting a paperless classroom instruction and emphasized that despite the efficiency of the computer and its ability to support the teaching process, they used technology critically. The findings also indicate that some teachers were concerned that the transition from the regular classroom to a paperless one may negatively impact students’ reading and writing skills. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teaching in a paperless school is challenging. On the one hand, going paperless contributes to active and adaptive learning, efficiency, and the acquisition of 21st-century skills or, as they described their main goal, to prepare students for the future. On the other hand, computers in class cause problems such as distraction and disciplinary issues, information overload, and disorganized information as well as technological concerns. Impact on Society: Teachers in the paperless school develop a solid rationale relying on ideas for teaching and learning in a paperless environment, and use varied technologies and develop innovative pedagogies. They are aware of the challenges of this environment and concerned about the disadvantages of using the technology. Thus they develop a realistic and critical view of the paperless classroom. Future Research: Future studies investigating the teachers’ voice as well as the pupils’ aspect could help guide schools in preparing teachers for the paperless classroom.

Aim/Purpose: This study examines the impact of the Israeli National Program on pre-service teachers’ skills in the integration of ICT in teaching and discusses the influential factors of successful implementation of practices in the field. Background: In the current Information Age, many countries relate to education as an im-portant factor for national growth. Teacher education plays a significant role in coping with the challenge of educating a new generation of school students to compete in a technology-driven society. In 2011, the Israel Ministry of Education initiated the National Program for transforming teacher education colleges to meet the demands of the 21st century. Methodology: The study focuses on two research questions: (1) What was the impact of the National Program on pre-service teacher training concerning the integration of ICT in their teaching? (2) What are the predictors of the pre-service teachers’ practice of ICT integration in teaching? It is a quantitative study, based on data collected in two rounds two years apart that compares several indices of pre-service teachers’ preparation to teach with ICT. Contribution: The findings offer insights regarding influential factors of successful integration of ICT in education. Findings: Analyses showed a significant increase in most of the indices of teacher training according to the National Program, in particular in the number of ICT-based lessons that pre-service teachers taught in their teaching practice at schools. Predictors of ICT integration in teaching were modeling by faculty members and school mentor teachers, the number of ICT-based lessons taught by pre-service teachers, and pre-requisite conditions at schools and colleges. Recommendations for Practitioners: The current challenge is to promote innovative ICT-based teaching methods among teacher educators, school teacher mentors, and pre-service teachers. Recommendation for Researchers: The findings underscore the importance of modelling by the school mentors as well as pre-requisite conditions at schools. Impact on Society: Being acquainted with the most influential factors of successful integration of ICT in teaching by pre-service teachers can improve teacher education as well as the education system in educating future generations. Future Research: More research is needed to learn about the dissemination of innovative models of ICT integration in teaching by pre-service teachers and their educators.

Aim/Purpose: This preface presents the papers included in the ninth issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning (IJELL) special series of selected Chais Conference best papers. Background: The Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Technological Era, is organized by the Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies, The Open University of Israel. The 12th Chais Conference was held at The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel, on February 14-15, 2017. Each year, selected papers of the Chais conference are expanded and published in IJELL. Methodology: A qualitative conceptual analysis of the themes and insights of the papers included in the ninth selection of IJELL special series of selected Chais Conference best papers. Contribution: The presentation of the papers of this selection emphasizes their novelty, as well as their main implications, describes current research issues, and chronicles the main themes within the discourse of learning technologies research, as reflected at the Chais 2017 conference. Findings: Contemporary research goes ‘beyond the walls of the classroom’ and investigates systemic and pedagogical aspects of integrating learning technologies in education on a large scale. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers are encouraged to investigate broad aspects of seizing the opportunities and overcoming the challenges of integrating innovative technologies in education. Impact on Society: Effective application of learning technologies has a major potential to improve the well-being of individuals and societies. Future Research: The conceptual analysis of contemporary main themes of innovative learning technologies may provide researchers with novel directions for future research on various aspects of the effective utilization of learning technologies.

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: To develop a framework for utilizing Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) to assist non-native English migrant women to acquire English vocabulary in a non-formal learning setting. Background: The women in this study migrated to Australia with varied backgrounds including voluntary or forced migration, very low to high levels of their first language (L1), low proficiency in English, and isolated fulltime stay-at-home mothers. Methodology: A case study method using semi-structured interviews and observations was used. Six migrant women learners attended a minimum of five non-MALL sessions and three participants continued on and attended a minimum of five MALL sessions. Participants were interviewed pre- and post-sessions. Data were analysed thematically. Contribution: The MALL framework is capable of enriching migrant women’s learning experience and vocabulary acquisition. Findings: Vocabulary acquisition occurred in women from both non-MALL and MALL environment; however, the MALL environment provided significantly enriched vocabulary learning experience. Future Research: A standardised approach to measure the effectiveness of MALL for vocabulary acquisition among migrant women in non-formal setting

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: These days educators are expected to integrate technological tools into classes. Although they acquire relevant skills, they are often reluctant to use these tools. Background: We incorporated online forums for generating a Community of Inquiry (CoI) in a faculty development program. Extending the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model with Assessment Knowledge and content analysis of forum discourse and reflection after each CoI, we offer the Diagnostic Tool for Learning, Assessment, and Research (DTLAR). Methodology: This study spanned over two cycles of a development program for medical faculty. Contribution: This study demonstrates how the DTLAR supports in-depth examination of the benefits and challenges of using CoIs for learning and teaching. Findings: Before the program, participants had little experience with, and were reluctant to use, CoIs in classes. At the program completion, many were willing to adopt CoIs and appreciated this method’s contribution. Both CoIs discourse and reflections included positive attitudes regarding cognitive and teacher awareness categories. However, negative attitudes regarding affective aspects and time-consuming aspects of CoIs were exposed. Participants who experienced facilitating a CoI gained additional insights into its usefulness. Recommendations for Practitioners : The DTLAR allows analyzing adaption of online forums for learning and teaching. Recommendation for Researchers: The DTLAR allows analyzing factors that affect the acceptance of online fo-rums for learning and teaching. Impact on Society : While the tool was implemented in the context of medical education, it can be readily applied in other adult learning programs. Future Research: The study includes several design aspects that probably affected the improve-ment and challenges we found. Future research is called for providing guidelines for identifying boundary conditions and potential for further improvement.

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 study examines differences in credit and noncredit users’ learning and usage of the Plant Sciences E-Library (PASSEL, http://passel.unl.edu), a large international, open-source multidisciplinary learning object repository. Background: Advances in online education are helping educators to meet the needs of formal academic credit students, as well as informal noncredit learners. Since online learning attracts learners with a wide variety of backgrounds and intentions, it is important understand learner behavior so that instructional resources can be designed to meet the diversity of learner motivations and needs. Methodology: This research uses both descriptive statistics and cluster analysis. The descriptive statistics address the research question of how credit learners differ from noncredit learners in using an international e-library of learning objects. Cluster analysis identifies high and low credit/noncredit students based on their quiz scores and follow-up descriptive statistics to (a) differentiate their usage patterns and (b) help describe possible learning approaches (deep, surface, and strategic). Contribution: This research is unique in its use of objective, web-tracking data and its novel use of clustering and descriptive analytic approaches to compare credit and noncredit learners’ online behavior of the same educational materials. It is also one of the first to begin to identify learning approaches of the noncredit learner. Findings: Results showed that credit users scored higher on quizzes and spent more time on the online quizzes and lessons than did noncredit learners, suggesting their academic orientation. Similarly, high credit scorers spent more time on individual lessons and quizzes than did the low scorers. The most striking difference among noncredit learners was in session times, with the low scorers spending more time in a session, suggesting more browsing behavior. Results were used to develop learner profiles for the four groups (high/low quiz scorers x credit/noncredit). Recommendations for Practitioners: These results provide preliminary insight for instructors or instructional designers. For example, low scoring credit students are spending a reasonable amount of time on a lesson but still score low on the quiz. Results suggest that they may need more online scaffolding or auto-generated guidance, such as the availability of relevant animations or the need to review certain parts of a lesson based on questions missed. Recommendation for Researchers: The study showed the value of objective, web-tracking data and novel use of clustering and descriptive analytic approaches to compare different types of learners. One conclusion of the study was that this web-tracking data be combined with student self-report data to provide more validation of results. Another conclusion was that demographic data from noncredit learners could be instrumental in further refining learning approaches for noncredit learners. Impact on Society: Learning object repositories, online courses, blended courses, and MOOCs often provide learners the option of moving freely among educational content, choosing not only topics of interest but also formats of material they feel will advance their learning. Since online learning is becoming more prolific and attracts learners with a wide variety of backgrounds and intentions, these results show the importance of understanding learner behavior so that e-learning instructional resources can be designed to meet the diversity of learner motivations and needs. Future Research: Future research should combine web-tracking data with student self-report to provide more validation of results. In addition, collection of demographic data and disaggregation of noncredit student usage motivations would help further refining learning approaches for this growing population of online users.

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: This study examines the influence of Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), and Facilitating Conditions (FC) on the use of smart phones for mobile learning by postgraduate students in University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Background: Due to the low level of mobile learning adoption by students in Nigeria, three base constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model were used as factors to determine smart phone use for mobile learning by the postgraduate students in the University of Ibadan. Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive survey research design of the correlational type, the two-stage random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 217 respondents, and a questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages, mean, and standard deviation), test of norm, and inferential statistics (correlation and regression analysis) were used to analyze the data collected. Contribution: The study empirically validated the UTAUT model as a model useful in predicting smart phone use for mobile learning by postgraduate students in developing countries. Findings: The study revealed that a significant number of postgraduate students used their smart phones for mobile learning on a weekly basis. Findings also revealed a moderate level of Performance Expectancy (???? =16.97), Effort Expectancy (???? =12.57) and Facilitating Conditions (???? =15.39) towards the use of smart phones for mobile learning. Results showed a significant positive relationship between all the independent variables and use of smart phones for mobile learning (PE, r=.527*; EE, r=.724*; and FCs, r=.514*). Out of the independent variables, PE was the strongest predictor of smart phone use for mobile learning (β =.189). Recommendations for Practitioners: Librarians in the university library should organize periodic workshops for postgraduate students in order to expose them to the various ways of using their smart phones to access electronic databases. Recommendation for Researchers: There is a need for extensive studies on the factors influencing mobile technologies adoption and use in learning in developing countries. Impact on Society: Nowadays, mobile learning is increasingly being adopted over conventional learning systems due to its numerous benefits. Thus, this study provides an insight into the issues influencing the use of smart phones for mobile learning by postgraduate students from developing countries. Future Research: This study utilized the base constructs of the UTAUT model to determine smart phone use for mobile learning by postgraduate students in a Nigerian university. Subsequent research should focus on other theories to ascertain factors influencing Information Technology adoption and usage by students in developing countries.

Aim/Purpose: The digital divide and educational inequalities remain a significant societal problem in the United States, and elsewhere, impacting low income, first-generation, and minority learners. Accordingly, institutions of higher education are challenged to meet the needs of students with varying levels of technological readiness with deficiencies in information and digital literacy shown to be a hindrance to student success. This paper documents the efforts of a mid-Atlantic minority-serving institution as it seeks to assess, and address, the digital and information literacy skills of underserved students Background: A number of years ago, a historically Black university in Maryland developed an institutional commitment to the digital and information literacy of their students. These efforts have included adoption of an international certification exam used as a placement test for incoming freshmen; creation of a Center for Student Technology Certification and Training; course redesign, pre and post testing in computer applications courses; and a student perception survey. Methodology: A multi-methodological approach was applied in this study which relied on survey results, pre and post testing of students enrolled in introductory and intermediate computer applications courses, and scores from five years of placement testing. Student pre and post test scores were compared in order to examine degree of change, and post test scores were also assessed against five years of scores from the same test used as a placement for incoming freshmen. Finally, a student perception and satisfaction survey was administered to all students enrolled in the courses under consideration. The survey included a combination of dichotomous, Likert-scaled, and ranking questions and was administered electronically. The data was subsequently exported to Microsoft Excel and SPSS where descriptive statistical analyses were conducted. 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. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of current studies examining the information and technological readiness of students specifically enrolled at minority serving institutions. As such, this paper is timely and relevant and helps to extend our discourse on the digital divide and technological readiness as it impacts higher education. The students included in this study are representative of those enrolled in Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, giving this paper broad implications across the country. Internationally, most countries have populations of first-generation college students from under-served populations for whom a lack of digital readiness is an also an issue therefore giving this study a global relevance. Findings: The digital divide is a serious concern for higher education, especially as schools seek to increasingly reach out to underserved populations. In particular, the results of this study show that students attending a minority serving institution do not come to college with the technology skills needed for academic success. Pre and post testing of students, as well as responses to survey questions, have proven the efficacy of computer applications courses at building the technology skills of students. These courses are viewed overwhelmingly positive by students with respondents reporting that they are a necessary part of the college experience that benefits them academically and professionally. Use of an online simulated learning and assessment system with immediate automated feedback and remediation was also found to be particularly effective at building the computer and information literacy skills of students. The total sample size for this study was over 2,800 individuals as data from 2690 IC3 tests administered over a five year period were considered, as well as 160 completed surveys, and pre and post testing of 103 students. Recommendations for Practitioners: Institutions of higher education should invest in a thorough examination of the information and technology literacy skills, needs, and perceptions of students both coming into the institution as well as following course completion. Recommendation for Researchers: This research should be expanded to more minority serving 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: The results of this research help to shed light on a problem that desperately needs to be addressed by institutions of higher education, which is the realities of the digital divide and the under preparedness of entering college students in particular those who are from low income, first generation, and minority groups Future Research: A detailed quantitative survey study is being conducted that seeks to examine the technology uses, backgrounds, needs, interests, career goals, and professional expectations with respect to a range of currently relevant technologies.

Contribution: This study contributes to scientific literature by detailing the impact of specific factors on the privacy concerns of citizens living in an African city Findings: The findings reveal that the more that impersonal data is collected by the Smart City of Cape Town, the lower the privacy concerns of the digital natives. The findings also show that the digital natives have higher privacy concerns when they express a strong need to be aware of the security measure put in place by the city. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners (i.e., policy makers) should ensure that it is a legal requirement to have security measures in place to protect the privacy of the citizens while collecting data within the smart city of Cape Town. These regulations should be made public to appease any apprehensions from its citizens towards smart city implementations. Less personal data should also be collected on the citizens. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should further investigate issues related to privacy concerns in the context of African developing countries. Such is the case since the population of these countries might have unique cultural and philosophical perspectives that might influence how they perceive privacy. Impact on Society: Cities are becoming “smarter” and in developing world context like Africa, privacy issues might not have as a strong influence as is the case in the developing world. Future Research: Further qualitative studies should be conducted to better understand issues related to perceived benefits, perceived control, awareness of how data is collected, and level of privacy concerns of digital natives in developing countries.

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents the preliminary findings of a pilot survey that sought to examine the technology uses, backgrounds, needs, interests, career goals, and professional expectations of Generation Z students enrolled at a minority serving institution in the United States Mid-Atlantic region. Background: Students entering college today are part of Generation Z born in the late 90’s through 2016. Known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task, they already outnumber millennials and are the first true digital natives born during the age of smart phone. Methodology: In the fall of 2017, an online student perception survey was piloted with stu-dents enrolled at a mid-Atlantic minority serving institution. The survey included a combination of dichotomous, Likert-scaled, and ranking questions. The survey was administered electronically using the Survey Monkey system to students following completion of core computer concepts courses and explored their technology backgrounds, skills, perceived computing self-efficacy, and the role they predict technology will play in their future career. The data was subsequently exported to Microsoft Excel and SPSS where descriptive statistical analyses were conducted. Contribution: As Generation Z descends on college campuses, with their technology domi-nated backgrounds and different communications, learning, and social prefer-ences, it is important to better understand this generation whose needs and expectations will help shape the future of higher education. Additionally, this study also provides research on a population (first-generation minority college students) that is expanding in numbers in higher education and that the litera-ture, reports is impacted negatively by the digital divide and educational inequalities. This paper is timely and relevant and helps to extend our understanding of Generation Z. Findings: The findings show that Generation Z learners enrolled in a minority-serving institution enjoy computer classes, feel that using computers comes easy to them; and perceive themselves as experts in the use of social media, mobile operating systems, using a smart phone, searching the Web, and email. Participants also reported that they want to be more technologically literate, want to be more skilled in computer software applications, and are interested in learning about cyber security. In terms of the future, most respondents also believe that their career will require them to analyze information to inform decision making. Additionally, most stated that information security will be important to their future career. Finally, the results affirmed that college computing courses remain important and that college students recognize that technology will play a crucial role in their career with employers wanting to see job applicants with strong technology skills. Recommendations for Practitioners: Generation Z learners enrolled in higher education need, and want, a wide range of technology courses available to them in order to help them meet the rapidly evolving demands of tomorrow’s workplace. Students in this study overwhelmingly see the value in enhancing their technology skills especially in such areas as computer software applications, information management, and cyber security. Recommendation for Researchers: Institutions of higher education should invest in thorough and ongoing examinations of the information and technology literacy skills, needs, and perceptions of students. Impact on Society: Understanding the interests and needs of Generation Z learners is imperative to the future of higher education. Future Research: This survey is a work in progress that is part of a pilot study that is being used to help guide a much more sizable examination of Generation Z learners.

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.