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Media Literacy in Times of Crisis

2024-04-09T11:14:56+02:00

The contemporary younger generation is facing a multitude of changes and adversities stemming from prevalent political, military, and pandemic crises that have garnered substantial attention in the media. In light of these circumstances, Media Literacy and critical thinking are paramount in navigating the influx of information and discerning veracity from misinformation. The rationale behind selecting this demographic as the focal point lies in the discernible trend wherein young individuals often peruse news content on their mobile devices with minimal contemplation, relying exclusively on social media platforms devoid of journalistic filtration. As delineated by various investigations, this juncture in their lives is pivotal to cultivating critical thinking skills. Such skills empower the youth to engage in autonomous thought processes, make informed decisions, and assess the repercussions of their actions. The contribution presents the outcomes of the interviews conducted in Italy, Spain, and Portugal within the project YO-MEDIA on Media Literacy in times of crisis, addressing the attention of educators, teachers, stakeholders, and journalists.

University Teacher´'s Relational Competence in Online Teaching

2024-05-23T20:50:29+02:00

Universities have strengthened their capacity to conduct teaching online since the COVID-19 pandemic, yet online teaching poses new challenges for teacher-student relationships (TSR). International research emphasizes the significance of TSR for learning, but there is a lack of research on how TSR is built in digital classrooms. This paper discusses teachers’ relational competence as manifested in online teaching. Microscopic Relational Analysis (MRA) was used to explore a university teacher’s relational competence, focusing on nonverbal communication. The analysis shows how changeable and vulnerable the TSR can be. This is a characteristic of TSR in teaching face-to-face, but it is hardly expected of TSR in online teaching. In addition, the study indicates that teachers’ nonverbal communication is an important feature in this context. The MRA suggests that a teacher’s sensitivity to detecting a student’s subtle cues is crucial for successful online TSR. Further, it is suggested that teachers’ relational competence is manifested along five patterns, where respectful communication during the student’s turn is essential. Overall, the study suggests the importance of teachers’ relational competence in fostering a positive and supportive digital learning environment and highlights the need for teacher training and professional development programs to enhance teachers’ relational competence in online teaching.

Teacher educators’ and pre-service teachers’ confidence toward the use of ICT in education

2024-05-23T21:05:44+02:00

Todays’ teacher education needs to provide pre-service teachers with readiness to integrate ICT in education. Teacher educators are expected to serve as role models for pre-service teachers, providing them with examples and meaningful experiences of learning with ICT. The aim of this study is to provide an insight into teacher educators’ and pre-service teachers’ confidence toward using ICT in education. In this study, both groups assessed their Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK). The aim was to study the possible differences between teacher educators’ and pre-service teachers’ TPK assessments, and based on their assessments, to provide insights into teacher educators’ readiness to act as role models for pre-service teachers. The participants of the study were 123 pre-service teachers and 83 teacher educators. The results indicate that the assessments of teacher educators were higher than pre-service teachers’ assessments at the sample level. The results also indicate that pre-service teachers and teacher educators can both be divided into two aligning sub-groups, with higher and lower assessments. However, the comparison of these sub-groups showed that the assessments of the pre-service teachers in the higher sub-group were higher than with the assessments of the teacher educators in the lower (modest) sub-group. This study provides evidence for variation among teacher educators and pre-service teachers in terms of their TPK. This implies a need for more tailored ways to develop TPK in teacher education.

What is digital education? Decoding notions and encoding critical thinking, human rights and participation for fairer digital societies

2024-05-16T09:53:30+02:00

This research addresses some of societal challenges in the digital age by analysing key features and contextual factors associated with digital education’s notions among academic literature. It problematises some of its shortcomings by zooming into digital education’s references to critical thinking, human rights and participation. A Systematic Literature Review was applied among peer-reviewed articles published in English since 2014. Results for discussion hinged upon the implications of dominant conceptualisations, factors enabling missing links with digital rights, and tactics steering education towards social justice in digital societies.

Advancing democracies in the digital age entail comprehensive efforts oriented by human rights including technologies, regulations, research and education. Among these, education has been pointed as fundamentally affecting a stark ‘division of learning’. This gap is the axial point for the financial and controlling interests of big wealthy companies and governments. The implications of these digital divides have expanded the field of digital rights in the last decade, which was accelerated after the COVID-19 digital transformation. Nevertheless, the right to a quality education has remained broadly sidelined among digital rights, and most of the concerns from this field have been minimally included in educational agendas.

Job demands and resources of information and technology use among teachers in Germany

2024-06-20T14:39:49+02:00

Some teachers associate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use with additional stress, referred to as technostress, while others seem to be able to utilize the advantages and potentials of ICT. There is a lack of research on how ICT experience is perceived as a threat or a positive challenge to well-being and how ICT specifically impacts the well-being of teachers in a positive way. Thus, the study aims to compile influencing factors of ICT use on teachers’ well-being and to gain knowledge on the role of the benefits of ICT. Furthermore, information about the interplay of factors is to be obtained. The group concept mapping (GCM) method was used with 14 in-service German teachers from different school types. They compiled, sorted and rated factors related to teachers’ well-being in the context of ICT use. The sorted factors were structured using non-metric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. Seventy-eight unique factors were generated and divided into 9 clusters. The resulting concept map (CM) provides an overview of the various factors and gives information about their interplay. In addition, the teachers rated clusters related to the positive effects on teachers’ well-being as more important than those related to negative effects. The results suggest that future studies should consider the positive effects of ICT on teachers’ well-being more extensively. Furthermore, the structure of the CM and the individual factors are linked to previous research. Limitations concerning the chosen method and sampling are discussed.

Playful Computation

2024-04-30T15:51:35+02:00

This paper investigates students’ experiences and teachers’ attitudes towards playful computation: an innovative pedagogy that emphasizes playful learning to teach students information and computing technology. A pilot study was conducted at a Californian primary school during the summer, involving 84 students and 5 teachers engaging in creative and playful computing activities such as 3D printing, coding drones, redubbing audio, building computers, and music production. Student surveys, teacher interviews, and classroom observations were collected in mixed-methods research to provide multiple perspectives on the challenges and benefits of implementing the pedagogy.

Key findings indicate that playful computation significantly boosted student engagement and enjoyment, even surpassing student expectations. Teachers also expressed surprise at the increase in engagement as well as persistence, attributing this to the intrinsically rewardingnature of playful activities. Playful computation also promoted student self-expression and collaborative learning.

However, teachers expressed concerns about the practicality of implementing this pedagogy in standard educational settings due to existing structural constraints of aligning with academic standards. Classroom management and lack of established norms for play in this learning context also limited their lesson plans and implementations.

Supporting the existing literature on the benefits of playful learning, this research also suggests the need for further investigation into its role in facilitating flow and non-cognitive traits like grit. Investigating how playful computation impacts students’ testable learning outcomes is also recommended as a necessary research direction to facilitate broader implementation in American classrooms.