E-Lerning
M. Iziy; Kh. Aliabadi; M.R Nili Ahmadabadi; Ali Delavar
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, instruction and learning in old models are not responsive for the learners of the current generation; many studies claim that this generation has different characteristics. According to the distinctive characteristics of this generation, the educational system must respond ...
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Background and Objectives: Today, instruction and learning in old models are not responsive for the learners of the current generation; many studies claim that this generation has different characteristics. According to the distinctive characteristics of this generation, the educational system must respond to their needs. Therefore, the current research aimed to identify the preferred teaching style of digital natives and construct and validate a scale to measure it.Methods: To achieve the goal of the research, a mixed exploratory design research of instrumental development type was used. In the first stage, 15 students with the characteristics of digital natives in Birjand University, who were identified through the Digital Native Assessment Scale, were given standardized open-ended questions and were interviewed in depth with general guide approach. Interview documents were analyzed using interpretational analysis. In the second step, the results of the first step were organized in the form of a scale to measure the preferred teaching style of digital natives. Then, the designed tool was implemented using the descriptive-survey research method and selecting a sample of 348 students with a combined method (stratified and cluster sampling) from the community of 11,368 students of Birjand University.Findings: In the first stage, fourteen categories including attention, class atmosphere, goals, prefer image over text, thriving on instant gratification, interaction, motivation, technology integration in teaching, preferred content, multitasking, presentation method, teaching time, teamwork and evaluation were discovered. Based on the results of this stage, the scale was designed and implemented. The results of exploratory factor analysis with the analysis of the main components led to the identification of 31 items with high factor load in 7 components. This questionnaire explained 60.13% of the changes in the preferred teaching style of digital natives in the present research population. The reliability of the total questionnaire was 0.92 and all seven components had the desired reliability.Conclusion: The study showed that the new generation of learners considered the informal atmosphere and moderation in behavior as part of the requirements of the classroom atmosphere. They prefer real examples and expressions of related or unrelated funny recollections to be attractive activities in attracting attention. Digital native learners prefer professors to express their standards and expectations clearly at the beginning of the semester and believe that this will regulate the student's behavior with the professor expectations and standards. They also emphasize the 70% preference of images over text in presentations. They do not like the teaching method of speech. Using music, PowerPoint, searching through mobile phone and showing movies are the preferred technologies of this generation. They prefer quick feedback, especially on social networks. They prefer face-to-face interaction with professors over other types of interaction. They are against teaching according to the syllabus of the lesson and prefer professors to emphasize on practical material by presenting examples. They are comfortable with multitasking (doing several tasks at the same time) in class, especially if these activities are mobile based. They prefer that the duration of teaching is one hour or less and its timing is adjusted according to the needs of the students. In the end, it is suggested that professors, university lecturers, and instructional designers, while paying attention to generational differences and taking into account the instructional preferences of the new generation, take steps to improve learning and increase the motivation of learners and adapt their approach to the instructional needs of the new generation.
Emerging Technologies
H. Abbasi; E. Zaraii Zavaraki; M. Nili Ahmadabadi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The current research was conducted with the aim of investigating the use of new Metaverse technology in teaching and learning in order to develop, facilitate and apply it in education. The research problem was how to make real impossibilities possible in teaching and learning ...
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Background and Objectives: The current research was conducted with the aim of investigating the use of new Metaverse technology in teaching and learning in order to develop, facilitate and apply it in education. The research problem was how to make real impossibilities possible in teaching and learning intuitively and the role of metaverse in this field, the success rate of educational research and their scientific and research reasons for using metaverse in education. In the studies, the goals, variables, methods, results and challenges regarding the use of metaverse in education were investigated.Methods: The research was conducted using a systematic review method. The statistical population (research field), the content required to conduct a systematic review, included valid scientific and research articles. The statistical sample was selected using a targeted method and 23 items were selected from among 127 articles. The criteria for entering the research cycle included the full relevance of the article title to the topic of Metaverse, the newness of the publication year, publication between 2020-2023, the validity of the indexed publication and site, the validity and adequacy of the article reference, the use of correct research methods and its relevance to the topic, that was teaching and learning. The criteria for excluding the article from the research process included the lack of subject relevance, the low research rank of the publication, the publication year not being new, the topic being repetitive, languages other than Persian and English. The keywords used were metaverse, teaching and learning in Persian and English, and the articles were searched in reliable domestic and foreign databases.Findings: The research showed that Metaverse was effective in teaching and learning, despite being new and the limited development of its technological dimensions. In response to the questions, the most prominent goals of research related to the use of metaverse in education, providing a clear definition of metaverse, applications of metaverse in education, presenting the model, determining challenges, describing the characteristics and methods of use, legal requirements, analyzing attitudes and the role of artificial intelligence in metaverse were determined. The leading countries in this field were Korea, China, America, Spain, Taiwan, and UAE. The research methods used were survey, descriptive, experimental, content analysis, modeling, and systematic review. The statistical population of most of the studies were students and the variables were general learning, educational content, user satisfaction, and metaverse framework. Also, the main tools used in the selected studies were questionnaires, interviews and tests. The number of experimental studies in education was seven. The main findings of the research included providing a technical framework, improving interaction, creating deep and meaningful learning, increasing motivation, creating creativity, personalized learning, situational training, and creating new educational opportunities. The challenges were related to the nascent nature of the technology, the effect of technical capabilities on the results, technological limitations, ethical issues, health threats, high costs, content production problems, lack of experts, and lack of access to everyone.Conclusion: The emergence of the metaverse should be practically considered from 2021, but its effective capabilities and abilities in education have been confirmed by most studies, and it is predicted that the metaverse would bring a bright future for teaching and learning and can be used to facilitate and accelerate the realization of educational goals. Therefore, to improve the current situation, it is necessary to a) develop instructional design patterns based on metaverse, b) design and present a content production model for Metaverse, c) design, formulate, and standardize the design principles of teaching and learning environments based on metaverse, d) develop the principles and method of implementation, technical development and support of Metaverse, e) design principles and evaluation methods of educational programs based on metaverse, and f) prepare the legal and ethical charter of metaverse educational environments. Among the limitations of the research, we can point out the lack of experimental researcg, the lack of evolution of applied technologies in the metaverse, and the limited range of studies. It is suggested that by using Metaverse technology, education should be transformed from classroom to virtual world and its effect on different dimensions of education and learning should be researched.
Education technology - higher education
S. Talebi; M. R. Nili Ahmadabadi; H. Fardanesh; A. Delavar
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Educational technology, as an interdisciplinary field, is affected by the advances in science and technology and the use of their findings to facilitate the education process and improve the quality of learning. With the aim of using “Design Thinking” as a new approach ...
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Background and Objectives: Educational technology, as an interdisciplinary field, is affected by the advances in science and technology and the use of their findings to facilitate the education process and improve the quality of learning. With the aim of using “Design Thinking” as a new approach for innovation and creative problem solving and a source of effect in instructional design issues, the current research is in search of design and validation of design thinking instructional model in educational technology in order to improve instructional design, create rich experiences and innovative issues in education. The lack of formation of the designer's identity in the instructional designer and the lack of equipping the mind with creative design and design thinking can lead to superficial and low-quality instructional designs, boredom and reduced motivation, and reduced effectiveness of educational plans. In this regard, paying attention to thinking designerly and design thinking can respond to the challenges facing instructional design and solve them. The basic gap in this field is the lack of effective design thinking instructional model for educational technology students, which is the aim of this research.Methods: In conducting the research, a mixed method was used in the form of a sequential exploratory design with two main qualitative and quantitative parts. In order to identify the components of design thinking in the model of instructional design, a systematic review method was used by examining research from 1980 to 2021 in various multidisciplinary and scientific databases in Latin and Persian. 294 researches were identified and after reading the summary of articles and preliminary review and removing irrelevant articles, 21 articles were subjected to qualitative content analysis with inductive design. The components of design thinking, social constructivism, design-instructional design thinking were extracted and based on the findings of the qualitative part, the proposed model of education was designed inspired by Janasen's model and was subject to internal and external validation in the quantitative part. For the internal validation of the model, a descriptive survey method was used with the statistical community of experts in the field of educational technology. The external validation of the model was done through the quasi-experimental method (pre-test and post-test groups, experimental and reference groups) with the participation of 32 master's and doctoral students in educational technology, and the results were used to modify and finalize the model.Findings: Inductive analysis of the content of the qualitative part of the research showed that the instructional pattern of DT is a mixture of the theoretical and practical components of DT, instructional design, and social constructivism. Identification of the components, their relationship, and their combination to conform to the pattern of the instructional design of DT resulted in the presentation of a conceptual model and a proposed pattern for instructional design. In the quantitative part of the research, the internal validity of the proposed pattern was confirmed by 29 educational technology experts and university instructors. The descriptive results and the t-test of each of the groups regarding the variables and the mean and standard deviation of the results of covariance of the experimental and control groups after intervention showed that using the pattern, that is proposed for DT, was significant at the alpha level of p<0.01 with the score for students’ DT qualification. The null hypothesis was rejected in the confidence interval level of 99 percent and the research hypothesis was confirmed on the condition of validity of the proposed pattern for teaching DT and its impact on the instructional design performance of the MA and Ph.D. students of educational technology.Conclusion: Confirmation of the research's internal and external validity testifies that the proposed pattern can be suitable for teaching DT to students of educational technology while providing a safe and flexible environment for DT learning. Furthermore, it may promote qualifications for instructional design in the areas of professional foundations, planning, and analysis, compilation, assessment, instructional evaluation, and betterment of instructional design. However, there are certain challenges in the way of enforcement and some exigencies for successful DT teaching, which need to be taken into consideration. The pattern can be used in the centers for training and recruiting instructional designers, thus contributing to better performance of the instructional design.
Preparation and compilation of electronic content
H. Abbasi; M. Nili Ahmadabadi; A. Delavar; E. Zaraii Zavaraki
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Due to the growing need of learners for new digital technologies in education, especially augmented reality technology, which has significant potential, the inadequacy of common electronic content, their lack of educational principles and standards and the lack of a suitable ...
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Background and Objectives: Due to the growing need of learners for new digital technologies in education, especially augmented reality technology, which has significant potential, the inadequacy of common electronic content, their lack of educational principles and standards and the lack of a suitable model for producing augmented reality content in education with a constructivism approach necessitate conducting research and finding a solution. The current study aimed to design and validate the model of production of augmented reality content with an emphasis on the constructivism approach.Methods: The present study was an applied one according to the purpose and based on the method, it was a mixture or combination of consecutive exploratory type. Inductive qualitative content analysis was used to extract the template components. In reviewing texts and articles, the systematic review method was used and to determine the internal validity, the survey method was utilized. The statistical population for content analysis included scientific sources, books, articles, treatises and valid scientific documents in the field of augmented reality between 2000-2022. By selecting related keywords, the search was conducted in local and international citation databases. The statistical sample was selected via purposive method and included 232 cases. The statistical population for the interview included professors, specialists and producers of augmented reality and the statistical sample of the target population was formed via purposive sampling consisting of 21 people. Also, the statistical population for model validation included augmented reality specialists and university professors, from which a statistical sample of 33 people were selected via purposive sampling method. Data collection tools included a researcher-made questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. To check the inter-coder reliability, two methods of decoding and second coding were used. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts. In order to determine the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha test and to determine the internal validity of the model, frequency, mean, standard deviation, mean standard error and one-sample t-test were used.Findings: In the first and second method, the inter-coder reliability was 91% and 87%, respectively. And the content validity ratio index was 93% and 96%, respectively. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 96% through Cronbach's alpha test. The value of t-test was positive for all questions and according to the significance level (Sig= 0.001), the difference between the mean of the questions and the theoretical mean was significant. The results of content analysis showed that 13 main categories and 55 subcategories were extracted for the augmented reality content production model. The main categories of augmented reality content production model included management, instructional design, design of constructivism learning environments, multimedia design principles, cognitive load control, technical design, production, execution, rendering, publication, development, program evaluation and academic achievement.Conclusion: By identifying the categories and their subcategories, first a conceptual model and then a process model were designed. The innovation of the designed comprehensive model in instructional and technical design requires the simultaneous attention to instructional and technical dimensions. In the presented model, the categories related to the instructional dimensions were environmentally located and the categories related to the technical dimensions were centrally located. The results of statistical analysis showed that from the perspective of experts, the designed model had a high validity and its validity was confirmed. Therefore, it is suggested that this model be used to produce electronic augmented reality content, especially for position-based training, based on a constructivism approach and designed with augmented reality content.
