Educational technology- primary school
T. Bahmani
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The development of societies depends on having creative and responsible individuals who believe and trust in their own competence and capabilities. Raising such a generation requires aligning the educational system with knowledge, technology, and current developments in the ...
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Background and Objectives: The development of societies depends on having creative and responsible individuals who believe and trust in their own competence and capabilities. Raising such a generation requires aligning the educational system with knowledge, technology, and current developments in the world. Digital technology and tools are now so intertwined with human lives that UNESCO has included digital literacy as part of the concept of literacy, alongside reading and writing skills. Digital literacy is the ability to search, analyze, apply, produce, and share information and content using technological tools. By learning digital literacy, individuals will gain the skills necessary for success in their personal, academic, and professional lives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of digital literacy training on creative thinking, responsibility, and Competence Perception in sixth-grade students.
Methods: The research method was experimental with a pre-test-post-test design. The statistical population included all sixth-grade female students in Ahvaz in 2023-2024, 60 of whom were selected from schools using convenience sampling and were assigned to two experimental and control groups of 30 students each. Both groups were assessed under the same conditions using the Torrance Creativity Questionnaire, Lewis Responsibility Questionnaire, and Harter Competence Perception as pre-tests. Then, the experimental intervention (digital literacy training) was conducted in person on the experimental group during 12 60-minute sessions, one session per week. During this period, the control group did not receive any educational intervention. The process of the educational sessions was as follows: in each session, a summary of the discussion of the previous sessions was presented, and then the relevant assignments and new topics were presented by the researcher. After training and troubleshooting, at the end of each session, a summary of the session's contents was presented, and the task for the next session was fully clarified and determined. After completing the training sessions, a post-test was administered to both experimental and control groups. Multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance tests were used to analyze the data.
Findings: The results showed that digital literacy training significantly increased the scores of creative thinking (F=181.227, p<0.001) and its components (fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration with details), responsibility (F=120.6, P<0.001) and its components (responsibility towards oneself and responsibility towards others), and Competence Perception (F=499.29, P<0.001) and its components (behavioral competence, social competence, academic competence, and physical competence) in the experimental group. As a result, digital literacy education has a positive and significant effect on creative thinking, responsibility, and perceived competence of sixth-grade female students.
Conclusion: The research findings showed that digital literacy can increase creative thinking, responsibility, and perception of competence in sixth-grade elementary school students. By creating cognitive capabilities, technical skills, and responsible attitudes, this education can pave the way for innovation and creativity by providing diverse learning experiences. By educating students about preserving their own and others' information, security, and privacy, and developing responsible communication skills, it fosters sustainable growth in responsibility. Also, gaining successful experiences and a sense of mastery when working in a digital environment promotes a sense of competence and adequacy. Therefore, it is recommended that digital literacy training be included in the student curriculum.
Electronic learning- virtual
H. Toorani; A. Jafari
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The rapid advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT), along with their integration into mobile devices, have transformed the landscape of education, introducing innovative methods for teaching and learning. This technological integration has significantly ...
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Background and Objectives: The rapid advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT), along with their integration into mobile devices, have transformed the landscape of education, introducing innovative methods for teaching and learning. This technological integration has significantly influenced how the learning process is conceptualized and guided. Teachers, as the primary facilitators of learning, play a pivotal role in engaging students in virtual learning environments. However, the effectiveness of e-learning in fostering teacher-student interactions is contingent upon several factors, one of the most critical being teachers' digital literacy. Digital literacy not only determines teachers' ability to utilize e-learning tools effectively but also enhances their capacity to foster meaningful instructional interactions. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of teachers’ digital literacy in the relationship between e-learning and instructional interactions in elementary schools in Tehran.Materials and Methods: The research was applied in nature, with a survey-based approach adopted for data collection. The statistical population consisted of 20,968 elementary school teachers across all 19 educational districts in Tehran. Of this total, 18,824 were female and 2,144 were male. Based on Morgan’s table, the sample size was estimated at 376. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was employed. Initially, Tehran was divided into five geographical regions (north, south, center, east, and west). After dividing Tehran into these geographical regions, one cluster (region) was randomly selected from each region by assigning a code. In the subsequent stage, 20 clusters (schools) were randomly selected from each chosen region by assigning codes to ensure balance among the regions. To measure the variables under study, three validated instruments were employed: the Digital Literacy Questionnaire, E-Learning Questionnaire, and Teacher-Student Interaction Questionnaire. These tools provided a comprehensive framework for assessing teachers' digital literacy, the efficacy of e-learning, and the quality of teacher-student interactions. Structural equation model and linear regression were used to analyze the hypotheses.Findings: The findings of the study underscore the significant positive impact of e-learning on teacher-student interactions. Furthermore, digital literacy was identified as a critical mediating factor that enhances this relationship. Specifically, the results demonstrated that teachers with higher levels of digital literacy were better equipped to leverage e-learning platforms, leading to more effective instructional interactions. The mediating role of digital literacy highlights its importance as a foundational skill that amplifies the benefits of e-learning technologies. This finding suggests that digital literacy not only facilitates the adoption of e-learning tools but also enriches the quality of teacher-student engagement in virtual learning settings.Conclusions: The study's results emphasize the necessity of improving teachers' digital literacy to enhance the overall quality of education and promote effective teacher-student interactions in elementary schools. Digital literacy serves as a critical enabler, allowing teachers to navigate and utilize e-learning tools more effectively. Consequently, targeted interventions to improve teachers' digital literacy should be prioritized as part of broader educational reforms. Additionally, the development of ICT infrastructure within schools is imperative for the successful implementation of e-learning initiatives. Providing teachers with access to reliable digital tools and resources can further enhance their ability to deliver engaging and interactive virtual lessons. Moreover, tailored training programs focused on the practical use of e-learning platforms and digital teaching strategies can empower teachers to maximize the potential of ICT in education. By addressing these areas, schools can create a conducive environment for effective e-learning and foster stronger instructional interactions between teachers and students. The findings of this study contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the role of digital literacy in modern education and underscore its importance in adapting to the demands of the digital era.
Educational Technology - Teacher Education
A Ramazani; Z. Talebi
Abstract
Background and Objectives Today, technology has an important role to play in regulating society's lifestyle. People's lives are dominated by an information environment because of rapid technological progress in computers, the Internet, and smartphones. Information and communication technology (ICT) is ...
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Background and Objectives Today, technology has an important role to play in regulating society's lifestyle. People's lives are dominated by an information environment because of rapid technological progress in computers, the Internet, and smartphones. Information and communication technology (ICT) is a special branch of IT facilitating access to information. ICT can help to improve teachers' teaching experiences and prepare them for the demands of the 21st century. To be effective in the use of ICT, teachers are required to have adequate self-efficacy teaching skills. ICT self-efficacy is the concept of an individual's belief that he or she can use information and communication technologies for specific tasks. The skills of information literacy and digital literacy are required for teachers to develop their own ability to use ICT. With this consideration, the relationship between information literacy and digital literacy of preservice teachers and their ability to use ICT for learning purposes is investigated in this study.Materials and Methods: In this study, a survey research design was employed as the methodology. Data were collected using online questionnaires, and the collected data were analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). To gather data for this study, an online survey comprising two questionnaires was administered to students enrolled in teacher training programs at Farhangian University in Zanjan, Iran in 2023. One of the frameworks used as a questionnaire was rigorously developed and validated by Pinto and Markauskaite et al., while the other one was taken from the Global Framework of Reference on Digital Literacy Skills. Participants were chosen from study groups which were selected through stratified cluster sampling. Out of 1700 preservice teachers in two branches of Farhangian University (Alzahra and Shahid Beheshti), 313 preservice teachers were selected as the representatives (which was calculated based on the Morgan Table). To investigate the correlation between latent variables, survey data have been analyzed using CFA. For the evaluation of the proposed framework, structural equation modeling (SEM) was also used.Findings: The outcomes of the CFA and SEM analysis revealed that how pre-service teachers perceive their information literacy directly and positively affects their perception of digital literacy. Additionally, the results showed that pre-service teachers' perceived information literacy has a direct and positive influence on their self-confidence in using ICT for teaching, also known as ICT self-efficacy. Furthermore, the research findings indicated that the way pre-service teachers perceive their digital literacy directly and positively impacts their self-confidence in utilizing ICT for teaching. However, when compared to perceived digital literacy, the perceived information literacy of preservice teachers has a more pronounced effect on their ICT self-efficacy in the context of teaching.Conclusions: The research findings emphasize the importance of giving priority to the development of information literacy and digital literacy skills for pre-service teachers in the field of education. This is because these skills are strongly correlated with higher levels of ICT self-efficacy. The study also underscores the necessity for teacher training and professional development programs that specifically target the enhancement of information literacy and digital literacy. By focusing on these literacies, such programs have the potential to improve preservice teachers' ICT self-efficacy in teaching and enhance the effective utilization of ICT in educational settings.
Educational technology- primary school
F. Gadrdan; B. Sabzeh; Y. Oskoui
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In the digital age, literacy does not only include individual skills, but also includes a set of social actions in real or digital space that uses new and digital technologies to communicate. Therefore, to complete the topic of media literacy, a new type of literacy called ...
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Background and Objectives: In the digital age, literacy does not only include individual skills, but also includes a set of social actions in real or digital space that uses new and digital technologies to communicate. Therefore, to complete the topic of media literacy, a new type of literacy called digital literacy has been proposed. Since students need a complete set of literacy to make the most of social networks, participate in post-industrial economies and play the role of global citizens, digital literacy as one of the new and multi-dimensional literacies is the best and most useful approach to understanding the changing landscape. It is the world that cannot be separated from education and the development of it must be provided among students, especially at the elementary level because childhood learning is the foundation of all subsequent education. In fact, understanding the dimensions and development of digital literacy among students is an answer to face the challenges of the digital age. In this regard, the aim of this research was to identify the dimensions of digital literacy of primary school students.Methods: The current research method was applied in terms of its purpose and its method was combined (qualitative and quantitative) so that in identifying the dimensions of digital literacy of primary school students, a combined research method was used for validation. A descriptive method with Delphi technique was used for the identified dimensions. The statistical population of the qualitative part of this research included all books, articles, master's theses, doctoral theses that were published in the period from 2013 to 2014 on this topic. The digital literacy of primary school students was determined by a statistical sample of 36 documents in a targeted and criteria-oriented way. In the quantitative part, 17 experts were selected as a sample from the statistical community of educational science and educational technology experts and elementary school teachers. In order to collect data and information and analyze the findings to identify the dimensions of students' digital literacy, theoretical coding process was used in three stages of open coding, central coding and selective coding. In this step, to ensure the coding method, in addition to the self-review technique, two experts in the field of digital literacy were used to recode the findings. In order to validate the dimensions identified using the questionnaire made by the researcher, the data obtained from the survey was evaluated with Kendall's formula.Findings: After analyzing the extracted data with MAXQDA11 software, the coding chart was drawn. Based on the results obtained in the coding process, in the open coding stage, 66 codes were extracted, 13 subcategories were obtained in the axial coding stage, and finally, in the selective coding, after combining the concepts, four dimensions were obtained. The results obtained from the research indicated that four operational, critical, cultural and transitional dimensions could be considered for the digital literacy of primary school students and each of these dimensions had components that were appropriate to their age characteristics and needs. Operational dimension included technical literacy, digital content literacy, and information literacy. The critical dimension included the components of media literacy and critical literacy. The cultural dimension included the components of digital participation, social literacy, digital ethics and digital security, and digital creativity and innovation, problem solving, digital entertainment and digital intelligence were components of the critical dimension. In the expert validation section, the value of Kendall's correlation coefficient (0.658) was obtained.Conclusion In this research, the dimensions of digital literacy for primary school students were identified according to their characteristics and needs and based on the study of the experiences of leading countries in the development of digital literacy for children, which showed a balance between protection against online risks and nurturing digital opportunities and it can be a guide for the development of policies and curricula related to digital literacy among Iranian primary school students.
