Preparation and compilation of electronic content
Z. Rahbar; F. Ahmadi Kalateh Ahmad; M. Saidi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The emergence of COVID-19 has brought about a sudden shift to e-learning and virtual platforms. Teachers play a key role in developing e-learning content. Hence, they must be familiar with the theories related to the cognitive constructs and e-learning principles to both facilitate ...
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Background and Objectives: The emergence of COVID-19 has brought about a sudden shift to e-learning and virtual platforms. Teachers play a key role in developing e-learning content. Hence, they must be familiar with the theories related to the cognitive constructs and e-learning principles to both facilitate the learning process and enhance the rate of learning and retention among the students. The cognitive load might increase unless the e-learning and experiential content is not developed according to the cognitive load theory, particularly for teaching physics as a field that requires multimodal presentation of the content. This might hinder the students’ learning and retention. In other words, if the principles of cognitive load theory are not observed in the design of electronic and multimedia content of course materials, the learning process will be disturbed and damaged due to the production of additional load beyond the memory capacity of the learners. The current study aimed to develop e-learning content for a concept in physics (e.g. pressure) based on the cognitive load theory. It further attempted to explore its possible impact on the learners’ levels of learning (knowledge, understanding, application) and the degree of their retention.Materials and Methods: The study adopted a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design with an experimental and a control group. The statistical population included all female ninth graders in district 17, Tehran, the capital of Iran. The sample consisted of 120 learners via multistage stratified random sampling procedures. The participants were assigned to experimental and control groups. To gather the required data, a researcher-made test was used and its reliability was calculated via Cronbach’s alpha as 0.85. The students took part in a three-week virtual empirical sciences course comprising six sixty-minute sessions. Before offering the course, the educational objectives of chapter 8 of the empirical sciences textbook in the ninth grade related to the subject “pressure” were determined using the teacher’s manual and eliciting the experienced sciences and physics teachers’ expert comments. Then, their level of cognitive processing was identified based on Bloom’s taxonomy. The objectives were categorized into three groups of knowledge, understanding, and application. To analyze the data, analysis of covariance and an independent samples t-test were used via SPSS (20.00).Findings: The results of the analysis of covariance for learning levels (knowledge, understanding, and application) demonstrated that developing e-learning materials based on the cognitive load theory enhanced the learners’ levels of learning in the experimental group compared to those in the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the results of an independent samples t-test for the delayed post-test revealed a significant difference between the participants in experimental and control groups in terms of their degree of retention (P < 0.01).Conclusions: The findings implied that considering the principles of the cognitive load theory in developing e-learning materials for physics would positively influence the learners’ levels of learning and their degree of retention. Therefore, it is recommended to designers of e-learning content to consider the principles of cognitive load theory in the design and production of their content.
Technology-based learning environments
S.R. Emadi; A. Mokhtarisami
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The present age is called the age of communication and the most prominent symbol of that is the media. Today, educators, especially teachers, strive to use a variety of media to improve teaching and learning so that they can provide students with most information in an effective ...
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Background and Objectives: The present age is called the age of communication and the most prominent symbol of that is the media. Today, educators, especially teachers, strive to use a variety of media to improve teaching and learning so that they can provide students with most information in an effective way in the shortest possible time. In many domestic and foreign studies, infographics have been introduced as one of the most effective media in the field of education and researchers in many studies have found that infographics can improve academic performance in normal students and facilitate learning in students with disabilities. In this study, we try to examine the effect of using an infographic in the learning environment based on the Glasersfeld model on the level of motivation, learning, and retention in the fifth grade of the social studies course. This research is practical in terms of purpose.Methods: This study was quasi-experimental in terms of research method, using pre-test and post-test design with separate experimental and control groups. The sample was comprised of 30 fifth-grade students randomly divided into two groups of 15, i.e., the control group and the experimental group. Researcher-made tests as that were used as the main methodological instruments administered for eliciting data in this study were validated by the comments of the experts in this field, the educational technology professors, and the thesis supervisor. Moreover, the Cronbach alpha and scholars’ assessment methods were employed to measure the reliability of multiple choice tests and open-ended question types, respectively. In addition, to analyze the data collected in the study, both descriptive statistics (that is, mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) and inferential statistics (that is, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, T test, Analysis of Covariance( were used by applying the SPSS software.Findings: The results of this study revealed that the amount of learning and retention of the students who were trained with the help of an infographic in the learning environment based on the Glasersfeld model was statistically significant as compared to that of those students who have not used infographics in the social studies course (p<0.05). But with respect to motivation, since P = 0.87 and F = 0.02, no significant difference was observed between the two groups and the hypothesis was not confirmed (P> 0.05).Conclusion: An effective education is one that can attract the attention of students and keep them involved and active in the learning process. Infographics are tools that provide information in the forms of both text and image, enabling learners to use their full capacity for cognition which actually leads to more and better teaching-learning. An infographic is the visualization of information or ideas that convey complex information to the audience in a way that is too fast and easily comprehensible and, therefore, easily retrievable. Since infographics simplify difficult materials, they are very helpful in learning and memorizing complex and difficult lessons. In the teaching method with infographics in a learning environment based on the Glasersfeld model, conditions are provided for the learners to be involved in education and actively build knowledge and be able to visualize complex and difficult content in a simple, concise, and structured way in their minds.
Electronic learning- virtual
M.A. Rostaminezad; A.A. Ajam; H. Zabet
Abstract
Background and Objective: One of the most sensitive parts of the education system in every person's life is elementary school. A period that plays a very important role in the life of each person; and the success or failure in this period will have very serious effects on the future of the individual. ...
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Background and Objective: One of the most sensitive parts of the education system in every person's life is elementary school. A period that plays a very important role in the life of each person; and the success or failure in this period will have very serious effects on the future of the individual. Meanwhile, the role and importance of mathematics is felt more than other subject matters as many students are weak in this course. For this reason, the teaching of this course should be changed from a strict and inflexible subject matter that is limited to lecturing to various approaches in accordance with mathematics education and active teaching methods along with new educational technologies. Educational technology and e-learning are some of the concepts that were introduced and attracted a lot of attention in the field of education with the growth and development of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Recently, Wanser proposed a theory of educational humor processing, a theory that has evolved from the basic models of persuasion and incompatibility theories to explain the role of educational humor in facilitating learning. This research conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of the electronic humorous content on the learning and retention of students' mathematics. Methods: The present study was a semi-experimental research using pre-test-post-test design with experimental and control groups. The population consisted of all 5th grade students (N=2200) in elementary schools at Birjand in 2018. The statistical population of the study consisted of 58 people who were selected with convenience sampling. The study sample included a class as the experimental group and another class as the control group selected out of four classes, each consisting of 29 people. For data collection, Teacher-made test used in pre-test and post-test. In addition to, descriptive analysis, covariance test used to analyze the data. Findings: There is a significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups' mathematical learning variable. Regarding ETA, we can say that using humorous content, explains 15.4% of the variance of post-test scores ( = 15.4%،p < .05). There was no significant difference between the mean scores of pre-test and post-test of retention in the experimental group compared to the control group. The findings of this study showed that the effect of humorous electronic mathematical content on learning was significant (15%), but the effect of humorous electronic content on retention was not significant. Conclusion: The use of e-content is a step forward toward the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. The application of this research results for pedagogues is that in order to improve mathematics learning, we should pay attention to the role and function of humorous education and electronic content; and by combining these two direct mathematical teaching methods to create interest in this subject matter. Combining the process of teaching mathematics with humorous e-content will increase students' attention and motivation, improve their mathematical learning, and foster their creative power. The findings of several studies suggest that providing opportunities for collaborative, moderated, and competitive learning in schools can help reduce anxiety and improve students' math performance. This requires a systematic and purposeful effort on the part of the education system to bring about a change in math textbooks and teaching methods. For this reason, it is necessary to take essential measures to make the e-content as effective as possible. This requires that professionals, teachers, and all educators collaborate effectively and efficiently to successfully design and produce e-content.
Educational technology- primary school
H. Panah; S. Mousavipour
Abstract
The present research was conducted to investigate the instructional effects of Quran educational multimedia on the learning and retention of six grade male students with mental special needs in Arak. The research design of the study was a quasi-experimental, and the participants of the study were 18 ...
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The present research was conducted to investigate the instructional effects of Quran educational multimedia on the learning and retention of six grade male students with mental special needs in Arak. The research design of the study was a quasi-experimental, and the participants of the study were 18 students with mental special needs studying at the Noor special education center randomly assigned to two groups of nine. The experimental group was treated with multimedia instruction for two months (18 sessions each 45 minutes) while the control group received no treatment strategy. To assess the results, first a pretest was administered to both groups. After the pretest the experimental group received the treatment and after that a posttest was administered to both groups. The data were then analyzed with repeated measure ANOVA and multivariate variance analysis.Overall, the results of the analyses imply that although in both groups under study the level of learning and intake improved compared with the beginning, the second group which was exposed to multimedia instruction of Quran outperformed the other group with traditional instruction in the indices under investigation in this study. Also, according to multivariate variance analysis, it was found that multimedia use in teaching Quran to students with mental special needs significantly improves the indices of reading the words part by part, reading, compared with the traditional methods.
Education technology -training course
S.R. Emadi; N. ZanjanI Maskan
Abstract
The main purpose of the present study was the comparison of the impact of instruction using instructional software and traditional method of learning and retention geometry lesson. This study was a quasi-experimental study. Statistical population consisted of all students in the Zanjan city's public ...
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The main purpose of the present study was the comparison of the impact of instruction using instructional software and traditional method of learning and retention geometry lesson. This study was a quasi-experimental study. Statistical population consisted of all students in the Zanjan city's public schools. Using random sampling, there are two classes of 30 and then randomly selected one class as the experimental group and control group was selected as another class. To get the result semi test method was used to collect the data needed for a self-made test. To analyze the data, were used descriptive and inferential statistical methods as Vic Shapiro test, t-test and analysis of covariance. The results showed that: Students who have been trained by a combination method these students had a higher level of learning and retention in the spatial geometry lesson.
Technology-based learning environments
H. Rastegarpour; M. Hosseini
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of researcher made multiplication table software package of “Hesabyar” on learning and retention of primary students. The sample consisted of 60 female primary school students who were randomly selected and put into two experimental ...
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of researcher made multiplication table software package of “Hesabyar” on learning and retention of primary students. The sample consisted of 60 female primary school students who were randomly selected and put into two experimental and control groups in the 5th educational district of Tehran. The instrument consisted of posters, book, white board, software multiplication game and tests, which was distributed amongst students in experimental (which have not been used the package) and the control group. The experiment lasted from early November to late March. Data was analyzed by utilizing independent t-test. Findings showed that use of the Hesabyar software package has a positive effect on learning and retention of the multiplication table. Also, the result revealed that there was statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups.
