Technology-based learning environments
S. Khazai; M. Arefi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: With the advent of e-learning, the educational perspective has changed. Following these changes and the separation of learners by the e-learning courses, a sense of isolation and alienation has been created which has even become a threat to learning in these courses. ...
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Background and Objectives: With the advent of e-learning, the educational perspective has changed. Following these changes and the separation of learners by the e-learning courses, a sense of isolation and alienation has been created which has even become a threat to learning in these courses. The dropout rate from e-learning courses is about 40% compared to that of 10% in university courses; In other words, more than 50% of learners drop out of online training centers. Challenges related to erosion and dropout have made student retention a determining factor in academic rankings, and this ranking ultimately supports credibility, academic rank, and the most important criteria for success for higher education institutions; therefore, the sense of presence was considered as an important factor because with the proper implementation of the sense of presence in the e-learning environment, not only the dropout rate was reduced but also it led to better learning of the learners. Therefore, the present study focused on translating and validating the Presence Questionnaire version 3 (PQ3) so that for the first time in Iran, by examining the factor structure, validity and reliability of the Presence Questionnaire tool, it can be used in various contexts of virtual learning environments.Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive study included all students participating in virtual learning courses of Tehran universities in the academic year of 1399_1400 (2020-2021). Among these students, 330 Master’s and PhD students were chosen through simple random sampling method. They responded using Witmer and Singer Presence Questionaire [26 but only 200 questionaires were analyzable.Findings: Based on the results of exploratory factor analysis by principal component method, four main factors (that is, involvement, sensory support, interface quality, and adaptation/immersion) were extracted and selected according to the number of eigenvalues above 1. These four factors, with the power of 89.7 percent, explained the change in the total presence in virtual learning environments. The results of Cronbach's alpha test which was used to evaluate the reliability of the test showed that the whole tool enjoys a desirable consistency (0.98). The results of Cronbach's alpha for subscales ranged from 94.0 to 97.0. The results of confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the construct validity showed that the questionaire structure had an acceptable fit with the data and all goodness indicators confirmed the suitability of the model.Conclusion: Based on the results of the second order confirmatory factor analysis, the factors of involvement, sensory support, adaptation/immersion, and interface quality explained 69, 65, 89, and 71 percent of the variance of presence in virtual learning environments, respectively. Thus, the obtained results indicate the validity, reliability, and acceptability of the structural factors of the translated version of the presence questionaire to be used in researches related to virtual environment among Iranian learners.
Information literacy
R. Ahmadi; E. Zaree Zavaraki; D. Norouzi; A. Delavar; F. Dortaj
Abstract
Background and Objectives:Given the impact that new technologies have had on individual and social activities, it is the task of education to respond to the growing needs of the society. To emphasize this task, UNESCO, in 2008, in collaboration with major companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, the ...
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Background and Objectives:Given the impact that new technologies have had on individual and social activities, it is the task of education to respond to the growing needs of the society. To emphasize this task, UNESCO, in 2008, in collaboration with major companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, the International Association of Education Technology, the Polytechnic Institute and the University of Virginia, designed a document for teacher information and communication technology knowledge. Due to the importance of the issue and the welcome of member countries, this document was further revised. In the introduction to this document, students and teachers must be able to use technology effectively to live, learn and function successfully in highly complex, knowledge-based and information-rich environments. Education should strive to design students with specific characteristics that meet the needs of today's societies by designing an appropriate environment. Some of these characteristics are: capable of using information technology, searcher, analyst and information evaluator, decision maker and problem solver, capable of effective and creative use of productivity tools, informed, responsible and participatory citizens. By increasing the daily and effective use of technology in the educational process, student-teachers gain the opportunity to learn through technology. The growth and development of various information and communication technologies has made it possible to build a variety of software, hardware and Internet networks that can help the educational system of any country in a variety of formal, informal and free learning. Accordingly, given the important role that the teacher has in organizing learning experiences, it is necessary for them to be trained in a way that finds the necessary attitude, knowledge and skills. Accordingly, in-service and pre-service professional programs for teachers should include objective experiences of information and communication technology in the professional dimension. The present paper aims to construct, validate and estimate the reliability of the questionnaire of technology competencies of student-teachers at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University (SRTTU) in Tehran. Methods: To do so a questionnaire was developed after a systematic review of literature on theories of technology competencies. Through a random cluster sampling a sample of 60 student teachers of SRTTU was selected and the questionnaire was administered among them. The instrument included 49 items. Item analysis such as item discrimination and loop, construct validation (factor analysis) and reliability analysis (Cronbach Alpha) were utilized. Findings: In factor analysis, three factors were identified as: technology knowledge, knowledge consolidation and knowledge production. The reliability of the questionnaire turned out to be .98. The results indicate that the instrument is both reliable and valid and can be readily used to assess student-teachers’ technology competencies. Conclusion: The results indicate that the instrument is both reliable and valid and can be readily used to assess student-teachers’ technology competencies.
Educational Technology Psychology
F. Ghorban Dordi Nejad; M.R. Emam jomeh
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reconstruction, validity and reliability of the “Attitude/Motivation Test Battery” in language learning. To achieve this purpose, AMTS was translated into Farsi and evaluated by back translation. The sample of 254 (140 male and 114 female) ...
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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reconstruction, validity and reliability of the “Attitude/Motivation Test Battery” in language learning. To achieve this purpose, AMTS was translated into Farsi and evaluated by back translation. The sample of 254 (140 male and 114 female) graduate university students from different majors of Tehran universities were chosen by the random cluster sampling. They answered the AMTS questionnaire. The analysis methods included the item analysis (discrimination coefficient and Loop method), content and construction validity (path analysis) and reliability (calculation of Alpha Cronbach coefficiency for all questionnaires and factors). As a result, 7 factors were recognized including attitude towards language learning importance, language learning anxiety, parents’ encouragement of language learning, negative attitude to language teachers, demotivation of language learning, positive attitude towards native speakers and integrative motivation to language learning were evaluated. The reliability of the questionnaire measured by Alpha Cronbach was 0.848. Regarding the results of this study, AMTB has appropriate validity and reliability. This instrument can measure the motivation and attitude of iraninan language learners.
Curriculum Planning
G .R Abbasian; M. Shiri parizad
Abstract
Technological developments and their utilities in various areas including education have offered great advantages for man. One of the greatest achievements in this trend has been the innovation in computer software like Lexical Frequency Profiles (LFP) and its pedagogical implications either in teaching ...
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Technological developments and their utilities in various areas including education have offered great advantages for man. One of the greatest achievements in this trend has been the innovation in computer software like Lexical Frequency Profiles (LFP) and its pedagogical implications either in teaching or measurement. To take the maximum advantages, this study seeks to validate the LFP as a measure of lexical richness in written discourse of Iranian EFL Learners. 50 students majoring in English Translation participated in this study; each of them was encouraged to develop two compositions on general topics in order to establish VocabProfile indexes. To estimate the reliability of the LFP, the VocabProfile indexes of two writings were correlated, but for the validity purpose, first, a productive version of Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) was administered and second, the students’ compositions were fed into P_Lex software to elicit P_Lex index. After that, VocabProfile indexes were correlated with VLT scores and P_Lex index separately. The findings of the study revealed that students’ VocabProfile indexes written on two different topics correlated significantly with each other. Because of such a significant correlation coefficients, and the LFP indexes are related to VLT active test and P_Lex index, it is conservatively safe to claim that VocabProfile indexes are to some extent reliable and valid measurement instruments but not strong enough to be used as a stand- alone measure for the assessment of lexical richness. Pedagogically speaking, the LPF is suggested as a relatively reliable and valid measure to be used along with other dependable devices in measuring lexical richness in discourses of various types.
English teaching
R. Nejati
Abstract
A key issue in assessing the learning styles of English as foreign language (EFL) students is the development of a valid and reliable instrument. This paper reports and discusses the results of administering one learning styles questionnaire, which is a further development of Wintergerst , DeCapua (2002) ...
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A key issue in assessing the learning styles of English as foreign language (EFL) students is the development of a valid and reliable instrument. This paper reports and discusses the results of administering one learning styles questionnaire, which is a further development of Wintergerst , DeCapua (2002) Learning Styles Indicator (LSI) originally developed for the ESL learners. The questionnaire has three constructs, namely, group activity orientation (GAO), individual activity orientation (IAO), and project orientation (PO). The new questionnaire has two more constructs, namely, induction (INDUC) and deduction (DEDUC). Five hundred Iranian students were given the questionnaire. However, three hundred sixty three questionnaires were returned. The results, investigated through confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha, revealed that the questionnaire would be a valid and reliable measure of the learning styles of the Iranian students of English.
