Review Paper
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.
Original Research Paper
Education technology - Lifelong learning
Z. Royatvand ghiasvand; V. Farzad; B. Ssaleh Sedghpour; A. Baghdasarians; A. Kararmi Gazafi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In proportion to the expansion of various skills in life, learning and education of any society needs quantitative and qualitative improvement. The rapid development of technology has caused a change in the way of learning, and in order to increase learning and acquire knowledge, ...
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Background and Objectives: In proportion to the expansion of various skills in life, learning and education of any society needs quantitative and qualitative improvement. The rapid development of technology has caused a change in the way of learning, and in order to increase learning and acquire knowledge, different methods of teaching and training are used to improve people's knowledge, among these methods is the use of standard concept maps. In the current research, the use of the concept map teaching method compiled with the network process analysis method and the lecture method on the students' learning skills in the topic of chemical atom structure was investigated.Methods: The present study was a mixed-methods (exploratory-explanatory) research and was conducted in two steps. The first step was done with a qualitative research method of the Delphi type. The statistical population consisted of experts and professors in chemistry education in 2020-2021, and 30 individuals were selected using purposive sampling. The tools used in this step were semi-structured interviews and a researcher-made pairwise comparison questionnaire.The data were analyzed using the network process analysis method (a multicriteria decision-making method) and the Super Decisions software.In the second step, a quasi-experimental quantitative research method was used with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up plan with two groups (one experimental group and one control group).The statistical population consisted of all eighth-grade high school students in the academic year 2021-2022. A sample of 30 students was selected using convenience sampling and divided into two groups of 15. The experimental group received education using concept maps developed based on ANP, and the control group was taught using the lecture method. The data collection tool was a learning skills questionnaire, and to assess the validity of the tool, the opinions of experts and professors were used. The reliability of the research tool was calculated to be 0.96 using the test-retest method, and the data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis and SPSS (24.00) software.Findings: The findings of the first step showed that mathematics layers with a weighted average of 0.652, physics 0.235, and chemistry 0.113 had the greatest impact, respectively, and the highest and lowest weighted averages in the physics layer were the concept of matter and the concept of electron movement in Certain circuits (Bohr) was 0.011. In the mathematical layer, the concept of main numbers and its four main operations was 0.291, and the concept of sine waves and wave concept was 0.014. In the chemistry layer, the concept of subatomic particles was 0.407 and the concept of using electron arrangement was 0.010. And the results of the statistical analysis in the second step, for hypotheses at a significant level (0.05), indicated a significant and more stable effect of training with the concept map method on learning skills.Conclusion: Considering the greater impact of education with the standard concept map method and the importance of prerequisites, it is possible to rank educational concepts using the network process analysis method and use it in teaching and learning. Also, the standard conceptual map can be considered as a suitable tool and approach to achieve learning.
Original Research Paper
Electronic learning- virtual
E. Noori; M. Golestaneh; S. M. Mousavi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: With the spread of COVID-19 and the closure of universities, the possibility of holding face-to-face chemistry laboratory courses was lost. And universities inevitably used alternative solutions to provide laboratory courses. Farhangian University, like other university centers, ...
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Background and Objectives: With the spread of COVID-19 and the closure of universities, the possibility of holding face-to-face chemistry laboratory courses was lost. And universities inevitably used alternative solutions to provide laboratory courses. Farhangian University, like other university centers, switched to online education. This current research aimed to investigate the level of mastery of computer skills and digital literacy, as well as the quality of teaching and the effectiveness of virtual teaching of chemistry laboratory courses from the perspective of chemistry student-teachers at Farhangian University.Methods: The research was applied in terms of purpose and cross-sectional in terms of time. The research data were collected using a descriptive survey. The statistical population of the research consisted of student-teachers of Chemistry Education in the campuses and higher education centers of Farhangian University in the academic year 1400-1401, who had the experience of face-to-face and virtual education of chemistry laboratory courses. The research tool included a researcher-made questionnaire with 25 items on a 5-point Likert scale. Five chemistry faculty members of Farhangian University confirmed the validity of the questionnaire, and its reliability was calculated by Cronbach's alpha method, with a coefficient of 0.97. The questionnaire was prepared through Google Forms. After obtaining legal permissions, the questionnaire link was sent to the target group via email. And they were asked to complete the questionnaire if they were satisfied. A total of 180 students completed the questionnaire and submitted it. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (20.00) software and descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants. Participants were assured that they would remain anonymous.Findings: Overall, participants' opinion about computer skills and digital literacy was favorable ( = 4.38, p < 0.05). In the components of the quality of education ( = 3.22, p < 0.05) and the effectiveness of virtual education of chemistry laboratory courses ( = 3.15 and p < 0.05), relatively favorable score were obtained. The difference in the average score of the research components according to the year of entering the university was not statistically significant. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the average score of the quality of education component according to the gender of student teachers. Tukey's post hoc test showed that male participants obtained a higher average score in the education quality component than female participants. The students' opinions on two items, "I was satisfied with conducting laboratory units virtually" and "the level of learning in online chemistry laboratory classes was good", were unfavorable. Examining the interviews showed that students often described their computer skills and digital literacy as favorable, although they were dissatisfied with the lack of computer skills of some professors. Several interviewees stated that some professors tried to make teaching as effective as possible using virtual laboratory software, videos, and related clips.Conclusion: Respondents' dissatisfaction with conducting chemistry laboratory units in a virtual way and their level of learning in online classes of chemistry laboratories was not favorable, showing that the level of satisfaction with the virtual education of chemistry laboratory courses presented in a virtual way was not good. Most interviewees admitted that the disadvantages of virtual classes were more than their advantages. There may be a direct relationship between greater satisfaction with the quality of education in the group of males and the probability of their employment and earnings money. In conclusion, the best method to improve online education is a combination of digital literacy, computer skills, creativity, using different educational tools, and active teaching-learning approaches. These results can be provided to administrators and planners of Farhangian University and the Ministry of Education. These results can help them to use operational strategies to compensate for possible deficiencies in the professional competence of chemistry student teachers in the laboratory courses provided virtually.
Original Research Paper
Educational computer games
S. Golzar Aziz; Z. Khoshneshin; Y Mahdavinasab; M. Rajabi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The rapid advance of smart technologies has transformed various aspects of social life and, by its very nature, has significantly changed the nature, timing, and place of learning. Digital educational games, which in turn are one of the manifestations of technological progress ...
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Background and Objectives: The rapid advance of smart technologies has transformed various aspects of social life and, by its very nature, has significantly changed the nature, timing, and place of learning. Digital educational games, which in turn are one of the manifestations of technological progress in the modern era, will become an important part of education in the future. In this direction, educational systems have decided to change their educational methods and are looking for answers to the question of teaching and learning methods and how to prepare learners of the digital generation for life in this culture. In order to improve and make education effective for today's digital learners, one of these methods seems to be the use of educational games as an educational strategy in educational systems, considering the characteristics and possibilities of educational games. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of the design and application of ARIAN digital educational game on the motivation and learning of dyslexic students in the second grade of elementary school.Methods: In view of the practical purpose and method of data collection, the present research was conducted quasi-experimentally using pre-tests and post-tests. The statistical population of this research included all students with dysgraphia in the second grade of Baharestan city who studied in the academic year 2017-2018. For this research, firstly, a school in Tehran province in Baharestan city was randomly selected. Then, 32 students who met the conditions of the study were selected among the students with learning disabilities. The following instruments were used in this study: 1. A teacher-made test to investigate the effects of games on learning of dyslexic students 2. Harter's academic motivation questionnaire to measure students' academic motivation 3. Clinical interviews with teachers 4. Spelling disorder test to select a sample of dyslexic Then, according to the pretest, the students were divided into two experimental group and a control group.Findings: After collecting statistical data from the pretest, posttest, and learning and motivation test, the data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software in two parts: descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (variance and covariance analysis). The results of the covariance analysis of the effect of the pretest on the total academic motivation score show that there was a statistical difference between the mean academic motivation score of the dyslexic students in the experimental group and the control group. The results of the covariance analysis of the effect of the pretest on the total learning score also showed that there was a statistical difference between the average learning score of the dyslexic students in the experimental group and the control group.Conclusion: The results of the research showed that the use of educational game is effective in motivating (P<0. 01) and learning (P<0. 01) students with dysgraphia in the second grade. ARIAN digital educational game was able to significantly increase students' motivation and learning due to its features such as purposefulness and attention to students' needs, providing immediate feedback, providing suitable opportunities for trial and error and turning a negative and stressful atmosphere into an atmosphere full of trust and motivation, using communication channels such as text, speech, image, music and movement in education, the activeness of students in the learning process, the student-centeredness of the teaching and learning process and the use of multiple senses, it was able to significantly increase the motivation and learning of students.
Original Research Paper
Electronic learning- virtual
M. Rabbani; M. Keramaty; K. Salehi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The growth of communication technologies, the expansion of the use of electronic devices and the widespread use of the Internet have affected various aspects of human life. Education, teaching and learning, which are an important aspect of people's lives and an unobtrusive ...
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Background and Objectives: The growth of communication technologies, the expansion of the use of electronic devices and the widespread use of the Internet have affected various aspects of human life. Education, teaching and learning, which are an important aspect of people's lives and an unobtrusive discussion at various social levels, has been greatly influenced by these developments and has grown with the growth of technology. Despite extensive research on the benefits and potentials of Cooperative Learning, its implementation has remained challenging. In line with this research gap at the international and national levels, it seems that identifying solutions to implement this approach in the online environment is a basic necessity. This research gap led the researchers to study the challenges and strategies for implementing the Cooperative Learning approach in Iran with an emphasis on the field of educational management with a small sample. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the challenges and strategies of Cooperative Learning in the online environment.Methods: This research was based on a qualitative approach and was carried out using a descriptive phenomenology method. The field of research is the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of Tehran University and the participants were faculty members working in three groups related to the fields of educational sciences. Sampling method was purposeful and criteria-oriented by determining three criteria: 1. they have participated in cooperative research workshops or are familiar with this approach, 2. they have used this approach in their classroom in a practical way, however little and incompletely, 3. they have taught in both face-to-face and online environments. The sample consisted of 22 people. The data analysis was done with the Colaizzi’s method and the use of Atlas-ti qualitative analysis software. In order to further validate the findings of the research, five visiting professors of the university were also interviewed.Findings: The data analysis was categorized in two dimensions: challenges and solutions to facilitate the cooperative learning process in the online environment. As for the challenges, four themes of facilities, environment, implementation and achievements and 22 sub-themes were identified and categorized; in the challenges related to the limitation of facilities, there were themes including the structural complexities of the electronic space, internet disorders, the online environment and the lack of a proper educational platform; in the challenges related to environmental restrictions, there were themes including the reduction of opportunities for face-to-face interaction, the impossibility of continuous monitoring; in the challenges related to implementation limitations, there were cases including insufficient technical skills, low media literacy, inability to enrich life skills training opportunities, limitation of opportunities for creativity, negative attitude towards the electronic space; Also there were issues related to collaborative group including different schedule of group members, misunderstanding in communication, participation, work report, lack of agreement among members regarding means of communication and difficulty in group decision-making; and in the challenges related to achievement limitations, some themes were identified including encouraging superficial learning, creating the background for the occurrence of physical problems, especially eye problems, and reducing enthusiasm in the classroom. With regard to the solutions to facilitate the cooperative learning process in the online environment, 8 themes including solutions related to the online class (including 7 sub-themes of quick response, inability to teach life skills, attendance and absence, establishing face-to-face communication, creating an atmosphere based on honesty weekly group and individual report and expression of feelings), strengthening internet and broadband infrastructure, easy access of professors and students to the internet, holding online classes in times of low network traffic, using various platforms for learning, teaching how to use technical tools to professors and students, using teaching assistant, use of new technologies for learning were identified and classified.Conclusion: The results indicated that this approach in classrooms, especially in online classrooms, is not only incompletely and very little implemented, but its implementation is facing a wide range of challenges. Considering the strong theoretical support of cooperative learning, its limited implementation in Iran and the identified challenges are thought-provoking and worthy of further investigation. It is clear that most of the identified challenges are not related to the nature and capacities of electronic platforms and are mainly caused by reasons such as incomplete implementation and the inability to act effectively in online environments. It is suggested that in curriculum planning, a special position should be given to wide culturalization regarding the benefits and advantages, disadvantages and threats of cooperative learning in general and online cooperative learning in particular at the level of schools and universities and among managers and students, and especially, teachers and professors.
Original Research Paper
Education technology -Engineering training
B. Motiei
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Teaching basic courses is of utmost importance in architecture and the proper teaching of these courses would guide architecture novices toward better learning and creative designing in architectural design courses. An inconsistency is observable among professors teaching the ...
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Background and Objectives: Teaching basic courses is of utmost importance in architecture and the proper teaching of these courses would guide architecture novices toward better learning and creative designing in architectural design courses. An inconsistency is observable among professors teaching the basic skills of architecture due to the different teaching methods and the changes made in the architecture bachelor's degree syllabus as well as the basic course differentiation. Considering the significance of the drawing course in the architectural engineering, it is required to investigate the effect of blended and differentiated instructions on the quality of teaching this topic. Motivation is one of the common concepts in educational issues. When problems, such as academic failure, occur in the educational system, the learner's motivation is mentioned as one of the major causes. The main objective of this research was to investigate the effect of blended education and differentiated instruction on teaching drawing skills and improving architecture students' academic motivation. The questions of the present research included: which of the blended education and differentiated instructions has more effect on improving the drawing skills of architecture students? And which of these two instructions has a greater effect on improving the architecture students' academic motivation?Methods: This study was an applied descriptive-analytical and causal-comparative research. The statistical population included two 30-student groups of architectural engineering students of the Islamic Azad University of Urmia. A 30-student group was selected for blended instruction and another 30-student group was selected for differentiated instruction at the Islamic Azad University of Urmia in the first half of the academic year 2022. In the introductory course of architectural design (1), the architectural drawing course was presented in the format of Atelier A for the blended instruction group and it was separately presented in the format of Atelier B for the differentiated instruction group. At the end of the training, drawing tests were taken from the students regarding four main topics of three-view drawing, plan, section, and façade. At the end of the course, Wallerand's academic motivation questionnaire was distributed among the students. In this research, the t-test was used for evaluating the independent groups. Further, the mean values were considered for data analysis.Findings: According to the obtained research data, it was obvious that blended instruction was more effective in teaching all four subjects of the drawing course and students obtained higher scores. The consistency of the results in the two sections of the research, including the drawing test and the academic motivation questionnaire, confirmed the better performance of blended education in the course of drawing. The higher scores of students in the case of three-view drawing and, then, façade, plan, and section in the blended teaching method confirmed the better performance of this instruction. The high academic motivation in the blended instruction and students' further interaction with each other was more effective in students' learning and made them perform better.Conclusion: The results revealed that the blended instruction was more effective in teaching the three-view drawing, plan, section, and façade, and the scores of students who participated in the blended training atelier were higher in a specific exercise in comparison to those of the differentiated training atelier, and it can be concluded that blended instruction has a significantly greater average than differentiated instruction in all four exercises. Moreover, blended instruction improves the students' internal and external motivation.
Original Research Paper
Education technology -training course
R. Afkhami; N. Asghary; alireza medghalchi; F. Pashaie
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The principles and standards of school mathematics (NCTM) in the branch of algebra propose standards that consider the development of students' understanding of algebraic symbolization and especially the understanding of the variable concept as one of the basic needs of students. ...
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Background and Objectives: The principles and standards of school mathematics (NCTM) in the branch of algebra propose standards that consider the development of students' understanding of algebraic symbolization and especially the understanding of the variable concept as one of the basic needs of students. Functional thinking is also the highway of algebraic thinking and teachers should consider it as the heart and soul of math education. Figural patterns have characteristics that are favorable for starting the generalization and development of functional thinking and can be used in school mathematics. Also, attention to mathematical structure should be an important part of the teaching and learning mathematics. The structure of a mathematical pattern is the way a pattern is organized and is often expressed as a generalization. The purpose of this research was to investigate the performance of students in building the concept of figural pattern generalization based on APOS theory (action-process-object and schema) and to improve the stages using the states of awareness of the structure, and will help teachers and students to have a more accurate evaluation of the figural pattern generalization and better identify the problems and improve their stages of understanding.Methods: The data collection method was quantitative-qualitative. The data collection tool included a researcher-designed test and a semi-structured interview. The statistical population included 493 seventh grade students of public schools in Malekan city (Azerbaijan-e-sharghi). According to Cochran's sample size formula, 220 male and female seventh-grade students were selected and participated in the researcher-designed test. The validity of the test was checked and confirmed by three mathematics teachers and four experienced teachers. The reliability and internal consistency of the questions were confirmed by finding Cronbach's alpha coefficient and alpha as 0.69.Findings: Students' mental structures were identified according to APOS theory in the figural pattern generalization. The highest percentage of correct response was at the action stage and the lowest percentage was at the object stage. The stages of APOS were hierarchical and from simple to complex, and the results of this research confirmed the characteristics of this theory. At the action stage, about 18% of the students were unsuccessful, and according to the first attentional state (holing wholes) looking at the figural pattern was introduced as a tool to improve the understanding of these students. About 60% were unsuccessful at the process stage, which the discerning details and recognizing relationships as second and third attentional states helped students to reach the process stage. About 88% of the students failed to reach the object that the fourth attentional state (perceiving properties) as auxiliary tool was introduced. Reasoning on the basis of identified properties as the fifth attentional state was used to upgrade students to the schema stage in APOS theory.Conclusion: This research provided a framework for measuring and evaluating students in the figural pattern generalization that teachers can use in better teaching of this concept. At each stage, solutions can be provided according to the student s' stage to improve their understanding of generalization to higher stage. This research showed the power of APOS theory in compatibility with other constructionist theories. Adapting the APOS theory with the theory of structural awareness and benefiting from this adaptation in order to improve the stage of understanding of the seventh-grade students in figural pattern generalization was considered as one of the innovative aspects of this research.
Original Research Paper
Preparation and compilation of electronic content
z. Majidi Dorche; B. Sabzeh; N. Ansari
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The general purpose of the research was to identify and validate the criteria for the production of educational films and videos for elementary school students. For many years, film and video were only prepared and used in a limited way in some schools due to high costs and ...
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Background and Objectives: The general purpose of the research was to identify and validate the criteria for the production of educational films and videos for elementary school students. For many years, film and video were only prepared and used in a limited way in some schools due to high costs and limited access. However, this limitation has been lifted to a great extent with the advancement of technology. Especially after the expansion of virtual education, most teachers and trainers started producing educational films and videos using mobile phones and digital cameras. One of the important challenges in this field was lack of standards and principles for preparing educational films and videos for students. Criteria that can specifically test the quality of this age group and be available to teachers and producers in combined and virtual training as a guide were presented here.Methods: The present research was combined with a sequential exploratory design in terms of its practical purpose and method. In the qualitative part, the required data was extracted from the sources using comparative content analysis and then validated using the quantitative method. The statistical population of the qualitative section included articles, theses, and electronic and printed books available and related between 2000 and 2021. The corpus was formulated with a purposeful and criteria-based method, and the main themes were extracted and coded based on the Boudin and Quick model. In the quantitative part, 60 teachers and specialists were included in the sample purposefully. In order to collect data and analyze the findings in the qualitative dimension, content analysis and extraction of main, sub-themes, and indicators were used. Then, in addition to the self-review technique, two experts were invited to ensure the coding method.Findings: Qualitative findings in the four dimensions of technical, artistic, content and educational design were: the technical dimension criteria: expressiveness and clarity of the speaker's voice, light quality, image resolution and film size, lack of stuttering of the speaker's words and the superiority of the speaker's voice level compared to the background. In the artistic dimension, the criteria were: suitable framing of the film according to the educational goal and visual understanding of the student, variety of shots according to the type of content, attracting and maintaining attention with special effects, appropriateness of stage and background design according to the type of content,the believability of the characters in the film is physical, gender, age, grooming and clothing. The content aspect of the criteria included: the scientific accuracy of the content, the relevance of the educational content to the main learning goal, the removal of irrelevant content, the up-to-dateness and validity of the content, avoiding bias in relation to gender, age, race, language or social class, and simplifying complex content. According to the details of the content, the dimension of educational design included the appropriateness of the speech speed of the text with the level of students' understanding, arousing the sense of curiosity by creating an exploratory situation, strengthening the motivation to study and learn by creating a challenging situation, creating pauses in the video to link the content with the student's previous learning, creating and pausing in the video to encourage interaction about what was presented, refraining from showing the presenter's face when presenting complex content, providing practical examples of the concept or educational skill, creating a pause during the presentation to create an opportunity to think and get the audience's comments, and creative note-taking to guess what to continue, the events of the movie, Also, the results of validation using structural equations and the general fit of GOF value for technical, artistic, content, and educational criteria were equal to 0.181, 0.233, and 0.296 respectively, so the goodness model had a strong and appropriate fit and could be generalized.Conclusion: This study identified and validated criteria for producing electronic content (educational films and videos) specifically for elementary school students in four dimensions: technical, artistic, content, and instructional design. These criteria can serve as a guide for teachers and experts who produce their educational content in the form of films and videos for virtual and blended learning environments, taking an effective step quality and continuity of education.
Original Research Paper
Educational technology- primary school
S. Mansoori; M. Talebbeygi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Virtual learning has become an integral part of today's learning. Therefore, the continuous evaluation of the quality of these learnings is one of the basic missions of the educational system, and the existence of a valid tool to measure these learning is necessary. On the ...
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Background and Objectives: Virtual learning has become an integral part of today's learning. Therefore, the continuous evaluation of the quality of these learnings is one of the basic missions of the educational system, and the existence of a valid tool to measure these learning is necessary. On the other hand, in the field of virtual education curriculum, a tool that can measure all aspects of elementary education curriculum elements has not been developed. Therefore, it seems necessary to build a reliable tool. According to this, the purpose of the current research was to construct and validate the quality assessment scale of the virtual education curriculum of elementary school in Iran's educational system.Methods: The research design was a combination in order to make a tool for measuring the quality of the virtual education curriculum of the elementary school. The participants in the content validity section were 12 experts in the field of virtual education, and in the construct validity section, there were 217 elementary teachers from Central Province, who were selected by stratified random sampling method. In the first stage, by reviewing the upstream documents, curriculum guide, articles and studies in the field of virtual education indicators were abstracted and then validity and reliability were calculated. In order to analyze the data, content validity index of Lavshe, confirmatory factor analysis and correlation coefficient of the items were used. Data analysis was done using SPSS and SMART PLS software.Findings:. In the first stage, 51 indicators (items) were extracted in the form of 4 basic components to measure the curriculum. Then, by checking the content validity of the scale using Lavshe's validity index, 48 items in the form of 4 components of goal, content, teaching-learning strategies and evaluation of learning with validity of 0.77, 0.95, 0.94 and 0.98, respectively, were identified. In the next step, in order to check the construct validity of the desired scale, confirmatory factor analysis was used, and the results showed that except for one item (item 42), the rest of the items had a favorable factor load and after modifying the model (item 42), the t coefficients of all items in all components were higher than 1.96, which indicated the suitability of the measurement model. Also, the combined reliability for all components was greater than 0.70, which indicated the reliability of these variables or scales. The average variance extracted, which measured the convergent validity of each scale, was higher than 0.50, which indicated convergent validity. In total, the results showed the reliability and validity of the components of the virtual education curriculum scale and the tool made to measure the quality of virtual education includes 48 items and was designed in the form of four components: goal, content, teaching, learning and evaluation strategies.Conclusion: Considering that virtual learning has become an integral part of formal education in Iran's educational system, this tool can be used to measure the quality of these instructions. In addition, this tool helps the administrators and policy makers of virtual learning to provide the required platforms for virtual education based on the intended curriculum.
Original Research Paper
Technology-based learning environments
E. Mirzaei; M. Alinejad; B. Daneshmand
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Electronic learning is one of the characteristics of educational courses in this century. In all training courses, especially in virtual learning environments, interaction can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the training process. Also, the careful and thoughtful ...
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Background and Objectives: Electronic learning is one of the characteristics of educational courses in this century. In all training courses, especially in virtual learning environments, interaction can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the training process. Also, the careful and thoughtful design of various interactions in the virtual learning environment develops existing capacities to strengthen electronic education programs and increases the quality of learning. Therefore, considering the importance of interactions in the virtual learning environment, the present research aimed to explain the elements of the higher education curriculum (goals, content, teaching-learning activities and evaluation methods) based on the types of educational interactions in the virtual learning environment and by providing solutions It helped the teachers to organize effective e-learning courses.Methods: This research was a descriptive and applied study. The statistical population of the research included the faculty members of Shahid Bahnar, Farhangian and Medical Sciences Universities of Kerman; according to Morgan's table, 297 people were selected as the statistical sample using quota sampling method. To collect research data, a researcher-made questionnaire tool was used, and its validity and reliability were determined as 0.86 and 0.92, respectively. To analyze the research data, one-sample t-test, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations were used, and SPSS23 and AMOS23 software were used. The measurement model was estimated using structural equation modeling.Findings: The results showed that some categories effectively would create and increase educational interactions in the curriculum elements based on the types of interactions in the virtual learning environment. The effective categories in the element of objectives included teachers' attention to educational interactions, paying attention to educational interactions at the ministry level, realism in objectives, and comprehensiveness of objectives. The effective categories in the content element included students' participation in the preparation of electronic content, ease of access to content, use of interactive content, polling of students, a compilation of course content in accordance with the latest scientific findings, preparation of interactive content by professors, Digital Library Update, and interactions between professors. The effective categories in the element of teaching-learning activities included participatory teaching methods, use of social networks, use of tools such as chat rooms, providing feedback, awareness of the need for interaction, encouraging students to seek information from various sources, sharing their previous experiences, networking among students and various information sources, sharing the latest scientific achievements in the field among fellow professors. The effective categories in the element of evaluation methods included process-oriented evaluation, assigning a part of the grade for individual or teamwork and class participation, evaluation of each student's individual work by her classmates, and critique of other students' opinions. Also, the results showed that the elements of the higher education curriculum based on the types of educational interactions in the virtual learning environment were related to each other. The results showed that the factor analysis model had a suitable fit for the design of the desired model and this model could be used in the higher education curriculum to create and increase various types of educational interactions in the virtual learning environment.Conclusion: In general, the results of this research indicated that the creation and increase of educational interactions in electronic education could improve the quality of education. Therefore, it is recommended that designers, faculty members, planners, managers and in general curators use the model proposed in the current research IN E-learning courses.
Original Research Paper
Distance Learning
Gh. Lotfi; S. Salehi; F. Chaeichi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: As technology advances, the method by which learners acquire new skills has also progressed. With the help of the Internet, a wide range of options are available to those interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills. Learners and educators can now take advantage of the ...
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Background and Objectives: As technology advances, the method by which learners acquire new skills has also progressed. With the help of the Internet, a wide range of options are available to those interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills. Learners and educators can now take advantage of the benefits of both online and offline teaching. In offline learning, participants have to acquire the content in ways such as watching recorded videos. On the other hand, online education takes place in the virtual platform through connecting to the Internet. In this regard, the current research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of various types of virtual education, including online, offline, and combined (blended) education, on learning a perceptual-motor skill of jumping rope.Methods: The present study was a semi-experimental one with a practical purpose. In this study, from elementary third-grade female students of Hamedan 2nd district of education, voluntarily 30 students (with a mean height of 129.1 ± 9.87 cm and a mean weight of 29.33 ± 21.88 kg) were selected and randomly assigned to three groups of 10 participants, including online, offline, and combined education. In order to collect information, personal characteristics questionnaire, jogging rope test (with content validity and test - retest reliability of 0.89), standard sports rope and smartphone were used. This research included the stages of introductory, acquisition, and retention. After completing the personal information questionnaire and consent form, the participants first received introductory instruction on the criterion task and obtained the necessary information. Then, they entered the acquisition phase. At this stage, each group was trained separately and based on the national jump roping plan for 4 sessions in online, offline and combined rope-jumping skill training. After completing the acquisition phase, all participants first took part in the acquisition test, and one week later, they also participated in the retention test to measure the phenomenon of motor learning, and their scores were recorded. To analyze the data, the Shapiro-Wilk test, Levene's test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used.Findings: The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the scores obtained by the online and offline and combined and offline groups in both the acquisition and retention tests (p<0.05), in favor of the online and combined groups; this indicated that online and combined education groups performed better than the offline education group both in the acquisition phase and in the retention test. In addition, no significant statistical difference was found between the performance of the online and combined groups in any of the research stages (p>0.05).Conclusion: The results of this research emphasize the importance of using online and combined methods in virtual education conditions to teach perceptual-motor skills to learners. Based on the results, it is suggested to teachers and trainers of motor skills to use online and combined training instead of online training, to teach motor skills in physical education virtual classes of elementary school to create an interactive and dynamic learning environment and motivation to participate in using physical education class.
Original Research Paper
Technology-based learning environments
R. Pirouzmand; M. Rostaminezhad; N. Mohammadhasani; M. Ayati
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Recent advances in computer technology, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality technology have enabled instructional designers to create on-screen pedagogical agents in multimedia learning environments. But what is needed is research on how to make pedagogical agents ...
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Background and Objectives: Recent advances in computer technology, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality technology have enabled instructional designers to create on-screen pedagogical agents in multimedia learning environments. But what is needed is research on how to make pedagogical agents more effective in improving learning at the highest possible level for learners. Therefore, what is currently important in the field of research on animated pedagogical agents is increasing the efficiency of pedagogical agents by using supporting strategies. The important point in the priority of choosing among the types of supporting strategies is to pay attention to the individual differences of learners, which determines the necessity of using different types of strategies. Among the individual differences that can affect the learning and processing of learners and need to be considered by designers in educational design is the difference in the cognitive style of learners considering the importance of individual differences in the design of educational content; also, considering the importance of visual attention in the process of receiving and processing educational content, the present research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of visual signaling by the animated pedagogical agent on the attention of students with field-dependent cognitive style in a multimedia learning environment.Methods: The current study was applied research and a single-subject quasi-experimental design, and A-B-A design with follow-up was used in it. First, grouped embedded figure test (GEFT) was conducted and three students with field-dependent cognitive style who had the conditions to participate in the experiment were selected. Then, in the baseline stage, the participants were exposed to English grammar training during 8 sessions using multimedia with animated pedagogical agent, and the eye tracking data of the participants were collected at the same time. Afterwards, the participants were exposed to English grammar training for 8 sessions in the test stage using multimedia with animated pedagogical agent along with visual signaling and the desired data were collected according to the previous phase. The stage of returning to the baseline was also done for 8 sessions, like the baseline stage. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used for data analysis using SPSS software and visual chart analysis.Findings: The findings of the research showed that, with the addition of visual signaling to the animated pedagogical agent, the attention of the learner with field-dependent cognitive style increased to the educational content (F=42.09, p=0.001). Also, the examination of the visual diagrams in the present study showed, the back and forth of the learners' attention between the content and the pedagogical agent in the intervention situation was effective and targeted.Conclusion: Considering the positive effect of accompanying visual signaling with animated pedagogical agent on the attention of learners with a field-dependent cognitive style, the design of educational multimedia together with animated pedagogical agent with visual signaling can be used as useful educational content for learners with this cognitive style. Also, considering the positive effect of simultaneous visual signaling with verbal and non-verbal cues of the pedagogical agent, on the targeting of the selection process, in learners with cognitive style dependent on the field, it is recommended to use the sum of verbal and non-verbal cues of the pedagogical agent in the design and compilation of multimedia educational contents.
Original Research Paper
Education technology - higher education
GH. Khalifeh; S. Latifi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Currently, all over the world we are witnessing a change in online learning methods and a change towards coollaborative learning methods in the online environment. Due to its collaborative and interactive nature, the online learning environment creates a unique opportunity ...
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Background and Objectives: Currently, all over the world we are witnessing a change in online learning methods and a change towards coollaborative learning methods in the online environment. Due to its collaborative and interactive nature, the online learning environment creates a unique opportunity for the development of individual and collaborative learning if appropriate design approaches are used. Accordingly, if the development of learning skills in an exploratory and collaborative community is considered, designing an online collaborative learning environment is a basic and important element. In fact, creating an exploratory and supportive community is necessary to achieve critical and argumentative thinking skills and should be viewed as an educational method. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to design an online collaborative environment based on argumentative peer feedback and to investigate its impact on the critical thinking skills and argumentation quality of educational science students.Methods: The design of this research was pretest-posttest control group design. In order to carry out the research, an online collaborative environment based on argumentative peer feedback was designed and developed. In this environment, students coollaboratively wrote their opinions about the the topic at hand, provided feedback on peer's writings, and then revised their writings based on the comments of their peers. The research population was all undergraduate students in the field of educational sciences of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in the academic year 2019-2020, and 32 of them were selected as the research sample, and randomly assigned in a pretest-posttest control design, and they were paired as learning pairs (A dyad). The research’s measurement tools were the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and a rubric of assessing of students’ argumentative writing quality. The reliability of the critical thinking test was calculated using Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 reliability coefficient (KR20=0.69). Kappa test (0.82) was also used to measurethe reliability of the argumentative writing quality rubric. The Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the data.Findings: The results showed that providing and recieving argumentative peer feedback in the online collaborative learning environment increased students' critical thinking skills, and also the quality of argumentation. In other words, the the experimental group outperformed the control groupin term of critical thinking andargumentative writing quality.Conclusion: The results of the research indicated the effect of the online collaborative environment based on peer feedback on the students' critical thinking skills and argumentation quality. In fact, the design of such environments strengthens the students' critical thinking and argumentative skills by taking into account the opportunity it provides for students to reason, examine the opinions of their peers, and finally provide feedback to their peers. Therefore, according to the results, it is suggested that online collaborative learning environment based on argumentative peer feedback should be considered as a suitable tool and approach to improve critical thinking skills and increase the quality of students' argumentation.
Original Research Paper
Electronic learning- virtual
S. Salimi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: To ensure the continuity of education during closures and quarantines, various methods such as television education through the Education Network and content production by teachers were offered on social networks. However, to organize virtual education, the Ministry of Education ...
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Background and Objectives: To ensure the continuity of education during closures and quarantines, various methods such as television education through the Education Network and content production by teachers were offered on social networks. However, to organize virtual education, the Ministry of Education designed and implemented the Student Educational Network Application (Shad), where, similar to the real structure of a school, the student enters a class and follow the educational process. In this system, monitoring virtual classes and students' attendance is the responsibility of the school principal and administrative staff. Teachers have the opportunity to use the online content available in this system, created by educational groups and course secretariats, alongside their teaching duties.Methods: The present research was practical in purpose and exploratory in sequential asynchronous method. The statistical population in the qualitative part included all primary school teachers who were studying and had experience in virtual teaching with the Shad program. The statistical population in the quantitative part included all primary school teachers in Sistan and Baluchestan province, amounting to 14,230 individuals. Based on purposive sampling, 40 primary school teachers with experience were selected for the qualitative part based on theoretical saturation. The sample size in the quantitative section, according to the Krejcie Morgan table, was 374 individuals, who were selected using simple random sampling. A total of 219 questionnaires were collected. In the qualitative part, a semi-structured interview was used, and in the quantitative part, the Shad Network Virtual Education Questionnaire (taken from the analysis of interviews) and the educational quality questionnaire of Mousavi et al. (2016) were used to collect data. For data analysis in the qualitative part, Corbin and Strauss coding method (1998) was used. Descriptive analysis, Friedman test, and correlation coefficient were used for data analysis in the quantitative part. Calculations were performed using SPSS23 software.Findings: Based on the interviews conducted, three Pathology were identified for the structural factor (including: technical performance, design and aesthetics, teaching capability). From the teachers' points of view, among the factors, the technical performance factor with an average of 2.45 and a rank average of 3.30 was the first priority, and the design and appearance factor with an average of 2.19 and a rank average of 1.97 was the last priority. Two types of Pathology were identified for the behavioral factor (including: supra-individual and individual). From the teachers' perspectives, among the factors, the supra-individual factor with an average of 2.69 and a rank average of 3.64 was the first priority, and the individual factor with an average of 2.55 and a rank average of 3.43 was the last priority. Two types of Pathology were identified for the contextual factor (including: economic and social). From the teachers' perspectives, among the factors, the social factor with an average of 2.42 and a rank average of 3.80 was the first priority, and the economic factor with an average of 2.12 and a rank average of 3.33 was the last priority. Furthermore, there was a significant negative relationship between the identified Pathology and educational quality.Conclusion: According to the findings, which showed that the most damages were in the structural part of the Shad network, and there was a negative relationship between these damages and the quality of education, it is recommended to the creators of this network to take measures such as increasing the volume and speed of downloads in order to fix the structural problems and content, make the user environment more attractive and increase information security. It is also recommended to education managers to provide electronic education facilities in all schools and to hold educational workshops to develop and empower teachers in using education networks.
Original Research Paper
Emerging educational technologies
A. Afshari; F. Karvan; J. Mahdinejad
Abstract
Background and Objectives: One of the important approaches in education is cognitive theories. Despite many applications in the field of cognitive approach development in design education, there are still challenges. The cognitive approach deals with the scientific study of mental processes such as thinking, ...
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Background and Objectives: One of the important approaches in education is cognitive theories. Despite many applications in the field of cognitive approach development in design education, there are still challenges. The cognitive approach deals with the scientific study of mental processes such as thinking, understanding, problem solving and reasoning. In the field of education, the teaching method in the cognitive approach is related to cognitive strategies. Cognitive strategies are processes with the help of which learning, remembering, and thinking take place. Therefore, cognition and cognitive strategies play a very important role in the teaching and learning process. Different models and cognitive strategies are used in education. In the current research, three models of learning mental map, problem solving and breath of thinking were discussed. The purpose of this research was to design and validate the cognitive education method in architecture based on problem-oriented learning patterns, mind map and expansion of thinking and its effect on architecture students' ideation.Methods: The current research is of a mixed type (qualitative and quantitative) and in terms of time it is a cross-sectional study. The method of collecting information in the present research was library and field method. In this study, cognitive model training is considered as an independent variable and students' ideation as a dependent variable. First, various sources were examined and the components of the cognitive educational model were identified using the content analysis method, and then the components were finally approved using the Delphi method and the judges' opinions. In the external validation phase, a semi-experimental method was used with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included professors of the department of architecture and educational technology and architecture students of Hamadan branch of Azad University. The sampling method in this research was available. In the group of professors, 12 people were selected for the internal validity of the model with the available method. 50 architecture students of design course 3 were replaced as samples in two experimental and control groups. Based on this, 25 people were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 25 people were assigned to the control group. The model of cognitive training was presented to the experimental group in a period of 10 weeks and every week in a 90-minute training session. The method of implementing the cognitive education model was that students were taught in the form of an educational program during the design course semester using different cognitive models in multiple sessions. Data analysis was done using Spss software version 22.Findings: The results of developing the combined cognitive education model showed that this model included 7 categories and 57 components. The internal validity of the model was checked by Delphi method, 11 components were removed and Kendall's correlation coefficient was 0.82 based on the opinion of 12 judges for the components of the model, which was significant at the 0.01 level. In the field of external validity, the results of covariance analysis showed that education based on the developed model has a significant effect on students' ideation.Conclusion: The cognitive educational model Problem-based learning, mental map and breath’s thinking in the bachelor's degree in architecture consists of 3 axes, 7 categories and 46 components. The three main axes or educational goals included content, teaching method and evaluation. The content axis included three categories (strategies based on previous knowledge, based on Problem-based learning and breath’s thinking). The axis of teaching or learning method included two categories (interactive and individual) and the axis of evaluation included two categories (process-oriented and result-oriented). The internal and external validity of the model was examined and the results confirmed its validity. Based on this, it can be suggested that the current model be used in the teaching of architectural design courses.
