Evaluating system usability of mobile augmented reality application for teaching Karnaugh-Maps

The education system evolves and transforms towards interactive and immersive learning tools in this digital age. Augmented reality has also evolved as a ubiquitous, robust, and effective technology for providing innovative educational tools. In engineering education, many abstract concepts require technological intervention for conceptual understanding and better instructional content. While learning through the immersive tools, system usability has great importance in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. Effectiveness refers to users' accuracy and completeness in achieving defined goals; efficiency relates to expended resources about the precision and completeness with which users achieve their objectives; satisfaction deals with a positive attitude towards using the product. If the system fails to provide good usability, it may cause adverse effects such as increasing stress, lacking necessary features, increasing the users' cognitive load, and negatively impacting the student's motivation. In this study, two mobile augmented reality (MAR) applications were developed as an instructional tool to teach the students about Karnaugh maps in the digital electronics course. The first application is a Keypad-based MAR application that uses a keypad matrix for user interaction and the second application is a Marker-based MAR application that uses multiple markers to solve K-Map for producing an optimum solution of the given problem. An experimental study was conducted to determine the student's opinion of the developed MAR applications. The study was designed to determine the system usability of the two MAR applications using the System Usability Score (SUS) and Handheld Augmented Reality Usability Score (HARUS) models. 90 engineering students participated in the study, and they were randomly divided into two different groups: keypad-based group and Marker-based group. The keypad-based group included 47 students who had hands-on experience with a keypad-based MAR application, whereas the marker-based group included 43 students who had hands-on experience with multiple marker-based MAR applications. The experimental outcomes indicated that the keypad-based MAR application has better SUS and HARUS scores than the marker-based MAR application which suggests that the keypad-based MAR application has provided better user interaction.

The Nature of Ghanaian Music and Dance Syllabus and the Challenges of Teaching its Contents in Tamale International School

This paper examined the nature of the Junior High School (JHS) music and dance syllabus in the context of growing cultural education and current socio-cultural transitions in Ghana. It also sought to highlight the challenges of teaching the syllabus in the schools. The design used was a case study while archival document analysis and interview incorporated the data collection instruments to collect the appropriate data to answer the research questions. The content of the syllabus was analyzed while two main participants of the study were also interviewed. The study reveals a mismatch in the relationship between the content of the music and dance taught in the classroom and what actually exists in the syllabus to be taught. It is recommended that music teachers properly align their instructional content to the syllabus since it contains enough African music content that can prepare the pupils to appreciate their musical culture.

Proportional Reasoning Interventions in Special Education Synthesis Coding Protocol

The purpose of document is to provide readers with the coding protocol that authors used to code nine group and single case design intervention studies focused on proportional reasoning interventions for students (grades 5-9) with learning disabilities (LD) or mathematics difficulty (MD). The studies yielded intervention effects ranging from g = −0.10 to 1.87 and from Tau-U = 0.88 to 1.00. We coded all of the studies for variables in the following categories: study information, intervention features, dependent measures, participant demographics, LD and MD criteria and definitions, instructional content, study results, and quality indicators for group and single case design. The study quality indicator coding portion of this coding protocol was adapted from Gersten et al. (2005) and Horner et al. (2005). This code book contains variable names, code options, and code definitions. The mean interrater reliability across all codes using this protocol was 91% (range across categories = 82%–96%). The publication associated with this coding protocol is Nelson et al. (2020).

A Learning Object Approach for Designing Information Literacy Instructional Materials

The use of a Learning Object is a new concept in designing online instructional content. It values the creation of small lego-like instructional components (objects) that can be readily assembled, delivered and reused in multiple instructional and learning contexts. Unlike conventional tutorials, learning objects are designed for building a collection of learning resources that are not bound by a particular context or situation. Information literacy instruction lends itself well to the learning objects approach. With this approach, the tagging of lego-like objects allows matching objects with individual competency levels, hence provides greater flexibility and relevancy for end users. Other advantages of developing material to be reused as learning objects such as ease of update and search, customization, interoperability and increased value of content are discussed in relation to information literacy instruction.

Comparison of the Knowledge of Technology, Pedagogy and Content of Educators at Secondary Level

The innovative trends in 21st-century instruction have altered the entire landscape of pedagogy. Hence, this worldview move requires technological information and expertise from educators along with knowledge of instructional content. The main topic of the research work is based on a new, interdisciplinary framework for educators' knowledge of technological integration, the professed knowledge of modern equipment, art of teaching, and material. This structure is centered on Shulman's concept of knowledge of instructional material i.e. PCK to comprise information about modern equipment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to; assess and compare the technical instructional and material understanding (TPACK) of IT educators in government and non-government schools. This study has followed a quantitative research approach. The target population comprised of all IT educators working in government and non-government high schools in the urban area of Islamabad. Using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique, 32 IT educators (from government schools) and 40 IT educators (from non-government schools) were selected for sampling. Data were collected using a self-developed research tool. Data analysis was steered using descriptive & inferential statistics. Outcomes of the study specified a noteworthy variance of government with non-government CS educators -about Technological Knowledge (TK), Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technical Pedagogic Know-how (TPK) nevertheless, non-noteworthy variance regarding Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) and TPACK.

The pedagogical efficacy of ESP courses for Iranian students of engineering from students’ and instructors’ perspectives

Casting light on the pros and cons of every educational program, the outcomes of an effective evaluative endeavor may serve as a guideline for education authorities interested in content enhancement schemes. Focusing on English for specific purposes (ESP) courses for engineering students, the current study sought to evaluate the efficacy of technical English pedagogy in the academic context of Iran. Employing a mixed evaluative framework, the study explored the courses’ effectiveness delving into the attitudes of ESP instructors and engineering students toward three major domains including needs satisfaction, content authenticity, and learner autonomy. As its secondary aim, the study examined whether there was any significant difference between students and instructors in terms of their attitudes to the courses under investigation. To accomplish the objectives, a researcher-made questionnaire was administered to 796 engineering students and 54 ESP instructors chosen from 20 randomly-selected Iranian universities. A descriptive analysis of the survey data revealed an overall disagreement with the satisfaction of some learner needs such as those related to the learning objectives, productive competences, monitoring system, and educational facilities. Additionally, the two groups of participants had significantly different perceptions of the authenticity of the instructional content as well as the satisfaction of the target needs. The findings may help local authorities adapt the existing ESP pedagogy in Iran to suit the genuine needs of students.

The Influence of Social Media on Learning

During '90s, a debate initiated between Clark and Kozma about the role of media on learning. While Clark proposed that the media had no effect on learning, Kozma proposed that learning is influenced when method and media is combined and appropriately used. In today's world, the role of social media on learning is inevitable since social media is increasingly used by individuals with the purpose of searching for information and watching instructional videos. In this respect, the influence of social media on learning is investigated in this study within the context of Kozma's perspective. Correspondingly, the instructional content provided by social media, the appropriate instructional methods, and implications for learning theories are discussed in this chapter, together with certain practical applications. In the end, social coding platform, collaborative e-learning platform, and virtual classroom management simulation are described as practical social media applications.