Summary of TPACK-related journal 15

Title                            : Perceptions of Prospective Teachers on Digital Literacy

Author                        : Emre Çam and Mübin Kiyici

Year                            : 2017

Publisher                    : Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology

Source                        : www.eric.com

This research tried to find the digital literacy levels of prospective teachers in terms of several variables by using quantitaives analysis. The sample are taken from 354 prospective teachers studying in different departments of Sakarya University College of Education. The researchers showed the gender influence towards the results. The 30-item instrument used to gather the data was the “Digital Literacy Scale” developed and used by the researchers. The scale involved 5 different factors such as information literacy, visual literacy, software literacy, technology literacy and computer literacy. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Cronbach alpha, t-test and Anova were used for data analysis. Results showed that in terms of gender variable digital literacy levels of male prospective teachers and in terms of department variable digital literacy levels of computer education and instructional technology teaching department were found high. Besides, the digital literacy levels of prospective teachers having continuous Internet connection or a computer that they can continuously use were found high. In addition, the research found that prospective teachers’ personal income levels had no effect on their digital literacy levels. The researchers added that the role of digital literacies were influential nowadays and it became the the needs of everyday activities such as business, education etc. The good teaching and learning environment supporting the digital literacy would give positive impact to future learners.

Summary of TPACK-related journal 14

Title                            : Figure Analysis: A Teaching Technique to Promote Visual Literacy and Active Learning

Author                        : Amy M. Wilesy

Year                            : 2016

Publisher                    : Mercer University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education

Source                        : www.eric.com

To improve learning, it needs an active learning techniques in the traditional lecturers. Because  there are many techniques, students are supposed to apply concepts and understanding that they had already obtained. The challange is how to incorporate active learning into the classroom of courses with the difficult content, such as molecular-based biology courses. To address both of these challenges, a technique called figure analysis was developed and implemented in three different levels of undergraduate biology courses. Here, students learn content while gaining practice in interpreting visual information by discussing figures with their peers. Student groups also make connections between new and previously learned concepts on their own while in class. The instructor summarizes the material for the class only after students deal with it in small groups. Students reported a preference for learning by figure analysis over traditional lecture, and female students in particular reported increased confidence in their analytical abilities. The survey given reported that figure analysis helped them learn (88%) and helped them learn more than traditional lectures (74%). Students also reported that figure analysis taught them how to read and interpret figures (84%). Most students (75%) agreed or strongly agreed that talking with their peers facilitated their understanding better than examining the figure on their own.

Summary of TPACK-related journal 13

Title                            : Teachers’ Professional Development: The Case of WhatsApp

Author                        : Ramazan Cansoy

Year                            : 2017

Publisher                    : Canadian Center of Science and Education

Source                        : www.eric.com

This research simply dug information about the role of What’s App group in the teacher’s professional development. The researcher, Ramazan Cansoy found 12 science teachers at random private schools between 2015-2016. The 12 teachers were joined in a what’s app group. Any kinds of information related to teaching science were shared not only by one teachers but also all of the teachers. In the study, it was observed that teachers made shares in four different themes that support professional development. These were found to be shares for field knowledge, shares for pedagogical content knowledge, shares for in-school teaching practices and shares for emotional support among teachers. The materials shared in the wat’s app group were also various in the terms of formats. Some of them are in the kind of PDF but some of them can also be in the form of documents or video. The content shared on the group aimed to support the pedagocical competence among the teachers. In this context, it was revealed that programs providing online chatting opportunities could be an important tool in ensuring the professional development of teachers. The netnographic research method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study

Summary of TPACK-related journal 12

Title                            : Indonesian Perspective on Massive Open Online Courses: Opportunities and Challenges

Author                        : Harry B. Santoso

Year                            : 2018

Publisher                    : Journal of Educators Online

Source                        : www.eric.com

Among all kinds of distance education reforms, massive open online courses (MOOCs) can be considered as the most attractive topic in educational innovation studies in recent years. The original idea of a MOOC was proposed by Dave Cormier and Bryan Alexander in 2008 (Shen et al., 2016). The concept of MOOCs is to offer free and open access courses for massive numbers of learners from anywhere in the world (Gamage, Fernando, & Perera, 2015). The year 2012 became the year of the MOOC as stated by the New York Times because many MOOC platforms, such as Udacity, Coursera, and EdX, were introduced in that year. Those three were widely accepted as the fastest growing MOOC providers until now. The study aimed to identify the opportunities and challenges in implementing MOOCs from an Indonesian perspective. The researcher, Harry, observed four local MOOCs and analyzed various documents, including literature and government regulations.

As a result, the study revealed seven opportunities and seven challenges in implementing MOOCs in Indonesia as follows. Opportunities: (1) Indonesia has many potential MOOC students, (2) Government supports MOOCs through Presidential and Ministerial Regulations, (3) MOOCs have the potential to connect the nonformal and formal education in Indonesia, (4) MOOCs can be used as promotional tools by the university to attract potential students, (5) Quality and equity in education are needed to improve the standard of living of Indonesians, (6) Accessibility of qualified training is needed to improve professional skills, and (7) there are only a few MOOC providers in Indonesia, so the competition level is low. Challenges : (1) There are only a few Internet users outside Java island, (2) Digital literacy in Indonesia is still low, (3) Obligations that are regulated by the Indonesian government need to be fulfilled, (4) Course development in MOOC requires a lot of time and money, (5) Multidisciplinary knowledge and skills are required to make qualified courses, (6) English skills of Indonesians are still at a low to medium level, (7) There is no mature business model for MOOCs in Indonesia yet.

Summary of TPACK-related journal 11

Title                            : The Effects of Multimodality through Storytelling Using Various Movie Clips

Author                        : Sohee Kim

Year                            : 2016

Publisher                    : Research-Publisher.net

Source                        : www.eric.com

This research studied the salient multimodal approaches for communicative competence and learners' reactions through storytelling tasks with three different modes: a silent movie clip, a movie clip with only sound effects, and a movie clip with sound effects and dialogue. In order to measure different multimodal effects and to define better delivery modes, three one-shot commuter-based tests for each mode and one survey were conducted. Three tasks were arranged on the websites specially designed for the study using Flying Popcorn 7.0, a web authoring program. After viewing each movie clip, participants were asked to immediately record a one-minute story. There were 90 Korean English learners who attended academic English classes at a university located in South Korea. The results showed that there was a significant difference in their speaking performance when using the movie clip with sound effects and dialogue. In the survey, participants responded that the movie clip with sound effects and dialogue provided a good way to assess speaking and listening.

Summary of TPACK-related journal 10

Title                            : A Survey of the University Students' Perspectives about Using Digital Technologies in Education: Zimbabwean Case

Author                        : Dube, Sibusisiwe and Scott, Elsje

Year                            : 2017

Publisher                    : International Academic Forum

Source                        : www.eric.com

Through this study, Dube and Scott tried to have investigation of perspectives of university students on the use of digital technologies as tools for teaching and learning. Quantitative data on student perspectives was collected using 100 questionnaires administered to students at a single university of technology in Zimbabwe. Regarding the question on the perspectives of students about the use of digital technologies in the teaching and learning, the students indicated that digital technologies are convenient and flexible tools that could enhance their learning activities. Only 31% of the participants found the e-learning system tools not useful while 58% consider them very useful. In answering the question regarding the purpose of using digital technologies, the researcher has shown in a form of understandable table that Zimbabwean students use such technologies as tools for finding information. They also use them for downloading audio and video files, which they then listen to and watch respectively. These could be both for entrainment and learning purposes. It can be concluded that through Dube and Scott’s research, it was clear that digital technologies are affordable, available and accessible to the Zimbabwean students and can be embraced in teaching and learning practice.

Summary of TPACK-related journal 9

Title                            : Increasing Student Engagement in Math: The Use of Khan Academy in Chilean Classrooms

Author                        : Daniel Light and Elizabeth Pierson

Year                            : 2014

Publisher                    : Education Development Center: Center for Children and Technology

Source                        : www.eric.com

This paper discusses about the role of Khan academy in engaging the students’ involvement in the class. This research is conducted at five schools in Chile. Khan Academy is an online learning platform started by a former hedge fund manager, Salman Khan, with the stated mission of “changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere”. The site offers over 5,000 online instructional videos in an array of subject areas, an extensive repository of math exercises, and real-time data and analysis features.

Data are taken from observation, inetrview and documentation. The researhers focus just on Math because most of the Khan Academy learning materials are for Math. After some sequences of research, the writers find that: (1) Students were more engaged in math. Some research has found that gamification can increase student engagement (See Plass et al., 2013). The elements of gamification on the site appeared to motivate many Chilean students to do more math exercises. Most of the students we spoke with described Khan Academy as fun and made references to the game-like elements. However, the points and badges appeared to motivate in different ways. Some students clearly wanted to earn as many points as possible, while other students just wanted to earn points to gain access to a new avatar. There were also students who saw the points as proof they were mastering each skill. (2) Students are mastering more math skills. As students did more math problems and were more engaged in learning math content, it is not surprising that their skill level would also increase. Teachers, students, and the SIP leadership all felt that the students who were using Khan Academy were learning more mathematic content. Most of the students we spoke with liked math class. Some student said that this was a change for them