Research in Social Sciences and Technology (E-Journals)
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Wielding Social Media in the Cyber-Arena: Globalism, Nationalism, and Civic Education
Get PDFInformation technology is a tool, and its effects on global citizenship education (GCED) depend on who uses the technology, how it is employed, and for what purpose. In theory, technology use could provide significant benefits toward achievement of GCED goals. Globalization has demanded an educational response — to prepare the young for productive engagement with the emerging global community. Technology could play a positive role in effective GCED. But globalization has come at a cost; it has produced winners and losers. Among the losers are those economically displaced as manufacturing jobs move elsewhere; they are resentful of foreigner and fearful of an uncertain future. For them, global citizenship is anathema. They are susceptible to manipulation by malign forces eager to exploit any perceived rifts in the post-war world order. For them, technology is a weapon, as easily aimed at the aspirations of GCED as another apparent enemy.
Identifying how technology can be employed positively in GCED is important, but not enough. Young people must also understand the conflict between globalization and alt-right nationalist populism, much of it carried out in the cyber-arena of the Internet and social media. New technologies have armed adversaries with tools to manipulate opinion and foment disorder.
how technology is employed to undermine global citizenship education, as well as the democracies of the West. This they can witness in the gladiatorial combat between globalization and nationalist populism —between democracy and authoritarianism — in the cyber-arena.
This article explores how technology is a double-edged sword – a tool for good and a tool for mischief. It draws from current research and news reporting on methods and effects of online manipulation. The article concludes by describing international efforts to defend against social media assaults on democracy and by identifying the new knowledge and skills citizens must acquire for positive civic engagement in the global cyber-arena.
 
#Education: The Potential Impact of Social Media and Hashtag Ideology on the Classroom
Get PDFCommon on social media platforms, the hashtag (#) organizes users’ ideas, emotions, and comments. Originally used to create a searchable platform, the hashtag and its ideology present interesting considerations for changes to education. As students using social media today most certainly use hashtags to converse, hashtag-informed teaching could connect education to students’ worlds instead of forcing students to fit into the pre-defined world of education. Prevalent in post-secondary education, K-12 educators have recently begun to integrate social media tools into their classrooms, but what are the pedagogical implications of the ideologies of these tools? In response, this study asked the following question: “How can the hashtag inform the K-12 classroom?” Using a systematic literature review and thematic analysis, this study analyzed eight articles that discussed the use of hashtags with K-12 students. Findings indicated four themes that could inform the alignment of K-12 classrooms with hashtag ideology: encouraging voice and user-generated content, the potential of self-organization, network hetero/homogeneity, and connecting to space without a common physical space. Suggestions are provided as to how classrooms (and education) may consider restructuring to better reflect hashtag ideology, meeting students in their social media-driven world
Development of Adaptation Tools for Pupils on the Autism Spectrum in Microsystems
Get PDFThis research investigates the possibilities for the development of adaptation tools for pupils on the autism spectrum (AS), studying in the first and second forms, within their microsystems. Five mothers and five teachers of children on the AS participated in the research, and their insights help reveal the process of moving from one microsystem to another for a child on the AS. Children studying in the first and second forms were chosen because children experience a particularly significant social turning-point during this period. The following question is raised: How do synergy-driven processes taking place in the microsystems of pupils on the AS contribute to the development of the adaptation processes in these children? The research data was collected via semi-structured interviews and underwent qualitative content analysis. The research results reveal that the development of adaptation tools in children on the AS is determined by a mesosystem that covers various combinations of microsystems, and the synergy between the factors of the microsystems creates conditions for a child’s gradual transfer from one microsystem to another, perceiving the mechanisms of its functioning, and adapting within them. A mesosystem, which evolves on the school campus, within a family, and with specialists, not only encourages the development of adaptation tools in a child on the AS but also helps mothers to restore their inner harmony and actively engage in their children’s education process. In the microsystem of their peers, children on the AS acquire fundamental instruments for participation in community activities
Multidimensional Analysis of the Teaching Process of the Critical Thinking Skills
Get PDFThis study aims to evaluate critical thinking skills in a multidimensional way. Based on this objective, the level of teachers’ critical thinking skills, how they conceptualize critical thinking, their practices of critical thinking in the classroom, and if the critical thinking is referred enough in the curriculum are analyzed in this research. In terms of the research objective, this study is mixed-method: The relational model was used for the quantitative part of the research, and the case study method was used for the qualitative part. The research data was collected in the academic year 2013-2014. The study group from which quantitative data was collected consists of 323 males and 377 females, totaling 700 teachers, and the other study group from which the qualitative data was collected involves 16 teachers working at two primary and two elementary schools
The Impact of Teacher-Initiated Activities on Identifying and Verbalizing Ways of Metacognitive Monitoring and Control in Six-Year-Old Children
Get PDFThe qualitative research presented in this article attempts to show the impact of teacher-initiated activities on six-year-old children’s metacognitive monitoring and control abilities. The metacognitive model is discussed, research findings that substantiate the development of separate components of metacognitive regulation are analyzed, and the educational ways that promote metacognitive development in children are systematized. The outcomes of the research show that teacher-initiated activities stimulate and encourage children to find and apply more diverse ways of metacognitive monitoring and control. After teacher-initiated activities, the target group children demonstrated, identified, and verbalized the following ways of acting and learning that had not been noticed in their self-initiated activities in the area of metacognitive monitoring, namely, thinking while doing, modelling, acting by scheme/without a scheme, and activity by self-created strategies. In the area of metacognitive control, the children showed the ability to challenge themselves to do better than before, think and do as a continuous, unbroken control and implementation process, and control performance consistency
Scaffolding Problem Solving in Teaching and Learning The DPACE Model - A Design Thinking Approach
Get PDFProblem solving is a basic skill needed to function effectively in the working environment. Teachers are no exception to this professional demand. It is of utmost importance for teacher education programs to prepare pre-service teachers with this fundamental competency. The DPACE model is a preliminary effort by two teacher educators to enhance the problem-solving skills among pre-service teachers. The model was developed using the design thinking approach with reference to Vygotsky’s constructivism and grounded by questions as scaffolds to facilitate internalization of knowledge that teachers need to assist them in addressing and expanding their problem-solving boundaries. The main structure of the model consists of five domains developed with reference to computational thinking concepts. Each domain consists of open-ended questions formulated according to Bloom’s ordering of cognitive skills, taking pre-service teachers progressively toward better understanding of the problem and creating an efficient solution. This model was applied among 62 pre-service teachers enrolled in the TSLB3152 course at the Teacher Education Institute International Languages Campus, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In total, 86.67% of the respondents reported that the DPACE model helped them in their problem-solving task and almost 78% of them scored an A grade in their coursework tasks facilitated using the DPACE model. Efforts are needed to further refine the questions and field test the model in other courses or situations with the hope that this ongoing teacher education effort will create a paradigm shift in the quest toward mastery of 21st century skills among pre-service teachers
Main barriers to ICT teacher training and disability
Get PDFFrom the earliest ages, the commitment to an inclusive education needs the impulse of an educational system that opens its schools to all students. This reality would not be possible today without taking into account the educational support provided by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to the inclusive process, since they constitute the scaffolding that will allow participation and the realization of tasks adjusted to the possibilities and interests of the people. In the process of integration of ICT in the classroom, teachers are a key element since, as has been shown in numerous studies, one of the critical factors for the success of educational systems is the existence of trained, motivated teachers. The purpose is to know the main barriers or obstacles for the development of teacher training plans in ICT for people with disabilities, as well as the priority aspects for training. In the empirical part of the study, 241 interviews with professionals from the Spanish educational sector (members of management teams, ICT coordinators, directors and technological advisors of teacher training centers) were analyzed. Among the conclusions, we can highlight that the main barriers that hinder the implementation of ICT training activities and disability in most of the autonomous communities are determined in the first place by economic factors, lack of time, and teachers’ attitude. The conclusions of the study make it necessary to adopt important measures in the initial training of teachers in order to be trained in the incorporation and appropriate use of ICT in teaching people with different types of disabilities, especially taking into account that the reality that we face every time has more innovative and enriching technological tools that offer us a wide range of applications and adequate tools for this purpose
ICT and its purpose in the pedagogical practice
Get PDFInformation and communications technology (ICT) is currently inserted in the daily activities of a human being and has become a necessary resource, vital for their development up to the point of not conceiving activities without using these. In this sense, the education field is not the exception and has been partially including ICT as support for the teaching practice; however, there is an increasing demand from the students to implement more resources and activities supported by these technologies. A significant distance exists (the known digital divide) between the possibilities offered by different web applications that can support the pedagogical practices and the actual reality of the teaching practice, where the students realize the flaws and the necessity of strengthening the technology skills of the teachers to efficiently develop and orientate such use. In this regard, it is necessary to critically reflect on the possibilities that are offered by different web applications and their impact, their purpose in the pedagogical practice in a way that can serve as a pretext to motivate the teachers in their use and application in the development of their classes, achieving real formative processes. By doing this, students can be offered real, significant learning experiences from the technological, social, and pedagogical view, consolidating in a first instance the abilities of the teachers in the ICT area, as well as the comprehensive learning of their students, being updated on the advances that ICT offers globally, and implementing these permanently in their job as teachers, thus innovating their classes and motivating students towards learning and toward consolidating the use of ICT in the different disciplines, with the human and social component that must characterize us, accomplishing from this standpoint and reflection a pedagogical practice of quality
Editorial 2019: (4) 1
Get PDFDear Colleagues, Readers and Contributors of RESSAT!
We are excited to be with you through the May 2019 issue (4/1) of Research in Social Sciences and Technology (RESSAT). We would like to extend our appreciations to all who contributes by submitting or reviewing manuscripts or have been readers of RESSAT. In our first issue of the fourth year, you will find six articles. I would like to thank everyone and express my special appreciation to the people who contributed to make this issue ready for you. I especially would like to thank all authors and reviewers for their contribution to RESSAT. I hope you will both enjoy and be challenged by the articles in this issue of RESSAT. I also look forward to seeing your contribution to the development of RESSAT in the future
“The Hour of the Code”: Computational thinking workshop in a primary school in Guarda, Portugal
Get PDFIn recent years, there has been an increased effort to introduce coding and computational thinking in early childhood education. In accordance with the international trend, programming has become an increasingly growing focus in European education. The idea of introducing computer programming in the classroom dates back to the late 1960s. The introduction of programming language provides an opportunity to engage in logical and abstract thinking, problem solving, and the creative design process. One of the best-known initiatives is The Hour of Code. This initiative is being implemented in 180 countries and more than 700 million students have participated. The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify “code,” to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. This article describes a workshop held under the “The Hour of the Code” initiative and implemented in the primary schools of Guarda, Portugal. The activity took place at the school and lasted two hours. Students from the first to the fourth grade participated, with ages ranging from 6-11 years. The teachers of the activity were university professors of computer engineering and students of computer engineering