This book describes recent approaches in advancing STEM education with the use of robotics, innovative methods in integrating robotics in school subjects, engaging and stimulating students with robotics in classroom-based and out-of-school activities, and new ways of using robotics as an educational tool to provide diverse learning experiences. It addresses issues and challenges in generating enthusiasm among students and revamping curricula to provide application focused and hands-on approaches in learning . The book also provides effective strategies and emerging trends in using robotics, designing learning activities and how robotics impacts the students' interests and achievements in STEM related subjects. The frontiers of education are progressing very rapidly. This volume brought together a collection of projects and ideas which help us keep track of where the frontiers are moving. This book ticks lots of contemporary boxes: STEM, robotics, coding, and computational thinking among them. Most educators interested in the STEM phenomena will find many ideas in this book which challenge, provide evidence and suggest solutions related to both pedagogy and content. Regular reference to 21st Century skills, achieved through active collaborative learning in authentic contexts, ensures the enduring usefulness of this volume.John Williams Professor of Education and Director of the STEM Education Research Group Curtin University, Perth, Australia

This book describes and explains how digital technologies enter adolescents' everyday life and learning in different contexts and environments. The book is based on research conducted in recent years in the Czech Republic, the results of which are set within a broad theoretical and international framework. The authors consider the theoretical and methodological anchoring of the topic, describing various approaches in an effort to comprehensively describe and understand the learning process of today's pupils. They focus on ways to explore learning in the digital era, domestication of digital technology in families, and parents' approaches to digital technology. Attention is paid to adolescents' competences and autonomy in the use of digital technologies, as well as their views on technology in their lives and learning. The authors summarize the most important results of the research, but also consider the options of empirical research and their own experience with the research of such a complex concept.

This book presents a peer reviewed selection of extended versions of ten original papers that were presented at the 15th International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE 2013) held in Viseu, Portugal. The book provide a representative view of current Information and Communications Technology (ICT) educational research approaches in the Ibero-American context as well as internationally. It includes studies that range from elementary to higher education, from traditional to distance learning settings. It considers special needs and other inclusive issues, across a range of disciplines, using multiple and diverse perspectives and technologies to furnish detailed information on the latest trends in ICT and education globally. Design, development and evaluation of educational software; ICT use and evaluation methodologies; social web and collaborative systems; and learning communities are some of the topics covered.

This book uncovers the crucial issues in learning technologies in this digital transformation moment, specifically within the COVID-19 umbrella effects. Remote learning, educational technologies, or distance learning are usually used topics by teachers, students, and researchers because the educational context should be transformed and even reinvented itself drastically. Technologies have been used more intensively in the last year than during the last decade. However, what is the effect of these "new" technologies on the teaching and learning methodologies? Are teachers and students fully digital competent to integrate these technologies in their teaching and learning activities? In this book, the authors claim to go forward that the online teaching conception to replicate the face-to-face teaching through a camera. They propose adapting the active methodologies to the online or hybrid context, which is a challenge that must be corroborated with rigorous educational research.

This volume examines the challenges weighing on the future of education in the face of globalization in the twenty-first century. Bringing together eleven authors who explore the paradox of an "after" to the future of education, each chapter in this book targets three important areas: ecology as understood in the broader framework of globalization and pedagogy; curriculum concerns which impact learning; and the pervasiveness of technology in education today.

This book makes a contribution to a global conversation about the competencies, challenges, and changes being introduced as a result of digital technologies. This volume consists of four parts, with the first being elaborated from each of the featured panelists at CELDA (Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age) 2014. Part One is an introduction to the global conversation about competencies and challenges for 21st-century teachers and learners. Part Two discusses the changes in learning and instructional paradigms. Part Three is a discussion of assessments and analytics for teachers and decision makers. Lastly, Part Four analyzes the changing tools and learning environments teachers and learners must face. Each of the four parts has six chapters. In addition, the book opens with a paper by the keynote speaker aimed at the broad considerations to take into account with regard to instructional design and learning in the digital age. The volume closes with a reflective piece on the progress towards systemic and sustainable improvements in educational systems in the early part of the 21st century.

This open access book examines the complex relationship between education, media and power. Exploring the entanglement of education media and power structures, the contributions use various examples and case studies to demonstrate how subjectivation processes and digital structures interact with one another. The book asks which modes of subjectivation can be identified with current media cultures, how subjects deal with the challenges and potential of digitality, and how coping and empowerment strategies are developed. By addressing theoretical as well as empirical evidence, the chapters illuminate these connections and the subsequent significance for media education more widely.

The book presents the possibilities and realities of virtual worlds in education through the application of 3D virtual worlds to support authentic learning, creativity, learner engagement and cultural diversity in higher education. It includes a unique variety of cross disciplinary approaches to research, teaching and learning in a virtual world, including analysis of data from the experiences of students in education, law, Chinese language, sustainability, computer architecture, business, health and the Arts. The book provides unique learning experiences that have celebrated the rich media of virtual world environments through the utilisation of affordances such as simulation, bots, synchronous interaction, machinima and games. The perspectives come from Australia and New Zealand higher education academics but transferable to any higher educational institution in the sector, worldwide, and is significant to various disciplines in the higher education field.

This book seeks to expand the research agendas on autonomy in language learning and teaching in diverse contexts, by examining the present landscape of established studies, identifying research gaps and providing practical future research directions. Based on empirical studies, it explores research agendas in five emerging domains: language learning and teaching in developing countries; social censure and teacher autonomy; learner autonomy and groups; learner autonomy and digital practice; and finally, learner autonomy and space. In doing so, it sheds new light on the impact of digital media, group dynamics and the application of ecological perspectives on learner autonomy. The contributors present a novel reconsideration of new learning affordances, and their discussion of spatial dimensions provides much needed expansion in the field. This book will have international appeal and provide an invaluable resource for students and scholars of second language learning and higher education, as well as teacher educators. Chapter 2 of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2F978-1-137-52998-5_2.pdf.

Control technology is a new learning environment which offers the opportunity to take up the economic and educational challenge of enabling people to adapt to new technologies and use them to solve problems. Giving young children (and also adults) easy access to control technology introduces them to a learning environment where they can build their knowledge across a range of topics. As they build and program their own automata and robots, they learn to solve problems, work incollaboration, and be creative. They also learn more about science, electronics, physics, computer literacy, computer assisted manufacturing, and so on. This book, based on a NATO Advanced Research Workshop in the Special Programme on Advanced Educational Technology, presents a cross-curricular approach to learning about control technology. The recommended methodology is active learning, where the teacher's role is to stimulate the learner to build knowledge by providing him/her with appropriate materials (hardware and software) and suggestions to develop the target skills. The results are encouraging, although more tools are needed to help the learner to generalize from his/her concrete experiment in control technology as well as to evaluate its effect on the target skills. The contributions not only discuss epistemological controversies linked to such learning environments as control technology, but also report on the state of the art and new developments in the field and present some stimulating ideas.

This book explores the theoretical foundations of gamification in learning and education. It has become increasingly difficult to engage and motivate students. Gamification not only makes learning interesting, but also allows game players to solve problems and learn lessons through repeated attempts and failures. This "positive failure" can motivate students to attempt a difficult mission. Chapters in this volume cover topics such as the definition and characteristics of gamification, gamification in learning and education, theories, research on gamification, framework, strategy, and cases.

This book addresses the gap in the literature concerned with global case studies of successful Digital, Mobile and Open Education. The book shares experiences from international teaching and learning projects at all levels of Education, and provides advice for future policy and investment in digital teaching and learning and Open Education projects. It also provides an expectation on the future capacity and sustainability of Open Education.

This book provides innovative insights into how creativity can be taught within higher education. Preparing students for employment in a dynamic set of global creative industries requires those students to not only be resilient and entrepreneurial, but also to be locally focused while being globally aware. Therefore it is imperative that they acquire a thorough understanding of creative processes and practice as they try to keep pace with worldwide digital trends. As the creation of media messages is a fundamental aspect of global creative industries, and that numerous concerns practitioners face are based upon a certain understanding of creativity, the authors propose an exploration of what creativity is in terms of research, and then apply it pedagogically. Drawing on extensive empirical research, the authors pose the thought-provoking question of whether creativity can be taught. This volume will be of interest to both students and scholars of creativity and higher education as well as to creatively-based practitioners more widely.

In this book, we primarily focus on studies that provide objective, unobtrusive, and innovative measures (e.g., indirect measures, content analysis, or analysis of trace data) of SEL skills (e.g., collaboration, creativity, persistence), relying primarily on learning analytics methods and approaches that would potentially allow for expanding the assessment of SEL skills and competencies at scale. What makes the position of learning analytics pivotal in this endeavor to redefine measurement of SEL skills are constant changes and advancements in learning environments and the quality and quantity of data collected about learners and the process of learning. Contemporary learning environments that utilize virtual and augmented reality to enhance learning opportunities accommodate for designing tasks and activities that allow learners to elicit behaviors (either in face-to-face or online context) not being captured in traditional educational settings. Novel insights provided in the book span across diverse types of learning contexts and learner populations. Specifically, the book addresses relevant and emerging theories and frameworks (in various disciplines such as education, psychology, or workforce) that inform assessments of SEL skills and competencies. In so doing, the book maps the landscape of the novel learning analytics methods and approaches, along with their application in the SEL assessment for K-12 learners as well as adult learners. Critical to the notion of the SEL assessment are data sources. In that sense, the book outlines where and how data related to learners' 21st century skills and competencies can be measured and collected. Linking theory to data, the book further discusses tools and methods that are being used to operationalize SEL and link relevant skills and competencies with cognitive assessment. Finally, the book addresses aspects of generalizability and applicability, showing promising approaches for translating research findings into actionable insights that would inform various stakeholders (e.g., learners, instructors, administrators, policy makers).

Winner of the Association of Educational Computing and Technology (AECT) 2018 Design and Development Outstanding Book Award Educators and researchers worldwide are confronted by a tantalizing challenge - how should contemporary technologies be used to enhance learning? This book provides a broad academic and teaching audience with an integrated understanding of learning technology research, and how it can be used to enhance the design of learning environments. Whereas some books focus exclusively on research relating to learning technology and others propose ways to use technology effectively, this book synthesises research for the purpose of informing best practice. After laying pedagogical, technological and content foundations, it examines research relating to the educational use of Web 2.0, social networking, mobile devices and virtual worlds. Analysis across these contexts leaves readers with a nuanced understanding of how technology-enhanced learning design principles may (or may not) be abstracted across different learning technology environments. Providing an integrated portrayal of learning technology research enables educators (academics, school teachers, pre-service teachers and educational designers) to immediately adopt evidence-based approaches in their teaching. The comprehensive synthesis of the literature also helps learning technology researchers to more clearly identify the interrelationships between different areas of learning technology research, as well as position their work amongst the practical problems of the field. Rich with examples, this book is suitable for those who want to adopt a design-based and research-driven approach to enhancing learning using technology.

This book examines a wide range of innovations in language learning and teaching in Japan. Each of the chapters describes the impetus for a change or new development in a particular context, from early childhood to adult learning, details its implementation and provides an evaluation of its success. In doing so, they provide a comprehensive overview of best practice in innovating language education from teaching practice in formal classroom settings, to self-directed learning beyond the classroom, and offer recommendations to enhance language education in Japan and beyond. The book will be of interest to scholars of applied linguistics and language development, and in particular to those involved in managing change in language education that attempts to mediate between global trends and local needs.

As enrollment numbers continue to grow for online education classes, it is imperative instructors be prepared to teach students from diverse groups. Students who engage in learning in classrooms where their backgrounds are recognized and the instruction is welcoming and all-inclusive perform better. Individuals who teach in online settings must endeavor to create caring and culturally appropriate environments to encourage learning among all students irrespective of their demographic composition. Care and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Online Settings is a collection of innovative research on the incorporation of culturally sensitive teaching practices in online classrooms, and how these methods have had an impact on student learning. While highlighting topics including faculty teaching, restorative justice, and nontraditional students, this book is ideally designed for instructors, researchers, instructional designers, administrators, policymakers, and students seeking current research on online educators incorporating care and culturally responsive pedagogy into practice.

This book describes how a support structure can be built to enhance peer-to-peer (and also students-to-lecturers) communication and support. It informs lecturers on how they can decide if they should adopt one or more social media tools to facilitate students' learning, communication, and support for an internship program. This book introduces a participatory design approach that can help develop a pedagogy that will make good use of social media tools on internship learning. It presents a framework for experiential internship learning, integrating helpful educational practices such as participatory design approach and the use of social media.

This book provides state-of-the-art knowledge on how to establish, organize, staff, and develop online education/e-learning programs. It strengthens knowledge of the different technologies, infrastructure and issues necessary for leaders and managers to make competent decisions. It is the most comprehensive guide for administrative practice currently available for e-learning leaders and managers.

This book is the first to explore the big question of how assessment can be refreshed and redesigned in an evolving digital landscape. There are many exciting possibilities for assessments that contribute dynamically to learning. However, the interface between assessment and technology is limited. Often, assessment designers do not take advantage of digital opportunities. Equally, digital innovators sometimes draw from models of higher education assessment that are no longer best practice. This gap in thinking presents an opportunity to consider how technology might best contribute to mainstream assessment practice. Internationally recognised experts provide a deep and unique consideration of assessment's contribution to the technology-mediated higher education sector. The treatment of assessment is contemporary and spans notions of 'assessment for learning', measurement and the roles of peer and self within assessment. Likewise the view of educational technology is broad and includes gaming, learning analytics and new media. The intersection of these two worlds provides opportunities, dilemmas and exemplars. This book serves as a reference for best practice and also guides future thinking about new ways of conceptualising, designing and implementing assessment.

This book is about how technologies are used in practice to support learning and teaching in higher education. Despite digitization and e-learning becoming ever-increasingly popular in university teaching settings, this book convincingly argues instead in favour of simple and convenient technologies, thus disrupting traditional patterns of learning, teaching and assessment. Michael Flavin uses Disruptive Innovation theory, Activity Theory and the Community of Practice theory as lenses through which to examine technology enhanced learning. This book will be of great interest to all academics with teaching responsibilities, as it illuminates how technologies are used in practice, and is also highly relevant to postgraduate students and researchers in education and technology enhanced learning. It will be especially valuable to leaders and policy-makers in higher education, as it provides insights to inform decision-making on technology enhanced learning at both an institutional and sectoral level.

Digital tools have a clear educational purpose, but how do we help students with the darker corners of the web? This book provides timely, much-needed advice for educators on how to teach students to handle the anger and divisiveness that pervades social media and that is impossible to ignore when using tech for other purposes. Author Andrew Marcinek provides strategies we can use to help students with issues such as navigating relationships; understanding digital ethics and norms; returning to a balance with screen time; reclaiming conversation; holding yourself accountable; creating a new digital mindset; and more. Throughout, there are practical features such as Pause and Reflects, Teachable Moments, and classroom activities and lesson plans, so you can easily implement the ideas across content areas and grade levels.

This open access book focuses on making the transition from in-person, classroom education to other feasible alternative modes and methodologies to deliver education at all levels. The book presents and analyzes research questions to explore in this arena, including pedagogical issues relating to technological and infrastructure challenges, teacher professional development, issues of disparity, access and equity, and impact of government policies on education. It also provides unique opportunities and vehicles for generating scholarship that helps explain the varied educational needs, perspectives and solutions that arise during an emergency and the different roles educational institutions and educators may play during this time. Developed from a highly successful Presidential Session at the annual meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), this edited volume presents AECT and its membership as the premier organization focusing on the provision of educational communications and technology leadership. In addition, it functions as a contemporary document of this global crisis as well as a rich resource for possible future emergency scenarios in the educational arena.

This is the first comprehensive research monograph devoted to the use of augmented reality in education. It is written by a team of 58 world-leading researchers, practitioners and artists from 15 countries, pioneering in employing augmented reality as a new teaching and learning technology and tool. The authors explore the state of the art in educational augmented reality and its usage in a large variety of particular areas, such as medical education and training, English language education, chemistry learning, environmental and special education, dental training, mining engineering teaching, historical and fine art education. Augmented Reality in Education: A New Technology for Teaching and Learning is essential reading not only for educators of all types and levels, educational researchers and technology developers, but also for students (both graduates and undergraduates) and anyone who is interested in the educational use of emerging augmented reality technology.

This book provides scholars, teacher educators, as well as reflective school leaders and teachers with valuable insights into what it is to be a teacher in the 21st century. It does so by presenting original research based on a study of several New Zealand schools between 2013 and 2015, and in particular, a focussed study of four of those schools in 2015. The book draws on the findings to take stock of some of the central manifestations of 21st-century learning, especially digital pedagogies and the collaborative practices associated with teaching and learning in modern learning environments. It reflects on the mental shifts and sometimes-painful transitions teachers and leaders are making and experiencing as they enter uncharted waters, moving from traditional classroom practices to ones that emphasise collaboration, teamwork and the radical de-centring of their personal roles. It outlines a blueprint for understanding how to navigate these changes, and describes and explains the nature of pedagogical shifts apparent in digital classrooms and modern learning environments.