This paper argues that ecological frameworks offer a powerful way of explaining the take-up of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools. Past research has focused on teachers and their willingness and readiness to use ICT but this has not satisfactorily explained the use (or non-use) of ICT. Gaps in this research can be addressed…

The problem motivating this research is the rapid introduction of educational technologies and the strong push to use new technologies in technical and vocational training in China coupled with varied responses and uneven adoption of new tools on the part of practitioners. This study investigated the factors that influence technical and vocational…

This paper addresses the research problem of how to reach, engage and support parents in home-educating young children during the first national COVID-19 lockdown in England (March-June 2020), which was addressed through using technology. An internet-mediated research (IMR) approach is used to investigate the effectiveness of using technology and…

This paper discusses a year-long technology integration project during which teachers and researchers joined forces to explore children's collaborative activities through the use of touch screens. In the research project discussed in this paper, 16 touch screens were integrated into teaching and learning activities in two separate classrooms;…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship of subject areas to teachers' technology integration. Educational technology research has often identified "culture clashes" to explain differences in technology use between subject areas. These clashes are frequently attributed to core features, values and beliefs held in the…

The supposed benefits of teachers' use of information and communications technology (digital technology) are well reported throughout the academic literature--most often involving issues of enhanced learning outcomes, increased pupil engagement and more efficient management and organisation of learning. This paper uses survey data from 683…

Analyses presented here are secondary data analyses of the "Use, Support and Effect of Instructional Technology" study aimed at identifying predictors of teacher-directed student use of technology (TDS) in elementary classrooms. Using data from a convenience sample of 1040 teachers nested within 81 schools in 21 Massachusetts' school…

While much of the e-learning development at universities in the past 15 years has been on institutionally supported Learning Management Systems (LMSs), alternative educational technologies are being taken up following the rapid growth in emerging technologies, including social networking sites (SNSs). While teachers may choose educational…

This paper has focused on the productive use of information and communications technology (ICT) by university students and its influence on academic performance. The objective is to determine whether a comparison of successful and non-successful students (in relation to academic achievements) versus the variables studied (linked to the process of…

Video games have become an essential part of the way people play and learn. While an increasing number of people are using games to learn in informal environments, their acceptance in the classroom as an instructional activity has been mixed. Successes in informal learning have caused supporters to falsely believe that implementing them into the…

Higher and further education institutions are increasingly using social software tools to support teaching and learning. A growing body of research investigates the diversity of tools and their range of contributions. However, little research has focused on investigating the role of the educator in the context of a social software initiative, even…

The use of learning management systems (LMS) has grown considerably in universities around the world. The University of Minho (UM) has pioneered in this area in Portugal, adopting Blackboard as its official LMS. Moodle is also used in UM in scattered initiatives, allowing for interesting comparisons. Previous studies comparing Blackboard and…

This paper highlights the potential of three-dimensional multi-user environments such as "Second Life" (SL) from the perspective of future developments in the service of learning. It notes trends within the SL innovation to date, including the provision of realistic settings, the exploitation of pleasant simulated environments for groups and the…

Second Life (SL), an immersive virtual environment, is increasingly being adopted in education for both formal and informal teaching and learning uses. This paper addresses the process of developing a demonstrator presence in SL, the potential of the system for formal teaching and some practical ideas on how to successfully integrate such emerging…

This study critically analyzed the current body of published research on microblogging in education (MIE) to build a deep and comprehensive understanding of this increasingly popular phenomenon. Twenty-one studies on MIE in 2008-2011 were selected based on the selection criteria and analyzed to answer the following questions: What types of…