This document discusses challenges and opportunities for improving ICT research in Africa. It notes that while ICT is often believed to benefit learning, the empirical evidence supporting these claims is limited. Several studies have found mixed or no effects of ICT on student achievement. The document also points out threats to the quality of educational research in Africa, including pressure to publish which can compromise rigor, a lack of large-scale and longitudinal studies, and insufficient grounding of research in strong theoretical frameworks. It calls for abandoning weak research designs in favor of more robust experimental and quasi-experimental approaches grounded in theory. Strengthening research training and supervision as well as international collaboration are also recommended to advance high-quality ICT research.
Sabbatical (Massey University) - An Introduction to a New Research Paradigm: ...Michael Barbour
Barbour, M. K. (2011, April). An introduction to a new research paradigm: Design-based research. An invited presentation to the National Centre for Teaching and Learning at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
An overview of design-based research, design experiments, educational design research. What it is, where it came from, and how to apply it to improve teaching and learning.
Slides presented at Open Education 2016. The Open Research Agenda is an international consultation exercise on research priorities in open education which combines online surveys and focus group interactions. This presentation summarises thematic analysis of the data set and indicates future directions for research in the field of open education.
Sabbatical (Massey University) - An Introduction to a New Research Paradigm: ...Michael Barbour
Barbour, M. K. (2011, April). An introduction to a new research paradigm: Design-based research. An invited presentation to the National Centre for Teaching and Learning at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
An overview of design-based research, design experiments, educational design research. What it is, where it came from, and how to apply it to improve teaching and learning.
Slides presented at Open Education 2016. The Open Research Agenda is an international consultation exercise on research priorities in open education which combines online surveys and focus group interactions. This presentation summarises thematic analysis of the data set and indicates future directions for research in the field of open education.
Computational Social Science – what is it and what can(‘t) it do?Christian Bokhove
Title: Computational Social Science – what is it and what can(‘t) it do?
What is your talk about?
In Computational Social Science (CSS) we use computer science algorithms to analyse qualitative data at scale. In this talk I define CSS, describe what the opportunities and barriers are in using such methods, and give examples from published research, for example on analysing thousands of Ofsted documents.
What are the key messages of your talk?
The use of CSS methods makes it is possible to analyse some data sources at scale that previously would be unrealistic to analyse ‘by hand’.
What are the implications for practice or research from your talk?
CSS allows both more qualitative and more quantitative researchers to analyse unstructured data sources at scale.
Short Biography
Dr Christian Bokhove is an Associate Professor in Mathematics. In his research, he combines conventional qualitative and quantitative methods with novel computational methods.
In England, an important role for the judgement of educational quality, is provided by the national school inspectorate Ofsted. Periodically they inspect schools and judge them. The result of the inspection is captured in inspection reports and associated documents. Ofsted has had several chief inspectors (HMCI) since 2000 and every HMCI tends to put his/her own mark on the inspectorate. This paper extends the analysis of the corpus in Author (2020) using the corpus of more than 17,000 Ofsted documents which were scraped from their website with text-mining techniques. Using the computational research method of structural topic modelling I re-analyse a set of documents that typically could not be analysed with manual methods. I juxtapose the findings with previous findings from sentiment analyses. The paper does not just cover the substantive topic at hand, but also provide insight in how the methods work, and how they provide insight in policy shifts during the ‘reign’ of different HMCIs. All in all, we can see how such text-mining techniques allow us to analyse existing documents at scale.
Dr Mandy Lupton, keynote at ASLA XXIII Biennial Conference - This presentation examines how inquiry learning is portrayed in the Australian Curriculum. It explores how inquiry is represented, developed and sequenced from Foundation to Year 10 in several subject areas. It compares inquiry models from a range of disciplines with the inquiry strands in the Australian Curriculum. It analyses and compares how information literacy and inquiry is represented, developed and sequenced in the inquiry strands and general capabilities.
Computational Social Science – what is it and what can(‘t) it do?Christian Bokhove
Title: Computational Social Science – what is it and what can(‘t) it do?
What is your talk about?
In Computational Social Science (CSS) we use computer science algorithms to analyse qualitative data at scale. In this talk I define CSS, describe what the opportunities and barriers are in using such methods, and give examples from published research, for example on analysing thousands of Ofsted documents.
What are the key messages of your talk?
The use of CSS methods makes it is possible to analyse some data sources at scale that previously would be unrealistic to analyse ‘by hand’.
What are the implications for practice or research from your talk?
CSS allows both more qualitative and more quantitative researchers to analyse unstructured data sources at scale.
Short Biography
Dr Christian Bokhove is an Associate Professor in Mathematics. In his research, he combines conventional qualitative and quantitative methods with novel computational methods.
In England, an important role for the judgement of educational quality, is provided by the national school inspectorate Ofsted. Periodically they inspect schools and judge them. The result of the inspection is captured in inspection reports and associated documents. Ofsted has had several chief inspectors (HMCI) since 2000 and every HMCI tends to put his/her own mark on the inspectorate. This paper extends the analysis of the corpus in Author (2020) using the corpus of more than 17,000 Ofsted documents which were scraped from their website with text-mining techniques. Using the computational research method of structural topic modelling I re-analyse a set of documents that typically could not be analysed with manual methods. I juxtapose the findings with previous findings from sentiment analyses. The paper does not just cover the substantive topic at hand, but also provide insight in how the methods work, and how they provide insight in policy shifts during the ‘reign’ of different HMCIs. All in all, we can see how such text-mining techniques allow us to analyse existing documents at scale.
Dr Mandy Lupton, keynote at ASLA XXIII Biennial Conference - This presentation examines how inquiry learning is portrayed in the Australian Curriculum. It explores how inquiry is represented, developed and sequenced from Foundation to Year 10 in several subject areas. It compares inquiry models from a range of disciplines with the inquiry strands in the Australian Curriculum. It analyses and compares how information literacy and inquiry is represented, developed and sequenced in the inquiry strands and general capabilities.
In this lecture you will learn about the importance of research questions, how they related to research problems, the properties of good research questions, and the differences between quantitative and qualitative research questions.
Presentation of a Higher Education Academy (HEA) funded teacher education project by Dr Elspeth McCartney (University of Strathclyde) on supporting student teachers to engage with research at a dissemination event in July 2014. For further details of this event and links to related materials see http://bit.ly/1mqhzHS.
Status quo vadis? An assessment of the relationship between science, educatio...Simon Haslett
Presentation by Dr Christopher House (University of Wales: Trinity Saint David, Swansea) at the Research-Teaching Practice in Wales Conference, 9th September 2013, at the University of Wales, Gregynog Hall. Slidecast edited by Professor Simon Haslett.
The learning styles revelation - research from cognitive scienceJolly Holden
As the learning style debate continues, recent research casts doubt of their efficacy in predicting learning outcomes. This presentation presents the evidence based upon research, as well as introducing the cognitive information procession model and its implications for designing multimedia instruction.
A framework for analysing research types and practicesLaura Czerniewicz
A presentation at Networked Learning Conference Edinburgh 2014
Full paper Czerniewicz, L; Kell, C; Willmers, M; King, T (2014), “Changing Research Communication Practices and Open Scholarship: A Framework for Analysis”, available http://openuct.uct.ac.za/article/scap-outputs-changing-research-communication-practices
Disseminating scholarship of teaching and learning: using grass roots networ...Joann Cattlin
The study found that mathematicians needed discipline specific, practical and evidence-based information and advice about teaching, but that there were a number of barriers to them finding relevant information.
Following a useful session on retention on the 26th November, there is an increasing interest for managers to have a useful summary of lessons from research around blended/digital delivery.
Although there are many sources of good information available, having this summarised and reflecting on how it may be useful in practice should be helpful for a busy manager in ensuring well researched thinking is informing management and operational practice. As with many aspects of Covid, it can be helpful to be guided by the science.
Presentation delivered by John Laird, HMI, Education Scotland, as part of the Virtual Bridge Session series.
Follow along at https://twitter.com/Virtual_Bridge and see what's coming up next at https://bit.ly/VBsessions
Recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oari0oHrJIk
Presentation of a paper at the ASCILITE Conference, discussing how we need to share the findings of failed research, so we can learn from other's mistakes. The full paper may be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311108135_Failing_forward_in_research_around_technology_enhanced_learning
Safalta Digital marketing institute in Noida, provide complete applications that encompass a huge range of virtual advertising and marketing additives, which includes search engine optimization, virtual communication advertising, pay-per-click on marketing, content material advertising, internet analytics, and greater. These university courses are designed for students who possess a comprehensive understanding of virtual marketing strategies and attributes.Safalta Digital Marketing Institute in Noida is a first choice for young individuals or students who are looking to start their careers in the field of digital advertising. The institute gives specialized courses designed and certification.
for beginners, providing thorough training in areas such as SEO, digital communication marketing, and PPC training in Noida. After finishing the program, students receive the certifications recognised by top different universitie, setting a strong foundation for a successful career in digital marketing.
Biological screening of herbal drugs: Introduction and Need for
Phyto-Pharmacological Screening, New Strategies for evaluating
Natural Products, In vitro evaluation techniques for Antioxidants, Antimicrobial and Anticancer drugs. In vivo evaluation techniques
for Anti-inflammatory, Antiulcer, Anticancer, Wound healing, Antidiabetic, Hepatoprotective, Cardio protective, Diuretics and
Antifertility, Toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines
Executive Directors Chat Leveraging AI for Diversity, Equity, and InclusionTechSoup
Let’s explore the intersection of technology and equity in the final session of our DEI series. Discover how AI tools, like ChatGPT, can be used to support and enhance your nonprofit's DEI initiatives. Participants will gain insights into practical AI applications and get tips for leveraging technology to advance their DEI goals.
বাংলাদেশের অর্থনৈতিক সমীক্ষা ২০২৪ [Bangladesh Economic Review 2024 Bangla.pdf] কম্পিউটার , ট্যাব ও স্মার্ট ফোন ভার্সন সহ সম্পূর্ণ বাংলা ই-বুক বা pdf বই " সুচিপত্র ...বুকমার্ক মেনু 🔖 ও হাইপার লিংক মেনু 📝👆 যুক্ত ..
আমাদের সবার জন্য খুব খুব গুরুত্বপূর্ণ একটি বই ..বিসিএস, ব্যাংক, ইউনিভার্সিটি ভর্তি ও যে কোন প্রতিযোগিতা মূলক পরীক্ষার জন্য এর খুব ইম্পরট্যান্ট একটি বিষয় ...তাছাড়া বাংলাদেশের সাম্প্রতিক যে কোন ডাটা বা তথ্য এই বইতে পাবেন ...
তাই একজন নাগরিক হিসাবে এই তথ্য গুলো আপনার জানা প্রয়োজন ...।
বিসিএস ও ব্যাংক এর লিখিত পরীক্ষা ...+এছাড়া মাধ্যমিক ও উচ্চমাধ্যমিকের স্টুডেন্টদের জন্য অনেক কাজে আসবে ...
How to Add Chatter in the odoo 17 ERP ModuleCeline George
In Odoo, the chatter is like a chat tool that helps you work together on records. You can leave notes and track things, making it easier to talk with your team and partners. Inside chatter, all communication history, activity, and changes will be displayed.
Strategies for Effective Upskilling is a presentation by Chinwendu Peace in a Your Skill Boost Masterclass organisation by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan on 08th and 09th June 2024 from 1 PM to 3 PM on each day.
The simplified electron and muon model, Oscillating Spacetime: The Foundation...RitikBhardwaj56
Discover the Simplified Electron and Muon Model: A New Wave-Based Approach to Understanding Particles delves into a groundbreaking theory that presents electrons and muons as rotating soliton waves within oscillating spacetime. Geared towards students, researchers, and science buffs, this book breaks down complex ideas into simple explanations. It covers topics such as electron waves, temporal dynamics, and the implications of this model on particle physics. With clear illustrations and easy-to-follow explanations, readers will gain a new outlook on the universe's fundamental nature.
A review of the growth of the Israel Genealogy Research Association Database Collection for the last 12 months. Our collection is now passed the 3 million mark and still growing. See which archives have contributed the most. See the different types of records we have, and which years have had records added. You can also see what we have for the future.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty, In...Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty,
International FDP on Fundamentals of Research in Social Sciences
at Integral University, Lucknow, 06.06.2024
By Dr. Vinod Kumar Kanvaria
Exploiting Artificial Intelligence for Empowering Researchers and Faculty, In...
engage me
1. ICT research in Africa: Towards
appropriate research
methodologies
Duan van der Westhuizen
Faculty of Education
University of Johannesburg
2. “There is a growing concern internationally that the
investment in ICT in schools is not impacting on literacy
development. This concern arises from a belief held by
many - including governments as well as schools - that ICT
is beneficial to learning, and specifically literacy
learning.”.
Torgerson C, Zhu D (2003)
3. "It is generally believed that ICTs can empower teachers
and learners, promote change and foster the development
of '21st century skills', but data to support these beliefs
are still limited".
infoDev.org
4. The positive impact of ICT use in education has not been
proven In general, and despite thousands of impact
studies, the impact of ICT use on student achievement
remains difficult to measure and open to much reasonable
debate.
5. “There is neither a strong and well-developed theoretical
case nor much empirical evidence supporting the
expected benefits of ICT …”
Contrasting evidence: BECTA (2002) and Machin et
al(2006) found positive effects, while Fuchs & Woessman
(2004), Leuven et al (2004) and others found no real
positive effect
6. Threat 1: Publish or perish
• The research endeavour is a primary imperative for
universities
• Universities under state pressure to up research output
• Universities rewarded for publication by funding model
• Accredited journal articles preferred and rewarded
• Cascades down
– University leadership
– Faculty leadership
– Departmental leadership
– Individual faculty members
• What drives the push for increased output?
7. Solani Ngobeni:
Fostering academic mediocrity
• About 96% of research output in South Africa is journal articles
• Tied to the funding model for universities
• Financially lucrative for universities to publish in accredited
journals
• This turns universities into managerialised corporate entities
• Lecturers become revenue-generating employees
• Publishing becomes a Key Performance Area at all the levels
• Therefore, publishing is not about scholarship anymore, but
about generating revenue
• It is not about quality, but about quantity
• The system of journal publication is not without problems
• And nor is the system of ‘rated’ journals (ISI, IBBS, DoHE)
8. Threat 2: Quality of Educational Research
• Hargreaves (1996): Educational research is poor value for
money, remote from practice, and of poor quality
• Considerable amount of second rate research that is irrelevant
to practice and clutters up journals that nobody reads
• A study by OFSTED explored several (41) educational
publications.
– Partisanship in the conduct of research, the presentation of
research and the argument of research
– There are methodological issues
– Non-empirical research did not consult primary resources
– Focus was often obfuscated
• Researchers “employ weak research methods, write turgid
prose, and issue contradictory findings” (Reeves, 2002)
• Dillon and Gabbard (1998): “statistical analyses & research
methods are frequently flawed, limiting our understanding of
these important issues” and limiting generalisation of findings.
9. Pasteur’s quadrant (Stokes)
Research inspired by use
No Yes
Yes Research by Research by
Bohr for an Pasteur for
atomic model pasteurisation
Research inspired by
quest for fundamental
understanding (theory)
Discoveries and
research done
No by Edison
10. Basic Research and Applied Research
• In Science—The Endless Frontier (Bush, 1990) it is argued that
basic research should be performed “without the thought of
practical ends”
• There is a linear progression from basic research to
application, to social innovation
• Stokes (1997) claims that this thinking is fundamentally
flawed
• The motive for fundamental understanding and the drive for
application are not separate or in opposition to each other
• Research can be undertaken both as a quest for basic
understanding (rigor) and with considerations of use
(relevance).
11. Researching Education:
The hardest science of all?
• Educational Science is incredibly hard to do
• Hard and soft science: a flawed dichotomy?
• ‘Hard’ science is based on randomization, generalization, based
on ‘empiric’ data, often in laboratory conditions
• ‘Soft’ science is squishy, unreliable and imprecise
• Berliner (2002) claims ‘hard’ science is easy science, and
educational science is the hardest science of all
• Deal with contexts that limit generalization and theory
building
• Challenge to replicate findings
• Challenge to find the numbers for statistical analysis
• Does not seek to find the regularity that nature provides
12. The hardest Science (cont)
• Humans learners in schools are embedded in complex and
changing networks of social interaction
• The context can never be controlled
• The variety of ‘variables’ (e.g. ability, status, motivation,
teacher competence, conceptions of learning, beliefs about
assessment) are continuously interacting, and the direction or
reciprocity of interactions are difficult to determine
• Educational science also suffers from the ‘decade by findings
interactions’ phenomenon
– Change in social, cultural and intellectual environments
negate previous findings
13. Threat 3: Quality of Educational ICT Research
• ICT research lacks a sense of history
• Longitudinal studies lag behind ICT developments
• The focus on ICT (as an object) research, not on learning
impact
• Over-reliance on Qualitative methods
• Quantitative work is generally on ‘attitude’ and ‘usage’
• Simple descriptive analyses
• Few comparative analyses (e.g. that of Lim, 2003, and
Pelgrum, 2001)
• Small-scale studies that fail to produce findings that are
reliable and generalisable
• Much of the research is dispersed at sub-discipline level
14. Threat 4: Lack of large-scale meta-
analyses
• Most prior meta-analyses were conducted on
Distance Education
• Kulik & Kulik pre-1980
• Most recently by US DoE: Evaluation of
Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning:
A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies
• Project RED: THE TECHNOLOGY FACTOR
15. Threat 5: Insufficient local research
• Van der Westhuizen (2002), there is little research
addressing and locating specifically local concerns
• Annotated Bibliography on e-Learning and Application of
Educational Technology in African Countries, or in
Contexts Relevant to Africa (Carnegie)
• Deficits in Academic Staff Capacity at African Universities
(Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, 2010)
• Growth in student numbers not met by growth in staff
• Lack of female staff
• Low numbers of PhD and M students
• Staff qualifications
• SA: CHE Report on Higher Education Landscape
16. Case Study M & D ICT Research in SA
• Finding congruence between the purpose of
the inquiry, the theoretical framework in
which the study was conducted, the research
design and the interpretation of findings.
• Not simply mapping the nature of theoretical
frameworks in the inventory, but to interpret
and critique the way in which the authors
used theoretical framing as a scholarly device.
17. Method
• Seven leading universities ito publication output
• Sample studies were identified through library
keyword searches
• Samples were either taken off the shelves or
obtained digitally
• Research instrument was applied to 103 studies
• Instrument captured summaries of
– Research question
– Supporting theories
– Research paradigms
– Findings (conclusions)
18. Discussion: towards theoretical
emancipation (Best cases)
• a small insignificant portion of the selected
studies had theoretical frameworks as
epistemological guides
• these studies were conceptualised coherently
and the various aspects of the inquiries were
congruent
• studies that were theoretically developed
yielded data that could be interpreted in more
depth
19. Discussion: towards theoretical
emancipation (2)
• A substantial majority of authors employed
theoretical frameworks in a very limited way
• theoretical frameworks in literature reviews
without using them as epistemological guides
• findings that were descriptive in nature,
contrary to a claimed interpretivist stance.
20. So ……
• Educational ICT is a developing research field and the
disciplinary training is not yet cohesive
• There is evidence that the researchers remained
practitioners of Educational ICT and did not manage
to become scholars
• It raises the concern that supervisors in M & D
programmes are not equipping their students with
the necessary skills to “find an epistemological
home” for their studies and to analyse and interpret
results.
21. Possible causes
• The demands of transformation and standardisation
have been many
• Academic and social “fall out” of mergers
• Certainly, the state of supervision in the country is
generally not sufficient, as is evident in the drive of
an organisation such as SANTRUST (ex SANPAD)
• supervisors are increasingly expected to have a high
and accelerated output and ‘through put’
• The demand to increase a university’s income is
seductive for an academic and linked to promotion
22. How?
• Appropriatestudies
Abandon case Designs?
• Abandon “user experience” ‘research’
• •Course evaluation is not research
Experimental/quasi-experimental research
•
(considering the ‘random assignment’ and have
Research projects must be theoretically founded,
theoretical outcomes
• requirement)
Research-competency training
• •Select appropriate research designs
Large-scale studies
• •Encourage research teams
Longitudinal studies
– Supervisor 1 (Senior) – PhD student
•Repeated-measures studies 1 - PhD Student 2 -
Supervisor 2 (Junior) Master Student 1, 2, 3
•Design-based Research
– Work on (dimensions of) focussed, authentic problems
– (which addresses all of the above)
International collaborative research