Biodiversity is a concept of great scientific interest and social value studied in different subjects of the secondary education curriculum. Citizen–science programs may contribute to increasing the engagement of students when studying biodiversity. This work aimed to explore the use of the citizen–science platform iNaturalist as a complement of the elaboration of herbaria in an outdoor activity for 4th course 16-year-old students in the Basaula Reserve. The platform iNaturalist was chosen for its suitability to develop collaborative projects in an educational context. The Basaula project was created and 122 students were trained to record plant species in an outdoor activity. A total of 32 species were recorded, among them the most abundant were beech (Fagus sylvatica) and holm oak (Quercus ilex). The students positively evaluated their experience, highlighting its adequacy to record biodiversity data and make a virtual herbarium. Students valued the innovative character of iNaturalist and its usefulness for research but also the opportunity to integrate mobile devices in school education. We concluded that iNaturalist is a valuable tool to carry out collaborative projects dealing with biodiversity in secondary education.
COVID-19 thrust teachers into emergency online pedagogy. Teachers had to rapidly digitize their practices. A week into compulsory online teaching, we captured a snapshot of teacher experiences to identify their impressions of support received and the challenges they faced in relation to teaching remotely. We conducted a survey study with primary and secondary school teachers in Spain. 67 teachers completed an adapted version of SELFIE to measure the way digital technologies are used for teaching. Respondents were directed to mark two responses to each survey item to reflect the situations both before and during the pandemic. Results indicate that during the pandemic teachers had more training opportunities, found online professional training to be of greater use, and gained confidence in using a wide variety of technologies for both teaching and communicating with parents and students. However, the digital divide among students and a lack of technical resources and support affected their abilities to carry out online education effectively. Our study highlights teachers' perspectives on the rapid advancement of digital competences and technology in education. Information that can inform TEL research and interventions.
Advances in the field of multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) research is often accomplished by actively exploring new technologies and techniques related to the collection and analysis of data. Exploration of ethical principles and procedures for governing the use of new technologies and techniques, however, is not as readily pursued. As collected data grow in complexity and invasiveness, potentially, a growing need is arising to scrutinize ethical aspects of MMLA research. In our study, we introduce an informed consent comprehension test for educational technology research and assess the effects of enhancing MMLA consent forms on comprehension of informed consent and on rates of enrollment in a MMLA study. One form is written from a researcher perspective and the other from a participant perspective. Results of the study involving first‐year undergraduate students suggest that the overall level of comprehension did not differ between conditions. Yet, the participant‐oriented consent form resulted in significantly lower rates of enrollment. Implications for MMLA researchers are discussed.
Students must learn how to be prepared to enter the global digital network and acquire skills for the 21st century. Maker education allows for the development of such skills. This paper focuses on the implementation of Maker activities within a primary education context through a 10-hour programme across 10 schools. The study aims to analyze the possible impacts of maker education interventions on students' Maker mindset (self-efficacy, interest and motivation), as well as assessing potential gender differences regarding their prior experience with Maker education and changes experienced on their Maker mindset. Questionnaires were administered before and after the programme's implementation on a sample of 239 students. Results showed that Maker interventions can have positive effects on students' Maker mindset, increasing their self-efficacy, interest and motivation. In terms of gender differences, girls seemed to have less prior experience with Maker education than boys, yet they reported the same level of interest and motivation. This study contributes to demonstrating the positive impact that Maker education can have on primary education school settings in order to develop 21st century digital skills and bridging the gender gap in STEAM-related subjects.
Maker education plays an important role in joining the STEM education fields for preparing students for the new demands in society. It is essential to prepare teachers to implement the maker education in their lessons, not only focusing on the technical skills they need to acquire, but also on their attitudes and self-perception regarding the maker education. This paper analyzes the effect that three different approaches for teacher professional development on the maker education have on teachers' self-perceived ability for implementing the maker education in their practice. The results indicate that there is a significant improvement regarding the feeling of being able to design maker-based educational lessons after participating in any of the professional development courses. This effect is more significant in those approaches where participants are selfmotivated to participate and that foster individual learning. Participating in an online training that doesn't teach on the specific technological tools nor requires to design nor implement a maker-based project, decreases the perception of having training opportunities to learn how technological tools work. More practical activities requiring the development of a maker project should be offered to teachers to improve their self-perception regarding the maker and STEM education in primary education levels.
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