Teachers' concepts and beliefs about educational software : a case study of teachers within a software development process (original) (raw)

Computers in the teaching process and software development: Co-operation the key

Education and Computing, 1986

Microcomputer technology has been a part of our education environment since the late 1970's but it is evident that successful incorporation of this technology into the teaching process has been somewhat sporadic. A number of reasons could be advanced to explain this, including: lack of suitable hardware; lack of relevant and/or quality software; inadequate teacher training; and insufficient teacher time to design the changes in curriculum and modes of presentation required. It could be argued that some of these areas are being addressed currently via technological advances and lower pricing structures. However, curriculum applications in the form of units of instruction incorporating computer technology, and effective models of software development have not been systematically supported nor researched. This void is addressed by detailing a cooperative project between tertiary institutions and schools involving the creation, implementation and evaluation of units of instruction incorporating computer technology. In addition, this project addressed the issue of training of teachers and teacher trainees through the development of courseware, and also highlights the need for a systematic model for software development which is also described.

The Teacher as Software Developer

2005

The Teacher as Software Developer is the name of a program integrating technology instruction, curriculum, and field experiences in teacher preparation. In an introductory education course for all undergraduate education students, a required technology lab links to a one-day-a-week prepracticum. Preservice students produce a Web site or "software" for their supervising teacher, who is their "client," and the supervising classroom teacher directs them to authentic curriculum objectives. Preservice teachers learn about software while learning about teaching, lesson planning, curriculum, and technology. Supervising classroom teachers' gain an opportunity to experience designing and using software with their own students and curriculum and access to the preservice student produced Web sites after the student has completed the lab. Evidence of the program's success comes from student survey data and student reflections. Despite the program's productivity, it remains an island of instructional technology.

Teacher Interpretation in Programming Software Training for Classroom Application

— The article describes a PhD research under the glocal socio-educational context focusing on process tracing in a case study. Considering the new digital culture, there is a need for new learning, creative and ethical practices. Therefore, educators' training needs to be revisited. According to the antiessentialist approach of technology, the teacher is asked to interpret the programming software and use it in class as an instrument in addition to digital literacy. This research started with Scratch training, class observation and interviews and search for the causal mechanism. The goal was to search for indications of reader-user-teacher interpretation. This paper presents results in order to expand and contribute to the reflections on insubordinate training in TDIC for teacher. Keywords— Software programming in education. Antiessentialism of technologies. Process tracing. Continuing education in TDIC.

An analysis of the primary school teachers' usage of instructional software

Int. J. Emerg. Technol. Learn, 2008

Abstract—This research is a descriptive study and examines instructional software usage and teacher's attitude towards instructional software. The data was gathered using mass sampling of 471 teachers from 17 primary schools in the city center of Elazig and Malatya, Turkey. ...

Teachers’ instructional perspectives and use of educational software

Teaching and Teacher Education, 2001

It has been argued that technology will promote the use of constructivist approaches to teaching and learning advocated by the current reform movement. Yet computer technology, in and of itself, does not embody a single pedagogical orientation. Di!erent types of software can be used to address di!erent educational goals. This article examines relationships between teachers' instructional perspectives and their use of technology in instruction. Findings indicate that views about e!ective computer-based pedagogy are related to the types of software teachers report using with their students. Addressing these perspectives about e!ective instruction is necessary if computers are to reach their educational potential.

Prospective computer engineers as users, designers and evaluators of educational software

2003

This study focuses on the development of prospective computer engineers' conceptions about the design of educational software. More specifically, we investigate how the experiences of such engineers in the design, implementation and evaluation of educational software helped them to enhance their knowledge. These engineers were involved in constructing educational software dealing with concepts of Computer Science by also taking into account theoretical educational considerations regarding constructivism and social views about knowledge construction. The analysis of the data shows that prospective computer engineers frequently start by considering the design of educational software as an "easy" or "soft" task. This attitude is typically based both on these engineers' expertise regarding software design as well as the specific subject matter. Despite these initial perceptions, they have difficulties interpreting the theoretical educational framework in design specifications. Communication between the members of each design team and between the members of all the teams as well as the reflection on the early versions of the software were significant factors that helped these engineers improve the quality of software specifications. Finally, the evaluation process helped these engineers to realize that the learners' demands are crucial in the design of educational software. They also realized that in contrast to the general principle of software design that 'customers' specifications must not be violated', these specifications were frequently ignored in the case of educational software where learners are viewed (by the engineers) as possessing the knowledge of the designer.

Developing Software for Teaching: An Exploratory Study

iima.org

Global competition creates a need for organizations and individuals to implement an everyday learning activity. People learn using several approaches such as having experiences, studying, and practicing. Technology is a tool that can help people learn. Commercial software has been developed to help people learn, for example, how to use some productivity tools such as a spreadsheet, a word processor or email. However, people need to perform tasks that are complex and, sometimes, require previous knowledge. We believe that software that is intended to teach a special knowledge that requires previous understanding of the subject is a good option to help people learn. In order to study this issue, special software was developed and tested for usability. In addition, a pilot test was conducted so that the measuring instrument was tested. In order to probe that special software for teaching allows better performance compared to teaching with traditional means two studies were conducted: an experiment conducted with two groups and a quasi-experiment using three groups. Results obtained in our studies confirm this claim.