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To better grasp the issue of underrepresentation in makerspaces, it's crucial to closely examine the environment where these problems arise. A spatial enumeration of a makerspace, which is a complete listing of items within a collection or environment, extends such an evaluation. By responding to this overarching research question, "why do students from underrepresented communities turn away at the threshold of a makerspace," this article provides findings from the first phase of a five-year, qualitative research program. Specifically, this paper presents the sensory features (sight, sound, smell) that comprise a university makerspace. The process and findings from enumerating a makerspace offer vital insights into how STEM-focused environments convey inclusivity. Seventeen makerspace leaders from a university network were asked to discern what a typical makerspace looks, sounds, and smells like. The findings from this study provide information professionals with entry points to analyze their makerspace from a DEI standpoint.

Purpose: End-user participation is often encouraged to promote the uptake of Digital Livestock Technologies (DLTs). However, managing participation during DLT development can be challenging. We explore how participation decisions can impact end-users' engagement and attitudes towards the process, before suggesting strategies for improved management of the participation process. Methodology: We explored the experiences of end-users (e.g. farmers and farm assessors) and other stakeholders (e.g. developers, researchers, industry) involved in the development and testing of DLTs on UK farms, using semi-structured, in-depth interviews (N = 31). Findings: Participation can help develop technologies that better align with users' needs, promote learning, and encourage feelings of ownership. However, participation can be a double-edged sword. Inadequate levels of involvement, management of stakeholder relationships and expectations, and available support can negatively impact end-users' engagement and attitudes. Practical implications: Our study highlights the importance of understanding how management decisions during the participatory development of DLTs can influence the engagement and attitudes of end-users towards the process. Theoretical implications: The study contributes to the participation literature in agriculture and demonstrates the importance of using a critical lens to avoid making normative assumptions that participation necessarily promotes uptake in a linear, uncomplicated fashion. Originality/Value: Participation is seen as key for technology adoption. However, the potential downsides of participation have received less attention in relation to the engagement of end-users in the process.

Traditionally, the exogenous control of gaze by external saliencies and the endogenous control of gaze by knowledge and context have been viewed as competing systems, with late infancy seen as a period of strengthening top-down control over the vagaries of the input. Here we found that one-year-old infants control sustained attention through head movements that increase the visibility of the attended object. Freely moving one-year-old infants (n = 45) wore head-mounted eye trackers and head motion sensors while exploring sets of toys of the same physical size. The visual size of the objects, a well-documented salience, varied naturally with the infant's moment-to-moment posture and head movements. Sustained attention to an object was characterized by the tight control of head movements that created and then stabilized a visual size advantage for the attended object for sustained attention. The findings show collaboration between exogenous and endogenous attentional systems and suggest new hypotheses about the development of sustained visual attention.

This article describes the use of a comic book to anchor a cryptology and cybersecurity curriculum for upper elementary students. Perceptions about the comic book from 138 students across 11 afterschool programs were examined using survey, classroom observation, and interviews. Data analysis revealed that the comic book created a "macrocontext" to situate learners in an exciting adventure about cryptology and cybersecurity. Students found the characters relatable, and their perceptions were tightly tied to other components of the curriculum. Reading the word bubbles was challenging at first, but got easier over time. This study illustrates how comic books can anchor unfamiliar STEM content for younger learners.

Technology offers a new set of challenges for Montessori educators, as there are concerns of how freedom within limits can best be applied to technology use and how boundaries can be set for safety while not extinguishing children's natural curiosity. For students to have a comprehensive and meaningful understanding of technology and its benefits and limitations, it's important for a school to have a transparent and meaningful technology policy in place for faculty and staff and for school-family collaboration to take place. A list of talking points that can be offered to the families at the school to help them start conversations at home are provided.

Children with Autism face several significant challenges, including deficits in both verbal and nonverbal communication, difficulties with concentration, limited interest in their surroundings, non-responsiveness, and struggles with adapting to new situations. It is imperative to consider and address these challenges when implementing technological interventions aimed at enhancing the skills of children with Autism. This study aims to identify the research emphasis on the following four determinants of technological interventions for children with Autism: (1) involvement of caregivers; (2) design considerations; (3) persuasive technology; (4) psychological and physiological effects of technologies. These determinants address their deficiencies in communication, coping with new situations, responsiveness and effects of using technologies respectively. A total of seventy six review articles from 2010 to 2022 have been selected through PRISMA guidelines for this study. Most of the selected review articles have not evaluated these four determinants in their studies. This study discusses this research scope and presents future research directions to bridge this gap to develop effective technological solutions to upskill the children with Autism.

Creativity and problem-solving are 21st-century skills that students must have to respond to the complex world dominated by technology. Teaching activities integrating Design Thinking (DT) have the potential to cultivate individual skills. As future in-service teachers, pre-service teachers need to understand DT so as to be able to use it in their future classrooms. In line with this, the present study aimed to explore the effects of the Stanford DT model on pre-service teachers' creativity self-efficacy, inventive problem-solving skills, and technology-related motivation. Quasi-experimental research with a pre- and post-test control group design was applied in the current study. A total of 70 pre-service teachers participated in this study, consisting of 36 experimental group (EG) students who learned with the DT model approach and 34 control group (CG) students who learned with a regular instructional approach. Design Thinking Activities were completed in 12 weeks, with three activities in the Modern Educational Technology (MET) course. The creativity self-efficacy, inventive problem-solving skills, and technology-related motivation scale were used to collect data before and after the experiment. An independent t test, Mann--Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon Test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there were significant differences in technology-related motivation, creative self-efficacy, and inventive problem-solving skills between the CG and EG students. The Stanford DT model integrated with the MET course was conducive to enhancing pre-service teachers' creativity self-efficacy, inventive problem-solving skills, and technology-related motivation in the context of the technological literacy course. Implications for the findings of this study are discussed.

Biomedical engineering capstone design courses provide a salient opportunity to discuss ethical considerations in engineering. As technology and society develop and change, new challenges constantly arise related to how society and technology inform each other. In this space, ethical training for engineering students is critically important for future practicing engineers who may face significant once-in-a-career ethical challenges as well as the smaller compounding daily decisions that impact biomedical research and device design. In this context, topics of social justice as well as bias and inclusion in data and design are particularly important for biomedical engineers to understand the given the human-centered approach to engineering practice. To engage biomedical engineering students in discussion and practice of these concepts, we present a capstone course module to teach traditional ethics studies while exposing students to cases of bias in design in modern technologies including AI, sensors, and devices. This curriculum engages students in discussion of these topics facilitated by biotechnology case studies. All together, we see the curriculum presented here as a response to the need for biomedical engineers to understand the human-centered data in ethical decision-making as well as to meet the desires of students to put engineering in the context of human-centered design and social justice.

This paper discusses hopeful futures for higher education and the use of technology in realising those futures through the lens of refugee education in Uganda. Through an analysis of qualitative research done with refugee students and teachers participating in a blended bridging programme designed to prepare students for entry and success in higher education, this paper explores the interplay between contingency and positions of hope for refugee students in relation to higher education and further assimilation into civic society. Two themes emerged from the analysis that suggested a prioritarian orientation for higher education to realise a more hopeful future. First, hope renders as an act of cultivation as refugee students become exposed to new concepts and develop confidence in relation to them. Second, digital technologies broaden the cultivation of hope towards greater civic participation, even if access to higher education is not achieved. Third, hope correlates to action not necessarily as a linear progressive trajectory but as a diligent watchfulness for positive possibility. The implications for higher education are that taking a prioritarian lens for refugees in educational design engages with the contingencies that impact all, placing the sector deliberately in search of positive possibility in its orientation and design.

How do we ensure that all students have the tools and resources they need to succeed in today's educational context? In this article, we explore how the right to education generally and to specific educational tools and resources in California have been protected through litigation in the past; how the COVID-19 pandemic revealed technology-based educational inequities in our system that were previously unacknowledged; and, we propose strategies that educational leaders and legislators who seek to provide equality of educational opportunity may consider in the distribution of educational resources moving forward.

African ideas, science, technology, scholarship and worldviews have been disproportionately displaced and marginalized in relevant global dialogues. In academic circles, African methods of knowing have been questioned, undervalued, mocked, misconstrued, and disregarded, causing apprehension. These negative attitudes are internalized via the educational system, stifling agency and conditioning African learners to rely on technology from outside sources, resulting in the exteriorization of innovation and creativity. African inventiveness becomes "African magic" with no real desire to interrogate, explain, or grasp its basic mechanics. This article contends that technology and creative imaginations exist in African societies. The task, however, remains the exploration and integration of African knowledge systems into higher education. The study aims to demonstrate how the interaction of two components of traditional African education--a sense of community and informal learning--could assist in the embrace, facilitation, and mainstreaming of marginalized African technologies. Although the paper may appear eclectic, it is intended to conscientiously push the paradigm that technology has been integral to African education. Regardless of Africa's technical challenges, salvation does not lie in excessive external reliance but rather in investing and building on Indigenous African knowledges/practices in order to establish an African technological identity.

Reading is a pivotal skill for non-English department students as a vehicle to update their knowledge. One of reading activity which is beneficial is extensive reading. Several studies have proved the advantage of extensive reading, but study regarding what reading material is read by students is under explored. To fill this gap, this research aimed to uncover what non-English department students read during extensive reading program and why they chose that theme. The participants were Agroecotechnology students (n=52). The data was collected from the reading log sheet and participant interview. The reading log sheet was analyzed by the researcher to find the theme of the text that students read. The interview was conducted in Indonesian to make students at ease. After the interview, the transcript was written and translated into English. The result shows that there are 32 types of themes with various frequency distributions. Theme that students read is mainly caused by their hobby, favorite idol, and a senior student who influence them to read certain theme.

Humanity's entrance into the Anthropocene forces us to question the role of technology because of its impacts on the environment. The stake is the viability of the Earth system for humans. Engineers producing a large part of these impacting techniques are not trained in sustainable issues (environmental, social and economic ones - in a systemic way). An exploratory workshop was held at a French University of Technology to study the development of new engineering training courses on issues of strong sustainability. During this workshop, the participants were placed into the current French institutional framework and were asked to develop a new training within this specific framework. The hypothesis formulated at the end of this experiment is that current institutional frameworks can be an obstacle to the production of new training, especially training adapted to the transition phenomenon to respond to the increasing risk of socio-ecological catastrophes. This experiment was conducted as part of a heuristic approach and opens up new perspectives for the evolution of training as well as institutional frameworks in higher education and research.

This study aimed to develop a measurement tool to identify preschool children's problematic technology use levels and contribute to Turkish literature. The study group included in the exploratory factor analysis was composed of 357 voluntary children in the preschool period. The study group included in the confirmatory factor analysis, proximal validity analysis, item discrimination analysis, and reliability analysis was composed of a total of 402 parents. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to present the factor structure of PTUS-YC. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to test the model obtained with EFA. Item discrimination values obtained as a result of the independent sample t-test was investigated to determine the internal validity of the measurement tool. Furthermore, the correlation values between PTUS-YC items and the relevant factors and the complete measurement tool were calculated, and total item correlation was used to test whether each item served a common purpose. In addition, CR and AVE values were examined in the proximal validity analysis conducted for PTUS-YC. Reliability analysis for PTUS-YC was performed using Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient and McDonald's Omega coefficient methods. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, a 4-factor structure that explained 60.392% of the total variance was obtained: continuity of use, resistance to control, effects on development and deprivation-escape. Based on the results, PTUS-YC was a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to determine preschool children's problematic technology use levels.

In this article, "physical" models and ideas are invoked to describe some overall aspects of intercultural interactions. It is emphasized, however, that actual intercultural interactions are much more complex than any physical or mathematical model can encompass. They constitute, in fact, just one more example of what scientists call "complex systems." These ideas are applied to the following examples: (1) Stuart Hall's "The West [versus] the Rest" and Samuel Huntington's "weltanschauung"; (2) interactions through Science and Technology as well as "Science Diplomacy," focusing on Silk-Road interactions. The article is concluded with a partial list of "necessary" conditions conducive to constructive intercultural interactions, although these cannot possibly be "sufficient." The wider implications for Cosmopolitan Education are also underlined.

In scientific practices, students are frequently asked to conduct investigations to produce data that will serve as the basis for evidence that meets the goals of an investigation. But however, assisting in the formulation and implementation of students' investigations is often a difficult task for many teachers because authentic investigations include using multiple variables and further providing of evidence to support explanations or solutions. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the potential of a nanotechnology activity on encouraging the formulation and implementation of students' investigations. The "Can Nanotechnology Keep Us Dry in the Rain?" activity was developed as part of an in-service teacher training designed to assist science teachers in implementing inquiry-based science practices in their own classrooms. To discuss the potential of the activity, the author has provided the detailed analysis from the classroom visits of four case teachers in three governmental schools. The qualitative data was collected through video recordings, feedback of teacher trainers, and pre- and post-interviews. The results of this research provide supporting evidence that the nanoscale changes could be a powerful tool for four case teachers to provoke students for deeper inquiry. The present research, therefore, contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting the direct demonstration of conducting hands-on experiments to formulate and implement the investigations of nanoscale phenomena. [This study was presented at the International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology (ICEMST 2022), March 24-27, 2022, Antalya, Turkey.]

High quality media education promotes media literacy and ensures citizens' smooth participation and engagement in the digital society. Digital media include powerful communication and interaction platforms that require new literacy skills. This study examines what new literacies can be found in the opinion writings of student teachers in relation to media literacy. The research material consists of 37 Finnish student teachers' opinion writings produced during the Media Education 2020 course. The aim of the study is to explore how student teachers identify new literacies as part of media education and how these new literacies are reflected in their opinion writings. As a result of the research, new literacies emerged from the data as a cultural phenomenon of our time. This was reflected in their views on the technological orientation of school and teaching and the importance of media education as a teaching task in schools. An important finding is that the textual subculture of social media is valued as a new form of literacy. The results show that while the narrative value of images, virtual game worlds and easy access to social media via smartphones were identified, the broad understanding of new literacies among student teachers is narrow.?Perceptions of media education and new literacies are interlinked and the debate on their relevance as a social phenomenon should continue.

Traditional houses are part of the culture of every country. Indonesia is a country that has a variety of traditional houses. The traditional Banyuwangi house is known as the "Using" house. This house can be explored in terms of ethnomathematics and used as part of learning mathematics. This research is focused on knowing and describing mathematics learning that integrates the ethnomathematics of "Using" house, thematic, and connected models. The research was also conducted to determine the effectiveness of the learning that has been carried out. The results showed that the use of the "Using" house in ethnomathematical-thematic-connected-based mathematics learning: (1) could be done using the trivium concept (literacy, matheracy, and technoracy); (2) can be done thematically by integrating four subjects (Indonesian, social sciences, fine arts, and mathematics); (3) can be connected by integrating two mathematical concepts (two-dimensional geometry and arithmetic); (4) through seven phases of learning; and (5) effective because 80% of students can solve problems as expected.

Throughout history, society and technology have always interacted with each other. It has emerged as a result of development in information and communication technologies (ICT), which is called the Information Revolution in the world. The modern society has been replaced by the information society. The use of the Internet, which has become one of the indispensable habits of our age, thanks to the developing technologies in the information society, facilitates our lives in many areas, such as our daily life, business and education life. In addition to many advantages, such as saving time by providing fast communication, reaching sufficient and satisfying information and shortening distances, this technological phenomenon, which brings with it many sociological and psychological negativities when not used consciously, has become more controversial in recent years. In this research, it is aimed to determine the opinions of university students in terms of psychological health, one of the disadvantages brought by technology. As a result of the findings obtained from this study, which was conducted with 82 students in the 2021-2022 fall semester, it was concluded that the students are dependent on the use of technological equipment; the duration of use is quite high; and they will not quit even if they know that they will become psychologically ill.

The utilization of in-class technology to enhance student learning and increase topic engagement, such as audience response systems, is well-documented. Unfortunately, freely available personal technology such as cell phones and laptops can also act as distractions that reduce learning effectiveness. In this study, which was undertaken just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented a guided technology policy that limited access to personal devices in introductory undergraduate anatomy and physiology courses to determine the effect on in-class perception of student engagement and student performance. We utilized grades and surveys to examine the relationship between technology use, achievement, and student perception of the guided technology policy. The results demonstrated that while students in the guided technology class sections of the study all reported a significant increase in feelings of engagement and increased levels of attention paid to the instructor, there was no increase in grades compared to students whose classes allowed free technology use. Thus, while a disconnect was found between perception and achievement, it is clear that selective integration of classroom technology can be beneficial in promoting engagement.

This study, which focuses on the use of problematic technology in university students, focuses on the dimensions of the relationship university students establish with technology, and aims to reach a holistic and deep understanding of the negative and destructive effects and consequences of this relationship. The research designed in quantitative design is based on the relational screening model. Within the scope of the research, it was aimed to look at the technology usage habits of the participants. For this purpose; Personal Information Form, Technology Addiction Scale and Technological Addiction Scale were used. The sample of demographic information obtained from university students at a foundation university consists of 392 participants, 340 (86.7%) female and 52 (13.3%) male students. Participants' technology usage characteristics, time spent with technology, thoughts about the COVID-19 process and addiction levels were revealed within the scope of the findings. Considering that deprivation, difficulty in control, impaired functionality and social exclusion are indicators of problematic technology use, it is seen that the time spent on technological components and usage habits are predictors of problematic use. The results have been discussed in the light of the current literature.

An individual with digital financial literacy has the knowledge and skills to use digital devices to make better financial decisions. The pervasiveness of financial technology (fintech) in the daily lives of adults in the United States creates digital literacy training and educational opportunities. This report from the field offers a brief literature review, a discussion on digital financial literacy, and the importance of fintech adult education. Our goal is to guide educators and others on how foundational knowledge on digital technologies in relation to financial literacy education can prepare adult learners for the use of fintech. Expanding the use of technology to financial literacy education and practices are as crucial as reading, writing, and numeracy in today's digital economy.

The "new digital art? genre has emerged to describe various works of art that have evolved with the development of digital technologies. In its broadest sense, digital art encompasses everything from high-end machine learning applications to the use of interactive elements in traditional media. There is also an increase in the interaction between information technologies and art. Science, art and technology has been increasing and becoming widespread since the 60s, when scientists, artists and inventors began collaborating and using electronic devices to create art. The experience that results from consuming art and culture is multifaceted in nature. It can be individual or collective, physical or virtual, active or passive, public or private, on-site or in private places, open-air or indoor. With the spread of digital art, there is a remarkable increase in the commodification of art. This article, in this context, analyzed and discussed digital art, its positive and negative aspects, and the commodification of this art type on the basis of literature.

This study investigates preservice science teachers' informal reasoning and scientific habits of mind about hydroelectric power plants. The sample of the study consists of 587 preservice science teachers who studied in four different universities in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. Data were collected through a questionnaire that consists of four open-ended questions regarding a hydroelectric power plant construction and the scientific habits of mind scale. Content analysis was used to analyze the questionnaire. The same data were then subjected to quantitative descriptive analysis. In the analysis of quantitative data, the Jamovi program was used. Independent samples t-test was used to determine the relationship between scientific habits of mind and informal reasoning. Results indicated that the preservice science teachers mostly used ecological-oriented informal reasoning mode, and counterarguments were the least created argument component. Preservice science teachers' the least used informal reasoning mode was social-oriented. Informal reasoning quality of students with high scientific habits of mind score was found to be high, but no significant difference was found between the total number of informal reasoning modes and scientific habits of mind scores. In line with the results, implications were provided for preservice science teacher education.

The purpose of this research were 1) to synthesize the structure of product design management of small and medium industries in Thailand to the international market education, and 2) to verify the consistency of the relationship between marketing demand and corporate strategy, research and development, innovation and technology and design goals. This research is quantitative and qualitative research. The sample group for quantitative research was 500 small and medium business entrepreneurs, 9 key informants divided into 4 groups: business people, government organization group, academic group, and designer data analysis uses a structured analysis. The analysis of the developed structural models was found that the evaluation criteria were consistent with the empirical data. The relative chi-squared probability was 0.306, the relative chi-squared probability was 1.042, the consistency index was 0.957, and the mean square of the estimation of the error was 0.009.

Due to COVID-19, the world has encountered new challenges regarding pedagogy, learning, assessment, and evaluation. In meeting these challenges, there have been rapid changes in learning, and the gap between pedagogy and evaluation has grown. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new evaluative model suitable for the technologically enhanced, multicultural environment of the 21st century. In this article, we develop a unique multidimensional model of Culturally Relevant Academic Evaluation (CRAE) that fills a gap in the scientific literature on evaluation in higher education. The model depicts evaluation as an integrated process of four dimensions: two of them based on the well-established dimensions of learning and curriculum, and two based on the novel dimensions of inclusive multiculturalism and technology. We consider evaluation in its broad context in higher education, and we analyze the interrelations between the four dimensions of the evaluation process, discussing their contribution to the enhancement of evaluation in higher education.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is becoming an important part of general education, based on a concept that includes three components: Environmental, Social and Economic. The sustainable development curriculum in Croatia is based on this concept, and activities in this area are mainly limited to environmental protection and ecological activities. At the same time, the technological and political context needed to take the right action and develop critical thinking and a systemic approach is lacking. In this context, a survey on pupils' attitudes towards the relationship between technology and engineering with the themes of ecology and sustainable development was conducted to investigate the impact of this curriculum on students' awareness. The research was conducted on a stratified sample of primary school pupils (N = 2205) from Croatia. The results show that pupils view technology as important for life and progress, but do not understand how it relates to sustainable development and environmental issues. This refers to issues of water conservation, construction of facilities, waste disposal, and understanding technology only as pollution. These results point to the need for "deeper" and transformative technology teaching that takes place in a real-world context. Only in this way can students understand the concept and meaning of sustainable development and the role and importance of technology in this context, and be educated to be responsible citizens.

In health technology assessment (HTA), population-adjusted indirect comparisons (PAICs) are increasingly considered to adjust for the difference in the target population between studies. We aim to assess the conduct and reporting of PAICs in recent HTA practice, by performing, a methodological systematic review of studies implementing PAICs from PubMed, EMBASE Classic, Embase/Ovid Medline All, and Cochrane databases from January 1, 2010 to Feb 13, 2023. Four independent researchers screened the titles, abstracts, and full-texts of the identified records, then extracted data on methodological and reporting characteristics of 106 eligible articles. Most PAIC analyses (96.9%, n = 157) were conducted by (or received funding from) pharmaceutical companies. Prior to adjustment, 44.5% of analyses (n = 72) (partially) aligned the eligibility criteria of different studies to enhance the similarity of their target populations. In 37.0% of analyses (n = 60), the clinical and methodological heterogeneity across studies were extensively assessed. In 9.3% of analyses (n = 15), the quality (or bias) of individual studies was evaluated. Among 18 analyses using methods that required an outcome model specification, results of the model fitting procedure were adequately reported in three analyses (16.7%). These findings suggest that the conduct and reporting of PAICs are remarkably heterogeneous and suboptimal in current practice. More recommendations and guidelines on PAICs are thus warranted to enhance the quality of these analyses in the future.

Primary sources are the foundations of historical research because they are artifacts representing first-hand accounts or connections to the event, time, or place being investigated. The reality is that many IDT researchers do not have training in historical source analysis, nor do many researchers know where to find primary sources in the field of IDT, or how to conduct historical research if interested. Thus, this article retraces the history of the Association for Educational Communication and Technology's archive, and reveals where primary sources are located. The article details the history of the AECT archive to understand its significance in research. Next, a description on how to begin an archival visit, how archives function, and how to research within the archive is given -- including examples. Last, the authors discuss the importance of historical archive preservation and research to the field of IDT.

The home is an important setting for young children's learning and development. We examined home literacy practices and technology usage among families with children ages 5-6 years old (N = 47) before as compared to during COVID-19 with bivariate analyses. Variations by household income were also investigated. Parents completed surveys on home literacy and technological practices and demographic information in the spring of transitional kindergarten and the following kindergarten year. Results demonstrated an increase in child technology usage for school related educational programs, from pre-COVID-19 to COVID-19 and a decrease in home book reading, storytelling, writing, and playing games during COVID-19 home learning. Transitional kindergarten parents from the upper-income bracket reported significantly lower technology use of educational games compared to those in the lower-income group pre-COVID-19. Kindergarten parents from the upper-income bracket reported significantly higher technology use of educational games and lower technology use in watching TV to fall asleep, compared to those in the lower-income group during COVID-19. Findings suggest that there are few differences in home learning environments across family income groups. By characterizing how parents utilize technology and literacy practices with their children, we can better understand how to support families through COVID-19 and beyond.

Technologies have become an essential part of the daily life of our children. Consequently, artifacts that imply the early adoption of abstract thinking affect the imagination of children and young people in relation to the world of technology, now much more than they did in the past. With the emerging importance of robots in many aspects of our everyday lives, the goal of this study is to investigate which mental representations children have about robots. To this end, drawings from 104 children aged between 7 and 12 years old were used as a map of representations, considering the drawings as a proxy capable of evoking learned or emerging mental frameworks. The drawings were analyzed in several steps: they were first labeled using binary descriptors and then classified using clustering methods based on Hamming distances between drawings. Finally, questionnaire items covering children's perceptions about robots were analyzed for each of the resulting cluster separately to identify differences between them. The results show that there are relationships between the way children draw robots and their perception about robots' capabilities as well as their aspirations to pursue a career in science. These findings can provide meaningful insights into how to design educational robots and learning activities for children to learn with and about robots.

Developing a knowledge of design and construction technology and engineering is often overlooked in favour of 'digital' technology such as tablets and computers. By taking children outdoors into nature, removing tablets and computers as well as artificial and synthetic materials and replacing them with only what nature provides, children become attuned to developing STEM knowledge through play with natural materials. This knowledge often develops through teacher support and at times by default, as children experience the constantly changing landscape of the natural environment. The development of children's understandings of 'nature's' technology and engineering provides an opportunity for further investigation of nature-based early childhood education and care settings. Through research conducted at four Australian bush kindergartens, this paper presents data from photographs, interviews and observations undertaken of twelve teachers and over one hundred and twenty children. It responds to the research question, how do early years learners develop their understanding of technology and engineering by engaging in nature-based learning? The research was undertaken using ethnography, a useful method in nature settings as the approach enables a deep understanding of how children develop their understandings of applying technology and engineering over time. The data demonstrate the benefits preschool children can gain from learning and being 'in' and 'with' nature and the important role bush kinders play in supporting children's technological and engineering literacy. Findings reveal that through their participation in bush kinder, children can develop technological and engineering knowledge.