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The information literacy practices of adolescents on social media outside of school are worth considering, since adolescents use social media near ubiquitously and must grapple with all types of content they encounter incidentally or intentionally. This scoping review followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) to examine the extent and nature of scholarship on this topic from the perspective of educational technology and literacy scholarship, as both fields are uniquely poised to collaborate on this interdisciplinary topic. Surprisingly, only four articles fit the scope of our review. The literature found, and not found, revealed several themes. These themes were the imprecise use of keywords across scholarship, use of social media for community support, exposure to incidental information, evidence for different literacy practices on social media, and the need for addressing social media information literacy in school. Opportunities for future work and collaborative research between both fields is also discussed.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) provides executive top-down control of a variety of cognitive processes. A distinctive feature of the PFC is its protracted structural and functional maturation throughout adolescence to early adulthood, which is necessary for acquiring mature cognitive abilities. Using a mouse model of cell-specific, transient and local depletion of microglia, which is based on intracerebral injection of clodronate disodium salt (CDS) into the PFC of adolescent male mice, we recently demonstrated that microglia contribute to the functional and structural maturation of the PFC in males. Because microglia biology and cortical maturation are partly sexually dimorphic, the main objective of the present study was to examine whether microglia similarly regulate this maturational process in female mice as well. Here, we show that a single, bilateral intra-PFC injection of CDS in adolescent (6-week-old) female mice induces a local and transient depletion (70 to 80% decrease from controls) of prefrontal microglia during a restricted window of adolescence without affecting neuronal or astrocytic cell populations. This transient microglia deficiency was sufficient to disrupt PFC-associated cognitive functions and synaptic structures at adult age. Inducing transient prefrontal microglia depletion in adult female mice did not cause these deficits, demonstrating that the adult PFC, unlike the adolescent PFC, is resilient to transient microglia deficiency in terms of lasting cognitive and synaptic maladaptations. Together with our previous findings in males, the present findings suggest that microglia contribute to the maturation of the female PFC in a similar way as to the prefrontal maturation occurring in males., Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 111, ISSN:0889-1591, ISSN:1090-2139

Based on the achievement goal theory, this experimental study explored the influence of predictive and descriptive learning analytics dashboards on graduate students’ motivation and statistics anxiety in an online graduate-level statistics course. Participants were randomly assigned into one of three groups: (a) predictive dashboard, (b) descriptive dashboard, or (c) control (i.e., no dashboard). Measures of motivation and statistical anxiety were collected in the beginning and the end of the semester via the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and Statistical Anxiety Rating Scale. Individual semi-structured interviews were used to understand learners’ perceptions of the course and whether the use of the dashboards influenced the meaning of their learning experiences. Results indicate that, compared to the control group, the predictive dashboard significantly reduced learners’ interpretation anxiety and had an effect on intrinsic goal orientation that depended on learners’ lower or higher initial levels of intrinsic goal orientation. In comparison to the control group, both predictive and descriptive dashboards reduced worth of anxiety (negative attitudes towards statistics) for learners who started the course with higher levels of worth anxiety. Thematic analysis revealed that learners who adopted a more performance-avoidance goal orientation approach demonstrated higher levels of anxiety regardless of the dashboard used. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11423-021-09998-z.

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the multimedia and modality principles on cued-recall, recognition, and mental effort of college students with and without dyslexia. The study used a Multimedia (Image Present vs. Image Absent) × Modality (Narration vs. Onscreen Text) × Dyslexia (Dyslexia vs. Non-Dyslexia) 3-way factorial design with each independent variable serving as a between-subject condition. A total of N = 148 participants (73 with dyslexia and 75 without dyslexia) were recruited from five different institutions of higher education in the Southeastern United States and systematically assigned to one of four multimedia learning conditions. After assessing our data for statistical assumptions, we employed factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) models on each dependent measure. Our findings show a reverse modality effect for students with dyslexia who performed better than their peers without dyslexia in Onscreen Text conditions. Although performance was better across groups and conditions when images were present, there were no significant interactions related to the multimedia condition. Similarly, there were no significant interactions related to mental effort even though learners with dyslexia exhibited high instructional efficiency in the Onscreen Text-Image Present condition while learners without dyslexia exhibited low task involvement in the Onscreen Text-Image Absent condition. Our results provide theoretical implications and important avenues for future research and practice as related to how multimedia learning influences students with dyslexia. We also suggest studies that could inform the eventual design of adaptive and personalized multimedia learning solutions for learners with dyslexia.

This study used the Technology Use and Perceptions Survey to explore whether there are differences reported by teachers ( N = 1,287) from elementary, middle, and high schools from a single school district. A two-step data analysis process using multivariate analysis of variance and item-by-item analysis of variance was employed. We used our analyses to generate profiles for elementary, middle, and high school teachers and draw comparisons across these profiles in our discussion. In particular, high school teachers reported the lowest perception of technology’s value and the most infrequent use of technology integration strategies even though they reported their students used technology more frequently. Elementary teachers reported the most frequent use of technology integration strategies and the lowest satisfaction with the access and support they receive. This study supports the need for more research to adequately explore the role of school levels as these differences could provide important insights.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a cortical brain region that regulates various cognitive functions. One distinctive feature of the PFC is its protracted adolescent maturation, which is necessary for acquiring mature cognitive abilities in adulthood. Here, we show that microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, contribute to this maturational process. We find that transient and cell-specific deficiency of prefrontal microglia in adolescence is sufficient to induce an adult emergence of PFC-associated impairments in cognitive functions, dendritic complexity, and synaptic structures. While prefrontal microglia deficiency in adolescence also altered the excitatory-inhibitory balance in adult prefrontal circuits, there were no cognitive sequelae when prefrontal microglia were depleted in adulthood. Thus, our findings identify adolescence as a sensitive period for prefrontal microglia to act on cognitive development.

This report describes a novel method to enhance medical student understanding of systems-based practice and patient safety through experiential learning, assessing the perceived value of student-identified patient safety and systems vulnerabilities, and their proposed interventions at academic children's hospitals.

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the multimedia and modality principles on cued-recall, recognition, and mental effort of college students with and without dyslexia. The study used a Multimedia (Image Present vs. Image Absent) × Modality (Narration vs. Onscreen Text) × Dyslexia (Dyslexia vs. Non-Dyslexia) 3-way factorial design with each independent variable serving as a between-subject condition. A total of N = 148 participants (73 with dyslexia and 75 without dyslexia) were recruited from five different institutions of higher education in the Southeastern United States and systematically assigned to one of four multimedia learning conditions. After assessing our data for statistical assumptions, we employed factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) models on each dependent measure. Our findings show a reverse modality effect for students with dyslexia who performed better than their peers without dyslexia in Onscreen Text conditions. Although performance was better across groups and conditions when images were present, there were no significant interactions related to the multimedia condition. Similarly, there were no significant interactions related to mental effort even though learners with dyslexia exhibited high instructional efficiency in the Onscreen Text-Image Present condition while learners without dyslexia exhibited low task involvement in the Onscreen Text-Image Absent condition. Our results provide theoretical implications and important avenues for future research and practice as related to how multimedia learning influences students with dyslexia. We also suggest studies that could inform the eventual design of adaptive and personalized multimedia learning solutions for learners with dyslexia.

The Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE) has been a long-standing and reputable venue for the dissemination of cutting-edge research on technology in education for a half century. ...

This study examined how parents' reports of children’s technology use in the home varies by a child’s gender or grade level. Framed by technology adoption models, this mixed-method study gathered parent reports of their elementary child’s use of portable technology for entertainment and learning in the home, collected from 120 surveys and 13 individual interviews with survey respondents. Results across the four 2×2 ANOVAs yielded three significant main effects: gender and entertainment devices, gender and entertainment apps, grade-level and learning apps. No significant effects were found among any of the interaction variables or within the ANOVA summary for learning devices. Interview data revealed girls are interested in reading with Kindle, whereas parents are reluctant to provide boys with portable technology because of their preference to play games. Strategies are provided for teachers, support specialists, and parents to improve how children use technology. Implications for app developers a...

There has been a lack of research on how people with individual differences learn with multimedia materials, in particular with regard to individuals with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by subpar ability in reading, spelling, writing, word recognition, and phonological decoding. This population could potentially benefit from multimedia learning materials according to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and Orton–Gillingham multisensory instructional approach. This study examined how learning in four multimedia conditions influences dyslexic college students’ ability to recall and recognize information. Seventy-three college students with dyslexia were assigned to one of the four conditions that integrated the modality (spoken text vs. on-screen text) and multimedia (picture present vs. picture absent) principles. They completed a cued-recall and a content recognition test. The results indicated pictures facilitated recognition, which validated the multimedia principle. On-screen text led to a superior performance in recall and recognition compared to spoken text. This finding suggested the modality principle did not hold for participants with dyslexia in this study, which is especially surprising given that dyslexics have difficulty processing written text. Possible explanations of the findings are discussed.

There is an increasing trend of learning analytics dashboards (LADs) being used to provide feedback to learners. However, there is little empirical evidence about the influence of their design features on learners' cognitive and affective outcomes, especially in high-anxiety courses such as statistics. To address this gap, this study employed a two-group experimental design applied to an authentic setting to assess the influence of task-value scaffolding in a LAD on learners' anxiety, motivation, and learning performance in an online statistics course. This semester-long experiment was implemented in two instances of the course offering (Fall/2019 and Spring/2020) and involved a total of 146 students. The results showed that task-value scaffolding had a negative impact on learners’ computation anxiety and attitudes towards statistics in comparison to the control group. On the other hand, the treatment had no significant influence on other aspects of statistics anxiety, motivation, and learning outcomes. Taken jointly, these results suggest that the use of task-value scaffolding embedded in LADs can have detrimental effects on learners. More experimental studies are necessary to understand the positive and negative effects of LADs with motivational scaffolding.

The purpose of this longitudinal research is to document the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration patterns in the state of Florida in relation to the Socio-Economic Status (SES) and school type (Elementary, Middle, and High Schools). This research is characterized by the Levels of Digital Divide in Schools model presented by Hohlfeld, Ritzhaupt, Barron, and Kemker (2008). We use seven years of secondary data collected by the Florida Department of Education: Technology Resource Inventory (TRI), and the percentage of students on Free-and-Reduced Lunch as a proxy for SES. The current study uses descriptive statistics, internal consistency reliability, exploratory factor analysis, and longitudinal multi-level models to examine the trends in ICT integration in the state of Florida by SES (High and Low) in each school type (Elementary, Middle, and High) over the seven-year period. Our results suggest that Florida has improved on several indicators related to the digital divide; however, some important differences still exist. For instance, Low-SES students generally use software more for computer-directed activities such as drill and practice or remedial work, while their High-SES counterparts are using software more for student-controlled activities such as creating with or communicating through technology. We discuss our findings in relation to the three-level model presented by Hohlfeld et al. (2008) and make recommendations to relevant stakeholders within the community.

The purpose of this article is to explore validity evidence and appropriate uses of the revised Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey (TUPS) designed to measure in-service teacher perspectives about technology integration in K–12 schools and classrooms. The revised TUPS measures 10 domains, including Access and Support; Preparation of Technology Use; Perceptions of Professional Development; Perceptions of Technology Use; Confidence and Comfort Using Technology; Technology Integration; Teacher Use of Technology; Student Use of Technology; Perceived Technology Skills; and Technology Usefulness. We first provide a review of the literature supporting the design of the revised TUPS. We collected data from N = 1,376 teachers from one medium-sized school district in the state of Florida and conducted a variety of psychometric analyses. We performed internal structure analysis, correlation analysis, and factor analysis with these data. The results demonstrate that data collected from the TUPS are best us...

Background Aberrant activity of microglia, the primary innate immune cells of the brain parenchyma, may play a role in the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia and related disorders. While current immunopsychiatric research indicates that microglial hyperactivity may contribute to psychotic illness in some cases, the diametrical opposite (i.e. microglial hypoactivity) may be pathologically and therapeutically relevant for others. The latter hypothesis, however, remains largely unexplored and thus warrants investigation. Methods We aimed at developing a model system in mice, in which the short- and long-term effects of selective, temporary and local depletion of microglia can be studied experimentally. This model system is based on intracerebral injection of clodronate disodium salt (CDS) into selected brain areas of interest. The behavioral and cognitive effects of temporary microglia depletion in the adolescent medial frontal cortex (mPFC) were assessed after full microglia recovery in adulthood. In addition, genome-wide transcriptional profiling was conducted during the peak of microglia depletion and after full microglia recovery in the mPFC. Results We show that a single intracerebral injection of CDS is a suitable and efficient approach to selectively deplete microglia without affecting astrocytes and neurons in-vivo, leading to a robust (~ 80% depletion) but temporary (~ 1 week) microglia deficiency in selected brain areas of interest. Using this model, we further demonstrate that CDS injection into mPFC during late adolescence (6 weeks of age) causes numerous mPFC-related cognitive dysfunctions in adulthood, that is, when microglial cells have been fully restored again. The spectrum of cognitive deficits included impairments in social recognition memory, temporal order memory and extinction of conditioned fear responses. These deficits emerged similarly in male and female animals and were paralleled by a permanent transcriptional dysregulation of genes relevant for synaptic refinement and stability. Intriguingly, CDS injections into the mPFC during early adolescence (4 weeks of age) or adulthood (12 weeks of age) did not induce similar cognitive dysfunctions in adulthood. Discussion Taken together, the present data demonstrate that temporary prefrontal microglia deficiency during adolescence leads to permanent cognitive impairments in adulthood. Our findings further highlight that distinct adolescent stages of cortical maturation show a differing sensitivity towards the long-term cognitive effects of temporary microglia hypoactivity.

This chapter addresses an important educational problem: the need to capitalize on the affordances of twenty-first-century technology and emerging assessment methods to design learning environments that are sensitive to learners’ individual differences in motivation, affect, and cognition. To help address this problem, we review relevant research on individual differences in learning relative to (a) processes that fluctuate during learning and can be influenced by just-in-time instructional manipulations (e.g., cognitive load, confusion, engagement) and (b) states that remain relatively stable but may influence affective, motivational, and cognitive processing (e.g., domain knowledge, visuospatial abilities, working memory capacity). Discussion of recent empirical work on adaptive learning technologies provides examples of design solutions to account for state and process differences among learners. We conclude the chapter with a review of the Universal Design for Learning framework and promising directions for research and design focusing on individual differences in learning.

The purpose of this research was to design and test a model of classroom technology integration in the context of K-12 schools. The proposed multilevel path analysis model includes teacher, contextual, and school related variables on a teacher’s use of technology and confidence and comfort using technology as mediators of classroom technology integration. Data were collected from 1235 K-12 teachers, who were located in 336 schools in 41 districts across the state of Florida. The results suggest that a teacher’s experience with technology significantly influenced his or her classroom technology integration. Access to technology in classrooms and the availability of quality technology support were related to classroom technology integration. In addition, how frequently a teacher uses technology and his or her confidence and comfort using technology were mediators for classroom technology integration. These results provide preliminary evidence that the proposed model is both useful and relevant in explaining classroom technology integration in K-12 schools.

This paper addresses the need for enhancing our awareness of user-centered design in educational technology through a more explicit and systematic alignment between the needs of educational technology users (learners and educators) and the affordances provided by the technology. First, we define the term 'affordance' and discuss it from the perspectives of cognitive psychology and user interaction design. Next, we propose a taxonomy of functional affordances that builds on prior research and reflects the current trends in the design of educational technologies. The paper is concluded with an illustration of how explicit alignment of needs, abilities, and affordances can inform the evaluation of an educational technology designed to support dyslexic readers. The four-step framework applied in this analysis helps (a) define user needs, (b) identify a potentially appropriate technology, (c) understand the abilities the technology affords and (d) align technological affordances with the specific needs of the target users. This framework is a step toward increased recognition of the importance of user-centered design of educational technologies; it provides the needed guidance and structure for aligning needs, abilities, and affordances during the design, implementation, and evaluation of technologies for learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging technology in K-12 education, 3D printing has gained much attention from educators and researchers. However, meaningful 3D printing integration in K-12 curricula is still scarce, and little is known about how teachers' beliefs and the integration in science classrooms may influence student motivation. This study examined the influence of teachers' beliefs and 3D printing integration in science classrooms on students' science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) motivation, which is essential for students' academic experiences and future careers. Study sample included 26 teachers across 6 states in the U.S. and 1,501 students who engaged with STEM learning using 3D printing in the context of paleontology. Teachers' lesson plans were analyzed to examine 3D printing and STEM integration levels. Teachers' beliefs and students' STEM motivation were assessed with previously validated scales. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that while teachers' beliefs and 3D printing integration levels were non-significant predictors, teachers' STEM integration levels positively predicted students’ math motivation. Interaction effects were observed between student variables (student gender and pretest scores) and teacher variables (teacher beliefs and 3D printing integration). This study provides implications for both 3D printing integration practice and future research.

An increasing number of instructional videos online integrate a real instructor on the video screen. So far, the empirical evidence from previous studies has been limited and conflicting, and none of the studies have explored how learners' allocation of visual attention to the on-screen instructor influences learning and learner perceptions. Therefore, this study aimed to disentangle a) how instructor presence in online videos affects learning, learner perceptions (i.e., cognitive load, judgment of learning, satisfaction, situational interest), and visual attention distribution and b) to what extent visual attention patterns in instructor-present videos predict learning and learner perceptions. Sixty college students each watched two videos on Statistics, one on an easy topic and the other one on a difficult topic, with each in one of the two video formats: instructor-present or instructor-absent. Their eye movements were simultaneously registered using a desktop-mounted eye tracker. Afterwards, participants self-reported their cognitive load, judgment of learning, satisfaction, and situational interest for both videos, and feelings toward seeing the instructor for the instructor-present videos. Learning from the two videos was measured using retention and transfer questions. Findings indicated instructor presence a) improved transfer performance for the difficult topic, b) reduced cognitive load for the difficult topic, c) increased judgment of learning for the difficult topic, and d) enhanced satisfaction and situational interest for both topics. Most participants expressed a positive feeling toward the instructor. Results also showed the instructor attracted a considerable amount of overt visual attention in both videos, and the amount of attention allocated to the instructor positively predicted participants’ satisfaction level for both topics.

In this article we share how a district-level technology integration specialist used literature on implementing student response systems (SRS) for formative assessment, based on Desimone’s (2009) core features of professional development design, Guskey’s Levels of Professional Development Evaluation (1998, 2000, 2002), and Danielson’s Observation Cycle (2007), to support 12 middle school teachers in using SRS in their classrooms. The work reported here provides an example of incorporating literature-based best practices to support teachers in effectively using technology in the classroom. The findings of this study indicate that the teachers learned to use the SRS technology and associated strategies to collect formative data and appropriately adjust instruction to meet learners’ needs. This work has implications for SRS in K-12 classrooms, technology integration professional development, and for preservice teacher education.

This paper reports the validation scores of the Student Tool for Technology Literacy (ST2L), a performance-based assessment based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S) used to measure middle grade students Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy. Middle grade students (N = 5884) from school districts across the state of Florida were recruited for this study. This paper first provides an overview of various methods to measure ICT literacy and related constructs, and provides documented evidence of score reliability and validity. Following sound procedures based on prior research, this paper provides validity and reliability evidence for the ST2L scores using both item response theory and testlet response theory. This paper examines both the internal and external validity of the instrument. The ST2L, with minimal revision, was found to be a sound measure of ICT literacy for low-stakes assessment purposes. A discussion of the results is provided with emphasis on the psychometric properties of the tool and some practical insights on with whom the tool should be used in future research and practice.

This article describes the impact of an online Ed.D. in educational technology based on data collected from students at regular intervals during the program. It documents how students who were working professionals applied learning from the program within their practice, enculturated into the educational technology community, and grew professionally. Our findings indicate that an online professional program embedded in practice can have substantial impact on students’ professional growth and professional practice.

The University of Florida offers an online professional practice Ed.D. focused on Educational Technology. Twenty-three students have completed professional practice dissertations and graduated since the program’s inception in 2008. The purpose of this article is to share what these dissertations have looked like and to begin a dialogue about professional practice dissertations completed in online educational technology programs. Specifically, we (1) provide an overview of different ways professional practice Ed.D. dissertations are structured, (2) share guiding principles for professional practice dissertations in our Ed.D. program, (3) analyze the ways in which these guiding principles played out in the dissertations and (4) discuss the implications of our analysis for our program and for other online professional practice programs in Educational Technology.

This article presents one approach to assessing the impact of an online professional practice doctorate in education on participants' work environments. It is unique in that it explored impact during the doctoral program, before participants began their dissertation research, and it focused on how participants apply learning from the program within their practice and how they grow professionally in ways that make contributions to their organizations and their profession. The data are based on participant interviews, participants' curriculum vitae submitted during qualifying exams, and professional websites. The findings indicate that an online professional program embedded in practice can have powerful impact within a short period of time on students' own practice, their local organizations, and their colleagues at regional, state, and national levels and spur their professional momentum.

This research examines student information and communication technology (ICT) literacy and its relationships to a student’s socio-economic status (SES), gender, and ethnicity of middle school students. We recruited 5,990 students from 13 school districts across the state of Florida. Student participants completed the Student Tool for Technology Literacy (ST2L), a performance-based assessment of ICT literacy skills based on the 2008 National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS.S). Results show a digital divide between low and high SES, white and non-white, and female and male students on all measures of the ST2L. Specifically, high-SES, white, and female students outperformed their counterparts. The results provide compelling evidence of a digital divide within Florida schools. The article discusses the implications of the findings for practice and future research.

The purpose of this study was to understand the ways virtual school teachers experienced professional development framed as a year-long collaborative action research endeavour. These virtual school teachers taught completely online courses for a large virtual school and did not reside within the same geographical location. Thus, the professional development was supported by the use of various synchronous and asynchronous technology tools. This study provides insights into what constitutes powerful online professional learning opportunities not only for virtual school teachers, but for their traditional face-to-face school counterparts, as well as the ways synchronous and asynchronous technology tools can be utilized to scaffold professional learning.

Situated in the theoretical perspective of phenomenology, the purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of three preservice teachers who voluntarily participated in a field placement in a virtual school in the southeastern United States. The preservice teachers were paired with online teachers for four weeks. Their experiences were documented via four phenomenological interviews. Using phenomenological analysis, the interview data were analyzed, resulting in the essence of the virtual school field placement. The essence of the virtual school field placement was made up of six shared horizons, consisting of (1) communication with supervising teacher, (2) information systems at the virtual school, (3) modification of course content, (4) exposure to new technologies, (5) balancing act, and (6) unmet expectations. The results have implications for preservice teachers, teacher education programs, virtual schools, education policymakers, and teacher certification organizations. Suggestions for fut...

This study examined the nature of thirty virtual educators' action research questions during a yearlong action research professional development experience within a large, state-funded virtual school. Virtual educators included instructional personnel (i.e., individuals responsible for teaching virtual courses) and noninstructional personnel (i.e., individuals responsible for other roles in the virtual school such as administration or course design.) Action research questions emerge from the intersection of educators' professional contexts and their real-world challenges or passions and analyzing the nature of these questions provided a glimpse into the priorities and practices of the participating instructional and noninstructional virtual educators. Studying completion rates and personalizing the curriculum were trends within questions posed by instructional personnel whereas noninstructional personnel primarily focused on macrolevel issues within the virtual schools, such as communication. Future resea...

In this chapter the authors share the guiding principles for professional practice dissertations developed and studied within their online EdD in Educational Technology at the University of Florida. While these guiding principles were developed approximately four years before the call for chapters for this book was released, they align nicely with at least three pertinent themes that frame this book (i.e. the importance of addressing critical problems of practice, applying research rigor involving real theory and inquiry and demonstrating impact of research). The authors make explicit connections between their guiding principles and these themes and provide examples of how the themes have played out in dissertations completed in their program. The authors then provide implications for others seeking to structure (or restructure) the way dissertations are conceptualized in their professional practice problems.