Digital education technology takes on many forms within schools and its use is growing alongside increasingly globalised and competitive contexts for educational institutions, supported by trends promoted by globally recognised policy influencing organisations. Learning Analytics software collects and processes vast amounts of data about young people to track learning and growth so that teachers may design personalised learning pathways.

Critical academic voices are communicating concerns about the contribution Learning Analytics make to student surveillance, datafication of education, and the erosion of teachers’ abilities to make choices based on their own professional knowledge.

Critical applied research was conducted to explore the lived experiences of teachers at a private international secondary school in Bogotá, Colombia, and develop a narrative about shared perceptions of the implementation of Learning Analytics.

This paper explores the conceptual themes uncovered from semi-structured interviews with seven teachers interacting with Learning Analytics. The research revealed that there was a significant lack of confidence in the way Learning Analytics were implemented at the school, primarily resulting from a lack of clear objectives, unsuitable training, and minimal onboarding for new teaching staff. The participants described feelings of overwhelm and burden with the volume of data they had access to, but that they were optimistic about the possibilities the data could produce if they had time, training, and a clear framework for how to meaningfully include the data in their work.

This paper is a summary of a master’s thesis.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of middle school education. It influenced how educators teach in the classroom and increased the number of online tools and resources available for them to use. The educational technology (EdTech) sector boomed with different applications designed to help educators instruct and assess their students in virtual learning environments. Though many EdTech companies developed applications that were instrumental in helping students and teachers, some of these applications were designed to collect sensitive information (e.g., data habits, keystrokes, and contact lists). In addition, many EdTech companies distributed or sold this sensitive information to third-party companies whose purpose may or may not have been for education. To address this complex issue, the author developed an instructional module designed to train middle school teachers about cybersecurity issues. The goal of the instruction was to help these educators protect themselves and their students from cyber threats. The instruction itself used a variety of instructional design principles, as well as digital safety models and teaching and learning strategies.

To evaluate the instruction, the author conducted both usability and learning effectiveness studies. Four people (n = 4) participated in the usability study, which evaluated the instruction’s design, navigation, and content. Participants were given tasks to determine if changes to the instruction needed to be made. Once the usability study was completed, the data was analyzed and used to make changes before the learning effectiveness evaluation. Nineteen people (n = 19) participated in the learning effectiveness study, which evaluated how much participants learned after completing the module. The results of the evaluation revealed that the instructional module could be used to help train educators on cybersecurity issues in the future.

Edison Elementary School has experienced a change in student population with an increase in English Language Learners and other students from diverse backgrounds. The school has not provided teachers with the necessary training and support to meet the needs of their new student population. In response, a course was created for the teachers at the school to teach them instructional strategies which could be used to assist all types of diverse learners. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework was chosen as the primary focus of the course since it encourages accommodations for a variety of different learning styles. The course was evaluated first through a usability study and then a learning assessment. The objective of the usability study was to identify issues with the navigation, content, and visual design of the course. After four participants (n=4) were given tasks which would reveal intended, as well as unintended, information about the usability of the course, modifications were made in order to ensure that the learning assessment was not affected by functionality issues. A learning assessment occurred with the assistance of nineteen teachers (n=19) and one principal (n=1) from Edison Elementary School. The learning assessment revealed that the participants were able to learn instructional strategies which could be used in their classrooms, and the course aided in improving confidence in teaching diverse learners. However, additional practice using each of the course’s UDL strategies needs to be explored.

In Sumba, Indonesia, weaving patterns on traditional clothes are culturally important designs representing identity, social status, and regional history. These patterns have complex meanings and tell the stories of Sumba and the people who live there. Seeing these designs is like reading a book full of Sumbanese history. Unfortunately, even though Sumbanese weaving patterns have been modernized and exhibited at international fashion shows, only some people recognize or know about their underlying meanings. It is a concern because the knowledge and skill behind these weaving patterns may soon become extinct. These unique weaving patterns can be seen as ordinary dresses without their rich cultural meanings if not introduced to the world. To address this issue, this paper project designed instruction aimed at introducing learners to Sumbanese weaving patterns using an online video game. Built using Godot, the game-based instruction used Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction to guide its design. To evaluate the instruction, usability and learning effectiveness tests were conducted. The usability test was conducted with participants with different backgrounds, and the learning effectiveness test involved 29 adult participants (n = 29). The results revealed interesting differences between participants from Sumba, Indonesia, and other places worldwide. Combined with open-ended data, the project concluded that game-based learning was an appropriate way to introduce Sumbanese weaving patterns to various people. However, improvements were needed in the areas of visual and game design.

This master’s project presentation describes an instructional design journey using the ADDIE model. The focus of the instruction was smart speakers and voice data, with an emphasis on the dichotomy between privacy versus convenience, also known as the privacy paradox. The project was motivated by the fact that there are millions of smart speakers recording conversations and permanently storing voice data with little regard for data privacy. The goal of the instruction was to help learners feel more confident in their ability to improve voice-data privacy when using smart speakers.

The resulting instruction consisted of a 5-unit piece of interactive multimedia. This learner-centered instruction was developed using instruction in H5P containing twenty-two scenes. The instruction was designed to employ Festinger’s (1957) Cognitive Dissonance Theory to encourage cognition in social behavior, Keller’s (2010) ARCS model to inspire learning motivation and Mayer’s (2017) Multimedia Design Principles to promote deeper learning. The project was evaluated via usability and learning effectiveness testing. The results of these tests suggested that the instruction was successful in improving learners’ confidence in voice-data privacy skills and decreasing the value of smart-speaker convenience.

https://sites.google.com/hawaii.edu/smart-speaker-privacy/home

Many university students in Hawaii planning to study abroad in Japan will experience some form of cultural miscommunication and misunderstanding. These experiences can make it difficult for students to join authentic Japanese communities during their time abroad. To help solve this issue, this project designed and evaluated online asynchronous instruction about common Japanese cultural practices. The instruction combined multimedia with various interactive activities to help students 1) be more aware of the cultural differences between their home culture and Japanese culture and 2) make adjustments so they can participate in the Japanese community more easily.

The instruction used Bloom’s Taxonomy to break down and sequence the content, as well as Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction and Keller’s ARCS model to ensure the lessons targeted the cognitive and affective domains.

To evaluate the instruction, synchronous usability testing and asynchronous learning effectiveness testing were conducted with 16 Japanese language learning students (n = 16). The usability test helped capture diverse perspectives on the design of the instruction and was valuable in revising its navigation. In general, participants felt the instructional lessons were meaningful and enjoyable. Future work will be needed to research more about the target audience and to include more content covering additional cultural practices.

Library and Information Science (LIS) students, librarians or library staff may not fully understand cataloging and classification in a library setting. As a result, many of these individuals can not perform important cataloging duties when needed. To address this need, a piece of instruction was developed to introduce the basics of Cataloging and Classification. The instruction included an introduction and three modules covering data standardization, cataloging tools and classification structures. The goal of the instruction was to provide training to LIS graduate students, librarians and library staff to help them grasp basic cataloging knowledge and skills applicable in a library setting.

The instruction utilized a combination of direct and indirect instruction to deliver the content. The instruction was interactive in nature and used Mayer’s (2009) multimedia learning principles to help foster learning. In terms of evaluation, the instruction was assessed for its usability and learning effectiveness by 19 adults participants (n = 19). To evaluate the instruction’s usability, one in-person and two online semi-conducted interviews were conducted. To evaluate the instruction’s learning effectiveness, Google Forms were used to administer a demographic survey, a pretest, a posttest, and a post-instruction survey asking about the participants’ learning experiences with the instruction. The results of the evaluation revealed some discrepancies between the views of the course designer and those of the participants. Through the usability and learning effectiveness testing, participants identified possible future enhancements regarding the instruction’s content and delivery.

The instruction that was designed and evaluated improved participants' knowledge of cataloging and classification in library settings in some ways. For future work, the quality of the instruction can be enhanced by providing more detailed feedback to the quizzes and adding more content in specific areas. Some of the most important discoveries for improving the instruction’s interactive experience in the future included clarifying the instruction’s learning pathway, helping learners navigate through different modules, and making it easier for learners to track their progress. Such improvements would require a joint effort between the instructional designer and software developers.