Jacques Ellul, a 20th century French academic, is best known for his writing on "technique," understood as both individual means to ends and an all-encompassing system that prioritizes efficient solutions to problems. While Ellul's terminology is not necessarily familiar in contemporary educational technology research, it represents…

Despite the enormous investment in educational technology research, there are sincere questions about whether it is having a meaningful effect on issues that really matter. Put simply, is education better because of us? In this paper we argue that our field is not having the impact it could, due largely to our instrumentalist approach to ed tech…

In this paper, the authors examine the complex relationship between education research and policymaking, analyzing key barriers and potential solutions for increasing research impact on policy. Four main challenges are identified: differing cultures and incentives between researchers and policymakers, communication barriers, competing values in…

In this era of exponential prominence and adoption of technology, one needs to have the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share and create ideas, responsibly and ethically, using Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools and technologies combined with the Internet. This emerging human attribute is known as digital literacy. Today, digital…

Indigenous community research partnerships face challenges when integrating technology into their infrastructure, and risk compromising the community's cultural, technological, and rhetorical sovereignty. In this paper, we explore the practices that help mitigate this challenge, including making visible the technology itself and technology…

In the higher education sector, a new era has begun with the advent of ubiquitous learning environments. Ubiquitous learning tools allow improving context-aware as well as learning experiences by offering seamless availability regardless of location all the time. They also help in establishing effortless interaction between authentic and digital…

This paper examines the value of embedding a systems-thinking lens in higher education research. A systems approach enables institutions to move beyond isolated interventions to explore the broader relationships and structures influencing learning and development by addressing the interconnected dimensions of people, processes, and technology. The…

The educational technology field is at a critical juncture, facing the dual pressures of rapid technological advancement and a pressing need for research that genuinely addresses educational challenges. Despite increasing awareness of these issues, a significant amount of educational technology research remains entrenched in superficial or…

Currently, the training of the future work force presents challenging problems to higher education. This training, in the form of practical and theoretical knowledge can come from multiple platforms, channels and means, both formal and informal. In addition, it is quite difficult to assess the knowledge skill level that a student has acquired to…

In a paper published 25 years ago, Ross and Morrison ("Educ Technol Res Dev" 37(1):19-33, 1989) called for a "happy medium" in educational technology research, to be achieved by balancing high rigor of studies (internal validity) with relevance to real-world applications (external validity). In this paper, we argue that,…

Much is made of the diversity for MOOCs learners--with their varied motivations and interests; yet MOOCs are often run and judged on the assumption that learners would progress through the course in its entirety, to completion. This paper presents an analysis of three recently delivered MOOCs that were designed to support a broader set of learner…

Over the past 30 years, qualitative research has emerged as a widely accepted alternative to the quantitative paradigm for performing research in educational communications and technology. As the new paradigm has evolved, it has spawned a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodological techniques that have both increased its potential…

This paper aims to explore the role of e-assessment in making the learning process more visible to the instructor, while revealing its impact on the adjustment of ensuing feedback. We carried out a qualitative analysis of two different cases at two different tertiary institutions. One case took place in a virtual mode, the other developed in…

Following a brief introduction, our paper is in four main sections. First, we lay out the points on which we agree with James Mazoue's views expressed in "The Deconstructed Campus." Second, we offer a critique of his views. Third, we consider evidence-based research opportunities for building universities that may incorporate ideas along the lines…

This study investigated the longitudinal trends of academic articles in Mobile Learning (ML) using text mining techniques. One hundred and nineteen (119) refereed journal articles and proceedings papers from the SCI/SSCI database were retrieved and analyzed. The taxonomies of ML publications were grouped into twelve clusters (topics) and four…