The present study was framed using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to identify determinants affecting behavioral intention to use YouTube. Most importantly, this research emphasizes the motives for using YouTube, which is notable given its extrinsic task goal of being used for procedural learning tasks. Our conceptual framework included two…

Despite the well-known benefits of parent involvement in children's education, research clearly shows that it is difficult to effectively involve parents. This study aims to capture parents' views of a Blog Based Parent Involvement Approach (BPIA) designed to secure parent involvement in education by strengthening school-parent communication. Data…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of social networking sites (SNS) on cognitive abilities and reported levels of social connectedness in adolescents. In order to provide a reliable measure of cognitive skills, standardized tests of verbal ability, working memory, and academic attainment were administered. Students also…

Blogging is characterized by an individual exploration of ideas of personal interest through frequent online posts, documenting ideas as they emerge over time. Community emerges as bloggers read and link across blogs, based on shared interests. Blogs have gained acceptance in higher education for a variety of instructional activities, among which,…

Educators and others are interested in the effects of social media on college students, with a specific focus on the most popular social media website--Facebook. Two previous studies have examined the relationship between Facebook use and student engagement, a construct related to positive college outcomes. However, these studies were limited by…

This study investigated entering preservice teachers' initial beliefs and ideas with regard to the role of technology in teaching and learning. It also examined specific technology-integrated pedagogical strategies and their potential to help preservice teachers begin to shift from traditional teacher-centered beliefs to a more student-centered…

An Interactive Dichotomous Key (IDK) for 390 "taxa" of vascular plants from the Ria de Aveiro, available on a website, was developed to help teach botany to school and universitary students. This multimedia tool includes several links to Descriptive and Illustrated Glossaries. Questionnaires answered by high-school and undergraduate students about…

Web-based digital video tools enable learners to access video sources in constructive ways. To leverage these affordances teachers need to integrate their knowledge of a technology with their professional knowledge about teaching. We suggest that this is a cognitive process, which is strongly connected to a teacher's mental model of the tool's…

The rapid development of information and communication technology and the popularization of the Internet have given a boost to digitization technologies. Since 2001, The National Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan has invested a large amount of funding in the National Digital Archives Program (NDAP) to develop digital content. Some studies have…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of multi-tasking with digital technologies while attempting to learn from real-time classroom lectures in a university setting. Four digitally-based multi-tasking activities (texting using a cell-phone, emailing, MSN messaging and Facebook[TM]) were compared to 3 control groups…

Recently, there has been a significant proliferation in the number of teaching blogs; however, little has been explored about what motivates teachers to adopt teaching blogs. The purpose of this study is to find out which factors can significantly influence teacher decisions regarding their teaching blog adoption and the relative importance of…

A vast amount of information is now available online, produced by a variety of sources with a range of editorial oversight procedures. These range from very centralized information with multiple layers of review, to no oversight at all. Determining which information is credible can pose a real challenge. An experiment was designed to determine…

The purpose of this research was to firstly develop a protocol for video recording student group oral presentations, for later viewing and self-assessment by student group members. Secondly, evaluations of students' experiences of this process were undertaken to determine if this self-assessment method was a positive experience for them in gaining…

The main idea behind this study was to explore the educational potential of multimedia blogging for academic disciplines such as Physical Education (PE) that are not heavily based on written discourse and where multiple representations are important in learning. A class blog was utilized as a means for PE students to reflect on and showcase their…

Many English learning websites have been developed worldwide, but little research has been conducted concerning the development of comprehensive evaluation criteria. The main purpose of this study is thus to construct a multi-dimensional set of criteria to help learners and teachers evaluate the quality of English learning websites. These…