This study examined the challenges and obstacles faced in using WhatsApp as an online Arabic learning center and efforts to overcome them. The data from this qualitative study were obtained from observations of 71 students and 2 Arabic language teachers. The data was then validated and strengthened by interviews with five students and 2 Arabic…

Today's students are increasingly immersed in a landscape of screens and handheld digital devices through which a good deal of their interactions with the world around them are mediated. Physics educators, meanwhile, continue to rely on traditional human interactions with the physical world, such as sliding down a ramp or throwing a baseball, in…

Many studies have demonstrated the crucial role of vocabulary in predicting reading performance in general. More recent work has indicated that one particular facet of vocabulary (its depth) is more closely related to language comprehension, especially inferential comprehension. On this basis, we developed a training application to specifically…

Open educational resources (OER) have open licensing or public domain designations that allow users to retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute content unencumbered by traditional copyright restrictions. As such, they can replace costly traditional textbooks, provide all students with access to materials on the first day of class, and invite…

Demonstrating proactive approaches is one of the preventive measures utilized to decrease the problem behaviors in schools (MacSuga-Gage et al., 2015; Partin et al., 2009). Focusing efforts on halting negative classroom behaviors before escalations occur instead of managing the fallout from emergencies created by problem behaviors is one way that…

Interactive apps are commonly used to support the acquisition of foundational skills. Yet little is known about how pedagogical features of such apps affect learning outcomes, attainment and motivation--particularly when deployed in lower-income contexts, where educational gains are most needed. In this study, we analyse which app features are…

While mobile devices are becoming increasingly ubiquitous (even in low-income families in the United States) and are being used for educational purposes, it is unclear how these technological tools may benefit letter learning (a foundational precursor to early literacy achievement) in preschool children. To contribute clarity, this study tested…

The iNaturalist application has been gaining traction in both biodiversity research and education. Increasingly more research is being carried out, looking into using the iNaturalist application in biology education, to promote biodiversity and educate students about this topic. We used the PRISMA systematic literature review method to examine…

Underrepresentation of female students and specific racial/ethnic groups persists in STEM despite decades of intervention. Evidence suggests a need to encourage interest in STEM fields at the middle-school level. Adolescent career aspirations are influenced by exposure to role models and mindsets, such as a sense of perceived personal capacity.…

Argument mapping (AM) is the activity of plotting a diagram representing the logical connections between evidence and the claims it supports, with boxes connected by lines. AM can massively benefit students and their communities. Not only is it about twice as effective at improving student critical thinking any other method and enhance student…

We present a microservice architecture for large-scale automated scoring applications. Our architecture builds on the open-source Apache Storm framework and facilitates the development of robust, scalable automated scoring applications that can easily be extended and customized. We demonstrate our architecture with an application for automated…

This study is the first to systematically investigate the extent to which apps for children aged 0-5 foster play and creativity. There is growing evidence of children's use of tablets, but limited knowledge of the use of apps by children of children of this age. This ESRC-funded study undertook research that identified how UK children aged from 0…

There have been increasing calls for applied researchers to see and utilize effect sizes as the primary outcomes of their research. However, this sometimes places a methodological burden on researchers whose primary interests are substantive. Motivated by a desire to help applied researchers better report effect sizes and their confidence…

One of the most widely researched issue on higher education relates to exposed paths that lead to academic success. Nowadays information systems represent an essential part of the education sector in many universities. In particular, the increasing of the number of students in higher education in Portugal leads to the progressive increase of…

With the wide availability of mobile devices and the growing interest in social media, numerous applications have emerged to support student engagement in the classroom. There is conflicting evidence, however, on whether the engagement benefits of such applications outweigh their potential cost as a source of disaffection. To investigate these…