As humans are increasingly relying on unmanned systems, the need to insure that the decision made by such systems are moral and ethical arises. Universities have many approaches to incorporate ethics in the curriculum including offering a dedicated course, or embedding elements in various courses, or a mixture of the two approaches. This paper attempts to address the issue of incorporating unmanned systems ethics into science, engineering, and information technology curriculum.

The current study aimed to investigate the effects of Distributed Pair Programming (DPP) on some of the learning process outcomes. The study attempted to assess the effects of DPP by assessing its effects on the performance, satisfaction with online collaborative learning and teamwork skills of the Computer Science (CS) and Management Information System (MIS) sophomore students at Al-Jubail University College (JUC). The study examined the following hypotheses: • DPP affect students' performance compared with the performance of the students adopting Distributed Non-Pair Programming (DNPP). • DPP affect students' teamwork skills compared with the teamwork skills of the students adopting DNPP. • DPP affect students' satisfaction with the online collaborative learning compared with the satisfaction of the students adopting DNPP. The study’s sample consisted of 68 students of CS and MIS sophomore students taking Introduction to Computer Science CS 202 programming course. The sample consisting of the paired students was randomly and evenly divided into experimental and control group. The study's instruments included: students satisfaction with online collaborative learning questionnaire, students prior teamwork skills questionnaire, and students teamwork skills checklist. The study yielded a non-significant difference between the experimental and the controlled group in the performance variables except with regard to the time taken to create the program, in which the experimental group took less time. Additionally, the study resulted with a significant difference between the two groups in relation to the teamwork skills important sub-variables in favor of the experimental group. Moreover, the study resulted with a significant difference between the two groups in their satisfaction with peer interaction, which is the important sub-variable of students satisfaction with online collaborative learning, the experimental group showed a significantly higher level of satisfaction compared to the control group.

The current study aimed to investigate and assess the effect of the Virtual Laboratory on the performance, attitude and motivation of the Microbiology enrolled female students at the College of Basic Education and Training, Kuwait State 2009-2010. Randomization of the sample was not an option, so the study included only the available sample, which was one hundred twenty seven female students who enrolled in the subject of Microbiology at the College of Basic Education and Training, Kuwait, in the academic year of 2009-2010. The available sample was grouped into a control and experimental groups as they enrolled in the subject, and were tested on two different semesters, each on a different semester for some validity considerations and to increase the sample size. The research instruments included: the microbiology laboratory final practical exam, and Performance Assessment sheet that included the elements of motivation, attitude and performance adapted from Timothy Ryan (1993). The virtual laboratory was implemented for 10 laboratory experiments that were delivered to the students via a data show presentation twice a week, once at the end of the lecture on the theoretical part of the course and once before the actual experiment takes place. Data analysis of microbiology laboratory final practical exam revealed that the performance variable has significantly improved for the experimental group than that of the control group. Whereas the data analysis for the Performance Assessment sheet showed that all dependant variables were affected positively by the virtual laboratory but in different margins; the performance variable was affected significantly better than the other two dependant variables, motivation and attitude.

This report is by J.D.Lasia provides some back ground on the topic as it gives the reader the benefit of the considerable insights that emerged from the round table dialogue. It begins, as the conference did, with description and definition of the cloud.

This report utilizes massive datasets to summarize trends and patterns in educational technology (EdTech) communications, interest, use, research, and adoption across the U.S. Utilizing public social media posts, public school website data, and research indexing APIs, this report provides educators, principals, policymakers, and researchers with a birds eye view of what has been happening in the field of educational technology in recent years. Results for each section are provided as prose, tables, and infographics. This free, open access eBook highlights the key steps and considerations for finding, evaluating, and teaching with digital tools and apps!

In his recently published book Is Technology Good For Education? Professor Neil Selwyn encourages us to think critically about the trend of a wide adoption of technology in education and to consider, in a dispassionate manner, the unintended consequences of digital education. He calls for more ‘grown-up debates to take place around the complexities and contradictions of technology and education’ (p.159) and challenges us to reflect on whether technology makes education more democratic, personalised, measurable and commercial.

EDUCATE is a London-based programme that supports the development of research-informed educational technology (EdTech), allowing entrepreneurs and start-ups to create their products and services, and simultaneously grow their companies in a more evidence-informed manner. The programme partners businesses with researchers who mentor, guide and support this research journey, a key aspect of which is the evaluation of the company’s EdTech product or service. However, conducting impact evaluations of technology in education is challenging, particularly for early stage technologies, as rapid cycles of innovation and change are part of their essence. Here, we present the pragmatic approach to evidence-informed education technology design and impact evaluation, as developed and adopted by the EDUCATE programme. The research process is shaped by the core principles of evidence-informed decision making detailed in the paper. The contributions of the paper are threefold. First, it defines and details an academia-industry-education collaboration model centred on a research training programme. Second, it presents emerging impact results of the programme. Third, it provides clear reflections on the challenges encountered during the implementation of the model in the EdTech ecosystem of London, which should be addressed if we are to move towards evidence-informed EdTech globally.

Discussions of technology and education often promise revolution, and freedom from the constraints of campuses and classrooms. There is less discussion of why such infrastructures were needed in the first place, or of the challenges facing learners when these are no longer available. In order to explore such critical alternatives, we can begin to ask different kinds of question. What is the cloud made of? What do learners work with, when they study? Where are they, and what places do they move between? From a sociomaterial perspective, such questions draw attention to the ways in which academic work is encoded, transmitted and stored; how the cloud, far from being nebulous, relies on undersea cables and server farms; and how learners try and coordinate all this as they take bus journeys, sit in class or meet with friends in the bar. These points will be illustrated with examples from a longitudinal study of University students’ uses of technology, in which they recorded and described how, where and when they studied. This analysis has implications for the design of e-learning, raising questions about whose responsibility it is to build the infrastructure that students need to learn, and introducing a note of caution to discussions about the transformational potential of technology.

Educational technologies occupy a significant and high profile position within higher education with some technologies widely used across the sector. However, although the use of new technologies is often encouraged through institutional policy, training and funding, there is significant variation in actual practices - especially with regards to teaching and learning. Research on teacher thinking suggests that this variation is related to university teachers‟ beliefs and knowledge about technology and learning. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate university teachers‟ thinking about their use of technology. The first stage of data collection was a quantitative survey of 795 higher education teachers from a sample of 27 UK universities. This identified institutional and subject-related differences in teachers‟ perceptions of impact and use of particular technologies in their teaching. The second stage of data collection was a qualitative multi-site case study of eleven university teachers from three universities that identified their perceptions and beliefs about technology and the contexts in which they act. It investigated how these individuals formed and reinterpreted their beliefs about technology and how they made decisions about when and how to use (or not use) technology. The thesis shows how university teachers‟ thinking about technology is situated in the culture and contexts in which they live and work. It explores the relationships between pedagogic beliefs, beliefs about technology and teachers‟ perceptions of „control‟ over how they use technology. It identifies how some teachers used technology to communicate their personality and build relationships with students but, also, how some used technologies despite believing that these did not have a positive effect on student learning. It shows how, in making sense of their use of technology, academics draw on multiple sources including understandings of the impact of technology on culture and society, perceptions of higher education and their institution, their subject disciplinary background and their identity as teachers and academics.

This study investigated the value of technology education to elementary school students’ learning of technology concepts and processes as a result of technology education experiences. The research questions were (1) How do elementary school students learn technology concepts as a result of technology education experiences?, (2) How do elementary school students learn technology processes as a result of technology education experiences?, and (3) What are elementary school students’ beliefs and attitudes toward technology and technology activities? This study employed a qualitative research methodology. Evidence has been collected from several major sources for five months: participant observation; semi-structured interviews with students and teacher; and documents including students’ journals, notebooks, written works, and the teacher’s handouts. I presented the evidence through using inductive analysis and interpreted the evidence through the lens of the constructivist perspective. The findings revealed that technology education provided elementary school students with a constructivist learning context. Elementary school students were introduced to meaningful hands-on activities of technology education and encouraged to involve themselves in creative problem solving processes and social interactions. In addition, they conceptualized technology as making, invention, new things, and computers and perceived technology and technology activities as fun and exciting. This study has two major implications for educational practice and further study. First, classroom teachers’ efforts are needed to bridge the gap between elementary school classrooms and cognitive science throughout technology education activities. Second, continued examination of students’ learning of technology concepts and processes is needed in order to investigate the value of ESTE.

This study determined the level of computer use for instructional purposes by technology education teachers in Ohio public schools. The study also investigated the relationships between the level of use and selected factors: expertise; access; attitude; support; and teacher characteristics. This study derived its theoretical framework from Rogers’ (1995) model of diffusion of innovations. A survey-correlation research design was used. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to all technology education teachers (N = 1170) in Ohio public schools in the 2002–2003 school year. Validity and reliability were established for the survey instrument. The return rate of the survey was 66%. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used. The findings of this study indicated that technology education teachers have high levels of computer use in mainstream computer uses such as word processing, e-mail, Internet, and classroom management. Strong positive correlation existed between the level of computer use and teachers’ perceived expertise and teachers’ perceived attitude toward computers as tools. In addition, moderate positive correlation existed between the level of use and teachers’ perceived access to computers. Multiple regression analysis indicated a positive predictive value toward computer use with the demographic characteristics of instructional experience and modular instructional method, and a negative predictive value with age and urban geographic location. The independent variables that explain the greatest amount of variation in the level of computer use were in order of predictive value: teachers’ perceived expertise, attitude, and access. Technology education teachers have high levels of computer use in mainstream applications and low levels of computer use in specialized applications. These levels of use are slightly lower than the state levels. Those teachers that possess expertise are the ones who use the computer for instructional purposes. Positive attitudes toward computers as tools provide a starting point for adoption of computer use. To increase computer use, technology education teachers need to be given more training. In-service training needs to be a top priority. Pre-service programs should include more courses in using computers as tools for teaching and learning.

In this inquiry it is argued that examining teacher issues and needs is profoundly important in understanding the successes and failures in the process of integrating technology into education. Given this argument, the study sought to understand those issues and needs by exploring the implementation process of four teacher educators involved in an implementation grant whose goals were to integrate technology into teacher education programs. This qualitative study (1) described the issues and needs of four teacher educators; (2) examined the processes in which the teacher educators engaged to transform their pedagogy; (3) analyzed what impeded or encouraged a beneficial transformation of pedagogy; and (4) reflected critically upon my role as a researcher-technologist-graduate student in this process. Based upon participant observation, unstructured interviews, weekly group meetings, material culture, and a researcher log, it was seen that the teacher educators implemented a variety of technological processes. Such processes were faculty development, technology exploration in the classroom, asynchronous communication, and on-line courseware. The inquiry found that the teacher educators experienced issues and needs that directly affected the success or failure of their technology attempts. Such issues were time, relevance, centrality, community, and money. It was also asserted that the researcher was often conflicted in her role as a researcher, a graduate student, and an educator. These roles often contradicted each other and affected the manner in which interaction among participants occurred. Further, it was hypothesized that the technological goals for the researcher often varied from those of the teacher educators, and it was asserted that understanding the teachers’ goals, objectives, and philosophical beliefs are essential to a technologist – teacher relationship. Conclusions drawn in this study regarding the teachers’ evolution of technology integration were slightly different from previous findings for K-12 educators. Other findings discuss lessons learned and recommendations for similar technological attempts in teacher education programs. A main conclusion of this study was that understanding the needs and issues of teachers is essential in the success of technology integration in education.