Italian Journal of Educational Technology

Editorial issue 3 (2023)

2024-07-06T18:47:11+02:00

In this special issue we collect five papers covering different topics, all very relevant and at the core of the scientific debate within the Technology-Enhanced Learning research community.

Teachers’ perceptions of implementing Digital Game-Based Learning in the classroom: A convergent mixed method study

2024-07-06T18:47:11+02:00

Research on Digital Game-Based learning (DGBL) indicated it is effective in inducing student motivation and learning outcomes. Teachers as gatekeepers of technology should maneuver DGBL as pedagogical approach to engage students. In this convergent mixed method study, the researcher surveyed 116 pre-service, internship, and in-service teachers about their attitudes, self-efficacy, teaching philosophy, and perceived barriers toward the implementation of DGBL. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and corroborated. Results showed majority of teachers gravitated toward Edutainment Games and Educational Applications based on pre-existing familiarity, comfortableness, and ease of use. Findings revealed misalignment between teachers’ endorsed teaching philosophy and their preferred game genre for use in instruction. The implication is that teachers during internship and post-induction should become educated in digital games and corresponding learning theory inherent in its design, so they can leverage teaching philosophy, knowledge and strategies to instruct in tandem with a pedagogically sound and thoughtfully chosen game.

Gamification in higher education. A systematic literature review

2024-07-06T18:47:12+02:00

This article explores the transformative role of gamification in higher education through a systematic literature review. Rooted in the concept of gamefulness, gamification involves the intentional integration of game elements to enhance student engagement and learning experiences. The systematic literature review focuses on gamification in higher education, using the PRISMA model to conduct the analysis. The search protocol employs a rigorous search strategy using five online databases, excluding non-English language articles and duplicates. Adopting an aggregative review approach, the study delves into the theoretical framework of gamification, tracing its definitions, underlying principles and potential impacts on learning outcomes. The narrative textual synthesis of the 53 selected articles reveals a diverse landscape of gamification implementations in higher education, highlighting challenges in the uniformity of theoretical and empirical analyses. Then a thematic analysis is also proposed exploiting the results of a “meta-summary”, to explore the relationships among themes. The conclusions emphasise the need for a functional, working model of gamification implementation to effectively address teaching improvement goals.

The effect of peer assessment on translation performance among EFL students at various achievement levels

2024-07-06T18:47:12+02:00

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of peer assessment on learning and motivation of students at different achievement (low, average, and high) levels. Forty-one English-as-foreign-language (EFL) students were invited to participate in this study. All students completed an English translation project, then participated in a peer assessment activity to read and comment upon each other’s work. Afterward, students revised and resubmitted their own translation projects. Data analysis suggested that the peer assessment activity integrated in this study significantly promoted all students’ performance (in terms of increased points between the first version and the second version of students’ submissions) on the English translation project, notwithstanding students’ achievement levels. Comparisons of students’ initial translation projects (before peer assessment) and final translation projects (after peer assessment) revealed that low-achieving students had the greatest degree of improvement, followed by average- and then high-achieving students. Nevertheless, all students reported that they enjoyed the peer assessment activity and put forth comparable effort, as measured by the Enjoyment and Effort subscales. Interpretation of the results and implications were discussed.

Inclusive science communication: Tools from the natural sounds

2024-07-06T18:47:12+02:00

Scientific popularization for people with sensory disabilities is today insufficient and lacking in specific methods as it uses contents rich in visual and abstract references, difficult to assimilate by those with perceptual or sensory deficiencies. This research aims to fill the gap through an exploratory case study, conducted with an inclusive and multisensory method. This method is based on the use of natural sounds to communicate complex concepts related to ecology and environmental vulnerability. It has a bottom-up approach, starting from a single theme to arrive at the definition of ecosystems and environmental emergencies. The results indicate that natural sounds contribute to students’ learning by improving the ability to recognize and describe ecological and environmental issues. The proposed method was highly appreciated by the participants and exhibits excellent performance and great expandability to complex themes.

Critical digital literacy and active citizenship at school: The experience of the Scientix Ambassadors

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Quality education represents one of the leading goals among the United Nations sustainable goals and its centrality is internationally recognized. The paper, after reviewing how to reach quality education and which competencies students should reach, presents the Scientix project. With a participatory action research and peer-led experiential learning approach, a number of experiences are shared as a proof of concept about educational intervention coupling research and practices. The experiences cover all school levels and aspects spanning Information Literacies related to online inquiry process and source validation and verification; Data Literacy and its importance for active and critical participation in society; Digital Citizenship and sustainable use of technologies and digital civic engagement and technology use related to Computational Thinking and coding. The work lays the basis for the assessment of key factors in learning resource design and key educational practices with the greatest positive impact on the students’ learning path.