While many institutions provide centralized technology support for faculty, there is a lack of centralized professional development opportunities that focus on simultaneously developing instructors’ technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) in higher education. Additionally, there are few professional development opportunities for faculty that continue throughout the practice of teaching with technology. We propose a model of continuing professional development that provides instructors with the ability to meaningfully integrate technology into their teaching practices through centralized support for developing TPACK. In doing so, we draw upon several theoretical frameworks and evidence based practices.

Technology skills are assumed to be a necessity for college and career success, but technology is constantly evolving. Thus, development of students’ technology skills is an on-going and persistent issue. Standards from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the International Society for Technology in Education encourage educators to teach skills that help students adapt to changing working environments. These skills resemble the National Association for Gifted Children’s program and teacher preparation standards. Descriptive research about what is already occurring in classrooms has been done, but the information is frequently limited to a list of activities. A qualitative multi-case phenomenological study of six Alabama teachers of the gifted examined how they use and shape technology experiences with students, and promote student learning of 21st century skills. The teachers were chosen for the case study due to their reputation as teachers skilled in using technology with students. Lesson plans, interviews, and observations were used to discover themes between the teachers. Findings from the research indicate that educational technology use with students is shaped by factors such as teacher attitudes and expertise, available equipment and support, pedagogical decisions related to working with technology, and the particular student group participating in the technology use.

This research study explores peer teaching and learning without a domain expert teacher, within the context of an activity where teams of second level students (~16 years old) are required to create a learning experience for their peers. The study looks at how participants would like to be taught and how they would teach their peers if given the opportunity and examines the support they require, their motivation levels, and if they actually learn curriculum content using this approach. An exploratory case study methodology was used, and the findings suggest that students want varied learning experiences that include many of the elements which would fall under the heading of 21st century learning, that with some support and encouragement they can create innovative learning experiences for their peers, and that they can learn curriculum content from the process.

Aim/Purpose: To identify positive and negative aspects for learning of interactive tablet technology learning activities that promote student engagement and learning. Background: Engaging students in mathematics classes is an on-going challenge for teachers. In 2008 we were offered the opportunity to run interactive activities with a class set of tablet PCs that had just been released on to the market. Since then, we have run these interactive activities continuously with mathematics classes for computing students, albeit with two changes in hardware. Methodology: In the interactive activities, students submit full worked solutions to various problem types (classified as table, text, open or multi-choice) which can then be displayed to the class anonymously, discussed and annotated by the teacher. We surveyed student and staff perceptions and monitored academic performance. Contribution: We have over 10 years of results, observations, and experience from 2008, when tablet technologies were new and expensive, to the current time, when modern tablets with styli are now affordable. Findings: There was a significant increase in higher grades although pass rates did not increase significantly. Over the ten year period of the study, perceptions of students and staff about how this technology impacted on student learning were consistently positive. The majority of students found all problem types useful for learning even those they rated “too hard” or “too easy”. Benefits included increased feedback, peer learning and engagement. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend using tablet learning activities to engage students and teachers and to contribute to learning. Impact on Society: This study shows how using tablet technologies for interactive classroom activities can enable and enhance known pedagogies of feedback, peer instruction, and student engagement for mathematics classes. Future Research: We recommend extending this study to include larger classes, and other technical subjects that use symbols and diagrams. In addition, we suggest considering control groups.

Aim/Purpose: Bioengineering is a burgeoning interdisciplinary learning domain that could inspire the imaginations of elementary aged children but is not traditionally taught to this age group for reasons unrelated to student ability. This pilot study presents the BacToMars videogame and accompanying curricular intervention, designed to introduce children (aged 7-11) to foundational concepts of bioengineering and to the interdisciplinary nature of scientific endeavors. Background: This pilot study explores the bioengineering-related learning outcomes and attitudes of children after engaging with the BacToMars game and curriculum intervention. Methodology: This study drew on prior findings in game-based learning and applied them to a videogame designed to connect microbiology with Constructionist microworlds. An experimental comparison showed the learning and engagement affordances of integrating this videogame into a mixed-media bioengineering curriculum. Elementary-aged children (N = 17) participated in a 9-hour learning intervention, with one group of n = 8 children receiving the BacToMars videogame and the other group (n = 9) receiving traditional learning activities on the same content. Pre- and post-surveys and interview data were collected from both groups. Contribution: This paper contributes to education research on children’s ability to meaningfully engage with abstract concepts at the intersection of science and engineering through bioengineering education, and to design research on developing educational technology for introducing bioengineering content to elementary school children. Findings: Children in both groups showed improved knowledge and attitudes related to bioengineering. Children who used BacToMars showed slightly stronger performance on game-specific concepts, while children in the control condition showed slightly higher generalized knowledge of bioengineering concepts. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners should consider bioengineering as a domain for meaningful, interdisciplinary learning in elementary education.. Recommendation for Researchers: Design researchers should develop playful ways to introduce bioengineering concepts accurately and to engage children’s imaginations and problem-solving skills. Education researchers should further investigate developmentally appropriate ways to introduce bioengineering in elementary education. Impact on Society: BacToMars introduces a meaningful scenario to contextualize complex con-cepts at the intersection of science and engineering, and to engage children in real-world, interdisciplinary problem solving. Future Research: Future research should explore BacToMars and bioengineering curricula for elementary-aged children in larger samples, with longer intervention times.

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents a data mining approach for analyzing responses to advanced declarative programming questions. The goal of this research is to find a model that can explain the results obtained by students when they perform exams with Constructed Response questions and with equivalent Multiple-Choice Questions. Background: The assessment of acquired knowledge is a fundamental role in the teaching-learning process. It helps to identify the factors that can contribute to the teacher in the developing of pedagogical methods and evaluation tools and it also contributes to the self-regulation process of learning. However, better format of questions to assess declarative programming knowledge is still a subject of ongoing debate. While some research advocates the use of constructed responses, others emphasize the potential of multiple-choice questions. Methodology: A sensitivity analysis was applied to extract useful knowledge from the relevance of the characteristics (i.e., the input variables) used for the data mining process to compute the score. Contribution: Such knowledge helps the teachers to decide which format they must consider with respect to the objectives and expected students results. Findings: The results shown a set of factors that influence the discrepancy between answers in both formats. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teachers can make an informed decision about whether to choose multiple-choice questions or constructed-response taking into account the results of this study. Recommendation for Researchers: In this study a block of exams with CR questions is verified to complement the area of learning, returning greater performance in the evaluation of students and improving the teaching-learning process. Impact on Society: The results of this research confirm the findings of several other researchers that the use of ICT and the application of MCQ is an added value in the evaluation process. In most cases the student is more likely to succeed with MCQ, however if the teacher prefers to evaluate with CR other research approaches are needed. Future Research: Future research must include other question formats.

Aim/Purpose: The main aim of this study was modeling a collaborative process for knowledge visualization, via the creation of infographics. Background: As an effective method for visualizing complex information, creating infographics requires learners to generate and cultivate a deep knowledge of content and enables them to concisely visualize and share this knowledge. This study investigates creating infographics as a knowledge visualization process for collaborative learning situations by integrating the infographic design model into the team-based and technology-mediated Bridge21 learning model. Methodology: This study was carried out using an educational design perspective by conducting three main cycles comprised of three micro cycles: analysis and exploration; design and construction; evaluation and reflection. The process and the scaffolding were developed and enhanced from cycle to cycle based on both qualitative and quantitative methods by using the infographic design rubric and researcher observations acquired during implementation. Respectively, twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-four secondary school students participated in the infographic creation process cycles. Contribution: This research proposes an extensive step-by-step process model for creating infographics as a method of visualization for learning. It is particularly relevant for working with complex information, in that it enables collaborative knowledge construction and sharing of condensed knowledge. Findings: Creating infographics can be an effective method for collaborative learning situations by enabling knowledge construction, visualization and sharing. The Bridge21 activity model constituted the spine of the infographic creation process. The content generation, draft generation, and visual and digital design generation components of the infographic design model matched with the investigate, plan and create phases of the Bridge21 activity model respectively. Improvements on infographic design results from cycle to cycle suggest that the revisions on the process model succeeded in their aims. The rise in each category was found to be significant, but the advance in visual design generation was particularly large. Recommendations for Practitioners: The effectiveness of the creation process and the quality of the results can be boosted by using relevant activities based on learner prior knowledge and skills. While infographic creation can lead to a focus on visual elements, the importance of wording must be emphasized. Being a multidimensional process, groups need guidance to ensure effective collaboration. Recommendation for Researchers: The proposed collaborative infographic creation process could be structured and evaluated for online learning environments, which will improve interaction and achievement by enhancing collaborative knowledge creation. Impact on Society: In order to be knowledge constructors, innovative designers, creative communicators and global collaborators, learners need to be surrounded by adequate learning environments. The infographic creation process offers them a multidimensional learning situation. They must understand the problem, find an effective way to collect information, investigate their data, develop creative and innovative perspectives for visual design and be comfortable for using digital creation tools. Future Research: The infographic creation process could be investigated in terms of required learner prior knowledge and skills, and could be enhanced by developing pre-practices and scaffolding.

Aim/Purpose: The study examined types of errors made by novice programmers in different Java concepts with students of different ability levels in programming as well as the perceived causes of such errors. Background: To improve code writing and debugging skills, efforts have been made to taxonomize programming errors and their causes. However, most of the studies employed omnibus approaches, i.e. without consideration of different programing concepts and ability levels of the trainee programmers. Such concepts and ability specific errors identification and classifications are needed to advance appropriate intervention strategy. Methodology: A sequential exploratory mixed method design was adopted. The sample was an intact class of 124 Computer Science and Engineering undergraduate students grouped into three achievement levels based on first semester performance in a Java programming course. The submitted codes in the course of second semester exercises were analyzed for possible errors, categorized and grouped across achievement level. The resulting data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as Pearson product correlation coefficient. Qualitative analyses through interviews and focused group discussion (FGD) were also employed to identify reasons for the committed errors. Contribution:The study provides a useful concept-based and achievement level specific error log for the teaching of Java programming for beginners. Findings: The results identified 598 errors with Missing symbols (33%) and Invalid symbols (12%) constituting the highest and least committed errors respec-tively. Method and Classes concept houses the highest number of errors (36%) followed by Other Object Concepts (34%), Decision Making (29%), and Looping (10%). Similar error types were found across ability levels. A significant relationship was found between missing symbols and each of Invalid symbols and Inappropriate Naming. Errors made in Methods and Classes were also found to significantly predict that of Other Object concepts. Recommendations for Practitioners: To promote better classroom practice in the teaching of Java programming, findings for the study suggests instructions to students should be based on achievement level. In addition to this, learning Java programming should be done with an unintelligent editor. Recommendations for Researchers: Research could examine logic or semantic errors among novice programmers as the errors analyzed in this study focus mainly on syntactic ones. Impact on Society: The digital age is code-driven, thus error analysis in programming instruction will enhance programming ability, which will ultimately transform novice programmers into experts, particularly in developing countries where most of the software in use is imported. Future Research: Researchers could look beyond novice or beginner programmers as codes written by intermediate or even advanced programmers are still not often completely error free.

Aim/Purpose: Multi-threaded software design is considered to be difficult, especially to novice programmers. In this study, we explored how students cope with a task that its solution requires a multi-threaded architecture to achieve optimal runtime. Background: An efficient exploit of multicore processors architecture requires computer programs that use parallel programming techniques. However, parallel programming is difficult to understand and apply by novice programmers. Methodology: The students had to address a two-stage problem: (1) design an optimal runtime solution to a given problem with no additional instructions; and (2) provide an optimal runtime multi-threaded design to the same problem. Interviews were conducted with a representative group of students to understand the underlying causes of their provided designs. We used qualitative research methods to gain refined insights regarding the students’ decision making during the design process. To analyze the gained data, we used content analysis tools. Contribution: The case study presented in this paper will help the teacher to stress the merits and limitations of various parallel architectures and confront students with the consequences of their solutions via performances’ benchmark. Findings: Analysis of the student’s solutions to the first stage revealed that the majority of them did not provide a multi-threaded solution ignoring the optimal runtime requirement. At the second stage, seven various architectures were provided differing in the number of involved threads, the data structures used, and the synchronization mechanism employed. The majority of the solutions were sub-optimal and only a few students provided an optimal one. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend conducting class discussions that will follow a task similar to the one used in this study. Recommendation for Researchers: To be able to generalize the received results this research should be repeated with larger study participant groups from various academic institutions. Impact on Society: Understanding the difficulties of novice programmers may lead to quality software systems. Future Research: To be able to generalize the received results this research should be repeated with larger study participant groups from various academic institutions.

Aim/Purpose: This study seeks to understand the various ways information systems (IS) students experience introductory programming to inform IS educators on effective pedagogical approaches to teaching programming. Background: Many students who choose to major in information systems (IS), enter university with little or no experience of learning programming. Few studies have dealt with students’ learning to program in the business faculty, who do not necessarily have the computer science goal of programming. It has been shown that undergraduate IS students struggle with programming. Methodology: The qualitative approach was used in this study to determine students’ notions of learning to program and to determine their cognitive processes while learning to program in higher education. A cohort of 47 students, who were majoring in Information Systems within the Bachelor of Commerce degree programme were part of the study. Reflective journals were used to allow students to record their experiences and to study in-depth their insights and experiences of learning to program during the course. Using phenomenographic methods, categories of description that uniquely characterises the various ways IS students experience learning to program were determined. Contribution: This paper provides educators with empirical evidence on IS students’ experiences of learning to program, which play a crucial role in informing IS educators on how they can lend support and modify their pedagogical approach to teach programming to students who do not necessarily need to have the computer science goal of programming. This study contributes additional evidence that suggests more categories of description for IS students within a business degree. It provides valuable pedagogical insights for IS educators, thus contributing to the body of knowledge Findings: The findings of this study reveal six ways in which IS students’ experience the phenomenon, learning to program. These ways, referred to categories of description, formed an outcome space. Recommendations for Practitioners: Use the experiences of students identified in this study to determine approach to teaching and tasks or assessments assigned Recommendation for Researchers: Using phenomenographic methods researchers in IS or IT may determine pedagogical content knowledge in teaching specific aspects of IT or IS. Impact on Society: More business students would be able to program and improve their logical thinking and coding skills. Future Research: Implement the recommendations for practice and evaluate the students’ performance.

Aim/Purpose: Business analytics is a cross-functional field that is important to implement for a college and has emerged as a critically important core component of the business curriculum. It is a difficult task due to scheduling concerns and limits to faculty and student resources. This paper describes the process of creating a central video repository to serve as a platform for just in time teaching and the impact on student learning outcomes. Background: Industry demand for employees with analytical knowledge, skills, and abilities requires additional analytical content throughout the college of business curriculum. This demand needs other content to be added to ensure that students have the prerequisite skills to complete assignments. Two pedagogical approaches to address this issue are Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and scaffolding, grounded in the Vygoskian concept of “Zone of Proximal Development. Methodology: This paper presents a case study that applies scaffolding and JiTT teaching to create a video repository to add business analytics instruction to a curriculum. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and Major Field Test (MFT) scores were analyzed to assess learning outcomes. Student and faculty comments were considered to inform the results of the review. Contribution: This paper demonstrates a practical application of scaffolding and JiTT theory by outlining the process of using a video library to provide valuable instructional resources that support meaningful learning, promote student academic achievement, and improve program flexibility. Findings: A centrally created library is a simple and inexpensive way to provide business analytics course content, augmenting standard content delivery. Assessment of learning scores showed an improvement, and a summary of lessons learned is provided to guide implications. Recommendations for Practitioners: Pedagogical implications of this research include the observation that producing a central library of instructor created videos and assignments can help address knowledge and skills gaps, augment the learning of business analytics content, and provide a valuable educational resource throughout the college of business curriculum. Recommendation for Researchers: This paper examines the use of scaffolding and JiTT theories. Additional examination of these theories may improve the understanding and limits of these concepts as higher education evolves due to the combination of market forces changing the execution of course delivery. Impact on Society: Universities are tasked with providing new and increasing skills to students while controlling the costs. A centrally created library of instructional videos provides a means of delivering meaningful content while controlling costs. Future Research: Future research may examine student success, including the immediate impact of videos and longitudinally using video repositories throughout the curriculum. Studies examining the approach across multiple institutions may help to evaluate the success of video repositories. Faculty acceptance of centrally created video libraries and assignments should be considered for the value of faculty recruiting and use in the classroom. The economic impact on both the university and students should be evaluated.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this research is to determine whether ESL teaching videos as a form of asynchronous online knowledge sharing can act as an aid to ESL learners internalizing knowledge in language acquisition. In this context, internalizing knowledge carries the meaning of being able to remember language, and purposefully and accurately use it context, including appropriacy of language, and aspects of correct pronunciation, intonation, stress patterns and connected speech, these being the elements of teaching and practice that are very often lacking in asynchronous, online, instructional video. Background: Knowledge Management is the field of study, and the practice, of discovering, capturing, sharing, and applying knowledge, typically with a view to translating individuals’ knowledge into organizational knowledge. In the field of education, it is the sharing of instructors’ knowledge for students to be able to learn and usefully apply that knowledge. In recent pandemic times, however, the mode of instruction has, of necessity, transitioned from face-to-face learning to an online environment, transforming the face of education as we know it. While this mode of instruction and knowledge sharing has many advantages for the online learner, in both synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, it presents certain challenges for language learners due to the absence of interaction and corrective feedback that needs to take place for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) to master language acquisition. Unlike other subjects where the learner has recourse to online resources to reinforce learning through referencing external information, such as facts, figures, or theories, to be successful in learning a second language, the ESL learner needs to be able to learn to process thought and speech in that language; essentially, they need to learn to think in another language, which takes time and practice. Methodology: The research employs a systematic literature review (SLR) to determine the scope and extent to which the subject is covered by existing research in this field, and the findings thereof. Contribution: Whilst inconclusive in relation to internalizing language through online, asynchronous instructional video, through its exploratory nature, the research contributes towards the body of knowledge in online learning through the drawing together of various studies in the field of learning through asynchronous video through improving video and instructional quality. Findings: The findings of the systematic literature review revealed that there is negligible research in this area, and while information exists on blended and flipped modes of online learning, and ways to improve the quality and delivery of instructional video generally, no prior research on the exclusive use of asynchronous videos as an aid to internalizing English as a second language were found. Recommendations for Practitioners: From this research, it is apparent that there is considerably more that practitioners can do to improve the quality of instructional videos that can help students engage with the learning, from which students stand a much better chance of internalizing the learning. Recommendation for Researchers: For researchers, the absence of existing research is an exciting opportunity to further explore this field. Impact on Society: Online learning is now globally endemic, but it poses specific challenges in the field of second language learning, so the development of instructional videos that can facilitate this represents a clear benefit to all ESL learners in society as a whole. Future Research: Clearly the absence of existing research into whether online asynchronous instructional videos can act as an aid to internalizing the acquisition of English as a second language would indicate that this very specific field is one that merits future research. Indeed, it is one that the author intends to exploit through primary data collection from the production of a series of asynchronous, online, instructional videos.

Aim/Purpose: The goal of the study was to examine the perceptions of senior academic staff who also serve as policymakers in Israeli colleges of education, regarding the integration of technology in teacher education, and the shift to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is little research on this issue and consequently, the aim of the present study is to fill this lacuna. Background: In Israel, senior academic staff in colleges of education play a particularly important role in formulating institutional policies and vision regarding the training of preservice teachers. They fulfil administrative functions, teach, and engage in research as part of their academic position. During the Covid-19, they led the shift to online learning. However, there is little research on their perceptions of technology integration in teacher education in general, and during the Covid-19, in particular. Methodology: This qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 senior academic staff from 13 academic colleges of education in Israel. Contribution: The study has practical implications for the implementation of technology in teacher education, suggesting the importance of establishing open discourse and collaboration between college stakeholders to enable enactment of a vision for equity-that allows programs to move swiftly from crisis-management to innovation and transformation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings: The findings obtained from content analysis of the interviews reveals a central concept: “On both sides of the divide”, and points of intersection in the perceptions of the senior academic staff. The central concept encompassed three themes: (1) centralization - between top-down and bottom-up policies, (2) between innovation and conservation, and (3) between crisis and growth. The findings indicate that in times of crisis, the polarity surrounding issues essential to the organisation’s operation is reduced, and a blend is formed to create a new reality in which the various dichotomies merge. Recommendations for Practitioners: The study has practical implications for the scope of discussions on the implementation of technology in teacher education (formulating a vision and policies, and their translation into practice), suggesting that such discussions should consider the perceptions of policymakers. Recommendation for Researchers: The findings reflect the challenges faced by senior academic staff at colleges of education that reflect the ongoing attempts to negotiate and reconcile different concerns. Impact on Society: The findings have implications for colleges of education that are responsible for pre-service teachers' teaching practices. Future Research: An enacted vision for equity-based educator preparation that allows programs to move swiftly from crisis-management to innovation and transformation. Future research might reveal a more complete picture by investigating a broader spectrum of stakeholders both in Israel and elsewhere. Hence, future research should examine the power relations between senior college staff and external bodies such as the Higher Education Council (which determines higher education policies in Israel).

Aim/Purpose: This study seeks to present a learning model of discrete mathematics elements, elucidate the content of teaching, and validate the effectiveness of this learning in a digital education context. Background: Teaching discrete mathematics in the realm of digital education poses challenges, particularly in crafting the optimal model, content, tools, and methods tailored for aspiring computer science teachers. The study draws from both a comprehensive review of relevant literature and the synthesis of the authors’ pedagogical experiences. Methodology: The research utilized a system-activity approach and aligned with the State Educational Standard. It further integrated the theory of continuous education as its psychological and pedagogical foundation. Contribution: A unique model for instructing discrete mathematics elements to future computer science educators has been proposed. This model is underpinned by informative, technological, and personal competencies, intertwined with the mathematical bedrock of computer science. Findings: The study revealed the importance of holistic teaching of discrete mathematics elements for computer science teacher aspirants in line with the Informatics educational programs. An elective course, “Elements of Discrete Mathematics in Computer Science”, comprising three modules, was outlined. Practical examples spotlighting elements of mathematical logic and graph theory of discrete mathematics in programming and computer science were showcased. Recommendations for Practitioners: Future computer science educators should deeply integrate discrete mathematics elements in their teaching methodologies, especially when aligning with professional disciplines of the Informatics educational program. Recommendation for Researchers: Further exploration is recommended on the seamless integration of discrete mathematics elements in diverse computer science curricula, optimizing for varied learning outcomes and student profiles. Impact on Society: Enhancing the quality of teaching discrete mathematics to future computer science teachers can lead to better-educated professionals, driving advancements in the tech industry and contributing to societal progress. Future Research: There is scope to explore the wider applications of the discrete mathematics elements model in varied computer science sub-disciplines, and its adaptability across different educational frameworks.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to explore the value of utilizing non-immersive virtual reality (VR) to create virtual learning environments (VLEs) to support and prepare optometry students in their transition into preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. Background: Digital education is widely integrated into university curricula with the use of online simulators, immersive VR, and other digital technologies to support student learning. This study focuses on non-immersive VR as an accessible and low-friction means of accessing VLEs to reduce students’ learning burden. Methodology: Current optometry students were invited to explore 360° 3D panoramic virtual learning environments of preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. Students were recruited to participate in an online Qualtrics survey and individual semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed, and thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative data from students’ responses to identify key takeaways on the accessibility and impact of VLEs on students’ learning. Contribution: Non-immersive VR has utility in alleviating student stress and helping transition students into practicum. The VLEs have the means to supplement the curriculum to provide support to students entering the preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. Findings: Students engaged voluntarily with the novel VLEs and utilized the resources to help familiarize themselves with the preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. The open-access resource supported students in their preparation for practical learning and helped to reduce self-reported stress and build confidence prior to entering practical classes. Many of the students enjoyed the experience of navigating through the spaces, which helped to appease their curiosity and reduce the learning curve associated with entering new spaces. The VLEs did not replace attending practical spaces but rather were supportive learning resources that aided students due to limited face-to-face contact hours. For students with existing familiarity with the spaces, through their in-person attendance in pre-clinical and clinical teaching sessions prior to accessing the VLEs, the digital resources were not as beneficial compared to students who were still transitioning into practicum. Recommendations for Practitioners: Introductory digital resources like non-immersive VR are accessible platforms that help to orient and familiarize students with new environments. VLEs can potentially help to relieve student stress and reduce the learning load associated with entering practicum or new learning spaces. Recommendation for Researchers: More work needs to be done on how student preparation can translate to feeling less stressed and more confident in relation to transitioning from traditional learning environments to practical learning spaces. Impact on Society: A broader application of non-immersive VR can be implemented as an introductory learning preparation tool across different disciplines to alleviate student stress and maximize the limited time in practicum to allow focus on learning outcomes and practical skills. Future Research: Future studies should consider different cohorts to study, with a focus on objective measures of engagement with VLEs. The effect of VLEs on students’ cognitive load should be assessed and assessment of self-perceived stress can be evaluated with instruments such as Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale.

Aim/Purpose: This paper describes a technologies education model for introducing Simulation Learning and Extended Reality (XR) solution creation skills and knowledge to students at the tertiary education level, which is broadly applicable to higher education-based contexts of teaching and learning. Background: This work is made possible via the model’s focus on advancing knowledge and understanding of a range of digital resources, and the processes and production skills to teach and produce playable educational digital content, including classroom practice and applications. Methodology: Through practice-based learning and technology as an enabler, to inform the development of this model, we proposed a mixed-mode project-based approach of study within a transdisciplinary course for Higher Education students from the first year through to the post-graduate level. Contribution: An argument is also presented for the utility of this model for upskilling Pre-service Teachers’ (PSTs) pedagogical content knowledge in Technologies, which is especially relevant to the Australian curriculum context and will be broadly applicable to various educative and non-Australian settings. Findings: Supported by practice-based research, work samples and digital projects of Simulation Learning and XR developed by the authors are demonstrated to ground the discussion in examples; the discussion that is based around some of the challenges and the technical considerations, and the scope of teaching digital solutions creation is provided. Recommendations for Practitioners: We provide a flexible technologies teaching and learning model for determining content for inclusion in a course designed to provide introductory Simulation Learning and XR solution creation skills and knowledge. Recommendation for Researchers: The goal was to provide key criteria and an outline that can be adapted by academic researchers and learning designers in various higher education-based contexts of teaching and inclusive learning design focused on XR. Impact on Society: We explore how educators work with entities in various settings and contexts with different priorities, and how we recognise expertise beyond the institutional interests, beyond discipline, and explore ‘what is possible’ through digital technologies for social good and inclusivity. Future Research: The next step for this research is to investigate and explore how XR and Simulation Learning could be utilised to accelerate student learning in STEM and HASS disciplines, to promote knowledge retention and a higher level of technology-enhanced learning engagement.

Aim/Purpose: The teaching of appropriate problem-solving techniques to novice learners in undergraduate software development education is often poorly defined when compared to the delivery of programming techniques. Given the global need for qualified designers of information technology, the purpose of this research is to produce a foundational template for an educational software development methodology grounded in the established literature. This template can be used by third-level educators and researchers to develop robust educational methodologies to cultivate structured problem solving and software development habits in their students while systematically teaching the intricacies of software creation. Background: While software development methodologies are a standard approach to structured and traceable problem solving in commercial software development, educational methodologies for inexperienced learners remain a neglected area of research due to their assumption of prior programming knowledge. This research aims to address this deficit by conducting an integrative review to produce a template for such a methodology. Methodology: An integrative review was conducted on the key components of Teaching Software Development Education, Problem Solving, Threshold Concepts, and Computational Thinking. Systematic reviews were conducted on Computational Thinking and Software Development Education by employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) process. Narrative reviews were conducted on Problem Solving and Threshold Concepts. Contribution: This research provides a comprehensive analysis of problem solving, software development education, computational thinking, and threshold concepts in computing in the context of undergraduate software development education. It also synthesizes review findings from these four areas and combines them to form a research-based foundational template methodology for use by educators and researchers interested in software development undergraduate education. Findings: This review identifies seven skills and four concepts required by novice learners. The skills include the ability to perform abstraction, data representation, decomposition, evaluation, mental modeling, pattern recognition, and writing algorithms. The concepts include state and sequential flow, non-sequential flow control, modularity, and object interaction. The teaching of these skills and concepts is combined into a spiral learning framework and is joined by four development stages to guide software problem solving: understanding the problem, breaking into tasks, designing, coding, testing, and integrating, and final evaluation and reflection. This produces the principal finding, which is a research-based foundational template for educational software development methodologies. Recommendations for Practitioners: Focusing introductory undergraduate computing courses on a programming syllabus without giving adequate support to problem solving may hinder students in their attainment of development skills. Therefore, providing a structured methodology is necessary as it equips students with essential problem-solving skills and ensures they develop good development practices from the start, which is crucial to ensuring undergraduate success in their studies and beyond. Recommendation for Researchers: The creation of educational software development methodologies with tool support is an under-researched area in undergraduate education. The template produced by this research can serve as a foundational conceptual model for researchers to create concrete tools to better support computing undergraduates. Impact on Society: Improving the educational value and experience of software development undergraduates is crucial for society once they graduate. They drive innovation and economic growth by creating new technologies, improving efficiency in various industries, and solving complex problems. Future Research: Future research should concentrate on using the template produced by this research to create a concrete educational methodology adapted to suit a specific programming paradigm, with an associated learning tool that can be used with first-year computing undergraduates.

Aim/Purpose: To conduct a needs assessment and subsequently create micro-storytelling media aimed at enhancing the Digital Intelligence Quotient (DQ) skills of young individuals. Background: In today's digital society, DQ has emerged as a vital skill that elevates individuals in all aspects of life, from daily living to education. To empower Thai youth, this study seeks to innovate DQ content by adapting it into a digital format known as micro-storytelling. This unique approach combines the art of storytelling with digital elements, creating engaging and effective micro-learning media Methodology: The methodology comprises three phases: 1) assessing the need for digital micro-storytelling development; 2) developing digital micro-storytelling; and 3) evaluating the DQ skills among young individuals. The sample group consisted of 55 higher education learners for needs assessment and 30 learners in the experiment group. Data analysis involves PNI modified, mean, and standard deviation. Contribution: This research contributes by addressing the urgent need for DQ skills in the digital era and by providing a practical solution in the form of digital micro-storytelling, tailored to the preferences and needs of Thai youth. It serves as a valuable resource for educators and policymakers seeking to empower young learners with essential digital competencies. Findings: The findings demonstrate three significant outcomes: 1) The learners wanted to organize their own learning experience with self-paced learning in a digital landscape, and they preferred digital media in the form of video. They were most interested in developing DQ to enhance their understanding of digital safety, digital security, and digital literacy; 2) according to a consensus of experts, digital micro-storytelling has the greatest degree of quality in terms of its development, content, and utilization, with an overall average of 4.86; and 3) the overall findings of the assessment of DQ skills indicate a favorable level of proficiency. Recommendations for Practitioners: Align materials with micro-learning principles, keeping content concise for effective knowledge retention. Empower students to personalize their digital learning and promote self-paced exploration based on their interests. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should continuously assess and update digital learning materials to align with the evolving digital landscape and the changing needs of students and investigate the long-term effects of DQ improvement, especially in terms of online safety and digital literacy in students' future lives and careers. Impact on Society: This study's impact on society is centered around fostering a DQ, promoting innovative educational approaches, and elevating Thai youth with essential digital skills. It contributes to a safer, more informed, and digitally literate generation prepared for the challenges of the digital era. Future Research: Undertake comparative studies to analyze the effectiveness of different digital learning formats and methodologies. Comparing micro-storytelling with other approaches can help identify the most efficient and engaging methods for enhancing DQ.

In today's world, malware has become a part and threat to our computer systems. All electronic devices are very susceptible/vulnerable to various threats like different types of malware. There is one subset of malware called ransomware, which is majorly used to have large financial gains. The attacker asks for a ransom amount to regain access to the system/data. When dynamic technique using machine learning is used, it is very important to select the correct set of features for the detection of a ransomware attack. In this paper, we present two novel algorithms for the detection of ransomware attacks. The first algorithm is used to assign the time stamp to the features (API calls) for the ordering and second is used for the ordering and ranking of the features for the early detection of a ransomware attack.

This study focuses on the importance of monitoring student attendance in education and the challenges faced by educators in doing so. Existing methods for attendance tracking have drawbacks, including high costs, long processing times, and inaccuracies, while security and privacy concerns have often been overlooked. To address these issues, the authors present a novel internet of things (IoT)-based self-lecture attendance system (SLAS) that leverages smartphones and QR codes. This system effectively addresses security and privacy concerns while providing streamlined attendance tracking. It offers several advantages such as compact size, affordability, scalability, and flexible features for teachers and students. Empirical research conducted in a live lecture setting demonstrates the efficacy and precision of the SLAS system. The authors believe that their system will be valuable for educational institutions aiming to streamline attendance tracking while ensuring security and privacy.

Nostalgia has an intrinsic association with consumer behaviour. Retrieval of memories drives emotions among consumers and reinforces experience-led buying decisions. Despite nostalgia, and consumption being a common practice at various times in life, issues regarding the nostalgia stimuli on customers' perceptions and buying decisions remain less explored. This article aims at exploring the consumption pattern of adult consumers by analysing the influence of nostalgic behaviour referring to the autobiographic memories and social motivations. It describes the purchase intentions and consumption pattern among adult consumers in the context of self-reference criteria based on nostalgic memories and social motivations. This article offers constructive understanding on establishing relationship between nostalgic memories and consumption pattern over the temporal framework and establishing the brand loyalty and hedonic satisfaction. It contributes to the existing literature by critically examining the theoretical concepts and empirical findings of previous studies on perceptions of consumers on nostalgic emotions and their role in making buying decisions.

Smart home devices are vulnerable to various attacks, including distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Current detection techniques face challenges due to nonlinear thought, unusual system traffic, and the fluctuating data flow caused by human activities and device interactions. Identifying the baseline for 'normal' traffic and suspicious activities like DDoS attacks from encrypted data is also challenging due to the encrypted protective layer. This work introduces a concept called synoptic crow search with recurrent transformer network-based DDoS attack detection, which uses the synoptic weighted crow search algorithm to capture varying traffic patterns and prioritise critical information handling. An adaptive recurrent transformer neural network is introduced to effectively regulate DDoS attacks within encrypted data, counting the historical context of the data flow. The proposed model shows effective performance in terms of low false alarm rate, higher detection rate, and accuracy.

Action recognition plays a vital role in analysing human body behaviour and has significant implications for research and education. However, traditional recognition methods often suffer from issues such as inaccurate time and spatial feature vectors. Therefore, this study addresses the problem of inaccurate recognition of aerobic gymnastics action image data and proposes a visualised three-dimensional convolutional neural network algorithm-based action recognition model. This model incorporates unsupervised visualisation methods into the traditional network and enhances data recognition capabilities through the introduction of a random noise perturbation enhancement algorithm. The research results indicate that the data augmented with noise perturbation achieves the lowest mean square error, reducing the error value from 0.3352 to 0.3095. The use of unsupervised visualisation analysis enables clearer recognition of human actions, and the algorithm model is capable of accurately recognising aerobic movements. Compared to traditional algorithms, the new algorithm exhibits higher recognition accuracy and superior performance.

This paper explores innovative ideas and strategies for promoting environmental sustainability within the hotel industry, with the goal of streamlining these concepts for practical application in the industry and facilitating future academic research. The research methodology encompassed extensive online desk research, yielding a collection of 87 articles that were subject to thorough analysis. Additionally, personal consultations were conducted with industry experts to align their insights with the identified innovative ideas. To facilitate comprehension, appropriate terminology was assigned to these concepts. Subsequently, a post-discussion phase was conducted, engaging in one-on-one sessions with five industry experts to distil these insights into four distinct directions. This paper holds potential value for both industry stakeholders and academics, serving as a structured compendium of ideas and innovations crucial for advancing sustainability in the hotel sector. Moreover, it provides a solid foundation for further academic research.

This study examines the relationships between ICTs (e.g., chatbots, virtual assistants, social media platforms, e-mail marketing, mobile marketing, data analytics, interactive voice response, big data analytics, push notifications, cloud computing, and augmented reality) and e-customer relationship management (e-CRM) from the banking industry of China. Similarly, this study unfolds the moderation interference of trust and risk between the association of ICTs and e-CRM, respectively. The study provided a positive nexus between ICTs and e-CRM. On the other side, a significant moderation of trust, as well as financial risk was observed between the correlation of ICTs and customer relationship management. This study endows with insights into ICTs which are critical for achieving e-CRM by streamlining interactions and enhancing their experience. Similarly, trust and financial risk were observed as potential forces that sway the association between ICTs and e-CRM.

The world is transitioning towards the digitalisation of everyday tasks significantly. The impact of digital literacy on technological usage is immense. The awareness and utilisation of the digital India schemes are needed to determine unorganised retailers' overall satisfaction with digitalisation and technological usage. The chief motive of this research is to assess and analyse digital literacy in terms of technology usage and the awareness cum utilisation level of the various digital India schemes proposed by the Government of India for unorganised retailers. The conceptual framework consists of the factors such as digital literacy and digital India schemes that determine the overall satisfaction of retailers with technology usage. The corresponding results of the study synthesised the impact of digital literacy, digital India schemes, and the awareness cum utilisation level of technology among unorganised retailers based on recommendations to enhance the performance of the unorganised retail sector.

This research investigates the correlation between risk management and supply chain performance (SCP) along with moderation of AI-embedded technologies such as big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, and blockchain technologies. To calculate the results, this study utilised 644 questionnaires through the structural equation modelling (SEM) method. It is revealed using SmartPls that financial risk management (FRM) is positively linked with SCP. Second, it was observed that AI significantly moderates the connection between FRM and SCP. In addition, the study presents certain insights into supply chain and AI-enabled technologies and how these capabilities can beneficially advance SCP. Besides, certain implications, both managerial and theoretical are described for the supply chain managers along with limitations for future scholars of the world.

This study explores the connection between mentorship and sustainable development (SD) within three major perspectives of sustainable development, such as social, environmental, and economic perspectives from China. Second, the study revealed the relationship between entrepreneurship and SD. Third, a moderation influence of innovation management (IM) was observed among the proposed nexuses of mentorship, entrepreneurship, and SD. To this end, a total of 535 questionnaires were eventually utilised with the support of SmartPLS and the structure equation modelling (SEM) approach. A positive connection was confirmed between mentorship and SD. The outcome uncovered a positive correlation between entrepreneurship and SD. In addition, a moderation of IM was found between mentorship, entrepreneurship, and SD. The study enlists several interesting lines about mentorship, entrepreneurship, and IM that might help to improve SD in terms of social, environmental, and economic perspectives. Besides, the study provides various implications for management and states the weaknesses along with the future directions for worldly researchers.

The traditional numerical simulation method of financial fluctuation cycle does not focus on the study of non-linear financial fluctuation but has problems such as high numerical simulation error and long time. To solve this problem, this paper introduces the non-linear equation of motion to optimise the numerical simulation method of financial fluctuation cycle. A comprehensive analysis of the components of the financial market, the establishment of a financial market network model and the acquisition of relevant financial data under the support of the model. Based on the collection of financial data, set up financial volatility index, measuring cycle, the financial wobbles, to establish the non-linear equations of motion, the financial wobbles, the influence factors of the financial volatility cycle as variables in the equation of motion, through the analysis of different influence factors under the action of financial volatility cycle change rule, it is concluded that the final financial fluctuation cycle, the results of numerical simulation. The simulation results show that, compared with the traditional method, the numerical simulation of the proposed method has high precision, low error and short time, which provides relatively accurate reference data for the stable development of regional economy.

This article presents a case study that outlines the potential of DigiBot technology, an interactive automated response program, in mobile open learning (MOL) for business subjects. The study, which draws on a project implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrates the applications of DigiBots delivered via WhatsApp to over 650,000 learners. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the article reports on live event tracking, qualitative observations from facilitators and learning technologists, and a learner survey (<i>N</i> = 304,000). The research offers practical recommendations and proposes a model for scalable DigiBot learning. Findings reveal that in this case, DigiBot MOL had the potential to effectively address two key obstacles in open learning: accessibility and scalability. Leveraging mobile platforms such as WhatsApp mitigates accessibility restrictions, particularly in resource-constrained contexts, while tailored micro-learning enhances scalability.

Aiming to improve the accuracy, recall, and F1 value of data classification, this paper proposes an applied university innovation and entrepreneurship data classification method based on the nearest neighbour criterion. Firstly, the decision tree algorithm is used to mine innovation and entrepreneurship data from applied universities. Then, dynamic weight is introduced to improve the similarity calculation method based on edit distance, and the improved method is used to realise data de-duplication to avoid data over fitting. Finally, the nearest neighbour criterion method is used to classify applied university innovation and entrepreneurship data, and cosine similarity is used to calculate the similarity between the samples to be classified and each sample in the training data, achieving data classification. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a maximum accuracy of 96.5% and an average F1 score of 0.91. These findings indicate a high level of accuracy, recall, and F1 value for data classification using the proposed method.

The value and utility of traditional knowledge in conserving and commercialising genetic resources are increasingly becoming apparent due to advances in biotechnology and bioprospecting. However, the absence of an international legally binding instrument within the WIPO system means that traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is not sufficiently protected like other forms of intellectual property. This means that indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) do not benefit from the commercial exploitation of these resources. The efficacy of domestic tools to protect traditional knowledge and in balancing the rights of IPLCs and intellectual property rights (IPRs) is still debated. This paper employs a doctrinal research methodology based on desktop research of international and regional law instruments and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, to determine the basis for balancing the protection of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge with competing interests of IPLCs and IPRs in South Africa.

Presently, there are many existing academic studies on the development, protection and operation of intellectual property management (IPM). Therefore, provides a comprehensive econometric analysis in order to provide scholars, with a clearer understanding of the evolution and development of IP management research during 2000 to 2022. The study is aiming to help scholars to better discern the expanding IPM research field from a multidimensional perspective. The database used for this analysis is the Web of Science Core Collection database. After retrieval through keywords and using a variety of tools such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Bibliometrix and HistCite, 1033 documents were refined to conduct the econometric analysis, and produce graphs. The findings indicate that the US is a highly active country/region in the field IP management research, and its expanding IP management research is branching out into other disciplines. The study also presents the future directions and possible challenges for IPM in technology management.

Under the current framework of police online teaching, in order to effectively solve the lack of high-quality resources of the traditional platform, backward sharing technology, poor performance of the digital platform and the privacy problems faced by each subject in sharing. This paper designs and implements the online teaching platform based on blockchain and interplanetary file system (IPFS). Based on the architecture of a 'decentralised' police online teaching platform, the platform uses blockchain to store hashes of encrypted private information and user-set access control policies, while the real private information is stored in IPFS after encryption. In the realisation of privacy information security storage at the same time to ensure the effective control of the user's own information. In order to achieve flexible rights management, the system classifies private information. In addition, the difficulties of police online teaching and training reform in the era of big data are solved one by one from the aspects of communication mode, storage facilities, incentive mechanism and confidentiality system, which effectively improves the stability and security of police online teaching.

In order to improve the identification accuracy, accuracy and time-consuming of traditional financial risk identification methods, this paper proposes a risk identification method for financial abnormal data based on weighted random forest. Firstly, SMOTE algorithm is used to collect abnormal financial data; secondly, the original accounting data is decomposed into features, and the features of abnormal data are extracted through random forests; then, the index weight is calculated according to the entropy weight method; finally, the negative gradient fitting is used to determine the loss function, and the weighted random forest method is used to solve the loss function value, and the recognition result is obtained. The results show that the identification accuracy of this method can reach 99.9%, the accuracy rate can reach 96.06%, and the time consumption is only 6.8 seconds, indicating that the risk identification effect of this method is good.

In view of the low evaluation accuracy of the effectiveness of cross-border e-commerce supply chain innovation model and the low correlation coefficient of innovation model influencing factors, the evaluation method of cross-border e-commerce supply chain innovation model based on blockchain technology is studied. First, analyse the operation mode of cross-border e-commerce supply chain, and determine the key factors affecting the innovation mode; Then, the comprehensive integration weighting method is used to analyse the factors affecting innovation and calculate the weight value; Finally, the blockchain technology is introduced to build an evaluation model for the supply chain innovation model and realise the evaluation of the cross-border e-commerce supply chain innovation model. The experimental results show that the evaluation accuracy of the proposed method is high, and the highest correlation coefficient of the influencing factors of innovation mode is about 0.99, which is feasible.

In order to overcome the problems of low efficiency, low user satisfaction and poor customer growth rate under the traditional marketing strategy, this paper studies the innovative strategy of mobile payment business marketing strategy under the internet environment. First of all, study the status quo of mobile payment business marketing in the internet environment, obtain mobile payment business data through questionnaire survey, and analyse the problems in mobile payment business marketing. Secondly, build a user profile of mobile payment business marketing, and classify user attributes, consumption characteristics and user activity through K-means clustering method; Finally, the marketing strategy is innovated from three aspects: product marketing, pricing marketing and channel marketing. The results show that the marketing benefit after the application of this strategy is 19.52 million yuan, the user satisfaction can reach 98.9%, and the customer growth rate can reach 21.3%, improving the marketing benefit of mobile payment business.

Using information criteria is a common method for making a decision about which model to use for forecasting. There are many different methods for evaluating forecasting models, such as MAE, RMSE, MAPE, and Theil-U, among others. After the creation of AIC, AICc, HQ, BIC, and BICc, the two criteria that have become the most popular and commonly utilised are Bayesian IC and Akaike's IC. In this investigation, we are innovative in our use of exponential weighting to get the log-likelihood of the information criteria for model selection, which means that we propose assigning greater weight to more recent data in order to reflect their increased precision. All research data is from the major stock markets' daily observations, which include the USA (GSPC, DJI), Europe (FTSE 100, AEX, and FCHI), and Asia (Nikkei).

As more institutions continue to work with large and diverse type of content for their digital repositories, there is an inherent need to evaluate, prototype, and implement user-friendly websites -regardless of the digital files' size, format, location or the content management system in use. This article aims to provide an overview of the need and current development of Document Viewers for digitized objects in DSpace repositories -includign a local viewer developed for an newspaper collection and four other viewers currently implemented in DSpace repositories. According to the DSpace Registry, 22% of institutions are currently storing "Images" in their repositories and 21% are using DSpace for non-traditional IR content such as: Image Repository, Subject Repository, Museum Cultural, or Learning Resources. The combination of current technologies such as Djatoka Image Server, IIPImage Server, DjVu Libre, and the Internet Archive BookReader, as well as the growing number of digital repositories hosting digitized content, suggests that the DSpace community will probably benefit with an "out-of-the-box" Document Viewer, especially one for large, high-resolution, and multi-page objects.