Square Talks®: A Mobile App to Support EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Development

In recent years, mobile-based game language learning has proliferated due to its promising prospects and positive impacts in improving teaching and learning outcomes in English vocabulary development. With this phenomenon, Square Talks® was developed specifically to aid EFL beginner learners with their English vocabulary. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the game app in developing the learners’ English vocabulary development. This study employed a quantitative approach focusing on 34 EFL beginner learners. The focus has been on how effective the game app was statistically and overall experience of using the game app. Data were collected through vocabulary tests and a survey. The test results showed that Square Talks® has improved the subjects’ English vocabulary development with the t-value of the test results is -19.93 indicating a significant effect in increasing the subjects’ English vocabulary development. The survey result revealed positive acceptance toward playing Square Talks® in terms of effectiveness (4.49), usability (4.34), and satisfaction (4.52). Therefore, Square Talks® can be considered to be an alternative learning tool to facilitate EFL beginner learners’ vocabulary development.

Data in Schools: (Changing) Practices and Blind Spots at a Glance

This review aims to provide a concise overview of the role of (digital) data and new data practices in schools. By focusing on the impact of data on pedagogical practices, it aims to shed light on how the everyday tasks of teachers and other pedagogical staff in schools are changing, particularly as a result of the generation and use of digital data. For this purpose, existing studies and previous theoretical debates on this topic are examined for their perspectives on data and data practices in schools. The pedagogical data practices of (improving) teaching and learning, assessment and counseling, (data-driven) decision-making, and cooperation and collaboration by “doing data” will be elaborated and discussed. Likewise, data practices that are missing from the studies are identified. We conclude with an overview of blind spots and further research needs.

Technology giants, educational policy and a preliminary mapping of networks and channels of influence in a Norwegian context

The article looks at the debate regarding the influence of the technology giants on educational policy. What strategies have existed on the part of the technology giants? Who have been the major actors within education? What kind of relations and networks have been established? The first part of the article focuses on relevant research internationally showing that the technology giants have taken the lead and that their objectives are to develop new long-term policy agendas. The development has been significantly intensified and to some extent changed during the pandemic. This has resulted in the emergence of new multisector coalitions and more complex networks which have potentially profound pedagogical implications. The second part accounts for a preliminary mapping of networks and channels of influence in a Norwegian context. Despite the differences between countries, political and educational systems, traditions and values, there are a number of the similarities in the field of educational technology. These include on a general level how the use of new technology is valued as a way of improving teaching and learning, but also how networks and relations are developed and function. The project that precedes the article is based on literature studies and inspired by network ethnographic approaches.

Value-Added Estimates of Teacher Effectiveness: Measurement, Uses, and Limitations

Since the turn of the 21st century, an abundant body of research has demonstrated that teachers meaningfully contribute to their students’ learning but that teachers vary widely in their effectiveness. Measures of teachers’ “value added” to student achievement have become common, and sometimes controversial, tools for researchers and policymakers hoping to identify and differentiate teachers’ individual contributions to student learning. Value-added measures aim to identify how much more a given teacher’s students learn than what would be expected based on how much other, similar students learn with other teachers. The question of how to measure value added without substantial measurement error and without incorrectly capturing other factors outside of teachers’ control is complex and sometime illusory, and the advantages and drawbacks to any particular method of estimating teachers’ value added depend on the specific context and purpose for their use. Traditionally, researchers have calculated value-added scores only for the subset of teachers with students in tested grades and subjects—a relatively small proportion of the teaching force, in a narrow set of the many domains on which teachers may influence their students. More recently, researchers have created value-added estimates for a range of other student outcomes, including measures of students’ engagement and social-emotional learning such as attendance and behavioral incidences, which may be available for more teachers. Overall, teacher value-added measures can be useful tools for understanding and improving teaching and learning, but they have substantial limitations for many uses and contexts.

An Investigation on the Preference Approach in Experiencing Open and Distance Learning Methods

Open and distance learning (ODL) has become an alternative in teaching and learning (T&L) while the COVID-19 pandemic crisis struck the world globally in December 2019. However, the preferred tool and platform to be chosen in the transition period among students remain uncertain. The purpose of this study was to assess and investigate the effect of T&L preference techniques and technologies chosen by employing ODL in universities during the pandemic. This research adopted a descriptive approach and a quantitative survey was used to collect the necessary data. The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions and was separated into two parts: demographic information and undergraduate students' preference towards online class technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four themes and 16 sub-themes were identified in the set of questions in the survey. The results of the analysis revealed that ODL is the preferred method with WhatsApp social media platform as the medium for communication between educators and learners. Educators might consider devoting additional attention to improving teaching and learning practices in open and distance learning in choosing the right approaches and platform to be used through online and offline classes.