Integration of Educational Technologies to Support Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Exploring Innovations, Challenges, and Best Practices

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 May 2024) | Viewed by 2987

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Education, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: higher education; educational technology; higher education teacher education; computing education; leadership of teaching and learning

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Education, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: higher education; educational technology; digital learning; digital literacy; collaborative and integrative teaching and learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue offers a forum for researchers interested in research on educational technologies in teaching and studying in higher education. The Issue aims at strengthening and clarifying pedagogical reasoning and theories/frameworks that guide the use and development of educational technologies. We are open to wide definitions of educational technology. We are looking for papers that have a strong pedagogical focus and study teachers’, students’, or higher education institutions’ point of view of utilizing or developing educational technologies. For this Special Issue, we welcome original research on a wide range of topics, but the following ones are of particular interest:

  • Papers that discuss teachers’ pedagogical reasoning behind using educational technology in teaching;
  • Teachers’ or students’ educational technology competencies and the development of such competencies;
  • Institution wide educational technology related initiatives;
  • Papers promoting dialogue between theory, pedagogy, and practice.

Theory-informed empirical studies or studies that aim to build or revise a theory, framework, or model are especially welcomed. We hope to receive both qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method studies. Review papers as well as theoretical research papers are also welcomed. Purely descriptive papers will not be accepted. For empirical papers, we ask the authors to include a section on practical implications and recommendations for teaching and learning either on an individual class level or institution level.

This Special Issue has a two-step submission process: first, we invite the authors to submit a 300–400-word structured abstract by the 5th of February 2024, then the guest editors will request full paper submissions based on the accepted abstracts. The deadline for full paper submissions is the 27th of May, 2024.

If you are interested in offering an article for this Special Issue, please write a structured abstract (300–400 words) that includes:

  • Tentative title;
  • Aims of the study;
  • Background and theoretical framework;
  • Research questions;
  • Data and research methods;
  • Tentative results and conclusions;
  • Tentative practical implications on teaching and learning;
  • Keywords (approximately 5–8).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Päivi Kin­nunen
Dr. Veera Kallunki
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • educational technology
  • higher education
  • pedagogical reasoning
  • educational technology competencies
  • dialogue between theory, pedagogy, and practice

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4028 KiB  
Article
The Perceptions of University Students as to the Benefits and Barriers to Using Immersive Virtual Reality in Learning to Work with Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
by Nicole Luke, Avery Keith, Nicole Bajcar, Brittney Sureshkumar and Oluwakemi Adebayo
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 812; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14080812 - 25 Jul 2024
Viewed by 819
Abstract
The aim of this study is to understand the experiences of university students who took part in a pilot program for an experiential learning opportunity in immersive virtual reality (iVR). Experiential learning opportunities are essential for students who will be expected to apply [...] Read more.
The aim of this study is to understand the experiences of university students who took part in a pilot program for an experiential learning opportunity in immersive virtual reality (iVR). Experiential learning opportunities are essential for students who will be expected to apply their knowledge in a professional setting. Head-mounted display devices were distributed to university students and individuals with developmental disabilities at a partnering community organization. The university students met community partners in a virtual world and interacted with them to learn about their partners’ self-selected goals related to communication and job skills. A mixed methods analysis of survey responses and journal entries was conducted. Students reported an overall positive experience with iVR and indicated an interest in pursuing future opportunities to include iVR in their learning. Full article
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18 pages, 769 KiB  
Article
Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Teaching and Learning: University Faculty and Staff Perceptions of the Artificial Intelligence-Altered Terrain
by Veera Kallunki, Päivi Kinnunen, Eeva Pyörälä, Anne Haarala-Muhonen, Nina Katajavuori and Liisa Myyry
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(7), 727; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070727 - 3 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1578
Abstract
This study examines the perspectives of university faculty and staff regarding the influence of artificial intelligence on the higher education teaching and learning landscape following the global launch of free-to-use OpenAI ChatGPT in the autumn of 2022. The participants were 79 university faculty [...] Read more.
This study examines the perspectives of university faculty and staff regarding the influence of artificial intelligence on the higher education teaching and learning landscape following the global launch of free-to-use OpenAI ChatGPT in the autumn of 2022. The participants were 79 university faculty and staff from diverse academic fields across all campuses of a multidisciplinary university in Finland. The data were collected in two phases in May–June 2023 and in March 2024, with focus group interviews and Learning Café discussions. The results showed that AI has a broad impact on teaching and studying in higher education. Six main categories were identified: (1) the impact of AI on students’ learning processes, (2) the impact of AI on teaching, (3) the knowledge required of future employees and the impact of AI on them, (4) ethical and economic issues, (5) the development of AI or its use in the future, and (6) the nature of the change brought about by artificial intelligence. AI is already making inroads into higher education, and participants underscored its dual impact on teaching and learning, highlighting both opportunities and challenges. While teachers recognized AI’s potential to enhance teaching and assessment methods, they also acknowledged the need to adapt their courses accordingly. They expressed concerns about understanding AI’s impact on students’ learning processes and their own contributions to learning assignments. The participants emphasized the necessity of providing support and training for teachers to ensure AI is meaningfully and effectively integrated into teaching and learning practices and landscapes. Full article
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