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Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2016
Description: This study investigates undergraduate perceptions of the social media technologies (SMTs) they use in their learning. This mixed methods inquiry employed 30 semi-structured interviews and an online survey (N = 679) to explore why and how undergraduates from across disciplines view SMTs to be a meaningful part of their university learning. Findings shed new insights into student perspectives on and uses of social media, and the variety of ways in which undergraduates intentionally choose (or, choose not) to incorporate social media into their university learning in meaningful ways. Student perceptions formed an overarching theme of social media as a double-edged sword that both informs and...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2020-03-23
Description: Universities across Canada and the world have been working to rapidly move their face-to-face classes to remote delivery. While digital technologies enable people to work and learn from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, this huge task of seeking to meet particular learning objectives while going online ultimately falls to the people-the educators and students-who are behind the screens. My research on educational technologies and social media in higher education shows how human connections and meaningful interactions are an essential part of the learning process, especially online. As teachers and instructors shift to a digital environment, remembering our human capacities and...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2013
Description: Over the past decade, Prensky’s distinctions between “digital immigrants” and “digital natives” have been oft-referenced. Much has been written about digital native students as a part of the Net generation or as Millennials. However, little work fully considers the impact of digital immigrant discourse within the fields of adult learning and continuing education. It is promising that rather than being digitally challenged immigrants for whom new learning technologies are completely foreign, adults of different ages can bring valuable knowledge and skills to e-learning environments that enable them to achieve academic success. These are important findings, since e-learning is increasingly...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith; Renate Kahlke; Terry Judd
Date issued: 2018
Description: This diagram illustrates three interconnected domains of digital literacy (procedural and technical, cognitive, and sociocultural). Please cite this diagram as: Smith, E. E., Kahlke, R. & Judd, T. (2018). Domains of digital literacy. [Diagram]. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.11908425 This diagram was created for a paper presentation at ASCILITE 2018. The paper informing the diagram, including the full list of references, is available at: Smith, E. E., Kahlke, R. & Judd, T. (2018). From digital natives to digital literacy: Anchoring digital practices through learning design. In M. Campbell, J. Willems, C. Adachi, D. Blake, I. Doherty, S. Krishnan, S. Macfarlane, L. Ngo, M. O’Donnell,...
Type: picture
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2016
Description: Those concerned with teaching and learning in higher education and the Net generation’s perspectives on and uses of technology must address calls to move beyond the digital native debate (Bennett & Maton, 2010; Kennedy, Judd, Dalgarno, & Waycott, 2010) by asking students directly what they see as a meaningful part of their learning. This study aims to move beyond the digital native debate by developing research-informed understandings of the ways in which Net generation students may perceive technologies, specifically social media, to be a meaningful part of their undergraduate learning. The research questions guiding this study include: (RQ1) In what ways do undergraduate learners from...
Type: thesis
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith; Renate Kahlke; Terry Judd
Date issued: 2018
Description: While the academic community and the general public often refer to learners today as inherently tech-savvy digital natives, those in the educational technology community have long advocated for a move away from digital native stereotypes in favour of fostering digital literacy. As such, the educational technology community can play a vital role in shifting from popular conceptions of digital natives and toward developing digital literacy for the benefit of all learners. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of search data from Google Trends showing continued use of the term digital natives and the rising interest in digital literacy. In order to help educators move away from...
Type: conference publication
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith; Renate Kahlke; Terry Judd
Date issued: 2018
Description: Presentation from ASCILITE 2018 based upon a paper published in proceedings: While the academic community and the general public often refer to learners today as inherently tech-savvy digital natives, those in the educational technology community have long advocated for a move away from digital native stereotypes in favour of fostering digital literacy. As such, the educational technology community can play a vital role in shifting from popular conceptions of digital natives and toward developing digital literacy for the benefit of all learners. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of search data from Google Trends showing continued use of the term digital natives and the...
Type: presentations (communicative events)
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2017
Description: This study investigates the core categories and characteristics of the social media technologies (SMTs) that undergraduate students choose to use in their own learning, outside of the formal curriculum. Within a mixed method research methodology, this inquiry employed 30 semi-structured interviews and an online survey (N = 679) to explore why and how undergraduates across disciplines view SMTs to be a meaningful part of their own university learning. Together, the qualitative and quantitative results demonstrate that several contextual relationships exist, including an important relationship between the particular ways of meaning making students identified and the specific social media...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2012
Description: More than a decade after Prensky’s influential articulation of digital natives and immigrants, disagreement exists around these characterizations of students and the impact of such notions within higher education. Perceptions of today’s undergraduate learners as tech-savvy “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001a), who both want and need the latest emerging technologies in all learning situations, continue to dominate the discourse in educational technology research and practice. Popular yet controversial conceptions of digital natives continue to be embedded within the assumptions of several contemporary research studies on student perceptions of emerging technologies, seemingly without regard...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Amanda Coolidge
Date issued: 2016
Type: presentations (communicative events)
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith; Heather Kanuka
Date issued: 2018
Description: This research provides an analysis of disciplines and disciplinary differences regarding the pedagogical value and content of post-graduate teaching certificates in higher education. Findings and recommendations are based upon a survey (N = 450) of department heads and doctoral students at Canadian research-focused universities. Participants were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the value of a credentialed teaching certificate for new academics seeking employment, as well as whether they believe the pedagogical knowledge and skills that typically comprise teaching certificates are valuable. Examining whether a strongly held disciplinary identity in more senior academics contributes...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith; Renate Kahlke; Terry Judd
Date issued: 2020-04; 2020-04
Description: In 2001, Prensky characterised a new generation of learners entering higher education as digital natives – naturally digitally literate and inherently proficient users of technology. While many educational technology researchers have long argued for the need to move beyond the digital native assumptions proposed by Prensky and other futurists, a critical review of the literature reveals that this concept remains influential in academia broadly and within professional education specifically. In light of this, we propose an alternative approach to technology integration in professional education settings that aims to avoid unhelpful digital native stereotypes by instead developing digital...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Heather Kanuka; Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2019
Description: The purpose of this research was to gain a broader understanding of what department heads and doctoral students believe to be the value of credentialed teaching certificates. Using a survey methodology with participants (N= 450), the study focused on the extent to which a credentialed teaching certificate provides a competitive advantage when seeking employment, as well as the content (pedagogical knowledge) that is perceived to be important for such programmes. Using a cross-sectional survey design, results highlight significant differences between doctoral students and department heads regarding the content and value of a credentialed teaching certificate in higher education.
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2017
Description: This instrument was developed as a part of the Erika E. Smith’s (2016) doctoral thesis, Exploring undergraduate perceptions of meaning making and social media in their learning, completed at the University of Alberta. For more information, please see: https://doi.org/10.7939/R33J39B71 and https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0049-y
Type: thesis
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Karen Manarin; Melanie Rathburn; Miriam Carey; Glen Ryland
Date issued: 2016
Description: Critical reading is a foundational skill for success in academic and professional endeavours. By defining critical reading as having two aspects, reading for academic purposes and reading for social engagement, our work opens the door to more intentional teaching of critical reading and its assessment in our students’ work. Instructors within any discipline can cultivate critical reading in their students. Our book, Critical Reading in Higher Education: Academic Goals and Social Engagement (Indiana University Press, 2015), provides not only the results from our cross-course study in foundation General Education courses, but ideas for cultivating critical reading across the curriculum as...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Roberta Lexier; Melanie Rathburn
Date issued: 2016
Description: Global citizenship is frequently identified by industry, government, and universities in Canada as an important outcome of education. However, there is significant debate about the meaning of this term. The goals of this report are: to explain the roots of this debate, identify some of the key terms frequently used by universities as proxies for global citizenship, uncover discrepancies among universities in their understanding and approach to global citizenship, propose a unifying framework for global citizenship, and offer some methods through which institutions can evaluate their efforts. A shared understanding of how our education system discusses global citizenship is necessary to...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Richard Hayman; Erika E. Smith; Hannah Storrs
Date issued: 2018
Description: This research examines undergraduate students’ academic help-seeking behaviours by mining anonymous posts from a university Facebook Confessions page. From a dataset of 2,712 public posts, researchers identified 708 Confessions (26.1%) that supported student-student learning exchanges. Using a mixed methods methodology informed by a social constructivist framework, analysis of these social media interactions demonstrates that students use Confessions posts to legitimately inform their undergraduate learning and support their academic experience. Researchers conclude that Facebook Confessions can enable rich academic help-seeking and other information behaviours, and that these sites...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): University Library; Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Erika E. Smith; Richard Hayman
Date issued: 2016
Description: With the ever-expanding range of emerging educational technologies that could be introduced to learning environments, making evidence-informed decisions about whether and how to effectively use e-learning tools for pedagogical purposes is a critical yet challenging task. How can educators, learners, and administrators make informed decisions about the use of particular emerging technologies to achieve desired pedagogical transformation when, due to their relative newness, there is often a perceived lack of available and “up-to-the-minute” research on the latest technological trends that may impede evidence-based educational practice? This is a key problem of evidence for technology use in...
Type: book chapter
Appears in collection(s): Teaching and Learning; University Library

Contributor(s): Richard Hayman; Erika E. Smith
Date issued: 2015
Description: Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss approaches to sustainable decision-making for integrating emerging educational technologies in library instruction while supporting evidence-based practice (EBP) Design/methodology/approach: This article highlights recent trends in emerging educational technologies and EBP and details a model for supporting evidence informed decision-making. This viewpoint article draws on an analysis of recent literature, as well as experience from professional practice. Findings: Authors discuss the need for sustainable decision-making that addresses a perceived lack of evidence surrounding emerging technologies, a dilemma that many library educators...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): University Library; Teaching and Learning

Contributor(s): Richard Hayman; Erika E. Smith; Hannah Storrs
Date issued: 2019
Description: Introduction -- This research investigates the information behaviour of undergraduate students seeking academic help via anonymous posts to a university Facebook Confessions page. While Confessions pages have gained popularity in post-secondary contexts, their use for educational purposes is largely unexplored. Method -- Researchers employed a mixed methods content analysis to investigate information behaviour and the thematic contents of the 2,712 confessions posted during one academic year. Analysis -- Using generic qualitative strategies informed by constructivist grounded theory, as well as quantitative descriptive statistical procedures, researchers found that 708 (26.1%) of these...
Type: article
Appears in collection(s): University Library; Teaching and Learning

MROAR: Mount Royal Open Access Repository

Search Results

Pages

"A Real Double-Edged Sword:" Undergraduate Perceptions of Social Media in their Learning

5 ways to keep human connections when moving learning online due to coronavirus

Are Adult Educators and Learners ‘Digital Immigrants’? Examining the Evidence and Impacts for Continuing Education

Domains of Digital Literacy [diagram]

Exploring Undergraduate Perceptions of Meaning Making and Social Media in their Learning

From Digital Natives to Digital Literacy: Anchoring Digital Practices through Learning Design

From digital natives to digital literacy: Anchoring digital practices through learning design. (ASCILITE Presentation 2018)

Social media in undergraduate learning: categories and characteristics

The Digital Native Debate in Higher Education: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Literature

The Impact of Open

Transdisciplinary or Pedagogically Distinct? Disciplinary Considerations for Teaching Certificates in Higher Education

Not just digital natives: Integrating technologies in professional education contexts

Perceptions of the content and employability value of credentialed teaching certificates

Undergraduate Perceptions of Social Media and Meaning Making: Validated Survey Instrument

Critical reading in higher education: Academic goals and social engagement

Global citizenship in a Canadian context

Undergraduate Students' Academic Information and Help-Seeking Behaviours using an Anonymous Facebook Confessions Page

Decision Making and Problems of Evidence for Emerging Educational Technologies

Sustainable decision making for emerging educational technologies in libraries

Information behaviour of undergraduate students using Facebook Confessions for educational purposes

Pages