Educational Technologies and Pedagogies Studies

Welcome to the Educational Technologies and Pedagogies project, which is researching how educational technologies are being used and impacting students.

The two research questions being explored in this study are:

1. What is the effectiveness of educational technology in helping students learn? and

2. What is the experience of using the educational technology?

The Educational Technologies and Pedagogies research project incorporates a range of studies conducted on courses and programs of study that utilise educational technologies.

It investigates the effectiveness of various educational technologies, e.g. learning management systems, virtual reality, etc. and their impact on various factors such as learning, student engagement, self-efficacy, etc.

Research methods include experimental and quasi-experimental pre-post testing of factors and a range of qualitative methods - Modified Delphi, Case Study, Narrative Inquiry, Document and Artifact Analysis, Think-Aloud Protocols, Structured Observation, Digital Trace Data Analysis and Design-Based Research. 

Students will undertake the use of educational technologies as part of their learning in courses that specifically involve learning about educational technologies, with methods selected to be as low impact on this process as possible and collect no identifiable personal data.

Sign up to join the study. 

You can use your email, which we will keep private, or create a unique contact identifier (UCI) to make things more private.

You should read the invitation to participate and informed consent, but essentially these say we will keep your details private.

For this project, the study aims to answer:

1. What is the effectiveness of educational technology in helping students learn? and

2. What is the experience of using the educational technology?

The purpose of the research is to inform educators and other stakeholders of the effectiveness of educational technology and how students experience its use.

Your research participation will include completing two surveys, one at the start and the other at the end of your course.

In some studies, you may be invited to rank options anonymously using a modified Delphi process, and your anonymous use of the educational technology may be subject to structured observation, document and artifact analysis, digital trace data analysis and think-aloud protocols. Your contribution to questions during your course may also contribute to case study and narrative inquiry techniques. No personally identifiable data will be collected or linked to this information.

The research will contribute to a Design-Based Research process to improve courses and programs of study.

Dr Jason Zagami

Participants may be interested in postgraduate studies leading to a Graduate Certificate or coursework Master's Degree, majoring in Educational Technologies. The research questions in this study can be explored in greater detail in the program, which includes courses exploring Researching, Creating and Transforming Educational Technologies. Completion of the research pathway can lead to research higher-degree studies.

Otherwise, if you have completed an honours year as part of your undergraduate studies, or undertaken other advanced postgraduate studies that included a research component, you may be eligible to undertake a Research Master's or Doctoral degree that incorporates, in part, these research projects, studies, and/or methods. PhD students are required to make a unique contribution to human knowledge, and you will need to extend or incorporate new aspects to projects, but there is scope to explore how this can occur during your studies.

If interested in studying through Griffith University, you can make an application for study and are welcome to contact Dr Jason Zagami to discuss your proposal and potential supervision.

The following study is available for participation:

Educational Technologies and Pedagogies Study

To participate in the Educational Technology and Pedagogies Study, you are asked to:

Read the Invitation to Participate in the Study

Read the Informed Consent for the Study 

(Optional) Complete a Request to Participate in the Study 

Researchers and PhD students are welcome to request to join the research project team. You are asked to familiarise yourself with the Theoretical Perspective and Methodology used in the project, and you will be expected to contribute a profile of yourself to the Researcher Model (You may also wish to conduct a Self Study of your involvement in the project). You can then select which of the models you wish to contribute to and the associated studies that you will be involved in. 

Coordinating and writing meetings are organised by each project team, with intensive writing periods generally occurring in June/July and December/January periods depending on the particular studies. 

Request to join the project team
Project team members (Restricted Access)

Study Participants in the Technologies and Pedagogies Study (Restricted Access)
Survey 1 (Responses)
Survey 2 (Responses)

Researchers agree to abide by the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research and make a significant intellectual or scholarly contribution to the research and its output and agree to be listed as an author. 

Researchers to be listed as authors in research outputs will be expected to contribute to the:

• analysis or interpretation of research data; and

• drafting significant parts of the research output and assisting in the critical revision of team member contributions. 

The order of authorship will reflect the relative contribution of the researchers who collaborated on the project and research output, determined by team members in an anonymous conjoint pair ranking process.

Researchers agree to treat fellow researchers and others involved in the research fairly and with respect, raise any concerns or conflicts of interest, and clearly inform team members of intentions in regular team meetings. 

Any disputes within the project team should be resolved by the team where possible. However, agree to follow the formal Griffith University institutional processes to resolve disputes if necessary, including mediation.

All Research Studies projects comply with the Australian National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. You should only provide your consent to participate in a study when fully informed of what the study involves.

Where data matching is required, e.g. from multiple surveys, only the minimum information that is needed to identify you is collected using a unique contact identifier (UCI) to minimise the risk that this information is associated with you.

This research is being led by:

Dr Jason Zagami (Griffith University) 0755528454  j.zagami@griffith.edu.au

who can answer any questions you have about the studies.

Research Studies

The study involves a range of research processes, described in the study's invitation and informed consent, and you should only complete a request to participate in a study (or participate anonymously) once you are fully informed of what is involved in the study.

Read the Invitation to Participate in the Study

Read the Informed Consent for the Study 

(Optional) Complete a Request to Participate in the Study 

You can request to participate in the above "Request to Participate"

The study is conducted in accordance with the Griffith University Research Integrity framework and all studies involving participants have been approved by the Griffith University Human Research Ethics Committee. 

If you have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project, you should contact the Manager, Research Ethics (07) 37354375 or research-ethics@griffith.edu.au

Pre-tests are conducted in Week 1 (with advertising in Week 0) and post-tests in Week 8.

Delphi processes and think-aloud protocols may occur throughout coursework activities.

Structured observation, document and artifact analysis, and digital trace data analysis may be conducted on educational technology use.

Participant contributions to coursework questions may contribute to case study and narrative inquiry techniques. 

No personally identifiable data is to be collected or linked to this information

Educational Technologies and Pedagogies Study 

The study is expected to take no more than 20 minutes of your time. Participants in the Educational Technologies and Pedagogies Study will be invited before your course commences. 

In Week 1, you will be asked to complete a survey of questions. It should take no longer than 10 minutes.

In Week 8, you will be asked to again complete a survey of questions. It should take no longer than 10 minutes.

The study is framed in a post-positivist exploration of the field of education with a focus on the application of technology to teaching and learning processes.

Accepting that the theories, hypotheses, background knowledge, and researchers' values will influence what is observed, the study pursues objectivity by recognising the effects of such biases and uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to mitigate bias and improve the validity of research outcomes.

Ontologically, the studies are framed on an assumed existence of reality, but our understanding of reality is imperfect, and this understanding is socially constructed. 

Axiologically, the studies are framed on the undesirability of bias but accepting that it is also inevitable, with mitigation required, but this mitigation in itself will be influenced by the values and beliefs held by researchers.

(Optional) To stay informed of project calls to participate, recommendations, workshops, symposiums, presentations and publications, posts will be made to the Research Projects Facebook and LinkedIn groups.

The project incorporates a range of methods within a mixed methods methodology.

A quasi-experimental pre-post test of educational outcomes and student perceptions before and after using the educational technology or pedagogy.

In some studies, participants may also be invited to rank options anonymously using a modified Delphi process, and their anonymous use of the educational technology may be subject to structured observation, document and artifact analysis, digital trace data analysis and think-aloud protocols. Participant contributions to questions during their course may also contribute to case study and narrative inquiry techniques. No personally identifiable data will be collected or linked to this information.

The research will also contribute to a Design-Based Research process to improve the course and program of study.

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