Journal of Information Technology and Application in Education

1-8

Authors: Yuichi Ono, Manabu Ishihara, Mitsuo Yamashiro

This paper examines a new type of instant text-based feedback system that was implemented in a public speaking course for Japanese foreign language learners. We begin by examining past research concerning peer feedback during student presentations and its limitations. Study 1 specifically addresses the difficulty of analytic assessment in the practice of peer evaluation of low proficiency learners. After describing our feedback system and its actual use in a public speaking course for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, Study 2 will demonstrate that text-based instant feedback is beneficial for both evaluators and the evaluated. The results of our study provide compelling evidence for the development of future foreign language learning instant feedback systems.

18-24

Authors: Barbara Bruschi

The massive diffusion of mobile technologies, distinctive of the latest years, has commanded to reflect upon the educational and social impact which such systems are able to have, especially on an audience of youngsters. Alongside questions trying to establish which features make to a good app for children, there is a debate upon which educational principles should be a guide to the use of these media, having in mind a world increasingly founded on equity and sustainability. This paper presents an Italian experience of collaboration between private industry and university planning and implements apps for children between 3 and 6 years old. The first part contains an analysis of the various assumptions on which the collaboration between the two partners is funded, with a highlight on the sharing process of the cultural and social goals to achieve. The attention then moves on to the collaboration process with a focus on the work organisation and the assigning of roles. Special concern is given to the products’ evaluating and certificating process, conducted through the identification of a range of quality principles of the apps. The final part concentrates on the relationship between sustainability and media education, considering the future diffusion of a technological culture marked on ethics.

33-45

Authors: Roohollah Mozaffaripour

The present study aims to investigate the role of education in developing identity in Internet era and the cyberspace. Today the spread of Internet and the cyberspace and the establishment of information society have created particular arguments regarding the manner of using these technologies. One of the arguments raised is the individual identity in relation to this technology. Therefore this study tries to examine identities in cyberspace through analytical and descriptive method as well as the philosophical inquiry. This investigation is conducted from an existential attitude and based on ideas from existentialist philosophers. The presented discussions revealed that people might adopt multiple identities in cyberspace; that is the individuals might take on several identities and lack a fixed identity. Considering the existential aspects in the field of education could help the development of individual identities, therefore the present study offers some recommendations including raising the individual awareness about “self” and the specific conditions and aspects of cyberspace that differ from those of real life, facilitating and encouraging cooperation, and creating an interactional environment for exchanging ideas about cyberspace experiences and engaging with the real world. Additionally, focusing on “I-Thou” and mutual relationship in the field of education could provide the possibility for mutual and improved understanding of the individual from self. Finally, by valuing the arts in the curricula the educators could facilitate the students’ existence and individual identities to flourish and grow.