Exploring Bhutanese Primary School Teachers' Technological Knowledge

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the normal functions of schools globally. Online learning is a new concept in Bhutan. Nonetheless, classes have begun using various online learning platforms to continue their operations during the pandemic. This study examined primary school teachers' perceived information technology knowledge and proficiency. The participants of this study consisted of 124 primary teachers from two western districts of Bhutan. Data were collected using an online survey. The study's findings suggested that although the majority of participants (98.2%) had access to personal digital devices, slow internet connection and high internet data subscription charges (60.7%) were cited as significant challenges. Findings also revealed that a small percentage of the participants, less than 12 (9.7%) teachers in this study preferred to teach entirely in an online learning environment. The results of multiple linear regression suggested that only technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) [t = 2.68, p = 0.008, [beta] = 0.236] and perceived information technology proficiency of teachers (PITP) [t = 3.55, p = 0.001, [beta] = 0.306] were statistically significant predictors of technological knowledge (TK).

The Bentley Global Experience Initiative: An Application of Assessment Data towards Pedagogical Development

Since 2009, Bentley University has engaged in assessment of intercultural effectiveness in undergraduate students. The instrument used was the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale, which measures six dimensions using a self-report instrument. The longitudinal data analysis showing results in correlation and causation indicated that while international education experiences have a significant positive effective on Global Mindset, they do not indicate a positive significant effect on other dimensions of intercultural effectiveness (Berdrow, Woolford, Skaletsky, Bird, 2020). In 2018, Bentley University engaged in a curriculum design process to re-envision its undergraduate core curriculum. Taking the opportunity to apply lessons from the assessment of intercultural effectiveness, a component of the new design was the Global Experience. This paper briefly outlines the assessment initiative and the curriculum design outline, with an emphasis on the creation of the Bentley Global Experience Initiative, a comprehensive program supporting faculty and students.

Determining the Factors That Affect the Use of Virtual Classrooms: A Modification of UTAUT Model

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the factors that may influence the use of virtual classrooms. Background: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected and interrupted several aspects of our lives, including education. Most educational institutes and universities have changed their teaching mode from being face-to-face or fixable learning to 'emergency remote education'. As a result, virtual classrooms were utilised in most of these universities to keep the continuity of teaching and delivering education to their students Methodology: Through an online survey, data was collected from 235 of the teaching staff at the University of Ha'il, Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS was applied to analyse the data and testing the hypothesis of the proposed model. Contribution: The study findings have a theoretical, methodological, and practical contribution in the area of virtual classrooms. In terms of its theoretical contribution, this research has enriched the literature on virtual classrooms. Most of previous studies used the basic UTAUT model or other models for different technology, such as LMS, Mobile Cloud Learning and social websites. Few studies have focused on virtual classrooms, and, based on the best knowledge of the researcher, this study is the first study that has extended and modified the UTAUT model by adding an external factor (mobility) with virtual classrooms technology. Thus, it contributes theoretically to IS acceptance literature in general, and to UTAUT models specifically. In terms of methodological contribution, this study assessed all latent constructs in the model in a different context (Saudi Arabia), and tested them through an advanced analysis technique, which some call a second-generation multivariate, by applying a two-step rule in AMOS (CFA and SEM). The CFA has shown solid results that can measure all constructs in the model after deleting a few items that show a low factor loading to the construct. According to Awang (2015), examining the construct, convergent and discriminant validities is essential during the CFA before moving on a step and analysing data using SEM. Thus, this study has validated all constructs and its items using CFA which can be further used in a different culture, specifically in an Arab culture, such as Saudi Arabia. Findings: The results showed that effort expectancy and performance expectancy are significant predictors of behaviour intention toward the use of virtual classrooms. However, in contrast of our expectation, social influence, facilitating condition and mobility were insignificant factors and had no influence on teaching staff's behaviour intention toward the use of virtual classrooms. Recommendations for Practitioners: This research has made a practical contribution. The findings of this study showed which factors can determine the use of virtual classrooms. Decision makers and university organizations and administration can improve their virtual classrooms services based on the factors that determine their use. Taking care of that will lead to an increased use of virtual classrooms and lead to a successful use of virtual classrooms, which will result in huge benefits in applying virtual classrooms in the teaching process. Recommendations for Researchers: Researchers may develop different models and examine other factors to assess their influence on the usage of different technologies. Understanding the factors that may influence the usage of a technology leads to an increase in its usage and adoption. Impact on Society: This study may increase the usage of virtual classrooms among teaching staff by understanding and examining the factors that might determine the use of virtual classrooms. Future Research: Future studies could examine the moderation variables to establish their impact. This study relied on only a purely quantitative design study. Future research might employ a mixed method using both quantitative and qualitative designs to apply an interview after the quantitative study for a better insight a d deeper knowledge as well as confirming the quantitative results.

COVID-19 and Americans' Perceptions of Change in Diet Quality

The objective of this research was to conduct an assessment of perceived diet quality from a national random sample of American adults and explore how the perceived change in diet quality varied by key sociodemographic characteristics during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 835 adults across the United States completed a multi-item online survey. Statistically significant differences were observed with diets worsening during the pandemic for females, young adults, racial minorities (except Asians), unemployed individuals, widowed/divorced or engaged/cohabitating individuals, those not working from home, non-healthcare professionals, and overweight and obese individuals, the pandemic had an impact on the diet quality of these groups.

Pandemic Panic and Retail Reconfiguration: Consumer and Supply Chain Responses to COVID-19

COVID-19 ignited a revolution in retail. Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals, including students of retail and consumer sciences, can be the change agents that create the post-pandemic retail future. Massive disruptions to traditional retail practices for both consumers and retailers will result in changed retail environments as the United States and the world recoil and enter a new era changed by the global pandemic. Consumers have experienced panic and product availability anxieties, especially in food and grocery products. Shelves have been devoid of toilet paper, antibacterial products, and flour. Online shopping, including delivery and store pickup, is the new reality, with online sales at full-assortment grocers up 325% for March 12 and 13 in the midst of the panic (Melton, 2020). Retailers, especially grocers, have scrambled to maintain inventory and boost employment to feed the population, while non grocery brick-and-mortar retailers closed their doors and lost revenue to pay employees, leases, and outstanding invoices. How long until familiar times return--or will they? Forging ahead and influencing the post-pandemic retail world presents an opportunity for FCS professionals and consumers.

Making the Transition to Virtual Methods in the Literacy Classroom: Reframing Teacher Education Practices

In response to the COVID 19 pandemic, universities and colleges closed abruptly and teacher educators had little time to move instruction from face-to-face classrooms to digital learning environments. This sudden shift created a myriad of obstacles as instructors worked to retain pedagogically sound and effective instruction through online instruction--while also preparing novice teachers how to teach online themselves. Adding another layer of complexity is prospective teachers' lack of knowledge and hesitation regarding technology tools, as well as how to meaningfully integrate the tools into their teaching. Facing these challenges, we as literacy teacher educators, drew upon effective methods of teacher education, literacy practices and digital literacy to rethink the way we design lessons and assignments for our literacy methods courses. The framework we created for restructuring the integration of technology into courses can be duplicated across disciplines and guide instructors to reconceptualize their use of tech tools to re-envision face-to-face and digital instruction to expand learning outcomes.

All We Need Is One Mic: A Call for Anti-Racist Solidarity to Deconstruct Anti-Black Racism in Educational Leadership

In this article, we outline some of the vital measurements of racism and anti-blackness as a macro system in education. We contend that principal preparation programs have not explicitly prioritized anti-racist school leadership, while often resisting the possibilities of solidarity or "one mic" of knowledge to increase anti-racist dispositions. Considering the lexicon of whiteness as an assemblage, a racial discourse should be "supported by material practices and institutions," that prepare educational leaders to examine anti-blackness curriculum that have been embedded as a standard method. We also posit that theoretical understanding of racism as global whiteness from a post-oppositional lens and decoloniality that will challenge the way racism is currently referenced in educational leadership scholarship. Moreover, current global and decolonial research gives way for a new vision of solidarity by humanizing scholarly resistance that cultivates a vision of community that regards differences of knowledge across groups and investigates racist policies and practices in educational leadership programs.

Creating Virtual Ensembles: Common Approaches from Research and Practice

A virtual ensemble is a digital musical product that uses multiple recordings edited together to form a musical ensemble. Creating virtual ensembles can be a way for music educators to engage students through online music-making. This article presents eight steps for creating virtual ensembles in music education courses and classrooms. The steps are (1) identifying objectives and desired outcomes, (2) selecting repertoire, (3) developing learning resources, (4) creating an anchor for synchronizing, (5) choosing a recording method, (6) setting up a collection platform, (7) editing in postproduction, and (8) distributing the product. As online music production becomes more prevalent, projects like virtual ensembles can provide creative and exciting experiences for music teachers and students, whether produced in the classroom or through remote means on the Internet.

Another Perspective: Music Education in the Age of Innovation

Music, one of civil society's most important cultural treasures, is undergoing radical, inevitable transformation, especially in places like the United States. A tidal wave of new technology enables a new toolbox for music learning. This is an era of digital music streaming, online experiences, and intelligent instruments that also shape new patterns of music creation and consumption. And the pandemic of 2020-2021, despite all its challenges, has been a powerful spur to innovation. In this article, John Kao begins by identifying four key drivers of the coming and inevitable disruption that will lead to the transformation of music education. He states educational institutions must prepare to navigate the Age of Innovation in the face of disruptive change. He then presents a framework intended as a starter kit to help educators and educational institutions begin that adventure.

Empowering Teachers in Rural Venezuela: Ensuring Strong Foundations in Education through Amblema

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools in 2020, the effect on rural areas was significant. Access to the internet in rural areas is limited and cost prohibitive. This article discusses why we must find ways to ensure education delivery in urban and rural areas. Unfortunately, many school systems in developing countries lack the expertise and resources to ensure quality education. That is where programs like Amblema come in and bridge the gap. Amblema promotes the values and virtues of self-reliance. With simplicity at its core, a clear set of measurable objectives, and an easy-to-execute selection of activities, Amblema is an innovative practice for education delivery in both urban and rural areas.

Creating Classrooms: Supporting Front-Line Educators in Emergency Contexts in Latin America

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary innovations in education. In Latin America, the migration of millions of Venezuelans presented an emergency situation prompting organizations like Plan International, Save the Children, and UNICEF to consider the situation of frontline teachers affected by the crisis. What could be done to help teachers in the border areas of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador to cope with the influx of new students (and all the challenges those students face) in their already crowded classrooms? This article discusses how Janaina Hirata, Regional Education in Emergencies specialist at Plan International, got Coschool--a prize-winning Colombian education startup focused on teacher training and social and emotional learning (SEL)--to be a partner in starting Creando Aula (Creating Classroom). The goal was to create a learning experience based in the real needs of Latin American teachers working in emergency situations.

High Impact for Youth by Youth: Health and Education Programs in Southern Africa

Young people in East and Southern Africa need greater access to reliable information about health and education in order to make informed decisions on health matters--focusing on HIV and teenage pregnancy--and to increase basic education outcomes. Young 1ove organization, established in March 2014 in Gaborone, Botswana, is a grassroots, youth-led, evidence-based movement in East and Southern Africa. Its mission is to connect youth to proven life-saving information. Its core competencies are delivering sensitive information to young people in a credible and relatable fashion, busting myths, changing beliefs and norms, generating demand, and building connection and trust. As a portfolio organization, Young 1ove commits to a few, highly curated programs. It invests in these programs for the long term--testing, iterating, and following the evidence at each step of the program life cycle. This article discusses lessons learned along the way of implementing Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL). TaRL is an education program that supports students who are falling behind in basic literacy and numeracy by grouping them according to ability level, rather than teaching to a syllabus that is often far too advanced for most students. In addition, the program has a menu of fun and level-appropriate activities that are custom-tailored to each group of students.

A New Paradigm for Early Childhood Education: Opening Doors through Virtual Kindergarten

While the COVID-19 vaccines bring hope about the end of pandemic-related closures, leaders worldwide recognize that a fundamental shift has occurred in the way we work, live, and learn. Though we will always need brick-and-mortar schools, our "new normal" must include hybrid and virtual education options for students who do not have access to safe and healthy classrooms. The consequences of not making this shift will place an at-risk generation further behind their peers. At Pathways Early Education Center of Immokalee, in Florida, educators are constantly looking for new ways to engage the children and the families in the migrant farm-working community. As educators discussed strategies to safely bring the children back into the classroom, they considered the option of enhanced virtual classes for their pre-kindergarten students. They were seeking a way to keep students who needed to quarantine for two weeks from falling behind their peers. This article discusses the results of a pilot virtual pre-kindergarten program, which showed that virtual pre-kindergarten students had more positive gains in fine motor skills. Both in-person and virtual pre-kindergarten students will be more prepared with essential skills to succeed in kindergarten than children who have not had access to early education.

A New Way to Distribute Research Seed Funding: Peer Review without Formal Review

As some of the most stable and important structures in society, colleges and universities are rarely described as nimble. Yet, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, institutions across the globe not only shifted within days to online instruction, but many academic researchers also immediately launched efforts to understand the virus, identify treatments, produce medical supplies, and study its impacts. While some investigators managed to make progress, other talented researchers lacked timely access to funding for key personnel, lab supplies, and incentives for study participants--the needed fuel for discoveries. Even as researchers have long called for low-barrier processes to accelerate time-sensitive research contributions, the pandemic has painfully underscored the need for rapid responses to pressing societal needs. Experimental programs offer models of the funding mechanisms needed to heighten efficiency, whether in the face of COVID or other ongoing crises. In this article, the authors discuss the shortcomings of the current, widely used peer review process and suggest that Mcubed, a novel token-based review and funding program developed at the University of Michigan (U-M), may offer significant advantages. This article describes the operation of Mcubed over an 8-year period on U-M's three campuses and details the positive results that were obtained, hoping to motivate others to engage in comparable endeavours.

Every Tool in the Toolbox: Pursuing Multilevel Institutional Change in the DeLTA Project

For decades, educators and policy makers have called for reform in higher education, yet now the urgency is palpable. The COVID-19 pandemic and heightened attention to systemic racism have highlighted the fact that outdated teaching practices can stunt student learning and trust of science, maintain systemic biases, and prevent equitable education. Promoting change to outdated teaching practices requires fundamental shifts at each level of a university--among faculty, departments, and the institution as a whole. The Departmental and Leadership Teams for Action (DeLTA) project at the University of Georgia pursues transformative shifts in policies and practices related to undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. This article provides examples of how DeLTA applies various change perspectives to shift thinking, practices, and policies related to evaluating teaching.

A Call for Promoting Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Institutions of higher education face unprecedented challenges in serving their students and greater society. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted research and education globally, colleges and universities had been working for decades to better respond to societal, student, and faculty needs. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future student enrollment and revenue is unknown. If universities cannot adapt rapidly and effectively, they face the risk of becoming irrelevant or, at least, serving a diminished societal role in the future. One way to respond to such concerns is by shifting foci at institutions of higher education toward programming that further enhances institutions' contributions to long-term social and economic well-being and makes this impact obvious. In this article, the authors describe a variety of faculty I&E and review results of a 2019 survey across 99 diverse U.S. institutions of higher education that found misalignment between institutional-level innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) priorities and the current reward system for university faculty. The authors argue that revisions to promotion and tenure-related structures are needed to better support faculty and help translate their I&E to enhance academia's contribution to social and economic well-being.

Equity through Innovation in Teaching and Learning: A Student-Centered Approach to Systemwide Implementation of Direct Assessment CBE

The California Community Colleges (CCC) system has adopted an equity-imperative approach to systemic reforms. As part of this effort, and to meet the state's workforce demands of the future, the system has focused on better serving the needs of adult learners, those between the ages of 25 and 64 with some college but no degree. The current impact of COVID-19 has exacerbated the inequitable learning experiences of minoritized students and has forced the system to reimagine teaching and learning, with urgency. With a heightened focus on access, persistence, and the success of CCC students, direct assessment competency-based education (CBE) through self-paced learning, high-touch and high-tech student support is a clear next step in the evolution of teaching and learning to meet the needs of adult learners. This paper discusses the impetus for such innovation and the CCC system's effort to add direct assessment CBE to its educational offerings.

The University of Wisconsin Flexible Option Is an Effective Model to Prepare Students for a Recovering Economy

COVID-19 has accelerated changes that were already underway in the American economy, such as the increasing displacement of workers by automation, the exponential evolution of industries due to technical advancements (the Fourth Industrial Revolution), and a widening skills gap and attainment deficit in the American workforce. As a result, adult workers and their employers will increasingly demand efficient, reputable, and customizable pathways to quickly reskill and upskill. This paper will use the UW Flexible Option as a case study for how traditional universities can build competency-based programs to help adults rapidly meet changing workforce needs. The UW Flexible Option's design is an exemplar of wrap-around support services, a flexible academic calendar, integrated and efficient curriculum design, effective assessment of competence against articulated learning outcomes, project-based learning tied to workplace competencies, and tuition policies and financial aid delivery tailored to adult learners. The design will be explored through a case study of one of our programs, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Massive economic change will soon displace workers on a scale not yet seen, and higher education has a responsibility to ensure those individuals get back into the workforce with the appropriate skills. Institutions of higher education will need to innovate to rise to the occasion, and competency-based education is one such pathway.

Preparing Pre-Service English Language Teachers to Teach at Unprecedented Times: The Case of Turkey

COVID-19 has impacted education negatively to a certain extent by suspending schools and universities, ending face-to-face and practical education, and causing a rapid transition to distance education. These changes have led to several negative effects on teachers and students such as anxiety, stress, and depression, which demonstrates the importance of teacher preparedness to teach at unprecedented times such as COVID19. Therefore, assessing and evaluating teacher preparedness has become significant. One way to do this is to evaluate teacher education programs with a new perspective developed considering the effects of COVID-19 on education. Therefore, the present study aimed to find out how teacher education programs can prepare teachers to teach at unprecedented times by focusing on the English language teacher education program (ELTEP) of Turkey. It was designed as a qualitative study in which the ELTEP of Turkey was used as the data collection tool. The collected data were content analyzed. The findings have shown that the ELTEP of Turkey can prepare pre-service English language teachers to teach at unprecedented times through three psychological courses, five technology courses, and 21 pedagogical courses. The findings were discussed, and suggestions for further studies were made.

Devising in the Pandemic: Trauma and a Dramatic Redesign of a Youth Theatre Tour

Z402 Youth Theatre Tour was designed from a critical performative pedagogical positioning (Weltsek, 2019). Here learning emerges from how individuals and communities perform their emergent identities as they cross literal and metaphorical socio-cultural borders. Z402 resulted in a 100% student created new play, parallel workshop, and study guide. This new play was based solely upon the students' perspectives, voices, and ways of being. The design used devised theatre, the use of improvisation and games, to create a new play versus a solely written approach. The new play dealt with healing in the face of suicidal thoughts. The course addressed four Indiana educational licensing requirements, student technical, artistic, educational, and class practicum experiences. In March 2020, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the University instituted obligatory Online instruction. Students redesigned their stage play into a virtual experience using Zoom and integrated their emotional struggles due to pandemic isolation. The live play, slated for three schools, is now accessible to a large virtual audience.