"Do You Think You Have What it Takes?” – Exploring Predictors of Pre-Service Teachers' Prospective ICT Use

Despite extensive efforts to support teachers with the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into their classroom practice, current research reports that teachers face immense challenges when integrating ICT into their teaching. This issue has become even more relevant with the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, forcing schools around the world to close for an indefinite period of time and thus to offer remote digital learning solutions. Against this background, this study focused on examining the predictors of pre-service teachers' prospective ICT use and investigated the heterogeneous results of previous research related to ICT use and gender. Following the ‘will, skill, tool' framework, the study examined relevant factors of pre-service teachers' (N = 103) prospective ICT use for teaching and learning processes by means of multiple regression analyses. The analyses included pre-service teachers' background characteristics, ICT profiles (attitudes and self-efficacy), digital competencies and use of digital tools in order to explore their role in future in-class use of ICT. They also show that there are no gender differences in pre-service teachers' prospective ICT integration. However, male pre-service teachers hold more positive attitudes towards ICT use than their female counterparts. Additionally, the findings reveal that the two strongest predictors of pre-service teachers' future ICT use are their attitudes and perceived competency to teach and implement technology in their teaching practices. Finally, the results provide important information about teachers' training needs. Implications of the results and further research are discussed.

Panorama of Peruvian Secondary Education Teachers Trained in ICT Use Before COVID-19 Pandemic

In order to determine the panorama of secondary education teachers who received training in ICT use before the transition to e-teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru, this study is presented with a quantitative, descriptive and trending approach. For this, three Surveys to Peruvian Teachers (ENDO) carried out by Ministerio de Educación del Perú before the pandemic, in 2014, 2016 and 2018 were analyzed. The total of secondary education teachers who participated in each year, respectively, were 3710 (78.5% = urban, 21.5% = rural), 3986 (81.9% = urban, 18.1% = rural) and 6118 (85.3% = urban, 14.7% = rural). After the analysis, it can be concluded that number of teachers trained in 2014 decreased in 2018 that classroom-based modality was the predominant one in these trainings, and Amazon region is the one that presents the most worrying figures. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

The impact of ICT use on entrepreneurial performance: evidence from Chinese microenterprises

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, information and communication technology (ICT), as a part of digital technology, was of particular help to microenterprises in obtaining resources. Drawing upon Conservation of Resources Theory, we investigated the impact of ICT use on entrepreneurial performance. To examine our hypotheses, data were collected from 206 Chinese microenterprises. The results suggest that ICT use was positively related to entrepreneurial performance, that network capabilities mediated the relationship between ICT use and entrepreneurial performance and that perceived ICT usefulness moderated the relationship between ICT use and network capabilities. Finally, the implications, limitations and future research directions will be discussed. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

"Out of office": Availability norms and feeling burned out during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of autonomy and telepressure.

Introduction: Digital innovations make it possible to work anywhere and anytime using any kind of device. Given these evolutions, availability norms are emerging at work. These norms specifically refer to the experienced beliefs or expectations from colleagues or superiors to be available for work-related communication after regular work hours. We rely on the Job-Demands Resources Model as we aim to investigate the relationship between these availability norms and burnout symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. We first of all study to what extent availability norms are associated with heightened burnout symptoms. Secondly, we study how both a personal demand, namely telepressure, and a job resource, namely autonomy, could offer distinct and relevant explanations for the role these availability norms play in experiencing burnout symptoms. Method: We collected data through a survey study with 229 employees from various organizations in the second half of 2020. Results: The findings indicated that indeed availability norms are significantly associated with more burnout symptoms and that both heightened telepressure and reduced autonomy mediated this relationship. Discussion: This study contributes to theory and practice as we offer insight into how availability norms at work could be detrimental for the occupational health of employees, which can be taken into account when setting up rules and regulations at work.

Positioning Technostress in the JD-R Model Perspective: A Systematic Literature Review.

This paper aims to describe the effects of Technostress on employees' well-being and productivity. We adopted the Job Demands Resources Model as a theoretical framework to analyze the "Technostress" phenomenon in order to clarify whether and how technology can be considered a job demand, a job resource, or part of the effects of personal resources in the workplace. The sources search and selection process was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines and regarded papers published from 2010 to 2022. Overall, the findings show that most selected papers consider ICT a job demand negatively affecting human behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. In contrast, some report that ICT acts as a job resource, thus reducing the impact of job demands and their physiological and psychological costs. Finally, a third category of studies does not consider the effects of ICT itself but gives more space to the interaction among ICT, the organizational context in which it is used, and the personal characteristics of ICT users. More specifically, the findings show how individual features and organizational procedures can shape the interpretations employees make about their ICT-related experiences at work and, consequently, their performance or well-being. Findings suggest that when ICT tools are strategically planned and used within organizations, they can enrich the employee experience at work, positively affecting the individual and the organizational level.

Does Smartphone Use Make Older Adults Feel Younger? A Cross-Sectional Online Survey during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Subjective age (i.e., how old one feels) has been found to be a biopsychosocial marker of aging. This study examined the associations between subjective age and the frequency of information and communication technology (ICT) usage by older adults. Data were collected via an online survey conducted in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study analyzed responses from participants aged 65 to 89 (M = 71.9, SD = 3.9) who resided in Japan (N = 1631, 52.8% female). Subjective age was indexed by asking participants to specify in years how old they felt. Proportional discrepancy scores (PDS) were calculated to indicate younger or older subjective age and were used as an independent variable. Participants were asked about the frequency of computer, smartphone, flip phone, tablet, and social networking service (SNS) use. Two-thirds of the participants (63.6%) reported feeling younger than their actual age. Nearly 90% reported using computers for more than 2-3 days a week, while 64.3% reported smartphone use, 22.9% reported flip phone use, and 36.6% reported SNS use. Logistic regression analyses revealed that a lower PDS (i.e., feeling younger) was associated with a significantly higher frequency of smartphone use (OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.60, 0.98) after adjusting for potential confounders. No such association was found for computer, flip phone, tablet, or SNS use. Our study found that feeling younger was associated with a higher frequency of smartphone use. The daily use of smartphones may have helped older adults stay in touch with family and friends and obtain the information that they needed, which may have contributed to better psychological well-being outcomes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Panorama of Peruvian Kindergarten Education Teachers Trained in ICT Use before COVID-19 Pandemic

This study with a quantitative, descriptive and trend approach aims to determine the panorama of kindergarten teachers who received training on the use of ICT before the covid-19 pandemic. To do this, three Surveys to Peruvian Teachers (ENDO) carried out by Ministerio de Educación del Perú before the pandemic (in 2014, 2016 and 2018) were analyzed. The total of kindergarten education teachers who participated in each year, respectively, were: 1593 (74.2 % = urban, 25.8 % = rural), 1759 (76.8 % = urban, 23.2 % = rural) and 2935 (82.2 % = urban, 17.8 % = rural). After the analysis, it can be concluded percentages, in general, are worrying: there is a sensible decrease from 2014 to 2018 in the number of trained teachers;there was a predilection for traditional model versus virtual learning, and also that quality of training they received to ICT use in the teaching-learning process is between regular and good. © 2022 IEEE.

The digital divide: a literature review and some directions for future research in light of COVID-19

Purpose>Coronavirus (COVID-19) has exposed the digital divide (DD) like never before and has made it a hot topic of actuality. In this paper, a state of the art of research studies that dealt with the three levels of the digital divide and highlight its shortcomings in light of COVID-19 are presented.Design/methodology/approach>An integrative literature review was conducted, summarizing the rich literature on the digital divide by presenting its key concepts and findings. This study then provides suggestions for future research in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.Findings>It can be concluded that the digital divide is insufficiently exposed and examined by researchers. In fact, in recent years, very few research studies have focused on the first-level divide. Moreover, much of the literature has analyzed the second digital divide (in terms of e-skills) in the strict sense and at the national level. This review also shows that the existing studies on the third level-digital divide deal only with the individual results of using the Internet. Finally, future research on the three-level digital divide should study more digital inequality related to emerging technologies is proposed.Research limitations/implications>This paper draws up a state of art, which has important theoretical and practical implications in the effectiveness of full transformation to digitalization.Originality/value>The present study contributes to digital inequality research by summarizing key concepts and findings from the literature of the three levels of the digital divide. It highlights the unexplored research topics on some dimensions of DD which were behind the digital transformation failure in many countries and provides insights on future research directions in light of COVID-19.

Secondary school teachers' uses of ICT

ICT have become ubiquitous in teachers' daily lives as well as in their professional environment. Thus, a legitimate question that arises is to what extent their pedagogical practice mirrors this ubiquity. In that sense, our study would be an answer to this question. A survey of 260 secondary school teachers in the provincial directorate of Rhamna (Morocco), within the context of the COVID-19 crisis, allowed us to stress the following results: The alignment of teachers' personal, professional, and pedagogical uses of ICT, The significant relationship between continuous training and the integration of ICT into teaching practices, and The positive impact of the pandemic on teachers' attitude towards the importance of pedagogical uses of ICT. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the Conference Program Chairs.

Development and Validation of the Digital Life Balance (DLB) Scale: A Brand-New Measure for Both Harmonic and Disharmonic Use of ICTs.

The use of new technologies and information communication technology services (ICTs) has greatly increased, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an irrevocable change in people's work-life balance (WLB). Despite the thriving literature on the dysfunctional use of new technologies, a functional use of ICTs also seems to be possible. Inspired by the theory of psychology of harmony and referring to behavioral addiction models and substance use models, we defined the construct of digital life balance to indicate a harmonic balance between digital life and real life. In this context, the imbalance between online and offline life may reflect a dysfunctional use of ICTs and can be seen as a process of disharmonization. With this perspective in mind, the aim of this study was to develop a dedicated measuring instrument that could capture both people's balanced and unbalanced use of ICTs. Through two cross-sectional studies (Study 1= 1473 participants; Study 2 = 953 participants), we validated the scale internally and externally. In line with the literature, Digital Life Balance scores appeared to be negatively associated with addiction measures and positively associated with well-being measures. In conclusion, the Digital Life Balance (DLB) Scale appears to be a reliable (ω = 0.89) and valid instrument to investigate people's harmonic and disharmonic use of ICTs.

The use of ICT during lockdown in higher education and the effects on university instructors.

During the pandemic, the Higher Education Institutions of Greece used Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to an unprecedented degree to respond to the requirements of distance education and research work. The aim of this article is to present the main results of a nationwide quantitative survey that involved 1183 participating university instructors, to capture the impact of the use of ICT and its effects. Results show that, whereas the overall assessment of emergency remote teaching is positive, it seems that instructors have been challenged by the extreme use of technology. Women were mostly influenced, while age didn't have an impact. Significant differences among the participating university institutions were also discovered.

Embracing older adults in online learning

Life expectancy at birth is the highest of all times and tends to increase. This leads to an older society and brings out various needs that are not taken into consideration before, one of which is the education of older adults. People usually get the idea that older adults cannot learn or do not feel the need to learn. However, learning is an integral part of life and need of learning never ends. Education in older adulthood leads to healthier and more personalized lives, thus, happier individuals in later ages. Older adult learners are not perceived as a burden by the rest of the society, on the contrary, they are considered as individuals who enrich the society with their knowledge and experience. Precautions of the Covid-19 Pandemic and current technological opportunities accelerated the substitution of face-to-face teaching and learning environments with digital ones. Nevertheless, older adults who already experience declines in cognitive, affective and psychomotor abilities, have been subjected to various technological barriers as well. Online education of older adults requires well-designed learning environments to maximize the efficiency of activities performed using computers or mobile devices. Considering that interface are the initiatives of communication between user and digital content, if designed with consideration of changing physical conditions, prior knowledge, habitudes and experiences of older adults, interface might become a mediator to increase the effectiveness of digital content. This study examines design-wise issues in online learning environments within the framework of gerontology and older adult education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

ICT use, internal communication satisfaction, and engagement of working-from-home employees: The moderating role of affiliative tendency

This study examined the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) use on working-from-home employees' internal communication satisfaction and engagement level during the COVID-19 pandemic. The moderating role of individuals' affiliative tendency was also explored. Results of an online survey with a representative sample of U.S. full-time working-from-home employees after the pandemic suggested that formal use of ICT for work—e-mail, video-conferencing, instant messaging, and phone—was positively associated with employees' informational and relational satisfaction, which in turn, enhanced their engagement. Informal use of ICT was also positively related to employees' relational satisfaction and such an effect was particularly salient for employees high in affiliative tendency. Theoretical and practical implications for effective internal communication and ICT use are discussed.

Can Anybody Help Me?: Using Community Help Desk Call Records to Examine the Impact of Digital Divides During a Global Pandemic

The COVID-19 global pandemic has ignited lightning-fast adoption of digital tools in our communities, organizations, and systems of governance. It also inspired an unprecedented level of providing access to digital devices to communities and individuals lacking prior access. The situation and circumstances provide a unique opportunity to understand digital divides through a new lens. In this work, we contribute a contemporaneous understanding of digital divides beyond access by qualitatively analyzing over 300 calls made to a volunteer-based community IT help desk. We highlight the intertwined network of challenges leading to ecosystem digital divides and contribute new insights into how the complex socio-technical systems of practice, and the tools to support them, must adapt to bridge digital divides more effectively. © 2022 ACM.

Cognitive decline and poor social relationship in older adults during COVID-19 pandemic: can information and communications technology (ICT) use helps?

BACKGROUND: To answer whether older adults' cognitive function benefits from ICT use, we (1) examined the relationship between ICT use and cognitive decline during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) explored the potential role of ICT use in mitigating the relationship between loneliness, social isolation, and cognitive decline among community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: From February to March 2021, a mail survey was distributed to 1,400 older adults aged 70-89 years old. Responded participants were 1,003 (71.6% response rate). Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) was the independent variable. ICT use was assessed based on ICT use history and current ICT use activities. Loneliness was based on the Japanese version of the Three-Item Loneliness Scale. Social isolation was a total score of six items. Covariate-adjusted logistic regressions were performed and stratified by age groups (70-79 and ≥ 80 years). RESULTS: During the COVID-19 epidemic, the proportion of people aged ≥ 80 years who reported cognitive decline was twice that of 70s. Non-ICT use was independently associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline in participants aged ≥ 80 years. Furthermore, the significant associations between cognitive decline and interaction items (non-ICT use by loneliness or social isolation) were observed in the ≥ 80 age group. No association was found in the 70-79 age group. CONCLUSIONS: Non-ICT users with high loneliness or social isolation scores were more likely to experience cognitive decline for adults age ≥ 80 years. For older adults who were vulnerable to poor social relationships, ICT use is potentially an efficient intervention. Further longitudinal investigations are needed.

ICT effect on employees-related outcomes: higher education as a context

PurposeIncreased concern about the extensive use of information and communication technology (ICT) has led to widespread research on its effects on employees. This study aims to examine the effect of ICT use and demand on employee-related outcomes, particularly work-life balance, job satisfaction, personal burnout and intention to leave.Design/methodology/approachThe developed model was tested using a survey questionnaire distributed among academics and administrative employees working in the higher education (HE) sector in Qatar. New statistical tools were adopted to analyze the study data (i.e. PLSpredict and partial least squares structural equation modeling for unobserved heterogeneity).FindingsThe results confirmed that ICT use affects ICT demand and ICT demand significantly influences employee-related outcomes.Practical implicationsThe findings will help HE institutes to carefully examine the negative effect of ICT use and come up with practical ways to avoid such effects.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the rare papers that inspect the negative effect of ICT use in the HE sector. Furthermore, it is the only paper inspecting such relationship in Gulf region.

Determinants of instructors' educational ICT use in Ethiopian higher education.

ICT can address concerns about access and quality of higher education in developing countries like Ethiopia. The crucial role of ICT in education has become more evident than ever during the COVID 19 crisis. Despite its role in addressing educational quality and access issues, evidence about the educational use of ICT in developing countries is scarce. Many previous studies on determinants of educational ICT focus on higher education in developed countries, while it remains unclear whether existing models explain ICT use by instructors in developing countries. This study reports the findings of a qualitative study conducted in three public universities of Ethiopia in order to elaborate determinants of instructors' educational use of ICT. First, it presents a conceptual framework of factors that explain instructors' ICT use based on literature. Second, based on empirical evidence collected from instructors, it assesses their experiences and opinions in relation to the proposed framework components. In-depth data were collected through focus group discussions from twenty-one instructors. The data were analyzed thematically with ATLAS.ti software. The results confirmed that the institutional, individual and infrastructure-related determinants of the framework are perceived to be relevant in determining instructors' ICT use. Moreover, the study revealed the necessity of extending the proposed framework through aspects of management support, course-related factors, students' ICT competence and access to ICT infrastructure as new determinants of instructors' educational ICT use. Implications for theory-building are discussed and follow-up research is proposed.

Predictors of Mathematics Achievement of Students in Turkey: An Analysis of the Variables of Information and Communication Technologies Familiarity

Mathematics achievement is seen as one of the important indicators of students' academic success for various reasons. Although it is known that there are many factors affecting students' mathematics achievement, factors related to students' familiarity with information and communication technologies come to the fore due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This study, it is aimed to investigate the predictor of ICT familiarity factors on students' mathematics achievement. This study is quantitative research in the relational survey type. The sample of the study consists of 6890 students aged 15 from Turkey. Multiple linear regression analysis was used in the analysis of the data. The results of the research show that the increase in the duration of ICT use in mathematics lessons, the interest and competence of students in ICT, the accessibility of ICT at home, and the use of ICT for leisure purposes can increase the mathematics achievement of 15-year-old students in Turkey. This result shows in this study that the use of ICT outside of school and in school in general, the sharing of ICT in social environments, and the increase in the duration of using ICT outside of classes can negatively affect the mathematics achievement of 15-year-old students.

The use of ICT during COVID-19.

ICTs are pivotal in the existing social order and especially during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This panel focuses on the use of ICTs by different actors, including individuals, nonprofit organizations, and governments around the globe in responding to this COVID crisis. We tackle three essential questions about ICTs and the global crisis. First, what role do ICTs play in a global crisis? Second, how do ICTs affect social order when tensions between control, autonomy, and power shift? Third, what are the theoretical and practical implications of ICT use during a global health crisis? Each of the panelists will discuss their ongoing research in social informatics or health informatics as relates to the panel theme and central questions in order to provide a holistic view of the role of ICTs during this global pandemic.