No abstract

In an effort to address student engagement challenges, much research has explored student-to-student connected classroom climate (CCC). Research positively associates CCC to the benefits of student integration, learning, and retention in face-to-face environments. However, few studies have examined CCC in computer-mediated environments. This study provides empirical evidence of the relationships between key technological factors and CCC in cloud classrooms. A survey was administered to 641 college students, and the results indicate that four of the five technological factors examined were positively associated with

The global emergence of new media and social change have drawn attention to the topic of digital citizenship. Previous literature has examined individuals’ digital citizenship with some determinants of technology use. However, individuals’ level of social media competence (SMC) has not yet been examined in relation to digital citizenship. To increase knowledge of the ingredients that may be important for education programs to improve individuals’ digital citizenship, this study examined SMC and digital citizenship among 772 college students. The results identified that five of the six social media competencies examined were predictors of individuals’ digital citizenship. These findings provided empirical evidence of a relationship between SMC and digital citizenship, which should be considered by researchers and practitioners when formalizing educational programs, developing curricula, and designing pedagogy for improving individuals’ digital citizenship.

The rapid integration of social media into personal, professional, and educational settings has catalyzed the need to assess social media competence. This study provides the rationale for developing an instrument to conduct such an assessment, and the research illustrates evidence of validity and reliability in assessing social media competence in the field of higher education. The instrument includes 28 items and 4 dimensions: technical usability, content interpretation, content generation, and anticipatory reflection. Data were collected from a sample of 622 college students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, and this study finds that the instrument shows no signs of deficiency in its validity or reliability when measuring social media competence. Accordingly, the instrument could be used to evaluate and improve levels of social media competence in higher education.

In addition to the 37 million students attending rural schools, China operates ~67,000 one-teacher schools in remote and mountainous regions. Much research has concluded that these rural students are educationally disadvantaged in comparison to their urban peers, with impaction toward social stratification. Consequently, national policies have targeted such issues and begun implementing information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives to universalize the quality of educational services. However, it is well known that imbalanced or improperly utilized ICT resources may expand, rather than contract inequities. Therefore, our research examines two cases of uniquely large-scale educational ICT applications to showcase computersupported collaborative teaching models with high potential from an equity perspective. Improved access in the quality of students' education and teachers' professional development opportunities among rural areas are the main benefits observed. Other developing countries with similar issues may replicate these technological approaches for balancing access to high quality educational opportunities.