The potential of digital fabrication technology (DFT) in education has attracted the attention of many educational stakeholders over the last decade. However, there is scant literature on how in-service teachers take part in teacher professional development (TPD) to equip themselves with necessary DFT skills and knowledge. In response, this qualitative exploratory study aimed to identify characteristics of effective DFT-related TPD and the current status of the implementation of DFT in K–12 education in Hong Kong through interviews with local teachers and stakeholders. The findings reveal that DFT-related TPDs have had positive effects on teachers’ skills and knowledge overall, but they were found to lack in-depth hands-on training and guidance on pedagogical aspects with practical class models. Teachers flexibly adopted formal and informal TPD depending on their own backgrounds, competencies, and needs. In addition, the following barriers to applying TPD learning outcomes to classroom practices were identified: limited hardware availability and access as well as a lack of open-learning classrooms, technical support and sustained professional development for teachers, technology integration into different subjects, and government-provided guidelines and frameworks. However, these limitations were found to afford new opportunities with respect to student-centered and collaborative teaching and learning environments. Copyright © 2021 International Council for Educational Media.

This chapter presents two case studies on e-Learning policy and implementation in universities dedicated to teacher education in Hong Kong and Beijing. The case studies provide an overview of e-Learning in teacher education in the two cities in China; introduce strategies of the university-specific policy on e-Learning in teacher education; share examples of the policy-informed practice for e-Learning in teacher education and then discuss issues for the successful implementation of e-Learning in teacher education. In the case study from Hong Kong, the university-specific policy concerns the development of both e-Learning competency and digital competency to empower student-teachers to be lifelong learners who are active, constructive, interactive and reflective in their learning and professional life. The strategies for e-Learning are implemented to engage student-teachers in blended learning in course delivery, mobile technology-supported learning hub, online assessment-submission platform with plagiarism check and digital portfolio. The strategies for digital competency are implemented to nurture student-teachers with coding, app development, 3D printing, STEM/STEAM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics/science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) literacy and artificial intelligence literacy to groom creativity and innovation for their competitiveness in the digitalised society. In the case study from Beijing, the university-specific policy aims to develop student-teachers’ digital literacy and the capability of design, development and utilisation of digital learning resources and to develop the ability of ICT-based instructional design. The e-Learning strategies are implemented through engaging student-teachers in learning in technology-rich environments (such as smart classrooms, MOOCs [massive open online courses] or SPOCs [small private online courses]), and through the compulsory course of ‘Introduction to Modern Educational Technology’

Background: STEM education and research are increasingly emphasized by governments worldwide to foster national development and productivity, economic competitiveness and societal wellbeing. There is no exception in Hong Kong, with its desire to promote STEM education and to strengthen Innovation and Technology development in the future. Purpose: This study aimed to explore the STEM activities employed in primary students' STEM projects under the theme 'Living in a Smart City', and to identify what and how computation technologies were generally used and to examine the differences of computation technology used among project types and award levels. Sample: 168 project reports were collected from a STEM Fair with the following areas of content: the origins of the inquiry idea; scientific/STEM theories employed; inquiry process and testing methods implemented; findings and results obtained; difficulties encountered; and students' reflections. Design and methods: Content analysis on project reports and students' reflections was performed. The qualitative data were coded for statistical analysis, to explore the differences in the association of the STEM activities in the projects. Analyses were supported by students' reflections in the reports to explore students' computation experiences. Results: Most students worked on new device projects, and projects producing new devices were more likely to integrate technological activities. On the whole, science, engineering and mathematics activities complemented each other well, with less evidence of integration with respect to technology activities. Students gained valuable knowledge and got a sense of achievement from the STEM project work. Conclusion: It is encouraging to find that students were capable of integrating STEM activities to different extents into STEM projects. It is noticed that more emphasis should be laid on promoting the infusion of computation technological activities. More attention should also be paid on providing

There has been an increasing concern on teachers’ adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in their teaching practices. However, little has been explored about English as a second language (ESL) teachers’ ICT adoption. This study synthesizes the technology acceptance model (TAM), the value-expectancy theory, and a learning perspective to propose a model -for investigating ESL teachers’ continuance intention to use ICT in teaching. In the proposed model, motivational beliefs, ICT learning behaviors, facilitating conditions, and perceptions towards ICT use were put together to see how they worked together to influence continuance intention. Participants were 156 primary school ESL teachers in Hong Kong, who attended a teacher professional development program. Structural equation modeling showed that ICT self-efficacy and facilitating conditions were positively associated with continuance intention through perceptions (i.e. perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness). ICT anxiety had a negative effect, whereas interest had a positive effect on continuance intention. Growth mindset had a positive effect on continuance intention through learning of ICT (i.e. adaptive help seeking). Implications for teachers’ professional development programs are discussed. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine students' perception of mobile technology adoption for library service apps as a lens to explore the factors affecting mobile learning in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: With the data collected from university students from Hong Kong and Japan, the authors conducted a comparative study for gaining a better understanding of students' perceptions toward adopting mobile apps as learning tools and other socio-cultural factors affecting such adoption. In particular, the authors derive alternative models from our analysis (benchmarked on technology acceptance model and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) for a better explanation of the formation of the intentions, and, more importantly, cultural factors would affect such formation, as informed by the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Findings: The findings are valuable for enhancing the effectiveness and adoption of mobile services for teaching and learning purposes in the context of higher education, as the focus of promotion of services should be tailored to the different student expectations in different regions, e.g. mainly performance expectancy in Japan versus in Hong Kong facilitating condition, performance expectancy and perceived usefulness altogether. Originality/value: Defined as contributing to the development of learning assistance, mobile technology for library use and information access have become a significant issue raised in many higher educational institutions over the world, as the characteristics of mobile technology, such as portability and mobility, strengthen its possible use in education. However, scant research has been done in understanding the perception of mobile library use and factors affecting the behavioral intentions through the use of mobile technologies in Hong Kong and most Asian countries have not been sufficiently studied. Copyright © 2021 Emerald .

Hong Kong was one of the first public school systems in the world to shift to online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary and secondary school language teachers had to adapt instruction to cater to their students' diverse linguistic and educational needs. Drawing from the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DCE), the current study examines the experiences of primary and secondary school English language teachers' digital competence as they navigated digital resources, teaching and learning, assessment, and empowering learners in an emergency remote teaching context. Using a two-stage design, this study drew from qualitative survey data (N = 73) and follow-up interviews (N = 10). Findings illuminate how language teachers responded to their students' educational and linguistic needs in online environments. Notably, educators adapted their virtual instruction to cater to students with varying English language proficiency levels and leveraged both synchronous and asynchronous platforms to best support student learning. Moreover, the current study sheds light on how the DCE framework might be used as a tool to assess the digital competencies of educators and better prepare them for virtual teaching. It concludes with a call for more research on emergency remote teaching, particularly within primary and secondary language classrooms. • The current study examines the digital competence of primary and secondary school language teachers in Hong Kong. • The study uses a Digital Competencies Framework to understand digital resources, pedagogy, assessments and learners online. • Teachers engaged in strategic decision-making about synchronous and asynchronous technologies for instruction. • Teachers also reconsidered the purpose and process of lesson preparation, student engagement and assessments. • Implications for equipping teachers with digital competence through teacher training and ongoing development are discussed. Copyright © 2021

The paper draws upon a collaborative action research project using Photovoice aiming at empowering participants to voice and critically reflect by thinking deeply about their context and difficulties, and using images to foster critical consciousness. Nineteen prospective teachers in a Hong Kong public university participated in this collaborative action research project. Findings highlight the obstacles and concerns that prospective teachers faced, core reflections, and action plans for overcoming such challenges. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using Photovoice to facilitate reflective dialogues in developing professional teachers in initial teacher education. Copyright © 2021 Routledge.

This paper reports on the design, implementation, and results of a video-based study that focused on supporting an individualized viewing experience, keeping a record of what was noticed, providing a degree of guiding framework, and facilitating a combination of individual and collaborative reflections in noticing activities for STEM professional development. A cohort of 20 prospective mathematics teachers at a public university in Hong Kong participated in the study. The participants engaged in a series of blended learning activities with a feature that allowed them to leave comments while viewing of a lesson video, which focused on technology integration in mathematics classrooms. The designed activities were helpful for the participants to document and reflect on their observations, while viewing videos outside the classroom allowed them to meaningfully engage with the course materials. Moreover, the use of videos supported the participants' broad but crucial STEM classroom practices that would help them prepare for future lessons. Copyright © 2021 International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS).

With the advancement of technology, eLearning is increasingly adopted as an instructional method in a wide range of educational settings and has opened up new possibilities in teaching and learning practices. However, there is insufficient empirical evidence to illustrate how eLearning benefits teaching and learning practice in its real-world applications. Therefore, an important question is raised--How can eLearning technology facilitate pedagogical advancement practically in the classroom? In this study, we focus on constructivist pedagogies, emphasizing the dramatic educational reform from teacher-centered pedagogy to a student-centered, constructivist approach. Based on observations of 79 eLearning classes in eight primary schools, four secondary schools, and two special education schools in Hong Kong, this study illustrates how eLearning technology can advance at least five constructivist pedagogies: 1) active learning, 2) student-centered learning, 3) peer learning, 4) personalized learning, and 5) differentiated learning. We illustrate that the interactive, self-paced, repetitious, and customizable features of eLearning systems facilitate the implementation of these five constructivist pedagogies. Successful examples from classroom observations are drawn to illustrate how teachers make practical use of eLearning technology. This article serves to stimulate further discussion on how eLearning can be applied across various settings to advance the effectiveness of constructivist pedagogies and to encourage practitioners to consider how to make use of eLearning technology in the classroom. Copyright © 2021 Springer.

Despite the wide adoption of emergency remote learning (ERL) in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is insufficient understanding of influencing factors predicting student satisfaction for this novel learning environment in crisis. The present study investigated important predictors in determining the satisfaction of undergraduate students (N = 425) from multiple departments in using ERL at a self-funded university in Hong Kong while Moodle and Microsoft Team are the key learning tools. By comparing the predictive accuracy between multiple regression and machine learning models before and after the use of random forest recursive feature elimination, all multiple regression, and machine learning models showed improved accuracy while the most accurate model was the elastic net regression with 65.2% explained variance. The results show only neutral (4.11 on a 7-point Likert scale) regarding the overall satisfaction score on ERL. Even majority of students are competent in technology and have no obvious issue in accessing learning devices or Wi-Fi, face-to-face learning is more preferable compared to ERL and this is found to be the most important predictor. Besides, the level of efforts made by instructors, the agreement on the appropriateness of the adjusted assessment methods, and the perception of online learning being well delivered are shown to be highly important in determining the satisfaction scores. The results suggest that the need of reviewing the quality and quantity of modified assessment accommodated for ERL and structured class delivery with the suitable amount of interactive learning according to the learning culture and program nature. Copyright © 2021 Public Library of Science.