While mobile technology has supported and enabled both formal and informal learning, there remain difficulties connecting learners' interests to places-based learning contexts. Place-based and affinity space learning frameworks are useful for understanding and scaffolding learning. Place-based learning looks at ways aspects of the local…

Technology is well entrenched as part of our everyday lives and formal learning settings. The role technology plays as part of the informal learning of sports and physical activities has not been explored as thoroughly. This study examined the use of technology by ultradistance cyclists as part of their experiential learning process. Data…

This mixed methods study used an exploratory sequential design to explore how K-12 public school teachers learned to use technology outside of formal professional development opportunities. Two constructivist adult learning perspectives, social cognitive theory and informal learning, provided a framework to understand how individuals create and…

The purpose of this study was to build upon existing research that explored teachers' professional learning expectations and how teachers can utilize social media platforms or social learning environments to aid their professional learning. This information may be used to support thinking differently about time and space for both student and adult…

The proliferation of the smartphone has encouraged educators, particularly the tech savvy, to seek personalized learning options in lieu of the absence of individualized professional development (PD) offerings provided by their academic institutions that are not based on short-term whole group instruction. Although smartphone use has attracted the…

This qualitative dissertation explores the perceptions of how and why teachers might integrate technology to support their goals of equity and inclusion with a group of teachers who identify as culturally responsive in their pedagogy and describe themselves as fluent in the use of technology in school. Teachers working with students of diverse…

This phenomenological, qualitative research investigated the perceptions of university students in a College of Education about the educational use of social media by examining the experiences of seven graduate students via an analysis of interview transcripts, informal observations, and applicable artifacts. This study was guided by three…

Addiction recovery is a deeply personal journey of lifelong learning (LLL). Mobile technology is considered the choice technology for LLL, particularly in situations related to personal health and life transitions. This study addressed everyday experiences of using mobile devices for LLL to better understand non-technological factors that make…

This dissertation is about videogames. It is also about teaching, and the ways videogame design represents good teaching. However, this dissertation is not about videogames alone. It makes broad claims about teaching in- and out-of-schools in the 21st Century. Over the last few decades many scholars have been impressed by the rich forms of…

The purpose of this qualitative multiple participant case study was to identify the influence of social media on Saudi graduate students who are active social media users. Social media have been influencing Saudi students differently than those in other socio-cultural contexts due to the uniqueness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in terms of…

Lessons from early academic television courses from the 1950s guide an assessment of current disruptive technologies that shape Massive Open Online Courses (known as MOOCs) and other informal online learning opportunities today. This dissertation explores some of the unique contributing factors that led to the creation of "Sunrise…

Significant innovations in learning technologies are encouraging individuals, especially high school students, to seek enrichment learning opportunities that they normally are not able to take advantage of due to the limitation of traditional classroom offerings in low-income school districts. With the increase in learners seeking alternatives to…

This participatory and grounded theory ethnography focuses on mobile learning practices of a group of adult Romani women and their families. Framed through the lens of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) and technofeminism, these practices challenge existing integration programs with their binary approach as insufficient to analyze informal…

As part of human development, technology plays an important role in many children's lives. As digital technologies continue to permeate aspects of many children's everyday lives, educators are integrating digital technologies into classroom practices and, as such, have created a need to examine the ways in which children use technologies in their…

Membership in social networking sites is increasing rapidly. Social networking sites serve many purposes including networking, communication, recruitment, and sharing knowledge. Social networking sites, public or private, may be hosted on applications such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As individuals begin to follow and participate in social…