Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Eleni Rossiou and Erasmia Papadopoulou
how to use “help” when they need it during computer use, c) use expression and communication tools
which aims to train students in web-searching, spreadsheets, graphs and presentations, and d) ICT
and professional activities.
Google Groups was used to support the sharing of information and effective communication. Also,
students could share their files, post ideas, and conduct discussions either on the web or via email. All
emails sent to the group were archived for future reference and were easily searchable. Also,
students could organize web resources as they were working on a team project, they were informed
by the teacher of announcements, new assignments, latest news and they could extend class
discussions online
Google Docs were used by students and teacher as well. Students could work on their files from any
computer, thus they could continue to work on the assignments they had started in the classroom,
they could receive feedback from teacher or collaborators of their files and they could publish their
final individual or team work project. Emphasis is given on the use of spreadsheet documents relating
to the third unit of the curriculum.
With Google Calendar teacher and students customized reminders and it helped them to stay on
schedule since any event was flagged to them by email. Google applications of email and chat were
used for asynchronous and synchronous communication and student- student/s and teacherstudent/s
interactions.
3. Research methodology
The steps that have been followed in planning the current research are (Cohen & Manion 1994): a) to
define the aims and decide the necessary information to be gathered, b) define the sample and
choose the research method c) design the survey, the structure of it, its form and the way that data
would be analyzed, d) test in pilot and improve the questionnaire e) deliver the questionnaire, collect
the data from interviews, and gather the observation data, f) code the data, order it in tables and
statistically analyze and g) write the research report.
The above research method was used because we were aiming at collecting data in real time and
gathering information that could be collected in various ways such as questionnaires filled in-situ and
structured or semi-structured interviews. Also, triangulation strategy was used for increasing the
validity of results and research findings.
In details,
The recording of students’ perceptions, attitudes, expectations and potential hesitations
regarding eLearning in Secondary Education have been achieved via a questionnaire at the
beginning of the research,
The recording and investigation of potential changes in students’ attitudes and convictions
towards the exploitation of blended learning using Google applications as well as the way that
students are encouraged to participate actively during the educational process through
collaborative learning techniques, have been achieved via the questionnaire delivered in-situ and
both interviews implemented and teacher’s/researcher’s observation,
The effectiveness of blended learning using Google applications in high school has been
investigated through interviews and students’ performance in written tests in addition to data
collected through direct observation of students’ active participation in both face-to-face class
lessons and web-based assessments.
3.1 Theoretical and Methodological framework
Researchers of the use of eLearning in educational process have not focused solely on the
effectiveness of educational content but also significantly on a) interaction between students, b)
collaborative activities, c) students’ encouragement of active participation, d) students’ profile,
knowledge background and skill in using new technologies and e) affordances of technological
environments (Govindasamy 2002, Oblinger 2005, Ebner et al. 2007, Hrastinski 2008, Alivisos &
Apostolos 2009).
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