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Purpose This paper aims to investigate teacher students’ perceptions, intentions, experiences, attitudes, opinions and barriers concerning social media use and impact of social media on their learning process. Design/methodology/approach A stratified sampling technique was applied to draw the sample, and 242 teacher students were selected as a sample from three higher educational institutions in Gombe State, Nigeria. A questionnaire survey method was used to collect the data. Data analysis was by means of simple and inferential statistics. Findings The students widely used mobile phones to access social media, and social media was extremely popular for education, entertainment and communication among them. Educational and informational communities were also preferred by students to other social media communities. The study further revealed that effective social media usage among students enhanced their different types of skills including learning. Unstable electricity connections, security and privacy issues, internet costs and unreliable internet connections were recorded as some barriers concerning students’ social media use. Originality/value The outcome of this study will be a unique contribution because the pertinent literature provides little evidence or research highlights concerning teacher students’ social media use. Even more, the results of the present study may be a useful resource for university administrators, education policymakers and innovative teachers in universities – especially in developing countries and particularly Nigeria – when considering integration of modern techniques and technologies with university teaching and learning.

Purpose There is a great interest in developing eco-friendly operations as alternative uses of resources in the university campus, making the employment of technologies more sustainable. Practices such as energy management and efficiency initiatives have been encouraged to meet these sustainability goals. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the main features of the GENIIOT project, a system of energy management using Internet of Things applied in a Brazilian university campus to support energy education practices and to promote lasting energy efficiency measures. The focus of the study is directed at the energy consumption of the air-conditioning system, which is responsible for 40% of the total electricity consumption. In addition, this project also scrutinizes processes such as the building occupants’ comfort demands, lighting levels and energy waste control. Design/methodology/approach A case study at the Unicamp campus was conducted to illustrate the design procedures through qualitative description. This study comprises an overview of the physical plant, hardware and software development, energy data monitoring, management process and energy education. Findings The GENIIOT project enables energy efficiency actions by concerning the use of air-conditioning equipment based on monitored data, different types of monitored rooms, user’s behaviors and their feedback. This initiative requires the engagement, awareness and actions from users combined with investment in energy efficiency to achieve an efficient use of this type of equipment. The proposed approach can be applied in the future to similar situations, inside the Unicamp campus and at other university campuses. In addition, this project can contribute to building efficiency analysis by using the hardware structure developed to monitor facilities and carry out evaluations, providing valuable information for strategic initiatives in energy efficiency projects and research and development programs based on practical experience and promoting a discussion about sustainability aspects in the context of the university campus for energy efficiency. Originality/value The GENIIOT project is aligned with some of the sustainable development goals, among which sustainability and responsible consumption are identified. Considering the sustainability issues, the economic dimension can be evaluated through a cost–benefit analysis of energy efficiency projects with prudent investment, while the social attractiveness of the project is ensured by education and awareness practices for the community that interacts with the system and learns about a more efficient way of using resources in the campus. Furthermore, there is a more conscious use of natural resources by minimizing waste from the use of electricity and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. GENIIOT is part of Sustainable Campus Project, a living laboratory which aims at developing energy-efficiency-related research activities in the university campus to reduce costs in higher and federal institutions of education in Brazil.

Higher Education Institutions have adopted technology-based teaching methods to prevent the spreading of the contagious coronavirus (COVID-19). In the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era, technology-based teaching methods are indispensable for scaffolding teaching, learning and assessment. Mathematics is an important discipline in education, and provides a basis for problem solving, critical thinking and analytical skills, which is important to consider when focusing on sustainability. Thus, to add knowledge to the field about integrating technology-based teaching methods in mathematics, Higher Education environments during and post-COVID-19 need to be interrogated. This added knowledge is be valuable in the 4IR era post-COVID-19 for sustaining mathematics in Higher Education. This study explored participants’ experiences, views, implications and suggestions for technology-based teaching methods for mathematics. These participants (N = 45) were postgraduate students and mathematics school teachers at the research site in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The research location for this qualitative study was a South African Higher Education Institution, and the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Community of Inquiry theoretical framework and the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition (SAMR) theoretical model guided this study. Participants were invited to two interactive online workshops. At these workshops, participants were introduced to different technology-based teaching methods. Then, they were invited to individual online interviews. The findings of this study suggest important experiences, views and suggestions for using technology-based teaching methods in Higher Education mathematics contexts in the 4IR era. These findings provide important implications and further research possibilities for embedding sustainable mathematics in Higher Education in the 4IR era, post-COVID-19.

Purpose The study of sustainability within universities is recognized as essential for debates and research; in the long term, the “sustainable university” concepts can contribute to sustainability from a larger perspective. This study aims to propose a conceptual model for evaluating the students’ sustainability considering their interactions with the university and the environment. The proposed model is titled Sunshine model. It is applied to students of the La Salle University, Peru. Design/methodology/approach The model combines academic performance, happiness and the ecological footprint to quantify university students’ sustainability. A structured questionnaire survey was elaborated and applied to get the raw data that feeds the three methods. The students’ average grades evaluate academic performance. Happiness is quantified by the happiness index method, and the ecological footprint is measured by the demand for food, paper, electricity, transport and built-up areas. Results are evaluated under both approaches, overall group performance and clusters. Findings The proposed model avoids misleading interpretations of a single indicator or discussions on sustainability that lack a conceptual model, bringing robustness in assessing students’ sustainability in universities. To have a low ecological footprint, the student needs to need up to 1 planet for their lifestyle, be considered happy with at least 0.8 (of 1) for happiness index, and have good academic performance with at least a grade of 7 (of 10) in their course. Regarding the case study, La Salle students show a high academic grade degree of 7, a high level for happiness index of 0.8 and low performance for ecological footprint by demanding 1.8 Earth planets, resulting in an “environmentally distracted” overall classification for students with 2019 data. From a cluster approach, 81% of evaluated students (n = 603) have low performance for ecological footprint, whereas 31% have low performance for indicators of recreational activities of happiness. Changing lifestyles and making more recreational activities available play crucial roles in achieving higher sustainability for the La Salle students. Research limitations/implications The happiness assessment questionnaire can be subject to criticism, as it was created as a specific method for this type of audience based on existing questionnaires in the literature. Although it can be seen as an important approach for diagnoses, the proposed model does not consider the cause–effect aspect. The decision-maker must consider the sociocultural aspects before implementing plan actions. Practical implications University managers can better understand why university students have high or low sustainability performance and provide more effective actions toward higher levels of students’ sustainability. Originality/value The proposed model, Sunshine model, overcomes the single-criteria existing tools that access the sustainability of universities. Rather than focusing on university infrastructure, the proposed model focuses on the students and their relationship with the university.

PurposeThis research aims to examine the pre-service teachers’ learning when using STEM tasks with middle school students in a lesson study.Design/methodology/approachThis research adopted a qualitative methodology with an interpretative orientation. The participants are three pre-service teachers involved in a lesson study that took place in a curricular unit of a master’s program in physics and chemistry teaching. Data were collected through observation and written reflections.FindingsThis lesson study, conducted as part of initial teacher training, allowed pre-service teachers to deepen their understanding regarding students’ difficulties when engaged in a STEM task involving prototype construction. It also enabled them to learn about the engineering design process and the integration of the four STEM areas. Reflecting with peers and educators on the research lesson, taught by the cooperating teacher, and on the results allowed them to develop knowledge about the use of STEM tasks.Originality/valueThis research highlighted the importance of introducing STEM education in the initial teacher training. Specifically, this research contributed to the scarce studies on lesson studies with pre-service teachers that focus specifically on the use of STEM tasks.

Sustainable campuses have a substantial role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Worldwide, there are many rating schemes to assess universities’ sustainability; UI GreenMetric is one of the most common global rating schemes aimed at encouraging green campuses and university sustainability worldwide. However, none of the existing rating schemes quantitatively measure the contributions of the implementation of its assessment indicators to achieve SDGs. There is a shortage of information on how sustainable campuses contribute to achieving SDGs. Thus, this research aimed to develop a novel index to assess and manage the contributions of sustainable campuses certified by UI GreenMetric to achieve SDGs. This article proposes novel indices, the GreenMetric Indicator Contribution Index (GMICI) and the GreenMetric Sustainable Campus Index (GMSCI), to evaluate the contributions of implementing UI GreenMetric indicators for achieving the SDGs. By implementing questionnaire surveys, we collected the relevant data. Structured questionnaire surveys yielded 35 responses from experts. The contributions of UI GreenMetric indicators to achieving SDGs were evaluated using the Relative Importance Index (RII). The results indicated an important relationship between the GreenMetric indicator and SDGs 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9,11, 12, 13 and 15. This research concludes that the proposed GMICI and GMSCI are a rigorous means for evaluating the contribution of UI GreenMetric indicators to UN-SDGs’ achievement.

Purpose Energy consumption and renewable energy sources are included in the goals for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) agenda, and target buildings are the biggest electricity consumers. In turn, Netzero energy buildings (NZEB) contribute to achieve SDG7 goals. This paper aims to identify which Brazilian higher education institutions (HEIs) practices contribute to developing the NZEB concept. Design/methodology/approach Case studies were selected to identify which implanted practices applied by HEIs in Brazil, listed in the UI GreenMetric 2020 Ranking, are related to the NZEB concept. The implemented sustainable practices were also analyzed to evaluate the connections and impact between universities and the local community. Findings Results show the lighting and air conditioning retrofit were among the most common practices related to energy efficiency to reduce consumption. For renewable energy generation, photovoltaic solar energy is the most common practice used by HEIs. Research limitations/implications Only Brazilian HEIs listed in the UI Green Metric Ranking were analyzed. No standard regulation or formal reports support the wide dissemination of the strategies adopted by HEIs in Brazil. Practical implications The strategies adopted by HEIs related to Netzero buildings can reduce emissions, optimize operating costs and improve building comfort conditions, which connect all SDGs. Social implications HEIs can promote awareness related to energy use and clean energy generation within the local community. Originality/value This paper presents the most common strategies adopted by Brazilian HEIs. However, limitations related to lack of strategies, data transparency and specific Netzero energy regulation were also found. These issues can hinder other HEIs to adopt similar strategies and contribute to the promotion of SDG7 in Brazil.

In this paper, the potential of visuo-haptic simulators to help engineering students to understand the nature of electric forces between different electric charge distributions is addressed. Three visuo-haptic simulators were designed to perceive the attractive–repulsive behavior as well as the dependence on distance of electrical forces for: (a) point charge, (b) line charge, and (c) plane charge. Design elements were incorporated to improve the 3D perception of the simulators. A sample of N = 111 engineering students practiced with the simulators: 87 enrolled in an Electricity and Magnetism course and 24 enrolled in a more advanced Electromagnetic Fields course. Pre-test and Post-test were applied before and after working with the simulators and average learning gains were obtained. t-tests were performed to determine the statistical significance of the results. Significant learning gains were obtained for the comprehension of the force dependence in the case of line charge and plane charge, but not for the point charge, due to the fact that most students started with very high Pre-test scores in this last case. These results suggest that the use of visuo-haptic simulators may help students to better identify the dependence of electric forces on distance. It was also observed that the potential effect of improving the recognition of electric interactions was higher among students with lower previous familiarity with these topics, as compared to more advanced students. Through exit surveys, it was found that the students liked very much the haptic activity and that it sparked their interest in learning new physical concepts.

Over the last decade, the rapid development of the technology has become a significant interest in Education. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has integrated into learning and teaching along with delivering more chances for students and teachers to operate better in teaching and learning. Conversely, the obstacles may prevent teachers from applying ICT in the classroom. Analyzing the barriers of ICT integration can help and encourage educators to be creative and try to use a new approach for integrating technology into their everyday teaching process. This study investigates teachers’ perspectives on those obstacles for integrating ICT in teaching at the university level. It also aims to find out other uncommon barriers in teaching that any facilitators who are applying ICT can face. Sixty-seven participants from different positions and departments in the education field, who integrate ICT have participated in the study. A mixed method has been implemented. The data was collected through a survey with Google form. The quantitative data were analyzed by IBM SPSS version 28, while the thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The study’s results have declared that most of the teachers have solid demand to apply ICT in teaching, even with these barriers. The most difficulties were internet connection and electricity in the process. It also indicated that ICT makes the class more effective through student engagement, time management, and student-student interactions.