| The Effect of Split Attention in Surgical Education | | BIBA | Full-Text | 3-10 | |
| Erol Özçelik; Nergiz Ercil Cagiltay; Gokhan Sengul; Emre Tuner; Bulent Unal | |||
| Surgical education through simulation is an important area to improve the level of education and to decrease the risks, ethical considerations and cost of the educational environments. In the literature there are several studies conducted to better understand the effect of these simulation environments on learning. However among those studies the human-computer interaction point of view is very limited. Surgeons need to look at radiological images such as magnetic resonance images (MRI) to be sure about the location of the patient's tumor during a surgical operation. Thus, they go back and forth between physically separated places (e.g. the operating table and light screen display for MRI volume sets). This study is conducted to investigate the effect of presenting different information sources in close proximity on human performance in surgical education. For this purpose, we have developed a surgical education simulation scenario which is controlled by a haptic interface. To better understand the effect of split attention in surgical education, an experimental study is conducted with 27 subjects. The descriptive results of study show that even the integrated group performed the tasks with a higher accuracy level (by traveling less distance, entering less wrong directions and hitting less walls), the results are not statistically significant. Accordingly, even there are some evidences about the effect of split attention on surgical simulation environments, the results of this study need to be validated by controlling students' skill levels on controlling the haptic devices and 2D/3D space perception skills. The results of this study may guide the system developers to better design the HCI interface of their designs especially for the area of surgical simulation. | |||
| Supporting Learning with 3D Interactive Applications in Early Years | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 11-22 | |
| Antonia Cascales Martínez; María-José Martínez-Segura; Maria Laguna-Segovia; David C. Pérez-López; Manuel Contero | |||
| Early years education is an key element for the introduction of children in
the education system. In order to improve this process, the aim of this study
was to explore how guided interaction with 3D apps can fit into a preschool
setting, how it can help children learn through playing and how it can improve
their learning outcomes. A study was conducted with six classes of 87 students
aged between 3 years to 6 years, over a 12-week period. Children used 10 inch
Android tablets with a series of apps developed by our research team, about
houses of the world, the skeleton & five senses and, animals. A
quasi-experimental design based on a nonequivalent groups pretest and posttest
design revealed that an active behavior and better learning outcomes are
obtained by children participating in the experimental group. Keywords: augmented reality; preschool; knowledge | |||
| Interrelation between Pedagogical Design and Learning Interaction Patterns in different Virtual Learning Environments | | BIBA | Full-Text | 23-32 | |
| Maka Eradze; Mart Laanpere | |||
| Different virtual learning environments offer different affordances and pedagogical design for learning interactions which results in difference learning interaction patterns. With the emergence of a new era in VLE (virtual learning environments) a new set of affordances is needed to support the appropriate learning interactions.We argue that there is a strong interrelation between the pedagogical design and learning interaction patterns in a given VLE which is influenced by the affordances of that VLE. In order to create a set of affordances that support learning interactions within the DLE, there is a need of analysis of already existing learning interaction affordances across different platforms. | |||
| BIZZY -- A Social Game for Entrepreneurship Education | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 33-41 | |
| Benjamim Fonseca; Ramiro Gonçalves; Ricardo Rodrigues Nunes; Mário Sérgio Teixeira; Hugo Paredes; Leonel Morgado; Paulo Martins | |||
| Entrepreneurship education is increasingly being promoted, driven by a wide
consensus in modern societies concerning its benefits in fostering the
development of several professional and personal attitudes and skills, such as
business expertise, creativity, risk assessment or responsibility. In this
context, several authorities have been actively developing policies and
activities to empower entrepreneurship culture in young people. Serious Games
are recognized as having an important role and potential in education and
social networks emerged in the last decade as the platform preferred by many
people to socialize, play games or conduct professional activities. This paper
presents a proposal for BIZZY, a serious game to be developed and implemented
as a Facebook application, to enable young people in the range 12-18 years old
to learn entrepreneurial skills progressively, by guiding them to develop a
business project from the early idea to the business plan. Keywords: computers in education; entrepreneurship; technology enhanced learning;
serious games; social networks; facebook | |||
| An Approach to Holistic Development of Serious Games and Learning Simulations | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 42-49 | |
| Aleshia T. Hayes | |||
| This discourse is an argument for a holistic approach to developing learning
games and computer mediated experiences through the intersections of the areas
of efficacy, effectiveness, and user experience in designing and developing
serious games and simulated learning experiences. Some examples are explored in
which reasonably effective design approaches could have been improved by a more
holistic and iterative approach. The approach includes the integration of
learning objectives, outcomes, usability, motivation, experience, ludus,
aesthetics, cost and sustainability of the systems based on research within the
fields of education, learning theory, game design theory, and simulation. These
constructs explain the need for an iterative and holistic approach to designing
and developing learning games. Embracing iterative and learning centered design
of serious games will perpetuate development of effective educational
technology. Keywords: Educational Technology; Efficacy; Engagement; Serious Games; Evaluation | |||
| Experiencing Physical and Technical Phenomena in Schools Using Virtual Reality Driving Simulator | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 50-61 | |
| Polina Häfner; Victor Häfner; Jivka Ovtcharova | |||
| In the time of globalization and technical advances, companies want to
remain competitive on national and international markets. This requires a
qualified workforce with a corresponding level of education in the STEM fields.
This paper presents a didactic methodology for a virtual reality-based workshop
which supplements the school curricula of secondary education institutions. A
virtual reality driving simulation application is used in order to enhance the
students understanding of different physical and technical phenomena as well as
to teach technical skills, such as the ability to program virtual reality
applications. We observed that this methodology helps to reduce complexity and
aid the understanding of the subject. This is due to the three main
contributing factors: Immersion, interaction and engagement. The enthusiasm for
the virtual reality systems kept the students motivated not only during the
teaching units, but it has also inspired them to pursue the STEM careers. Keywords: serious games; technology enhanced learning; STEM fields; secondary
education; virtual learning environment; driving simulation | |||
| Weaving User Immersive Experiences: Scientific Curiosity and Reasoning with Bodily Feelings Mapping and Evolution | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 62-71 | |
| Niki Lambropoulos; Tharrenos Bratitsis | |||
| The objective of this paper is to propose a gamification platform called
Free2Grow that promotes scientific critical thinking based on User Immersive
Experience (iX). Essential condition for effective use of media and methods is
to make sure that they trigger and direct youngsters' curiosity, support their
reasoning and emotional states, so that the learners are engaged and
participate in new idea generation in co-creative writing. Free2Grow main
characteristics are as follows: (a) diagnose/feed conative characteristics such
as curiosity and reasoning as well as body atlas feelings as subtle ways that
drive a youngster's reasoning and resilience; (b) enable gamification
architecture; (c) team building and group formation techniques; (d) learners'
active engagement in team co-creativity projects that will necessitate and make
reference to the knowledge and skills acquired. Keywords: Gamification; Immersive Experience; critical thinking; curiosity; emotional
states; Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Communication; E-research
with Communities; Team Based Innovation | |||
| HaptiChem: Haptic and Visual Support in Interactions with the Microscopic World | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 72-82 | |
| Elisa Magnanelli; Gianluca Brero; Rosa Virginia Espinoza Garnier; Giacomo Mazzoletti; Alessandro Maria Rizzi; Sara Comai | |||
| Haptic technologies provide physical sensations in the interaction with a
computing system, by exploiting the human sense of touch and by applying
forces, vibrations, or motions to the user hands or body. Considering their
features, they can be a useful tool in life-science teaching, especially when
molecules are involved. For this purpose, a framework composed of an haptic
device and a visual interface for molecular exploration has been developed to
simulate molecular and intermolecular interactions. Furthermore, this work
evaluates the visual and haptic tool for molecular exploration in a didactic
context, performing tests and interviews with students. The final aim is to
properly develop the features of the tool, in order to make it suitable for the
introduction in chemistry education. Preliminary results show positive and
effective responses and learning gains from the tasks. It has also been noticed
that the use of such an innovative instrument raises the interest of students
in the learning process, which is one of the main benefits of the haptic
device. Keywords: Haptics; Intermolecular Interaction; Life-Science Education | |||
| Augmented Reality Applications in the Engineering Environment | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 83-90 | |
| Karle Olalde Azkorreta; Héctor Olmedo Rodríguez | |||
| In the area of engineering, we can move much in the way clients generally
can interact with models or designs for new products, so we are developing
various alternatives for visualization, such as Virtual and Augmented realities
based on accurate models with no need of using specific software. In order to
have a better and global knowledge of the possibilities we show in this paper
the situation and capabilities of these technologies. From models developed
with commercial programs and tools for industrial design, we propose a workflow
to give everybody a chance to interact with these models. The sectors where
these technologies are applied and the services offered are grouped in
Industrial production systems and Learning of related disciplines. At the end
conclusions will be given with every reference used. With everything, ideas for
improving these technologies and the correspondent applications could be
suggested to the reader. Keywords: Collaboration technology and informal learning; Augmented and virtual
Reality; engineering; models | |||
| User Experience Observations on Factors That Affect Performance in a Road-Crossing Training Application for Children Using the CAVE | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 91-101 | |
| Aimilia Tzanavari; Skevi Matsentidou; Chris G. Christou; Charalambos Poullis | |||
| Each year thousands of pedestrian get killed in road accidents and millions
are non-fatally injured. Many of these involve children and occur when crossing
at or between intersections. It is more difficult for children to understand,
assess and predict risky situations, especially in settings that they don't
have that much experience in, such as in a city. Virtual Reality has been used
to simulate situations that are too dangerous to practice in real life and has
proven to be advantageous when used in training, aiming at improving skills.
This paper presents a road-crossing application that simulates a pedestrian
crossing found in a city setting. Children have to evaluate all given pieces of
information (traffic lights, cars crossing, etc.) and then try to safely cross
the road in a virtual environment. A VR CAVE is used to immerse children in the
city scene. User experience observations were made so as to identify the
factors that seem to affect children's performance. Results indicate that the
application was well received as a learning tool and that gender; immersion and
traffic noise seem to affect children's performance. Keywords: CAVE; User Experience; Road Crossing; Children; and Training | |||
| Context Dependent Preference Acquisition with Personality-Based Active Learning in Mobile Recommender Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 105-116 | |
| Matthias Braunhofer; Mehdi Elahi; Mouzhi Ge; Francesco Ricci | |||
| Nowadays, Recommender Systems (RSs) play a key role in many businesses. They
provide consumers with relevant recommendations, e.g., Places of Interest
(POIs) to a tourist, based on user preference data, mainly in the form of
ratings for items. The accuracy of recommendations largely depends on the
quality and quantity of the ratings (preferences) provided by the users.
However, users often tend to rate no or only few items, causing low accuracy of
the recommendation. Active Learning (AL) addresses this problem by actively
selecting items to be presented to the user in order to acquire a larger number
of high-quality ratings (preferences), and hence, improve the recommendation
accuracy. In this paper, we propose a personalized active learning approach
that leverages user's personality data to get more and better in-context
ratings. We have designed a novel human computer interaction and assessed our
proposed approach in a live user study -- which is not common in active
learning research. The main result is that the system is able to collect better
ratings and provide more relevant recommendations compared to a variant that is
using a state of the art approach to preference acquisition. Keywords: Recommender Systems; Collaborative Filtering; Personalized Active Learning;
Cold start; Mobile | |||
| Mobile Apps for Older Users -- The Development of a Mobile Apps Repository for Older People | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 117-126 | |
| Francisco J. García-Peñalvo; Miguel Ángel Conde; Vicente Matellán-Olivera | |||
| The emergence and application of the information and communication
technologies have changed the tools that people use in their daily life.
However not all the collectives use the technology in the same way. One case to
take especially into account is older people. For them technology should be an
inclusive factor but it can be also exclusive. The use of mobile devices and
mobile apps by older people is an example of this. The devices and the apps are
not always adapted for the special abilities or features of older people;
moreover they do not always meet their needs. In order to facilitate older
people access to mobile apps the present work reviews the usability issues to
take into account and poses a repository of apps adapted and classified taking
into account usability issues related to older people. Keywords: Older people; ICT; mobile apps; usability; needs | |||
| Development of the Learning System for Outdoor Study Using Zeigarnik Effect | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 127-137 | |
| Yuko Hiramatsu; Atsushi Ito; Masahiro Fujii; Fumihiro Sato | |||
| What is the best way to feel the spirit of the location? In Japan, the
students of the elementary school and the secondary school have the school
trips for several days with classmates. The purpose of those trips is to visit
historical areas in Japan or foreign countries to encourage the students to
learn about history, culture and nature in a proactive way. However, it is not
easy for them to recognize and understand valuable points such as the artistic
points and historical points even if they look at the objects or scenery. To
solve this problem, we have developed a new learning model for outdoor studies
using mobile phone applying Zeigarnik effect that explains human beings takes
much interest in uncompleted or interrupted tasks. In this paper, we explain
our study model for outdoor study and evaluate the usefulness of our tool
though trials. Keywords: E-learning; Zeigarnik effect; Outdoor study; Mobile Phone; Secondary
Education | |||
| Dream Drill: A Bedtime Learning Application | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 138-145 | |
| Aya Ikeda; Itiro Siio | |||
| There is considerable evidence that sleep supports memory consolidation.
Items studied before going to sleep are memorized more efficiently than on
other occasions. Consequently, we propose a learning application based on these
findings. The system includes an alarm clock, which alarm is set only if a user
answers a few questions. We implement a prototype and conduct a field test to
evaluate the effectiveness of the system. Keywords: Memory consolidation; CAI; sleep; learning application; smart-phone
application | |||
| Sustaining Outside-of-Class CALL Activities by Means of a Student Self-Evaluation System in a University Blended Learning EFL Course | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 146-154 | |
| Yasushige Ishikawa; Reiko Akahane-Yamada; Misato Kitamura; Craig Smith; Yasushi Tsubota; Masatake Dantsuji | |||
| This paper is a report on a research project which was conducted on blended
learning (BL) in an English as a foreign language (EFL) course at a Japanese
university. In this study the BL approach to EFL teaching was defined as a
combination of in-class and outside-of-class learning tasks and materials
integrated in a single learning environment by a www-based courseware, ATR CALL
BRIX (http://www.atr-lt.jp/products/brix/index.html). The use of the courseware
outside of class was intended not only to help improve students' TOEIC scores,
but also to nurture self-regulated learning (SRL). A student self-evaluation
system was implemented in this project. On the basis of the findings of pre-
and post-learning questionnaires and interviews with students, it was concluded
that the self-evaluation system encouraged students to engage in SRL.
Furthermore, pre- and post-TOEIC testing revealed that the students in the
project improved their TOEIC scores (p < .01; r = .49). Keywords: Self-evaluation system; Blended learning; Self-regulated learning;
E-mentoring; English as a foreign language (EFL) | |||
| Society@school: Towards an e-Inclusion App for Social Reading | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 155-164 | |
| Longo Lucia; Guercio Elena; Tedde Alessandra; Belluati Maurizio; Actis-Grosso Rossana | |||
| Society@school, a Telecom-Italia Social Reading application designed as a
tool for education (presented in its first version at HCI International 2013)
turned out to be a useful tool for students with Specific Learning Disabilities
(SLD). Social reading could be a way to compensate some SLD, such as dyslexia,
allowing a real inclusion of these students in the school system. The design
process, aimed at including specific design requirements for SLD students with
a user-centered design approach, is presented. Keywords: Social reading; User Experience; School; User Interface; Social; Inclusion;
SLD; Constructivism | |||
| Sensor Based Interaction Mechanisms in Mobile Learning | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 165-172 | |
| Kai-Uwe Martin; Madlen Wuttke; Wolfram Hardt | |||
| This contribution discusses the possibilities for mobile interaction and
learning, facilitated by the increasing use of sensors in mobile devices. Each
sensor provides information which is useful in certain learning contexts and
allows for distinct interaction mechanisms. However a model is required how to
collect the sensor data and connect it to the learning environment and content.
A suitable architecture is described and the steps of the information flow are
explained. Future prospects to enhance mobile interaction with more natural
ways of communication supported by sensors are given. Keywords: Collaboration technology and informal learning; Mobile and/or ubiquitous
learning; Personalization; user modeling and adaptation in learning
technologies; Technology enhanced learning; sensors; context information;
architecture; m-learning | |||
| Visual and Spatial Data Integration in Mobile Application Design | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 173-181 | |
| Patricia Morreale; Allan Goncalves; Daniel Church; Steven Holtz; Joshua Lisojo; Nathaly Lozano; Carlos Silva; Jason Bonafide | |||
| Mobile application design is a strong motivator for student-centered
computing. By including visual and spatial data in a mobile application,
students can develop a 3-D implementation which can provide the mobile app
users with a virtual experience. The development of a mobile app for a
historical burial ground provides an example of how to integrate database
information with visual and spatial data to achieve s virtual experience. The
case study presented here, using both Android and iOS devices, includes three
parts. Initially, an existing database was converted for mobile application
access. This was followed by design integration in support of the desired
mobile app features. Finally, the inclusion of an image gallery, with visual
and spatial elements, integrated with the mobile application, resulted in a
compelling mobile application, providing a virtual replica of an actual visit
to the historical site. Keywords: Mobile application development; Android; iOS; visual data; spatial data | |||
| Exploring Simulated Provocations | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 182-193 | |
| Mathias Nordvall; Mattias Arvola; Marcus Samuelsson | |||
| The purpose of our research project is to explore the design of game-like
simulations that allow pre-service teachers to explore and experiment with
problematic classroom situations to develop proficiency in classroom
management. The research problem for this paper is how to design a plausible,
valuable to learn, and interesting game-like simulation that also is usable and
opens up for reflection on and understanding of the scenarios in the
simulation. We used 'research through design' and combined interaction design
and game design to develop the SimProv simulation. 21 pre-service teachers were
invited to evaluate it in a play session with constructive interaction and
questionnaires. SimProv consists of text-based scenarios where pre-service
teachers can take actions corresponding to classic leadership styles. The
results show that it provides a plausible, valuable, exploratory, playful, but
not always interesting experience for pre-service teachers. The participants
did engage in reflective discussions about the choices they made. Keywords: Serious Games and 3D virtual worlds for learning; Technology enhanced
learning; Design; Simulation; Classroom management | |||
| Rapid Prototyping for Mobile Serious Games | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 194-205 | |
| José Rouillard; Audrey Serna; Bertrand David; René Chalon | |||
| Mobile Serious Games are new kind of Serious Games which are running on
mobile devices, mainly on Smartphones. With continuously increased power and
User Interface facilities, they constitute an alternative to the usual
entertainment applications proposed on Smartphones. To design and implement
such applications, a methodological assistance and development support are
required. In this paper, we present our contribution to rapid prototyping for
Mobile Serious Games in which we propose to augment App Inventor for Android
framework with a methodological assistance. This proposition is based on a
study in which we asked to 116 students to use this framework for the
development of mobile applications. The results are presented (thematic domain,
targeted users, components used...) and we discuss the relevance of using such
a tool to achieve rapid prototyping for mobile Serious Game. Keywords: Human-computer interaction; Serious Games; Mobile learning; Prototyping; App
Inventor | |||
| Creating Universal Designed and Trustworthy Objects for the Internet of Things | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 206-214 | |
| Trenton Schulz | |||
| The Internet of Things promises to connect different kinds of devices, allow
for new ways of interaction, and make our lives easier. But, we need to be able
to trust that the Internet of Things will protect our security and privacy. It
should also be universally designed so that anyone can use it regardless of
ability. We applied a user-centered approach to looking at user-centered trust
in the Internet of Things, including universal design issues. We conducted an
evaluation with 85 participants of a security assistant that can present
security and privacy information to users. The evaluation included participants
who were either elderly, had vision impairment, or had dyslexia. Participants
found the information useful, but there was confusion about how the UI worked.
We present an updated security assistant and future areas for research in trust
and the Internet of Things. Keywords: Internet of Things; trust; universal design; usability; accessibility;
security; privacy | |||
| Prototyping M-Learning Course on the Basis of Puzzle Learning Methodology | | BIBA | Full-Text | 215-226 | |
| Krzysztof Szklanny; Marcin Wichrowski | |||
| The aim of the "Puzzles for Nomad" project is to improve the system of
education by filling gaps in job seekers' competencies in an informal way
(incidental learning). That would enable graduates, especially of humanities,
to adjust their skills to the needs of the modern workplace using an innovation
teaching method based on puzzles (puzzle learning). The first stage of the
project was to create and test a mobile prototype.
The distinctive, innovative features of our system are: integrating problem-based learning with the presentation (Presentation Practice Performance) methods, ensuring high levels of interaction with the user. The didactic process is carried in pre-planned stages or according to scenarios; the learning process in accordance with the methodological approach; pre-defined learning outcomes -- we developed a procedure and a special qualifying questionnaire to check whether the expected learning objectives can be achieved and verified using our system of incidental learning; subject to review with respect to the criteria outlined in the correctness questionnaire at the methodological and technical levels; All the elements described above form an adaptive system for incidental learning, which is innovative not only with regard to the problem it tackles (mechanisms for the adaptation of informal education to the current job market) but also forms of learner support (distance learning with the use of mobile devices adjusted to the needs and skills of learners), and target groups (learners and content providers, corporate users). The system was based on the pilot course, a series of studies into the needs and opinions of users, and usability studies. These actions ensured high quality of user interface ergonomics in line with the rules of Human-Computer Interaction. Both the process of entering courses into the system and its use by students have been subject to in-depth usability tests. The proposed system functionalities and the results of research, as well as the developed methodology, can be used to create similar m-learning systems. | |||
| Posture and Face Detection with Dynamic Thumbnail Views for Collaborative Distance Learning | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 227-236 | |
| Takumi Yamaguchi; Haruya Shiba; Masanobu Yoshida; Yusuke Nishiuchi; Hironobu Satoh; Takahiko Mendori | |||
| In this paper, we describe the use of a collaborative TERAKOYA learning
system developed to help students actively study anywhere on a local area
network (LAN) linked to multipoint remote users. In this environment, if many
students send questions to a teacher, it is difficult for the teacher to
provide answers quickly; furthermore, the teacher is largely unable to
determine the degree to which each student has understood the course materials,
because he or she cannot observe the students and their reactions in person. In
this paper, we discuss a graphical user interface (GUI) system that prioritizes
student screens by changing the GUI on the teacher's computer; more
specifically, thumbnails of student screens zoom dynamically in proportion to
each student's understanding level. By sorting these priorities on his or her
screen, the teacher can observe each student's work and support their thinking
process at each student's individual pace. Keywords: Advanced Educational Environment; Ubiquitous Learning; Distance Education | |||
| Collaborative Tools in the Primary Classroom: Teachers' Thoughts on Wikis | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 239-247 | |
| Andria Agesilaou; Christiana Vassiliou; Sotiroula Irakleous; Maria Zenios | |||
| The purpose of this work-in-progress study is to examine the attitudes of
primary school teachers in Cyprus on the use of wikis as a mean to promote
collaborative learning in the classroom. A survey investigation was undertaken
using 20 questionnaires and 3 semi-structured interviews. The survey results
indicate a positive attitude of teachers in Cyprus to integrate wikis in
primary education for the promotion of cooperation. As such collaborative
learning activities among pupils are being encouraged. Keywords: wikis; primary education; collaboration; collaborative learning; educators | |||
| Computer Assisted Individual Approach to Acquiring Foreign Vocabulary of Students Major | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 248-257 | |
| Nadezhda Almazova; Marina Kogan | |||
| Multiple challenges for organizing an effective ESP language course for
non-linguistics post-graduate students at St. Petersburg State Polytechnical
University (SPbSPU) are inherently rooted in the broad spectrum of students'
majors in ESP classes. Diversity of students' academic interests calls for new
approaches and for tailoring the course in accordance with the students' needs.
Our study represents an approach to individualizing the course by introducing
data-driven learning (DDL) elements into the syllabus. More specifically, our
approach is aimed at having post-graduate students getting concordances of
their readings corpora for identifying unfamiliar vocabulary. The paper
describes the recommended software for concordance building, concordance-based
activities with unfamiliar vocabulary and the way of controlling the vocabulary
acquisition. Test results show steady progress in independent vocabulary
acquisition among the experiment participants. Questionnaires show they see the
usefulness and efficiency of DDL approach to identifying and learning
unfamiliar vocabulary. Keywords: data-driven learning (DDL) approach; teaching methodology; ESP course for
post-graduates; concordance building software; knowledge rating; unfamiliar
vocabulary | |||
| Immersive Creative Classrooms within the Zones of Educational Priorities in Greek Primary Schools | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 258-268 | |
| Antonios Besios; Niki Lambropoulos | |||
| Nowadays, ICT and Social Media utilization in primary schools becoming more
challenging provided that the educators aiming at not only transferring
knowledge but also at developing shared meaning and common skills within
creative classrooms (CCR). In this way both the teachers and the students can
work on and share experiences to support co-creativity and idea generation also
having wide presence in related educational communities. CCR refer to
innovative learning environments that fully embed the potential of ICT to
innovate learning and teaching practices. Such environments are proposed to
bring forward 'online presence' on an interface for shared knowledge to occur
by enhancing trust and reliability. The teachers of Art and Theatre subjects at
the 152 Primary School in Athens, Greece supported the Zones of Educational
Priorities the school was chosen for. In the case study presented, presence and
co-creativity are developed under CCR umbrella with the use of social media and
Web 2.0 tools as well as best practices are shared within the wider Greek
teachers' community network. Keywords: Online Presence; Creative Classrooms; Immersive Experience; Zones of
Educational Priorities; Social Media; Web 2.0 Tools | |||
| Enhancing Online Learning Activities for Groups in Flipped Classrooms | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 269-276 | |
| Reecha Bharali | |||
| Flipped classrooms have been the latest trend in online learning. They have
been accepted as a novel model because of an application based environment with
the students. In this paper, the flipped classroom model has been studied in
the context of online classrooms. The author vents in the context of groups in
online classrooms and tries to understand the match within the flipped
classroom scenario. This study is conducted with instructors and students to
understand this attitude towards online classrooms and to integrate them with
the flipped structure. Key requirements are identified from the study; which
are proposed to influence the design of such a platform. Finally from the study
the gaps are recognized, and the author proposes a novel platform for online
group activities with a focus on flipped classroom scenario. Keywords: flipped classroom; online learning; groups | |||
| Does CMC Reduce Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety? | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 277-287 | |
| Adel Jebali | |||
| Many researchers have proposed that anxiety related to second language
learning, especially in the classroom, has a negative impact on the performance
of learners. To reduce this anxiety, some authors propose to use
computer-mediated communication (CMC) to realize oral tasks while others
believe that the effects of this mode of communication is comparable to the
effects of the face-to-face (FTF) communication. In order to provide an answer
to this question, a systematic measurement of the performance of learners
during oral interactions conducted through these two modalities must be
obtained as the comparison cannot be made without this measurement. This paper
is a preliminary study with 20 learners of L2 French in which the degree of
anxiety beforehand was measured with [1] Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety
Scale (FLCAS). These learners completed a communication task through Skype and
also responded to a post-task questionnaire on their perceptions of anxiety,
FTF and CMC. Performance during the CMC was measured in order to verify the
effects of anxiety on their performance. The comparison was made with their
performance in another FTF communication task. The results show that all the
students performed better in FTF than in CMC and that even the most anxious
learners obtained better results in the former. Keywords: FLCAS; CMC; FTF; anxiety; French L2 | |||
| The Role of Educational Technologist in Implementing New Technologies at School | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 288-296 | |
| Birgy Lorenz; Kaido Kikkas; Mart Laanpere | |||
| In 2005, a new profession called "educational technologist" was introduced
in Estonian schools. At first, the idea was confusing for many school
principals, because of the seeming overlap with the job descriptions of
existing ICT support specialists or ICT managers. Other principals interpreted
the role of the educational technologist as a technology-savvy teacher who
could take responsibility for teaching with technology in some subject domains
so that the rest of teachers would not have to bother them with constantly
changing landscape of technology. According to the data from the Tiger Leap
Foundation (2012), almost 7% of Estonian schools had hired an educational
technologist by 2012 -- in most of the cases by re-allocating the salary fund
of IT support specialists. The position is usually funded by local
municipalities, not from the state budget. This paper is reflecting upon the
case study data collected from 13 Estonian schools where educational
technologists had been employed, the focus group interviews were conducted with
29 persons working in the field of educational technology. The study gives an
overview of the current situation by defining the emerging profession of
educational technologist on the level of professional practice. We also
describe the arguments for establishing such a new position in school and the
main challenges of a new specialist starting his/her career in this dynamic
field. Keywords: educational technologist roles; implementing new technologies; learning
environments; assessing teachers; training methods and principles; mixed
expectations | |||
| Facilitating Student Reflection through Digital Technologies in the iTEC Project: Pedagogically-Led Change in the Classroom | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 297-308 | |
| Sarah McNicol; Cathy Lewin; Anna Keune; Tarmo Toikkanen | |||
| During the Europe-wide iTEC project, student reflection has been supported
through the development of two dedicated digital tools: TeamUp and ReFlex.
Using these tools, students are able to monitor their progress, thus gaining a
greater awareness of their learning achievements and an appreciation of the new
skills they have developed. Although TeamUp and ReFlex have been well-received
by teachers and students, the use of audio-visual tools to support reflection
was novel for most and the project evaluation highlighted the need for detailed
guidance if these technologies are to be exploited to their full advantage. Keywords: Reflection; audio-visual tools; scaffolding; digital tools | |||
| Which Is More Effective for Learning German and Japanese Language, Paper or Digital? | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 309-318 | |
| Reina Shimizu; Katsuhiko Ogawa | |||
| Recently, many people often say how practical is the digital media.
Moreover, there are many researches on this topic that compare the use of paper
and the digital media, but unfortunately, only the moment in which the user is
actually using one of these two media is taken into account. We researched a
group of Japanese and German subjects about their ability to remember some
words on the next day, three days later and a week after they first tried to
memorize them. The results demonstrated that users who want to learn in a short
term should use digital media, only if they have a lot of experience using
digital media in general. But if the user wants to learn something in a long
term, might prefer to use Paper. Keywords: paper digital learning memorizing language | |||
| Monitoring Teachers' Complex Thinking while Engaging in Philosophical Inquiry with Web 2.0 | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 319-327 | |
| Agni Stylianou-Georgiou; Alexios Petrou; Andri Ioannou | |||
| The purpose of this study was to examine how we can exploit new technologies
to scaffold and monitor the development of teachers' complex thinking while
engaging in philosophical inquiry. We set up an online learning environment
using wiki and forum technologies and we organized the activity in four major
steps to scaffold complex thinking for the teacher participants. In this
article, we present the evolution of complex thinking of one group of teachers
by studying their interactions in depth. Keywords: complex thinking; critical thinking; creative thinking; caring thinking;
philosophy for children; philosophical inquiry; technology integration; wiki;
forum; WikiSplit | |||
| Developing an Effective ESP Curriculum Integrating CALL | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 328-338 | |
| Rumi Tobita | |||
| This study introduces a compilation of the eight-year trial at a Japanese
technical college involving an effective CALL training program for EFL learners
to meet ESP curriculum goals: to develop global engineers who can work in the
real-world environment and exchange ideas globally. According to the survey
based on needs research, e-Learning software such as voice recognition software
had been introduced and its effective usage discussed. As e-Learning materials
were deemed a passive learning method, a Text to Speech (TTS) system was
introduced to resolve this issue. Training using TTS systems was conducted in
various settings, including metacognitive strategies and autonomous learning,
such that students could more actively engage in the training. As one element
of the subsequent development of an effective ESP curriculum, an original
overseas training program and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were also
introduced and applied to evaluate the effectiveness of e-Learning systems. Keywords: CALL; curriculum development; e-Learning system; voice recognition; TTS;
overseas training program; NIRS | |||
| HCI Requirements for Young Primary School CALL Learners | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 339-348 | |
| Monica Ward | |||
| This paper looks at the HCI requirements of young learners in the context of
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) resources. It explains the
motivation behind the project and the specific deployment context. It outlines
some key components that must be taken into account when developing materials
for this learner group. For example, the learners cannot read, so no text can
be used on the screen. Colors and images are very important to make the
material attractive and intuitive for the users. It shows that using HCI
observations from other researchers, along with a structured approach, combined
with an agile paradigm can produce useful, usable CALL resources in a limited
resource context. Keywords: young learners; HCI; CALL; primary school; agile paradigm | |||
| E-Portfolios -- Fostering Systematic Reflection in Social Work Education | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 351-362 | |
| Patricia Arnold; Swapna Kumar | |||
| Learning technologies in higher education open up new possibilities for
academic professional development due to the flexibility in time and place they
offer. For professional students it is important to develop a critical distance
to their daily practice and a capacity for reflection. E-portfolio technology
is considered to be suitable to help to develop such a reflective critical
stance. In this paper we argue that in order for e-portfolios to foster
reflection, a robust educational design with careful "scaffolding" is needed.
We present a design in social work education that was meant to gradually
develop students' ability to reflect, while using a mixture of technologies.
With three exemplary e-portfolios, we re-construct how students reflected on
their professional trajectories, how they used the technology and how this was
fostered by the educational design. A critical discussion leads to
recommendations for using e-portfolio technology for fostering reflection in
other settings. Keywords: e-portfolios; learning technologies; professional students; social work
education | |||
| European Citizens and Their Trust in Social Networks | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 363-374 | |
| Gianmarco Baldini; Ioannis Kounelis; Jan Löschner; Mariachiara Tallacchini | |||
| In information and communication technology (ICT) trust has been considered
as a crucial component of digital interactions. Trust has been dissected in a
variety of potential meanings and dimensions and through the merging of trust
in humans and trust in machines. In this paper, we investigate the role and the
aggregation of trust in social networks and blogs and how it relates to
knowledge production, and its connections to concepts such as reputation and
sustainability in the European context. Moreover, we discuss knowledge
production in information and communication technology and its relationship to
user trust. We develop a view on the co-production of knowledge and trust and
propose a policy management framework to support the users in their trusted use
of social networks and blogs. This is presented based on an e-health use case
analysis considering web based reputation and developing a new reputation
scheme. Keywords: trust; social networks; European citizens; collaboration; reputation;
e-health | |||
| Towards Aggression De-escalation Training with Virtual Agents: A Computational Model | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 375-387 | |
| Tibor Bosse; Simon Provoost | |||
| Serious gaming based on Virtual Reality is a promising means for training of
aggression de-escalation skills. By enabling trainees to interact with
aggressive virtual characters that respond in a realistic manner to different
communicative approaches, they can learn to apply the appropriate approach at
the right time. To facilitate the development of such a training system, this
paper presents a computational model of interpersonal aggression. The model
consists of two sub-models, namely an 'aggressor model' and a 'de-escalator
model'. In the long term, the former can be used to generate the behaviour of
the virtual characters, whereas the latter can be used to analyse the behaviour
of the trainee. The functioning of the model is illustrated by a number of
simulation runs for characteristic circumstances. Keywords: virtual training; aggression de-escalation; cognitive modelling | |||
| Mosca | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 388-396 | |
| Sílvia Castro | |||
| "Mosca" was an art project developed by art students, on a context of formal
education, the project was designed in a collaborative learning mode.
Throughout the presentation of this project one will reflect, on an empirical
basis, as an actor and observer, upon the working platforms and the dimensions
which were experienced in a very active and intuitive way: the physical and the
virtual dimensions, used in order to create a physical event. Keywords: art education; collaborative learning; virtual dimension; social media;
project design | |||
| A New Way to Community Services | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 397-407 | |
| Habib M. Fardoun; Daniyal M. Alghazzawi; Antonio Paules Ciprés; Sebastián Romero López | |||
| In this paper we are going to describe the architecture of community
services by mean mobile devices. We opt for a direct communication between the
mobile users and server information and where users interact directly from
their mobile devices and the cloud system, by leaving a record of the accused
and requested data. As result of this improvement in the process, we have a
platform that saves costs and time management to users of these services in the
instantiation and regular payments to government claims. Keywords: Mobile devices; Cloud; Community Services; Administration; Citizens | |||
| Online Collaboration: Individual Involvement Used to Predict Team Performance | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 408-416 | |
| Walkyria Goode; Guido Caicedo | |||
| Social media -- with its collaborative and interactive functionalities -- is
an ideal platform for collaboration. Several teams were asked to create
material using a content management system. Log records were analyzed to
measure group and individual participation. Direct and indirect measures of
involvement are used as predictor variables. A model is proposed that uses
system-tracked data to forecast team performance. Keywords: collaboration; collaborative computing; team performance | |||
| Interface Design for a Real-Time Collaborative Editing Tool | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 417-428 | |
| Nurul Naslia Khairuddin | |||
| The topic Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) has been introduced
since almost three decades now. Many tools have been invented to support
different situations in cooperative work. Example of CSCW tools are instant
messaging (IM), email, real-time document editor, forum, blog, group decision
support system, electronic meeting room, voice chat, video conference and
Real-Time Collaborative Editing (RTCE) tools. A study was conducted to
investigate the advantages and disadvantages of applying CSCW approach on a
class of multicultural undergraduate students as they plan their software
project in virtual environment. Analysis of the gathered data was done focusing
towards the problems faced during the discussion sessions. Solutions were
derived based on the problems identified and an RTCE tool was designed aiming
to assist small scale software project planning process in virtual
collaborative environment while supporting group awareness for effective
teamwork. Keywords: CSCW; RTCE; Group Awareness | |||
| If I Do Not Like Your Online Profile I Will Not Hire You! | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 429-439 | |
| Birgy Lorenz; Kaido Kikkas | |||
| Today, both employees and employers are active online. A lot of people live
their lives through personal online social networks. Online social networking
sites are an easy tool to screen potential employees online profiles and for
human resource management to use in recruitment processes. The screening
process includes Internet and social networking site search that will provide
not only professional but also personal information. Investigating personal
information, however, may be considered violation of privacy. Our study goals
are to find out how common it is to do background checks on possible future
employees in Estonia, how students feel about such a practice and how they
maintain their public profiles. Methods used to gather information were a
survey among employees (n=34), pupils (n=117) from five high schools, students
(n=91) from one university, and a case study that involved pupils (n=54) and
students (n=38). Results reported in this paper will give an overview of our
understanding of the accuracy of online profiles, common practices, unspoken
risks, and maybe even frustration from the side of future employees. The
results of this study can be applied to improve youth-related Internet safety
training modules and programmes. Keywords: Internet safety strategies; online profile; privacy management; privacy
rights | |||
| Collaboration, Knowledge Sharing and Digital Environments: What about Argumentation and Questioning Skills? | | BIBA | Full-Text | 440-449 | |
| Maria José (Zé) Loureiro; Francislê Neri de Souza; Anna Bezerra; Ana Rodrigues | |||
| This work aims at explaining one online platform (ArguQuest) whose main
objective is to stimulate learning through argumentation and questioning in a
collaborative virtual environment. It is expected that students clarify their
knowledge by explaining what they know to their peers. They have to make
themselves precise and clear so that their peers can understand them and the
ideas they want to express.
In this online environment students are invited to discuss topics in dyads, in a certain number of modules where the level of discussion centered on arguments and questions become deeper. In some points they are invited to discuss the contents with other dyads and, to conclude, an argumentative map is presented by the system and changed or not by the participants. Conclusions of studies developed in Brazil and Portugal reveal that the platform stimulates peer discussion develops questioning and arguing skills. | |||
| Active Ageing -- Enhancing Digital Literacies in Elderly Citizens | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 450-459 | |
| Ana Loureiro; Maria Barbas | |||
| Being digital and information literate is crucial in nowadays society,
although not every citizen has the necessary means and resources to achieve
these skills, especially the elderly ones. Therefore it is necessary to develop
ways to help them to enhance their digital and information competences. In this
paper we will present an ongoing project that was designed and implemented with
the goal to provide elderly citizens with the necessary skills of a networked
society, contributing for an active ageing. The methods used were based on a
set of hands on workshops delivered by a team of voluntary students and
teacher, with the help of collaborators from a nursing home. The workshops were
developed accordingly with the detected needs of a group of elderly citizens,
based on the answers of an implemented questionnaire. Keywords: active ageing; digital literacy; elderly citizens; ICT; inclusion | |||
| Reflective Thinking: Exploring Blog Use by Adult Learners | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 460-466 | |
| Maria Mama Timotheou | |||
| This paper investigates the enhancement of reflective thinking in the
context of online and distance adult education, through blogging as part of a
course activity. A multi-case was conducted involving content and thematic
analyses. The results show that students appreciated the reflection process
that blogging engaged them into, while their motivation to further explore and
use blogs to improve their learning experiences was increased. Factors
affecting blog interaction are also identified, while the findings are
associated with the key components of a theoretical framework for reflection in
an attempt to link theory and research on reflective thinking. Keywords: student reflection; critical thinking; blogging; adult education; case
study; web-based course; online learning environments; perspective change;
model of reflection | |||
| Digital Identity of Researchers and Their Personal Learning Network | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 467-477 | |
| Nuno Ricardo Oliveira; Lina Morgado | |||
| In a networked society, everyday experience is shared in networks at a
personal, professional and academic level. Thus, there is a need to have
digital literacy skills to obtain and produce contents in a collaborative way,
sharing the knowledge acquired in the personal learning network.
This paper is a reflection of literature revision in the PhD project of Online Distance Education and e-learning, concerning themes such as digital identity and personal learning networks. In this way we aim to make a literature analysis about the necessity of digital literacy so that we may obtain competencies for a personal learning network. Keywords: collaborative learning; Digital Identity; Digital literacy; personal
learning network; skills | |||
| Blended Simulation Based Medical Education: A Complex Learning/Training Opportunity | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 478-485 | |
| Armineh Shahoumian; Murray Saunders; Maria Zenios; Gale Parchoma; Jacky Hanson | |||
| Simulation Based Medical Education (SBME) as an innovative approach in
Medical and Professionals Allied to Medicine (PAM) education has received
international attention in the past few years to support improvement of patient
safety and providing better health care services within hospitals. Blended SBME
(B-SBME) is a new instructional model recently introduced into the field, which
blends on-line briefing sessions followed by a simulation session, and
concluded with immediate face-to-face debriefing sessions. In this paper we
discuss the complexity of learning in B-SBME and how individualistic learning
theories do not support understanding of all these processes. A shift in
theoretical lens to socio-cultural theories may develop our understanding of
how we depict and theorise the learning that goes on in B-SBME and whether
B-SBME can act as a "boundary crossing tool" and support expanding of learning
into clinical setting. Keywords: Simulation based medical education; blended learning; Social Practices
Theory; boundary crossing tool | |||
| Finding and Exploring Commonalities between Researchers Using the ResXplorer | | BIBA | Full-Text | 486-494 | |
| Selver Softic; Laurens De Vocht; Erik Mannens; Rik Van de Walle; Martin Ebner | |||
| Researcher community produces a vast of content on the Web. We assume that every researcher interest oneself in events, persons and findings of other related community members who share the same interest. Although research related archives give access to their content most of them lack on analytic services and adequate visualizations for this data. This work resides on our previous achievements [1,2,3,4] we made on semantically and Linked Data driven search and user interfaces for Research 2.0. We show how researchers can find and visually explore commonalities between each other within their interest domain, by introducing for this matter the user interface of "ResXplorer", and underlying search infrastructure operating over Linked Data Knowledge Base of research resources. We discuss and test most important components of "ResXplorer" relevant for detecting commonalities between researchers, closing up with conclusions and outlook for future work. | |||