The Effects of Tablets on Learning: Does Studying from a Tablet Computer Affect Student Learning Differently Across Educational Levels

In recent years, students and educators alike have utilized new technologies such as tablet computers as a means of enhancing the learning process. While prior research suggests that these implementations within the classroom provide a new and beneficial method of relaying and learning information, scientists have begun to explore the possible side effects that these technologies have on the learning process. Although much of the current literature suggests that learning from an electronic screen does not affect efficacy compared to learning from printed text (Bayliss et al., 2012; Dundar & Akcayir, 2012), researchers continue to explore the possible consequences that using said technologies may have in academia. The current study aims to address how tablet computers affect the process of learning differently across levels of education. It is proposed that older generations, such as college students, who did not grow up with tablets in the classroom may suffer from the effects of proactive interference when compared to younger students who have been exposed to technologies much more profoundly in their education (e.g. elementary students). If this is so, the current study also proposes a possible intervention that would help students at any educational level overcome this interference in order to integrate tablets into their studies effectively

Can mHealth Improve Risk Assessment in Underserved Populations? Acceptability of a Breast Health Questionnaire App in Ethnically Diverse, Older, Low-Income Women.

Background: Use of mobile health (mHealth) tools has expanded rapidly but little research has been done on its acceptability by low-income, diverse, older patient populations. Objective: To assess the attitudes of a diverse group of underserved women on the acceptability and usability of mHealth tools in a clinical setting using a breast health questionnaire application (app) at a public hospital mammography clinic. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a breast-imaging center of an urban safety net institution from July-August 2012. Interviews included pre- and post-questions. Women completed the Athena breast health questionnaire app on an iPad and were asked about their experience and ways to improve the tool. Results: Fifteen women age 45-75 years from diverse ethnic and educational backgrounds were interviewed. The majority of women, 11 of 15, preferred the Athena app over a paper version and all the women thought the app was easy to use. Two Spanish-speaking Latinas preferred paper; and two women, with limited mobile phone use, did not have a preference. Many women indicated that it would be necessary to have staff available for instruction and assistance if the app were to be implemented. Conclusions: mHealth tools are an acceptable, if not preferred, method of collecting health information for diverse, older, low-income women. Further studies are required to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of data collection using mHealth tools in underserved populations. mHealth tools should be explored as a novel way to engage diverse populations to improve clinical care and bridge gaps in health disparities

Collaborative Process Modeling with Tablets and Touch Tables — A Controlled Experiment

Collaborative process modeling involves business analysts and subject matter experts in order to properly capture and document process knowledge. In this context, appropriate tool support is required to motivate these user groups to actively participate in collaborative process modeling. This paper presents a collaborative process modeling tool that enables the experts to create, visualize and evolve process models based on multi-touch devices (e.g., tablets and touch tables). In particular, users may edit process models on their tablets and share the created or changed process models with other team members on a common touch table. For this purpose, a sophisticated and intuitive interaction concept is provided. Furthermore, results of a controlled experiment, evaluating the influence the use of tablets has on collaborative process modeling based on touch tables, are presented. Altogether the experimental results emphasize the high potential of multi-touch tools for collaborative process modeling

Validation Manual : how to design and run school pilots

Comprend des références bibliographique

Influence of Psychological Distance on Process Modeling: A Gamification Approach

Nowadays, Business Process Management (BPM) has progressed significantly and established itself as an important management concept for enterprises. For creating efficient and effective business processes enterprises have given process models a high priority. A well-documented business process is intended not only to describe a procedure in detail, but serves as a foundation for further actions such as process automation, improving process performance, and the identification of potential consequences as well as the quickness to respond for changes. To this end, it is important to ensure that process models represent the corresponding real world business processes as accurately as possible. In turn, a not proper described business process may lead to ineffectiveness, costs, and even losses. Hence, a focus is set on the quality, granularity as well as structure of process models. By now, numerous guidelines exist for creating correct and sound process models in respect to their quality, granularity, and resulting structure. However, hardly research addresses cognitive aspects when creating process models. Thereby, cognitive aspects are of particular importance for creating and understanding process models. This thesis contributes insights from a controlled experiment investigating the influence of psychological distance on the process of process modeling. More precisely, the effects of social distance of a process designer to the modeled domain has on the creation of process models are evaluated. In this context, the recent and emerging trend of gamification is applied. Therefore, gamification in a 3D virtual world is used to enhance the effects of social distance and for a better reflection of a real world problem. The final results obtained from the experiment do not agree with the theory. In particular, significant differences between low and high social distance with respect to process model quality, granularity, and structure are observed but are contrary to the stated goal of the experiment. Hence, the findings underline the importance of understanding the effects of cognitive aspects on the process of process modeling. However, the results may provide valuable incitements for enterprises to compose adequate teams for creating or optimizing business process models

Learning Opportunities and Challenges of Sensor-enabled Intelligent Tutoring Systems on Mobile Platforms: Benchmarking the Reliability of Mobile Sensors to Track Human Physiological Signals and Behaviors to Enhance Tablet-Based Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Desktop-based intelligent tutoring systems have existed for many decades, but the advancement of mobile computing technologies has sparked interest in developing mobile intelligent tutoring systems (mITS). Personalized mITS are applicable to not only stand-alone and client-server systems but also cloud systems possibly leveraging big data. Device-based sensors enable even greater personalization through capture of physiological signals during periods of student study. However, personalizing mITS to individual students faces challenges. The Achilles heel of personalization is the feasibility and reliability of these sensors to accurately capture physiological signals and behavior measures. This research reviews feasibility and benchmarks reliability of basic mobile platform sensors in various student postures. The research software and methodology are generalizable to a range of platforms and sensors. Incorporating the tile-based puzzle game 2048 as a substitute for a knowledge domain also enables a broad spectrum of test populations. Baseline sensors include the on-board camera to detect eyes/faces and the Bluetooth Empatica E4 wristband to capture heart rate, electrodermal activity (EDA), and skin temperature. The test population involved 100 collegiate students randomly assigned to one of three different ergonomic positions in a classroom: sitting at a table, standing at a counter, or reclining on a sofa. Well received by the students, EDA proved to be more reliable than heart rate or face detection in the three different ergonomic positions. Additional insights are provided on advancing learning personalization through future sensor feasibility and reliability studies

Comparing smartphones to tablets for face-to-face interviewing in Kenya

Research conducted over the past 30 years has demonstrated a reduction in errors and improvement in data quality when face–to-face social surveys are carried out using computers instead of paper and pencil. However, research examining the quality of data collected by interviewers using mobile devices is in its infancy and is based in developed countries. In a small pilot study conducted during the World Bank’s Kenya State of the Cities Baseline Survey, a face-to-face survey on living conditions, infrastructure and service delivery, the authors compared the quality of data collected using smartphones to data collected using tablets. The study of mobile touchscreen devices showed that tablets outperformed phones in some cases, but that the results were highly dependent on the interviewer

Advanced Kidney Disease Patient Portal:Implementation and Evaluation with Haemodialysis Patients

Patients on haemodialysis face complex care pathways, a high treatment burden and lower quality-of-life. Working with multidisciplinary domain experts, we have conducted several iterative development cycles to design, develop and evaluate a portal for patients on haemodialysis that can help them better understand and navigate their care pathways. A key functionality of the portal is to improve data and information sharing with clinicians, including on key aspects of quality-of-life through Patients Reported Outcome Measures. A case study was conducted with multidisciplinary experts and patients in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board (Scotland), using interviews combined with the System Usability Scale (n=26). Patients' feedback and system use observations were used to further refine the system design requirements and functionalities. Key lessons include: a wide preference for tablet-based input vs paper, identification of case-specific accessibility issues and situational impairment, benefits of self-completed digital data collection in overcoming such issues and promoting patient independence and privacy, with considerations for maintaining perceived value and engagement with such systems and when to offer alternatives