Virtual patient design : exploring what works and why : a grounded theory study

Objectives: Virtual patients (VPs) are online representations of clinical cases used in medical education. Widely adopted, they are well placed to teach clinical reasoning skills. International technology standards mean VPs can be created, shared and repurposed between institutions. A systematic review has highlighted the lack of evidence to support which of the numerous VP designs may be effective, and why. We set out to research the influence of VP design on medical undergraduates. Methods: This is a grounded theory study into the influence of VP design on undergraduate medical students. Following a review of the literature and publicly available VP cases, we identified important design properties. We integrated them into two substantial VPs produced for this research. Using purposeful iterative sampling, 46 medical undergraduates were recruited to participate in six focus groups. Participants completed both VPs, an evaluation and a 1-hour focus group discussion. These were digitally recorded, transcribed and analysed using grounded theory, supported by computer-assisted analysis. Following open, axial and selective coding, we produced a theoretical model describing how students learn from VPs. Results: We identified a central core phenomenon designated ‘learning from the VP’. This had four categories: VP Construction; External Preconditions; Student–VP Interaction, and Consequences. From these, we constructed a three-layer model describing the interactions of students with VPs. The inner layer consists of the student's cognitive and behavioural preconditions prior to sitting a case. The middle layer considers the VP as an ‘encoded object’, an e-learning artefact and as a ‘constructed activity’, with associated pedagogic and organisational elements. The outer layer describes cognitive and behavioural change. Conclusions: This is the first grounded theory study to explore VP design. This original research has produced a model which enhances understanding of how and why the delivery and design of VPs influence learning. The model may be of practical use to authors, institutions and researchers

Computation in Classical Mechanics

There is a growing consensus that physics majors need to learn computational skills, but many departments are still devoid of computation in their physics curriculum. Some departments may lack the resources or commitment to create a dedicated course or program in computational physics. One way around this difficulty is to include computation in a standard upper-level physics course. An intermediate classical mechanics course is particularly well suited for including computation. We discuss the ways we have used computation in our classical mechanics courses, focusing on how computational work can improve students' understanding of physics as well as their computational skills. We present examples of computational problems that serve these two purposes. In addition, we provide information about resources for instructors who would like to include computation in their courses.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to American Journal of Physic

Digital library software architectures : TeachEngineering case study

Digital libraries are digitally accessible, organized collections of knowledge. Although under this broad definition any digitally accessible data set might be considered a digital library, the term is generally reserved for collections whose structures are carefully documented and made available in the form of so-called metadata. There is no specific approach to build a digital library as builders typically use their own architectures which serves only their purpose and satisfies their target audience. These approaches are sometimes hard to understand. In this project, Fm presenting a Best Practices for Digital Library Software Architectures after a careful study of existing architectures and comparing these architectures with the TeachEngineering Digital Library Architecture

Itembanking infrastructure: a proposal for a decoupled architecture

The paper aims to provide a comprehensive outline of the elements which make up an Itembanking system and through the use of basic workflows and diagrams create a visual of the overall system and user interaction. In particular it will provide an overview of the proposed Itembanking Infrastructure that SQA is currently developing, and steps which have been taken towards its realisation. Our aims in developing this are to promote more flexibility in assessment, improve on access, increase efficiency, cost-effective processes, enhancement of validity and reliability and improve possibilities for feedback and reporting. The functionality of an Itembanking system will be explored in light of the ways that institutions may use such a technical structure along with the challenges and issues surrounding its implementation. We have divided the system into four main elements: • The itembank itself which stores the items and facilitates searching • The item production elements which generate items suitable for entry into the bank • The test delivery elements which control the delivery, marking and reporting of the results • The test generation elements which control items being selected from the bank and concatenated into tests. The paper will focus on a ‘reference’ diagram which will provide an overview of the elements and associated software, the relationships between them and the overall interaction of the system. Within the four main elements, sub elements will be identified; including the storage of items, the generation of items, item description, item delivery, marking, result processing, item analysis and test construction. These will be explored with a view to defining the functionality of each element independently to allow autonomous development – fitting in with a standards based decoupled system. Existing projects and recommended standards in these areas will also be highlighted. Role profiles and workflows are discussed in terms of how different users may interact with the system and roles may be transferred onto an electronic banking system. Future plans to establish user requirements for each component of the Itembanking Infrastructure will be discussed in the conclusion

Learning Object Metadata and its application

A number of international efforts have been initiated during the past few years leading to the evolvement of various educational metadata specifications for the commonly agreed description of educational resources. Educational metadata can significantly enhance the effective description, search and retrieval of learning objects resulting in efficient organization of educational resources for technology supported instruction. As more and more applications are implemented using educational metadata, it becomes obvious that it would be difficult for a single metadata model to accommodate the functional requirements of all applications. This paper focuses on different existing educational metadata standards with the relative merits of each one, it will also examine the fundamental elements or basic structure of each one of the existing standards, and discuss the interoperability issues. Because of the various E-learning metadata standards that exist, interoperability is a major issue. A major barrier limiting system’s interoperability is the use of different specifications that define the structure and content of learning objects

Student-Centered Learning: Functional Requirements for Integrated Systems to Optimize Learning

The realities of the 21st-century learner require that schools and educators fundamentally change their practice. "Educators must produce college- and career-ready graduates that reflect the future these students will face. And, they must facilitate learning through means that align with the defining attributes of this generation of learners."Today, we know more than ever about how students learn, acknowledging that the process isn't the same for every student and doesn't remain the same for each individual, depending upon maturation and the content being learned. We know that students want to progress at a pace that allows them to master new concepts and skills, to access a variety of resources, to receive timely feedback on their progress, to demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways and to get direction, support and feedback from—as well as collaborate with—experts, teachers, tutors and other students.The result is a growing demand for student-centered, transformative digital learning using competency education as an underpinning.iNACOL released this paper to illustrate the technical requirements and functionalities that learning management systems need to shift toward student-centered instructional models. This comprehensive framework will help districts and schools determine what systems to use and integrate as they being their journey toward student-centered learning, as well as how systems integration aligns with their organizational vision, educational goals and strategic plans.Educators can use this report to optimize student learning and promote innovation in their own student-centered learning environments. The report will help school leaders understand the complex technologies needed to optimize personalized learning and how to use data and analytics to improve practices, and can assist technology leaders in re-engineering systems to support the key nuances of student-centered learning

Degree of Scaffolding: Learning Objective Metadata: A Prototype Leaning System Design for Integrating GIS into a Civil Engineering Curriculum

Digital media and networking offer great potential as tools for enhancing classroom learning environments, both local and distant. One concept and related technological tool that can facilitate the effective application and distribution of digital educational resources is learning objects in combination with the SCORM (sharable content objects reference model) compliance framework. Progressive scaffolding is a learning design approach for educational systems that provides flexible guidance to students. We are in the process of utilizing this approach within a SCORM framework in the form of a multi-level instructional design. The associated metadata required by SCORM will describe the degree of scaffolding. This paper will discuss progressive scaffolding as it relates to SCORM compliant learning objects, within the context of the design of an application for integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into the civil engineering curriculum at the University of Missouri - Rolla

An interactive, graphical coding environment for EarSketch online using Blockly and Web Audio API

Presented at the 2nd Web Audio Conference (WAC), April 4-6, 2016, Atlanta, Georgia.This paper presents an interactive graphical programming environment for EarSketch, using Blockly and Web Audio API. This visual programming element sidesteps syntac- tical challenges common to learning text-based languages, thereby targeting a wider range of users in both informal and academic settings. The implementation allows seamless integration with the existing EarSketch web environment, saving block-based code to the cloud as well as exporting it to Python and JavaScript

OpenLearn Research Report 2006-2008

This report takes the experience of OpenLearn over its two-years of operation to reflect on what it means to offer free resources and the issues that we have been able to explore and learn from. The structure of the document is: (1) The OpenLearn initiative - an overview (2) OpenLearn research methods (3) Designing for Open Content (4) Types of user of OpenLearn (5) OpenLearn modes of us