Out there and in here: design for blended scientific inquiry learning

One of the benefits of mobile technologies is to combine ‘the digital’ (e.g., data, information, photos) with ‘field’ experiences in novel ways that are contextualized by people’s current located activities. However, often cost, mobility disabilities and time exclude students from engaging in such peripatetic experiences. The Out There and In Here project, is exploring a combination of mobile and tabletop technologies in support for collaborative learning. A system is being developed for synchronous collaboration between geology students in the field and peers at an indoor location. The overarching goal of this research is to develop technologies that support people working together in a suitable manner for their locations. There are two OTIH project research threads. The first deals with disabled learner access issues: these complex issues are being reviewed in subsequent evaluations and publications. This paper will deal with issues of technology supported learning design for remote and co-located science learners. Several stakeholder evaluations and two field trials have reviewed two research questions: 1. What will enhance the learning experience for those in the field and laboratory? 2. How can learning trajectories and appropriate technologies be designed to support equitable co-located and remote learning collaboration? This paper focuses on describing the iterative linked development of technologies and scientific inquiry pedagogy. Two stages within the research project are presented. The 1st stage details several pilot studies over 3 years with 21 student participants in synchronous collaborations with traditional technology and pedagogical models. Findings revealed that this was an engaging and useful experience although issues of equity in collaboration needed further research. The 2nd stage, in this project, has been to evaluate data from over 25 stakeholders (academics, learning and technology designers) to develop pervasive ambient technological solutions supporting orchestration of mixed levels of pedagogy (i.e. abstract synthesis to specific investigation). Middleware between tabletop ‘surface’ technologies and mobile devices are being designed with Microsoft and OOKL (a mobile software company) to support these developments. Initial findings reveal issues around equity, ownership and professional identity

The study of argumentative knowledge construction in web 2.0 learning environment towards students critical thinking skills

In recent years, the Malaysian education system has come under increased public enquiry and debate, as parents? expectations rise and employers expressed their concern regarding the system's ability to adequately prepare young Malaysians for the challenges of the 21st century. In order to properly address the needs of all Malaysians, and to prepare the nation to perform at an international level, it is important to first expect what a highly-successful education system must accomplish, particularly in the Malaysian context; (1) what kinds of students are best-prepared to meet the challenges of a 21st century economy? (2) what kind of education prepares them for this rapidly globalizing world

Design-activity-sequence: A case study and polyphonic analysis of learning in a digital design thinking workshop

In this case study, we report on the outcomes of a one-day workshop on design thinking attended by participants from the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning conference in Philadelphia in 2017. We highlight the interactions between the workshop design, structured as a design thinking process around the design of a digital environment for design thinking, and the diverse backgrounds and interests of its participants. Data from in-workshop reflections and post-workshop interviews were analyzed using a novel set of analytical approaches, a combination the facilitators made by possible by welcoming participants as coresearchers

Enhancing Free-text Interactions in a Communication Skills Learning Environment

Learning environments frequently use gamification to enhance user interactions.Virtual characters with whom players engage in simulated conversations often employ prescripted dialogues; however, free user inputs enable deeper immersion and higher-order cognition. In our learning environment, experts developed a scripted scenario as a sequence of potential actions, and we explore possibilities for enhancing interactions by enabling users to type free inputs that are matched to the pre-scripted statements using Natural Language Processing techniques. In this paper, we introduce a clustering mechanism that provides recommendations for fine-tuning the pre-scripted answers in order to better match user inputs

Adult Educator Views On Impact And Learner Fit In Integrated Digital English Acceleration (I-Dea) Classrooms

The Integrated Digital English Acceleration (I-DEA) teaching method uses a Flipped Classroom (FC) design to fast-track the English Language Acquisition (ELA) and digital literacy skills development of adults enrolled at Community and Technical Colleges (CTCs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in the United States. I-DEA projects and programs are in various stages of implementation throughout the U.S., but few accounts of the method’s impact on teaching and learning and fit for adult English language learners (ELLs) have been published. I-DEA is a “flipped” (blended) instructional delivery method for Adult Basic Education (ABE). Evaluation of its impact and fit contributes to the literature on Flipped Classrooms, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), and Integrated Education and Training (IET). To evaluate the I-DEA method’s impact and fit, an online questionnaire was administered to current and former I-DEA instructors in the United States. Respondents (n=8) provided Likert scale ratings of agreement or disagreement, along with written responses to explain their rating selections. Instructors overwhelmingly agreed that the I-DEA method’s FC design has helped students acquire English at a faster pace than they would in non-I-DEA classes. Support for the method’s learner fit was not as robust: Fifty percent of the sample group voiced concerns about the linguistic complexity of its lessons for beginners (NRS 1 & 2). The results of this small-scale, mixed-methods study provide evidence to support claims about the I-DEA method’s impact, while raising new questions about its fit for adult ELL beginners. Our findings suggest that the Flipped Classroom may be most impactful and suitable for English learners in High Beginner (NRS 3) classrooms. Modifications to IDEA lessons are recommended for classrooms with NRS 1 and 2 level students. Further study, including action research in I-DEA classrooms, is recommended

The effects of room design on computer-supported collaborative learning in a multi-touch classroom.

While research indicates that technology can be useful for supporting learning and collaboration, there is still relatively little uptake or widespread implementation of these technologies in classrooms. In this paper, we explore one aspect of the development of a multi-touch classroom, looking at two different designs of the classroom environment to explore how classroom layout may influence group interaction and learning. Three classes of students working in groups of four were taught in the traditional forward-facing room condition, while three classes worked in a centered room condition. Our results indicate that while the outcomes on tasks were similar across conditions, groups engaged in more talk (but not more off-task talk) in a centered room layout, than in a traditional forward-facing room. These results suggest that the use of technology in the classroom may be influenced by the location of the technology, both in terms of the learning outcomes and the interaction behaviors of students. The findings highlight the importance of considering the learning environment when designing technology to support learning, and ensuring that integration of technology into formal learning environments is done with attention to how the technology may disrupt, or contribute to, the classroom interaction practices