Human-computer interaction: GUI raises targets for computer literacy

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FRAMEWORK FOR FLEXIBLE REUSE AND ASSEMBLY OF LEARNING OBJECTS – A PILOT PROJECT

The present paper aims to highlight certain relevant and new features revealed by the research on assisted training. The motivation is given by the necessity to efficiently develop the educational resources by combining reusable learning objects, and also by the need to customize training in order to meet specific user options. The main objective is to design a flexible framework for assembling and reusing learning objects, which can be successfully applied in developing an educational platform for mathematics teaching.learning object, learning environment, e-Learning, learning architecture

Blue Skies: Education in Second Life

This article examines the educational possibilities of the online environment of Second Life, by Linden Labs. Second Life’s economic growth has attracted the attention of corporations, non-profit organizations and government entities. Unlike traditional web-based instruction, Second Life provides a three-dimensional interface through which teachers and students can enjoy a limited form of eye-contact and body language. It also permits collaboration and learning in groups. The article goes on to discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of using the interface for online learning. It goes on to examine current educational applications and possible future enhancements

Key skills by design: Adapting a central Web resource to departmental contexts

Web‐based delivery of support materials for students has proved to be a popular way of helping small teams to implement key skills policies within universities. The development of ‘key’ or ‘transferable’ skills is now encouraged throughout education, but resources (both in terms of staffing and budget) tend to be limited. It is difficult for key skills teams to see learners face to face, and not feasible to print or distribute large amounts of paper‐based material. Web‐based delivery presents a means of overcoming these problems but it can result in generic study skills material simply being published online without due consideration of the needs of different groups of learners within different subject disciplines. Therefore, although a centralized Website for skills provision can overcome logistical problems, it may be perceived as irrelevant or unusable by the student population. This paper presents a model for Web‐based delivery of support for key skills which incorporates two separate approaches to the design of these resources. The model was implemented as part of a wider key skills pilot project at University College London, over a period of one year. It includes a ‘core’ Website, containing information and resources for staff and students. These can also be accessed via customized, departmental key skills homepages. This paper presents the basis for the design choices made in preparing these materials, and the evaluation of some of the pilot departments using them. It then draws some wider conclusions about the effectiveness of this design for supporting skills development

A user interface for customizing cane layouts in Virtual Glass

Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. "February 2013."Includes bibliographical references (unnumbered page).Cane pulling is a technique used in glass blowing to build up intricate patterns which come out in the final piece. Virtual Glass was created to model the cane pulling process from start to finish. There are a variety of standard cane layout patterns, but in truth the full range of possibilities is limited only by the glassblower's skill and imagination. For this reason the previous Virtual Glass interface, which provided only templates, proved to be too restrictive for users. In this thesis I describe an alternative interface we have developed which frees users from the limitations of template patterns. I provide a side-by-side comparison of several previous cane designs replicated in the program with and without the use of this interface. I also detail several unimplemented features and describe the foreseeable challenges with adding them, as well as how they might integrate into the interface when they are included.by Kimberly Baldauf.M. Eng

COLLAGE: a collaborative Learning Design editor based on patterns

CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning) constitutes a significant field that has drawn the attention of many researchers and practitioners (Dillenbourg, 2002). This domain is characterized by the coexistence of very different expectations, requirements, knowledge and interests posed by both collaborative learning practitioners and experts in information and communication technologies. In other words, CSCL is an intrinsically interdisciplinary field that implies a need for mutual understanding among the implied stakeholders. This need demands the active participation of all these stakeholders during the whole development cycle of CSCL solutions. Participatory Design (PD) approaches (Muller & Kuhn, 1993) propose a diversity of theories, practices, etc. with the goal of working directly with users and other stakeholders in the design of social systems. That is, PD methodologies define processes where users and developers work together during a certain period of time, while they identify the requirements of an application. In the CSCL case, it has been shown that it is not efficient enough to simply perform the identification and analysis of requirements for the development of CSCL solutions that support effective ways of learning. Collaborative learning practitioners also become active players in the process of customizing technological solutions to their particular needs in every learning situation. PD poses a new requirement that CSCL developers should tackle: how to obtain technological solutions for collaborative learning capable of being particularized/customized by practitioners that usually do not have technological skills

An interactive flash application as a supplementary teaching tool in higher education

Educational Flash applications have received the attention of researchers and educators in higher education as a result of the evolution of technology, including high-speed Internet, advanced hardware and software, and the seeking of new learning paradigms from the constructivist\u27s point of view. However, existing educational websites utilizing Flash contain limited interactivity, and few websites have been created which adapt valuable educational theories that sustain and enhance the learning processes that suit the Net generation. The purpose of this study is to examine educational theories which are relevant to current educational contexts and learners and to propose a guideline for developing an educational application. In addition, by providing an educational Flash application, the author discovers potential applications using Flash to enhancing the learning process, based on literature which has been previously discussed. To create the educational Flash application, the author selected the subject, learning grid systems for design students in higher education. The validity of this application is examined by learners\u27 evaluations. The guidelines proposed by the author can be utilized by developers and educators to create instructional applications based on valid educational theories. Also, the Flash application as the prototype for this study is an illustration of a higher education use of Flash

Bridging the Gap Using Access Grid Video Collaboration Technology: A Case Study in Music Performance Education across Two Continents

Researchers employed a mixed-methods design of inquiry involving survey designs and phenomenological methods research techniques to determine the Access Grid\u27s effectiveness for remote music performance education and to assess the students\u27 impression of this videoconferencing system