The Innovative Use of Personal Smart Devices by Students to Support their Learning

Research into the autonomous use of MP3 audio recorders by students in UK Higher Education demonstrated that students were innovative in their autonomous use of the devices. They used them to capture learning conversations from formal and informal situations to personalise and enhance their learning. However, today smartphones and other smart devices have replaced the necessity for students to carry multiply mobile devices including MP3 recorders. This chapter builds upon the earlier work and presents a small qualitative study into how students are autonomously using their smart devices to support their learning. The research explores the hypothesis that students are being innovative in the ways in which they are use their smart devices to support their formal and informal learning. The study involved five students who own smart devices who were invited to discuss their ownership of smartphone and tablet technologies and the ways they used them in their studies. The students first completed a short questionnaire and were then interviewed in small groups. The results agree with previous research into the student use of smart devices and describe autonomous engagement facilitated by personally owned smart technologies. The study identifies continuous patterns of pervasive engagement by students and concludes that more thought should be given to disruptive innovation, digital literacy and employability

Real and ideal perception of the intelligent classroom environment of future teachers

The proliferation of information and communication technology tools in the last years has led many teachers to review the way they teach and structure their learning environments. The growth of technological applications in teaching and the training of future teachers is not only gaining momentum; it is also becoming an important part of the current educational scene. The objectives of this study were to adapt and validate the Real and Ideal Intelligent Classroom Questionnaires (REQSC) and (IEQSC), and to determine if there were significant differences in the perception that future teachers had of the real and ideal environment of intelligent classrooms. A quantitative methodology was used, applying the statistical software SPSS 23 for the factor analysis. The results indicated that both questionnaires showed a valid and reliable internal consistency. The real and ideal perceptions of the use of technology as a learning tool and access to information make it clear that it is currently being used correctly. It is important that future teachers acquire adequate skills for their use and research in different topics

Development of a Framework for a Java-based Signal Processing E-Learning Platform

The design and implementation of an interactive, but easy to extend and to maintain e-learning platform is a complex task. In order to achieve this, existing learning platforms have been reviewed concerning learning principles applied in them. Then, use cases have been defined and a prototype of a web based learning platform has been built. Out of this prototype creation process, the software architecture of the learning platform as well as a model for creating exercises have been developed. As a result of this thesis project, a well-structured, JavaServer Faces based distributed e-learning software system has been developed. This software system integrates MATLAB® functions and provides a well-structured user interface. The user is able to configure the input signals as well as the digital signal processing algorithms freely, which gives her the possibility to study the algorithm in a way she desires. The results of the algorithms are presented using interactive charts, which can be saved to local disk for later reference. Printable question sheets are attached to the exercises, which guide the student towards to learning goals defined in advance. By this thesis project it has been shown, how modern web technologies like JavaServer Faces, jQuery and Highcharts are used to create an e-learning platform with MATLAB® as a back end. The Model-View-Controller based software architecture of the learning platform allows to separate responsibilities and thus keeps the code understandable and clean. Due to its flexible software architecture, the learning platform can be extended by other exercises, but also by other back ends like GNU Octave. In the future, it shall be investigated how the e-learning platform can be extended to two and three dimensional signals like images and videos. Also, an integration of simple vector- and matrix exercises is desirable

Mobile Games for Learning:A Pattern-Based Approach

The core concern of this thesis is the design of mobile games for learning. The conditions and requirements that are vital in order to make mobile games suitable and effective for learning environments are investigated. The base for exploration is the pattern approach as an established form of templates that provide solutions for recurrent problems. Building on this acknowledged form of exchanging and re-using knowledge, patterns for game design are used to classify the many gameplay rules and mechanisms in existence. This research draws upon pattern descriptions to analyze learning game concepts and to abstract possible relationships between gameplay patterns and learning outcomes. The linkages that surface are the starting bases for a series of game design concepts and their implementations are subsequently evaluated with regard to learning outcomes. The findings and resulting knowledge from this research is made accessible by way of implications and recommendations for future design decisions

Investigating the Experience of Water: A Case Study of Teaching and Learning in Elementary School Science

Limited research has been done on the implementation of experiential learning to align with science and engineering practices. This research project developed an instrumental case study to examine the efficacy of an experiential education framework for teaching and learning water science and engineering practices in the elementary science classroom. This study investigates the process of a practicing scientist mentoring a 6th grade elementary science teacher and their participation in professional development activities, strategies used for preparation and practice, classroom implementation, and the consequences of student learning with two sections of science students. Data collection and analysis of teacher background surveys, unit plans provided by the teacher, classroom and field observations, and a semi-structured interview were data sources for the study. Student evidence was collected from pre/post drawing assessments, pre/posttests, reflections, and student artifacts. The findings indicated that personal, intensive long term professional development sessions had an impact on the teacher’s practice, where she was able to use the experiential framework as a guiding principle to create an outdoor and classroom-based unit on water in Earth systems. In her practice, she was able to use the framework to create analogies to make connections between natural water filtration and classroom models, and she used an integrated approach to discuss engineering and filter design. The scientist-teacher mentorship resulted in an increase in the teacher’s confidence and ability to teach elementary science topics on water science. Students’ conceptual understanding of water cycle components and processes progressed over the course of the unit from atmospheric level to subsurface level interactions. Students achieved an understanding of physical properties of matter and hydrogeological concepts of permeability and porosity. Students were able to understand systems thinking and developed dynamic thinking. Implications of this study indicate that the experiential learning framework is an effective pedagogical tool for teachers to introduce science and engineering practices as specified in the K-12 Framework. Using this framework, the classroom teacher was able to complete practices for planning and carrying out investigations, developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data, and constructing and designing solutions

An aesthetic for sustainable interactions in product-service systems?

Copyright @ 2012 Greenleaf PublishingEco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because its implementation and diffusion is hindered by several barriers (cultural, corporate and regulative ones). The paper investigates the barriers that affect the attractiveness and acceptation of eco-efficient PSS alternatives, and opens the debate on the aesthetic of eco-efficient PSS, and the way in which aesthetic could enhance some specific inner qualities of this kinds of innovations. Integrating insights from semiotics, the paper outlines some first research hypothesis on how the aesthetic elements of an eco-efficient PSS could facilitate user attraction, acceptation and satisfaction

Abstracts: HASTAC 2017: The Possible Worlds of Digital Humanities

The document contains abstracts for HASTAC 2017