Making online learning accessible to disabled students: an institutional case study

Based on the authors’ reflections on experience working at the Open University, approaches to making online learning accessible to disabled students are considered. The considerations are applicable to all concerned with online learning and indeed anyone seeking to trade, disseminate information and mediate services online. In reflecting on the Open University experience of making online material accessible, pedagogic, organisational and cultural issues are highlighted and it is argued that it is important to address these issues in order to effect the organisational change needed to ensure that accessibility challenges are effectively met

Educational technology : learning in a computer-mediated environment.

This study investigates the impact of online versus pen and paper homework on college students\u27 learning and performance, and explores their experiences in each modality. After familiarizing students with two different homework modalities, students\u27 decision to work in the online versus the traditional environment was utilized as the student preference indicator. Students\u27 gender and computer comfort levels were also recorded. Although differences were found on the computer comfort levels of male and female students, there were no significant differences on learning outcomes. The findings suggest that students can learn equally well in either modality, regardless of their preference, gender or computer comfort level. In the attempt to better understand their experiences, students were asked to describe and compare their learning in both modalities. According to the students, instant feedback was the most valuable feature. They enjoyed working with computers; it helped them stay interested and motivated. They mentioned, however, that they learn better writing down on paper rather than typing on a computer keyboard

The Effect of Augmented Reality Treatment on Learning, Cognitive Load, and Spatial Visualization Abilities

This study investigated the effects of Augmented Reality (AR) on learning, cognitive load and spatial abilities. More specifically, it measured learning gains, perceived cognitive load, and the role spatial abilities play with students engaged in an astronomy lesson about lunar phases. Research participants were 182 students from a public university in southeastern United States, and were recruited from psychology research pool. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: (a) Augmented Reality and Text Astronomy Treatment (ARTAT); and (b) Images and Text Astronomy Treatment (ITAT). Upon entering the experimental classroom, participants were given (a) Paper Folding Test to measure their spatial abilities; (b) the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) pre-test; (c) lesson on Lunar Phases; (d) NASA-TLX to measure participants’ cognitive load; and (e) LPCI post-test. Statistical analysis found (a) no statistical difference for learning gains between the ARTAT and ITAT groups; (b) statistically significant difference for cognitive load; and (c) no significant difference for spatial abilities scores

An analysis of high school students\u27 self-efficacy in second language acquisition through digital language lab learning: Exploring new pathways to proficiency

Students are often faced with barriers acquiring a second language due to various factors such as language anxiety, learning differences, and a lack of speaking time with the language. The purposes of this qualitative study were to: a) determine students\u27 perceptions of the effectiveness of a digital language lab on their self-efficacy in second language acquisition at the secondary level, and b) discern teachers\u27 perceptions of the effectiveness of the lab as well as recommendations for best practices in teacher training and implementation. Twenty-seven Italian and Spanish students and 12 world language teachers from two fairly rural high schools in Northeastern United States comprised the participants in this qualitative study. Data sources included: student interviews, a student survey, a teacher questionnaire, class observations, and material culture. Using grounded theory, it became evident students\u27 self-efficacy in language acquisition could be positively influenced for various leveled learners via practice opportunities available with the lab. Furthermore, educators shared lessons, created user guides, and taught others how to use the program. Thus, the study revealed not only the manner a blended resource provided students an anxiety-free tool to explore the target language, but also it showed how teachers embraced an opportunity to train other teachers as a preferred model of professional development when challenged with implementing a new technology throughout world language classrooms

Modality effects on adult learning

This paper focuses on improving older adults\u27 recall of important health information. The study\u27s objective is to test which of three presentation modalities (text, audio or text plus audio) leads to improved performance of older adults\u27 learning health information. The total number of participants consisted of 16 males and 18 females, or a total of 34 participants. The mean age of the group was 72.5. The participants were divided into three groups and each group was presented with one of three modalities (i.e. text, text plus audio, and audio), selected randomly, on an auto start CD, using PowerPoint as a guide. The outcome measures were a 10 question, Likert scale Ease of Comprehension Questionnaire, and a 10 Question Multiple-Choice Test. There was no main effect for the Ease of Comprehension variables or the Multiple-Choice Test recall variables due to treatment effects. The effect size for the Ease of Comprehension variable equaled .530 as measured by Eta squared. Given more power, the outcome would likely demonstrate significant results

The A-rray: visual animation in learning structured programming / Wan Salfarina Wan Husain ,Siti Hasrinafasya Che Hassan and Wan Norliza Wan Bakar

In mastering computer programming language, the logical thinking skills have been proposed as a fundamental knowledge. Unfortunately, the logical reasoning among UiTM students in computer problem solving usually results in high failure rates. Thus, there is a need to find alternative solutions to improve the students' logical thinking skill in computer problem solving. The visual animation is considered to be a very promising potential to aid students in learning and understanding the algorithm concept in programming. According to the result of students' learning style by using a set of Learning Style Inventory, 54% of students are visual thinkers. Thus, this paper is proposing a conceptual model in developing an interactive multimedia courseware named The A-rray to reinforce the basic concepts of programming such as summation, average, counting and searching. The ADDIE model of instructional design was used to develop the application

uC: Ubiquitous Collaboration Platform for Multimodal Team Interaction Support

A human-centered computing platform that improves teamwork and transforms the “human- computer interaction experience” for distributed teams is presented. This Ubiquitous Collaboration, or uC (“you see”), platform\u27s objective is to transform distributed teamwork (i.e., work occurring when teams of workers and learners are geographically dispersed and often interacting at different times). It achieves this goal through a multimodal team interaction interface realized through a reconfigurable open architecture. The approach taken is to integrate: (1) an intuitive speech- and video-centric multi-modal interface to augment more conventional methods (e.g., mouse, stylus and touch), (2) an open and reconfigurable architecture supporting information gathering, and (3) a machine intelligent approach to analysis and management of heterogeneous live and stored sensor data to support collaboration. The system will transform how teams of people interact with computers by drawing on both the virtual and physical environment

Effects of Pedagogical Agent Design on Training Evaluation Measures: A Meta-Analysis

Pedagogical agents are, conversational virtual characters employed in electronic learning environments to serve various instructional functions (Veletsianos & Miller, 2008). They can take a variety of forms, and have been designed to serve various instructional roles, such as mentors, experts, motivators, and others. Given the increased availability and sophistication of technology in recent decades, these agents have become increasingly common as facilitators to training in educational settings, private institutions, and the military. Software to aid in the creation of pedagogical agents is widely available. Additionally, software use and agent creation often requires little formal training, affording nearly anyone the opportunity to create content and digital trainers to deliver it. While the popularity of these instructional agents has increased rapidly in practice, it has outpaced research into best practices for agent design and instructional methods. The personas programmed into pedagogical agents are recognizable by the people interacting with them, and have been shown to impact various learning outcomes. The form and realism of training agents have also been shown to have substantial impacts on people\u27s perceptions and relationships with these beings. Additionally, agents can be designed in environments that utilize different methods of content delivery (e.g., spoken words versus text), resulting in varying levels of cognitive load (and thus, varying learning outcomes). In an educational setting, agent perceptions and interactions could impact the effectiveness of a training program. This meta-analysis uses the Integrated Model of Training Evaluation and Effectiveness (IMTEE) as an over-arching framework to examine the effects of training characteristics on training evaluation measures (Alvarez, Salas, & Garofano, 2004). Training characteristics refer to any training-specific qualities that may impact learning outcomes compared to other training programs that offer the same or similar content. Training evaluation refers to the practice of measuring important training outcomes to determine whether or not a training initiative meets its stated objectives. The pedagogical agent training characteristics evaluated in this study include agent iconicity (level of detail and realism), agent roles, and agent instructional modalities. The evaluation measures being examined include post-training self-efficacy, cognitive learning, training performance, and transfer performance. The Uncanny Valley Theory (Mori, 1970) suggests that agent iconicity (level of detail and realism) is expected to relate to training evaluation measures differently for human-like and non-human-like agents, such that low levels of iconicity (high realism) in non-human-like agents and moderate levels of iconicity in human-like agents would result in optimal training outcomes. These hypotheses were partially supported in that trainees achieved the highest levels of performance on transfer tasks when working with moderately realistic human-like trainers. No significant effects were seen for non-human-like trainers. Additionally, it was expected that the relationship between instructional modality and all training evaluation measures would be positive and stronger for modalities that produce deeper cognitive processing (Explaining and Questioning) than the modalities that produce shallower processing (Executing and Showing). This hypothesis was not supported. The relationship between agent role and all training evaluation measures was expected to be positive and stronger for modalities that produce deeper cognitive processing (Coaching and Testing) than the roles that produce shallower processing (Supplanting and Demonstrating). This hypothesis was not supported. Additionally, agents that minimize extraneous cognitive processing were also expected to outperform those that require excess cognitive demands. Agents that utilize speech, personalized messages, facial expressions, and gestures were expected to lead to improved training outcomes compared to those that primarily utilize text, speak in monologue, are expressionless, and/or are devoid of gestures. This hypothesis was partially supported in that agents who were merely present on-screen (physically directing learner attention) resulted in the lowest transfer task performance compared to more active agents who delivered actual content (via speech or text). Learner control (versus trainer control) over support delivery was expected to contribute to improved training outcomes, and support that is delayed in its delivery was expected to hinder performance on training evaluation measures. These hypotheses were not supported. This meta-analysis, backed by an integration of theories from computer science and multiple disciplines within psychology, contributes to the field of employee training by informing decisions regarding when and how pedagogical agents can best be used in applied setting as viable training tools