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Around the table: Are multiple-touch surfaces better than single-touch for children's collaborative interactions?
This paper presents a classroom study that investigated the potential of using touch tabletop technology to support children's collaborative learning interactions. Children aged 7-10 worked in groups of three on a collaborative planning task in which they designed a seating plan for their classroom. In the single-touch condition, the tabletop surface allowed only one child to interact with the digital content at a time. In the multiple-touch condition, the children could interact with the digital content simultaneously. Results showed that touch condition did not affect the frequency or equity of interactions, but did influence the nature of children's discussion. In the multiple-touch condition, children talked more about the task; in the single-touch condition, they talked more about turn taking. We also report age and gender differences
Virtually connected, practically mobile
This is the post-print version of the Chapter. The official published version can be accessed from the links below - Copyright @ 2006 SpringerThis chapter addresses a central issue in studies of mobile work and mobile technology – what is the work of mobile workers, and how do they use the resources that they have to undertake this work (i.e. the work they have to do in order to do their work)? In contrast to many of the other papers in this collection, the objective of this chapter is to examine individual mobile work, and not teamwork and co-operation other than where it impacts on the work of individuals. We present data from a study of mobile workers, examining a range of mobile workers to produce a rich picture of their work. Our analysis reveals insights into how mobile workers mix their mobility with their work, home and social lives, their use of mobile technology, the problems – technological and otherwise – inherent in being mobile, and the strategies that they use to manage their work, time, other resources and availability. Our findings demonstrate important issues in understanding mobile work, including the maintenance of communities of practice, the role and management of interpersonal awareness and co-ordination, how environmental resources affect activity, the impact of mobility on family/social relationships and the crossover between the mobile workers’ private and working lives, how preplanning is employed prior to travel, and how mobile workers perform activity multitasking, for example through making use of ‘dead time’. Finally, we turn to the implications of this data for the design and deployment of mobile virtual work (MVW) technologies for individuals and a broader organisational context
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Enhancing the employability of Brunel students: Assessment and evaluation of a Level 1 multidisciplinary project based teaching activity in the School of Engineering and Design
The Level 1 Multidisciplinary Project (MDP) is a weeklong project that takes place in the last week of Term 1. It involves first year undergraduate students from across the School subject areas of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Design. The project is designed to be a teaching activity that removes the barrier of academic ability by involving a non‐discipline technical element, the primary emphasis being on the development of key transferable skills and the utilisation of problem solving skills that students have begun to develop in their first term at university. Each year around 450 students take part in MDP and they are put into mixed discipline groups of 8 or 9 students tasked with designing, building and demonstrating Lego Mindstorms and BASIC Stamp micro‐controlled vehicles to tackle an obstacle course. This report presents an analysis of responses from students to an online survey set up to evaluate the MDP. The survey was created using the online ‘SurveyMonkey’ website and was made live on 30th March 2011. The survey consisted of 15 questions, including tick box style quantitative questions along with some text based qualitative questions. There was also a request for contact details to be provided, if students would be happy to be contacted for a follow‐up discussion. The aim of the survey was to obtain feedback from students in each subject area, in each academic year group that has taken part in the MDP in the School of Engineering and Design. The survey was designed to try and assess student experiences and recollections of the project activity, to evaluate how the MDP has evolved over the four years it has taken place and inform the continued development of the MDP in future academic years. Information about the survey was sent by email to all students that have participated in the MDP since it was introduced in the 2007/2008 academic year (approximately 1700 students). The emails were written by Dr David Smith who is responsible for the running of the MDP and Dr Jo Cole who is involved in the co‐ordination of the MDP, inviting students to complete the online questionnaire. This report is broken into sections, giving an overview of the survey results as a whole, before looking at key observations in the data by year and by subject area. The survey questions are given in Appendix A with summary charts of the tick box responses given in Appendix B and the raw data from all questions provided by SurveyMonkey in Appendix C. Key points raised in the follow‐up one to‐one email and phone discussions are then presented, with full transcripts of the questions and answers from these discussions given in Appendix D, along with feedback from the professional bodies that accredit the different undergraduate courses taking part in the MDP and the view of the Brunel Placement and Careers Office. A list of conclusions is then given, drawn up to reflect the aspects of the MDP that need improvement, to be used as input to the development of the MDP for the coming academic year. Collation of the survey data, follow‐up discussions with students and initial preparation of this report were conducted by Dianna Reid, with funding provided by the Brunel Academic Practice and Development Unit as part of a 2011 Learning and Teaching Innovation Fund award under project code 2LA026
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