10,728 research outputs found

    Quantum Physics Literacy Aimed at K12 and the General Public

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    Educating K12 students and general public in quantum physics represents an evitable must no longer since quantum technologies are going to revolutionize our lives. Quantum literacy is a formidable challenge and an extraordinary opportunity for a massive cultural uplift, where citizens learn how to engender creativity and practice a new way of thinking, essential for smart community building. Scientific thinking hinges on analyzing facts and creating understanding, and it is then formulated with the dense mathematical language for later fact checking. Within classical physics, learners’ intuition may in principle be educated via classroom demonstrations of everyday-life phenomena. Their understanding can even be framed with the mathematics suited to their instruction degree. For quantum physics, on the contrary, we have no experience of quantum phenomena and the required mathematics is beyond non-expert reach. Therefore, educating intuition needs imagination. Without rooting to experiments and some degree of formal framing, educators face the risk to provide only evanescent tales, often misled, while resorting to familiar analogies. Here, we report on the realization of QPlayLearn, an online platform conceived to explicitly address challenges and opportunities of massive quantum literacy. QPlayLearn’s mission is to provide multilevel education on quantum science and technologies to anyone, regardless of age and background. To this aim, innovative interactive tools enhance the learning process effectiveness, fun, and accessibility, while remaining grounded on scientific correctness. Examples are games for basic quantum physics teaching, on-purpose designed animations, and easy-to-understand explanations on terminology and concepts by global experts. As a strategy for massive cultural change, QPlayLearn offers diversified content for different target groups, from primary school all the way to university physics students. It is addressed also to companies wishing to understand the potential of the emergent quantum industry, journalists, and policymakers needing to seize what quantum technologies are about, as well as all quantum science enthusiasts

    Quantum Physics Literacy Aimed at K12 and the General Public

    Get PDF
    Educating K12 students and general public in quantum physics represents an evitable must no longer since quantum technologies are going to revolutionize our lives. Quantum literacy is a formidable challenge and an extraordinary opportunity for a massive cultural uplift, where citizens learn how to engender creativity and practice a new way of thinking, essential for smart community building. Scientific thinking hinges on analyzing facts and creating understanding, and it is then formulated with the dense mathematical language for later fact checking. Within classical physics, learners' intuition may in principle be educated via classroom demonstrations of everyday-life phenomena. Their understanding can even be framed with the mathematics suited to their instruction degree. For quantum physics, on the contrary, we have no experience of quantum phenomena and the required mathematics is beyond non-expert reach. Therefore, educating intuition needs imagination. Without rooting to experiments and some degree of formal framing, educators face the risk to provide only evanescent tales, often misled, while resorting to familiar analogies. Here, we report on the realization of QPlayLearn, an online platform conceived to explicitly address challenges and opportunities of massive quantum literacy. QPlayLearn's mission is to provide multilevel education on quantum science and technologies to anyone, regardless of age and background. To this aim, innovative interactive tools enhance the learning process effectiveness, fun, and accessibility, while remaining grounded on scientific correctness. Examples are games for basic quantum physics teaching, on-purpose designed animations, and easy-to-understand explanations on terminology and concepts by global experts. As a strategy for massive cultural change, QPlayLearn offers diversified content for different target groups, from primary school all the way to university physics students. It is addressed also to companies wishing to understand the potential of the emergent quantum industry, journalists, and policymakers needing to seize what quantum technologies are about, as well as all quantum science enthusiasts.Peer reviewe

    Problems of Designing Geoportal Interfaces

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    The manuscript is devoted to analysis of the problem of designing graphical geoportal interfaces. The support points for the problem solutions are formulated and rationale of each of them is given. The emphasis was placed on the following orientations: to a flexible process of interface development, the need to introduce adaptability, progressive development, the motivated abandonment of geospatial content management systems and the use of third-party libraries where necessary, problem-solving and achieving goals. The lists of basic functional and qualitative requirements for graphical geoportal interfaces are given. In the last segment, the authors share their experience in the development of geoportal solutions

    Enhance Learning in a Virtual Professional Environment via 3D Cases

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    The purpose of this research is toinvestigate the affordances and constraints ofdeveloping 3D teaching vignettes for effectivecase-based learning. It is built on the paradigm ofcase-based learning, which enhances higher-orderthinking abilities. Sparse research explores bothstudents’ engagement and learning outcomes viathree-dimensional (3D) teaching vignettes or 3D cases.In this study, a quasi-experimental study confirmsthe authors’ earlier finding that learnersoverwhelmingly prefer 3D to text-based case studies.A paired samples t-test shows students demonstratesignificant cognitive gains when studying a newdomain subject via a 3D case study. In this paper,the authors describe a design-based research processof developing 3D case studies that capitalizes theaffordances of 3D technologies. An in-depthdiscussion of important issues such as limitations andlessons learned is also included to explore thepragmatics of using 3D technologies to promotelearning

    Happy Hapai: Evaluating the Usability of a Pregnancy and Childbirth Preparation Website

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    This 68-page paper was written to complete the Learning Design and Technology Master's program. The results from the usability study were presented at the 2020 Technology, Colleges, and Community Worldwide Online Conference in the form of a PowerPoint Presentation. A PDF of the website is also included in the resources.Pregnancy and childbirth is a wonderful experience for many women, and even their partners. During this period of gestation, there is a strong focus on the mother and child’s overall wellness and planning for the birth of her child(ren). For individuals living on O`ahu, there are many resources available; however, it can be a tiresome process to find all of the information expecting families need and want. In addition to speaking to medical professionals and reading informational books, many find themselves seeking answers on the Internet. Therefore, a need for a location-based, comprehensive online resource was identified. The purpose of this usability study was to evaluate the functionality, navigability, and ease of use of an O`ahu-based pregnancy and birth preparation website and the participants’ satisfaction with the content and design. The website was developed using WiX, a cloud-based development platform, and contains useful, relevant, and location-based information to help expecting parents make informed decisions about their pregnancy and delivery. The usability study recruited nine participants who gauged the navigability of the website and their satisfaction with the design and content. Feedback and data analysis from the study indicated that participants agreed that the website was easy to use and were satisfied with the available resources

    Creation of Interactive VR Application that Supports Reasoning Skills in Anatomy Education

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    For our creative work thesis, we developed a VR (Virtual Reality) Program that allows a user to view and interact with muscles and nerves of a canine leg that would support students to understand the relationships between nerves and muscles. Using an industry-style pipeline, we developed anatomically accurate models of canine muscles and nerves, which we textured, rigged, and animated for use in an educational virtual reality platform. The end goal of the project is to create and measure the efficacy of a visually dynamic experience for the user, allowing them to generally explore canine limb anatomy, and to specifically visualize deficits in muscle movement, produced by user interaction with the canine nervous system. This tool explores the possibilities of Virtual Reality and seek to improve upon existing methods of higher-level anatomy education. Traditionally, higher level anatomy education is taught through the use of cadaver dissections, two-dimensional anatomical diagrams and didactic lectures. However, these traditional methods of teaching anatomy have many limitations and are not enough to build a visual-spatial understanding of anatomical structures. Virtual reality is a strong tool that allows students to directly manipulate anatomical models and observe movements in a three-dimensional space. While the literature has been filled with VR applications that aim to fill this need, many existing tools offer only a static model for the user to explore by rotation, adding and subtracting layers, and viewing labels to learn about the anatomical structure. We seek to increase the level of dynamic interaction that the user has, by allowing the user’s touch of the models to change the animation and movement of the three-dimensional models in their environment. Our outcome is a VR learning tool that has potential for further exploration in higher level anatomy education. Our creative work employs the methodologies of “art-based research”. Art based research can be defined as the systematic use of the artistic process, the actual making of artistic expressions as a primary way of understanding. The project was created iteratively while working with content experts, specifically anatomy experts from Dept. of Veterinary Sciences at Texas A&M University. Implementing anatomy education using virtual reality and developing a universal pipeline for asset creation allows us the freedom to dynamically build on our application. This means that our tool can accommodate for the addition of new muscle and nerves. By continuing to develop our virtual reality application in future works, we can expand the breadth of knowledge a user can gain from interacting with our application

    Creation of Interactive VR Application that Supports Reasoning Skills in Anatomy Education

    Get PDF
    For our creative work thesis, we developed a VR (Virtual Reality) Program that allows a user to view and interact with muscles and nerves of a canine leg that would support students to understand the relationships between nerves and muscles. Using an industry-style pipeline, we developed anatomically accurate models of canine muscles and nerves, which we textured, rigged, and animated for use in an educational virtual reality platform. The end goal of the project is to create and measure the efficacy of a visually dynamic experience for the user, allowing them to generally explore canine limb anatomy, and to specifically visualize deficits in muscle movement, produced by user interaction with the canine nervous system. This tool explores the possibilities of Virtual Reality and seek to improve upon existing methods of higher-level anatomy education. Traditionally, higher level anatomy education is taught through the use of cadaver dissections, two-dimensional anatomical diagrams and didactic lectures. However, these traditional methods of teaching anatomy have many limitations and are not enough to build a visual-spatial understanding of anatomical structures. Virtual reality is a strong tool that allows students to directly manipulate anatomical models and observe movements in a three-dimensional space. While the literature has been filled with VR applications that aim to fill this need, many existing tools offer only a static model for the user to explore by rotation, adding and subtracting layers, and viewing labels to learn about the anatomical structure. We seek to increase the level of dynamic interaction that the user has, by allowing the user’s touch of the models to change the animation and movement of the three-dimensional models in their environment. Our outcome is a VR learning tool that has potential for further exploration in higher level anatomy education. Our creative work employs the methodologies of “art-based research”. Art based research can be defined as the systematic use of the artistic process, the actual making of artistic expressions as a primary way of understanding. The project was created iteratively while working with content experts, specifically anatomy experts from Dept. of Veterinary Sciences at Texas A&M University. Implementing anatomy education using virtual reality and developing a universal pipeline for asset creation allows us the freedom to dynamically build on our application. This means that our tool can accommodate for the addition of new muscle and nerves. By continuing to develop our virtual reality application in future works, we can expand the breadth of knowledge a user can gain from interacting with our application

    Designing Gamification for Sustainable Employee Behavior: Insights on Employee Motivations, Design Features and Gamification Elements

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    Encouraging sustainable employee behavior is critical for companies in the face of increasing societal pressure towards sustainability. While gamification has been shown to influence employee behavior effectively, current attempts to design gamification for sustainability in the workplace largely neglect the importance of understanding personal factors and contextual characteristics. This work explores employees' motivations for sustainable behavior and expectations for design features through in-depth interviews with 27 employees from different SMEs. Our results show that many employees tend to be egoistically motivated, suggesting the design of appropriate narratives and individualistic-oriented design features. Employees expected utilitarian, hedonistic, and social design features that primarily serve to support them in achieving personal sustainability goals while highlighting that gamification at work should also integrate seamlessly with existing work routines. We contribute to gamification design research by discussing the particularities of the workplace sustainability context and shedding new light on involving users in gamification design
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