The impact of technology: value-added classroom practice: final report

This report extends Becta’s enquiries into the ways in which digital technologies are supporting learning. It looks in detail at the learning practices mediated by ICT in nine secondary schools in which ICT for learning is well embedded. The project proposes a broader perspective on the notion of ‘impact’ that is rather different from a number of previous studies investigating impact. Previous studies have been limited in that they have either focused on a single innovation or have reported on institutional level factors. However, in both cases this pays insufficient attention to the contexts of learning. In this project, the focus has been on the learning practices of the classroom and the contexts of ICT-supported learning. The study reports an analysis of 85 lesson logs, in which teachers recorded their use of space, digital technology and student outcomes in relation to student engagement and learning. The teachers who filled in the logs, as well as their schools’ senior managers, were interviewed as part of a ‘deep audit’ of ICT provision conducted over two days. One-hour follow-up interviews with the teachers were carried out after the teachers’ log activity. The aim of this was to obtain a broader contextualisation of their teaching

Affordances of the Spatial Design of School Buildings for Student Interactions and Student Self-Directed Learning Activities

The importance of school buildings is rooted in the vitality of education for societal development. Literature perceives learning as a social process, enriched by student interactions and self-directed activities, and the school design should afford those learning practices. The term afford refers to spatial affordances which are defined, in this paper, as the set of possibilities for activities offered by the spatial design to students. Therefore, research on school buildings requires a broad investigation of the spatial design, to uncover the design potentiality and explore the actuality of school operation, in terms of the occurring student interactions and self-directed activities (as representations of social learning). This investigation outlines the research scope, while more attention is drawn towards informal learning spaces outside classrooms, including corridors, open-plan studios and social spaces. This paper focuses on the affordances of the spatial design of secondary school buildings. It presents the outcome of quantitative spatial analysis (using Space Syntax tools) on eleven UK schools, designed by three architecture firms, supported by qualitative interviews with the architects of those schools. This data set explores the school design potentiality for possible learning practices. The paper, thereafter, presents quantitative recording of student interactions and self-directed activities in two of the eleven schools, supported by qualitative interviews with the school managements and teachers; and student questionnaires. This data set explains the actuality of student interactions and self-directed activities, relative to operational managerial schemes and student preferences. Findings discuss the influence of functionalities allocation and configurational accessibility on student interactions, activity types and distribution. This is portrayed through the example of school corridors which afford interactive learning if being highly accessible and connected to open learning spaces. Nevertheless, operational managerial schemes and student preferences still influence the occurring activities. The research outcome explains the school actual operations, and how they correspond to (or divert from) the original design potentiality. This outcome contributes to the existing knowledge on the student social life in schools, and how the spatial design and school rules impact activity types across informal spaces. This possibly links to futur e work on interactive design processes that include architects, teachers and school managements to reduce the gap between school design intentions and operation

SPATIAL LEARNING LANDSCAPE (SLL) IN THE CAMPUS OF THE DIGITAL AGE

Values controlling campus articulation are mainly rooted in the \u27Connectivity\u27 value. Its interpretation exceeds just the physical connections inside the campus to the wider links between the academia and the society. The digital age has thoughtful impacts on the way that every aspect of the life is performing. The campus\u27 shaping values have changed considerably and the connectivity came at the heart of these changes. The way the students are connected to each other\u27s, to their tutors, and even to the place is replaced. In addition, this technological revolution has profoundly wedged the business domain, restructuring the linkage between academia and society as a whole. However, these transformations have influenced the required graduate specification to join the work market, and accordingly, the nature of learning in the digital age to face all of these challenges. This paper presents an analytical review to different circumstances that affect the learning typology at the digital age and the prospects of the future education at universities. It links between these attributes and the Spatial Learning Landscape (SLL) at the campus that reflects the values of the digital age. In addition, a matrix correlating the values of the education spaces in the digital age (active and inactive) to the Spatial Learning landscape configurations is originated. Finally, the paper presents a descriptive analytical study to the spatial learning landscape of the new Cornell Tech Campus, Roosevelt Island, New York, using the developed matrix as leading example for the digital age-based campus design

Investigation 7. Instrumental genesis in technology mediated learning : From double stimulation to expansive knowledge practices

The purpose of the present paper is to examine the sociocultural foundations of technology-mediated collaborative learning. Toward that end, we discuss the role of artifacts in knowledge-creating inquiry, relying on the theoretical ideas of Carl Bereiter, Merlin Donald, Pierre Rabardel, Keith Sawyer, and L. S. Vygotsky. We argue that epistemic mediation triggers expanded inquiry and plays a crucial role in knowledge creation; such mediation involves using CSCL technologies to create epistemic artifacts for crystallizing cognitive processes, remediating subsequent activity, and building an evolving body of knowledge. Productive integration of CSCL technologies as instruments of learning and instruction is a developmental process: it requires iterative efforts across extended periods of time. Going through such a process of instrumental genesis requires transforming a cognitive-cultural operating system of activity, thus “reformatting” the brain and the mind. Because of the required profound personal and social transformations, one sees that innovative knowledge-building practices emerge, socially, through extended expansive learning cycles.Peer reviewe

The Room Itself Is Active: How Classroom Design Impacts Student Engagement

A responsive case study evaluation approach utilizing interviews and focus groups collected student and faculty perspectives on examined how instructors and students utilized a newly redesigned active learning space at Iowa State University and the relationship of this design with environmental and behavioral factors of student engagement. The findings demonstrate how classroom design affords engagement through low-cost learning tools and a flexible, open, student-centered space afforded a variety of active learning strategies. In addition, this case study highlights the importance of conducting assessment on classroom redesign initiatives to justify and improve future classroom spaces

Geocollaborative Portals And Trip Planning: Users’ Perceptions Of The Success Of The Collaborative Decision Making Processes

As more and more travelers wish to create their personalised trip itineraries, the provision of geographical information and services on travel websites is an unavoidable necessity. The evolution of geoportals, geocollaborative portals and web 2.0 present numerous opportunities and services for making the trip planning process less complex and time consuming, more efficient and more social and collaborative for travelers and their travel companions. This paper aimed at exploring the use and impact of geocollaborative portals on the success of collaborative trip planning processes. To that end, the literature was reviewed for analyzing the functionality of geoportals and geocollaborative portals and demonstrating how these can support and facilitate the collaborative decision making processes for trip planning purposes. A framework for measuring the impacts of geoportals’ use on travellers’ collaborative decision making processes was developed and tested by collecting primary data through an experimental study based on students’ perceptions using Yahoo! Trip Planner for planning a group trip. The paper provides useful practical guidelines for designing the functionality of geoportals and/or geocollaborative portals for trip planning purposes

Integration of robotic surgery into routine practice and impacts on communication, collaboration, and decision making: A realist process evaluation protocol

Background: Robotic surgery offers many potential benefits for patients. While an increasing number of healthcare providers are purchasing surgical robots, there are reports that the technology is failing to be introduced into routine practice. Additionally, in robotic surgery, the surgeon is physically separated from the patient and the rest of the team, with the potential to negatively impact teamwork in the operating theatre. The aim of this study is to ascertain: how and under what circumstances robotic surgery is effectively introduced into routine practice; and how and under what circumstances robotic surgery impacts teamwork, communication and decision making, and subsequent patient outcomes. Methods and design: We will undertake a process evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial comparing laparoscopic and robotic surgery for the curative treatment of rectal cancer. Realist evaluation provides an overall framework for the study. The study will be in three phases. In Phase I, grey literature will be reviewed to identify stakeholders' theories concerning how robotic surgery becomes embedded into surgical practice and its impacts. These theories will be refined and added to through interviews conducted across English hospitals that are using robotic surgery for rectal cancer resection with staff at different levels of the organisation, along with a review of documentation associated with the introduction of robotic surgery. In Phase II, a multi-site case study will be conducted across four English hospitals to test and refine the candidate theories. Data will be collected using multiple methods: the structured observation tool OTAS (Observational Teamwork Assessment for Surgery); video recordings of operations; ethnographic observation; and interviews. In Phase III, interviews will be conducted at the four case sites with staff representing a range of surgical disciplines, to assess the extent to which the results of Phase II are generalisable and to refine the resulting theories to reflect the experience of a broader range of surgical disciplines. The study will provide (i) guidance to healthcare organisations on factors likely to facilitate successful implementation and integration of robotic surgery, and (ii) guidance on how to ensure effective communication and teamwork when undertaking robotic surgery

Contextual impacts on industrial processes brought by the digital transformation of manufacturing: a systematic review

The digital transformation of manufacturing (a phenomenon also known as "Industry 4.0" or "Smart Manufacturing") is finding a growing interest both at practitioner and academic levels, but is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigation. Even though current and potential advantages of digital manufacturing are remarkable, in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability, customization, and flexibility, only a limited number of companies has already developed ad hoc strategies necessary to achieve a superior performance. Through a systematic review, this study aims at assessing the current state of the art of the academic literature regarding the paradigm shift occurring in the manufacturing settings, in order to provide definitions as well as point out recurring patterns and gaps to be addressed by future research. For the literature search, the most representative keywords, strict criteria, and classification schemes based on authoritative reference studies were used. The final sample of 156 primary publications was analyzed through a systematic coding process to identify theoretical and methodological approaches, together with other significant elements. This analysis allowed a mapping of the literature based on clusters of critical themes to synthesize the developments of different research streams and provide the most representative picture of its current state. Research areas, insights, and gaps resulting from this analysis contributed to create a schematic research agenda, which clearly indicates the space for future evolutions of the state of knowledge in this field