199,406 research outputs found
Computerâbased interactive tutorial versus traditional lecture for teaching introductory aspects of pain
In the health sciences, a wide range of computerâbased courseware is now available. The aim of the study described in this paper has been to compare the effectiveness of a computerâbased learning (CBL) software package and a traditional lecture (TL) for the delivery, of introductory material on pain. Nineteen undergraduate nursing students were divided into two groups to attend a oneâhour learning session which introduced clinical aspects of pain and which was delivered by either CBL or TL. Students were assessed for prior knowledge by a preâsession test, and for knowledge gain by an identical postâsession test. In addition, a multipleâchoice question paper was used to examine differences in pain knowledge between the two groups, and a questionnaire was used to examine the studentsâ views on their experience during the learning session. The results demonstrated that both groups showed significant knowledge gain after their respective learning sessions. No significant differences between the groups in the magnitude of knowledge gain were found for clinical aspects of pain delivered during the learning sessions. The attitude questionnaire revealed that students attending CBL reported similar learning experiences to those attending the lecture
Cognitive style and computerâassisted learning: Problems and a possible solution1
Although the notion of cognitive style has been around for some time, only in relatively recent times has there been a research interest in examining its effect on the performance of ComputerâAssisted Learning (CAL) users. There are a number of practical difficulties associated with catering for different cognitive styles of CAL users. This paper identifies not only a style which influences CALâuser performance and overcomes many of the difficulties, but also a possible suitable measure of that style. Data on the reliability of this measure is reported, along with preliminary work on its use to cater for CAL users with different cognitive styles. Future work will focus on the development of the package and the predictive validity of the style measure
Robot Autonomy for Surgery
Autonomous surgery involves having surgical tasks performed by a robot
operating under its own will, with partial or no human involvement. There are
several important advantages of automation in surgery, which include increasing
precision of care due to sub-millimeter robot control, real-time utilization of
biosignals for interventional care, improvements to surgical efficiency and
execution, and computer-aided guidance under various medical imaging and
sensing modalities. While these methods may displace some tasks of surgical
teams and individual surgeons, they also present new capabilities in
interventions that are too difficult or go beyond the skills of a human. In
this chapter, we provide an overview of robot autonomy in commercial use and in
research, and present some of the challenges faced in developing autonomous
surgical robots
Pre and Post-hoc Diagnosis and Interpretation of Malignancy from Breast DCE-MRI
We propose a new method for breast cancer screening from DCE-MRI based on a
post-hoc approach that is trained using weakly annotated data (i.e., labels are
available only at the image level without any lesion delineation). Our proposed
post-hoc method automatically diagnosis the whole volume and, for positive
cases, it localizes the malignant lesions that led to such diagnosis.
Conversely, traditional approaches follow a pre-hoc approach that initially
localises suspicious areas that are subsequently classified to establish the
breast malignancy -- this approach is trained using strongly annotated data
(i.e., it needs a delineation and classification of all lesions in an image).
Another goal of this paper is to establish the advantages and disadvantages of
both approaches when applied to breast screening from DCE-MRI. Relying on
experiments on a breast DCE-MRI dataset that contains scans of 117 patients,
our results show that the post-hoc method is more accurate for diagnosing the
whole volume per patient, achieving an AUC of 0.91, while the pre-hoc method
achieves an AUC of 0.81. However, the performance for localising the malignant
lesions remains challenging for the post-hoc method due to the weakly labelled
dataset employed during training.Comment: Submitted to Medical Image Analysi
Costâeffectiveness analysis of computerâbased assessment
The need for more costâeffective and pedagogically acceptable combinations of teaching and learning methods to sustain increasing student numbers means that the use of innovative methods, using technology, is accelerating. There is an expectation that economies of scale might provide greater costâeffectiveness whilst also enhancing student learning. The difficulties and complexities of these expectations are considered in this paper, which explores the challenges faced by those wishing to evaluate the costâeffectiveness of computerâbased assessment (CBA). The paper outlines the outcomes of a survey which attempted to gather information about the costs and benefits of CBA
Evaluation of the usefulness of a computerâbased learning program to support student learning in pharmacology
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a computerâbased teaching program in supporting and enhancing traditional teaching methods. The program covers the pharmacology of inflammation and has been evaluated with a group of secondâyear medical students at a UK university. The study assessed subjectâspecific knowledge using a preâ and postâtest and surveyed, by questionnaire, studentsâ perceptions of the usefulness of the program to support learning before and after use. The use of computers for learning amongst this cohort of students was widespread. The results demonstrated an increase in students â knowledge of the pharmacology of inflammation, coupled with a positive attitude towards the CBL program they had used and the advantages that this mode of study may provide in enabling students to manage their own learning. However, students did not feel that the program could substitute for traditional teaching (lectures)
Enhancing Information Language Learning with Mobile Technology - Does it Work?
There are many theories that attempt to explain second language acquisition processes and factors determining success or failure. Despite a lack of general agreement between proponents of these theories, research has convincingly shown that the amount of exposure to target language input is one important predictor of ultimate achievement levels. âTime on taskâ is as important in language learning as it is in many other domains (cf. Reber, 1993) and it is therefore important to identify ways in which this can be increased. An obvious possibility is to encourage learners to engage with (and in) the language outside the classroom. Informal learning, in the sense of learning outside of formal education, has been shown to be a major aspect of adult learning (Cross, 2007) and, given appropriate preparation and support, learners can greatly increase opportunities for learning if they can do so independently. Mobile technologies have obvious potential in this regard. However, is it possible to improve language skills in this way? In this article we report on an exploratory study into the use of cellphones for extensive listening practice. We used input enhancement to draw learnersâ attention to not only the meaning of the materials but also the formal (grammatical) aspects of the input. We found that the use of mobile technology presented a number of challenges and in this study did not result in learners acquiring the target structures. We conclude with a number of recommendations for the use and future study of mobile technologies for (language) learning
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