Technology Innovation - Electronic Game in the Brazilian Higher Education

The Information and Communication Technologies provide a world of discoveries, relations and leanings, presenting possibilities that can help the teaching and learning process to adapt to the new social dynamics introduced by its use. The electronic games (video games), in particular, for its playful nature and because they are familiar to the young people, may provide a great assistant in this adaptation. The research presented here takes a theoretical framework based on Brazilian and international reference authors, to through action research, implement video games about financial mathematics, in a discipline of a higher education course of a public university in Brazil. The results confirm that the use of electronic games is well received by the students, showing that they perceived them as a motivating practice and as an introductory agent of a new process of teaching and learning for higher educatio

2010 Scholar\u27s Day Program

Scholars\u27 Day was established in 1997 and is a day-long conference devoted to showcasing the wide array of scholarship, research and creative activities occurring on campus. In 2012, a new emphasis on student research lead to a name change to Transformations: A Student Research and Creativity Conference. This event focuses on student research, which is defined as an original investigation or creative activity through the primary efforts of a student or group of students. The work should show problem-solving skills and demonstrate new conceptual outcomes.https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/transformationsprograms/1020/thumbnail.jp

Measuring the noticing of an unexpected event in Magical Garden with a Teachable Agent using Eye-Tracking

Scientific views on what children are capable of have been revised through history again and again, usually when new methods of studying children’s capabilities are presented. What has often been concluded is that children are capable of more than what was previously thought. New technology has introduced a genre of educational games which utilize the captivating power of computer games which have shown a positive effect on learning and motivation. In this study, the educational game Magical Garden was used as a platform to train, teach, and test number sense. The pedagogical instrument Teachable Agent (TA) is a part of Magical Garden’s design which utilizes the protégé effect. A new method of measuring number sense, detecting an “unexpected event” by attending to it, is pro-posed and tested. The unexpected event was a tree elevator malfunction. The purpose of the unexpected event was to create a task where only the children who were attentive and knew which branch the elevator would go to would react to and detect the unexpected event. A model of detection of the unexpected event, looking back at the correct branch after the elevator passed the correct one, was proposed. Eye-tracking was used as the method of capturing detections of the unexpected event, as well as measuring the interaction between the children and the TA during the unexpected event. In this study, 42 preschoolers participated. The results show that children attend the TA significantly more when the TA was in charge of the decisions in the game. This indicates that preschoolers understand that the TA was in charge. The model of detection used in this study was not comprehensive. However, detecting an unexpected event could still be a promising method of measuring number sense. Therefore, future research could utilize this method to unveil more exciting capabilities of children with a more inclusive model of detection.Vetenskapliga synsätt på vad barn kan är kapabla till att klara av har reviderats om och om igen genom historien, oftast i samband med att nya metoder som undersöker barns förmågor uppkommit. Barn verkar gång på gång klara av mer än vad man tidigare hade trott. Lärspel utnyttjar datorspelens fängslande kraft, och har visat ha en positiv effekt för lärande och motivationen. I denna uppsats, kommer lärspelet Magical Garden användas som plattform för att träna, lära ut och testa förskolebarns taluppfattning. Det pedagogiska instrumentet Teachable Agent (TA) är en intrikat del av Magical Gardens design som försöker facilitera "protégé effect". I denna uppsats introduceras och testas en ny metod för att mäta taluppfattning, upptäcka en oväntad händelse genom att rikta uppmärksamhet mot händelsen. Den oväntade händelsen i spelet är att korghissen i ett träd åker fel. Den oväntade händelsen är utformad så att endast barn med tillräckligt god taluppfattning förstår att hissen åker till fel våning och kan uppmärksamma att hissen åker fel. Den modell som föreslogs var att barnen skulle uppmärksamma den korrekta våningen som hissen skulle stannat vid när de hade upptäckt att hissen åkte fel. En ögonrörelsekamera användes för att fånga upptäckterna och även för att mäta interaktionen mellan TA och barnen. Ett ögonrörelseexperiment utfördes på 42 förskolebarn på respektives förskola. Resultaten visade att barnen tittade i större utsträckning på TA när TAn styrde i spelet. En slutsats som kan dras från detta resultat är att förskolebarnen verkade förstå att det var TA som styrde när den styrde. Modellen för att upptäcka den oväntade händelsen var inte heltäckande. Men att upptäcka något oväntat kan fortfarande vara en lovande metod för att mäta taluppfattning. Därför borde framtida forskning använda denna metod för att avslöja fler förmågor hos barn och skapa en mer inkluderande modell för vad en upptäckt av något oväntat kan vara

EDDE : a framework to explore, design, develop and evaluate technology-enhanced instruction for construction

textTechnology-enhanced instruction has a great potential to support the learning process. However, the engaging power of technology can become a distracting factor if it is not deployed properly. Unfortunately, the current literature in instructional design and user interface design is broad and not easily accessible by construction faculty. This dissertation presents a framework to guide the development of technology-assisted instruction for the classroom. The framework developed is called EDDE which stands for four conceptual steps involved in the creation of a technology-supported teaching tool: Explore, Design, Develop, and Evaluate. EDDE contains a novel synthesis of the literature in instructional design and user interface design as well as survey data of student subject matter knowledge and information technology background. A computerized tool called EDDEaid makes accessible the large store of knowledge supporting EDDE. Assessment of EDDEaid is presented with evaluation results from nine university faculty that teach construction subjects as well as through critique of and changes to an existing interactive learning tool. EDDE and EDDEaid are found to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the deployment of technology-enhanced instruction and provide support to construction faculty developing learning tools.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Token, carrot, or just in the way? The challenge of visualizing acquired knowledge in the era of digital learning and gamification.

Metacognition is necessary for learning. Without know-ing what you know, what you don’t know and what you are about to learn, seeking new knowledge becomes both hard and inefficient. At the same time, keeping old facts (as well as old skills) in mind at a meta-level when striv-ing for new insights is not always an easy task. Conse-quently, external visible cues and representations are essential, reminding us of not only of what we have learnt, but also of where we are in the process and where are heading. At present, improving metacognition is on top of the educational agenda for many schools and universities. However, in the current new era of digital learning, the impact from digital tools on metacognitive processes - especially from educational games and apps - is rarely discussed. For instance, in contrast to traditional learn-ing material (books etc.), most applications let the stu-dents solve tasks without saving any traces of the solu-tions, resulting in a minimum of durable external repre-sentations and memories. To address the need for metacognitive support in instructional software, the present study examines the effect of a visualization tool on knowledge monitoring and self-regulation. The tool, that consists of a diary where tokens with knowledge related content are received as proofs of achievement for solved tasks, was designed specifically for the study at hand and implemented in an educational game (Guardians of History). It was tested with a between-subjects design, where 117 Swedish students in grade 5 and 6 played two varieties of the game – one with and one without the diary. Although no significant positive impact of the tool was found, the study reveals several important and interesting findings regarding the chal-lenges of visualizing acquired knowledge in instructional software

Using Teachers’ Experience with Technology to Understand Their Learning and Teaching Styles

Teachers are expected to integrate technology into classrooms to prepare students to acquire 21st century skills and prepare them for future workforce. The U.S. government has spent significant resources on technology to support student learning and improve academic outcomes. Teachers will need support to be able to implement technology with fidelity in their pedagogy. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to gain an understanding of how teachers integrate technology in their pedagogy. One research question guided this research case study: How do teachers’ experiences with technology provide an understanding regarding their learning and teaching styles? The participants were made up of nine teachers from a middle school in North Carolina. Participants taught mathematics, English language, science, or social studies. Data was collected via from face-to-face interviews, observations, and member checking. To analyze the data, the inductive analysis model was used. The findings indicated that experienced teachers with high technology competency embraced it because of their willingness to improve their instructional practice. Teachers with the least experience with technology did not readily embrace it and integrated it inconsistently in their instructional practice. They relied on their prior learning and teaching style for the transmission of knowledge for their instructional practice. These teachers expressed the desire for ongoing professional development in their content areas to build their confidence and experience with technology. However, all the teachers agreed that technology is a useful resource that increased student engagement in the classroom

The influence of teacher beliefs and knowledge on planning for technology integration in technology-rich classrooms

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the decisions three teachers made to integrate technology in technology-rich elementary classrooms. An additional purpose of this study was to understand how the teachers' beliefs about technology and their knowledge of content, pedagogy, technology, and learners influenced the decisions they made during planning for technology integration. Guiding the study was a conceptual framework that suggests that both teachers' beliefs about their technology and their knowledge of learners influence teacher decision-making during planning. Teacher beliefs are defined as the attitudes teachers have about teaching and learning (Pajares, 1992). Teacher knowledge is represented through the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) situated within knowledge of learners. When teachers are thinking within the TPCK framework, they are concurrently considering what they know about technology, pedagogy, and content as they are making decisions about instruction. A multiple case study approach with within-case and cross- case analysis was used. Three teachers who were each awarded $20,000 grants for classroom technology participated in the study. Multiple data sources (interviews, observations, and lesson plan review) were collected and analyzed for emerging themes (within-case analysis). Three descriptive cases were written and then compared for common themes (cross-case analysis). The Think-Aloud method was used to understand the process of planning for each teacher when considering technology integration (Peterson & Clark, 1978; Peterson & Comeaux, 1990). Cross-case findings revealed that, when planning for technology integration, the teachers made decisions about a) the content they were teaching and the desired end result, b) the learners, and c) the technology tools. Beliefs about technology including a) technology engages students, b) students should be exposed to content through the use of technology, and c) students should be exposed to technical skills through the use of technology, influenced the decisions the teachers made when integrating technology. Strong technological knowledge also influenced the decisions the teachers made during planning. Data analysis suggested that the teachers were still developing their technological content knowledge (TCK) and technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) and relied mainly on technological knowledge to plan for the integration of technology. The study findings have implications for teacher educators, teachers, and school and district leaders. Specifically, teacher education methods courses need to explore ways to engage preservice teachers in thinking about the pedagogical affordances and limitations of using technology to teach the content. Additionally, technology professional development needs to take a curriculum-focused approach to technology professional development in order to support teachers as they develop their technological content knowledge (TPK) and technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK)