Methodology and/or Technology: Making Difference in Improving Students\u27 Problem Solving Skills

Wirelessly networked, in-class computing opens a wide array of possibilities for active instructional methodologies (Hrepic, Rebello, & Zollman, 2009). Earlier studies showed a substantial potential that the pen input computers combined with interactive software like DyKnow (www.dyknow.com) may have in facilitating students’ problem solving ability. The session has two goals. The first one is to demonstrate the instructor-student classroom interaction dynamics enabled or facilitated by DyKnow software and pen-input computers. The second one is to present selected research findings associated with student learning while using this technology. The most recent of our studies was to isolate the effect of the methodology itself from that of the involved technology for improving student problem solving skills. References: Hrepic, Z., Rebello, N. S., & Zollman, D. A. (2009). Remedying Shortcomings of Lecture-Based Physics Instruction Through Pen-Based, Wireless Computing And DyKnow Software. In N. H. Salas & D. D. Peyton (Eds.), Reading: Assessment, Comprehension and Teaching (pp. 97-129): Nova Science Publishers; [reprinted in Journal of Education Research, 3(1/2), 161-190 (2009)]

Wireless computers in classrooms: Enhancing interactive physics instruction with Tablet PCs and DyKnow software.

Networked one-on-one computing in educational setting opens a wide array of possibilities for more interactive and more dynamic instructional methodologies. We explore and analyze options offered toward that end by pen-enabled computers associated with DyKnow software. Pedagogies supported and driven by this technology include collaborative note taking, group problem solving, multiple channels of real-time feedback, classroom-wide interaction/content sharing and options for after-class activities etc.. DyKnow software (www.dyknow.com) is primarily designed for face-to-face instruction and pen enabled computers such as Tablet PCs but can be also used with laptops and desktops- with or without external pen input such as the Bamboo Tablet (www.wacom.com/bamboo). This web-based computer interaction also opens distance learning opportunities. We survey research results associated with implementations of this technology in several introductory physics settings

Remedying shortcomings of lecture-based physics instruction through pen-based, wireless computing and DyKnow software.

The effectiveness of lecture format of physics instruction has been demonstrated to be inferior to that of more recently developed, research based methods (R. R. Hake, 1997; L. C. McDermott, 1993; E. F. Redish, 2003b). The information retained from traditional lecture frequently has a short lifetime and is unreliable. Our earlier study identified various types of misunderstandings that may occur in a lecture type setting. They include recording facts incorrectly, concentrating on particularities and details in the instructor’s statements at the expense of the more general concept, hearing “what makes sense” while overlooking what was actually stated, using the same terminology that experts use but with very different meaning attached to it and so on (Hrepic et al., 2007). This occurs even when learning conditions are in many aspects better than those during typical lecture. Nonetheless, the lecture is still by far the most widely used format of instruction due to its primary advantage of reaching large numbers of students simultaneously. In this chapter we analyze the shortcomings of a lecture identified in previous studies and explore opportunities that wireless pen-based computing technology accompanied by DyKnow software offer in addressing these shortcomings. We finally present data on the effectiveness of DyKnow obtained in our and other studies. Metrics include test score comparisons, students’ end-of-semester teacher/course evaluations and students’ input and feedback related to the instructional value of the software and hardware (Hrepic, 2007)

An interactive and pen-based simulator to enhance education and research in computer systems: An experience report

The active uses of simulators to facilitate and/or promote learners’ experience in many applications has significantly reshaped the latest educational technology or training methodologies in the past decades including the training of engineering students to understand the actual working mechanisms of specific engineering principles, or the military officers on tactic planning in a simulated combat environment. In many cases, it was clearly revealed that the appropriate uses of simulators not only avoids the indispensable costs of human lives or money lost in the hostile combat or investment field, but also effectively motivates and/or enhances the learners’ interests in the relevant fields of study, thus fueling significant impacts on their actual performance. However, many conventional simulators often require the users to input a formal specification file such as a script or program to specify about the simulation settings. Besides, even in many Window based simulators, the users may need to explicitly memorize about the meanings of various system variables and their proper settings before running a simulation to observe the imparted changes. All these unnecessary hassles will drastically reduce the interactivity of simulators, and also lower the users’ interests in using them. With the fast developing tablet and ultra-mobile PCs, we have seen ample opportunities of employing sophisticated pen-based computing technologies to improve the interactivity of simulators in order to enhance the learners’ experience to learn, reason or visualize with simulators in more effective ways. Therefore, in a recent pen-based simulator development project awarded by the Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA), we proposed to use the Microsoft digital ink library to support fast symbol/character recognition and the XML technologies to flexibly define various models of computer architectures so as to build an innovative and pen-based simulator for mobile computing devices. With pen-based or other inputs, our simulator allows the instructors/students to flexibly add or modify instructions that will generate live animations to facilitate interactive discussion for teaching undergraduate to postgraduate courses. Besides, our simulator has the full potential to support research on computer systems through visualization of new results generated out of new computational models or optimization strategies. A prototype of our simulator was completed and then released to all our Year-1 students for trials in the last month in which we collected some initial and positive feedbacks. A more vigorous evaluation was planned and would be conducted by the end of this spring semester. All in all, there are many interesting directions for further investigation including the integration of relevant course materials in the form of digital resources or pointers to online databases into our simulator, and a careful study of the pedagogical changes brought by our innovative and pen-based simulator.published_or_final_versio

PAPIERCRAFT: A PAPER-BASED INTERFACE TO SUPPORT INTERACTION WITH DIGITAL DOCUMENTS

Many researchers extensively interact with documents using both computers and paper printouts, which provide an opposite set of supports. Paper is comfortable to read from and write on, and it is flexible to be arranged in space; computers provide an efficient way to archive, transfer, search, and edit information. However, due to the gap between the two media, it is difficult to seamlessly integrate them together to optimize the user's experience of document interaction. Existing solutions either sacrifice inherent paper flexibility or support very limited digital functionality on paper. In response, we have proposed PapierCraft, a novel paper-based interface that supports rich digital facilities on paper without sacrificing paper's flexibility. By employing the emerging digital pen technique and multimodal pen-top feedback, PapierCraft allows people to use a digital pen to draw gesture marks on a printout, which are captured, interpreted, and applied to the corresponding digital copy. Conceptually, the pen and the paper form a paper-based computer, able to interact with other paper sheets and computing devices for operations like copy/paste, hyperlinking, and web searches. Furthermore, it retains the full range of paper advantages through the light-weighted, pen-paper-only interface. By combining the advantages of paper and digital media and by supporting the smooth transition between them, PapierCraft bridges the paper-computer gap. The contributions of this dissertation focus on four respects. First, to accommodate the static nature of paper, we proposed a pen-gesture command system that does not rely on screen-rendered feedback, but rather on the self-explanatory pen ink left on the paper. Second, for more interactive tasks, such as searching for keywords on paper, we explored pen-top multimodal (e.g. auditory, visual, and tactile) feedback that enhances the command system without sacrificing the inherent paper flexibility. Third, we designed and implemented a multi-tier distributed infrastructure to map pen-paper interactions to digital operations and to unify document interaction on paper and on computers. Finally, we systematically evaluated PapierCraft through three lab experiments and two application deployments in the areas of field biology and e-learning. Our research has demonstrated the feasibility, usability, and potential applications of the paper-based interface, shedding light on the design of the future interface for digital document interaction. More generally, our research also contributes to ubiquitous computing, mobile interfaces, and pen-computing

Impact of tablet PCs and Dyknow software on learning gains in inquiry-learning oriented courses

Tablet PCs and DyKnow software were utilized at Fort Hays State University in the teaching of an inquiry-based physical science course for elementary education majors since the summer semester of 2006. This course was originally developed in 2004 and 2005 through an NSF sponsored research effort. In this paper we compare learning gains obtained in this course during three semesters when pen-based computing technology was not utilized (Fall 04 - Fall 05) with gains obtained during three later semesters (Fall 07 - Fall 08) in which we utilized Tablet PCs and DyKnow software in teaching the course. We also report on students’ attitudes toward DyKnow software and compare them with obtained learning gains

Taking the Tablet: An Introspective Perspective on Using Pen-Based Computing in the Executive Case Class

The predicament of modern classrooms is that they are usually designed by administrators, architects and technicians, without, or despite the advice of experienced case instructors. By the time the instructor gets to teach in the class it is often too late, and generally too expensive to change anything. While the classrooms are long on technology and aesthetics, they are often very short on teaching comfort and convenience. In this short introspective paper (and here I follow in the tradition of consumer researchers such as Holbrook 1995) I suggest the use of a Tablet PC to overcome most of the problems described above. The paper begins by introducing the innovation, and then describes how the innovation solves the problems. Next, it gives preliminary results and makes some observations that may be useful to those considering adopting the innovation, and also considers some problems that may be encountered. It concludes by reflecting on other possible applications of the technology

Freeform User Interfaces for Graphical Computing

報告番号: 甲15222 ; 学位授与年月日: 2000-03-29 ; 学位の種別: 課程博士 ; 学位の種類: 博士(工学) ; 学位記番号: 博工第4717号 ; 研究科・専攻: 工学系研究科情報工学専