Scaffolds and design factors to increase creative outcomes in teaching Software Design and Testing

Graduates are expected to be able to provide holistic solutions, capable of meeting diverse objectives simultaneously. We aim to investigate how students would conceptualize, make sense, desire to know, find solutions and subsequently progress to collaborate, communicate and create new artefacts. We hypothesize that there would be a higher likelihood of better quality design process, explanations as well as modelling outcomes if first, students can relate between the ability to analyse problems with the ability to conceptualize/model and second, the design of the task focuses on not only functional but more importantly sustaining positive user experience. Findings highlight the importance of key design factors contributing to more creative outcomes

Designing citizen science tools for learning: lessons learnt from the iterative development of nQuire

This paper reports on a 4-year research and development case study about the design of citizen science tools for inquiry learning. It details the process of iterative pedagogy-led design and evaluation of the nQuire toolkit, a set of web-based and mobile tools scaffolding the creation of online citizen science investigations. The design involved an expert review of inquiry learning and citizen science, combined with user experience studies involving more than 200 users. These have informed a concept that we have termed ‘citizen inquiry’, which engages members of the public alongside scientists in setting up, running, managing or contributing to citizen science projects with a main aim of learning about the scientific method through doing science by interaction with others. A design-based research (DBR) methodology was adopted for the iterative design and evaluation of citizen science tools. DBR was focused on the refinement of a central concept, ‘citizen inquiry’, by exploring how it can be instantiated in educational technologies and interventions. The empirical evaluation and iteration of technologies involved three design experiments with end users, user interviews, and insights from pedagogy and user experience experts. Evidence from the iterative development of nQuire led to the production of a set of interaction design principles that aim to guide the development of online, learning-centred, citizen science projects. Eight design guidelines are proposed: users as producers of knowledge, topics before tools, mobile affordances, scaffolds to the process of scientific inquiry, learning by doing as key message, being part of a community as key message, every visit brings a reward, and value users and their time

OULDI-JISC Project Evaluation Report: the impact of new curriculum design tools and approaches on institutional process and design cultures

This report presents research and evaluation undertaken by the OULDI-JISC Project (Open University Learning Design Initiative JISC Project) between 2008 and 2012. In particular, it considers the impact of new curriculum design tools and approaches piloted by the project on institutional processes and design cultures. These tools and approaches include tools for sharing learning design expertise (Cloudworks), visualising designs (CompendiumLD, Module Map, Activity Profile) and for supporting design and reflection in workshops (Facilitation Cards, workshop activities, etc.). The project has adopted a learning design approach so as to help foreground pedagogy and learner experience. Nine pilots have been completed across six UK universities

Effects of computer-supported collaboration script and incomplete concept maps on web design skills in an online design-based learning environment

Web design skills are an important component of media literacy. The aim of our study was to promote university students’ web design skills through online design-based learning (DBL). Combined in a 2x2-factorial design, two types of scaffolding were implemented in an online DBL environment to support the students through their effort to design, build, modify, and publish web sites on processes and outcomes measures, namely collaboration scripts and incomplete concept maps. The results showed that both treatments had positive effects on collaborative (content-related discourse quality, collaboration skills, and quality of published web sites) and individual (domain-specific knowledge and skills related to the design and building of websites) learning outcomes. There was synergism between the two scaffolds in that the combination of the collaboration script and incomplete concept maps produced the most positive results. To be effective, online DBL thus needs to be enhanced by appropriate scaffolds, and both collaboration scripts and incomplete concept maps are effective examples

Instructional Scaffolding in STEM Education: Strategies and Efficacy Evidence

science education; educational technology; learning and instructio

Learning e-commerce web design engineering: Towards discovery of service innovational opportunities

Graduates are expected to be skilled across disciplines and provide holistic solutions. Hence, scaffolding is crucial as transfer of learning does not occur naturally and teaching learning strategies found to be effective for experts may not be adopted similarly for novice learners. We hypothesize that if we can help students to model in relation to the ecosystem, they should be able to identify or discover opportunities, strategically assess technologies and create new innovations and interactions for e-commerce Websites. For goal-based scaffolding, we use technology-assisted design thinking, embedded formative assessments. We study more effective ways to develop: a) skills useful to the design and development of sustainable Web systems and services and possibly sustainable smart services in the future by relating business to technology and impacts on society; b) epistemic agency for lifelong learning

Developing community-based engagement in Smart Cities: A design-computational thinking approach

Smart Cities development has progressed rapidly with Internet of Things (IoT), ambient intelligence and increasingly, crowdsourcing. Engaging the community thus plays a key role in developing meaningful communal growth along with other stakeholders. This paper briefly presents a pilot study on developing computational perspectives for community-based engagement and innovations in Smart Cities for the young and thereafter, to explore possibilities of engaging seniors in self and community development, and the young and old in community-based engagement and possibly in the future, the development of viable values-based innovations in information systems