Flexible Learning and Academic Performance in Information Systems

This research investigates the effectiveness of using a technology-centric flexible learning environment to teach a tertiary level introductory information systems course. The subjects for the study were students who were enrolled in two similar courses: 1) a group using traditional teaching and learning methods only, and 2) a group using a flexible learning approach incorporating extensive use of web technology. The course content, lecturer, textbook and assessment were the same for each group. The results show that there were significant differences in academic performance between the two student cohorts. Student tertiary entrance scores and computer playfulness were also identified as important predictors of academic performance

Game Design Patterns for Learning

Kelle, S. (2012). Game Design Patterns for Learning. November, 9, 2012, Heerlen, The Netherlands: Open Universiteit in the Netherlands, CELSTEC. Aachen: Shaker Verlag.What do learning games consist of? How to design learning games and what to keep in mind? How to balance educational objectives with good gameplay? What to do if you are a game designer and you want to use e-learning standards for your game? And what to do if you are an instructional designer and you are in desperate need to gamify your content? This publication aims at illuminating these questions, presenting results from a 4 year long PhD project run at CELSTEC, the Center of Learning Sciences and Technologies at the Open University of The Netherlands. Sebastian Kelle is a multidisciplinary researcher, currently building up a new center for higher education didactics at Stuttgart Media University.EU ICOPER Projec

An evaluation of the effectiveness of face-to-face versus e-learning in the UAE Civil Defence sector

In the UAE, e-Learning has been adopted as a new learning mode to increase awareness and standards of building fire safety of it civil defence workforce. Training in this sector has been mainly based around traditional classroom approaches. This research specifically focuses on an online approach to delivering and sustaining the continuous professional development (CPD) of UAE fire fighters. The key aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of learning and performance between face-to-face learning and e-Learning. The central research question is: does learning effectiveness differ between traditional learning and e-Learning? This study employs a quasi-experimental research design to evaluate the three different learning interventions: face-to-face learning, high media rich e-Learning and low media rich e-Learning. A survey method was selected to gather the data on learning effectiveness following the completion of the training programme from a sample of participants (n=412) professionally engaged in the civil defence sector. A key finding was that across all measures of learning effectiveness: engagement, cognitive performance and behavioural performance, scores in the face-to-face mode were significantly better than in the e-Learning mode. Furthermore learning effectiveness was found to be significantly better in high media rich than low media rich e-Learning design. The findings indicate that learning styles impacted on learning effectiveness between the three modes of learning. There was significant interaction between learning styles and learning mode on learning effectiveness. There were statistically significant differences in learning effectiveness for all learning styles. In 7 out of the 8 learning styles (Active, Reflective, Verbal, Visual, Sequential, Global, Sensing, Intuitive) learning effectiveness was higher on average in the face-to-face learning mode than in both of the e-Learning modes. The differences in terms of effect sizes varied between these learning styles. Only reflective learning exhibited a higher learning effectiveness score for high media rich e-Learning than face-to-face. Spatial ability did not have any statistically significant effect on learning effectiveness in the two learning approaches of traditional and e-Learning. However when comparing the two types of e-Learning high spatial ability learners performed less well in the low multimedia mode than in the high multimedia mode. This research provides evidence to show that learning styles are significantly related to learning achievement in e-Learning and there are differential effects for different learning styles. The study also provides evidence that the use of rich multimedia is positively related to higher learning effectiveness. The findings contribute to empirical evidence for differences between face-to-face and e-learning and the role of media richness and learning styles. The findings have practical implications for learning strategies

Designing a computational construction kit for the blind and visually impaired

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-68).This thesis documents the adaptation and extension of an existing computational construction kit, and its use by a community of learners previously unaddressed - blind and visually impaired children. This community has an intimate relationship with the digital and assistive technologies that they rely on for carrying out their everyday tasks, but have no tools for designing and creating their own devices. Using a computational construction kit, created around the latest Programmable Brick (the Cricket), children can write programs to interact with the world around them using sensors, speech synthesis, and numerous other actuators. The Cricket system was extended with a number of specific modules, and redesigned to better suit touch and sound-based interaction patterns. This thesis documents an initial technology implementation and presents case studies of activities carried out with a small group of visually impaired teenagers. These case studies serve to highlight specific domains of knowledge that were discovered to be especially relevant for this community. Much of this work impacts approaches, technologies, and activities for sighted users of the Programmable Brick.by Rahul Bhargava.S.M