Intelligent segmentation of lecture videos

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-60).by Bassam H. Chaptini.S.M

Negotiating Common Ground: Tools for Multidisciplinary Teams.

Beers, P.J. (2005). Negotiating Common Ground. Tools for Multidisciplinary Teams. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Open University of the Netherlands, The Netherlands

Methodological issues in developing a multi-dimensional coding procedure for small group chat communication

In CSCL research, collaboration through chat has primarily been studied in dyadic settings. This article discusses three issues that emerged during the development of a multi-dimensional coding procedure for small group chat communication: a) the unit of analysis and unit fragmentation, b) the reconstruction of the response structure and c) determining reliability without overestimation. Threading, i.e. connections between analysis units, proved essential to handle unit fragmentation, to reconstruct the response structure and for reliability of coding. In addition, a risk for reliability overestimation was illustrated. Implications for analysis methodology in CSCL are discussed

Потенциал модели «перевернутого класса» в онлайн-образовании: оценка, сосредоточенная на педагогическом взаимодействии

This work evaluates an educational proposal, based on the Flipped Classroom principles, implemented in online learning during the lockdown caused by Covid-19 pandemic. The proposal was implemented in a Portuguese secondary school class and combines asynchronous classes (ASC) with synchronous classes (SC). We collected data using quantitative and qualitative methods, to characterise the learning environment, and its influence on the students’ engagement. The integrated analysis of the data reveals that the proposal created an adequate learning environment, organised, and supported by a robust social presence of the teacher. The design of the ASC enhanced student-content interactions leading to high rates of commitment to the tasks, which ensured an efficient preparation of the ASC. The SC division into learning episodes allowed us to understand the influence of episode design on the interaction patterns developed. The dynamic and interactive approaches of SC allowed the development of subject contents initiated in ASC. Despite the design of some episodes it has allowed measurable improvements in the number of student-student interactions it has also conditioned the collaborative construction of knowledge based on research processes.Este texto avalia uma proposta educativa, alicerçada nos princípios da Flipped Classroom, implementada no ensino online, durante o confinamento causado pela Covid-19. A proposta foi implementada numa turma do ensino secundário português e conjuga aulas assíncronas (ASS) com síncronas (AS). Para caracterizar o ambiente de aprendizagem criado pela proposta e compreender a sua influência na participação e envolvimentos dos alunos usaram-se métodos mistos, tendo sido recolhidos dados quantitativos e qualitativos. A análise integrada dos dados revela que a proposta criou um ambiente de aprendizagem adequado, organizado e suportado por uma robusta presença social do professor. O design das ASS potenciou as interações aluno-conteúdo conduzindo a altas taxas de compromisso com as tarefas, o que assegurou uma preparação eficiente da ASS. A divisão das AS em episódios de aprendizagem permitiu compreender a influência do design dos episódios nos padrões de interação desenvolvidos. As abordagens dinâmicas e interativas das AS permitiram desenvolver os conteúdos iniciados nas ASS. Apesar do design de alguns episódios ter permitido alavancar o número de interações aluno-aluno, também condicionou a construção colaborativa de conhecimentos baseada em processos de investigação e pesquisaEste texto evalúa una propuesta educativa, basada en los principios del Flipped Classroom, implementados en la educación en línea, durante el encierro provocado por Covid-19. La propuesta se implementó en una clase de secundaria portuguesa y combina clases asincrónicas (ASS) con clases sincrónicas (AS). Para caracterizar el ambiente de aprendizaje creado por la propuesta y comprender su influencia en la participación e implicación de los estudiantes, se utilizaron métodos mixtos, recogiéndose datos cuantitativos y cualitativos. El análisis integrado de los datos revela que la propuesta creó un ambiente de aprendizaje adecuado, organizado y apoyado por una fuerte presencia social del docente. El diseño de la SSA mejoró las interacciones entre los estudiantes y el contenido, lo que condujo a altas tasas de compromiso con las tareas, lo que aseguró una preparación eficiente de la SSA. La división de EA en episodios de aprendizaje nos permitió comprender la influencia del diseño de episodios en los patrones de interacción desarrollados. Los enfoques dinámicos e interactivos de la SA permitieron el desarrollo de contenidos iniciados en la SA. Si bien el diseño de algunos episodios permitió apalancar el número de interacciones alumno-alumno, también condicionó la construcción colaborativa de conocimiento a partir de la investigación y los procesos de investigación.This work is funded by CIEd - Centro de Investigacao em Educacao, Instituto de Educacao, Universidade do Minho, projects UIDB/01661/2020 and UIDP/01661/2020, through national funds from FCT/MCTES-PT. It was also developed under the PhD Program "Technology Enhanced Learning and Societal Challenges", funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT I. P. - Portugal, contract #PD/BD/150424/2019

A Taxonomy of workgroup Computing Applications

The goal of workgroup computing is to help individuals and groups efficiently perform a wide range of functions on networked computer systems (Ellis, Gibbs, & Rein, 1991). Early workgroup computing tools were designed for limited functionality and group interaction (Craighill, 1992). Current workgroup computing applications do not allow enough control of group processes and they provide little correlation between various workgroup computing application areas (Rodden and Blair, 1991). An integrated common architecture may produce more effective workgroup computing applications. Integrating common support functions into a common framework will avoid duplication of these functions for each workgroup computing application (Pastor & Jager, 1992). Over 50 research and commercial workgroup computing applications were analyzed to understand and discover their distinctive characteristics and fundamental structure. Using the specified methods, a detailed section of a workgroup computing taxonomy was synthesized for each of 11 workgroup computing functional areas. The detailed taxonomy was the consolidation of all the hierarchical structures. The taxonomy formed the basis for developing an integrated workgroup computing architecture and a set of workgroup computing Application Programming Interface (API) specifications. The results of this study support the hypothesis that the available workgroup computing literature and application documentation would provide sufficient information to develop a comprehensive workgroup computing taxonomy. By comparing workgroup tasks with workgroup computing functional areas, it was possible to derive a common set of workgroup computing management and support tasks that were based on the detailed workgroup computing taxonomy. Common workgroup computing management and support tasks formed the basis for a1! Integrated workgroup computing architecture. Finally, 86 new API specifications were written for common workgroup computing management and support functions. This study can be used by workgroup application developers to determine which common workgroup computing functions should be integrated into future workgroup applications. Implementing the results of this study in future workgroup computing systems will lead to flexible and integrated systems that are easier to use and more transparent to workgroup members. Workgroup computing researchers can use this study to identify workgroup computing functions that should be included in their research areas

COMPUTER MEDIATED COLLABORATIVE DESIGN IN ARCHITECTURE: THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION CHANNELS ON COLLABORATIVE DESIGN COMMUNIATION

Up till now, architects collaborating with other colleagues did so mostly face-to-face (FTF). They had to be in the same space (co-located) at the same time. Communi-cation was ‘spontaneous’ and ideas were represented, whether verbal or non-verbal, by talking and using ‘traditional drawing tools’. If they were geographically displaced, the interaction was then space affected as well as the probability of being time affected. In this case communication was usually mediated through the tele-phone, and graphically represented ideas were sent by Fax or posted documents. Recently, some architectural firms started using modems and Internet connections to exchange information, by transferring CAD drawings as well as design informa-tion, through e-mail and file transfer protocol (FTP). Discussing ideas in architecture, as a more abstract notion, is different from discuss-ing other more concrete arguments using video conferencing. It is more important to ‘see’ what is being discussed at hand than ‘watch’ the other person(s) involved in the discussion. In other words the data being conveyed might be of more impor-tance than the mode of communication. Taking into consideration recent developments in computer and communication technologies this thesis investigates different communication channels utilised in architectural collaboration through Computer Mediated Collaborative Design (CMCD) sessions as opposed to FTF sessions. This thesis investigates the possi-ble effects these different channels have on collaborative design in general and col-laborative design communication in particular. We argue that successful CMCD does not necessarily mean emulating close prox-imity environments. Excluding certain communication channels in a CMCD envi-ronment might affect the flow and quantity of synchronous collaborative communica-tion, but not necessarily the quality and content of mutually communicated and rep-resented design ideas. Therefore different communication channels might affect the type of communication and not necessarily the content of the communication. We propose that audio and video are not essential communication channels in CMCD environments. We posit that architects will collaborate and communicate design representations effectively although with some differences, since those two chan-nels might cause interruptions and successful collaborative sessions can take place without them. For this purpose we conducted twenty-four one-hour experiments involving final year architecture students all working to the same design brief. The experiments were divided into three categories, FTF, full computer mediated collaborative design sessions (CMCD-a; audio-video conferencing plus whiteboard as a shared drawing space) and limited computer mediated collaborative design sessions (CMCD-b; with Lambda MOO used as a chat medium plus whiteboard as a shared drawing space). The experiments were video and audio taped, transcribed and coded into a custom developed coding scheme. The results of the analysed coded data and observations of the videotapes provided evidence that there were noticeable differences between the three categories. There was more design communication and less communication control in the CMCD-b category compared to the FTF and CMCD-a categories. Verbal communi-cation became shorter and straight to the point in CMCD-b as opposed to spontane-ous non-stop chat in the other two categories. Moreover in CMCD-b the subjects were observed to be more reflective as well as choosing and re-examining their words to explain ideas to their partners. At times they were seen scrolling back through the text of the conversation in order to re-analyse or interpret the design ideas at hand. This was impossible in FTF and CMCD-a sessions, since the sub-jects were more spontaneous and audio representations were lost as soon as they were uttered. Also the video channel in the CMCD-a category was ignored and hardly used except for the first few minutes of the experiments, for a brief exchange of light humour on the appearance of each subject. The results obtained from analysing the experiments helped us conclude that differ-ent communication channels produce different collaborative environments. The three categories of communication for architectural collaboration explored in our ex-periments are indicative of the alternatives available to architects now. What is not clear to architects is why they would choose one category over another. We pro-pose that each category has its own strengths and difficulties for architectural col-laboration, and therefore should be selected on the basis of the type of communica-tion considered to be most effective for the stage and tasks of the design project

Student Perceptions and Engagement in Video-based Learning for Microbiology Education

Online learning increases the physical distance between instructors and students and depending on the mode of delivery, it can be challenging to close this gap. To ameliorate this potential for student isolation, instructors need to communicate to students in a variety of ways, blending original online resources with synchronous interactive learning activities. During 2020, 34 lecture videos were created for a large undergraduate microbiology and immunology course offered at The University of Queensland. The teaching team applied a subset of Mayer’s multimedia learning design principles – embodiment, mixed perspectives, segmenting, signalling – to create videos featuring instructor presence, multiple presentation styles, and dynamic pacing. When compared to voice-over presentations created by automated lecture capture software, the outcomes of this design process increased student engagement in video-based learning across the 2020 and 2021 course offerings. Analysis of student perception data collected by online questionnaires and interviews revealed broad agreement with the design principles used for video-based learning. However, their value of on-screen instructor visibility, graphics, and text was variable as a result of individual preferences. Together these findings present a case study in which instructional videos were developed iteratively through the selective application of multimedia design principles and strategic adaptation of existing learning resources

Blended Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: An International Perspective

Blended learning is not a new topic for educational research in Higher Education (HE). However, before the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, blended learning was studied by a "niche" of researchers and educators interested in technology integration in teaching and learning. It was not difficult to meet HE professionals who had never or only poorly reflected on the topic of how to integrate digital technology in teaching and learning before March 2020. All in all, this special issue provides a deeper understanding of what Blended Learning will be in the near feature, encompassing not the simple combination of online and physical presence, but a combination of delivery tools and media used to provide information and to support interaction, a combination of different methods of instruction and teaching/learning, and a combination of learning contexts

The Impact of a University/Online Program Management Provider Partnership on Faculty Approaches to Teaching Design: A Case Study Using Activity Theory

As the number of online courses increase in Higher Education, many higher education institutions outsource online course development to an Online Program Management (OPM) provider because of a lack of budget, staff, and technology. Current research indicates that OPMs often do not have instructional design (ID) services tailored to a specific university. This research uses a Case Study in order to analyze how the nature and dynamics of a business partnership between a research university and an OPM provider impact faculty engagement and development of pedagogical and technological knowledge. They Activity Theory conceptual framework was used to direct inquiry and analysis. Results show a miss in the project management approach from the OPM side which made the process appear more like a start-up company and caused some faculty to lose motivation about the instructional design process. Impact on faculty pedagogical knowledge and development is different for each faculty and is dependent on faculty assumptions, personality, attitudes, training in pedagogy and technology, and past online teaching experiences. A Design Thinking approach from the OPM side and a learning mindset from the faculty side are very important to reap the most benefits of this relationship