Reclaiming scholarship as an integrating dimension of academic work for the impact of research on teaching and learning in higher education

This paper offers reflections on Ernest Boyer’s conceptions of scholarship which were first outlined twenty years earlier. It considers the ways in which such conceptions have become meaninglessness as part of a wider process of reductionism and how this relates to policy discussions on curriculum, competence and teaching. It argues for the central place of research in, and the central place of, Higher Education in the professional education of teachers. It proposes that in order to develop cultures of inquiry in Higher Education we need to do so in ways that integrate research, teaching and learning. The integration process is seen to be achieved through an understanding of the nature of wholes and through a process of seeing, and therefore thinking and acting, holistically. It is argued that this is part of a wider struggle over values which the academic community needs to advance by reclaiming the meaning of scholarship

Health Promotion at School

For decades the health of children and adolescents has been a topic of interest in all parts of Europe. And there is quite a consensus that schools are the most appropriate setting to promote health. Childhood and adolescence constitute key stages for learning and adopting a health-related and active lifestyle which includes physical activity and sports. The book describes a new approach to enhance students` health awareness through experimental learning settings in P.E. class, cross-subject teaching, and project work.Teaching health topics requires a pedagogical and didactical framework based on the concept of health literacy and interdisciplinary research discussed by the authors. Teaching examples to improve students` health knowledge, health competencies and skills as well as health behaviour and habits at school implicates a new teaching structure presented in the book

Integration of New Technologies and Alternative Methods in Laboratory-Based Scenarios

In this study, we report a preliminary requirements analysis to recognize needs and possibilities for integrating new technologies and methods for lab-based learning in the field of Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things. To this aim, different scenarios, such as real, remote and virtual labs, are considered to be addressable within an integrated learning environment that focuses on alternative methods (i.e. Serious Games, Self-Regulated and Collaborative Learning) and new technologies (i.e. Open Badges, Mixed Reality and Learning Analytics). To support the design of the laboratory-based learning environment, qualitative interviews were conducted with both expert lecturers and relevant students in the field of engineering, to provide complementary perspectives. These interviews were carried out to analyze the requirements, and to identify possible benefits that relevant stakeholders expect by using these teaching and learning methods and technologies. A qualitative content analysis has been started on the interviews to define which is the perception of the new technologies and teaching methods. The different points of view about technologies and methods coming from expert lecturers’ and relevant students’ interviews are provided

When games meet learning

International audienceIn a context characterized by a growing gap between youth digital culture and school culture some have claimed that games could "have the potential to change the landscape of education" (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson, & Gee, 2005). This paper examines the arguments and objections to using games for educational purposes. Firstly, we state that making a connection between gaming and learning is not an innovative idea, as early researchers demonstrated the potential of games in child development. Secondly, we establish arguments to consider serious games as learning environments, (or didactical situations) prior to artifacts, Thirdly, in view of the fact that the content of games can be considered as metaphors of real situations, we stipulate that teachers may address the question of the relevance of this content. Fourthly, we discuss the main arguments usually emphasized by researchers to consider that games have the power to motivate students, Fifthly, we state that games can be considered as a space of reflexivity where the learner/player is autonomous and develops skills. However, we emphasize the crucial role of the teacher in a Game-Based Learning approach

‘Geoliteracia’, ‘cartologia’, desenvolvimento cognitivo e um jogo móvel

Some researches in education science develop educative games on mobile devices for letting elementary school students play outdoor to learn geographic facts, concepts, and patterns. The challenge is about improving their geographic literacy and fluency, or ‘geoliteracy’, and their map-reading competencies, called cartology, before adolescence. There a critical stumbling ‘threshold’ can impede their geospatial cognitive development, which result in a majority of adults being not geographically literate neither efficient, in real-life context, for reading and using maps. Designing a mobile educative serious game implies applying conceptual and pragmatic methods for both learning and teaching geospatial competencies accordingly to school curriculum. The theoretical framework presented links maps to cartographical semiology, the children’s cognitive development stages for geospatial representation, and an experiential learning cycle model. The latter sequentially supports three main cartographic processes of map-making: reflexive visualization, and map-reading, which sustain any geographical reasoning. The mobile game proposed combines components of increasing complexity where the map plays the main role in the course of different activities: scenarios of typical “rounds” and rules of the game within local terrain; types of geometrical and geospatial trajectories to trace and follow while playing; and specific themes relevant to school subjects. Thus, geographical discussions stop worrying about where, to worry about the reason of situations and the occurrence of phenomena.Algunas investigaciones en ciencias de la educación desarrollan juegos educativos en dispositivos móviles para incentivar el aprendizaje de hechos, conceptos y modelos geográficos en estudiantes de escuelas primarias. El desafío consiste en mejorar su alfabetización y fluidez geográfica, o geoalfabetización, y sus competencias en lectura de mapas antes de la adolescencia, sintetizadas aquí bajo la denominación de cartología, la cual parece ser un umbral crítico que obstruye el desarrollo cognitivo geoespacial de los adultos. Diseñar un juego educativo móvil implica integrar métodos conceptuales y prácticos para la enseñanza y aprendizaje de las competencias geoespaciales, conforme al currículo escolar. El marco teórico que se presenta vincula los mapas con la semiología cartográfica, las etapas de desarrollo cognitivo del niño referentes a la representación del espacio geográfico y el ciclo de aprendizaje experiencial. Este último supone una serie de procesos cartográficos esenciales que sirven de base a cualquier análisis o razonamiento geográfico: creación de mapas, visualización reflexiva y lectura cartográfica. El juego que se propone conjuga componentes de creciente complejidad en los cuales el mapa es protagonista en el transcurso de diferentes actividades: rondas típicas con reglas particulares sobre terrenos determinados; trayectorias geométricas y geoespaciales por trazar y seguir durante el juego; temas específicos relacionados con las asignaturas escolares y con los objetivos propuestos por los maestros, etc. Así, las discusiones geográficas dejan de preocuparse por el dónde para inquietarse por el porqué de las situaciones y el acontecer de los fenómenos.Algumas pesquisas nas ciências da educação desenvolvem jogos educativos para dispositivos móveis através dos quais alunos da escola primária aprendem fatos, conceitos e modelos geográficos brincando ao ar livre. O desafio é melhorar a literacia e a fluência geográfica desses alunos, ou sua ‘geoliteracia’, e suas competências para ler mapas, a chamada ‘cartologia’, antes da adolescência, quando surge um limiar crítico que pode impedir o desenvolvimento cognitivo geoespacial das crianças. A maioria de adultos não são geograficamente letrados nem eficientes para ler e usar mapas. Conceber um jogo educativo móvel integra métodos conceituais e práticos para o ensino e a aprendizagem das competências geoespaciais, conforme o currículo escolar. O quadro teórico apresentado conecta os mapas à semiologia cartográfica, os estágios de desenvolvimento cognitivo das crianças no que se refere às representações do espaço geográfico e o ciclo de aprendizagem experiencial. Este último supõem uma sequência de três processos cartográficos principais que servem de base a qualquer raciocínio geográfico: criação de mapas, visualização reflexiva e leitura de mapas. O jogo que é proposto combina componentes de complexidade crescente onde o mapa é o protagonista no decorrer de diferentes atividades: cenários com ‘rondadas’ e regras típicas do jogo num determinado terreno; tipos de trajetórias geométricas e geoespaciais a serem traçadas e seguidas durante o jogo; temas específicos pertinentes aos assuntos escolares. Assim, as discussões geográficas deixam de se preocupar sobre onde para questionar a razão das situações e a ocorrência dos fenômenos

In a Highly Outsourced Environment, What are Companies Doing Around Staff Development or Their IT Workforce?

[Excerpt] IT skills are more necessary than ever for competitive strategic initiatives. With the rise of shadow IT (unauthorized IT within organizations) and the ever-increasing skills gap in the IT labor market, companies need to invest in training and developing their IT technicians’ skills, no matter where they sit. With IT workers being a large part of the contingent workforce, they are susceptible to becoming underdeveloped and often lack the skills required to succeed in their positions. Typically, organizations have been focused on hard skills, but soft skills have become a requirement for IT departments. In typical working arrangements, soft IT skills are learned through on the job experience. Experiences such as relevant training and mentoring mechanisms offer opportunities for IT professionals to develop and refine their soft and hard skills. However, in highly outsourced environments these skills are less likely to be developed. Furthermore, with the development of new and exciting fields such as cloud, AI, and blockchain, IT technicians must develop new, rare, and difficult skills. According to Gartner, 20% of companies will need to allocate 10% of their IT staff on AI-related projects by 2020. With very little available talent in this space, this need will be difficult to fill

Teaching the Digital Transformation of Business Processes: Design of a Simulation Game for Information Systems Education

The ability to manage business processes in the context of the digital transformation is a key competency that should be addressed in Information Systems (IS) education. One possibility for teaching this competency is through simulation games, but the current ones lack a dynamic view on changing business processes induced by the digital transformation. In this paper, we present the design of a simulation game to teach the digital transformation of business processes within IS education. The game simulates the transformation of a bike manufacturing company to a bike-sharing provider, in which students have to manage changes in the production process in teams during different transformation phases. We argue how our game supports central learning objectives for teaching the aforementioned topic and show the benefit of our game design by running a pilot test with students from IS education using the Systems Usability Scale to evaluate the utility of our implementation

Health Promotion at School

For decades the health of children and adolescents has been a topic of interest in all parts of Europe. And there is quite a consensus that schools are the most appropriate setting to promote health. Childhood and adolescence constitute key stages for learning and adopting a health-related and active lifestyle which includes physical activity and sports. The book describes a new approach to enhance students` health awareness through experimental learning settings in P.E. class, cross-subject teaching, and project work.Teaching health topics requires a pedagogical and didactical framework based on the concept of health literacy and interdisciplinary research discussed by the authors. Teaching examples to improve students` health knowledge, health competencies and skills as well as health behaviour and habits at school implicates a new teaching structure presented in the book

Integrating BIM and gaming to support building operation: the case of a new hospital

Moving into a new hospital requires healthcare professionals to adapt to a new work environment. Workflows, processes, and competencies become obsolete and need to be tailored for the new hospital. This paper explores a role-play serious game developed for the purpose of familiarizing professionals with their new work environment. A three-dimensional virtual prototype of the new hospital building created from Building Information Modeling technology, served as the graphical environment in which the game was staged. The game, namely the “Ward”, is intended to provide healthcare professionals with a virtual training ground for exercising new work processes. We conducted a series of interviews with the client, healthcare experts, and the software developers involved in developing the games. Our intention of doing so was twofold: attaining an understanding of how Building Information Modeling data has been integrated into the game and exploring how the game’s functionalities had been fitted to best support the healthcare professionals in their learning. By exploring the process of the game’s development we were able to point out shortcomings in current practice and to suggest areas for improvement. These are (1) use of crossover modules, (2) increased collaboration, (3) clear communication of information needs, and (4) better contractual agreements. The gameplay could be further improved by increasing the amount of non-player characters. Moreover, we just begin to understand how pedagogical concepts for games conveying architectural designs can be built. This indicates that developing such concepts is an intriguing avenue for further research. We argue that the findings are useful for practitioners and researchers interested in integrating BIM and gaming technology