A review of the trend of microlearning

Purpose Microlearning has been considered as a promising topic in work-based learning. This paper aims to review the trends of microlearning in terms of related publications and internet searches. Hopefully, the findings can serve as a reference for the education sector, government, business and academia, to promote, design and use microlearning. Design/methodology/approach In this study, two sets of analysis were conducted. Firstly, we analysed the publication trend of microlearning. Second, we analysed the trend of internet searches related to microlearning. More specifically, we analysed 14-years real-world data obtained from Scopus and Google Trends for the purpose. These data include the first relevant publication found in the database. Findings In total, 476 relevant publication have been identified during 2006 to 2019. According to the findings from analysing the identified publications, microlearning is a relevant new and emerging global topic involving authors, affiliations and funding sponsors from different countries. Moreover, many microlearning related publications were conducted from perspectives of elearning or mobile learning. Furthermore, we notice higher education was the most frequently mentioned education level in the identified publications. On the other hand, language learning (i.e. second language, vocabulary learning) had been mentioned more times in the titles and abstracts then other subject areas. Overall, the increasing trend of publications on ‘microlearning’ (as a knowledge supply) is in line with the established increasing internet searches of ‘microlearning’ (as a practical demand) in recent years. Practical implications From the work-based learning perspective, microlearning has been considered as one of the key topics in talent development topics. Policymakers, educators, researchers and participators, have the responsibility to explore how to promote, design and use microlearning to help people to learn in the right direction through valid knowledge with ethical consideration. Originality/value Although many works had been done on microlearning, there is a lack of comprehensive studies reviewing the trends of microlearning in terms of related publications and internet searches. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing real-world data obtained from Scopus and Google Trends - these data include the first relevant publication found in the database. We believe this is the first time that a study has been conducted to comprehensively review the development trends of microlearning. Hopefully, this study can shed some light on related research

A Review of the Publication Trend of Data Analytics

Data Analytics has been considered as a promising topic. This paper aims to review the trends of Data Analytics in terms of related publications. More specifically, in this study we analysed 18-years real-world data obtained from Web of Science database for the purpose. These data include the first relevant publication found in the database. In total, 18610 relevant publications have been identified during 2004 to 2021. According to the findings from analysing the identified publications, we suggest that Data Analytics is a glowing global topic involving affiliations and funding sponsors from different countries. On top of the industrial voice saying Data Analytics is an emerging topic, the findings from this paper can provide an additional reference for the education sector, government, and academia, to conduct, promote and support the Data Analytics related research. We believe this is the first time that a study has been conducted to comprehensively review the development trends of Data Analytics. Hopefully, this study can shed some light on related research

A Study of Preferred Learning Time of Online Learner in Multimedia Microlearning in Higher Education Context

This study aims to explore when would online learners prefer to interact with multimedia microlearning†in higher education context. Although microlearning is an emerging topic, most of the previous studies were focus on reporting the application results of microlearning, only very few of previous works were specifically conducted on discussing when would online learners prefer to interact with multimedia microlearning. Total population sampling approach was adopted and questionnaire was used to collect primary data. In total, 77 participants attempted the survey, the response rate is 32.6%. The findings from this study indicate that more learners prefer to study during morning or afternoon time rather than evening or midnight time (H2) (p<0.05). On the other hand, there is no significant difference on when to attempt assessment (H1) and on gender issue (H3, H4). The findings from this study generates knowledge to fill the research gap in the field of microlearning. According to the researcher’s best knowledge, this is the first time that a study like this had been conducted to review and discuss the online learners’ preferences on interacting multimedia learning. Hopefully, this study could shed some lights on future directions of the development of microlearning

A study of learners’ interactive preference on multimedia microlearning

© Copyright © 2022, Anna Sung, Kelvin Leong and Ching Lee]. This AAM is provided for your own personal use only. It may not be used for resale, reprinting, systematic distribution, emailing, or for any other commercial purpose without the permission of the publisherThis study aims to explore how learners prefer to interact with microlearning video. Microlearning is an emerging topic in work-based learning and the benefits of using video in supporting learning have been widely discussed. However, only very few of previous works were conducted on discussing how learners prefer to interact with microlearning video. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap. A questionnaire was used in this study for data collection purposes. In total, the invitation had been sent to 236 enrolled learners from the 3 targeted modules through emails. 77 participants completed the survey with the response rate 32.6%. Chi-square is used in this study in order to conclude whether the findings from the sample related to hypotheses are statistically significant. By analysing primary data collected from a UK University, our findings suggest that: i) the perceived usefulness of the control functions and the expression functions of multimedia microlearning videos are generally high, ii) More participants prefer to have more control in their multiple-choice question’s arrangement and open-ended question’s arrangement, On the other hand, there is no significant difference on the preference of when to attempt assessment. This is the first time that a study like this had been conducted to review and discuss the interactive preferences between learners and multimedia microlearning. This study could shed some lights on future research in the field of microlearning and work-based learning

Uplink Contention Based SCMA for 5G Radio Access

Fifth generation (5G) wireless networks are expected to support very diverse applications and terminals. Massive connectivity with a large number of devices is an important requirement for 5G networks. Current LTE system is not able to efficiently support massive connectivity, especially on the uplink (UL). Among the issues arise due to massive connectivity is the cost of signaling overhead and latency. In this paper, an uplink contention-based sparse code multiple access (SCMA) design is proposed as a solution. First, the system design aspects of the proposed multiple-access scheme are described. The SCMA parameters can be adjusted to provide different levels of overloading, thus suitable to meet the diverse traffic connectivity requirements. In addition, the system-level evaluations of a small packet application scenario are provided for contention-based UL SCMA. SCMA is compared to OFDMA in terms of connectivity and drop rate under a tight latency requirement. The simulation results demonstrate that contention-based SCMA can provide around 2.8 times gain over contention-based OFDMA in terms of supported active users. The uplink contention-based SCMA scheme can be a promising technology for 5G wireless networks for data transmission with low signaling overhead, low delay, and support of massive connectivity.Comment: Submitted to Golobecom 5G workshop 201

Uplink Contention Based SCMA for 5G Radio Access

Abstract Fifth generation (5G) wireless networks are expected to support very diverse applications and terminals. Massive connectivity with a large number of devices is an important requirement for 5G networks. Current LTE system is not able to efficiently support massive connectivity, especially on the uplink (UL). Among the issues that arise due to massive connectivity is the cost of signaling overhead and latency. In this paper, an uplink contention-based sparse code multiple access (SCMA) design is proposed as a solution. First, the system design aspects of the proposed multiple-access scheme are described. The SCMA parameters can be adjusted to provide different levels of overloading, thus suitable to meet the diverse traffic connectivity requirements. In addition, the system-level evaluations of a small packet application scenario are provided for contention-based UL SCMA. SCMA is compared to OFDMA in terms of connectivity and drop rate under a tight latency requirement. The simulation results demonstrate that contention-based SCMA can provide around 2.8 times gain over contention-based OFDMA in terms of supported active users. The uplink contention-based SCMA scheme can be a promising technology for 5G wireless networks for data transmission with low signaling overhead, low delay, and support of massive connectivity

Tai-Chi for Residential Patients with Schizophrenia on Movement Coordination, Negative Symptoms, and Functioning: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective. Patients with schizophrenia residing at institutions often suffer from negative symptoms, motor, and functional impairments more severe than their noninstitutionalized counterparts. Tai-chi emphasizes body relaxation, alertness, and movement coordination with benefits to balance, focus, and stress relief. This pilot study explored the efficacy of Tai-chi on movement coordination, negative symptoms, and functioning disabilities towards schizophrenia. Methods. A randomized waitlist control design was adopted, where participants were randomized to receive either the 6-week Tai-chi program and standard residential care or only the latter. 30 Chinese patients with schizophrenia were recruited from a rehabilitation residency. All were assessed on movement coordination, negative symptoms, and functional disabilities at baseline, following intervention and 6 weeks after intervention. Results. Tai-chi buffered from deteriorations in movement coordination and interpersonal functioning, the latter with sustained effectiveness 6 weeks after the class was ended. Controls showed marked deteriorations in those areas. The Tai-chi group also experienced fewer disruptions to life activities at the 6-week maintenance. There was no significant improvement in negative symptoms after Tai-chi. Conclusions. This study demonstrated encouraging benefits of Tai-chi in preventing deteriorations in movement coordination and interpersonal functioning for residential patients with schizophrenia. The ease of implementation facilitates promotion at institutional psychiatric services

RNA-Seq Analyses Generate Comprehensive Transcriptomic Landscape and Reveal Complex Transcript Patterns in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

RNA-seq is a powerful tool for comprehensive characterization of whole transcriptome at both gene and exon levels and with a unique ability of identifying novel splicing variants. To date, RNA-seq analysis of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been reported. In this study, we performed transcriptome analyses for 10 matched pairs of cancer and non-cancerous tissues from HCC patients on Solexa/Illumina GAII platform. On average, about 21.6 million sequencing reads and 10.6 million aligned reads were obtained for samples sequenced on each lane, which was able to identify >50% of all the annotated genes for each sample. Furthermore, we identified 1,378 significantly differently expressed genes (DEGs) and 24, 338 differentially expressed exons (DEEs). Comprehensive function analyses indicated that cell growth-related, metabolism-related and immune-related pathways were most significantly enriched by DEGs, pointing to a complex mechanism for HCC carcinogenesis. Positional gene enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were most significantly enriched at chromosome 8q21.3–24.3. The most interesting findings were from the analysis at exon levels where we characterized three major patterns of expression changes between gene and exon levels, implying a much complex landscape of transcript-specific differential expressions in HCC. Finally, we identified a novel highly up-regulated exon-exon junction in ATAD2 gene in HCC tissues. Overall, to our best knowledge, our study represents the most comprehensive characterization of HBV-related HCC transcriptome including exon level expression changes and novel splicing variants, which illustrated the power of RNA-seq and provided important clues for understanding the molecular mechanisms of HCC pathogenesis at system-wide levels