Exploring Feedback and Gamification in a Data Modeling Learning Tool

Data modeling is an essential part of IT studies. Learning how to design and structure a database is important when storing data in a relational database and is common practice in the IT industry. Most students need much practice and tutoring to master the skill of data modeling and database design. When a student is in a learning process, feedback is important. As class sizes grow and teaching is no longer campus based only, providing feedback to each individual student may be difficult. Our study proposes a tool to use when introducing database modeling to students. We have developed a web-based tool named LearnER to teach basic data modeling skills, in a collaborative project between the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) and Kristiania University College (KUC). The tool has been used in six different courses over a period of four academic years. In LearnER, the student solves modeling assignments with different levels of difficulty. When they are done, or they need help, they receive automated feedback including visual cues. To increase the motivation for solving many assignments, LearnER also includes gamifying elements. Each assignment has a maximum score. When students ask for help, points are deducted from the score. When students manage to solve many assignments with little help, they may end up at a leaderboard. This paper tries to summarize how the students use and experience LearnER. We look to see if the students find the exercises interesting, useful and of reasonable difficulty. Further, we investigate if the automated feedback is valuable, and if the gamifying elements contribute to their learning. As we have made additions and refinements to LearnER over several years, we also compare student responses on surveys and interviews during these years. In addition, we analyze usage data extracted from the application to learn more about student activity. The results are promising. We find that student activity increases in newer versions of LearnER. Most students report that the received feedback helps them to correct mistakes when solving modeling assignments. The gamifying elements are also well received. Based on LearnER usage data, we find and describe typical errors the students do and what types of assignments they prefer to solve.publishedVersio

Balancing Structure and Learning in an Open Prison

Leira Prison is a branch of Trondheim Prison, functioning as a relatively small,open prison with a maximum capacity of only 29 inmates. Leira Prison appliesthe method ‘consequence pedagogy.’ This article aims to pinpoint howconsequence pedagogy is executed at Leira. 50% of the Leira inmates arereleased back into society, while new ones enter the prison. It is thereforeinteresting to see how they balance structure and at the same time adjust tochanges, enabling Leira Prison to continue as a learning organization. This articleidentifies three items, consequence pedagogy and the view of humans,maintenance of the philosophy and coherence in the community, and selfregulationof justice through interaction. The use of consequence pedagogyis deeply aligned to their positive view of humans and has generated a constructiveorganization based on empowerment and involvement of both staffand inmates. Consequently, management, staff and inmates maintain thephilosophy of consequence pedagogy through interaction and self-regulation.However, questions regarding the fundamentals of the consequence pedagogyare not raised

Long-term spatiotemporal dynamics in a mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) forest in south-east Norway

Mountain birch forest covers large areas in Eurasia, and their ecological resilience provides important ecosystem services to human societies. This study describes long-term stand dynamics based on permanent plots in the upper mountain birch belt in SE Norway. We also present forest line changes over a period of 70 years. Inventories were conducted in 1931, 1953, and 2007. Overall, there were small changes from 1931 up to 1953 followed by a marked increase in biomass and dominant height of mountain birch throughout the period from 1953 to 2007. In addition, the biomass of spruce (Picea abies) and the number of plots with spruce present doubled. The high mortality rate of larger birch stems and large recruitment by sprouting since the 1960s reveal recurrent rejuvenation events after the earlier outbreak of the autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata). Our results demonstrate both a high stem turnover in mountain birch and a great ability to recover after disturbances. This trend is interpreted as regrowth after a moth attack, but also long-term and time-lagged responses due to slightly improved growth conditions. An advance of the mountain birch forest line by 0.71 m year−1 from 1937 to 2007 was documented, resulting in a total reduction of the alpine area by 12%. Most of the changes in the forest line seem to have taken place after 1960. Regarding silviculture methods in mountain birch, a dimension cutting of larger birch trees with a cutting interval of c. 60 years seems to be a sustainable alternative for mimicking natural processes.publishedVersio

Higher mortality of the less suitable brown trout host compared to the principal Atlantic salmon host when infested with freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) glochidia

The freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) is a highly host-specific parasite, with an obligate parasitic stage on salmonid fish. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta f. trutta and Salmo trutta f. fario) are the only hosts in their European distribution. Some M. margaritifera populations exclusively infest either Atlantic salmon or brown trout, while others infest both hosts with one salmonid species typically being the principal host and the other a less suitable host. Glochidial abundance, prevalence and growth are often used as parameters to measure host suitability, with the most suitable host species displaying the highest parameters. However, it is not known if the degree of host specialisation will negatively influence host fitness (virulence) among different host species. In this study we examined the hypothesis that glochidial infestation would result in differential virulence in two salmonid host species and that lower virulence would be observed on the most suitable host. Atlantic salmon and brown trout were infested with glochidia from two M. margaritifera populations that use Atlantic salmon as their principal host, and the difference in host mortality among infested and control (sham infested) fish was examined. Higher mortality was observed in infested brown trout (the less suitable host) groups, compared to the other test groups. Genetic assignment was used to identify offspring from individual mother mussels. We found that glochidia from individual mothers can infest both the salmonid hosts; however, some mothers displayed a bias towards either salmon or trout. We believe that the differences in host-dependent virulence and the host bias displayed by individual mothers were a result of genotype × genotype interactions between the glochidia and their hosts, indicating that there is an underlying genetic component for this parasite-host interaction.publishedVersio

The wheel of collaboration tools: a typology for analysis within a holistic framework

Paper from the 2006 20th anniversary conference on Computer supported cooperative workWe present a holistic framework for analyzing and specifying collaboration solutions, developed by an oil and gas company in response to practical needs in supporting integrated collaboration and information management. A typology of collaboration tool capabilities, termed the Wheel of Collaboration Tools (WCT), is described. We assess its contributions, and discuss areas of application and potential further development. Our intent is to stimulate discussion and research related to this type of collaboration modeling