Effectiveness of using game-based techniques in the context of supporting distance learning

Wydział Psychologii i KognitywistykiCelem rozprawy doktorskiej było sprawdzenie, czy w kontekście nauki zdalnej narzędzia edukacyjne będące grami lub korzystające z ich elementów są efektywniejsze od narzędzia, które takich elementów nie posiada. Aby zrealizować ten cel, przeprowadziłam badanie eksperymentalne, którego uczestnicy uczyli się obsługi programu Microsoft Excel w trzech warunkach badania: gry poważniej, grywalizacji oraz e-learningu. Efektywność autorskich narzędzi edukacyjnych została zmierzona w dwóch wymiarach: przyrostu wiedzy oraz wzrostu zaangażowania (deklarowanego, mierzonego kwestionariuszem oraz zobiektywizowanego, określonego na podstawie zarejestrowanego zachowania kursantów). Wykorzystane w badaniu narzędzia edukacyjne były efektywne pod względem przekazywania osobom uczącym się nowej wiedzy i umiejętności, jednak żadne z nich nie uczyło lepiej od pozostałych. W kontekście angażowania wiek okazał się być zmienną, która istotnie różnicowała osoby badane. Osoby mające 23 lata lub więcej częściej rezygnowały z kursu w warunku gry poważnej, a osoby mające 36 lat lub więcej z warunku grywalizacji w porównaniu do młodszych kursantów. Wyniki eksperymentu potwierdziły także bolączki edukacji zdalnej. Osoby badane niezależnie od warunku badania, w którym się uczyły, porzucały naukę ze względu na pojawiające się nieprzewidziane obowiązki czy brak umiejętności zarządzania własnym czasem.The aim of the dissertation was to check whether educational tools that are games or use their elements are more effective than a tool that doesn’t have such elements in the context of remote education. To achieve this goal, I conducted an experimental study in which the participants learned how to use Microsoft Excel in three test conditions: serious game, gamification, and e-learning. The effectiveness of each educational tool was measured in two dimensions: knowledge and engagement (the declared one, measured with a questionnaire, and the objective one described by registered students’ behavior). All the educational tools used in the experiment were effective in providing new knowledge and skills, but none of them taught learners better than the others. In the context of engaging, age was a variable that significantly differentiated the test subjects. Students aged 23 or over were more likely to drop out of the serious game condition compared to their younger colleagues. Similarly, those aged 36 or more were more likely to drop out of the gamification condition compared to the same group. The results of the experiment confirmed the difficulties of remote education. The students, regardless of the test condition in which they studied, decided to give up learning due to unforeseen duties or lack of ability to manage their own time

Male adventitious roots of Rumex thyrsiflorus Fingerh. as a source of genetically stable micropropagated plantlets

Rumex thyrsiflorus Fingerh. is one of the few dioecious plant species that have sex chromosomes. The chromosome constitution of females is 2n = 12A + XX and 2n = 12A + XY1Y2 of males. It is a medicinally important plant species and has also been the object of studies on the structure and function of sex chromosomes and sex ratio. An efficient plant regeneration protocol was developed from karyologically stable male roots that had been derived from a long-term liquid culture. The root segments were grown on MS medium supplemented with the following plant growth regulators: 2.4-D, NAA, kinetin, BAP and TDZ. The highest frequency (81.73 %) of adventitious shoot formation (16.27 shoots/explant) was obtained on MS + 0.5 mg/l TDZ. Regenerated shoots were successfully rooted on ½ MS + 2 % sucrose + 0.5 mg/l IBA and acclimated to in vivo conditions. Histological analysis revealed indirect (via callus) adventitious shoot formation. The cells of the morphogenetic callus were surrounded by a fibrillar structure that was similar to the extracellular matrix. Molecular analysis based on genetic sex markers confirmed that all of the root explants were male. The genetic stability of the regenerated plantlets was confirmed using random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis. This is the first report concerning the micropropagation protocol for R. thyrsiflorus Fingerh. from male roots derived from a long-term liquid culture, which offers a unique opportunity to obtain true-to-type plants of the same sex

Female versus male : Rumex thyrsiflorus Fingerh. under in vitro conditions : does sex influence in vitro morphogenesis?

Rumex thyrsiflorus Fingerh. is a dioecious plant with polymorphic sex chromosomes (XX in females, XY_{1}Y_{2} in males). This species is an interesting plant for study on the structure and function of sex chromosomes, the sex ratio, and is also a valuable source of bioactive constituents. A procedure for the micropropagation of R. thyrsiflorus from hypocotyl explants, which can be useful for analyses of sex-specific morphogenetic reactions under in vitro conditions, was developed. The molecular analysis, based on genetic sex markers, allowed the sex of explants to be determined in order to create male or female in vitro cultures. Regeneration primarily occurred via indirect adventitious shoot formation as well as via somatic embryogenesis, which was confirmed by histological and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. The highest frequency of explants that revealed a morphogenetic response with the highest number of regenerated adventitious shoot buds (average 11.5 shoots per explant) was obtained on a Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.27 \mu M thidiazuron (TDZ). Molecular analysis revealed a female-biased sex ratio under these conditions. The relationship between the sex of the explants and their morphogenetic potential was studied. The efficiency of morphogenesis varied between the two sexes and depended on the ratio of auxin and cytokinin in the medium. The germination pattern of male and female seeds under in vitro conditions was also analysed. No differences in germination time between male and female seeds and in terms of male and female seedling length were observed, which indicated that there was no competition between the sexes during seed germination when grown under uniform growth conditions

Making Text Annotation Fun with a Clicker Game

In this paper we present WordClicker, a clicker game for text annotation. We believe the mechanics of 'Ville type Free-To-Play (F2P) games in general, and clicker games in particular, is particularly suited for GWAPs (Games-With-A-Purpose). WordClicker was developed as one component of a suite of GWAPs meant to cover all aspects of language interpretation, from tokenization to anaphoric interpretation. As such, WordClicker is intended to have a dual function as part of this suite of GWAPs: both for parts-of-speech annotation and for teaching players about parts of speech so that they can go on and play GWAPs for more complex syntactic annotation. Therefore, game-based language learning platforms also had a strong influence on its design

In vitro organogenesis in Rumex thyrsiflorus Fingerh. – problems of sex ratios

Rumex thyrsiflorus Fingerh. is one of the few dioecious plant species, which have sex chromosomes. We conducted the preliminary experiments to determine the type of morphogenesis of R. thyrsiflorus explants cultured in vitro and to verify, using PCR-based methods, if there is the relationship between sex and morphogenetic response of explants micropropagated under in vitro conditions. The results of our studies revealed the female-biased sex ratios among explants cultured in vitro (M:F=1:1.7). The female-biased sex ratios in case of explants showed organogenesis in vitro (M:F=1:2.44) may suggest a higher regeneration ability of female explants

Severe Genotype, Pancreatic Insufficiency and Low Dose of Pancreatic Enzymes Associate with Abnormal Serum Sterol Profile in Cystic Fibrosis

Background: Several factors could lead to lipid disturbances observed in cystic fibrosis (CF). This study aimed to assess sterol homeostasis in CF and define potential exogenous and endogenous determinants of lipid dysregulation. Methods: The study involved 55 CF patients and 45 healthy subjects (HS). Sterol concentrations (μg/dL) were measured by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. CF was characterised by lung function, pancreatic status, liver disease and diabetes coexistence, Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonisation and BMI. CFTR genotypes were classified as severe or other. Results: Campesterol and β-sitosterol concentrations were lower (p = 0.0028 and p p = 0.0016) in CF patients than in HS. Campesterol and β-sitosterol concentrations were lower in patients with a severe CFTR genotype, pancreatic insufficiency and lower pancreatic enzyme dose (lipase units/gram of fat). In multiple regression analyses, β-sitosterol and campesterol concentrations were predicted by genotype and pancreatic insufficiency, whereas cholesterol and its fractions were predicted by phytosterol concentrations, age, dose of pancreatic enzymes, nutritional status and genotype. Conclusions: Independent determinants of lipid status suggest that malabsorption and pancreatic enzyme supplementation play a significant role in sterol abnormalities. The measurement of campesterol and β-sitosterol concentrations in CF patients may serve for the assessment of the effectiveness of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy and/or compliance, but further research is required

Incremental Game Mechanics applied to Text Annotation

We argue that the mechanics of 'Ville type Free-To-Play (F2P) games in general, and incremental games in particular, is especially suited for Games-With-A-Purpose. We demonstrate this through WordClicker, an incremental game whose mechanics is designed for text labelling. We believe the design and mechanics used are highly transferable to other games featuring annotation where game design is a challenge, such as serious games and language resourcing GWAPs. The game was tested with audiences from three popular indie gaming portals, achieving promising results both for entertainment value and learning