The Next Generation of Educational Engagement

Abstract: Games are no longer just for fun; they offer potentially powerful learning environments. Today's students have grown up with computer games. In addition, their constant exposure to the Internet and other digital media has shaped how they receive information and how they learn. There are many attributes of games that make them pedagogically sound learning environments. An increasing number of faculty are using games as enhancements to the traditional learning environment with encouraging results. While the interactivity and engagement of games are highly positive a number of questions remain about how games will be developed, deployed and accepted in higher education. Invited Commentary: Mason, R. (2004) Commentary on: Oblinger, D. (2004). The Next Generation of Educational Engagement. [PDF] Editors: Terry Anderson and Denise Whitelock

Can serious games help to mitigate climate change? Exploring their influence on Spanish and American teenagers’ attitudes

Es urgente y necesario reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y mitigar el cambio climático, y esta lucha requiere un cambio en las actitudes de los adolescentes. En la búsqueda de nuevos enfoques dirigidos a los jóvenes, los serious games en formato online parecen una prometedora herramienta de comunicación y educación. Basándonos en el juego 2020 Energy como estudio de caso, el principal objetivo de este artículo es examinar la influencia de dicho juego sobre las actitudes de adolescentes españoles y estadounidenses (N = 108), empleando un diseño pretest-posttest con una condición experimental (jugar al juego) y una condición de control (no jugar al juego). Los resultados muestran que no había diferencias estadísticamente significativas después de jugar al juego, aunque una observación más detallada de cada factor ofrece algunas consecuencias positivas.There is an urgent need to curb emissions and mitigate climate change, and this fight requires a change in teenagers’ attitudes. In search of new approaches targeting youth, online games are seen as a promising tool for communication and education. Using the serious game 2020 Energy as a case study, the main objective of this paper is to examine the influence of the game on Spanish and American teenagers’ attitudes (N = 108), employing a pretest-posttest design with an experimental condition (playing the game) and a control condition (not playing the game). Results show that there have not been statistically significant differences after playing the game, although when looking closer at each factor, some positive consequences can be found.HUM466 Acceso y evaluación de la información científic

The potential of a mobile group blog to support cultural learning among overseas students

We explored the use of mobile social software, in the form of a mobile group blog, to assist cultural learning. The potential of using this technology for cultural adaptation among overseas students was examined as those students adapted to the everyday life of studying abroad. Two pilot studies and a successful field study of a mobile group blog as used by UK overseas students are reported. A further study with prospective overseas students witnessing this ‘moblogging’ in China revealed the advantages of communicating through this technology as a form of peer-supported preparation for cultural adaptation. Potential advantages for learning a second language via this system, were highlighted as communication was interweaved with cultural adaptation and exercised in the blog entries. Given mobile internet, the language experience together with cultural observation impressively supported these students' growing confidence with time, space and imagination

#3CityLink: Disrupting Learning through a Translocal Art Pedagogy Exchange Project

© 2018 The Authors. iJADE © 2018 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd #3CityLink involved fine arts researchers, artists and students in three cities: Regina, Canada; Coventry, UK; and Gyumri, Armenia. The project presented a platform for translocal creative interactions using online screen-based media and on-the-ground dialogues. Artists and students investigated the concerns of their locale, questioning the role of the artist in building narratives, revealing lost histories and imagining the future of where they live. Using descriptive case study design, the findings present the opportunities for enriching the student learning experience through challenging habitual approaches to art production, through alternative approaches to digital pedagogy in art education. Students’ artwork took on new dimensions beyond what they could have produced working in relative isolation in a university-only studio setting. Students were encouraged to pursue and persist in online learning spaces whilst also taking responsibility for organising their own learning and that of others. Nonetheless, using visual technology and social media for connected, artistic, co-investigation needs further refinement to engage learners, and enhance the quality of visual presence and its potential in open education

A study exploring learners' informal learning space behaviors, attitudes, and preferences

What makes a successful informal learning space is a topic in need of further research. The body of discourse on informal space design is drawn from learning theory, placemaking and architecture, with a need for understanding of the synergy between the three. Findings from a longitudinal, quantitative and qualitative study at Sheffield Hallam University, explore learners' behaviours, attitudes and preferences towards informal learning spaces in higher education, within and outside of the context of the academic library. The learning spaces study contributes to the discourse on informal learning spaces design by producing a typology of nine learning space preference attributes which address aspects of learning theory, placemaking and architecture. The typology can be used to evaluate existing spaces and inform redevelopment of informal learning spaces in higher education institutions. Implementing the typology will be subject to localised conditions, but at Sheffield Hallam University the key conclusions have included developing a portfolio of discrete, interrelated learning environments, offering spaces with a clear identity and encouraging students to translate their learning preferences into space selection

Student-Produced Podcasts as an Assessment Tool: An Example from Geomorphology

The emergence of user-friendly technologies has made podcasting an accessible learning tool in undergraduate teaching. In a geomorphology course, student-produced podcasts were used as part of the assessment in 2008-2010. Student groups constructed radio shows aimed at a general audience to interpret and communicate geomorphological data within the context of relevant social and environmental issues. Questionnaire results suggest that the novel format engaged students, and promoted group working, IT, language and oral communication skills, and a deeper understanding of the context of geomorphic data. For teachers, podcasting technology offers efficient teaching of oral communication, with opportunities for distance and self-directed learning

The Behavioral Roots of Information Systems Security:Exploring Key Factors Related to Unethical IT Use

Unethical information technology (IT) use, related to activities such as hacking, software piracy, phishing, and spoofing, has become a major security concern for individuals, organizations, and society in terms of the threat to information systems (IS) security. While there is a growing body of work on this phenomenon, we notice several gaps, limitations, and inconsistencies in the literature. In order to further understand this complex phenomenon and reconcile past findings, we conduct an exploratory study to uncover the nomological network of key constructs salient to this phenomenon, and the nature of their interrelationships. Using a scenario-based study of young adult participants, and both linear and nonlinear analyses, we uncover key nuances of this phenomenon of unethical IT use. We find that unethical IT use is a complex phenomenon, often characterized by nonlinear and idiosyncratic relationships between the constructs that capture it. Overall, ethical beliefs held by the individuals, along with economic, social, and technological considerations are found to be relevant to this phenomenon. In terms of practical implications, these results suggest that multiple interventions at various levels may be required to combat this growing threat to IS security