Fostering students’ evaluation behaviour while searching the internet

the interne

Taking into account sensory knowledge: the case of geo-techologies for children with visual impairments

This paper argues for designing geo-technologies supporting non-visual sensory knowledge. Sensory knowledge refers to the implicit and explicit knowledge guiding our uses of our senses to understand the world. To support our argument, we build on an 18 months field-study on geography classes for primary school children with visual impairments. Our findings show (1) a paradox in the use of non-visual sensory knowledge: described as fundamental to the geography curriculum, it is mostly kept out of school; (2) that accessible geo-technologies in the literature mainly focus on substituting vision with another modality, rather than enabling teachers to build on children's experiences; (3) the importance of the hearing sense in learning about space. We then introduce a probe, a wrist-worn device enabling children to record audio cues during field-trips. By giving importance to children's hearing skills, it modified existing practices and actors' opinions on non-visual sensory knowledge. We conclude by reflecting on design implications, and the role of technologies in valuing diverse ways of understanding the world

Students' approaches to the evaluation of digital information: Insights from their trust judgments

© 2015 British Educational Research Association. This study contributes to an understanding of the role of experience in the evaluation phase of the information search process. A questionnaire-based survey collected data from 1st and 3rd-year undergraduate students regarding the factors that influence their judgment of the trustworthiness of online health information. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. First-year students identified four factors: ease of use, content, recommendation and brand. Third-year students identified seven factors, in order of importance: content, credibility, recommendation, ease of use, usefulness, style and brand. They also were much clearer about their evaluation processes than 1st-year students; for 3rd-year students, the factor structure was clearer, and items generally loaded onto the expected factors. The significance of these findings is discussed and recommendations for practice and further research are offered

Completion strategy or emphasis manipulation? Task support for teaching information problem solving

While most students seem to solve information problems effortlessly, research shows that the cognitive skills for effective information problem solving are often underdeveloped. Students manage to find information and formulate solutions, but the quality of their process and product is questionable. It is therefore important to develop instruction for fostering these skills. In this research, a 2-h online intervention was presented to first-year university students with the goal to improve their information problem solving skills while investigating effects of different types of built-in task support. A training design containing completion tasks was compared to a design using emphasis manipulation. A third variant of the training combined both approaches. In two experiments, these conditions were compared to a control condition receiving conventional tasks without built-in task support. Results of both experiments show that students' information problem solving skills are underdeveloped, which underlines the necessity for formal training. While the intervention improved students’ skills, no differences were found between conditions. The authors hypothesize that the effective presentation of supportive information in the form of a modeling example at the start of the training caused a strong learning effect, which masked effects of task support. Limitations and directions for future research are presented

Understanding How Museum Visitors Perceive Antiquities Repatriations

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2020University of Washington Abstract Understanding How Museum Visitors Perceive Antiquities Repatriations Hayley M. Makinster Chair of Supervisory Committee: Jessica J. Luke Museology Graduate Program Repatriation within museums continues to be an important topic widely discussed by museum professionals, as legal frameworks and guidelines such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and the 1970 UNESCO Convention continue to emphasize the importance of cultural heritage to their original communities and governments. Although visitors are major stakeholders in nonprofit museums, there is little research regarding visitors’ attitudes towards repatriation, including how visitors respond to various repatriation practices. As such, this study explored visitors’ attitudes to repatriation, specifically focusing on responses to high-profile antiquities repatriations. Using a descriptive survey design, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 participants via Zoom. Findings suggest that a majority of museum visitors have some general foreknowledge of repatriation. Study participants attributed repatriation awareness to various avenues, including popular culture references and educational programs. A majority of participants supported the repatriation of certain objects based on several factors and expressed interest in museums engaging their visitors in repatriation conversations. This study paves the way for future research on visitors’ attitudes towards repatriation, from which museums and researchers alike will continue to benefit

Opportunities for Incorporating Food Landscapes in Public Parks

Public parks are an integral part of many urban areas within the United States, and provide a number of ecosystem and community benefits. However, localized food production, including food landscaping, is not often incorporated into these spaces. Including food landscaping in public parks has the potential to increase benefits and create local food supplychains. The purpose of this study was to explore cities’ views on food landscaping projects, including the barriers that exist for implementing these projects, and to create an implementation guide that can be used by city governments to convert existing public greenspaces into multipurpose food landscapes. This study used the City of Poway in Southern California as a case study to look at why cities do not pursue these projects, and to explore the information that cities could find helpful when developing these projects. The researcher conducted eight interviews with various city employees using semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that food landscaping in public parks is possible but will require cities to rethink what public parks are designed for and innovative ways to overcome various barriers that may exist for these projects. Participants discussed a variety of benefits that these projects can bring to both a community and a city, which may provide greater impetus for incorporating these projects in the future. This study and accompanying implementation guide pave the way for future research on food landscaping in public parks