The Butterfly Effect: Creative Sustainable Design Solutions through Systems thinking

FAIM: Intelligent Manufacturing now, Limerick, Irelan

Organicism in Live Experimental Electroacoustic Music

This paper explores the potential for an organicist or relational holistic approach to experimental electroacoustic music composition that is indeterminate with respect to performance. It follows a phenomenological interpretation of the musical work as the product of dynamic, temporal or relational processes involving the performers, their instruments, the sounds themselves, the whole acoustic space and the audience. An analysis of an electroacoustic composition and Decibel ensemble performance is offered for which organic indeterminacy is described in terms of a performative openness towards the creation of experimental music

Managing Large E-learning Development Initiatives: Lessons Learnt from the Australian Flexible Learning Toolbox Project

This paper reports on a research consultancy undertaken for the Flexible Learning Framework in reviewing management processes undertaken as part of Series 13 of Flexible Learning Toolboxes. Toolboxes are e-learning products that cover multiple Units of Competency in National Training Packages. In the 13th iteration of the project a number of initiatives were implemented designed to support the development of 7 Toolboxes. The research explores the role of documentation and communication processes and their impact on the development experiences of key stakeholders such as the designers, developers and managers of the products. Findings identified a number of important factors with regard to the use of design documentation and project management processes that are important to successful development as well as some recommendations for future iterations

Ponderers, sloggers, slackers and more: Understanding the profiles of student bloggers to help promote academic self-regulation

Self-regulated learning is the fusion of skill and will. Students who can regulate their learning show a high level of self-awareness, are motivated and are able to adapt their approaches to the task at hand. Blogging may be seen as one approach to enhancing self-regulation but for that to take place, an understanding of how selfregulation is manifest in blogs must be developed. This paper identifies a range of blogger ‘profiles’ and offers suggestions as to how the processes in self-regulation can be developed through blogging as a learning activity

Promoting metacognitive regulation through an on-line environment

The constantly evolving world of work is causing a great deal of emphasis on the need for graduating students to demonstrate a range of generic skills to enable them to be both employable and able to adapt easily to new requirements. However, research indicates that secondary schooling is not preparing students adequately for learning independently. This study sought to explore strategies for developing and supporting the metacognitive skills of higher education students. In particular, it sought to explore how university students\u27 cognitive self-regulation could be supported in an on-line environment designed to engage them in the self-monitoring integral to metacognitive development. The field of selfregulation and metacognition was explored through a literature review leading to the articulation of an instructional model for metacognitive development. This model was used as the basis for the design of an on-line environment, Mark-UP, that had students annotate and transform text-based readings to engage them in the monitoring processes that are integral to metacognitive regulation within the domain of reading comprehension. An inquiry was undertaken in the form of design-based research. A product was designed, developed, and trialed. The methodology, a form of action research, involved the exploration of two aims. One aim was narrow and focused on the usability of the product and the value subjects placed on it. The second aim sought to explore how the product engaged learners in monitoring their learning. There were 126 subjects participated in the research. Data was gathered in the forms of a questionnaire about subjects\u27 self-perceptions as self-regulating and their attitudes to Mark-UP, interviews with 12 subjects, and subjects\u27 portfolios of work developed as they used the product. Data was interpreted through a constant comparative approach to develop understandings about how subjects used the product and its value as an environment to promote the planning, monitoring, and evaluation within cognitive selfmonitoring. Findings revealed that Mark-UP was an effective means of engaging subjects in the processes of metacognitive planning, monitoring, and evaluation. However, the experience of using Mark-UP was not the same for all subjects and differences were found in outcomes among the diverse range of subjects. The research provided the basis for the formulation of guidelines forfuture implementations of the product and for further research into metacognitive regulation. Some refinements to the interface of Mark-UP are proposed as well as suggestions for further exploration into the area of metacognitive regulation of learning are made. Specifically Mark-UP was found to be most valuable for learners who are metacognitively moderate rather than those who might be weak or strong. The findings suggested that flexibility is needed to provide an adequate level of scaffolding for weaker learners while allowing metacognitively stronger students the opportunity to practice existing regulatory strategies. It was also found that the cyclical process of planning, monitoring, and evaluation is an ongoing one that requires learning environments to provide regular feedback to stimulate these processes. The study found that the affective components of self-regulation are integral to the development of metacognitive regulation, leading to the conclusion that future environments to develop metacognition should incorporate elements to meet learners\u27 needs with regard to self-concept, motivation, and the development of volitional strategies

Online Student Contracts to Promote Metacognitive Development

Knowing about one’s own cognitive ability, and how best to use this ability in understanding new educational content, solving problems and making effective decisions is one of the holy grails of education! Metacognition is widely perceived as being integral to effective learning and much literature and research has been devoted to this area. However online learning environments that effectively support the development of students’ metacognition are rare and difficult to develop. This paper describes one component (the student contract) of an online learning environment designed to support the development of metacognition through a cycle of planning, monitoring and evaluation. Students firstly complete a self assessment questionnaire that helps expose their preferences and orientations; this forms the basis of the student contract. The design and logic of the student contract is outlined, with an overview of the complete strategy being used to help promote metacogniton

Exploring the Use of Audio-Visual Feedback within 3D Virtual Environments to Provide Complex Sensory Cues for Scenario-Based Learning

The continuous quest for ever increasing fidelity in 3D virtual worlds is running parallel to the emergence and adoption of low-cost technologies to implement such environments. In education and training, complex simulations can now be implemented on standard desktop technologies. However, such tools lack the means to represent multisensory data beyond audio-visual feedback. This paper reports on a study that involved the design, development and implementation of a 3D learning environment for underground mine evacuation. The requirements of the environment are discussed in terms of the sensory information that needs to be conveyed and techniques are described to achieve this using multiple modes of representation, appropriate levels of abstraction and synesthesia to make up for the lack of tactile and olfactory sensory cues. The study found that audio-visual cues that used such techniques were effective in communicating complex sensory information for novice miners

Mark-up: Design and evaluation of an on-line annotation tool to support metacognitive development of reading comprehension

The mutability of contemporary work practice requires graduates who can continue to develop in self-regulated ways. This paper describes research into design and evaluation of a product to assist learners in engaging in the metacognitive processes inherent in the domain of reading comprehension. Findings identified strengths of the product and a number of features that could be improved, as well as contextual factors that may impact on the implementation of such learning environments

Using Blog Comments as Feedback to Promote the Metacognitive Development of Creativity

[EN] Creativity can be viewed, not just as a set of skills and strategies, but as an overarching metacognitive skill that integrates a range of subordinate generic skills. Key to developing creativity is to engage in a cycle of ideation, reflection and adjustment, within a feedback rich environment. Blogs have the ability to garner external comments that can prompt these processes. Case study research was undertaken to explore what forms of feedback promote metacognitive development and how those forms can best be elicited within a blog. Findings indicated that blog comments can motivate, provide information, enhance quality and promote reflection, and that a range of strategies can be applied in blogs to best obtain the most valuable forms of feedback for creative development.Mcmahon, M.; Heather, J. (2017). Using Blog Comments as Feedback to Promote the Metacognitive Development of Creativity. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 933-940. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.5478OCS93394

JAMTART: An online performance support system for project management

The continuing focus on generic skills in higher education and the embedding of graduate attributes into university policy and planning requires a rethink of how such generic skills can be promoted in a holistic and contextual manner. JAMTART is a product that has been developed to address key generic skills processes inherent in the project management of team-based interactive media development. The three main modules of Selfassessment, Team monitoring, and Reporting and reflection are tied closely to the planning, monitoring and evaluation inherent in metacognitive processing. This paper describes the product in the light of this underpinning theory