Overview of open source augmented reality toolkit

Augmented reality or also known as AR is not a new technology. The technology has existed for almost 40 years ago after Ivan Sutherland introduced the first virtual reality (VR) application. At that time, works and research were mainly concerned to establish the hardware aspects of the technology. The head-mounted display (HMD) or some might called head-worn display is the result of augmented reality research and also one of the fundamental equipment for accessing the technology. As time goes by, the augmented reality technology has begin to mature to a point where the hardware cost and capabilities have collided to deliver a more feasible AR thus enable the rapid development of AR applications in many fields including education. To create a non-commercial AR application specifically for education, the ARToolkit can be taken into consideration. ARToolkit is the product of AR community and it is registered under the GNU General Public License. The user is provided with basic source code that lets the user easily develop Augmented Reality applications. Despite the fact that AR is not a new technology, people may unaware or unfamiliar with its existence. Therefore this paper is intended to (1) give an overview of augmented reality; and provides (2) solution to the technical problems that one’s will face in setting up open-source augmented reality toolkit

Online collaborative learning in tertiary ICT education to enhance students' learning in Malaysia

This study investigated the nature of students’, and student group, interactions through the incorporation of an online collaborative learning (OCL) initiative, with its aim to enhance students’ learning in a Malaysian tertiary classroom. In order to contribute to knowledge and understanding about the nature and quality of OCL, the learning processes and outcomes were drawn predominantly from Harasim’s model, with inclusion of a socio-cultural framework aimed at enhancing learning outcomes for undergraduate science and ICT education students. Harasim’s model of OCL that was used in the intervention includes steps to setting up the stage and a system for Idea Generating (IG), modeling and guiding the OCL discussions for Idea Organizing (IO), and evaluating and reflecting the OCL discussions for Intellectual Convergence (IC). The interactions in OCL were analysed through four dimensions: participative, interactive, social, and cognitive in support of the students’ cognitive, social and emotional development. The OCL intervention in this study was conducted through an ICT education course in a Malaysian university that required OCL discussions for 13 weeks: the first four weeks were intra-group work discussions (Task 1), followed by four/five weeks of inter-group work discussions (Task 2), and the remaining four weeks were for the final intra-group work discussions (Task 3). The OCL intervention was aimed at facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and interaction between students from Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics majors through the university’s Learning Management System (Moodle), which provided the shared space for the OCL discourse and tools for collaboration. A total of nine groups of four to six students (N=46) were involved in this study. In order to evaluate the OCL intervention using a holistic view, an interpretive approach that included the collection of quantitative and qualitative data was adopted to frame the collection and analysis of the data. Quantitative data were obtained from online questionnaires, together with online data based on the frequency of students’ posts in participative, interactive, social, and cognitive dimensions. Qualitative data were gathered via interviews with students (group and post-course interviews) and lecturers, and online transcripts that included online postings and students’ online journal entries. These data were collected and analysed in order to triangulate the findings and to help the researcher assess the extent to which the intervention was successful in enhancing students’ learning. The findings from the study revealed the nature of students’ interactions in OCL correspond with particular socio-cultural views that students’ interactions are characterised based on the participative, interactive, social and cognitive dimensions in support of the students’ cognitive, social and emotional development. From a socio-cultural perspective, the outcomes that arose from the study included: • The socio-cultural learning constructs have been useful as a framework for the analysis of the OCL intervention based on the participative, interactive, social and cognitive dimensions. • The affordances of the OCL group work helped the students’ in their group work. • The constraints of OCL influence the communication methods, and interaction styles used by students in achieving task goals through group work in the OCL intervention. The findings also show students’ interactions and student group interactions were an important part of the learning process. The implementation of OCL intervention into the course can lead to the facilitation of the student group learning process as well as supporting their cognitive, social and emotional development, and potential constraints from the technology (e.g. Internet connection) or the lack of social and verbal cues (e.g. facial expression) can lead to different working methods of communication for achieving task goals and different styles of interactions. Overall, the findings of the study indicate the value of OCL in a tertiary classroom to enhance learning

Perceived learning constructs and interaction patterns in a social networking site

This article reports on results of a study perceived learning constructs in a Social Networking Site (SNS) based on a two-round data collection from undergraduate Computer Science Education (CSE) studies.The first phase involved distribution of questionnaires to a total of 219 undergraduate students ranging from non-engineering (n=80) to engineering (n=139) that resulted in identification of three measured learning constructs: Social Bonding, Social Bridging and Social Intention.In phase two, evaluation of students’ learning transcripts in SNS were performed.Results identify 22 interaction patterns which then are further grouped into four learning dimensions of Participative, Interactive, Social and Cognitive.The findings indicated support for social connectivism, which promotes knowledge being distributed across a network of connections for each group of students

Instructor attribute and feedback to empower mature learners in ODL education

With the outbreak of Covid-19, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has become even popular particularly among those who aim to pursue postgraduate studies. ODL provides alternative for many to study while working or while raising a family. Nevertheless, the lack of student engagement and noncompletion rate in ODL programs were reported higher than in traditional programs. One of the main factors is due to the instructor-student interaction issue. The objective of this qualitative study was to understand the issue by looking at instructor attributes and types of feedback required by the students. The data were collected via semi-structured interviews with a small sample of university postgraduate students and academics in Malaysia and were analysed using thematic analysis and data triangulation. The results show two factors that need attention to improve instructor-student interaction and make ODL a better learning option for mature learners: instructor empathy and feedback to empower learners. These findings cannot be generalised without further research but are able to provide some information on the important factors to consider in preparing instructors for learning delivery completely online

Students' perceived factors of learning computer science education through a social networking site

Despite the increasing popularity of social networking sites (SNS) due to a major involvement of students in online social activities, there is a significant challenge involved in using SNS, particularly as a learning platform in teaching computer science education (CSE) to undergraduate students in non-engineering and engineering studies. To find out the perceived factors of learning through SNS approaches, questionnaires were distributed to a total of 219 undergraduate students ranging from non-engineering (n=80) to engineering (n=139). From the questionnaire, five constructs were identified as: sharing perspective, communicative process, cohesiveness expression, peer interaction, and tools and resources. The evaluation of students’ learning transcripts in SNS indicated teaching CSE through SNS enhanced students’ understanding of CSE. The study is shown to support social constructivism, which promotes knowledge that is distributed across a network of connections

Mobile application for G-Suite based on multimedia learning cognitive theory

This research is to develop a mobile application for G-Suite (Google Suite) based on Multimedia Learning Cognitive Theory and to identify teachers’ perception toward the mobile application. The effect of using the mobile application to satisfaction, ability and performance of the users are also studied. Thirty-six teachers consist of ICT coordinator from a zone in Johor Bahru were involved as sample. Quantitative approach using questionnaire was implemented with 0.78 Cronbach’s Alpha value from the pilot study. The instrument used is a questionnaire to measure teachers’ perception toward the usage of the mobile application. The instrument was analysed using descriptive statistic on satisfaction, ability and performance. This research had successfully identified teachers’ perception toward apps in G-Suite such as Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheet, Google Slide and Google Form. All the applications were assigned as construct and significant improvement in knowledge and understanding were reported in the construct. The samples are reported as highly satisfy with the level of satisfaction, ability and performance regarding the evaluation of the mobile application. In conclusion, mobile application of G-Suite developed based on Multimedia Learning Cognitive Theory was found as effective in ensuring an effective mobile learning (m-learning)

Ontology-based search system using hierarchical structure design

Major retrieval issues on conventional online database search systems faced by novice researchers are identified and described. An ontology-based search framework is proposed. The framework consists of five elements: (1) user, (2) query, (3) query interface, (4) search process, and (5) result. The query interface is designed based on the ontology hierarchical structure in the ontology datastore and is represented as keywords/sub-keywords structures in the query interface. Ontology enables relationships between keywords and terms to be defined. Ontology allows desired information to be retrieved by sharing common vocabularies with an understanding of meaning of terms in the domain. A prototype system is developed based on the design science methodology selected to guide the system development. The system will process the search query once the query is sent. The search process will look for the matched documents and return results to the user. The results that are returned to the users will be reviewed and users have the option to repeat the process if the results do not fulfil the query made. The system development takes into account problems identification in the database search environment and motivation in improving and extending current limitations

Ontology-based search system using hierarchical structure design

Major retrieval issues on conventional online database search systems faced by novice researchers are identified and described. An ontology-based search framework is proposed. The framework consists of five elements: (1) user, (2) query, (3) query interface, (4) search process, and (5) result. The query interface is designed based on the ontology hierarchical structure in the ontology datastore and is represented as keywords/sub-keywords structures in the query interface. Ontology enables relationships between keywords and terms to be defined. Ontology allows desired information to be retrieved by sharing common vocabularies with an understanding of meaning of terms in the domain. A prototype system is developed based on the design science methodology selected to guide the system development. The system will process the search query once the query is sent. The search process will look for the matched documents and return results to the user. The results that are returned to the users will be reviewed and users have the option to repeat the process if the results do not fulfil the query made. The system development takes into account problems identification in the database search environment and motivation in improving and extending current limitations

Learning strategies using augmented reality technology in education: Meta-analysis

The learning environment is changing rapidly with the advent of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. One of the trending technologies in education is Augmented Reality. The Augmented Reality technology allows users to interact with virtual objects that are integrated into the real world and appear in the same space in real-time. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to identify the types of learning strategies that have been implemented using the Augmented Reality technology. The research methodology is based on a systematic literature search in online databases, namely, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Taylor Francis, and Springer. Keywords used in the search include Augmented Reality in education, learning strategies, integration strategies, as well as Augmented Reality teaching and learning. The results of this meta-analysis reveal that interactive learning, game-based learning, collaborative learning, and experiential learning are the dominant strategies in education that use Augmented Reality. Such findings will provide educators with guidance on the learning strategies that use Augmented Reality and its potential in education, which will subsequently lead to further research on how learning strategies using the Augmented Reality technology can be implemented in teaching and learning effectively

Persepsi penerimaan pelajar pascasiswazah UTM terhadap pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran

Kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk mengenalpasti persepsi penerimaan pelajar pascasiswazah Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) terhadap pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran. Pendekatan Heutagogi merupakan pendekatan yang menggalakkan pelajar memperoleh ilmu dengan sendiri. Terdapat tiga objektif kajian ini. Objektif pertama ialah untuk mengetahui tahap pengetahuan pelajar UTM terhadap elemen-elemen dalam pendekatan Heutagogi. Objektif kedua ialah pengkaji ingin mengenalpasti hubungan antara sikap pelajar UTM dengan persepsi penerimaan pelajar UTM terhadap pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran. Manakala objektif ketiga kajian ini ialah untuk mengenal pasti hubungan antara kemudahan TMK pelajar UTM dengan persepsi penerimaan pelajar UTM terhadap pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran. Rekabentuk kajian ini ialah kuantitatif dengan menggunakan kajian tinjauan sebagai kaedah kajian. Seramai 90 orang pelajar terdiri daripada pelajar Sarjana Teknologi Pendidikan dipilih sebagai responden kajian menggunakan teknik persampelan rawak mudah. Seterusnya, pengkaji menggunakan soal selidik sebagai instrumen kajian dalam memperoleh data. Dalam kajian ini, pengkaji menggunakan kaedah deskriptif dan kolerasi Pearson semasa menganalisis data. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa tahap pengetahuan responden terhadap elemen pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran berada pada skala sangat kuat bagi elemen meneroka, mencipta, kolaborasi, perkongsian dan refleksi. Manakala tahap pengetahuan responden bagi elemen berhubung berada pada tahap kuat. Di samping itu, dapatan kajian menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara sikap pelajar UTM dengan persepsi penerimaan pelajar UTM terhadap pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran. Pengkaji juga mendapati terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara kemudahan pelajar UTM dengan persepsi penerimaan pelajar UTM terhadap pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran. Kesimpulannya, pengkaji dapati bahawa pelajar menerima baik pendekatan Heutagogi dalam pembelajaran mereka berdasarkan sikap yang ditonjolkan dan kemudahan TMK yang pelajar ada