Willingness to communicate and oral communicative performance through asynchronous video discussions

Speaking in a foreign/second language is a challenge for many learners, even when they have linguistic knowledge. Drawing on González-Lloret and Ortega’s (2014) framework for technology-mediated tasks and MacIntyre’s (2007) framework for willingness to communicate in a second language, this mixed- methods study investigated the impact of asynchronous video discussion tasks on learners' willingness to communicate and oral communicative performance. Two groups of intermediate learners of Spanish participated in the study, (a) a video discussion Flip group (the experimental group) (FG, n = 28), and (b) a control group (CG, n = 24). Measures included a pre-post survey, speaking quizzes, a final oral presentation, and semi-structured interviews. Results showed that the video discussion tasks facilitated the increase of FG students’ willingness to communicate and oral communicative performance, and their frequency and confidence in using Spanish. The qualitative findings revealed FG students' positive but challenging experiences in the tasks. Implications for practice and further research are provided

The best of all worlds: Combining the flipped classroom, game-based learning, and learning communities in a large technology integration course.

This paper presents the use of a combination of pedagogical strategies in teaching a large undergraduate technology integration course. Course revisions include a motivating game-based learning structure, practitioner-focused design, and the flipped classroom model. Students perceived each course change positively with suggestions for refinement

In-world behaviors and learning in a virtual world

Educational virtual worlds can give students opportunities that would not otherwise be possible in face-to-face settings. The SciEthics Interactive simulations allow learners to conduct scientific research and practice ethical decision-making within a virtual world. This study examined the in-world behaviors that identify students who perceive learning in virtual worlds as effective. Participants include 53 students in higher education coursework. This study indicated that there is a positive relationship between learning and a feeling of presence, specifically with avatar identification. Movement in-world that is explorative and open is also correlated to presence. These findings indicate if learning in virtual worlds is to be perceived as a worthwhile activity by students, then learners require support to develop identification with their avatar and to build a sense of immersion within the virtual world

The best of all worlds: Combining the flipped classroom, game-based learning, and learning communities in a large technology integration course.

This paper presents the use of a combination of pedagogical strategies in teaching a large undergraduate technology integration course. Course revisions include a motivating game-based learning structure, practitioner-focused design, and the flipped classroom model. Students perceived each course change positively with suggestions for refinement.This conference paper is published as Nadolny, L. and Gleason, B. (2018). The best of both worlds: Combining the flipped classroom, gamebased learning, and smaller breakout sessions in a large technology integration course. Paper presented at Annual Conference of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Washington, D.C., March 26-30.Posted with permission.</p

Investigating the impact of a gamified learning analytics dashboard: Student experiences and academic achievement

Background: The substantial growth in gamification research has connected gamified learning to enhanced engagement, improved performance, and greater motivation. Similar to gamification, personalized learning analytics dashboards can enhance student engagement. Objectives: This study explores the student experiences and academic achievements using a gamified dashboard in a large, introductory STEM course. Methods: We examined two groups of students enrolled in different sections of a one-semester-long physical geology course with a total enrollment of 223 students. The only difference between the groups was that one had access to the dashboard. The data collection included students' assignments, overall performances, and exam scores. Students in both sections completed a Science Literacy Concept Inventory survey at the beginning and end of the term. Additionally, students completed an end-of-term survey containing open-ended questions on their experience and interactions with specific elements. Results: Students shared mostly positive comments about their experience with the dashboard, and the final grade of students with access to the dashboard was 13% higher, on average, compared to their peers in the non-dashboard section. Conclusion: With low costs and little time invested, gamified dashboards could have a significant impact on student performance in large STEM lecture courses.This article is published as Alam, M. I., Malone, L., Nadolny, L., Brown, M., & Cervato, C. (2023). Investigating the impact of a gamified learning analytics dashboard: Student experiences and academic achievement. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12853. Posted with permission.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made

Game Research Trends at the Annual ASEE Conference: A 15-year Content Analysis

This conference paper is published as Nadolny, L., & Alam, M. I., & Brown, M. G., & Lamm, M. H. (2021, July), Game Research Trends at the Annual ASEE Conference: A 15-year Content Analysis Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. https://peer.asee.org/37215. Posted with permission. © 2021 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015The purpose of this study is to examine the game-related publications from the annual American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) conference using content analysis methodologies. Our search included the terms game, gaming, gamer, gamify, and gamification from 2006-2020 resulted in 176 relevant publications. Our analysis focused on document metadata and abstracts, a methodology similar to other content analyses examining journals’ trends over time. We used text mining software Leximancer1to examine the overall themes in the text and to investigate the evolution of game related research in five-year periods. The software provided evidence for the status of the field and changes over time. Leximancer applied automatic processing of the text in determining a semantic model for critical terms and concepts, highlighting the role of development and design, measurements of learning, and changes in term use over time. The 15 year period was characterized by a focus on students, games, and learning, including topics on the methods of teaching (i.e, pedagogy) and design of learning experience. Virtual reality, STEM education, and gamification were relevant in specific periods of time. There is a need for future research in mixed reality applications, diversity of gamification techniques, and the use of non-digital games

Foundations of Game-based Learning Fall 2019: Course Notes

This course notes posted as Alam, M. I., Aleman, E., Ausenhus, A., Bonner, D., Devine, E., Dreessen, V., ...Vo, V. (2019). In L. Nadolny (Ed.), Foundations of game-based learning: Fall 2019 [Course notes]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mnJewlE2v5caJnLaAfwcRGt9Ww0t93dtoiDoEA9PzZo/edit?usp=sharing. Posted with permission. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

ARA: A Wireless Living Lab Vision for Smart and Connected Rural Communities

The rural US includes 72% of the nation's land and 46 million people, and it serves as major sources of food and energy for the nation. Thus rural prosperity is essential to US wellbeing. As a foundation for next-generation rural economy and communities, broadband connectivity is a key driver of rural prosperity. Yet 39% of the rural US lacks broadband access, and most agriculture (ag) farms are not connected at all. To address the rural broadband challenge, we will develop the ARA rural wireless living lab. ARA will not only serve as a first-of-its-kind, real-world wireless experimental infrastructure for smart and connected rural communities, it will also provide the living lab processes, activities, and organizations to engage the broad wireless and application communities in the research, education, innovation, and pilot of affordable, high-capacity rural broadband solutions. Through this visioning article, we illustrate the community, application, economic, and operational contexts of rural wireless, the design of ARA, ARA-enabled research, and how ARA is expected to make rural broadband as affordable as urban broadband today. This article is also a call-to-action for the broad wireless and application communities to participate in the ARA living lab activities and to join the ARA Consortium of public-private partners in shaping the future of advanced wireless, rural broadband, and rural communities in general.This presentation is published as Zhang, Hongwei, Yong Guan, Ahmed Kamal, Daji Qiao, Mai Zheng, Anish Arora, Ozdal Boyraz et al. "ARA: A Wireless Living Lab Vision for Smart and Connected Rural Communities." In Proceedings of the 15th ACM Workshop on Wireless Network Testbeds, Experimental evaluation & CHaracterization, pp. 9-16. 2022. DOI: 10.1145/3477086.3480837. Copyright 2022 Association for Computing Machinery. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0). Posted with permission