Terra Firme-Forme Dermatosis Diagnostic Sign and Treatment: A Case Report

Terra firma-forme dermatosis (TFFD) is a little-known disease of unknown etiology that clinically presents with asymptomatic brown to black plaques and resembles dirty skin. Here, we report the case of a 38-year-old woman with skin changes on her areolae that were mistakenly diagnosed as “dermatitis neglecta” by several physicians. Cleansing with water and soap had no impact on the skin appearance. But a swab of 70% isopropyl alcohol removed the plaques immediately, which confirmed the diagnosis of TFFD. Only a few cases of TFFD have been published, and this skin condition is not mentioned in many textbooks. Given the unfamiliarity of this disease, TFFD is speculated to be immensely underdiagnosed, even though a simple diagnostic sign exists

Vom Lern-Muffel zum Lern-Ninja: Eine kurze Anleitung zum selbstorganisierten Lernen

OSF -Seite für den Wissenschaftscomic "Vom Lern-Muffel zum Lern-Ninja: Eine kurze Anleitung zum selbstorganisierten Lernen

Smartphone Reminders to Study: A Double-Edged Sword?

Reminders are a popular feature in smartphone apps designed to promote desirable behaviors that are best performed regularly. But can they also promote students’ use of effective study strategies such as distributing study sessions? In the present study with 85 lower secondary school students aged 10-12, we combined a smartphone-based micro-randomized trial with logfile data of a vocabulary learning app. Students received reminders on some days during the 36-day intervention period. Findings suggest that reminders can be a double-edged sword: Students were more likely to study on days they received a reminder compared to days when they did not receive a reminder. However, when compared to a control group that never received reminders, the effect was not due to students studying more frequently on days with reminders. Instead, they studied less frequently on days without reminders than students in the control group. This effect increased over the study period, with students becoming increasingly less likely to study on days without reminders. Taken together, these results suggest a detrimental side effect of reminders: students become overly reliant on them

Boosting self-regulated learning with mobile interventions: Planning and prompting help children maintain a regular study routine

Mobile technologies offer new opportunities for encouraging self-regulated learning (SRL) in children. In this pre-registered study, we tested what kind of mobile intervention helps children maintain a regular study routine for vocabulary learning. Study behavior was measured objectively and with high ecological validity using logfiles of a vocabulary app that the children used. The mobile intervention was delivered via a separate study app and combined two critical components: planning and prompting. Children (N = 130, mean age = 10.75 years) first received a digital instruction on the benefits of distributed practice. Children in the full intervention group also formulated a plan for when and where to learn vocabulary. On about half of the next 36 days (within-subject manipulation), they received prompts reminding them of the instruction and the plan. The comparison groups lacked either the prompting or planning intervention component (between-person manipulation). The results revealed that the reminder prompts increased the likelihood of studying on the day they were given. Planning, in contrast, had a more long-term impact in that it helped children maintain a high frequency of learning over time. Overall, our findings show that mobile interventions can be highly effective in supporting SRL in children. We discuss the results in light of theoretical assumptions about the different mechanisms underlying planning and prompting effects, and highlight the practical importance of finding the optimal frequency of prompting

Do distributed practice reminders promote children’s learning with a digital learning app?

More and more of children’s learning takes place in digital environments, for example with learning apps. However, these apps can demand more self-regulatory learning skills than children possess. For instance, children may not know or not use effective learning strategies. Instructions and reminders of effective learning strategies might help this, especially if they take place in the same digital environment. A highly researched learning strategy that proved itself effective many times is distributed practice. Distributed practice can be applied to many different learning contexts and materials. In the current study we will use an app developed by the authors to present children with different distributed practice interventions. To test the effects of our interventions, we will compare two groups. Over the course of 55 days (one introductory day + 54 study days) both groups will use the app we developed and a vocabulary learning app in conjunction. Children in group 1 will see a video explaining the advantages of distributed practice on the introductory day of the study. Children in group 2 will see the same video on the introductory day of the study. Over the course of the following 36 days, they will receive regular reminders of the contents of the video. We expect the children be more likely to study when they are reminded of the benefits of distributing their learning. We expect that using the vocabulary app more often will have a positive impact on their learning outcomes

Memorizing plans with an app: A case for personalized technology that stimulates cognitive engagement

Planning is an important but difficult self-regulation strategy. Successful implementation of a plan requires that it can be recalled when needed in everyday life. Children in particular are unlikely to internalize plans effectively. Therefore, we developed PROMPT, a planning app for children. We designed three learning activities, including a passive reading activity, an active recall activity, and a generative activity. Children (N = 106, 9-14 years) used PROMPT for 27 days to memorize one plan per day, alternating between these activities. Unexpectedly, neither the active recall activity nor the generative activity was associated with better overall recall than the passive activity. Only children who spent more time on these activities benefited from them, which in turn was predicted by children’s grade level and analogical reasoning ability. Our findings suggest that it depends on children’s prerequisites how effectively they are able or willing to engage in more cognitively demanding learning activities

Fostering children's acceptance of educational apps:The importance of designing enjoyable learning activities

Educational applications (apps) offer opportunities for designing learning activities children enjoy and benefit from. We redesigned a typical mobile learning activity to make it more enjoyable and useful for children. Relying on the technology acceptance model, we investigated whether and how implementing this activity in an app can increase children's intention to use. During the 27-day study, children (N = 103, 9–14 years) used the app to memorize one-sentence learning plans each day. Children used three different app-based learning activities throughout the study. In two standard activities, children reread or reassembled the words of the plan. In the redesigned activity, children represented the meaning of the plan with emojis. Children repeatedly reported on their attitude towards each activity. Subsequently, children reported perceived enjoyment and intention to use the app. Results showed children found the emoji activity most enjoyable, and enjoyment of the emoji activity contributed uniquely towards intention to use. Additionally, children's enjoyment of the app mediated their intention to use the app in the future. Overall, the study suggests that children's enjoyment of an app is crucial in predicting their subsequent intention to use, and it provides a concrete example of how emojis can be used to boost enjoyment