Simulating chaos: An evaluation of the driven pendulum experiment

This paper reports on the use of the Driven Pendulum software as part of the teaching for the Open University course Discovering Physics and provides an account of some of the findings from its evaluation as part of the learning experience provided to students. A driven damped pendulum is a suitable instrument for experimental studies of chaotic motion. The main aim of the simulation was to allow students both to observe some of the generic features of chaotic motion, and to explore ways in which these may be represented graphically. This simulation formed the basis of a three‐hour experiment for students which provided them with a number of learning opportunities, e.g. the opportunity to build up state‐space trajectories for various types of pendulum motion, in order to appreciate the advantages of the state‐space representation for analysing complicated behaviour, and providing consolidation of ideas about oscillations, damping and resonance. An evaluation of the Driven Pendulum at the residential school in 1995 was conducted as part of a university‐wide project run by the Computers and Learning Research Group investigating computer use in learning science and technology, and developing evaluation methodologies. It was both formative in that the evaluation results were used to redesign the notes guiding students through the activities, and summative in that we were able to draw some conclusions about the role played by the simulation in students’ learning. The students were extremely positive about the contribution made to their learning by the program, and students’ performance indicated learning gains. However, the observation data suggested that students were unclear about the distinction between complex and chaotic behaviour

The works metallurgist: An evaluation of a CAL package on phase diagrams

The Works Metallurgist is used in the Open University course: Materials — Engineering and Science. It is being evaluated as part of a larger study of CAL teaching in Science and Technology at the Open University. With 540 students, the course provides a sufficiently large sample for a range of evaluation methods to be employed in a variety of settings (e.g. home, residential school). The methods used include questionnaires, attitude scales and pre/post achievement tests, observations and interviews. The focus of the evaluation exercise is on the effectiveness of CAL in contributing to student learning. The issue of the educational quality of the program and its instructional features are considered in this paper, in association with the goals of the program

A Study on the dimensions and determinants of environmental attitudes.

Ph.D. - Doctoral Progra

eTutorials with voice groupware: real-time conferencing to support computing students at a distance

This paper reports on an investigation into the use of real-time voice groupware to support students on a computing course offered by the Open University, UK. The main objective of the investigation was to assess the feasibility and pedagogical advantage of deploying synchronous conferencing technology on a large population computing course to complement existing face-to-face and asynchronous online support for its students. In this paper we report on the findings from such an investigation, and draw a number of conclusions and recommendations covering feasibility, scalability and best practice in the use of voice groupware for eLearning

Evaluating complex digital resources

Squires (1999) discussed the gap between HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and the educational computing communities in their very different approaches to evaluating educational software. This paper revisits that issue in the context of evaluating digital resources, focusing on two approaches to evaluation: an HCI and an educational perspective. Squires and Preece's HCI evaluation model is a predictive model – it helps teachers decide whether or not to use educational software – whilst our own concern is in evaluating the use of learning technologies. It is suggested that in part the different approaches of the two communities relate to the different focus that each takes: in HCI the focus is typically on development and hence usability, whilst in education the concern is with the learner and teacher use. In the paper we consider a recent application of the CIAO! framework, developed at the Open University, to evaluating digital resources. We compare this with an evaluation model by Dorward, Reinke and Recker (2002): a recent approach from the HCI 'stable'. Interestingly, there are several similarities and consistencies between these approaches and there are also other recent indications that the communities may be drawing on each other's work, in at least some areas

Peering through a Glass Darkly: Integrative evaluation of an on-line course

In this study we describe a wide-spectrum approach to the integrative evaluation of an innovative introductory course in computing. Since both the syllabus, designed in consultation with industry, and the method of presentation of study materials are new, the course requires close scrutiny. It is presented in the distance mode to a class of around 5,000 students and uses a full range of media: paper, broadcast television, interactive CD-ROM, a Web-oriented programming environment, a Web site and computer conferencing. The evaluation began with developmental testing whilst the course was in production, and then used web-based and paper-based questionnaires once the course was running. Other sources of data, in the form of observation of computing conferences and an instrumented version of the Smalltalk programming environment, also provide insight into students' views and behaviour. This paper discusses the ways in which the evaluation study was conducted and lessons we learnt in the process of integrating all the information at our disposal to satisfy a number of stakeholders