MOTEL: Designing a virtual geo-tagging framework for use in higher education

Higher Education students are highly mobile; they move between learning venues such as lecture halls, the field, labs, home, and excursions. In order to understand how students used technology to support them in their different learning venues, we carried out ethnographic flavored field studies where we followed biology students and faculty in their learning/research activities at the University of Bergen, Norway. We identified both a need for support in their activities and for data transfer between various learning venues. Based on these studies, we have designed MOTEL, a framework for a virtual geo-tagging. This paper discusses our views on mobile learning, describes our field studies and the resulting design decisions, and introduces the MOTEL framework.InterMedia and Department of Information Science and Media Studies, University of Bergen, Norwa

Backward evaluation in peer assessment: A scoping review

Implementing backward evaluation as part of the peer assessment process enables students to react to the feedback they receive on their work within one peer assessment activity cycle. The emergence of online peer assessment platforms has brought new opportunities to study the peer assessment process, including backward evaluation, through the digital data that the use of these systems generates. This scoping review provides an overview of peer assessment studies that use backward evaluation data in their analyses, identifies different types of backward evaluation and describes how backward evaluation data have been used to increase understanding of peer assessment processes. The review contributes to a mapping of backward evaluation terminology and shows the potential of backward evaluation data to give new insights on students’ perceptions of what is useful feedback, their reactions to the feedback received and its consequences for feedback implementation.publishedVersio

A Postphenomenological Framework for Studying User Experience of Immersive Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is a remarkably flexible technology for interventions as it allows the construction of virtual worlds with ontologies radically different from the real world. By embodying users in avatars situated in these virtual environments, researchers can effectively intervene and instill positive change in the form of therapy or education, as well as affect a variety of cognitive changes. Due to the capabilities of VR to mediate both the environments in which we are immersed, as well as our embodied, situated relation toward those environments, VR has become a powerful technology for “changing the self.” As the virtually mediated experience is what renders these interventions effective, frameworks are needed for describing and analyzing the mediations brought by various virtual world designs. As a step toward a broader understanding of how VR mediates experience, we propose a post-phenomenological framework for describing VR mediation. Postphenomenology is a philosophy of technology concerned with empirical data that understand technologies as mediators of human-world relationships. By addressing how mediations occur within VR as a user-environment relation and outside VR as a human-world relation, the framework addresses the various constituents of the virtually mediated experience. We demonstrate the framework's capability for describing VR mediations by presenting the results of an analysis of a selected variety of studies that use various user-environment relations to mediate various human-world relations.publishedVersio

eLuna: A co-design framework for narrative digital game-based learning that support STEAM

STEAM education enables the cross-curricular study of subjects based on their naturally occurring relationships through holistic and integrated methods. Narratives are enablers of STEAM learning environments, something that is evident in the exploration of narrative learning from pre-recorded history until present. Narrative Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) use narratives to drive the game. The extended Ludo Narrative Variable Model (the Variable Model) is a narratological model for categorization of narrative DGBL. Empirical evidence from categorizing narrative DGBL on the Variable Model shows that there is a particular set of categories that incur positive effects on engagement, motivation, and learning. This article introduces the eLuna co-design framework that builds on these categories and empowers educators to participate alongside game developers in multidisciplinary design and development of narrative DGBL. eLuna comprises 1) a four-phase co-design method, and 2) a visual language to support the co-design and co-specification of the game to a blueprint that can be implement by game developers. Idun’s Apples, a narrative DGBL co-designed, co-specified, and implemented into a prototype using eLuna, is presented to illustrate the use of the method and visual language. Arguing that narrative DGBL are vessels for STEAM learning, seven eLuna co-designed games are examined to illustrate that they support STEAM. The article concludes that narrative DGBL co-designed using the eLuna framework provide high opportunity and potential for supporting STEAM, providing educators and game developers with a STEAM co-design framework that enforces positive effects on engagement, motivation, and learning.publishedVersio

Learning Analytics in Collaborative Online Lab Environments: A Systematic Scoping Review

With the increase in online education arises the challenge of replicating physical laboratories and teamwork online. This poster presents a brief overview of a scoping review of the current research within the area of learning analytics and collaboration in online laboratory environments, including results on the used learning analytics method. A gap of knowledge in the current research where there is a lack of research addressing this topic has been identified. This calls for the need of further research within this area.publishedVersio

Enriching context descriptions for enhanced LA scalability: a case study

Learning analytics (LA) is a field that examines data about learners and their context, for understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs. Integration of multiple data sources, an important dimension of scalability, has the potential to provide rich insights within LA. Using a common standard such as the Experience API (xAPI) to describe learning activity data across multiple sources can alleviate obstacles for data integration. Despite their potential, however, research indicates that standards are seldom used for integration of multiple sources in LA. Our research aims to understand and address the challenges of using current learning activity data standards for describing learning context with regard to interoperability and data integration. In this paper, we present the results of an exploratory case study involving in-depth interviews with stakeholders having used xAPI in a real-world project. Based on the subsequent thematic analysis of interviews, and examination of xAPI, we identified challenges and limitations in describing learning context data, and developed recommendations (provided in this paper in summarized form) for enriching context descriptions and enhancing the expressibility of xAPI. By situating the research in a real-world setting, our research also contributes to bridge the gap between the academic community and practitioners in learning activity data standards and scalability, focusing on description of learning context.publishedVersio

Capacity Building for a Stronger Workforce in the Public Healthcare Sector

In a more and more demanding sector, healthcare leaders are in need of relevant and up-to-date competencies. The paper describes the iComPAss-project that aimed to increase the quality of a Master’s programme for healthcare leaders, making sure that the competencies students are taught and should develop during their studies are aligned with what is relevant for their current and future practices. A method for identifying needed competencies in the field of practice was developed and used. This led to an understanding of the need for increased collaboration between the Master’s programme, the field of practice, and working life.publishedVersio

Data literacy for citizenry:A few policy recommendations from a literature review

There has been a massive increase in digitalization and datafication within societies over the last years. In this context, the concept of data literacy has also gained in importance, as it is seen as one of the skills that citizens require in order to navigate and participate in society. However, despite the relevance of the concept, it is yet to be discussed as to the ways to promote it at the institutional level. In order to perform such a task, we conducted a review that combines approaches from a mapping review with that of a traditional narrative review, making a series of policy recommendations towards a data literate society. Focusing on the period between 2015 and 2021, we analysed a corpus of 39 empirical and theoretical studies. Findings confirm the scattered and interdisciplinary nature of research on data literacy, yet paving the way for a series of recommendations to promote the forme