Making the world a better place with Mixed Reality in Education

Mixed Reality (MR) is an emerging technology in which the real world is enhanced by an overlay of computer graphics-based interaction. The use of MR in the Information Systems (IS) pedagogy is becoming more and more to be taken as a reflection of reality. This study expands on the current literature to plan, design, test, and evaluate the use of Microsoft HoloLens a MR device in IS classroom. This study uses design science guidelines to introduce HoloLens to 205 students in a postgraduate and undergraduate class. Student responses were both positive and negative highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the technology, the applications and its interface as presented in this paper. This study uses Socio-Technical Interaction Networks (STIN) analytical strategy for social informatics to compare the different forms of knowledge embodiment in the mixed reality system for education

MIXED REALITY IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS PEDAGOGY: AN AUTHENTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Mixed Reality (MR) has brought a significant change in today’s world and its significance is continuously evolving in Information Systems (IS) pedagogy. This study expands on the current literature to plan, design, test, and evaluate the use of Microsoft HoloLens, which is an MR device in an IS classroom. This study uses design science guidelines to introduce HoloLens to 20 postgraduate students and 130 undergraduate students in their class. Student responses were both positive and negative highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the technology, the applications and its interface as presented in this paper. Findings suggest that the use of an authentic learning framework provided effective instructional design guidelines support the acquisition of advanced knowledge

A Conceptual Framework to Assess the Effectiveness of Rubric Tool

Rubrics are being used in a wide variety of disciplines in higher education to evaluate the assessments and provide feedback to students. Rubrics are traditionally implemented as paper-based table to grade assessments and provide feedback. The advancement of technology has integrated the Rubric Tool into Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard to facilitate online marking. In this conceptual paper, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of the Rubric Tool. We propose an integrated conceptual framework applying various theories from the extant literature to assess the effectiveness of the Rubric Tool. Furthermore, we use the framework to evaluate the effectiveness of the Blackboard LMS Rubric Tool applied in an undergraduate course for grading assessments under the settings of an Australian International University in Asia

Design and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Game to Improve Physical and Cognitive Acuity

Physical and mental health are both integral to healthy living and ageing, and a causal-cum-symbiotic relationship has been observed between the two. Physical and cognitive activities such as exercise and board games are known to promote healthy ageing. In this regard, highly engaging lightboard games are known to improve hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and motor skills for individuals. Immersivity of virtual reality games can transform mundane and repetitive exercise routines into stimulating experiences, and they can be utilized by users to improve physical and cognitive performance from the comfort of their homes. In this study, we adopt design science framework to design, develop and evaluate a VR BATAK lightboard game to improve physical reaction, hand-eye coordination, visual memory and cognitive processing. Based on the findings from evaluation over three phases, we propose three design principles related to accessibility, sensory cueing and cognitive loading, as theoretical and practical contributions of this study

Designing an Artifact to Empower Chronic Patients for Monitoring Health During a Pandemic: A COVID-19 Screening App

Chronic diseases have been declared an invisible epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2005). Over the past fifty years, the prevalence of chronic conditions has increased, leading to the disease burden caused by cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and mental and substance use disorders (DOH, 2021). Chronic patients need to reimagine how they will empower themselves to effectively manage and monitor their health and wellbeing in a COVID-19 era when frequent in-person health care visits will no longer be feasible. In this study, we propose the dimensions for the design of a mobile-based application that will aid chronic patients and end-users in self-managing and monitoring their health during the pandemic era. Based on an empirical investigation involving pharmacists and researchers, we designed and developed a prototype capable of empowering chronic patients. This study particularly focuses on how technological interventions can help chronic patients self-manage and monitor their health and well-being related to COVID-19 where the user expectations are met with less attrition rates

ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHOSOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19 IN DIABETES PATIENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the psychosocial health, to identify coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) specific concerns in people with diabetes and to analyze the changes in the management of diabetes during the corona crisis. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted for a period of 6 months among the South Indian diabetes population. A validated questionnaire containing socio-demographics, general health status, the diabetes distress scale 17, and the 3-itemUCLA loneliness scale was sent to 600 people, out of which 226 participants were included in the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Responses were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Results: Among the participants, females had moderate to high diabetes distress (54.4%). The subjects in the age group of 40–59 years felt lonely and had more diabetes distress. The two major worries among the participants were that “they are labeled as a risk group” and that “they might be overly affected.” Participants with gestational diabetes mellitus (DM), DM duration of 7 months to 1 year, taking both medications (oral antidiabetic medication and insulin), HbA1c level of more than 8%, infected with coronavirus or having someone close to them infected with coronavirus, were more concerned about taking medication daily, and those who changed their meal plan during the corona period had the greatest concerns. Conclusion: People who participated in the survey were more worried about the COVID-19 situation and were very disturbed. Psychosocial consequences of COVID-19 were more prevalent in diabetes patients, including diabetes distress, loneliness, and changes in daily diabetes management

User-generated content on Facebook: Implications from the perspective of two organisations

The purpose of this study is to examine the implications (user benefits and costs) of user-generated content posted by users on Facebook from an organisational perspective. Though motivations to use social networking sites are widely researched and published, studies on implications eventuating from different types of content posted by users on social networking sites is sparse. Hence, this study addresses the gap in literature by an interpretive analysis of user-generated content posted by users on the Facebook of two organisations. The content posted by users is classified using an information classification framework for social networking sites. Implications eventuating from the classified user-generated content to individuals and organisations are established using thematic analysis. The results of analysis demonstrate that the major types of user-generated content posted in the social information category are requests, criticism, greetings, status updates, and announcements. The theoretical implications in terms of user benefits are information seeking, relationship building, coordination and collaboration, identity construction and knowledge dissemination whereas social conflict is a major cost to users. The practical implications are understood in terms of technical assistance, supporting projects that extend open access repository initiatives, collaboration and building capacity among repository users, user community development, marketing and communication as well as accomplishing the core principles of the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience. This study also leads to considerable gains for users and designers of social networking sites by identifying the different types of user-generated content so that social networking sites can be used as a beneficial tool maximizing its implications