Facilitating Synchronous Collaborative Writing with a Collaboration Script

A significant part of work in industry is carried out in co-located or virtual teams. Therefore, training information systems (IS) students to collaborate both face-to-face and online is necessary. Findings from computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) research suggest that students need additional support to learn to collaborate effectively. Such support can be provided through collaboration scripting. In this paper, we discuss the effects of a collaboration script on the learning process in the context of an online synchronous collaborative writing task. The study employs an experimental design. The results demonstrate that scripted groups spent most effort on coordination and planning, while unscripted groups used most effort on contributing to the case solution. Closely following the collaboration script improved the quality of learners’ discussions. However, the groups who chose to only partly follow the script primarily settled with quick consensus-building during the discussion phase, much the same way as unscripted groups

Towards a Contingency Theory of eLearning

This chapter proposes a contingency theory based model of eLearning. Using this theoretical lens the authors argue that given a virtual learning environment, there are ideal profiles of eLearning (“fit”) that result from a combination of learner engage- ment, learner style, learning task, and the appropriate leveraging of IT capabilities. Using this theoretical lens, the authors discuss how eLearning technologies can be classified into an eLearning technologies capabilities grid. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of the proposed theoretical model and one illustration of “ideal profile” is described wherein bundles of information technology capabilities were utilized to enhance and augment the learning experience of the students

Digital communication and collaboration in lower secondary school

This article investigates factors influencing teachers in secondary school when they plan for pupils’ use of digital tools for collaboration and communication. Six social studies teachers in Oslo were interviewed about how they facilitate digital collaboration and communication. The results demonstrate that teachers facilitate this to a certain extent, both in the form of pupils’ co-writing and sharing files with each other. However, there is little communication between pupils by means of digital tools as an integrated part of the teaching. None of the teachers mentioned communication using digital tools as part of basic competence without being directly asked about it. Based on the analysis of the interviews, it is likely that the barriers to using digital tools for collaborating and communicating are time restrictions and the pupils’ lack of digital competence. As the pupils are physically at the same place at the same time, it is perceived as unnecessary to spend time facilitating digital communication and collaboration. The findings indicate that systematic and planned work with digital competence, including communication and interaction, should be facilitated.publishedVersio

Facilitating Student Engagement in the Context of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning : Doctoral Dissertation

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Administrative act- the classification and application.

Maģistra darba „Administratīvo aktu klasifikācija un piemērošana” mērķis ir administratīvo aktu klasifikācijas izpēte, to regulējošo tiesību normu iztulkošana un to piemērošanas kļūdu un problēmjautājumu definēšana. Maģistra darbā pamatā ir izmantotas vairākas pētījuma metodes - salīdzinošā metode un analoģijas slēdziens. Maģistra darbs sastāv no ievada, četrām nodaļām, kopsavilkuma un izmantotās literatūras un juridisko aktu saraksta. Darba ievadā tiek pamatota izvēlētās tēmas aktualitāte, formulēts pētījuma mērķis un noteikti galvenie pētījuma uzdevumi. Maģistra darbā raksturoti Latvijas administratīvā procesa tiesībās pazīstami administratīvo aktu veidi atkarībā no: ietekmes uz adresātu, spēkā esamības, izpildāmības, apstrīdēšanas iespējām un iestādes rīcības brīvības pakāpes, un norādīts uz īpatnībām to tiesiskajā regulējumā un piemērošanā. Maģistra darbā autore norāda uz nepilnībām administratīvo aktu klasifikācijas izpratnē un ierosina sakārtot un sistematizēt administratīvo aktu veidus. Darba nobeigumā tiek apkopoti būtiskākie secinājumi un izstrādāti priekšlikumi administratīvo aktu klasifikācijas vienotai izpratnei un tiesisko attiecību sakārtošanai. Darbā izmantoti Latvijas un ārvalstu autoru zinātniskie darbi, Latvijas un ārvalstu normatīvie akti, kā arī tiesu prakse. Atslēgvārdi: administratīvo aktu klasifikācijas kritēriji, administratīvo aktu veidi, spēkā esamība, tiesiskums, izpildāmība, apstrīdamība, iestādes rīcības brīvība.ANGĻU VALODĀ The purpose of master's thesis "Administrative act - the classification and application" is to study the classification of administrative acts, interpretation and application of the law related to it, mistakes of it’s application and issues defining. Comparison on comparative method and logical methods of research are used in the development of the master’s thesis. Master's thesis consists of introduction, four chapters, summary and the table and source list. Author substantiates the relevance of the chosen theme, articulates the goal and identifies the main objectives of the study in the introduction. Master's thesis describing the Latvian administrative procedure law familiar administrative types depending on: the impact of the distribution of the validity, enforceability, challenging opportunities and authority of the degrees of freedom, and on the nature of the legal framework and application. Master's thesis, the author points to weaknesses in the administrative act within the meaning of the classification and propose to organize and systematize administrative act. The conclusion summarizes key conclusions and proposals for the classification of administrative acts to the joint understanding and aligning the legal relationship. Work in the Latvian and foreign authors treatises, Latvian and foreign laws and regulations, as well as judicial practice. Keywords: administrative classification criteria, types of administrative act, validity, legality, execution, challenging opportunities, authorities discretion

Understanding student engagement as a multidimensional and dynamic concept

Growing interest in the sphere of student academic engagement can be explained by practical reasons. Engagement in school affects such aspects as academic conduct, achievement, and emotions experienced in school. Antecedents of student engagement may rise from school and classroom environment. Thus, ensuring availability of opportunities for engagement in classroom is likely to result in increased learning. Engagement is an extremely complicated phenomenon embracing students’ emotional, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics. Engagement has a lot in common, but is different from such concepts as emotions, interest, and motivation. Theoretical framework of student engagement is also strongly interrelated with the theory of self-regulated learning. Due to a great amount of research studies about students’ thinking, behaving and feeling it is difficult to single out specific portions of literature which could be labeled with the term “engagement”. However, in spite of problematic issues in the conceptual clarity, the concept of engagement has a potential as a metaconstruct which can provide us with a deeper understanding of students’ learning than single constructs would do. Engagement may result from a great variety of antecedents, including individual needs, school-level factors, and classroom context. The theoretical part of this thesis provides a deep review of the educational context factors affecting student engagement discussed in research literature. The empirical part of the study is aimed at exploring classroom environment factors affecting dynamics of student engagement. Research questions are formulated around five specific factors from the classroom environment which are in the center of investigation: the attractiveness of a task for students (related to the use of iPads in tasks), task meaningfulness, autonomy support, interactions with the teacher, and peer regulation. An intervention was carried out with a sample of 11 fourth grade students (4 girls and 7 boys), 10–11 years old, in an authentic English language classroom. The intervention lasted one month, and included six lessons. At each of the lessons video observations were carried out. Video observations are the main source of data in this study, and they are complemented with learning diaries filled out by the students on each of the lessons, and individual products collected after one of the learning activities in order to ensure triangulation across data sources. The process-oriented approach for data analysis is adopted in the study. Student engagement is characterized with the help of on-task/off-task and phase-shift analysis method, and further analyzed in relation to the five specific factors of classroom environment. The results show that the research questions have been answered. The attractiveness of the task was increased with the use of iPads. Use of iPads caused positive emotions in students and situational interest in the task, which initiated task engagement. Meaningful tasks supporting students’ autonomy by providing opportunity for choice turned out to be more engaging. Interactions with the teacher observed during the intervention were classified into three main types, each having a different effect on student engagement. Provision of additional instructions turned out to be the most effective type of interactions since it supported original engagement. Regulation of behavior by the teacher in most cases could only restore behavioral engagement. In addition, it was not always successful. Third type of teacher interference, assisting a student, resulted in a student’s high dependence on the teacher. Analysis of peer interactions aimed at regulating peers’ engagement shows that most types of such interactions were focused around the organization of work mainly from the point of view of turn-taking and using support materials. Attempts to regulate peers’ behavior varied in the level of success. In some cases peer regulation was not enough, and a student had to draw the teacher’s attention in order for her to help in regulation. A significant part of results goes in line with previous research findings described in the theoretical part of the thesis. The results of the study are also approached from the point of view of theoretical implications, as well as practical implications for teachers aimed at enhancing student engagement. The study is valuable since it provides an insight into the dynamics of student engagement in an authentic learning context. The reasons of individual students’ engagement or disengagement are attached to specific contextual factors. Understanding what factors affect student engagement and how these different factors work in a real classroom context can help us design more effective learning environments

Digital Storytelling Project as a Way to Engage Students in Twenty-First Century Skills Learning

[EN] This paper is focused on the implications of a collaborative digital storytelling project on student engagement in the higher education context. The empirical study is conducted with an interdisciplinary group of bachelor students in a Nordic University (N = 22) and a university in Southern Europe (N = 21), and the data are collected through an online student survey. The results demonstrate that the digital storytelling project supported students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. In general, the students had positive emotional experiences with the project. This assignment format was found less stressful than a frontal presentation in the classroom, allowing the students to express their perspectives more freely and confidently. The digital storytelling format also opened up for more creative ways to approach the task. It was important for the participants to have the project assignment split up in several checkpoints with feedback from the instructor. At the same time, the students suggested several areas for further improvement. Those are mainly related to the guidance on the use of technology and scripting the learning process within the small groups. Based on the results of the study, a range of practical implications for teaching practice is formulated.[ES] Este artículo se centra en las implicaciones de un proyecto colaborativo de narración digital en la participación de los estudiantes dentro del contexto de la educación universitaria. El estudio empírico se lleva a cabo con un grupo interdisciplinario de estudiantes de licenciatura de una universidad nórdica (N=22) y una universidad en el sur de Europa (N=21), y los datos se recopilan a través de una encuesta en líea para estudiantes. Los resultados demuestran que el proyecto de narración digital respaldó la participación conductual, emocional y cognitiva de los estudiantes. En general, los estudiantes tuvieron experiencias emocionales positivas con el proyecto. Este formato de tarea resultó menos estresante que una presentación al frente de la clase, lo que permitió que los estudiantes expresen sus perspectivas con mayor libertad y confianza. El formato de narración digital también dió lugar a formas más creativas de abordar el trabajo. Para los participantes fue importante dividir la tarea del proyecto en varias instancias de control con comentarios del profesor. Al mismo tiempo, los estudiantes sugirieron varias áreas en las que se debe mejorar aún más. La mayoría de ellas se relacionan principalmente con la orientación acerca del uso de tecnología y guiones en los procesos de aprendizaje dentro de grupos reducidos. En función de los resultados del estudio, se formuló una serie de implicaciones prácticas para el método de enseñanza.[FR] Cet article se concentre sur les implications d'un projet de narration numérique collaboratif sur l'engagement des étudiants dans le contexte de l'enseignement supérieur. Cette étude empirique a été menée via un groupe interdisciplinaire d'étudiants en licence dans une université d'Europe du nord (N=22) et une université d'Europe du sud (N=21), les données étant recueillies par le biais d'une enquête en ligne auprès des étudiants. Les résultats démontrent que ce projet de narration numérique a soutenu l'engagement cognitif, émotionnel et comportemental des étudiants. Les étudiants ont globalement vécu des expériences émotionnelles positives dans le cadre de ce projet. Ce format d'exercice a été jugé moins stressant qu'une présentation devant la classe et a permis aux étudiants d'exprimer leurs points de vue d'une manière plus libre et confiante. Le format de la narration numérique a aussi ouvert la voie à davantage de manières créatives d'approcher l'exercice. Il était important pour les participants que le projet qui leur était confié soit divisé en plusieurs points de contròle avec commentaires du professeur. Dans le même temps, les étudiants ont suggéré plusieurs domaines à améliorer davantage. Ces suggestions concernent principalement les consignes d'utilisation de la technologie et l'orchestration du processus d'apprentissage en petits groupes. Toute une série d'implications pratiques pour la technique d'enseignement ont été formulées en se basant sur les résultats de l'étude.The authors acknowledge the support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for ResearchPeer reviewe

Digital communication and collaboration in lower secondary school

This article investigates factors influencing teachers in secondary school when they plan for pupils’ use of digital tools for collaboration and communication. Six social studies teachers in Oslo were interviewed about how they facilitate digital collaboration and communication. The results demonstrate that teachers facilitate this to a certain extent, both in the form of pupils’ co-writing and sharing files with each other. However, there is little communication between pupils by means of digital tools as an integrated part of the teaching. None of the teachers mentioned communication using digital tools as part of basic competence without being directly asked about it. Based on the analysis of the interviews, it is likely that the barriers to using digital tools for collaborating and communicating are time restrictions and the pupils’ lack of digital competence. As the pupils are physically at the same place at the same time, it is perceived as unnecessary to spend time facilitating digital communication and collaboration. The findings indicate that systematic and planned work with digital competence, including communication and interaction, should be facilitated

Digital communication and collaboration in lower secondary school

This article investigates factors influencing teachers in secondary school when they plan for pupils’ use of digital tools for collaboration and communication. Six social studies teachers in Oslo were interviewed about how they facilitate digital collaboration and communication. The results demonstrate that teachers facilitate this to a certain extent, both in the form of pupils’ co-writing and sharing files with each other. However, there is little communication between pupils by means of digital tools as an integrated part of the teaching. None of the teachers mentioned communication using digital tools as part of basic competence without being directly asked about it. Based on the analysis of the interviews, it is likely that the barriers to using digital tools for collaborating and communicating are time restrictions and the pupils’ lack of digital competence. As the pupils are physically at the same place at the same time, it is perceived as unnecessary to spend time facilitating digital communication and collaboration. The findings indicate that systematic and planned work with digital competence, including communication and interaction, should be facilitated