Mina Yoo

Kyungil University, Republic of Korea // ymn@kiu.kr

Sung-Hee Jin

Hanbat National University, Republic of Korea // shjin@hanbat.ac.kr

ABSTRACT:

Online discussion plays an increasingly significant role in asynchronous online learning environments. While previous attempts have been made to develop learning analytics dashboards to facilitate such discussions, most of these dashboards have been designed without reference to data or visualization techniques that have been proven to make online discussions more effective. This study identified the difficulties and inconveniences experienced by learners in online discussion activities and generated a set of visual design guidelines for overcoming them. Applying these guidelines, a set of learning analytics dashboards were developed and evaluated. The study was conducted according to prototyping methodology, which yielded five prototype dashboards that display information on participation, interaction, discussion content keywords, discussion message types, and the distribution of debate opinions, respectively. The developed dashboards were then revised and refined in a three-step process: (1) expert validation to verify that the dashboards complied with the visual guidelines and provided learners with the information they needed; (2) tests to identify usability problems, collect qualitative and quantitative data, and determine participant satisfaction; and (3) user experience evaluations to determine how learners and instructors perceived their interactions with the dashboards. Practical and empirical discussions are provided based on the results, which offer a valuable base of user experience data that can be used in future studies.

Keywords:

Visual dashboard, Prototype development, Online discussion, Learning analytics, Prototyping methodology

Thanasis Daradoumis

Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, Open University of Catalonia, Spain // Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of Aegean, University Hill, Mytilini, Greece // adaradoumis@uoc.edu

Marta Arguedas

Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, Open University of Catalonia, Spain // martaarg@uoc.edu

ABSTRACT:

There is an increasing interest in the ways pedagogical agents can provide cognitive, emotional, and metacognitive support to students. Moreover, several research studies have proposed various approaches for cultivating students’ reflective learning. A variety of research has also been conducted into interrelations between metacognition and affective processes. However, very few studies have examined the effect of emotional feedback provided by a virtual Affective Pedagogical Tutor (APT) on students’ self-reflection during a metacognitive learning activity. An experimental research design was used in a study aimed at measuring the extent to which an APT’s affective feedback managed to enhance students’ self-reflection about what and how they had learned. Participants were a sample of 45 fourth-year high school students, who were divided into experimental and control groups (APT vs. human tutor) in a real online learning situation that involved metacognitive activities. A questionnaire was specifically designed to collect data from both groups. Our results showed that experimental group students achieved better scores in the self-reflection process, since the APT’s affective feedback significantly enhanced students’ conceptual change (what has changed with respect to their initial beliefs), as well as students’ personal growth and understanding (what led them to change their initial beliefs). They also indicated the affective competencies that the APT needs to have in order to achieve a conceptual and personal change in students. Finally, the limitations of our study and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords:

Reflective learning, Metacognitive activities, Affective tutor, Pedagogical agent, Affective feedback

Ching-Yi Chang

Department of Midwifery and Women Health Care, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan // frinng.cyc@gmail.com

Chien-Huei Kao

Department of Midwifery and Women Health Care, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taiwan // chenhuei@ntunhs.edu.tw

Gwo-Jen Hwang

Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan // gjhwang.academic@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:

In various case-based training courses, such as engineering, science and medical courses, students need to learn not only the skills to deal with problems, but also the knowledge to identify problems and make correct decisions. Such educational objectives have been recognized by educators as being important but challenging. In this study, an RSI (Recognize, Summarize, Inquire)-based flipped classroom is proposed to achieve this aim. Moreover, an explorative study was designed to probe the effectiveness of the proposed approach in a nursing case-based training course. The case-handling performances of the students trained with the RSI-based flipped classroom and those trained with the conventional flipped classroom were compared. The findings reveal that the RSI-based flipped classroom promoted the students’ learning achievement, self-efficacy, critical thinking, and satisfaction more than the conventional case-based training did.

Keywords:

Flipped classroom, Flipped learning, RSI, Critical thinking, Decision making

Nahla Aljojo

Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, Information Systems Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia // University of Jeddah, College of Computer Science and Engineering, Department of Information Systems and Technology, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia // naljojo@kau.edu.sa // nmaljojo@uj.edu.sa

ABSTRACT:

Dyslexic individuals have serious difficulties in learning to read, and several software programs have been developed to overcome them. Previous research studies found that in most cases, providing correct spelling and word recognition with greater accuracy constitutes the key function. However, more research has to be conducted on the software programs for dyslexia. Another issue is visual-spatial attention; the aspect of directing attention to a location of what should be learnt while reading has been ignored in most studies. This research analysis of the previous studies outlines some research gaps as follows: recording children’s eye movements during reading were uncertain. Another research gap is understanding the frequencies of Arabic word recognition for dyslexic children the meaning of the Arabic word during reading for dyslexic were not adequately presented in the previous research. Therefore, this paper presents an experimental study on identifying Arabic words and their meaning by dyslexic individuals focusing on the sequence of interactions. A decision-making analysis of the key interactive components of the Arabic alphabet puzzle app for dyslexics is performed, and the finding of the study reveals that the speed and accuracy of visual word recognition and meaning description increases and significantly influences visual short-term memory The analysis of the most important factors that influence all the other factors of the user experience of the Arabic alphabet puzzle app for dyslexics shows that ‘desirability’ constitutes the key attribute in enhancing visual-spatial attention and accelerating word recognition and meaning description for Arabic-speaking dyslexics.

Keywords:

Eye Tracking, Reading, Dyslexia, Visual word, Visual stimuli

Elvira Popescu

University of Craiova, Romania // elvira.popescu@edu.ucv.ro

Gabriel Badea

University of Craiova, Romania // gabriel.badea@edu.ucv.ro

ABSTRACT:

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has been widely used in blended and online educational research, more recently being applied also to social media settings. This paper explores the learning community created in such a social media-based educational environment, using an extended version of CoI, which includes four components: cognitive presence, social presence, teaching presence and learning presence. The context of study is a project-based learning scenario implemented in an undergraduate Computer Science course. A quantitative content analysis method is employed, to examine a total of 1712 online contributions (blog posts and tweets), generated by 75 students. Results show that the social media tools provide complementary support to the community of inquiry: the blog is primarily a content space (as cognitive presence is dominant), while Twitter is mostly a discussion space (as social and learning presences are dominant). Teaching presence is barely exhibited by the students, being mainly the preserve of the instructor, while learning presence is quite strong, reflecting students’ significant self- and co-regulation behavior.

Keywords:

Community of Inquiry, Social media, Project-based learning, Computer-supported collaborative learning, Quantitative content analysis

Si Chen

Hangzhou Normal University, China // sylviachen327@gmail.com

Sujing Zhang

Hangzhou Normal University, China // 21sjzhang@163.com

Grace Yue Qi

Massey University, New Zealand // G.Qi@massey.ac.nz

Junfeng Yang

Hangzhou Normal University, China // yangjunfengphd@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:

Game-based learning (GBL) has been widely recognised in research, and evidently benefited for learners. However, what GBL is perceived by teachers and learners has been a concern that might impact on quality of teaching and learning in the GBL environment. Game-based pedagogy meticulously designed from a teacher's perspective was regarded as harping on the same string without fun by learners. This paper aims to explore games literacy capabilities in supporting teachers to implement GBL that meets learners’ needs and expectations. Semi-structured interviews and surveys with experienced teachers of GBL and experts in the relevant field were conducted, followed by an Analytic Hierarchy Process seeking perceptions of a group of academics and researchers. Findings suggested five key capabilities in game literacy required by teachers in implementing GBL. They are (1) basic games literacy, (2) high-level games literacy, (3) instructional design for GBL, (4) organisation and management for GBL, and (S) evaluation of GBL. Amongst the five, instructional design for GBL and high-level games literacy were rated highly impacting on the quality of teaching. Based on the findings, aiming at informing teacher education and professional development, we proposed a framework providing a guidance to improve game-based design and pedagogical practices for teachers in the implementation of GBL in their classrooms. It concludes that teachers’ capabilities in games literacy require specific attention to instructional design – that demands a thought-provoking process for GBL.

Keywords:

Game-based learning, Games literacy, GLTE framework, Instructional design, Teacher education