Research Notes 1998 -

JCAL Research Notes Editor: Andy Tolmie

Rationale and guidelines for contributors

Rationale and Guidelines for contributors

The Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (JCAL) invites short reports (800-900 words, including references) on research in progress, for fast track publication. These reports are intended to

Submissions may relate to any aspect of IT support for learning (e.g. development of new resources, investigations of patterns of usage and impact, examinations of organisational change surrounding implementation).

JCAL will publish suitable contributions as soon as possible on this Web site together with a hot email address to the author.

Selected notes will be included in the printed version of the journal when space is available. Prior to publication in this mode, authors will be sent proofs of the existing version with an invitation to update the text in any way they choose (keeping to the same length).

Neither the Web page text nor any subsequent text in the journal carry any formal copyright conditions. Both the Web pages and the journal text carry a 'accepted' date.

Submissions should be sent via email (preferably as plain text) to Andy Tolmie

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ESRC Research data

The Economic and Social Research Council has a searchable database of (currently) 58,000 records which are updated monthly and the range of outputs is not limited to publications but also includes grey literature such as newspaper articles, conference papers and media broadcasts. The URL is http://www.regard.ac.uk/

Specific information about the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme can be found at
http://www.ex.ac.uk/ESRC-TLRP/

Other research info sites

Learning sites: networked resources and the learning community

P. Light*, C. Crook**, S. White***, E. Nesbitt*, D. Barrowcliff** & V. Light***

* Bournemouth University; ** University of Loughbourough; *** University of Southampton.

Email: plight@bournemouth.ac.uk

This 24-month research project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of its 'Virtual Society' research initiative. The Learning Sites project is a collaboration between Bournemouth University, as lead site, and the Universities of Loughborough and Southampton.

There are numerous research accounts of computer networks in university teaching. However, so far there has been limited examination of the tensions or transformations that occur as network technologies make contact with existing community structures of higher education. Our research will focus on networked resources for teaching and learning that exist as part of current educational innovation rather than being created simply for the purpose of research.

Computer networks constitute the infrastructure on which courseware is delivered and upon which new forms of communication among users can be supported. The technology has generic properties that affect all students. We have identified three consequences that, together, define a framework of core issues for research:

We shall address the first of the above issues by exploiting a 'natural experiment' involving the provision of network access from university study/bedrooms. In comparison to Bournemouth and Southampton, significantly more Loughborough students enjoy private, networked access from their study/bedrooms. Therefore, for this aspect of the project, research activities will focus mainly around Loughborough.

The 'networked' students have graphical interface access to a full service including email, intranet and internet, students also enjoy network access to the full texts of many library holdings. An obvious research question is how such facilities will affect the student's relationship with departments, libraries and other campus resources.

In the first semester of 1997/98 we shall recruit a sample of 50 first and second year undergraduate students who have networked workstations in their rooms. They will be matched with a further 50 students who do not enjoy such access. After access has been available for one semester we shall undertake research aimed at establishing how students' experience of the learning community is transformed by the resource. In order to gain this insight a number of techniques will be used. These will include; system usage logs, diaries, focus groups, spot interviews, sociometric representations and computer-based measures of learning styles (Entwhistle & Tait, 1992). The study will run for a full 12 months, allowing 'longitudinal' comparisons, as well as between group comparisons.

In addressing the second of the generic issues identified above, we propose to investigate student usage of 'one-to-one' email and other forms of non-course related computer mediated communication (CMC). We wish to investigate whether CMC does serve the development and maintenance of networks of relationships free of the constraints of time and place, as Castells (1996) suggests. To overcome issues of confidentiality students will use an application, developed by Hall, Crook & Light (in prep.) that will allow students to categorise their own ingoing and outgoing electronic mail. We shall sample across sites, across years of study and across disciplines, with attention given to issues of gender and 'maturity'.

The third generic issue leads to other 'natural experiments'. The situations we shall exploit involve using CMC to support conventional lecture and tutorial courses (cf. Steeples et al., 1996). The key feature of one such innovation is the 'making of tracks': contributing to an asynchronous, course-related discussion the record of which becomes a resource for others (Mayes & Neilson, 1995). One strand of this activity involves a course-based email discussion called 'skywriting'. This term was introduced by Harnad (1990, 1995) to characterise a form of multiple-reciprocal-email. A hypermail archive is established for each course. Courses using skywriting may be supported by 'skyreadings' (articles available electronically) and other Web-based resources.

References

Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society. Oxford: Blackwell.

Entwhistle, N. & Tait, H. (1992) Approaches to learning, evaluation of teaching, and preferences for contrasting academic environments. Higher Education, 19, 169-194.

Harnad, S. (1990) Scholarly skywriting. Psychological Science, 1, 342-43.

Harnad, S. (1995) The post-Gutenberg galaxy. Information Society, 11, 285-292.

Mayes, T & Neilson, I. (1995) Learning from other people's dialogues: questions about computer-based answers. In Innovative Adult Learning with Innovative Technologies (eds. B. Collis & G. Davies) pp. 31-48. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.

Steeples, C., Unsworth, C., Bryson, M., Goodyear, P., Riding, P., Fowell, S., Levy, P. & Duffy, C. (1996) Technological support for teaching and learning. Computers and Education, 26, 71-80.

Accepted: 1 January 1998

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Virtual educational organisations

R. Rada, Washington State University

Email: rada@wsu.edu

Washington State University and the Globewide Network Academy is exploring the conditions under which an educational enterprise can thrive in cyberspace. This work involves several levels. Rada (1997a) surveys courseware, virtual classrooms, and school information infrastructures. A virtual educational organisation is necessarily an intimate linkage among all three of these levels. Also, a delicate mapping among tools, people, and educational problems must be determined for an array of possibilities.

Earlier work studied the relationship between such entities as a paper textbook and a hypertext Û this was research at the courseware level. This study of courseware was compared with a study of how students interact with one another with the support of computer networks. These classroom studies focused in part on the nature of computer-mediated student-student and student-teacher communication (Warren & Rada, 1998) and included the administrative issues of efficiency in the classroom (Rada, to appear).

By requiring students to make many small work submissions and to evaluate one another's submissions, a manageable process was created which requires computer support. Each student transaction is recorded in a database. Semi-automated methods of quality control are implemented to monitor the transactions of students and to notify the teacher and students when abnormal patterns in student behaviour are manifested. In this way, peer-peer interaction can become a cornerstone of student feedback and the teacher can monitor selectively.

The long-term interest is how the school can exploit the information superhighway so as to establish new market niches for education. A content analysis across many universities and disciplines of what they are doing on the Web (Rada et al., 1996), found that the only discernible pattern was that high technology disciplines were more inclined to use the Web in education than less technological disciplines. The lack of a pattern across institutional types was as surprising as the dominance of certain high technology disciplines was unsurprising. The explanation for the increased usage of the Web in high technology disciplines was that tools must fit into the work flow of those who are to use them.

Current work combines engineering, theory-building and experimenting with the challenge of working with a virtual educational organisation. Washington State University led an effort to create a Virtual University and this experience has been analyzed so as to draw some conclusions about how educational organisations might change (Rada, 1997b).

It is easy to experiment with classrooms that can be controlled but to control an entire educational organisation is a real challenge. A special market niche has been identified and a partnership with the Globewide Network Academy (a truly virtual organisation) has been formed to create a Virtual Information Technology College.

Readers may follow the links from the Globewide Network Academy at http://www.gnacademy.org/ to learn about the model for the Virtual Information Technology College.

One of the areas which lies between research and practice is educational technology standards. The success of virtual educational organisations is related to standards in a number of ways. For example, the courseware, the classroom and the school, should be built from components that will smoothly interact with one another. Standards are important to this but more important is a managerial commitment to a way of working.

In earlier work with the European Union there was a focus on methods of courseware production through tools that supported courseware authoring organisations. Now the focus is experimenting with the alliances and tools that are necessary for a virtual educational organisation to deliver existing content. However, it would be a natural outgrowth of successfully building an organisation that delivers education to return to content production.

In conclusion, the hypothesis is that within certain market niches a new kind of educational organisation can thrive. As engineers, the interest is not only observing other organisations as they compete in these new niches, but to actually build parts of such organisations and experiment with the different ways to build them. The disciplines that should be brought into such a venture include those from social science, engineering, education, and business. Future collaboration and partnerships with others will be welcomed.

References

R. Rada, J. Rimpau, C. Bowman, J. Gordon, T. Henderson & T. Sansom (1966) WWW Activity and the Virtual University. Educational Technology and Management, 36, 5, 49-51.

R. Rada (1997a) Virtual educational manifesto. Hypermedia Solutions Ltd, Liverpool, UK (and free via http://hsl.gnacademy.org/gnacademy/hsl/).

R. Rada (1997b) Lessons from a Virtual University Task Force. International Journal of Failures and Lessons Learned in Information Technology Management, 1, 1, 31-38.

R. Rada (to appear) Efficiency and Effectiveness in Computer-Supported Peer-Peer Learning. Computers & Education.

K. Warren & R. Rada (1998) Sustaining Computer-Mediated Communication in University Courses Through Computer-Managed Messaging Systems. Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning, 14, 1, 71-80.

Accepted: 1 February 1998

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Evaluation of the Intranet as a learning tool

S.J. Anderson, J.M. Noyes & K. Garland

University of Bristol, UK

Email: stephen.anderson@bristol.ac.uk

The Internet has much potential to provide a unique environment for teaching and learning. However, psychological implications for its effects on learning have remained relatively unexplored. A brief search of the Social Sciences Citation Index yields 228 hits for the term 'World Wide Web'. However, less than 10% of these describe or evaluate educational 'impact', and these tend to concentrate on design and/or usability issues (e.g. Anderson, 1998; Kapur & Stillman 1997; Schneider, 1998; Shum & McKnight 1997; Sloane 1997), rather than on measuring changes in learning. Moreover, when the term Psychology is added to the search no 'hits' are found. Clearly then, psychological evaluation of the efficacy of the Internet, at this early stage in its development, is of paramount importance.

A project (funded by the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol) begins to redress this imbalance by constructing a learning programme of course material delivered either by traditional 'pen and paper' or by computer. Two computer designs are used: one is a simple screen replication of hardcopy materials, while the other uses an Internet designed interface based on ergonomic design principles (Noyes & Mills, 1998). Specifically, a WWW site, accessed through Netscape, has been constructed. Currently, this system is being used as an intranet to facilitate an increase in response speed from our server. However, it is envisaged that later experiments will incorporate a universally accessible system.

Learning of course material over time is assessed through multiple-choice questions and confidence measures. Measures of memory awareness are also being taken. This refers to whether people consciously recollect items of information, so called 'remember' responses. For example, they may have a mental image of a lecturer speaking, a particular page in a book or, as in the present experiment, perhaps a specific screen image. In contrast, remembering without such recollective experience is termed 'just knowing'. Other states of awareness are feelings of 'familiarity' and 'guessing'. Conway et al. (1997) have found that these different states of awareness are highly sensitive measures of knowledge acquisition. In their study students' performance on multiple-choice examinations for both lecture courses and laboratory research methods courses were measured, with indicated states of memory awareness being taken for each answer. For the lecture courses higher performing students gave more 'remember' responses. In contrast, for research methods courses, higher performing students gave more 'know' responses. At delayed retest higher performing students gave more 'know' then 'remember' responses. These findings show a shift from remembering to knowing which suggests an underlying change in the representation of knowledge from episodic to semantic, dependent upon level reached, retention interval, and crucially, the type of to-be-learnt materials. These differences in course type necessarily implicate roles for differences in teaching methods and the presentation media used, and this raises the intriguing possibility that information presented on the Internet may cause different patterns of knowledge acquisition.

To summarise: these measures allow investigation of whether teaching via the Internet not only affects how much students learn, but the way in which that material is learned, and the durability of such knowledge acquired. It is hoped that durability of learnt information will be assessed through later retesting of participants at both six and twelve months after commencement of the learning programme.

Preliminary findings do suggest a difference in the way participants learn when using the Internet. Here, participants exhibit a greater proportion of conscious recollection of learned material than those who learn using trad-itional methods, and it is suggested that these findings are wholly consonant to the dynamic and interactive teaching process that the Internet provides. However, differences in the ways in which participants learn are observed although there are no actual increases in learning. Thus, the Internet as a 'better' teaching tool remains questionable, and it is hoped that further study will help resolve this issue. While the research concentrates on the memory data, subjective data is also being collected to measure user attitudes as well to assess the usability of the interface designs. The latter is achieved using standard usability metrics (see Jordan et al., 1996). It is hoped that this information will serve to illustrate and help explain the memory findings, as well as to inform the current debate about the usability of different interface types. Finally, it is hoped to draw generic conclusions concerning the future development of the Intranet as a teaching and learning tool.

References

Anderson, T. (1998) Integrating lectures and electronic course materials. Innovations In Education and Training International, 34, 4, 24-31.

Conway, M.A., Gardiner, J.M., Perfect, T.J., Anderson, S.J. & Cohen, G.M. (1997) Changes in memory awareness during learning: the acquisition of knowledge by psychology undergraduates. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 26, 2 1-21.

Jordan, P.W., Thomas, B., Weerdmeester, B.A. & McClelland, I. (1996) Usability Evaluation in Industry. Taylor and Francis, London.

Kapur, S. & Stillman, G. (1997) Teaching and learning using the World Wide Web: A case study. Innovations In Education and Training International, 34, 4, 316-322

Noyes, J.M. & Mills, S. (1998) Display Design for Human-Computer Interaction. Cheltenham & Gloucester CHE, Cheltenham.

Schneider, A. (1998) Sociology - The Internet as an extended classroom. Social Science Computer Review, 16, 1, 53-57

Shum, S.B. & McKnight, C. (1997) World Wide Web usability: Introduction to this special issue. International Journal Of Human-Computer Studies, 47, 1, 1-4.

Sloane, A. (1997) Learning with the Web: Experience of using the World Wide Web in a learning environment. Computers & Education, 28, 4, 207-212.

Accepted: 19 March 1998

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Internet usage and 'internet addiction' in students and its implications for learning

M. Griffiths, H. Miller, T. Gillespie & P. Sparrow.

Department of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University

Email: mark.griffiths@ntu.ac.uk

The popular stereotypes surrounding various types of hacking and computing addiction (e.g. Turkle, 1995) indicate that 'addicts' tend to be socially unskilled male teenagers who have little or no social life and/or self-confidence. Recent surveys have confirmed that a vast majority of Internet users are in fact male. A survey by Pitkow and Kehoe (1996) indicated that 32% of users access the Internet through education providers and that 28% of them are college students. Two recent studies have examined excessive Internet use among a US student population. Although unrepresentative of the general public, students are considered high-risk for problems because of ready access and flexible time schedules (Moore, 1995).

Morahan-Martin and Schumacher (1997) examined what they termed 'Pathological Internet Use' (PIU) in 277 students. Pathological Internet users accounted for 8.1% of the total sample and were more likely to be male (12.2% males; 3.2% females). Scherer and Bost (1997) surveyed 531 students about their Internet use and developed a checklist of ten clinical symptoms to parallel the symptoms of substance abuse and dependency. Results indicated that 49 respondents (13%) of weekly users scored three or more on the dependency checklist and that the majority of these were male (71%). Thirteen percent of the sample reported Internet use had interfered with either their academic work, professional performance or their social lives. All surveys examining addiction have failed to indicate that it exists mainly because the criteria chosen appear to be only peripheral to the core concepts of addiction.

Previous research by some of the authors (Griffiths, 1995; 1996; Griffiths & Sparrow, 1997) has shown that the Internet may be addicting. One of the objectives of this research project (funded by Nottingham Trent University) is to determine the object of the addiction and the implications it may have for impeding student learning. It must also be noted that since students appear to be at the greatest risk, such research will help in the formulation of problem prevention policies.

There is little in the way of information about normal and excessive Internet usage and its development in the student population and/or it's impact on student learning. The current research project has only just begun but aims to:

· establish empirically the prevalence of 'Internet addiction' amongst the student population;

· determine the object of the excessive use and/or addiction, e.g. the medium of communication, aspects of its specific style (e.g. no face-to-face, etc.), the information that can be obtained (e.g. pornography), the playing of (role) games, gambling and/or talking to others in chat rooms or on Internet Relay Chat;

· determine and analyse the structural characteristics of the Internet based on the previous work of Griffiths (1993). For instance, it may be the case that those people who use the Internet may become more 'addicted' because of the increased number of structural characteristics (due to its multimedia design);

· collect empirical demographic data on Internet users. This includes types of activity that people perform on the net (e.g. e-mailing, information browsing, file transferring, socialising, role-game playing etc.), previous computing experience and the frequency in each of these types of internet activity, and how long they spend per computing session etc.

The project consists of two major studies. The first is questionnaire based and examines demographic details, types of Internet usage, frequency measures and an adapted version of the DSM-IV addiction criteria (as applied to internet usage). The second study is qualitative in nature and consists of focus groups and single interviews with regular and excessive Internet student users. These interviews will probe more deeply into the areas outlined in the project aims. The research will hopefully be generalisable to a number of other technological addictions (e.g. computers, computer games) with wide implications for research into the field of behavioural (non-chemical) addictions. It will also help in the formulation of policy to prevent excessive non-productive use of the Internet.

References

Griffiths, M.D. (1993) Fruit machine gambling: the importance of structural characteristics. Journal of Gambling Studies, 9, 133-152.

Griffiths, M.D. (1995) Technological addictions. Clinical Psychology Forum, 76, 14-19.

Griffiths, M.D. (1996) Internet 'addiction': An issue for clinical psychology? Clinical Psychology Forum, 97, 32-36.

Moore, D. (1995) The Emporor's Virtual Clothes: The Naked Truth About The Internet Culture. Alogonquin, Chapel Hill, NC.

Morahan-Martin, J.M. & Schumacher, P. (1997) Incidence and correlates of pathological internet use. Paper presented at the 105th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.

Pitkow, J. & Kehoe, C. (1996) Emerging trends in the World Wide Web user population. Communications of the ACM, 39, 6, 106-108.

Scherer, K. & Bost, J. (1997) Internet use patterns: Is there internet dependency on campus? Paper presented at the 105th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.

Sparrow, P. & Griffiths, P. (1997) Crime and information technology: Hacking and pornography on the internet. Probation Journal, 44, 144-148.

Turkle, S. (1995) Life on the Screen : Identity in the Age of the Internet. Simon & Schuster, New York.

Accepted: 20 March 1998

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CAL and involving acoustic environments for deaf children

J. Walker & A. Rostron

Department of Psychology, University of Hull

Email: a.b.rostron@psy.hull.ac.uk

Despite the long running controversy on the issue of whether deaf children should be taught to use residual hearing (oralism) or allowed to become immersed in sign language (manualism), there is much to be gained by enabling deaf children to make the optimum use of whatever hearing capacities they have retained. The most widespread conventional technology has been the hearing aid which amplifies and processes the incoming signal to enable it to be matched to the individual's particular hearing loss. However many individuals suffer from inoperable hearing deficits which cannot be alleviated by standard amplification techniques and over recent years cochlear implants have become an alternative solution for some of this group. With this technique sound signals are pre-processed and input directly to the auditory nerve. In general terms the earlier the acoustic environment can be restored, even if only partially, the more likely it is that normal communication and linguistic skills will be developed. These achievements are necessary if the deaf are to integrate more effectively within the hearing world.

There is therefore a need for situations to be devised in which hearing and language skills can be developed in addition to the opportunities that are present in the normal educational environment. CAL can provide such environments and one such package, EasySpeaker for Windows (ESWIN), has been developed (Rostron et al., 1994; Rostron et al., 1996) to act as a hypermedia-based augmentative communication device, and more recently as a teaching tool to improve language skills. ESWIN consists of a series of screens, stacked like a deck of cards. Each screen is made up of several pictures (icons), any of which when activated produce speech. An icon can represent a word, a phrase or a link to another screen. The advantages of ESWIN are that no literacy skills are needed, and that since icons represent speech, the software also helps to strengthen associations between words and representations to build vocabulary. ESWIN is able to produce high quality digitised speech which is essential when considering any form of communication tool for the hearing impaired. ESWIN allows a user to put words together and build up phrases, or alternatively ESWIN can be set up so that icons already represent sentences. The major strength of this software is that the icons and speech can be set up to suit the needs and abilities of individual users by simply drawing or scanning in new symbols. New speech can also be recorded and added to the package. Such a feature is essential when considering that many individuals with hearing or language impairments often also have other idiosyncratic disabilities and consequently differing levels of understanding. It also allows the package to be adapted as users become more competent.

The main aim of the present study (partially funded by a grant from Northern Dairies Educational Trust) is to provide an acoustic environment that can be actively controlled and explored by deaf children. Their activity with this environment is encouraged and guided by the researcher and the children's speech therapist. The environmental set up consists of two types of material. First, screens containing items of relevant vocabulary which allow children to navigate through the items and build up structures containing several words or linguistic units. The material contains simple vocabulary which is appealing and relevant to young children. For example there is a Christmas screen which contains seasonally relevant items such as 'Santa Claus', 'Rudolf' and various toys. Other topic screens include animals, colours, clothes and objects of different sizes. The second type of material consists of screens which contain icons linked to environmentally relevant sounds such as dogs barking, water running, doors banging and babies crying. This material has been used for several sessions with two (5 years old) severely deaf children. One, presently using a hearing aid to alleviate severe sensori-neural hearing loss, is very withdrawn and will rarely use more than one word in response to a question or produce spontaneous speech. The other is fitted with a cochlear implant which was switched on approximately two months prior to the start of the study.

Observational evidence indicates that the environments constructed have produced positive effects with the children. In order to evaluate the progress made more systematically several tests have been designed which assess language and auditory (speech perception and environmental sounds) skills in more detail. These tests also make use of ESWIN. The evidence so far indicates that the children are improving in the areas looked at and are responding appropriately to the various aspects of the acoustic environment. It is not possible to say unequivocally whether the progress made by the children in interacting with the acoustic world is a direct result of the learning environment provided with the technology, but anything that produces active involvement must be regarded as encouraging. It is also true to say the technology does provide the basis for activities which are more motivating for children than some of the conventional speech therapy techniques and which therefore have the potential to promote real progress in speech and communication.

References

Rostron, A., Plant, R. & Hermann, C. (1994) Hypermedia for the learning disabled: expensive luxury or useful tool. Computers and Education, 22, 215-224.

Rostron, A., Ward, S. & Plant, R. (1996) Computerised augmentative communication devices for people with dysphasia: design and evaluation. European Journal of Disorders of Communication, 30, 11-30.

Accepted: 24 March 1998

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Multimedia lectures and examination performance in cognitive psychology

C. Smith, H. Whiteley, M. Stone & R. Currie

Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire

Email: c.d.smith@uclan.ac.uk

A CD-ROM version of parts of a second year cognitive psychology course is being tested. Following successful use of email as an alternative means of delivering lecture material (Smith, 1997; Smith et al., submitted), we have been evaluating the impact of the use of lecture material delivered by CD-ROM on students' perceptions of a second year cognitive psychology course and on their examination performance in that course.

For some time we have been developing multimedia versions of lectures with an eye to future possibilities for distance learning both within and between campuses. Our latest development is to convert 8 of 24 lectures from a second year cognitive psychology course into multimedia form. Three tutors Û Smith, Whiteley and Stone Û each chose two lectures for conversion from their quota of eight. All lectures were chosen for their general suitability for multimedia presentation. Thus, Smith chose problem solving ahead of language, because that topic offers more opportunities for visual and graphical material to be included. Stone chose vision rather than attention for the same reason and Whiteley chose the most suitable memory topics Û 'changing conceptions of memory' and 'working memory' rather than 'memory disorders' or 'schemas and scripts'. For the opposite reason, some lectures Û on topics such as language, for example Û had already been used for email delivery of course material.

The multimedia version of the lectures is intended for delivery across the University network, but, since this has proved problematic, a CD-ROM has been produced for use on network or stand-alone machines. The main features of the CD-ROM combine to give the user a screen containing a small video of the lecturer speaking and a large graphic relevant to the topic. Icons allow easy access to a text version of the lecture, abstracts of key papers, a glossary, references to other key papers, all pictures and videos, a notepad facility, on-line help and the usual navigational controls.

Each lecture is accompanied by 10 optional MCQs allowing the student to assess their own knowledge and understanding of the content. A record is kept for the student's benefit of attempts to each question and the number of correct answers achieved. An explanation of the correct answers is given in the form of feedback which can be copied to the notepad. Marks can be displayed for all the lectures together to highlight any weak areas. A final feature is a 'talking heads' sequence, in which experts from other universities talk about key topics in their area.

Students were given a 'pre-course' questionnaire to assess their expectations about the course and the use of IT therein. Sixty nine (out of approximately 120) replied. Asked to indicate their preferred modes of receiving information, 71% chose lectures and 38% chose computer delivery. However, 59% were very interested in a 50-50 split between lectures and computer delivery and only 3% wanted the course to be delivered entirely by lectures. Although only 29% regarded themselves as having good/expert computer skills and 23% said that they were poor or novices. Nevertheless, only 4% said that they were unlikely to use the computer-based lecture materials and, by contrast, 33% saw the role of technology as useful and exciting. Sixty two % of the students own a PC and a further 22% have access to a PC outside the University.

We take these figures to indicate some trepidation, but very little outright resistance to the use of the CD-ROM as part of the course. Indeed, there was quite a large positive response to some aspects of its anticipated use. At the start of the course we ran training sessions on using the CD-ROM on networked machines. These sessions ran smoothly and attracted many positive (though unrecorded) comments. After the CD-ROM had been available for a few weeks, we solicited comments and have received only glowing ones.

What remains is to issue a 'post-course' questionnaire and to assess the impact of the CD-ROM on examination performance. The course consists of 24 lectures, which can be divided into five categories, as follows: eight are delivered normally; four are delivered normally but are accompanied by a summary delivered by email; four are delivered in full only by email; six are delivered normally, but the CD-ROM is used as backup; two are delivered only via the CD-ROM.

The course is assessed in part by a 50 question MCQ paper Û with two questions deriving from each of the 24 lectures. This will enable us to gather sufficient data on each of the five delivery methods to be able to compare statistically the effect of each delivery method on performance. This course structure has enabled us previously to produce evidence that poorer students may benefit from email delivery and that the use of email summaries is effective only if their length is around 1000 words (Smith et al., submitted). In addition, the course is assessed by two essay-type examination answers. Essay questions will appear on the paper from each of the categories. These questions are open to student choice and will generate much less data. However, looking at patterns of choice together with quality of response will further add to the evaluation of what appears to be a promising mode of delivery.

References

Smith, C.D. (1997) Teaching Psychology by using email. In Innovations in Teaching Psychology (eds. J. Radford, D. Rose & D. Van Laan) pp. xx-yy. SEDA Publications, UK

Accepted: 8 April 1998

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Augmented reality and computer-assisted learning

D. Haniff

University of Birmingham

Email: haniffdj@novell5.bham.ac.uk

Feiner et al. (1993) describe augmented reality (AR) as the enhancement of the real world by a virtual world providing additional information useful to the user. Output from a computer is superimposed onto the real world. Users need to be presented with information that will allow them to interact with the real world as well as receive this extra information. Therefore, AR systems have been developed using technologies that permit the user to move beyond the fixed location of a desktop. Head-mounted displays (HMD) or portable devices are used with wearable computers (Feiner et al., 1993; Rekimoto & Nagao, 1995) to implement AR. The author's research into AR is focused upon the application of appropriate representations in the development of these AR systems.

Several AR applications have been developed to impart explicit procedural knowledge to the user. For example, MIT have demonstrated the use of AR to guide novices through the game of billiards (Jebera et al., 1997). The AR system consists of a HMD which presents suggestions about which shots to take and the trajectory that the ball would need to travel to reach its target. Starner et al. (1995) have used AR to supplement a user's knowledge of printer maintenance. A HMD displays textual labels and graphics which describe the procedures involved to make the repair. As the user progresses from novice to expert (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986) the knowledge will become implicit. The AR system will then need to adapt to match the user's expertise level. In addition, AR systems have been developed to present declarative knowledge. For example, Rekimoto and Nagao have developed a gallery tour system.

Therefore, appropriate teaching material can be presented at a particular point in the student's exploration of a physical location , object(s) or a task. This is intended to allow the user to maintain their attention on the real world without having to refer to separate media, such as a leaflet or book. AR can provide almost seamless interaction with information.

AR can also improve the quality of the information presented to the user. Rekimoto and Nagao point out that AR can minimise the dialogue between the human and the machine by providing implicit contextual information. Carroll (1984) states that minimal dialogue can lead to effective training by encouraging active learning without superfluous information "if you give the learner less...the learner will achieve more "(p. 44). For instance, location information within an AR system can be used to present appropriate material to the user without a search by the user; reducing the complexity of the human-computer interface.

The research being undertaken at the University of Birmingham consists of an assessment of various representations used in the development of AR interfaces. The AR systems that will be constructed will consist of those that are computationally context-aware (through processing real world images or data received from sensors) and those which are context-free in terms of what the computer knows about the surroundings. However, the computationally context-free programs will present relevant information appropriate to the context of the task being carried out by the user. For instance, solitaire programs have been developed which display each successive step to solve the puzzle using a see-through HMD to present the information. The programs represent the use of procedural knowledge to complete a task. The instructions are overlaid onto the real world regardless of where the solitaire board is located. The program is computationally unaware of the context but it does provide appropriate information in context to the task being undertaken. The representations for context-aware and context-free AR will be explored within the research.

The research will look into the ability of multi-modal interfaces such as tactile and speech functionality to augment human capabilities. In addition, the use of affordances within objects and the effects of occlusion provided by virtual objects on the tracking and categorisation of real world objects will also be investigated to determine the appropriate presentation of information to the user.

These issues are directly related to a project on 'wearable computers within the emergency services' conducted by members of the Industrial Ergonomics Group within the School of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering within the University of Birmingham. An application has been developed in co-operation with West Yorkshire Ambulance Service which provides support information and data logging facilities on a wearable computer with a HMD. The paramedic program is context-free and multi-modal due to the use of speech technology. AR applications for the emergency services will be developed and refined using the principles gained from an investigation into appropriate AR design.

AR can provide an active learning environment which can use contextual information such as location to provide minimal and appropriate dialogue. The learning material can therefore be tailored to meet the student's requirements at a particular point in time. However, in order to successfully implement AR systems the implications of various representations need to be ascertained. This is the focus of the work being carried out.

References

Carroll, J.M. (1985) Minimalist Design for Active Users In Human-Computer Interaction - INTERACT (ed. B. Shackel) pp. 39-45. Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam.

Dreyfus, H.L. & Dreyfus, S.E. (1986) Mind over machine: The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the Era of the Computer. Free Press, New York.

Feiner, S., MacIntyre, B. & Seligmann, D. (1993) Knowledge-based augmented reality. Communications of the ACM, 36, 7, 52-62.

Jebera, T., Eyster, C., Weaver, J., Starner, T. & Pentland, A. (1997) Stochastics: Augmenting the Billiards Experience with Probabilistic Vision and Wearable Computers. The First International Symposium on Wearable Computers, October 13-14, 1997, (eds. D. Siewioek, L. Bass & A Pentand) pp. 138-145. IEEE Computer Society, Campbridge.

Rekimoto, J. & Nagao, K. (1995) The World through the Computer: Computer Augmented Interaction with Real World Environments. Proceedings of UIST '95 (ed. B.A. Myers) pp. 29-36. ACM Press, Pennsylvania.

Starner, T., Mann, S., Rhodes, B., Levine, J., Healey, J., Kirsch, D., Picard, R.W. & Pentland, A. (1995) Augmented Reality Through Wearable Computing. Presence, 6, 4, 386-398.

Accepted: 8 April 1998

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Virtual Practical work: potential and problems

R. Plant, N. Hammond & A. Trapp, Department of Psychology, The University of York

A. Rostron, Department of Psychology, University of Hull

W. Stevenson, School of Psychology, University of Cardiff

R. Oehlmann, ESRC Data Archive, University of Essex

Email: Email: r.plant@psych.york.ac.uk

Much practical work in psychology at present involves collecting data in the laboratory via computer-controlled experiments. Typically machine generated stimuli are presented to participants, who then make what they believe are the required responses, which are in turn recorded by the machine. In some circumstances the program might be written in such a way that the materials presented vary according to the level of performance of which participants are capable (adaptive control). The general aim here is to provide an environment which enables students to set up their own experiments rather than merely participate in designs provided by others.

One common activity when exploring psychological phenomena is the need to manipulate the whole experimental setting, so that the nature of the stimulus materials and the way in which they are presented can changed. It is also vital to be able to alter the order and conditions under which data are collected as well as allowing variation in the way participants are allowed to respond. Normally these requirements can be met by so-called experimenter generators, Hammond and Trapp (1996) but the more flexible of these require some considerable expertise to master, and such a route is not appropriate for those just starting to gain some experience of experimental practical work and its theoretical implications. (Beginning students should not have to acquire another layer of knowledge which is likely to hinder their developing theoretical ideas.)

The present project is an attempt to make individual experiments much more immediately controllable by experimenters and also to apply currently developing technology which allows such experimental packages to be delivered via the WWW. What has been achieved so far is the means to select from a centrally held collection of experiments using a WWW browser, so that the chosen experiment can then be run locally and the data gathered and analysed. The same data can also be submitted to the central server and if required compared with previous data from similar experiments. An important aspect of the approach is that experiments need not be run with a fixed set of conditions and numbers of trials, but the design can be constructed locally by the user as required. This has been made possible as a result of emerging technologies such as Java and ActiveX which enable previous limitations of this technique (such as network speed and timing accuracy) to be overcome.

Although a number of standard experimental designs are needed to provide a comprehensive teaching resource, a demonstrator package (developed as part of the Virtual Psychology Laboratory project) has been provided which allows classical psychophysical paradigms to be run and data collected. In this instance the experimenter can present the Muller-Lyer illusion, allow both the lengths and angles of the stimulus and response items to be determined at will, and then presented in the order necessary to suit the design being executed. Once the problem of specifying and implementing the experiment has been solved, the data-gathering aspect of the package can be combined with the more conventional informational aspects of the WWW, with information about previous research and rival theories of the phenomena being embedded in the overall package. This would mean that suggestions for further experimentation could immediately be set up and executed by interested students. (Information about previous theories of the phenomena under investigation can be accessed before any specific experiment is implemented.)

One important question which has recently been addressed in an experimental way is whether naive users can operate such a system with minimal external human guidance. Potential users were asked to set up a simple experimental design and analysis and their interaction with the system was monitored. Each subject had to complete six sub-tasks which included viewing the data collected in a spreadsheet and downloading the data to a remote site, as well as setting up and running the mini-experiment. Twelve first-year undergraduate psychology students were divided into groups of three; one carried out the prescribed task while the other two participants recorded whether any difficulties were experienced and whether any expert help was required to overcome the difficulties. Once the assignment had been completed, each of the observers then undertook the experimental tasks whilst being observed independently by the remaining two group members. Subsequent analysis showed good agreement between the data obtained by different observers. Overall external help was required in about 10% of cases in any given task. This includes the one or two occasions the system could be stalled by participants clicking in a very unpredictable fashion. The degree of help needed suggests that a single demonstrator could cope with the demands of a class of about 50.

The overall conclusion is that the present approach could be used to provide a national or even international resource, which could be used by a wide range of students. It has the potential to provide wide accessibility not only to well-known experimental paradigms but also to situations which require considerable specialist expertise to mount. This is because any computer implementation has to be done only once, possibly even by those who first carried out specific pieces of work. (This might also have the advantage of making research data collection procedures more transparent than has traditionally been the case.) The work also goes some way to providing the basis for a system which provides real interactive control of experimental conditions for inexperienced students who are unable to access special skilled help. This is a factor which is lacking in other previous methods of delivering practical work and even some of the more recent experiment generators about to become widely available, such as E-prime, Schneider (1998), are limited in this respect. E-prime does however significantly reduce the level of expertise needed to construct general paradigms with its drag and drop graphical interface.

It is envisaged that projects such as the JISC funded Virtual Psychology Laboratory will ultimately aid in the dissemination of such computer based materials, and data sets. Within the brief is to archive materials from published journal articles and make these available over the Web in order to provide students and educators with a national and international resource.

References

Hammond N. & Trapp A. (1996) Experiment generator software in psychology teaching and research. Psychology Software News, 7, 15-21.

Schneider W. (1998) E-Prime - A cross platform experiment generator studio for computerised behavioural research. Conference Proceedings, Computers in Psychology, University of York.

On-line experiment: http://cti-pc.york.ac.uk/on-line-experiments

E-Prime Web site: http://www.pstnet.com/

VPLab project web site: http://www.cf.ac.uk/uwc/psych/stevensonwc/vp-lab/

Accepted: 8 May 1998

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Developing virtual support for students

I. Garner, J. Maltby & J. Lord

Psychology Section, Sheffield Hallam University

Email:. I.Garner@shu.ac.uk

Universities face increasing student numbers coupled with a dwindling unit of resource, and systems must be put in place to manage this situation. Many of the recent advancements within IT and education have focused on computerising the actual delivery of material, something which was supported within the Dearing Report recommendations (Dearing, 1997). Computer-aided learning (CAL) packages and computer-based learning (CBL) packages form the backbone of recent growth (Hartley, 1998). Hartley reports that within psychology, as a part of the British Government's Teaching and Learning Technology programme, there are two main areas, specific and general courseware, hence the focus is on computerised delivery of course content.

In Saettler's account (1990) of educational technology the profile of development is strongly biased towards computer-aided learning packages. Such advances are beneficial to pedagogical process and should be encouraged (Lipsey & Wilson, 1993). However, this focus has cast a shadow over the development of computerised 'student support mechanisms'. The computer has been enframed as a mechanism of delivery, at the expense of other uses. The term 'support' is used here to encapsulate direct personal and academic support. Research is presently underway at Sheffield Hallam University to develop computerised student support, and this Research Note will outline the implemented system and report the preliminary findings.

Profile of developed facility

An interactive Web site was designed which had three main functions:

One of the important design remits of the system was that it should use 'trailing edge technology', in that it should not require the purchase of new software or hardware, but rather should more effectively utilise the systems already in place. Also the design of the system required that it could be readily updated and that the environment should be stable during usage.

Underlying this whole development is the notion that students should take greater responsibility for their own support. That is, students should actively seek answers to the questions they have, before they turn to the tutors. Developing this active approach in students will increase student autonomy, something which can only be beneficial as student-staff ratios increase. Despite the desire to increase student autonomy, it was acknowledged that some student issues will require direct tutor support. Such issues will indirectly be enhanced by this Web site, in that students' use of the site to address the 'everyday' support issues will liberate tutor time to deal with more personal or problematic student questions. In light of this it is recognised that this system will not present tutors with a time saving within their support role, but rather change the emphasis towards dealing with more difficult student support issues. This personal link between students and tutors is valued within this research and the removal of such links would be a retrograde step.

Any Web facility is only of any benefit if students actually use the system. To encourage usage when the students arrives at the home page they are immediately aware of the system's three functions, the e-mail contact, the Web links and the student support pages. Hence, due to this integration even if they only wished to gain information from one of these areas they are made aware of the others, and such awareness is key to increasing usage.

Preliminary results

Table 1. Indicative findings of the evaluation of the student support Web site
(based on 76 Level 1 psychology students)

                     Like to like a     Neutral to dislike a  
                     lot                lot                   

General impression   83%                17%                   

Convenience of use   73%                27%                   

Ease of Use          77%                23%                   

Gateways             86%                14%                   

Support pages        84%                16%                   

e-mail               89%                11%

Results from the piloting of the support Web site indicate that the students have reacted positively to the system. The aim of this early evaluation of the system was to address any serious flaws in the system and gain general impressions of students response to the system.

The three major facilities of gateways, support page and e-mail contacts were all rated highly and these results support the full scale implementation of the support site for the next academic year.

Other interesting findings were that students reported that the electronic support pages made them feel more confident when approaching tutors for support in person as they felt channels of communication were already open. Also they perceived the site as offering mutual time saving in that liaisons were more efficient.

Further study

When the system is fully implemented next academic year the students' usage of the system will be electronically tracked, in order to investigate exactly how the system is being utilised. Also a close check will be kept of the staff time requirements needed to support the electronic system and direct personal support with students. This will allow a closer examination of any efficiency gains the system offers and an insight into how the system is being used.

Conclusions

The research so far has clearly indicated that students can be effectively supported via electronic media. It is clear that such systems can potentially help with the increased demands on staff while maintaining the quality of support students require.

References

Dearing, R. (1997) National committee of inquiry into Higher Education. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ncihe/index.htm

Hartley, J. (1998) Learning and Studying: A Research Perspective. Routledge Press, London.

Lipsey, W. & Wilson, D.B. (1993) The efficacy of psychological, educational, and behaviour treatment: confirmation from meta-analysis. American Psychologist, 48, 12 1181-1209.

Saettler, P. (1990) The evolution of American Educational Technology. Libraries Unlimited, Englewood, Co.

Accepted: 8 May 1998

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Portable information technologies for supporting graphical mathematics investigations: overview of the PIGMI project

S. Hennessy, P. Fung & E. Scanlon

Institute of Educational Technology, Open University

Email: sch30@cam.ac.uk

The PIGMI Project investigated the potential uses of portable information technologies — particularly graphic calculators and palmtop computers — in supporting university entry and secondary school level mathematics learning. An extensive review of the literature (Hennessy, 1999) indicated that these increasingly cheap and powerful tools can facilitate student learning in a traditionally difficult curriculum area. However, the underlying reasons for improved performance using portable graphing tools are not always clear. The main objectives of the PIGMI project were to investigate how these technologies mediate learning to handle graphical representations and to develop and test activities involving investigations of real world problems.

One strand of the research entailed a series of pilot studies with classes of students aged 12–14 using Acorn Pocket Book palmtop computers to collect and plot graphs of measurements of shoe size and hand size against height. Despite certain physical limitations, the Pocket Book proved a useful tool for provoking thinking about graphs and relationships between quantitative variables in pupils of this age. In addition to the machine’s facility of displaying and manipulating the data, enhanced understanding of the graphical representation of data seemed to be linked to two factors. Firstly it was observed that the natural tendency of individuals using portables to cooperate with each other stimulates productive discussion. Secondly, the stimulus of ‘ownership’ of the technology and the positive attitude of students towards using the palmtop computers appeared motivating.

Another palmtop activity involved two classes of 48 students aged 13–14 in an investigation of variation in weather patterns across the world. Students worked in groups of 2–5 pupils over 3 weeks, collecting and graphing temperature data over time from various locations: from around the school and elsewhere using newspaper, radio, television and Internet data. One group used the school’s remote sensing weather station. One of the design principles underlying the activity was that of ‘active graphing’ (Pratt, 1994), whereby children collect and enter their own experimental data, scanning it for trends; immediate graphing then highlights emerging patterns and anomolous results, illuminating gaps in the data.

The mathematical aims of the activity were potentially very broad:

Motivation and confidence in using technology increased and some learning gains concerning averages and graph interpretation were observed. The evaluation illustrated the potential power and versatility of portable technology in tackling graphing, and the opportunities they present for student participation (Hennessy, 2000).

The second strand of the research investigated potential uses of the graphic calculator (Hennessy et al., 2001). These custom-made tools for graphing are affordable by individual students and are becoming increasingly popular. The main focus was on studying undergraduate students of the entry-level course MU120 at the Open University. This course takes a radically different approach to mathematics learning. There is an emphasis on skills for using mathematics – including manipulation of graphical representations – in investigating questions using data from real world situations. The course materials exploit the graphic calculator technology throughout.

The first major activity was the administration of a questionnaire investigating MU120 students’ and tutors’ views of the graphic calculators. The results indicated that the calculator facilitates links between multiple representations because it offers much quicker graph plotting than with manual methods; visualisation of functions and dynamic creation of a graph; immediate feedback and response to changes in equations. In each case the ability to generate and manipulate multiple graphs is critical. Moreover the calculator was perceived by both students and tutors as a valuable tool for learning a range of mathematical concepts.

A follow-up observational case study of a pair of MU120 students illustrated how the calculator can influence mathematical thinking and shape mathematical activity, serving a catalytic, facilitating and checking role. The features of technology-based activities which can structure and support collaborative problem solving were also examined. In sum, the graphic calculator technology acted as a critical mediator in both the students’ collaboration and in their problem solving. The pedagogic implications from these studies include addressing the tension between using and over-using portables to support mathematical activity.

References

Hennessy, S. (1999) The potential of portable technologies for supporting graphing investigations. British Journal of Educational Technology, 30, 1, 57–60. (see full article at: http://iet.open.ac.uk/pp/s.c.hennessy)

Hennessy, S. (2000) Graphing investigations using portable (palmtop) technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 13, 3, 243-258.

Hennessy, S., Scanlon, E. & Fung, P. (2001) The role of the graphic calculator in mediating graphing activity. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 32, 2, 267-290.

Pratt, D. (1994) Active graphing in a computer-rich environment. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Lisbon, (eds. J.P. da Ponte & J.F. Matos) 4, 57-64. PME18 Program Committee, Lisbon.

Accepted: 8 August 1998 Revised 6 March 2001

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Remote collaborative tutorial teaching in MANTCHI

S.W. Draper*, D.R. Benyon**, A. Crerar**, P.D. Gray*, A.C. Kilgour***, J.C. Newman****, J.T. Mayes****

*University of Glasgow; **Napier University; ***Heriot-Watt University; ****Glasgow Caledonian University.

Email: steve@psy.gla.ac.uk

The MANTCHI project, involving four HEIs in central Scotland, is exploring the delivery of tutorial material in the subject area of HCI over the internet. (For explanations of acronyms, see the glossary. For further information on the project, including personnel, funding body and programme, see the MANTCHI website cited below.) Typically this material is an exercise designed by another site and backed up by a remote expert, who may give a video conference tutorial or give feedback on submitted student work. In some cases students on different courses, as well as the teachers, interact. Extensive classroom evaluations of each use (in existing university courses for credit) are being conducted, using the method of Integrative Evaluation (Draper et al., 1996).

Key issues associated with the project are:

Teaching and learning normally includes not only primary exposition (e.g. lectures) and re-expression by the learners (e.g. writing an essay), but some iterative interaction between teacher and learners (e.g. question and answer sessions in tutorials, or feedback on written work). Mayes (1995) classifies applications of learning technology into primary, secondary, and tertiary respectively by reference to those categories of activity. Technology such as email and video conferencing supports such tertiary applications. An additional research question is whether such interactions could usefully be captured, 'canned', and later re-used. It depends on whether learners benefit from witnessing interaction without themselves being active: a process that could be called 'vicarious learning', 'learning by onlooking', or 'learning through tacit participation' (McKendree & Mayes, 1997; Draper, 1998; McMorris, 1998).

The most important feature of the project may turn out to be that it is structured around true reciprocal collaborative teaching. All of the four sites have authored material, and all four have received (delivered) material authored by other sites. This has kept all project members crucially aware not just of the problems of authoring, but of what it is like to be delivering to one's own students (in real, for-credit courses) material that others have authored: a true users' perspective. This may be a unique feature. MANTCHI has in effect built users of HE teaching material further into the design team by having each authoring site deliver material 'not created here'. The nearest to this situation that we are aware of is the EUROMET project, where although only some of their sites are authoring units, all are expected to use units authored by other sites. In MANTCHI, the units of material thus exchanged are called 'ATOMs' (Autonomous Teaching Object in Mantchi).

Another benefit of reciprocal arrangements is that it reflects the basic structural fact of HE that experts are distributed across the country (or indeed the world), each with their specialism; yet all are required to deliver relatively general courses. Exchanging material matches this distribution of expertise, while avoiding difficult accounting issues that would be raised if the effort became seriously asymmetrical. This arrangement may turn out to be more a type of professional development than a permanent redistribution of teaching work: after receiving someone else's ATOM for a year or two, many deliverers will probably feel confident at delivering and perhaps adapting the exercise without help. This casts yet another new light on what it may mean to author for other teachers (who after all normally determine what their students will use).

The extensive student-centered evaluations were first targeted, in the spirit of integrative evaluation, at detecting problems in teaching delivery with a view to remedying them and in so doing, detecting any special issues in the delivery of ATOMs and using remote experts as part of the teaching. It furthermore makes extensive use of Resource Questionnaires (Brown et al., 1996), which ask students to rate the utility of the various available learning resources. This is yielding data both on the (perceived) relative utility of local and remote experts, and on teacher-generated vs. peer-generated material and feedback on a student's own solution vs. feedback on other students' work, and hence on vicarious learning. Interview data is additionally being collected from the teachers on the costs to them of the various roles (author, remote expert, local deliverer), and hence on whether reciprocal collaborative teaching seems generally resource-effective, and so may be voluntarily pursued beyond the end of the project.

Glossary

ATOM: Autonomous Teaching Object in MANTCHI

CHI: Computer-Human Interaction a.k.a. HCI

EUROMET: A project producing computer-based training for professional meterologists in Europe (EUROMET, 1998).

HCI: Human-Computer Interaction

HEI: Higher Education Institution (e.g. a university)

MAN: Metropolitan Area Network

MANTCHI: MAN Tutoring in CHI (MANTCHI, 1998)

References

Brown, M.I., Doughty, G.F., Draper, S.W., Henderson, F.P. & McAteer, E. (1996) Measuring learning resource use. Computers and Education, 27, 103-113.

Draper, S.W., Brown, M.I., Henderson, F.P. & McAteer, E. (1996) Integrative evaluation: an emerging role for classroom studies of CAL. Computers and Education, 26, 1-3, 17-32.

Draper, S.W. (1998) Lurking and computer mediated discussion. http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/talks/lurking.html

EUROMET (1998) Euromet project pages http://euromet.paisley.ac.uk/nln/nln_front.htm visited 1998 April 13).

MANTCHI (1998) Official project pages http://www.clyde.net.uk/mantchi/

Mayes, J.T. (1995) Learning Technology and Groundhog Day. In Hypermedia at Work: Practice and Theory in Higher Education (eds. W. Strang, V.B. Simpson & D. Slater), University of Kent Press, Canterbury.

McKendree, J. & Mayes, J.T. (1997) The Vicarious Learner: investigating the benefits of observing peer dialogues. Proceedings of Computer-Assisted Learning Conference (CAL '97) Exeter, UK, pp. 161-164.

McMorris, L. (1998) Learning through tacit participation in undergraduate tutorials. MA project, Dept. of Psychology, University of Glasgow.

Accepted: 14 September 1998

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Learning statistics by computer software

John Maltby

School of Health and Community Studies, Sheffield Hallam University

Email: jmaltby@hcsshu.u-net.com

The change in emphasis in teaching statistics from paper-based materials and hand calculations to computer-based software packages is well documented (Becker, 1996; Steagall & Mason, 1994; Strasser & Ozgur, 1995). However, some doubts exist as to which method of teaching statistics leads to better student learning (Raymondo & Garrett, 1998; Varnhagen et al., 1997). Some authors point out that there are some cognitive skills involved in hand-based calculations that may aid students in their understanding that are not sought when statistics is taught by computer (Conners et al., 1998; Liebman, 1998). The aim of the present study was to explore factors in students' preferences for learning statistics and whether this effects learning.

Method

Eighty-nine students (26 men, 63 women) aged between 18 and 40 years (Mean = 24.43, sd = 7.25) took part in the study. All participants were at the end of an introductory statistics course on which students were taught statistics both by hand and by a popular computer software package. Each respondent was asked to state a preference for his or her best learning method of statistics. Responses were scored: by hand; by computer software package; and by a combination of both. Further, students were asked to give a short explanation of their preference. Participants also gave permission for their mark from the course assessment that tested both their statistics knowledge of hand and computerised calculations to be used. The course had an anonymous marking policy, and results were only matched to respondents after the allocation of marks.

Results

Among the total sample, 39 respondents (43.8%) showed a preference for learning by hand, 48 respondents (53.9%) showed a preference for learning by computer, and 2 students (2.2%) suggested that they best learnt statistics by a combination by both methods.

A number of statistical tests were performed to examine the relationship between sex, age and preference of learning methods, and the association between preference of learning method on assessment marks. For this part of the analysis, participants' stating a preference for a combination of both learning methods was eliminated due to the low response rate of this category. A chi-square suggested no significant association between sex and preference for learning method (2 = 0.33, p > 0.05) and a point bi-serial correlation coefficient suggested no significant correlation between mark for the course assessment (Mean = 52.7; sd = 6.8) and preference for learning method (r = 0.01, p > 0.05). However, a point bi-serial correlation coefficient suggested a significant negative association between age of respondents and preference for learning (r = -0.49, p < 0.01). This suggests that older persons prefer learning by hand and younger persons prefer learning by computer.

The frequency counts for reasons given for preference of learning method are given below. Categories are labeled by a typical comment made by one of the respondents. The frequency counts suggest that the majority of preferences of learning statistics by computer is due to learning being quicker and easier, whilst the majority of preferences of learning statistics by hand is due to the perception that learning by computer is cheating.

Reasons for choosing computer based software (n = 48)

Reasons for choosing hand-calculations (n = 39)

Discussion

The results show that sex is not a factor in preference for learning method of statistics and that preferred learning method of statistics does not have an effect on final assessment score. However, the results show that age is a factor in learning preference, with older persons showing a preference for learning statistics by hand and younger persons showing a preference for computer learning. The reasons for younger persons preferring to learn by computer is that it is easier and quicker, and this may reflect more experience with computers. In contrast, older persons prefer learning by hand, accompanied by a view that doing statistics by computer is cheating.

Suggestions for further research are: a) aim to define those constructs that surround the perception of computer learning as cheating and examine whether it extends to other computer learning contexts outside the teaching of statistics; b) data will be collected on how the perception of computer learning as cheating may be challenged within the context of learning scenarios to facilitate teachers' confidence in use of computer software to teach older students.

References

Becker, B.J. (1996) A look at the literature (and other resources) on teaching Statistics. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 21, 71-90.

Conners, F.A., McCown, S.M. & RoskoEwoldsen, B. (1998) Unique challenges in teaching undergraduate statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 25, 40-42.

Liebman, J.S. (1998) Teaching operations research: Lessons from cognitive psychology. Interfaces, 28, 104-110.

Raymondo, J.C. & Garrett, J.R. (1998) Assessing the introduction of a computer laboratory experience into a behavioral science statistics course. Teaching Sociology, 26, 29-37.

Steagall, J.W. & Mason, P.M. (1994) Technology in the classroom - using PCs to teach business and economic statistics. Computers and Education, 23, 253-259.

Strasser, S.E. & Ozgur, C. (1995) Undergraduate business statistics - A survey of topics and teaching methods. Interfaces, 25, 95-103.

Varnhagen, C.K., Drake, S.M. & Finley, G. (1997). Teaching statistics with the Internet. Teaching of Psychology, 24, 275-278.

Accepted: 20 December 1998

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The effect of using a home computer on students' use of ICT in university

Neil Selwyn1, Neil Marriott2 and Pru Marriott3

1 - Cardiff School of Social Sciences; 2 - Cardiff Business School; 3 - Glamorgan University

Email: selwynnc@cardiff.ac.uk

Introduction

There has been growing recognition over the last twenty years of the importance of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in UK Higher Education; a trend culminating in the recent recommendation from the Dearing Committee (National Committee Of Inquiry Into Higher Education, 1997, p. 213) that "by 2005/6 all students will be required to have access to their own portable computer". This assertion mirrored concurrent concerns over the role of domestic access to computers in influencing use of ICT in K-12 educational settings (i.e. Giacquinta et al. 1993; Selwyn 1998) as well as the importance of ensuring university students have reasonable access to ICT outside of their educational institution (Startup & Brady 1989). However, the exact nature and effect of home-based technology on students' subsequent university-based behaviour remains ambiguous. As yet little research has examined what advantage, if any, access to a home computer has on students' use of ICT in university. This research therefore set out to explore the influence of students' home computer use on their subsequent use of, and attitudes towards, using ICT in UK higher education.

Method

As part of a larger research project into the use of ICT in higher education, questionnaires were administered to 523 (51.8 percent were male and 48.2 percent were female) undergraduate students in two Business Schools in South Wales universities. All the students were in full-time education following first degrees and were aged between 18 and 43 (mean = 20.38 years). Students completed questionnaires measuring demographic inform-ation as well as their use of computers in university. Students' attitudes towards using computers were measured by Kay's (1993) 'Computer Attitude Measure' which concentrates on four main constructs of 'computer attitude' namely: affect (feelings towards computers); behavioural intent to use IT (both in college and in future contexts); cognition (opinions regarding computers); and perceived control (akin to confidence when using IT).

Results

Just under two thirds of the sample reported having access to a computer at home (60.8 percent, n = 318); a trend that increased in likelihood with students' year of study. Unlike previous studies covering compulsory education there were no significant gender differences in students' domestic access to ICT (c2 = 0.02, n/s). Nevertheless, home students (i.e. originating from UK/Eire) were found to be significantly more likely to have access to a computer at home than their overseas peers (c2 = 4.04, p < 0.05). Whereas 72.5 percent (n = 221) of home students reported having access to a computer outside of school or college, only 57.5 percent (n = 97) of overseas students reported having similar opportunities to use ICT at home.

Students with access to a computer outside of university also made significantly more overall use of ICT whilst in college (Mann Whitney z = -2.45, p < 0.05). This difference was most pronounced for word-processing applications (Mann Whitney z = -3.08, p < 0.005), spreadsheets (Mann Whitney z = -3.94, p < 0.0001) and the Internet (Mann Whitney z = -3.34, p < 0.001). Nevertheless, these increased levels of use were found to be gender-differentiated. Although no less likely to have access to a computer outside of university, female students who did have domestic ICT access were found to use college ICT significantly less often than their male counterparts (Mann Whitney z = -2.69, p < 0.01). As Table 1 shows, this gender-differentiated use was significant across four of the seven applications: word-processing; CD-Rom; Internet and E-mail use.

Table 1. Frequency of home computer-using students' use of IT in university by gender

                 Male       Female     Mann       Significance    

                 Students   Students   -Whitney                   
z                          

                 (n = 164)  (n = 154)                             

Word-Processing  2.64       2.20       -3.22      p < 0. 005      

Spreadsheets     2.28       2.17       -0.68      n/s             

Internet         2.30       1.73       -3.29      p < 0.001       

E-Mail           2.00       1.44       -2.91      p < 0.005       

CD-Rom           1.13       0.79       -2.89      p < 0.005       

CAL              1.43       1.44       -0.11      n/s             

Statistics       1.20       0.99       -1.38      n/s

N.B. Data represent frequency of IT use on a Likert-Scale from 0-'Never' to 5-'Every Day'

Table 2. Students' scores on the computer attitude measure

Attitude          Home          Non-home                              

Construct         Users         Users        t-score     Significance 

                   (n = 318)     (n = 205)                            

Affective         59.49         56.25        3.44        p < 0.001    

Perceived         22.49         19.77        6.47        p < 0.0005   
Control                                                               

Cognitive         58.44         56.85        2.97        p < 0.005    

Behavioural       33.81         30.53        5.95        p < 0.0005   

Overall Attitude  174.23        163.41       6.05        p < 0.0005

N.B. a higher score denotes a more positive attitude towards computers

Finally, students using a computer at home were found to have more favourable attitudes towards computers than their non home-using peers. As can be seen from Table 2, significant differences were found between the two groups' attitudes towards using computers in terms of their affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceived control responses; suggesting that using a computer at home gives students a considerable advantage in their overall disposition towards using computers.

Conclusion

Access to a computer outside of university would certainly appear to be an advantage for students; both in terms of their use and orientation towards ICT in university. Moreover, there is little evidence that students lacking domestic access to ICT are compensating for this by making more use of computers whilst in college; suggesting that home computing may be exagg-erating differences between students. Furthermore, this preliminary study highlights potential areas of inequality in both accessing and benefiting from domestic ICT. In particular students' gender and origin would appear to be salient areas for further examination. Indeed, it is clear that more research is needed to explore how the disadvantages for those students without access to ICT can be minimised and which students should be targeted if and when universities begin to ensure provision of computers for all.

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial contribution made by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) towards the research upon which this paper is based.

References

Giacquinta, J.B., Bauer, J. & Levin, J.E. (1993) Beyond Technology's Promise. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Kay, R. (1993) An exploration of theoretical and practical foundations for assessing attitudes toward computers. Computers in Human Behaviour, 9, 371-386.

National Committee Of Inquiry Into Higher Education (1997). Higher Education in the Learning Society (The Dearing Report). HMSO, London.

Selwyn, N. (1998) The effect of using a home computer on students' educational use of IT. Computers and Education, 31, 2, 211-228.

Startup, R. & Brady, P. (1989) Widening student access to computer facilities. Evaluation and Research in Education, 3, 1, 25-35.

Accepted: 23 December 1998

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A Decision Support Tool for web-supported course design

P. Fisser & W. de Boer

Faculty of Educational Science and Technology, University of Twente

Email: p.h.g.fisser@oc.utwente.nl

At the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology (TO), the TeLeTOP project is currently adapting the faculty's courses to a more telematics-enhanced curriculum. This Note gives an outline of the project, with special attention to the Decision Support Tool that is used. An extensive overview can be found at the TeLeTOP homepage, http://TeLeTOP.edte.utwente.nl/

The overall goal of the project is to systematically support the professional development of the faculty in terms of potential telematics-applications in their teaching, and to carry out the re-design of the courses so that education becomes more efficient, more enriched, and more flexible. This is made possible through supporting the teachers (instructionally and technically), providing a technical infrastructure and supporting the use of telematics in courses. The underlying pedagogical goals in the project are the seven principles of good education (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1998): good practice encourages contacts between students and faculty, develops reciprocity and co-operation among students, uses active learning techniques, gives prompt feedback, emphasises time on task, communicates high expectations and diverse talents and ways of learning.

The approach used is that of pedagogical re-engineering (Collis, 1997; Collis & Fisser, 1998), where each course is examined in terms of opportunities to provide more flexibility while retaining its strengths. The TeLeTOP-team supports the teachers who need to know what is possible in a WWW-based environment (with respect to communication, course material deliverance, student progress administration, etc.) and they need to know what tools will enable the flexibility options for their course. The TeLeTOP-team assists the teachers by showing them good examples of what is possible in a WWW-based environment in order to make good decisions. This is done during individual teacher meetings where a Decision Support Tool is used.

The Decision Support Tool

The Decision Support Tool (DST) is designed to support structured interviews enabling the teacher as well as the team members to make decisions in a structured and organised way. It is used to help the teacher whose course is being re-designed, to identify which ideas and approaches are most likely to be acceptable and interesting to a particular course and the teacher's way of teaching.

All course components (such as lectures, organisation and communication) are considered. The questions of the DST are discussed and existing examples of ICT are used for clarification. After answering all questions of the DST and discussing the components and examples, the DST automatically generates a 'decisions made' form. This form is printed out for the teacher who is able to compare the choices made with the choices of colleagues. This act of comparison usually brings out more ideas and changing previous decisions is always possible.

The 'decisions made' form, which is unique for every teacher, is the base for the next step: within a few days after the DST session, the TeLeTOP team makes a first prototype of the course, based on the decisions made. After the development of this prototype two members of the TeLeTOP team visit the teacher, and conduct a walk-through of the prototype of the course WWW site, further discussing the ideas and reactions of the teacher.

Evaluation of the Decision Support Tool

Reaching more flexibility, efficiency and enrichment in a course are the main goals for the teacher. Keeping contact between the teachers and students, and stimulating contact among students is important in the learning process. Working with a Decision Support Tool seems a convenient way for teachers to think about the possibilities for changing courses and supporting them via the Web. To evaluate this idea, all teachers who had the responsibility for first and second trimester courses (n = 19) were interviewed on several aspects of the TeLeTOP project, including the Decision Support Tool. In general the teachers were very positive about the DST and about half of them responded that the tool is a very effective way to support choices in using specific ICT applications. The combination of using the DST and individual discussion between a teacher and someone from the TeLeTOP-team is seen as a good and 'client-friendly' way to support change. Further evidence to evaluate this methodology is being collected.

References

Collis, B. (1997) Pedagogical Re-engineering: A Model for the Analysis and Re-Design of Courses for the WWW. Keynote presentation at the Seminar 'Pedagogical Methods and Technical Solutions for Multimedia Distance Learning', University of Tampere, Finland.

Collis, B. & Fisser, P. (1998). TeleTOP: Telelearning at the University of Twente. In Teleteaching '98. Distance learning, training and education (ed. G. Davies) pp. 217-227. Proceedings of theXV IFIP World Congress. Austrian Computer Society, Vienna. ISBN 3085403-120-3

Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1998) Implementing the seven principles: Technology as Lever. http://www.aahe.org/technology/ehrmann.htm

Accepted: 19 April 1999 (based on a contribution to the Networked Lifelong Learning Conference -Sheffield University, April 1998)

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Tying models of learning to design of collaborative learning software tools

Dimitri Popolov*, Michael Callaghan** & Paul Luker**

*Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia, **De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

Email: dpopolov@ics.bmstu.ru

Introduction

Currently there exists a need for an explicit theoretical framework that could tie educational paradigms to particular features of software for support of collaborative learning. This research attempts to create such a framework on the basis of models of communication that exist in the culture, by tracing the way they are reflected in models of learning and simultaneously in concepts underlying design of software tools in the area of asynchronous text-based communication (ATBC). Besides the classical examples of electronic mail and computer conferences, this mode of interaction is often supported by various software systems for collaborative learning.

Models of communication

There are two basic models (metaphors) of communication: 'communication as exchange' and 'communication as sharing'. The first model presents the human communication process as an exchange of messages between two communicants. It is assumed that each message carries with it a predefined 'unit' of meaning (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). In contrast with this, the second model views communication as an ongoing process of interaction between multiple autonomous agents during which they achieve co-ordination of their behaviour and structures. There is no predefined 'meaning' which exists outside communication; it is however a way for an outside observer to describe the actions of communicants (Winograd & Flores, 1986, Maturana & Varela, 1987). Different communication media promote specific models of communication. For example, oral communication is best conceptualised with the sharing model, while text promotes the exchange one. New electronic and computer media have many similarities with oral communication and also promote understanding of communication as sharing (Ong, 1982).

With respect to learning paradigms these models are reflected as a transmission model of learning and as active knowledge generation. In software design they are known as message passing and data sharing approaches (McCarthy et al., 1992). ATBC as communication medium is better suited to group discussions in the mode of 'collaborative learning' (Kaye, 1992), rather than for straightforward delivery of educational contents. However, most software design is based on the message passing approach, although this is often contradicted by the empirical experience of researchers, which shows the viability and appropriateness of the data sharing approach and the related concept of shared workspace (Whittaker et al., 1997). This medium is also usually conceptualised as a textual one, overshadowing its stylistic and structural similarities with oral interaction.

The proposed theoretical framework allowed this discrepancy between the supported human activity and software design concepts to be identified. Its viability has further been tested by designing and implementing an ATBC software tool to support active knowledge generation through informal peer-to-peer discussion.

The ConverSpace prototype

The complex interaction of oral and textual properties in ATBC discourse is reflected in a phenomenon of quoting, which occurs when users paste fragments of others' messages in their replies. Quoting, which is a typical written strategy, is employed in this medium to promote the oral, conversational feel of the discourse (Eklundh & Macdonald, 1991). Quoting allows new topics (threads) to be easily branched off, with past contributions accessible due to the persistence of text. This results in a complex multi-threaded discourse structure with several threads of discussion developing simultaneously. Existing software tools do not adequately support such a structure, because their design has been guided by the exchange model of communication. Non-linear discourse structure was crammed into sequential message exchange and the potential of the medium was under-utilised.

The prototype represents an attempt to address this practical task while maintaining the link with the proposed theoretical framework. It is explicitly based on the previously downplayed concepts of data sharing, shared workspace and oral conversation, with human discourse represented as a collaboratively created multi-threaded structure. These concepts explain the prototype's title - Conversation Space (ConverSpace). The main interface design challenge was to create a way of visualising the discourse that would make use of the persistency of text while promoting spontaneity of oral conversation - a combination of medium properties best suited for idea generation and refinement through informal discussions.

Conclusions

The ConverSpace prototype, implemented with Java and capable of working over the Internet, is currently ready. A preliminary evaluation has shown that the desired 'feel' of interaction seems to have been achieved. Further work will concentrate on the ConverSpace's more thorough formal evaluation.

The research presented here constitutes D.Popolov's work towards his PhD degree at De Montfort University.

References

Eklundh, K.S. & Macdonald, C. (1994). The use of quoting to preserve context in electronic mail dialogues. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 37 (4), 197-202.

Kaye, A.R. (1992). Collaborative Learning through Computer Conferencing. Springer Verlag, Berlin.

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Maturana, H. & Varela, F. (1987). The Tree of Knowledge: the Biological Roots of Human Understanding (trans. Robert Paulucci). Shambala, Boston.

McCarthy, J.C., Miles, V.C., Monk, A.F., Harrison, M.D., Dix, A.J. & Wright, P.C. (1992). Text-based on-line conferencing: a conceptual and empirical analysis using a minimal prototype. Human-Computer Interaction. 8 (2), 147-183.

Ong, W.J. (1982). Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.

Whittaker, S., Swanson, J., Kucan, J. & Sidner, C. (1997). TeleNotes: managing lightweight interactions in the desktop. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction. 4 (2), 137-168.

Winograd, T. & Flores, F. (1986). Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.

Accepted: 3 December 1999

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An Internet-based collaborative environment for the learning of mathematics

Djordje Kadijevich

Mathematical Institute, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

E-mail: djkadij@mi.sanu.ac.yu

This study describes the design of ICELM (Internet-based collaborative environment for the learning of mathematics), indicating suitable ICELM task types. It also summarises the ICELM psychological framework, proposing several research questions that may be examined in further studies.

Keywords: Internet; Mathematics learning; Distance learning; Learning communities; Virtual learning environments; Social constructivism

ICELM design

An innovative education can and should be mediated by the Internet (e.g., Hinostroza & Hepp, 1999). Having in mind that distance learning can be substantially improved with computer mediated communication (Crowe & Zand, 1997), the learning of mathematics may be realized in an Internet-based collaborative environment by using e-mail correspondence. Such an environment may be implemented by using two pieces of software: an Internet browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and a drawing program producing GIF files such as Corel Photo-Paint. Having familiarised themselves with the chosen pieces of software, students may produce their home pages comprising some textual and graphical data and send them to the teacher to be assessed and placed on his Web site if appropriate.

The environment can be utilised taking the following steps:

To achieve an effective communication based, for example, upon Schoenfeld's (1992) problem solving management, many (perhaps most) pairs may need considerable guidance from the teacher. This guidance may primarily be shaped by the pairs' e-talks, the content of which should be included in the submitted outcomes

These steps may be realized within a week.

ICELM task types

It has been realized that the more adequate students' conceptions of mathematics and its teaching/learning are, the more knowledge they are likely to acquire and apply successfully (e.g., Hembree, 1992; Grouws, 1992; Kadijevich, 1999b). An adequate, humanistic picture about mathematical knowledge can be formed through promoting the human face of mathematics in mathematics teaching, which can be accomplished through completing tasks dealing with historical, epistemological, structural and applicative issues of mathematical knowledge (Kadijevich, 1998). Besides these tasks and traditional procedural tasks promoting skills, ICELM may also deal with conceptual tasks promoting understanding (Kadijevich, 1999a). The ICELM approach should be based upon solving problems in several ways since such an activity seems to promote both skills and understanding (NCES, 1996). What follows is a sample of tasks relevant to mathematics education at the upper secondary level.

[Being aware of the enormous volume of material available at the Internet, the lack of the developed material quality control and the danger of academic dishonesty (Robertson, 1999), the teacher may help students not only to search the Internet efficiently, but also examine the outcomes critically and use them properly.]

Of course, project work, based upon tasks calling for complex modelling activities (e.g., designing a rear windscreen wiper or a carton holding 1 litre of juice), may also be given, but usually just for the most able students.

ICELM psychological framework

The ICELM framework is based upon a form of constructivism called social constructivism, which has influenced by Vygotsky's theory of intellectual development. [This theory essentially examines the role of language, external tools, systems of scientific concepts, and metacognitive activities in learner's mental development utilising his/her zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978; Ivic, 1989).] For this form supposing a falibilist epistemology of human knowledge, the metaphor for the mind is persons in conversation, whereas the model of the world is a socially constructed, shared world (Ernest, 1994). A socio-constructivist teaching of mathematics should utilise, among others, the following didactic suggestions, which can be realized within the ICELM approach.

It is important to underline that the ICELM approach should primarily be viewed as a tool that can empower some important aspects of learning captured by social constructivism. [As Francis Bacon (1561-1626) put, "Nec manus, nisi intellectus, sibi permissus, multum valent: instrumentis et auxiliis res perficitur."] Having in mind that that computer experience and computer attitude are positively correlated (e.g., Kadijevich, 2000), the teacher should also uncover students' attitudes toward computers and try to make them more positive (if need be), especially those relating to perceived control and perceived usefulness of computers.

Research questions for further studies

Having in mind the presented psychological framework, further studies may examine the following research questions (some relevant references are listed in parenthesis):

Acknowledgement

This Note is a copy of a contribution to the 2nd Mediterranean Conference on Mathematics Education, Nicosia-Cyprus, 7-9 January 2000, which is published in Gagatsis, A. & Makrides, G. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Second Mediterranean Conference on Mathematics Education (Vol. I, pp. 184-188). Nicosia: Cyprus Mathematical Society & Cyprus Pedagogical Institute.

References

Crowe, D. & Zand, H. (1997) Novices entering mathematics - I. The impact of new technology. Computers & Education, 28, 1, 43-54.

Ernest, P. (1994) Varieties of constructivism: their metaphors, epistemologies and pedagogical implications. Hiroshima Journal of Mathematics Education, 2, 1-14.

Grouws, D. (Ed.) (1992) Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning. New York: Macmillan.

Haapasalo, L. & Kadijevich, Dj. (1999) Two types of mathematical knowledge and their relation. Submitted to Journal für Mathematik-Didaktik (the first revision).

Hembree, R. (1992) Experiments and relational studies in problem solving: A meta-analysis. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 23, 3, 242-273.

Hinostroza, E. & Hepp, P. (1999) Use of the Web in the Chilean Educational System. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 15, 1, 91-94.

Ivic, I. (1989) Profiles of educators: Lev S. Vygotsky, Prospects (UNESCO), 19, 3, 427-436.

Kadijevich, Dj. (1998) Promoting the Human Face of Geometry in Mathematical Teaching at the Upper Secondary Level. Research in Mathematical Education, 2, 1, 21-39.

Kadijevich, Dj. (1999a) Conceptual tasks in mathematics education. The Teaching of Mathematics, 2, 1, 59-64.

Kadijevich, Dj. (1999b) What may be neglected by an application-centred approach to mathematics education? A personal view. Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education, 7, 1, 29-39.

Kadijevich, Dj. (2000) Gender differences in computer attitude among ninth-grade students. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 21, 2 (to appear).

National Center for Education Statistics (1996) Pursuing Excellence. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Opachich, G. & Kadijevich, Dj. (1997) Mathematical self-concept: An operationalization and its validity. Psihologija, 30, 4, 395-412.

Robertson, J. (1999) The Curse of Plenty: Mathematics and the Internet. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 18, 1, 3-5.

Schoenfeld, A. (1992) Learning to Think Mathematically: Problem Solving, Metacognition and Sense Making in Mathematics. In Grouws, D. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning, New York: Macmillan.

Shotsberger, P. (1999) The INSTRUCT Project: Web Professional Development for Mathematics Teachers. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 18, 1, 49-60.

Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Accepted: 3 December 1999

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Excessive Internet usage or 'Internet addiction'? The implications of diagnostic categories for student users

Susan Hansen

School of Psychology, Murdoch University, Western Australia, 6150

Email: shansen@central.murdoch.edu.au

The new psychological 'disorder' of Internet addiction is fast accruing both popular and - in some circles - professional recognition. This pathology claims to make sense of 'excessive Internet use', which is considered a 'behavioural addiction' akin to pathological gambling. Indeed, the diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction have been 'cut and pasted' - in advance of the conduct of any substantial research - from the criteria for pathological gambling contained in the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (Goldberg, 1996; Young, 1998).

More recently, five subtypes of IA have been proposed (Young, 2000). These extend the reach of the disorder from excessive (and non-productive) use-in-general to encompass a range of different online activities. This research project is primarily concerned with the effects of two of these categorisations: Cyber-sexual addiction and cyber-relationship addiction.

These new variants of Internet Addiction appear to have been formulated in recognition of the Internet as a social space, where relationships may be conducted. However, these subtypes also link the disorder to the (popular) psychological literature on sex and relationship addiction. This connection to the self help market arguably makes Internet addiction a more lucrative form of psychological disorder . The understanding of addiction alluded to in many of the popular texts (eg. Carnes, 1982) explicitly referenced by Internet addiction researchers (eg. Young, 2000) is rather different from that contained in the more established psychological literature on pathological gambling, or problem drug use -in which the term addiction itself has fallen out of use.

This research questions the utility of construing 'excessive and non-productive' student Internet use as symptomatic of Internet addiction.

The online behaviour of institutional users is particularly vulnerable to categorization as pathological. Universities and colleges which provide student Internet accounts routinely form policies to regulate the Internet usage and online conduct of their students. The introduction of 'Internet codes of conduct', and charges for excessive Internet use are amongst the strategies that have been adopted to curtail time spent online. Such policies ultimately reflect economically driven concerns. Students have access to limited resources, and, in the interests of others, should refrain from exceeding their allocated online time. Codes of conduct often include clauses concerning the kinds of activities that may be conducted whilst online, in addition to agreements about time and download limitations. At a certain level, these also reflect economic concerns: The viewing of online pornography, in some states is patently illegal - and when considering a pool of potentially underage users, prohibition is often deemed necessary. Social use of the Internet - in chat rooms, in Multi-User Domains, or on Internet Relay Chat - may be similarly restricted. Cases of students falling behind in their studies due to excessive investments in online relationships have been documented as cases of Internet addiction (eg. Young, 1998).

However, other social researchers have noted a range of potentially positive benefits for such 'invested' student users (eg. Turkle, 1995). Not least amongst these are the series of generalizable technological skills that come with a familiarity with contemporary Internet applications.

The current project aims to disentangle these diverse interests from the 'psychological' concerns of those who would render the 'excessive' social Internet use of students as symptomatic of Internet addiction - and thus as requiring psychological intervention and management.

To this end, it will include:

* a critical overview of contemporary research on Internet addiction in student populations (eg. Griffiths et al, 1999);

* an analysis of student attitudes toward the Internet as a social technology, and/or as a 'tool' for learning; and

* a critical interrogation of the available strategies for the regulation of student Internet use.

Data has been drawn from a variety of sources - student discussions of the Internet; the popular and academic psychological literature; and the formal codes of conduct, and regulative strategies of a number of tertiary institutions. A combination of discourse analytic and ethnomethodological techniques will be used to analyse this data.

This research will provide a critical balance for the existing literature on Internet addiction in student populations, and relevant considerations for the formulation of non-stigmatising policy for the regulation of institutional Internet usage.

REFERENCES

Carnes, P. (1982) Out of the Shadows. Minnesota: Hazenden Educational Materials

Goldberg, I. (1996) Internet Addiction Disorder. Retreived 26/10/00 from

http://www.cog.brown.edu/brochure/people/duchon/humor/internet.addiction.html

Griffiths, M., Miller, H., Gillespie, T. & Sparrow, P. (1999) Internet usage and 'internet addiction' in students and its implications for learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 15, 89-90

Turkle, S. (1995) Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. NY: Simon & Schuster

Young, K. (2000) The Legal Implications of Cybersexual Addiction. Poster presented at the 108th annual meeting of the American PsychologicalAssociation, Washington DC, 4 August, 2000

Young, K. (1998) Caught in the Net: How to recognize the signs of Internet Addiction and a Winning Strategy for Recovery. NY: John Wiley & Sons

Accepted: 30 October 2000

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What the user log file shows and how it can help to promote learning

Wu-yuin Hwang & Chia-chin Li

Information and Computer Education, National Kouhsiung Normal University

Email: wyhwang@nknucc.nknu.edu.tw

Introduction

Details of learners' actions whilst working asynchronously with on-line materials can be recorded automatically in log files (Jones & Jones, 1997). Over a period of time, each learner exhibits a certain pattern of behaviour. This research employs database technology to record the learning activity and login timing of asynchronous learners. First, the timing of accessing asynchronous courseware is discussed, both the timing of logins and the duration of reading the accessed material. The reading duration is studied in detail, including the material selection and detailed time distribution. With a combination of these two measures some of the characteristics of the asynchronous learner are found. This information is not used for evaluation or to make judgements on the learner’s behaviour. A common failing of today’s distance learning systems is that the learner can lose patience and is unable to control their learning progress. Consequently, there should be some mechanisms that help the system, learner and teacher to interact one with another so as to promote the effectiveness of on-line learning. Such mechanisms were provided in a recent study and feedback from learners was obtained through questionnaires and qualitative interviews.

The experiment and analysis of the statistics

The study was made on a course called 'Basic Computer Concepts' which lasted twelve weeks. A particular topic was studied each week. There were three weeks of face-to-face teaching (in the first, sixth and twelfth week) and during the other nine weeks the students studied online. Learning progress was monitored by weekly homework and the learner was only allowed to move to the next topic after handing in the current homework task. There were forty-three students involved in the experiment and all of them were teachers in senior and elementary school.

Some students recorded only fragmentary login and short reading times between the second and third face-to-face course element. The situation reveals that the student’s learning depends upon the pressure of the face-to-face course and these elements are indispensable. Some students confessed in the interview that they would never complete their learning if it were not for the pressure of the face-to-face elements.

However, some students did follow a regular pattern with a period of intensive learning every three or four days before the due date of the homework. Therefore, the use of homework as a mechanism of week-by-week control helped students to achieve the scheduled progress. The questionnaires also show that most students agreed strongly that this mechanism was important and contributed to their learning.

According to the data collected, more than a half (22) the students kept to the studying routine and finished their homework every week. With appropriate supervision, they were able to keep up with the schedule and didn’t fall behind by more than one week. However, there were a few students who were passive and hurriedly handed in all the homework just before a face-to-face course. There were four students who abandoned the course.

Various encouragement and support should be provided. For instance, the system should pay attention to students who are passive in learning and provide them with adequate support immediately. A student who falls behind the schedule should be sent a pop-up email message. Voluntary students should be provided with additional materials or references at the right moment to inspire their intellectual curiosity and promote their learning.

The statistics show that during the reading period, learners study the material of that week intensely. The asynchronous learning time distribution could be used as a basis to modify the learning material and to develop materials that are adaptive to the individuals. For instance, if all the students spend much more time on a certain topic, it might indicate that the material is too difficult or inappropriate for them. On the other hand, if students fail in the test and the log file shows that they seldom reads the material of that chapter, the system should automatically remind and encourage them.

Conclusion and future study

It is shown that the learning assisted mechanisms are extremely important in the asynchronous learning environment because of individual differences between learners. Certainly, the statistics will not be able to reflect every aspect of the student’s learning but they are indicators that help teachers to know more about them and to provide necessary support. This is especially critical in the asynchronous learning environment which lacks human contact and overlooks individual differences. The asynchronous curriculum will continue to be used and the data collected and analysed will help in the target of the research of how to make the system more valuable for learning.

Reference

Jones, T. & Jones, M. (1997) MacSEAL: A Tool for Exploration of Hypermedia Log File Sequences. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 97 & ED-TELECOM 97.

Accepted: 30 October 2000

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Internet-based learning environments for project-enhanced science learning

Päivi Häkkinen

Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä

Email: phakkine@ktl.jyu.fi

Project-enhanced work has been assumed to provide students with opportunities for context-based "cognitive apprenticeships" in authentic scientific inquiry, using computers for data-collection, analysis and communication. Student teams are supposed to work collaboratively on often long-term projects with teacher guidance to develop their understanding of concepts and skills e.g. through problem solving and reflection. Through the use of technology, educators now have new opportunities for transforming learning to better resemble the authentic practice of science. There are attempts to build network-based systems for participants that provide a support structure for project-enhanced science learning (O'Neill & Gomez, 1994; Pea, 1993). These tools usually allow shared inquiry, communication and knowledge-building between project members through shared workspaces. However, we often assume that project-enhanced learning is automatically a good thing leading to deeper level learning, and only seldom describe the barriers for the promotion of successful learning. The aim of this study is to examine the possibilities and constraints of project-based work in a networked science learning environment.

The subjects of the study were two classes of primary school students and their teachers participating in a science learning project. One pair of 10-11 year old girls (N=2) was chosen for detailed analysis and case description in this pilot phase of the project. The goal of the learning project was to gather, analyse and share ideas related to properties and recycling of plastics. The project lasted for three months, and the time spent on the project varied between three and eight hours per week. A particular pedagogical model was designed to support both individual and socially shared reflective thinking as well as reification of previously completed work (Lehrer et al, 1994). The model focused on planning, problem framing and monitoring, and it was integrated into the use of a collaborative discussion environment called HyperNews. In this environment students could communicate with other students, teachers and experts by posting messages that could be labelled and linked to other messages. The HyperNews environment was used particularly in the planning and evaluation phases of the project work.

The results of the case study indicate that although spontaneous reflection was rather common in the face-to-face situations of the Plastics project, it was rather rare in the network discussions in the HyperNews environment. In general, the network discussions were descriptive rather than exploratory and reflective in nature. It seemed that stronger support, such as cognitive scaffolding and mentoring towards reflection, was needed. However, some crucial episodes involving reflective discussion did occur during the projects. A typical feature of these episodes was that the teacher supported the students towards more reflective knowledge articulation activities and externalization of their own thinking, especially during the planning and evaluation phases of the learning project. It was noted that, by making the students' working processes explicit, the asynchronous discussion environment provided the teacher with the opportunity of following that working from phase to phase in order to assess adequately how to scaffold learning processes.

Based on these initial results of the project, it seems evident that project-enhanced learning sets new demands on students and teachers by challenging the traditional practices and support structures of schools. Learning from doing complex, challenging and authentic projects requires resourcefulness and planning by the student, new forms of knowledge representation in school, expanded mechanisms for collaboration and communication, and support for reflection and authentic assessment (Laffey et al, 1998). It can be argued that although research results have demonstrated computers can play a central role in re-structuring social interaction and knowledge construction, the realization of this potential is still not so self-evident in our institutionalized schooling (e.g. Pea, 1993; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994). As Windschitl (1998) has stated in Educational Researcher, in order to realize this potential "we need to understand better the relationship between technology, pedagogy, project-oriented curricula and student learning" (p. 28).

REFERENCES

Laffey, J., Tupper, T., Musser, D. & Wedman, J. (1998). A Computer-Mediated Support System for Project-Based Learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 46, 1, 73-86.

Lehrer, R., Erickson, J., & Connell, T. (1994). Learning by Designing Hypermedia Documents. Computers in Schools, 10, 1-2, 227-254.

O'Neill, D. K. & Gomez, L. (1994). The Collaboratory Notebook: A distributed knowledge-building environment for project-enhanced learning. In Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Proceedings of Ed-Media'94 (eds. T. Ottmann & I. Tomek), 416-423. Charlottesville, VA: AACE.

Pea, R.D. (1993). Learning scientific concepts through material and social activities: Conversational analysis meets conceptual change. Educational Psychologist, 28, 3, 265-277.

Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3, 265-283.

Windschitl, M. (1998). The WWW and Classroom Research: What Path Should We Take?

Accepted: 20 November 2001

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Excessive online computer gaming : Implications for education

Mark D. Griffiths and Mark N.O. Davies

Department of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University

Email: mark.griffiths@ntu.ac.uk

Previous overviews of computer game playing have demonstrated that they have the capacity to be both educationally useful and educationally detrimental depending on the frequency and context of play (e.g., Griffiths, 1996). Almost all of this research to date has tended to concentrate on adolescent players (e.g., Griffiths & Hunt, 1995). Furthermore, most of the research has tended to concentrate on the more negative aspects such as excessive play and addiction (e.g., Griffiths & Hunt, 1998), the effects of playing aggressive games (e.g., Griffiths, 1998) and the medical and psychosocial consequences (e.g., Griffiths, 1996). Thus, the image of a typical gamer (and the pastime of computer gaming) is seen as socially negative, educationally detrimental, and remains firmly within a youth subculture.

In the last few years, new computer games have emerged that enable people to link up online to game together. This has fostered both co-operative and competitive elements within a strategic context. It may well be the case that online games are more educationally useful than traditional games in which a player competes against the machine only. Because online gaming is so new, very little is known about the psychology of online gaming and its relationship with educational pursuits. What data there are, suggests that gaming in general (particularly online fantasy gaming) is associated with introversion, lower empathic concern, and low feminine identity (Douse & McManus, 1993). Case study reports concerning the impact of online gaming on education have shown detrimental effects, although these studies concerned excessive online gaming use rather than occasional or regular use (Griffiths, 2001).

At present almost nothing is empirically known about normal and excessive online gaming usage and its development in the student population and/or it's impact on student learning. Our current research project has only just begun but we aim to empirically establish the prevalence of online gaming addiction amongst gamers (many of which will be students). Although not solely concentrated on educational impact, one of the aims is to examine the impact of online gaming on educational activities. Recent surveys have confirmed that a majority of Internet users are in male (as are computer game players). Surveys also indicate that approximately one third of internet users access the internet through education providers and that around a third of internet users are college students. Although unrepresentative of the general public, students are considered high-risk for Internet problems because of ready access and flexible time schedules (Moore, 1995). The study of this new form of computer game playing is thus important both socially and educationally.

Project overview

The research is being carried out amongst users of Everquest. This game is a fully developed multi-player universe with an advanced and detailed world (both visual and auditory). Over 300,000 worldwide people play EverQuest. The game allows a range of identities (including gender swapping). Once in the virtual world, the players can group or play solo.

The study itself involves the use of an online questionnaire using an 'Autoformat' system designed at Nottingham Trent University. The questionnaire being administered to the EverQuest gaming community includes an assessment of player demographics, types of Internet usage (including educational use), frequency measures, and personality tests. There is also an adapted version of the DSM-IV addiction criteria (as applied to online gaming usage). There are also a number of questions relating to educational aspects of game play. Our anecdotal pilot work has suggested that the age range of online gamers is wide ranging. Therefore, educational level (i.e., the highest qualification that players have) is going to be examined in relation to play frequency, problematic use, and the association (or not) with other educational pursuits. There will also be a comparison between student and non-student players as it may be that students are more 'at risk' from developing problems (and therefore suffering educational consequences).

These findings will be compared to both offline game players and the previous findings (that have been based almost exclusively on young adolescents). Findings from the study will form the basis to continued work on the project. It is hoped that further qualitative research will follow. This research will probe more deeply into the areas outlined in the project aims. The research will hopefully be generalizable to a number of other technological addictions (e.g., Internet use, offline computer gaming) with wide implications for research into the field of behavioural (non-chemical) addictions. It will also help in the formulation of policy to prevent excessive non-productive use of the Internet which is hoped will be of great interest to educationalists.

(N.B. The research is currently being funded by the author's own institution although a bid to extend the research has been submitted to the British Academy).

References

Douse, N.A. & McManus, I.C. (1993). The personality of fantasy game players. British Journal of Psychology, 84, 505-509.

Griffiths, M.D. (1996). Computer game playing in children and adolescents : A review of the literature. In T. Gill (Ed.), Electronic Children : How Children Are Responding To The Information Revolution. pp.41-58. London : National Children's Bureau.

Griffiths, M.D. (1997). Video games and children's behaviour. In T. Charlton & K. David (Eds.), Elusive Links : Television, Video Games, Cinema and Children's Behaviour. pp.66-93. Gloucester : GCED/Park Publishers..

Griffiths, M.D. (1998). Violent video games and aggression : A review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 4, 203-212.

Griffiths, M.D. (2001). Excessive internet use : Implications for education Education and Health, 19, 23-29.

Griffiths, M.D. & Hunt, N. (1995). Computer game playing in adolescence : Prevalence and demographic indicators. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 5, 189-193.

Griffiths, M.D. & Hunt, N. (1998). Computer game "addiction" in adolescence? A brief report. Psychological Reports, 82, 475-480.

Moore, D. (1995). The Emporor's Virtual Clothes : The Naked Truth About The Internet Culture. Chapel Hill, NC : Alogonquin.

Accepted: 4 April 2002

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Creating an Internet theatre in gender education

S.C. Yang & C-C. Huang

Graduate Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University

Email: shyang@mail.nsysu.edu.tw

In Taiwan, gender equity issues in education have recently become a major topic. Curriculum materials and professional publications are beginning to address such issues, a series of professional workshops are devoting time to them, and individual teacher educators are starting to become concerned about them. In response to educational policy, the Internet Theatre Gender Program (ITGP) is designed to promote gender equity among primary school students. The ITGP takes advantage of computer -supported learning and theatre education, and presents an opportunity to expand the power of teaching and learning about gender issues by exploiting both the enhanced features of interactive hypermedia, and the instructional yet engaging qualities of theatre education. It is intended to give learners a safe, entertaining, intellectual and supervised opportunity to examine their own attitudes, behaviours and living experience regarding gender issues through interactive drama and discussion.

Rationale for the Internet Theatre Gender Program

The design rationale of the program is based upon theoretical principles derived from work on theatre in education, situated learning, cooperative learning, anchored instruction using video, narrative with realistic problems, and generative formats. It is well-documented that the educational effects of drama in education include enhancing motivation, developing children’s literacy, enriching affective learning, promoting collaborative learning through teamwork, and exploiting Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences. The participatory nature of drama, coupled with its ability to encourage students to explore their beliefs and attitudes toward characters and plot, provides a wealth of pedagogical possibilities for developing students’ awareness of gender inequities and how to cope with them.

For the purpose of gender education, performance enactments or scenarios, whether improvised in the classroom or scripted for the stage, can be used to represent situations where gender inequity occurs. Learners act out a situation through role play, which serves as the anchor for open-ended discussion and further inquiry about gender issues. The dramatic dialogue does more than simulate talk or argument between two or more children; it sets the stage for learners’ immersion and interactivity in the authentic situation, enabling them to think about how the characters see themselves and colleagues, their situation and crucially their future actions. Developing understanding about and attitudes toward gender-equity issues is a challenging task for young learners. Learning about such issues by simply reading or hearing about them in single, simple, or abstract presentations offers little assurance that students will achieve a deep level of conceptual understanding. As the gender-equity issues are often subtle, value-laden and complex, it requires situated learning that is case-based and grounded in authentic contexts, rather than the simple presentation of abstract descriptions of the issues involved.

Design framework

The goal of the project is to create a computer-supported collaborative learning environment employing theatre education which is capable of hosting instructional activities related to gender issues. The ITGP presents various interactive scenarios or enactments that illustrate inequities in classroom or social interaction patterns, language, gender expectations, curricula and so forth. Students use the knowledge learned from these scenarios to think about the inequities presented in them, and are invited to compose, act out, reflect and lead discussion to explore them further.

The interface design (Fig. 1) includes a bulletin board, stage area and role-playing platform as well as a discussion forum. The bulletin board provides the latest information and news, including system notices, drama activities, and course information. It also provides notification of upcoming title roles and synopses. In the stage area, the drama enactments include ‘situation play’ and ‘problem-solving play’. These can be created on-screen by children working individually or collectively to scripts written by teachers or students themselves. After completion, the plays can be transmitted through the Internet to allow access by other learners. An unfinished play or case can be transmitted through the Internet to be updated or extended by other students, establishing a process of collaborative creation through the Internet. In the role-play platform, the user can inhabit the IT interface world in different ways (or roles): as an author, a director, an actor or a spectator. As an author, the learners can write scripts about any theme concerning gender issues, post their line/script for each role, or give suggestions for particular roles. The discussion forum provides a variety of video-based, script-format, animated, pictorial, and multimedia ‘anchors’, accompanied by the learning materials, for learners’ consideration. Follow-up themes are designed and structured to have learners reflecting and commenting on the scenarios and the best solution for the situation, or posing questions for further discussion. Spectators can provide opinions on scripts, come up with their best solution for the situation, or reply to other learners’ opinions.

Future directions

The goal of this project is to offer students gender education via web-based computer-mediated drama activities, which enrich their understanding of gender issues by providing multiple perspectives and contextualised environments for them to engage with. The ITGP is conceived of as a set of situated, dialectical, and cultural tools which are intended to diminish gender stereotyping, build self-esteem, raise gender-consciousness, and inspire learners toward reflective and constructive understanding of gender issues, using the knowledge learned to resolve inequities in the real world. It is not an instructional package so much as a set of informational resources, which teachers can adapt for their course, and link to multiple sections of the courses in different schools for interesting cross-cultural discussions and collaborations. The ITGP has been developed through a number of design cycles, creating a version, evaluating it with the help of colleagues/students, and revising it. Further expansion of the content and refinement of the interface design will take place in the near future.

Reference

Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books, New York.

Accepted: 15 January 2003

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Designing a web-based historical curriculum to support student engagement

S.C. Yang & L. Huang

Graduate Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University

Email: shyang@mail.nsysu.edu.tw

In Taiwan’s schools, the prevalent mode of history instruction emphasises teacher-dominated, exam-oriented textbook recitation to large-groups. As a result, students often see history as an isolated event, and their connection to it derives from the absorption of a preordained canon of textbook information. Such a narrow focus offers little of substance to assist students in obtaining the judgements, perspectives, and knowledge of humans and society that is important to the study of history., The advantages and significance of using primary sources in history learning are well documented. For example, primary source documents help students learn abstract historical concepts and expose them to multiple perspectives often lacking in textbooks. Primary sources can prompt students to question the past, interpret evidence, make reasoned inferences about historical events, and encourage them to shape informed opinions on their own (Tally, 1996).

Recognising the Internet’s potential for bringing together multiple sources, this project engages students in authentic historical inquiry by offering them digital primary sources. Instead of consuming predigested/authoritative accounts of historical information, the Web-Based Historical Curriculum (WBHC) exposes students to multiple perspectives often lacking in traditional textbooks. In addition, as a knowledge creation tool, the WBHC uses discussion forums as a way of using writing to have learners share their burgeoning knowledge about historical figures and issues with peers. The discussion forum not only allows students to make visible their constructed representations of what they are learning, giving teachers a means of assessing student understanding, it also provides students a platform for constructive accommodation and critical reflection on their historical thinking., In order to investigate the effectiveness of the WBHC, a pilot study on the electronic history project was launched in an 8th grade class as an extracurricular activity. The Doing History Project integrates Hexter’s Doing History model (cited in Fines, 1994) and Anderson-Inman & Kessinger’s Gather Model (Anderson-Inman & Kessinger, 2000) to instruct students on how to analyse primary source documents. The project is intended to foster an authentic way of studying history not just as a school discipline based on the transfer of standard knowledge. Instead, using multiple source-material and tackling the problems of evidence gives a feeling of reality to apprentice historians which second-hand history can rarely give, and further provides learners a chance to gain familiarity with procedures that lead to an understanding of history while simultaneously becoming more technologically literate., The nonlinear six-step model includes:

1. A general overview to enrich students’ historical content knowledge domain, instruction about critical thinking through targeted instructional modules and a historical critical thinking workshop.

2. Articulating a probing question in the discussion forum.

3. Triangulating the data so learners compare various sources with official information or other perspectives and verify the reliability of evidence.

4. Hypothesising a tentative answer, learners in a group propose a topic for their projects.

5. Exploring and interpreting the data to pursue historical inquiry by using Web resources for research purposes – critically searching for and synthesising information; testing and refining the initial hypotheses.

6. Recording and supporting conclusions to help learners publish their electronic projects for further peer-review.

Web-based historical curriculum

WBHC enhances students learning of history through quick and extensive access to primary sources. Many primary sources are collected on the website which is not limited by the technology to printed documents such as letters, newspapers, diaries, and official documents. Artifacts, places, sounds, and images can also be considered primary sources.

Fig. 1. The Homepage Design of Web-Based Historical Curriculum

WBHC focuses on the theme related to wars in the late Chin Dynasty. Currently, we have developed the themes of the Opium War & the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. Some features of this website will be refined later:

• design for teachers to plan and adapt for their individual courses, and allow teachers to link multiple sections of similar courses in different schools for cross-cultural discussion as well as collaboration within the teaching community for exchange of instructional design activities.

• sophisticated features might further include topic introductions, expert commentaries or critical reviews, heated debates or controversies as well as associated video clips of different aspects of the situation, which can function as modelling examples for learners to frame their inquiries and discuss the relevance to literature with appropriate justification.

Preliminary research and future directions

Preliminary research demonstrated that the Doing History Project by using WBHC has the potential to scaffold construction of an integrated understanding of historical content and context. Students developed better insight into the Chin dynasty, and more positive attitudes toward history learning. They enjoyed the ease of accessing and viewing the dynamic multiple sources of information. They valued the interactive communication in the discussion forums that gave them the opportunity to appreciate the uncertainties of the content domain and accommodate the diverse interpretations of others. Their view of history was changed from a belief that history is a subject requiring only memory to one that recognises the unique structure of history. They learned that historians construct their own coherent account of the past by rigorous examination of evidence that is often incomplete. The study found that the project challenged learners to conduct historical inquiry with technology while facilitating the development of historical thinking, sharpening critical thinking and problem-solving, enhancing computer literacy, as well as nurturing interpersonal and teamwork skills.

Plans for a future empirical study will be twofold, with the goal of improving the design and assessment of student learning with WBHC. Interactions in the discussion forums will be analysed using content analysis to examine learners’ conceptual and critical understanding of the causality of historical events. Future directions for the development of the historical website include improving the interface for displaying an integrated timeline, geographical, and primary source information.

References

Anderson-Inman, L. & Kessinger, P. (2000) Promoting historical inquiry: GATHER model. Available on-line at: http://anza.uoregon.edu/TeachersWWW/GATHER_Intro.html.

Fines, J. (1994) Evidence: The basis of the discipline. In Teaching History (ed. B. Hilary) pp. 122–125. The Open University, London.

Tally, B. (1996) Up against authentic history: Helping teachers make the most of primary source materials online. Electronic Learning, 16, 40–41.

Accepted: 15 January 2003

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An interactive job seeking system for vocational rehabilitation

E. McKay, T. Thomas & J. Martin

RMIT University, Melbourne

Email: elspeth@rmit.edu.au

Looking for work is complex. It involves a synthesis of decisions relating to many separate job seeking tasks. Typically these decisions require an initial discrimination of how an individual’s skills match the job description. In addition, there are other contextual ingredients to weigh up when looking for a job; like whether the salary offered is acceptable and the location of the work. Finally and perhaps the most critical decision is the logistical analysis of arranging suitable transport. Vocational rehabilitation can assist many individuals in making these decisions. However, these job-seeking tasks are even more difficult for the disabled. Despite the Web Access Initiative (WAI), which coordinates with global organisations to improve access to the Web, there are no Web-enabled work searching systems designed as vocational rehabilitation tools. This Research Note briefly describes a newly funded research project that is designed to provide an interactive Web-enabled work searching resource for those undergoing vocational rehabilitation.

This project aims to capture the efficiencies of information communication technologies (ICT) to enhance job searching outcomes for people undergoing vocational rehabilitation programmes. There are real opportunities for human–computer interaction (HCI) to provide a flexible Web-based employment service that has distributed access for people who may experience difficulty in returning to work after a long absence. Multimedia technologies enable a multimodal approach to deal with the job seeking decisions. Through effective HCI, carefully scripted examples of job-seeking tasks can draw together disparate and difficult concepts. The environmental context of this research is unique, because it addresses the needs of people who suffer the negative cognitive effects from long-term unemployment.

The main objective of the research is to create an impetus for much needed collaborative educational research involving corporate/academia/government sector partnerships. The investigators have recently been awarded a university grant to build this user friendly Web-Portal that will bring together understanding employers, offering appropriate job opportunities, with unemployed people who require assistance in finding work.

The research question

It is all very well to devise a learning system complete with all the multimedia bells and whistles. However the central reason for creating a specialised Web-Portal needs to be examined first (Merrill 2002). Therefore a comprehensive user profile will be devised to initiate an appropriate conceptual framework. The major research question under investigation is: What is the most effective use of ICT in a Web-Portal that implements a work searching system for the long-term unemployed?

Methodological approach

Web-based training combines three socio-technical developments: distance learning, computer-conveyed education and Internet technologies (Horton 2000). Because the expected profile of the Web-Portal users attending community-based vocational rehabilitation services indicates a commonality of long-term unemployment requiring specialist retraining, the customised portal design will facilitate appropriate skill acquisition. The project will be conducted using a phased project methodology.

Concept development phase (completed): With 19% of Australia’s unemployed potentially disadvantaged in accessing information due to their disability, the researchers investigated the need for development and evaluation of a customised work search system for vocational rehabilitation. Computers offer flexible and dynamic instructional/learning environments that depict minute detail or convey holistic environments where imaginary events can be witnessed (Gibbons & Fairweather, 1998). However due to the sensitivity of presenting this customised job-seeking tool in a non-threatening and cognitively safe environment, the research methodology requires careful attention.

Scoping phase and preliminary design (current): People construct knowledge about the working world through experiential processing, organising these experiences into knowledge structures, and what is believed about those experiences (Jonassen et al., 1996). Keeping this in mind, the information about work-place environments will be presented in a non-threatening manner, drawing on appropriate educational strategies to implement seamless technological links between the Web-based communications (interactive database management strategies) and the Web-Portal (Rosenberg, 2001). Therefore an important educative feature of the Web-Portal will be to create the relationship between the (re)-learning of basic work-skills (listening and following instructions), work-communities (social interaction and where to go for more information in the work-place) and work-performance expectations (competency based training). It is anticipated that the simulated work-placement video-on-demand vignettes will work well (Pappo, 2001). To maintain the validity of the testing instrumentation, a research questionnaire will be designed and calibrated using a representative sample of participants. A small number of people will be required to test the complete system, including the post-work search interview and assessment/ feedback sessions. This calibration exercise is to maintain the validity of the testing instrument. Typical of the cognitive performance or human factors involved in using the system include: vigilance, attention span, visual fatigue, concentration and coordination. Any weaknesses in the assessment items can be identified during this process. For instance: wrongly worded questions can be identified and corrected.

System development phase: When the design specifications have been completed, the Web-Portal will be built. For instance the decision will be based on whether local software specialists for customised/home grown products (built inhouse) can deliver the required system specifications based on the user profile.

Execution phase: A pilot study will be executed over a four month period. It is assumed that arrangements can be made with people already known to the team to test the system during 2003 when components are progressively completed. After each session on the system, the user will be interviewed by their case-worker, using the calibrated research questionnaire. By following this process, the user will not be stressed by new people external to their familiar surroundings and furthermore their privacy will be maintained.

Closure: A Closure Report will describe the data analysis and the pilot project results. The investigators will evaluate whether the project objectives/deliverables were achieved, within time and budget.

Data collection

Due to the sensitivity of the privacy requirements expected for this type of work searching system, all case-worker led interactivity will take place away from the computerised environment. For instance, a feedback and assessment will be conducted by the researchers. The investigators will only receive the data in hard copy format. The cognitive performance data will then be analysed using the QUEST interactive test-analysis system (Adams & Khoo, 1996).

Expected methods of data analysis

Item Response Theory describes the assessment method used by QUEST. It compares actual patterns of responses from the interaction of test-items with participants compared with the model pattern established through the calibration exercise. This becomes the fit statistic. The main analytical tool for evaluating the QUEST data will be the statistical power analysis (Cohen, 1977), which is a means analysis technique, based on testing the probability of a null hypothesis being incorrect.

Expected outcomes

The researchers hope to develop a model that reflects the special needs of people recovering from the disabling effects of long-term unemployment. This project will determine industry needs for the design and implementation of a customised work searching system in general, with a further focus on providing appropriate vocational rehabilitation. Furthermore, this project also serves to inform research Questionnaire development techniques. If successful, this pilot study will lead to work that informs government policy and practice for unemployed people with special needs, and assist Australia in meeting global Web accessibility standards.

References

Adams, R.J. & Khoo, S-T. (1996) Quest: The Interactive Test Analysis System. Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne.

Cohen, J. (1977) Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. (Revised Edition) Academic Press, New York.

Gibbons, A. & Fairweather, P. (1998) Computer-Based Instruction. Design and Development. Educational Technology Publications, New Jersey.

Horton, W. (2000) Designing Web-Based Training. Wiley, New York.

Jonassen, D.H., Meyers, J.M. & McKillop, A.M. (1996) From constructivism to constructionism: Learning with hypermedia/multimedia rather than from it. In Constructivist Learning Environments: Case studies in instructional design (ed. B.G. Wilson) pp. 93–106. Educational Technology Publications, New Jersey.

Merrill, M.D. (2002) Pebble-in-the-pond model for instructional development. Performance Measurement, 41, 7, 41–44. (see http://www.ispi.org/pdf/Merrill.pdf)

Pappo, H.A. (2001) Simulations for web-based training. In Web-based Training.(ed. B.H. Khan) pp. 225–228. Educational Technology Publications, New Jersey.

Rosenberg, M.J. (2001) E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age. McGraw-Hill, New York.

Accepted: 17 May 2003

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