The role of student learning styles, gender, attitudes and perceptions on information and communication technology assisted learning

The present study adopts an illuminative approach to evaluate students’ initial attitudes towards the use of information and communication technology (ICT). Ninety-nine undergraduate science students participated in this study and their learning styles were classified according to Honey and Mumford (1986) (Honey, P., Mumford, A., 1986. The Manual of Learning styles. Peter Honey, 10 Linden Avenue, Maidenhead) learning style questionnaire. Student learning styles were classified as activist, reflector, theorist, or pragmatist. No significant difference in learning styles was observed between genders and between student cohorts. Six dimensions to student attitudes toward ICT were identified as follows; ‘comfort’, ‘interactivity’, ‘self-satisfaction’, ‘value new technology’, ‘experience’ and ‘context’. Students exhibited low scores in the attitude dimensions of ‘value new technology’, ‘interactivity’ and ‘context’ indicating that they were uncomfortable with computers, were unhappy about the lack of personal contact and would prefer to learn in a more traditional mode. A significant, though weak, negative correlation between the ‘theorist’ and the ‘interactivity’ and ‘context’ attitude dimensions was also observed. In addition, based on the results of this study it appears that first year students exhibit a more positive perception of ICT supported learning than second and third year students. Though the use of ICT in higher education is becoming more widespread based on the results of this study student use of the technology may be limited by a negative attitude toward a style of teaching which is not consistent with their past learning experiences.     

The impact of computer use at home on students’ Internet skills

This article reports on a study into the impact of students’ use of the Internet and the computer at home on digital skills they need for school. The study was conducted in the lower grades of Dutch secondary education (students aged 13–15). More than 2500 students, distributed over 116 classes in 68 schools, participated in the study. Internet and computer skills were measured by means of an objective test. Multilevel analysis was used to examine the impact of home access and use on Internet and computer skills taking into account the effect of students’ backgrounds. Students in pre-university education, third-graders and non-minority students appeared to have better Internet skills and a more advantageous home computer use than students in pre-vocational education, first-graders and minority students, respectively. The Internet skills of girls were hardly less developed than those of boys. Home access to e-mail and the extent to which students use the home computer for surfing, e-mailing, chatting and text processing were found to be substantially related to Internet and computer skills (taking into account the effect of several background characteristics of the students).     

Exploring relations among college students’ prior knowledge,implicit theories of intelligence,and self-regulated learning in a hypermedia environment

Researchers and educators continue to explore how to assist students in the acquisition of conceptual understanding of complex science topics. While hypermedia learning environments (HLEs) afford unique opportunities to display multiple representations of these often abstract topics, students who do not engage in self-regulated learning (SRL) with HLEs often fail to achieve conceptual understanding. There is a lack of research regarding how student characteristics, such as prior knowledge and students’ implicit theory of intelligence (ITI), interact with SRL to influence academic performance. In this study, structural equation modeling was used to investigate these issues. It was found that prior knowledge and ITI were related to SRL and performance, and that SRL acted as a benevolent moderator, enhancing the positive effects of prior knowledge upon learning, and diminishing the negative effects of having a maladaptive ITI.     

Effects of teaching and learning styles on students’ reflection levels for ubiquitous learning

Ubiquitous learning (u-learning), in conjunction with supports from the digital world, is recognized as an effective approach for situating students in real-world learning environments. Earlier studies concerning u-learning have mainly focused on investigating the learning attitudes and learning achievements of students, while the causations such as learning style and teaching style were usually ignored. This study aims to investigate the effects of teaching styles and learning styles on reflection levels of students within the context of u-learning. In particular, we investigated the teaching styles at the dimensions of brainstorming and instruction and recall and the learning styles at the dimensions of active and reflective learning. The experiment was conducted with 39 fifth grader students at an elementary school in southern Taiwan. A u-learning environment was established at a butterfly ecology garden to conduct experiments for natural science courses. The experimental results of one-way ANCOVA show that those students who received a matching teaching–learning style presented a significant improvement in their reflection level. That is, matching the learning styles of students with the appropriate teaching styles can significantly improve students’ reflection levels in a u-learning environment.     

The effects of computer games on primary school students’ achievement and motivation in geography learning

The implementation of a computer game for learning about geography by primary school students is the focus of this article. Researchers designed and developed a three-dimensional educational computer game. Twenty four students in fourth and fifth grades in a private school in Ankara, Turkey learnt about world continents and countries through this game for three weeks. The effects of the game environment on students’ achievement and motivation and related implementation issues were examined through both quantitative and qualitative methods. An analysis of pre and post achievement tests showed that students made significant learning gains by participating in the game-based learning environment. When comparing their motivations while learning in the game-based learning environment and in their traditional school environment, it was found that students demonstrated statistically significant higher intrinsic motivations and statistically significant lower extrinsic motivations learning in the game-based environment. In addition, they had decreased focus on getting grades and they were more independent while participating in the game-based activities. These positive effects on learning and motivation, and the positive attitudes of students and teachers suggest that computer games can be used as an ICT tool in formal learning environments to support students in effective geography learning.     

A hybrid approach to promoting students’ web-based problem-solving competence and learning attitude

Fostering problem-solving abilities has long been recognized as an important issue in education; however, past studies have shown that it is difficult and challenging to find effective learning strategies or tools for improving students’ problem-solving abilities. To cope with this problem, in this study, a hybrid approach that integrates the cognitive apprenticeship model with the collaborative learning strategy is proposed for conducting web-based problem-solving activities. Students’ problem-solving performance is examined in such a hybrid learning context. Furthermore, past studies indicate that cognitive load could affect learners’ performance; thus, the influence of cognitive load on students’ problem-solving effectiveness with this new approach is investigated in depth. The experimental results show that middle- and low-achievement students in the experimental group gained significant benefits from the hybrid approach in comparison with those who learned with the traditional approach. Accordingly, a discussion of how to accommodate the needs of different learning ability groups is provided.     

Perceived stress,sensation seeking,and college students’ abuse of the Internet

College students (n = 140) were examined to test whether sensation seeking and perceived stress would predict abuse of the Internet. Previous studies have found that disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, and total sensation seeking scores were related to Internet abuse ( 9 and 30). Because stress has been documented to have a negative effect on students ( Pierceall & Keim, 2007), and may be linked to Internet use ( Lavoie & Pychyl, 2001), it was tested as a possible predictor of Internet abuse. This study also analyzed abuse of the Internet for sexual purposes, because sexuality is prevalent online, and college students are in an age of sexual exploration. Results of stepwise regression analyses revealed that disinhibition and total perceived stress were predictive of Internet abuse for sexual purposes, and perceived hopelessness and boredom susceptibility were predictive of Internet abuse for non-sexual purposes. Implications for students and Internet abuse are discussed.     

Tracing elementary school students’ study tactic use in gStudy by examining a strategic and self-regulated learning

This study investigated, with the help of log file traces (f = 172), how 20 elementary school students used study tactics when studying science within the gStudy learning environment and examined how tactic use contributed to the students’ achievement. The analysis of this study is divided into two parts. First, at the situational level, the focus is on capturing the tactics that were used in different gStudy sessions, classifying the gStudy sessions based on the tactic use, and illustrating the patterned use of tactics during these sessions. Second, at the individual level, the focus is on examining individual students’ typical methods of using tactics, which helps to illustrate how tactic use contributes to the students’ achievement. The gStudy sessions were classified into three categories on the basis of tactic use: rare, moderate, and frequent. Findings indicate that frequent tactic use did not contribute to deep learning. Moderate tactic use was fairly effective for learning, but rare tactic use contributed to deep learning. The results did not show that the use of many study tactics improves learning; rather, they suggest that the distinguishing feature in strategic learning is not the tactic use itself but the way the tactic is performed.     

Robot learning language — Integrating programming and learning for cognitive systems

One central property of cognitive systems is the ability to learn and to improve continually. We present a robot control language that combines programming and learning in order to make learning executable in the normal robot program. The language constructs of our learning language RoLL rely on the concept of hierarchical hybrid automata to enable a declarative, explicit specification of learning problems. Using the example of an autonomous household robot, we point out some instances where learning–and especially continued learning–makes the robot control program more cognitive.     

Learning secondary mathematics with technology: Exploring the complex interrelationship between students’ attitudes,engagement, gender and achievement

The aim of this study was to investigate the complex relationship between students’ mathematics confidence, confidence with technology, attitude to learning mathematics with technology, affective engagement and behavioural engagement, achievement, gender and year level. The participants were secondary students from state co-educational schools in Metropolitan Athens, Greece. Gender differences as well as differences between year levels and the resulting clusters of students were investigated by using a MANOVA. It was found that boys expressed more positive views towards mathematics and more positive views towards the use of technology in mathematics, compared to girls. It was also found that high achievement in mathematics was associated with high levels of mathematics confidence, strongly positive levels of affective engagement and behavioural engagement, high confidence in using technology and a strongly positive attitude to learning mathematics with technology. Low levels of mathematics achievement was associated with low levels of mathematics confidence, strongly negative levels of affective engagement and behavioural engagement, low confidence in using technology, and a negative attitude to learning mathematics with technology.     

Absorption,dissociation, locus of control and presence in virtual reality

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between a number of psychological variables and a reported sense of presence in immersive virtual reality (IVR). It was hypothesised that participants’ scores on measures of absorption, dissociation, and external locus of control would be positively and significantly correlated with a measure of their sense of presence in IVR. A total of 64 people took part. Significant correlations were found between presence and dissociation (r = 0.403, p < 0.01), and presence and locus of control (r = 0.268, p < 0.05). However, the correlation between presence and absorption was not significant (r = −0.037, p = 0.386). The findings reported here suggest a complex interrelationship of psychological variables in relation to presence in IVR that warrants further research.     

Building virtual cities,inspiring intelligent citizens: Digital games for developing students’ problem solving and learning motivation

This study investigates the effectiveness digital game-based learning (DGBL) on students’ problem solving, learning motivation, and academic achievement. In order to provide substantive empirical evidence, a quasi-experimental design was implemented over the course of a full semester (23 weeks). Two ninth-grade Civics and Society classes, with a total of 44 students (15–16 years old), were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: an experimental group (incorporating DGBL) and a comparison group (taught using traditional instruction). Two-way mixed ANOVA was employed to evaluate changes in problem solving ability and compare the effectiveness the two strategies, while ANCOVA was used to analyze the effects on learning motivation and academic achievement. The results of this study are summarized as follows: (1) The DGBL strategy was clearly effective in promoting students’ problem solving skills, while the control group showed no improvement. Additionally, data from the mid-test and post-test demonstrate that, as a higher order thinking skill, problem-solving requires a full semester to develop. (2). DGBL resulted in better learning motivation for students in the experimental group as compared to learners receiving TI. (3) Contrary to some suggestions that digital games could inhibit academic achievement, no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. Most importantly, the quantitative improvement in problem-solving and learning motivation suggest that DGBL can be exploited as a useful and productive tool to support students in effective learning while enhancing the classroom atmosphere. Future research in DGBL should emphasize the evaluation of other higher order elements of the cognitive domain in terms of academic achievement outcomes and skills, such as critical and creative thinking.     

The roles of gaze, gesture and gender in CSCL

Abstract This paper investigates the role of gaze and gesture when subjects are collaboratively solving physics problems with a computer. The results from the study indicate that females interacting together as pairs do use gaze significantly more than male pairs or those of mixed gender. There is evidence that gaze occurs during the planning stages of the problem solving activities and occurs more frequently by the speaker rather than the hearer during this phase. Mutual gazing occurs at this time too. The main finding is that differences in non-verbal communication strategies with respect to gender grouping effect not only the strategies that progress the collaborative process but more importantly also those that influence the understanding of the problem space. These results suggest the quality of video linkage will play an important role in collaborative problem solving for distance learners.     

Exploring differences between gifted and grade-level students’ use of self-regulatory learning processes with hypermedia

Research involving gifted and grade-level students has shown that they display differences in their knowledge of self-regulatory strategies. However, little research exists regarding whether these students differ in their actual use of these strategies. This study aimed to address this question by examining think-aloud data collected from 98 gifted and grade-level students engaging in a complex learning task: utilizing a hypermedia environment to learn about the circulatory system. We also examined both declarative knowledge and mental model measures of learning to determine whether these groups differed in their actual performance. Our results show that gifted students did outperform grade-level students in all outcome measures. In addition, gifted students more often utilized more sophisticated self-regulatory strategies (e.g. coordinating informational sources) than grade-level students. Grade-level students were more likely to use less effective strategies that are less likely to promote the acquisition of knowledge (e.g. mnemonics). Recommendations for future intervention studies are based upon these findings.     

The influence of virtual presence: Effects on experienced cognitive load and learning outcomes in educational computer games

Does the immersive design of an educational gaming environment affect learners’ virtual presence and how much do they learn? Does virtual presence affect learning? This study tries to answer these questions by examining the differences in virtual presence and learning outcomes in two different computer-based multimedia environments: a gaming environment with high immersive design vs. hypertext learning environment with low immersive design. As the main focus, the effect of virtual presence on learning is also explained and tested. By identifying virtual presence as a variable that may determine learning, it is argued that computer gaming environments present a new challenge for researchers to investigate, particularly, the effects of virtual presence on the immersive design of games in order to help designers to predict which instructional configurations will maximize learning performance. In general, results revealed that the high-immersive gaming environment leads to the strongest form of virtual presence but also decreased learning. Although regression analyses indicate that virtual presence positively influences trivial- and non-trivial learning outcomes, learners who learned in a low-immersive environment outperformed the gaming group. A mediation analysis showed that the relation between virtual presence and non-trivial learning outcomes is partly mediated through increased cognitive load.     

Influence of gender,program of study and PC experience on unethical computer using behaviors of Turkish undergraduate students

This study administered the unethical computer using behavior scale (UECUBS) developed by [Namlu, A.G., & Odabasi, F. (2007). Unethical computer using behavior scale: A study of reliability and validity on Turkish university students. Computers and Education, 48, 205–215.] to investigate whether gender, program of study and PC experience have an impact on ethical judgments of undergraduate students regarding information and communication technologies (ICTs). The sample consisted of 559 undergraduates from the Education Faculty of the most populated state university in Turkey. The results of 5 (program of study) × 2 (gender) × 2 (PC experience) between-groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated no significant differences among different programs of study and between high and low experienced PC users. The analysis showed significant differences between males and females. A significant interaction between the program of study and gender was found, which indicated that the difference between males and females did not follow a similar pattern across different programs of study. More specifically, females’ ethical judgments were consistent across different fields while males’ judgments varied according to the field of study.     

Using collaborative filtering to support college students’ use of online forum for English learning

This study examined the impact of collaborative filtering (the so-called recommender) on college students’ use of an online forum for English learning. The forum was created with an open-source software, Drupal, and its extended recommender module. This study was guided by three main questions: 1) Is there any difference in online behaviors between students who use a traditional forum and students who use a forum with a recommender?; 2) Is there any difference in learning motivation between students who use a traditional forum and students who use a forum with a recommender?; 3) Is there any difference in learning achievement between students who use a traditional forum and students who use a forum with a recommender?.     

A formative assessment-based mobile learning approach to improving the learning attitudes and achievements of students

The advancement of mobile and wireless communication technologies has encouraged an increasing number of studies concerning mobile learning, in which students are able to learn via mobile devices without being limited by space and time; in particular, the students can be situated in a real-world scenario associated with the learning content. Although such an approach seems interesting to the students, researchers have emphasized the need for well-designed learning support in order to improve the students’ learning achievements. Therefore, it has become an important issue to develop methodologies or tools to assist the students to learn in a mobile learning environment. Based on this perspective, this study proposes a formative assessment-based approach for improving the learning achievements of students in a mobile learning environment. A mobile learning environment has been developed based on this approach, and an experiment on a local culture course has been conducted in southern Taiwan to evaluate its effectiveness. The experimental results show that the proposed approach not only promotes the students’ learning interest and attitude, but also improves their learning achievement.