Learning styles assessment and theoretical origin in an E-learning scenario: a survey

The performance of the learners in E-learning environments is greatly influenced by the nature of the posted E-learning contents. In such a scenario, the performance of the learners can be enhanced by posting the suitable E-learning contents to the learners based on their learning styles. Hence, it is very essential to have a clear knowledge about various learning styles in order to predict the learning styles of different learners in E-learning environments. However, predicting the learning styles needs complete knowledge about the learners past and present characteristics. Since the knowledge available about learners is uncertain, it can be resolved through the use of Fuzzy rules which can handle uncertainty effectively. The core objective of this survey paper is to outline the working of the existing learning style models and the metrics used to evaluate them. Based on the available models, this paper identifies Felder–Silverman learning style model as the suitable model for E-learning and suggests the use of Fuzzy rules to handle uncertainty in learning style prediction so that it can enhance the performance of the E-learning system.     

应用网络资源提升课堂教学的优势

随着信息技术不断发展,网络已逐步渗透到了人类生活的各个环节,特别是与教育的结合,更是为教育吹进了一缕创新之风、改革之风。网络资源是共享资源,在教育教学中有着自己独到的作用。进行网络教研,就是尽快尽好地让网络资源走向教学一线,让传统的课堂教学得到新鲜血液补充,以弥补传统教学的缺点与不足。     

基于建构主义的CSCW个性化的网络学习模型

随着以计算机技术和网络技术为核心的现代信息技术的飞速发展，人们越来越多地把学习过程放到网络上来，而不再局限于传统的教室学习，因此网络学习得到了迅速推广。然而，受传统教育理论、教学思维的限制，目前网络教学研究中所提出的各种设计思想和策略往往忽视用户特殊行为这一重要信息，没有给出针对其个性的信息反馈，使得现有的大部分网络学习系统缺乏个性，降低了用户的学习兴趣。本文在分析网络学习模式的基础上结合Agent技术提出一种建立在建构主义学习理论之上的CSCW个性化的网络学习模型。     

混合学习在“网页编程基础”课程教学中的应用

针对当代学生对网络和网页的知识越来越丰富,传统的课程教学方式不能满足学生要求的问题,本文将混合教学模式应用到网页课程教学设计中,提出一种以学生在线学习为主,结合课堂教学和网络答疑,并采用让学生分组完成项目的教学评价方法,取得了较好教学效果。     

数字时代计算机网络教学中创造性训练与课程学习融合探索

The combination of digital technology and education promotes the field of education to enter the stage of innovation and development. For educators and learners of computer network major, in order to give full play to their professional advantages in the digital age, it needs to break through the limitations of existing educational models, educational ideas and educational resources, and break the dilemma of computer network innovation teaching. It needs to enrich the way of knowledge acquisition by creative train- ing mode; establish a learner-centered internal driving model to change the traditional teaching and learning methods; and make full use of educational resources to create a scientific and intelligent teaching environment.     

Implementing collaborative learning activities in the classroom supported by one-to-one mobile computing: A design-based process

Mobile devices such as PDAs, smartphones and tablet computers are becoming increasingly popular, setting out opportunities for new ways of communicating and collaborating. Research initiatives have ascertained the potential of mobile devices in education, and particularly, the benefits of incorporating them in the classroom for eliciting collaborative learning and active student participation. However, the development of technology-supported learning environments poses challenges to education researchers, practitioners, and software technologists in creating educational tools that respond to real needs of instructors and learners, meet clearly defined didactic purposes, and are practical for the intended audience. This article reports on a technology for facilitating the implementation of collaborative learning environments in the classroom supported by one-to-one mobile computing. The approach encompasses a framework supporting the design and implementation of the mobile software, and a design-based process that guides interdisciplinary efforts utilizing the framework, towards creating effective pedagogical models based on collaborative learning. The proposed design-based process allowed us to develop pedagogical models that respond to real needs of learners and instructors, where development is grounded on rigorous scientific research, allowing to reuse both knowledge and software, and showing an improvement of the mobile software built based on continuous experimentation and evaluation. A case study illustrating the application of the technology is presented and plans for future research are discussed.     

Computer-supported team-based learning: The impact of motivation,enjoyment and team contributions on learning outcomes

The benefits of teamwork and collaboration have long been advocated by many educational theories, such as constructivist and social learning models. Among the various applications of collaborative learning, the iterative team-based learning (TBL) process proposed by Michaelsen, Fink, and Knight (2002) has been successfully used in the classroom without computer support. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation results of a classroom application of the TBL process, which was modified to include computer mediation. We call this process computer-supported team-based learning (CS-TBL). This work extends learning in small teams from the traditional classroom to the hybrid classroom where students meet both face-to-face and online by emphasizing the importance of online team interactions. The outcomes are assessed through an evaluation model that considers the impact of motivation, enjoyment and team contributions on learning outcomes. The study results indicate that motivation influences the relationship between team interactions and perceived learning. Enjoyment is affected by motivation and perceptions of team members’ contributions, with the implication that students who perceive that the team interactions are adding value to their education will better enjoy learning and will experience higher-level learning outcomes.     

What drives a successful e-Learning? An empirical investigation of the critical factors influencing learner satisfaction

E-learning is emerging as the new paradigm of modern education. Worldwide, the e-learning market has a growth rate of 35.6%, but failures exist. Little is known about why many users stop their online learning after their initial experience. Previous research done under different task environments has suggested a variety of factors affecting user satisfaction with e-Learning. This study developed an integrated model with six dimensions: learners, instructors, courses, technology, design, and environment. A survey was conducted to investigate the critical factors affecting learners’ satisfaction in e-Learning. The results revealed that learner computer anxiety, instructor attitude toward e-Learning, e-Learning course flexibility, e-Learning course quality, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and diversity in assessments are the critical factors affecting learners’ perceived satisfaction. The results show institutions how to improve learner satisfaction and further strengthen their e-Learning implementation.     

Implementing mobile learning curricula in a grade level: Empirical study of learning effectiveness at scale

Developing and then scaling up an educational innovation so that it achieves on the dimensions of depth, sustainability, spread and change of ownership is a complex endeavor. In this paper, we present a study of one such innovation which has been developed through a design-based research process in a Singapore school. The innovation features a primary science curriculum integrating the 5E inquiry phases with the use of mobile technology. It has evolved through the various development phases to where the innovation is becoming an integral part of routine classroom practices. With the objective of examining the impact of the curriculum innovation on science teaching and learning, this paper reports some of the results of our scaling efforts, in particular, those relating to changes in classroom practices and the effectiveness brought by the curriculum innovation. Using qualitative data analysis methods, the study discusses the transformation of the classroom practices on teachers' pedagogical approaches, classroom culture, lesson plan design, linkages to informal learning, assessment methods, and parent involvement. Quantitative analysis of the performance of students in science assessments when compared between pre-scaling and scaling phases shows the efficacy of the innovation when scaled up to a whole grade level. Implications are drawn to inform future studies or work on factors for effective scaling up of technology-supported curricular innovations.     

Bridging research and practice: Implementing and sustaining knowledge building in Hong Kong classrooms

Despite major theoretical progress in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), relatively less attention has been paid to the problem of how research advances may impact schools and classrooms. Given the global changes and educational policies for twenty-first century education, issues of how research in CSCL can be integrated with classroom practice for innovation pose important challenges. This paper draws on experiences in Hong Kong and examines research-based CSCL classroom innovations in the context of scaling up and sustaining a knowledge-building model in Hong Kong classrooms. It begins with an examination of the rationale for CSCL research in classrooms and then considers a range of problems and constraints for school implementation. Classroom innovations involve complex and emergent changes occurring at different levels of the educational system. The experience of CSCL knowledge-building classroom innovations in Hong Kong schools is reported, including: the macro-context of educational policies and educational reform, the meso-context of a knowledge-building teacher network, and the micro-context of knowledge-building design in classrooms. Three interacting themes—context and systemic change, capacity and community building, and innovation as inquiry—are proposed for examining collaboration and knowledge creation for classroom innovation.     

A moderate constructivist e-learning instructional model evaluated on computer specialists

This paper presents a novel instructional model for e-learning and an evaluation study to determine the effectiveness of this model for teaching Java language programming to information technology specialists working for the Spanish Public Administration. This is a general-purpose model that combines objectivist and constructivist learning theories and is based on the concept of learning objective. The purpose of the evaluation study is to find out whether the results of using this distance learning instructional model to teach this subject are comparable to learning in a traditional face-to-face classroom, with the plus of eliminating travel and maintenance expenses of the public servants attending the course and also saving time. The learners, selected at random to participate in this study, were divided into three groups depending on the type of teaching/learning they received: traditional classroom, distance learning with virtualized course contents and distance learning based on the proposed instructional model. The results indicate that the grades and satisfaction levels were similar for learners taught using the proposed instructional model and learners taught in the traditional classroom. Moreover, they were substantially better than for distance learning with virtualized contents, although the mean course learning time is greater.     

What influences college students to continue using business simulation games? The Taiwan experience

Previous studies have pointed out that computer games could improve students’ motivation to learn, but these studies have mostly targeted teachers or students in elementary and secondary education and are without user adoption models. Because business and management institutions in higher education have been increasingly using educational simulation games in recent years, factors influencing the continuing use of business simulation games by higher-education students are worth probing into. This research adopted the technology acceptance model, expectation confirmation theory, and agency theory as its theoretical base. Moreover, learning motivation and classroom climate from the perspective of learning, as well as perceived attractiveness and perceived playfulness from the perspective of playfulness and attractiveness were also added to the final research model. A total of 185 valid student respondents in Taiwan’s higher education who have used business simulation games in their classes participated in the survey. The results show that perceived playfulness and learning performance positively influence students’ satisfaction, which further influence the intention to use computer simulation games. Furthermore, perceived ease of use and perceived attraction play a critical role in determining perceived playfulness. Perceived ease of use was also positively influenced by perceived attraction. The research results on the students’ perspective provide a strong support for the teachers to adopt or continue using computer simulation games in classrooms. However, the agency theory failed to be sustained as a useful tool in motivating students’ learning activities, which is worthy of further research.     

Mobile and ubiquitous learning in higher education settings. A systematic review of empirical studies

Mobile and ubiquitous learning are increasingly attracting academic and public interest, especially in relation to their application in higher education settings.The systematic analysis of 36 empirical papers supports the view that knowledge gains from instructionist learning designs are facilitated by distributed and more frequent learning activities enabled by push mechanisms. They also lend themselves to the activation of learners during classroom lectures. In addition, and as a particular advantage of mobile technology, “hybrid” designs, where learners create multimodal representations outside the classroom and then discussed their substantiated experiences with peers and educators, helped to connect learning in formal and more informal and personalized learning environments.Generally, empirical evidence that would favour the broad application of mobile and ubiquitous learning in higher education settings is limited and because mobile learning projects predominantly take instructionist approaches, they are non-transformatory in nature. However, by harnessing the increasing access to digital mobile media, a number of unprecedented educational affordances can be operationalised to enrich and extend more traditional forms of higher education.     

基于移动学习和翻转课堂深度融合的网络信息安全课程教学创新实践与探索

移动学习、MOOC、翻转课堂、混合学习等一系列新理念、新方法正逐渐地融入高等教育教学改革中。在提炼长期开展网络学历教育和非学历远程培训经验的基础上,将移动学习和 MOOC 理念融入传统的网络教学模式中,在网络信息安全课程教学中进行了信息技术与传统课堂教学深度融合的课程教学创新改革探索研究。     

Real-World Opportunities for Virtual- World Project Management

Virtual worlds provide technology capabilities that could transform education, communication and collaboration, and project management. Virtual spaces resemble the real world but without its physical limitations. Innovative companies and educational institutions are already finding ways to incorporate VW technology into their organizations. A VW research project conducted in Second Life highlights these new environments' unique technology capabilities. Such capabilities can provide richer, immersive, engaging environments to help overcome traditional barriers to virtual collaboration. By understanding this research, businesses interested in taking advantage of VWs can gain a greater appreciation of the opportunities and challenges involved.     

Collaborative virtual learning environments: design and evaluation

E-learning systems have gone through a radical change from the initial text-based environments to more stimulating multimedia systems. Such systems are Collaborative Virtual Environments, which could be used in order to support collaborative e-learning scenarios. The main aim of this paper is to aid educational designers in selecting, designing and evaluating three dimensional collaborative virtual environments in order to gain the pedagogical benefits of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning. Therefore, this paper initially discusses the potential of three dimensional networked virtual environments for supporting collaborative learning. Furthermore, based on a two-step platform selection process this paper (a) presents and compares three dimensional multi-user virtual environments for supporting collaborative learning and (b) validates the most promising solution against a set of design principles for educational virtual environments. According to these principles, an educational environment has been implemented on top of the selected platform in order to support collaborative e-learning scenarios. The design of this environment is also presented. In addition, this paper presents the results of three small scale studies carried out in a tertiary education department, to assess the educational environment. This environment has been evaluated based on a hybrid evaluation methodology for uncovering usability problems, collecting further requirements for additional functionality to support collaborative virtual learning environments, and determining the appropriateness of different kinds of learning scenarios.

E-learning系统的研究与设计

文章针对E-learning系统普遍存在的学习资源标准不统一和学习效果差的情况,讨论了课件标准化的问题,并参考IEEE有关学习技术的标准提出了一个有利于提高学习质量的E-learning系统的功能结构模型,并对与学习质量直接相关的课件设计、学习模式的确定和学习环境的设计进行了论述,最后简单介绍了E-learning系统的分层设计方法。     

Designing a technology‐enhanced flipped learning system to facilitate students' self‐regulation and performance

In recent years, the flipped classroom has become prevalent in many educational settings. Flipped classroom adopts a pedagogical model in which short video lectures are viewed by students at home before class so that the teacher can lead students to participate in activities, problem‐solving, and discussions. Yet the design or use of technology that employs planned instructional strategies with sustainable support of self‐regulation is scant. We propose a technology‐enhanced flipped language learning system (Flip2Learn) that provides facilitation and guidance for learning performance and self‐regulation. A quasi‐experimental study was carried out to examine whether Flip2Learn could enhance college students' self‐regulatory skills and later contribute to the learning performance in the flipped classrooms. The results showed that Flip2Learn not only better prepared students for flipped classrooms but also better promoted learning performance compared to the conventional flipped classrooms. The results of this research advanced our understanding of the dynamics of flipped classrooms and represented a revolutionary new approach to the technology‐enhanced learning for flipped classrooms.     

Visualization research problems in next-generation educational software

The next-generation educational software must i) be modular and interoperable to satisfy just-in-time demands, ii) have multiple levels of detail, iii) be usable in both synchronous and asynchronous learning modes, and iv) foster interactive involvement of the learner and her community. In addition, this software must address audiences of different ages, goals, and learning styles, in contexts that range from classroom to problem-solving, team-structured labs to Web-based individual study to as yet unknown modes. Clearly, learning environments are not restricted to static rooms with desktop terminals but evolve into both formal and informal learning communities. We need integrated organizational approaches to the research necessary to create such next-generation challenges. The Learning Federation explores issues in creating next-generation educational software and directs a focused, sustained research investment effort to create such software. Its purpose is to provide a critical mass of funding for long-term basic and applied precompetitive research in learning science and technology, this research, which interdisciplinary teams conduct, is meant to lead the development of next-generation authoring tools and sample curricula for both synchronous and asynchronous learning.