Investigating face‐to‐face peer interaction patterns in a collaborative Web discovery task: the benefits of a shared display

Mobile computers are now increasingly applied to facilitate face‐to‐face collaborative learning. However, the factors affecting face‐to‐face peer interactions are complex as they involve rich communication media. In particular, non‐verbal interactions are necessary to convey critical communication messages in face‐to‐face communication. Through gathering discourse and non‐verbal interaction records, this study explores the peer interactions supported by two collaborative applications: one with mobile computers and the other with shared‐display groupware (SDG). The results show that the students tended to interact with each other according to a distributed and an unsocial interaction pattern when using the application with mobile computers. In contrast, the students who learned with the SDG demonstrated a shared interaction pattern, whereby they often jointly focused on and referred to the shared work. The analysis of the students' work further found that a higher level of discussion was generally associated with the shared interaction pattern. The results seem to support SDG as being useful in augmenting face‐to‐face peer interaction supported by mobile computers. The implications derived from the findings also support the argument that non‐verbal interaction records are useful for quantitatively and qualitatively analysing face‐to‐face peer interactions.     

Scaffolding wiki‐supported collaborative learning for small‐group projects and whole‐class collaborative knowledge building

While educators value wikis' potential, wikis may fail to support collaborative constructive learning without careful scaffolding. This article proposes literature‐based instructional methods, revised based on two expert instructors' input, presents the collected empirical evidence on the effects of these methods and proposes directions for future refinements. The instructional methods were implemented by an expert instructor teaching a 12‐week 68‐student undergraduate design class in Canada. Data were collected from observations, interviews and content analysis of wikis. The findings revealed that in small‐group project (SGP), the wiki instructional methods enhanced collaborative learning with most instructional methods derived from cooperative learning, but in whole‐class collaborative knowledge building (CKB), the wiki instructional mehtods failed to turn the class into a self‐sustained learning community after the scaffolding faded. We conclude that the genre of wikis should be different for SGP and CKB. While the students easily adopted the ‘reproduced’ genre of wikis for SGP with familiar tasks, they felt overwhelmed or resistant to the unfamiliar ‘emergent’ genre of wikis for CKB in massive collaborative constructive learning. Therefore, we propose that future refinements for wiki‐supported CKB should focus on providing students scaffolding for intersubjectivity (understanding collaborative constructive learning) and transfer of responsibility (developing autonomy).     

Do handheld devices facilitate face‐to‐face collaboration? Handheld devices with large shared display groupware to facilitate group interactions

Abstract   One-to-one computing environments change and improve classroom dynamics as individual students can bring handheld devices fitted with wireless communication capabilities into the classrooms. However, the screens of handheld devices, being designed for individual-user mobile application, limit promotion of interaction among groups of learners. This study proposes a design of classrooms that incorporates personal workspace and public workspace. Students use handheld devices as private workspace and work with peers on public workspace with shared displays through their handheld devices. Experiments confirmed that students with only handheld devices did not demonstrate expected participation ratios and actively interact with group members. The proposed shared display groupware promoted shared understanding of the workspace and increased awareness of partner actions. Collaboration was enhanced by creating the opportunity for students to use handheld devices to perform ideal communication patterns and avoiding ineffective communication patterns.     

Stop talking and type: comparing virtual and face‐to‐face mentoring in an epistemic game

Research has shown that computer games and other virtual environments can support significant learning gains because they allow young people to explore complex concepts in simulated form. However, in complex problem‐solving domains, complex thinking is learned not only by taking action, but also with the aid of mentors who provide guidance in the form of questions, instructions, advice, feedback and encouragement. In this study, we examine one context of such mentoring to understand the impact of replacing face‐to‐face interactions between mentors and students with virtual, chat‐based interactions. We use pre‐ and post‐measures of learning and a post‐measure of engagement, as well as epistemic network analysis (ENA), a novel quantitative method, to examine student and mentor discourse. Our results suggest that mentoring via online chat can be as effective as mentoring face‐to‐face in appropriately structured contexts more generally – and that ENA may be a useful tool for assessing student and mentor discourse in the context of learning interactions.     

Development and evaluation of a system enhancing Second Life to support synchronous role‐based collaborative learning

Research and commercial interest toward 3D virtual worlds are recently growing because they probably represent the new direction for the next generation of web applications. Although these environments present several features that are useful for informal collaboration, structured collaboration is required to effectively use them in a working or in a didactical setting. This paper presents a system supporting synchronous collaborative learning by naturally enriching Learning Management System services with meeting management and multimedia features. Monitoring and moderation of discussions are also managed at a single group and at the teaching level. The Second Life (SL) environment has been integrated with two ad hoc developed Moodle plug‐ins and SL objects have been designed, modeled, and programmed to support synchronous role‐based collaborative activities. We also enriched SL with tools to support the capturing and displaying of textual information during collaborative sessions for successive retrieval. In addition, the multimedia support has been enhanced with functionalities for navigating multimedia contents. We also report on an empirical study aiming at evaluating the use of the proposed SL collaborative learning as compared with face‐to‐face group collaboration. Results show that the two approaches are statistically undistinguishable in terms of performance, comfort with communication, and overall satisfaction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating an application of speech‐to‐text recognition: a study on visual attention and learning behaviour

One major drawback of previous research on speech‐to‐text recognition (STR) is that most findings showing the effectiveness of STR for learning were based upon subjective evidence. Very few studies have used eye‐tracking techniques to investigate visual attention of students on STR‐generated text. Furthermore, not much attention was paid to learning differences, such as learning ability, learning style preferences and gender, to use STR texts. Therefore, this study carried out one experiment. Firstly, participants' visual attention on STR‐generated text was investigated by employing eye‐tracking technique. Secondly, how differently effective STR‐generated texts can be to influence participants' learning achievement was tested. Thirdly, this study compared visual attention and learning behaviour with the different characteristics of participants, such as learning ability, learning style preferences and gender, to use STR‐generated texts. Finally, this study explored students' perceptions regarding usefulness of STR‐generated texts for learning. This paper discusses results, research findings and implications along with conclusions and several suggestions for future development and research.     

Model‐to‐model and model‐to‐text: looking for the automation of VigilAgent

VigilAgent is a methodology for the development of agent‐oriented monitoring applications that uses agents as the key abstraction elements of the involved models. It has not been developed from scratch, but it reuses fragments from Prometheus and INGENIAS methodologies for modelling tasks and the ICARO framework for implementation purposes. As VigilAgent intends to automate as much as possible the development process, it exploits. Model transformation techniques are one of the key aspects of the model‐driven development approach. A model‐to‐model transformation is used to facilitate the interoperability between Prometheus and INGENIAS methodologies. Also, a model‐to‐text transformation is performed to generate ICARO code from the INGENIAS model. A case study based on access control is used to illustrate the fundamentals of the model‐to‐model and model‐to‐text transformations implemented in VigilAgent.     

Comparison of 1:1 and 1:m CSCL environment for collaborative concept mapping

This paper reports an investigation into the effects of collaborative concept mapping in a digital learning environment, in terms of students' overall learning gains, knowledge retention, quality of student artefacts (the collaboratively created concept maps), interactive patterns, and learning perceptions. Sixty‐four 12‐year‐old students from two 6th grade classes (32 from each class) participated in the study. Guided by the methodology of quasi‐experimental research, group scribbles 1.0 was adopted in which students carried out collaborative concept mapping activities for social studies in two different settings: (1) 1:1 (one‐device‐per‐student) – students working in pairs with one Tablet PC assigned to each of them; and (2) 1:m (one‐device‐to‐many‐students) – multiple students sharing a Tablet PC. Both settings were evaluated and the interactional patterns of the student groups' concept mapping were identified. The results indicated that in both 1:1 and 1:m settings, students had improved their learning results and retention. Nevertheless, while 1:1 groups had demonstrated more consistency in group participation, improved communication and interaction, the 1:m groups had instead generated superior artefacts as all the notes were well discussed among the group members. The findings suggest that a higher quality of collaborative processes does not necessarily lead to improved student artefacts.     

Integrating computer‐supported collaborative learning into the classroom: the anatomy of a failure

We present an analysis of a longitudinal case study whose aim was to understand the processes of integration of a face‐to‐face and networked collaborative learning technology and pedagogy into a secondary school history‐geography classroom. Students carried out a sequence of argumentative tasks relating to sustainable development, including argument generation, sharing and elaboration, debate using a computer‐mediated communication, and organization of arguments in a shared diagram. Students' interactions and diagrams were analysed in terms of degree and quality of argumentativity, as well as catachresis (‘getting round’ the software to perform a non‐prescribed task). Results run counter to positive systems of ideas and values concerning collaborative learning and its technological mediation in that the scenario did not meet its pedagogical aims, having to be abandoned before its planned end. We discuss possible explanations for this ‘failure story’ in terms of the articulation between everyday, technology‐related and educational discourse genres, with their associated social milieux, as well as the social structure of the classroom. The relevance of these aspects for future attempts to integrate such technologies is discussed. In conclusion, we discuss a vision of learning that takes into account students who do not accept to play the educational game.     

Exploring students' learning effectiveness and attitude in Group Scribbles‐supported collaborative reading activities: a study in the primary classroom

Improving students' reading comprehension is of significance. In this study, collaborative learning supported by Group Scribbles (GS), a networked technology, was integrated into a primary reading class. Forty‐seven 10‐year‐old students from two 4th grade classes participated in the study. Experimental and control groups were established to investigate the effectiveness of GS‐supported collaborative learning in enhancing students' reading comprehension. The results affirmed the effectiveness of the intervention designed. In the experiment group, students' learning attitudes, motivation and interest were enhanced as well. Further analyses were done to probe students' interaction processes in the networked collaborative classroom and different collaboration patterns and behaviours were identified. Based on the findings obtained, implications for future learning design to empower L1 learning were elaborated.     

A database approach for information communication in a peer‐to‐peer collaborative CAD environment

Timely and efficient information communication is a key factor in ensuring successful collaboration in engineering collaborative design. This work proposes a database approach to support information communication between distributed and autonomous CAD systems. It provides the designer with an easy and flexible way, a project‐based propagation meta‐table, to specify what parts of a CAD information model should be communicated to other collaborating designers. A CAD peer manager, containing a peer database that stores information to be exchanged with the other collaborators, wraps each participating CAD system. The peer manager identifies changes made to the CAD model by using stored procedures and active rules in the peer database that are automatically generated based on the propagation meta‐table. The identified updates are propagated in a timely manner to other peers via inter‐database message passing, thereby minimizing the volume of necessary information to be exchanged. Furthermore, remote peer designers can flexibly incorporate, filter, or delete received updates by using a propagation control interface, which is also used to issue user's commands to download the data from the CAD system to the peer database and lookup the received messages in the peer database. The approach is applicable on any CAD system having a CORBA interface and can also be applied to other kinds of object‐oriented interfaces. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zorilla: a peer‐to‐peer middleware for real‐world distributed systems

The inherent complex nature of current distributed computing architectures hinders the widespread adoption of these systems for mainstream use. In general, users have access to a highly heterogeneous set of compute resources, which may include clusters, grids, desktop grids, clouds, and other compute platforms. This heterogeneity is especially problematic when running parallel and distributed applications. Software is needed which easily combines as many resources as possible into one coherent computing platform. In this paper, we introduce Zorilla: peer‐to‐peer (P2P) middleware that creates a single distributed environment from any available set of compute resources. Zorilla imposes minimal requirements on the resource used, is platform independent, and does not rely on central components. In addition to providing functionality on bare resources, Zorilla can exploit locally available middleware. Zorilla explicitly supports distributed and parallel applications, and allows resources from multiple sites to cooperate in a single computation. Zorilla makes extensive use of both virtualization and P2P techniques. We will demonstrate how virtualization and P2P combine into a simple design, while enhancing functionality and ease of use. Together, these techniques bring our goal a step closer: transparent, easy use of resources, even on very heterogeneous distributed systems. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning loops – interactions between guided reflection and experience‐based learning in a serious game activity

In a study on experience‐based learning in serious games, 45 players were tested for topic comprehension by a questionnaire administered before and after playing the single‐player serious game Peacemaker (Impact Games 2007). Players were divided into two activity conditions: 20 played a 1‐h game with a 3‐min half‐time break to complete an affect self‐report form while 25 also participated in a 20‐min reflective group discussion during their half‐time break. During the discussion, they were asked by an experimenter to reflect on a set of topics related to the game. We present the analysis of the questionnaires, which illustrates that contrary to our expectations the reflection period had a negative effect on the learning of the players as judged by their performance on closed‐form questions at levels 1–5 (out of 6) on the Bloom taxonomy of learning outcomes. The questionnaire also included a few open questions which gave the players a possibility to display deep (level 6) learning. The players did not differ significantly between conditions regarding the questions measuring deep learning.     

Signal‐to‐noise ratios for measuring saliency of features extracted by eigenvector methods from ophthalmic arterial Doppler signals

Abstract: Features are used to represent patterns with minimal loss of important information. The feature vector, which is composed of the set of all features used to describe a pattern, is a reduced‐dimensional representation of that pattern. Medical diagnostic accuracies can be improved when the pattern is simplified through representation by important features. By identifying a set of salient features, the noise in a classification model can be reduced, resulting in more accurate classification. In this study, a signal‐to‐noise ratio saliency measure was employed to determine the saliency of input features of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) used in classification of ophthalmic arterial Doppler signals. Eigenvector methods were used to extract features representing the ophthalmic arterial Doppler signals. The RNNs used in the ophthalmic arterial Doppler signal classification were trained for the signal‐to‐noise ratio screening method. The application results of the signal‐to‐noise ratio screening method to the ophthalmic arterial Doppler signals demonstrated that classification accuracies of RNNs with salient input features are higher than those of RNNs with salient and non‐salient input features.     

ATLAS: a framework to provide multiuser and distributed t‐learning services over MHP

The increasing need of the developed countries to carry out effective distance learning strategies has led to a great development of Internet‐based learning technologies (e‐learning). Despite its evident advantages, the expansion of e‐learning has been limited by the difficulty in reaching important social sectors, and also by the absence of mechanisms to fight the feeling of isolation of the users, which often leads them to abandoning the distance learning activities. This paper tackles these problems by introducing ATLAS, a framework for the development and deployment of multiuser t‐learning services (i.e. learning services over Interactive Digital TV). This framework is built around three major features: an architecture for the services that exploits the multimedia capabilities of the television, a communications infrastructure that promotes the establishment of virtual learning communities, and a development tool that allows services to be created with minimum programming knowledge. ATLAS has been designed by considering several features that make Interactive Digital TV quite different from the PC, advising against the direct translation of the models developed for the Internet. In particular, ATLAS adheres to the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) standard, which is gaining worldwide acceptance as one of the technical solutions that will shape the future of Interactive Digital TV. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptions of learning effectiveness in M‐learning: scale development and student awareness

The purpose of this study is to develop a multi‐dimensional scale to measure students' awareness of key competencies for M‐learning and to test its reliability and validity. The Key Competencies of Mobile Learning Scale (KCMLS) was determined via confirmatory factor analysis to have four dimensions: team collaboration, creative thinking, critical thinking and problem solving, and communication. The research subjects are 815 students from the elementary school that participate in M‐learning programme in Taiwan. The research results show that students have better self‐awareness in team collaboration and creative thinking, but have worse self‐awareness in critical thinking and problem solving. This study also found that there was no significant difference between genders in the KCMLS, but students who study in the schools that committed in M‐learning longer have higher awareness in all dimensions than students who study in the schools that committed to M‐learning in fewer years.