Augmented reality and competition in robotics education: Effects on 21st century competencies,group collaboration and learning motivation

Robotics education has received an increasing attention in recent years as a means to build students' motivation, team collaboration skills, and other valuable 21st century competencies. Yet there is a lack of experimental studies to investigate and identify strategies to facilitate robotics education. This study adopted a 2 × 2 quasi-experimental design to investigate two strategies: the incorporation of augmented reality (AR) and the introduction of competition in robotics activities. Students' robotics task performance, team collaboration processes, 21st century learning competencies and learning motivation were measured as dependent variables. The results indicated that AR significantly improved students' motivation, team processes, and 21st century competencies. Moreover, the effects of AR were more pronounced with the competition groups. Implications are drawn to provide guidelines on the use of AR and competition in robotics education.     

Effect of design-based learning on improving computational thinking

The results of this study indicated that design-based learning (DBL) improves computational thinking (CT) in a sample of elementary school students. The experiment consisted of participants using the Scratch Program and Creative Computing Guidebook, both developed by the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) media laboratory, for a total of 15 hours. An experimental group and a control group were formed and consisted of fourth to sixth graders. DBL was applied to the experimental group, while a traditional, direct method of teaching was applied to the control group. The experiment was designed to examine several aspects of learning: self-efficacy, self-interest, and self-CT. Moreover, we compared changes in students’ perceptions of computers and analysed differences in students’ responses between the two groups according to each of the steps of DBL. Then, we verified the effects of DBL by examining the progress of each group and the differences between the two groups. At the end of the experiment, we found that both groups showed enhanced self-efficacy, self-interest, and self-CT. However, the experimental group had a greater number of significant positive changes than the control group did in all areas (p?相似文献   

STEM learning attitude predicts computational thinking skills among primary school students

Computational thinking (CT) plays a vital role in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, whether students' learning attitude towards STEM is related to their CT skills remains unknown. Two studies were conducted to address this knowledge gap. In Study 1, we validated a newly developed STEM learning attitude scale among a sample of Chinese primary school students (N = 489). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results revealed that the scale which consisted of three factors (mathematics, science and information technology) could sufficiently measure primary school students' STEM learning attitude in the current sample. In Study 2, we explored the association between students' STEM learning attitude and their CT skills. Evidence revealed that learning attitude towards STEM significantly predicted CT skills. We also found that girls had a more positive learning attitude towards STEM than boys, and the fourth grade might be the key period for the development of CT skills. Implications for promoting primary school students' STEM learning and CT skills were also discussed.     

Retracted: Examining students' learning,perceived learning and motivation in social annotation-based translation activities

This study was conducted to examine how a collaborative social annotation tool can be used to support collaborative learning in translation instruction for EFL students. Participants were 100 undergraduate students who were English majors in a southeast university in China. An experiment with crossover design was carried out to examine the participants' learning and motivation in the social annotation-supported condition and the traditional instruction condition. The results showed that students received higher scores on their translation work and rated their perceived learning higher when they completed the translation assignments in the social annotation-support condition than in the traditional instruction condition. In addition, participants reported that they were more motivated when they completed the translation assignments in the social annotation-supported condition, though participants with different levels of language proficiency might be motivated by different reasons.     

Genetic programming for articulated figure motion

We present an approach to articulated figure motion in which motion tasks are defined in terms of goals and ratings. The agents are dynamically-controlled robots whose behaviour is determined by robotic controller programs. The controller programs for the robots are evaluated at each time step to yield torque values which drive the dynamic simulation of the motion. We use the AI technique of genetic programming (GP) to automatically derive control programs for the agents which achieve the goals. This type of motion specification is an alternative to key framing which allows a highly automated, learning-based approach to generation of motion. This method of motion control is very general (it can be applied to any type of motion), yet it allows for specifications of the types of specific motion which are desired for a high quality animation. We show that complex, specific, physically plausible and aesthetically appealing motion can be generated using these methods.     

GP-Sumo: Using genetic programming to evolve sumobots

We describe the evolution—via genetic programming—of control systems for real-world, sumo-fighting robots—sumobots, in adherence with the Robothon rules: Two robots face each other within a circular arena, the objective of each being to push the other outside the arena boundaries. Our robots are minimally equipped with sensors and actuators, the intent being to seek out good fighters with this restricted platform, in a limited amount of time. We describe four sets of experiments—of gradually increasing difficulty—which also test a number of evolutionary methods: single-population vs. coevolution, static fitness vs. dynamic fitness, and real vs. dummy opponents.     

Enhancing middle school students' scientific learning and motivation through agent‐based learning

Facing students' decreasing motivation to pursue scientific study, schools and educators need to coordinate new technologies with pedagogical agents to effectively sustain or promote students' scientific learning and motivation to learn. Although the provision of pedagogical agents in student learning has been studied previously, it is not clear what benefits the strategy might offer with regard to student motivation. This study proposes an agent‐based mechanism that integrates problem‐solving and inquiry‐based instructions to help students better understand complex scientific concepts and to sustain their motivation to learn science. In this study, a quasi‐experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance and feasibility of our proposed mechanism. The results revealed that the agent‐based mechanism was effective and feasible for enhancing students' learning and motivation to learn. The mechanism was associated with increases in the acquisition of knowledge when compared with the control group. Its effect in promoting and sustaining students' motivation was also statistically significant. Detailed discussions of the findings are provided in this study.     

Mobile game-based learning in secondary education: engagement, motivation and learning in a mobile city game

Using mobile games in education combines situated and active learning with fun in a potentially excellent manner. The effects of a mobile city game called Frequency 1550, which was developed by The Waag Society to help pupils in their first year of secondary education playfully acquire historical knowledge of medieval Amsterdam, were investigated in terms of pupil engagement in the game, historical knowledge, and motivation for History in general and the topic of the Middle Ages in particular. A quasi-experimental design was used with 458 pupils from 20 classes from five schools. The pupils in 10 of the classes played the mobile history game whereas the pupils in the other 10 classes received a regular, project-based lesson series. The results showed those pupils who played the game to be engaged and to gain significantly more knowledge about medieval Amsterdam than those pupils who received regular project-based instruction. No significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to motivation for History or the Middle Ages. The impact of location-based technology and game-based learning on pupil knowledge and motivation are discussed along with suggestions for future research.     

内部动机驱动的机器人未知环境在线自主学习

针对目前智能移动机器人在未知环境中学习遇到的如学习主动性、实时性差,无法在线积累学习的知识和经验等问题,受心理学中内部动机的启发,提出一种内部动机驱动的移动机器人未知环境在线自主学习方法,在一定程度上弥补目前该领域存在的一些问题。该方法通过在移动机器人Q学习的框架下,将奖励机制用基于心理学启发的内部动机取代,提高其对于未知环境的学习主动性,同时,采用增量自组织神经网络代替经典Q学习中的查找表,实现输入输出空间的映射,使得机器人能够在线增量地学习未知环境。实验结果表明,通过内部动机驱动的方法,移动机器人对于未知环境的学习主动性得到了提高,智能程度有了明显改进。     

VB程序设计课程案例教学模式研究

VB程序设计知识点多,理论性和灵活性均较强,传统教学模式在VB教学中存在一定的弊端。为了培养具有计算思维、创新能力和创新精神的复合型人才,改善VB程序设计课程的教学效果,在VB课程教学中采用了案例教学法。分析了VB程序设计教学的现状和实施案例教学模式的可行性,讨论了其教学案例设计原则和教学实施过程。实践表明,案例教学法在VB教学中的运用能够有效激发学生兴趣,调动学生学习的热情,提高学生分析问题和解决问题的能力,有利于提高教学质量。     

Micro-persistence and difficulty in a game-based learning environment for computational thinking acquisition

Persistence has been identified as a crucial quality of learning. However, it is hard to attain in online game-based environments as the drive to progress in the game may influence the ability to achieve the learning goals. This study aimed to examine the associations between micro-persistence, that is, the tendency to complete an individual task successfully, and task difficulty while acquiring computational thinking (CT). We further explored whether contextual or personal attributes better explain micro-persistence. We analysed data of 111 school students who used the CodeMonkey platform. We took a learning analytics approach for analysing the platform's log files. We found that micro-persistence is associated with task difficulty and that students who demonstrated an aptitude to learn new material are motivated to achieve the best solution. We also found that contextual variables better-explained micro-persistence than personal attributes. Encouraging micro-persistence can improve CT acquisition and the learning processes involved.     

以培养自主学习能力为目标的阶梯任务驱动教学法在程序设计课程中的应用

学生对程序设计类课程的学习,不应以课程的结束为学习终点,还需学生通过后续学习取得更好的效果,因此培养学生自主学习能力至关重要。以培养学生自主学习能力为目标,提出阶梯任务驱动教学法,对传统任务驱动教学法进行改进,在程序设计课程中进行实践。根据课程内容,设置阶梯任务,在提高学生实践能力的同时培养学生自主学习能力,提高教和学的效率。     

A distributed system for learning programming on-line

Several Web-based on-line judges or on-line programming trainers have been developed in order to allow students to train their programming skills. However, their pedagogical functionalities in the learning of programming have not been clearly defined. EduJudge is a project which aims to integrate the “UVA On-line Judge”, an existing on-line programming trainer with an important number of problems and users, into an effective educational environment consisting of the e-learning platform Moodle and the competitive learning tool QUESTOURnament. The result is the EduJudge system which allows teachers to apply different pedagogical approaches using a proven e-learning platform, makes problems easy to search through an effective search engine, and provides an automated evaluation of the solutions submitted to these problems. The final objective is to provide new learning strategies to motivate students and present programming as an easy and attractive challenge. EduJudge has been tried and tested in three algorithms and programming courses in three different Engineering degrees. The students’ motivation and satisfaction levels were analysed alongside the effects of the EduJudge system on students’ academic outcomes. Results indicate that both students and teachers found that among other multiple benefits the EduJudge system facilitates the learning process. Furthermore, the experiment also showed an improvement in students’ academic outcomes. It must be noted that the students’ level of satisfaction did not depend on their computer skills or their gender.     

A genetic programming approach to WiFi fingerprint meta-distance learning

Driven by the continuous growth in the number of mobile smart devices, location-based services are becoming a fundamental aspect in the ubiquitous computing domain. In this work, we focus on indoor scenarios, where positioning supports tasks such as navigation, logistics, and access management and control. Most indoor positioning solutions are based on WiFi fingerprinting, thanks to its ease of deployment. Such a technique often requires the adoption of a suitable distance metric to compare the currently observed WiFi access points with those pertaining to fingerprints contained in a database, and whose position is already known. Results from the literature make it evident that classical distance functions among WiFi fingerprints do not preserve spatial information in its entirety. Here, we explore the possibility of addressing such a shortcoming by combining a selection of fingerprint distance functions into a meta-distance, using a genetic programming approach to solve a symbolic regression problem. The outcomes of the investigation, based on 16 publicly available datasets, show that a small, but statistically relevant, improvement can be achieved in preserving spatial information, and that the developed meta-distance has a generalization capability no worse than top-performing classical fingerprint distance functions when trained on a dataset and tested on the others. In addition, when used within a k-nearest-neighbor positioning framework, the meta-distance outperforms all the contenders, despite not being expressly designed to support position estimation. This sheds a light on a significant relationship between preservation of spatial information and localization performance. The achieved results pave the way for the development of more advanced metric learning solutions, that go beyond the limitations of currently-employed fingerprint distance functions.     

面向计算思维和探究能力培养的C＋＋实践教学探索

针对目前学生在C＋＋实践课程中编程能力普遍较弱的状况,分析了造成这种现状的原因,给出了基于计算思维和探究学习的C＋＋实践教学新模式,提高了学生系统分析问题和解决问题的能力。     

Integrating modified WebQuest activities for programming learning

The study designed WebQuest activities and explored the learning performance of learners to understand the suitability of using WebQuest in a college programming course. The study modified the processes of WebQuest based on social constructivism and scaffolding learning, and included programming tasks such as debugging practice to encourage learners to develop their problem-solving abilities. The WebQuest learning sheets include the following four parts, introduction, task, resources and evaluation, and the learners had to complete the tasks without the detailed processes. After they had tried to solve the problem for approximately two weeks, the detailed WebQuest processes were provided. A total of 109 learners (third year of college) participated in the study and were separated into two groups. The experimental group underwent WebQuest teaching, while the control group received the traditional IT-integrated teaching. The study duration was 18 weeks (3 hr/week). The results indicated that the modified WebQuest activity gave learners scaffolding to do try-and-revise practice, and the processes of using provided possible information to test and debug the resulting codes encouraged them to associate and analyze learning information before programming and then to generalize the programming steps on their own instead of following the instructor's step-by-step instructions. The learners thus have a deep understanding of the programming concept rather than surface learning. The findings revealed that the modified WebQuest activity is a helpful form of scaffolding for promoting learners' positive learning experiences regarding organizing information and problem solving and reasoning skills. Besides, integrating debugging practice in the WebQuest activity could promote learners' intermediate and advance level programming ability. Subsequent research could further explore the effects of adding after-practice WebQuest activities to assist and trigger learners' self-reflection for refining their problem-solving processes after the in-class WebQuest activities.     

Level of intrinsic motivation of distance education students in e‐learning environments

According to researches, motivation that initiates and sustains behaviour is one of the most significant components of learning in any environment. Accordingly, level of intrinsic motivation triggers and sustains the interest of the open and distance education students when it comes to learning on their own in e‐learning environments. Despite a comprehensive literature regarding the motivation of those learning in traditional learning environments, the number of studies addressing the motivation of open and distance education students in e‐learning environments is not sufficient. In this context, this study aims at determining the level of intrinsic motivation of open and distance education students. Thus, data were collected from 1,639 distance education students in 22 programmes, through Intrinsic Motivation in e‐Learning Questionnaire developed and validated to that end. Analyses carried out indicate that the level of intrinsic motivation of open and distance education students is high in e‐learning environments, but there is not a statistically significant difference by gender, programme structure (graduate/undergraduate), instruction type (distance–blended), and academic disciplines.     

The effects of peer intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on MMOG game-based collaborative learning

We combined Massively Multiplayer Online Game and technology-based collaborative learning methods to examine peer motivational factors influencing intention to learn; these have seldom been jointly examined. We proposed two new constructs, peer intrinsic motivation and peer extrinsic motivation, and investigated their effect on a player's intention to learn individually and collaboratively. Our survey and interview findings showed that an individual player's peer intrinsic and extrinsic motivations had significantly positive influence on his or her intention to learn collaboratively and individually. Implications for academics, educators, game developers, and players are discussed.