“Games are made for fun”: Lessons on the effects of concept maps in the classroom use of computer games

Does using a computer game improve students’ motivation to learn classroom material? The current study examined students’ motivation to learn history concepts while playing a commercial, off-the-shelf computer game, Civilization III. The study examined the effect of using conceptual scaffolds to accompany game play. Students from three ninth-grade classrooms were assigned to one of three groups: one group used an expert generated concept map, one group constructed their own concept maps, and a control group used no map. It was predicted that the use of concept maps would enhance the educational value of the game playing activity, in particular students’ motivational levels; however, the opposite happened. Students who used a concept map showed lower motivation on the task relative to their baseline motivation for regular classroom instruction. In contrast, the levels of motivation in playing the game, for students in the control group, met or exceeded their levels of motivation during regular classroom instruction. These results suggest that using a conceptual scaffold can decrease students’ motivation to learn classroom material through game play, perhaps because conceptual maps can (a) focus students’ attention on the difficulty of learning the concepts and on the extrinsic rewards for playing the game and (b) make game play less autonomous, less creative, and less active. All of these can negate the primary property that provides playing its principal potential pedagogical power: fun.     

Reimagining writing program web sites as pedagogical tools

I argue that conversations about the pedagogical applications of web sites and HTML should be extended to include applications of these technologies on the programmatic level. I specifically examine the experience of the Rutgers writing program and the reconception of the writing program web site through a student-centered, content-driven, collaboratively constructed model in terms of Cynthia Selfe’s (1999) notion of critical technological literacy.     

Students’ reflection on online self-correction and peer review to improve writing

Reflection is considered as a mental process of an individual’s internal problem-solving activity and rarely observed in face-to-face instruction. As a consequence, students have few opportunities to observe and learn from each other. This study aimed to arouse students’ reflection on both self-correction (one’s own problem-solving process in writing) and peer review (peers’ problem-solving process in writing) to improve their texts in an online system. A sample of 95 undergraduate students was recruited to write a reflective journal, which was analyzed by content analysis to compare their reflection on self-correction with peer review in writing. Results of this study revealed that reflecting on the differences between self-correction and peer review enabled students to monitor, evaluate, and adjust their writing processes in the pursuit of text improvement. In their reflective journals, students claimed that self-correction helped them detect grammatical errors (local revision) while peer review allowed them to view their own texts from others’ perspectives. Based on others’ perspectives, they could make further revisions on text development, organization, or style (global revision). Through reflection on self-correction and peer review, students were willing to provide further support to peers and learn from each other in the process of writing.     

The comparative effect of individually-constructed vs. collaboratively-constructed computer-based concept maps

The researchers investigated the comparative effects of individually-constructed and collaboratively-constructed computer-based concept mapping on middle school science concept learning. One hundred and sixty one students completed the entire study. Using prior science performance scores to assure equivalence of student achievement across groups, students were assigned to three groups: a self-selected study strategy group, an individual-concept mapping group, and a collaborative pairs – concept mapping group. Collaboratively and individually-constructing computer-based concept maps had equally positive effects on seventh grade middle school science concept learning as measured on a comprehension test. However, the students who collaboratively constructed concept maps created significantly higher quality concept maps than those who individually constructed concept maps indicating deeper conceptual understanding.     

Learning to write in an online writing center: The effect of learning styles on the writing process

One of the main advantages of online learning materials is that they can be adapted for students with different learning styles. This article presents a study and a methodology to investigate whether students with different learning styles make use of the potential flexibility of online learning materials, i.c. in the context of an online writing center. The study aims to investigate the effect of learning styles on (a) the students' approach to the writing task (process), and (b) on the letters they write (product). Twenty students each completed a module on writing ‘bad news’ letters designed for Business Communication courses. Their reading and writing processes were recorded. The letters were also graded to determine their quality. An effect of learning style was found: Active and Reflective writers approached the task differently, but only in the beginning of the process. In this early stage Reflective learners were more likely to focus on the theory section than Active learners. This suggests that writers with different learning styles tackle the learning materials in different ways, often in line with the preferences that characterize their learning styles. However, no effect of learning style on text quality was found.     

Write between the lines: Electronic outlining and the organization of text ideas

Writing is an important, complex skill which could be enhanced through the effective use of writing tools that are incorporated in word processors. The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of (repeated) electronic outlining on the quality of students’ writing products and perceived mental effort. The study also investigated how students appropriate and appreciate the outline tool. Data were collected from 58 ninth-grade students who wrote two argumentative texts about a topic they had previously discussed during several class sessions, meaning that ideas were generated and clustered beforehand. Students’ writing products were scored for Total Text Structure, Structure Presentation, and Hierarchical Elaboration of Arguments. Results reveal that first-time tool-use had no significant effect on students’ writing products and perceived mental effort. However, repeated use positively affected Structure Presentation and led to decreased perceived mental effort, but no significant effect was found on Total Text Structure and Hierarchical Elaboration of Arguments. Answers to a retrospective questionnaire showed that students quickly appropriated the tool with tool appreciation increasing with repeated use. This study suggests that in order to profit from electronic outlining, it is important to practice using the outline tool and to use it for complex tasks, requiring idea generation and organization.     

Formative computer-based feedback in the university classroom: Specific concept maps scaffold students' writing

Formative feedback can be regarded as a crucial scaffold for students' writing cohesive texts. However, especially in large lectures students rarely receive feedback on their writing product. Thus, computer-based feedback could be an alternative to provide formative feedback to students. However, it is less clear, how computer-based feedback should be designed to help students writing cohesive texts. For that purpose, we implemented three different computer-based feedback methods within an authentic large lecture class. We investigated effects of the format (outline versus concept map) and the specificity (specific versus general) of the feedback on students' perceived difficulty and the generation of cohesive texts. We found that specific concept map feedback was perceived as less difficult as compared to the general feedback or the specific outline feedback. Additionally, students who received specific feedback wrote explanatory texts that were more cohesive as compared to students with the general feedback. However, the format of the feedback (concept map versus outline) did not account for improvements of cohesion. Evidently, specific concept map feedback can be regarded as an efficient scaffold to provide cohesive explanations.     

Effects of pen design on drawing and writing performance

Two experiments are reported with the aim of determining the effect of pen shape and size on two different types of task: drawing and writing. Experiment 1 attempted to determine the optimum shape and size of shank for ball-point pens used to perform an accurate drawing task. Twenty-seven participants used a total of nine different pens. Drawing performance was measured by having the subjects follow mazes of different size. The dependent variables were drawing movement time and drawing accuracy. The results indicate that the pen with an equivalent diameter of 8 mm had the best accuracy during drawing, even though it had the lowest speed. The results confirm the applicability and validity of the Drury tracking model for such a task. Even though users tended to prefer larger pens, their accuracy with such pens tended to be low.In a second experiment, subjects performed a writing task (with no accuracy constraints) and rated their preference for types of pen. An attempt was made to determine the preferred dimensions of ball-point pens for writing in Chinese and English. A total of 36 ‘bare-bodied’ pens and 20 Chinese subjects were used to evaluate the effects of shape, size and weight on time to write a sentence. The Writing Ability, Comfort and an Overall Rating were given by the subjects. The results indicate that the Chinese subjects preferred a circular shaped pen for writing in both languages. A factor analysis showed that speed, comfort and writing ability are independent parameters in pen evaluations.     

Do millennial undergraduates’ views of writing differ when surveyed online versus on paper?

The purpose of this study was to test whether different survey delivery conditions made a difference in assessing college students’ practices, affect, and conceptions of academic and nonacademic writing. The delivery conditions represented combinations of three underlying factors: survey format (online versus paper-and-pencil), location (classroom, lab, home), and supervision (proctored or not). Participants (N = 268) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) a paper version of the survey administered in classrooms at scheduled proctored sessions; (2) an online version administered in scheduled proctored sessions in a computer lab; (3) an online version at a location and time of the students’ choice. The survey had 103 closed-ended and three open-response questions. Results showed different participation rates across conditions and more variability in time spent for the “home online” group. However, there were few differences by condition to substantive questions regarding the students’ practices, conceptions, and affective responses associated with writing. The only place where responses differed by condition was in response to the optional open-ended evaluation of the survey.     

Electronic outlining as a writing strategy: Effects on students' writing products,mental effort and writing process

This study addresses to what extent and how electronic outlining enhances students' writing performance. To this end, the focus of this study is not only on students' final writing products but also on the organisation of the writing process (i.e., planning, translating, and reviewing) and perceived mental effort during writing. In addition, effects of repeated electronic outlining were examined. A combined within and between subjects design was implemented in which 93 10th-grade students wrote two argumentative texts with or without using electronic outlining. Analyses showed that using electronic outlining for planning and writing significantly improved the presentation of the argumentative structure. However, effects were less clear for correctly and completely establishing a text structure and no effects were found on the elaboration of students' argumentation. Process data showed that electronic outlining increased total process time, but no effect was found on students' overall planning and revision activities. Finally, self-reports showed no effect of electronic outlining on students' perceived mental effort. Nevertheless, repeated use of the same writing strategy enhanced writing fluency.     

Influence of stationary lateral vibrations on train passengers' difficulty to read and write

Recent studies on train passengers’ activities found that many passengers were engaged in some form of work, e.g. reading and writing, while traveling by train. A majority of the passengers reported that they were disturbed by vibrations or motions during their journey. A laboratory study was therefore set up to study how stationary low-frequency lateral vibrations influence the difficulty to read and write. The study involved 48 subjects (24f+24m) divided into three age groups. Two levels of sinusoidal vibrations were applied at nine discrete frequencies (0.8–8.0 Hz). Subjects performed both reading and writing tasks under two sitting positions (leaning against the backrest and leaning over a table). The judgments of perceived difficulty to read and write were rated using Borg's CR-100 scale. The results showed significant differences between the tasks and postural conditions. The subjects reported greater difficulty while reading and writing on the table than while leaning back. The frequencies up to 5 Hz had a particular influence on the perceived difficulty.     

Just For Fun: Writing and Literacy Learning as Forms of Play

This article focuses on Ink, a Multiplayer Online Game (MOG) being developed at Michigan State University. The design of Ink reflects the developers’ understanding of writing pedagogy and rhetorical theory. Ink allows players to enter into complex rhetorical situations that include exigencies, audiences, and rhetorical purposes. The developers of Ink hope that placing players in these rhetorical situations will facilitate literacy learning while simultaneously providing a satisfying game experience. Players will hopefully learn while having fun. In order to test the effectiveness of Ink as a game and learning environment, the authors designed a small-scale preliminary study with a focus group of student playtesters. The study was designed to answer three fundamental questions: Will players write? Will players have fun? Will players learn? The study generated some evidence that the answer to all three questions is “yes.”     

Digital Underlife in the Networked Writing Classroom

This article offers a theoretical framework for ‘digital underlife’: the distal and potentially transgressive discursive activities proliferated by emerging technologies. Digital underlife is an adaptation of sociologist Erving Goffman's concept of underlife, which figured centrally in Robert Brooke's well-known study of writing activity in 1988. As emerging digital technologies fray the communicative bounds of traditional sites for teaching and learning, such as the classroom and the conference hall, we are confronted anew with a complex array of possibilities for giving and getting attention. Drawing on the work of Charles Moran and Richard Lanham, this article calls for a more receptive disposition toward the productive dimensions of digital underlife. The article promotes a stance that imagines productive digital underlife to be intrinsic to curricula that combine digital writing activity and rhetorical education, rather than short-selling digital underlife as mere distraction, as an impediment to learning, or worse, attempting to banish it altogether.     

Effects of a computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy on EFL college students’ English reading comprehension

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of a computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy on EFL college learners’ English reading comprehension. The research questions were: (1) what was the influence of the computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy on different learners’ English reading comprehension? (2) did the computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy affect learners’ use of other English reading strategies? One hundred ninety-four freshmen who were enrolled in the English course were divided into low-level and high-level groups according to their English proficiency. A computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy was introduced to the learners in the experimental class to improve their reading ability. Through two-way ANOVA analysis, it was found that the computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy had greater reading benefit for the low-level group than for the high-level group. In addition, the results of independent sample t-test analysis indicated that the computer-assisted concept mapping learning strategy enhanced learners’ use of other English reading strategies–listing, enforcing, and reviewing.     

Non-existence of systematic education on computerized writing in Japanese schools

In Japanese schools, from elementary to college levels, digital technologies are not widely used for writing education. It sounds paradoxical that computer use in writing education is not flourishing in a country where ordinary people, especially the youth, actively use the Internet and cellular phones to exchange written (or typed) messages, where schools are well-equipped with computer technologies, and where the government shows guidelines and rationales for using information and communication technologies in teaching and learning at schools. This article analyzes the background behind this paradoxical situation. After analyzing how much research on and the practice of digital writing education has been made in the country, this paper discusses the nature of writing education and digital discourse in the Japanese culture and its possible relations to the lack of computerized writing education in Japanese schools.     

Fostering sharing of unshared knowledge by having access to the collaborators’ meta-knowledge structures

The present experimental study focuses on two problems occurring in computer-supported collaborative learning situations: First, it has been empirically proven that groups discuss mainly shared information, that is, information already known to all group members, while unshared information, that is, information known to only one member, is often neglected. However, such unshared information could be task-relevant. Therefore, taking unshared information into consideration should be fostered. Second, Wegner’s theory of transactive memory system points out that groups perform better when the group members are informed about their collaborators’ knowledge. However, acquiring correct knowledge about what others know is difficult. An approach for solving these two problems is introduced which provides the group members with the collaborators’ meta-knowledge structures by means of digital concept maps. The study compares 20 triads with spatially distributed group members that had access to their collaborators’ meta-knowledge maps with 20 triads collaborating without these maps. Results showed, as expected, that the triads having been provided with such maps started sooner to discuss unshared information, applied more of their collaborators’ unshared information, and processed unshared information more deeply. Additional results, however, demonstrated in contrast to Wegner’s theory that being informed about the collaborators’ meta-knowledge is not sufficient to increase group performance.     

Interactivity and the Invisible: What Counts as Writing in the Age of Web 2.0

This study asks: what counts as writing in a Web 2.0 environment? How do the vocabularies, functionalities, and organizing structures of Web 2.0 environments impact our understanding of what writing is in these spaces and how that writing is performed? Results suggest that we, as scholars and teachers, need to pay more attention to, first, the interactivity that is embedded in and afforded by Web 2.0 applications and, second, the processes that are invisible to the composer. Successful compositional engagement with Web 2.0 applications requires an evolving interactive set of practices similar to those practiced by gamers, comics, and electronic literature authors and readers. What we learn about these practices has the potential to transform the way we understand writing and the teaching of writing within and outside of a Web 2.0 ecosystem.     

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.     

Writing with speech recognition: The adaptation process of professional writers with and without dictating experience

This paper describes the adaptation and writing process of writers who have started using speech recognition systems for writing business texts. The writers differ in their previous writing experience. They either have previous classical dictating experience or they are used to writing their texts with a word processor. To gather the process data for this study we chose complementary research methods. First the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire and given instruction about the speech recognition system. Then they were observed five times using the speech recognition system during their day-to-day work. Finally, they also filled in a logging questionnaire after each task.

The quantitative analysis of the use of the writing mode shows that those participants who had no previous dictating experience, tend to use the voice input more extensively, both for formulating and reviewing. This result is confirmed in the more detailed case analysis. The other analyses in the case study—i.e. repair, revision, and pause analysis-refine the differences in the organization of the writing process between the writers, and show that the speech recognition mode seems to create a writing environment that is open for different writing profiles.     

E-portfolios supporting primary students' writing performance and peer feedback

E-portfolios show great promise for supporting students' writing performance and facilitating peer feedback, but empirical research of their use in primary education is limited. To address this gap, a yearlong study was conducted in a 4th grade primary class in Cyprus implementing e-portfolios (n = 20) to help students document their progress and send feedback to peers. A generic, open source weblog tool localized into Greek was used as an e-portfolio tool. Data sources included 176 student-essays, 1306 instances of peer feedback, students pre- and post-tests on writing performance, nine videotaped student interviews and one teacher interview. A paired samples t-test analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference between students' pre-test (M = 62.6, SD = 9.82, n = 20) and post-test (M = 76.5, SD = 12.6, n = 20) on writing performance (t (19) = −8.03, p < .01). A repeated measures analysis of variance on e-portfolio artifacts showed that there were learning gains with respect to students' writing performance over time [F(4.01, 76.25) = 31.59, p < .01, η² = 0.89]. A qualitative analysis of students' comments showed that students provided more thorough peer feedback over time and became gradually more capable of providing corrective feedback. The qualitative analysis of student interviews provided evidence that students valued peer feedback in their portfolios. The analysis of the teacher interview showed that average and high-ability students benefited the most from peer feedback. This study provided evidence that e-portfolios can support the development of students' writing performance and peer feedback skills in the context of primary school essay writing. Instructional implications for portfolio implementation are offered.