Providing effective feedback, monitoring and evaluation to on-line collaborative learning discussions

Learning and knowledge building have become critical competences for people in the knowledge society era. In this paper, we propose a sociolinguistic dialogue model for understanding how learning evolves and how cognitive process is constructed in on-line discussions. The knowledge extracted from this model is used to assess participation behavior, knowledge building and performance. The ultimate purpose is to provide effective feedback, evaluation and monitoring to the discussion process. Seven hundred students from the Open University of Catalonia in Spain participated in this study. Results showed that learning and knowledge building may be greatly enhanced by presenting selected knowledge to learners as for their particular skills exhibited during interaction. In addition, this valuable provision of information is used as a meta cognitive tool for tutors and moderators for monitoring and evaluating the discussion process more conveniently. This contribution presents our conceptual model for interaction management as well as key design guidelines and evaluation results. Implications of this study are remarked and further research directions are proposed.     

Applying a 3D virtual learning environment to facilitate student’s application ability - The case of marketing

In order to understand whether a 3D virtual learning environment is effective in facilitating students’ application ability, we designed a 3D virtual supermarket (3DVS) to help business students to transform abstract class theory into concrete application ability in the real world. In the 3DVS, a virtual customer poses questions to the participant, and then the participant, as a simulated clerk, has to reply to the questions. All of the questions in the 3DVS were developed from marketing mix theory and given a scenario-based form. To understand the effects of the 3DVS, the participants were randomly divided into control group (CG) and experiment group (EG), and only the EG participants were trained with the 3DVS. After examined by pretest and posttest, the results of posttest indicated that the participants of the EG performed significantly better in terms of knowledge application than did those of the CG.     

Effects of face-to-face versus chat communication on performance in a collaborative inquiry modeling task

In many contemporary collaborative inquiry learning environments, chat is being used as a means for communication. Still, it remains an open issue whether chat communication is an appropriate means to support the deep reasoning process students need to perform in such environments. Purpose of the present study was to compare the impact of chat versus face-to-face communication on performance within a collaborative computer-supported modeling task. 44 Students from 11th-grade pre-university education, working in dyads, were observed during modeling. Dyads communicated either face-to-face or through a chat tool. Students’ reasoning during modeling was assessed by analyzing verbal protocols. In addition, we assessed the quality of student-built models. Results show that while model quality scores did not differ across both conditions, students communicating through chat compressed their interactions resulting in less time spent on surface reasoning, whereas students who communicated face-to-face spent significantly more time on surface reasoning.     

Are digital natives a myth or reality? University students’ use of digital technologies

This study investigated the extent and nature of university students’ use of digital technologies for learning and socialising. The findings show that students use a limited range of mainly established technologies. Use of collaborative knowledge creation tools, virtual worlds, and social networking sites was low. ‘Digital natives’ and students of a technical discipline (Engineering) used more technology tools when compared to ‘digital immigrants’ and students of a non-technical discipline (Social Work). This relationship may be mediated by the finding that Engineering courses required more intensive and extensive access to technology than Social Work courses. However, the use of technology between these groups is only quantitatively rather than qualitatively different. The study did not find evidence to support popular claims that young people adopt radically different learning styles. Their attitudes to learning appear to be influenced by lecturers’ teaching approaches. Students appear to conform to traditional pedagogies, albeit with minor uses of tools delivering content. The outcomes suggest that although the calls for transformations in education may be legitimate it would be misleading to ground the arguments for such change in students’ shifting patterns of learning and technology use.     

Efficient learning using a virtual learning environment in a university class

This study examines a blended learning setting in an undergraduate course in psychology. A virtual learning environment (VLE) complemented the face-to-face lecture. The usage was voluntary and the VLE was designed to support the learning process of the students. Data from users (N = 80) and non-users (N = 82) from two cohorts were collected. Control variables such as demographical data, attitude towards the learning subject, computer literacy, motivation, learning effort and available infrastructure were captured by means of a self-report. As a learning outcome, the grade in the final exam was included. For the VLE-users, the mean performance in the VLE was taken as a predictor for success in the final exam. Two different groups of VLE-users were observed and classified into ’light and ’heavy’ users. The results showed that among those students who had spent two or more hours per week for pre- and post processing of the lectures, ‘heavy’ VLE-users performed better than non-users in the final exam. Additionally, the ‘heavy’ users’ performance in the VLE was the best predictor for the grade in the final exam. We discuss the results in the context of self-regulated learning competence.     

Online formative assessment in higher education: A review of the literature

As online and blended learning has become common place educational strategy in higher education, educators need to reconceptualise fundamental issues of teaching, learning and assessment in non traditional spaces. These issues include concepts such as validity and reliability of assessment in online environments in relation to serving the intended purposes, as well as understanding how formative assessment functions within online and blended learning. This article provides a systematic qualitative review of the research literature on online formative assessment in higher education. As an integrative narrative review, the method applied in this review entailed systematic searching, reviewing, and writing this review of the literature to bring together key themes and findings of research in this field. The authors applied qualitative thematic criteria in selecting and reviewing the available literature from which they focused on identifying and analyzing the core themes that are central to the concept of formative assessment with a key focus on application of formative assessment within blended and online contexts. Various techniques were identified for formative assessment by the individual, peers and the teacher, many of which were linked with online tools such as self-test quiz tools, discussion forums and e-portfolios. The benefits identified include improvement of learner engagement and centrality in the process as key actors, including the development of a learning community. The key findings are that effective online formative assessment can foster a learner and assessment centered focus through formative feedback and enhanced learner engagement with valuable learning experiences. Ongoing authentic assessment activities and interactive formative feedback were identified as important characteristics that can address threats to validity and reliability within the context of online formative assessment.     

Process and learning outcomes from remotely-operated,simulated, and hands-on student laboratories

A large-scale, multi-year, randomized study compared learning activities and outcomes for hands-on, remotely-operated, and simulation-based educational laboratories in an undergraduate engineering course. Students (N = 458) worked in small-group lab teams to perform two experiments involving stress on a cantilever beam. Each team conducted the experiments in one of three lab formats (hands-on, remotely-operated, or simulation-based), collecting data either individually or as a team. Lab format and data-collection mode showed an interaction, such that for the hands-on lab format learning outcomes were higher when the lab team collected data sets working as a group rather than individually collecting data sets to be combined later, while for remotely-operated labs individual data collection was best. The pattern of time spent on various lab-related activities suggests that working with real instead of simulated data may induce higher levels of motivation. The results also suggest that learning with computer-mediated technologies can be improved by careful design and coordination of group and individual activities.     

Effect of animation enhanced conceptual change texts on 6th grade students’ understanding of the particulate nature of matter and transformation during phase changes

In this study, the effect of animation enhanced conceptual change texts (CCT–CA) on grade 6 students’ understanding of the particulate nature of matter (PNM) and transformation during the phase changes was investigated. A quasi-experimental design and one control group (CG, N = 25) and one experimental group (EG, N = 26) were used. While the control group taught traditional instruction, the experimental group received CCT–CA instruction. Two different tests, The Particulate Nature of Matter Concept Test (ParNoMaC) and The Transformation of Matter Statement Test (ToMaSaT), were administered as pretest, posttest and delayed test to collect data. Results indicate that while there is no statistically significant difference between groups in pretest, performance of EG students is greater than the CG ones in posttest and delayed test. And also, the EG students are better in remediating their alternative conceptions related to the PNM and transformations during the phase changes. Based on the study, it is concluded that CCT–CA combination may be effective way to improve students’ understanding of basic science and chemical concepts.     

A study of the impact of the willingness-to-learn of CAD novice users on their competence development

The notion that ‘attitude drives behavior’ manifests itself in a variety of ways in educational and occupational settings. As applied to CAD competence development, industrial training of novice CAD users on their way to becoming competent CAD users consume a lot of corporate resources. This paper is the third paper in the line of research that attempts to answer the question having to do with what it takes to make a competent CAD user. Specifically, we examine the CAD-specific factors revolving around the trainees’ willingness-to-learn CAD.These factors are analyzed in two stages. At the start of the training, trainees’ initial attitude towards CAD is established by means of a short questionnaire. Afterwards, throughout the training, trainees’ behavior (online and offline practice) is gauged and, in turn, a relation is established to illustrate how this practice leads to the development of CAD-specific skills. For this purpose, another short questionnaire was utilized. Strong correlations were established relating the trainees’ CAD-specific behavior with the CAD-specific outcomes of learning CAD syntax.Furthermore, and in order to assess the quality of the trainees’ learning of CAD, overall competence was monitored throughout the study via performance measures that describe the time it took the trainees to build test models (speed), which reflects upon the ability to learn the syntax of the CAD tool (declarative knowledge). The sophistication of the models is also used as another measure. Correlating the trainees’ character attributes with these assessed measures, it was found that the stronger is the trainees’ will to learn CAD, the stronger is the likelihood to learn faster. Perhaps more importantly, trainees with initial favorable attitude toward CAD were shown to develop increasingly positive behavior that manifested through additional practice and other forms of visible effort.