Ann Jones

Learning technologies: affective and social issues in computer-supported collaborative learning

This paper is concerned with affective issues in learning technologies in a collaborative context. Traditionally in learning there has been a division between cognition and affect: where cognition is concerned with skills and processes such as thinking and problem-solving and affect with emotional areas such as motivation, attitudes, feelings. Affective issues have been viewed as somewhat problematic in studying learning, so although it is well known that learner attitude, motivation, and emotional state are very important, they have often been excluded from the frame of research, or studied separately from cognitive learning. This position is gradually changing and this paper considers what previous research has been conducted in these areas. It discusses the role of affective factors in three main areas of collaboration: in settings where learners are co-located, in on-line communities and to support and develop socioemotional skills. It considers relevant developments in these areas, what the outcomes have been and suggests important directions for future research.

Informal learning with PDAs and smartphones

There has been increasing interest in informal learning in recent years alongside interest in how such learning can be supported by technology. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which adults make use of their own mobile devices to support informal learning. In this study, a survey was used to investigate whether, and to what extent, experienced users of mobile devices use their mobile devices to support intentional informal learning. If so, do they make use of mobile device connectivity to support opportunistic informal learning and does such connectivity support or encourage collaborative informal learning? Experienced mobile device users were recruited from web forums and business, and asked whether they used their devices to support informal learning. A pattern of learning uses emerged, some of which deployed the mobile device capabilities relatively unchanged, others triggered adaptations to typical learning activities to provide a better fit to the needs of the learner. These informal learning activities provided the basis for the design of a flexible mobile learning framework that can be extended to support developments in mobile technology, and increasing use of Web 2.0 technologies by informal learners.

Contexts for evaluating educational software

The evaluation of educational software is of concern to two particular academic communities: HCI and educational technology. There is a danger that usability features are considered at the expense of educational issues (and the converse of this is of course equally true). This paper considers how the notion and practice of evaluation in the educational community differs from that in HCI and also identifies areas of overlap. It then describes how particular influences and contexts have led one group of evaluators from the educational community to develop a context, interactions, attitudes and outcomes (CIAO!) model of evaluation for computer assisted learning (CAL) evaluation in distance education. The application of this model is illustrated by case studies from a recent evaluation project and related research. The paper concludes with a discussion of the issues raised for both communities by this model for evaluation. q 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Computer attitudes in an English secondary school

Abstract Recent research has shown that there are consistent differences between males and females and between students and teachers in their attitudes towards computers. Specifically they reveal that there are likely to be gender differences with male students having more favourable attitudes towards computers than female students but that those differences are unlikely to be mirrored in the school teaching staff. Research has also shown that students are likely to have more favourable attitudes to computers than the staff. The present paper is an attempt to find out to what extent these findings apply to the staff and first year students in an English secondary school. Both groups were given a computer attitude questionnaire based on previously published scales [1–3]. The results are in line with the findings of previous research and are discussed in terms of their likely impact on an ongoing study into the introduction of high access to computers in the school.

PDAs as lifelong learning tools: an activity theory based analysis

This paper describes the use of an activity theory (AT) framework to analyze the ways that distance part time learners and mobile workers adapted and appropriated mobile devices for their activities and in turn how their use of these new tools changed the ways that they carried out their learning or their work. It is argued that there are two key strengths in using an activity theory framework in this context. The first strength is the emphasis activity theory places on tools, including computer artefacts, as mediators of activity. This emphasis focuses attention on the activity itself rather than, for example, simply the interaction between the human and the computer. The focus is on the learner or user’s objectives and activities and the computer is the tool through which the user achieves her objectives. The second strength was referred to briefly above. The AT perspective also enabled analysis of an interactive dynamic process of users or learners and their tools—in this case personal digital assistants (PDAs). It revealed a two way process in which the user adapts the tools they use according to their everyday practice and preferences in order to carry out their activities; and how, in turn, the tools themselves also modify the activities that the user is engaged in. Three case studies illustrate these processes. The first case study is of distance learners’ use of e‐books on PDAs, to supplement their access to other static media such as books and computers. The second case study investigated how mobile workers in the energy industry used mobile devices to access information when away from the office. The third and final case study investigated the use of mobile devices in an art gallery. The paper concludes with a discussion of the information access needs that are apparent in each of these learning contexts, and highlights the pertinent issues in the use of mobile technologies to support lifelong learners’ information needs.

Personal inquiry : orchestrating science investigations within and beyond the classroom.

A central challenge for science educators is to enable young people to act as scientists by gathering and assessing evidence, conducting experiments, and engaging in informed debate. We report the design of the nQuire toolkit, a system to support scripted personal inquiry learning, and a study of its use with school students ages 11–14. This differs from previous work on inquiry learning by its emphasis on learners investigating topics of personal significance supported by a computer-based toolkit to guide school pupils through an entire inquiry process that connects structured learning in the classroom with discovery and data collection at home or outdoors. Findings from the studies indicate that the toolkit was successfully adopted by teachers and pupils in contexts that included teacher-directed lessons, an after-school club, field trips, and learner-managed homework. It effectively supported the transition between individual, group, and whole-class activities and supported learning across formal and informal settings. We discuss issues raised by the intervention studies, including how the combination of technology and pedagogy provided support for the teacher despite difficulties in managing the technology and integrating field data into a classroom lesson. We also discuss the difficulty of altering young people’s attitudes to science.

Online communities for teachers and lifelong learners: a framework for comparing similarities and identifying differences in communities of practice and communities of interest

In recent years online and blended communities have become a popular topic among educationalists. In this paper we present a framework that supports the analysis, development and maintenance of online and blended communities. This is applied to two community case studies that differ along several key dimensions such as type of membership, the purpose of the communities, their policies and size. The analysis draws attention to the differences between the two types of communities. It also highlights the advantages and weaknesses of the framework with respect to these two case studies and suggests areas for future development. In the discussion that follows we highlight some key differences between this framework and Wengers work on Communities of Practice (COPs).

Learning with computers: experiences of evaluation

Abstract At the Open University (OU), the perception of computer assisted learning (CAL) is shifting from its current position as an optional extra in a battery of course components to that of a key teaching medium. This paper presents the authors’ experiences of the evaluation of a range of current OU produced computer assisted learning materials, mainly but not exclusively in science and technology reported in terms of evaluation framework. These materials include interactive tutorial packages, simulations used largely in a support role to the main teaching and multimedia packages which are expected to carry more of the initial presentation of key ideas in the courses. The overall purpose of the evaluations was to gain insight into how computers can have an impact on learning, particularly of science and technology subjects, and to explore a portfolio of evaluation techniques to be used in the development and assessment of computer based learning materials. In this paper the techniques are discussed and illustrated with reference to a number of case studies of a range of programs used by students. Some conclusions are drawn about how the use of programs leads to the support of students’ science and technology learning.

Evaluating CAL at the open university: 15 years on

The paper reviews both the types of CAL in use at the Open University over the previous fifteen years and currently in the context of the literature on CAL in HE more generally. A framework for evaluating CAL is then proposed that focuses on Context, Interactions and Outcomes (CIAO) and an example of the evaluation approach in action is given.

The Use and Effectiveness of Palmtop Computers in Education

This paper reports how palmtop computers were used in an English secondary school over the course of a year. In particular, it concentrates on the perceived effectiveness of such computers in an educational setting, and on how teachers’ and students’ knowledge and use of “content-free” applications increased over that time. The benefits and potential problems with this new technology are discussed along with the consequences it has for classroom and school organisation.