Antti Knutas

Cloud-based bibliometric analysis service for systematic mapping studies

There is an increasing number of scientific articles being published, which makes tracking the state of the art more time-consuming. There are software tools available to help with systematic mapping studies in a field of science, but most of these tools are closed source and involve several manual time-consuming steps that could be automated further. We present an open solution as a cloud-based design for bibliographic analysis that makes the research method available for a wider audience.

Increasing collaborative communications in a programming course with gamification: a case study

In this case study we present an approach for using gamification elements to increase online student collaboration. In the study a gamified online discussion system was added to an introduction to programming course, with the aim of motivating the students to help each other. The actions in the discussion systems were analyzed and compared with user profiles and a student survey. The system had a positive impact on the course, increasing student collaboration, reduced response times and made course communications 88% more efficient by reducing email traffic.

Creating software engineering student interaction profiles for discovering gamification approaches to improve collaboration

Benefits of collaborative learning are established and gamification methods have been used to motivate students towards achieving course goals in educational settings. However, different users prefer different game elements and rewarding approaches. We present an evidence-based method and a case study where interaction analysis and k-means clustering is used to create gamification preference profiles. These profiles can be used with an agent-based simulation to evaluate how computer supported collaboration system users react to the gamification elements and how the collaboration dynamics change.

Communication patterns in collaborative software engineering courses: a case for computer-supported collaboration

Collaboration has become an important teaching method in software engineering and there are several computer supported collaboration tools to aid the development and learning process. However, most studies have concentrated on intra-group studies. We believe that computer supported collaborative learning tools can also aid software engineering students to have beneficial inter-group collaboration. In this research the communication patterns in three collaborative software engineering courses were analyzed with the method of social network analysis. It was found out that students do collaborate, but mostly along pre-established social connections. The main reason for this was the difficulty in matchmaking and discovering others who were struggling with the same problems. Our proposal is to study how students in similar learning scenarios benefit from computer supported collaborative tools that increase networking opportunities. The findings presented in this paper provide a baseline for comparison when performing social network analysis in future studies.

Teaching programming with flipped classroom method: a study from two programming courses

Flipped classroom teaching method, where theory is studied at home and exercises are done in the classroom, is gaining foothold in teaching. The method has been used with different approaches and guidelines, yet a single unified process has not been described. In this work we compare existing literature to our experiences in teaching. As our main result we outline a simple process description and guidelines for building a course structure with flipped classroom. Flipping the classroom has been found to be more efficient than traditional lecture-exercises model and the our findings support this. Therefore we recommend teachers to explore the possibility of utilizing the method.

Is the world ready or do we need more tools for programming related teamwork

Teamwork is an essential part of work nowadays, but many student team projects have serious problems in collaboration. In this work we have identified success and failure factors in programming teamwork projects. Research was conducted with an internationally distributed questionnaire. The results identify that one of the main problems is a failure to see each project members ongoing progress. Analysis of the data shows a strong correlation between active team communications and positive views of project success, especially in student teams. We propose that project tools should be researched further to support active communication behavior e.g. by visualizing each team members current inputs in code repositories.

Publication trends in gamification: A systematic mapping study

Abstract The term gamification and gamified systems are a trending area of research. However, gamification can indicate several different things, such as applying the game-like elements into the design of the user interface of a software, but not all gamification is necessarily associated with software products. Overall, it is unclear what different aspects are studied under the umbrella of ‘gamification’, and what is the current state of the art in the gamification research. In this paper, 1164 gamification studies are analyzed and classified based on their focus areas and the research topics to establish what the research trends in gamification are. Based on the results, e-learning and proof-of-concept studies in the ecological lifestyle and sustainability, assisting computer science studies and improving motivation are the trendiest areas of gamification research. Currently, the most common types of research are the proof-of-concept studies, and theoretical works on the different concepts and elements of gamification.

Creating Student Interaction Profiles for Adaptive Collaboration Gamification Design

Benefits of collaborative learning are established and gamification methods have been used to motivate students towards achieving course goals in educational settings. However, different users prefer different game elements and rewarding approaches and static gamification approaches can be inefficient. The authors present an evidence-based method and a case study where interaction analysis and k-means clustering are used to create gamification preference profiles. These profiles can be used to create adaptive gamification approaches for online learning or collaborative learning environments, improving on static gamification designs. Furthermore, the authors discuss possibilities for using our approach in collaborative online learning environments.

A study of collaborative tool use in collaborative learning processes

Student collaboration has been shown to be beneficial in many contexts in computer science education. However, little research has been performed on the factors that affect collaboration processes either negatively or positively. In this study a partial grounded theory analysis was performed on three engineering education courses, investigating the collaborative tool selection and collaboration processes. The presence of internal team motivation and tools that had clearly perceived benefits were important to students. Some tools affected the collaborative processes positively by increasing the range, speed and information content of communication, automating goal tracking processes and providing additional avenues for information distribution.

Strategic interpretation on sustainability issues – eliciting cognitive maps of boards of directors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of cognitive diversity on strategic issue interpretation among the boards of directors making sense of sustainability management. The study also investigated the centrality of the corporate sustainability issues to identify common interpretative patterns in the shared cognitive maps among the companies. In addition, the aim was to advance quantitative methods for the analysis of decision-makers’ cognition. Design/methodology/approach – The research was an exploratory study analyzing 43 individual cognitive maps collected through surveys from the boards of nine cleantech companies. For the elicitation of the cognitive maps, the study used the hybrid cognitive mapping technique. The diversity of the shared cognitive maps was analyzed using the distance ratio formula and the graph analysis method with eigenvector to measure the centrality of the strategic issue interpretation in the maps. Findings – This study provides evidence through the analysis o...