Fei Ching Chen

Affordances of mobile technologies for experiential learning: the interplay of technology and pedagogical practices

Experiential learning is the process of creating knowledge through the transformation of experience and has been adopted in an increasing number of areas. This paper investigates the possibility of technological support for experiential learning. A learning activity flow (or script) and a mobile technology system were designed to facilitate students in experiential learning. An experiment was conducted on two fifth-grade classes at an elementary school, one class using personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the other working without them. The results indicate that mobile technologies are effective in improving knowledge creation during experiential learning. The interplay between the mobile technology affordances and the proposed learning flow for experiential learning is thoroughly discussed.

Profile Enhanced Classroom Learning

The purpose of this talk is twofold. First, we argue, with extension of some of our previous work, that there are three research avenues of wireless, mobile, and ubiquitous technology enhanced learning, namely, dream-based research, adoption-based research, and humanity-based research. They are one after the other in time and overlapping in content. Humanity-based research strives for a long term research goal for supporting human learning with the primary concern on individuality, personal developmental potential, and the like, whether the student learns individually or socially. Second, we argue that in order to proceed to humanity-based research, we need to harness and revisit research on student modeling which is the central theme of the current artificial intelligence in education research. In particular, profile enhanced classroom learning (PECL) in a one-to-one classroom, a classroom where every student learns with at least a wireless enabled handy computing device, is an important step towards the humanity-based research avenue. Furthermore, PECL broadens the scopes of both artificial intelligence in education and computer supported collaborative learning and serves as a platform for the design and investigation of game-based learning in classroom settings. We shall illustrate some sample prototypes of PECL in this talk.

Improving experiential learning with mobile technologies

The study designed a system and a flow of learning to motivate and guide students to conduct experiential learning with mobile technologies. Students of two classes of fifth-grade at an elementary school participated in the experiment. Thirty-four students of one class conducted learning with PDAs in a school garden while thirty-two students of another class conducted in a condition without PDAs. The data shows the advantage of supported with mobile technologies for the acquisition of knowledge. Most of the hypotheses are confirmed in the study. These findings show just how important mobile technology is in helping to improve the learning achievement of experiential learning.

Exploring the effectiveness of an idea-centered design to foster a computer-supported knowledge building environment

This paper compares the effectiveness of two multimedia environments-- Blackboard Learning System™ and Knowledge Forum™--in terms of their underlying design approaches to support collaborative learning and knowledge work. The two design approaches are (1) a conventional theme-based approach, i.e., to center group collaboration and meaning interaction around themes, and (2) an idea-centered approach, i.e., to center group collaboration and meaning interaction around sustained idea exchange and improvement. Findings suggest that an idea-centered design approach seems more likely to construct an environment that fosters more dynamic group and meaning interactions, thus enabling more sustained collaborative learning and knowledge building.

Evaluating the Effects of Mobile Technology on an Outdoor Experiential Learning

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of mobile technology on an outdoor experiential learning. We developed a mobile learning system with a learning flow to support an outdoor activity and then analyzed how PDA devices were incorporated and implemented in two classes of primary school students. The results indicate that knowledge creation was more effective in the class with PDAs than in the one without them. However, using activity theory as an analytical framework, we further discovered that underlying tensions provided rich insights into system dynamics and that technological affordances could be limited by a mismatch between the tools as such, and the way in which they were used by learners or were arranged by the instructor. The subtle human factors present in the use of technologies should be carefully considered. The influence of mobile devices on learner experiences in experiential learning is also thoroughly discussed.

Effective discussions, social talks and learning: a paradox on learning in discussion forums

It is generally accepted that social talks have nothing to do with on-task discussion, or even that they are to be discouraged in the interests of effective learning. However, from a community-building perspective, social interaction is key to the sustainability of a learning community. An apparent paradox seems to exist in that, while social interaction is critical for community cohesion, social postings do not contribute to effective discussion. The authors argue that previous research using postings as the unit of analysis has failed to discover the context in which effective learning took place. Using threads as the unit of analysis, this study is able to explore empirically the relationship between effective discussion and social talks in CSCL environment. Based on an analysis of 321 longer threads (consisting of 10490 postings) in which the structure of the threads, the components of the threads, and the order of different categories of postings in some of these threads were defined, this study reveals that genuine effective discussions and social talks cannot be viewed in isolation nor does there exist a wall between them. The roles of social talks in CSCL are rediscovered and discussed.

Exploration of Tensions in a Mobile-Technology Supported Fieldtrip: An Activity Theory Perspective

The purpose of this study was to analyze how mobile technologies were incorporated and implemented in an outdoor learning activity. Two classes of primary school students participated in the experiment. Using activity theory as an analytical framework, it is found that underlying tensions provided rich insights into system dynamics and that technological affordances could be limited by mismatches between the Tools themselves, and between Tools and the ways that were used by learners or arranged by the instructor. The subtle human factors present in the use of technologies should be carefully considered. The influence of mobile devices on learner experiences in experiential learning is also thoroughly discussed.

Using social network analysis to explore the dynamics of telementor' meta-support in practice

Little research has been conducted on human support in CSCL situations. Extensive investigations on human meta-support are, in fact, rare. In this study, we have developed a set of mechanisms to facilitate human meta-support in a CSCL environment. Thirteen cognitive-affective pairs of mentors who facilitate a total of 82 forum groups share and discuss their mentoring practice in an exclusive Mentoring Forum. Using Social Network Analysis, we have explored the dynamics within and among pairs of mentors to reveal how they engaged in this environment and how they coconstructed their knowledge on how best to support a group of learners.