John G. Hedberg

Gaming in a 3D multiuser virtual environment: engaging students in Science lessons

Based on the exploratory study of a 3D multiuser virtual environment (3D MUVE), known as Quest Atlantis (QA), in a series of Primary Four (10- to 11year-olds) Science lessons at Orchard Primary School in Singapore, this paper examines the issues of learning engagement and describes the socio-cultural context of QA’s implementation. The students and teacher were observed during the lessons, interviewed after, and the completed quests were analysed to determine the level of engagement achieved. A pre- and posttest on the Science concepts covered was also administered. A seven-level taxonomy of engagement was used to provide the study with a more holistic perspective of engagement, together with the attempt to concretise the element of engagement into observable traits. Although there was a significant improvement of the posttest over the pretest, the level of engagement of the students was low (between 3 and 4). The lack of engagement might be a result of the distractions in the 3D MUVE, the students’ difficulty with language used in the QA, their lack of computer competency for QA tasks, and/or their inability to complete the quests’ section on reflections. The biggest challenges to the integration of QA into the Science curriculum were the interdependent issues of time (or lack of it) and ‘buy-in’ by the school and parents.

A framework for Web 2.0 learning design

This paper describes an approach to conceptualising and performing Web 2.0‐enabled learning design. Based on the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge model of educational practice, the approach conceptualises Web 2.0 learning design by relating Anderson and Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of Learning, Teaching and Assessing, and different types of constructive and negotiated pedagogies to a range of contemporary Web 2.0‐based learning technologies. The learning design process can then be based upon the extent to which different Web 2.0 technologies support the content, pedagogical, modality and synchronicity requirements of the learning tasks. The model is resilient to the emergence of new Web 2.0 tools, as it views technology as only a mediator of pedagogy and content with attributes to fulfil the needs of the learning episode. A range of possible use cases, categorisations and examples are offered to illustrate the learning design concepts and processes, in order to promote more savvy and expedient application of Web 2.0 technologies in learning and teaching contexts. Ein Rahmen für Web 2.0‐Learning‐Design Dieses Papier beschreibt einen Ansatz für die Konzipierung und das Ausführen von Web‐2.0‐aktiviertem Learning Design. Auf der Grundlage des technologischen und pädagogischen Wissens und dem Content Knowledge‐Modell der Bildungspraxis wurde der Ansatz des Web 2.0 Learning Design im Zusammenhang mit Anderson und Krathwohl’s Taxonomie des Lernens, Lehrens und Bewertens konzipiert, und verschiedene Arten von konstruierten und ausgehandelten pädagogischen Ansätzen zu einer Reihe von modernen Web‐2.0‐basierte Lern‐Technologien berücksichtigt. Der Learning‐Design Prozess kann dann auf dem Umfang, die verschiedenen Web 2.0‐Technologien, dem pädagogischen Content, der Modalität und Synchronizität. die die Anforderungen der Lernaufgaben unterstützen, basieren. Das Modell ist offen für die Anforderungen der neuen Web 2.0‐Tools, soweit es Technologie nur als Vermittler der Pädagogik und Inhalte der Bedürfnisse der Learning‐Episode zu erfüllen hat. Eine Reihe von möglichen Anwendungsfällen, Kategorisierungen und Beispielen werden angeboten, um das Lernen zu illustrieren und das Entwerfen von Konzepten und Prozessen zu unterstützen und um weitere spezielle und ratsame Anwendungen der Web 2.0‐Technologien in den Kontexten Lehren und Lernen zu fördern. Un cadre pour la conception d’un apprentisage en Web 2.0 Cet article décrit une façon de conceptualiser et de réaliser la conception d’apprentissages reposant sur la Web 2.0. En s’appuyant sur les modèles de pratique éducative fondés respectivement sur les connaissances technologiques, les connaissances pédagogiques et les connaissances du contenu, cette approche théorise la conception d’apprentissages de la Web 2.0 en reliant la Taxonomie de l’Apprentissage, l’Enseigner et Evaluer d’Anderson et Krathwohl ainsi que différents types de pédagogies constructives et négociées à une gamme de technologies d’apprentissage contemporaines fondées sur le Web 2.0. Le processus de conception de l’apprentissage peut alors se baser sur la mesure où différentes technologies de la Web 2.0 répondent aux exigences pédagogiques, de modalité et de synchronicité des tâches d’apprentissage. Ce modèle résiste à l’émergence de nouveaux outils Web 2.0 du fait qu’il considère la technologie seulement comme une médiatrice de la pédagogie et du contenu avec des attributs servant à répondre aux besoins de tel ou tel épisode d’apprentissage. Une gamme de cas d’usages possibles, des catégorisations et des exemples sont présentés pour illustrer les concepts et processus de la conception des cours, ceci afin de mettre en avant une application plus subtile des technologies Web 2.0 dans des contextes d’apprentissage et d’enseignement. Un marco referencial para el diseño de aprendizaje en la Web 2.0 El presente artículo describe una aproximación a la conceptualización y realización del diseño de un aprendizaje basado en la Web 2.0. Apoyandose en los modelos de práctica educativa fundados en Conocimientos Tecnológicos, Conocimientos Pedagógicos y Conocimientos de Contenidos la presenta aproximación conceptualiza el diseño de aprendizaje en la Web 2.0 conectando la taxonomía del aprendizaje, enseñanza y evaluación de Anderson y Krathwohl así como varios tipos de pedagogías constructivistas y negociadas con una gama de tecnologías de aprendizaje contemporáneas basadas en la Web 2.0. El proceso de diseño del aprendizaje puede entonces basarse sobre la medida en que varias metodologías de la Web 2.0 satisfacen las exigencias de contenido, pedagogía, modalidad y sincronicidad de las tareas de aprendizaje. El modelo está resiliente a la emergencia de las nuevas herramientas Web 2.0 en la medida en que se considera la tecnología solamente como un mediador de tecnología y contenido con atributos que permiten cumplir con las necesidades de tal o tal episodio de aprendizaje. Se ofrece una gama de casos de usos posibles, de clasificaciones y ejemplos para ilustrar los conceptos y procesos de diseño del aprendizaje y por ende fomentar una aplicación más sutil y expediente de las tecnologías de la Web 2.0 en contextos de aprendizaje y enseñanza.

Learning object design considerations for small-screen handheld devices

The key limitation of handheld technology for the delivery of learning objects is the small screen that is available for effective display. The smallness of the screen not only adversely affects the clarity, but it also negatively impacts on the acceptance and integration of this potentially useful technology in education. Handheld devices are likely to change further in size in the future with consumer demand for less bulky but more powerful devices. This exploratory study investigated characteristics of effective design of learning objects on such devices. This paper reports upon user response to learning object design possibilities and provides a set of recommendations to guide improved utility and future research.

E-learning futures? Speculations for a time yet to come

This paper examines some of the ways in which e-learning has failed to live up to its early promise and suggests how this situation might be remedied. Two of the main challenges for the future of e-learning are explored: the ever shifting nature of the e-landscape, characterized by its rapidly changing technologies, software and marketing mechanisms; the difficulty of helping teachers find ways to exploit the capacities offered by these ‘disruptive technologies’ as they continue to bring about change. It is argued that if our investment in e-learning is to be recouped then what is needed is a paradigm shift to the employment of ‘disruptive pedagogies’. This would involve the use of teaching strategies that exploit the currently underused capacities of technology options in such a way as to enable student engagement, motivation and higher order thinking skills.

A quantitative multimodal discourse analysis of teaching and learning in a web-conferencing environment - The efficacy of student-centred learning designs

This paper presents a quantitative approach to multimodal discourse analysis for analyzing online collaborative learning. The coding framework draws together the fields of systemic functional linguistics and Activity Theory to analyze interactions between collaborative-, content- and technology-related discourse. The approach is used to examine how the task subject matter, the activity design, and the choice of interface affected interaction and collaboration for a computing course conducted in a web-conferencing environment. The analysis revealed the critical impact of activity design on the amount and type of discourse that transpired. Student-centred designs resulted in over six times more student discourse as compared to teacher-centred designs and created a learning environment where students took greater ownership over the tasks and contributed more to the content-based discussion. The paper also incorporates a rationale for the approach to coding and a reflection on its efficacy for discourse analysis in technology-based learning environments.

Towards a disruptive pedagogy: changing classroom practice with technologies and digital content

Over the past 40 years, the goal of using technologies within learning and teaching processes has always been the incorporation of more effective practices and strategies to redefine the task of learning. Some authors claim that the exercise is not working; other authors beseech us to rethink learning processes to the extent that we are dealing with an entirely different set of experiences in the digital native. Yet, in the past five years, the technologies themselves have shifted from being complex and expensive to being mobile and apparently simple, able to be pressed into service to advantage the individual learner. This paper explores several cases where the teacher has focused more on learning with technology‐enablement rather that developing a skill‐set that mimics traditional teaching processes. The examples demonstrate that change is happening but with newer technology tools and the activities of the learner are no longer being controlled by a fearful and technologically inept instructor.

Teacher understandings of technology affordances and their impact on the design of engaging learning experiences

This study examined how six teachers designed and implemented engaging learning experiences with information communication technologies (ICT) that involved pupils as active participants in learning. Each teacher designed and taught a unit of work (topic) and was observed for two lessons within the unit. The first observation occurred with only the initial planning undertaken by the teacher. Before the second lesson a reflection and feedback session was conducted by the researcher and the teacher. On the basis of the issues raised, the teacher redesigned the lesson to improve the use of ICT and involve pupils more actively in learning. The study revealed that it is the teacher’s skill in managing the tripartite partnership of IT tool, learning task and teacher support that brings about higher levels of pupil engagement. The six teachers’ lessons from the study were discussed using this tripartite model. The tripartite model could be a useful frame of reference for teachers to understand the dynamics of implementing ICT‐based lessons and hence design more engaging learning experiences for their pupils. La compréhension de l’offre technologique chez les professeurs et son impact sur la conception d’expériences d’apprentissage motivantes. Cette étude a porté sur la façon dont six enseignants ont conçu et mis en place des expériences d’apprentissage motivantes reposant sur les TIC (Technologies d’information et de communication) qui ont amené les élèves à jouer un rôle actif dans leur apprentissage. Chaque enseignant a conçu et enseigné une unité de travail (un thème) et il a été observé au cours de deux leçons au sein de cette unité. La première observation s’est faite alors que l’enseignant avait seulement effectué la planification initiale. Avant la deuxième leçon le chercheur et l’enseignant ont mené une séance de réflexion et de rétroalimentation. A partir des problèmes qui avaient été soulevés, l’enseignant a repensé la leçon pour améliorer l’emploi des TICE et impliquer davantage les élèves dans l’apprentissage. Cette étude a révélé que c’est l’habileté du professeur pour gérer l’alliance tripartite d’un outil informatique ,d’une tâche d’apprentissage et du soutien du professeur qui amène l’élève à s’impliquer davantage. On a analysé les six leçons des enseignants engagés dans cette étude en utilisant le modèle tripartite. Ce modèle tripartite pourrait être un cadre de référence utile pour aider les enseignants à comprendre la dynamique de mise en place des leçons basées sur les TICE et par là à concevoir des expériences d’apprentissage plus motivantes pour leurs élèves. Das Verständnis von Lehrern über Technologieerfordernisse und seine Auswirkung auf den Entwurf ansprechender Lernangebote Diese Studie untersuchte, wie sechs Lehrer ansprechende Lernangebote entwickelten und in den Unterricht einbauten, in denen die Schüler mit Hilfe von Informations‐ und Kommunikationstechnologie (IKT) zu aktiven Lernern wurden. Jeder Lehrer entwarf und lehrte eine Arbeitseinheit (Thema) und wurde zwei Stunden innerhalb dieser Einheit beobachtet. Die erste Beobachtung fand nur mit der vom Lehrer übernommenen Anfangsplanung statt. Vor der zweiten Stunde wurde eine vom Untersucher geleitete Reflexions‐ und Feedback‐Sitzung mit dem Lehrer durchgeführt. Aufgrund der angesprochenen Punkte gestaltete der Lehrer die Stunde um und verbesserte die Verwendung von IKT, um die Schüler aktiver am Lernprozeß zu beteiligen. Die Studie ergab, dass es die Fertigkeit des Lehrers beim Verwalten der dreiteiligen Partnerschaft von ihr Werkzeug, das Aufgaben‐ und Lehrerunterstützung ist, die höhere Niveaus der Schülerverpflichtung bewirkt. Die Stunden der sechs Lehrer von der Studie wurden mit Hilfe dieses dreiteiligen Modells erörtert. Das dreiteilige Modell konnte ein nützlicher Referenzrahmen sein, damit Lehrer die Dynamik verstehen, ICT basierte Stunden durchzuführen, und daher mehr einnehmende Gelehrsamkeitserfahrungen für ihre Schüler entwerfen.

Datalogging in Singapore Schools: Supporting Effective Implementations.

This paper reports the findings of a national survey on the use of dataloggers in secondary schools (grades 7–10) and junior colleges (grades 11–12). In particular, it explores the types of learning activities that teachers conduct using dataloggers, the support structures they deem necessary and the difficulties they face. Of the 593 respondents, 394 (67%) had used dataloggers in the last two years, mainly in demonstrations and set experiments. The three most important support structures included: supportive laboratory technicians, training on the use of dataloggers, and instructional material on how to use dataloggers within the curriculum. The difficulties which deterred the respondents from using dataloggers included the logistics and time taken to set up datalogging equipment and activities, insufficient numbers of computer workstations, and the mishandling of equipment by students, leading to equipment malfunctions. To expand the use of dataloggers in school, the respondents suggest that dedicated laboratories be set up for datalogging activities, more curricular material to support datalogging be prepared, more familiarisation courses be run for teachers and laboratory technicians and, in particular, how dataloggers fit within an inquiry science learning approach.

Head in the clouds: a review of current and future potential for cloud-enabled pedagogies

This paper reviews the research on the disruptive and transformative potential of newly-emerging cloud-based pedagogies. It takes into consideration the extent to which Cloud Computing can be leveraged to disseminate and scale web-based applications within and across learning contexts. It examines ideas from current literature in Web 2.0- and cloud-based education that might serve as useful when deploying cloud-based services and infrastructure. The paper draws on several key ideas to clarify how cloud- and Web 2.0-based pedagogies are informed by the shifting knowledge landscape, including a review of the concepts of disruptive pedagogies and transformative technologies. With recourse to emerging research on participatory cultures, the importance of coming to terms with newly emerging literacies, modalities, types of citizenship and ways of interacting and collaborating is addressed. Referring to notions of dialogic literacy, constructionist and co-constructivist learning, as well as possible models for online collaborative writing, the paper reviews current research on the capacity of web-based applications in enabling transformed learning and explores how this might enable broader, web-enabled participatory cultures within and beyond the institution, in light of the economies of scale made possible by cloud-based infrastructure.

K 1-6: An Asymmetric Planetary Nebula with a Binary Central Star

We present new imaging data and archival multiwavelength observations of the little-studied emission nebula K 1-6 and its central star. Narrow-band images in Hα (+[N II]) and [O III] taken with the Faulkes Telescope North reveal a stratified, asymmetric, elliptical nebula surrounding a central star which has the colours of a late G or early K-type subgiant or giant. GALEX ultraviolet images reveal a very hot subdwarf or white dwarf coincident in position with this star. The cooler, optically dominant star is strongly variable with a period of 21.312 ± 0.008 days, and is possibly a high-amplitude member of the RS CVn class, although an FK Com classification is also possible. Archival ROSAT data provide good evidence that the cool star has an active corona. We conclude that K 1-6 is most likely an old bona fide planetary nebula at a distance of ~1.0 kpc, interacting with the interstellar medium, and containing a binary or ternary central star. The observations and data analyses reported in this paper were conducted in conjunction with Year 11 high school students as part of an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant science education project, denoted Space To Grow, conducted jointly by professional astronomers, educational researchers, teachers, and high-school students.