Jon Chao Hong

Factors influencing technology integration in teaching: a Taiwanese perspective

Although the use of computer technology in classrooms is an innovative approach to teaching, teachers with creativity might not use technology as intensively as they use other creative strategies in the classroom. Eight teachers who won an award for creative teaching were interviewed in order to identify the factors affecting their use of technology in creative teaching. Teachers’ perceptions about technology use were studied. Two major issues were explored. First, we studied how teachers integrated technology into creative teaching; we then identified the factors that influenced teachers’ use of technology in teaching. The identified factors were classified into four categories: environmental, personal, social and curricular issues.

Knowledge management in the learning organization

Businesses have to go through constant innovations on management, and innovation principles must be acquired through constant learning. Learning principles are realized through knowledge and wisdom sharing with colleagues, clients, and others in such learning activities as instruction, sharing, and self‐study. Such knowledge and wisdom sharing activities include study circles, on the job training, and technology exhibitions. Different learning activities such as survival learning, benchmark learning and leading learning are subject to different sharing mechanisms. Moreover the mastery of each sharing function is fundamental to enhancing the performance of knowledge management in a learning organization.

A study on thinking strategy between experts and novices of computer games

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate strategic thinking between the experts and the novices of computer games. The computer game “Klotski” was chosen for 76 elementary school students to play. The operating time and number of steps were recorded to identify the expert and novice players. Following this, five expert players and five novice players were asked to play the game again. All game play processes, using a think-aloud protocol, were videotaped for further analysis. The analysis results showed that the relationship between the operating time and the steps of the novice group were more scattered than the expert group. The significant difference between the expert and novice groups was the percentage of different thinking types. In the game playing process, the expert players used more analogical thinking while the novice players tended to use trial-and-error thinking.

Impact of employee benefits on work motivation and productivity

Чтобы понять воздействие вознаграждения на профессиональную мотивацию служащих и их производительность, в корпорациях, которые используют систему вознаграждения рабочих, были проведены специальные анкетные опросы. В статье представлены некоторые результаты исследования: программы вознаграждения служащего оказывают большее влияние на мотивацию рабочих, чем на их производительность; денежно-кредитные программы вознаграждения высоко оценены и руководителями, и рабочими; выявилось несоответствие управленческого подхода и представлений рабочих о важности программ вознаграждения; существуют гендерные различия в требованиях по отношению к системе вознаграждения; состоящие в браке служащие в большей степени, чем не состоящие в браке считают, что вознаграждение влияет на выполнение работы; служащие, отличающиеся уровнем образования и статусом в организации, по-разному оценивают вознаграждение; программы вознаграждения гораздо более эффективны для молодых специалистов.

Playfulness-Based Design in Educational Games: A Perspective on an Evolutionary Contest Game

Playfulness steering is an emerging approach in educational game design and play. The integration of arithmetical computation, game strategy, and teamwork into one game allows players to interactively “steer” the playfulness and enhance learning. In this paper an evolutionary contest game was designed and implemented to examine the influencial factors. Using action research, focus groups and hermeneutic methods, this study suggest that the playfulness design of an evolutionary game is influenced by the degree of uncertainty and flexibility in decision-making, the level of challenge, equal conditions for fair play, opportunities to compete/cooperate, and the level of interactivity.

Technology Transfer and Human Resource Development

Defines technology transfer in the macroeconomic sense and highlights three factors which must be taken into account, namely contrast, similarity and compatibility. Advises examination of social and economic costs before embarking on such a project. Identifies human resources as the most important element of technology transfer, as it influences both the acquisition and integration of new technology. Provides a five‐stage transfer plan and explains how to overcome problems with staff mentality and “short circuits” in the thought process.

Elders' Usability, Dependability, and Flow Experiences on Embodied Interactive Video Games.

Daily physical activities may slow down the deterioration of cognitive aging. This study intended to develop embodiment interactive video games with friendly human-machine interface to break through the elders literacy, cognitive aging, and psychomotor hindrances toward technology. Another objective was to understand, through field experiments the perceived usability of the video games as well as their dependability and flow experiences on this platform.. Thirty elders constituted the sample for this study. Based on interviews and observations, this study found that the usability and dependability of this platform were high. Flow experiences occurred depending on the prior knowledge and interactive modules of the games.

Effects of cognitive style on digital jigsaw puzzle performance: A GridWare analysis

Cognitive style, a personal characteristic that is a combination of cognitive controls such as field independence (FI) and field dependence (FD), may influence game performance. FI and FD were measured in 210 5th-grade students using a Group Embedded Figures Test. Students assembled digital jigsaw puzzles based on maps of Taiwan and Europe. Using principles of dynamic systems, game performance was analyzed using GridWare, and four types of game strategy were identified. The results showed that cognitive style, based on FI and the number of events, was able to predict digital jigsaw puzzle scores. Digital jigsaw puzzle scoring was positively correlated with FI. FI students achieved significantly higher scores than FD students. Practical implications and limitations were discussed.

Positive affect predicting worker psychological response to cyber-bullying in the high-tech industry in Northern Taiwan

Online cyber-bullying has become a frequent occurrence in organizations. To understand individual dispositions and the organizational factors that effect online cyber-bullying, the present study investigates the relationship among positive affect, the perceived organizational innovation climate, and psychological responses to cyber-bullying. The research samples for this study are staff members from the high-tech manufacturing industry in Northern Taiwan. A total of 396 responses were validated for confirmatory factor analyses, correlation coefficient, and structural equation modeling (SEM). The research results revealed that a positive affect (PA) has a positive influence on perceived organizational innovation climate. Moreover, the perceived organizational innovation climate has a negative influence on psychological responses to cyber-bullying. Finally, the experience of cyber-bullying was positively correlated to the psychological response of being cyber-bullied, i.e., the more an individual had experienced cyber-bullying, the higher psychological response. The results further indicated an interesting finding for the mediating role of perceived organizational innovation climate between positive affect and psychological responses to cyber-bullying. Therefore, organizations can enhance the positive affect for employees and foster an effective organization innovation climate, so those workers are better adaptable to cope with cyber-bullying.

A comparative study of the learning effectiveness of a blended and embodied interactive video game for kindergarten students

We developed an embodied interactive video game (EIVG) that is both educational and entertaining with the hope of using such a system to compare blended and pure digital learning with respect to differences in learning effectiveness. In addition to conducting experiments wherein the children learned using the EIVG, we also involved teachers as part of the study to allow observation of the emotional aspects of the children. The results of the study can be summarized by the following three points: (1) the effectiveness of blended learning was superior to that of pure digital learning; (2) the effectiveness of EIVG learning was better for boys than it was for girls, although the differences between them were not significant; and (3) the EIVG was highly entertaining, which resulted in students remaining highly interested and focused throughout the study. It is worth noting that both types of learning can be effective.