Lih-Juan ChanLin

Technology integration applied to project-based learning in science

This paper reports the findings of a study which observed students’ (aged 10–11) use of technology during project‐based learning activities in science. As part of the overall process of project‐based learning, students used computer technology as a tool for collecting information, organising it and presenting it to their peers. Students conducted research (through guided research processes), interacted with peers, teachers and the community (through personal interviews and visits), and displayed their understanding of knowledge through the presentation of web‐pages. The results of the study indicate that all of the students achieved their research goals. Students’ learning outcomes were observed based on their achievements in relation to developing skills and ability to synthesise and elaborate knowledge, to engage in scientific exploratory tasks, and to use the technology for supporting and reporting their research work. Teacher’s support in relation to providing coaching skills is crucial to students’ success in a project‐based setting.

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.

Perceived Importance and Manageability of Teachers toward the Factors of Integrating Computer Technology into Classrooms

In this study, the perceived importance and manageability of teachers on the factors in technology integration were assessed among 407 elementary and secondary schoolteachers. A questionnaire containing 28 items focusing on environmental, personal, social and curricular factors related to technology integration was used. Two sets of data resources gathered from the questionnaire for obtaining teachers’ responses toward the factors of integrating technology into classrooms include: (1) the importance rating for each factor, and (2) the manageability of each item. Factor analysis was first conducted to test the reliability of the questionnaire. From the analysis, four items were dropped and 24 items were selected and regrouped. Cramer’s V analyses among the selected 24 items revealed that teachers’ perceived importance ratings were related with their manageability in some of the factors for integrating computers into classrooms. Relationships between teachers’ use of computers and their perceived importance among the four main factors were also reported.

Integrating inter‐disciplinary experts for supporting problem‐based learning

The study reported in this paper has explored the use of an electronic forum facility in order to provide support for problem‐based learning (PBL). A Web‐based course involving the use of PBL (called ‘Drug and Nutrient Interactions’) was implemented and was augmented with interdisciplinary expert support using electronic forums. As part of their PBL experiences, students interacted with their peers, the teacher, the facilitator and experts (a dietician, a doctor, and a librarian) in order to enhance their knowledge and complete a group project. Students’ online interactions and their written reflections were used to identify the types of online support which contributed to self‐directed, Web‐based learning in a PBL context. The study concluded that both cognitive support (guidance, clarification, suggestion, inquiry, information) and affective support (comment, confirmation, reminding and encouragement) are needed in order to facilitate the process of learning. Overall, students were positive about this approach.

Learning strategies in web-supported collaborative project

Web-based learning promotes computer-mediated interaction and student-centred learning in most higher education institutions. To fulfil their academic requirements, students develop appropriate strategies to support learning. Purposes of this study were to: (1) examine the relationship between students study strategies (assessed by Learning and Study Strategies Inventory [LASSI]) with their learning outcomes and online interaction and (2) observe the development of strategies among students in the web-supported collaborative project. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. The results of the study revealed that some LASSI constructs were significant in predicting students’ online learning achievement, including: anxiety, time management, use of support/material and test strategies (p < .05). Students’ interaction significantly correlated with: attitude, motivation, information processing, selecting the main idea, use of support/material and test strategies (p < .05). In addition to LASSI, strategies were identified in the study, including: task analysis, information utilisation, group coordination, self-review and task refinement.

Graphic aids in electronic texts

Abstract The authors analyze the use of graphic aids in electronic texts by using four conceptual differences that distinguish printed and electronic texts. The four differences relate to the control of textual presentations, the interaction between readers and texts, the structure of texts, and the variety of symbolic elements that may be integrated with written prose. The authors propose that these four conceptual differences can act as a theoretical framework useful to researchers and instructional designers interested in the use of graphic aids in electronic texts. The authors contend that such a theoretical framework is needed because the current literature related to electronic texts has tended to focus on visual as opposed to more critical conceptual factors. They argue that the key to understanding the effects of graphic aids in electronic texts is found in considering the functional relations between graphical information, written prose, and reading strategies. Examples are provided to illustrate...

Online After-School Learning for Bridging the Digital Divide

To bridge the digital divide and learning gap among children in remote areas, the Ministry of Education, Taiwan has initiated a program called “Digital Opportunity” to remote schools since 2006. College students have been recruited for the role of teaching and supporting remote children through online tutoring. In 2011, twenty eight colleges and university were financially supported in the project, “Online Tutoring for After-School Learning”. From this project, students are provided with multicultural service-learning experiences. They also learn about both caring and communication through teaching and learning in a culturally diverse setting.

Usability and evaluation of a library mobile web site

The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the use of a library mobile website at a university library. This paper aims to present the approach adopted to investigate users’ reactions to the new mobile platform. A usability test was also conducted to examine its effectiveness.,Mobile websites for academic libraries were first reviewed prior to identifying the functions and elements to be included. To assess the intended design purpose, the usability of the design was examined through a comparison of the mobile website and the full PC website used by 50 students to accomplish a set of search tasks. A questionnaire survey was used to assess 336 students’ responses regarding various criteria including learnability, control, presentation and efficiency.,The usability test that was conducted before the mobile Web was formally released indicated that the students using it finished more search tasks (p = 4.0).,The difficulty of recruiting volunteers and the small number of subjects who participated was also a major limitation experienced in this study. Replications or use of different measurements might be needed in future research to confirm the result.,In this study, a library mobile website was developed, tested and evaluated by users. Currently, the library mobile website is being implemented in the university. On-going revisions will continue to improve its effectiveness and efficiency for information retrieval.,It is expected that through the library mobile services, a ubiquitous learning environment can be provided to students to fulfil their academic and leisure needs.,Summative evaluation of the mobile system revealed the students’ positive reactions to a set of predetermined criteria in various dimensions, including: learnability, control, presentation and efficiency.

Visual Control for Dynamic Presentation in Multimedia Learning

Abstracts English: The focus of this study is to report the use of two different visual control treatments (self‐controlled vs. system‐imposed) among students with different cognitive styles. Second‐grade students in middle school were tested to determine how they learned from instructional materials generated using different design approaches. When prior knowledge of physics was used as a covariate, a 2 × 2 ANCOVA test indicated a significant main effect for visual control (p 0.05). The interaction between visual control and cognitive style was insignificant (p > 0.05). The observation result indicated that students with different cognitive styles employed different learning strategies.

Augmented Reality Applied in Dietary Monitoring

Abstract Recent advances in augmented reality (AR) have attracted much attention in nutrition and healthcare education. In the context of obtaining dietary knowledge, a mobile AR system was developed for learning and exploration, which allowed students to scan food images, receive information about nutrient content and record as well as accumulate daily nutrient intake. Students could also access learning materials provided in the system to achieve the learning objectives. Their learning outcomes were gathered at the close, with reactions to the learning experiences also assessed via a set of questionnaire items (using a 5 point Likert scale) in various criteria. Both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered, showing that most students achieved the learning objectives and were positive about exploring with AR. The results of this study indicated that students with high levels of monitoring had better learning outcomes (p<0.05) and were more positive about the varied criteria in their responses, including: visual interest and learning enjoyment, functional use, personal relevance and learning of knowledge (p<0.05). The effect of the self-participatory aspect of AR on learning is emphasized.