Wilfried Admiraal

Mobile game-based learning in secondary education: engagement, motivation and learning in a mobile city game

Using mobile games in education combines situated and active learning with fun in a potentially excellent manner. The effects of a mobile city game called Frequency 1550, which was developed by The Waag Society to help pupils in their first year of secondary education playfully acquire historical knowledge of medieval Amsterdam, were investigated in terms of pupil engagement in the game, historical knowledge, and motivation for History in general and the topic of the Middle Ages in particular. A quasi-experimental design was used with 458 pupils from 20 classes from five schools. The pupils in 10 of the classes played the mobile history game whereas the pupils in the other 10 classes received a regular, project-based lesson series. The results showed those pupils who played the game to be engaged and to gain significantly more knowledge about medieval Amsterdam than those pupils who received regular project-based instruction. No significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to motivation for History or the Middle Ages. The impact of location-based technology and game-based learning on pupil knowledge and motivation are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

The concept of flow in collaborative game-based learning

Generally, high-school students have been characterized as bored and disengaged from the learning process. However, certain educational designs promote excitement and engagement. Game-based learning is assumed to be such a design. In this study, the concept of flow is used as a framework to investigate student engagement in the process of gaming and to explain effects on game performance and student learning outcome. Frequency 1550, a game about medieval Amsterdam merging digital and urban play spaces, has been examined as an exemplar of game-based learning. This 1-day game was played in teams by 216 students of three schools for secondary education in Amsterdam. Generally, these students show flow with their game activities, although they were distracted by solving problems in technology and navigation. Flow was shown to have an effect on their game performance, but not on their learning outcome. Distractive activities and being occupied with competition between teams did show an effect on the learning outcome of students: the fewer students were distracted from the game and the more they were engaged in group competition, the more students learned about the medieval history of Amsterdam. Consequences for the design of game-based learning in secondary education are discussed.

Peer assessment in university teaching: evaluating seven course designs

Peer assessment is understood to be an arrangement with students assessing the quality of their fellow students’ writings and giving feedback to each other. This multiple‐case study of seven designs of peer assessment focuses on the contribution of peer assessment to the acquisition of undergraduates’ writing skills. Its aim is to arrive at an optimal design of peer assessment. Factors included in this study are: the quality of peer assessment activities, the interaction between students in oral peer feedback, students’ learning outcomes, and their evaluation of peer assessment. Most students took assessing the work of their fellow students seriously, and included the peer feedback in the revision of their work. In most conversations, students provided feedback in an evaluative manner. In others, the interaction was more exploratory. For peer assessment, we recommend a combination of written and oral peer feedback.

Design Principles and Outcomes of Peer Assessment in Higher Education.

This study was aimed at finding effective ways of organising peer assessment of written assignments in the context of teaching history at university level. To discover features yielding optimal results, several peer assessment designs were developed, implemented in courses and their learning outcomes evaluated. Outcomes were defined in terms of the revisions students made, the grades of the written products, and the perceived progress of products and writing skills. Most students processed peer feedback and perceived improvement in their writing as a result of peer assessment. Significant differences between grades of groups using or not using peer assessment were not found. Most teachers saw better‐structured interaction on the subject of writing problems in their classes. Important design features seemed to be the timing of peer assessment, so that it will not coincide with staff assessment, the assessment being reciprocal, and the assessment being performed in feedback groups of three or four students.

The affordance of anchored discussion for the collaborative processing of academic texts

A system for “anchored discussion” is compared with a system for traditional forum discussion (Blackboard), and their collaborative and communicative affordances for the collaborative processing of academic texts are investigated. Results show that discussion in the system for anchored discussion is more directed at processing the meaning of texts than discussion in the traditional forum, which is more oriented towards the sharing of personal opinions and experiences. This difference in orientation produces a more constructive collaboration in the system for anchored discussion, versus a more debate-like collaboration in the forum discussion. Additionally, while messages in the traditional forum resemble usual discussion or email conversation and contain social and regulative comments, discussion in the system for anchored discussion is seen to be more efficient and “to-the-point.” We conclude that for collaborative text comprehension by undergraduate students, anchored discussion might be more suitable than traditional forum discussion. Finally, the observed differences can be explained by the stronger defined collaborative context in the system for anchored discussion, which focuses participants’ collaborative intentions and their frames of reference.

Scores on a Yes-No Vocabulary Test: Correction for Guessing and Response Style.

The use of yes-no tests seems to be a promising method for measuring the size of receptive vocabulary knowledge of learners of a foreign language. Items in a yes-no test each consist of either a word or a pseudoword. Participants are asked to indicate whether or not they know the meaning of these words. This article attempts to tackle the problem of determining a meaningful score for this type of test. Such a score should contain correction for guessing as well as for participants’ response style. Three possible methods are discussed, but none of these measures appear to apply this type of correction. Signal Detection Theory is applied and a new, more accurate index is suggested. Based on theoretical as well as empirical considerations, recommendations are made about the choice for the index to be used in a yes-no vocabulary test.

Designing student peer assessment in higher education: Analysis of written and oral peer feedback

The nature of written and oral peer feedback will be described as it occurred in seven writing courses, each with a different design of peer assessment. In all courses, peer feedback was focused on evaluation, which is one of the four feedback functions. Feedback on structure was hardly provided. Relating feedback to design features, we suggest that feedback is adequate when (1) peer assessment has a summative (on the basis of a writing product) as well as a formative character (during the writing process); (2) the assessment is performed in small feedback groups; (3) the written feedback is orally explained and discussed with the receiver.

Considering Diversity: Multivoicedness in International Academic Collaboration

International collaboration projects in academic work can be considered boundary-crossing projects with learning potential. Contrary to perceiving diversity as a barrier for understanding, we depart from dialogical arguments in perceiving ambiguity and diversity as continuous resources for meaning enrichment. Here, we report a study of an international academic project to gain more insight into how this resource is exploited. Using Bakhtin’s theory, negotiation processes are analysed and explained by distinguishing voices stemming from different socio-cultural backgrounds. Project members did not explore fully the voices being expressed in their negotiation processes and therefore did not come to face their differences. We conclude that diversity should neither be seen as an obstacle for understanding, nor be presupposed as a resource for meaning generation. Rather, diversity should be actively worked on by group members in collaboration, starting by perceiving each other as real ‘others’ and receiving arguments initially as not understood.

E-Learning in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises across Europe Attitudes towards Technology, Learning and Training

There is little doubt that e-learning has had a major impact in large companies, both in allowing the extension of training provision and in facilitating professional development activities. However, the picture is far less clear when it comes to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Technology and attitudes of managers and employees seem to form potential drawbacks to e-learning initiatives in SMEs. Questionnaire data have been gathered from more than 400 owner-managers of SMEs in 7 European countries. Furthermore, 105 owner-managers and 5 employees from 105 of these firms have been interviewed on aspects of e-learning in their company. The overall picture of e-learning in small firms across seven European countries was fairly negative: owner-managers generally did not show positive attitudes towards technology, learning and training in companies. These attitudes are strongly related to technology infrastructure in the company and vary among companies of different size and from different economic sectors. L’apprentissage électronique dans les petites et moyennes entreprises au niveau européen Attitudes par rapport à la technologie, à l’apprentissage et à la formation Wilfried Admiraal Université d’Amsterdam, Pays-Bas Ditte Lockhorst Université d’Utrecht, Pays-Bas Il ne fait pour ainsi dire aucun doute que l’apprentissage électronique a eu une importance considérable sur les grosses sociétés, d’une part en permettant d’élargir les mécanismes d’apprentissage et d’autre part en facilitant les activités de développement professionnel. Ceci dit, la réalité est loin d’être aussi évidente quand il s’agit des PME (petites et moyennes entreprises). Il semblerait que la technologie et les attitudes des dirigeants et des employés sont des ombres potentielles au tableau du développement des initiatives d’apprentissage électronique dans les PME. Nous disposons de données de questionnaire, recueillies auprès de 400 propriétaires exploitants de PME de 7 pays européens. En outre, nous avons également interrogé, dans le cadre d’entretiens, 105 propriétaires exploitants et 35 employés de ces entreprises sur les différents aspects de l’apprentissage électronique dans leur société. L’impression générale qui s’en est dégagée — à savoir sur ce type d’apprentissage au sein des petites entreprises, dans les 7 pays européens concernés - a été plutôt négative. En effet, les propriétaires exploitants ont dans l’ensemble affiché des attitudes négatives en ce qui concerne la technologie, l’apprentissage et la formation dans les sociétés. Ces attitudes sont étroitement liées à l’infrastructure technologique de la société et diffèrent selon la taille et le secteur économique de chaque société. La enseñanza electrónica en las pequeñas y medianas empresas por toda Europa Actitudes hacia la tecnología, enseñanza y capacitación Wilfried Admiraal Universidad de Amsterdam, Países Bajos Ditte Lockhorst Universidad de Utrecht, Países Bajos Sin duda alguna la enseñanza electrónica ha tenido un gran impacto sobre las grandes empresas, al ampliar los medios de aprendizaje y facilitar las actividades de capacitación profesional. No obstante, el panorama es menos claro cuando se trata de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME). La tecnología y las actitudes de los directores y empleados aparentemente ponen trabas a las iniciativas de enseñanza electrónica en las PYME. Se dispone de datos recopilados de encuestas a más de 400 directores propietarios de PYME en siete países europeos. Además, fueron encuestados 105 directores propietarios y 35 empleados de 105 de dichas empresas sobre los aspectos de la cuestión de enseñanza electrónica en su compañía. El panorama general de la enseñanza electrónica en siete países europeos fue bastante negativo: los directores propietarios por lo general no demostraron una actitud positiva hacia la tecnología, enseñanza y capacitación en las compañías. Estas actitudes están estrechamente vinculadas con la infraestructura tecnológica de la compañía y varían según el tamaño y el sector económico de cada empresa. E-Learning in Europas kleinen und mittelgroßen Unternehmen Standpunkte zu Technologie, Lernen und Ausbildung Wilfried Admiraal Universität von Amsterdam, Niederlande Ditte Lockhorst Universität Utrecht, Niederlande Es gibt wenig Zweifel, dass E-Learning bisher große Auswirkungen auf die Ausweitung des Ausbildungsangebots und die Erleichterung der beruflichen Weiterentwicklungsaktivitäte n in großen Unternehmen hatte. Das Bild ist jedoch im Bezug auf kleine und mittelgroße Unternehmen (KMUs) nicht ganz so klar. Technologien und Standpunkte von Managern und Angestellten scheinen potenziell Hindernisse für E-Learning-Initiativen in KMUs zu erzeugen. Mit Fragebögen wurden Daten von 400 tätigen KMU-Geschäftsführern in sieben Europäischen Ländern gesammelt. Darüber hinaus wurden 105 tätige Geschäftsführer und 35 Angestellte aus 105 dieser Unternehmen über Aspekte des E-Learnings in ihrem Unternehmen befragt. Das Gesamtbild des E-Learnings in kleinen Unternehmen in sieben europäischen Ländern war recht negativ: Die Geschäftsführer zeigten im Allgemeinen keine positive Haltung gegenüber den Technologien, dem Lernen und der Ausbildung innerhalb der Unternehmen. Diese Standpunkte stehen im Zusammenhang mit der technologischen Infrastruktur im Unternehmen und hängen von der Größe und dem Wirtschaftszweig des Unternehmens ab.

Gender Inclusiveness in Educational Technology and Learning Experiences of Girls and Boys

Abstract The use of technology (information and communication technology, ICT) in secondary education is an important aspect of the current curriculum and of teachers’ pedagogy. Learning supported by computers is supposed to be motivating for students and is, therefore, assumed to have positive effects on learning experiences and results. However, the question remains whether these motivating effects are equal for all students. Although the gender gap in the use of ICT and knowledge about it has diminished, there are still indications that the use of technology in education affects girls and boys differently. The present empirical study focuses on the relationship between the inclusiveness of educational tools and the learning experiences of girls and boys. The results show that gender scripts are embedded in educational tools, which are reinforced in classroom practice and affect learner experiences. A greater inclusiveness of the tools appears to improve the participation of students, enhances positive attitudes toward learning and technology, and improves the learning effects as reported by girls and boys. Girls especially tend to benefit from the inclusiveness of educational tools.