Yanjie Song

SMS enhanced vocabulary learning for mobile audiences

The paper reports on a small pilot study to explore the role of Short Message Service (SMS) in English as Second Language (ESL) vocabulary learning for mobile audiences. In this study, SMS was integrated into web-based vocabulary learning. Ten participants were involved in this study. An online test system was set-up for recorded assessment data collection, and an open-ended questionnaire interview was conducted via e-mail to collect qualitative data. The research findings show significant improvements in the learner performance and in their attitudes towards using SMS in their vocabulary learning.

Integrating m-technology into Web-based ESL vocabulary learning for working adult learners

The paper reports on a small pilot study that explores the role of mobile technology (m-technology) in English as second language (ESL) vocabulary learning for working adult learners. In this study, through the use of short message service (SMS), m-technology was integrated into Web-based vocabulary learning for working adult learners. This pilot study examined learner experiences of m-technology used in the workplace in Hong Kong. Ten learners were involved in the study. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted through assessments using an online test system and an open-ended questionnaire sent by email to collect data. The research findings show significant improvements in the learner performance and in their attitudes towards using m-technology in their learning.

Orchestration in a networked classroom: Where the teacher's real-time enactment matters

Designing for orchestration needs an emphasis on the criticality of the teachers agency, skills and understanding of pedagogies and technologies in orchestrating the classroom beyond the provision of material scripts and technological supports. Drawing on data from the collaborative classrooms that use a collaborative technology called GroupScribbles (GS), we share the work of a teacher who successfully orchestrated the class activity. Yet at the same time, we noted that not all lessons were as well orchestrated like this despite using similar pedagogical and technological designs. The agency in appropriating and enacting these designs in the classroom lies in the attitudes, capacity and mind of the teacher and therefore must be a critical aspect of the overall plan in designing for orchestration.

Going beyond textbooks: a study on seamless science inquiry in an upper primary class

This paper reports an initial study on investigating inquiry-based learning in science in an upper primary class guided by an inquiry-based learning model in a seamless learning environment. Two questions are addressed: (1) how students advanced their domain knowledge?; and (2) how students developed their inquiry skills? One teacher and 27 Grade-four students from a local primary school were involved in the study. Six inquiry-based learning lessons focusing on a scientific “rustproofing” learning unit were conducted in a seamless learning environment, initiated in a digital classroom and extended to online discussions on a social network platform. Qualitative data were collected and analysed over two weeks. The results show ways that the students advanced their domain knowledge and developed their inquiry skills.

Developing a framework for examining the “niche” for mobile-assisted seamless learning from an ecological perspective

Despite the fast development of digital technologies and the booming of seamless learning pedagogical practices, mobile-assisted seamless learning generally happens only in specific and defined learning episodes leveraged by a uniform type of mobile devices. How school students use their own devices to support their seamless learning and what affordances of the mobile devices students would like to use for supporting their seamless learning have rarely been discussed and explored. This chapter, from an ecological perspective, discusses how seamless learning happens using the concepts of affordance network (functionally bound possibilities in an environment), effectivity sets (the attunement and employment of affordance network), and “niches” (sets of affordances or experiences), and develops a framework to examine the “niche” for seamless learning. Implications of the framework are explored. A seamless inquiry into understanding “anatomy of fish” is cited as an example to elaborate the framework.

Identifying Pivotal Contributions for Group Progressive Inquiry in a Multimodal Interaction Environment

This chapter adopts an interaction analysis method using the notion of uptake to investigate the development of progressive inquiry learning in a classroom setting using Group Scribbles (GS). In progressive inquiry learning, students work together on elaborating a shared object such as a research problem, products in a shared digital space like GS, or experimental practices to be reflected on and transformed. An uptake analytical framework is applied to code different facets of interactions in a small group, comprising verbal interactions (utterances and gestures), artifacts created in GS, and hands-on experimental practices, into events as coordination acts and to identify uptakes and pivotal contributions (a contribution that plays the role of shifting the direction of the subsequent events seamlessly or abruptly) from such interactions. The analysis illuminates how the pivotal contributions influenced the direction of the group progressive inquiry and led the group to develop progressive understanding of the science concepts.

Evaluating a bilingual text-mining system with a taxonomy of key words and hierarchical visualization for understanding learner-generated text

This study evaluated a bilingual text-mining system, which incorporated a bilingual taxonomy of key words and provided hierarchical visualization, for understanding learner-generated text in the learning management systems through automatic identification and counting of matching key words. A class of 27 in-service teachers studied a course “e-Learning in primary mathematics” was asked to reflect “what is e-Learning” before and after the course. Their concept of “e-Learning” was investigated by counting the matching key words using the text-mining system and a content analysis of learner-generated text using a rubric, respectively. The correlations of the results using these two methods were .823 and .840 in the preteaching and postteaching reflections. This text-mining system has the potential as a supporting tool for teachers to gain a general understanding of learner-generated text using the hierarchical visualization for supporting pedagogical decision-making, which can be applied to massive open online courses with a large enrolment of learners.

Investigating Students' Acceptance of a Statistics Learning Platform Using Technology Acceptance Model.

The study aims at investigating university students’ acceptance of a statistics learning platform to support the learning of statistics in a blended learning context. Three kinds of digital resources, which are simulations, online videos, and online quizzes, were provided on the platform. Premised on the technology acceptance model, we adopted a revised model consisting of four external factors (self-efficacy, facilitating conditions, subjective norm, and anxiety) that may influence students’ perceptions and acceptance of the platform. A mixed research method was used. A total of 102 participants were involved in this study. Data collection includes questionnaires survey, individual interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings show that students’ intention to use the platform is affected by their attitude toward the platform, which is significantly influenced by perceived usefulness. Further suggestions regarding the design and implementation of a learning platform are provided based on the observations and results of the study. This preliminary study provides valuable insights into our further refinement of the platform and development of a learning analytics platform in the future for better learning of students in statistics.