Education Commons^™

Hacking Assessment, Phillip Dawson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Hackers exploit weaknesses in a system to achieve their own goals. In this paper I argue that hacking presents a significant threat to the growing world of online assessment. This threat needs to be addressed through a variety of means; technological anti-hacking approaches will not be sufficient. The most effective ways to prevent hacking may be changes to the assessment tasks themselves to make hacking less tempting; these approaches also have a range of positive side effects in terms of authenticity, transparency of criteria, and ensuring tasks involve work beyond the exam. I conclude with a brief exploration of the …

Stealth Assessment In Video Games, Val Shute

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Games can be powerful vehicles to support learning, but their success in education hinges on getting the assessment part right. In this presentation, I will explore how games can use stealth assessment to measure and support the learning of competencies critical for the future. I will discuss what stealth assessment is, why it is important, and how to develop and accomplish it. I will also provide examples within the context of a game called Physics Playground that I designed and developed with my team. I’ll share what has been learned by recent research on stealth assessments in games, including: Does …

Assessment In Interactive Learning Environments, Michael Timms, Jason Lodge

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is an increasing interest in using digital technologies to create interactive learning environments (ILEs) that both teach and assess student skills that are hard or impossible to assess using ‘static’ items such as traditional, multiple-choice questions. These interactive learning environments try to do two things simultaneously: firstly, to monitor the learning of the student in real time, providing feedback to help the student progress through the learning task; and secondly, to use the information gathered during the learning to make judgements about where the student is in learning of the topic. Essentially, ILEs draw upon the same source of …

Thinking Outside The"I Am The User" Box: A Trial Of Social-Emotional Design In Hci Education, Jo Jung, Barnard Clarkson, Martin Masek

Martin Masek

A socio-emotional approach to consider human-computer interaction (HCI) has emerged as a discipline responding to much neglected aspect of interaction design: the social nature and emotions of users. Teaching a socio-emotional design in practice can be challenging due to the newness and multidisciplinary nature. This paper reports a trial of a collaborative socio-emotional design project shared by two faculties and three design disciplines–interface design, software design, and 3D design. Success and challenges encountered during the project are presented to share our experience of teaching and managing a multidisciplinary collaboration project.

Managing Multidisciplinary Student Design Teams, Martin Masek, Joo Jung, Barnard Clarkson

Martin Masek

The management of multidisciplinary student teams is a challenge. In this paper we describe our experience in running a shared assessment across several units. Four multidisciplinary teams were formed, and success was mixed, with one team splitting into two along discipline lines and all experiencing communication issues. The main management challenges that arose were based around difficulty in communication and the understanding of the other disciplines requirements. We outline the process we used to construct the shared assessment, and provide some insight in how the student groups dealt with issues that arose.

Learning Through Collaboration And Partnership, Gloria Creed-Dikeogu

Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section Proceedings

Collaboration is vital when it comes to serving academic library patrons. In 2014, the Ottawa University library benefitted from six different partnerships. Along the way, librarians learned valuable lessons which can be applied to future collaborative endeavors.

College And Career Ready: What’S The Library Got To Do With It?, Janet Anderson-Story, Carmaine Ternes, Joy Haegert

Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section Proceedings

College and Career Ready, Career Clusters, and Career Pathways are buzz words often heard but not always understood. These terms will be discussed as information about the collaborative activities between Emporia High School (EHS) and Flint Hills Technical College (FHTC) is shared. One responsibility of Emporia High School guidance counselors is to assist students in exploring and choosing career pathway courses. To support the counselors, the librarians at both institutions have created resources and activities that engage students in career exploration. The FHTC librarian created a LibGuide that includes online handbooks, reports, and crosswalks from FHTC programs to the six …

Exceeding The Limits: Teaching And Assessing Information Literacy Within Blackboard, Jon Ritterbush

Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section Proceedings

Many librarians can relate to the pedagogical limitations of one-shot classes and the challenges of reaching large numbers of first-year students. The Library Research Tutorial at the University of Nebraska-Kearney was designed to go beyond time and space constraints to orient new undergraduate students to library resources and research methods using self-paced modules within a Blackboard course. Since Fall 2011, over 2,400 students have been enrolled in the Tutorial at the request of their course instructors, who in turn receive students’ Tutorial quiz scores for use as graded credit. This paper describes the Tutorial’s contents, enrollment and grading processes, instructor …

The Cure For Early Grades Assessment Difficulties? Take A Tablet, Maurice Walker

Maurice Walker

Maurice Walker reports on an innovative approach to assessment using tablets to monitor educational development in the early years of schooling.

Mobile Augmented-Reality Artifact Creation As A Component Of Mobile Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Fengfeng Ke, Yu-Chang Hsu

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This exploratory study examined the effectiveness of smartphone-based, AR artifact creation and other mobile collaborative learning activities in reinforcing the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of pre-service teachers. Adopting a mixed-method research design, the study indicated that mobile AR artifact creation with peer discussion tended to better promote the componential competencies of technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and the integrative development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), whereas mobile media artifact viewing with peer discussion seemed to better support the content knowledge (CK) development.

Signaling Instructional Video For Mathematics, Kimberly W. Milner

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Video provides an increasingly valuable medium for delivery of instruction in a growing number of content areas. Growth of online instructional applications has been prompted by expansion of the Internet and video streaming technology, adding to the need for design practices that produce more effective and efficient instructional videos. This study examined the use of signaling for multimedia to reduce cognitive overload and increase mental effort when learning mathematical concepts and procedures from instructional video. Signaling addresses the issue of directing the learner's attention by using visual or verbal cues that stress importance and organization (Mayer, 2009). Effectively signaled instructional …

Video Creation Tools For Language Learning: Lessons Learned, Vickie Marre Karasic, Anu Vedantham

Vickie M Karasic

Video creation tools—from Skype to PowerPoint to iMovie—have become increasingly popular conduits for foreign language teaching and learning. In flipped-classroom and blended-learning models, video enables faculty to move routine language concepts (i.e., grammar and vocabulary) outside the classroom, leaving more in-class time for live engagement with teacher and classmates. This chapter discusses lessons learned and new data collected at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries’ Weigle Information Commons on video’s effectiveness in various language learning contexts. Data collected includes reflections on several years of course observations, interviews with language faculty members, and a campus-wide survey to gauge student perspectives on video’s …

Instructional Technology And Self-Directed Learning For Students' Academic Success, Vincent Demetrious Wiggins

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Student achievement in the public education system of the United States is ranked substantially lower compared to other countries. One of the initiated goals proposed by the United States government is to increase the number of college graduates by partnering with community colleges (Office of the Press Secretary, 2015). Community colleges are open enrollment institutions, which often assist students described as at-risk. To serve the community college population of students, special curricular strategies have been implemented.

One tool identified for meeting the goal of increasing college graduation for the population of students at-risk is utilization of instructional technology. Instructional technology, …

Student Perceptions Of Online Learning: An Analysis Of Online Course Evaluations, Patrick Lowenthal, Christine Bauer, Ken-Zen Chen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Student evaluations of teaching provide a wealth of information about students’ experiences in higher education. Colleges and universities, though, as a whole, need to spend more time mining these evaluations to better understand student perceptions of their college coursework. These evaluations are especially helpful to better understand students’ experiences in online courses, which, despite continued growth, are still relatively new for most faculty and students. The analysis of seven years of student evaluations at a metropolitan research university is presented in the following article. The purpose of the analysis was to better discern students’ experiences online as well as to …

Supporting Adult Learners' Metacognitive Development With A Sociotechnical System, Kathryn Wozniak

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Metacognition is defined as thinking about and reflecting on one's cognitive processes. In learning contexts, strong metacognition leads to retention, academic success, and deep learning. While we know a lot about the metacognition of learners in grades K-12 and college, there are limited studies on adult learners' (24 and older) metacognitive awareness, how to support it, or the role technology can play, particularly since e-learning is quickly becoming the central mode of learning for adult learners. Thus, I have the following motivating research question: How can we support adult learners' metacognitive development in e-learning environments?

To better understand adult learners' …

Youth Peers Put The “Invent” Into Nutribee’S Online Intervention, Ingrid C. Kohlstadt, Elizabeth T. Anderson Steeves, Kerry Rice, Joel Gittelsohn, Liane M. Summerfield, Preety Gadhoke

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Early adolescents perceive peers as credible and relatable. Peers therefore have a unique conduit to engage early adolescents in positive health behaviors through nutrition learning such as that recommended by the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Purpose: We developed an online, peer leader component to an existing in-person preventive nutrition intervention called NutriBee. We reasoned that youth ages 13–18 could create intervention materials that could remain engaging, credible and relatable to younger peers ages 10–12 online. Peer leaders could potentially derive health benefits from their service-learning experience.

Methods: From 2013–2014 youth could apply online to relate a personal interest …

Opportunistic Uses Of The Traditional School Day Through Student Examination Of Fitbit Activity Tracker Data, Victor R. Lee, Joel R. Drake, Ryan Cain, Jeffrey L. Thayne

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In large part due to the highly prescribed nature of the typical school day for children, efforts to design new interactions with technology have often focused on less-structured after-school clubs and other out-of-school environments. We argue that while the school day imposes serious restrictions, school routines can and should be opportunistically leveraged by designers and by youth. Specifically, wearable activity tracking devices open some new avenues for opportunistic collection of and reflection on data from the school day. To demonstrate this, we present two cases from an elementary statistics classroom unit we designed that intentionally integrated wearable activity trackers and …

Practices In Designing A Scholarly Journal And Its Style Guide, Monique Martinez

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this project was to create a method for designing a scholarly journal by managing all design and print aspects of a Volume II, student produced, journal. The journal, Paideia, included student research papers and alumni successes in the workplace from California Polytechnic State University’s Political Science Department. Responsibilities included inserting text and photos from the Political Science committee, and making a cohesive layout and design with all elements given. Since a new volume of the journal will be assembled each year, a style guide was also produced alongside the journal, for future students to refer to when …

Developing Entrepreneurial Thinking In Engineering Students By Utilizing Integrated Online Modules, Ronald S. Harichandran, Maria-Isabel Carnasciali, Nadiye O. Erdil, Cheryl Q. Li, Jean Nocito-Gobel, Samuel Bogan Daniels

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

An approach to develop entrepreneurial thinking skills in engineering students by integrating online modules into existing courses is described. Eighteen online modules covering a variety of topics will be developed. Developers for the modules are selected by reviewing proposals submitted in response to a broadly distributed request for proposals. Developers undergo extensive training before embarking upon module development. Students will complete each standalone module outside of class hours. Instructors who deploy a module in their course will develop contextual course assignments that reinforce concepts covered in the modules. These instructors also undergo training and are assisted by an external consultant. …

Cultural Learning Processes Through Local Wisdom: A Case Study On Adult And Lifelong Learning In Thailand, John A. Henschke Edd

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

This article provides the background and concept of Thailand Lifelong Learning [LLL], even attempting a definition. The Thai LLL vision encompasses strategies for developing human qualities such as integrity, self-reliance, adaptability, resilience, and spirituality, to name a few. In some regards LLL seeks to recapture a more fully-developed perspective, on what in earlier times and places [1238 AD in Thailand], was called 'indigenous education', as it now pursues the benefits of a vibrant Learning Society. Progress of LLL in Thailand at times seems to be very slow and methodological rather than dynamic. It stems from developing a policy of learning …

Cultural Learning Processes Through Local Wisdom: A Case Study On Adult And Lifelong Learning In Thailand, John A. Henschke Edd

Adult Education Faculty Works

This article provides the background and concept of Thailand Lifelong Learning [LLL], even attempting a definition. The Thai LLL vision encompasses strategies for developing human qualities such as integrity, self-reliance, adaptability, resilience, and spirituality, to name a few. In some regards LLL seeks to recapture a more fully-developed perspective, on what in earlier times and places [1238 AD in Thailand], was called 'indigenous education', as it now pursues the benefits of a vibrant Learning Society. Progress of LLL in Thailand at times seems to be very slow and methodological rather than dynamic. It stems from developing a policy of learning …

Factors Associated With Electronic Portfolio Adoption Among Pre-Service Teachers, Lin Zhong, Taralynn Hartsell

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This qualitative study investigates factors that affect pre-service teachers’ electronic portfolio adoption process. Data is collected through in-depth interviews and document analysis. Factors affecting pre-service teachers’ adoption of electronic portfolio include school requirements, social pressures, time constraints, previous experiences, family consciousness, and personality. Findings suggest that successful electronic portfolio implementation rely on consideration of both external and internal aspects such as time, motivation, interaction, and technological skills.

Factors Influencing Instructors’ Attitudes Toward Technology Integration, Molefe Mookana Motshegwe, Tshepo Batane

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Attending professional development (PD) on teaching online is becoming popular for teachers in today’s K-12 online education. Due to the unique characteristics of the online instructional environments, surveys become the most feasible approach to evaluate the effectiveness of PD programs. However, there is no validated, open-access instrument available to satisfy the needs. Purpose of this study is to conduct construct validity, content validity, concurrent validity, and reliability tests on an open-access instrument for K–12 PD for online teaching. With the exception of a few items that have minor issues on content and construct validity, results show …

The Validation Of An Instrument For Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Professional Development Program On Teaching Online, Jui-Long Hung, Dazhi Yang

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Attending professional development (PD) on teaching online is becoming popular for teachers in today’s K-12 online education. Due to the unique characteristics of the online instructional environments, surveys become the most feasible approach to evaluate the effectiveness of PD programs. However, there is no validated, open-access instrument available to satisfy the needs. Purpose of this study is to conduct construct validity, content validity, concurrent validity, and reliability tests on an open-access instrument for K–12 PD for online teaching. With the exception of a few items that have minor issues on content and construct validity, results show …

You’Ve Got Mail: Student Preferences Of Instructor Communication In Online Courses In An Age Of Advancing Technologies, Ching-Wen Chang, Beth Hurst, Annice Mclean

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The purpose of this study was to determine students' current preferred ways to receive course communication from their online instructors. In a time when technology is changing daily, and a time when young people are often the most up-to-date with that new technology, students’ preferences for how they receive online course communication is apt to change often too. In order to determine students’ current preferences, a survey was administered two semesters to both graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in an at least online course at a university in the Midwest. Survey results indicated that 97% of the students …

Individual Differences In Digital Badging: Do Learner Characteristics Matter?, Joey R. Fanfarelli, Thomas Rudy Mcdaniel

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Badge use has rapidly expanded in recent years and has benefited a variety of applications. However, a large portion of the research has applied a binary useful or not useful approach to badging. Few studies examine the characteristics of the user and the impact of those characteristics on the effectiveness of the badging system. This study takes preliminary steps toward that cause, examining the effectiveness of a badging system across two web-based university courses in relation to the individual differences of the learners. Individual differences are examined through the lens of Long-Dziuban reactive behavior types and traits. Results revealed differences …

Teaching For Diversity And Equity: Scholarship And Practice, Elizabeth Mccormack, Esther Chiang, Jancy Munguia

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

Research has shown that factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status can have a significant impact on a student’s ability to complete a college degree. As our classrooms become more culturally and experientially diverse, what can we as faculty do to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed? There is a growing body of research that identifies issues that low-income, first-generation, underrepresented minority, and international students face and describes tested strategies for helping students overcome them. Our goal in this workshop is share these findings with faculty and empower them to adapt and integrate relevant strategies into …

Workshop: Enhancing Content For Mixed Skill Classrooms, Lesley Skousen

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

The explosion of online learning has provided many unbelievable new options for reaching students and engaging them on a personal level. However, so many options make responsible lesson-planning a daunting task. This presentation will explore the best practices of using online platforms for both native speakers and an international audience. Dr. Skousen draws from her experience working with international students and seven years of online course design, teaching, and consulting in order to present various lesson plans that engage students personally. In addition to discussing the creation of modules to facilitate different learning styles, there will also be a practical …

From The Co-Editors, Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

We continue to work diligently to improve JSESD. One of the largest challenges to the journal remains the solicitation of manuscript submissions. As such, we are asking the journal’s readership to assist us in advertising the journal. If you are familiar with individuals who might be interested in submitting a manuscript, please pass along the JSESD author link provided above. We are especially interested in articles on science education for students with varying types of disabilities and at a full range of grade levels (K-12 and postsecondary).

Incorporating Online Materials And Digital Learning/Assessing Tools Into Advanced Chinese Newspaper Reading And News Watching, Ying Wang, Lisha Xu

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

This is the report of a year-long blended learning project designed for advanced Chinese newspaper reading and news video watching. In advanced Chinese learning, newspaper reading and news video watching are considered quite challenging for Chinese language learners for their formal style, large and time-sensitive vocabulary, and limited exposure through traditional ways of learning/teaching. To meet these challenges, we incorporated three blended learning components into the traditional language teaching/learning, including: online video news subtitling, the digital exercises and assessment system, and computerized vocabulary-learning modules tailored to the course materials used for two advanced Chinese classes. The project is carried out …