Education Commons^™

"I Think There Is A Place For Small Programs:" Advocating, Implementing, And Sustaining Tpc Programs In Small Us Institutions, Martha Lynn Russell

English Theses & Dissertations

Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) programs in small institutions compose of over a third of all programs in the US, yet this space has been understudied by most scholars. To fill this gap, this dissertation presents findings from one-hour interviews with twenty-six TPC program directors in small US institutions with undergraduate populations of less than six thousand. The results of this dissertation include the ways that small institutions are advocating, implementing, and sustaining their TPC program in unique ways with implications for how any TPC programs regardless of size can learn from these findings.

The Message Design Of Raiders Of The Lost Ark On The Atari 2600 & A Fan’S Map, Quick Start, And Strategy Guide, Miguel Ramlatchan, William I. Ramlatchan

Distance Learning Faculty & Staff Books

The message design and human performance technology in video games, especially early video games have always been fascinating to me. From an instructional design perspective, the capabilities of the technology of the classic game consoles required a careful balance of achievable objectives, cognitive task analysis, guided problem solving, and message design. Raiders on the Atari is an excellent example of this balance. It is an epic adventure game, spanning 13+ distinct areas, with an inventory of items, where those hard to find items had to be used by the player to solve problems during their quest (and who would have …

Getting Psyched About Memes In The Psychology Classroom, Lisa M. Kath, Gordon B. Schmidt, Sayeedul Islam, William P. Jimenez, Jessica L. Hartnett

Psychology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Internet memes are a ubiquitous part of internet culture and a common communication tool among students. Because they are a good medium for expressing ideas and concepts in a concise and fun manner, memes are a potentially valuable tool for teaching and engaging students.

Statement of the Problem: Instructors may not know how to use memes in classroom assignments or activities to support learning objectives.

Literature Review: Students finding or creating their own class-related content is an empirically-supported way to enhance learning. Instructors can enhance learning by using multimedia approaches (pictures/videos in addition to words), which is a good …

Place-Based Podcasting: From Orality To Electracy In Norfolk, Virginia, Daniel P. Richards, Michael J. Faris (Ed.), Courtney S. Danforth (Ed.), Kyle D. Stedman (Ed.)

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Online Behaviors Of Teenagers On The Autism Spectrum, Amelia Anderson, Abigail Phillips

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Internet can be a source of connection and support for teenagers on the autism spectrum. This study explores how teenagers on the autism spectrum who identify as library users spend time online by addressing the following research questions: How do teens on the autism spectrum participate in the online environment? And, how do teens on the autism spectrum make sense of social media? Quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed from nine participants, recruited through online discussion forums. Implications suggest a potential role for educators and librarians to offer opportunities and support in creating and building online connections.

The Myth & Legend Of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial On The Atari 2600: The Fan’S Quick Start And Strategy Guide, Miguel Ramlatchan, William I. Ramlatchan

Distance Learning Faculty & Staff Books

As an instructional designer and technologist, my goal with this book is remarkably simple, to consolidate and create a job aid for a complex and often frustrating/misunderstood quest. Rather than hunting all over the Internet, the map, tips, and information about the game are all gathered and summarized here. Also, rather than being an obscure Easter Egg in Amazon (like an Earnest Cline/James Halliday egg, especially on the hidden Pacman arcade game), I want to make this guide easier to find. Along with the nostalgia, classic video games and the technology and applied message design behind their creation are fascinating, …

Critical Media Literacy And Black Female Identity Construction: A Conceptual Framework For Empowerment, Equity, And Social Justice In Education, Petra A. Robinson, Ayana Allen-Handy, Kala Burrell-Craft

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the issues of knowledge production, which interrogate and disrupt dominant narratives that subjugate Black females related to their identity. We contextualize our discussion through the lens of critical consciousness and critical media literacy by exploring the role of popular media in identity development/imposition for Black females. We outline issues of Black female identity politics by framing them through the description of critical media literacy as a 21st century literacy, with Black Feminist Theory as our theoretical lens. Similar discussions have remained centered in the field of Media Studies and there has been inadequate attention to these issues …

A Ulysses Pact With Artificial Systems. How To Deliberately Change The Objective Spirit With Cultured Ai, Bruno Gransche

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

The article introduces a concept of cultured technology, i.e. intelligent systems capable of interacting with humans and showing (or simulating) manners, of following customs and of socio-sensitive considerations. Such technologies might, when deployed on a large scale, influence and change the realm of human customs, traditions, standards of acceptable behavior, etc. This realm is known as the "objective spirit" (Hegel), which usually is thought of as being historically changing but not subject to deliberate human design. The article investigates the question of whether the purposeful design of interactive technologies (as cultured technologies) could enable us to shape modes of …

Rhetorics Of Functionally Applicative Game Design: Designing And Testing The Project Management Game Scrummage, Matthew Carson Beale

English Theses & Dissertations

In this project, I designed and tested Scrummage, a tabletop game to teach the scrum project management system to undergraduate students. The project grew from the gaps in both academic literature and pedagogical tools for project management and collaboration in the technical communication classroom. Although the field of technical communication places significance on project management, research shows that many employers find the project management skills and knowledge of recent graduates to be under-developed. Situated in the fields of game design, game studies, project management, and technical communication, this project asks how we as educators can improve the project management learning …

Applying A Modified Technology Acceptance Model To Qualitatively Analyse The Factors Affecting Microblogging Integration, Tian Luo, David Richard Moore, Teresa Franklin, Helen Crompton

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research is to examine factors affecting students’ perception and engagement of microblogging integration using a qualitative approach. We employed a qualitative case study design to explore potential factors affecting microblogging integration in a hybrid course. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM) model as an umbrella framework, we examined through in-depth interviews with 18 participants the impact of microblogging integration into instruction that affected students’ reported use and perceptions of their microblogging-supported learning experiences. We found that individual differences, system characteristics, social influence and facilitating conditions all have impact on student participation and engagement in microblogging integration …

Using Mobile Devices To Facilitate Student Questioning In A Large Undergraduate Science Class, Helen Crompton, Stephen R. Burgin, Declan G. De Paor, Kristen Gregory

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Asking scientific questions is the first practice of science and engineering listed in the Next Generation Science Standards. However, getting students to ask unsolicited questions in a large class can be difficult. In this qualitative study, undergraduate students sent SMS text messages to the instructor who received them on his mobile phone and via Google Glass. Using observations, coding of texts, and interviews, the researchers investigated the types and level of questions students asked and the perceptions of the instructor and TAs on how the messages were received. From the findings of this study, it is evident that students asked …

Reconceptualizing The Work Of A Content Provider For An Online Audience: A Case Study For How Pedagogical Strategies Can Provide Models Of Engagement For Producers Of Entertainment, Diane Cooke

English Theses & Dissertations

With the interconnectivity of the Internet, and the availability of affordable media compositional tools, the proliferation of online media continues to grow exponentially. However, each day is still comprised of a fixed 24 hours, with far fewer hours spent in active media consumption. Considering the global potential for content to be found (Moreville), discovered (Cormier) or spread (Jenkins), content providers are looking for ways to attract, cultivate and hopefully expand their audiences amid all this digital clutter. In the field of entertainment, this challenge is complicated when small content providers are not aligned with an online, curated network such as …

Assessing Learning Strategies With An Educational Video, David James Harrison

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Even though educational films and videos have been in used for a century, there remains insufficient research into efficacious learning strategies that can be used alongside them. This study sought to investigate active learning strategies as a method to improve learning from video. This true experimental study, supported and informed by qualitative data, examined three active learning strategies utilized within video-based instruction: Guided Notetaking, Personal Notetaking, and Guided Summaries. Outcome measures included three dimensions of learning (factual, conceptual, and procedural) on an immediate posttest, perceptions of extrinsic cognitive load, likelihood that participants would use the strategies again, how often participants …

How Mobile Learning Initiatives Can Empower Women, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The Sustainable Development Goal 5 provides a call to action to promote gender equality and to empower women. This article responds to that call by providing insight into how mobile learning initiatives have been used to support that aim. A critical analysis is conducted of studies in the past decade to review what strategies have been effective in empowering women. The analysis revealed that initiatives were targeted towards three areas: Education, health, and financial empowerment.

Findings show that in certain topics women should play an active role to further the empowerment process. This article also aligns with Objective 4 of …

Eportfolios, Google Drive, And Cognitive Process Theory, Sarah Elizabeth Carl

English Theses & Dissertations

ePortfolios have gained popularity in higher education to document learning, assessing, and career showcasing. This thesis discusses how ePortfolios can be used in first-year writing classrooms to show writing processes using Google Drive, a non-ePortfolio platform and its connection to Linda Flower and John Hayes’ cognitive process theory. The thesis shows how a professor could use Google Drive as an ePortfolio platform through assignments.

Innovation Adoption And Diffusion In Synchronous Tutoring Owls: A Cross-Contextual Case Study Using Diffusion Of Innovations Theory, Cynthia Marie Pengilly

English Theses & Dissertations

Synchronous online tutoring shares many attributes with face-to-face tutoring such as real-time, document collaboration, and conversational cues provided by audio and video, yet writing center professionals know seemingly little about synchronous tutoring OWLs due to the lack of formal publications about synchronous online tutoring coupled with the prevailing paradigm that seeks to transfer face-to-face tutoring practices to online synchronous tutoring, which overshadows the innovation processes taking place in synchronous OWLs. The purpose of this study was to document emergent practices in the use of two different synchronous tutoring technologies and the processes by which those practices were adopted and implemented …

Media Literacy Definitions, R. M. Wenner

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis conducts a critical discourse analysis on definitions of the term “media literacy” used by researchers in media literacy educational interventions. These definitions are compared to the skills developed in participants of media literacy interventions. This comparison reveals if and how researchers are operationalizing their stated definition of media literacy. Over half of researchers are using the definition proffered by the National Association for Media Literacy Education. However the disagreement in the field around a definition of the term “media literacy” has created confusion. This confusion has left educators falling back on practices scaffolded by the previous educational paradigm. …

Advances In Promoting Literacy And Human Rights For Women And Girls Through Mobile Learning, Helen Crompton, Judith Dunkerly-Bean

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This article is taken from a larger review of extant research from a chapter titled “The role of mobile learning in promoting global literacy and human rights for women and girls” from the Handbook of Research on the Societal Impact of Digital Media. In this article we review the fairly recent advances in combating illiteracy around the globe through the use of mobile phones and e-readers most recently in the Worldreader program and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) mobile phone and reading initiatives. Utilizing key human rights publications and the lens of transnational feminist discourse, which …

Pedagogy At Play: Gamification And Gameful Design In The 21st-Century Writing Classroom, Danielle Roney Roach

English Theses & Dissertations

The language used to discuss play in current academic spaces tends to center around formal games (and computer games in particular in the 21st century classroom). Scholarly conversations tend to distort the actual practices that occur in classrooms and subsequently limit the scope of any investigation of the pedagogical function and outcomes of those practices. This project explores the use of play and games in the classrooms of nine composition instructors. From these stories, this project begins to map out a taxonomy in order to begin building toward a pedagogy of play for 21st century writing classrooms. Using a multiperspectival …

Understanding Angle And Angle Measure: A Design-Based Research Study Using Context Aware Ubiquitous Learning, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Mobile technologies are quickly becoming tools found in the educational environment. The researchers in this study use a form of mobile learning to support students in learning about angle concepts. Design-based research is used in this study to develop an empirically-substantiated local instruction theory about students' develop of angle and angle measure. This local instruction theory involves real-world connections and mobile technologies through a sub category of mobile learning called context-aware ubiquitous learning. Through a process of anticipation, enactment, evaluation, and revision, the local instruction theory was developed to include a theoretical contribution of how students come to understand angle …

Research Trends In The Use Of Mobile Learning In Mathematics, Helen Crompton, Diane Burke

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The use of mobile learning in education is growing at an exponential rate. To best understand how mobile learning is being used, it is crucial to gain a collective understanding of the research that has taken place. This research was a systematic review of 36 studies in mobile learning in mathematics from the year 2000 onward. Eight new findings emerged: (1) The primary purpose of most studies was to focus on evaluating mobile learning. (2) Case studies and experimental design were the main research methods. (3) Most studies report positive learning outcomes; (4) Mobile phones were the mobile device used …

Microblogging As A Facilitator Of Online Community In Graduate Education, Vincent Anthony Rhodes

English Theses & Dissertations

Part-time and distance-learning students can experience a sense of isolation from their peers and the university. Concern about this isolation and resulting student attrition has increased in the midst of explosive growth in online course enrollments. One possible solution: building a stronger sense of community within the online graduate classroom using microblogging technology such as Twitter. Unfortunately, scholars across disciplines define community in different ways with some rejecting the concept altogether in favor of other theoretical constructs. And, few scholars have examined the notion of online classroom community from an English Studies perspective exploring the rhetorical exigencies that underpin this …

Designing Playful Games And Applications To Support Science Centers Learning Activities, Michail N. Giannakos, David Jones, Helen Crompton, Nikos Chrisochoides

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In recent years there has been a renewed interest on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Following this interest, science centers' staff started providing technology enhanced informal STEM education experiences. The use of well-designed mobile and ubiquitous forms of technology to enrich informal STEM education activities is an essential success factor. The goal of our research is to investigate how technology applications can be better used and developed for taking full advantage of the opportunities and challenges they provide for students learning about STEM concepts. In our approach, we have conducted a series of interviews with experts from science …

The Effects Of Digital Technology On Basic Writing, Leslie Denise Norris

English Theses & Dissertations

At this study's research site—a small, Virginia community college—faculty, staff and students use digital technology to share information daily, which could cause a problem for some students: students may need digital literacy instruction before the college requires those courses. Another potential problem is that scholars (Stephens, Houser, and Cowan) indicate that some instructors across the academy treat students negatively if students do not demonstrate digital, rhetorical dexterity when communicating—particular digital skills that some students lack.

For this study, I surveyed basic writing (BW) instructors and students at the research site to learn more about their digital experiences. The surveys yielded …

Implementation Of A One-To-One Ipod Touch Program In A Middle School, Helen Crompton, Julie Keane

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementation of a whole school one-to-one iPod Touch project in a middle school in the southeastern United States. While some focused studies have been undertaken in this new field of learning, there has been little research to date that documents activity within a whole school implementation (Chen, Kao, & Sheu, 2003; Conti-Ramsden, Durkin, & Simkin, 2010). Using Rogers' (1963, 2003) theory of diffusion of innovation as a lens for this research, we gathered data from observations, focus groups, and interviews. Our findings indicated that teachers focused on internet-based research activities, formative …

How Web 2.0 Is Changing The Way Students Learn: The Darwikinism And Folksonomy Revolution, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In the 21st century, some argue that we have a new breed of students (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Prensky, 2001). Technologies such as Web 2.0 have been held responsible for these changes as students are now becoming active, critical consumers of information (Klamma, Cao, & Spaniol, 2007). Two components of this Web 2.0 revolution are the ideas behind Darwikinism and folksonomy. Darwikinism is a portmanteau of Darwinism and Wikis, which describes how a system similar to Darwin’s theory of evolution is ordering and processing wiki information. Folksonomy, again a portmanteau of folk and taxonomy, refers to the way in which …

Namaste: Pedagogical Methods For Designing Yoga & Art Experiences For/With Teen Participants, Tiffani Olivia Bryant

English Theses & Dissertations

Within this study, teens are asked to analyze yoga studio homepages in relation to their experiences with the practice of yoga. This dissertation research engages the teen girls as participants responsible for co-designing the learning constructs through which they make meaning out of their experiences. This research is rooted in informational design, experiential design, and design practices for a teen demographic through the artifact of yoga.

Participant observation is used to examine how eight teen girls understand yoga as a practice, internalize their experiences with yoga, and thusly communicate what they have learned about yoga and a sampling of digital …