Engaging Undergraduates in Wikis and Regulation Activities to Improve Collaborative Writing Process

The relationship between collaboration processes, task strategies and the use of the tools and resources that the computer environment offers, may be crucial for the effects of computer supported collaborative learning. We are interested to find out how, within a computer environment, students collaborate, how they use the different tools we offer and how this influences the quality of the final product. A custom-made computer-supported environment (TC3) was implemented that enables pairs of high school students to collaborate in writing an argumentative essay. The essay had to be convincing and based on authentic information sources. TC3, a groupware program, offers the students as task related and communicative tools: a shared text editor, a chat facility, access to relevent sources of information and a private notepad. Furthermore, some facilities or tools were offered that might promote collaboration on the task: access to the chat history, adaptability of the display layout, marking and searching in information sources and counting the number of words in the shared text. From our analyses we may conclude that the tools and resources the students use during collaborative writing seem to reflect the writing strategies they adhere to and that the use of these tools and resources in the different phases of the collaborative writing process is related to the argumentative quality of the final product. Future research will focus on the effects of a adding tools for text planning and linearization to the TC3 environment on the coordination processes of collaborative writing.

A Cappella and Diva: A Collaborative Process for Individual Academic Writing

Research and trends in the field of e-learning from 2001 to 2005: A content analysis of cognitive studies in selected journals

Online Collaborative Writing (OCW) is a prevalent practice among undergraduate students, yet challenges arising from a lack of group awareness (GA) often hinder effective collaboration. To address such challenges, this study included three phases: (1) A preliminary study (n=9) aimed to identify challenges that undergraduate students face while engaging in asynchronous OCW. (2) A GA tool (i.e., SITU) was designed to address the identified challenges by allowing students to invite their peers to edit specific sections of the document and provide written feedback. (3) The effect of SITU on students’ online writing behaviors and peer editing outcomes was evaluated. Students in the experimental group (n=32) worked on an OCW task with SITU while students in the control group (n=30) worked without it. Employing a mixed-methods research design, data were collected via screen-capture recordings of students’ writing processes and group interviews. Results from the preliminary study revealed that students experienced discomfort in editing parts of the shared document written by peers and encountered difficulties in coordinating task-related activities. The main study revealed that collaborative writing with SITU led to an almost twofold increase in the time students spent on conducting major edits to paragraphs written by peers.

The purpose of this study was to describe early career health sciences information professionals' self-reported attainment of the Medical Library Association (MLA) Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success and to investigate the various methods by which participants developed these competencies. A SurveyMonkey survey was designed to ascertain participants' demographic information and their competency attainment. "Early career" health information professionals were defined as those with less than five years of professional experience. Participants were asked to rate each of the seven competencies on a five-point Likert scale regarding their level of agreement with the statement, "I have demonstrated this competency." Participants who responded positively were then asked to indicate how they acquired the competency on a multiple-choice, multiple-answer list. Free-text fields were provided for general comments and for participants to elaborate on their answers. The survey was distributed through the MLA email discussion list and other related email discussion lists. Participation was anonymous. One hundred eighty-seven responses were received. Out of those 187 respondents, 95 completed the entire survey. The majority of early career health sciences information professionals agreed that they had attained all 7 competencies. Of the various methods used to develop competencies, the most selected method was formal library and information studies education. Participants were least likely to report attaining competencies via mentoring, volunteering, or internships. Participants reported the highest level of confidence in having attained the "Health Sciences Information Services" competency, and the lowest level of confidence in having attained the "Research, Analysis, and Interpretation" competency. These results contribute to the ongoing discussions regarding proposed changes to the MLA competencies. The results may also inform the development of educational and professional development opportunities for prospective or early career health information professionals.

How much has educational development changed in five years? What is its standing in UK higher education? This paper provides an overview of the current state of educational development in the UK and attempts to identify the changes that have occurred over the last five years. It reports on the responses of 53 heads of educational development units to a questionnaire which was based on a similar survey undertaken in 1995 and reported in this journal. The paper considers some of the major contextual factors which have influenced educational development over this five-year period, and provides an encouraging assessment of the growth in the number of units or departments being established with an educational development role. There is evidence of a steady growth in interest in learning and teaching in higher education in the UK, which has enabled educational development practitioners to achieve a new level of maturity and confidence. It is argued that educational development is fast becoming both an established field of study and a recognized professional role in most institutions of higher education in the UK.

This study was designed to determine whether academic edu cational achievements of women inmates during incarceration had significant effects upon their subsequent recidivism. An experi mental group of 100 ex-inmates who had received the General Educational Development (G.E.D.) certificate while in prison was equated in terms of 14 personal and criminal factors to a control group of 100 ex-inmates who had not completed the G.E.D. pro gram. The groups were then compared in terms of recidivism rates. Although the proportion of non-recidivists was slightly higher for the G.E.D. group than for the control group, the difference was not significant at the .05 level of confidence. Thus, the hypotheses that successful participation in academic educational programs by women inmates reduces their subsequent recidivism was not sup ported.

When we search information on the Web, we usually enter a query that best represents our information need, and then modify it as the search results are shown. Many thus have studied search queries to understand how users express and find their information need on the Web. For example, studies have shown that query length affects search performance (Belkin et al, 2003). Then, researchers have begun to examine image search queries on the Web. They analyzed search logs from general or commercial search engines or studied specific image database systems based on log analysis (Goodrum & Sprink, 2001; Jorgensen & Jorgensen, 2005; Goodrum, Bejune, & Siochi, 2003; Pu, 2005; Cunningham, Bainbridge, & Masoodian, 2004). While these studies provide basic understanding of image query formulation, further characteristics of user's queries in the interactive searching process have not been explored. This study thus builds on previous studies on image search queries by examining the patterns of query formulation and modification in visual information search. Specifically, first, it investigates the effects of tasks and other contextual factors on query length and query changes; and second, it compares the query length and changes with the user's satisfaction of search results. Participants Twenty-nine college students were recruited for data collection during the spring and summer semesters of 2008, mostly from the Department of Media Studies at the Catholic University of America (CUA). They included 22 from Media Studies and 7 from other fields taking courses in the department; 22 were females and 7 males; and an average age of 21 years. Background information collected were years of computer experience, hours per day using the Web, self-rated online searching expertise, and self-rated digital image searching experience. The seven-point Likert scale was used for self-rating variables. Each participant took part in three different search sessions with his or her own search topic at CUA with the researcher's laptop that had an Internet connection. The university's homepage was set as the default home for the Web browser. Each participant filled out a pre-search questionnaire to collect a search task, topic, self-rated topic familiarity using 7-Likert scale. The participants chose their own preferred browser between Internet Explorer and Firefox. The search session was recorded by Camtasia v5.0 as screen capture. After the session, a post-search questionnaire was given to the participants to assess the level of satisfaction and confidence of their searching using 7-Likert scale. There was no time limit to complete a search session. The participants were free to end a search session at any time. Search Tasks The participants brought their own task and topics to find images. There were three types of search tasks identified: academic task, work-related task, and personal interest (Table 1). Search queries were acquired from screen capture log files. A total of 979 queries were obtained as the entire string of terms submitted by the participants. Table 2 shows a distribution of search queries on a general search engine, a search engine's image search, and other specific sites. Findings showed that Google Images Search was the most frequent source for forming a search query. An average word per query was 3.07 during the first session, 2.95 during the second session, and 2.89 for the last session. This finding of short queries is similar to that of previous studies on Web image queries (Goodrum & Spink, 2001; Jorgensen & Jorgensen, 2005). Analysis of data is in progress. A poster will summarize detail findings and provide answers to the following questions: What are the patterns of query modification? Are there any differences of query length and number of query change based on the task and topic familiarities? Is there any relationship between query length and number of query change and users' satisfaction and confidence with search results? Do different stages of a user's particular task affect query length and number of query change? The author would like to thank OCLC/ALISE for their generous funding for this project.

Background In this paper, we extend theories of group cognition and regulation to examine how regulation occurs as part of a learning ecosystem. We examine our instructional approach, Embedded Design, that uses Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) as a conduit for students to make sense of their sociotechnical world and the ways people design everyday interaction around technology. Methods Our research questions centered on identifying (RQ1) the types of problems that require students’ collective regulation, . Our population included learners aged 8-12 enrolled in a play-based after school HCI design club. Using micro-analytic techniques, we examined the HCI design processes of four teams over nine sessions and four learners over two years. Findings We identified the most common problems students encountered, how regulation and negotiation played out across different levels of analysis, what types of learning occurred as participants worked to improve collaborative processes over time, and the role that technology played in the process. Contribution We end the paper by proposing a model of how nested collective knowledge building processes evolve over time and discuss the implications of our findings for K-12 HCI education.

Self-Management Education Approach: Engaging Patients in Creating a Personal and Relevant Action Plan (Part 2): I Keep Telling Patients What to Do, So Why Don't They Make Progress?

Background One of the advances in learning with technology is digital adaptive learning (AL) materials for mathematics. Although empirical studies have shown the benefits of AL for learners and teachers, little research has been done on teachers' perceptions and needs of digital AL and their plans for implementation in mathematics classrooms. This gap is critical because teachers serve as the primary decision‐makers regarding the adoption of resources. Without their decision to integrate digital AL materials, the potential advantages of digital AL cannot be realised. Objective Hence, the underlying study aims to address this gap by uncovering teachers' perceptions and needs of digital AL materials and their plans for implementation in secondary mathematics classrooms. Methods To achieve this goal, we employ a qualitative research approach using semi‐structured interviews with 11 Austrian mathematics teachers. The interview guide is based on an adapted version of the Technology Acceptance Model. The data is analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results and Conclusions Our findings reveal that mathematics teachers show a limited perception of digital AL. Teachers emphasise the need for materials to adapt task difficulty, provide error‐focused feedback, and personalise task contexts. They see potential in using AL during individual practice phases to support differentiation. However, barriers such as limited material availability and varying levels of digital confidence among teachers hinder its adoption in mathematics classrooms. With these insights, we provide fruitful information for educational stakeholders, material developers, and researchers on how to foster the implementation of digital AL materials in mathematics classrooms.

Self-confidence is a character that must be instilled in oneself from an early age, especially in this case for teenagers in the coastal area of Tomini Bay. The coastal area of Tomini Bay has rich natural resource potential and diverse cultural diversity. However, this area often faces various challenges, especially in terms of education and character development of its young generation. Teenagers tend to feel unable to be equal to other teenagers in urban environments. This is because of their low self-confidence. Therefore, starting from this problem, the community service offers a solution by forming a self-confidence character through Public Speaking training for junior high school students in the coastal area of Tomini Bay. Public Speaking training gives students the opportunity to practice speaking in front of many people, be able to respond to feedback constructively, and overcome nervousness or anxiety. A structured and ongoing training program is expected to form a self-confidence character in students. The implementation of this community service activity uses a training method. This community service activity will be carried out at SMP Negeri 3 Satap Bonepantai. This school is one of the schools included in the coastal area of Tomini Bay. It is hoped that with this service, it can be a solution for the low level of student confidence to appear speaking in public in this case through Public Speaking training.

A geopark is a geographical area that has a prominent geological heritage site and is part of a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. Geoparks do not only include geological sites, but also have clear geographical boundaries and the synergy between the geological, biological, and cultural diversity that exists within the area. Communities living in the legacy play a role in protecting and enhancing the function of the natural heritage. The purpose of this research is to describe a collaboration model that is in accordance with the conditions in the development process of the Bayah Dome Geopark. This research is a descriptive research with a qualitative approach. Qualitative research was conducted because this research requires in-depth information with the aim of identifying the roles of collaborative actors in the development of the Bayah Dome Geopark. This study uses descriptive research in order to determine the Bayah Dome Geopark Development Collaborative Model which involves many stakeholders. The results of this study are that there are 8 collaborative processes that occur in the development of the boyah dome geopark, namely: (1) Network Structure, (2) Commitment To Common Purposes, (3) Trust Among Participants, (4) Governance, (5) Access To Authority, (6) Distributive Accountability, (7) Access To Resources, (8) Information Sharing.

Active learning methodology is a pro-active teaching/learning strategy which involves dynamic participation by students and teachers through an experimental process. Active learning occupies students by enabling them to do things at the same time thinking about the things that they are doing; thus, resulting in learning-by-doing. Such leaning-by-doing inculcates a deeper level of subject or domain understanding in students and the students are likely to retain such knowledge for a longer period. Adopting the strategy of active learning, faculty members from two departments at Higher Colleges of Technology conceptualized an interdisciplinary student project - development of mobile application for Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis involving their students from respective departments of Business Studies (Managerial Accounting specialization) and Information Technology (Business Solutions specialization). This project was a collaborative learning process involving first year Undergraduate students enrolled in Managerial Accounting course, a core course in Business and. final year CIS students enrolled in Mobile Application course. In this project the business students played the role of functional experts, thus specifying the requirements of the CVP analysis application. The IT students assumed the role of technical experts, responsiblefor the development of the fully functional and tested application for the CVP analysis. The faculty involvement was on peripheral level at all phases of the project. The outcome of this collaborative effort was positive on multiple fronts - successful development of a fully functional software application, successful attainment of cognitive skills and knowledge transfer skills for students from both departments and finally successful creation of knowledge through process of innovation. Students from both disciplines confirmed higher confidence levels on successful completion of the interdisciplinary project.

Along with the rapid development of network education, virtual learning community emerges its apparent advantages continuously. Collaborative learning has played an important role in educational patterns. Based on the constructivism learning theory, this paper designs a collaborative virtual learning community on the subject of Software Engineering. Moreover, the learner’s online action is a force to be reckoned with. In view of collaborative learning processes are very important, the group member’s learning characters such as sending or watching the amount of message are extracted to evaluate their usual performances. Then they can be visualized in forms of chart or data report for learners, to the effect that urge learners into adjusting themselves duly.KeywordsConstructivismCollaborativeLearning processVisualizationPerformanceAlgorithm