J. Nixon, Erica Halverson, Andrew Stoiber, Andrew S. Garbacz
{"title":"“I played a song with the help of a magic banana”: assessing short-term making events","authors":"J. Nixon, Erica Halverson, Andrew Stoiber, Andrew S. Garbacz","doi":"10.1108/ils-08-2020-0184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-08-2020-0184","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this study is to understand how learners describe their experiences with short-term, introductory maker experiences and to test a method for assessing learners’ experiences authentic to short-term learning.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The authors collected written responses from participants at a two-day event, STEM Center Learning Days. Through an analysis of 707 unique instances of learner responses to participation in drop-in maker activities, they examined how participants describe their short-term learning experiences.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The authors found that although some activities appear to onlookers to create passive experiences for learners, these seemingly passive moments have a significant impact on learners. In addition, some learners described themselves as working in tandem with tools to make something work and other learners viewed the tools as working autonomously. They found that the assessment method allowed them to gain an understanding of how learners describe their experiences offering important implications for understanding short-term learning events.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000The findings provide researchers studying short-term learning in its natural setting a new method to understand how learners make sense of their individual experience. Further, designers of short-term learning experiences may gain insights into their unique activities and indications of where additional guidance and scaffolds will improve small learning moments.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74404280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inferences on enacted understanding: using immersive technologies to assess intuitive physical science knowledge","authors":"Michael Tscholl, Jason W. Morphew, Robb Lindgren","doi":"10.1108/ils-12-2020-0260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-12-2020-0260","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to advance the proposal to use immersive virtual learning environments to stimulate and reveal deep-seated knowledge about science, giving instructors and researchers unique possibilities for assessing and identifying intuitive physical science knowledge. Aside from the ability to present rich and dynamic stimuli, these environments afford bodily enactment of people’s understanding, which draws less from declarative knowledge stores and more from everyday experiences with the physical world.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The authors ground their proposal in a critical review of the impact of stimulus and task characteristics of traditional physics inventories. Using a grounded theory approach, the authors present classifications and interpretations of observed bodily enactments of physics understandings in a study where participants enacted their understanding of force and motion of space in an immersive, interactive mixed reality (MR) environment.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The authors find that instances of these action categories can be interpreted as relating to underlying knowledge, often identified by other studies. The authors thus replicate a number of prior findings, which provide evidence to establish validation for using MR simulation as a tool for identifying people’s physical intuitions.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000This study targeted only a few specific physical science scenarios. Further, while a number of key insights about student knowledge came from the analysis, many of the observations are mere leads in need of further investigation and interpretation rather than core findings.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Immersive digital learning environments are primarily used for instruction. The authors propose to use and design them for assessment as well. This paper should prompt more research and development in this direction.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"122 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86057688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Corinne Brenner, Kayla Desportes, Jess Hendrix, M. Holford
{"title":"GeoForge: investigating integrated virtual reality and personalized websites for collaboration in middle school science","authors":"Corinne Brenner, Kayla Desportes, Jess Hendrix, M. Holford","doi":"10.1108/ILS-12-2020-0254","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-12-2020-0254","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This paper aims to describe the design and user testing of GeoForge, a multiple-player digital learning experience for middle school that leverages virtual reality (VR) and individualized websites for learning concepts in planetary science. This paper investigates how specific instructional design choices and features of the technology fostered collaborative behaviors.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000GeoForge was implemented in 3 middle school classrooms with a total of 220 students. Learners used GeoForge in class in groups of 3–4 to learn about planetary science. A mixed-methods approach examined collaboration using classroom observations, teacher interviews, student surveys and student artifacts. Using Jeong and Hmelo-Silver’s (2016) seven affordances of technology for collaborative learning, this paper identifies ways in which features of GeoForge supported collaborative behaviors.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Instructional design which combined VR and the digital science journal (DSJ) helped foster collaboration. Some collaborative behaviors were especially notable in classrooms that did not regularly practice these skills. Segmenting tasks in the DSJ, clarifying instructions to articulate ideas, showing other group members’ responses onscreen and enabling multiuser VR environments contributed to collaborative behaviors and a satisfying learning experience as observed and documented through multiple methods.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000GeoForge successfully integrated VR and personalized websites in a classroom planetary science lesson, an approach which balanced instructional design and logistical challenges while creating opportunities for collaboration.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86998532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Christidou, Sofia Papavlasopoulou, M. Giannakos
{"title":"Using the lens of science capital to capture and explore children’s attitudes toward science in an informal making-based space","authors":"D. Christidou, Sofia Papavlasopoulou, M. Giannakos","doi":"10.1108/ILS-09-2020-0210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-09-2020-0210","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000Governments and organizations worldwide are concerned over the declining number of young people choosing to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), especially after the age of 16. Research has foregrounded that students with positive attitudes toward science are more likely to find it relevant and aspire to a science career. This study aims to understand the factors shaping students’ attitudes as these are pivotal in promoting science learning.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This study uses the framework of science capital to understand what shapes young people’s engagement with or resistance to science. The authors conducted four Computational Thinking making-based workshops with 106 children aged 15–16 years, of which 58 filled in a questionnaire and 22 were interviewed. Statistical and content analyses were performed respectively.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The results indicate that children who are more exposed to science-related activities and contexts are more likely to have higher self-efficacy, and that those with higher prior coding experience scored higher in their self-efficacy and science capital. Six themes emerged from the content analysis, highlighting the diverse factors shaping students’ attitudes, such as teaching methods, stereotypes and the degree of difficulty encountered while engaging with science in and out of school.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000By combining qualitative and quantitative methods with the use of science capital, the authors found a number of aspects of the school experience that shape students’ attitudes to science learning in and out of school, as well as their science career aspirations.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85880497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Immersive reading in virtual and augmented reality environment","authors":"P. Rau, Jian Zheng, Zhi Guo","doi":"10.1108/ils-11-2020-0236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-11-2020-0236","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This study aims to investigate “immersive reading,” which occurs when individuals read text while in a virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) environment.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000In Experiment 1, 64 participants read text passages and answered multiple-choice questions in VR and AR head-mounted displays (HMDs) compared with doing the same task on liquid crystal display (LCD). In Experiment 2, 31 participants performed the same reading tasks but with two VR HMDs of different display quality.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Compared with reading on LCD as the baseline, participants reading in VR and AR HMDs got 82% (VR) and 88% (AR) of the information accurately. Participants tended to respond more accurately and faster, though not statistically significant, with the VR HMD of higher pixel density in the speed-reading task.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000The authors observed the speed and accuracy of reading in VR and AR environments, compared with the reading speed and accuracy on an LCD monitor. The authors also compared the reading performance on two VR HMDs that differed in display quality but were otherwise similar in every way.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"272 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76556173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Authenticity perceptions in virtual environments","authors":"Jamie N. Mikeska, Heather Howell","doi":"10.1108/ILS-10-2020-0234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-10-2020-0234","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This paper aims to examine three distinct aspects of authenticity that pre-service teachers (PSTs) experience when they engage with virtual classroom environments to develop their content-intensive instructional practice – task authenticity, student avatar authenticity and performance authenticity – and their perceptions about the usefulness of the simulated teaching experience to support their learning.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This paper explored these conceptions of authenticity and usefulness within a larger research study whose goal was to develop virtual environment tools to help elementary PSTs learn how to engage in one ambitious teaching practice: facilitating discussions that engage students in argumentation. To examine these aspects of authenticity and usefulness, this paper used a general qualitative deductive analysis approach to examine data from 104 interviews with 26 case study teachers and examined patterns in PSTs’ perceptions within and across interviews and authenticity aspects.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000While these PSTs strongly value the utility of these tools to support their learning, findings point to variation in their perceptions of authenticity. Findings showed that most PSTs perceived the tasks as an authentic representation of the work of teaching. However, their perceptions of task authenticity did not always align with their perceptions of avatar or performance authenticity.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This paper argues that these three aspects of authenticity relate to, but expand upon, the broader notions of presence and plausibility noted in the literature on virtual environments and should be taken up more directly in future studies of users’ perceptions of virtual environments both within and outside of educational contexts.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83226332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Martine Gadille, Maria Antonietta Impedovo, J. Rémon, Caroline Corvasce
{"title":"Interdependent creativity for learning in a virtual world","authors":"Martine Gadille, Maria Antonietta Impedovo, J. Rémon, Caroline Corvasce","doi":"10.1108/ils-02-2020-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-02-2020-0038","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this paper is to understand how the creativity of pupils and teachers is nurtured through the use of a virtual world (VW) within a sociotechnical network affecting pupils’ learning in a pilot secondary school.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The analysis is the result of a pluri-disciplinary systemic analysis involving didactics, sociology, psychology and management science on an individual, collective and systemic scale. This participatory action research is based on interviews and systematic observations in class, in-world and in the global ecosystem. Linguistic and multimodal analysis is applied to the data, through teacher monographs that hint at the teachers’ activity.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Pupils’ and teachers’ creativity appeared to be anchored within four main interdependent nurturing conditions the personal inclinations and professional interactions in the sociotechnical network sustaining the VW; a creative regulation allowing compromises with the institutional constraints of pedagogical control; avatars and 3 D boundary objects that act as a motor of teachers-pupils inquiry and creativity; the sociotechnical network that contributes, through the actors’ play, to bringing the organisational rules of the school towards an innovation trajectory, that in turns mediates success in the use and the adoption of the new technology.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000Although this is a study within a specific school, the findings can be put to use by other pedagogical teams who would wish to integrate a VW to re-engage pupils.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The participatory design processes taking place within a sociotechnical network support teachers in the building of Virtual World scenarios negotiated with researchers and start-up developers.\u0000\u0000\u0000Social implications\u0000The pedagogical use of a virtual world opens new learning engagement opportunities for the pupils through enhanced experiential learning and sustains the transformation of teachers’ professionality.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000The authors’ approach differs from the previous educational VW literature, in that they integrate the teachers’ creativity and their pedagogical scripts into their study, within a systemic approach, thus requiring a wider theoretical framework, necessary for understanding the building of strategies and knowledge that foster teachers’ and pupils’ creativity in educational settings using a VW.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73367086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"See it, hear it, feel it: embodying a patient experience through immersive virtual reality","authors":"J. Hannans, Colleen M. Nevins, Kristine E. Jordan","doi":"10.1108/ils-10-2020-0233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-10-2020-0233","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The aim of the study was to explore aspects of learning in terms of gain in knowledge, confidence and empathy with immersive virtual reality (VR) from the patient perspective in undergraduate nursing students.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000A pilot study integrating immersive VR experiences during clinical courses was facilitated based on the INACSL (2016) standards for simulation practices with a convenience sample of 165 nursing students in three levels of cohorts, using two different VR scenario simulations. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through pre- and post-surveys.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Student participants embodied patients with chronic disease using immersive VR. Findings showed substantial gains in most measures of knowledge, confidence and empathy, with slightly less difference seen in lower level nursing students particularly with empathy and understanding.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000Embodiment through immersive VR scenarios was shown to increase learner development. The positive findings from the pilot study justified continuance of integration of immersive VR in nursing education, recommending further use and research.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Simulated learning for nursing has known benefits on knowledge and understanding. Immersive VR is gaining recognition within nursing education as a method to enhance cognitive and affective knowledge. This paper hopes to add insights on the impact of immersive VR for student learning and encourage discussion about the future for innovative immersive teaching and learning approaches for experiential learning.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"178 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80016474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Knowledge sharing discourse types used by key actors in online affinity spaces","authors":"Priya Sharma, Qiyuan Li, Susan M. Land","doi":"10.1108/ILS-09-2020-0211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-09-2020-0211","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The growth of online social network sites and their conceptualization as affinity spaces makes them well suited for exploring how individuals share knowledge and practices around specific interests or affinities. The purpose of this study is to extend what is known about highly active/key actors in online affinity spaces, especially the ways in which they sustain and contribute to knowledge sharing.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000This study analyzed 514 discussion posts gathered from an online affinity space on disease management. This study used a variety of methods to answer the research questions: the authors used discourse analyses to examine the conversations in the online affinity space, social network analyses to identify the structure of participation in the space and association rule mining and sentiment analysis to identify co-occurrence of discourse codes and sentiment of the discussions.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The results indicate that the quality and type of discourse varies considerably between key and other actors. Key actors’ discourse in the network serves to elaborate on and explain ideas and concepts, whereas other actors provide a more supportive role and engage primarily in storytelling.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This work extends what is known about informal mentoring and the role of key actors within affinity spaces by identifying specific discourse types and types of knowledge sharing that are characteristic of key actors. Also, this study provides an example of the use of a combination of rule mining association and sentiment analysis to characterize the nature of the affinity space.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75185501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring ideation strategies as an opportunity to support and evaluate making","authors":"M. Worsley","doi":"10.1108/ILS-08-2020-0194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-08-2020-0194","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This paper aims to compare two types of prompts, encouraging participants to think about real-world examples or engineering principles to show how these two approaches can result in vastly different design practices.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000Two studies (N = 20, N = 40) examine the impact of two different prompts. Non-expert students, from high school and university, completed a hands-on, engineering design task in pairs. Half were prompted to ideate using real-world examples, while the other half were prompted to ideate using engineering principles. The findings are based on human coding and artifact analyses.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000In both studies, and across multiple measures, students in the principle-based condition performed better than students in the example-based condition.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000A seemingly small difference in how students are prompted or encouraged to approach a problem can have a significant impact on their experience. The findings also suggest that leveraging engineering principles, even when those principles are only loosely formed, can be effective even for non-experts. Finally, the findings motivate identifying student reasoning strategies over time as a potential means for assessment in Makerspaces.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000Encouraging makers to think about different ways for approaching problems can be an important way to help them succeed. It may also be a useful way to chronicle their learning pathway.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000To the author's knowledge, explicitly looking at ideation strategies has not been widely discussed within the Maker community as a way to support learners, or as a way to evaluate learning.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44588,"journal":{"name":"Information and Learning Sciences","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86466523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}