Murder on Grimm Isle: The impact of game narrative design in an educational game‐based learning environment

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of narrative design in a game‐based learning environment. Specifically, this investigation focuses the narrative design in an adventure‐styled, game‐based learning environment for fostering argumentation writing by looking at how the game narrative impacted player/learner (1) intrinsic motivation, (2) curiosity, (3) plausibility and (4) transference of game‐based experiences into prewriting activities. The methodological framework for this qualitative investigation is a case study with grounded theory methodology. The setting is an educational, three‐dimensional, immersive game‐based learning environment titled Murder on Grimm Isle, used to foster argumentation and persuasion writing for Grades 9–14. The participants included 20 college students. The findings of the investigation reveal that intrinsic motivation, curiosity and plausibility were first supported by the game‐like environment, and then sustained through the narrative and the environment. Additionally, game‐based experiences were transferred into prewriting activities. Unanticipated findings revealed some student resistance. The goal of this research is to gain a better understanding of narrative design for game‐based learning environments.     

虚拟学习环境中图书馆用户自助教育研究

随着数字信息环境的形成,用户自助教育逐渐成为图书馆用户教育的重要形式,而虚拟学习环境的普及又为用户自助教育的实现提供了可能。阐述了虚拟学习环境下图书馆用户自助教育的特点,并对用户自助教育的实现方式进行了探讨。     

The role of teacher characteristics in an educational standards reform

The policy of performance standards aims for quality improvement in schools by stimulating teachers to plan and organize their teaching according to competence-based performance standards (competence-based teaching) and to use performance data feedback from national standard-based assessments for evidence-based teaching development. The research so far indicates that many teachers seem to make less use of performance standards and data feedback than expected and to use it in partly unintended ways. Cognitive adaption theory suggests that the reaction of individuals to change is strongly influenced by individual characteristics. In particular, self-efficacy, locus of control, and positive affectivity have been found to foster openness to change and therefore enable participation in change. Following this approach, the paper explores to what extent teachers’ use of performance standards and data feedback can be linked to individual dispositions such as self-efficacy, perceived control, and positive affectivity. Using data from Austrian primary teachers, the results suggest that self-efficacy and positive affectivity foster openness to the educational standards reform which in turn increases the likelihood of teachers’ participation in competence-oriented teaching and data use.     

论现代教育技术环境的创设

创设现代教育技术环境必须要以现代教育思想和现代教育理论为指导,以现代信息技术为手段,以硬件建设为基础,软件建设为关键,潜件建设为龙头,发动广大教师积极参与,运用现代教育技术,探索新型教学模式,实施素质教育,为新世纪我国教育走向现代化作出贡献。     

The role of the Virtual School in supporting improved educational outcomes for children in care

ABSTRACT

In England, ‘Virtual Schools’ oversee and support the educational progress of children in care. This paper reports on the analysis of 16 interviews with Virtual School headteachers that were part of two mixed methods research projects on the educational progress of children in care. These interviews explored their role; the types of support they offer young people in care; what they see as the key factors about a young person’s individual characteristics and care experiences that influence their educational outcomes; how schools support young people in care; and the influence of the foster carer/residential staff on the educational outcomes of these children. The interviews were analysed using NVivo and emerging themes were identified informed by the literature on the education of children in care. The paper draws out the main findings which explore the status and role of Virtual Schools in England, their functions, strategies, and what they see as their contribution to improving the educational outcomes of children in care.     

Social competence as an educational goal: The role of the ethnic composition and the urban environment of the school

This article concerns the relationship between social–educational goals and the school context. We used a questionnaire to map the educational goals of teachers in pre-vocational education in the field of social competence, and investigated whether these goals were related to the percentage of students from ethnic-minority groups and to the urban environment of the school. The results show that all teachers, regardless of the school context, value promoting the social development of their students as an educational goal. We did not find a relationship between the context the teachers work in and the social-competence goals they aspire to in their subject. However, teachers working in a more complex school environment, in terms of both the ethnic heterogeneity of the student population and the urban environment of the school, did consider a number of social-competence goals to be less attainable for their students. The results are discussed in the light of research on the competences young people need to participate in a multi-cultural society and the implications for teachers and teaching.     

The role of educational developers in the expansion of educational technology

This paper explores how academic staff are supported in attempts to develop their use of educational technologies. It identifies the work undertaken by academic staff in the development of an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) application and relates this to the direct support (helping staff to teach using ICT) and professional development opportunities (helping staff to develop their skills) available to them. These broad areas of support are seen as a continuum, with varying proportions of direct support and professional development available in different circumstances. The paper concludes that increasing use and expectations of ICT to support student learning in traditional universities are leading to a greater need for team‐based approaches to support learners, and the issues that this change raises are explored.     

The devil is in the details: issues of exclusion in an inclusive educational environment

In response to federal legislation and societal views that seek to provide free and appropriate education for each child. Public schools are now opening their doors to a wide variety of learners. General-education teachers are challenged to make their classrooms more inclusive. This year-long-ethnographic study explores the experiences of 20 non-deaf and two deaf fifth-grade students, a general-education and a Resource Room teacher, and support personnel. Results highlight explicit messages of equality and inclusion that belied behaviours which marginalised and excluded the deaf students. Suggestions are made for those committed to providing all students with a fair and equitable educational experience.     

非理性用户模型在虚拟实验中的构建与应用

随着虚拟实验在教学中的广泛应用,如何设计合乎人自然真实状态的虚拟实验成为研究者的努力方向。传统的虚拟实验设计一般以正常的、理性的操作情况为主要对象,缺乏对学习者在非正常情景和非理性心理因素下的认知和行为特性考虑,很容易导致操作出错,增加学习者的认知负荷。因此在虚拟实验设计过程中,需将用户的非理性因素融入其中,构建非理性用户模型指导设计过程。考虑到人的非理性主要表现在认知、情绪、行动各个阶段,虚拟实验的非理性用户模型应该包括认知模型、行动模型、出错模型和环境模型四个子模型。基于非理性用户模型,虚拟实验设计应注意满足学习者的视觉意向性,合理布局界面容量及结构,优化交互设计,重视虚拟实验系统的出错预防及矫正功能,提高虚拟实验的智能性。     

A review of research on Facebook as an educational environment

The purpose of this study is to present a review of Facebook as an educational environment, as research on its use within education is relatively new. The study is categorized into six sections: Facebook users; reasons people use Facebook; harmful effects of Facebook; Facebook as an educational environment; Facebook??s effects on culture, language, and education; and the relationship between Facebook and subject variables. Additionally, the study compares Facebook usage in Turkey to its use on a global scale. To conclude, there has been a serious lack of research on Facebook??s use as an educational resource, as current literature reflects how Facebook might more readily be utilized as an educational environment. Finally, the study ends with practical recommendations for researchers and educators.     

Perspectives on Multi‐Material Craft in Basic Education

In Finland, the National Core Curriculum for basic education from 2014 discusses holistic and multi‐material craft, which includes technical work and textile work aiming to break down the gender‐based tradition in craft education. However, teachers have been confused about the concept of multi‐materiality; it has raised tension between textile work and technical work, and teachers have not found practical pedagogical solutions for teaching these subjects. In this systematic literature review, the main aim is to open the concept of multi‐materiality and give examples to implement multi‐materiality in craft during basic education. Twenty articles dealing with craft, multi‐materiality, material or materialisation formed the basis of the analysis. According to the results, the concept of multi‐materiality is open, it does not define the means by which the design and making process is supposed to be implemented or who is the actor. However, the clear impetus is non‐gender‐based and material‐free knowledge‐building and learning activities in craft education. The pedagogical examples presented in this article indicate that multi‐materiality is not an end itself. In advancing creativity, critical thinking, discovering and understanding of the technological and cultural world through multi‐materiality, student learning can have different starting points and can be implemented in diverse ways.     

The role of persuasive research in educational progress

This article describes how scaffolded instruction during whole-class mathematics lessons can provide the knowledge, skills, and supportive context for developing students' self-regulatory processes. In examining classroom interactions through discourse analysis, these qualitative methods reflect a theoretical change from viewing self-regulation as an individual process to that of a social process. This article illustrates how studying instructional scaffolding through the analyses of instructional discourse helps further the understanding of how self-regulated learning develops and is realized in mathematics classrooms. Qualitative methods, such as discourse analyses, and their underlying theoretical frameworks have great potential to help "unlock" theories of learning, motivation, and self-regulation through exploring the reciprocity of teaching and learning in classrooms.     

高校教育技术工作者的角色定位

从对课堂教学的技术支撑、对教学科研服务的技术支持及在相关专业培养大学生综合素质等方面提出了教育技术工作者的角色定位与作为,以便从更深层面认识现代教育技术的作用以及更好地使教育教学同信息技术教育相结合。     

Schools for the twenty‐first century: School design and educational transformation

The Building Schools for the Future programme has been established to ensure that English secondary schools are designed or redesigned to allow for educational transformation. The programme represents the biggest single UK government investment in school buildings for over 50 years. For this reason, it poses a major challenge to those involved in the design of educational buildings. Inspiration is in part sought from exemplar schools around the world. The paper draws on a multiple case study of four such exemplar schools in Scandinavia that have been designed to address changes in the educational curriculum. The analysis depicts the degree to which the building design in each case supports the school approach to teaching and learning. The disjuncture between commercial and educational issues inherent in designing ‘good’ schools is highlighted. The findings show how it is important to find a balance between good design, commercial realities and educational approaches.     

A comparative analysis of e-mail and face-to-face communication in an educational environment

Electronic mail (e-mail) is an extremely important medium for Internet-based education. Due to its unique characteristics, there is reason to be concerned that students do not put appropriate care into writing messages that are sent via e-mail. This has significant implications for the effectiveness of online learning environments. This paper describes an empirical research project to investigate the amount of thought students put into e-mail communication versus traditional face-to-face communication. A survey was administered to 596 undergraduates. The results of this survey indicate that students put significantly more thought into e-mail communication with the instructor and groups of peers than they do for equivalent face-to-face communication. At the same time, students tend to put about the same amount of thought into e-mail compared to verbal communication with individual peers. Finally, the research uncovered some interesting patterns concerning student gender and technology comfort as predictors of thought put into e-mail communication.     

论政府在构建创业环境中的作用

文章试从市场增进论视角对政府应该在大力促进市民观念更新,为营造良好的创业环境;大力推进经济体制改革,努力营造公平竞争的社会发展环境;大力发展社会主义民主政治,建设社会主义政治文明,努力维护社会公正环境;大力推进文化创新,营造适合基本经济制度和发展需要的文化氛围环境所发挥的作用作了分析和论述,旨在为政府的“和谐创业”决策寻求理论和实践的支撑。     

Teacher-led design of an adaptive learning environment

This paper discusses a requirements engineering process that exemplifies teacher-led design in the case of an envisioned system for adaptive learning. Such a design poses various challenges and still remains an open research issue in the field of adaptive learning. Starting from a scenario-based elicitation method, the whole process was highly participatory, with requirements validation in iterative cycles. The contribution of the paper is twofold: (a) it exposes the design of an environment which addresses the related challenges mentioned by the participants and the literature and (b) it suggests a methodology of framing key requirements into a set of critical success factors for meeting the end-users’ expectations. The latter could be crucial in cases where the available resources are limited, but the quality of the product must not be sacrificed.     

网络环境下高校图书馆的用户教育

文章从多角度论述了网络环境下高校图书馆用户教育的必要性，并阐述了用户教育的内容和途径。