Leveraging mobile technology for sustainable seamless learning: a research agenda

Over the next 10 years, we anticipate that personal, portable, wirelessly networked technologies will become ubiquitous in the lives of learners—indeed, in many countries, this is already a reality. We see that ready‐to‐hand access creates the potential for a new phase in the evolution of technology‐enhanced learning, characterised by ‘seamless learning spaces’ and marked by continuity of the learning experience across different scenarios or contexts, and emerging from the availability of one device or more per student. The challenge is to enable learners to learn whenever they are curious and seamlessly switch between different contexts, such as between formal and informal contexts and between individual and social learning, and by extending the social spaces in which learners interact with each other. In this paper, we review the potential of mobile learning research for designing seamless learning environments that can bridge both formal and informal learning, present a research agenda and discuss important methodological issues that concern research into formal and informal learning.     

Development of the human interaction dimension of the Self‐Regulated Learning Questionnaire in asynchronous online learning environments

Two studies focusing on the development and validation of the Online Self‐Regulated Learning Inventory (OSRLI) were conducted. The OSRLI is a self‐report instrument assessing the human interaction dimension of online self‐regulated learning. It consists of an affect/motivation scale and an interaction strategies scale. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis of an initial affect/motivation item pool yielded four factors: enjoyment of human interaction, self‐efficacy for interaction with instructors, concern for interaction with students, and self‐efficacy for contributing to the online community. Exploratory factor analysis of an initial learning strategies item pool revealed three factors: writing strategies, responding strategies, and reflection strategies. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted in order to evaluate the stability of multidimensional factor structures. These exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed the OSRLI to be statistically moderate in terms of reliability and validity.     

Issues of cross-contextual information quality evaluation—The case of Arabic, English, and Korean Wikipedias

An initial exploration into the issue of information quality evaluation across different cultural and community contexts based on data collected from the Arabic, English, and Korean Wikipedias showed that different Wikipedia communities may have different understandings of and models for quality. It also showed the feasibility of using some article edit-based metrics for automated quality measurement across different Wikipedia contexts. A model for measuring context similarity was developed and used to evaluate the relationship between similarities in sociocultural factors and the understanding of information quality by the three Wikipedia communities.     

Effects of Pre‐structuring Discussion Threads on Group Interaction and Group Performance in Computer‐supported Collaborative Argumentation

This study examined the effects of pre‐structuring discussion threads on group performance in computer‐supported collaborative argumentation where students labeled their messages as arguments, challenges, supporting evidence, and explanations on a threaded discussion board. In the pre‐structured group students were required to post supporting and opposing arguments to designated and separate discussion threads. In the control group no discussion threads were designated for posting supporting and opposing arguments. The mean number of challenges elicited per argument was 64% greater with pre‐structured threads (ES = +.47). No significant differences were found in the mean number of counter‐challenges, supporting evidence, and explanations posted in reply to challenges. The findings suggest that prestructured discussion threads can increase the frequency of argument→challenge exchanges needed to initiate critical discourse.     

The neuropsychology of Down syndrome: evidence for hippocampal dysfunction

This study tested prefrontal and hippocampal functions in a sample of 28 school-aged (M = 14.7 years, SD = 2.7) individuals with Down syndrome (DS) compared with 28 (M = 4.9 years, SD = .75) typically developing children individually matched on mental age (MA). Both neuropsychological domains were tested with multiple behavioral measures. Benchmark measures of verbal and spatial function demonstrated that this DS sample was similar to others in the literature. The main finding was a significant Group x Domain interaction effect indicating differential hippocampal dysfunction in the group with DS. However, there was a moderate partial correlation (r = .54, controlling for chronological age) between hippocampal and prefrontal composite scores in the DS group, and both composites contributed unique variance to the prediction of MA and adaptive behavior in that group. In sum, these results indicate a particular weakness in hippocampal functions in DS in the context of overall cognitive dysfunction. It is interesting that these results are similar to what has been found in a mouse model of DS. Such a model will make it easier to understand the neurobiological mechanisms that lead to the development of hippocampal dysfunction in DS.     

Reframing learning to teach diversity: multicultural curriculum within a cosmopolitan context

This qualitative study explores the possibilities of reframing multicultural teacher education in the context of critical cosmopolitanism. I examine the ways in which 34 pre-service and in-service teachers learn to teach diversity and multicultural issues in their curriculum. I use three sets of coursework materials, including course discussions, small group presentations, and midterm and final papers to investigate their conceptualisations of diversity and equity issues in education. I present two salient themes as they reframe to teach diversity by reviewing both local and global conflicts: (a) analysing the frame of recognition and (b) revisiting the notions of self-other and interrelationality. Butlerian theory of recognisability provides an important theoretical and pedagogical approach for exploring the conditions of recognition as liveable life, rather than focusing on what works best for increasing teachers’ cosmopolitan awareness. Teacher education programmes could benefit from critical cosmopolitanism when implementing a theoretical and pedagogical strategy for teaching diversity within a global context.     

Revising Amartya Sen’s capability approach to education for ethical development

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Amartya Sen's capability approach can suggest an appropriate theory of education for ethical development. Many advocates of Sen's capability approach insist that his approach is superior to rival theories of education, including the human capital theory. This is because Sen emphasizes the purpose and various roles of education for achieving substantial freedom while rival theories focus on the instrumental aspects of education. A focus on rival educational theories often results in the negative effects seen occurring in colonial education. In principle, we agree with the advocates of Sen’s capability approach. However, we doubt that Sen’s emphasis is sufficient for guaranteeing that his capability approach is the appropriate theory of education for application in the context of ethical development. It does not have theoretical completion, and it gives no guidance as to conflict resolution concerning the roles, or value, of education. Nor does it give guidance as to how to implement pedagogical strategies. This incompletion allows economically instrumental values to dominate intrinsic values and non-economically instrumental values, as seen with the educational Millennium Development Goals. This prioritization is what has occurred in colonial education through the application of human capital theory. We suggest that in Sen’s capability approach, firstly, the meaning of the intrinsic value of education should be clarified; secondly, the non-economically instrumental roles of education should be explicated in the context of development; and finally, the priority of the intrinsic and the non-economically instrumental roles of education value should be taken over the economically instrumental values. In this revised theory, people’s substantive freedom is achievable through education, people’s aboriginal identities and values remain intact, and developing countries take seriously pedagogical strategies.     

Solving Hitchcock''s transportation problem by a genetic algorithm

Genetic algorithms (GAs) employ the evolutionary process of Darwin's nature selection theory to find the solutions of optimization problems. In this paper, an implementation of genetic algorithm is put forward to solve a classical transportation problem, namely the Hitchcock's Transportation Problem (HTP), and the GA is improved to search for all optimal solutions and identify them automatically. The algorithm is coded with C and validated by numerical examples. The computational results show that the algorithm is efficient for solving the Hitchcock's transportation problem.