Measuring performance in leaning process of digital game-based learning and static E-learning

Educational technology research and development - This study investigated and compared the effectiveness of both digital game-based learning (DGBL) and static e-learning material for Newton’s...     

Applications of speech-to-text recognition and computer-aided translation for facilitating cross-cultural learning through a learning activity: issues and their solutions

In this study, 21 university students, who represented thirteen nationalities, participated in an online cross-cultural learning activity. The participants were engaged in interactions and exchanges carried out on Facebook^® and Skype^® platforms, and their multilingual communications were supported by speech-to-text recognition (STR) and computer-aided translation (CAT) systems. The participants spoke in their native languages, and the STR system generated texts from their voice input. The CAT system then simultaneously translated the STR-texts into English. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy rates of STR and CAT processes for different languages during intercultural communication. We also explored issues associated with these processes and how they were addressed in the study context. In addition, an attempt was made to determine whether or not our learning activity as supported by STR and CAT technologies facilitated cross-cultural learning. Our results showed that the lowest STR accuracy rate was for Belizean English whereas the highest STR accuracy rate was for French and Hindi. The lowest CAT accuracy rate was for Mongolian and Filipino, and the highest was for Spanish, Russian, and French. Seven issues associated with the STR process and ten issues associated with the CAT process were identified. The participants employed ten workarounds to address the STR-related issues and thirteen workarounds to address the CAT-related issues. We refer to a workaround as a method used by the participants to overcome a limitation related to either STR or CAT. Finally, our results demonstrated that cross-cultural learning took place; the participants understood and could explain foreign traditions to others and could also compare foreign traditions with their own. Based on our results, we made several suggestions and provided implications for the teaching and research community.     

Effects of individual versus group work on learner autonomy and emotion in digital storytelling

Digital storytelling has been shown to be an effective tool in achieving learner autonomy during language learning. Studies have focused on providing students with multimedia authoring tools for unbinding their imagination when developing stories, but the complexity of digital story construction still presents a number of challenges to students. Anxiety about speaking a foreign language can have a debilitating effect on students’ autonomous behavior and learning performance. This study therefore introduced group work to relieve anxiety about exposing individual work to an entire class. An experiment was conducted with 55 sixth-grade students involved in a digital storytelling learning task, where 28 students worked individually and 27 cooperatively. The aim was to examine the effect of learner grouping pattern on learning outcomes, such as knowledge achievement, autonomy in language learning, and emotional experience. The students working cooperatively were discovered to outperform those working individually in all outcomes.     

Examining creativity through a virtual reality support system

This study explores the effects of immersive VR on an individual’s creativity and factors related to creativity including flow, attention and meditation (i.e., mental relaxation or stress). Sixty undergraduate students were invited to participate in an open-ended challenge to design a wearable technology functioning as a smart phone individually, either in the immersive VR condition (N?=?30) or in the paper-and-pencil condition (N?=?30). Surveys and electroencephalography (EEG) measurements were used to collect data. Findings showed that the participants in the immersive VR condition had higher quality creative products than those in the paper-and-pencil condition. The sequence analysis of the participants’ EEG brainwaves also showed that the participants in the immersive VR condition maintained a more stable focus or attention, while those in the paper-and-pencil condition were more relaxed. Research results led to a deeper understanding of using a VR support system for individual creativity. Recommendations for the design and application of an immersive VR creativity support system are discussed.     

Empowering personalized learning with an interactive e-book learning system for elementary school students

Today various types of tablet computers are used, including iPad and Android Tablets. These individual portable digital devices can be used as e-book readers to support mobile personalized learning. Though many studies have investigated e-books by targeting undergraduate students, yet less attention has been paid to children. Therefore, an Interactive E-book Learning System (IELS) was developed for elementary school students in this study. The interactive principles in multimedia learning were adopted to empower students?? personalized learning experiences with e-books. Meanwhile, in order to meet student??s learning needs, a group of in-service teachers were consulted for acquiring their domain expertise. Personalized learning functions, such as e-annotation and bookmarks, content searching, and learning process tracking, were designed to reinforce student learning. Two investigations were conducted for evaluation of the developed system. The first investigation was conducted with 166 elementary school students to evaluate the usability and functionality of the developed system and the feedback from the students. It was found that the usability and functionality of the developed system were well-suited for most of the students. The second investigation was to evaluate the learning effect of the developed system. The results showed that using an e-book or printed book made no significant difference to the students?? reading accuracy; however, the learning process tracking technique of IELS can provide detailed logs about the actual learning processes which can be used by the system to provide further assistance to individual learner. This study concludes that such a tailor-made e-book learning system could achieve a better personalized learning experience for elementary school students.     

Cultural factors influencing Eastern and Western engineering students’ choice of university

Insight into factors that affect students’ choice of university is useful when designing study programmes, especially in global competition for students. This study focuses on Taiwanese and Norwegian students’ preferences for university, study programme, course qualities and future career qualities. Hofstede's model was used to predict culture-related differences. A pair-wise decision questionnaire was used to conduct measurements. Cultural differences were observed in relation to choice of university, course qualities and future careers. Discipline of study had only minor impact on students’ preferences. The results suggest that a career-relevant curriculum is culture-neutral. Moreover, personal advice is the most preferred factor among Taiwanese students when choosing university.     

A study of the facilitation of cross-cultural understanding and intercultural sensitivity using speech-enabled language translation technology

We proposed speech-enabled language translation (SELT) technology that consists of speech-to-text recognition (STR) and computer-aided-translation (CAT) systems to support intercultural communication. When the participants spoke in their native languages, the STR system generated texts from their voice input, and the CAT system translated the STR-generated texts in foreign languages into English. We aimed to investigate whether our approach would be useful to facilitate cross-cultural understanding and the intercultural sensitivity of the participants. Our results demonstrated that cross-cultural learning literally took place during the learning activity and that the intercultural sensitivity of the participants improved. Furthermore, low intelligibility and accuracy rates were obtained for Mongolian, Filipino, Hindi, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, while high intelligibility and accuracy rates were obtained for Spanish, Russian and French during the SELT process. Finally, our results showed that the students highly valued the application of SELT as support for the cross-cultural learning activity due to its ease of use, its ability to enable access to authentic content, and the collaboration that occurred among the participants. Based on our results, we provide some implications and useful suggestions to educators and researchers.     

Investigating the effectiveness of speech-to-text recognition applications on learning performance,attention, and meditation

In this study, the effectiveness of the application of speech-to-text recognition (STR) technology on enhancing learning and concentration in a calm state of mind, hereafter referred to as meditation (An intentional and self-regulated focusing of attention in order to relax and calm the mind), was investigated. This effectiveness was further explored with regard to foreign language ability and gender. Finally, students’ perceptions towards STR-texts were surveyed. 60 non-native English speaking undergraduates participated in this study. All students were randomly assigned into either a control or an experimental group, with 30 students in each group. Two lectures, both in English but at different levels of difficulty, were given in a classroom environment. Students in the control group received a lecture containing only a video of the instructor and slides; students in the experimental group received the video of the instructor and slides as well as STR-texts of the lecture. The following main findings were obtained: First, STR-texts had a positive effect on the learning performance, attention and meditation of students. In addition, most students had positive perceptions regarding the usefulness of STR-texts for learning. This is because students in the experimental group received instructional content in both verbal (i.e., speech) and visual (i.e., STR-texts) forms, which made the content more comprehensible and easier to process. Second, during lectures with STR, high ability and female students had higher levels of attention and meditation in most cases compared to their counterparts. This finding can be explained by the difference in learning motivation and in the use of learning strategies. That is, high ability and female students are more interested in learning and display greater use of various learning strategies. Based on these results, it is suggested that educators and researchers integrate STR-texts during lectures in English in order to enhance learning and to increase the level of attention and meditation of non-native English speaking students.     

Matching/mismatching in web-based learning: a perspective based on cognitive styles and physiological factors

Cognitive styles have been regarded as a crucial factor that affects the effectiveness of web-based learning (WBL). Previous research indicated that educational settings that match with students' cognitive styles can enhance students' learning performance, which is, however, linked to their emotion. Various physiological signals can be applied to measure emotion but the pulse is perhaps the most effective indicator. Thus, we conduct an exploratory research, which looks for a link between emotion and the matching/mismatching instructional approach with the condition of cognitive styles through a continuous pulse rate monitoring. The matching/mismatching instructional approach was delivered via a WBL system, which includes an index version and map version. The pulses of individual learners are collected by using a non-intrusive sensor. Our results indicate that the matching condition enables learners to feel more positive emotions than the mismatching condition, and is also linked to better learning performance.     

Courseware development with animated pedagogical agents in learning system to improve learning motivation

The addition of animated pedagogical agents (APAs) in computer-assisted learning (CAL) systems could successfully enhance students' learning motivation and engagement in learning activities. Conventionally, the APA incorporated multimedia materials are constructed through the cooperation of teachers and software programmers. However, the thinking and technical gap between two roles, a concept/content provider (teacher) and an implementer (software programmer), may lead to the concept distortion and loss in the final teaching material implementations. This often results in preventing a teacher from preparing his or her own APA-based multimedia learning systems. This study aims to develop a courseware to facilitate the CAL through the combination of the two roles into a single one and then teachers can use it freely by themselves. The courseware can help teachers to develop appropriate multimedia instructional materials incorporating APAs, which attracts students' attention and enhances their interest in learning. Furthermore, in this study two separate trial experiments were conducted to measure the teachers' satisfaction with the courseware and students' learning motivation after using APA-based multimedia learning systems. The results show that the participating teachers were satisfied with the courseware and would like to apply it in their instruction. Moreover, the participating students were strongly motivated by the customized APA-based multimedia learning systems. Therefore, the proposed courseware could give teachers a good opportunity to add pedagogical value to the curriculum, so that students' learning interest and motivation could be enhanced.