Case studies for technology-enhanced learning
Talk 1: Evidence-centered design for learning -- he proposes a model for learning in gaming that can demonstrate.
Three models:
1. Proficiency
2. evidence, and
3. task model
ECDL design procedure
1. Identify learning objects
2. For each LO, dterimine its purpose, establish quality criteria, define rules for evulating design, produce a design, evaluate against criteria, and apply fixes when possible
ECDL says thesee are the high-level things they care about:
1. Engagement
2. Accessibility
3. Validity
4. ??
5. ??
10 KSAs -- knowledge, skills, attributes; he suggests a matrix that allows you to
TALK 2: Do schools and educators play an important role in 'bridging' the digital divide?
Their model is a pyramid/tiered model that starts at the base with access to hardware, software, and the Internet, then to the middle with how teachers and students are actually using the hardware and software, and culminating at the top of empowering individual students.
They found significant trends across all forms of SES schools over time. But of course higher SES schools have more software and hardware overall, and their growth trends tend to be greater over time.
Conclusions include that there is a digital divide between the ways that high SES schools use design and development software, and more low SES schools use "content" (read: 'drill and kill') software.
TALK 3: Waterford reading program (WERP-1)
TALK 4: Webcasting in the classroom
Question 1: Does webcasting affect attendance? Attending lecture is preferred to webcast, but students are tempted to skip more often if they know there will be a webcast.
Question 2: Does it affect performance? No real results in the literature. If they skipped class because there was a webcast, their performance seems to suffer.
Question 3: Do students think it helps them? In general, they think it is very helpful to them.
Question 4: How do they use it? To review missed classes, to study prior to exams, instead of reviewing notes, and after attending live lecture.
Question 5: How often do they use them? Very often.
Quasi experimental design, with two sections of a large-enrollment course.
Results: attendance was lower in the webcast section than the no-webcast section. Students seem to skip classes. 36% reported that they often or always watched webcast instead of coming to class.
Performance on tests and quizzes was the same across both sections.
Comments
If the test and quiz scores were the same across both sections, attendance seems to be a moot point. Re: low SES schools, Many low SES schools have students who struggle in school. Students who struggle tend to need more of the drill & practice (at least in elementary grades) due to a variet of factors such as differences in early childhood education between low and high SES schools, etc. I know I'm making a generalization and this isn't true of all low SES schools, but the necessity of drill & practice seems to be especially true of reading. That doesn't mean that concepts aren't taught, but they need more practice with the concepts. I don't know the grade levels or the baseline performance level of the students in the study so it's hard to say much more.
Posted by: H. McLaughlin | April 18, 2008 02:29 PM