[publication] Interactive Technology for Enhancing Distributed Learning: A Study on Weblogs

Our contribution to this year HCI 2009 conference about “Interactive Technology for Enhancing Distributed Learning: A Study on Weblogs” is now online available.
Abstract:

In this study, it was investigated whether, and to what extent, Web 2.0 technologies, actually Weblogs, can be a suitable instrument for enhancing the practice of distributed learning. In educational settings, which are based on traditional lectures many students begin serious study shortly before the exam. However, from previous empirical research, it is known that the practice of distributed learning is much more conducive to retaining knowledge than that of massed learning. A 2*2 factorial design (within – repeated measures) with pre-test and post-test in a real life setting was applied; the study lasted for the whole summer term 2007. Participants were N=28 computer science undergraduates of Graz University of Technology. We randomly assigned them to two groups of equal size: The experimental group given the Weblog treatment are referred to as Group W; whereas the control group with no access are referred to as Group C. Students of group W were instructed to use the Weblog for developing their paper and studying during the lecture and they were requested not to reveal their group affiliation. The results showed that performance scores of group W were significantly higher than that of group C. This demonstrates that Weblogs can be an appropriate instrument to supplement a classical lecture in order to enable deeper processing of information over a longer period of time, consequently resulting in enhanced learning performance.

Reference: Holzinger, A.; Kickmeier-Rust, M.; Ebner, M. (2009) Interactive Technology for Enhancing Distributed Learning: A Study on Weblogs, Proceedings of HCI 2009 The 23nd British HCI Group Annual Conference, Cambridge, London, pp. 309-312

The PrePrint is available here.

Online Round Table – In preparation for Educamp Graz

educamp_logoI am very happy that I can announce again three very exciting Online Round Tables in preparation for our EduCamp here in Graz:

As we have grown used to, the Online Round tables, in preparation for the upcoming Educamp Event (November 6-7, in Austria), are back!
Once again, the online sessions will be supported by the JISC sponsored EVOLVE Community. Graham Attwell and Cristina Costa, two of the co-founders of EVOLVE, will co-moderate the online events. Together with Martin Ebner they will organise these events. Three sessions will be offered prior to the face to face event in Graz, Austria.

Please found all details here – the date, the theme and the exciting speakers.
Furthermore the registration for Graz at edumixxt is open till now.

[publication] How Web 2.0 Enhance Knowledge Construction in Civil Engineering

Our research article about the use of Web 2.0 technologies in Civil Engineering Education “How Web 2.0 Enhance Knowledge Construction in Civil Engineering” has been published.
Abstract:

At Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) lots of experience using multimedia or internet based applications in higher education has been gathered. Especially in the field of civil engineering we can refer to a seven year long practical employment. During the very first e-Learning boom at universities in Austria in 2001 some projects in the field of civil engineering have been started in order to investigate the possibilities of web-based education. Nowadays a radical change of the Web, often called Web 2.0, offers possibilities, which can change the e-Education dramatically. The use of Wikis and Weblogs lead to a more collaborative teaching and learning process. Podcasts, in the same way as web based software helps to support the learner of today in a much more efficient way as in the years before.
This paper will discuss how modern technologies can be used in the field of Civil Engineering Education and will show a lot of practical examples of today’s effort in this field at TU Graz. The authors conclude that e-Education will play a very important role in the future of higher education. Bearing in mind that learners of today are the working society of tomorrow this change leads to arbitrarily new situations. Has industry to prepare for a new kind of generation?

Reference: Ebner, M. (2009) How Web 2.0 Enhance Knowledge Construction in Civil Engineering, A. Starcic and M. Kovac (ed.), University & Industry – Knowledge Transfer and Innovation, WSEAS Press, Athen, 2009, p. 77-101

Here you will get the Draftversion.

[CfP] ED-Media 2010 (Toronto/Canada)

Nachdem die heurige ED-Media Konferenz vorüber ist, gibt es ab sofort den Call for Papers (Deadline 18. Dezember 2009) für die nextjährige die in Toronto in Kanada stattfinden wird:

ED-MEDIA – World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications is an international conference, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

This annual conference serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information on the research, development, and applications on all topics related to multimedia, hypermedia and telecommunications/distance education.

Open Content about Technology Enhanced Learning

Till now a new blogpage will help to give an overview about usable content from us – we like to share our eBooks mainly about the topics “Web 2.0, elearning and mlearning” to a worldwide community as well as our given presentations.
Here we will list all useful contributions and please do not hesitate to use it. We would also be very happy if you will us give feedback or report problems.

[publication] Emotion Detection: Application of the Valence Arousal Space for Rapid Biological Usability Testing to enhance Universal Access

A Draftversion of our publication “Emotion Detection: Application of the Valence Arousal Space for Rapid Biological Usability Testing to enhance Universal Access” at this year HCII Conference is now online available.
Abstract:

Emotion is an important mental and physiological state, influencing cognition, perception, learning, communication, decision making, etc. It is considered as a definitive important aspect of user experience (UX), although at least well developed and most of all lacking experimental evidence. This paper deals with an application for emotion detection in usability testing of software.
It describes the approach to utilize the valence arousal space for emotion modeling in a formal experiment. Our study revealed correlations between low performance and negative emotional states. Reliable emotion detection in usability tests will help to prevent negative emotions and attitudes iproducts. This can be a great advantage to enhance Universal Access.

Reference: Stickel, C.; Ebner, M.; Steinbach-Nordmann, S.; Searle, G.; Holzinger, A. (2009) Emotion Detection: Application of the Valence Arousal Space for Rapid Biological Usability Testing to enhance Universal Access. – in: Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science. (2009) In Press
Here you will find the Draftversion and here the slides.

[publication] A Study on the Compatibility of Ubiquitous Learning (u-Learning) Systems at University Level

A Draftversion of our publication “A Study on the Compatibility of Ubiquitous Learning (u-Learning) Systems at University Level” at this year HCII Conference is now online available.
Abstract:

Graz University of Technology has a long tradition in the design, development and research of university wide Learning Management Systems
(LMS). Inspired by the iPhone Style, the available system has now been extended by the addition of a mobile viewer, which grants the student mobile accessibility to all available online content. In this paper, we report on the lessons learned within a study on user experience with this specially designed LMS mobile viewer. The User Experience (UX) was measured by application of a 26 item questionnaire including the six factors Attractiveness, Perspicuity, Efficiency, Dependability, Stimulation and Novelty, according to Laugwitz et al. (2008). The results showed high rates of acceptance, although the novelty of our approach received a surprisingly low rating amongst the novice end users.

Reference: Ebner, M.; Stickel, C.; Scerbakov, N.; Holzinger, A. (2009) A Study on the Compatibility of Ubiquitous Learning (u-Learning) Systems at University Level . – in: Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science. (2009), S. 34 – 43
Here you will find the Draftversion and here the slides.

[publication] Mixing Content and Endless Collaboration – MashUps: Towards Future Personal Learning Environments

A Draftversion of our publication “Mixing Content and Endless Collaboration – MashUps: Towards Future Personal Learning Environments” at this year HCII Conference is now online available.
Abstract:

The recent movement by major Web services towards making many application programming interfaces (APIs) available for public use has led to the development of the new MashUp technology, a method of merging content, services and applications from multiple web sites. The new technology is now being successfully applied in the academic community to enrich and improve learning and teaching applications. This paper examines its implementation and use, discusses methods and styles of usage and highlights the advantages and
disadvantages of client and server application, based on related work and recent experiences gathered with a large university-wide open learning management system (WBT-Master/TeachCenter of Graz allows lecturers to use diverse web resources.

Reference: Auinger, A.; Ebner, M.; Dietmar, N.; Holzinger, A. (2009)
Mixing Content and Endless Collaboration – MashUps: Towards Future Personal Learning Environments. – in: Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science. (2009) In Press
Here you will find the Draftversion and here the slides.

[publication] Intuitive E-Teaching by Using Combined HCI Devices: Experiences with Wiimote Applications

A Draftversion of our publication “Intuitive E-Teaching by Using Combined HCI Devices: Experiences with Wiimote Applications” at this year HCII Conference is now online available.
Abstract:

The wide availability of game based technologies and sophisticated e-Learning possibilities creates new demands and challenges on Human–Computer Interaction and Usability Engineering (HCI&UE). Solid research in HCI must support improvement in learning ability and creativity for both teachers and students. According to recent market surveys the Wii remote controller or Wiimote is currently more wide spread than standard Tablet PCs and is the most used computer input device worldwide. As a collection of many sensors, also including Bluetooth technology, accelerometers and IR sensors, Wiimote is of great interest for HCI experiments, especially in the area of e-Learning and e-Teaching. In this paper, we present results gained from the investigation of the potential of Wiimote as both a standard input device – such as mouse or presenter – and as a gesture and finger tracking sensor. We demonstrate, on the basis of examples from e-Teaching, how easily everyday gestures can be interpreted in regular computer applicationhardware modules and some additional software modules.

Reference: Holzinger, A.; Softic, S.; Stickel, C.; Ebner, M.; Debevc, M. (2009) Intuitive E-Teaching by Using Combined HCI Devices: Experiences with Wiimote Applications. – in: Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS 5616). (2009), S. 44 – 52
Here you will find the Draftversion.