edmedia – e-Learning Blog

Oktober 8, 2021August 15, 2021

[publication] Change of IT equipment and communication applications used by first-semester students from 2011 to 2020 and possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of a long-term #tugraz #research #edil21

Our contribuation to this year ED-Media 2021 conference about „Change of IT equipment and communication applications used by first-semester students from 2011 to 2020 and possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of a long-term“ got published. The slides are already here online.

Abstract:
The technical equipment of first-year students and their preferred communication applications are changing. This paper presents the two latest, unpublished surveys of first-year students at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) from 2019 (N=824) and 2020 (N=955) and compares the results concerning devices and applications with the results of the surveys conducted since 2011. The analysis shows that laptops, desktop computers and smartphones are among the most important and widespread multifunctional devices, while the MP3 player in particular or the social media application Facebook have lost most of their former importance. The increasing importance of photo-based social media applications, first and foremost Instagram, is striking. If comparing the data from 2019 to those from 2020, the first academic year start that took place within the COVID-19 pandemic, the same applies to the use of Facebook and Facebook Messenger, which now only have the same minor significance as Telegram, Signal, Skype, or others. Concerning effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the equipment and communication tools used, the authors see a major impact on the prevalence of portable powerpacks.

[article @ learntechlib]
[preprint @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Nagler, W., Mair, B., Ebner, M., Edelsbrunner, S. & Schön, S. (2021). Change of IT equipment and communication applications used by first-semester students from 2011 to 2020 and possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis of a long-term survey. In T. Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 107-114). United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 15, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/219645/.

September 29, 2021Juli 28, 2021

[publication] Effects of Remote Learning on Practitioner Integration #tugraz #research #edil21

Our contribuation to this year ED-Media 2021 conference about „Effects of Remote Learning on Practitioner Integration“ got published. The slides are already here online.

Abstract:
The widespread inclusion of experts and practitioners in educational settings to teach and collaboratively learn can help alleviate a multitude of systemic problems. A new, inclusive path to teach youth the skills needed to utilise the problem solving approach named computational thinking is explored in this case study. During 2020 remote learning became ubiquitous and after a successful face to face workshop the consequences of a virtual environment were evaluated. This publication answers three questions based on an action research approach: What effect has remote learning on practitioner integration? What learning outcomes does a flipped classroom approach lead to? What lessons can be learned for a post-social-distancing world? Data was gathered during an expert driven virtual workshop, in an Austrian technical school with predominantly male students aged 17 to 18 (K-12). Analysis revealed the benefits of remote expert integration as relatively little overhead can establish practical knowledge and differentiated perspectives in an almost uninterrupted virtual workflow. The integration of practitioners should be made possible within virtual environments to minimise distraction and overhead if applicable. Despite its clear benefits a blended environment with additional face to face settings led to more interaction and excitement from the learners. Easy access to experts and practitioners is key to offer young people the tools necessary to face the challenges of the future.

[draft @ ResearchGate]
[final publication @ learntechlib]

Reference: Pollak, M., Sagbauer, N.N. & Ebner, M. (2021). Effects of Remote Learning on Practitioner Integration. In T. Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 389-400). United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved July 28, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/219684/

September 28, 2021Juli 27, 2021

[publication] Speech-based Learning with Amazon Alexa #tugraz #research #edil21

Our contribuation to this year ED-Media 2021 conference about „Speech-based Learning with Amazon Alexa“ got published. The slides are already here online.

Abstract:
Almost every child and adult today have access to the Internet and different technologies like smartphones, tablets and co. Scientists recognized this very quickly and started to create a whole new way of learning. Therefore, learning applications have been developed to increase student and adult interest in studying and training. This paper describes the development of a speech-based Alexa Skill for educational purposes. The main goal is to help students as well as adults to learn and train mathematical basic calculation types. The skill was designed in a way that young students as well as adults can interact with Alexa in their own words. Therefore, the skill „Mathe Rätsel“ (Eng.: „Math riddle“) offers two difficulties to meet the needs of young and old users.

[draft @ ResearchGate]
[article @ proceeding’s homepage]

Reference: Weiss, M., Ebner, M. & Ebner, M. (2021). Speech-based Learning with Amazon Alexa. In T. Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 156-163). United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved July 27, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/219651/.

September 27, 2021Juli 26, 2021

[publication] School Start Screening Tool #edil21 #research #app

Our contribuation to this year ED-Media 2021 conference about „School Start Screening Tool“ got published. The slides are already here online.

Abstract:
This paper concentrates on the implementation of a new screening method in Austrian schools to assess children and find out if they have any special educational needs in educational areas like phonology, counting, knowledge of letters and numbers and others. The underlying structure of the assignments was developed by developmental psychologists from the University of Graz and the University of Vienna and then implemented as a mobile application for Android tablets. For testing and evaluation purposes, the app’s prototype was first used voluntary by multiple Austrian schools. Furthermore, the mobile application had to be fully functional when offline as well as a central web application had to be developed to give the developmental psychologists access to the screening results. However, the main goal was to develop the application in a way that especially children without sufficient skills in reading and writing are able to understand the assignment’s tasks and to perform input.

[Draft @ ResearchGate]
[article @ LearnTechLib]

Reference: Krassnig, P., Ebner, M. & Ebner, M. (2021). School Start Screening Tool. In T. Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 213-226). United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved July 26, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/219660/.

Juli 14, 2021Juli 7, 2021

[presentation] Making of an Open Makerspace in a Secondary Vocational School in Austria: Development, Activities, User Behaviour and Gender Balance #edil21 #research

We were happy to present our research about „Making of an Open Makerspace in a Secondary Vocational School in Austria: Development, Activities, User Behaviour and Gender Balance “ at this year „EdMedia + Innovate Learning 2021“ conference.