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[publication] Implementation of Interactive Learning Objects for German Language Acquisition in Primary School based on Learning Analytics Measurements #edil2020 #tugraz #alexa #TEL

At this year EDMedia conference (online) we did a publication about „Implementation of Interactive Learning Objects for German Language Acquisition in Primary School based on Learning Analytics Measurements“.

Abstract:
Obviously, reading and writing are important qualities nowadays, likely more so than ever before. Whether that be in school, work or everyday life, it is a skill set that is omnipresent. This is also evident by the countless contributions that are created and published on various online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or WhatsApp. In order to avoid being misunderstood, it is crucial to have the ability to express one’s written thoughts in a structured and error-free manner. To help children in the early age with their spelling skills, the IDeRBlog platform provides a possibility to reach their goals and support their German spelling learning process. On this platform children can create own blog entries which are then corrected by teachers and an intelligent dictionary before they can finally publish it. Mistakes made by the kids are evaluated and on basis of these mistakes, exercises can be recommended so that the kids can improve their spelling. This paper will present these exercises (also called learning objects), which should help children to practice writing, reading and also listening carefully. It focuses not only on the evaluation setup and process but also results will be explained in the end.

[Draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Burazer, M., Ebner, M. & Ebner, M. (2020). Implementation of Interactive Learning Objects for German Language Acquisition in Primary School based on Learning Analytics Measurements. In Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 672-679). Online, The Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

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[publication] Practitioner Integration in Computational Thinking Education #edil20 #CT #tugraz

At this year EDMedia conference (online) we did a publication about „Practitioner Integration in Computational Thinking Education“.

Abstract:
This pilot study implemented an expert driven participatory workshop in a rural Austrian economic school. An action research approach was utilised to introduce the problem solving method named computational thinking (CT) to students aged 16 to 18 (K-12) in five after school workshop sessions. This research revealed the basic benefits of industry expert integration in a classroom setting with the aim to develop sustainable interdisciplinary interfaces that allow schools and individual teachers to independently showcase possible pathways. Drawbacks of the methods were identified, for example the high overhead efforts currently required without interfaces between practitioners and educators in place or the demanding time requirements. To create a strong, inclusive path to CT education for all young minds, these challenges need to be addressed and ultimately overcome with the support of all involved stakeholders.

[Draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Pollak, M. & Ebner, M. (2020). Practitioner Integration in Computational Thinking Education. In Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 570-580). Online, The Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved July 14, 2020 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/217354/.

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[publication] The use of Alexa for mass education #edil2020 #tugraz #alexa #TEL

At this year EDMedia conference (online) we did a publication about „The Use of Alexa for Mass education“.

Abstract:
The amount of digitalized information increases day by day. Everyone connected to the internet through different devices or interfaces can acquire information of specific topics and interests at every time on every place. Nowadays, nearly every child owns a mobile device or at least has access to a mobile device connected to the internet. The main focus of children is to watch videos or play games on their device, so they always see it as an interesting, entertaining virtual friend. The use of mobile devices containing apps which deliver selected information opens a very interesting channel to deliver knowledge in a hidden way to children. This research deals with the development of an Alexa skill prototype to train 1×1 calculation skills of children in primary school in a very funny and playfully way. To evaluate the speech-assistant technology connected to an education game, a field study in was realized. As the Alexa speech-assistant is anyway absolutely magnetic to children, the feedback of the 1×1 calculation skill was better than expected and motivated us to enhance the base functionalities.

[Draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Schoegler, P., Ebner, M. & Ebner, M. (2020). The Use of Alexa for Mass Education. In Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 721-730). Online, The Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

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[publication] A Pedagogical Framework for Mixed Reality in Classrooms based on a Literature Review #VR #AR #tugraz #research

Our publication about „A Pedagogical Framework for Mixed Reality in Classrooms based on a Literature Review“ at this year ED-Media conference in Amsterdam is online available:

Virtual reality devices are not an invention of the previous years. In fact, those are applicable since the 60s and therefore many scholars have elaborated in the potential of virtual reality as a learning platform. There are many diverse ways to integrate these techniques into the classroom. Affordable devices in combination with concepts like making legitimate the usage for learning. Pedagogical motivation factors like collaborations and gamification amply justify the usage of modern VR technologies as a learning platform. A variety of application have been used already in classrooms but in higher education, there is a need to catch up. Those examples have been divided by the way they make use of virtual systems and how they provide supervision. This literature review describes the functional classification of virtual reality, how it typically applies to learning and how it represents the key features for a didactically valuable usage. As a result of the literature research, a framework for the use of mixed reality in education has been developed allowing to spot new capabilities for the implementation of future VR or AR applications. This paper will also clarify the proper direction of development and the potential impact on future educational domains.

[Draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Kommetter, C. & Ebner, M. (2019). A Pedagogical Framework for Mixed Reality in Classrooms based on a Literature Review. In J. Theo Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 901-911). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

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[publication] Business models for Open Educational Resources: how to exploit OER after a funded project? #OER #research

Our publication about „Business models for Open Educational Resources: how to exploit OER after a funded project?“ at this year ED-Media conference in Amsterdam is online available:

Open Educational Resources (OER) projects often face the challenge of how to sustain and develop further the resources after the initial project funding comes to an end. OER are provided for free and open for anybody to re-use, modify and distribute. How than can the producers exploit the resources, are there any feasible business models, especially models which could remove or at least reduce dependence on limited and insecure funding? This article presents results of a survey of literature on OER business models and an overview of models identified in the literature. For projects which developed a learning program with OER the freemium model is being considered as a promising model.

[Draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Geser, G., Schön, S. & Ebner, M. (2019). Business models for Open Educational Resources: how to exploit OER after a funded project?. In J. Theo Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 1519-1525). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

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[publication] Automatic Authentication of Students at an Interactive Learning-Video Platform #tugraz #edil19 #edmedia19 #research

Our publication about „Automatic Authentication of Students at an Interactive Learning-Video Platform“ at this year ED-Media conference in Amsterdam is online available:

There are many reasons for the implementation of authentication on learning platforms. For instance, it is required for the teachers to identify individual students if the learning platform offers some kind of assessment. In addition, authentication is the base for a successful monitoring of the attendance of the students. Compulsory attendance is often applied because many positive effects have been reported by authors of several studies. To monitor the attendance at online videos interactive components can be applied. Another benefit of such interactive components is that they help retain the attention of the students. This study was carried out to examine how the students used a video learning platform which provides interactive components of the videos as part of a course offered at Graz University of Technology. Up until now, a major drawback of this platform has been that the students have been required to register manually on the platform. Now, students are able to use the platform without manual registration and authentication, because these steps happen automatically via the main learning platform that provides all of the course materials. Furthermore, the course design and the application of the interactive components, presenting multiple-choice questions, are evaluated. It is pointed out that the concept improves the performance of the students and equips the teacher with valuable feedback regarding the students‘ interests.

[draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Wachtler, J., Scherz, M. & Ebner, M. (2019). Automatic Authentication of Students at an Interactive Learning-Video Platform. In J. Theo Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 569-582). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

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[publication] Introducing Electrical Engineering to Children with an Open Workshop Station at a Maker Days for Kids Event #tugraz #research #makereducation

Our publication about „Introducing Electrical Engineering to Children with an Open Workshop Station at a Maker Days for Kids Event“ at this year ED-Media conference in Amsterdam is online available:

The world is changing through the Digitalization trend such as Industry 4.0 where manufacturing transforms from quantity production to individual production. For enabling this transition, we need more skilled professionals in STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) related fields. For this reason, in the last years special STEAM projects have been introduced inside and outside the school environment to attract more children to these fields. One of them is the Maker-Days-for-Kids-concept where a temporary Maker Space is created based on open workshops. In this publication, we introduce a novel electrical engineering station concept for a temporary Maker Space for children. The station will contain basic and advanced workshops to introduce typical tools and methodologies of the electrical engineering domain. Furthermore, we also offer statistics about the station at the event, challenges the attendees had to struggle with as well as the lessons we learned during the event. The evaluation will be used to improve the current workshop concept for future events to increase the interests in electrical engineering.

[draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Strasser, A., Grandl, M. & Ebner, M. (2019). Introducing Electrical Engineering to Children with an Open Workshop Station at a Maker Days for Kids Event. In J. Theo Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 790-799). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

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[publication] Professor YouTube and Their Interactive Colleagues How Enhanced Videos and Online Courses Change the Way of Learning #youtube #tugraz #research #edil19 #digitalnatives

Our publication about „Professor YouTube and Their Interactive Colleagues How Enhanced Videos and Online Courses Change the Way of Learning“ at this year ED-Media conference in Amsterdam is online available:

Although, videos for teaching and learning have been established for many years, transferring of knowledge has changed tremendously within the past decade. Students increasingly consume learning content via videos. In this context, the triumph of YouTube in becoming a main source for learning is astonishing. In combination with an increasing use of online courses, videos however, also need to be focused from a didactical perspective. This fact is one out of a couple of interesting results from 2018’s survey amongst first-year students of Graz University of Technology. This survey focuses on the student’s IT preferences and competence; it has been executed annually since 2007. Based on more than 9500 datasets, this long-term survey records changes in ownership of students‘ IT equipment, IT driven communicative behavior, and use of apps as well as social media services over a period of twelve years. One further remarkable result is the very clear rejection of Facebook. Currently, even SMS is more frequently used than Facebook. Thus, it can be stated that Facebook is no longer a major platform for first-year students.

[draft @ ResearchGate]

Reference: Nagler, W., Haas, M., Schön, M. & Ebner, M. (2019). Professor YouTube and Their Interactive Colleagues How Enhanced Videos and Online Courses Change the Way of Learning. In J. Theo Bastiaens (Ed.), Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 641-650). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).