The purpose of the study is to explore particular challenges faced when designing virtual environments for children with autism, with the purpose of training social skills. Our findings are based on studying autistic behaviour during three years (primary and secondary sources), analysis of related system and other computer mediated assistive technology, as well as general game design. From these studies we have identified eight critical design parameters that need to be adjustable in a system suitable for autistic persons. The parameters importance, their variation range, as well as the need for independent adjustment of these were estimated and verified by experienced expert pedagogues.
The aim of the study was to explore particular challenges faced when designing virtual environments for children with autism, with the purpose of training social skills. Our findings are based on studying autistic behavior during three years (primary and secondary sources), analysis of related system and other computer mediated assistive technology, as well as general game design. From these studies, we have identified eight critical design parameters that must be adjustable in a system suitable for autistic persons. The importance of the parameters, their variation range, as well as the need for independent adjustment of these were estimated and verified by experienced expert pedagogues. Copyright © Freund Publishing House Limited.
Being the first university in the world to provide doctoral program in Work-integrated Learning (WIL), we face the challenge of how to integrate doctoral courses into the WIL philosophy, which is the profile of the University West, Sweden. To exemplify what we mean by such a notion of integration, we introduce and demonstrate our proposed ontological approach to integrate a PhDcourse into the fundamental concepts underpinning WIL. The WIL within the context of informatics research (which is a subfield of the IS discipline) playsfive different roles of (1) the main course content, (2) the target occupation ofthe students and occupational field of the teachers, (3) the analytical perspective of the research activities in the course, (4) the educational method where teachers and students conduct collaborative research activities as a cognitive apprenticeship learning model, and (5) a co-authored research paper as outcome.The outcomes of such a conducted approach and lessons learned from the course will be thoroughly described. In the course, a meta-analysis of WIL informatics research will be performed to examine four dimensions which are: theories relevant for WIL; methods used in WIL research; occupational fields in WIL informatics studies; and roles of technology in WIL research. The course is arranged in the these phases: Local investigation; locally rooted research within the informatics field is examined by the course participants in dialogue with the authors of a number of published articles in order to see the extent and the how aspects of these identified WIL-oriented research work; Local synthesis; both teachers and the PhD students (i.e., course participants) explore the results and synthesize a local WIL-model; Global overview; a number of related international literature is selected and studied; Global synthesis; The local WIL model is compared to the global investigation. Co-authoring; a research paper is co-authored by the course participants and presented at a conference. By doing so, we enhance our understandings and thus contribute to one additional practical application of WIL's pedagogical philosophy, which influences the course content, the course format, the activities, the teaching-learning model,and the outcome of the course.
This paper describes the rationale behind the concrete steps how we systematically have gone through the case selection process as the first phase of a research project named Consequences of the Digitalization of Schools. The project is a single-case longitudinal (5-year long) study and adopts a so called Whole-School Approach. Previous research has criticized case studies for lack of both systematic approach and transparency in the presentation of the case selection process. The purpose of the presentation of this case selection process is to contribute to enhancing understanding of and broadening knowledge on systematic and transparent case selection techniques. The SIRIS database has been used to select a typical Swedish primary school in the chosen municipality where the project will be conducted. The SIRIS database contains annually statistics from all primary schools in Sweden, and is available online for public use. We demonstrate how and why a particular school representing a so called typical school was selected as our case.
This report describes the possibilities of information and communication technology (ICT) in stroke care, addressing a person-centered care (PCC) approach. Attention is paid to user involvement, design, videogames, and communication between health care professionals mutually as well as with patients, and how to share performance data with an electronic health record. This is the first step towards a supportive ICT system that facilitates interoperability, making healthcare information and services available to citizen’s across organizational boundaries.
We have now started testing a telehealth system for stroke rehabilitation in a rural area in Sweden (NU- Hospital Group Area). For collection of assessments and audiovisual communication, the telehealth system has bidirectional contact with the home-based units. To date, three stroke subjects’ participated; they were instructed to play 3D computer games with the hemiplegic upper extremity. The intervention led to clinical changes for all subjects. The analysis of the audiovisual communication revealed that the both stroke subjects and therapists were not yet effective in regulating their turn taking process. The data suggests the feasibility of a distance based approach using 3D virtual environments for upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke.
Robots are entering the classrooms and provide new opportunities for education. Educational robots can either be used for programming, or as new types of social actors where these robots are designed to play different roles such as teachers, tutors, peers or tutees. However, new social actors affect the scene for learning by altering the social dynamics in the classroom, which in turn affects the roles of the other actors. In this study we explore the role of teachers in robot-enhanced classrooms, and ask the question: What new teacher roles emerge when robots enter the classroom as social actors? In this study we explore a setting where a student plays an educational mathematics game together with a humanoid robot on an interactive whiteboard, guided and supported by teachers and peers from the class. Four classes of school children in 2nd and 41h grade participated and played for about 5 minutes each. The game playing sessions were video-recorded, and 32 sessions were randomly selected, transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed using Interaction Analysis. Situations in which the teacher acted were analyzed to investigate when and why the teacher intervened and what types of support that was provided to the student. Results show that the teacher took several roles during the sessions. Traditional roles include moderator organizing the learning and managing social interactions as well as educator supporting the student’s learning by scaffolding mathematical problems and game-playing strategies. In addition, the teacher had to act technical facilitator handling problems and challenges with using the robot, and the role as interaction mentor guiding and supporting the student to manage the social interaction with the robot. The latter two roles are challenging and unfamiliar to most teachers. We conclude that using robots as social actors in education introduce new, challenging teacher roles requiring substantial and specific digital competence.
The idea of using social robots for teaching and learning has become increasingly prevalent and robots are assigned various roles in different educational settings. However, there are still few authentic studies conducted over time. Our study explores teachers’ perceptions of a learning activity in which a child plays a digital mathematics game together with a humanoid robot. The activity is based on the idea of learning-by-teaching where the robot is designed to act as a tutee while the child is assigned the role of a tutor. The question is how teachers perceive and talk about the robot in this collaborative child-robot learning activity? The study is based on data produced during a 2-years long co-design process involving teachers and students. Initially, the teachers reflected on the general concept of the learning activity, later in the process they participated in authentic game-play sessions in a classroom. All teachers’ statements were transcribed and thematically coded, then categorized into two different perspectives on the robot: as a social actor or didactic tool. Activity theory was used as an analytical lens to analyze these different views. Findings show that the teachers discussed the activity’s purpose, relation to curriculum, child-robot collaboration, and social norms. The study shows that teachers had, and frequently switched between, both robot-perspectives during all topics, and their perception changed during the process. The dual perspectives contribute to the understanding of social robots for teaching and learning, and to future development of educational robot design.
The journey from being a new Ph. D.-candidate towards passing the doctorate grade is often a bumpy road with both unexpected and complex challenges that has to be turned in to learning experiences that adds to progression. In this paper we describe the development and use of a tool (the Goalkeeper) designed to support, structure and visualize this journey. It is a tool for supervisors, doctorate students as well as people responsible for quality assurance of a doctorate education. Based on our experiences of having utilised the tool we argue that it is important that the implementation of such a tool is firmly grounded in a quality culture where support of progression and formative assessment dominate over summative assessment and control.
Abstract: New technologies have always teased the imagination of avant-garde artists on how to challenge existing cultural paradigms. For instance, experience design for the creative industries of today provides exciting challenges with a potential to innovate practices and creating new ways of interaction between the artist and her audience. In an ongoing research project we aim at framing the design space for virtual experiences. The paper presents and discusses the role of technology in such context and use three ongoing case studies where ICT has been used to augment and support consumers of cultural experiences. The analysis shows how technology-driven interventions are less oriented towards radical change compared to interventions that are rooted in their nondigital origins. 1.
New technologies have always teased the imagination of avant-garde artists on how to challenge existing cultural paradigms. For instance, experience design for the creative industries of today provides exciting challenges with a potential to innovate practices and creating new ways of interaction between the artist and her audience. In an ongoing research project we aim at framing the design space for virtual experiences. The paper presents and discusses the role of technology in such context and use three ongoing case studies where ICT has been used to augment and support consumers of cultural experiences. The analysis shows how technology-driven interventions are less oriented towards radical change compared to interventions that are rooted in their nondigital origins.
One of the main criteria of effectively managing emergency and crisis situations is good preparedness. Simulation and serious games (SSG) are often advocated as promising technologies supporting training and increasing the skills necessary to deal with new, complex and often unexpected situations. This paper is based on an investigation of why a seemingly appropriate SSG technology was not used long after procurement. We identified potential obstacles and challenges of SSG implementation in organizations responsible for societal safety. The focus is on fire fighter training and is based on 33 interviews with major stakeholders from seven countries, from organizations with successful as well as unsuccessful experiences of SSG use. By contrasting the different incentives and views regarding the technology use, this paper contributes to a better understanding of challenges related to SSG implementation and use. The results confirm the possible benefits of SSGs, but also highlight an urgent need for new approaches to integrate these new technologies into organizational practices. Only by formulating local, organizational strategies with the SSG use can the technology be implemented successfully
This paper explores the role of boundaries in a co-design process and how design work can be organized in order to manage the existing boundaries. The source of boundaries in design lies in the interface and dynamics between use practices, design practices and work practices.We will benefit from the boundary literature in order to contribute to practice-based design approaches in general, and to co-design approaches in particular.The researchis based on empirical data from a 2-year co-design process within the home care sector; involving participants from several professional groups: caregivers and care recipients. This paper focuses primarily on the caregivers (practitioners), the care recipients (elderly) and the designers. We particularly take into account the diversity of the participants in the co-design initiative and how these participants (representing two user groups) influenced the design process over time, and how their participation enabled the crossing of boundaries and the creation of a new boundary practice. Finally, the role of the designer is discussed in terms of redirecting its function towards facilitation instead of negotiation.
The purpose of the project has been to develop a process through which users, staff as well as patients, can be involved in field evaluations of medical and healthcare technology. Interviews with different stakeholders and the experiences from four case studies have led to the following conclusions. Users have the potential to act as active evaluators rather than passive subjects or participants only. However, user involvement in field evaluations must be supported by a formation of facilitators or 'door openers' to the healthcare organisation, moderators enhancing the dialogue between developers and users, and mentors for the users acting as evaluators
The purpose of the project has been to develop a process through which users, staff as well as patients, can be involved in field evaluations of medical and healthcare technology. Interviews with different stakeholders and the experiences from four case studies have led to the following conclusions. Users have the potential to act as active evaluators rather than passive subjects or participants only. However, user involvement in field evaluations must be supported by a formation of facilitators or 'door openers' to the healthcare organisation, moderators enhancing the dialogue between developers and users, and mentors for the users acting as evaluators.
The design of sonic environments is in need of more active strategies, taking into account not only the physical but also the social and sensorial aspects of a place. This implies abandoning traditional, mono-disciplinary responses in favour of interdisciplinary methods and approaches. In this study we explored the possibility of inserting context-sensitive sound textures to improve the experience of an activity-based office workplace. For this purpose, we developed the concept of the ’sound bubble’ - a micro-space in which the user is embedded by a semi-transparent added sound environment that will operate as a subtle sound mask, attracting the attention without needing to hide the disturbing environment. This should help users (the workers) to stay in an ’everyday listening’ mode. This means, not focusing on the environment in particular but on their tasks, while preserving the link with the surrounding space and activities.
In the context of extended reality, the term immersion is commonly used as a property denoting to which extent a technology can deliver an illusion of reality while occluding the users’ sensory access to the physical environment. In this paper we discuss an alternative interpretation of immersion, used in the My Sound Space project. The project is a research endeavor aiming to develop a sound environment system that enables a personalized sound space suitable for individual work places. The medium, which in our case is sound, is transparent and thus becomes an entangled part of the surrounding environment. This type of immersion is only partly occluding the users sensory access to physical reality. The purpose of using the sound space is not to become immersed by the sounds, rather to use the sounds to direct cognitive attention to get immersed in another cognitive activity. © 2018 Association for Computing Machinery.
This paper addresses the problem of sound disturbance in open office environments. We have in a design-based research study explored how digital, real time generated sound can be added to a work environment and how these sound environments are perceived by respondents when performing work tasks. In this first explorative study we have chosen to focus on designing a digital sound system for activity-based offices, where the physical environment is already designed for particular activities. Our approach is to explore if adding appropriate acoustic designs to the ambient environment can enhance workplaces. Our results show that test subjects perceived that acoustic design could enhance the ambient environments if the acoustic design is pertinent with the environment as a whole.
This paper address the problem of sound disturbance in open office environments. We have in a design-based research study explored how digital, real time generated sound can be added to a work environment and how these sound environments are perceived by respondents when performing work tasks. Being such a complex situation, we have in this first explorative study chosen to focus on designing a digital sound system for activity-based offices, where the physical environment is already designed for particular activities. Our approach is to explore if workplaces can be enhanced by adding appropriate acoustic designs to the ambient environment. Our results show that test subjects perceived that acoustic design could enhance the ambient environments if the acoustic design is pertinent with the environment as a whole.
A growing number of organizations are moving towards more open and collaborative workplaces. In these offices workers share a common open space, often with flexible seating based on activities, so called activity-based offices. Most problems in these workplaces are related to sound. Thus, the question of how to design suitable acoustic environments, supporting both collaborative and individual work, has emerged. Noise-reduction approaches do not suffice. In this study we explored the possibility of adding context-sensitive, activity-based sound environments to enhance the office workplace. For this purpose, we developed the “sound bubble,” a prototype for individual work, sonically immersing the listener and generating a sensation of an encapsulating sonic environment. A total of 43 test subjects participated in an experience-based test using the sound bubble prototype while conducting self-selected, ordinary work tasks in their office landscape. Their behaviors during the test were observed and documented. All participants took a post-experience questionnaire about experiences working in the sound bubble, and two subjects were interviewed. The responses show that the sound bubble can enhance auditory work conditions for individual work that demands concentration.
Moving towards more open and collaborative workplaces has been an emerging trend in the last decades. This change has led to workers sharing a common open space, with seating’s based on current activity, so called activity-based offices. Consequently, it becomes difficult to design sonic environments that cater to different needs in the same space. In this study we explored the possibility of adding site-specific but location-adaptive sound environments to enhance the experience of an activity-based office workplace. For this purpose, we developed the concept of the “sound bubble,” a micro-space in which the user is embedded by a semi-transparent sound environment. The purpose of the bubble is to help the user ignore irrelevant and disturbing noise while working in an open landscape. The sound bubble supports the user to stay in “everyday listening” mode, i.e., not focusing on anything particular in the surrounding environment while being able to keep a link with it. The sound bubble was evaluated by a total of 43 test subjects participating in an experience-based test, conducting their usual work tasks in an office landscape. Our results show that the sound bubble can enhance auditory work conditions for individual work requiring concentration.
This is an EU-funded project related to cross boarder collaboration for educational purposes supported by information and communication technologies between Danish, Norwegian and Swedish schools. The project started in 2011 and extends to 2014 so this empirically dominated paper reports on early findings related to cross-border collaboration challenges. The aim of the project is to develop innovative cross-border teaching models by the means of user-driven, practice-based co-design processes between practitioners and researchers. In the first year, 18 classes from 13 schools in Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the Öresund-Kattegatt-Skagerack region participated. Organized in so called Nordic class-match groups (consisting of students and teachers from one class in each country) new cross-border teaching models are co-created, tested and evaluated in an iterative process. Since teaching models are subject dependent, the project develop teaching models in several subject domains, i.e. math, language, science and social studies / history. Heretofore findings show, however, that organizational and technical issues have superseded and squeezed out subject-oriented discussions due to surprisingly many practical issues that needed to be handled first. We have identified three major thresholds to overcome. The first is related to technical difficulties in schools when diverse IT systems are to be synchronized. The second threshold concerns scheduling coordination difficulties in order to allow synchronous cross boarder collaboration. The third threshold concerns linguistic and communication difficulties rooted in participants communicating in their respective Nordic language. Being able to communicate within Nordic languages are explicit learning goals in all three schools systems, and therefore part of the project aim and consequently all participants are expected to use their native languages when communicating. The next phase of the project is therefore to find solutions to these technical, organizational and linguistic barriers, and already now we see some barrier breaking models taking shape in the active network of Nordic teachers, students, school leaders, IT support teams and researchers.
Current trends among business companies imply that sources of human competencies are spread across intra-organisational and inter-organisational units into networks of organisations of different kinds. This paper explores the challenges for design of competence management systems (CMS) raised by inter-organisational collaboration in a network of private companies. We take the point of departure from the co-workers’ abilitly to explore and manage their competence. The research question to be answered is: How can a network perspective on competence management systems empower co-workers? The paper presents findings from an on-going research project aiming at identifying design implications of a network competence management system (nCMS), where the role of the individual is valued crucial for its success. We argue that there is a need to take a critical stand towards common assumptions of CMS as a tool for intra organisational strategic work - instead a nCMS should empower the individual member of the network organization.
Designing for learning at work in a manner that embraces the rich situatedness of practice involves a number of challenges in bridging normative and descriptive perspectives, as well as closing the gap between IS design theory and practice. In this paper, we propose a grounded approach that combines influence from learning theories with studies of existing learning practices. This approach could result in learning models, constituted of a sequence of learning activities that outlines the didactics of the workplace. The arguments are based on the empirical findings from an action-oriented research project in collaboration with six SME:s, and are illustrated through a e-learning model called “The Competence Kick-off”.
This paper presents lessons learned from an action research venture involving a network of SMEs and a group of IS researchers. The purpose is to discuss some fundamental methodological issues that we learned when doing action research with a network of interrelated organizations, rather than report the action research project itself. Our results are presented as four dualities that should be addressed throughout diagnostic and therapeutical activities in a network action research project. The dualities (teach–learn, local–global, multifaceted–unified, and liquid–crystal) are forwarded as analytical scaffolds to cope with the inherent difficulties of understanding and acting in IS action research projects, especially network action research.
We present a study of integrating an educational game in special math education, to explore challenges faced during the process. The game promotes an unconventional approach supporting students having math difficulties, through visual representations, learn-by-exploration and learn-by-teaching models. Our conclusion is that integration in special education is more challenging than in the main stream counterpart, due to social vulnerability of the students, learning/teaching challenges in content, motivation and attitude, a non-typical learning situation, and the challenge of matching learning peers.
In this paper we will describe a learning environment designed to foster conceptual understanding and reasoning in mathematics among younger school children. The learning environment consists of 48 2-player game variants based on a graphical model of arithmetic where the mathematical content is intrinsically interwoven with the game idea. The environment also features teachable agents, which are computer programs that can be taught and behave according to their knowledge. Thus, the environment provides both learning-by-doing (playing the game) and learning-by-teaching (teaching the agent to play). It differs from other learning-by-teaching systems 1) by targeting basic mathematics and primary grade students; 2) by using teachable agents as an extension to educational games in order to leverage engagement, reflection and learning; and 3) by using an agent-driven question dialogue to challenge students’ mathematical thinking, to role-model learner behaviour and to transfer game knowledge to out-of-game mathematics. The teachable agent game is described and evaluated in an authentic classroom study enrolling 443 students from 22 classes in 9 schools. Students range from 2nd to 6th grade of mainstream classes and 7th to 8th grade for students with difficulties in mathematics. Part of the study was designed as a quasiexperimental study with controls; part was designed to examine students’ change in mental models of arithmetic before and after game play. All students took pre- and post mathematics tests. The 314 playing students used the game and taught their agents during regular math-classes for three months, whereas the control classes attended standard instruction and took the tests. A questionnaire was distributed at the end of the study to investigate students’ perceptions and performances of the agent-tutoring task. Results show that 1) there is a significant learning gain for playing students compared to controls, 2) the learning environment can engage children in advanced mathematical thinking in early education, 3) young primary students can act as successful tutors. Thus, we conclude that teachable agents in educational games can help achieve deeper levels of learning that transfer outside the game. This idea combines the motivational power of games with the reflective power of a teachable agent asking thought-provoking, deep questions on the learning material during game play.
We describe a mathematics computer game for children designed to promote causal reasoning, choice-making, and other higher-order cognitive activities. The game consists of a choice-based board game, enhanced with a conversational, teachable agent, taught to play the game, by the child, through demonstrations and questions. Game design is motivated by causal reasoning theory and educational psychology. The game is currently evaluated in an ongoing large-scale study that seeks to investigate the game’s effects on the players’ abilities to reason and make productive choices. The study involves 20 elementary-school classes at different levels.
We propose a model for arithmetic, based on graphical representations, to complement the symbolic language of mathematics. The focus is conceptual understanding of arithmetic. We argue that the graphical model supports understanding concepts known to be difficult for learners with dyscalculia, such as number-sense and decimal system. The proposed graphical representation share properties of the decimal system, but is closer to the semantic representation of numbers vital to the number-sense. The model is evaluated with school-children, but needs to be further tested by learners with dyscalculia.
An innovative mathematics game shown to be effective for low-achieving mainstream students is tested in special education for learners with intellectual disabilities. The game relies on a graphical, intuitive representation for numbers and arithmetic operations to foster conceptual understanding and numbers sense, and provides a set of 2-player games to develop strategic thinking and reasoning skills. The game runs on computers and interactive white boards, and as an augmented reality application at a science centre. We compare its use in special education and mainstream education with respect to usage, performance levels and learning gain. The game has been used by teachers in special educations, with gains in mathematical understanding, strategic thinking and communication skills as effects.
An innovative mathematics game shown to be effective for low-achieving mainstream students is tested in special education for learners with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities in Sweden, to investigate if the game also can be effective for this group of students. The game relies on a graphical, intuitive representation for numbers and arithmetic operations to foster conceptual understanding and numbers sense, and provides a set of 2-player games to develop strategic thinking and reasoning skills. The game runs on computers and interactive white boards, and as an augmented reality application at a science centre. The study enrolled 3 teachers and 8 students in 5th to 8th grade with intellectual disabilities who played the game between 4 months and 2 years, one student with Asperger syndrome, and over 300 students in mainstream education as comparison. We compare the use of the game in special education and mainstream education with respect to usage, performance levels and learning gains. Collected data include game playing logs for all students where playing behaviour, performance and progression data was analysed; class room and science centre observations where interaction, collaboration and communication was analysed, and on in-depth interviews with the teachers. Conclusion is that the game in combination with dedicated teachers can be very effective for students with intellectual disabilities, and can result in substantial gains in mathematical understanding and strategic thinking as well as in communication skills, given time and proper support.
This paper explores the possible advantages of substituting teachable agents in a learning environment, with a humanoid robot as the non-human tutee. Teachable agents are used as an extension to educational games in order to leverage engagement, reflection and learning. The learning environment is engaging and shown to be effective for learning and promote self-efficacy in experimental studies in authentic classroom settings. Features beneficial for learning which are further enhanced by a robot compared to an agent are identified. These include embodiment of the robot; a social, empathic behaviour, better conversational abilities which together provide a better role model of an ideal learner for the student to identify with.
An educational game in mathematics targets cognitive skills oincluding pattern finding and generalization from example by teaching an agent. These can be difficult for young children, let alone teaching about them. Therefore, we have designed a new way of teaching an agent, the teach-by-guiding model. We describe the model and its basic implementation. Because this is a work-inprogress, we end by raising questions of how such an agent is perceived, and in what respect it may differ from other pedagogical agents.
The objective of this study is to introduce the concept of utility games, to develop a characterization of such a game category, and to explore design and evaluation issues particular for this category. By utility games, we refer to games predominantly designed for utility purposes, and where gaming is viewed as a design strategy to achieve the utility. Four utility games were analysed, with the following dimensions: the overall context, the utility objective, the game setting, evaluations performed and challenges related to design and evaluation. The analysis shows that the utility aspects and the game design are highly interrelated and affect each other on all levels of the design, and that evaluations of utility games have many dimensions to consider. A summary of lessons learnt and some recommendations to utility game designers are provided.
A teachable-agent arithmetic game is presented and evaluated in terms of student performance, attitude and self-efficacy. An experimental pre-post study design was used, enrolling 153 3 rd and 5 th grade students in Sweden. The playing group showed significantly larger gains in math performance and self-efficacy beliefs, but not in general attitude towards math, compared to control groups. The contributions in relation to previous work include a novel educational game being evaluated, and an emphasis on self-efficacy in the study as a strong predictor of math achievements.
We address the question of usefulness of virtual reality based rehabilitation equipment in practical therapy, by letting experienced therapists explore one such equipment during six months in their regular practice under natural circumstances. By protocols, questionnaires and focus group interviews we collect data regarding which activities they considered useful, why these are useful and what might improve usefulness of such activities, based on the therapists’ professional judgement and experiences. This resulted in a set of purposeful activities, identified values for therapeutic work, and design guidelines. The conclusion is that such equipment has benefits beyond real life training, that variation in content and difficulty levels is a key quality for wide suitability and that the combination of challenging cognitive activities which encourage motor training was considered particularly useful.
This paper presents the initial design of an educational setup where a humanoid robot is used as a game companionto a child while they play an educational arithmetic game together. Drawing on the learning-by-teaching paradigm, therobot’s purpose is to act as the child’s tutee and ask questions related to gameplay and the arithmetic content of the game. The original version of the game utilized a virtual teachable agent, which was shown to be effective for children’s learning in previous studies. Here we replace the virtual agent with a social robot to explore if and how the embodiment and social-like behaviour of robots can augment game-based learning further. Our aim is to design a robot tutee that will enhance the game experience and stimulate elaboration of the game’s learning material. So far we have conducted two design workshops with 81 schoolchildren in grades 2 and 4 where they experienced the robot and the game in their classrooms. In this paper, we present the results of two post-workshop questionnaires, where the children were asked about desired behaviour for learning companions and their experiences with the robot as a game playing tutee. The first post-workshop questionnaire revealed that children would like to have a robot tutee that behaves as a kind and helpful human peer, but with improved capacities such as being kind to everyone, providing better explanations, and giving more compliments. The second postworkshop questionnaire revealed that the children accepted the tutor–tutee role-division and that a majority of children were able to hear, but less so, understand, the robot’s questions. Implications of these findings for design of the robot tutee are discussed
Human peer tutoring is known to be effective for learning, and social robots are currently being explored for robot-assisted peer tutoring. In peer tutoring, not only the tutee but also the tutor benefit from the activity. Exploiting the learning-by-teaching mechanism, robots as tutees can be a promising approach for tutor learning. This study compares robots and humans by examining children's learning-by-teaching with a social robot and younger children, respectively. The study comprised a small-scale field experiment in a Swedish primary school, following a within-subject design. Ten sixth-grade students (age 12-13) assigned as tutors conducted two 30 min peer tutoring sessions each, one with a robot tutee and one with a third-grade student (age 9-10) as the tutee. The tutoring task consisted of teaching the tutee to play a two-player educational game designed to promote conceptual understanding and mathematical thinking. The tutoring sessions were video recorded, and verbal actions were transcribed and extended with crucial game actions and user gestures, to explore differences in interaction patterns between the two conditions. An extension to the classical initiation-response-feedback framework for classroom interactions, the IRFCE tutoring framework, was modified and used as an analytic lens. Actors, tutoring actions, and teaching interactions were examined and coded as they unfolded in the respective child-robot and child-child interactions during the sessions. Significant differences between the robot tutee and child tutee conditions regarding action frequencies and characteristics were found, concerning tutee initiatives, tutee questions, tutor explanations, tutee involvement, and evaluation feedback. We have identified ample opportunities for the tutor to learn from teaching in both conditions, for different reasons. The child tutee condition provided opportunities to engage in explanations to the tutee, experience smooth collaboration, and gain motivation through social responsibility for the younger child. The robot tutee condition provided opportunities to answer challenging questions from the tutee, receive plenty of feedback, and communicate using mathematical language. Hence, both conditions provide good learning opportunities for a tutor, but in different ways.
This paper presents an educational game in mathematics based on an apprenticeship model using a teachable agent, as well as an evaluative study of how the game affects (1) conceptual understanding and (2) attitudes towards mathematics. In addition, we discuss how collaborative and competitive affordances of the game may affect understanding and motivation. 19 students played the game in pairs once a week during math lessons for 7 weeks (the game-playing group) while another 19 students followed the regular curriculum (the control group). Math comprehension scores increased significantly for the game-playing group but not the control group (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in attitude change between the two groups. Post hoc analyses indicated that game-playing primarily affected students' confidence in explaining math to a peer, but not their enjoyment of doing so. Collaborative and competitive activities seem to carry a strong motivational influence for students to play the game. © 2012 Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
We examined the efficacy of a remotely based occupational therapy intervention. A 40-year-old woman who suffered a stroke participated in a telerehabilitation program. The intervention method is based on virtual reality gaming to enhance the training experience and to facilitate the relearning processes. The results indicate that Virtual TeleRehab is an effective method for motivational, economical, and practical reasons by combining game-based rehabilitation in the home with weekly distance meetings. © 2011 European Federation for Medical Informatics. All rights reserved.
This study explores the feasibility of a novel telehealth system for stroke rehabilitation in a rural area in Sweden. It addresses two major problems of home-based rehabilitation: training motivation and frequent meetings. Three stroke subjects were equipped with 3D computer games workbenches, and were instructed to play with the hemiplegic upper extremity. On-line coaching meetings were performed using bidirectional audiovisual communication. The intervention led to clinical changes for all subjects. On-line coaching is promising, but not yet as effective as desired. However, a distance based approach using 3D games for upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke is feasible.
In this paper we will report from an on-going EU-financed project aiming at developing innovative cross-border, virtual classroom instructional designs; that is designs where classes from three Nordic countries collaborate by means of technology to enhance teaching and learning. School management, teachers, students, and educational researchers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden collaborate since 2011 in three-country teams on all levels to explore and evaluate novel cross-border instructional designs in four subjects. The research approach is user-driven innovation by means of Action Research and Design-based research. The cross- border instructional designs exhibit several challenges: designs need to be aligned with all national curriculums with respect to 1) subject content and 2) learning goals, and in order to advance learning, we need to address 3) learning benefits due to the collaboration. In Mathematics, such cross-border learning benefits were particular elusive to identify, so some kind of guidance were needed. The model, first proposed for Mathematics but generalizable to other subjects, is a three-dimensional cube that categorizes an instructional design with respect to 1) subject-content, 2) aimed-for competence, and 3) learning-benefit. The subject contents and required competencies were derived and synthesized from the national curricula, whereas the learning benefits were inspired from previous cross-border designs. The model has successfully been used as a classification system for virtual classroom tasks, and also as an innovation tool to generate novel instructional designs where the expected learning benefits became explicit from start, which facilitates design evaluation.
This research aims at innovative IT support for competence management (CM) integrating organizational, group and individual perspectives. Our method is action case research resulting in a design model. This paper addresses our overall approach towards an integrative CM system, which is usage-oriented. Based on in-depth analysis of seven business companies’ CM activities, we present a new interactive visualization model for CM. The model is suitable for explorative analysis and for communicating competence situations at individual, group or organizational levels. It provides support for constructing competence information incrementally. We view competence descriptions as negotiable estimations with varying verification levels, and use a competence representation which deals with uncertainties of estimations. Our view on competence is novel, and has far reaching consequences. Future work includes a running prototype and planned pilot studies.
Enterprises within the experience-based economy face big challenges when investing in IS applications for their products and services. Especially, organizations and services that offer different kinds of attractions and experiences have realized the emergent use of mobile technology. In this paper we explore in what way an IS (information systems) design can enhance experience-based activities conducted at a Swedish regional museum. The research presents an in-depth analysis of a case study along with requirements and design activities for a location-aware, auditory museum guide, primarily aimed for people with visual and language disabilities was developed. We argue that in order to keep in pace with the on-going growth of experience-based and IS design initiatives, enterprises and designer must consider its value for their businesses. Thus, we have developed a three-level strategy for valuing enhancements of a proposed IS application. The strategy proved to be particular fruitful for both designers and managers when assessing the potential of various enhancements to generate values for the different target groups.
We present ongoing work on the design of an information system for users with reading disabilities and users with reduced vision. The design target is a portable, auditory, location-aware information system, to complement visually displayed information in exhibitions. Applying a user-centered, we identify non-typical user-groups’ specific requirements, which are turned into a design. The first design-iteration, which includes a formative evaluation, using a mock-up prototype, with dyslectic and visually impaired participants, is completed. The evaluation indicates that the user-group’s specific aspects we have identified are relevant, while designing for these groups. © 2006, by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. All rights reserved.