Jong, Siu-yung = 探索如何將建構式電腦遊戲化學習融入正規學校課程教學中 / 莊紹勇. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; includes Chinese. / Jong, Siu-yung = Tan suo ru he jiang jian gou shi dian nao you xi hua xue xi rong ru zheng gui xue xiao ke cheng jiao xue zhong / Zhuang Shaoyong.

The increasing intensity and frequency of precipitation in recent decades, combined with the human interventions in watersheds, has drastically altered the natural regimes of water and sediment transport in watersheds over the whole contiguous United States. Sediment-transport related concerns include the sustainability of aquatic biology, the stability of the river morphology, and the security and vulnerability of various riverine structures. For the present context, the concerns are related to the acceleration of upland erosion (sediment production) and in-stream sediment-transport processes that eventually lead to sediment accumulation at culverts (structures that pass streams under roadways). This nuisance has become widespread in many transportation agencies in the United States, as it has a direct bearing on maintaining normal culvert operations during extreme flows when these waterway crossings are essential for the communities they serve. Despite the prevalence of culvert sedimentation, current specifications for culvert design do not typically consider aspects of sediment transport and deposition. The overall study objective is to systematically identify the likelihood of culvert sedimentation as a function of stream and culvert geometry, along with landscape characteristics (process drivers of culvert sedimentation) in the culvert drainage area. The ideal approach for predicting sedimentation is to track sediment sources dislocated from the watershed, their overland movement, and their delivery into the streams using physical-based modeling. However, there are considerable knowledge gaps in addressing the sedimentation at culverts as an end-to-end process, especially in connecting the upland with in-stream processes and simulating the sediment deposition at culverts in non-uniform, unsteady flows, while also taking into account the vegetation growth in culverts’ vicinity. It is, therefore, no surprise that existing research, textbooks, and guidelines do not typically provide adequate information on sediment control at culverts. This dissertation presents a generalizable data-driven framework that integrates various machine-learning and visual analytics techniques with GIS in a web-based geospatial platform to explore the complex environmental processes of culvert sedimentation. The framework offers systematic procedures for (1) classifying the culvert sedimentation degree using a time-series of aerial images; (2) identifying key process-drivers from a variety of environmental and culvert structural characteristics through feature selections and interactive visual interfaces; (3) supporting human interactions to perceive empirical relationships between drivers and the culvert sedimentation degree through multivariate Geovisualization and Self-Organizing Map (SOM); and (4) forecasting culvert sedimentation potential across Iowa using machine learning algorithms. Developed using modular design and atop national datasets, the framework is generalizable and extendable, and therefore can be applied to address similar river management issues, such as habitat deterioration and water pollution, at the Contiguous US scale. The platform developed through this Ph.D. study offers a web-based problem-solving environment for a) managing inventory and retrieving culvert structural information; b) integrating diverse culvert-related datasets (e.g., culvert inventory, hydrological and land use data, and observations on the degree of sedimentation in the vicinity of culverts) in a digital repository; c) supporting culvert field inspections and real-time data collection through mobile devices; and d) hosting the data-driven framework for exploring culvert sedimentation drivers and forecasting culvert sedimentation potential across Iowa. Insights provided through the data-driven framework can be applied to support decisions for culvert management and sedimentation mitigation, as well as to provide suggestions on parameter selections for the design of these structures.

The project developed eBay Learning Center System (ELCS), a web-based application that provides current and potential eBay users a way to learn about the many functions of the popular online auction and shopping web site and be successful eBay traders. ELCS provides end users with online tutorials, available both in multimedia and text formats, and methods of communicating with system administrators and other users by means of a message box and a discussion forum to facilitate learning and collaborative problem solving. The system employs current technologies such as SQL, HTML, ASP.NET, VBScript, XML, ODBC, and ADO.

The credibility of unsupervised exams, one of the biggest challenges of e-learning, is currently maintained by proctoring. However, little has been done to determine whether expensive and inconvenient proctoring is necessary. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether the use of security mechanisms, based on the taxonomy of cheating reduction techniques rooted in the fraud triangle theory, can be an effective alternative to proctoring. A quasi-experimental 1 group sequential design was used to answer the research questions whether the format, proctored versus unproctored, order in which the exams are administered, course delivery mode, and instructor make a difference in student performance. The archival scores of 850 Californian community college students on 2 sets of equivalent proctored and unproctored web-based exams in face-to-face, hybrid, and online introductory statistics courses taught by 7 instructors were compared. The format effect was tested with repeated-measures ANOVA; the order, course delivery mode and instructor effects were tested with mixed ANOVA. No significant difference in scores in Set 1, and significantly lower scores on unproctored exams in Set 2 indicated that the used security mechanisms allowed for maintaining the credibility of the exams without proctoring. There was no significant difference in scores across the course delivery modes in both sets and instructors in Set 2, but significant order effect was observed. Further research on order effect was recommended. With the use of the utilized security mechanisms education will get an inexpensive and convenient way to increase the credibility of unsupervised web-based exams, and the society will gain more online college graduates with credentials that reflect their knowledge.

This study investigated a synchronous web-based course system (SWBCS) as a supplement todistance learning courses. Although challenges exist (such as the complex interface and potentialtechnological problems); these systems hold the potential to enhance the distance learning experiencethrough increased interaction, immediacy, social presence, group work, and collaboration. Using a rigorous blend of research methods, the study investigated the following questions: (1) what types of pedagogical strategies do instructors implement, (2) how do instructors utilize the tools, (3) which tools do instructors choose to use, (4) why do instructors use the tools and strategies that they choose, and (5) what perceptions do students and instructors have about using a SWBCS? A total of five unique cases were examined using surveys, interviews, focus groups, analysis of archival documents and extensive classroom observations. The classrooms observations were essential to answering the research questions; a comprehensive observation instrument was developed and validated during this research. Results show instructors implemented familiar strategies based on their teaching styles. The most successful strategies were: (1) mini lectures with interactive exercises, (2) structured group work and collaborative exercises, and (3) case study discussions. Each instructor used the tools in the synchronous system to solve a problem or address an issue, such as lack of immediacy or the need to guide the assimilation of information. Most instructors used a wide variety of the tools, including: (1) VOIP, (2) textual chat, (3) white board, (4) hand raising and emoticons, and (5) breakout rooms. Although some tried many tools, most chose to use tools based on training, experience, the teaching strategies selected and student needs. Both instructor and student perceptions were positive and all of the instructors planned to continue to use a SWBCS in the future. Overall, the SWBCS was found to supplement existing distance courses, allowing educators to build connections with and among students more efficiently and increase the potential for interaction in the online classroom. In addition, this research provided the initial framework for the development of a set of guidelines to support the planning and use of SWBCS in higher education instruction.

This study focused on the effects of using metacognitive strategy cuing integrated into problem-solving activities in a web-based learning environment. Purposes of the study were to investigate: (a) differences in posttest achievement between students who received metacognitive strategies embedded as cues in engineering problem sets and students who did not receive the treatment; (b) differences in perceptions of problem-solving skills between students who received metacognitive strategies embedded as cues in engineering problem set and students who did not receive the treatment; (c) differences in thermodynamics knowledge; (d) problem-solving steps students reported using across problem sets; (e) characteristics of sampled students, and (f) students' perceptions of web-based problem sets. The sample consisted of 81 students enrolled in an undergraduate thermodynamics course. In-class lectures were scheduled twice weekly, and web-based problem sets were assigned as homework. Two groups, the treatment group using embedded metacognitive cuing and the control group not using the embedded metacognitive cuing, practiced with problem-solving activities over a fifteen-week-semester. Two-thirds through the semester, comprehensive posttest achievement scores were compared between groups. Analyses showed no significant differences between groups when metacognitive strategies were incorporated into web-based problem sets. An instrument was developed and validated to measure students' perceptions of their abilities to plan, monitor, and evaluate problems. Pre- and post testing of students' self-reported perceptions were measured. The results indicated no significant differences between groups. When differences in thermodynamics knowledge and skills between students were measured, pretest to posttest results showed equal improvement for both groups, contradicting the hypothesis those students in the treatment group would improve in skills and knowledge more than the control group. A frequency analysis revealed differences in the amount of times students' reported using engineering problem-solving steps while working through exercises. Most frequently chosen was Step Two - List Variables (91 %) and Step Seven - Solved Equations (91%).. The least chosen response was Step Four -- Made/stated Assumptions which was selected only three percent of the time. Implications from this investigation, along with previous research, facilitate definition of boundary conditions when employing metacognitive cuing in web-based learning.

Posttest performances after two forms of Web-based tutorial instruction were compared. Both forms were designed to teach students to identify musical compositions that typify Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century music. The first treatment condition was a series of Web pages with text and accompanying hyperlinks to musical selections matched to the text. In this condition, students read and listened at their own discretion -- without Web software program restrictions. The second treatment contained exactly the same text and musical selections, but students in this condition read the text in small portions while being required to fill in missing words in the text presented. No time constraints were placed on participants. The essential difference between the conditions was 1) movement with the instruction content without restriction, and 2) advancement through the program being dependent upon correct responses to the text material (which included discriminative responding to accompanying musical examples). A statistically significant difference between pretest and posttest was found in both experimental conditions, but a difference in posttest scores between the two conditions was not found. Implications of the study and suggestions for future research were discussed.

World-wide, there has been a large increase in tertiary student numbers, not entirely matched by funding increases. Consequently, instructors are faced with large, diverse classes, and find themselves struggling to provide adequate assessment and prompt feedback, two quantities critical in an effective learning environment. Personal computers and the Internet can help solve this problem. The aim of this study was to develop, implement and validate a Web-based software package that, through providing practice and assessment opportunities, improved student learning and reduced marking and related mundane aspects of instructor workload. At the start of the study, such a package already existed in prototype form: OASIS (Online Assessment System with Integrated Study). As the study progressed, this software package was first fully rewritten and then repeatedly modified. OASIS delivers individualised tasks, marks student responses, supplies prompt feedback, and logs student activity. Staff can deliver sets of practice questions and assessments to students: assessments may involve different questions for different students, not just numerically different versions of the same questions. Given my role as teacher, the traditional research ideal of observing without affecting the research environment was both impossible and unconscionable. In particular, since preliminary evidence suggested that OASIS did enhance student learning, I could not adopt a ‘two groups’ approach to the research, with one group using OASIS while the other did not. Instead, an action research methodology was seen as most appropriate for my double role of teacher and researcher. / This methodology enabled me, in the light of my findings, to continuously modify the learning environment and enhance student learning. The action research proceeded through a spiral of one-semester cycles of planning, acting, observing and reflecting. To maximize rigour, the research ran through eight cycles over four years and involved considerable triangulation. OASIS itself collected much quantitative data. Further data were collected via interview, survey, email and informal discussion from three groups: current students, postgraduates and academics. My colleagues provided alternative perceptions and interpretations, as did Physics Department academics who were using OASIS, and an external academic who interviewed academics and investigated the implementation of OASIS. Perhaps surprisingly, academics had generally adopted OASIS to promote student learning rather than to decrease their own workloads. In some cases workloads were reduced; however, where OASIS assessments augmented rather than replaced existing traditional assessments, workloads actually went up slightly. All instructors who used OASIS reported enhanced student learning and wished to continue using it. Student surveys, interviews, focus-group discussions and informal feedback showed that students found the software easy to use and considered that it helped them improve their skills and understanding. OASIS questions were preferred over textbook questions. Students commonly requested OASIS to be available in more of their areas of study. In general students wanted hints or model answers though some argued against their provision. / The majority of students were enthusiastic about the use of OASIS for practice, and activity logs revealed that they did use OASIS extensively. These logs also revealed the motivating power of assessments: typically half the online practice activity took place in the last 36 hours prior to assessments. Interviews provided further interesting insights into the ways different students approached their studies and assessments. However, students did voice concerns about the validity of OASIS assignments, noting their peers could rely on the efforts of others to score highly in these. A number of steps were carried out in an attempt to defuse these concerns, including: disabling OASIS practice during assignments, basing assignments on previously unseen questions, and providing different assignment questions to different students. While this study has achieved the goal of developing, implementing and validating OASIS, many future opportunities exist. OASIS may be used in schools as well as universities. Non-numerical questions, where answers may be somewhere between right and wrong, are possible. OASIS can also be used to deliver concept inventories to students to support research into concept acquisition and retention.

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This thesis considers the cultural significance of Web-based exchange practices among the participants in contemporary western mainstream culture. The thesis argues that analysis of these practices shows how this culture is consumption oriented, event-driven and media obsessed. Initially, this argument is developed from a critical, hermeneutic, relativist and interpretive assessment that draws upon the works of authors such as Baudrillard and De Bord and other critiques of contemporary 'digital culture'. The empirical part of the thesis then examines the array of popular search terms used on the World Wide Web over a period of 16 months from September 2001 to February 2003. Taxanomic classification of these search terms reveals the limited range of virtual and physical artefacts that are sought by the users of Web search engines. While nineteen hundred individual artefacts occur in the array of search terms, these can classified into a relatively small group of higher order categories. Critical analysis of these higher order categories reveals six cultural traits that predominant in the apparently wide array of search terms; freeness, participation, do-it-yourself/customisation, anonymity/privacy, perversion and information richness. The these argues that these traits are part of a cultural complex that directly reflects the underlying motivations of contemporary western mainstream culture. The daily practices of Web-based search and exchange thus reproduce and reinforce this cultural complex. The empirical work of the thesis validates the critical assessment of western mainstream culture developed in the initial chapters of the thesis.