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Abstract The use of two‐dimensional images to teach students about three‐dimensional molecules continues to be a prevalent issue in many classrooms. As affordable visualization technologies continue to advance, there has been an increasing interest to utilize novel technology, such as augmented reality (AR), in the development of molecular visualization tools. Existing evaluations of these visual–spatial learning tools focus primarily on student performance and attitude, with little attention toward potential inequity in student participation. Our study adds to the current literature on introducing molecular visualization technology in biochemistry classrooms by examining the potential inequity in a group activity mediated by AR technology. Adapting the participatory equity framework to our specific context, we view equity and inequity in terms of access to the technological conversational floor, a social space created when people enter technology‐mediated joint endeavors. We explore three questions: What are the different ways students interact with an AR model of the potassium channel? What are salient patterns of participation that may signify inequity in classroom technology use? What is the interplay between group social dynamics and the introduction of AR technology in the context of a technology‐mediated group activity? Pairing qualitative analysis with quantitative metrics, our mixed‐methods approach produced a complex story of student participation in an AR‐mediated group activity. The patterns of student participation showed that equity and inequity in an AR‐mediated biochemistry group learning activity are fluid and multifaceted. It was observed that students who gave more explanations during group discussion also had more interactions with the AR model (i.e., they had greater access to the technological conversational floor), and their opinion of the AR model may have greater influence on how their group engage with the AR model. This study provides more nuanced ways of conceptualizing equity and inequity in biochemistry learning settings.
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Creating Engaging Exercises With Mobile Response System (MRS)
Computer Science instructors have been exploiting learning technology such as Algorithm Visualization (AV) for last few years to explain hard-to-understand algorithms to the learners through simulations and animations. In this work, we explore an active and highly engaging approach, namely, the construction of visualizations of the algorithms under study. Our approach is further augmented with automated assessment of students' in-class construction activities, which they execute as apps in their mobile devices. In this paper, we utilize case study, a step-by-step visualization of a construction exercise app, to explain how technology is leveraged to provide a richer way for learners to interact with a problem, and how instructor can acquire real-time evidence of learners' comprehension of covered lecture material. Our experimental evaluation shows the educational benefits of the proposed approach in terms of enhanced student learning, reduced drop-out rate and increased student satisfaction.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1332531
- PAR ID:
- 10023965
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ACM SIGCSE 2017 Conference
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 147 to 152
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3017680.3017793
