Search results for "16"

CSI with games and an emphasis on TDD and unit testing

2012

The Reform of Vocational Education and Training in Finland: Insights from Twitter

2018

This paper aims to analyse and describe relationships and communication in Twitter in relation to vocational education and training reform in Finland. Data were collected during the early implementation phase of the reform from January 2018 to early June 2018. The data included 2400 tweets containing the hashtag #amisreformi (VET reform). Social network analysis was utilised to study the network and communities. The main themes of the tweets were analysed using thematic analysis, and automated sentiment analysis was used to examine the tones of the tweets and public opinion. The study showed that the official actors were central influencers in the network that lacked connectivity. Overall, …

Towards Computer-based Exams in CS1

2017

Even though IDEs are often a central tool when learning to program in CS1, many teachers still lean on paper-based exams. In this study, we examine the “test mode effect” in CS1 exams using the Rainfall problem. The test mode was two-phased. Half of the participants started working on the problem with pen and paper, while the other half had access to an IDE. After submitting their solution, all students could rework their solution on an IDE. The experiment was repeated twice during subsequent course instances. The results were mixed. From the marking perspective, there was no statistically significant difference resulting from the mode. However, the students starting with the paper-based pa…

An intelligent learning support system

2017

Fast-growing technologies are shaping many aspects of societies. Educational systems, in general, are still rather traditional: learner applies for school or university, chooses the subject, takes the courses, and finally graduates. The problem is that labor markets are constantly changing and the needed professional skills might not match with the curriculum of the educational program. It might be that it is not even possible to learn a combination of desired skills within one educational organization. For example, there are only a few universities that can provide high-quality teaching in several different areas. Therefore, learners may have to study specific modules and units somewhere e…

Educational Technology Goes Mobile

2018

Recent decades have revealed that the digital educational technology that is expected to revolutionise schooling for generations to come, is fraught with challenges. One major challenge is that educational systems vastly vary between cultures and countries. The differences start from the conceptualisation of education and school. It is, therefore, quite inaccurate to handle education as a universal concept. In this article the authors evade generalisation by discussing the use of mobile technology in the schools of one single, relatively homogenous nation: Finland. The backbone of their analysis is the core national curriculum of basic education. The appropriateness of mobile technology in …

Supporting Institutional Awareness and Academic Advising using Clustered Study Profiles

2017

The purpose of academic advising is to help students with developing educational plans that support their academic career and personal goals, and to provide information and guidance on studies. Planning and management of the students’ study path is the main joint activity in advising. Based on a study log of passed courses, we propose to use robust, prototype-based clustering to identify a set of actual study path profiles. Such profiles identify groups of students with similar progress of studies, whose analysis and interpretation can be used for better institutional awareness and to support evidence-based academic advising. A model of automated academic advising system utilizing the possi…

Using VIS/NIR and IR spectral cameras for detecting and separating crime scene details

2012

Detecting invisible details and separating mixed evidence is critical for forensic inspection. If this can be done reliably and fast at the crime scene, irrelevant objects do not require further examination at the laboratory. This will speed up the inspection process and release resources for other critical tasks. This article reports on tests which have been carried out at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland together with the Central Finland Police Department and the National Bureau of Investigation for detecting and separating forensic details with hyperspectral technology. In the tests evidence was sought after at an assumed violent burglary scene with the use of VTT's 500-900 nm wave…

Does the Learning Channel Really Matter? - Insights from Commercial Online ICT-training

2017

Evolving ICT has provided new options to participate to training. Online participation has been found to be cost effective, helping people to deal with the time and cost pressures they are facing on their jobs. Previous studies conducted in higher education sector indicates that student satisfaction or learning outcomes does not differ between online and classroom participants. However, little is known what is the situation in commercial ICT-training. This paper studied course feedbacks from courses having both online and classroom participants of a commercial ICT-training provider. Results revealed that the learning channel has no effect on satisfaction, perceived teacher’s substance and t…

Habituating Students to IPR Questions During Creative Project Work

2017

CONSIDERING VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS’ VIEWS IN THE DESIGN OF A HYBRID STEM LEARNING ENVIRONMENT - PERCEPTIONS FROM FINLAND AND GREECE

2017

Raising young people’s interest in studies and careers related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (i.e., STEM) is an important societal concern both at European and global level. We argue that the creation of attractive and engaging STEM learning environments necessitates involvement of learners, educators, parents, and STEM professionals in their design. In this paper, we will present a study in which primary, lower and upper secondary school students, teachers, school directors, parents, and STEM professionals in Finland (n = 27) and Greece (n = 24) were invited in the participatory co-design of a hybrid (virtual, physical, formal, and informal) STEM learning environment…