24th Annual TCC | Online Conference | April 16-18, 2019

Sustainable Learning, Accessible Technologies, & Diverse Contexts

20-Minute LTEC Student Session

Campfires in Cyberspace: A STEAM Simulation in OpenSim

Session Description
The “leaky STEM pipeline” is a well-documented phenomenon that depicts a 96% loss of students from the beginning of high school to actual completion of a college degree in a STEM major. Nearly thirty years since the National Science Foundation helped guide U.S. educators’ classrooms with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) standards and guidelines, educators continue struggling with classroom implementation.

A clear goal for implementation is an instructional design challenge that can be solved by a pedagogically-sound instructional unit mediated by technology and targeted toward the teachers who have a direct hand in implementing STEM and inspiring students to stay in the STEM pipeline. The inclusion of art (STEAM) is a key ingredient in bridging the gap between theoretical science and technology and the practical, real-world applications needed for economic success. In addition, technology and art together are key to engaging and retaining students who would normally fall out of the pipeline because of the rigors of science, math, and engineering.

Role-playing, experiential, and collaborative experience that included constructive, demonstration, and skill-building opportunities (Richter, Anderson-Inman, and Frisbee, 2007) were utilized in a simulated world based on Thornburg’s concepts of learning spaces called Campfires in Cyberspace. The objective was to strengthen teacher knowledge and confidence in developing and implementing STEAM curriculum in the classroom through a collaborative, immersive virtual reality environment.

This session will discuss the Campfires in Cyberspace simulation’s instructional design, features, strategies, virtual world tools utilized within the virtual environment Open Simulator.

Presenter(s)
Sarah Espinosa
Sarah Espinosa, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Sarah Espinosa is a Navy Veteran and performed professionally as a hornist in United States Navy bands for 11 years throughout North America, Europe and Africa. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in horn performance and a Master of Arts in Music and Worship Studies from Liberty University. She and her family currently reside in Yokosuka, Japan. Sarah continues to perform as a civilian alongside musicians from the Yokosuka Fireman Band, SEVENTH Fleet Navy Band, and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Band Yokosuka, as well as teach private horn lessons from her home. She is in her final semester of the LTEC Master’s program at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Nancy Ooki
Nancy Ooki, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kahului, HI, USA
Bio
Edmond Lee
Edmond Lee, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Oahu, HI, USA
Session Type
20-Minute LTEC Student Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

The Crafter’s Ear: Evaluating an Aural Theory Simulation in Minecraft

Session Description
While music educators throughout history have sought to develop effective training methods for their students, little innovation has been developed beyond “drill and practice” methods for aural music theory skills. In order to “show” what the musician already aurally perceives, a virtual simulation was developed for music educators to use with their 10- to 13-year-old beginning music students. The sandbox game Minecraft was chosen as the platform due to its ability to construct “redstone-powered,” musical note blocks. “Primitives” (single or multi-part objects) were provided for pitch identification and use as a template for constructing personal, interactive aural theory aids not dependent upon formal music notation or playing/singing ability.

This usability study sought to evaluate the navigation and effectiveness of virtual content design and user satisfaction of the simulation. Three iterations were conducted with thirteen participants. Feedback indicated that participants desired a more intuitive simulation with clear navigational and “primitives” directions, STEM activities integrated alongside musical instruction, and secondary material aiding information dissemination.

This session will discuss study results including methods, evaluation instruments, participant data, design implications in a 3D-Virtual World (3D-VW) environment, simulation modifications, and platform preferences. The Crafter’s Ear tells a story of successful and unsuccessful adaptations of a 3D-VW usability study. Data supports the simulation’s potential as well as need for re-evaluation of the primary platform used for development. The researcher anticipates the results of this study will support a growing need to identify and improve upon best practices for 3D-VW simulation usability studies in the future.

Presenter(s)
Sarah Espinosa
Sarah Espinosa, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa , Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Sarah Espinosa is a Navy Veteran and performed professionally as a hornist in United States Navy bands for 11 years throughout North America, Europe and Africa. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in horn performance and a Master of Arts in Music and Worship Studies from Liberty University. She and her family currently reside in Yokosuka, Japan. Sarah continues to perform as a civilian alongside musicians from the Yokosuka Fireman Band, SEVENTH Fleet Navy Band, and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Band Yokosuka, as well as teach private horn lessons from her home. She is in her final semester of the LTEC Master’s program at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Session Type
20-Minute LTEC Student Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Holomua Elementary Kokua Site – Usability Study

Session Description
The professional relationship between teachers and parents is key when promoting a positive academic and social journey for students. The foundation of this relationship starts and is fostered during the child’s early childhood years. With technology also becoming increasingly more prevalent in society, there is no reason why information can’t be readily available on all connected devices. The use of websites to keep both parents and teachers involved will revolutionize how we think of increasing and maintaining a positive academic and professional relationship between all members of the school team. The Holomua Kokua Program will assist Holomua’s preschool teachers initiate and foster the relationship between teachers and parents. This has be accomplished by providing a “one stop shop” website where parents may access anytime, anywhere for anything.

The usability study of this website included 9 participants who are current and past preschool parents and other teachers. The participants were spread out amongst three rounds of testing. After each round of testing modifications were made and a new improved version was used in testing. Participants have evaluated the websites navigability and judge the richness of the content provided. The Website is now a working and functional website with all the key design components with a many tools to help and assist in navigation and usability. The completed website incorporate design concepts from Gasalt’s theory of design and embraces colors and design techniques that draw users to the website and promotes easy user navigation. This session will go into detail about my projects design and development, as well as discuss the usability study’s results and website changes.

Presenter(s)
Ryan Kanetani
Ryan Kanetani, University of Hawaii At Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Ryan Kanetani, is a special education preschool teacher at Holomua Elementary School and a University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Learning Design in Technology graduate student. He has been teaching special education in various different grade levels since receiving his B.Ed and certification in 2012. However, for the past four years, he has been privileged to have his dream position of working with preschoolers with special needs. For his project, he developed and designed a website for the parents of his preschool students to use to get updated announcements, information, and resources.
Session Type
20-Minute LTEC Student Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Usability Study of an Interactive eBook for Members of the Honolulu Board of Realtors®

Session Description
The Honolulu Board of Realtors® (HBR) is a non-profit organization which provides real estate agents in Hawaii access to local benefits under the Hawaii Association of Realtors® (HAR) and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). A member of HBR is one of over 6,000 agents who have also pledged to abide by a strict Code of Ethics created by NAR. In a profession with a long history, beginning before the Digital Revolution, associations have been slow to embrace technological advances.

This usability study evaluated the ease of use and design of an interactive eBook with curated information on benefits for members of HBR. The eBook is a curated resource for information spread across multiple websites and organizations. It provides members with current information on relevant benefits and resources. Taking into consideration the diversity of the target population, the visual design of the content was based upon grids and hierarchies. Images, motion graphics and links were implemented in Adobe InDesign and published through Creative Cloud in order to preserve them across multiple devices. Through this study, the researcher learned about the connection between interactivity, visual design, and user experience. Overall, participants found the eBook to be a clean, simple, and relevant resource. This session details the research, design, implementation, results, and future development of the study.

Presenter(s)
Courtney Hara
Courtney Hara, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Courtney Hara is the Professional Development Administrative Assistant at the Honolulu Board of REALTORS and a graduate student of the Learning Design & Technology master’s program at the University of Hawaii (UHM), College of Education. She received a Bachelor of Fine Art degree with a focus in graphic design from UHM in 2014.
Session Type
20-Minute LTEC Student Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.

Policies Governing the Use of Body Cams on Campus: Designing an Online Training Module for Security Officers at University of Hawai‘i

Session Description
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Presenter(s)
Wing Chuck Tsang
Wing Chuck Tsang, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
Session Type
20-Minute LTEC Student Session
Audience
All Audiences

A recording of this presentation is available.
Click the button to the right to access the session archive.