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Interactive Learning (interactive + learning)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences42%
Engineering42%

Selected Abstracts

Hardware architecture for a visualization classroom: VizClass

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 4 2004
Tara C. Hutchinson
Abstract Interactive learning, critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and problem-based learning are all critical elements for enhancing engineering education. Visualization can provide the much needed computer-assisted design and analysis environment to foster problem-based learning, while virtual reality (VR) can provide the environment for hands-on manipulation, stimulating interactive learning in the engineering classroom. To provide such a space, at the University of California, Irvine a new interactive, spatially balanced learning environment, termed VizClass, has been developed. VizClass incorporates a specially designed lecture room and laboratory integrating both 2- and 3-dimensional spatial learning by coupling a series of interactive projection display boards (touch sensitive whiteboards) and a semi-immersive 3D wall display. Control of devices integrated with VizClass is supported via a centrally located, easy to activate, touch-sensitive display. Digital material, including slides, web content, video clips, sound files, numerical simulations, or animations may be loaded and presented by instructors using either 2D or 3D modalities. This environment has already been integrated into both undergraduate and graduate level courses, providing a balanced spatial learning environment for students. This article describes the unique hardware architecture developed to support this new environment and presents the first course activities conducted within the space. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 12: 232,241, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20024 [source]

Corporate social responsibility in Dutch industry

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2004
Jacqueline Cramer
This article addresses the experiences gained by 19 Dutch companies with corporate social responsibility (CSR). These companies joined the programme ,From financial to sustainable profit' of the National Initiative for Sustainable Development (NIDO), which ran from May 2000 until December 2002. They focused on two issues: assessing the added value of corporate social responsibility and implementing a structured approach. The Dutch experiment showed that the companies involved were able to specify the added value of CSR by elaborating the economic performance and/or parenting advantage. Unfortunately, a third type of value creation, viz. through protecting the company's reputation, was not elaborated. Moreover, the experiment revealed that among the 19 participating companies experiences were limited in implementing a structured approach towards CSR. By exchanging experiences the companies learned from each other. Such interactive learning turned out to be a helpful support, complementary to the general CSR literature on guidelines, indicators and best practice guides. Although this literature is rapidly growing, knowledge is still lacking in structuring CSR. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]

Toward a Reconceptualization of Regional Development Paths: Is Leipzig's Media Cluster a Continuation of or a Rupture with the Past?

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2003
Harald Bathelt
Abstract: This article develops a model of regional development that is then used to examine the evolution of two media industries in Leipzig, Germany. We note that the city's current media cluster, centered on television/film production and interactive digital media, shares little in common with the city's once-premier book publishing media cluster. Treating interactive learning as the primary causal mechanism that drives economic growth and change, our conceptual framework incorporates both sectoral/technological and political crises as mechanisms that rupture regional development paths. These regional development paths are not homogeneous, but instead consist of bundles of various technological trajectories. Regions recover from crises as their actors continually rebundle local assets until they find a combination that generates growth. As a result of these crises, new opportunities for growth may arise for new and previously marginal industries. In turn, these expanding industries shape the region's development path. [source]

Adaptive interaction in a 3D product structure browsing system for maintenance training

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 1 2008
Wei Dong
The traditional maintenance training method with a physical model of the product is costly and inconvenient. Computer-aided instruction (CAI) technology along with multimedia can provide much help in the training but provides limited interaction between the user and the system. In this article, a 3D model-based product structure browsing system for maintenance training, CAMT, is developed for complex products adopting desktop virtual reality technology. To improve training performance, the interaction between the trainee and the CAMT system is enhanced by adaptive change of the zoom level, mouse sensitivity, and rotation origin. Details about the implementation of adaptive interaction are discussed. Experiments were conducted to test the effectiveness of this adaptive interaction. Seventy participants were arranged randomly into two groups assigned to perform product structure learning tasks using software with or without adaptive interaction functions. Statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences between the groups in task time, operation convenience, and learning satisfaction. Most participants preferred to use the system with adaptive interaction. It may be concluded that using adaptive interaction with maintenance training systems can significantly improve the usability of the systems and the efficiency of interactive learning. Although adaptive interaction has obvious advantages, our experiment also suggested that it is not a good idea to provide only the adaptive interaction mode. It is better to set adaptive interaction as the default mode but also to provide the possibility for a user to switch to a mode without adaptive interaction because a static view scope is also helpful to learn the 3D structure of a complex product. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

The two faces of knowledge diffusion: the Chilean case

JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2006
Piergiuseppe Morone
This paper analyses the dynamics of return to knowledge where knowledge is acquired through the combination of interactive and individual learning. We suggest that in light of this new definition of knowledge, choosing the optimal level of education is no longer an individual exercise of present and future utility maximization as suggested by formal human capital theory. We find that other external (environmental) variables might affect the individual decision of investment. We calculate the effect of individual and interactive learning on determining the wage of Chilean male workers resident in urban areas and aged between 14 and 65. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Testing an empirically derived mental health training model featuring small groups, distributed practice and patient discussion

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 2 2009
Rachael C Murrihy
Objectives, Internationally, family doctors seeking to enhance their skills in evidence-based mental health treatment are attending brief training workshops, despite clear evidence in the literature that short-term, massed formats are not likely to improve skills in this complex area. Reviews of the educational literature suggest that an optimal model of training would incorporate distributed practice techniques; repeated practice over a lengthy time period, small-group interactive learning, mentoring relationships, skills-based training and an ongoing discussion of actual patients. This study investigates the potential role of group-based training incorporating multiple aspects of good pedagogy for training doctors in basic competencies in brief cognitive behaviour therapy (BCBT). Methods, Six groups of family doctors (n = 32) completed eight 2-hour sessions of BCBT group training over a 6-month period. A baseline control design was utilised with pre- and post-training measures of doctors' BCBT skills, knowledge and engagement in BCBT treatment. Results, Family doctors' knowledge, skills in and actual use of BCBT with patients improved significantly over the course of training compared with the control period. Conclusions, This research demonstrates preliminary support for the efficacy of an empirically derived group training model for family doctors. Brief CBT group-based training could prove to be an effective and viable model for future doctor training. [source]