The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), adopted in Hawai‘i in 2012, place an emphasis on engaging students with complex, non-fiction text. In primary grades, emergent readers struggle with the level of complexity and challenging vocabulary found in non-fiction text. An overwhelming percentage of my first grade students are unable to read at grade-level proficiency and more interested in fiction than non-fiction. I decided to create an immersive environment that would provide rich content-based learning, capture student interest, and keep students highly engaged.

Today’s students are so motivated by technology; why not use it as a vehicle to increase engagement in reading non-fiction? Using a mobile application called Aurasma, I enhanced my classroom Language Arts program with augmented reality (AR). AR uses technology that overlays multimedia features over the real world environment through mobile device cameras. With no programming background, I was able to add interactive videos, 4D-images, and sound clips into non-fiction classroom readers. Not only did AR give students access to complex, non-fiction text, it also allowed them to engage in meaningful ways and strengthen their comprehension and text connections. This presentation will discuss how augmented reality infused life into regular books and how these books evolved based on my classroom implementation. Participants will be able to experience and learn about a valuable teaching tool that brings learning to its full potential and allows children to explore independently, manipulate objects in a natural way, and exercise control over their own learning experience.

Faculty in higher education are more challenged than ever before to keep up with the rapid growth of technology that is transforming the educational environment. The new era of technological advancement has brought new possibilities to enhance teaching and learning in ways that never existed decades ago. Faculty face various time-consuming demands such as developing lesson plans, maintaining research agendas, and creating student assessment materials. Providing instant assessment feedback to every students after an evaluation can be a challenging task. The purpose of this instructional design project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a learning module in instructing university faculty on how to use Socrative as a smart student response system for assessment. Socrative differs from other student response systems as it uses students’ own web-browsing devices (e.g. smartphones, ipads). The e-learning module was created to support faculty in implementing Socrative for student assessment and feedback. The module was developed using Weebly website creator, and was based on the ADDIE system approach, Vygotsky’s social-constructivist theoretical framework, and self-directed learning theory. Professors and teaching assistants completed an online module that included a pre-survey, post-test, and post-survey. Participants were expected to gain knowledge and insights from this study to further support their teaching practice. The study findings revealed a slight change in participant attitudes and comfort regarding the use of technologies for student assessment, particularly Socrative 2.0. This research project not only aimed to equip university faculty with the necessary skills to use a 21st century technology tool such as Socrative, but also to meet the needs of digital natives.

The Kona Coast on the island of Hawaii is a world-class destination for those who seek ocean adventures. One activity that sets Kona apart from other worldwide tourist destinations is the opportunity to observe manta rays in the wild. Manta tour guides act as authorities about manta rays while conducting tours, however, there is no official course for these guides. To fill this need, the Manta Naturalist Course for Manta Tour Guides and Operators was developed and delivered in February 2015.

The purpose of this instructional design project was to develop and evaluate the first module in this naturalist course for manta tour guides offered through Hawaii Community College, Office of Continuing Education and Training in Kona, Hawaii. The course includes two face-to-face classroom sessions along with an online component. The course content can be found at http://laro18.wix.com/mantanaturalist and the learning management system is Laulima at https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal. The Dick and Carey Model offered the framework for instructional design and Keller’s ARCS Model (Attention, Relevancy, Confidence, Satisfaction) was employed throughout the development. Using Web 2.0 tools, this presenter combined original content with an emphasis on underwater video of manta rays with meaningful online connections in a curated collection. Special emphasis on visual design was placed on the course web site. Design choices based on theory were compared with practical application. Based on feedback, modifications were made. Lessons learned and recommendations for future courses will be highlighted.

Google Glass for Distance Learning: Using a Head-Mounted Display to Record and Stream Video for Education
Wearable computers with optical head-mounted displays have great potential to transform the way educators develop curriculums and deliver instruction. A Web-connected beta version of the Google Glass Explorer Edition with augmented reality technology was the first to become available to developers who have found it to be a unique and useful tool in online teaching and in the classroom. A website was designed to instruct users in basic operations and how to record and stream live video to remote locations. With proliferating adoption of mobile devices, it is important that online instructional websites are optimized to respond to a range of device capabilities. User experience is a key usability element to mobile learning success. This project was a cross-device, mobile usability study of the website eLearn.Glass.

The focus of the research was the users’ overall satisfaction and perceived ease-of-use, effectiveness, learnability, and attractiveness of the website’s design and layout. Data were collected using a concurrent, moderated method via Google Hangouts following think-aloud protocols. An un-moderated online method was also used to gather data as was a pre-survey and post-survey. Screen activity was recorded and data were aggregated for analysis and reporting. Two rounds of iterative usability testing were conducted with 6 participants with revisions after each round based on user feedback. Study results showed iterative evaluations improved ease-of-use, effectiveness, and overall user satisfaction.

Low-income youth consistently demonstrate low self-efficacy and poor self-regulating behaviors, which in turn leads to low academic achievement. The purpose of this TCC presentation is to share the creation process and results of an online game-based instructional design module intended to increase these affective behaviors among low-income third, fourth, and fifth grade students in a residentially based afterschool program. The game, entitled This Is Me: Mars Escape, was created from scratch in GameSalad, a game-development software package for non-programmers.
Mars Escape uses John Keller’s ARCS model of motivation to engage players in a fictional world in which the fate of the human race rests on their shoulders. Albert Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy has four main aspects, three of which Mars Escape directly targets: mastery, modeling, and persuasion. In conjunction, Mars Escape targets self-regulating behaviors by encouraging the player to keep track of their progress in relation to their ultimate goal. In the hopes of making the in-game self-regulation a transferrable skill, the game integrates a challenge to players to think about their real life goals and ways to keep track of those goals.

This TCC presentation will discuss the game-creation process, as well as the unique challenges of targeting affective behaviors among a marginalized population.

This presentation will examine participant results, and discuss the theoretical frameworks and instructional design models that informed design choices.