Feedback Enhanced Environment for Learning (FEEL) May 3 rd, 2004 DLC Hands-on Project

Members William Beachley Jun Chen Huda Khan Sarah Kim-Warren Scott Zweig

Problem Statement Traditional Education  Transfer Model  Lecture-style classes  Limited Interaction Large Classes  Lack of Discussion and Questions Interruption and Intrusion Awkwardness How to Gauge Student Interest/Understanding?

Non-Technological Solutions Incorporation of Collaborative Techniques  Pairs Think-Pair Share, Dyads  Peer-Support and Instruction Workshops, Supplemental Instruction  Cooperative Groups Benefit: Students Engaged Limitation:  Instructor-Initiated  Feedback Limited

Existing Technological Solutions Clicker  Multiple-Choice Questions  Display Number of Students per choice ClassTalk  Tasks Sent Via Computer  Special Text Entry Devices Benefit: Instant Feedback  Real-time Statistics  Student Interest Limitation: Instructor-Initiated

Aspects of Interactive Systems Multiple Channels for Collaboration in Parallel Initiated by Both Instructor and Student Non-Intrusive: Response Time Flexibility User-Customization and Extensibility

Database Application Server FEEL Overview Web Server Instructor Interface Students Interface Database-Driven Dynamic Web Application Two kinds of Users: Instructor Students

FEEL Functions InstructorStudents Multiple Choice Questions Add, Edit, Del. View Answers (Individual, Collective) Answer Simple FeedbackAdd, Edit, Del. Options View, Reset Counts Submit InquiriesAnswer, Del.Post Vote Account Mgmt.Create, Edit

FEEL Characteristics Multiple channels for Instructors and Students:  Multiple Choice Questions, Simple Feedback, Inquiries Initiation of Collaboration  Instructor: Multiple Choice Questions  Student: Simple Feedback, Inquiries Non-Intrusive  Instructor: Answer Inquiries, View Feedback Customization  Instructor: Simple Feedback Options (Add, Extend)

FEEL Implementation (I) MySQL Client Browser Apache Tomcat Technologies: Open Source Cross-Platform Compatibility Jakarta Struts Web Application

FEEL Implementation (II) Client Browser Apache Tomcat Jakarta Struts (Model View Controller) Request Response Controller (Servlet) View (JSP) Business Logic Actions Model (Server Side Objects) MySQL (Questions Inquiries Accounts) Dispatch Extract Update Forward

Demo

User Evaluation Process  2 Students, 2 Instructors  Each had a different evaluation process  Simulated real time tasks and operations  Interacted with the System

User Feedback Student Comments  Positive: multiple choice question feature, ease of use, anonymous input  Negative: potentially distracting, plain/boring Instructor Comments  Positive: instant return of feedback/assessment  Negative: lack of an undo feature, distracting from lecture material

Future Work Scope: Multiple Class Sessions Lesson Plan Specification and Integration Student Profile  Feedback linked to topic  Monitor Student Behavior Over Time Advanced Inquiry Management Access: PDAs

Questions?