Incorporating Human Factors in Course Design: Utility of Wearable Technologies
The purpose of this paper is to describe efforts taken by Texas A&M University at Qatar to bridge the gap between traditional modes of instruction and a new tech-savvy student populace. The undertaking proved to be challenging as it required addressin
- PDF / 364,810 Bytes
- 12 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 96 Downloads / 196 Views
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to describe efforts taken by Texas A&M University at Qatar to bridge the gap between traditional modes of instruction and a new tech-savvy student populace. The undertaking proved to be challenging as it required addressing the buildup of a technology infrastructure, development of training programs, and establishment of motivational strategies to encourage experimentation with innovative teaching ideas. One promising idea that resulted from the aforementioned efforts showed that the approach of incorporating elements of technologies that are pervasive among students in course design has the potential to promote acceptance and enable effectiveness. A pilot study that is discussed in this paper utilized a wearable technology with an optical head mounted display to develop multimedia instructions for chemical engineering students. Student surveys revealed mixed reactions to different parts of the study but the overall enthusiasm about the approach remained positive.
Keywords Wearable technologies Augmented reality instruction Engineering education
Human factors Video
1 Introduction The precipitous increase in the popularity of modern technologies among students is increasingly challenging the status quo of the educational system. Higher education institutions need to evolve and reinvent many of the practices to appeal to their student populace. Pairing teaching and learning strategies with appropriate M. Ismail (&) H. Parsaei (&) K. Kakosimos (&) Texas A&M University at Qatar, Education City, Doha, Qatar e-mail: [email protected] H. Parsaei e-mail: [email protected] K. Kakosimos e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 J.I. Kantola et al. (eds.), Advances in Human Factors, Business Management, Training and Education, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 498, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42070-7_16
159
160
M. Ismail et al.
device and technology trends can greatly enhance the motivation to learn [1–3]. Ergonomics and human factors can play a critical role in analyzing the abilities and behaviors of student users and employing the gained knowledge in designing tools, products, and systems that are safer, acceptable, and more effective. Generational research has already identified many of the characteristics of new student learners [4]. Although much of the work done focused on specific geographies, it is safe to say that many of the attributes are applicable to the Middle Eastern student population. This observation is particularly true in relation to technology linked traits: Students are tech-savvy, accustomed to using social media sites and tools, dependent on search engines for information, comfortable exploring new technologies, and enjoy gaming more than any other generation [5]. Additionally, new student generations are good at multi-tasking, value collaboration, and often mix work and leisure times [5, 6]. Optimizing the outcomes of technology implementations require accounting for us
Data Loading...
