Learner behavior analysis in a virtual simulation laboratory

Bo Jiang， Ming Gao， Jihong Ding， Xiaoxia Wang and Wanjian Li

Computer technology has been widely and effectively used to simulate actual operation in virtual simulation laboratories for practical engineering instruction. In order to identify individual differences， understand cognitive processes and improve effectiveness in practical engineering instruction， it is of great significance for learner behaviors to be analyzed in virtual simulation laboratory platforms， and for the relationship to be explored between learner behaviors and learning results. Using research instruments of statistics， correlation analysis， qualitative analysis and regression analysis， and taking the case of a virtual simulation course Digital Circuits， this study focused on the learner behaviors in the virtual platform and their characteristics， analyzing the correlation between learner behaviors and learning results. The results show that learner behaviors vary very much， and there is a significant positive correlation between learners five types of participation （Diagram， FSM， Properties， Study， TextEditor） and learning results. Properties are the key factor affecting learning results， through which teachers can monitor and intervene learner participation.

Keywords： learner behaviors； learning analysis； learning results； engineering education； virtual simulation； Digital Circuits

Interaction between learners emotional aspects and search task type and its influence on online information search experience

Jinbo Tan and Guangxin Wang

With more and more attention drawn to the role of emotional factors in online learning， this study， based on the platform Internet Search Behavior Analysis System， explored the influence of learners emotional aspects and search task type on their search behaviors and search performance in different task contexts through experiments. The results show that emotional aspects have a significant effect on question answering ability and web page reading ability. Search task type has a significant effect on information selecting ability and web page reading ability. The interaction between learners emotional aspects and search task type has a significant effect on question answering ability. In addition， search task type has a significant effect on search performance， and the interaction effects of emotional aspects and search task type on search performance are also very significant. This study proves that learners emotional tendency plays an important role in the online information search experience.

Keywords： learner emotional aspects； search task； information search； search experience； search behavior； search performance

Factors affecting teachers use of online training and research workshops

Guohua Wang and Liguo Zhang

It is of great significance to understand the factors affecting teachers use of online training and research workshops （OTRW）. In this study， teachers participation in online training and research was analyzed， and a hypothetical model was established based on the technology acceptance model. A questionnaire survey was administered among teachers from kindergartens， primary and secondary schools， participating in “Information Technology Capacity Building Project”. The results show that teachers intention in using online training and research workshops can be affected by these factors： social needs， work performance， objectivity in using OTRW， computer efficacy and external support. The impact of computer efficacy on perceived ease of use is positively adjusted by user experience while that of work performance on perceived usefulness negatively adjusted by user experience. Strategies were suggested based on analysis of relative factors.

Keywords： online training and research； teacher workshop； teacher training； information technology； influence factors； technology acceptance model

Building capacity for open educational practices in Australian higher education

Carina Bossu

Open education， in particular open educational practices （OEP） has already impacted educational systems around the world. In higher education more specifically， it has benefited learners and educators and influenced current strategic plans and policies. In addition， recent open education has influenced nation-wide research policy and funding. OEP engagement and adoption can vary from institutions to institutions due to many organizational factors， including culture， related policies， infrastructure， willingness and awareness. These organizational factors can enable， but also pose challenges to educational institutions globally. However， many studies have argued that a key strategy to OEP adoption is capacity building. This is probably why capacity building is the predominant activity amongst the universities experimenting with OEP in Australia. This paper explores some of the recent capacity building initiatives for OEP in Australian higher education. It starts with a brief discussion about the role of capacity building more traditional approaches to capacity building， followed by some recommendations and considerations.

Keywords： capacity building； open educational practice； open educational practice and capacity building； Australian higher education

Design framework of personalized resources recommendation system informed by big data in education： the case of the State Benchmark Courses

Bao Li and Donghong Zhang

A learner characteristics model was established in this study based chiefly on dynamic data from the ongoing learning behaviors and secondarily on learners personalized static data. A design framework of personalized resources recommendation system was constructed with reference to Hadoop data processing technology covering data collection， data storage， data analysis and data presentation. An integrated recommendation approach was suggested with reference to proximity of resources， matrix library of similar users， feature matching， learner feedback and contents.

Keywords： educational big data； personalized learning； learner characteristics； Hadoop； personalized resources recommendation

（英文目錄、摘要譯者：劉占榮）