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Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to explore whether students’ self-reported use of various learning strategies affected their perceptions on different course activities as well as their perceived performance in terms of both cognitive learning outcomes and general skills. Background: In a highly active learning environment that incorporates research into teaching, the effective use of various learning strategies is considered of high importance for the successful engagement of students. Yet, this line of research has mainly focused on individual learning. Shifting from individual to collaborative learning settings, the current study investigated whether students’ use of self-regulated learning, peer learning, and help seeking strategies influenced their perceptions on both the group activities and the respective outcomes. Methodology: At the beginning of the course, 81 first semester postgraduate students self-reported the level of use of self-regulated learning, peer learning, and help seeking strategies by filling in the respective subscales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Then, groups of 3 or 4 students were formed and instructed to create several learning artifacts of different types and conduct a peer-tutoring session, based on a topic assigned to them by the teacher. Additionally, the same groups conducted a research project of their own choice within course topics. Students’ final grade served as an indicator of their academic performance. At the end of the semester, students filled in a questionnaire eliciting their perceptions on the process and the outputs of the course activities. Finally, through statistical analysis of students’ responses to the questionnaires, the influence of learning strategies on students’ perceptions and their academic performance was examined. Contribution: Our findings contribute to the literature regarding the research-teaching nexus in higher education settings. More specifically, the study shows how students’ self-reported use of learning strategies affects students’ perceptions on the activities they were engaged in, their achievement of cognitive learning outcomes, and their skills development in a research-integrated course design. Findings: Students perceived differently the value of producing and studying learning artifacts. Students who scored higher in the self-regulated learning and peer learning subscales of MSLQ perceived their role as more active in the preparation of the presentation for the peer-tutoring session, which was the artifact that required higher level of interaction among the group members. Students’ final grades were influenced partially by their self-reported use of different learning strategies. Recommendations for Practitioners: Integrating research into teaching through the assignment of research-related tasks to students can promote students’ acquisition of domain knowledge and research skills. The merits of this approach can be further strengthened by having students working in groups and providing the outputs of their involvement in the research-related activities as learning material for their peers. Furthermore, students’ individual characteristics (e.g., use of learning strategies and preferences should be taken into account when designing course activities). Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should continue to explore the way that various learning strategies influence different aspects of the learning process, especially in the achievement of cognitive learning outcomes and the development of general skills. Impact on Society: Creating learning environments that foster students’ active engagement with the course material and peer collaboration should be a vital goal of higher education institutes as it can improve students’ performance and promote the necessary skills for self-directed and autonomous learning, a key competence in the modern workplace. Future Research: In this study, both cognitive learning outcomes and general skills were assessed by students’ final grade. In a future study, distinguishing these different types of learning outcomes would allow us to examine in more detail the impact of students’ learning strategies and course activities on the accomplishment of cognitive learning outcomes and general skills.

This paper presents the colMOOC project perspective for integrating a conversational agent service in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to facilitate peer dialogue during chat-based activities. Furthermore, it provides high level system architecture to highlight key aspects of the technology infrastructure and the functionality of the software system. The rationale of the approach follows the tenets of several converging theoretical perspectives emphasizing the value of learners' dialogue and constructive argumentation as knowledge building processes during collaborative activities. The MOOC teacher (domain expert) is expected to play a key role by entering in the system conceptual links that guide the agent to make relevant questioning interventions. Thus, the agent tool is mediating group-teacher interactions in a MOOC environment aiming to increase the transactive quality of peer dialogue. The paper discusses also the 'Academically Productive Talk' model that provides the basis for the agent interventions and the major software components of the system, including the colMOOC Editor and the colMOOC Player.

This paper examines ways to enrich the feedback information students receive in closed-type quiz activities that include a revision phase (i.e., students are allowed to change their initial answers after they receive information from their peers, teacher, or system). Typically, in such activities, the information students receive is based on the percentage of students under each possible question choice. The conducted study analyzes the potential of two additional variables, namely the students’ level of preparation and confidence. Both variables are self-reported and, therefore, subjective. During the Fall semester 2016, 91 sophomore students enrolled in an Information Systems course participated in the study for five weeks. The activity was taking place during the first 20 min of each class. Students had to go through three phases and (a) answer a multiple-choice quiz with 8 questions and 4 options for each question, (b) receive feedback based on the whole classroom population, and (c) see the correct answer and discuss them with the teacher in the lecture that follows. The students were randomly grouped into four conditions, based on the feedback they received. The control group only received information on the percentage of students that selected each choice, the Confidence group received feedback on the percentage and the average level of confidence of students that selected each choice, the Preparation group received feedback on the percentage and the average level of preparation of students that selected each choice, and finally the Both group received feedback on the percentage and both the average level of confidence and preparation of students that selected each choice. Result analysis showed that in the most challenging questions (i.e., the ones where students’ answers were diverging) the students in the Confidence, Preparation, and Both groups significantly outperformed the students in the Control group. In addition, both confidence and preparation variables were significantly correlated to students’ performance during the initial phase, suggesting that students were accurate and sincere in describing their preparation and confidence levels. This paper is an extended version of [1], presented at the 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education.

This study applies a mixed methods approach to analyze usability, collaboration, and playfulness aspects in introductory programming activities with tangible and graphical user interfaces of two groups of students (24 primary-scholars, 8–9yo; and 14 high-scholars, 12–13yo). The students had prior experience with the two interfaces, having used them in a previous study, a year earlier. In the present work, students started programming in dyads and used both interfaces (graphical - tangible) once again, but without scaffolding and user instructions. Initially, the students carried out programming tasks and then they were allowed to freely interact with the system and develop their programs in order to explore programming concepts on their own. Quantitative and qualitative analysis were based on Fun Toolkit survey, interviews, computer logs, and video records. Usability analysis focused on retention, error rate, and convenience and showed that although no difference between the two interfaces recorded, students’ perceived impression on retention was in favor of the tangible interface. Moreover, interaction with the tangible interface was perceived as more playful by all students and more appropriate for collaborative work by elder students and girls. Finally, gender effects regarding students’ preferences, mostly on the graphical interface, were recorded and analyzed.

Higher Education Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) introduce a way of transcending formal higher education by realizing technology-enhanced formats of learning and instruction and by granting access to an audience way beyond students enrolled in any one Higher Education Institution. However, although MOOCs have been reported as an efficient and important educational tool, there is a number of issues and problems related to their educational impact. More specifically, there is an important number of drop outs during a course, little participation, and lack of students’ motivation and engagement overall. This may be due to one-size-fits-all instructional approaches and very limited commitment to student-student and teacher-student collaboration. This paper introduces the development agenda of a newly started European project called “colMOOC” that aims to enhance the MOOCs experience by integrating collaborative settings based on Conversational Agents and screening methods based on Learning Analytics, to support both students and teachers during a MOOC course. Conversational pedagogical agents guide and support student dialogue using natural language both in individual and collaborative settings. Integrating this type of conversational agents into MOOCs to trigger peer interaction in discussion groups can considerably increase the engagement and the commitment of online students and, consequently, reduce MOOCs dropout rate. Moreover, Learning Analytics techniques can support teachers’ orchestration and students’ learning during MOOCs by evaluating students’ interaction and participation. The research reported in this paper is currently undertaken within the research project colMOOC funded by the European Commission.

Following the increased interest in students becoming partners in teaching and learning in higher education settings, this study explores students’ perceptions on a collaborative content generation activity, in which students assume also the role of peer-tutors. Students in an Information Systems course collaborated on domain topics, assigned to them by the teacher, and created learning material for their fellow students. In the peer-tutoring session following the creation of the learning material, students presented the topic in class and discussed it with their peers. Each peer tutoring session was assessed by the students as audience (students attending the student-tutoring sessions). The aim of the study is to explore students’ perspectives on the collaborative content generation assignment. Our focus primarily is to examine how students’ experiences regarding the collaboration were affected by learning strategies in self-regulation, peer learning, and help seeking. Results showed that students were more engaged in the course after participating in the co-creating learning material activity and also, four distinct patterns of collaboration were revealed by analyzing student activity. Even though students were in general satisfied with their collaboration, as they could suit the activity to their needs, those students who relied more on their group for help proved to be less satisfied by the communication among group members. In addition, the teacher and the audience evaluated positively the students’ performance as peer-tutors. This paper is an extended version of [1], presented at the 9th International Conference on Computer Supported Education.

This paper presents the results after four years of running of an instructional method that utilizes free/libre open source software (FLOSS) projects as tools for teaching software engineering in formal education. In the last four academic years, a total of 408 juniors majoring in Informatics (in a 4-year program) participated in the study, assuming the roles of requirements engineers, testers, developers, and designers/analysts. Students appreciated the benefits gained by the method and identified aspects that require further improvement. In the paper, we present (a) the details of our method, (b) students’ opinions as recorded through a questionnaire including both closed and open ended questions, and (c) conclusions on how the use of FLOSS projects can be applied, and be beneficial for the students.

This paper investigates the impact of the proposed ‘Make It Explicit!’ technique on students' learning when participating in scripted collaborative activities. The method posits that when asking students to proactively articulate their own positions explicitly, then improved peer interaction is triggered in a subsequent collaborative session. Forty-two (42) students worked collaboratively in dyads on a peer-review-scripted task with the aid of a Web-based technological system. Students were asked to individually study the same material and produce answers to study questions, review their peer's work and, finally, produce collaboratively revised common answers to the study questions. Dyads were randomly assigned in two conditions: low coercion (LC) and high coercion (HC). In the HC condition, students were required to write and submit to the system their reviews, prior to the task of producing the common answers to the study questions. In the LC condition, instead, submitting the individual review to the system was optional. By collecting and analysing both quantitative (pre- and post-test scores, measures of individual and collaborative learning) and qualitative (interviews, log files) data, it is shown that students in the HC condition applied better collaboration patterns and outperformed students in the LC condition in acquiring domain conceptual knowledge. Overall, this work analyses key aspects of implementing the ‘Make It Explicit!’ technique and concludes that it can efficiently improve collaborative learning outcomes by increasing script coercion.

This book explores the concepts for innovation and entrepreneurship through multiple lenses in the context of education. Mixing equal parts theory and practice, this volume takes a closer look on how innovation and entrepreneurship are approached around the globe as disciplines, methods, and mindsets.

Research on the impact of peer rating PR has provided encouraging results, as a method to foster collaborative learning and improve its outcomes. The scope of this paper is to discuss peer rating towards two specific directions that usually are neglected in the CSCL field, namely: a coaching of objective anonymous peer rating through a rubric, and b provision of peer rating summary information during collaboration. The case study utilized an asynchronous CSCL tool with the two aforementioned capabilities. Initial results showed that peer rating, when anonymous, and guided, can be as reliable as off-line expert/teacher rating, with indications that this process can foster collaboration.

This paper presents nine educational games and activities for learning the Arabic language developed for Arabiyyatii project, a three-year endeavor that involves re-conceptualization of the standard Arabic language learning curriculum as a first language for kindergarten students. The applications presented in this paper are developed for tabletop surface computers, which support a collaborative and interactive learning environment. These applications focus on speaking, word production, and sentence recognition of the Modern Standard Arabic to young native speakers. This work employs an interdisciplinary research framework, exploiting best practices used from related disciplines. Namely: computer-supported collaborative learning, language learning, teaching and learning pedagogy, instructional design and scaffolding.

This paper presents the use of educational games in the context of the “Arabiyyatii” research project, a three-year project funded through Qatar National Research Fund. The scope of the project is teaching Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) to kindergarten students (5-6 years old) that are native speakers of the Qatari dialect. Part of the new curriculum envisioned in the project includes the use of simple educational games, specifically designed and developed for tabletop surface computers. The paper presents a naturalistic study design, following the activities of 18 students for a period of 9 weeks in the project. The paper presents three of the most played games by the students, along with analysis on collected data, focusing on students’ performance and attitudes towards the new curriculum. Results analysis provided an encouraging image, suggesting that the conducted activity was able to increase students’ engagement in language learning, increase their exposure to MSA, and develop their vocabulary.

This paper investigates the possible benefits as well as the overall impact on the behaviour of students within a learning environment, which is based on double-blinding reviewing of freely selected peer works. Fifty-six sophomore students majoring in Informatics and Telecommunications Engi-neering volunteered to participate in the study. The experiment was conducted in a controlled environment, according to which students were divided into three groups of different conditions: control, usage data, usage and ranking data. No additional information was made available to students in the control condition. The students that participated in the other two conditions were provided with their usage information (logins, peer work viewed/reviewed, etc.), while members of the last group could also have access to ranking information about their positioning in their group, based on their usage data. According to our findings, students’ performance between the groups were comparable, however, the Ranking group revealed differences in the resulted behavior among its members. Specifically, awareness of ranking information mostly benefited students which were relatively in favor of ranking, motivating them to further engage and perform better than the rest of the group members.

Conversational agents that draw on the framework of academically productive talk (APT) have been lately shown to be effective in helping learners sustain productive forms of peer dialogue in diverse learning settings. Yet, literature suggests that more research is required on how learners respond to and benefit from such flexible agents in order to fine-tune the design of automated APT intervention modes and, thus, enhance agent pedagogical efficacy. Building on this line of research, this work explores the impact of a configurable APT agent that prompts peers to build on prior knowledge and logically connect their contributions to important domain concepts discussed in class. A total of 96 computer science students engaged in a dialogue-based activity in the context of a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) university course. During the activity, students worked online in dyads to accomplish a learning task. The study compares three conditions: students who collaborated without any agent interference (control), students who received undirected agent interventions that addressed both peers in the dyad (U treatment), and students who received directed agent interventions addressing a particular learner instead of the dyad (D treatment). The results suggest that although both agent intervention methods can improve students’ learning outcomes and dyad in-task performance, the directed one is more effective than the undirected one in enhancing individual domain knowledge acquisition and explicit reasoning. Furthermore, findings show that the positive effect of the agent on dyad performance is mediated by the frequency of students’ contributions displaying explicit reasoning, while most students perceive agent involvement favorably.

This paper presents the rationale behind the utilization of a Moodle Learning Management System for the facilitation of a blended learning approach in the Informatics department. The authors present and analyze the steps followed in order to replace the prior decentralized organizational structure of the courses, which consisted of a multitude of different and incompatible systems. The main goal was to implement a single system, which would be easy to operate, maintain, and update, and would cater to the variety of instructor and student needs. Furthermore, evaluation data of the new system is presented in detail. The analysis of the results serves to confirm the success of this department-wide migration.

This study investigates the effectiveness of two variants of a prompting strategy that guides students to focus on important issues when learning in an ill-structured domain. Students in three groups studied individually Software Project Management (SPM) cases for a week, using a web-based learning environment designed especially for this purpose. The first group (control) studied the cases without any prompting. The second group (“writing mode”) studied the same cases, while prompted to provide written answers to a set of knowledge integration prompts meant to engage students in deeper processing of the material. The third group (“thinking mode”) studied the cases, while prompted only to think of possible answers to the same question prompts. Results indicated that students in the writing condition group outperformed the others in both domain knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer post-test items. Several students in the thinking condition group skipped the question prompts, while those that reported having reflected on the material were unable to achieve high performance comparable to the writing condition group. Overall, the study provides evidence that the implementation of prompting techniques in technology-enhanced learning environments may lead to improved outcomes, when combined with the requirement that students provide their answers in writing.

This study was designed to investigate the impact of question prompts that guide students to focus on context-related issues when learning through cases in an ill-structured domain. Three groups of undergraduate students studied cases during a lab-session time period using a web-based environment. The first group studied without any question prompts. The second group studied the same material while prompted to provide written answers to embedded questions in the cases. The third group studied while having only to think of possible answers for the question prompts. In this study, we explored how the questioning intervention affected students’ conceptual knowledge of the domain and their problem-solving ability. Post-tests did not reveal significant statistical differences in the groups’ performance, indicating that under specific study conditions the prompting impact is not traceable in the learning outcomes. This result, however, is discussed in the light of a previous study, which showed that this context-oriented prompting method had a beneficial effect on student learning in a prolonged study-time setting, where students were able to self-regulate their study activity.

This study investigates the hypothesis that students' learning and problem-solving performance in ill-structured domains can be improved, if elaborative question prompts are used to activate students' context-generating cognitive processes, during case study. Two groups of students used a web-based learning environment to criss-cross and study case-based material in the software project management domain. The experimental group was additionally prompted to consistently answer a set of questions based on a model of context-generating processes, meant to engage students in deeper processing of information presented in cases. Students were also classified as having either ''complex'' or ''simple'' EB profile (based on their epistemological beliefs record), thereby establishing a 2x2 factorial design. Results indicated that scaffolding treatment had a significant main effect on students' performance, with the experimental group performing better in both domain knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer post-test items. There is also tentative indication that EB profile and scaffolding treatment interact, with complex-EB learners benefiting most from the scaffolded condition. Overall, the study provides evidence that it is possible to improve individual learning in a technology environment for case-based learning, by implementing appropriate questioning strategies that trigger students to activate their context-generating cognitive processes, while studying the contextually rich material of cases.

This paper presents the rationale behind the utilization of a Moodle Learning Management System for the facilitation of a blended learning approach in the Informatics department. The authors present and analyze the steps followed in order to replace the prior decentralized organizational structure of the courses, which consisted of a multitude of different and incompatible systems. The main goal was to implement a single system, which would be easy to operate, maintain, and update, and would cater to the variety of instructor and student needs. Furthermore, evaluation data of the new system is presented in detail. The analysis of the results serves to confirm the success of this department-wide migration.

This paper focuses on the effect that usage data and group ranking information may have when are presented to students in a peer review setting. The study analyzes the performance and attitudes of 56 sophomore students enrolled in a Network Planning and Design course. The students, grouped randomly in three different conditions, followed the prescriptions of a free-selection peer review protocol that guided students in double-blind review process, allowing them to select on their own peer work for review. Students in the first condition acted as the control group without any information on their usage data or rankings. Students in the second condition had access to usage data information mirroring their activity in the study, while students in the third condition received additional information on their rankings inside their group. Result analysis suggests that, while there is not difference in domain knowledge acquisition, engagement was higher in the third group, with students spending more time in the activity and expressing a more positive attitude towards the study.

The paper proposes a framework for the certification of free/libre open source software FLOSS projects. The process is two-fold and is based on our experience over the last four years of using FLOSS for teaching software engineering in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The premise of the paper is that students' engagement with real open source projects, and more specifically with the respective open source communities, can be an effective instructional method for skill development. We argue that through such a process, the students are able to get familiar with tools and technologies used in FLOSS and receive certification as FLOSS participants. On the other hand, the students can also review and evaluate the FLOSS project they use during the learning activity from different perspectives. In more advanced learning activities, this evaluation can be based on certification standards, providing in that way a valuable source of feedback to the open source community.

This paper presents initial results regarding writing activities in the context of the XXXXXX project. The goal of the project is to teach Modern Standard Arabic in 5-year-old kindergarten students in Qatar. A total of 18 students, enrolled in the ‘Arabic Class’, participated for 9 weeks in the activities of the project. All students were native speakers of the Qatari dialect. Learning activities involved both typical instructional methods, and the use of specifically designed tools for tabletop surface computers. The paper focuses on writing activities and on how the affordances of surface computers affected students’ performance and attitude towards the Arabic class and, consequently, the Arabic language.

This paper presents a comparative analysis of Free/Libre Open Source Software FLOSS Learning Management System LMS. Following a selection process we analyze the functionalities and characteristics of 8 tools commonly used in formal and informal education. More specifically we focus on the availability of different tools concerning communication and assistance, such as, forum, email, calendar, portfolios, etc. Our analysis showed that despite their similarities, the appropriateness of different FLOSS LMSs can be greatly affected by the specific needs of students, instructors and institutions.

This chapter features a number of case studies that illustrate the variety of shades and formats of open education (OE). The unbundling and institutional detachment of the traditional formal education package provides the opportunity to develop services around the respective component parts of a larger curriculum, such as ‘Open Content’, ‘Open Degrees’, ‘Open Assessment’, ‘Open Learning’, ‘Open Tutoring’, ‘Open Technology’ and ‘Open Communities’. Each of such component parts potentially in turn allows for the development and provision of services that might be provided not only to the learner, but also to education providers, as depicted in Fig. 1.

The paper presents ongoing work on the ALADDIN project, a 3-year endeavor that involves the re-conceptualization of the standard Arabic language learning curriculum for kindergarten students in Qatar, supported by a comprehensive technology-enhanced learning framework. The curriculum, scheduled for September '13, follows an adapted version of the traditional folk Aladdin story, divided into 22 episodes, presented over a 45-lesson series (9 weeks). During the second half of each lesson, instruction is based on educational technology. The learning goals of letter recognition and production are served through storyboarding, learning activities, and educational games, specifically designed for tabletop computers and situated in the contextual theme created by the story. The unique affordances of the underlying technology provide a highly collaborative and interactive environment, while the ability of tabletops to recognize tangibles via tags creates a more vivid experience for the students. The paper discusses: (a) the specific context of this work and the instructional goals, (b) the theoretical foundations of the new curriculum, (c) the unique characteristics of the technology used and the design issues raised, (d) preliminary data gathered by observing young children using the technology, and (e) examples of learning activities and games designed for the project.

This paper presents the results after three years of running of an instructional method that utilizes free/libre open source software (FLOSS) projects as tools for teaching software engineering in formal education. In the last three academic years, a total of 268 juniors majoring in Informatics (in a 4-year program) participated in study, assuming the roles of testers, developers, and requirements engineers. Students appreciated the benefits gained by the method and identified aspects that require further improvement. In the following, we present (a) the details of our method, (b) students’ opinions as recorded through a questionnaire including both closed and open ended questions, and (c) conclusions on how the use of FLOSS projects can be applied and proved beneficial for the students.

This study provides field research evidence on the efficiency of a ''free-selection'' peer review assignment protocol as compared to the typically implemented ''assigned-pair'' protocol. The study employed 54 sophomore students who were randomly assigned into three groups: Assigned-Pair (AP) (the teacher assigns student works for review to student pairs), Free-Selection (FS) (students are allowed to freely explore and select peer work for review), and No Review (NR) (control group). AP and FS student groups studied and reviewed peer work in the domain of Computer Networking, supported by a web-based environment designed to facilitate the two peer review protocols. Our results indicate that students following the Free Selection protocol demonstrate (a) better domain learning outcomes, and (b) better reviewer skills, compared to the AP condition. Overall, the study analyzes the benefits and shortcomings of the FS vs AP review assignment protocol, providing evidence that the FS condition can be multiply beneficial to students who engage in peer review activities.

Understanding and describing professional practice, especially in Engineering and the Sciences, has always been at the heart of research in Professional Communication. Several significant field research projects have showed us that content knowledge alone is not sufficient to claim disciplinary expertise; a rhetorical understanding of the discipline and its ways of thinking is essential in achieving full participation in the field. Most professionals would expect that such a sophisticated approach can only be learned through on-the-job training or opportunities to interact with practitioners within authentic disciplinary contexts. Although this can certainly be the case in many instances, we argue that a rhetorical understanding can be enacted even within a freshman writing classroom. The results of our content and rhetorical analyses of student work from the beginning and the end of a course on academic writing with the theme of sustainability show that students were able in one semester to write in discipline-appropriate ways and understand the rhetorical strategies necessary to become part of a disciplinary conversation. The implications of our findings can extend into the way we design courses in basic writing or professional communication and the ways we can use pre-assessment data to drive our course design decisions.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of question prompts on student learning in relation to their learning styles. The context of the study is technology‐enhanced learning in an ill‐structured domain.Design/methodology/approachThe study conditions were the same for all the students in the four learning style groups. Student learning style was the independent variable, while students' attitudes and task performance were the dependent variables of the study. Pre‐test treatment post‐test method was used. Students studied in a web‐based learning environment during treatment.FindingsThe integration of question prompts as student supporting tool in technology‐enhanced learning environments might not improve learning for all students alike independent of their learning styles.Research limitations/implicationsSmall uneven groups because the researcher has no control over the student distribution across the different learning style profiles.Practical implicationsThe suggestion for designers is to consider combining prompting with other scaffolding methods, in order to effectively support all students independent of their learning styles.Originality/valueThe paper combines learning in ill‐structured domains through cases and a scaffolding method based on question prompts focusing on contextual elements. The results of the study inform the designers of TELEs that although prompting can be generally helpful, parameters such as the students' learning style are able to limit the cognitive benefit emerging from the prompting intervention.

This work explores the role of students' motivation and metacognitive skills as moderating factors that influence the impact of an instructional method in the ill-structured domain of Software Project Management (SPM). In order to teach aspects of the SPM domain, we developed a web environment for case-based learning and implemented additionally a questioning strategy to help students focus on important parts of the case material. The paper presents the results from three studies revealing how students' motivation and metacognitive awareness influenced their engagement in the cognitively challenging situations induced by the method. The implication for instructors and designers is that implementing a promising method, to help students efficiently process the complex material in an ill-structured domain, might not always lead to the desired learning outcomes. Students' motivation and metacognitive skills should also be addressed, in order to maximize the potential benefits of instruction.

Software project management (SPM) is an ill-structured domain, where past experiences of project management can become valuable learning resources for novices. To support instruction in the domain, we have developed the eCASE-SPM Web environment, for engaging students in case-based instruction and help them develop SPM related problem solving skills. This work presents major design issues of the environment and initial research results regarding (a) a student-based evaluation, connecting also students' attitudes to their learning styles, and (b) the learning effectiveness of the environment, investigating the use of embedded question prompts as students' cognitive scaffolds. Results so far reveal interesting interactions between students' learning styles and their attitudes towards learning in the eCASE-SPM environment. Furthermore, there is strong indication that using question prompts may have beneficial effect on students' learning and problem solving abilities, although fading out of the scaffolding should be implemented to moderate students' workload.

Case-based learning is expected to enhance students' awareness of the various contextual factors, which affect problem solving in ill structured domains. An interesting question is always how to engage students in efficient processing of the case-based learning material. In this paper, we present the design and preliminary evaluation results of the eCASE environment, a generic Web-based environment for supporting case-based instruction. eCASE allows instructors to develop appropriate study paths for students to criss-cross the case-based information landscape. Furthermore, it supports students' study by providing scripts, which scaffold them when processing the learning material. A script in eCASE models the cognitive processes related to context awareness and guides students to focus on important events, recall relative cases and reach useful conclusions. First evaluation results indicate that students acknowledge the learning efficiency of scripted material. However, design improvements are also necessary to make scripts more appealing and less monotonous for students

Supporting students’ awareness of the complex way that contextual issues affect knowledge application in authentic situations is a critical instructional mission and can lead to improved problem solving in the workplace. In this work we present the design of e-CASE (Context Awareness Supporting Environment), which is a case based learning environment for supporting instruction in the domain of software development. In designing e-CASE we employ a model for context which further guides the use of script and narrative control techniques as external representations for enhancing students’ context awareness. Our system applies an appropriate metadata scheme for connecting various pieces of information and creating crossing paths for the learner, in the web of authentic application cases. It also provides functionality for updating and extending its content allowing people from the workplace to become content providers. Thus, we argue, e-CASE can help bridging the contextual distance, supporting the development of an extended learning community by establishing flexible and instructionally efficient links between the traditional educational settings and the workplace.

International audience; New paleomagnetic data obtained from volcanic and plutonic formations in Thrace (Northern Aegea) show that this region has not undergone any significant rotation since the Lower Oligocene. The mean value of the inclination is shallower than expected on the basis of a geocentered dipole field implying a large northward drift of about 1000 km. Although a comparison with published data from Bulgaria leads to a puzzling large shortening between these two regions, the measured shallow inclinations are coherent with most of other paleomagnetic studies from Oligocene formations throughout the entire Mediterranean area. Together with published results from Chalkidiki Peninsula, our data suggest that the 'Circus Rhodopean Belt' was almost rectilinear and trending E-W in Lower Oligocene time.