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1 – 10 of over 4000Wei Ching Lee and Bernard Cheng Yian Tan
The purpose of this study is to scrutinise individual learning strategies in their workplace when they were experiencing digital innovation. Moreover, the respective enablers and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to scrutinise individual learning strategies in their workplace when they were experiencing digital innovation. Moreover, the respective enablers and challenges of each category of strategies were explored to conceptualise supporting features needed in the digital learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a qualitative inquiry to understand employees’ workplace learning strategies and the respective enablers, and challenges in each category of strategies. Twenty employees across different industries were interviewed, and a two-cycle inductive coding analysis was adopted to identify the categories of learning strategies.
Findings
Four categories of workplace learning strategies were identified: self-driven, social-leveraged, enterprise-oriented and information and technology-enhanced (IT-enhanced) strategies. Enablers and challenges of each category were also presented in this study.
Practical implications
The findings provide insights for individuals to establish a repertoire of learning strategies. The inadequate use of IT-enhanced strategies is additionally addressed.
Originality/value
This study examined workplace learning strategies in the context of digital innovation. Based on the empirical findings and existing literature, this study proposes a framework with the supporting features for a digital learning environment.
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Based on a 2015 research survey by the author, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate a group of tablet- and smartphone-based software in order to recommend which one (or two…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on a 2015 research survey by the author, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate a group of tablet- and smartphone-based software in order to recommend which one (or two) best matches the requirements for building construction field quality management. The secondary purpose of this paper is to identify which usage criteria best represent the needs of designers and builders. A tertiary but equally important purpose is to identify best means for knowledge transfer to up to 100 project teams per year.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a previously developed in-house questionnaire comprising 34 evaluation criteria, the author identified and evaluated eight currently available field quality management software being used by project teams in several different branches of the author’s building construction company. Evaluation involved face-to-face meetings with each of the 11 project teams using a standard questionnaire. Software vendors were also interviewed. Each comment made during interviews was captured and the results were communicated back to the team members for review – there were several comments and clarifications received in this manner. Questionnaires were evaluated, findings and recommendations drafted and circulated to senior management for review.
Findings
Out of the original 34 evaluation criteria, there emerged 12 field-derived evaluation criteria; an additional five arose from the site office, for a total of 17 out of the original 34. While site office-based personnel were comfortable with tablet-based software solutions, field staff such as superintendents favored smartphone-based solutions. Where field staff were required to use tablets for field quality management, they insisted on being accompanied by junior project management staff to act as scribes – all agreed this was inefficient.
Research limitations/implications
The eight software products selected for evaluation were limited to those already in use in the company; in one case a product was evaluated due to strong recommendations from staff based on hearsay. There are many more field quality management software and the field is changing rapidly, however the author believes the findings are of value in analyzing any current or future offering.
Practical implications
The ideal building construction field staff member should be equipped with a tablet used periodically during the workday to access the most up-to-date project documents. But the same individual should use a smartphone for the large majority of quality management observations, such as identifying and tracking to resolution deficiencies and non-conformances. Details of this mix and usage have not been previously identified.
Originality/value
In addition to evaluating a variety of field quality management software and identifying selection criteria, the paper identifies a practical implementation protocol that will maximize the likelihood of successful implementation.
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Kyong eun Oh and Jacek Gwizdka
This study seeks to explore technology use in a higher education classroom with the focus on tablet computers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to explore technology use in a higher education classroom with the focus on tablet computers.
Design/methodology/approach
Study participants consisted of 36 undergraduate students from Rutgers University's Information Technology and Informatics major. Data were collected using an online survey, a classroom observation, and a group interview.
Findings
The study findings demonstrate unexpected technology uses that can be explained by the characteristics of the student group, the Net generation, namely, their impatient multi‐tasking and opportunistic behaviour. Students used tablet computers to take notes, conduct group activities and interact with the instructor. Students’ preference for typing was found to be a barrier in their adoption of tablet computers.
Research limitations/implications
The findings can help technology developers and educators better understand and optimize their use of computing technology in higher education. Limitations of this study include only one class was studied, and classroom observation probed student behaviors only at selected points in time.
Originality/value
The unique value of the study included: the study was not limited to tablet technology and investigated students’ use of multiple technologies; the study captured student behaviors in an actual learning environment, and the study provides empirical evidence for students’ multi‐tasking in a classroom and for their use of tablet computers for hand writing.
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R. van Oostveen, William Muirhead and William M. Goodman
This study aims to examine the experience of 31 university students who were issued tablet PCs for their use during an academic year. The primary research problem which drove this…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the experience of 31 university students who were issued tablet PCs for their use during an academic year. The primary research problem which drove this project revolved around the student perceptions of the benefits of technology to provide opportunities to restructure their learning experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
The students were surveyed twice during the year and they were invited to participate in either individual interviews or a series of focus groups. A number of lectures were also visited and observed. The survey results provided quantitative data regarding student usage of the technology. The interviews, focus groups and observed classes provided data around the reasons why the students used the technology in the ways they did.
Findings
Little evidence was found to support a contention that meaningful learning with technology had occurred and, in spite of their comfort and familiarity with the technology, there is no evidence of changing attitudes with respect to meaningful learning on the part of the students surveyed in this study.
Research limitations/implications
A major application of this should be directed towards similar studies focused on combining the redefinition usage potential of new touch interface‐driven devices, such as the iPad, with a new pedagogical approaches to support learners to use the technology as cognitive tools.
Originality/value
It is important to note that the introduction of a new technology, even if it makes a wide variety of affordances available for use, cannot by itself, instigate redefinition of learning tasks to allow for meaningful learning to occur.
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Kuo-Liang Huang, Kuo-Hsiang Chen and Chun-Heng Ho
Tablets are becoming mainstream devices for digital reading. Through user experience (UX), the purpose of this paper is to identify significant differences between tablet reading…
Abstract
Purpose
Tablets are becoming mainstream devices for digital reading. Through user experience (UX), the purpose of this paper is to identify significant differences between tablet reading systems and other digital reading systems, explore potential requirements for the interactive interface, and propose design solutions so that user’ behavioral intention (BI) may be further enhanced.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors extracted the context of use and behavior patterns by conducting contextual inquiries; then, potential requirements were identified and design solutions were developed; last, the technology acceptance model was employed to verify research findings.
Findings
The outcome shows that the improved version of the interactive interface is significantly (p<0.05) superior to the original version in various aspects, including perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, user attitude, and BI.
Originality/value
So far, there has been no relevant research on UX concerning tablet reading systems. Therefore, this study first tried to investigate the primary difference between tablet reading systems and other digital reading systems in context of use and behavior patterns. Then, based on the foregoing discoveries, users’ motivations and perception of tablet readers were probed, and the problems with BI could be solved.
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Robert Garrick, Larry Villasmil, Elizabeth Dell and Rhiannon Hart
This chapter reviews student engagement and learning over of a six year study period (>500 students) in a technology rich learning environment. The technology rich learning…
Abstract
This chapter reviews student engagement and learning over of a six year study period (>500 students) in a technology rich learning environment. The technology rich learning environment in this project consists of tablet PCs for each student (1:1 environment), visually immersive multiple projection screens, and collaborative digital inking software. This chapter reviews the education problem being addressed, and the learning theory used as a lens to focus specific active learning pedagogical techniques to address the educational problem. From this problem-based learning theory grounded approach, the features desired in a technology rich learning environment were developed. The approach is shared in this chapter with specific detailed examples to allow others to implement technology rich learning environments with active learning pedagogical approaches to address specific education problems in their institution. The technology rich learning environment implemented and studied includes multiple hardware/software pieces to create a system level solution versus a single device or single app solution.
The purpose of this paper is primarily to report on a 2011 online discussion on tablets and their adoption in libraries, as observed by the researcher in blog postings and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is primarily to report on a 2011 online discussion on tablets and their adoption in libraries, as observed by the researcher in blog postings and micro‐blog postings.
Design/methodology/approach
The researcher examined blogs and tweets about the diffusion of tablets in academic libraries to find out why early adopters or academic librarians adopted tablets and implemented them into library services.
Findings
Results reveal that academic librarians and libraries adopt and integrate tablets into library services because they can offer wireless access to the library's e‐collection and e‐resources in ways better than e‐readers or smartphones and because librarians have some level of familiarity with using tablets for their own work purposes before they considered extending such purposes to users.
Practical implications
Academic libraries are investing in devices to facilitate users' access to growing e‐resources. Tablet devices are one such option. However, many tablets are expensive, equalling or totalling more than the costs of laptops. The decision to adopt and implement them into library services needs to be informed by the experiences of others, in order to determine if it is a worthwhile purchase.
Originality/value
This paper departs from the general pattern of library literature on the subject of tablet adoption, by breaking with the tradition of being only informed by practice and emerging trial and error, to a more reflective approach to those experiences informed by Rogers' theory of the diffusions of innovations.
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Eloise Atkinson, John Spillane, Jim Bradley and Tara Brooks
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges faced with mobile information communication technology (M-ICT), more specifically tablet software, in the construction…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges faced with mobile information communication technology (M-ICT), more specifically tablet software, in the construction phase of UK infrastructure projects. Quality assurance in the context of passive fire protection is scrutinised, where M-ICT use is prevalent, to provide an industry perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is founded on exploratory multiple case study approach. Specific themes are developed, based on a critical review of previous ICT studies. The themes identified are used to inform a qualitative interview protocol for investigating three large UK infrastructure projects. Each project is at different stages in the construction phase, with varying examples of M-ICT implementation in use. Participants are interviewed regarding their experiences of the implementation of M-ICT on each project.
Findings
Findings identify diverse experiences across each project. Single and multiple M-ICT platforms are currently being used, with individual stakeholders using ICT in isolation, and in some instances, multiple project stakeholders are using it together. Complete replacement of paper-based processes is evident in one case study, but more commonly, digital technology is being used in parallel to traditional paper-based processes. The challenges, although varied across each case study, can be categorised under the themes of Technology (IT support, ICT infrastructure, IT security, contractual, software), People (social aspects, user competency, safety), Technical Compliance (technical compliance evidence) and Process (conventional processes).
Originality/value
It is recommended that each theme be reviewed at project commencement, with all key stakeholders, to ensure key aspects are considered prior to M-ICT deployment. This will ensure avoidance of challenges reported and maximise the opportunities that are available through M-ICT in a multi-stakeholder infrastructure project.
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Jo Ann E. Brown and Barbara Jo White
Leaders model behaviors they want followers to emulate, and they use various technologies to enhance their message, but which tools are most effective? Using two studies, this…
Abstract
Purpose
Leaders model behaviors they want followers to emulate, and they use various technologies to enhance their message, but which tools are most effective? Using two studies, this paper sets out to compare the effectiveness of newer and older computer technologies used by leaders for describing and demonstrating desired behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
The first study, an interdisciplinary experimental design, involved 110 students across two college campuses and data were analyzed using a 2 (modeling and no modeling)×2 (older and newer technology) between‐subjects ANOVA. The second study further explored modeling with both technologies on one campus, and data were analyzed with independent samples t‐tests.
Findings
Newer technology was more effective than older technology in increasing desired behaviors but only when coupled with modeling of those behaviors by the leader. However, after the novelty of the new technology had worn off, no significant difference in production of desired behaviors was observed.
Practical implications
Justifying the expense of purchasing new technology to replace functional older equipment is an important consideration for businesses and universities. Organizational leaders need factual, unbiased data to guide their decisions about allocating limited financial resources.
Originality/value
The studies were designed to provide decision‐makers with some much‐needed empirical data.
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