Strategies to develop divided attention skills through video game training

Research .over the past two decades has confirmed the learning opportunities that video games can offer. The objectives of the current study were to investigate the ability of video games to enhance divided attention skills and compare these skills based on individuals' level of expertise in video game playing. Female participants aged between 17-25 years categorised as experts or novices, were divided into experimental and control groups. All participants completed the pre and post-test of divided attention between which only the experimental group received video game training. Results indicate that participants who received video game practice achieved an increase in their dual-attention skills compared to those who did not receive any training, with novices displaying a greater
enhancement in perfonnance. Implications include the provision of video game training to enhance divided attention skills in air pilot training, driving, and heavyequipment operation apart from other tasks necessitating dual-task efficiency.

Comparing alternate teaching styles to teach computing skills to girls in their English classes

Low female participation rates in computing are a current concern of the education sector. To address this problem an intervention was developed — computing skills were introduced to girls in their English classes using three different teaching styles: peer tutoring, cross-age tutoring and teacher instruction (control). The sample comprised 136 girls from Years 8 and 10 from a single-sex government school. A pre-test post-test quantitative design was used. To describe the students perspectives, qualitative data were collected from six focus groups conducted with 8–10 students — one from each of the six classes. It was predicted that cross-age tutoring would yield more positive effects than peer tutoring which, in turn, would yield more positive effects than traditional teacher instruction as assessed by achievement on class tasks and attitudes towards computing. The hypothesis was not supported by the quantitative analysis, however in the qualitative data cross-age tutoring was appraised more favourably than peer tutoring or teacher instruction. The latter was the least preferred condition due to: (1) inefficiency; (2) difficulty understanding teachers' explanations; and (3) lack of teacher knowledge. Problems with the implementation of the intervention identified in the focus groups were teacher differences, system failures, missed classes, lack of communication, and selection of computing activities. Practical suggestions were provided relevant to the introduction of cross-age tutoring and the use of computers within secondary level English classes.

The oral language skills of young offenders: a pilot invesitgation

Although there is a large body of evidence attesting to the poor social skills of juvenile offenders, few workers have examined the underlying language skills of this population. This pilot study investigated the language skills of a group of young offenders in comparison to non-offending school students. Data were gathered from 15 community-based young offender males, aged between 13 and 21 years (M = 16.5 years, SD = 2.1) from the Victorian southern region Juvenile Justice Units. The comparison group comprised 15 male students, aged between 15 and 17 years (M = I 6.4 years; SD = 0.5 I) from government high schools in south-eastern metropolitan Melbourne. Each participant completed a narrative discourse task and measures of speed of processing, and abstract language. It was hypothesised that the young offender group would perform more poorly on each of the language tasks than the comparison group. Independent t tests (with a modified alpha level to control for family-wise error rates) showed that there were significant differences in the expected direction, on all language measures. Notwithstanding the pilot nature of the investigation, implications of these findings for both further research and intervention/early intervention are described.

Computer and IT skills of Australian first-year university undergraduate students

The use of computers and information technology is becoming more widespread in chemical education and in the wider community and workforce. Universities are increasing the use of computers and information technology in their teaching and learning programs. The Australian situation, reported here, can be viewed as a microcosm, reflecting a world-wide trend.

The penetration of general IT literacy and ability amongst Australian undergraduate students is rising rapidly. This paper reports surveys of the detailed IT skills of Australian undergraduate students. To the best of our knowledge, apart from our own work, there have been no other published surveys of specific IT skills. Most students have some reasonable computer skills at the start of their university studies, but the level of skill is not uniformly high. In fact, many IT literate students lack a sufficient level of skill to use the new technologies, including full use of web-based flexible learning. There is an urgent need for IT training for university students in order to achieve successful learning outcomes using IT and to satisfy the needs of future employers.

This article, which is the second in a series (1) of investigations on the computer skills of undergraduate students at the start of university, is an expanded version of a paper presented at the World Chemistry Congress held in Brisbane (Australia) during 1-6 July 2001.

Can an online tutorial pass the test for library instruction? An evaluation and comparison of library skills instruction methods for first year students at Deakin University

An online, interactive tutorial, Smart Searcher, was introduced at Deakin University as part of the Iibrary's information skills program in late 2000. As liaison librarians responsible for library skills training we wanted to compare and evaluate this mode of instruction with our normal face-to-face delivery of library instruction. This study found that students with face-to-face instruction did, in fact, gain higher posttest mean scores than students completing the online tutorial. Also, students attending these library sessions felt more confident about their library skills than those in the online tutorial only session.

Learners' perceptions about the relationship between music education and generic skills development : a case study within the Australian higher education sector

A major issue emerging from the research and debate concerning quality in higher education has been an emphasis on the value of the acquisition of generic skills by undergraduate students, as indicators of quality in education. Music educators have long recognised the contribution music makes to the general education of learners. Learning in and through music can present varied and complex means for the acquisition of generic life skills such as: problem solving, decision-making, critical thinking, oral and written communication and teamwork. This paper documents one particular course of action that was implemented within a university undergraduate primary teacher education program, to systematically gauge learner perceptions about generic skill development/enhancement before and after participation in the music component of the core arts education subject.

Interviewer experience, vocal skills and the recruitment of telephone survey respondents

Although telephone interviewing is the main market research method used in Australia, response rates are often low and possibly declining overall. Interviewers are the means by which respondents are recruited and it was hypothesised that their verbal skills and experience would affect response rates. Using data from four market research companies, interviewer experience was shown to be positively related to strike rate (interviews per hour). Apart from having a discernible accent which dampened strike rates and increased refusals, other verbal characteristics had only a weak effect on response rates.

Algebra skills and traps and diagnostic teaching for the future

Explores on some research about teaching and learning algebra and related classroom issues. Diagnostic instruments that may be used by senior secondary teachers in teaching algebra to senior classes; Strategies for remediating algebraic difficulties and misconceptions; Impact of technology on the algebra curriculum; Usefulness of copying algebraic expressions while using Computer Algebra Systems or mathematics processing software in a calculus class.

An IT Bachelor degree using modern technologies to illustrate core concepts and principles and building generic skills

Information Technology (IT) changes very quickly and influences business, industry and the public in an enormous manner. Outsourcing of IT jobs to cheaper overseas labor and globalization of IT companies become a common practice. Graduates of IT university courses must be well prepared to address the needs and expectations of business, industry and every day life. Many factors in an Information Technology curriculum influence graduates’ professional preparation and image. The most important of them is to reflect technology change, the current state of knowledge of computing, business and industry demands and students’ expectations. The aim of our project was to develop a new Bachelor of IT curriculum that satisfies these requirements. In this report we concentrate our attention on two critical aspects of IT curriculum content, the modern technologies to be used to illustrate basic concepts and principles of computing, and the generic skills that each graduate is expected to acquire to get a job in Australia.

The role of arts education in advancing leadership life skills for young people

This paper contends that the arts provide a foundation for the intensifying effort that leadership, creative aptitude and expertise are making to existing and emerging professions. Participation in arts-based (school and/or community) programs 'have proven to be educational, developmentally rich, and cost-effective ways to provide students the skills they need to be productive participants in today's economy' (Psilos, 2002, p. 2). In particular, this paper explores the relationship between leadership development in young people through their engagement with arts education experiences, specifically the capacity of the arts to develop the generic skills of communication, team work, problem-solving and creative interpretation-skills considered essential for productive participation in today's economy and skills that augment leadership potential.

Festivals, art and mentoring : disseminating knowledge, enhancing skills and developing networks in regional Victoria

Many regional festivals use art as a vehicle to engage with a broader cross-section of the community; highlight the artistic talent of their region; introduce art to their region; and to distinguish theirs from others. Regional Arts Victoria and Arts Victoria recently piloted a mentoring program, Directions, for regional festivals that indicated an interest in developing their artistic direction. Three experienced artistic directors were selected to participate in the program as mentors, and each of these mentored two festival directors whose festivals are located in Regional Victoria. The aim of this paper is to highlight the potential of mentoring within the context of festival management by exploring the outcomes of Directions. A case study approach is used, and although this limits the generalisability of the results to other festivals, the information gained provides insights into managing festivals within the context of artistic direction. A number of themes emerged from the study that appear to have broadened the perspective of 'art' in those festivals participating in the program. Furthermore, the program has highlighted that while festivals and artistic directors in regional locations experience varying degrees of isolation, they have a great deal of creativity and skill. Directions provided organisers of the festivals with the confidence to make decisions that enable them to capitalise on their extant creativity and skills. Festivals are then able to be marketed against their competitors with unique selling positions, which is important for sustainability. The results obtained through the evaluation of this pilot program provide Regional Arts Victoria and Arts Victoria opportunities to effectively assess the need for such programs for festivals in regional Victoria in the future.

Touch it, feel it and experience it: developing professional IS skills using interview-style experiential simulations

The IS education field has made increasing use of computerised experiential simulations, but few attempts have been made to create an authentic learning environment that combines and balances elements of video-based computer simulation with real-life learning activities. This paper explores the design principles used to develop a CD-ROM simulation where learners use interviewing skills to elicit system requirements from simulated employees in an authentic context. The employees are videoed actors who converse with each other and with learners within a dynamic interaction model. The paper also describes how we combined this simulation with other teaching approaches such as in-class discussions, student team work, formal presentations, etc.