Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA): Open Access Journals
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Playful Computation: Teaching Computing Through Playful Learning
No full textThis paper investigates students’ experiences and teachers’ attitudes towards playful computation: an innovative pedagogy that emphasizes playful learning to teach students information and computing technology. A pilot study was conducted at a Californian primary school during the summer, involving 84 students and 5 teachers engaging in creative and playful computing activities such as 3D printing, coding drones, redubbing audio, building computers, and music production. Student surveys, teacher interviews, and classroom observations were collected in mixed-methods research to provide multiple perspectives on the challenges and benefits of implementing the pedagogy.
Key findings indicate that playful computation significantly boosted student engagement and enjoyment, even surpassing student expectations. Teachers also expressed surprise at the increase in engagement as well as persistence, attributing this to the intrinsically rewardingnature of playful activities. Playful computation also promoted student self-expression and collaborative learning.
However, teachers expressed concerns about the practicality of implementing this pedagogy in standard educational settings due to existing structural constraints of aligning with academic standards. Classroom management and lack of established norms for play in this learning context also limited their lesson plans and implementations.
Supporting the existing literature on the benefits of playful learning, this research also suggests the need for further investigation into its role in facilitating flow and non-cognitive traits like grit. Investigating how playful computation impacts students’ testable learning outcomes is also recommended as a necessary research direction to facilitate broader implementation in American classrooms
From Breaches to Breachers : Three designers revealing blindspots in the design field
No full textThis article offers a development of Garfinkel’s (1984) breaching experiments. The discussed breaches are not artificially staged to provoke a reaction, instead they occur naturally in the context, in this case the design field. Also, the focus shifts from the breaches to the people enacting them, the breachers. Three examples of breachers are compared, enabling a deepened understanding of what they have in common, what sets them apart, and what they reveal about the prevalent conditions of the context in which they occur. From a position of in-betweenness/ “mellanförskap”, breachers illuminate blindspots and push the boundaries of what questions are possible to ask in their respective fields. Not only breaches, but also breachers offer valuable friction, building norm awareness that is a premise for norm criticism and ultimately norm creativity
Materiella yttranden i återkoppling inom skolans praktisk-estetiska ämnen
No full textThe article presents a part of a pilot study investigating feedback within practical-aesthetic subjects in primary and secondary education. Feedback within the school context is often understood as verbal or written communication between teachers and students. The subjects referred to as practical-aesthetic largely involve skill training in relation to materials and various types of artifacts. In situated activities where materials, the body, and cultural practices interact, the content and formation of feedback need to be examined as a relational process. Using the posthumanist analytical concept of "material utterances," the article aims to make visible and discuss feedback phenomena that emerge within and through situated activities in three practical-aesthetic subjects: crafts, home and consumer studies, and art. The phenomena made visible within/through these activities are the inclusions and exclusions that are continuously made, creating dynamic feedback hybrids. It is within these feedback hybrids of materials, body, and discourse that understanding and knowledge are formed and constantly reshapedArtikeln presenterar en del av en pilotstudie där återkoppling inom praktisk-estetiska ämnen i grund- och gymnasieskolan undersöks. Återkoppling inom skolans praktik förstås ofta som en muntlig eller skriftlig kommunikation mellan lärare och elever. De ämnen som benämns som praktisk-estetiska innehåller till stor del färdighetsträning i relation med material och artefakter av olika slag. I situerade aktiviteter där material, kropp och kulturella praktiker samverkar behöver återkopplingens innehåll och tillblivelse därför undersökas som en relationell process. Genom det posthumanistiska analysbegreppet ”materiella yttranden” syftar artikeln till att synliggöra och diskutera återkopplingsfenomen som blir till inom och genom situerade aktiviteter i tre praktisk-estetiska ämnen: slöjd, hem- och konsumentkunskap och bild. De fenomen som synliggörs inom/genom aktiviteterna är de inkluderingar och exkluderingar som kontinuerligt görs, vilka skapar föränderliga återkopplingshybrider. Det är inom dessa återkopplingshybrider av material, kropp och diskurs som förståelse och kunskap blir till och ständigt omformas
Improving Learning Design Using Learning Analytics in Relation to Study Experience
No full textIn higher education, the learner-centered approach faces challenges due to the growing number and diversity of students and the increasing complexity of course delivery. Study experiences, which correlate with academic achievement, may be enhanced through learning analytics. In particular, analytics can offer valuable, timely insights by collecting and analyzing data on the study experiences and student-related metrics. This allows teachers to gain understanding of students\u27 psychological qualities, which are not typically inferred from standard learning management systems.
Our case study aims to demonstrate how the practical application of learning analytics (LA)-generated data on students’ psychological qualities can guide teachers in enhancing their instructional delivery and, consequently, enhance student experiences. Initially, we assess the reliability of data concerning students’ psychological traits and study experiences. Subsequently, we explore whether these data can provide insights for teachers that can lead to improved student experiences. Student experiences across two consecutive course implementations are compared to illustrate the potential of LA in informing teachers.
The results show that data can be collected reliably on students\u27 daily academic activities and emotional states during the teamwork week. Preliminary findings from the spring term are shared with teachers, which indicate that the use of LA data can positively influence student experiences without requiring structural changes to instructional materials or course implementation. Although the study is not experimental, it provides valuable insights into specific methods of applying LA to inform teachers and enhance student experiences. Further research is needed to deepen the understanding of these applications
Sketching across borders: Borderscapes through a/r/tography as living inquiry
No full textThis article explores borderscapes as multilayered or displaced geopolitical and cultural borders through a/r/tography as living inquiry. Art making (via cartoons), arts-related research, a/r/tography, and border studies constitute a broad interdisciplinary framework for the study. The starting point is that a/r/tography as living inquiry provides an approach where interdisciplinarity can be seen more in terms of a “rupture where in absence, new courses of action unfold”, than as “a patchwork of different disciplines” (Springgay et al., 2005, p. 898). Hence, the main research question asked is: What kinds of new actions and understandings develop with ruptures involving visual arts-related research and the borderscape notion featured in this project? The focus is on the cartoons that address borders from different perspectives. The a/r/tographic viewpoints of metaphor and metonymy, openings, and embodiment are used to analyze these cartoons, their making processes, and ruptures that are linked to them. Moreover, I use general vantage points such as playfulness and temporality (memory) in my analysis. What was learned from a/r/tography in this study is how an a/r/tographic viewpoint could help to specify the symbolic ruptures within the visual and theoretical understandings of borders. In addition, the idea of playful openings was developed here to overcome not only the visual ruptures in the cartoons, but also those ruptures that are caused by the limitations of memory. Consequently, four ruptures – symbolic, visual, internal, and temporal – were approached as new actions and understandings that help to reconsider the border theory. For instance, it became clearer how the idea of borderscape touches on shifts of perspectives (identities) besides border spaces and other border processes. Thus, the observations in this paper can be used in the future for developing the study of the diversity of the border studies conceptualizations. Furthermore, the article provides insights through which to rethink connections between arts, scholarly disciplines, learning, and living inquiry; inward and outwards, as well as back and forth in time.
Comic strip: Kari Korolaine
Med blikk på staden gjennom grafikk på tørkesnor: Eit essay om korleis forfall og stader i byen får rom i ein kollektiv skapande prosess med tresnitt
No full textThe project “between” is a collaborative art project that resulted in printmaking on clotheslines, as part of the Haugesund International Woodcut (HIT) and AVTRYKK festival in 2019.
Through an a/r/tographic approach with walking as a method, we explored how a shared city walk with cameras as a sketch tool, provided impulses for the creative process in the printmaking studio. We explored woodcut in relation to place, history, traces, and texture. Five arts and craft teachers from the secondary schools in Haugesund participated as co-creators. The result was a site-specific printmaking installation, in a private backyard in Haugesund.
The choice of Haugesund city as both visual images for the woodcuts and the exhibition site, became crucial for the project. In this essay, we wish to examine the concept of place and reflect on how the aesthetic approach opened our eyes to the qualities of the place.
Photo: Katrine Borgenvik and Charlotte TvedteProsjektet «mellom» er eit kollektivt skapande prosjekt, som enda opp som grafikk på tørkesnor, som del av sideprogrammet under Haugesund Internasjonale Tresnitt (HIT-) og AVTRYKK-festivalen våren 2019.
Gjennom ei a/r/tografisk tilnærming med walking som metode, utforska me korleis ei felles byvandring med kamera som skisseverktøy, gav impuls til ein skapande prosess i verkstaden. Me utforska tresnitt som teknikk i relasjon til stad, historie, spor og tekstur. Fem kunst- og handverkslærarar frå ungdomsskulane i Haugesund deltok som medskaparar. Resultatet vart ein stadspesifikk grafikkinstallasjon i ein privat bakgard i Haugesund.
Stadvalet Haugesund sentrum, som motiv og utstillingsstad, vart avgjerande for alle prosesselementa i prosjektet. I dette essayet ønsker me å undersøke stadomgrepet og reflektere over korleis den estetisk tilnærming opna blikket vårt for kvalitetar ved staden.
Foto: Katrine Borgenvik og Charlotte Tvedt
Landtimescaping with Rossedalen: A/r/tographic fieldwork with a landscape in Southern Norway
No full textThis article develops and explores ‘landtimescaping’ as an a/r/tographic practice that can help us as humans to expand and (re-)create our relationships to the Land. Through a/r/tographic fieldwork in Rossedalen, a valley situated in Southern Norway close to the city of Arendal, the authors experiment over time with different ways of being-with the Land. The aim is to contribute to art, research and education as worlding practices that facilitate diverse ways of sensing, relating and acting with other-than-human forms of being. By relating to Karen Barad’s theories of spacetimemattering, the verb ‘landtimescaping’ is coined to generate new knowledge through specific embodied practices, such as walks with locals and repeated visits to a certain spot. More specifically, three ‘landtimescapings’ are brought to life by intertwining different textual-visual approaches: Landtimescaping #1 –The neglected forest. Circles and cycles, Landtimescaping #2 – Deforestation. Life interrupted. Life to (be)come, and Landtimescaping #3 – The Quarry. Swallowing an event. In the final part of the article, the potentialities of landtimescaping for the practices of art, research, and education are discussed in order to open for a (re-)orientation of these separate forms of knowing towards entangled, fluid and open ways of existing.
Photo: Helene Illeris, Anne-May Fossnes og Tormod Wallem Anunse
Fra utenforskap til innenforskap med Skole på Byggeplass
No full textIn this article, a specific vocational training initiative is explored, namely ‘School on the Construction Site” (Skole på Byggeplass/SPB in Norwegian); a vocational education program in building and construction developed and offered through a collaboration between Veidekke Entreprenør and Akershus County Municipality at Jessheim Upper Secondary School. The initiative is aimed at young individuals who, for various reasons, have not been able to complete their upper secondary education. The purpose of the article is to investigate which elements can explain why this program is largely successful in getting young people to complete upper secondary school? Analytically, the article draws on a capability approach, linking quality of life to freedom and empowerment. The article is based on a qualitative study in which we interviewed six young individuals who completed the SPB training to gain insights into their perspectives and experiences with the initiative. Additionally, we interviewed three employees from SPB to understand the organization, as well as the intentions and frameworks behind it. The results highlight specific conversion factors and elements at various levels that have been crucial for the youths in the training program. These are particularly linked to the start-up phase, the classroom environment, the classroom management, and the educational content. Among other things, SPB succeeds in providing close and comprehensive follow-up, practice-based teaching, predictable expectations and frameworks, as well as consistent individual adaptation. The findings also indicate a shared agreement on both the structure and intentions behind SPB, influencing the desired outcomes and the approach to driving the youths towards their goals. Finally, the article discusses the possibility of transferring elements from SPB to other contexts or vocational training initiatives.I denne artikkelen utforskes et konkret yrkesfaglig opplæringstiltak, nemlig Skole på Byggeplass (SPB); en fagarbeiderutdanning innen bygg- og anleggsteknikk, som er utviklet og tilbys i et samarbeid mellom Veidekke Entreprenør og Akershus fylkeskommune ved Jessheim videregående skole. Tiltaket er rettet mot ungdommer som av ulike grunner ikke har klart å fullføre videregående opplæring. Formålet med artikkelen er å undersøke hvilke elementer som kan forklare hvorfor SPB i stor grad lykkes med å få ungdommer til å fullføre videregående opplæring. Analytisk trekkes det veksler på en kapabilitetstilnærming, som knytter livskvalitet til frihet og empowerment. Artikkelen er basert på en kvalitativ studie, der vi har intervjuet seks ungdommer som har gjennomført opplæringen på SPB, for å få innsikt i deres perspektiver og erfaringer med tiltaket. I tillegg har vi også intervjuet tre ansatte på SPB, fordi vi ønsket innblikk i organiseringen samt intensjoner og rammer som ligger bak. Resultatene viser hvilke konkrete konverteringsfaktorer og elementer på ulike nivåer, som har vært av vesentlig betydning for ungdommene i opplæringstilbudet. Disse er spesielt knyttet til oppstartsfasen, klassemiljøet, klasseledelse og det pedagogiske innholdet. Blant annet lykkes man i SPB med å gi tett og helhetlig oppfølging, praksisnær undervisning, forutsigbare forventinger og rammer, samt gjennomgående individuell tilpasning. Resultatene viser også at det er en felles enighet om både rammene og intensjonene bak SPB, og at dette påvirker hva man ønsker å oppnå, samt måten man betrakter hva som er nødvendig å gjøre i praksis for å drive ungdommene frem mot målet. Til slutt drøftes muligheten for å overføre elementer fra SPB til andre kontekster eller yrkesfaglige opplæringsprogrammer.
The role of CT in prognosis prediction in COVID-19 patients
No full textIntroduction: The aim of the present study was to summarize and evaluate previously published scientific studies examining whether computed tomography (CT) of the thorax can predict the COVID-19 prognosis. The purpose is to clarify whether CT can predict the COVID-19 prognosis, and also if a CT examination can predict whether the patient will be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) or not.
Method: Traditional digital literature searches were performed in the Medline, Pubmed and Embase databases. Subsequent back- and forward citation-based searches were then conducted. A total of 17 studies were included according to preset inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Results: All 17 included articles were retrospective studies. The mean number of patients included was 219 (range: 28-901). Overall, the studies showed that CT-findings of abnormalities in the lung tissue may provide a possible COVID-19 prognosis determination. A total of 11 studies used a quantitative scoring system to evaluate the lung images. Based on the percentage of lung involvement, the ICU patients had a higher score compared with patients not admitted to the ICU. The pathology type with the highest predictive value was crazy paving pattern followed by vascular enlargement and air bronchogram. Pleural effusion and pleural thickening can help estimating the prognosis according to some of the studies.
Conclusion: The present study shows that CT can contribute to early diagnosis and predict the prognosis when using scoring systems or qualitative assessment of certain radiologic features which are more prevalent in critically ill COVID-19 patients
Fordeler og utfordringer innen Magnetisk Resonans veiledet Stråleterapi : – En potensiell banebrytende verifiseringsteknikk
No full textBackground: The incidence of cancer is increasing in the population, and it is expected that 1 in 5 individuals will develop the disease. Of these, over 50% will require radiation therapy. The effectiveness of radiation therapy depends on the precise delivery of the radiation dose to the tumor while minimizing the radiation dose to normal tissue and organs at risk. This requires accurate patient positioning and a treatment plan that is individually tailored, with strict requirements and guidelines for dosing and margins. Technological advancements have led to advanced techniques such as image-guided radiation therapy, currently utilizing Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). MRI in combination with a linear accelerator (Linac) is currently used for MR-guided Radiation Therapy (MRgRT). MRgRT offers several advantages, including improved soft tissue contrast and visualization, as well as real-time adjustments of the radiation dose, which can reduce treatment margins. This technology also present challenges, such as the lack of electron density information and technical complications related to the magnetic field. This article summarizes the advantages and challenges of using MRgRT, that is described in other review articles.
Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search in Oria and PubMed. The inclusion criteria were that the articles had to be review articles published in Norwegian or English, addressing the use of MRI in verification or the historical development of verification technologies. Exclusion criteria filtered out all articles primarily focused on brachytherapy, stereotactic radiotherapy, proton therapy, and articles with a specific cancer type as the main topic. Ten articles were included, eight from PubMed and two from Oria. The analysis of the articles was carried out using Evans\u27 analysis model.
Results: All the articles described the benefits and challenges of MRgRT, identifying a total of 6 benefits and 13 challenges. The recurring benefits included improved soft tissue contrast, real-time MR imaging, functional MR imaging, and enhanced delineation margins. The challenges mainly concerned the resource demands of MR-Linac, such as being time-consuming and costly, requiring staff competence and training, the need for MR-compatible equipment, and technical difficulties in combining MR and Linac.
Conclusion: All the articles described the benefits and challenges of MRgRT, identifying a total of 6 benefits and 13 challenges. The recurring benefits included improved soft tissue contrast, real-time MR imaging, functional MR imaging, and enhanced delineation margins. The challenges mainly concerned the resource demands of MR-Linac, such as being time-consuming and costly, requiring staff competence and training, the need for MR-compatible equipment, and technical difficulties in combining MR and Linac.Bakgrunn: Forekomst av kreft er økende i befolkningen og det forventes at 1 av 5 utvikler sykdommen, og av disse vil over 50% ha behov for strålebehandling. Effekten av strålebehandling avhenger av presis levering av stråledose til tumor, og samtidig minimal stråledose til normalvev og risikoorganer. Dette krever nøyaktig pasientposisjonering, samt en behandlingsplan som er individuell tilpasset, med strenge krav og retningslinjer til dosering og marginer. Teknologisk utvikling har ført til avanserte teknikker som bildeveiledet stråleterapi, for tiden benyttes Cone-Beam Computer Tomografi. MR i kombinasjon med Linac (MRL) brukes for tiden til MR-veiledet Stråleterapi (MRgRT). MR-veiledet Stråleterapi (MRgRT) har flere fordeler, blant annet forbedret bløtvevskontrast og visualisering, samt sanntidsjustering av stråledosen som kan redusere marginene ved behandling. Denne teknologien byr også på utfordringer som for eksempel manglende elektrontetthets-informasjon og tekniske komplikasjoner med magnetfeltet. Denne artikkelen oppsummerer fordeler og utfordringer ved bruk av MRgRT, beskrevet i andre review-artikler.
Metode: Vi gjennomførte et systematisk litteratursøk i Oria og PubMed. Inklusjonskriteriene var at artiklene skulle være oversiktsartikler publisert på Norsk eller Engelsk, omhandle bruk av MR i verifisering eller historisk utvikling av verifiseringsteknologier. Eksklusjonskriterier luket ut alle artikler som hovedsakelig omhandlet brachyterapi, stereotaktisk stråleterapi, protonterapi og artikler med en spesifikk krefttype som tema. Ti artikler ble inkludert, 8 fra PubMed og 2 fra Oria. Analysen av artiklene ble gjennomført ved hjelp av Evans analysemodell.
Resultat: Alle artiklene beskrev fordeler og utfordringer med MRgRT, og totalt ble 6 fordeler og 13 utfordringer identifisert. Fordeler som gikk igjen var forbedret bløtvevskontrast, sanntid MR avbildning, funksjonell MR avbildning og forbedret avgrensningsmarginer. Utfordringene omhandlet fortrinnsvis MR-Linac sin påvirkning av ressursbruk som for eksempel at det er tidskrevende og dyrt, samt at det kreves kompetanse og kunnskapsheving av personalet, i tillegg behøves MR kompatibelt utstyr, og utfordringer knyttet til det tekniske ved kombinasjon av MR og Linac.
Konklusjon: I fremtiden forventes MRgRT å forbedre presisjonen og individualisere kreftbehandling betydelig, dette er takket være MR`s overlegne bløtvevskontrast, samt teknologi som muliggjør blant annet sanntidsavbildning. Til tross for fordelene, kreves det mer forskning på en rekke utfordringer, blant annet behovet for automatiserte løsninger og tverrfaglig samarbeid. Det er en økende interesse og forskning på temaet, fremtidig fokus bør være på integrering i standard arbeidsflyt