68 research outputs found
I want to be a Game Maker : Experiences of digital game making with eleven year olds
No full textThe purpose of this study was to empower a mixed group of eleven year old students with the skills to program digital games and then research the stages of development they go through whilst designing and authoring a game. This study also strived to identify the benefits children gained from a gaming literacy perspective.
This research used a qualitative case study approach. The analysis of this study was based on multiple data sources: statistics collected from the web portal used during the workshop; informal conversations with the children and teachers helping out with the workshop; participant observation and analysis of the games created.
Through the participation in this workshop the children were introduced to the Scratch programming language. The structure of the gaming workshop was influenced by pedagogic approaches to teach creatively for creativity and to introduce programming through a full system approach (Selby 2011).
The stages that children go through whilst creating a digital game are similar to a number of phases discussed in previous research (Robertson 2011, Resnick, Maloney et al. 2009). However the stages of development outlined in this research highlight the importance of the social aspect in game development. Group testing not only has an effect on the game being tested but also acts as a source of cross fertilisation of ideas between the students testing the game and the students developing the game.
The game making experience provided the students with a possibility to enact their systematic thinking when designing their games as a system made up of interrelated subsystems. Prior gaming experience contributed to the way the games were designed and allowed the students to engage with game making using a playful attitude. The students were competitive yet cooperative whilst making their games. All the games were complete and demonstrated that the children were savvy about multimodality. They created games that were well balanced from the difficulty point of view and that provided the game players with instructions on how to play as well as implemented appropriate feedback mechanisms
The symbiotic interaction between industry and academia in tertiary education : a case study on internships
No full textThe misalignment between the skills learned in tertiary education and the skills demanded by industry is well documented. One of the ways this misalignment can be reduced is through the introduction of an internship phase in degrees. This article identifies the perceived benefits and challenges that internship programmes offer academic staff in a tertiary educational facility. It also determines how feedback from the industry helps shape the curriculum of the degree. A qualitative case study is employed through interviews with various staff working at a tertiary education institution. The data generated is analysed using a thematic approach. The results show that internships not only place value on soft skills but also build a communication channel between the mentors that visit students whilst out on placement and the industry staff that oversee the students during the work-based phase. This mutually beneficial interaction between the industry and the education institution helps the mentors maintain familiarity with the latest technologies adopted in the industry and allows the industry to influence the curriculum of the degrees. Internships were shown to offer a means of advertising the skills gained in academia to the audience that would eventually employ the graduates.peer-reviewe
Teachers’ response to the sudden shift to online learning during COVID-19 pandemic : implications for policy and practice
No full textThe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the eventual closing of schools in March 2020 throughout the world caused major disruptions to the educational experience of all learners. Teaching and learning began to be organised and delivered from within the homes of educators. With little time to prepare and make the necessary arrangements to transfer devices from schools to teachers’ homes, technological investment financed over several years remained largely idle behind the closed doors of school buildings. This paper looks at the experiences of teachers in primary and secondary schools in Malta as they rapidly shifted their work to online modes of teaching and learning during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Data gathered through an online questionnaire captured the views of 407 Maltese educators, working with learners aged five to sixteen years. Through a series of open and closed-ended questions, interesting data was yielded on the approaches they were adopting to deliver learning. Findings indicate teachers used both real time and asynchronous approaches. Benefits and disadvantages of both systems emerged from their responses. Rich insights into the challenges educators faced with both modes of remote online instruction are outlined. Maltese teachers’ voices on the support they received from their leaders and school authorities, and the ways they kept track of learning and learners during the times of COVID-19 are presented. The implications of how teachers and schools responded to the emergency shift to technology-mediated schooling, the influence of previous investment and training in the use of digital technologies and the impact on learners and learning are also explored.peer-reviewe
Teaching computing without computers : unplugged computing as a pedagogical strategy
No full textThis paper investigates unplugged computing as a formal pedagogical strategy to teaching computing to a Maltese secondary class of Year 9 students. It aims at identifying the effectiveness of this pedagogy outlining the strengths and weaknesses in its application, taking into consideration the level of attainment for students, as well as the impact on teachers’ lesson preparation. This research study is based on the delivery of five unplugged activities. It analyses students’ reaction when exposed to such unplugged activities to assess the viability of using this pedagogy when teaching computing concepts in a formal setting. The study concludes that unplugged computing is an effective pedagogical strategy that helps attain a high level of engage- ment and student involvement, encouraging teamwork and collaboration. Students experience a wide attention span and good retention through the constant link of computing scenarios to real- life examples and the use of tangible non-computing related objects. Notwithstanding, the study also identifies certain limitations of this pedagogy, mainly that it is not sufficient as a standalone pedagogy, but needs to be applied in conjunction with other pedagogies to be able to cover all the expected learning objectives of the curriculum.peer-reviewe
Teacher perspectives on introducing programming constructs through coding mobile-based game to secondary school students
No full textProgramming is one of the most important aspects of a Computing course. Teaching programming is a challenging task due to a number of factors, ranging from lack of student problem solving skills to different teaching methods. This paper focuses on Maltese Computing teachers’ perspectives about the difficulties encountered when teaching programming to secondary school students in order to determine whether introducing programming to secondary school students through creating mobile-based games is an effective method to teach programming constructs. A resource pack consisting of various activities using MIT App Inventor 2 was created which incorporated constructivist approaches to teaching. This resource pack was reviewed by the teachers and their feedback was collected by means of a case study. The teachers agreed that developing mobile-based games would be highly stimulating to their students but there were uncertainties how this would affect students with different learning abilities and due to a general lack of computational thinking and problem-solving skills by most students.peer-reviewe
Connections and disconnections between home and kindergarten: A case study of a 4‐year old child's digital practices and experiences in early childhood
No full textLegal English and the 'modal revolution'
No full textIn this paper the author discusses the present status of shall in legal English. Although it has been by far the most common modal in legal English for at least 600 years, its use is currently in decline, especially in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The author identifies the structures that take up the place left by shall in shall-free texts, such as the present simple, may and be to. He focuses in particular on the South Africa Constitution where the definitive version currently in force is completely devoid of shall, unlike the Interim version which was drafted only two or three years earlier. The data relating to such shall-free texts as the South Africa Constitution are compared to ‘World data’ relating to the situation in English-speaking countries in general. He also speculates as to what will happen with shall in legal language in the US and the UK
Treating a case of Savant syndrome
No full textMemory and artistic prodigies among the population at large are uncommon; among the mentally retarded, they are rarer still. This article describes the treatment of such a case, technically known as the Savant Syndrome, seen by occupational therapists at Mount Carmel Psychiatric Hospital and treated over a period of 18 years.peer-reviewe
Evaluating burnout in an institutional setting
No full textIn a research project, 183 medical and paramedical staff, each with at least 5 years of service in a large psychiatric hospital in Malta, were interviewed to find out any burnout effects. It was found that the longer the years of service, the more staff felt they were taking their work problems home. Nevertheless irrespective of length of employment, 78% considered their objectives at work fulfilled. Only 22% gave importance to improved salaries, while 77% opted for more staff meetings and in-service training.peer-reviewe
Le chiusure scolastiche per Covid-19 mettono sotto i riflettori le disparità di trattamento e altre carenze: Le voci di chi rischia di scivolare tra le maglie del sistema
No full textThis study presents five themes which were highlighted by Maltese educators and parents when reflecting on their experience of sustaining the education of their students and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. By capturing these voices, the study seeks to gain insight into how these educators and parents reflected on their practice and daily experiences and how this has impinged on the educational experience of the students.Questo studio presenta cinque argomenti evidenziati dagli educatori e dai genitori maltesi nel riflettere sulla loro esperienza di sostegno all’educazione di studenti e figli durante la pandemia da COVID-19. Nel cogliere queste voci, lo studio mira a raggiungere una migliore prospettiva su come questi educatori e genitori riflettano sulle loro pratiche ed esperienze quotidiane e su come ciò abbia influito sull’esperienza educativa degli studenti stessi
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