Our group uses, adapts, and develops technologies in support of learning and teaching. We balance our interests in technology and learning/teaching by seeking first to understand the needs of students and teachers and then to study the use of appropriate technologies in the service of learning and teaching. In some cases we use current technologies and focus on the effectiveness of the technology; in other cases we adapt or develop technologies as needed to meet our objectives.

Contributors: Jason Day, Jim Foley

My primary research is directed toward understanding and promoting learning with web lectures. Web lectures are multimedia presentations (talking torso video + audio + PPT) that are made available via the web (streaming or download). When used to replace the traditional classroom lecture, web lectures free up time for in-depth discussion and various hands-on learning activities—thereby increasing the educational effectiveness of already limited contact hours. The web lecture intervention currently entails students studying a web lecture(s), completing an associated lecture homework(s) (LHW), and attending class to participate in discussion and application activities based on the material presented in the web lecture(s). The subject matter covered in the assigned web lecture(s) is not simply rehashed in the classroom. This intervention is a supplemental model; web lectures augment rather than replace face-to-face class meetings, and web lecture material is built upon, contextualized, and applied meaningfully in the class time made available by their use. The LHWs serve three key roles in the intervention: explicit motivation for studying the web lecture(s) (in that they count towards the course grade), a companion synthesis exercise that helps learners focus on and learn the web lecture material, and a pedagogical linking mechanism that bridges individual web lecture studying and subsequent in-class participation. My approach to understanding learning with web lectures includes two complementary threads of investigation: experimental studies of individual learning with web lectures and longitudinal, naturalistic studies of learning in the larger classroom community of practice. My inquiries are primarily framed by constructivist learning theory and cognitive theories of multimedia learning.

Publications:

• Day, J. A. " Naturalistic and Experimental Investigations of Learning Human-Computer Interaction with Web Lectures." Georgia Tech Dissertation Abstract, 2008. Email for full dissertation text. [PDF]
• Day, J. A., Catrambone, R. C., and Foley, J. D. "Investigating Multimedia Learning with Web Lectures: A Cognitive Load Approach." In Preparation, to be submitted to the Journal of Educational Psychology.
• Day, J. A. and Foley, J. D. "Evaluating a Web Lecture Intervention in a Human-Computer Interaction Course." IEEE Transactions on Education , vol. 49, pp. 420-431, 2006. [PDF] *Awarded '2007 Best Transactions Paper' [1][2]*
• Day, J. A. and Foley, J. D. "Evaluating Web Lectures as an Alternative Approach to Education: A Case Study from HCI."In CHI '06 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: ACM Press, pp. 195-200, 2006. [PDF]
• Day, J. A., Groeneweg, R., Foley, J. D., and Van der Mast, C. "Enhancing the Classroom Learning Experience with Web Lectures". Presented at the 13th International Conference of Computers in Education, Singapore, 2005. [PDF]
• Day, J. A., Groeneweg, R., Foley, J. D., and Van der Mast, C. "Using Web Lectures to Enhancing the Classroom Learning Experience: A Pilot Study". GVU Technical Report Series GVU-04-18, 2004. [PDF]

Contributors: Ed Clarkson, Andy Wu, Jason Day, Jim Foley

Project description: We are building a digital library of resource material for our developing Ph.D. program in Human-Centered Computing, for our present MS program in Human-Computer Interaction, and for our approximately 15 current courses in these areas. The digital library contains live lectures recorded in the class room; pre-recorded web lectures; powerpoint lectures; demonstration videos from CHI, UIST, CSCW and other sources; videos and other materials related to focus groups, field studies, interviews, and usability studies; design examples, course outlines, and pointers to other resources. It is NOT a research bibliography, but rather seeks to assist teachers in preparing courses and lectures, and to assist students in acquiring information about HCC subjects. The first version of the digital library is on-line at http://hcc.cc.gatech.edu. We are currently in the process of developing a dynamic back-end to improve the performance and maintenance of the site, as well as designing additional novel tools to make the use of the HCCEDL more efficient and effective.

Publications:

• Clarkson, E., Day, J. A., and Foley, J. D. "The Development of an Educational Digital Library for Human-Centered Computing". CHI ’06. [PDF]