Enabling design: a case of maker workshops as a method for including special educators in creating digital interactions for learners with profound disabilities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Elizabeth Keay-Bright ◽  
Parisa Eslambolchilar ◽  
Aidan Taylor

Purpose This purpose of this paper is to present findings from three workshops that aimed to enable learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities to have a richer, more meaningful experience of a digital curriculum and to bolster a more meaningful creative exchange than currently offered by off the shelf products. Design/methodology/approach Informed by the maker culture and participatory action research, this workshop method focussed on making prototypes and creating concepts that encourage a dialogic approach for envisioning future technologies. As a process of enabling design, this approach placed participants at the heart of iterative methods that support imaginative ideation and improvisation, rather than the production of marketable products. Findings A thematic analysis of post-workshop discussions revealed that participants felt inspired and supported to envision learner responses to stimuli as novel interactions, without prior knowledge of designing and coding. The collaborative approach provoked the articulation of narratives on learner ability and a reconsideration of “digital” with a contemporary curriculum for learners with profound disabilities. Practical implications Running a maker workshop requires a time and resource commitment from all parties. The emphasis is on easy-to-follow, direct teaching together with low cost electronics and non-digital materials, ensured that these demands were kept to a minimum. However, the gains of participation can only be maintained when support exists both in and out of the workshop environment through the provision of resources and communication channels. Originality/value The originality of the workshops lies in the focus on basic electronics, coding and prototyping as a means to think about digital futures. As a method of enabling technologies to tap into learner ability, this process fostered design dialogues through the social act of making, sharing and learning without the need for prerequisite skills.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-129
Author(s):  
Linda Carol Algozzini ◽  
Valencia Lavon Gabay ◽  
Shannon D. Voyles ◽  
Kimberly Bessolo ◽  
Grady Batchelor

Purpose This case study reviews a group coaching and mentoring (GCM) change model and its significance in dissolving barriers and promoting equity in virtual learning environments. The purpose of this paper is to examine the model’s approach to shifting instructor mindsets to align with institutional core values and initiatives that best serve a twenty-first century adult learner. Design/methodology/approach The change model, grounded in GCM, metacognition, self-regulated learning, and community of practice theory, incorporates participatory action research design focusing on cycles of action, reflection, and evaluation. Findings This study illustrates the change model’s success in moving educators toward deeper understanding of self and individual student differences. It further showcases how professionals adapt and improve practices using self-regulated learning and metacognition to better serve the population they teach. Practical implications The GCM framework improved engagement. The design, while implemented in a higher education arena, is applicable to other entities seeking to bridge gaps using metacognition and self-regulated learning to become adaptable and inclusive. Originality/value The change model, recipient of one of this year’s Effective Practice Awards from the Online Learning Consortium (2017), is recognized for innovation and replicability in and beyond higher education.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Neeraj Pandey ◽  
Gaganpreet Singh

Subject area Pricing, digital marketing, marketing management and strategic marketing. Study level/applicability The case can be used for pricing or digital marketing courses as well as marketing management courses to MBA students and/or for management development programmes. Case overview Goldfinch Mobile Solutions, a Hong-Kong based value added services (VAS) and gaming platform provider, had an exclusive tie up with Bharti Airtel in India for providing value added voice applications on an interactive voice response system (IVRS) platform. The Goldfinch flagship service is “Guru Ki Bani” which may be subscribed to by dialing the short code 58282. This “58282” service has a repository of all Sikh religion daily prayers, religious songs, teachings, stories from Guru's life and similar information that is derived from the Sikh Holy book Guru Granth Sahib Ji. As per mutual agreement between Goldfinch Mobile Solutions and Bharti Airtel, the telecom operator had the responsibility to promote Goldfinch's Guru Ki Bani service amongst its subscriber base through its below the line (BTL) promotional channels such as short messaging service (SMS), outbound calls, cell information, notification SMS after call and above the line (ATL) activities such as posters, leaflets, print, promoters, regional TV, outdoors, etc. The revenue sharing arrangement between Airtel and Golfinch was in the ratio of 75 percent and 25 percent. However, with recent changes in the policies of Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), promotional marketing used by telecom operators has been constrained. Declining customer share, decreasing profits (after Bharti Airtel halted promotions) and increasing organization cost per customer have made MD and CEO Mr Newton Bubber think of various options including low-cost marketing initiatives besides digital marketing to promote Guru Ki Bani services. Value communication to its huge potential customer base, i.e. 184.19 million Bharti Airtel subscribers was another challenge facing Mr Newton and his marketing team at Goldfinch. Expected learning outcomes The case enables students to learn the concepts and application of value creation, effective value communication, price waterfall analysis, importance of costing parameters in pricing decisions, low-cost marketing strategies and digital marketing. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
IdaMae Louise Craddock

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of a mobile makerspace program in a public school setting. Insights, challenges, successes, projects as well as recommendations will be shared. Design/methodology/approach – This paper describes a mobile makerspace program in a public high school in Virginia. It discusses the growth of mobile making, the advantages and disadvantages of mobility, and how the program was implemented. Findings – Mobile makerspaces are a fast-growing manifestation of maker culture. It is possible to have a makerspace in a public school and take the maker culture to other schools in the area. Having a steady supply of students or library interns that are willing to travel to other schools is critical. Originality/value – Makerspaces in libraries is still a relatively new phenomenon. While the research is coming on stationary makerspaces, mobile making is a new horizon for the maker movement. This paper seeks to provide a description of one such program.


Sensor Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yawei Xu ◽  
Lihong Dong ◽  
Haidou Wang ◽  
Jiannong Jing ◽  
Yongxiang Lu

Purpose Radio frequency identification tags for passive sensing have attracted wide attention in the area of Internet of Things (IoT). Among them, some tags can sense the property change of objects without an integrated sensor, which is a new trend of passive sensing based on tag. The purpose of this paper is to review recent research on passive self-sensing tags (PSSTs). Design/methodology/approach The PSSTs reported in the past decade are classified in terms of sensing mode, composition and the ways of power supply. This paper presents operation principles of PSSTs and analyzes the characteristics of them. Moreover, the paper focuses on summarizing the latest sensing parameters of PSSTs and their matching equipment. Finally, some potential applications and challenges faced by this emerging technique are discussed. Findings PSST is suitable for long-term and large-scale monitoring compared to conventional sensors because it gets rid of the limitation of battery and has relatively low cost. Also, the static information of objects stored in different PSSTs can be identified by a single reader without touch. Originality/value This paper provides a detailed and timely review of the rapidly growing research in PSST.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kulvinder Kaur ◽  
Pawan Kumar

PurposeThe rise in the use of Internet technologies and social media has shifted the marketing practices from offline to online. This study aims to determine the pros and cons of social media marketing in the beauty and wellness industry.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews were conducted with the owners and marketing executives of beauty and wellness centers to understand the use of popular social media platforms in this industry and their pros and cons.FindingsThe researchers identified eight merits and seven demerits of social media in the beauty and wellness industry. Every respondent is happy and satisfied with social media use, particularly Instagram and Facebook. Irrespective of the demerits, they have shown the intention to increase its usage in the future. The merits override demerits; thus, social media is a blessing for this industry from the owners' perspective.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is exploratory and is confined to just one industry. Research implication is that the visual nature of social media makes it a powerful tool for the promotion of the beauty and wellness industry.Practical implicationsThe study's findings will be beneficial for small-scale businesses as it will push them to take advantage of this low-cost marketing tool.Social implicationsSocial media marketing is helpful for communication and marketing purposes for society.Originality/valueThe beauty and wellness industry remained unfocused by researchers because it is highly unorganized, fragmented and not regulated, yet has huge growth potential. This research will provide a closer look at this industry as well as social media marketing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Helle Alrø ◽  
Lise Billund

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the role of a group facilitator when taking a dialogical stance. A special interest is facilitator’s processual responsiveness and its potential for supporting a dialogic approach to process facilitation. Design/methodology/approach Theoretically, the article is based on dialogue and dialectic relationship theory. Empirically, it is based on pragmatic analysis of excerpts from audio recordings of a two-day process facilitation with an organizational group called KUDIAS. Findings The analysis highlights the importance of processual responsiveness of the facilitator in terms of focused attention to the process as well as to the interpersonal relations between the participants in the process. Being processually responsive, the facilitator supports the process in becoming dialogic toward all participants’ perspectives and in creating a climate characterized by curiosity, wondering, exploration and recognition. However, facilitator’s processual responsiveness also requires the ability to balance the process between support and confrontation. Originality/value Processual responsiveness is developed and discussed theoretically as well as empirically.


Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi Tang ◽  
Hongmei Zhou ◽  
Qingyan Yan ◽  
Ruoyu Li ◽  
Hui Lu

PurposeHealthcare employs informatics to offer its services through information technology where the social network can aid virtual medical learning. Since the usage of the internet and other electronic tools for medical services delivery is at the initial stage, it is essential to examine the factors that condition patients and medical elements in a virtual environment can develop relationship models on the health services. So, the authors have systematically reviewed virtual medical learning and offered some suggestions for the upcoming works. The authors have also discovered gaps in the state-of-the-art papers and provided solutions for them.Design/methodology/approachNumerous novel advancements have changed the old exercise of therapeutic and analytic learning. Virtual spaces have quickly turned into a section of the learning technology vision. Given the importance of its achievements and endless low-cost expansion of the educational system, virtual education has been considered as one of the issues raised by the information communities. Medicine and health are some of the most important fields in virtual technologies. Hence, in this paper, we have used a systematic literature review to deeply examine virtual medical learning. After establishing exclusion and inclusion criteria, an independent systematic search in Google Scholar, ACM, Scopus, Eric, Science Direct, Springer link, Emerald, Global ProQuest and IEEE for relevant studies have been performed, and 21 papers have been analyzed. Detailed data have been mined out of the papers.FindingsThe authors have found that virtual medical learning improves and expands the knowledge core and meaningfully affects the exercise. Virtual learning (VL) has been used in many therapeutic zones, like therapeutic learning, surgery, diagnosing, combining and regularizing processes. It has presented a fundamental access point and a referral mechanism for all of a course's component communities. It can also simplify communicative education, allowing learners to get abilities before applying them in a real-world situation. Also, the communicative characteristics of different VL programs can somehow be like direct teaching.Research limitations/implicationsSome excellent work may be removed owing to applying the filters to select the primary papers. Surveying all the documents on the topic of virtual medical learning is impossible, too. Nevertheless, the authors have tried to present a perfect survey of virtual medical learning. The results will be helpful for scholars to propose better virtual medical learning techniques.Practical implicationsE-learning has become an indispensable additional learning tool in medical education. The introduction of new learning technologies, the exponential growth of Internet usage and the advent of the World Wide Web can change the face of higher education. The results will be helpful for scholars for the upcoming works. The application of a literature review of partial least squares theory was useful for offering comprehensive literary coverage and completing the knowledge development analysis. The authors have backed scholars and experts for better understanding the development of virtual medical learning systems via presenting comparative data and scrutinizing the present advances.Originality/valueThe paper enhances intellectual knowledge by improving the conception of virtual medical learning. It informs the development, use of virtual medical learning and the upcoming works. The lack of comprehensive papers in this field has increased the importance of this paper. The present paper can handle the pace of publications.


Sensor Review ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mulayam Singh Gaur ◽  
Rajni Yadav ◽  
Mamta Kushwah ◽  
Anna Nikolaevna Berlina

Purpose This information will be useful in the selection of materials and technology for the detection and removal of mercury ions at a low cost and with high sensitivity and selectivity. The purpose of this study is to provide the useful information for selection of materials and technology to detect and remove the mercury ions from water with high sensitivity and selectivity. The purpose of this study is to provide the useful information for selection of materials and technology to detect and remove the mercury ions from water with high sensitivity and selectivity. Design/methodology/approach Different nano- and bio-materials allowed for the development of a variety of biosensors – colorimetric, chemiluminescent, electrochemical, whole-cell and aptasensors – are described. The materials used for their development also make it possible to use them in removing heavy metals, which are toxic contaminants, from environmental water samples. Findings This review focuses on different technologies, tools and materials for mercury (heavy metals) detection and remediation to environmental samples. Originality/value This review gives up-to-date and systemic information on modern nanotechnology methods for heavy metal detection. Different recognition molecules and nanomaterials have been discussed for remediation to water samples. The present review may provide valuable information to researchers regarding novel mercury ions detection sensors and encourage them for further research/development.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenfei Zhao ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Lini Lu

Purpose In flexible electronics applications, organic inks are mostly used for inkjet printing. Three-dimensional (3 D) printing technology has the advantages of low cost, high speed and good precision in modern electronic printing. The purpose of this study is to solve the high cost of traditional printing and the pollution emissions of organic ink. It is necessary to develop a water-based conductive ink that is easily degradable and can be 3 D printed. A nano-silver ink printed circuit pattern with high precision, high conductivity and good mechanical properties is a promising strategy. Design/methodology/approach The researched nano-silver conductive ink is mainly composed of silver nanoparticles and resin. The effect of adding methyl cellulose on the ink was also explored. A simple 3 D circuit pattern was printed on photographic paper. The line width, line length, line thickness and conductivity of the printed circuit were tested. The influence of sintering temperature and sintering time on pattern resistivity was studied. The relationship between circuit pattern bending performance and electrical conductivity is analyzed. Findings The experimental results show that the ink has the characteristics of low silver content and good environmental protection effect. The printing feasibility of 3 D printing circuit patterns on paper substrates was confirmed. The best printing temperature is 160°C–180°C, and the best sintering time is 30 min. The circuit pattern can be folded 120°, and the cycle is folded more than 60 times. The minimum resistivity of the circuit pattern is 6.07 µΩ·cm. Methyl cellulose can control the viscosity of the ink. The mechanical properties of the pattern have been improved. The printing method of 3 D printing can significantly reduce the sintering time and temperature of the conductive ink. These findings may provide innovation for the flexible electronics industry and pave the way for alternatives to cost-effective solutions. Originality/value In this study, direct ink writing technology was used to print circuit patterns on paper substrates. This process is simple and convenient and can control the thickness of the ink layer. The ink material is nonpolluting to the environment. Nano-silver ink has suitable viscosity and pH value. It can meet the requirements of pneumatic 3 D printers. The method has the characteristics of simple process, fast forming, low cost and high environmental friendliness.


2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vedant Singh ◽  
S. Vaibhav ◽  
Somesh Kr. Sharma

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between the dimensions of sustainable competitive advantages in the Indian low cost airlines.Design/methodology/approachThis study used structural equation modelling methods to identify the factors that significantly affect the sustainable competitive advantages enjoyed by Indian low-cost carriers (LCCs). Specifically, this study is based on the data from 208 airline experts that populate multiple structural equation models.FindingsResults indicate that indigenous efficiency, the LCCs perceptions of threat, dexterity, strategic persuasion and the LCC adopting an enabling role positively affect LCCs’ competitive advantages. These five factors were all correlated with each other. The results also show that relative to an LCC’s dexterity, indigenous efficiency is a stronger predictor of an LCC’s competitive advantages.Originality/valueThis study provides low-cost airlines with valuable information for designing effective strategies for obtaining competitive advantages in the LCC sector. To conclude the paper, the authors offer practical recommendations for managers and suggest some avenues for future research in this area.


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