CrossQuestion Game: A Design of a Group-Based Assessment Tool to Enhance Student Motivation during Pandemic

This paper explores the effect of applying gamification and flipped classroom approaches through our group-based assessment game, the CrossQuestion, in the course of IT in Business. The course teaches basic IT fundamentals and their application in different functional areas of business and management. In Spring 2020-21, we delivered this course through Moodle platform, integrated with the Zoom video communication tool, to introduce the CrossQuestion game as supplemental resources to engage students. We conducted measurements using the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey scales to verify the game's learning effect. We divided students into an experimental group (85 students who played the CrossQuestion game through gamified flipped classroom session–Spring 2020-21) and a control group (60 students who previously underwent lecture-based instructions and individualized formal assessments–Spring 2019-20). The analysis of students’ grades confirms improvement by applying gamified flipped classroom group-based assessments in the learning process. The students’ questionnaire also confirms that group-based assessments can improve students’ motivation. We developed a game system that was attractive to the students, implying that it can be an effective instructional and recreational material to boost morale, increase collaboration, enhance engagement and socialization opportunities, especially during this challenging pandemic.

The Role of Recipient Characteristics in Health Video Communication Outcomes: Scoping Review

Background The importance of effective communication during public health emergencies has been highlighted by the World Health Organization, and it has published guidelines for effective communication in such situations. With video being a popular medium, video communication has been a growing area of study over the past decades and is increasingly used across different sectors and disciplines, including health. Health-related video communication gained momentum during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and video was among the most frequently used modes of communication worldwide. However, although much research has been done regarding different characteristics of video content (the message) and its delivery (the messenger), there is a lack of knowledge about the role played by the characteristics of the recipients for the creation of effective communication. Objective The aim of this review is to identify how health video communication outcomes are shaped by recipient characteristics, as such characteristics might affect the effectiveness of communication. The main research question of the study is as follows: do the characteristics of the recipients of health videos affect the outcomes of the communication? Methods A scoping review describing the existing knowledge within the field was conducted. We searched for literature in 3 databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Embase) and defined eligibility criteria based on the relevance to the research question. Recipient characteristics and health video communication outcomes were identified and classified. Results Of the 1040 documents initially identified, 128 (12.31%) met the criteria for full-text assessment, and 39 (3.75%) met the inclusion criteria. The included studies reported 56 recipient characteristics and 42 communication outcomes. The reported associations between characteristics and outcomes were identified, and the potential research opportunities were discussed. Contributions were made to theory development by amending the existing framework of the Integrated-Change model, which is an integrated model of motivational and behavioral change. Conclusions Although several recipient characteristics and health video communication outcomes were identified, there is a lack of robust empirical evidence on the association between them. Further research is needed to understand how the preceding characteristics of the recipients might affect the various outcomes of health video communication.

Shortcomings in Public Health Authorities’ Videos on COVID-19: Limited Reach and a Creative Gap

Video communication has played a key role in relaying important and complex information on the COVID-19 pandemic to the general public. The aim of the present study is to compare Norwegian health authorities’ and WHO’s use of video communication during the COVID-19 pandemic to the most viewed COVID-19 videos on YouTube, in order to identify how videos created by health authorities measure up to contemporary video content, both creatively and in reaching video consumers. Through structured search on YouTube we found that Norwegian health authorities have published 26 videos, and the WHO 29 videos on the platform. Press briefings, live videos, news reports, and videos recreated/translated into other languages than English or Norwegian, were not included. A content analysis comparing the 55 videos by the health authorities to the 27 most viewed videos on COVID-19 on YouTube demonstrates poor reach of health authorities’ videos in terms of views and it elucidates a clear creative gap. While the videos created by various YouTube creators communicate using a wide range of creative presentation means (such as professional presenters, contextual backgrounds, advanced graphic animations, and humour), videos created by the health authorities are significantly more homogenous in style often using field experts or public figures, plain backgrounds or PowerPoint style animations. We suggest that further studies into various creative presentation means and their influence on reach, recall, and on different groups of the population, are carried out in the future to evaluate specific factors of this creative gap.

Interaction games to boost students’ engagement in foreign language virtual exchanges: the case of virtual worlds and video-communication

Game-based learning is gaining popularity in language education. For the present study, three games were developed with a central focus on intercultural interaction to be played internationally in dyads or small groups using Video-Communication (VC) tools or a Virtual World (VW). The interactions were carried out in Spanish as a Lingua Franca (LF) between 32 university students over a period of three weeks. Different sources of data were gathered in order to study how games, played in an intercultural setting in VWs and VC, influence or not key affective variables in language learning. Initial results of the final questionnaires show that the interaction games did boost students’ engagement in virtual exchanges, but results were more promising for the VC than the VW condition.

Peer To Peer Real-Time Communication Using WebRTC

The covid-19 pandemic has led to things happening virtually. Students are attending their classes in online mode. More than 50 percent of the working population is working from home. Online meetings have become necessary part of everyone's life. With the existing platforms, users need to setup or install packages on their systems to run the application which sometimes becomes confusing for first timers or non-technical people. This paper proposes to build a full-fledged feature rich web-based video conferencing application using WebRTC technology. WebRTC is used to enable real time audio and video communication from a web browser without the need of installing software or plugins so that users can focus on their work rather than worrying about how to use a video conferencing platform.

Preliminary Results of a Telemedicine Questionnaire in Pediatrics as an Innovative New Tool to Diagnose and Treat Children Virtually in an Ambulatory Setting: Analysis of 400 Pediatric Consultations

Virtual online consultation enables real-time exchange between two or more participants at different locations via audio and video communication [1-9]. In the visualization of the discussion partners, telemedicine thus differs from a classic telephone conference and expands it to include the visual component [1-6].

Fighting a pandemic through translating science: A mixed-methods study to establish effective, evidence-based health science video communication (the COVCOM study) (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The non-linear nature of contagious diseases and its potential for exponential growth can be difficult to grasp for the general public. This has strong implications for public health communication, which needs to be both easy accessible and efficient. A pandemic is an extreme situation and the accompanying strict societal measures are generally easier to accept if one understands the underlying reasoning behind them. Bringing about informed attitude change and getting compliance to strict restrictions requires explanations of scientific concepts and terminologies that laypersons can understand. OBJECTIVE The aim of the project is to develop effective, evidence-based modes of video communication for translating complex, but important health messages about pandemics to both the general population and decision-makers. The study uses Covid-19 as a case to learn and prepare society for handling also the next pandemic, as well as provide evidence-based tools to the science communication toolbox. METHODS The project applies a mixed-methods design, combining qualitative methods (e.g. interviews, observational studies, literature reviews), and quantitative methods (e.g. randomized controlled trials). The project brings together researchers from a wide range of academic fields, as well as communication industry professionals. RESULTS This study has received funding from the Trond Mohn Foundation through the Research Council of Norway’s “COVID-19 Emergency Call for Proposals” March 2020. Recruitment and data collection for the exploratory first phase of the project ran February to March 2021. Creative communication work started May 2021, and the production of videos for use in the RCTs in the final phase of the project started September 2021. CONCLUSIONS The COVCOM project will take on several grand challenges within the field of communicating science and provide evidence-based tools to the science communication toolbox. A long-term goal of the project is to contribute to the creation of a more resilient healthcare system by developing communication responses tailormade for different audiences, preparing society for any future pandemic.

From Best Friends to Silent Ends: Exploring the Concepts of Ghosting in Non-Romantic Relationships

Ghosting is a popular term in mass media that has continued to baffle many with its ambiguity as a dissolution strategy. Multiple studies in the past have explored ghosting within romantic relationships, examining how this dissolution strategy has impacted the two parties involved: the initiator (ghoster) and the non-initiator (ghostee). However, it has been stated that ghosting can exist outside of romantic relationships as it may also occur within friendships or even if the relationship is questionably nonexistent. The objectives of the paper seek to understand how ghosting happens within these non-romantic relationships, its effects on the initiators and non-initiators, and its possible differences when compared to romantic relationships. Semi-structured interviews were conducted through video communication platforms on thirty respondents ages 18-25 who have experienced ghosting or been ghosted by a friend. Through the use of descriptive phenomenological qualitative study, the results revealed that 1) ghosting in non-romantic relationships occurs on technology-mediated channels, 2) the initiators experienced post-dissolution feelings of regret, 3) the non-initiators experienced feelings of uncertainty, 4) ghosting a friend is more socially acceptable than ghosting a romantic partner, and, 5) ghosting is more frequent in non-romantic relationships due to the lower levels of commitment and expectations. Other recurring themes, such as the common reasons behind ghosting for the initiators and ghosting as a justifiable means of dissolving the relationship, were also found.