4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to prom... more 4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to promote safe access to websites and technology literacy. 4Kids.org, created by ALTEC at the University of Kansas in 1995, provides a variety of Internet-based activities as well as access to a database of websites reviewed for educational content, appropriateness, and commercial-free content. This review presents many 4Kids.org features while highlighting a resource designed to provide young people in grades K – 5 with a safe and successful Internet experience. In 1995 the Internet was just beginning to be seen as a resource that would have a tremendous impact on business and education. Many commentators, as illustrated by the July 3, 1995, Time magazine cover
ABSTRACT Evidence Game project will develop a game to increase middle school science students’ th... more ABSTRACT Evidence Game project will develop a game to increase middle school science students’ thinking related to scientific argumentation. These include: understanding a claim, judging the evidence about a claim, determining the reasoning applied to the claim, considering rebuttals, and making judgments. The game will provide experiences in implementing the specific components of argumentation and will culminate in a collaborative game providing for discourse about scientific reasoning. Recognizing that it may be difficult for middle school students to grasp what is “fun” about engaging in scientific argumentation, this session has to do with whether target game features incorporated into the design will maintain engagement and make the game fun. These features include focused goals, ease of learning, rapid and frequent responding, multiplayer competitive play, various achievement levels for individual players and teams, choice and autonomy, and increasingly challenging tasks.
ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 2021
As society increasingly relies on digital technologies in many different aspects, those who lack ... more As society increasingly relies on digital technologies in many different aspects, those who lack relevant access and skills are lagging increasingly behind. Among the underserved groups disproportionately affected by the digital divide are women who are transitioning from incarceration and seeking to reenter the workforce outside the carceral system (women-in-transition). Women-in-transition rarely have been exposed to sound technology education, as they have generally been isolated from the digital environment while in incarceration. Furthermore, while women have become the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population in the United States in recent decades, prison education and reentry programs are still not well adjusted for them. Most programs are mainly designed for the dominant male population. Consequently, women-in-transition face significant post-incarceration challenges in accessing and using relevant digital technologies and thus have added difficulties in enteri...
Of the 53 million K–12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video game... more Of the 53 million K–12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video games (Etuk, 2008). ALTEC Learning Games utilize the excitement of video games to engage students and provide teachers authentic online resources that reinforce skills in math and language arts. Our recent work was partially supported by a partnership with the Ohio Board of Regents through the federally funded Star Schools Program. This work demonstrates the use of online games, including single player and competitive and collaborative multiplayer formats, on both computers and emerging mobile technologies (EMTs). Why Games? Since youth appear motivated to spend increasing amounts of time engaged in electronic games (ESA’s 2006; Pew Reports, 2008), many researchers argue that games have a significant pedagogical potential to support classroom instruction (Dempsey, Lucassen, Haynes, & Casey, 1997; Foreman, 2004; Prensky, 2001; Squire & Jenkins, 2008). Students can acquire high levels of skill...
Scientific argumentation , defined as the ability to develop and analyze scientific claims, suppo... more Scientific argumentation , defined as the ability to develop and analyze scientific claims, support claims with evidence from investigations of the natural world, and explain and evaluate the reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim, is a critical component of current science standards and is consistent with Common Core State Standards . Consequently, science teachers, researchers and program evaluators often include the process of scientific argumentation among their objectives for instruction and assessment. This paper describes the development of a valid, reliable and practical classroom measure of scientific argumentation. Based on Toulmin’s (2003) theoretical framework of scientific argumentation, the 36-item test creates both a total score and subscores covering the ability to identify claims and qualifiers in a claim, the ability to distinguish among a claim , fact , opinion , and data , the ability to distinguish among authority , logic and theory as possible reason...
ABSTRACT The paper will address the use of an iterative development process with middle school st... more ABSTRACT The paper will address the use of an iterative development process with middle school students and teachers using low production value prototypes to design a science argumentation game with a targeted game format.
Based on interviews with 75 women transitioning from incarceration, our research identifies techn... more Based on interviews with 75 women transitioning from incarceration, our research identifies technology access and skills barriers facing this population and their underlying concerns and motivations in navigating privacy online. Our results suggest precarious housing and financial situations, concerns about ex-partners, mental health issues, and lack of self-efficacy pose challenges for their access to and use of digital technologies and influence their online privacy perspectives. Many participants reported relying primarily on cellphones for various tasks including job applications. Closing public places including libraries amid the COVID-19 pandemic put them at an even greater disadvantage, as many of them depend on computers or Wi-Fi available in those places. Nothing-to-lose attitudes were salient among this group resulting in many not taking precautionary measures online or choosing to go offline. Our research highlights the importance of building academic-community partnershi...
Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game designed to engage middle school students... more Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game designed to engage middle school students in the knowledge and skills related to scientific argumentation. Several game features are included as design considerations unrelated to science content or argumentation. One specific feature, a competitive racing component that occurs in between challenging tasks, is the subject of this analysis. The effect of two conditions on 72 ninth grade students' performance was analyzed: game play with a competitive racing component (Race) and game play without a competitive racing component (No-Race). A counterbalanced design was used with two randomly assigned groups playing the game using two different science scenarios. When students played with a racing component interspersed between challenging tasks they completed the tasks more quickly and accurately than when they did not experience the racing component. These findings are discussed in terms of game design and the use of game featu...
4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to prom... more 4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to promote safe access to websites and technology literacy. 4Kids.org, created by ALTEC at the University of Kansas in 1995, provides a variety of Internet-based activities as well as access to a database of websites reviewed for educational content, appropriateness, and commercial-free content. This review presents many 4Kids.org features while highlighting aresource designed to provide young people in grades K – 5 with a safe and successful Internet experience.
Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, 2000
The use of social media in and outside the classroom is increasing in the number of popular appli... more The use of social media in and outside the classroom is increasing in the number of popular applications as well as pervasiveness in our culture. Teachers utilize social media to engage students, connect with experts, and expand their own professional learning. This chapter provides educators with information about the use of social media to support STEM practices. Social media can be used to engage students in active learning and problem-solving through student-posted claims and effective online questioning. Using social media supports the scientific practice of engaging in argument from evidence, as well as emulates how scientists collaborate on their own research and share research findings. Best practices and lessons learned are shared in this chapter, including a case study from a secondary science classroom and suggestions for the use of social media for educator professional learning.
Of the 53 million K-12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video game... more Of the 53 million K-12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video games . ALTEC Learning Games utilize the excitement of video games to engage students and provide teachers authentic online resources that reinforce skills in math and language arts. Our recent work was partially supported by a partnership with the Ohio Board of Regents through the federally funded Star Schools Program. This work demonstrates the use of online games, including single player and competitive and collaborative multiplayer formats, on both computers and emerging mobile technologies (EMTs).
4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to prom... more 4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to promote safe access to websites and technology literacy. 4Kids.org, created by ALTEC at the University of Kansas in 1995, provides a variety of Internet-based activities as well as access to a database of websites reviewed for educational content, appropriateness, and commercial-free content. This review presents many 4Kids.org features while highlighting a resource designed to provide young people in grades K – 5 with a safe and successful Internet experience. In 1995 the Internet was just beginning to be seen as a resource that would have a tremendous impact on business and education. Many commentators, as illustrated by the July 3, 1995, Time magazine cover
ABSTRACT Evidence Game project will develop a game to increase middle school science students’ th... more ABSTRACT Evidence Game project will develop a game to increase middle school science students’ thinking related to scientific argumentation. These include: understanding a claim, judging the evidence about a claim, determining the reasoning applied to the claim, considering rebuttals, and making judgments. The game will provide experiences in implementing the specific components of argumentation and will culminate in a collaborative game providing for discourse about scientific reasoning. Recognizing that it may be difficult for middle school students to grasp what is “fun” about engaging in scientific argumentation, this session has to do with whether target game features incorporated into the design will maintain engagement and make the game fun. These features include focused goals, ease of learning, rapid and frequent responding, multiplayer competitive play, various achievement levels for individual players and teams, choice and autonomy, and increasingly challenging tasks.
ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 2021
As society increasingly relies on digital technologies in many different aspects, those who lack ... more As society increasingly relies on digital technologies in many different aspects, those who lack relevant access and skills are lagging increasingly behind. Among the underserved groups disproportionately affected by the digital divide are women who are transitioning from incarceration and seeking to reenter the workforce outside the carceral system (women-in-transition). Women-in-transition rarely have been exposed to sound technology education, as they have generally been isolated from the digital environment while in incarceration. Furthermore, while women have become the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population in the United States in recent decades, prison education and reentry programs are still not well adjusted for them. Most programs are mainly designed for the dominant male population. Consequently, women-in-transition face significant post-incarceration challenges in accessing and using relevant digital technologies and thus have added difficulties in enteri...
Of the 53 million K–12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video game... more Of the 53 million K–12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video games (Etuk, 2008). ALTEC Learning Games utilize the excitement of video games to engage students and provide teachers authentic online resources that reinforce skills in math and language arts. Our recent work was partially supported by a partnership with the Ohio Board of Regents through the federally funded Star Schools Program. This work demonstrates the use of online games, including single player and competitive and collaborative multiplayer formats, on both computers and emerging mobile technologies (EMTs). Why Games? Since youth appear motivated to spend increasing amounts of time engaged in electronic games (ESA’s 2006; Pew Reports, 2008), many researchers argue that games have a significant pedagogical potential to support classroom instruction (Dempsey, Lucassen, Haynes, & Casey, 1997; Foreman, 2004; Prensky, 2001; Squire & Jenkins, 2008). Students can acquire high levels of skill...
Scientific argumentation , defined as the ability to develop and analyze scientific claims, suppo... more Scientific argumentation , defined as the ability to develop and analyze scientific claims, support claims with evidence from investigations of the natural world, and explain and evaluate the reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim, is a critical component of current science standards and is consistent with Common Core State Standards . Consequently, science teachers, researchers and program evaluators often include the process of scientific argumentation among their objectives for instruction and assessment. This paper describes the development of a valid, reliable and practical classroom measure of scientific argumentation. Based on Toulmin’s (2003) theoretical framework of scientific argumentation, the 36-item test creates both a total score and subscores covering the ability to identify claims and qualifiers in a claim, the ability to distinguish among a claim , fact , opinion , and data , the ability to distinguish among authority , logic and theory as possible reason...
ABSTRACT The paper will address the use of an iterative development process with middle school st... more ABSTRACT The paper will address the use of an iterative development process with middle school students and teachers using low production value prototypes to design a science argumentation game with a targeted game format.
Based on interviews with 75 women transitioning from incarceration, our research identifies techn... more Based on interviews with 75 women transitioning from incarceration, our research identifies technology access and skills barriers facing this population and their underlying concerns and motivations in navigating privacy online. Our results suggest precarious housing and financial situations, concerns about ex-partners, mental health issues, and lack of self-efficacy pose challenges for their access to and use of digital technologies and influence their online privacy perspectives. Many participants reported relying primarily on cellphones for various tasks including job applications. Closing public places including libraries amid the COVID-19 pandemic put them at an even greater disadvantage, as many of them depend on computers or Wi-Fi available in those places. Nothing-to-lose attitudes were salient among this group resulting in many not taking precautionary measures online or choosing to go offline. Our research highlights the importance of building academic-community partnershi...
Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game designed to engage middle school students... more Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game designed to engage middle school students in the knowledge and skills related to scientific argumentation. Several game features are included as design considerations unrelated to science content or argumentation. One specific feature, a competitive racing component that occurs in between challenging tasks, is the subject of this analysis. The effect of two conditions on 72 ninth grade students' performance was analyzed: game play with a competitive racing component (Race) and game play without a competitive racing component (No-Race). A counterbalanced design was used with two randomly assigned groups playing the game using two different science scenarios. When students played with a racing component interspersed between challenging tasks they completed the tasks more quickly and accurately than when they did not experience the racing component. These findings are discussed in terms of game design and the use of game featu...
4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to prom... more 4Kids.org is an online resource with an accompanying syndicated print publication created to promote safe access to websites and technology literacy. 4Kids.org, created by ALTEC at the University of Kansas in 1995, provides a variety of Internet-based activities as well as access to a database of websites reviewed for educational content, appropriateness, and commercial-free content. This review presents many 4Kids.org features while highlighting aresource designed to provide young people in grades K – 5 with a safe and successful Internet experience.
Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, 2000
The use of social media in and outside the classroom is increasing in the number of popular appli... more The use of social media in and outside the classroom is increasing in the number of popular applications as well as pervasiveness in our culture. Teachers utilize social media to engage students, connect with experts, and expand their own professional learning. This chapter provides educators with information about the use of social media to support STEM practices. Social media can be used to engage students in active learning and problem-solving through student-posted claims and effective online questioning. Using social media supports the scientific practice of engaging in argument from evidence, as well as emulates how scientists collaborate on their own research and share research findings. Best practices and lessons learned are shared in this chapter, including a case study from a secondary science classroom and suggestions for the use of social media for educator professional learning.
Of the 53 million K-12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video game... more Of the 53 million K-12 students in the United States, 93%, or 51 million, of them play video games . ALTEC Learning Games utilize the excitement of video games to engage students and provide teachers authentic online resources that reinforce skills in math and language arts. Our recent work was partially supported by a partnership with the Ohio Board of Regents through the federally funded Star Schools Program. This work demonstrates the use of online games, including single player and competitive and collaborative multiplayer formats, on both computers and emerging mobile technologies (EMTs).
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Papers by Marilyn Ault