Overview

As a mobile app for digital picture book reading, PicBooker aims to nurture critical thinking abilities for children aged 6-9 by providing best reading and creating experiences for children and parents.
For children, PicBooker provides multi-dimensional, vivid, interesting and interactive intelligent picture book reading experiences and enhances their critical thinking ability on multi-dimensional.
For parents, PicBooker functions as a tool for a parent-child reading and helps parents understand children's development status and accompany children in their reading, progress and growth.

My Role in this Project

Researcher

Researched how picture book reading affects critical thinking skills, which provided theoretical foundations for the app’s effectiveness on nurturing critical thinking for children aged 6 -9.

Learning Experience Designer

Designed scaffolding, coaching and project-based learning in book reading and digital book making.

Prototype Developer

Produced a high-fidelity Axure prototype, which had interactions including book reading, independent book making and collaborative book making.

Overview

Based on the behavior log data from 1883 learners in XuetangX, the biggest MOOC platform in China, this study uses the Lag Sequence Analysis (LSA) method to explore the behavior pattern of all online learners and compares behavioral patterns of different learner groups.

My Role in the Project

Group Leader

Led the discussion of online learning patterns and characteristics of different groups of learners

Programmer

Wrote MySQL and Python programs to extract behavioral sequences from more than 4,000,000 behavioral log data produced by 1,883 online learners.

Analyzer

Found 31 significant behavioral sequences using Lag Sequential Analysis and produced behavioral transition diagrams. Conducted two-step clustering on learners using SPSS.

Overview

In order to meet students’ learning needs and improve the utilization of the playground fitness equipment, we developed a context-aware learning system based on the technology of iBeacon and Wechat “Shake Nearby”. A control experiment and related interviews were also conduct to evaluate the effectiveness of this learning approach.
I also collaborated in writing a paper, which was published at ICSLE (International Conference on Smart Learning Environments) 2019.

Click to view our paper:
Zou Q., Wang X., && Chen G. (2019). Learning to Use the Fitness Equipment: Development and Evaluation of a Context-aware System with iBeacon Technology. In: Chang M. et al. (eds) Foundations and Trends in Smart Learning. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology. Springer, Singapore

Learning Environment Development

Learning Material Designing

With the help of professional fitness coach, we designed web pages as learning material for three types of fitness equipment, namely leg curling, curl-up board and high-pull training combination.
Each learning content page including two parts integrating with text, vivid pictures and animated GIFs. Part 1 introduced basic usage of this equipment, while Part 2 involved advanced fitness knowledge.

Learning System Development

We utilized “Shake Nearby” function of WeChat platform, and deployed iBeacon base stations next to the selected equipment.
By shaking the mobile phone the link of the learning content webpage will pop up.

Results and Conclusions

Results showed that the experimental group learning by the context-aware system had a high level of technology acceptance, and a slightly higher level of learning grades and learning motivation and a slightly lower level of the cognitive load than the control group.
It could be seen that context-aware learning could help students study fitness equipment using and fitness knowledge more effective and pleasant than ordinary paper study materials.