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Under the impact of the digital wave, traditional paper-cutting art faces unprecedented challenges in preservation and dissemination. Given the urgent need for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) protection, this study explores the application of Virtual Reality (VR) technology in the preservation of paper-cutting art. VR efficiently digitizes and widely disseminates paper-cutting art by skillfully integrating modern technological elements. The study not only deeply analyzes how VR technology can safeguard and inherit traditional Chinese paper-cutting art but also focuses on the meticulous design and optimization of the paper-cutting VR system. The constructed VR system integrates cutting-edge technologies such as 3D modeling and modular design. It showcases outstanding performance in virtual environment rendering and user interaction, rigorously validated through precise evaluation methods. Experimental results demonstrate the paper-cutting VR system's response time of only 10 ms and a high frame rate of 90 frames per second, highlighting its exceptional performance. Furthermore, comprehensive research on the profound impact of the VR system on various stakeholders contributes a new perspective and profound insights into the digital preservation of ICH. In summary, this study successfully innovatively applies VR technology to the protection and dissemination of paper-cutting art, achieving digital preservation goals and injecting new vitality into its inheritance. This pioneering research path opens a hopeful new channel for the digital preservation of ICH and provides a valuable reference for the conservation of other traditional cultures. The study holds critical academic value and significant practical implications. Moreover, the extensive prospects of VR technology in the cultural heritage conservation field urgently require further exploration and investigation.

This study aimed at designing a model of instructional materials for Academic Writing Course focusing on research paper writing. The model was designed based on the Curriculum at the English Education Study Program, Faculty of Language and Art Education of IKIP PGRI Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia. This model was developed in order to improve students' skill in writing research paper which is one of the prerequisite tasks before graduating from university. The steps of this research and development consist of needs analysis, document analysis, model design, model development, and model experimentation. The researchers conducted needs analysis to the fifth semester students and three academic writing teachers, in order to generate information dealing with the students' needs in academic writing course materials. The needs analysis and documents analysis were dug up through questionnaire, interview, and discussion among students and academic writing teachers. The documents analyzed in this study were syllabus, lesson plan, and the existing textbook. The model design used is derived from Borg and Gall (1983) and Sukmadinata (2008), in which there are four steps, i.e. (1) exploration phase; (2) model development phase; (3) model experimentation phase; and (4) dissemination and model implementation phase. The results of needs analysis questionnaire reveal that students need to be taught how to write academic writing in terms of journal article since it will be the final project of the students at the end of their study in university. Instructional materials with different strategies focused on research paper writing are needed by the students.

This study is meant to examine the thesis quality of students of English Department at IAIN Samarinda. Through the descriptive-quantitative research, the thesis quality of students of English Department at IAIN Samarinda is reviewed from the aspects of language, structure, concepts understanding, theoretical framework, methodology, content, writing mechanism, and references used. This study also tries to figure out any factors that affect the thesis quality of English Department students. Fourteen English Department Students' thesis tested in 2013 are used as the main data. In addition, other data are obtained from respondents i.e. 19 students, and informants i.e. lecturers of English Department who are also their thesis advisors. The result shows that the average score of thesis written by 14 English Department students at IAIN Samarinda academic year of 2013 is 3.16 which is in the range of 2.61-3.40 scale, which is quite good quality. This quality is relevant with the informants' perceptions about the quality of thesis written by their students. Judging from some aspects, they assume that their students are able to write a good quality of thesis with an average score of 2.81 which is at a scale of 2.61-3.40. The quality is affected by internal factors and external factors. The most decisive internal factor is the respondents' low score of writing with appropriate and acceptable structure in English. This is the effect of respondents' lack of ability of composing adequate paragraphs in English. Meanwhile, the most concerning external factor is the quality of learning structure course and the professionalism of the informants in guiding the students to improve their writing ability in thesis writing. A bibliography is included.

This paper focuses on students' reading habits--whether traditional reading habits (print books) or modern reading habits (using a computer screen). We review the changes in students' reading habits over time, as part of other global changes, and explore whether corresponding digital pedagogies have evolved to address these changes. We examine Generation Y students' motivations and study habits, a generation that shows indications of changes in its academic values and priorities, and cracks in its research skills for a global world. We focus on a case study of the reading habits of students in one academic institution and discuss the implications of the findings for academic teaching and the academia's traditional role of training researchers.

It is generally perceived that a substantial number of engineering faculty are still unaware of alternative educational methods, and many who are aware of them choose not to incorporate them into their approach to teaching. There are several likely reasons for this inertia, aside from the inevitable human resistance to change. The primary focus of imparting information is restricted to fulfilling the course requirements and, the upcoming term end examination. It is imperative to adopt a change from teaching to learning paradigm engaging the students in Higher Order Thinking Skills. Knowledge and technological advancements are changing the role of engineering and engineering faculty in the society. Engineering Education reforms need to focus on inductive teaching and stimulated learning. Students should be taught critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills to keep pace with the rapidly changing engineering profession. This paper reports the study done to test and explore the faculty awareness of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the cognitive domain and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and to evaluate question papers set by engineering faculty with respect to HOTS as proposed by Bloom's Taxonomy. Various active learning strategies to enhance critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills of the students are recommended for use by the faculty in their interactions with the students.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the use of paper-based and weblog-based electronic portfolios on the writing achievement of limited English proficiency students, to survey the students' attitudes towards the use of the portfolio assessment, and to compare the viewpoints of the students in the control and experimental groups. The study was conducted with 60 second-year hotel and tourism students enrolled in the Writing for the Service Industry course. They had limited English proficiency, as their previous English grades were C or below in average. The simple random sampling technique was used for subject selection and group assignment. Google's free weblog website (located at www.blogger.com) was used as a tool for creating and developing the students' personal electronic portfolios. At the beginning of the course, the students in the control group and the experimental group were trained in the concept of portfolios, and the purposes, content, and criteria used for assessment were discussed with the students. A writing achievement test and a closed-ended questionnaire were used for the quantitative data collection, while the qualitative data were gathered from the open-ended questions, interviews, and reflection. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were employed for the data analysis. It was found that the effects of the use of paper-based portfolios and weblog-based electronic portfolios on the writing achievement were not significantly different, but some promising results of the use of weblog-based electronic portfolios for language learning and assessment are indisputable.

University education has been massified in South Africa and this has disrupted conventions and practices of assessment. Universities are perceived as promoting complex achievements and complex skills through rigorous curriculum specifications and assessment instruments. Due to experiences in high school and the novelty of university education, students have begun to enquire about the "scope of the paper." This enquiry has tended to destabilise the reliability of assessments and judgments in universities in South Africa. Grades and symbols certified by some universities have become both indeterminate and ambiguous. A qualitative, quantitative design was adopted to identify and interrogate university research participants' views on experiences about examinations at university level. In the process, the meanings that first-year degree-level test-takers ascribed to the concept of "the scope of the paper" were unpacked. It was determined which aspects of the test scope students had studied in order to prepare for tests. Inferences were made about the concepts that the students marginalised because they were perceived to be "out of the scope" of the examination. A holistic and broad educational experience for university students is recommended in spite of the daunting numbers enrolled in certain university courses.

Recently, electronic books (e-books) have become prevalent amongst the general population, as well as students, owing to their advantages over traditional books. In South Africa, a number of schools have integrated tablets into the classroom with the promise of replacing traditional books. In order to realise the potential of e-books and their associated devices within an academic context, where reading speed and comprehension are critical for academic performance and personal growth, the effectiveness of reading from a tablet screen should be evaluated. To achieve this objective, a quasi-experimental within subjects design was employed in order to compare the reading speed and comprehension performance of 68 students. The results of this study indicate the majority of participants read faster on an iPad, which is in contrast to previous studies that have found reading from tablets to be slower. It was also found that comprehension scores did not differ significantly between the two media. For students, these results provide evidence that tablets and e-books are suitable tools for reading and learning, and therefore, can be used for academic work. For educators, e-books can be introduced without concern that reading performance and comprehension will be hindered.

This study compares cost, completion times, and percent completion of electronic tablet (n = 244) to paper-based (n = 398) questionnaires administered to participants of scenic raft trips on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park. We hypothesized e-tablet questionnaires would (1) cost less (2) be completed faster and (3) be completely filled more frequently than paper-based questionnaires. Our survey resulted in a greater per unit cost of e-tablet compared to paper-based questionnaires ($4.17 and $1.80, respectively). Although e-tablets were completed faster (230 [±66] s) than paper questionnaires (235 [±57] s), the difference was not significant (t[subscript (641)] = 1.97, p = 0.39). E-tablets were filled completely more frequently than paper questionnaires (80% vs. 51%, respectively; ?[superscript 2] = 3.84, p < 0.01). We suggest that for multi-year projects with a sample size target of =100, and length = 5 pages, e-tablets are more cost effective and efficient than paper-based surveys.

The time, material, and staff-consuming nature of anatomy's traditional pen-and-paper assessment system, the increase in the number of students enrolling in medical schools and the ever-escalating workload of academic staff have made the use of computer-based assessment (CBA) an attractive proposition. To understand the impact of such shift in the assessment method, an experimental study evaluating its effect on students' performance was designed. Additionally, students' opinions toward CBA were gathered. Second-year medical students attending a Clinical Anatomy course were randomized by clusters in two groups. The pen-and-paper group attended two sessions, each consisting of a traditional sectional anatomy steeplechase followed by a theoretical examination, while the computer group was involved in two similar sessions conducted in a computerized environment. At the end of each of the computer sessions, students in this group filled an anonymous questionnaire. In the first session, pen-and-paper group students scored significantly better than computer-group students in both the steeplechase (mean ± standard deviation: 66.00 ± 14.15% vs. 43.50 ± 19.10%; P < 0.001) and the theoretical examination (52.50 ± 12.70% vs. 39.00 ± 21.10%; P < 0.001). In the second session, no statistically significant differences were found for both the steeplechase (59.50 ± 17.30% vs. 54.50 ± 17.00%; P = 0.085) and the theoretical examination (57.50 ± 13.70% vs. 54.00 ± 14.30%; P = 0.161). Besides, an intersession improvement in students' perceptions toward CBA was registered. These results suggest that, after a familiarization period, CBA might be a performance equivalent and student accepted alternative to clinical anatomy pen-and-paper theoretical and practical examinations.

Electronic portfolios offer many advantages to their paper-based counterparts, including, but not limited to working on ICT skills, adding multimedia and easier sharing of the portfolio. Previous research showed that the quality of a portfolio does not depend on the medium used. In this article the perceived support for self-reflection of an electronic portfolio and a paper-based portfolio in the same ecological setting are compared. We made use of the fact that during this study about half of the first year medical students was using an electronic portfolio (n = 157) and the other half a paper-based portfolio (n = 190). Nine questions were added to the standard end of the block evaluation, which is handed to 25 percent of year one educational groups. Findings suggest that perceptions about the support for self-reflection, and the usefulness of compiling a portfolio, do not differ between students using an electronic portfolio and students using a paper-based portfolio.

An important aim of undergraduate science education is to develop student skills in reading and evaluating research papers. We have designed, developed, and implemented an on-line interactive resource entitled "Evaluating Scientific Research literature" (ESRL) aimed at students from the first 2 years of the undergraduate program. In this article, we describe the resource, then use student data collected from questionnaire surveys to evaluate the resource within 2 years of its launch. Our results add to those reported previously and indicate that ESRL can enable students to start evaluating research articles when used during their undergraduate program. We conclude maximal learning is likely to occur when the resource can be embedded in the curriculum such that students have a clearly articulated context for the resource's activities, can see their relevance in relation to assessed assignments and can be encouraged to think deeply about the activities in conversation with one another and/or with staff.

This research compared the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the altruism framework (AM) to predict paper-recycling behavior. It was comprised of formative research and a major survey. Data collected from 628 undergraduate students in Thailand were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that TPB was superior to AM in predicting paper recycling. Perceived behavioral control was the only significant determinant from the TPB; personal norms alone significantly predicted behavior in AM. A communication approach is proposed to reinforce change in sociopsychological factors that could lead to a long-term paper-recycling commitment.

When deciding which modes to offer, researchers consider cost, known respondent contact information, and potential mode effects. For a short survey on employment, we evaluate the effect of adding one of two new electronic data collection modes to a mailed questionnaire. We sent a survey to principals who previously responded to the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) asking about their current job status. This questionnaire, known as the Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS), has typically been administered as a short paper form that is mailed to NTPS respondents. In 2022, the PFS introduced two new modes of completion, and principals were randomly assigned to receive: (i) a paper form only; (ii) a paper form, as well as emails with a direct link to complete a web survey; or (iii) a paper form, as well as invitations by text message to complete an automated two-way short message service text survey by responding to texted "yes/no" questions. This article compares overall response rates and time-to-response by mode to determine respondent preferences for completing short surveys. Adding either electronic mode significantly increased response rates and decreased the number of days in which completed surveys were received, compared to offering only a paper questionnaire. Although email and text messages are both forms of electronic communication that may be accessible on a smartphone, the added text message survey resulted in higher response rates than the added web survey. This suggests that respondents interact differently with emails and text messages they receive and that offering an option to complete a survey by text message can increase the speed and efficiency of data collection for short surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-year university students (n = 199) completed an online questionnaire that queried their purchase of paper books and eBooks for university study and personal interest. The questionnaire also required students to rate their learning characteristics including reading strategies, study self-regulation, learning control beliefs and achievement motivation. Self-reported student learning characteristic scores were associated with self-reported book purchases. For example, as student extrinsic motivation scores increased, number of paper books purchased for university study tended to increase. As student learning control belief scores increased, purchase of eBooks for university study tended to increase. Collectively, such results lend support to the conclusion that education students who embrace emerging technologies such as eBooks and who read for leisure perceive themselves as more able learners than students who do not embrace emerging technologies such as eBooks and who do not read for leisure.

A study is reported of the performance and attainment of 32 students from overseas studying elementary Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in a Chinese university. With an AB-BA design, they were asked to use two forms of writing media to present two essays: one a word-processed essay entitled "My Favourite Female" and the other a conventional hand-written essay entitled "My Favourite Male". The essays were marked by experienced Chinese language experts and the learners' impression of using each type of writing medium was gathered via questionnaires and interviews. Inferential statistics showed that the students performed significantly better when using a word-processor, and they thought that completing writing tasks using pencil-and-paper and word-processors were markedly different. Most of them felt that their work was more professional when produced on a word-processor. A small number of students considered that writing by hand in Chinese was aesthetically pleasing, but they appreciated the convenience of writing in words spelled and written correctly by the computer. Inter-marker consistency was more homogeneous for essays written on the computer. In conclusion, word-processors are suggested as the preferred writing medium for beginning learners of CFL.

Background: The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) has long recognized and championed increasing diversity within the surgical workplace. SAGES initiated the Fundamentals of Leadership Development (FLD) Curriculum to address these needs and to provide surgeon leaders with the necessary tools and skills to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in surgical practice. In 2019, the American College of Surgeons issued a request for anti-racism initiatives which lead to the partnering of the two societies. The primary goal of FLD was to create the first surgeon-focused leadership curriculum dedicated to DEI. The rationale/development of this curriculum and its evaluation/feedback methods are detailed in this White Paper. Methods: The FLD curriculum was developed by a multidisciplinary task force that included surgeons, education experts, and diversity consultants. The curriculum development followed the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) instructional design model and utilized a problem-based learning approach. Competencies were identified, and specific learning objectives and assessments were developed. The implementation of the curriculum was designed to be completed in short intervals (virtual and in-person). Post-course surveys used the Kirkpatrick's model to evaluate the curriculum and provide valuable feedback. Results: The curriculum consisted of interactive online modules, an online discussion forum, and small group interactive sessions focused in three key areas: (1) increasing pipeline of underrepresented individuals in surgical leadership, (2) healthcare equity, and (3) conflict negotiation. By focusing on positive action items and utilizing a problem-solving approach, the curriculum aimed to provide a framework for surgical leaders to make meaningful changes in their institutions and organizations. Conclusion: The FLD curriculum is a novel leadership curriculum that provided surgeon leaders with the knowledge and tools to improve diversity in three areas: pipeline improvement, healthcare equity, and conflict negotiation. Future directions include using pilot course feedback to enhance curricular effectiveness and delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publishing research papers in English journals is now a requirement for many scientists in developing countries. Writing journal papers in English, the lingua franca of the scientific world, however, often places an additional burden on non-native speaking scientists in EFL settings due to their lack of English proficiency. With these concerns in mind, this paper investigates science journal paper writing in an EFL context, Korea. Two types of questionnaires were administered, one to graduate students and the other to the faculty members of a science and engineering graduate school in Korea. In addition, students and faculty members were interviewed. The results of the questionnaires and interviews showed that the linguistic elements of journal papers were the most problematic areas, while the meta-linguistic features of papers such as the overall structure and paragraph development were perceived to be the most important features of journal papers. The results also revealed that the graduate students and professors were at a disadvantage when writing and publishing papers in English. Suggestions for further research and pedagogical implications are provided. (Contains 5 tables.)

This paper analyses the quality of information collected by a self-administered survey responded to by a general population, who were offered the possibility of answering using the post or Internet. The analysis will be focused on the use of three grid questions with using rating scales with 6, 6 and 8 items, respectively. There was a polar point labelled scale (0-10) with verbal labels only at the endpoints. The postal survey showed greater acquiescence, a greater choice of extreme response categories and 'easy' answers, and a greater number of incomplete questions.

This paper builds upon the theoretical framework developed by Zahra and George (2002) to empirically explore, first, the moderator effect of principals' inspirational vision content as a social mechanism that reduces the gap between potential absorptive capacity (PACAP; the ability to acquire and assimilate external knowledge) and realized absorptive capacity (RACAP; the ability to transform and exploit this external knowledge to school processes); and second, the relationship between RACAP and long-term school outcomes (teachers' absenteeism 1 year later). Based on a sample of 600 teachers from 100 elementary schools in Israel, results showed that the relationship between PACAP and RACAP is not conditioned by principals' inspirational vision content. The latter and PACAP predicted RACAP separately. Further, RACAP was negatively correlated with teacher absenteeism. This study provides a deeper understanding of the ACAP model in the school context and opens new avenues to exploring the social integration mechanism between PACAP and RACAP. It also adds a new construct to predict teacher absenteeism over the long term.

Within the existing system of education, student work rarely has any value beyond the particular course that it is created for. The work is graded and then usually discarded. The authors describe in this article a way that student work can be systematically made available for use by others beyond the immediate learning context within which it is created. They provide a case study in which this mechanism worked. They describe the benefits and costs of doing this, along with the broader implications this systematic publication of exemplary student work might have for the changing relationship between learning and doing, between education and the rest of society. This publication mechanism, called OPEER (open publishing of exemplary educational resources), can enable education to have an additional major positive impact on the rest of society, creating and maintaining quality-assured resources at a minimal additional cost. (Contains 1 figure.)

Digital technologies have been used for measurement purposes and whether the test medium influences the user is an important issue. The aim of this study is to investigate students' performances and duration differences between online and paper-pencil tests. An online testing tool was developed and administered in order to determine the differences between the traditional paper-pencil tests and online tests concerning students' performances and the duration on tests. This tool enables to add questions that utilize an online database and which are in the form of multiple choice (with 5 or 4 options), true-false, matching, filling in the blanks, with multiple answers, with short answers, with long answers, and it also enables to prepare tests and to turn them into paper-pencil test mode. Performance test was applied with both online and paper-pencil modes on junior students at one of the universities in Turkey. Besides, the online testing tool developed within the context of the study was evaluated by instructors with respect to usability, relevance to the purpose and design. Instructor and student questionnaires are developed to determine the opinions on the online testing tool and online tests. Results showed that there was no significant differences between the performances on online and paper-pencil tests. On the other hand, the time they spent on the online test has been longer than the time they spent on paper-pencil test. Students found the online testing tool easy to use and stated that online test medium is more comfortable than paper-pencil tests. However, they complained about external noises, tiredness, and focusing problems regarding the online examination mediums. Generally, instructors have also appreciated the online testing tool's design and they agree on the fact that it serves for its purposes.

When respondents answer paper-and-pencil (PP) questionnaires, they sometimes modify their responses to correspond to previously answered items. As a result, this response bias might artificially inflate the reliability of PP questionnaires. We compared the internal consistency of PP questionnaires to computerized questionnaires that presented a different number of items on a computer screen simultaneously. Study 1 showed that a PP questionnaire's internal consistency was higher than that of the same questionnaire presented on a computer screen with one, two or four questions per screen. Study 2 replicated these findings to show that internal consistency was also relatively high when all questions were shown on one screen. This suggests that the differences found in Study 1 were not due to the difference in presentation medium. Thus, this paper suggests that reliability measures of PP questionnaires might be inflated because of a response bias resulting from participants cross-checking their answers against ones given to previous questions. (Contains 1 table and 2 footnotes.)

This paper examines whether and to what extent data-driven learning (DDL) activities can improve the lexico-grammatical use of abstract nouns in L2 writing. A topic-based corpus was compiled to develop concordance learning activities, and 40 Chinese students majoring in English were randomly assigned to a control group or an experimental group. At the prewriting stage, both groups were given a list of five abstract nouns: the experimental group was provided with paper-based concordance lines to study the collocations of the words, while the control group was allowed to consult dictionaries for the usage of the words. The written texts of the pre-test, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test were analysed and compared between and within groups. The results showed that the written output by the experimental group, as compared with the control group, contained a higher variety of collocational and colligational patterns and had fewer linguistic errors in using the target abstract nouns. The post-experiment learning journals and questionnaires administered to the experimental group further confirmed that concordance activities encouraged usage-based learning, helped students notice the lexical collocations and prepositional colligations of the target words, and thus improved accuracy and complexity in their productive language. Despite these positive findings, potential problems of using concordance activities for independent learning were also reflected in the students' written output and reported in the learning journals.

Content analysis of the studies of both Turkish and foreign authors on PBL in science education in national and international journals was made considering such variables as the research subject, method, sample, diversity of data collection tools and the data analysis methods. To this end, content analysis of 104 papers - 42 by Turkish authors and 62 by foreign authors - which were carried out between the years 1986-2012, was made. All these papers were accessed in full text. It was identified that in 40.4% of the studies whose content analysis was made, the focus was on the effect of PBL on learning, while in 35.6% the focus was on concept analysis. It is seen that while Turkish authors worked on teaching studies in 59.5% of their studies, foreign authors focused on concept analysis in 41.9% of their studies. Also while Turkish authors mostly preferred quantitative research methods (61.9%) in their studies, foreign authors preferred qualitative research methods (66.1%). The commonly used data collection tools for Turkish authors were questionnaire and achievement test, while foreign authors preferred interview and alternative data collection tools. In terms of choosing a sample group, it is seen that studies with undergraduate and secondary school students (9-12) were referred more often. The findings of the study reveal that studies on PBL were not very common in our country until 2005; that they reached the highest number between the years 2005-2009, and that foreign authors published the highest number of papers in 2006. While the foreign authors had a superiority over Turkish authors in terms of their papers on PBL in science education until 2005, it is seen that as of 2005, except the year 2006, the number of papers of Turkish authors has been equal to/higher than the number of papers by foreign authors until 2012. Besides, it is also identified that most of these studies were mixed and in the field of chemistry education. It is believed that this study is significant in terms of providing an opinion to young researchers working in the field of PBL and to those who are planning to work in the field.

Investigated the acceptance of computerized assessment, particularly compared to conventional paper-and-pencil techniques, in seriously impaired psychiatric inpatients. Describes the development of a self-rating questionnaire (OPQ, Operation and Preference Questionnaire) and reports results that showed computerized assessment was convincingly well-accepted and even superior to paper-and-pencil techniques. (Author/LRW)

Based on a research project comprising data from an interview study and a survey with teachers and school principals in four German federal states ("Bundesländer"), this paper questions the claim that the side effects of accountability in education are bound to high-stakes contexts, and also provides evidence of side effects occurring in no- and low-stakes contexts. The findings suggest that side effects cannot be fully explained by certain implementation features of accountability regimes (e.g., high stakes), but should rather be understood as a result of implementation features as well as systematic effects of accountability in education.

Adapting traditional paper-pencil instruments to computer-based environments has received considerable attention from the research community due to the possible administration mode effects on obtained measures. When differences due to mode of completion (i.e., paper-pencil, computer-based) are present, threats to measurement validity are posed. In this research, administration mode effects of web-based and conventional paper-pencil versions of a parent-completed developmental questionnaire, the "Ages & Stages Questionnaires" ("ASQ"), were estimated. Setting this study apart from similar studies reported in the literature, the "ASQ" requires parents to observe and rate their children's behavior. Most measures adapted for web-based administration are not observational. Using item response model invariance testing procedures, analyses tested whether "ASQ" items administered via the Internet function differently from corresponding traditional paper-pencil items. Analyzing the 4-, 12-, and 24-month "ASQ" intervals, statistically significant differences (i.e., "DIF," or "differential item functioning") were obtained on 10 of the 90 items examined in this study. Although "DIF" was observed for some items, the overall "DIF" model was rejected for all domains. On the basis of these results, the paper-pencil and web-based measures can be considered equivalent and the mode effect is not present; "ASQ" measures obtained from either mode are therefore interchangeable. Noteworthy remedies are considered for web-based administration of the 10 specific items lacking invariance.

This study examined the psychometric equivalence of paper-and-pencil and Internet formats of key questionnaires used in couple research. Self-report questionnaires assessing interpersonal constructs (relationship satisfaction, communication/conflict management, partner support, emotional intimacy) and intrapersonal constructs (individual traits, psychological symptoms, contextual influences) were administered to young adults in committed dating relationships. The same measures were administered twice via paper-and-pencil and/or Internet methods over a 2-week period. Method order was counterbalanced among participants, and temporal stability was controlled. Intrapersonal and interpersonal measures generally remained reliable when administered online and demonstrated quantitative and qualitative equivalence across methods. The implications of online administration of questionnaires are discussed, and specific recommendations are made for researchers who wish to transition to online data collection. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study investigates the measurement equivalence of a five-factor measure of personality across two groups applying for jobs, who completed the same questionnaire using either a paper-and-pencil (n = 429) or a web online answer format (n = 651). The data were collected using the Big Five Questionnaire-2 (BFQ-2; which is a measure of the Five Factor Model) of personality traits. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures of the BFQ-2. Findings suggested that the Five Factor Model scales have the same measurement unit and origin across applicants using different administration modes. However, latent means were slightly higher for applicants who responded in a web and unproctored condition than for applicants who completed a paper-and-pencil version of the same test. Practical implications for personality assessment are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 2 notes.)

This study sought to determine if differences exist in the quantitative and qualitative data collected with paper and online versions of a medical school clerkship evaluation form. Data from six-and-a-half years of clerkship evaluations were used, some collected before and some after the conversion from a paper to an online evaluation system. The quantitative data consisted of a composite score based on the average of several Likert-type items; the qualitative data consisted of open-ended comments about the clerkships. Clerkship ratings were more positive in the online version. Students made significantly longer comments about both strengths and weaknesses on the online form than on the paper form. In addition, comments made on the online form were judged to be more informative and showed less evidence of "negativity" than those made on the paper form. The findings suggest that both quantitative and qualitative data obtained with online evaluation forms can differ in important ways from data collected with paper forms.

Questionnaire instruments are frequently administered in digital formats, largely web-based, without much systematic investigation of possible effects from these administration methods. Furthermore, little attention has been given to the contextual lack of control for extraneous factors that may influence user responses. In this study, 263 university students were randomly assigned to one of two administration formats, web-based (WBA) or paper-based (PBA), to complete a set of questionnaires in an environment of their choice. Data collection included reporting context characteristics along three parameters: location, companions, and concurrent activities (including help-seeking). Outcomes of interest included location and conditions of user-chosen contexts, instrument performance, generative data quantity and quality, independence of completion, administrative efficiency, and participant affect. Participants did choose and allow distracters in their contexts-of-use, completing the questionnaires while engaged in multiple social and asocial concurrent activities. There were generally small but significant differences in instrument performance and user response characteristics by administration method and contexts-of-use. Participant comfort and data returned were both higher in PBA than WBA. Quantity return of generative data was higher in WBA while overall quality (completeness, coherence, correctness) of generative data was not significantly different. These findings present implications of administrative methods and contextual influences that inform measurement professionals' selection and design of administrative systems and conditions for research and evaluation data collection. (Contains 2 notes and 2 tables.)

To date researchers have had difficulty establishing reliable conclusions in studies comparing traditional forms of learning (eg paper-based or classroom based) vs online learning in relation to student learning outcomes; no consistent results have emerged, and many studies have not been controlled for factors other than lesson mode. This paper compares the effects of presenting two versions of lessons on punctuation that differed only in their mode of presentation. 59 students completed a pre-lesson questionnaire, and after the lessons completed another questionnaire plus the NASA-TLX which tests subjective cognitive workload stress. The results showed that students who sat the lessons on paper performed 24% better than those who sat the lessons online. Reasons for this difference in learning outcomes are considered, but no clear reason is apparent in the data from this study. The study sounds a note of caution in terms of the move by tertiary institutions to online and/or blended learning, and suggests further studies are required which assess learning outcomes in different mode of learning.

Geographical information systems (GIS) were phased into the geography curriculum of South African schools from 2006-2008 as part of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for grades 10-12. Since its introduction, GIS education in schools across the country has been met with a number of challenges including the cost of purchasing the hardware and software required to elucidate the basic concepts of GIS to learners. This article examines the introduction of GIS education in schools in South Africa. The development and distribution of a paper-based GIS educational package for resource-poor schools in the country is also highlighted. Preliminary educator and learner evaluations of the paper-based GIS package are discussed and the broader learning opportunities and benefits associated with flexible teaching mechanisms are examined. (Contains 4 figures and 3 notes.)

The authors examined whether paper-and-pencil and Web surveys administered in the school setting yield equivalent risk behavior prevalence estimates. Data were from a methods study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in spring 2008. Intact classes of 9th- or 10th-grade students were assigned randomly to complete a survey via paper-and-pencil or Web. Data from 5,227 students were analyzed using logistic regression to identify associations of mode with reporting of 74 risk behaviors. Mode was associated with reporting of only 7 of the 74 risk behaviors. Results indicate prevalence estimates from paper-and-pencil and Web school-based surveys are generally equivalent. (Contains 1 note and 2 tables.)

Research on note taking in pedagogical settings has received considerable attention. However, the awkwardness of integrating information across different media formats may present physical and cognitive barriers that prevent students from effectively organizing annotations from both printed and digital content while studying paper textbooks. The purpose of this paper is to develop a cross-media annotation system that incorporates a paper textbook with a computer as an integrated whole to facilitate the question-driven organization of annotations. While taking notes, students can digitally extract printed text and organize the copied passages based on guiding questions, all by using digital pens. Students can also link Internet-based learning resources to printed content to supplement their print-based studies. A user-based formative evaluation was conducted to assess the new functions of the cross-media annotation system and to explore their influence on students' note-taking behavior and performance. The results show that the new functions may facilitate the retention of key concepts of the paper textbooks and may improve knowledge construction based on explicit learning goals. (Contains 1 table and 7 figures.)

Purpose: This study investigated whether computers are a useful tool in the assessment of people with aphasia (PWA). Computerized and traditionally administered versions of tasks were compared to determine whether (a) the scores were equivalent, (b) the administration was comparable, (c) variables such as age affected performance, and (d) the participants' perceptions of the computerized and traditionally administered versions of the tasks were similar. Method: Fifteen PWA were assessed on 2 language tasks--sentence-picture matching and grammaticality judgment--in 3 conditions: computer only, computer with the clinician present, and traditional. The participants also completed questionnaires rating aspects of each condition. Results: Scores from the traditionally administered tasks were highly correlated with those from the computerized tasks, but scores from the computerized tasks were significantly lower. There was no significant difference in the time taken between the conditions. Whereas some individuals felt comfortable with the computer, overall, participants preferred the traditional assessment method or when another person was in the room. No factors were identified that predicted participants' relative performance in the computer condition. Conclusion: The results suggest that PWA can be assessed using computerized versions of tasks, but that caution should be exercised when comparing scores to those collected using traditional methods, including norms. The variation in participants' opinions regarding computerized tasks suggests that this method might be more suitable for some participants than others. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)