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Researchers have indicated that the collaborative problem-solving space afforded by the collaborative systems significantly impact the problem-solving process. However, recent investigations into collaborative simulations, which allow a group of students to jointly manipulate a problem in a shared problem space, have yielded divergent results regarding their effects on collaborative learning. Hence, this study analysed how students solved a physics problem using individual-based and collaborative simulations to understand their effects on science learning. Multiple data sources including group discourse, problem-solving activities, learning test scores, and questionnaire feedback were analysed. Lag sequential analysis on the data found that students using the two simulations collaborated with peers to solve the problem in significantly different patterns. The students using the collaborative simulations demonstrated active engagement in the collaborative activity; however, they did not transform discussions into workable problem-solving activities. The students using the individual-based simulation showed a lower level of collaboration engagement, starting with individual exploration of the problem with the simulation, followed by group reflection. The two groups also showed significant differences in their learning test scores. The findings and pedagogical suggestions are discussed in the hope of addressing critical activity design issues in using computer simulations for facilitating collaborative learning.

An experimental study of software image compositing that we have carried out on a 512-node PC cluster shows the necessity of hardware compositing support to make possible real-time volume visualization scalable with large PC clusters. This paper describes the design and performance evaluation of such a hardware image compositing device. A PC cluster using such devices along with commodity graphics cards can enable simultaneous simulation and volume visualization.

Previous studies have proposed that the grammars may serve as a rule-based scaffolding to facilitate story comprehension in storytelling activities. Such scaffoldings may inform students of crucial story elements and possible transitions among different elements. However, how these scaffoldings may influence story creation/writing activities is still not very clear. This study aims to understand and explore the relationship among rule-based scaffoldings, creative self-efficacy and storytelling products. By gathering the stories developed by 53 sixth graders and their creative self-efficacy in a quasi-experiment setting, this study investigated whether providing these rule-based scaffoldings may influence their performance and creative self-efficacy. The results of this study indicated that with these rule-based scaffoldings, students produced better storytelling products in terms of content quality. However, the presence of story grammar rules also limited the students' freedom of creative thinking, and thus reduced the creative self-efficacy level at the early stage of learning to create stories. Such findings support that the rule-based scaffolding may be more helpful in facilitating storytelling in the idea exploration phase than in the generation phase. Educators may need to be cautious regarding the time point at which rule-based scaffoldings would be most effectively integrated with learning activities.

Mobile computers are now increasingly applied to facilitate face-to-face collaborative learning. However, the factors affecting face-to-face peer interactions are complex as they involve rich communication media. In particular, non-verbal interactions are necessary to convey critical communication messages in face-to-face communication. Through gathering discourse and non-verbal interaction records, this study explores the peer interactions supported by two collaborative applications: one with mobile computers and the other with shared-display groupware (SDG). The results show that the students tended to interact with each other according to a distributed and an unsocial interaction pattern when using the application with mobile computers. In contrast, the students who learned with the SDG demonstrated a shared interaction pattern, whereby they often jointly focused on and referred to the shared work. The analysis of the students' work further found that a higher level of discussion was generally associated with the shared interaction pattern. The results seem to support SDG as being useful in augmenting face-to-face peer interaction supported by mobile computers. The implications derived from the findings also support the argument that non-verbal interaction records are useful for quantitatively and qualitatively analysing face-to-face peer interactions. (Contains 6 tables and 8 figures.)

The internet has been widely used to promote collaborative learning among students. However, students do not always have access to the system, leading to doubt in the interaction among the students, and reducing the effectiveness of collaborative learning, since the web-based collaborative learning environment relies entirely on the availability of computers and the internet. A web-based collaborative learning scheme based on activity awareness carried out through mobile phones is proposed herein. The proposed mechanism automatically sends SMS messages on a GSM network, based on student identity and learning activity, making the student aware of the collaborative learning context, and further improving the student's learning. A web-based collaborative learning activity was implemented in a Taiwan undergraduate class to examine the proposed scheme. Experiments demonstrated that awareness of the collaborative learning context through mobile phones significantly increased student participation in learning activity and improving student learning performance. (Contains 4 figures and 5 tables.)

Summary: Background: Herbal supplements containing curcumin and other ingredients are used for pain management in horses with osteoarthritis (OA). Objectives: To test the effects of a herbal supplement containing curcumin and other ingredients in horses with lameness due to naturally occurring OA. Study design: Two‐period randomised crossover design. Methods: Ten Thoroughbreds with naturally occurring chronic OA were randomly assigned to the treatment (BLP; Buteless® Performance) or control (CTR, no supplement) groups and fed daily for 30 days. On Days −1 (before treatment), 15 and 30, lameness examination, range of motion, pain on palpation and force platform data were collected. Plasma curcumin concentration and its metabolites were measured on Days 1 and 14. Gastroscopy, a complete blood count and a serum biochemistry panel were performed on each horse before treatment Day −1 and Day 31. Gastric lesions (ulcers) were scored in real time by a masked investigator. Results: Mean peak vertical force (PVF), measured by the force platform, significantly increased in the lame limb of the BLP‐treated horses on Days 15 (0.40 ± 0.13 N/kg, (p = 0.0025) and 30 (0.63 ± 0.14 N/kg, p < 0.0001) compared to the CTR group. In addition, mean normalised PVF was higher in the BLP group on Day 15 (p = 0.0438) and on day 30 (p = 0.0003) when compared to CTR horses for the same days. The PVF significantly improved (≥5%; range, 5.2–33%) in six of nine individual BLP‐treated horses and did not improve (<5%; range, 0–3.4%) in three of nine BLP‐treated horses. Also, PVF improved (≥5%; range, 7.6–15.4%) in three of nine horses in the CRT group. Squamous gastric lesion scores significantly decreased in both groups by Day 31. Plasma curcumin‐O‐sulphate concentrations (1.2–3.3 ng/ml) were present in 9/10 BLP‐treated horses by Day 14. Main limitations: Small sample size and absence of a positive treatment (non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug) control. Conclusions: The BLP supplement containing curcumin achieved plasma concentrations and improved weight bearing in some treated horses with naturally occurring OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]