Motivating Students to Learn AI Through Social Networking Sites: A Case Study in Hong Kong
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v25i1.2454Keywords:
COVID-19, coronavirus, artificial intelligence learning, extracurricular activities, social networking sites, gamification, secondary schoolAbstract
In Hong Kong, after-school activities have long been used to foster friendships and to allow students to pursue their interests in an informal setting. This case study reports on a three-phase action research process in which information technology teachers delivered after-school activities focused on artificial intelligence during the COVID-19 transition to remote learning. Using semi-structured interviews, a motivational questionnaire, and lesson observations, this study describes how extracurricular activities were delivered online using social networking sites and how students perceived the new experience. Our results suggest that, in order to deploy meaningful activities via social media, teachers need to build collaborative environments that facilitate social engagement among students. These findings have implications for new practices in social media and other blended technologies, and can help students strike a healthy balance between their academic and non-academic life during this challenging period.
References
Aldemir, T., Celik, B., & Kaplan, G. (2018). A qualitative investigation of student perceptions of game elements in a gamified course. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 235–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.001.
Ali, S., Payne, B. H., Williams, R., Park, H. W., & Breazeal, C. (2019). Constructionism, Ethics, and Creativity: Developing Primary and Middle School Artificial Intelligence Education. In International Workshop on Education in Artificial Intelligence K-12 (EDUAI'19), 1-4.
Avison, D., Baskerville, R., & Myers, M. (2001). Controlling action research projects. Information Technology & People, 14(1), 28–45. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.eproxy.lib.hku.hk/10.1108/09593840110384762
Awuah, R., Agyepong, S., & Kwarase, P. (2020). Leadership education through extracurricular civic engagement. Partnerships: A Journal of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, 11(1), 257–274.
Balyer, A., & Gunduz, Y. (2012). Effects of structured extracurricular facilities on students’ academic and social development. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 4803–4807.
Bayliss, J. D. (2012, September). Teaching game AI through Minecraft mods. In 2012 IEEE International Games Innovation Conference (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
Bell, J., Sawaya, S., & Cain, W. (2014). Synchromodal classes: Designing for shared learning experiences between face to face and online students. International Journal of Designs for Learning, 5(1), 68-82.
Brooks, B. A., Floyd, F., Robins, D. L., & Chan, W. Y. (2015). Extracurricular activities and the development of social skills in children with intellectual and specific learning disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 59(7), 678–687.
Bower, M., Kenney, J., Dalgarno, B., & Kennedy, G. E. (2013). Blended synchronous learning: Patterns and principles for simultaneously engaging co-located and distributed learners. In ASCILITE-Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education Annual Conference (pp. 92-102). Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education.
Brown, M. G. (2016). Blended instructional practice: A review of the empirical literature on instructors’ adoption and use of online tools in face-to-face teaching. The Internet and Higher Education, 31, 1–10.
Çakıroglu, U., Başıbuyuk, B., Guler, M., Atabay, M., & Memiş, B. Y. (2017). Gamifying an ICT course: Influences on engagement and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 98–107. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.018.
Chu, S.K.W., Capio, C.M., van Aalst, J.C.W., and Cheng, E.W.L. (2017). Evaluating the use of a social media tool for collaborative group writing of secondary school students in Hong Kong. Computers & Education, 110(7), 170–180.
Crawford, J., Butler-Henderson, K., Rudolph, J., Malkawi, B., Glowatz, M., Burton, R., & Lam, S. (2020). COVID-19: 20 countries’ higher education intra-period digital pedagogy responses. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 3(1), 1-20.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Frenchs Forest.
De-Marcos, L., Garcia-Lopez, E., & Garcia-Cabot, A. (2016). On the effectiveness of game-like and social approaches in learning: Comparing educational gaming, gamification & social networking. Computers & Education, 95, 99–113. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.12.008.
Evans, M. A., Won, S. G., & Drape, T. (2014). Interest-driven STEM learning among youth through a social networking site. International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, 2(1), 3–20.
Fernandes, M. A. (2016). Problem‐based learning applied to the artificial intelligence course. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 24(3), 388–399.
Garrison, D. R. (2003). Cognitive presence for effective asynchronous online learning: The role of reflective inquiry, self-direction and metacognition. Elements of quality online education: Practice and direction, 4(1), 47–58.
Gifford, V. D., & Dean, M. M. (1990). Differences in extracurricular activity participation, achievement, and attitudes toward school between ninth-grade students attending junior high school and those attending senior high school. Adolescence, 25(100), 799.
Greenhow, C., Robelia, B., & Hughes, J. E. (2009). Learning, teaching and scholarship in a digital age: Web 2.0 and classroom research: What path should we take now? Educational Researcher, 38(4), 246–259. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x09336671.
Holland, C., & Muilenburg, L. (2011, March). Supporting student collaboration: Edmodo in the classroom. In Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 3232–3236). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Jaggars, S. (2011). Online Learning: Does It Help Low-Income and Underprepared Students? (Assessment of Evidence Series). Retrieved from https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D82R40WD
Kong, Q. (2020). Practical exploration of home study guidance for students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Hangzhou Liuxia Elementary School in Zhejiang Province, China. Science Insight Education Front, 5(2), 557–561.
Lee, J. C. K., Yin, H., & Zhang, Z. (2010). Adaptation and analysis of Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire in the Chinese setting. International Journal of Testing, 10(2), 149–165.
Li, X., Yang, Y., Chu S.K.W., Zainuddin Z. & Zhang Y. (2020) Applying blended synchronous teaching and learning for flexible learning in higher education: an action research study at a university in Hong Kong, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 1-17.
Llorens-Largo, F., Gallego-Durán, F. J., Villagrá-Arnedo, C. J., Compañ-Rosique, P., Satorre-Cuerda, R., & Molina-Carmona, R. (2016). Gamification of the learning process: Lessons learned. IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje, 11(4), 227–234.
Mahoney, J. L. (2014). School extracurricular activity participation and early school dropout: A mixed-method study of the role of peer social networks. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 4(1), 143.
McAleer, M. (2020). Prevention is better than the cure: Risk management of COVID-19. Journal of Risk and Financial Management. 13, 46.
Newton, D. (2015, November 4). Cheating in online classes is now big business. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/11/cheating-through-online-
courses/413770/.
Özdener, N. (2018). Gamification for enhancing Web 2.0 based educational activities: The case of pre-service grade school teachers using educational Wiki pages. Telematics and Informatics, 35(3), 564–578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.04.003.
Parsons, S., & Sklar, E. (2004, March). Teaching AI using LEGO mindstorms. In AAAI Spring Symposium.
Pintrich, P. R. (2004). A conceptual framework for assessing motivation and self-regulated learning in college students. Educational Psychology Review, 16(4), 385-407.
da Rocha Seixas, L., Gomes, A. S., & de Melo Filho, I. J. (2016). Effectiveness of gamification in the engagement of students. Computers in Human Behavior, 58, 48–63. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.021.
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Shen, X. (2015, March 30). You can pay people to take online exams and classes for you in China. South China Morning Post. Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3077487/
you-can-pay-people-take-online-exams-and-classes-you-china.
Stringer, E. T. (2008). Action research in education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ståhlbröst, A., & Bergvall-Kåreborn, B. (2011). Exploring users’ motivation in innovation communities. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 14(4), 298–314.
Szeto, E. (2015). Community of Inquiry as an instructional approach: What effects of teaching, social and cognitive presences are there in blended synchronous learning and teaching? Computers & Education, 81, 191–201.
Thouin, É., Dupéré, V., Dion, E., McCabe, J., Denault, A. S., Archambault, I., ... & Crosnoe, R. (2020). School-based extracurricular activity involvement and high school dropout among at-risk students: Consistency matters. Applied Developmental Science, 25(1), 1–14.
Williams, R., Park, H. W., Oh, L., & Breazeal, C. (2019, July). Popbots: Designing an artificial intelligence curriculum for early childhood education. In Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 33(1), 9729–9736.
Won, S. G., Evans, M. A., & Huang, L. (2017). Engagement and knowledge building in an afterschool STEM Club: Analyzing youth and facilitator posting behavior on a social networking site. Learning, Media and Technology, 42(3), 331–356.
Vieno, A., Perkins, D. D., Smith, T. M., & Santinello, M. (2005). Democratic school climate and sense of community in school: A multilevel analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(3–4), 327–341.
Yoon, D. M., & Kim, K. J. (2015). Challenges and opportunities in game artificial intelligence education using Angry Birds. IEEE Access, 3(1), 793–804.
Zaff, J. F., Moore, K. A., Papillo, A. R., & Williams, S. (2003). Implications of extracurricular activity participation during adolescence on positive outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18(6), 599–630.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
As a condition of publication, the author agrees to apply the Creative Commons – Attribution International 4.0 (CC-BY) License to OLJ articles. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
This licence allows anyone to reproduce OLJ articles at no cost and without further permission as long as they attribute the author and the journal. This permission includes printing, sharing and other forms of distribution.
Author(s) hold copyright in their work, and retain publishing rights without restrictions
