ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Educational technology
- Creators: Nelson, Brian C
Using a 2 x 3 factorial design, this study compared learner outcomes and motivation across technologies (audio-only, video, AR) and groupings (individuals, dyads) with 182 undergraduate and graduate students who were self-identified art novices. Learner outcomes were measured by post-activity spoken responses to a painting reproduction with the pre-activity response as a moderating variable. Motivation was measured by the sum score of a reduced version of the Instructional Materials Motivational Survey (IMMS), accounting for attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction, with total time spent in learning activity as the moderating variable. Information on participant demographics, technology usage, and art experience was also collected.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions that differed by technology and grouping before completing a learning activity where they viewed four high-resolution, printed-to-scale painting reproductions in a gallery-like setting while listening to audio-recorded conversations of two experts discussing the actual paintings. All participants listened to expert conversations but the video and AR conditions received visual supports via mobile device.
Though no main effects were found for technology or groupings, findings did include statistically significant higher learner outcomes in the elements of design subscale (characteristics most represented by the visual supports of the AR application) than the audio-only conditions. When participants saw digital representations of line, shape, and color directly on the paintings, they were more likely to identify those same features in the post-activity painting. Seeing what the experts see, in a situated environment, resulted in evidence that participants began to view paintings in a manner similar to the experts. This is evidence of the value of the temporal and spatial contiguity afforded by AR in cognitive modeling learning environments.
This thesis presents the Content Agnostic Game Engineering (CAGE) model for designing educational games. CAGE is a way to separate the educational content from the game mechanics without compromising the educational value of the game. This is done by designing mechanics that can have multiple educational contents layered on top of them which can be switched out at any time. CAGE allows games to be designed with a game design first approach which allows them to maintain higher engagement levels. In addition, since the mechanics are not tied to the educational content several different educational topics can reuse the same set of mechanics without requiring major revisions to the existing code.
Results show that CAGE greatly reduces the amount of code needed to make additional versions of educational games, and speeds up the development process. The CAGE model is also shown to not induce high levels of cognitive load, allowing for more in depth topic work than was attempted in this thesis. However, engagement was low and switching the active content does interrupt the game flow considerably. Altering the difficulty of the game in real time in response to the affective state of the player was not shown to increase engagement. Potential causes of the issues with CAGE games and potential fixes are discussed.
alleviating certain, lightly held scientific misconceptions. However, many
misconceptions surrounding the theory of evolution are deeply held and resistant to
change. This study examines whether AR can serve as an effective tool for alleviating
these misconceptions by comparing the change in the number of misconceptions
expressed by users of a tablet-based version of a well-established classroom simulation to
the change in the number of misconceptions expressed by users of AR versions of the
simulation.
The use of realistic representations of objects is common for many AR
developers. However, this contradicts well-tested practices of multimedia design that
argue against the addition of unnecessary elements. This study also compared the use of
representational visualizations in AR, in this case, models of ladybug beetles, to symbolic
representations, in this case, colored circles.
To address both research questions, a one-factor, between-subjects experiment
was conducted with 189 participants randomly assigned to one of three conditions: non
AR, symbolic AR, and representational AR. Measures of change in the number and types
of misconceptions expressed, motivation, and time on task were examined using a pair of
planned orthogonal contrasts designed to test the study’s two research questions.
Participants in the AR-based condition showed a significantly smaller change in
the number of total misconceptions expressed after the treatment as well as in the number
of misconceptions related to intentionality; none of the other misconceptions examined
showed a significant difference. No significant differences were found in the total
number of misconceptions expressed between participants in the representative and
symbolic AR-based conditions, or on motivation. Contrary to the expectation that the
simulation would alleviate misconceptions, the average change in the number of
misconceptions expressed by participants increased. This is theorized to be due to the
juxtaposition of virtual and real-world entities resulting in a reduction in assumed
intentionality.