Browsing by Author "Zurita, G"

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    A constructivist mobile learning environment supported by a wireless handheld network
    (WILEY, 2004) Zurita, G; Nussbaum, M
    There is a need to incorporate constructivist environments in the pedagogical practice. A constructivist learning environment allows students to build up their own knowledge (based on previous one) while working jointly among them in a reflexive process directed by the teacher. Wireless interconnected handhelds can introduce a space that favours constructivism and collaboration in order to achieve creation of new knowledge. We have developed a constructivist learning environment supported by handhelds, for the teaching of reading for first graders. This environment was compared to an equivalent constructivist environment without technological support, obtaining significant different learning results.
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    Dynamic grouping in collaborative learning supported by wireless handhelds
    (NATL TAIWAN NORMAL UNIV, TAIWAN, 2005) Zurita, G; Nussbaum, M; Salinas, R
    One of the most important decisions to be made in a face-to-face collaborative learning activity is how the participating groups are composed. These compositions produce different learning and social interaction results. The ability to change the group member composition in real time and dynamically enables the leveling up of learning results and improvements in the participants' social relationships. Changes in composition also facilitate the analysis of the best criteria to be used in a determined activity. We propose a face-to-face collaborative environment supported by wireless handhelds that allows for dynamic changes in the composition of groups while an activity is underway. Three different group composition changes were carried out in one environment and the outcomes were compared with another, similar environment where no such group composition changes were performed. The results obtained showed significant improvements, both qualitative and quantitative, in the environment where dynamic grouping was used. Moreover, the criteria for group composition that produce different social interaction outcomes were identified.