By: Amanda Davis, Bentley University

Students use a variety of technologies to learn and complete assignments. In some cases, the form of technology is imposed by the schools. At other times, students can select their own interactions to engage in their studies.

Three student researchers - Diego Mendes, Amanda Davis, and Vignesh Krubai of Bentley University recently conducted an engagement comparison study between traditional paper textbooks and digital textbooks found on an iPad. All ten of the participants were students who owned iPads and use the internet for at least ten hours per week. This article will focus on the qualitative findings from their tests. Additional information about the research methods and support, provided by SMI and Affectiva, can be found at affectiva.com and www.eyetracking-glasses.com. 

Among these students, common activities on their iPads include accessing the web, checking email, gaming and social networking. Some students additionally mentioned using eBooks, music application, course maintenance, movies and looking at powerpoints during class.

Each of the students were asked to do a series of tasks on the iPad version of the textbook, followed by the paper version of the textbook. When questioned about their preference between the digital and paper version of the textbook, half of the students preferred the iPad and the other half preferred paper textbook. Despite owning an iPad, half of the students preferred the traditional methods for studying.

by Marc Resnick, Professor of Human Factors at Bentley University

Read Part I of this article

As I concluded in Part I, there is nothing that can destroy the value of a peer to peer support group faster than harmful information, exploitive behavior, and disrespectful interactions. Once inaccurate information or negative interactions begin to spread across a network, they are difficult to stop. It is critical to prevent them from gaining any traction, usually through the presence of moderators with the authority to intervene when necessary.

Moderators have three primary responsibilities. First is to prevent the development of negative information cascades. Negative information can either be inaccurate medical information or therapy recommendations that are inappropriate. Because of the prevalence of motivated reasoning and emotional information processing in these domains, information cascades can develop frequently and spread rapidly if they are not actively contravened. The best way to interrupt an information cascade is to post an immediate reply that links to the correct information on a trusted content source that is written for the minimum education level of members.

Second, the endorsement of behaviors that conflict with the healthy behaviors the network is trying to promote must be contradicted immediately. Behavioral cascades also are sensitive to motivated reasoning and emotional information processing. Members can be tempted to model the behavior of their contacts, even when it is unhealthy. This is especially true for popular members. Behavioral cascades can be interrupted simply with an immediate reply reminding readers of the counteractive effects of the suspect behavior. Repeat offenders should be warned not to repeat the practice.