Gorse, C; Dickinson, I; Ashraf, I; Whitehead, P; Shepherd, T; Smith, M and Platten, A (2010) Distribution and use of digital learning materials: An evaluation of a virtual maths website and surrounding activities. In: Egbu, C (ed.) Proceedings of 26th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2010, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
The next generation of construction professionals are IT literate; they surf the web, access the latest news from multiple sources and use social networking websites to connect with their peers around the globe. The skills of the construction knowledge worker are changing and while IT skills for many are second nature, the standard of maths has been questioned. Many learning providers are using websites to deliver information and improve various skills, yet there is little knowledge on how to use web applications to help ensure potentially interested parties are exposed to the material. The construction industry is mathematically demanding and construction workers need relevant skills. In an attempt to tackle this, construction based maths resources were created in an interactive web environment. However, while the web resource exists, it does not mean that it will be found nor used. Research was undertaken to determine how the website applications and surrounding activities impacted on the use of the website and ultimately provided exposure to the maths tools. The use of the Virtualmaths website has been monitored with Google Analytics. The results have proved interesting in terms of the activities undertaken to promote the site and comparisons with the website hits. While the maths website ranks well in search engine results, much of the traffic to the site is by direct access, through social media and networking sites such as Twitter and YouTube. However, face to face workshops that were used to showcase the web resources were found to produce a significant impact with regard to direct access and user registrations. It is clear that the quality of the materials is important as is the promotion of open access web materials if they are to be used.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | functional skills; mathematics; teaching and learning; google analytics; open access; learning resources |
| Index terms: | construction professional, social media, construction worker, exposure, construction industry, workshop, promotion, networking, face |
| Subjects: | construction type, practitioner, psychology, communication, technology adoption, management, public and environmental health, professional development, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Human Resources, Organizational Design, Health and Safety, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here