Design and evaluation of a widget-based dashboard for awareness support in Research Networks |
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| Authors: | Wolfgang Reinhardt Christian Mletzko Hendrik Drachsler Peter B Sloep |
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| Institution: | 1. Computer Science Education Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Paderborn, Fuerstenallee 11, Paderborn, Germanywolle@upb.de;3. Computer Science Education Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Paderborn, Fuerstenallee 11, Paderborn, Germany;4. Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies, Open University of the Netherlands, Valkenburgweg 177, Heerlen, Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | In this article, we describe the rationale, design and evaluation of a widget-based dashboard to support scholars’ awareness of their Research Networks. We introduce the concept of a Research Network and discuss Personal Research Environments that are built of as a development parallel to Personal Learning Environments. Based on the results of an international interview study, we report on the design of a paper prototype of an awareness dashboard (AWESOME). Research in the Internet age has changed; the dashboard is tailor-made for use in modern research. We compared existing scholarly toolsets with our paper prototype. The evaluation of the user tests shows that, on all tested items, AWESOME performs better than the existing toolsets: it is easier to use, less time-consuming, more user-friendly, more supportive with regards to technology and awareness and, finally, helps researchers to carry out their tasks more effectively. |
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| Keywords: | awareness Research Networks widget-based interfaces personal research environments evaluation |
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