Affiliations: Integrated Systems Engineering, The Ohio State
University, Columbus, OH, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Carolyn M. Sommerich, Ph.D., 1971
Neil Avenue 210 Baker Systems Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Tel.: +1 614 292 9965;
Fax: +1 614 292 7852; E-mail: sommerich.1@osu.edu
Abstract: In general, K-12 students have little opportunity to control
feedback from the various factors in their educational environments. However,
leading theories of human-system interaction suggest participants in a system
will perform better if they have some degree of control over their interaction
with the design of the system's features. In an effort to provide an added
degree of control to students in one high school while also attempting to
address concerns about computer use-related musculoskeletal discomfort in
students, an experiment was conducted with the goal of identifying effective
means through which students could learn about healthy computing. One group of
students (n=8) participated in a knowledge discovery
process facilitated by an ergonomist, a second group of students
(n=6) participated in a training session conducted by the
first group of students, and a third group served as controls
(n=7). Results of a comparison of scores for pre- and
post-intervention surveys that tested students' abilities to recognize
problematic computer use conditions and make appropriate recommendations for
change showed an increase for the first and second groups, and no increase in
the control group. Another positive sign from the first group was their
sustained participation, on their own time, in the learning process over the
course of several weeks. Pros and cons of the learning methods are
discussed.
