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College students’ use of self-generated tagclouds for knowledge integration: evidence from reflections

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Abstract

Student-generated tagclouds provided an intuitive overview of a group of learners’ collective knowledge. Although such tagclouds may have the potential to be used as effective learning tools, it has not been clear how students use this tool for knowledge construction. In this paper, we report a two-stage study that investigated college students’ experiences of using tagclouds for developing their domain knowledge, culminating in individual concept maps and research papers. Based on the results of the qualitative analyses of students’ reflections from the first stage, an intervention was introduced: group discussions on tagclouds generated from different groups. The result of Study Stage II showed that group discussions highlighted the utility of the tagclouds. Treatment group participants were more likely to use tagclouds as metacognitive strategies for planning, searching, retrieving, and organizing their learning. The two-stage study also underscored the importance of collecting students’ reflections earlier in the learning process when introducing a new technology tool to promote learning.

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  1. Department of Teaching and Educational Studies, College of Education, Idaho State University, 921 South 8th Avenue, Stop 8059, Pocatello, ID, 83209, USA

    Shu-Yuan Lin

  2. Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment, Northern Illinois University, Gabel Hall 208, 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy, Dekalb, IL, 60115, USA

    Ying Xie

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Lin, SY., Xie, Y. College students’ use of self-generated tagclouds for knowledge integration: evidence from reflections. J Comput High Educ 31, 56–80 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-018-9191-3

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