Nathan Garrett

West Virginia University | WVU · Accounting

This project measured the effectiveness of charts in SEC 10-K filings. Amazon Mechanical Turk and business students participated in the online experiment. The first half of the study asked participants to interpret five charts rarely found in 10-K filings, including combo charts, scatterplots, stacked bars, relative waterfall charts, and absolute w...

Segmentation reduces learners’ cognitive load by inserting system‐controlled pauses into instructional animations and video. However, many previous studies focus on conceptual knowledge, and do not allow users control over the pacing of instruction. This two‐part experiment attempted to validate segmentation in the context of procedural software in...

This case presents games for developing what-if skills in Excel. They can be added to existing curriculum in classes covering data analysis. The games require students to create decision-making models, and then use those models in interactive class auctions. The auctions generate significant classroom energy and unpredictability. Since each auction...

This experiment compared three forms of tutorials: text, video, and segmented videos. It asked participants to follow along with a step-by-step Excel conditional formatting tutorial, and then to transfer this knowledge to a new problem. Participants assigned to the text tutorial were much slower than those assigned the video tutorials. This perform...

How do academic disciplines use PowerPoint? This project analyzed PowerPoint files created by an academic publisher to supplement textbooks. An automated analysis of 30,263 files revealed clear differences by disciplines. Single-paradigm “hard” disciplines used less complex writing but had more words than multi-paradigm “soft” disciplines. The “har...

While YouTube has a wealth of educational videos, how self-guided learners use these resources has not been fully described. An analysis of search engine queries for help with the use of Microsoft Excel shows that few users search for specific features or functions but instead use very general terms. Because the same videos are returned in response...

While instructional videos are an increasingly popular way to deliver content, use of video analytics are in their infancy. This project used an eye-tracking machine to record learners while they were shown a slide presentation alongside a video of the instructor. Learners frequently switched between the video and slides, on average every 2.4 secon...

This project examined the impact of different multimedia designs in instructional videos. An eye-tracking machine recorded learners while they were shown a slide presentation alongside a video of the instructor. Learners frequently switched between the video and slides, on average every 2.4 seconds. Speakers who gestured, repeated keywords, or bega...

How well does PowerPoint support learning outside class? This project answers this question by data mining a large dataset of 1,413 PowerPoint files from 54 professors. PowerPoint text and image data were combined with course and faculty data, as well as server logs indicating how many times each file was downloaded. The results show that slide ima...

With 27 million users, Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Seattle, WA) is the most common business data analysis software. However, audits show that almost all complex spreadsheets have errors. The author examined textbooks to understand why responsible data analysis is taught. A purposeful sample of 10 textbooks was coded, and then compared against spr...

How will Moocs influence the college and university system? This paper examines them with the " iron triangle " principles of access, cost, and quality. These show that while Moocs have lower cost, they also have reduced access. Because they reduce person-to-person contact, students must already be skilled lifelong learners. In addition, while Mooc...

How can we best use PowerPoint? Three streams of research provide answers: (1) surveys provide student and faculty perceptions, (2) expert presenters give their opinion, and (3) cognitive scientists conduct focused perceptual experiments. I expand on this research by testing existing research findings against actual conference presentations. My C#...

This article presents two contrasting assessment programs implemented at a small School of Business in the Los Angeles area. The program for the undergraduate degree, which includes four majors, relies upon tight coordination and a centralized assessment group, while the graduate program, an MBA, relies upon individual courses as the key building b...

Assurance of Learning (AoL) practices can be implemented in a variety of ways, as long as they are geared toward business schools’ missions and curricula. The authors first address the purpose of implementing AoL, and briefly evaluate the ongoing debate about the pros and cons of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business's policies...

This project attempts to improve electronic portfolio software through the creation of a design model using ownership, ease of use, and social learning variables to predict user adoption. The pilot software attempts to encourage student learning by enhancing peer interaction. The software was used by two groups of students. The first group used it...

In this paper we explore the idea that ratings systems, common across successful e-commerce sites, can better engage individuals in online learning networks. To test this we implement a ratings system as a mechanism for influencing social interaction in our university's online learning community (OLC). Our research measures the impact this system h...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show the practicality of a new portfolio design that incorporates distributed content, emphasizes student ownership, encourages social learning, and acknowledges the central importance of ease of use. Design/methodology/approach – The approach's practicality is demonstrated through survey results and usage...

In an academic world largely dominated by instructor-facilitated learning environments (i.e., lecture halls and course management software), our research implements and measures the impact of a student-owned and operated virtual learning environment. Adopting an Action Design research methodology, we look to expand scholarships and build communitie...

Purpose The purpose of this article is to outline a vision for digital stories of development, or online personal learning environments, which may eventually replace what we currently call “electronic portfolios” in education. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual article that provides a lifelong, life‐wide perspective on electronic por...

This article reports on action research that implements online learning community (OLC) software to foster conversation at a specific graduate school. The design of the research is informed by theories of conversation, online learning, and social networking, as well as by popular Web 2.0 technologies. A distinguishing feature of this application is...

This article reports on action research that implements online learning community (OLC) software to foster conversation at a specific graduate school. The design of the research is informed by theories of conversation, online learning, and social networking, as well as by popular Web 2.0 technologies. A distinguishing feature of this application is...

This paper builds on action and design research aimed at enhancing scholarly community and conversation in a graduate school setting. In this paper we focus on knowledge sharing (KS) and trust as important factors for building a sustainable online learning community (OLC). Guided by theories of social learning and social networking, we survey gradu...

This paper presents a design research project adapting Elgg, an open source social networking package, for use in graduate education. The modified software represents an alternative model to the traditional course management system, using blogs & wikis to support student collaboration and peer learning. Students found that the application helped th...

The concept of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) was developed over 15 years ago. Because scholarly recognition comes from the discipline, the researchers determined to find out how a range of disciplines deal with the SoTL. In that time, how has the SoTL been integrated into and used by the various academic disciplines? What publicat...