Trinity Western University’s Computing Science and Mathematics Professor Dr. Herbert H. Tsang, PhD, PEng, together with collaborators from the University of Waterloo, has won the 2018 International E-Learning Award in Mobile Learning – Academic Division from the International E-Learning Association for the development of the IntegrityMatters mobile app. The award was presented at the 21st International Conference of Interactive Collaborative Learning on September 26 in Kos, Greece.
Under the direction of Dr. Tsang, TWU’s Applied Research Lab has gained a strong reputation in mobile computing. The Applied Research Lab was asked by the project partners to take the technical lead role in designing the application, implementing the project, and testing the app.
“It is an honour for TWU’s Computing Science program to be able to provide technical expertise to the success of this project,” says Dr. Tsang. “This collaborative research project served as a wonderful source of experiential learning for TWU students. Undergraduate research is an important component for our computing science program."
Two TWU students, Justin van Heek and Dylan Blok, both of whom are Computing Science undergraduate students and research assistants at TWU Applied Research Lab, worked closely with Dr. Tsang in summer 2017 and the 2017-2018 academic year on the development of this app.
Dr. Tsang and the TWU students worked closely with project partners Dr. Alice Schmidt Hanbridge and Tony Tin from Renison University College at the University of Waterloo. Thanks to a Research and Innovation grant from eCampus Ontario, this interdisciplinary team received project funding that allowed them to develop the IntegrityMatters app.
IntegrityMatters helps educate users about Academic Integrity. It provides quick lessons, scenarios, and quizzes to help users learn what academic integrity means and ensure they are taking appropriate steps to use and maintain academic integrity in university assignments. Users are rewarded with eBadges when they complete and pass the quizzes.
Initial testing with students at the University of Waterloo showed significant improvement in their knowledge of academic integrity after using this application. Other institutions can use the app as is or adopt it for their own use.
An instructional video is available on YouTube. The IntegrityMatters app is available in iOS at the Apple Apps Store and in Android at the Google Play Store. Currently, the app is free for everyone to download and use, and is available in English, French, and Chinese.
In June 2018 Dr. Tsang and Qinqin Zhang hosted a one-day colloquium on academic integrity at TWU for academic colleagues in the region to share perspectives and exchange insights on academic integrity related topics such as plagiarism, correct citation of sources, integrity principles and competencies related to academic research.
Dr. Tsang is a strong proponent of interdisciplinary research. He has been the Principal Investigator and Co-Applicant of government’s grants from all three Canadian government research-funding agencies: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CHIR). Professor Tsang has also received research support from M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and Mitacs.
Related Publications:
A.S. Hanbidge, T. Tin and H.H. Tsang. "Academic Integrity Matters: Successful Learning with Mobile Technology", in Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL 2018), Kos Island, Greece, Sept 25-28, 2018.
H.H. Tsang, A.S. Hanbidge, and T. Tin. “Experiential Learning through Inter-University Collaboration Research Project in Academic Integrity", in Proceedings of the 23rd Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education (WCCCE 2018), May 4-5, 2018.