WaitSuite

Abstract

The busyness of daily life makes it difficult to find time for informal learning. Yet, learning requires significant time and effort, with repeated exposures to educational content on a recurring basis. Despite the struggle to find time, there are numerous moments in a day that are typically wasted due to waiting, such as while waiting for the elevator to arrive, wifi to connect, or an instant message to arrive. We introduce the concept of wait-learning: automatically detecting wait time and inviting people to learn while waiting. Our approach is to design seamless interactions that augment existing wait time with productive opportunities. Combining wait time with productive work opens up a new class of software systems that overcome the problem of limited time.In this paper, we establish a design space for wait-learning and explore this design space by creating WaitSuite, a suite of five different wait-learning apps that each uses a different kind of waiting. For one of these apps, we conducted a feasibility study to evaluate learning and to understand how exercises should be timed during waiting periods. Subsequently, we evaluated multiple kinds of wait-learning in a two-week field study of WaitSuite with 25 people. We present design implications for wait-learning, and a theoretical framework that describes how wait time, ease of accessing the learning task, and competing demands impact the effectiveness of wait-learning in different waiting scenarios. These findings provide insight into how wait-learning can be designed to minimize interruption to ongoing tasks and maximize engagement with learning.

Challenges and Opportunities of Using Redirection of Activity for Self-Regulation Online

“…And just what is rewarding at the moment is independence" (P13). This fnding is in line with research that shows that interruptions which do not occlude the primary task generally are perceived to be less mentally demanding and less annoying [1,11,14]. P2 described in their interview that they did not have a specifc use case in mind for learning Python, they just believed it might be a useful thing to know.…”

“…Cai et al introduced the concept of wait-learning, where a digital system automatically detects when a person is waiting, and ofers them a "productive opportunity" to learn language. Their users described system-triggers as important to help them form a habit [14].…”

“…One of the greatest challenges in designing systems for self-regulation seems to fnd the right timing for and balance between reminding the user of their goals while not annoying the user enough that they avoid the intervention completely, an open topic of a signifcant amount of earlier research, e.g. [1,14,49,50,62].…”

Knowledge Transfer in a Project-Based Organization Through Microlearning on Cost-Efficiency

“…An instructional design with one idea at the time avoids excessive cognitive load (Paul, 2016). The presentation of small learning units in spaced intervals assures adaptation to an individual's learning curve, also making it possible to learn in otherwise unproductive waiting moments (Cai et al, 2017). Microlearning is usually comparably inexpensive and easy to customize for the respective business (Scaglione, 2019).…”

Analyzing learner profiles in a microlearning app for training language learning peer feedback skills

“…L2 vocabulary microlearning has also been investigated with an app that leverages user location data (Edge et al, 2011); with passive exposure to vocabulary and collocated phrases via an automatically updated wallpaper screen on the user's mobile device (Dearman & Truong, 2012); with an Internet browser extension that overlays L2 words on first language website content (Trusty & Truong, 2011); with a system that inserts interactive vocabulary quizzes into the user's social media feed (Kovacs, 2015); and with machine learning (natural language processing) to offer vocabulary practice that is embedded into the learner's daily life (Arakawa et al, 2022). L2 vocabulary microlearning has been inserted in the time wasted while people are waiting for an elevator, an instant message reply, or a wi-fi connection (Cai et al, 2015(Cai et al, , 2017. Zhao et al (2018) even suggested using smartwatches for L2 vocabulary learning.…”