English Teaching in Cyberculture

The present study aimed to comparatively analyze the potential of BBC Learning English and Memrise platforms, in inclusive English teaching. This is a qualitative-interpretative research based in exploratory approach which methodological-theoretical framework is anchored to the Bakhtinian dialogic language conception, to the second language acquisition theory to the Computer-Assisted Language Learning theory), to multiliteracies; and to the English use as a Lingua Franca. For the analysis, we have built a matrix based on the English language acquisition context. The analysis steps ran through the evaluation matrix building, the exploration and development of a comparative study of BBC learning and Memrise platforms on the defined parameters. To the parameters building, the linguistic, methodological, and accessibility aspects in the websites were considered. After analyzing BBC learning English and Memrise, it was identified that they do not encompass dialogical language acquisition and the concept of multiliteracies

Out of the Shadows, Into the Streets!

An exploration of social movement media practices in an increasingly complex media ecology, through richly detailed cases of immigrant rights activism.For decades, social movements have vied for attention from the mainstream mass media—newspapers, radio, and television. Today, many argue that social media power social movements, from the Egyptian revolution to Occupy Wall Street. Yet, as Sasha Costanza-Chock reports, community organizers know that social media enhance, rather than replace, face-to-face organizing. The revolution will be tweeted, but tweets alone do not the revolution make. In Out of the Shadows, Into the Streets! Costanza-Chock traces a much broader social movement media ecology. Through a richly detailed account of daily media practices in the immigrant rights movement, the book argues that there is a new paradigm of social movement media making: transmedia organizing. Despite the current spotlight on digital media, Costanza-Chock finds, social movement media practices tend to be cross-platform, participatory, and linked to action. Immigrant rights organizers leverage social media creatively, even as they create media ranging from posters and street theater to Spanish-language radio, print, and television.Drawing on extensive interviews, workshops, and media organizing projects, Costanza-Chock presents case studies of transmedia organizing in the immigrant rights movement over the last decade. Chapters focus on the historic mass protests against the anti-immigrant Sensenbrenner Bill; coverage of police brutality against peaceful activists; efforts to widen access to digital media tools and skills for low-wage immigrant workers; paths to participation in DREAM activism; and the implications of professionalism for transmedia organizing. These cases show us how savvy transmedia organizers work to strengthen movement identity, win political and economic victories, and transform public consciousness forever

Learning First: A Research Agenda for Improving Learning in Low-Income Countries

In 2011, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution spearheaded the development of a common policy agenda on global education entitled A Global Compact on Learning: Taking Action on Education in Developing Countries. The report recommended a call to action for a diverse group of international stakeholders to come together to work toward achieving quality education for all. As a part of this larger policy agenda, CUE works with various scholars and organizations to address the many issues within the scope of the Global Compact on Learning

Information Needs of Korean Immigrants in the United States: Selection and Use of Social Media

This mixed-method study investigates the information needs of Korean immigrants on social media and their selection and use of social media for finding information in the United States. The study was designed to answer six research questions: 1) What are the top types of information needs on social media that Korean immigrants fulfill during their everyday lives in the United States?; 2) What types of social media do Korean immigrants most frequently use during their everyday lives in the United States for different types of information needs?; 3) Are there any relationships between the types of social media Korean immigrants select and demographic factors, Information Communication Technology (ICT) experience level, cultural factors, and information needs?; 4) What factors influence the selection of types of social media among Korean immigrants?; 5) How do Korean immigrants use social media for finding information during their everyday lives in the United States?; 6) What factors influence Korean immigrants’ social media use for information seeking in their everyday lives in the United States? Data collection involved questionnaires, diaries, and interviews with 111 Korean immigrant participants completing questionnaires and 16 selected for diaries and interviews. Quantitative and qualitative methods, including descriptive statistic, Chi-square test of independence, and open coding, were used for analysis. In particular, descriptive analysis was utilized to identify education as the top information need on social media in RQ1. In RQ2, it was observed that Social Network Services (SNS) were most commonly used, while YouTube was popular for education, monitoring, and health information. The researcher investigated the relationship between social media types, demographic factors, ICT experience level, cultural factors, and information needs in RQ3 and revealed that there was a relationship between them by Chi-square test. In RQ4, the researcher identified factors influencing social media selection, such as social network influence, cultural preference, information needs, information quantity, and information format, using open coding. In RQ5, it was found that Korean immigrants primarily employed searching a keyword within a social media or clicking or subscribing to feeds/notifications to gather information. In RQ6, factors affecting social media use, such as algorithms, features, relevance of search results, and speed of information delivery, were identified. The study uncovered information needs among Korean immigrants and shed light on their predominant needs on social media. Moreover, the study presented a theoretical model for Korean immigrants\u27 selection and use of social media platforms. It offered practical recommendations to cater to the information needs of Korean immigrants, such as algorithm optimization, improved search functionality, and language support. The study\u27s limitations were acknowledged, and recommendations for future research were provided

Bits of Life: Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Improve the Livelihoods of Refugees

This thesis examines the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in improving the livelihoods and employment opportunities of refugees. The ongoing Syrian refugee crisis is considered not only as a humanitarian crisis, but through the lens of human rights. “Bits of Life” argues that improving the livelihoods of refugees is in accordance with refugees’ rights to work, based on the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Furthermore, this thesis explores how access to reliable and affordable Internet serves as a crucial tool to help fulfill refugees’ efforts to obtain independent employment and economic security. Although access to the Internet has not yet been recognized as a basic human right, it plays a significant role in fulfilling refugees’ rights to freedom of expression and their rights to development. Issues surrounding the availability and utility of Internet access among refugees also raise important concerns regarding the right to privacy. By surveying existing technology-based humanitarian livelihood programs, notably Iraq Re:Coded, “Bits of Life” analyzes the successes and failures of existing initiatives and offers recommendations to improve the adaptability and effectiveness of future applications of ICTs in the field of refugees’ rights and livelihoods

E-Quality: An Analysis of Digital Equity Discourse and Co-Production in the Era of COVID-19

The digital divide refers to the social stratification due to an unequal ability to access, adapt, and create knowledge via information and communication technologies (Andreasson, 2015). Digitally disadvantaged individuals have inadequate access to services and resources, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic instigated a new model of digital equity policymaking that leverages co-production between numerous actors. As citizens faced new financial and community constraints and governments reached administrative capacities, both the digital divide and the policymaking process evolved. This inductive study explores how digital equity policymaking shifted to a co-production model (Ostrom, 1996) amid the pandemic. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach, this research considers the interconnections of digital equity, co-production, and crisis policymaking. Digital divide discourse was first examined through a large-scale text analysis of verified tweets. Methods of investigation include natural language processing techniques, regression modeling, and unsupervised machine learning topic modeling. Descriptive and inferential analyses demonstrate a statistically significant increase in policy discourse as well as a diversification of topics, though suggest a disconnect between outputs and on-the-ground needs. Next, semi-structured interviews were conducted with City of Boston policymakers, and the resulting data was open-coded and axially coded to reveal insights into the design and implementation of co-productive solutions. Additionally, interviews detail what conditions contribute to successful outcomes while working with limited time, knowledge, and resources. Analyses reveal that co-productive behavior is critical to coping with the effects of the pandemic and highlight the influential role of community-based organizations. Furthermore, the study provides contextual information on co-production prerequisites that were previously understood, and sheds light on interpersonal conditions that Ostrom does not address. This dissertation contributes to the developing body of scholarly literature on the digital divide in the era of COVID-19. This case study also advances theoretical knowledge, offers methodological innovations, and provides concrete policy recommendations to promote more egalitarian digital use

2018 FSDG Combined Abstracts

https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg_abstracts/1000/thumbnail.jp

Supporting students' Chinese learning through the platform of social media : Edmodo

From an educational perspective this thesis explores the social media platform Edmodo as a method to support Chinese language teaching and learning in Australian public primary schools. It focuses on a teacher-researcher's exploration of using information technology ‒ social media, to make Chinese learnable for young beginning learners. In this context the research is timely and significant. The research is carried out as a qualitative case study that involves collecting and analysing data from teaching Chinese language in BR Public School. The aim of this study is to explore the strategies of using social media, Edmodo, to facilitate young students’ learning of Chinese by creating a positive teaching and learning environment where off-class, online activities complement classroom teaching. The first of the evidentiary chapters (Chapter 4) points out the existing challenges of class-based, text-based approaches to teaching and learning Chinese. A full description of these challenges inspired the idea of incorporating Edmodo to support students’ learning. The second (Chapter 5) and third (Chapter 6) evidentiary chapters foreground the implementation of social media strategies and activities in the teaching of Chinese. The findings (Chapter 7) indicate that Edmodo can be used in a supporting role to facilitate students’ successful learning of Chinese language. In the case of this project, an overall assessment of the teacher-research method of professional learning in the context of Chinese language education in an Australian public primary school is that it proved to be a beneficial process

Mathematics Education and Language Diversity

This book examines multiple facets of language diversity and mathematics education. It features renowned authors from around the world and explores the learning and teaching of mathematics in contexts that include multilingual classrooms, indigenous education, teacher education, blind and deaf learners, new media and tertiary education. Each chapter draws on research from two or more countries to illustrate important research findings, theoretical developments and practical strategies. This open access book examines multiple facets of language diversit