E-portfolio in education. Practices and reflections

The main activities of the digiFolio Project include: Building a common knowledge base supported by research work on the theory of portfolio usage; Paper and online publication of the results of the research work; Establishment of the pedagogical model for the training course; Analysis of the existing technological infrastructures for digital portfolio usage; Adjustment of the best tools and training course setup; Piloting and evidencing of the training course; Monitoring of the trainees' work by using a specific online teachers' support structure; International seminar. Website: http://digifolioseminar.org/?The present publication addresses the use of digital portfolios in educational context and it is one of the latest dissemination activities of the Digifolio project – Digital Portfolio as a strategy for teachers’ professional development, a COMENIUS 2.1 project which was carried out between 2005 and 2008. It involved several universities and teacher training institutions from five different European countries. The project, which main focus was the reflection on the potentialities of portfolios and digital technologies in the perspective of teachers’ professional development, came to its end with an international seminar which aimed at disseminating the work produced in the frame of a previous teachers training course, as well as allowing and welcoming the contribution of other education professionals with their practices and reflections on the above-mentioned thematic.Europeen Comissio

Quasi-design: Breaching presentations in academia

In this thesis, I explore academics’ methods of presenting knowledge in academia. My central concern is academics’ expectations of the use of Microsoft PowerPoint and similar software in routine academic presentations. I argue that academics’ expectations of presentations are informed by design, the breaching of which reveals new knowledge of these expectations. In this research I draw on design, ethnomethodology’s breaching experiments and actor-network theory’s notion of script to develop the notion of quasi-design. This methodology is developed to be applicable in academia through the case studies of this research. In these case studies I undertook participant observation among academics who go about presenting knowledge in conference presentations, lectures and mock research interviews. I then breached these presentation scripts. Subsequently, I developed a method of design-led research that involves breaching not only scripts informing interaction between people and things but quasi-scripts containing atmospheres. These atmospheres are important as they affect my research participants who reveal their expectations of presentations by adopting, resisting or transforming disruptive breaches into quasi-breaches. Breaching presentation quasi-scripts therefore affects academics who reveal their expectations of presentations as informed by design. Through this, I inform our understanding of ethnomethodological breaching experiments, actor-network theory’s notion of script, interdisciplinary social research situated between design and sociology and presentations given in academic settings. To conclude, I outline quasi-design as involving the breaching of quasi-scripts to explore people’s expectations revealed inadopting, resisting or developing quasi-breaches in situations of presentation inacademia and perhaps beyond

Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: NL

Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: N

Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum

The field of specialization known as the science of learning is not, in fact, one field. Science of learning is a term that serves as an umbrella for many lines of research, theory, and application. A term with an even wider reach is Learning Sciences (Sawyer, 2006). The present book represents a sliver, albeit a substantial one, of the scholarship on the science of learning and its application in educational settings (Science of Instruction, Mayer 2011). Although much, but not all, of what is presented in this book is focused on learning in college and university settings, teachers of all academic levels may find the recommendations made by chapter authors of service. The overarching theme of this book is on the interplay between the science of learning, the science of instruction, and the science of assessment (Mayer, 2011). The science of learning is a systematic and empirical approach to understanding how people learn. More formally, Mayer (2011) defined the science of learning as the “scientific study of how people learn” (p. 3). The science of instruction (Mayer 2011), informed in part by the science of learning, is also on display throughout the book. Mayer defined the science of instruction as the “scientific study of how to help people learn” (p. 3). Finally, the assessment of student learning (e.g., learning, remembering, transferring knowledge) during and after instruction helps us determine the effectiveness of our instructional methods. Mayer defined the science of assessment as the “scientific study of how to determine what people know” (p.3). Most of the research and applications presented in this book are completed within a science of learning framework. Researchers first conducted research to understand how people learn in certain controlled contexts (i.e., in the laboratory) and then they, or others, began to consider how these understandings could be applied in educational settings. Work on the cognitive load theory of learning, which is discussed in depth in several chapters of this book (e.g., Chew; Lee and Kalyuga; Mayer; Renkl), provides an excellent example that documents how science of learning has led to valuable work on the science of instruction. Most of the work described in this book is based on theory and research in cognitive psychology. We might have selected other topics (and, thus, other authors) that have their research base in behavior analysis, computational modeling and computer science, neuroscience, etc. We made the selections we did because the work of our authors ties together nicely and seemed to us to have direct applicability in academic settings

A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education

This review focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. It provides a synthesis of the research literature in the field and a series of illustrative examples of how these tools are being used in learning and teaching. It draws out the perceived benefits that these new technologies appear to offer, and highlights some of the challenges and issues surrounding their use. The review forms the basis for a HE Academy funded project, ‘Peals in the Cloud’, which is exploring how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support evidence-based practices in learning and teaching. The project has also produced two in-depth case studies, which are reported elsewhere (Galley et al., 2010, Alevizou et al., 2010). The case studies focus on evaluation of a recently developed site for learning and teaching, Cloudworks, which harnesses Web 2.0 functionality to facilitate the sharing and discussion of educational practice. The case studies aim to explore to what extent the Web 2.0 affordances of the site are successfully promoting the sharing of ideas, as well as scholarly reflections, on learning and teaching

On Belonging, Difference and Whiteness: Italy\u27s Problem with Immigration

In the past thirty years, Italy has transitioned from a nation defined in part by a history of emigration, to a nation where immigration and attendant issues surrounding increased cultural and ethno-racial diversity dominates as a national concern. The research presented in this dissertation illustrates the ways in which, within this context, immigration is promoted and perceived unequivocally as a “problem” and a “threat.” However, rather than discussing Italy’s immigration problem, the issue here is recast as Italy’s problem with immigration. Despite deep regional differences and identities that continue to exist, increased immigration and the permanent settlement of non-Italians in Italy have reified Italian national identity. In this dissertation, based on 15 months of ethnographic research undertaken between 2001-2005, the perspective of Italians who interacted with immigrants on a regular basis is discussed and analyzed. The perspective of Italians, and their views on how their lives are affected by immigration, enables an understanding of the positioning of immigration as a threat and helps uncover which immigrant groups are most threatening and why. It also brings context to how Italians, through their ideas about the incorporation of culturally and physically racialized groups, perceive “otherness” in order to then define and more clearly recognize themselves. Ultimately I argue that not only has a particular version of Italianness emerged out of Italy’s problem with immigration, but that the category of “Italian” contains something relatively new: a racial privilege, indeed, a whiteness, that is connected to being Italian, and connected to being European

Supporting authentic science in the classroom using collaborative Web-based software

This thesis presents aWeb-based Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called the Education through Virtual Experience (EVE) Portal which supports e-Science learning for schoolchildren. The VLE guides students and teachers in the production of collaborative research papers to summarize their inquiry-based activities. This thesis details the formative evaluations carried out on the VLE and provides empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that the initial version of the VLE successfully supported inquiry-based science investigations. The VLE evaluations also provided an opportunity to assess the eectiveness of each of the VLE components toward our educational objectives. This thesis describes the shortfalls identied in the original version of the VLE, which has lead to the encapsulation of team management, collaborative writing and image-based data collection into the VLE. This thesis also details the initial trials of the collaborative components of the VLE and provides evidence to support the contention that collaboration has been successfully introduced into the VLE. Finally, this thesis provides a technical description of the underlying architecture of the EVE Portal and describes the implementation details of the EVE imaging component. This thesis makes contributions to e-Learning by providing empirical evidence that an amalgamation of software tools can support an inquiry-based scientic process with schoolchildren and teachers. The encapsulation of team allocation and team-based writing presents an innovative method for supporting inquiry-based learning within schools. The requirements elicitation and customized development of the EVE imaging component highlights many of the difficulties associated with the creation of Web-based software to support constructivist learning at pre-tertiary level. Finally, the EVE Portal provides an innovative way for teachers to capitalize on time spent carrying out inquiry activities through the codication of structure into a software supported process

Gentrification by design : rhetoric, race, and style in neighborhood "revitalization”

Stories about communities being displaced by gentrification in the name of revitalization and redevelopment are commonplace today and despite its many drawbacks, gentrification remains a pervasive mode of city growth and strategy for development. An analytical and interventionist project, my research is concerned with illuminating the disparities gentrification engenders, questioning the common assumptions and general wisdom shared on the topic, and ultimately critiquing this increasingly accepted form of urban change. At the heart of my dissertation I ask how gentrification has become such a powerful hegemonic force and aim to examine how rhetoric and communication have been employed in an agenda that marks serious change for neighborhoods with grave consequences for community members and public life. With this goal in mind, I develop a theoretical lens for exploring gentrification at the intersection of hegemony, whiteness, and style and develop a methodological approach for studying the rhetorical style of gentrification. Austin’s gentrifying East Riverside Drive and 11th and 12th Street Corridors serve as case studies for this research and I examine a range of artifacts and texts from community meetings, to slide presentations, architectural renderings, community surveys, articles in local publications, and neighborhood planning strategies. The analyses conducted in both case studies highlight the power of style in shaping discourses, opinions, the articulation of problems and solutions, and public sentiment about gentrification. I ultimately argue that gentrification is a rhetorical style that has been put to use to legitimize displacement and wholesale redevelopment, perpetuates inequalities, and has lasting impact.Communication Studie

Type two diabetes and eye health

This thesis contributes to the understanding of how people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) negotiate self-care and management of diabetes and eye health. The study aims to deliver an Enhanced Diabetic Optometric Practice (EDOP) which involves a graphic portrayal of diabetic retinopathy, as it manifests itself in the eye and in the patient’s own eyes, whereby retinal images will be discussed within a normal optometric practice environment. This PhD research study used the qualitative method of thematic and Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) to investigate if an EDOP is able to heighten the participant’s concern of sight loss and thus lead to better diabetic control, and improved self-motivation and management. The research progressed in three stages; Study (1) A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research investigating the barriers to self-care for people with T2D, Study (2) A qualitative analysis of diabetes self-help literature and eye health, and Study (3) Evaluation of an Enhanced Diabetic Optometric Practice (EDOP). A review of the literature evaluates research in the field of optometry and ophthalmology with regard to the use of retinal images for educating people with T2D about their diabetes and the ocular complications. The findings of the three studies revealed, valuable insight into the barriers and constraints to self-care that people with T2D routinely face, enabling greater understanding of how to facilitate effective diabetes self-management Study (1). Study (2) discerned that self-help texts cannot facilitate the empowerment of people with diabetes who aspire to selfregulation, as they are constrained by the dominant compliant discourse of the expert-patient relationship. Finally, in Study (3) EDOP, optometrists can provide an enhanced optometric service, educating and motivating people with T2D to better self-care practices. This thesis concludes that the optometrist, by way of the EDOP and the pertinent threat of sight loss can assist people with T2D to gain the confidence to apply the skills to effective self-management and so prevent blindness