Number sense educational game design for dyscalculia and low numeracy children

Dyscalculia is a specific educational difficulty which affects an individual’s acquisition of basic concepts of numbers and prevents them to understand and apply number facts. Dyscalculia can effect on different aspects of learning and performance mathematical skills, but number sense is the most affected issue by Dyscalculia. Studies indicate that approximately 5–8% of school-aged children experience difficulties to understand number sense. Mobile devices with installed educational games help these individuals feel more comfortable and relaxed doing and understanding mathematical skills. The main objective of this study to propose an effective educational game design guideline for learning number sense for Dyscalculia and low numeracy children. The methodology of this study has five stages which are: awareness of problem, suggestion, development, evaluation and conclusion. Every stage involves activities and output. This study also describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of the 123GO app a mobile educational app that is designed and developed based on the guideline. The principle design of 123GO app based on used the interaction design (IxD) that allowed to identify and apply for an educational game app that can be used by children that have difficulties with low numeracy and thus number sense problem. The evaluation of the app suggests that it is useful and easy-to-use. In conclusion, based on the evaluation results, it is found that the 123GO app is effective in helping Dyscalculia children with number sense difficulties

Computer education: new perspectives

Computer technologies were introduced into educational contexts over two decades ago and while there is some argument about the extent to which computers have realised their potential, they have undoubtedly had a significant impact on education. A look into any school will reveal computers being used widely by clerical staff, teachers and children. It is clear that computers are here to stay, but it is less clear as to how effectively they are being used in the learning process. Teachers not only need to use computers but they need to use them well, and in order to do this they must understand what computer technology can offer and the ways in which such technology can be used in teaching and learning

Teachers\u27 perceptions and curriculum analysis for a zoo education program

Study intent investigated teachers\u27 perceptions of a zoo education program and evaluated modules. Study explored program effectiveness by evaluating teachers\u27 motivation to participate, students\u27 engagement, presenter performance, program effectiveness, and teachers\u27 met expectations. Study explored if program addressed New Jersey and Pennsylvania standards, North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) guidelines, and a lesson plan format. Research investigated teachers\u27 perceptions by questionnaire from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Teachers perceived presenters performed well, students engaged, and integrating curriculum the motivation to participate. Research to evaluate modules was subjective. Modules addressed Science and Social Studies for New Jersey, Science and Technology, Environment and Ecology for Pennsylvania. Analysis recommended the addition of standards not stated. Program is short-term, does not support skills building and action orientation recommended by the NAAEE guidelines, and assessment and psychomotor objectives as recommended by a lesson plan format

Effects of online advertising on children's visual attention and task performance during free and goal-directed internet use : A media psychology approach to children's website interaction and advert distraction

This dissertation consists of four eye-tracking studies that investigate how salient online advertising and children's level of executive function contributes to their advert distraction. In Study 1, children aged 9 were instructed to surf freely on the internet while all advert material appearing on-screen was registered. The analyses examined how perceptual prominence in each online advert was related to children's visual attention. In Study 2, a mock-up advergame website was designed with controlled advert conditions, and children aged 9 and 12 were instructed to solve a number of in-game tasks. This study investigated the combined effects of perceptual prominence (e.g. abrupt onset) and content relevance (e.g. personalized content) on children's advert distraction. The results of the first two studies showed significant positive effects of advert saliency on children's visual attention. Due to the task-oriented research design used in the second study, it was possible to interpret these effects on visual attention in terms of advert distraction. Both studies showed that higher levels of inhibitory control in children significantly decreased the effects of advert saliency on visual attention and advert distraction.The following two studies, investigated how advert animation affected children's online reading comprehension and information search on commercial websites. In Study 3, children aged 9 were presented with factual texts that they were instructed to read in order to answer comprehension questions. Each text was presented on a web page which also featured static or animated online adverts. In Study 4, children aged 9 were instructed to solve two online task types featuring concurrent online advertising: reading and information search. The results of these studies showed that animated online advertising had significant negative effects on children's task performance. In the third study, it was found that animated adverts had a negative effect on children's reading comprehension, and that this negative effect was stronger among children with low levels of inhibitory control. The fourth study found that advert animation had a significant positive effect on children's cognitive load across task types. Taken together, this dissertation project has studied children's online advert distraction in a wide range of realistic internet usage situations

Through the enlightened eye and I – am I bringing creativity and visual literacy into Higher Level Education?

Eisner (1993) explained the need to extend the forms of representation in our understandings of educational research. This special issue of EJOLTs is intended to contribute to the knowledge-base generating a new understanding of the educational influences of educators who are using ICT in e-learning and values-based self-study to enhance their own and their students’ learning. In this introduction I show how the originality of my own contribution is in the relationally dynamic meanings of my value of responsibility for others. My value of responsibility for my students includes acknowledging safety, care, honesty, creativity, enjoyment and excellence. In this introduction I also point to the epistemological significance of clarifying these meanings in an e-Learning c curriculum in Higher Education. In this paper I will discuss what I mean by visual narratives. I will show how my learning in school and Higher Education has shaped my teaching. I will explain the importance of emotions in teaching and learning and how this has influenced my emerging pedagogy. Finally, I will describe the Masters programme at Dublin City University and how I am supporting students on the M.Sc. in Education and Training Management programme. This special issue comprises four papers by students I am supporting. The papers show the values, ethos and spirit of the course I run and the influence of my own research to introduce creativity and visual literacy into Higher Education studies for practicing educators

Communication, Affect, & Learning in the Classroom

The purpose of the handbook was to synthesize the first three decades of research in instructional communication into a single volume that could help both researchers and instructors understand the value of communication in the instructional process.Preface1.Teaching As a Communication Process The Instructional Communication Process The Teacher The Content The Instructional Strategy The Student The Feedback/Evaluation The Learning Environment/Instructional Context Kibler’s Model of Instruction The ADDIE Model of Instructional Design2.Communicating With Instructional Objectives Why Some Teachers Resent Objectives The Value of Objectives What Objectives Should Communicate3.Instructional Communication Strategies The Teacher As a Speaker The Teacher As a Moderator The Teacher As a Trainer The Teacher As a Manager The Teacher As a Coordinator & Innovator4.Communication, Affect, and Student Needs Measuring Student Affect Basic Academic Needs of Students Traditional Interpersonal Need Models Outcomes of Meeting Student Needs5.Learning Styles What is Learning Style? Dimensions of Learning Style and Their Assessment Matching, Bridging, and Style-Flexing6.Classroom Anxieties and Fears Communication Apprehension Receiver Apprehension Writing Apprehension Fear of Teacher Evaluation Apprehension Classroom Anxiety Probable Causes of Classroom Anxiety Communication Strategies for Reducing Classroom Anxiety7.Communication And Student Self-Concept Student Self-Concept: Some Definitions Characteristics of the Self Development of Student Self-Concept Dimensions of Student Self-Concept Self-Concept and Academic Achievement Effects of Self-Concept on Achievement Poker Chip Theory of Learning Communication Strategies for Nurturing and Building Realistic Student Self-Concept8.Instructional Assessment:Feedback,Grading, and Affect Defining the Assessment Process Evaluative Feedback Descriptive Feedback Assessment and Affect Competition and Cooperation in Learning Environments9.Traditional and Mastery Learning Systems Traditional Education Systems Mastery Learning Modified Mastery Learning10.Student Misbehavior and Classroom Management Why Students Misbehave Categories of Student Behaviors Students’ Effects on Affect in the Classroom Communication, Affect, and Classroom Management Communication Techniques for Increasing or Decreasing Student Behavior11.Teacher Misbehaviors and Communication Why Teachers Misbehave Common Teacher Misbehaviors Implications for the Educational Systems12.Teacher Self-Concept and Communication Dimensions of Teacher Self-Concept Development of Teacher Self-Concept Strategies for Increasing Teacher Self-Concept13.Increasing Classroom Affect Through Teacher Communication Style Communicator Style Concept Types of Communicator Styles Teacher Communication Style Teacher Communicator Behaviors That Build Affect14.Teacher Temperament in the Classroom Four Personality Types Popular Sanguine Perfect Melancholy Powerful Choleric Peaceful Phlegmatic Personality Blends15.Teacher Communication: Performance and Burnout Teaching: A Multifaceted Job Roles of an Instructional Manager Teacher Burnout Symptoms of Teacher Burnout Causes of Teacher Burnout Methods for Avoiding Burnout Mentoring to Prevent BurnoutAppendix A To Mrs. Russell: Without You This Never Would Have HappenedGlossaryInde

Review of audit and assessment tools, programs and resources in workplace settings to prevent race-based discrimination and support diversity

There is consistent evidence that both interpersonal and systemic race-based discrimination continue to exist in Australia and have a detrimental impact on health and wellbeing (Paradies 2006; VicHealth 2007). Both systemic racism and many forms of interpersonal race-based discrimination are at odds with popular understandings of racism as ‘terror and genocidal passions’ (Cowlishaw 1992: 26-27). There is continued resistance in Australia to the view that a person adopting a moderate tone, disclaiming any pretence to superiority and defending ‘common sense’ propositions can be engaged in racism (Markus 2001: 10). However, recognising racism only in its extreme forms renders invisible its recurrent, everyday expressions (Essed 2007). Even consciously, egalitarian people may hold negative stereotypes and attitudes, of which they may not be fully conscious (Dovidio, Kawakami, and Gaertner 2002; Fazio et al. 1995), with the consequences of subtle, unintentional bias ultimately being as adverse as more overt biases (Burgess et al. 2007). Consequently, a definition of racism is adopted in this review that goes beyond both popular conceptions and legal definitions to encompass any treatment that results in unequal power, resources or opportunities across racial, ethnic, cultural and/or religious groups (Paradies, Chandrakumar, Klocker, Frere, Webster, Burrell et al. 2009). Organisational contexts, such as workplaces, have been identified both as places where race-based discrimination occurs, as well as a priority setting where anti-discrimination and diversity can be supported and enhanced (Berman, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and Victorian Multicultural Commission 2008; Paradies, Chandrakumar, Klocker, Frere, Webster, Burrell et al. 2009; VicHealth 2007). Organisations provide a natural environment for contact between people from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds, and are places where established social norms are shaped. Therefore, organisations can play an important role in modelling and enforcing anti-discrimination standards (Paradies, Chandrakumar, Klocker, Frere, Webster, Burrell et al. 2009)

Imaginative play with blended reality characters

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-137).The idea and formative design of a blended reality character, a new class of character able to maintain visual and kinetic continuity between the fully physical and fully virtual; the technical underpinnings of its unique blended physical and digital play context and the evaluation of its impact on children's play are the contents of this thesis. A play test study with thirty-four children aged three and a half to seven was conducted using non-reactive, unobtrusive observational methods and a validated evaluation instrument. Our claim is that young children have accepted the idea, persistence and continuity of blended reality characters. Furthermore, we found that children are more deeply engaged with blended reality characters and are more fully immersed in blended reality play as co-protagonists in the experience, in comparison to interactions with strictly screen-based representations. As substantiated through the use of quantitative and qualitative analysis of drawings and verbal utterances, the study showed that young children produce longer, detailed and more imaginative descriptions of their experiences following blended reality play. The desire to continue engaging in blended reality play as expressed by children's verbal requests to revisit and extend their play time with the character positively affirms the potential for the development of an informal learning platform with sustained appeal to young children.by David Yann Robert.S.M