Multimedia Technologies and Virtual Organizing of Learning

This paper addresses the issue of what are the efficient uses of multimedia technologies in teaching processes, and what are the conditions that require these technologies in online learning. The background of this paper is made by exploring online master programs, given the burgeoning interest of this emerging phenomenon of the future of distance learning. Rigorous analysis and careful measurement of communication required were covered by empirical data. This analysis is to provide an early window into several communications processes and tasks that occur in virtual context of learning, using multimedia technologies.multimedia technologies, virtual organization, online learning, communication, effectiveness of learning

Video retrieval using objects and ostensive relevance feedback

The thesis discusses and evaluates a model of video information retrieval that incorporates a variation of Relevance Feedback and facilitates object-based interaction and ranking. Video and image retrieval systems suffer from poor retrieval performance compared to text-based information retrieval systems and this is mainly due to the poor discrimination power of visual features that provide the search index. Relevance Feedback is an iterative approach where the user provides the system with relevant and non-relevant judgements of the results and the system re-ranks the results based on the user judgements. Relevance feedback for video retrieval can help overcome the poor discrimination power of the features with the user essentially pointing the system in the right direction based on their judgements. The ostensive relevance feedback approach discussed in this work weights user judgements based on the o r d e r in which they are made with newer judgements weighted higher than older judgements. The main aim of the thesis is to explore the benefit of ostensive relevance feedback for video retrieval with a secondary aim of exploring the effectiveness of object retrieval. A user experiment has been developed in which three video retrieval system variants are evaluated on a corpus of video content. The first system applies standard relevance feedback weighting while the second and third apply ostensive relevance feedback with variations in the decay weight. In order to evaluate effective object retrieval, animated video content provides the corpus content for the evaluation experiment as animated content offers the highest performance for object detection and extraction

Preserving the Keres Language and Culture

This project involved preserving the Keres language and culture at the Cochiti Pueblo through the subversion of English media into Keres versions. Examples of the media were produced and tools were left behind to encourage further production. A hub for all of the Keres media was created to contain all of the created media for ease of access. Overall we hope that our project progresses over the years so that eventually there is an abundance of Keres media in the pueblo

AN APPRAISAL OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AS NEW MEDIA TOOLS FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

Today, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have redefined the way communication is carried out and further pushed the envelope with regard to the way information is disseminated, creating more channels of interaction between stakeholders in the society. Studies are ongoing on how ICTs can be useful in language teaching and learning in tertiary institutions today. The impact ICTs have had in improving governance, agriculture, medicine, banking and commerce, education, inter alia, so far, is being predicted to have the same impact when utilised for language teaching and learning. Thus, ICT tools like PowerPoint, e-conferencing, compact disks (CDs, VCDs and DVDs), technology-aided distance learning, among others, are instruments that can facilitate knowledge acquisition, language teaching and learning in tertiary institutions. Through ICTs, the teacher-student interaction in the learning process is situated within a dynamic pedagogical context that could go beyond the four walls of a traditional classroom. This situation forebodes better days for teachers and students alike as more channels of interaction are created, thus enhancing language teaching and learning. It now behoves teachers and students to take advantage of these technologies in furthering knowledge acquisition with regard to language teaching and learning. Among other things, in this paper, the authors have critically appraised the use of ICTs in language teaching and learning in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, identified the various limitations to this process and made recommendations that can be useful to policy makers and stakeholders involved in tertiary educatio

ICT Use in EFL Classroom

Current accelerating technological advancement has increased the use of ICT in EFL learning and teaching due to the new opportunities they offer to increase the effectiveness of the learning and teaching process. This article reviews and synthesizes current studies and ideas on the use of ICT in EFL learning and teaching to present a general introduction to the what, why, and how of ICT use in EFL learning and teaching field. Overall, the discussion reveals that ICT use is beneficial to both EFL learners and teachers, because ICT tools can nurture knowledge selection and creation, collaboration, and reflection, and can make lessons more interesting, enjoyable, diverse,motivating and supportive. However, ICT use needs careful planning, well-defined objectives, and good guidance to the students to prevent the practice be a waste of time and effort

Students\u27 Acquisitions of 21st Century Skills Using and Integrating Technology

The purpose of this study is to explore teachers\u27 use of technology to determine the ways technology is being used and if teachers are teaching the skills necessary to prepare their students to be successful in the 21st century. Technological skills should be embedded in schools\u27 curriculum as students are learning the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century. The sample consisted of 123 teachers at 12 public schools to determine if technology is being used in the classroom and if so, the extent to which it is being used. More specifically, this study seeks to address whether or not there are significant differences among teachers at varying grade levels, years of experience, different ages, and different levels of education. Using Analysis of Variance, a highly significant difference in mean level of technology use was observed by teachers\u27 grade level (F(3,116) = 11.92, p \u3c .001). Also, using ANOVA to test for differences among the subgroup means suggests a statistically significant differences by grade level (F(3,116) = 3.18, p = .027)-such that the mean for Grades 3 though 5 (M = 3.94, SD = 0.84) differs from that for Grades 9 through 12 (M = 3.36, SD = 0.73). Modest correlations were observed between technology usage and problem-solving (r = .278), critical thinking (r = .301), collaboration (r = .304), and especially, creativity/innovation (r = .329). As regards to the relationships between technology integration and the skills of collaboration (r = .409), problem-solving (r = .461), critical thinking (r = .455), and creativity and innovation (r = .438), the remaining correlations all exceed a value of r = .40 (modest relationship) and all are highly statistically significant (at p \u3c .001). The correlations observed between perceptions of classroom impact and students\u27 development of skills for collaboration (r = .513), problem-solving (r = .557), and creativity and innovation (r = .566). Schools can use this to bring more professional development to weak areas and continue to strengthen the 21st century skills using technology

Live Television in a Digital Library

Nowadays nearly everyone has access to digital television with a growing number of channels available for free. However due to the nature of broadcasting, this huge mass of information that reaches us is not, for the main part, organised—it is principally a succession of images and sound transmitted in a flow of data. Compare this with digital libraries which are powerful at organising a large but fixed set of documents. This project brings together these two concepts by concurrently capturing all the available live television channels, and segments them into files which are then imported into a digital video library. The system leverages off the information contained in the electronic program guide and the video recordings to generate metadata suitable for the digital library. By combining these two concepts together this way, the aim of this work is to look beyond what is currently available in the digital TV set top boxes on the market today and explore the full potential—unencumbered by commercial market constraints—to what the raw technology can provide

Digital Rights Management and Consumer Acceptability: A Multi-Disciplinary Discussion of Consumer Concerns and Expectations

The INDICARE project – the Informed Dialogue about Consumer Acceptability of DRM Solutions in Europe – has been set up to raise awareness about consumer and user issues of Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions. One of the main goals of the INDICARE project is to contribute to the consensus-building among multiple players with heterogeneous interests in the digital environment. To promote this process and to contribute to the creation of a common level of understanding is the aim of the present report. It provides an overview of consumer concerns and expectations regarding DRMs, and discusses the findings from a social, legal, technical and business perspective. A general overview of the existing EC initiatives shows that questions of consumer acceptability of DRM have only recently begun to draw wider attention. A review of the relevant statements, studies and reports confirms that awareness of consumer concerns is still at a low level. Five major categories of concerns have been distinguished so far: (1) fair conditions of use and access to digital content, (2) privacy, (3) interoperability, (4) transparency and (5) various aspects of consumer friendliness. From the legal point of view, many of the identified issues go beyond the scope of copyright law, i.e. the field of law where DRM was traditionally discussed. Often they are a matter of general or sector-specific consumer protection law. Furthermore, it is still unclear to what extent technology and an appropriate design of technical solutions can provide an answer to some of the concerns of consumers. One goal of the technical chapter was exactly to highlight some of these technical possibilities. Finally, it is shown that consumer acceptability of DRM is important for the economic success of different business models based on DRM. Fair and responsive DRM design can be a profitable strategy, however DRM-free alternatives do exist too.Digital Rights Management; consumers; Intellectual property; business models