Expectations eclipsed in foreign language education: learners and educators on an ongoing journey / edited by Hülya Görür-Atabaş, Sharon Turner.

Between June 2-4, 2011 Sabancı University School of Languages welcomed colleagues from 21 different countries to a collaborative exploration of the challenging and inspiring journey of learners and educators in the field of language education.\ud \ud The conference provided an opportunity for all stakeholders to share their views on language education. Colleagues met with world-renowned experts and authors in the fields of education and psychology, faculty and administrators from various universities and institutions, teachers from secondary educational backgrounds and higher education, as well as learners whose voices are often not directly shared but usually reported.\ud \ud The conference name, Eclipsing Expectations, was inspired by two natural phenomena, a solar eclipse directly before the conference, and a lunar eclipse, immediately after. Learners and educators were hereby invited to join a journey to observe, learn and exchange ideas in orde

Digital tools in media studies: analysis and research. An overview

Digital tools are increasingly used in media studies, opening up new perspectives for research and analysis, while creating new problems at the same time. In this volume, international media scholars and computer scientists present their projects, varying from powerful film-historical databases to automatic video analysis software, discussing their application of digital tools and reporting on their results. This book is the first publication of its kind and a helpful guide to both media scholars and computer scientists who intend to use digital tools in their research, providing information on applications, standards, and problems

Digital Tools in Media Studies

Digital tools are increasingly used in media studies, opening up new perspectives for research and analysis, while creating new problems at the same time. In this volume, international media scholars and computer scientists present their projects, varying from powerful film-historical databases to automatic video analysis software, discussing their application of digital tools and reporting on their results. This book is the first publication of its kind and a helpful guide to both media scholars and computer scientists who intend to use digital tools in their research, providing information on applications, standards, and problems

Creating a Lifeline Back to Books For Adolescent Boys Through Multimedia Enhanced Read-alouds

Due to a growing concern regarding the reading motivation levels of adolescent males, educators have been encouraged to broaden their definition of literacy beyond the traditional fiction novel. This study sought to target the reading motivation levels of unmotivated adolescent boys through the use of a multimedia-enhanced read aloud (MERA). Research questions included: (a) How does the implementation of the MERA impact the reading motivation of adolescent male students? (b) How does the implementation of the MERA impact the reading motivation of unmotivated adolescent male students? (c) How does the implementation of the MERA impact the reading motivation of adolescent male students compared to adolescent females? (d) How does the implementation of the MERA impact the reading motivation of unmotivated adolescent male students compared to motivated male students? To address these questions, a 6-week study that included the implementation of the MERA was conducted in a seventh-grade classroom. Following the MERA, students participated in either a writing prompt or a small group discussion. Data collection included both quantitative and qualitative measures consisting of a Motivation to Read Profile (MRP), interviews, writing prompts, and transcribed discussions with specific emphasis on the data from 6 adolescent male focal students. From these analyses several important findings about adolescent males’ motivation emerged. First, the multimedia-enhanced text improved motivation for all males, especially those identified as unmotivated. In addition, the audio introduction of the MERA was found to be an essential component of engaging and bringing unmotivated male readers quickly into the text. Further, the visual elements of the MERA assisted the male students’ comprehension, improved the quality of their inferences, and encouraged visual literacy critique. Finally, the MERA prompted normally unmotivated male students to independently seek out other texts with multimedia elements. Findings from this work indicate that teachers must continue to expand their definition of literacy and include texts, such as a multimedia-enhanced text, to improve male reading motivation. These texts can serve as a “lifeline” to bring boys back to reading

Blogging in response to literature: reading, writing, and thinking through the digital medium

The purpose of this research inquiry was to investigate what happens when eighth grade students participate in an online classroom blog in response to literature assigned for their English class. The study was conducted in an eighth grade classroom and involved 37 students. The qualitative research paradigm was followed and data collected included student surveys, blog writing samples, classroom writing samples, and observational field notes. Blog posts were analyzed to ascertain their impact on students\u27 levels of thinking through writing. Blogging habits and topics were examined to determine impact of blogging on student interest in reading and writing and quality of student writing in response to literature. Findings indicate that students developed voice, expanded depth of thinking about literature, and attended to the trait of ideas through blog writing; blogging provided a medium for expression of students\u27 interests; blogging presented an outlet and audience for student writing of short stories and poetry; blogging altered teacher pedagogy to accept a wider definition of text and student analysis of text such as movies and music; and blogging reinforced the need for direct, explicit instruction of reading and writing strategies in the language arts classroom

Fostering Reading for Enjoyment in Upper Elementary Students By Developing Connections to Reading and Increasing Self-Efficacy

Data shows that fewer students are choosing to read for pleasure. Fostering students’ intrinsic motivation to read and developing skills to personally connect with texts, along with authentic literacy instruction has shown to increase how often students choose to read and for how long they read. Upper elementary teachers should create inclusive libraries, help students connect with interesting texts, develop useful independent reading time, and implement authentic and cross-curricular learning activities as part of literacy instruction. This project will help teachers assess student motivation to read and match students with appropriate and interesting texts. This project also provides methods for teachers to model reading strategies during read-alouds, to develop purposeful, independent reading time in school, and to demonstrate examples of authentic and cross-curricular tasks. These strategies can be implemented as is and adapted for the specific needs of different classrooms and students