The Use of Multiple Slate Devices to Support Active Reading Activities

Reading activities in the classroom and workplace occur predominantly on paper. Since existing electronic devices do not support these reading activities as well as paper, users have difficulty taking full advantage of the affordances of electronic documents. This dissertation makes three main contributions toward supporting active reading electronically. The first contribution is a comprehensive set of active reading requirements, drawn from three decades of research into reading processes. These requirements explain why existing devices are inadequate for supporting active reading activities. The second contribution is a multi-slate reading system that more completely supports the active reading requirements above. Researchers believe the suitability of paper for active reading is largely due to the fact it distributes content across different sheets of paper, which are capable of displaying information as well as capturing input. The multi-slate approach draws inspiration from the independent reading and writing surfaces that paper provides, to blend the beneficial features of e-book readers, tablets, PCs, and tabletop computers. The development of the multi-slate system began with the Dual-Display E-book, which used two screens to provide richer navigation capabilities than a single-screen device. Following the success of the Dual-Display E-book, the United Slates, a general-purpose reading system consisting of an extensible number of slates, was created. The United Slates consisted of custom slate hardware, specialized interactions that enabled the slates to be used cooperatively, and a cloud-based infrastructure that robustly integrated the slates with users' existing computing devices and workflow. The third contribution is a series of evaluations that characterized reading with multiple slates. A laboratory study with 12 participants compared the relative merits of paper and electronic reading surfaces. One month long in-situ deployments of the United Slates with graduate students in the humanities found the multi-slate configuration to be highly effective for reading. The United Slates system delivered desirable paper-like qualities that included enhanced reading engagement, ease of navigation, and peace-of-mind while also providing superior electronic functionality. The positive feedback suggests that the multi-slate configuration is a desirable method for supporting active reading activities

Writing for a Mind at Work: Appellate Advocacy and the Science of Digital Reading

Professor Beazley explores the future implications to appellate advocacy as we move into the digital age. Understanding how that digital world affects legal reading is vital to understanding the future of appellate advocacy. Lawyers need to understand some of the science of how people read and interact with the written word; unfortunately, we have been slow to grasp the importance of this science. She defines and explains the concepts of Active Readers and Knowledge Work. She then addresses some of the issues that arise as active readers transition from paper to digital platforms. Professor Beazley concludes by describing some of the anticipated changes in hardware and software and makes suggestions about changes to court rules and more

Blank slate: squares and political order of city

This paper aims to analyze the square beyond an architectural element in the city, but weaves this blank slate, with its contemporary socio political atmosphere as a new paradigm. As a result, this research investigates the historical, social and political concept of Meydan – a term which has mostly applied for the Iranian and Islamic public squares. This interpretation, suggested the idea of Meydan as the core of the projects in the city, which historically exposed in formalization of power relations and religious ideologies. In this sense, studying the spatial transformation of Iranian public squares introduces the framework, which is adaptable to contemporary urban context

English for Study and Work: Coursebook in 4 books. Book 2 Obtaining and Processing Information for Specific Purposes

Подано всі види діяльності студентів з вивчення англійської мови, спрямовані на розвиток мовної поведінки, необхідної для ефективного спілкування в академічному та професійному середовищах. Містить завдання і вправи, типові для різноманітних академічних та професійних сфер і ситуацій. Структура організації змісту – модульна, охоплює мовні знання і мовленнєві вміння залежно від мовної поведінки. Даний модуль має на меті розвиток у студентів стратегій, умінь, навичок читання, пошуку та вилучення професійно-орієнтованої інформації, необхідної для ефективної професійної діяльності і навчання. Містить завдання і вправи, типові для академічних та професійних сфер, пов’язаних з гірництвом і розробкою родовищ корисних копалин. Зразки текстів – автентичні, різножанрові, взяті з реального життя, містять цікаву й актуальну інформацію про особливості видобутку мінеральних ресурсів в провідних країнах світу, сучасний підхід до розробки родовищ тощо. Ресурси для самостійної роботи (Частина ІІ) містять завдання та вправи для розширення словникового запасу та розвитку знань найуживанішої термінології з гірництва, що спрямовано на організацію самостійної роботи з розвитку мовленнєвих умінь, знань про корисні копалини, методи їх видобутку. За допомогою засобів діагностики студенти можуть самостійно перевірити засвоєння навчального матеріалу й оцінити свої досягнення. Призначений для студентів вищих навчальних закладів, зокрема технічних університетів. Може використовуватися для самостійного вивчення англійської мови викладачами, фахівцями і науковцями різних галузей

Co-reading: investigating collaborative group reading.

Collaborative reading, or co-reading as we call it, is ubiquitous—it occurs, for instance, in classrooms, book-clubs, and in less coordinated ways through mass media. While individual digital reading has been the subject of much investigation, research into co-reading is scarce. We report a two-phase field study of group reading to identify an initial set of user requirements. A co-reading interface is then designed that facilitates the coordination of group reading by providing temporary ‘Point-out’ markers to indicate specific locations within documents. A user study compared this new system with collaborative reading on paper, with a positive outcome; the differences in user behavior between paper and the new interface reveal intriguing insights into user needs and the potential benefits of digital media for co-reading

The Evolution of Student Engagement: Writing Improves Teaching in Introductory Biology

In response to calls for pedagogical reforms in undergraduate biology courses to decrease student attrition rates and increase active learning, this article describes one faculty member’s conversion from traditional teaching methods to more engaging forms of practice. Partially told as a narrative, this article illustrates a.) the way many faculty initially learn to teach by modeling the pedagogy from their own undergraduate programs; b.) the kind of support biology faculty may need to break out of traditional molds; c.) how writing can promote active learning; and d.) the impact of reformed pedagogy on student levels of engagement. The latter will be demonstrated through assessment results gathered from student surveys, reflective writing, and focus group interview. Ultimately, the study challenges misunderstandings some faculty might have regarding the value of writing in science classes and offers inspiration, urging critical reflection and persistence

CrowdHiLite: A Peer Review Service to Support Serious Reading on the Screen

The advent of smart devices and consumerisation of IT has produced a significant and permanent shift away from print-based reading to digital reading. This, in turn, has changed people’s reading behaviours and suggests that adapted mechanisms should be considered to support digital reading. It is particularly important for novice readers who need to read in-depth scientific literature in their chosen field. In this paper, we propose CrowdHiLite, a novel service architecture that allows expert readers to provide suggestion on individual readers’ highlights to support their reading on the screen through the use of crowdsourcing technique. A demonstration was also provided to show how it would work in real world. A preliminary experiment comparing novice readers’ reading performance with expert rated highlights and normal highlights on the same document found improved reading efficiency and comprehension with the former

Al-Quran Recitation (Tajweed Simulation) “e-Tajweed System”

Al-Quran is the most important book in Muslim‟s life as it gives knowledge in many areas for the use of their daily life. Therefore, it is needed to be read properly so the meaning of the reading is correct. The main purpose of this project is to classify the Tajweed based on letters and signs by defining their shape and location. Images are used as samples to be processed for the use of classification. In an addition, this project was developed parallel to the technology advancement which the interactivity in learning is very important and it influences the understanding of the readers. In order to have a system which has an ability to learn interactively, this project was focused on the implementation of the web-based system. This research has led to the development of e-Tajweed that could monitor individual recitation through internet as well as to the development of practicality of it. As we can see, people nowadays are facing behavioral changes where they want to have a better life especially in the hereafter. They realize it‟s all started from the young education. With the target person are children from primary school, the scope covered for this project is by blending the best approach to be incorporated in order to create rich learning environments that are able to attract children to learn Tajweed and also be able to remember what have been learnt. The methodology used for designing and developing this websites is Rapid Application Development (RAD) which consists of four core phases; planning, analysis, design and development and also implementation. Apart from that, the author also included the results and findings from the survey carried out. Furthermore, the demand for this application in the future will be covered based on the objectives of this project where it enables children to learn Tajweed at home. This will promote independent learning environment where the children could learn Tajweed by themselves or together with their parents or siblings. The active interaction between children and this application will make the learning process more appealing and fun