ImpaCT2: pupils' and teachers' perceptions of ICT in the home, school and community

The Strand 2 report of the ImpaCT 2 research describes the results of applying a range of research methods to explore, how pupils use ICT, in particular out of school and what had been gained from this use. ImpaCT2 was a major longitudinal study (1999-2002) involving 60 schools in England, its aims were to: identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out-of-school environment; determine whether or not this impact affected the educational attainment of pupils aged 8 - 16 years (at Key Stages 2, 3, and 4); and provide information that would assist in the formation of national, local and school policies on the deployment of ICT

ImpacT2 project: preliminary study 1: establishing the relationship between networked technology and attainment

This report explored teaching practices, beliefs and teaching styles and their influences on ICT use and implementation by pupils. Additional factors explored included the value of school and LEA policies and teacher competence in the use of ICT in classroom settings. ImpaCT2 was a major longitudinal study (1999-2002) involving 60 schools in England, its aims were to: identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out-of-school environment; determine whether or not this impact affected the educational attainment of pupils aged 816 years (at Key Stages 2, 3, and 4); and provide information that would assist in the formation of national, local and school policies on the deployment of IC

OpenLearn and knowledge maps for language learning

This chapter presents new methodologies designed to facilitate language acquisition in open learning communities via open educational resources and knowledge mapping. It specifically focuses on the OpenLearn project developed by the Open University. This offers a virtual learning environment based on Moodle platform with free educational materials and knowledge media tools such as the instant messaging MSG, the video webconference FlashMeeting and the knowledge mapping software tool Compendium. In this work, these technologies and mapping techniques are introduced in order to promote open language learning. Ways in which teachers and students can make use of these OpenLearn tools and resources are discussed and some benefits fully described

Identifying Chinese Secondary Teachers' Needs for Professional Development Abroad

China is at a crucial point for reforming its education system and seeks professional development abroad for selective secondary teachers. In this study, 13 experienced Chinese physics teachers undertook an intensive four-week professional development program in Australia. Early discussion with the participants and two surveys (i.e., mid-evaluation and end-evaluation surveys) aimed to gather qualitative responses for determining their needs for professional development. Data highlighted the essential nature of school visits for observing teaching practices, accurate translations, and the inclusion of physics-based excursions. Yet, apart from addressing personal and social needs, it was concluded future professional development must focus on delivering advanced content knowledge related specifically to the Chinese Curriculum Standards, and current pedagogical approaches and theories that branch beyond the transmission approach employed in China. The information in this study aims to assist other tertiary institutions conducting professional development programs for Chinese teachers

Researching language learning processes in open CALL settings for advanced learners

This article reports on a project (electronic role-play) run at Nottingham Trent University. It investigates how knowledge can be constructed collaboratively in an open setting based on computer-mediated communication (CMC) and the internet as primary source for material. The analysis will concentrate on evidence of (1) focus on language form and (2) acquisition of content. Furthermore, it reports about observations made regarding the way in which students utilize the electronic environment during the learning process, namely (3) the flow of information within an open CALL framework and (4) the non-linear composition of text

Approaches to teaching writing

About the book: Student academic writing is at the heart of teaching and learning in higher education. Students are assessed largely by what they write, and need to learn both general academic conventions as well as disciplinary writing requirements in order to be successful in higher education. Teaching Academic Writing is a 'toolkit' designed to help higher education lecturers and tutors teach writing to their students. Containing a range of diverse teaching strategies, the book offers both practical activities to help students develop their writing abilities and guidelines to help lecturers and tutors think in more depth about the assessment tasks they set and the feedback they give to students. The authors explore a wide variety of text types, from essays and reflective diaries to research projects and laboratory reports. The book draws on recent research in the fields of academic literacy, second language learning, and linguistics. It is grounded in recent developments such as the increasing diversity of the student body, the use of the Internet, electronic tuition, and issues related to distance learning in an era of increasing globalisation. Written by experienced teachers of writing, language, and linguistics, Teaching Academic Writing will be of interest to anyone involved in teaching academic writing in higher education

METAPHORS AND DIRECTIVE SPEECH ACTS IN THE JAVANESE PROVERBS

The current study investigated directive speech acts and metaphors in the Javanese Proverbs. In order to fulfill this goal, the researcher identifies the structural forms, the communicative function, the felicity conditions and the metaphor mapping. The felicity condition will explore four components: a) propositional content, b) preparatory condition, c) sincerity condition, and d) essential rule. Besides, the metaphor mapping will identify three components: a) objects/ idea, b) meaning, and c) mapping process. The current research would be designed as qualitative research. The researcher had choosen the purposive proverbs from the collection of Pitutur Luhur Budaya Jawa (has been composed by certain writers). Due to the investigation, the researcher found some findings:a) there would be two structural forms of the Javanese proverbs (declarative and imperative), b) there were four communicative functions or directive speech acts in the proverbs (prohibition, requirement, command, and suggestion), c) the researcher found that the Javanese proverbs contain the direct and indirect speech act. Beside those findings, the researcher also investigates certain animals and plants (as metaphorical expressions or idea) in the Javanese proverbs such as 1) kebo gupak (buffalo) and tiger (macan) as the people whose bad behaviour, 2) gagak (crow), timun (cucumber), and ant (semut) as the poorer/the weaker people, 3) merak (peacock), duren (king fruit), and elephant (gajah) as the richer people/ the stronger people, 4) mushroom (jamur) as the best result, 5) watang (stalk) as the difficult step or effort, 6) snake (ula) as the figures/ common people, 7) candlenut (kemiri), 8) bebek (duck), 9) kidang (deer)

Dissertation by portfolio : an alternative to the traditional thesis

Both the absolute numbers and proportion of international students in the student cohorts of postgradute computing and engineering courses rose dramatically between 2005 and 2009. One of the hardest tasks these students have to perform is the production of a dissertation in English. This paper will concentrate on experiences with students studying computing masters level courses. This paper asks the question whether we are assessing a student's skills with academic English or their ability to meet the learning outcomes of the dissertation module. It will present an alternative to the traditional written dissertation in the form of a portfolio model which is applicable in highly technical research projects. The lessons learned from a pilot project which introduced portfolio dissertations to the Department of Computing at Sheffield Hallam University will be presented along with plans for the next stage of implementation

Justifying the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools

Criteria for the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools that allow educators to justify what they do are described within a wider framework of learning theory and research into best practice. Based on a meta-analysis of best practice, results from a three year project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a secondary school literacy initiative in New Zealand, together with recent research from cognitive and neuro-psychologists, it is argued that the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools used in elementary schools should be consistent with (i) teaching focused (ii) learner focused, (iii) thought linked (iv) neurologically consistent, (v) subject specific, (vi) text linked, (vii) developmentally appropriate, and (viii) assessment linked criteria. Key words: Literacy, thinking, tools, justifying criteria