Learning and Teaching Languages in Technology-Mediated Environments: Why Modes and Meaning Making Matter

The developing argument presented in this thesis is based on seven articles, eight book chapters and one set of conference proceedings, some single-authored and some co-authored, on language learning and teaching in technology-mediated environments, published between 2004 and 2018. The publications chart my evolution as a researcher and practitioner at the Open University UK. There are several threads which weave themselves through my scholarly journey and which are reflected in the selected work: Thread 1: multimodal competence and language learning and teaching with technology Thread 2: task-based approaches to language learning and teaching with technology Thread 3: teacher (and learner) preparation for language learning and teaching with technology Thread 4: learner (and teacher) autonomy in language learning and teaching with technology. The narrative cloth in the presentation of the publications draws these threads together and illustrates how they interconnect across my work. They are linked by my concern for online language learners’ awareness of the opportunities and demands of the learning environment and the impact that such awareness, or lack thereof, has on the learning process. The empirical studies presented and discussed in my work use mostly qualitative research instruments. They take forward the knowledge in the field by offering original insights into the interrelationship between language learner awareness and control over the learning context understood as awareness of online modes and their potential for meaning-making, communication, interaction and collaboration. This interrelationship is not only relevant for language learning in virtual environments per se, it also has repercussions on online learners’ development of intercultural communicative competence, their digital participatory competence and social presence online, and on their autonomy. Underpinning my work is a view shared by a growing number of researchers and practitioners in online learning and teaching of languages and cultures that a radical pedagogical shift is required: it is not sufficient to see the new technology-infused learning spaces as replicates of conventional face-to-face settings. Such a shift has to be informed by new learning theories which capture the dynamic nature of the enterprise in the wake of unabating technological advancements (e.g. Guichon, 2009; Hampel & Stickler, 2005; Hubbard & Levy, 2006; Hubbard, 2009; Kern, 2015; Sun, 2011). Moreover, I argue, it will need to include the systematic raising of learner awareness of learning context. The presentation of the selected articles, book chapters and conference proceedings in Chapter 4 is divided into five parts in line with the thematic foci of the publications: (1) contextual knowledge, (2) multimodal competence (3) multiliteracies (4) digital literacies (5) participatory literacy and social presence. The publications in Chapter 4, section 4.1 – Hauck (2004), Hampel and Hauck (2004), Hauck (2005), and Hauck and Hurd (2005) – focus on the concept of contextual knowledge and are informed by two studies: one carried out with students when the former Department of Languages (DoL) at the Open University offered learners a choice between face-to-face and online tutorials via an audiographic conferencing application (Lyceum); the other one carried out with OU tutors, most of whom were at the time unfamiliar with using Internet-based conferencing for language learning and teaching purposes. The work presented in section 4.2 – Hampel and Hauck (2006), Hauck (2007), Hauck and Youngs (2008) and Hauck and Hampel (2008) – concentrates on multimodal competence as well as the interface between multimodal communicative competence and intercultural communicative competence online. While Hampel and Hauck (2006) is a theoretical contribution, the other three publications are based on a telecollaborative exchange linking participants from three different parts of the world (the Tridem project). The former helped frame the empirical study at the center of the two articles and the chapter that followed. The publications in section 4.3 – Hauck (2010a) and Hauck (2010b), and Fuchs, Hauck and Müller-Hartmann (2012) – explore multiliteracies with multimodal competence understood as a core element of multiliteracies. They draw on data from a four-way telecollaborative exchange between teacher trainees and language learners in order to illustrate why telecollaboration provides the ideal set-up for fostering such competence development and therefore also online learner and teacher autonomy. This leads to an examination of digital literacies in Kurek and Hauck (2014) and Hauck and Kurek (2017) in section 4.4. Both chapters are, again, theoretical contributions to the field of technology-mediated language learning and teaching. We conceptualise digital proficiency as mastery of modes and meaning-making – in other words multimodal competence – and as a precondition for autonomy. In Kurek and Hauck (2014) we present a task framework for instructed learner reflection to this effect, ideally in telecollaborative settings. Finally, in section 4.5 – Hauck and Warnecke (2012), Hauck, Galley and Warnecke (2016), also a theoretical contribution, and Hauck and Satar (2018) – my co-authors and I explore a subset of digital literacies, namely participatory literacy as reflected in multimodal competence, and its relevance for social presence in online language learning and teaching contexts. An example of how these themes interlink with the aforementioned threads is the task-based approach to multimodal competence development (Threads 1 and 2) in telecollaborative settings which is advocated in all three publications in section 4.3. Together, the publications make a substantial contribution to the field of language learning and teaching in technology-mediated environments, through the centrality they grant to the learning context, and increasingly also to multimodality (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001; Kress, 2009) as an overarching approach to conceptualising context-related challenges for both students and teachers

From good to great: using cultural codes to improve the design and value proposition of sustainable product-service system innovations

Modern lifestyles in the developed regions of the world operate beyond our planet's resource capacity. Over-consumption has not only proven detrimental for the environment, but has also undermined our capacity to achieve deep life satisfaction and societal well-being. Embracing more sustainable ways of consuming and producing is key in order to foster the conditions for humanity to flourish. Strategies for disrupting the dominant consumption patterns lie within the next challenges, as adoption of sustainable innovation is still disappointingly low and needs to be accelerated. Design for Sustainability has contributed important technological advances to improve production and life cycle efficiency (i.e. eco design, cradle to cradle). However, it is increasingly recognised that sustainability is not just a technical matter, but ultimately a cultural issue. One of the problems is that people perceive sustainability as a loss, rather than a gain. Therefore, to drive demand, there is urgency to better understand users aspirations and expectations, i.e. the cultural and socio-symbolic aspects of consumption that influence decision-making. This thesis argues that the perceived value of sustainable innovations can be enhanced by paying more attention to the elaboration of meanings or symbolic value they bring to bear for the user, which can be achieved by strategically framing innovations using high-value contextual signifiers (cultural codes). Drawing on cognitive science, cultural studies and applied semiotics, this research contributes a theoretical framework and case studies of how these theories can support the design process in mapping sociocultural contexts, in order to elaborate sustainable innovations that are perceived as aspirational and relevant. The theory is applied to the case of sustainable Product-Service Systems (PPS bottom-up social innovations) due to the opportunities these pose for systemic disruption, and the cultural barriers for adoption. Through a series of Participatory Action Research interventions, the investigation developed three case studies of how of the framework may benefit sustainable PSS value proposition framing and design, with one application in the context of design education to support the development of designers critical and sociocultural deconstruction capacity and skills. Finally, in exploring the potential that cultural codes offer to improve the design and value proposition of sustainable innovations, this thesis contributes and advances a new perspective for understanding symbolic aspects of consumption, and highlights opportunities for sustainable design to have greater influence in societal transformation

The implementation of a push-pull programme for the control of Eldana saccharina (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in sugarcane in the coastal regions of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Eldana saccharina, an indigenous lepidopteran stemborer, is considered the most damaging pest of sugarcane in South Africa. Researchers have advocated the use of an area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programme as a means of improving the control of this pest. A push-pull strategy was developed as a component of this AW-IPM approach. The push-pull strategy in sugarcane is a habitat management method of pest control that uses plants that are both repellent (Melinis Minutiflora) and attractive (Cyperus dives, Cyperus papyrus and Bt-maize) to E. saccharina. Previous research into push-pull has shown that this strategy is an effective tool for the control of E. saccharina. Push-pull has been implemented successfully in the Midlands North sugarcane growing region of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Despite the proven efficacy of push-pull, very little push-pull research has been conducted in the coastal sugarcane growing regions of KZN, and adoption of this technology has been poor in these regions. Therefore, the aim of this research was to facilitate the implementation of push-pull for the management of E. saccharina in sugarcane in the coastal regions of KZN. This was done by focussing on on-farm field trials and farmer participatory research. On-farm push-pull field trials were conducted on five model farms in the North and South Coast sugarcane growing regions of KZN. High levels of E. saccharina were recorded during this study. The push-pull treatment sites showed a significant reduction of E. saccharina damage on four of the five farms used in the study. Mean percentage of stalks damaged decreased by up to 50 % in the presence of the repellent grass species, M. minutiflora. The number of E. saccharina found per 100 stalks also decreased significantly at these farms. The farm which did not show a significant reduction in E. saccharina populations or damage had low numbers of this pest in the sugarcane throughout the experiment. This demonstrates that push-pull is more effective in areas that have high levels of E. saccharina. Stem borer surveys in wetlands on sugarcane farms revealed that high numbers of E. saccharina were found within the pull plants, C. papyrus and C. dives, in comparison to the push-pull sites. This verifies that the pull plants do work efficiently to attract E. saccharina away from sugarcane. Additionally, eight parasitoids emerged from E. saccharina larvae collected in wetland sedges. The beneficial roles that push-pull plants play in attracting and maintaining natural enemies in the agroecosystem are discussed, and these findings further demonstrate the important ecosystem, and pest management services that wetlands provide on sugarcane farms. The success of the push-pull trials in this study show that this technology can be an effective tool for controlling E. saccharina in the coastal sugarcane growing regions. The timing of the planting of push-pull plants was shown to play a role in the efficacy of this technology. The study also confirmed that push-pull should be used as a component of AW-IPM in conjunction with good crop management practices. Surveys were undertaken to determine large-scale sugarcane growers' (LSGs) knowledge and perceptions of E. saccharina and other pests. Research regarding the farmers' perceptions of push- pull was also conducted to better understand the drivers and barriers to adoption of push-pull, and other new technologies. The surveys found that large-scale farmers in the coastal regions suffer from high infestations of E. saccharina. As such there is scope for the introduction of new pest management practices such as push-pull in this area. Farmers also demonstrated a good basic knowledge of E. saccharina and IPM. However, LSGs had a poor understanding of push-pull and how it works, as well as the plants that make up the push-pull system that is being implemented against E. saccharina in South Africa. A dearth in practical knowledge regarding the implementation of push-pull was seen as a major barrier to the adoption of this strategy, as was financial instability, farmer attitudes and poor institutional support. Farmers recommended collaboration amongst stakeholders, improved education, proof of the efficacy of push-pull and incentives as tools to improve the implementation of this strategy in the coastal sugarcane growing regions of KZN. Farmers preferred direct contact with extension personnel and experiential learning opportunities when acquiring information about push- pull and other new pest management practices. If opportunities for push-pull education are increased through direct contact with extension personnel, and through on-farm demonstrations, and if inputs are provided in the form of push-pull plants, it is likely that push-pull will succeed amongst coastal LSGs, especially since farmers had an overall positive attitude towards the technology. Surveys amongst small-scale sugarcane growers (SSGs) showed that sugarcane is important in the lives of these farmers. The SSGs perceive pests to be a major constraint to their farming systems, and they identified E. saccharina as a major pest of sugarcane. The farmers also demonstrated good knowledge of sugarcane pests and vegetable pests. However, SSGs lacked knowledge regarding pest management practices and beneficial insects. Extension and advisory services should to continue concentrating on pest management practices to educate SSGs on the variety and application of pest control strategies. SSGs were found to employ complex, diverse and integrated agricultural systems that are well-suited to the implementation of IPM technologies such as push-pull. Since insect pests act were found to be a major constraint to SSG sugarcane production, push-pull was deemed a feasible pest management strategy for coastal farmers and its implementation by SSGs should be further explored. SSGs in this study were also concerned about vegetable pests, therefore if push-pull can be adapted to help protect additional crops, adoption of this technology by small-scale growers will improve

Study and proposal of a framework for designing tailorable user interfaces

Orientador: Maria Cecilia Calani BaranauskasTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de ComputaçãoResumo: A socialização dos sistemas computacionais trouxe um desafio a mais para os pesquisadores de Interação Humano-Computador: como prover interfaces que propiciem acesso ao maior número possível de usuários independentemente de suas capacidades sensoriais, físicas, cognitivas e emocionais? Um dos caminhos que se apresenta é desenvolver sistemas flexíveis, i.e. que permitam modificações em seu comportamento durante a interação, oferecendo ao usuário a possibilidade de ajustar a interface de acordo com as suas preferências, necessidades e situações de uso. O design de interfaces flexíveis, que façam sentido e sejam acessíveis a mais pessoas, demanda abordagens que permitam conhecer e formalizar os diferentes requisitos de interação, definir funcionalidades e determinar o comportamento ajustável do sistema. Soluções encontradas na literatura relacionadas ao tema interfaces ajustáveis, (ou tailoring em inglês) enfatizam questões relacionadas à infra-estrutura necessária para o ajuste, não tendo sido encontrados trabalhos que apoiassem os designers de forma prática durante o processo de concepção dessas interfaces. Esta tese propõe e apresenta um framework para o design de interfaces de usuário ajustáveis, denominado PLuRaL. O termo framework é utilizado aqui no seu sentido mais amplo como uma estrutura composta por diretrizes, mecanismos, artefatos e sistemas usados no planejamento e na tomada de decisões de design. O PLuRaL adota uma perspectiva sócio-técnica para a concepção das interfaces ajustáveis e uma visão abrangente dos requisitos de interação, incluindo aqueles que são controversos ou minoritários e advindos não somente de usuários, mas também de diferentes dispositivos e ambientes de interação. Aspectos semânticos, pragmáticos e o impacto social da interação também são considerados. Por fim, o comportamento ajustável do sistema é modelado utilizando-se o conceito de normas. O referencial teórico-metodológico adotado para o trabalho de pesquisa envolveu as disciplinas de Interação Humano-Computador e Semiótica Organizacional. A construção do framework foi pautada por 2 estudos de caso envolvendo populações de usuário heterogêneas em contextos de sistemas de governo eletrônico e de rede social inclusiva. A validação do framework foi realizada com 17 designers e os resultados sugerem uma avaliação positiva considerando a utilidade, flexibilidade para apoiar mudanças, liberdade de criação e satisfação com as propostas de design resultantesAbstract: The socialization of computer systems has brought a new challenge to Human-Computer Interaction researchers: how to design interfaces that provide access to as many users as possible regardless of their sensory, physical, cognitive and emotional characteristics? One approach to answer this question is to develop flexible systems, i.e. those that allow changes in their behavior during the interaction, offering users the possibility to tailor the interface according to their preferences, needs and situations of use. The design of flexible interfaces, which make sense and are accessible to more people, demands approaches to understand and formalize the different interaction requirements, define functionalities and determine the system tailorable behavior. Solutions found in the literature about tailorable interfaces have focused on the infrastructure needed to offer flexibility and works to support designers in a practical way during the conception of such interfaces were not found. This thesis proposes and presents a framework for the design of tailorable user interfaces, named PLuRaL. The term framework is used here in its broadest sense as a structure consisting of guidelines, mechanisms, artifacts and systems used in design planning and decision-making. PLuRaL adopts a socio-technical approach to design tailorable interfaces and a comprehensive view for interaction requirements, including those that are controversial or from minority, and arising not only from users, but also from different devices and interaction environments. The semantic, pragmatic and social impacts of the interaction are also considered. Finally, the behavior of the tailorable system is modeled using the concept of norms. The theoretical and methodological references adopted in this work involved the disciplines of Human-Computer Interaction and Organizational Semiotics. The framework's construction was guided by 2 case studies with heterogeneous populations, in the context of electronic government and inclusive social network system. The framework's validation was performed with 17 designers and the results suggest a positive evaluation considering the usefulness and flexibility to support changes, freedom to create and satisfaction with the final design proposalsDoutoradoMetodologia e Tecnicas da ComputaçãoDoutor em Ciência da Computaçã

An aesthetics of touch: investigating the language of design relating to form

How well can designers communicate qualities of touch? This paper presents evidence that they have some capability to do so, much of which appears to have been learned, but at present make limited use of such language. Interviews with graduate designer-makers suggest that they are aware of and value the importance of touch and materiality in their work, but lack a vocabulary to fully relate to their detailed explanations of other aspects such as their intent or selection of materials. We believe that more attention should be paid to the verbal dialogue that happens in the design process, particularly as other researchers show that even making-based learning also has a strong verbal element to it. However, verbal language alone does not appear to be adequate for a comprehensive language of touch. Graduate designers-makers’ descriptive practices combined non-verbal manipulation within verbal accounts. We thus argue that haptic vocabularies do not simply describe material qualities, but rather are situated competences that physically demonstrate the presence of haptic qualities. Such competencies are more important than groups of verbal vocabularies in isolation. Design support for developing and extending haptic competences must take this wide range of considerations into account to comprehensively improve designers’ capabilities

Design da interação na Web pragmática : reduzindo barreiras semióticas na colaboração mediada pela Web

Orientador: Maria Cecília Calani BaranauskasTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de ComputaçãoResumo: Web e suas tecnologias de base facilitam interações entre pessoas que alguns anos atrás não eram imagináveis. A colaboração é um tipo importante de interação que tem um propósito. Pessoas de diferentes contextos sociais e culturais, e com diferentes preferências e habilidades, podem colaborar mediadas pela Web. A colaboração muitas vezes acontece em contextos heterogêneos, que são definidos tanto pelas situações atuais dos parceiros na colaboração, quanto pelas experiências passadas, sejam elas individuais ou coletivas. A Web como um meio/uma mídia tem um impacto na colaboração e facilita certos aspectos da colaboração enquanto dificulta outros. Adotando uma perspectiva informada pela Web Pragmática, nesta tese investigamos questões da colaboração mediada pela Web, relacionadas com o Design da Interação. Nosso objetivo principal é entender barreiras semióticas da colaboração mediada pela Web e propor uma abordagem ao Design da Interação que reduza tais barreiras. Barreiras semióticas são barreiras relacionadas à comunicação, mediação e representação. Estas barreiras surgem na colaboração mediada pela Web pois muitos mecanismos da comunicação interpessoal face-a-face não estão disponíveis. Dependendo do contexto, barreiras semióticas frequentemente exercem um impacto negativo à colaboração; entretanto, em alguns casos o impacto pode ser positivo também. A abordagem ao Design da Interação aqui proposta tem suas bases na Web Pragmática e utiliza a Semiótica Organizacional e a Teoria da Atividade como referenciais teórico-metodológicos. As investigações teóricas contaram com uma contrapartida em termos de um embasamento em práticas reais através da participação em um projeto de pesquisa no domínio da educação inclusiva. Materializamos a abordagem proposta no design de um protótipo e na implementação de uma ferramenta correspondente ao protótipo, que apoia uma prática de profissionais no domínio da educação inclusiva. Além disso, propusemos e conduzimos um método de avaliação guiada pela pragmática dentro do contexto de um estudo de caso longitudinal. O design do protótipo, a implementação da ferramenta e a avaliação conduzida fornecem evidências de que a abordagem proposta ao Design da Interação guiada pela pragmática contribui para a redução de barreiras semióticas e para a promoção da colaboração mediada pela WebAbstract: The Web and its underlying technologies enable interactions among people that were unimaginable a few years ago. An important type of purposeful interaction is collaboration. Mediated by the Web, people from different social and cultural backgrounds, with different needs, preferences and capabilities can collaborate with each other. Collaboration often takes place in heterogeneous contexts that are not only defined by the actual situations of the collaboration partners, but also by individual and collective past experiences. The Web as a medium has an impact on collaboration and facilitates or enables certain aspects of collaboration while making others more difficult. In this PhD thesis we investigate Interaction Design related questions about web-mediated collaboration under a Pragmatic Web perspective. Our prime objective is to understand semiotic barriers to web-mediated collaboration and propose an approach to Interaction Design that reduces these barriers. Semiotic barriers are barriers related to communication, mediation and representation. These barriers emerge during web-based collaboration since many mechanisms of interpersonal face-to-face communication are not available. Depending on the context, semiotic barriers often have a negative impact on collaboration, but in some cases they might also have positive effects. The approach to Interaction Design proposed in this PhD thesis is rooted in the Pragmatic Web and uses Organizational Semiotics and Activity Theory as its theoretical and methodological frames of reference. The theoretic investigations were practically grounded in real world practices by participating in a research project in the domain of inclusive education. We materialized the proposed approach in the design of a prototype and the implementation of the corresponding tool that supports a practice of inclusive education professionals. Furthermore we proposed and applied a pragmatics-driven evaluation method in a longitudinal case study. Prototype design, tool implementation, and the conducted evaluation provided evidence that the proposed approach to pragmatics-driven Interaction Design can reduce semiotic barriers and thus promote web-mediated collaborationDoutoradoCiência da ComputaçãoDoutor em Ciência da Computaçã

The student-produced electronic portfolio in craft education

The authors studied primary school students’ experiences of using an electronic portfolio in their craft education over four years. A stimulated recall interview was applied to collect user experiences and qualitative content analysis to analyse the collected data. The results indicate that the electronic portfolio was experienced as a multipurpose tool to support learning. It makes the learning process visible and in that way helps focus on and improves the quality of learning. © ISLS.Peer reviewe