Using Phonically Based E-books to Develop Reading Fluency

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the ‘Tales of Jud the Rat’ reading fluency programme and its logic, and to present preliminary results from its use as a form of e-learning. The first section of the chapter provides an overview of the development of the ‘The Tales Jud the Rat’ series. Literature relevant to the neurolinguistic basis of the materials is then reviewed. Results from initial case study and the first cohort of children who have worked on this programme with their parents are presented in the third section, while the final section of the chapter provides an evaluation of the current status of the programme and indicates its potential uses

Social Worked-Examples Technique to Enhance Student Engagement in Program Visualization

يعد تعلم البرمجة من بين أهم التحديات في تعليم علوم الكمبيوتر. حاليا، يتم استخدام تصوير البرامج ) PV ( كأداة للتغلب علىمعدلات الفشل والتسرب العالية في مادة اساسيات البرمجة. ومع ذلك، هناك مخاوف متزايدة بشأن فعالية أدوات تصوير البرامج الحالية استناداالى النتائج المختلطة المستمدة من الدراسات المختلفة. تعتبر مشاركة الطلاب أيضًا عاملاً حيويًا في بناء PV ناجحًا، كما تعد أيضًا جزءًا مهمًامن عملية التعلم بشكل عام. تم إدخال العديد من التقنيات لتعزيز المشاركة في أدوات تصوير البرامج؛ ومع ذلك، فإن مشاركة الطلاب في PVلا يزال يمثل تحديًا كبيراً. استخدمت هذه الورقة ثلاث نظريات مختلفة: البنيوية، والبناء الاجتماعي، والحمل المعرفي لاقتراح تقنية لتعزيزمشاركة الطلاب في استخدام أدوات تصوير البرامج. تعمل تقنية الأمثلة المكتملة الاجتماعية ) SWE ( على تحويل المثال المكتمل التقليدي إلىنشاط اجتماعي ، حيث يتم التركيز بشكل أكبر على دور التعاون في بناء معرفة الطلاب. حددت هذه الدراسة ثلاثة مبادئ يمكن أن تعززمشاركة الطلاب من خلال تقنية SWE : التعلم النشط والتعاون الاجتماعي والأنشطة ذاتس التحميل المنخفض.Learning programming is among the top challenges in computer science education. A part of that, program visualization (PV) is used as a tool to overcome the high failure and drop-out rates in an introductory programming course. Nevertheless, there are rising concerns about the effectiveness of the existing PV tools following the mixed results derived from various studies. Student engagement is also considered a vital factor in building a successful PV, while it is also an important part of the learning process in general. Several techniques have been introduced to enhance PV engagement; however, student engagement with PV is still challenging. This paper employed three theories—constructivism, social constructivism and cognitive load to propose a technique for enhancing student engagement with program visualisation. The social worked-examples (SWE) technique transforms the traditional worked-example into a social activity, whereby a greater focus is placed on the collaboration role in constructing students’ knowledge. This study identified three principles that could enhance student engagement through the SWE technique: active learning, social collaboration and low-load activity

Mobile Learning for Communicative Language Teaching: An Exploration of How Higher Education Language Instructors Design Communicative MALL Environments

The purpose of this study was to describe how higher education language instructors design mobile-assted language learning environments for communicative language teaching. As our focus in second language acquisition has moved toward a communicative approach, the media richness and communication savvy of mobile devices can plan a vital role in this new communicative goal. Offering authentic content and dialogue opportunities, language instructors can take advantage of these devices leading language learners to achieve true fluency in another language. While the opportunity for communicative language teaching with MALL is viable, how to best design MALL environments for this purpose is still in its infancy. Answering questions regarding device type, application usage, theoretical foundations, and communicative task type and frequency will add to the richness of research for planning communicative MALL experiences. This study focused on two research questions. The first question explored how higher education language instructors design mobile assisted language learning environments. The second dealt with influences that ignite those decisions. Four higher education language instructors participated in this case study. Data consisted of semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and observations, and were analyzed using general qualitative analysis and the constant comparative method. Three themes emerged in the findings: (1) describing the communicative language learning environment enhanced by mobility, (2) meeting student, organizational, and instructional needs/goals, and (3) planning the implementation of MALL experiences for communicative language purposes. A discussion integrated these findings with interpretations in order to answer the research questions. The data suggested higher education language instructors identify goals, and create authentic learning experiences via communicative modes in order to achieve those goals. Further, the data suggested they have theoretical alignments with constructionism and situated learning, hold strong beliefs in CLT, and have beliefs aobut mobility that inform how they design communicative MALL environments

Digital communities: context for leading learning into the future?

In 2011, a robust, on-campus, three-element Community of Practice model consisting of growing community, sharing of practice and building domain knowledge was piloted in a digital learning environment. An interim evaluation of the pilot study revealed that the three-element framework, when used in a digital environment, required a fourth element. This element, which appears to happen incidentally in the face-to-face context, is that of reflecting, reporting and revising. This paper outlines the extension of the pilot study to the national tertiary education context in order to explore the implications for the design, leadership roles, and selection of appropriate technologies to support and sustain digital communities using the four-element model

Social Learning Theory and Digital Piracy: Explaining Uploading Behaviors of Digital Pirates

Digital piracy has received significant attention in criminological research but almost no studies have explored illegal uploading and how it may differ from illegal downloading. It is important to examine what theories can explain illegal uploading behaviors and their related factors to develop more effective policies to address digital piracy. This dissertation examined whether Akers’ (1998) social learning theory could explain engagement in digital piracy, both illegal downloading and uploading behavior. Additionally, this research examined the relationship between reciprocity and digital piracy. Questionnaires were administered to 398 university students and 315 visitors to several online communities using a combination of random and nonrandom sampling techniques. Confirmatory factor analysis and a series of structural equation models were used for analysis. Social learning theory was modeled as a second-order latent factor with latent factors for reciprocity and both outcomes while controlling for multiple covariates. Social learning theory was positively related to self-reported illegal downloading behavior and self-reported illegal uploading behavior. Perceptions of reciprocity had a positive direct effect on illegal uploading behavior but did not have a significant direct effect on illegal downloading behavior. Perceptions of reciprocity partially mediated the relationship between social learning and illegal uploading behavior. Self-control was not related to illegal downloading and uploading behaviors, but did have significant indirect effects through social learning. The main contributions of this dissertation were the application of social learning theory to explain illegal uploading and the empirical evidence supporting reciprocity. Possible directions for future research and policy implications are discussed

Educational use cases from a shared exploration of e-books and iPads

E-books and e-book readers are becoming increasingly widely available, particularly for the general reader, and there have been many studies on their adoption. However, less is known about their use for educational and academic purposes. We report here on work carried out on e-books and e-book applications using iPads by academic and teaching staff. After considering pedagogical issues and reporting survey results, we identify a spiral of six key use case areas for e-books. This spiral of use cases moves from basic e-book use, through situational reading, e-books and learning, using multiple learning resources, collaborative/group learning, to e-book production. We discuss each of these use case areas and provide guidelines that will be of interest to practitioners and researchers alike

Designing and Evaluating an Interactive eTextbook for RBE1001

This paper will present the design and evaluation of an interactive eTextbook meant for Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s robotic engineering class, RBE1001. Articles and other literature were used to research teaching methods, textbook writing, eTextbooks, and evaluation strategies, to develop and present the evaluation procedure, consisting of surveys, a focus group, and a quiz. Following that procedure, data were gathered from the current class and analyzed. The results were inconclusive due to insufficient data about usage of the eTextbook

HEBE: Highly Engaging eBook Experiences

Despite more and more books are made available in electronic format and technology is increasingly present in children’s everyday life, thus far the potential of the electronic book (eBook) medium has been only partially exploited. With the Highly Engaging eBook Experiences (HEBE) project we studied how to design and evaluate eBooks for children with the goal of making the reading experience more engaging. The project began with an investigation of the many facets that characterize the reading experience of children in order to understand how it could possibly be enhanced by electronic books. In a later stage an intergenerational design team used different techniques of Cooperative Inquiry to explore a range of design ideas. Then, based on those ideas, we developed a prototype of enhanced eBook and elaborated a shortlist of design recommendations that are intended to help designers in creating more engaging eBooks. The research project ended with a stage of evaluation where children’s User Experience with the eBook prototype was assessed. We took inspiration from Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory to define a benchmark for evaluating the reading experience. Then, by means of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), we investigated and collected data on the reading experience of two groups of children, one of which read an eBook enhanced following our design recommendations while the other read a basic version of the same eBook. Following a mixed-method approach, with quantitative analysis we verified whether participants who read the enhanced eBook had a better reading experience, while with qualitative analysis we tried to understand why. The results of the evaluation showed that that an eBook designed following our design recommendations may have a positive effect on children’s reading experience by making it more engaging

iPad use in fieldwork: formal and informal use to enhance pedagogical practice in a bring your own technology world

We report on use of iPads (and other IOS devices) for student fieldwork use and as electronic field notebooks and to promote active. We have used questionnaires and interviews of tutors and students to elicit their views and technology and iPad use for fieldwork. There is some reluctance for academic staff to relinquish paper notebooks for iPad use, whether in the classroom or on fieldwork, as well as use them for observational and measurement purposes. Students too are largely unaware of the potential of iPads for enhancing fieldwork. Apps can be configured for a wide variety of specific uses that make iPads useful for educational as well as social uses. Such abilities should be used to enhance existing practice as well as make new functionality. For example, for disabled students who find it difficult to use conventional note taking. iPads can be used to develop student self-directed learning and for group contributions. The technology becomes part of the students’ personal learning environments as well as at the heart of their knowledge spaces – academic and social. This blurring of boundaries is due to iPads’ usability to cultivate field use, instruction, assessment and feedback processes. iPads can become field microscopes and entries to citizen science and we see the iPad as the main ‘computing’ device for students in the near future. As part of the Bring Your Own Technology/Device (BYOD) the iPad has much to offer although, both staff and students need to be guided in the most effective use for self-directed education via development of Personal Learning Environments. A more student-oriented pedagogy is suggested to correspond to the increasing use of tablet technologies by student

Social shaping of digital publishing: exploring the interplay between culture and technology

The processes and forms of electronic publishing have been changing since the advent of the Web. In recent years, the open access movement has been a major driver of scholarly communication, and change is also evident in other fields such as e-government and e-learning. Whilst many changes are driven by technological advances, an altered social reality is also pushing the boundaries of digital publishing. With 23 articles and 10 posters, Elpub 2012 focuses on the social shaping of digital publishing and explores the interplay between culture and technology. This book contains the proceedings of the conference, consisting of 11 accepted full articles and 12 articles accepted as extended abstracts. The articles are presented in groups, and cover the topics: digital scholarship and publishing; special archives; libraries and repositories; digital texts and readings; and future solutions and innovations. Offering an overview of the current situation and exploring the trends of the future, this book will be of interest to all those whose work involves digital publishing