Annotation of multimedia learning materials for semantic search

Multimedia is the main source for online learning materials, such as videos, slides and textbooks, and its size is growing with the popularity of online programs offered by Universities and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The increasing amount of multimedia learning resources available online makes it very challenging to browse through the materials or find where a specific concept of interest is covered. To enable semantic search on the lecture materials, their content must be annotated and indexed. Manual annotation of learning materials such as videos is tedious and cannot be envisioned for the growing quantity of online materials. One of the most commonly used methods for learning video annotation is to index the video, based on the transcript obtained from translating the audio track of the video into text. Existing speech to text translators require extensive training especially for non-native English speakers and are known to have low accuracy. This dissertation proposes to index the slides, based on the keywords. The keywords extracted from the textbook index and the presentation slides are the basis of the indexing scheme. Two types of lecture videos are generally used (i.e., classroom recording using a regular camera or slide presentation screen captures using specific software) and their quality varies widely. The screen capture videos, have generally a good quality and sometimes come with metadata. But often, metadata is not reliable and hence image processing techniques are used to segment the videos. Since the learning videos have a static background of slide, it is challenging to detect the shot boundaries. Comparative analysis of the state of the art techniques to determine best feature descriptors suitable for detecting transitions in a learning video is presented in this dissertation. The videos are indexed with keywords obtained from slides and a correspondence is established by segmenting the video temporally using feature descriptors to match and align the video segments with the presentation slides converted into images. The classroom recordings using regular video cameras often have poor illumination with objects partially or totally occluded. For such videos, slide localization techniques based on segmentation and heuristics is presented to improve the accuracy of the transition detection. A region prioritized ranking mechanism is proposed that integrates the keyword location in the presentation into the ranking of the slides when searching for a slide that covers a given keyword. This helps in getting the most relevant results first. With the increasing size of course materials gathered online, a user looking to understand a given concept can get overwhelmed. The standard way of learning and the concept of “one size fits all” is no longer the best way to learn for millennials. Personalized concept recommendation is presented according to the user’s background knowledge. Finally, the contributions of this dissertation have been integrated into the Ultimate Course Search (UCS), a tool for an effective search of course materials. UCS integrates presentation, lecture videos and textbook content into a single platform with topic based search capabilities and easy navigation of lecture materials

An exploratory study of the lived experience of Japanese undergraduate EFL students in the flipped classroom

Recently, Japanese higher education has decided to transition from a traditional teacher-centered to a more student-centered, communicative classroom. One promising possibility that could help in the transition is the flipped classroom technique. Examining the lived experiences of Japanese university English as a foreign language (EFL) students who have taken part in a course taught using the flipped classroom technique will help in determining possible benefits of the flipped classroom in EFL higher education in Japan. This study will use a qualitative approach with a case study design to focus on the lived experiences of Japanese EFL university students at Iwate University enrolled in a course taught using the flipped classroom model. This study will focus on the students\u27 impressions, possible changes in study habits, perceived benefits and challenges, and if students experienced higher levels of authentic communication opportunities due to the flipped classroom. By examining the lived experiences of students who have taken part in a course taught using the flipped classroom technique, this study will contribute to the understanding of learning technologies used to support the implementation of a communicative, student-centered learning environment in the undergraduate EFL classroom

Strategies for Improving Instruction & Services to English Language Learners in the High School Library Media Center

One of the biggest challenges facing librarians in schools today is working with students who are just learning the English language. An extensive body of literature and research related to school library media centers and English Language Learners was reviewed to address this challenge. On the basis of this research, a handbook was created to help fill the gap between the instruction librarians receive in library methodology courses and the reality in which librarians work every day. The handbook includes eight strategies addressing four areas of need: information literacy instruction, the promotion ofliteracy, the development of technological skills and the creation of a welcoming climate. Each strategy in the handbook is accompanied by a fully developed model of its implementation

How Novice Teachers Talk About Teaching Writing

@font-face { font-family: Cambria ; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times New Roman ; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } This microethnographic study investigates the classroom interactions and demonstration teaching sessions of novice English language teachers in a M.S.Ed.-TESOL course on teaching writing. The purpose of this investigation is to examine how novice language teachers integrate theory and practice in teaching writing to English language learners during routine interactions in a teacher-education course. First, it examines how novice English language teachers interpret the theory and research presented in a M.S.Ed.-TESOL course on teaching writing. Specifically, it investigates what theory and research are presented to novice language teachers and how they then select among and reinterpret course subject matter, based on their own pre-existing ideas and based on their professional goals and aspirations. Second, the study examines how novice English teachers enact research-based theories of writing pedagogy. Focusing on demonstration teaching sessions, the structure and content of the demonstration teaching activity is analyzed. Student behavior during these demonstration teaching sessions reveals their interpretation of the subject matter being enacted. Findings from this study may help language teacher educators to craft curricula that better address the issues of socializing novice teachers to make theory-practice connections. Furthermore, this study also contributes to our knowledge of how theories of writing are interconnected with actual teacher practices, and thus may lead to theory construction in the field of rhetoric and composition

The implementation of theme-based instruction in virtual environments focused on enhancing accurate spoken production in english of eleventh graders in a public school in Pereira

Since long ago, many human inventions have been employed to communicate messages between people; elements such as the telegraph or the letter could be regarded as examples. Yet counting on these artifacts, speaking has remained the primary means of communication for civilizations’ everyday purposes. In support of this fact, Zaremba (2006, as cited in Boonkit, 2010) stated that, out of the four macro skills, speaking seems to be the essential skill required for communication..

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 25

Full issue (377 pages, 14.2 MB

Learn Languages, Explore Cultures, Transform Lives

Selected Papers from the 2015 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Aleidine J. Moeller, Editor 1. Creating a Culture-driven Classroom One Activity at a Time — Sharon Wilkinson, Patricia Calkins, & Tracy Dinesen 2. The Flipped German Classroom — Theresa R. Bell 3. Engaging Learners in Culturally Authentic Virtual Interactions —Diane Ceo-Francesco 4. Jouney to Global Competence: Learning Languages, Exploring Cultures, Transforming Lives — J. S. Orozco-Domoe 5. Strangers in a Strange Land: Perceptions of Culture in a First-year French Class — Rebecca L. Chism 6. 21st Century World Language Classrooms: Technology to Support Cultural Competence — Leah McKeeman & Blanca Oviedo 7. Effective Cloud-based Technologies to Maximize Language Learning — Katya Koubek & John C. Bedward 8. An Alternative to the Language Laboratory: Online and Face-to-face Conversation Groups — Heidy Cuervo Carruthers 9. Free Online Machine Translation: Use and Perceptions by Spanish Students and Instructors —Jason R. Jolley & Luciane Maimone 10. A Corpus-based Pedagogy for German Vocabulary — Colleen Neary-Sundquist 11. Grammar Teaching Approaches for Heritage Learners of Spanish —Clara Burgo 12. Going Online: Research-based Course Design — Elizabeth Harsm

Proposed: Technical Communicators Collaborating with Educators to Develop a Better EFL Curriculum for Ecuadorian Universities

This policy and action research in the form of a case study of language policy in Ecuador posits, with a pragmatic view, that students’ backgrounds, prior knowledge, and learning objectives should significantly impact curriculum development. Applying principles of information development, such as conducting usability studies and generating appropriate user profiles, technical communicators produce user-friendly documentation. Pairing technical communicators with educators to collaborate in the parallel processes of information development and curriculum development may yield instructional materials more useful to students than currently available materials are. An etic perspective is appropriate for this study for it does not presuppose what the students’ learning objectives are. Two hundred seventy-nine students taking classes in English as a foreign language (EFL) at three Ecuadorian higher education institutions voluntarily responded to a convenience sample survey designed to learn what benefits the students hoped to obtain from their university-level study of the English language. If this knowledge of student needs was used, in part, to form user profiles prior to course design, it may likely result in a different iteration of EFL instruction than the one currently being shaped by publishers and the national government as well as previous iterations shaped by higher education institutions and instructors

Teaching English as a Second Language in an Urban Public University in Sri Lanka : A Reflective Paper

The purpose of this Master of Arts (MA) thesis is threefold: First, this reflective paper provides a critical literature review on English Language Teaching (ELT) in Sri Lanka. Second, this reflective paper presents seven guiding principles which will steer my English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching in an urban public university in Sri Lanka. Third, drawing from the seven guiding principles, this reflective paper presents a complete syllabus and three assignments as concrete examples (attached as appendixes) which will be implemented in a College of Humanities and Social Sciences in an urban public university in Sri Lanka. The importance of the present reflective paper can be summarized under four main points: First, the critical literature review could help researchers and practitioners to better understand the complex linguistic situation and ELT in Sri Lanka. Second, based on the seven guiding principles I will have a new syllabus which will be implemented in my ESL classes in an urban public university in Sri Lanka. After the implementation of the syllabus, I will reflect on my experience of implementing the syllabus and improve the syllabus further. Third, the seven guiding principles which will inform my future practice as an ESL teacher are transferable to English dominated post-colonial countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and so on. As a novice ESL teacher in an urban public university in Sri Lanka, one of the challenges I faced was the lack of a formal syllabus for my ESL classes. It gave rise to multiple issues in relation to teaching methodology, lesson planning, and teaching materials, resulting in the dissatisfaction of my students and myself. It was the lack of a formal syllabus for my ESL classes that motivated me to design a syllabus for an intermediate level ESL course in an urban public university in Sri Lanka. I believe that the new syllabus steered by the seven guiding principles presented in this MA thesis will create a new synergy in my future ESL classrooms

Lecturers’ strategies: the use of media and material in teaching listening

This research focused on investigated and identify the lecturers’ strategies in teaching listening and lecturers’ strategies in solving the problems of media and material. The difficulties in listening was a challenge for English lecturers to provided and identify the appropriate strategies. The lecturers need to have effective strategies to overcome the problems that often occurred in listening laboratory cause of the equipment sometimes did not work properly or difficult to adjust material with the students’ ability. the questionnaires and interview were distributed to English Language lecturers who teach listening in UIN Ar-Raniry. From the finding, there were several strategies that mostly applied by lecturers in teaching listening such as: cognitive strategy, affective strategy, social strategy and metacognitive strategy. The lecturers found several problems related to media and material. They solved it by brought their own media, found another class which has completed facilities and asked students to performs in the class. To solved the problem of material they searched for suitable material on the internet, did various tricks to made the website could be accessed for free and played the video or audio repeatedly until students catch the information of the material