Designs for Heritage Language Learning: A Photography project in the UK Supplementary Education

Supplementary Schools in the UK offer educational opportunities for children and young people outside mainstream school provision. The paper reports an enquiry undertaken by practitioners in Greek Supplementary Schools in the UK to explore how features of mobile technologies may be leveraged to foster heritage language learning. It draws on the view that mobile learning can be a way for learners to explore the language informally and direct their own development (Kukulska-Hulme, 2015) and may also shape the learners’ ‘habits of mind’ (Wong, 2012, p.22) in learning—and consequently their language competencies. The project #ItsAllGreekToUS set to investigate how to create learning designs to incorporate effective use of mobile technologies within language learning and teaching. It draws on action research orientation and uses the idea of ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) (JISC, 2013) in educational settings. The study involved several sessions around the concept of ‘loanwords’ and representations of this vocabulary in artefacts created with the use of mobile phones and a popular photography application (e.g. Pinterest). The participants were fourteen students (12-13s) attending a pre-GCSE class in a Greek School in London and nine students (12-14s) attending a GCSE class in a Greek School in Leicester. Evidence from user-generated content, the pupils’ views around the project and the practitioners’ observations are considered. The paper will discuss how students’ practices associated with mobile technologies are integrated into teachers’ practice. Particular attention will be drawn to designing language learning by blending traditional language classroom practices along incorporating the practices of sharing and curating content, as well as allowing ‘visibility’ through artefacts created by the learners

Vocabulary learning by mobile-assisted authentic content creation and social meaning making: two case studies

Abstract In recent years, we have witnessed the concomitant rise of communicative and contextualized approaches as well as the paradigmatic development of the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) framework in analysing language learning. The focus of MALL research has gradually shifted from content-based (delivery of learning content through mobile devices) to design-oriented (authentic and/or social mobile learning activities) study. In this paper, we present two novel case studies of MALL that emphasize learner-created content. In learning English prepositions and Chinese idioms, respectively, the primary school students used the mobile devices assigned to them on a one-to-one basis to take photos in real-life contexts so as to construct sentences with the newly acquired prepositions or idioms. Subsequently, the learners were voraciously engaged in classroom or online discussion of their semantic constructions, thereby enhancing their understanding of the proper usage of the prepositions or idioms. This work shows the potential of transforming language learning into an authentic seamless learning experience

Zihin Yetersizliği Olan Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Bulunduğu Bir Sınıfta Öğretim Etkinliklerinin Teknoloji Desteği ile Geliştirilmesi

The purpose of this study is to create a class supported by advanced technological tools (e.g. tablet computer, interactive boards) in a special education middle school for students with intellectual disability; conduct technology-based instructional activities; determine the problems likely to emerge in this process and solve these problems; and improve students’ competencies in the Science and Technology course. This study, which is an action research, was conducted in three stages: “Determining the Situation”, “Implementation”; and “Monitoring”. This paper presents the implementation and monitoring stages of the study. The research participants are 11 sixth grade students with mild intellectual disability receiving education at an official special education middle school, their parents, two classroom teachers of the intellectually-disabled, validity committee members, dissertation supervision committee members, and the researcher. The research data were obtained from video-recordings, field notes, the researcher’s diary, daily lesson plans, validity committee meeting decisions, decisions taken in the reflection and planning meetings with the teachers, semi-structured interviews, artifacts, criterion-referenced test, check-lists, and official documents. The data obtained during and at the end of the research process were subjected to content analysis via Nvivo 10.The findings indicated that identifying student needs in the integration process, providing and developing electronic contents according to these needs, and planning instruction activities by taking these needs into consideration are important. In addition, the research provided very detailed data concerning the problems likely to be encountered in the integration of technology into a natural teaching environment. It was stressed that the problems encountered during the use of technology in instruction activities may lead to new behavioral problems, and teachers have to take measures against these situations. The integration of technology into the Science and Technology course curriculum improved the students’ academic performance. It also contributed to the teachers. The findings were discussed in the light of other studies in the literature, and recommendations were put forward for practice and further studies.Bu araştırmanın amacı; zihin yetersizliği olan öğrencilerin eğitim gördüğü bir özel eğitim ortaokulunda ileri düzey teknolojik araçlar (tablet bilgisayar, etkileşimli tahta) ile desteklenen bir sınıfın oluşturularak teknoloji destekli öğretim etkinliklerinin uygulanması ve bu süreçte ortaya çıkabilecek sorunların belirlenerek çözümlenmesi ve öğrencilerin Fen ve Teknoloji dersindeki öğrenme yeterliklerinin artırılmasıdır. Eylem araştırması olarak desenlenen araştırma, “Durum Saptama”, “Uygulama” ve “İzleme” olmak üzere üç aşamada gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışmada araştırmanın uygulama ve izleme aşamasına yer verilmiştir. Araştırmanın katılımcıları, resmi bir özel eğitim ortaokulunda eğitim alan altıncı sınıf, hafif düzeyde zihin yetersizliği olan 11 öğrenci, öğrencilerin aileleri, iki zihin engelliler sınıf öğretmeni, geçerlik komitesi ve tez izleme komitesi üyeleri ve araştırmacıdır. Araştırma verileri, görüntü kayıtları, saha notları, araştırmacı günlüğü, günlük ders planları, geçerlik komitesi toplantı kararları, öğretmenler ile yapılan yansıtma ve birlikte planlama toplantısı kararları, yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler, süreç ürünleri, ölçüt bağımlı test, kontrol listeleri ve resmi belgelerden elde edilmiştir. Araştırma sürecinde ve sonunda elde edilen veriler içerik analizi tekniği ile Nvivo 10 programında analiz edilmiştir.Bulgular, entegrasyon sürecinde öğrenci gereksinimlerinin belirlenmesinin, öğrenci gereksinimlerine göre elektronik içeriklerin temin edilmesi ve geliştirilmesinin, öğretim etkinliklerinin planlanmasının önemli aşamalar olduğunu göstermiştir. Bunun yanında araştırma, doğal bir öğretim ortamında teknoloji entegrasyonunda karşılaşılabilecek sorunlara ilişkin çok detaylı veriler sunmuştur. Teknolojinin öğretim etkinliklerinde kullanımı sırasında karşılaşılan sorunların yeni davranış probemlerine yol açabileceği, öğretmenlerin bu durumlara ilişkin önlemler almaları gerektiği vurgulanmıştır. Teknolojinin Fen ve Teknoloji dersi programına entegrasyonu ile öğrencilerin akademik performanslarında gelişmeler kaydedilmiştir. Ayrıca, uygulamanın öğretmenlere de olumlu katkılar sağladığı belirlenmiştir. Alan yazındaki diğer çalışmalar ışığında bulgular tartışılarak uygulamaya ve ileri araştırmalara yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur

"Tricky to get your head around": Information work of people managing chronic kidney disease in the UK

People diagnosed with a chronic health condition have many information needs which healthcare providers, patient groups, and resource designers seek to support. However, as a disease progresses, knowing when, how, and for what purposes patients want to interact with and construct personal meaning from health-related information is still unclear. This paper presents findings regarding the information work of chronic kidney disease patients. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 patients and 6 clinicians, and observations at 9 patient group events. We used the stages of the information journey – recognizing need, seeking, interpreting, and using information – to frame our data analysis. We identified two distinct but often overlapping information work phases, ‘Learning’ and ‘Living With’ a chronic condition to show how patient information work activities shift over time. We also describe social and individual factors influencing information work, and discuss technology design opportunities including customized education and collaboration tools