The design of a synchronous virtual writing clinic

[[abstract]]The design of an online synchronous writing clinic is described. Two novel mechanisms have been designed to provide the two fundamental capabilities for the clinic: (1) synchronous text co-editing, and (2) Internet voice delivery. Therefore, the participants are able to synchronously edit a common text file on-line with voice communication support by using the synchronous text co-editing tool. Furthermore, the designed policy-based forward error correction voice transmission mechanism delivers good voice conversation quality when handling delay, jitter, and packet loss on the Internet. The developed system not only has great value in supporting applications such as CSCW, Internet Telephony, or Multimedia Instruction on Demand (MID), but also has been applied in the area of Distance Language Learning by exploiting the integration of computer and networking capabilities with linguistic and pedagogical principles.＿[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國內[[incitationindex]]EI[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]TW

Making the Connection: Moore’s Theory of Transactional Distance and Its Relevance to the Use of a Virtual Classroom in Postgraduate Online Teacher Education

This study explored the use of the Web-based virtual environment, Adobe Connect Pro, in a postgraduate online teacher education programme at the University of Waikato. It applied the tenets of Moore’s Theory of Transactional Distance (Moore, 1997) in examining the efficacy of using the virtual classroom to promote quality dialogue and explored how both internal and external structural elements related to the purpose and use of the classroom affected the sense of learner autonomy. The study provides an illustration of the complexity of the relationship that exists between the elements of Moore’s theory, and how the implementation of an external structuring technology such as the virtual classroom, can have both positive impacts (dialogue creation) and negative impacts (diminished sense of learner autonomy). It also suggests that, although Moore’s theory provides a useful conceptual “lens” through which to analyse online learning practices, its tenets may need revisiting to reflect the move toward the use of synchronous communication tools in online distance learning

Distance Learning Questionnaire Findings

Distance learning is now a central component of the law school curriculum. The COVID-19 pandemic forced law schools to engage in emergency remote teaching after in-person instruction became too dangerous. As a result, nearly every law school is now engaging in some form of distance learning, at least temporarily. Fortunately, sophisticated models exist for both synchronous and asynchronous online learning. And online delivery of the J.D. curriculum is not brand new to legal education. There are hundreds of practicing lawyers today who earned their law degrees through programs that were delivered in significant part online. Just prior to the sudden, temporary shift from in-person instruction in the spring of 2020, there were four law schools that were operating under variances from ABA rules restricting the number of J.D. credit-hours that could be delivered online, and other non-ABA law schools have had online J.D. programs for some time

Recommendations for Online Teaching

This is a collection of recommendations drawn from a variety of sources, including our colleagues, students, webinars, books, articles, podcasts, and our own experimentation. It is not our expectation that any individual professor would adopt all of these suggestions and indeed no one of us intends to. Instead, we hope that some of these are helpful to you. Some suggestions deal with the nuts and bolts of teaching online while others with how to accomplish broader goals. The general recommendations are broadly applicable to all courses taught online, while the individual class-type recommendations are intended to complement and augment the general recommendations. Additionally, these recommendations will be revised as we continue to learn from our experiences in online instruction

The effectiveness of interventions for optometric referrals into the hospital eye service: A review

Purpose: Ophthalmic services are currently under considerable stress; in the UK, ophthalmology departments have the highest number of outpatient appointments of any department within the National Health Service. Recognising the need for intervention, several approaches have been trialled to tackle the high numbers of false-positive referrals initiated in primary care and seen face to face within the hospital eye service (HES). In this mixed-methods narrative synthesis, we explored interventions based on their clinical impact, cost and acceptability to determine whether they are clinically effective, safe and sustainable. A systematic literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE and CINAHL, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), was used to identify appropriate studies published between December 2001 and December 2022. Recent Findings: A total of 55 studies were reviewed. Four main interventions were assessed, where two studies covered more than one type: training and guidelines (n = 8), referral filtering schemes (n = 32), asynchronous teleophthalmology (n = 13) and synchronous teleophthalmology (n = 5). All four approaches demonstrated effectiveness for reducing false-positive referrals to the HES. There was sufficient evidence for stakeholder acceptance and cost-effectiveness of referral filtering schemes; however, cost comparisons involved assumptions. Referral filtering and asynchronous teleophthalmology reported moderate levels of false-negative cases (2%–20%), defined as discharged patients requiring HES monitoring. Summary: The effectiveness of interventions varied depending on which outcome and stakeholder was considered. More studies are required to explore stakeholder opinions around all interventions. In order to maximise clinical safety, it may be appropriate to combine more than one approach, such as referral filtering schemes with virtual review of discharged patients to assess the rate of false-negative cases. The implementation of a successful intervention is more complex than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and there is potential space for newer types of interventions, such as artificial intelligence clinical support systems within the referral pathway

Adventures in [A]Synchrony: Tools and Strategies for the Network Arts-Curious Music Educator

Networked Music Performance (NMP) is ensemble music mediated by a network such as the internet. NMP can be usefully divided into asynchronous and synchronous formats. Prototypical examples of the asynchronous format familiar to music educators are Eric Whitacre’s virtual choirs that began in 2009. A decade later, the virtual ensemble format exploded in popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the format does not allow participants to interact with one another, virtual ensembles nonetheless provide ample opportunities for both musical and nonmusical benefits. Synchronous NMP is, by comparison, little known and rarely practiced by music educators. However, both types of remote musical projects are possible given the proper digital tools. In this article, I share the process and experience of leading two asynchronous music projects and one synchronous (i.e., low latency) music clinic. For each of the above, I will describe the objectives and method, name the digital tools used, and suggest strategies for implementation by educators. I will then discuss the bivalent nature of equity considerations presented by NMP and conclude with implications for the future use of NMP tools and pedagogy in music education

A telehealth approach to improving clinical trial access for infants with tuberous sclerosis complex.

BackgroundResearch in rare genetic syndromes associated with ASD is often hampered by the wide geographic distribution of families and the presence of medical comorbidities, such as epilepsy, that may preclude travel to clinical sites. These challenges can limit the sample size and generalizability of the cohorts included in both natural history studies and clinical trials. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare genetic syndrome that confers an elevated risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with social communication delays identified in this population as early as 12 months of age. Early identification of risk necessitates parallel testing of early intervention, prompting the first randomized controlled clinical trial of behavioral intervention for infants with TSC (NCT03422367). However, considerable early recruitment challenges have mandated the systematic identification of enrollment barriers followed by modification of the study design to address these barriers.MethodsCaregivers were interviewed regarding barriers to enrollment (phase 1). Adaptations to the intervention were made to address these barriers (phase 2). Outcomes based on this modification to the study design were defined by enrollment rate and participant demographics.ResultsQualitative reports from caregivers indicated that distance and time were the primary barriers to clinical trial enrollment. The intervention was then modified to a remote model, with at-home, parent-delivered intervention, and weekly video conferencing with interventionists at the study sites. Enrollment increased 10-fold (from 3 to 30 participants) within 1 year and included a more diverse and clinically representative cohort of infants.ConclusionThe design and implementation of more scalable methods to disseminate research remotely can substantially improve access to clinical trials in rare neurodevelopmental disorders. The lessons learned from this trial can serve as a model for future studies not only in rare conditions, but in other populations that lack adequate access, such as families with limited financial or clinical resources. Continued efforts will further refine delivery methods to enhance efficiency and ease of these delivery systems for families

School-Based Telemedicine Interventions for Asthma: A Systematic Review.

BackgroundSchool health systems are increasingly investing in telemedicine platforms to address acute and chronic illnesses. Asthma, the most common chronic illness in childhood, is of particular interest given its high burden on school absenteeism.ObjectiveConduct a systematic review evaluating impact of school-based telemedicine programs on improving asthma-related outcomes.Data sourcesPubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, Embase, and Google Scholar.Study eligibility criteriaOriginal research, including quasi-experimental studies, without restriction on the type of telemedicine.ParticipantsSchool-aged pediatric patients with asthma and their families.InterventionsSchool-based telemedicine.Study appraisal and synthesis methodsTwo authors independently screened each abstract, conducted full-text review, assessed study quality, and extracted information. A third author resolved disagreements.ResultsOf 371 articles identified, 7 were included for the review. Outcomes of interest were asthma symptom-free days, asthma symptom frequency, quality of life, health care utilization, school absences, and spirometry. Four of 7 studies reported significant increases in symptom-free days and/or decrease in symptom frequency. Five of 6 reported increases in at least one quality-of-life metric, 2 of 7 reported a decrease in at least 1 health care utilization metric, 1 of 3 showed reductions in school absences, and 1 of 2 reported improvements in spirometry measures.LimitationsVariability in intervention designs and outcome measures make comparisons and quantitative analyses across studies difficult. Only 2 of 7 studies were randomized controlled trials.Conclusions and implications of key findingsHigh-quality evidence supporting the use of school-based telemedicine programs to improve patient outcomes is limited. While available evidence suggests benefit, only 2 comparative trials were identified, and the contribution of telemedicine to these studies' results is unclear