Digital Literacy: The Impact of a Blended Learning Model on Student Motivation and Achievement

Educators continue to search for a balance between preparing students for a marketable future and integrating face-to-face instruction. Many factors influence various educational models related to best instructional methodologies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between student perceptions regarding student motivation to read and the corresponding effect on student achievement within a blended learning environment. This mixed methods study determined whether the use of digital collaborative learning, as it applies to literacy, within a blended learning environment would have any corresponding effects on student motivation and achievement. Participants included fifth-grade students at the elementary level and students enrolled in a teacher cadet course at the secondary level. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t tests, while qualitative data were coded for themes. The results of the study led to a revised conceptual framework that included a personalized learning component. A key finding emerged at the conclusion of the study: Data indicated increased levels of engagement and overall enthusiasm for reading in a blended learning environment. Two secondary findings included: The teacher cadets believed the use of digital collaborative literacy in a blended learning environment served to provide students with an individualized, targeted focus on reading instruction and a significant difference existed in participant pre and posttest scores, with student levels of achievement having increased at the conclusion of the study. The results of the study indicate the use of digital collaborative literacy within a blended learning environment has a direct impact on student motivation, engagement, and achievement

Claus/claws: A journey through Leonardland\u27s multivalent meanings

This exhibition paper presents the linkage of apparently unrelated topic and content. This arduous task is accomplished through an exploration of opposites and an overall presentation in the form of family fun or domestic distress disguised within personal world and the overall umbrella of homonyms: Claus (as in Santa) and Claws (as in cat). The work presented is a view of Leonardland, an intensely personal vision of my family and our history melded into a proposed future as seen through a wild conglomeration of seemingly dissimilar visions comprising the eclectic cultural mix that is our life on this geographic and cultural border. The nature of the artwork itself is described as narrative and contemplative. The text first provides an introduction, which sheds light on my artistic intentions, an artist statement follows, composed of philosophy and intent propelling the artwork. A rationale for Leonardland is established through the creation and explanation of an alter ego: Leonardclaus. The text then becomes interactive with a large-scale riddle in the form of an algebra exam of sorts, a remnant from my prior (and who know maybe future) career and a body that is broken into the examination of the Leonardclaus psyche and its development coupled with the integration and multiplication of a feline family. My primary objective in this paper is to attempt to connect the vast and far-flung forces of family life, from economics to ergonomics, to the vast and disparate imagery that made up my world through the Claus/Claws body of work. In addition the establishment of present historical precedence, present future possibility is undertaken, as well as a presentation of any personally unique technical wrinkles

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Proceedings from the National Technology Assessment Workshop on Animal Assisted Programs for Youth At Risk

Workshop held December 6-7, 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland Co-sponsored by Humane Society of the United States and Center for Prevention of Youth Violence of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health with support from the Laura J. Niles Foundationhttps://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/ebooks/1014/thumbnail.jp

Animal-assisted interventions as an adjunct to ABA services with children and youth with autism spectrum disorder

While the popularity of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) continues to increase, the empirical support to justify its use is still debatable. What is also largely absent from the extant literature are large-scale examinations of clinician populations that may incorporate AAI in their practices. This survey study was conducted to examine the use, perceptions, and knowledge of animal incorporation practices incorporated into ABA services by ABA clinicians that serve children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A total of 544 ABA clinicians within the United States completed the web-based survey instrument. Data confirmed that respondents have not only considered the incorporation of animals into ABA services, but a meaningful number have also engaged in animal incorporation practices. Dogs were the most frequently incorporated animal with intervention and animal characteristics variable across respondents. Respondents reported animal incorporation as desirable and feasible, but had generally low levels of knowledge about animal-assisted interventions. Perceptions of the effects of human-animal interactions on children and youth with ASD were overall positive. Results of this study uncovered a number of concerns related to professional implications and animal welfare

Time In, Time Out: Resilience Narratives of Formerly Incarcerated Emerging Adults

The aim of this study was to examine the perspectives of formerly incarcerated emerging adults in an effort to learn more about their socio-ecological resilience, negotiating identity in emerging adulthood, and aspects of coping. In this study, six emerging adults who had been incarcerated for at least 6 months during adolescence, living in the community for at least 6 months since being released, and not on probation or parole were interviewed using a narrative inquiry approach. Their stories were analyzed using a staged-process, and themes emerged across the domains of recapturing identity, outlining character, and internalized coping. These findings clarify some of the hidden resilience processes that exist for incarcerated youth and formerly incarcerated emerging adults in an effort to inform prevention, intervention, and transition practices