Use and Reuse of OER: professional conversations with language teachers

In the last ten years prestigious Open Education Resources projects have been set up, often with generous support from funders. Funders and institutions that support OER want evidence of their use and reuse; it seems, however, that OER have not yet been widely adopted by teachers as part of their daily practice. This paper investigates the use and reuse of OER from a subject-specific repository for language teachers. In particular, the small scale study investigates how and why language teachers use OER in their teaching and rework existing resources. It also examines whether the teachers understand the resources and how to use and adapt them effectively, as an inability to do so has been considered an impediment to their reuse (Dimitriadis et al. (2009), Conole (2010b)). One of the difficulties in working with open resources and open practices is that “the open is the enemy of the knowable” (Beetham, 2011): investigating the adoption of OER and open practices is indeed not without difficulty, and this study proposes a qualitative enquiry based around professional conversations to investigate use and reuse of OER. The research found that, far from not engaging in reuse, the teachers in the study did adapt OER, although most of those changes were not published again. In addition, they drew on considerable professional knowledge when considering the use and reuse of OER for their lessons. The current study suggests that evidence of use and reuse cannot simply be gathered through metrics; some of the reuse and sharing is not necessarily visible, and sharing might not always be appropriate. It is possible that the adoption of more open educational practices will result in reuse and sharing of both resources and practices becoming more visible in the future but, for now, more research is needed to provide evidence of the “invisible” reuse and sharing

Effect of Susquehanna River stream flow on Chesapeake Bay salinities and history of past oyster mortalities on upper Bay bars

A study of possible causes for extensive mortality of oysters in the Upper Chesapeake Bay was taken on by year-round monitoring of conditions during a two-year period

Crab mortality on Chesapeake Bay shedding floats

Reports of high mortality resulting from the impoundment of crabs (Callinectes sapidus) during the preshedding period, to produce soft crabs, have been current in Maryland and Virginia for many years. The death rate of crabs on floats has been estimated by certain of the operators to run as high as 86% at Cape Charles, and to figures nearly as high at Crisfield and elsewhere during one season of the year. A study of this mortality and the factors influencing it have been in progress at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory for two seasons

The polyglot community: an interview with Richard Simcott, by Tita Beaven

The closing plenary session at the InnoConf17 conference was an informal interview that Tita Beaven conducted with Richard Simcott, which we reproduce here in an edited version

Motivation in a language MOOC: issues for course designers

Whilst several existing studies on foreign language learning have explored motivation in more traditional settings (Dörnyei, 2003), this paper presents one of the first studies on the motivation of participants in a MOOC. The MOOC, Travailler en français (https://sites.google.com/site/mooctravaillerenfrancais/home), was a 5-week open online course for learners of French at level B1 of the CEFR, and aimed to develop language and employability skills for working in a francophone country. It took place in early 2014 and attracted more than 1000 participants. Intrinsic motivation (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000), is directly linked to one’s enjoyment of accomplishing a task. We conducted a study based on the cognitive variables of the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), and adapted the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory to the context of a MOOC in order to understand the expectancy beliefs and task values of participants engaging with the MOOC. Participants answered a 40 Likert-type questions on enjoyment/ interest (i.e. I will enjoy doing this MOOC very much), perceived competence (i.e. I think I will be able to perform successfully in the MOOC), effort (i.e. I will put a lot of effort in this MOOC), value/usefulness (i.e. I think that doing this MOOC will be useful for developing my skills), felt pressure and tension (i.e. I think I might feel pressured while doing the MOOC) and relatedness (i.e. I think I will feel like I can really trust the other participants). Results highlight significant factors that could directly influence intrinsic motivation for learning in a MOOC environment. The chapter makes recommendations for LMOOC designers based on the emerging profile of MOOC participants, on their motivation and self-determination, as well as on the pressures they might feel, including time pressures. Finally, the extent to which participants relate to each other, and are able to engage in social learning and interaction, is a real challenge for LMOOC designers

The psychological demands of touch rugby

This study quantified and compared the internal and external match demands on regional and national standard male touch rugby players. It adopted an independent measures cohort design where nine regional players (mean age 25.5 ± 5.5 years, body mass 74.2 ± 7 kg, stature 174.1 ± 7 cm) and 12 national players (mean age 27.8 ± 6.2 years, body mass 72.8 ± 3.7 kg, stature 174.5 ± 5.4 cm) were analysed during competitive matches from the 2013 season using global satellite positioning technology (GPSports, Australia). This provided 33 regional and 55 national match files for analysis. Independent samples t-tests detected significant differences (p14 km·h-1) distance (m·min-1) (ES = 1.04), absolute low intensity ( 20 km·h-1) distance (m) (ES = 1.0), relative total sprint distance (m·min-1) (ES = 1.39), number and frequency of sprints performed (ES = 0.6 and 1.15, respectively), peak speed (km·h-1) (ES = 0.8) and average match speed (km·h-1) (ES = 0.8), average (ES = -0.61) and summated heart rate (ES = -1.7), and session RPE (ES = -1.7). It was concluded that as differences in match demands exist, coaches should make training as specific as possible, and by doing so, better prepare touch rugby players for competition. Furthermore, improving aerobic capacity and the quantity of sprint/high intensity work performed may assist those players transitioning from regional to national standard

Driving and latching of the Starlab pointing mirror doors

The Starlab Experiment, a major SDIO technology initiative, is an attached payload which will be delivered into Earth orbit aboard NASA's Space Shuttle in 1991. Starlab will generate and aim an 80 cm diameter laser beam into space through a large opening in the structure which houses the pointing mirror. Two doors, each somewhat larger than a desktop, cover the opening when the laser optics system is nonoperational. Latch Mechanism Assemblies hold the doors shut during liftoff and ascent and, again, during Orbiter reentry. Each door is powered by a Door Drive System during the many open/close cycles between various experiments. The design, testing, and resultant failure modes of these mechanisms are examined

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: reframing “deficit” as creative strength

Creative ideas are those that are both novel and useful. Creativity is considered to be a valuable social resource, which has supported the development of society in myriad domains. It has been suggested that behavioural indicators of creativity overlap with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Indeed, there is some preliminary evidence to suggest that individuals with ADHD may be more creative than individuals without ADHD. The first chapter of this thesis outlines the relevant research and theory and presents the ‘creative advantage hypothesis’. Specifically it is argued that defocused attention in individuals with ADHD increases the likelihood of unusual associations forming, thus increasing the likelihood of creative responses. The potential mediating roles of inhibition and delay aversion are also discussed. The second chapter of this thesis describes a study designed to test predictions of the creative advantage hypothesis. Parents of pupils in Year 8 were asked to rate their child’s level of inattentiveness and hyperactivity. Sixty six pupils completed a measure of figural creativity, inhibition and delay aversion in school. ADHD symptoms predicted creativity scores on one aspect of creativity, originality, and this effect was found in boys only. Inhibition and delay aversion were not found to mediate the relationship between ADHD symptomology and creativity in boys. Limitations and implications for Educational Psychologists and teachers are also discussed