Preparing Higher Education Tutors for Delivering Online Courses

This paper identifies that academic staff need to be suitably prepared to deliver wholly online courses, and outlines the steps taken towards achieving this, at one Higher Education institution in the UK. E-learning, whether partially (blended) or wholly online, is not simply about the technology, but also requires an understanding of the pedagogical considerations, and the skills that are needed, to effectively facilitate them. Through the use of a formal questionnaire, and collation of informal comments made on a social network, evaluation is made of a staff development course designed specifically to promote effective facilitation of high quality online courses. The results determined that the course is fit for purpose and achieves its aims. Future cohorts are already over-subscribed as a result of positive commentary by participants. Further developments will be made, based upon constructive feedback by participants. Whilst possibly not unique, this course demonstrates action being taken in an educational institution to recognise that effective online delivery requires specific knowledge and skills that are different from those used in the traditional classroom

Georgiana Molloy, botanical networks and naming in 19th century Western Australia

In her book Through Other Continents: American Literature through Deep Time (Princeton UP, 2006), Wai Chee Dimock argues for a new approach to envisaging nations and their literary productions. Rather than perceiving a nation’s literary output as coterminous with its history, one could conceive of it as ‘a criss-crossing set of pathways, open-ended and ever-multiplying, weaving in and out of other geographies, other languages and cultures’. Dimock refers to this ‘tangle of relations’ as ‘deep time’—not bound by definitive dates such 1788, when Arthur Phillip jammed a pole in the sand of Port Jackson—but stretching across several temporalities and geographies.If time is conceptualised not as a linear progression, but as ‘a structure of evolving relations’, then new interpretative frameworks such as capitalism, world religions, or the morphology of langauge are needed to understand developments in earth’s history. This essay proposes one more means of understanding time: botany and the naming of plants. Specifically, it focuses upon the networks formed by Georgiana Molloy, who emigrated from Carlisle, England, to south west Western Australia in 1829.Molloy began collecting specimens and seeds for amateur botanist Captain James Mangles of London in 1837. As she was often weighed down by domestic labour, she requisitioned Noongars, soldiers, her children, and her husband in her collecting efforts. When her seeds were sent to England, Mangles distributed them among his botanical networks. Meanwhile, Molloy solicited the names for the plants she found from Mangles and Noongars alike.The web of relations created by exchanging seeds and words within the south west, between England and Australia, and between white and Aboriginal people, disrupts the notion that Australia’s history and literature is coterminous with English settlement. It also defies the concept that Australia is a nation defined by its coastline. Rather, it is a country brought into our consciousness through networks which stretch beyond these coasts through the dispersal of, among other things, plants and their names

Georgiana Molloy, Botanical Networks and Naming in 19th Century Western Australia

In her book Through Other Continents: American Literature through Deep Time (Princeton UP, 2006), Wai Chee Dimock argues for a new approach to envisaging nations and their literary productions. Rather than perceiving a nation’s literary output as coterminous with its history, one could conceive of it as ‘a criss-crossing set of pathways, open-ended and ever-multiplying, weaving in and out of other geographies, other languages and cultures’. Dimock refers to this ‘tangle of relations’ as ‘deep time’—not bound by definitive dates such 1788, when Arthur Phillip jammed a pole in the sand of Port Jackson—but stretching across several temporalities and geographies.If time is conceptualised not as a linear progression, but as ‘a structure of evolving relations’, then new interpretative frameworks such as capitalism, world religions, or the morphology of langauge are needed to understand developments in earth’s history. This essay proposes one more means of understanding time: botany and the naming of plants. Specifically, it focuses upon the networks formed by Georgiana Molloy, who emigrated from Carlisle, England, to south west Western Australia in 1829.Molloy began collecting specimens and seeds for amateur botanist Captain James Mangles of London in 1837. As she was often weighed down by domestic labour, she requisitioned Noongars, soldiers, her children, and her husband in her collecting efforts. When her seeds were sent to England, Mangles distributed them among his botanical networks. Meanwhile, Molloy solicited the names for the plants she found from Mangles and Noongars alike.The web of relations created by exchanging seeds and words within the south west, between England and Australia, and between white and Aboriginal people, disrupts the notion that Australia’s history and literature is coterminous with English settlement. It also defies the concept that Australia is a nation defined by its coastline. Rather, it is a country brought into our consciousness through networks which stretch beyond these coasts through the dispersal of, among other things, plants and their names

Cathy Perkins, The Shelf Life of Zora Cross

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Assessing Teachers\u27 Need for Classroom Management Training: Can Consultants Link Data to Evidence-Based Practices?

The present study examined whether 53 observers could use the Five in 20 Observation Tool to accurately identify teachers needing additional classroom management training. The Five in 20 Classroom Observation Tool includes 21, evidence-based classroom management strategies, critical to effective classroom management. Fifty-three observers were recruited to complete 42 (42 primary observers and 11 reliability observers), 20-minute observations using the Five in 20 Tool. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 29 observers participated in the recalled format and 24 participated in the live version. There was a statistically significant difference between observers who indicated fewer, or lower quality evidence-based strategies were observed (i.e., Lower Quality Rating Score) and teachers needing additional training compared to observers who indicated more, or higher quality evidence-based strategies were observed (i.e., Higher Quality Rating Score) and teachers not needing additional training. Overall observer-recommendation alignment was low (68%) and school psychologists had a higher percentage of observer- recommendation alignment (80%) compared to non-school psychologists (44%). Finally, five of the 53 observers watched and coded a 20-minute video. Observers codes were compared to a key and Cohen’s Kappa calculations reflected moderate to substantial agreement between the five observers and the key. Future research and implications of these findings are discussed

Asymmetric directional microphone fittings for individuals with an asymmetric hearing loss

The present study investigated the effects of asymmetric directional microphone fittings on participants\u27 acceptance of background noise and speech understanding in noise abilities. Thirteen adult, bilateral hearing aid users or non-hearing aid users with bilateral asymmetrical sensorineural hearing loss were fit binaurally with four different microphone conditions (i.e., bilateral omnidirectional, asymmetric directional poorer ear, asymmetric directional better ear, and bilateral directional) and monaurally with two microphone conditions (i.e., unilateral directional better ear and unilateral omnidirectional better ear). The amplification used was a pair of Siemens Intuis directional behind-the-ear hearing aids and comply earmolds. The results indicated speech understanding in noise abilities are enhanced when fit with an asymmetric directional better ear microphone fitting (i.e., directional microphone on the better ear and omnidirectional microphone on the poorer ear) or bilateral directional microphone fitting as compare to a bilateral omnidirectional microphone fitting. In the monaural conditions, speech understanding in noise ability improved when using a unilateral directional microphone as compared to a unilateral omnidirectional microphone (Note: For the monaural conditions, the directional microphone was coupled to the better ear and poorer ear was plugged). Next, speech understanding in noise ability is not affected when utilizing a unilateral directional microphone fitting as compared to an asymmetric directional better ear microphone configuration. The results further revealed that acceptance of background noise was similar for all microphone configurations (i.e., bilateral omnidirectional, asymmetric directional poorer ear, asymmetric directional better ear, or bilateral directional) for listeners with asymmetric hearing loss. These results indicate that willingness to accept background noise is unchanged in the binaural microphone conditions. When comparing the monaural fitting conditions, the unilateral directional fitting provided significantly greater acceptance of background noise compared to the unilateral omnidirectional microphone fitting, indicating a person is more willing to accept background noise (i.e., more willing to wear hearing aids) with a unilateral directional microphone versus a unilateral omnidirectional microphone. Therefore, when considering a monaural hearing aid fitting a directional microphone should be considered. When comparing the binaural asymmetric directional better ear condition to the monaural directional microphone condition, there was difference in a person\u27s willingness to accept background noise. Therefore, a person\u27s willingness to wear amplification would be unaffected when fit monaurally or binaurally, as long a directional microphone is on the better ear

[Review]Iris Ralph, Packing Death in Australian Literature: Ecosides and Eco-Sides, Routledge, 2022, 174pp.

At first glance, a review of Iris Ralph’s Packing Death in Australian Literature (2020) does not fit neatly into an issue themed ‘Strange/Letters’, for, as Ralph’s acknowledgements page indicates, this book grew out of the inaugural 2005 conference of ASLEC-ANZ (then known as ASLE-ANZ). However, Ralph’s analysis, which ‘addresses plants and animals in Australia and its literature’ (1), is very much about strangeness if we consider that, until fairly recently, the contemplation of the nonhuman was an unfamiliar approach to Australian literary criticism

Adapting the “Get Real” Curriculum: improving Sexual Health in School Age Children

Adapting the Get Real Curriculum: Improving Sexual Health in School Age Children Jessica L. White Background: Vermont does not have standardized sexual health education. Curriculums such as “Get Real” have been shown to increase the age of sexual debut in middle school students and improve their relationships with parents. One barrier to implementing “Get Real” in Vermont is it has not been adapted to match the health proficiencies required by the Vermont Department of Education for students to graduate middle school. Purpose: Increase buy-in of curriculum by Vermont school districts by applying proficiencies and adaptations to meet graduation criteria. Methods: “Get Real” was adapted to meet the new health proficiencies implemented by the Vermont Department of Education via a quality improvement project. The curriculum was reviewed, health proficiencies were matched to each lesson and lessons adapted to meet proficiencies. Qualitative data from school districts was collected to assess buy-in. This project focused on Chittenden east, Milton and Orange North school districts. Results: Health proficiencies were met by all lessons in the middle school curriculum. Adaptations facilitated teachers’ decisions to choose certain lessons that were time and content effective. Further intended results will be the adoption of the “Get Real” curriculum by middle schools around the state of Vermont. Conclusions: The Get Real middle school curriculum meets the Vermont Department of Education’s health proficiencies required to graduate from middle school. Adaptation of lessons allowed for a greater number of proficiencies to be met in classrooms with limited time for the curriculum. If these proficiencies improve buy-in by school districts in Vermont is still to be determined. Keywords: sexual health, health proficiencies, sex education curriculu