The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classrooms: a comprehensive study

In recent years the use of new technologies in educational systems has increased worldwide as digital cameras, personal computers, scanners, and easy-to-use software have become available to educators to harness the digital world. The impact of new technologies in educational contexts has been mostly positive as new technologies have given educators the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, skills, and therefore enhance the standard of education. Researchers have found that student engagement, achievement and motivation are enhanced through integration of such technologies. However, education systems still face many challenges: one of these challenges is how to enhance student engagement to provide better educational outcomes. It has become increasingly important to use innovative pedagogical models to engage learners. Digital storytelling is one of the innovative pedagogical approaches that can engage students in deep and meaningful learning. This research project aimed to create a constructivist learning environment with digital storytelling. The research investigated the pedagogical aspects of digital storytelling and the impact of digital storytelling on student learning when teachers and students use digital stories. A multi-site case study was conducted in one Australian school at primary and secondary levels. In selected classrooms, students and teachers had the opportunity to engage in innovative learning experiences based on digital storytelling. In order to enhance the reliability and validity of the research, multiple methods of data collection and analysis were used. Data was collected with qualitative and quantitative methods. An evaluation rubric was used to collect quantitative data, while interviews and observation were used to collect qualitative data. Data collection was guided by a mixed methods research design in order to evaluate if and how digital storytelling enhances teaching and learning outcomes. The findings from this study suggest that digital storytelling is a powerful tool to integrate instructional messages with learning activities to create more engaging and exciting learning environments. It is a meaningful approach for creating a constructivist learning environment based on novel principles of teaching and learning. Thus, this approach has the potential to enhance student engagement and provide better educational outcomes for learners

Cholinergic Activation of M2 Receptors Leads to Context-Dependent Modulation of Feedforward Inhibition in the Visual Thalamus

The temporal dynamics of inhibition within a neural network is a crucial determinant of information processing. Here, the authors describe in the visual thalamus how neuromodulation governs the magnitude and time course of inhibition in an input-dependent way

Protecting children from their families and themselves: State laws and the constitution

State laws provide a variety of means to protect children from self-inflicted or parentally-inflicted harm. In recent years, the Supreme Court has imposed stringent procedural requirements on juvenile delinquency laws. In the past year, however, the Court has refused to extend these procedural stringencies to analogous child-protective state laws. This article explores generally the rationale for court application, by constitutional mandate, of procedural safeguards to a broad range of child-protective legislation. The article suggests that some criminal-procedure rights are vitally important to protect children and their parents from inappropriate state interventions, but that wholesale application of all criminal rights, as if these laws were no different from criminal laws, unduly restricts proper application of these laws. Guidelines for determining what criminal rights should and should not be applied to child-protective legislation generally are suggested .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45257/1/10964_2005_Article_BF01537066.pd

A biophysical model of endocannabinoid-mediated short term depression in hippocampal inhibition

Memories are believed to be represented in the synaptic pathways of vastly interconnected networks of neurons. The plasticity of synapses, that is, their strengthening and weakening depending on neuronal activity, is believed to be the basis of learning and establishing memories. An increasing number of studies indicate that endocannabinoids have a widespread action on brain function through modulation of synap–tic transmission and plasticity. Recent experimental studies have characterised the role of endocannabinoids in mediating both short- and long-term synaptic plasticity in various brain regions including the hippocampus, a brain region strongly associated with cognitive functions, such as learning and memory. Here, we present a biophysically plausible model of cannabinoid retrograde signalling at the synaptic level and investigate how this signalling mediates depolarisation induced suppression of inhibition (DSI), a prominent form of shortterm synaptic depression in inhibitory transmission in hippocampus. The model successfully captures many of the key characteristics of DSI in the hippocampus, as observed experimentally, with a minimal yet sufficient mathematical description of the major signalling molecules and cascades involved. More specifically, this model serves as a framework to test hypotheses on the factors determining the variability of DSI and investigate under which conditions it can be evoked. The model reveals the frequency and duration bands in which the post-synaptic cell can be sufficiently stimulated to elicit DSI. Moreover, the model provides key insights on how the state of the inhibitory cell modulates DSI according to its firing rate and relative timing to the post-synaptic activation. Thus, it provides concrete suggestions to further investigate experimentally how DSI modulates and is modulated by neuronal activity in the brain. Importantly, this model serves as a stepping stone for future deciphering of the role of endocannabinoids in synaptic transmission as a feedback mechanism both at synaptic and network level

Photolysis-induced suppression of inhibition in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons

Whole cell patch clamp recording, Ca2+ measurement with ratiometric fluorescent dyes and photolysis of caged Ca2+ were combined to investigate the depolarization- and photolysis-induced suppression of inhibition (DSI and PSI) in rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells.A 5-s depolarization from −70 mV to 0 mV or a 6-s photolysis of nitrophenyl-EGTA (NPE) in cell bodies could each depress the frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) and the amplitude of evoked IPSCs while elevating intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i).Within a cell the elevation of [Ca2+]i induced by depolarization was inversely related to that induced by photolysis, suggesting that higher [NPE] is more effective in releasing caged Ca2+ but also increases buffer capacity to reduce [Ca2+]i rises caused by Ca2+ influx through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels.Both DSI and PSI were linearly related to [Ca2+]i, with a 50 % reduction in transmission occurring at about 3.6–3.9 μM.[Ca2+]i recovered more quickly than DSI, indicating that the duration of DSI is not set simply by the duration of [Ca2+]i elevation, but rather entails other rate-limiting processes.We conclude that DSI is activated by micromolar [Ca2+]i acting far from sites of Ca2+ entry through channels in the plasma membrane