A study of methods of evaluating multimedia materials for language learning

There is a long tradition of paper based materials evaluation in ELT, but at this juncture, a scarcity of studies on ELT Multimedia (MM) materials evaluation. Such studies as have been undertaken have tended to adopt the perspective of the materials developer rather than the end user. But there have been no developed studies of evaluation methods which could be adopted by potential users. Despite calls being made for systematic evaluation, not many proposals have been developed, and there has been little exploration of potential best practice, or of the 'goodness of fit' between methods and evaluation puposes. This study aims to investigate evaluation methods in order to establish best practice in the evaluation of multimedia CALL applications, with a focus on learners' experience and opinions, and with the aim of enabling potential teacher-users of CALL materials to gauge the suitability of materials for their learners. Chapter one of this thesis provides a rationale for this study and an overview of the background to this research. Chapter two presents a review of literature undertaken in four domains: educational evaluation and research methods; Human Computer Interaction (HCI) usability evaluation methods; ELT materials evaluation; and studies ofCALL materials in use. Chapter three focuses on the design and conduct of the study by explaining how some methods of evaluation were trialled in a pilot study and four were selected for adoption and analysis in the main study. The methods selected were Foeu.r Groups, Rttrospective Protorolr, PLUM and SUM! Questionnaires and Activity Monitonitg. To determine the qualities and limitations of these methods, a set of criteria was developed from the literature on software usability evaluation methods in HCI and a broader literature on educational evaluation and research methods. The four data study chapters (4-7) each discuss one of the chosen methods and descnbe how the method was ,6perationalised in an evaluation of learner responses to multimedia software. The final chapter draws together the discussion of the findings and presents different proposals for best practice. The focus in the discussion of findings is on how the chosen methods performed according to the set of criteria. The findings confirm that focus groups and questionnaires are quick and efficient methods whereas retrospective protocols and activity monitoring provide more detailed and protracted data. Teacher evaluators can be guided by the objectives of their evaluation to explore different combinations ofthese methods. Participants in the pilot were 12 ESL students from the University of Warwick and in the main study 45 Freshman/sophomore students from a university in Pakistan. The materials used to operationalise methods were the EASE CD-ROMS listening to Lectures and Seminar Skills 1: Presentations. The research contributes to the field in undertaking an in-depth and extensive study of evaluation methods applicable to CALL materials, whi~ adopt a leamer-centred perspective, and conform to sound principles within educational evaluation, yet which draw on practice in the field of HCI, since this expertise is so relevant in the rapid development of multimedia materials for use in ELT. Moreover, by developing the composite set of core criteria this study has created a tool which practitioners in the field can use to select most appropriate methods for their particular evaluation purposes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Lärares uppfattningar av lärande och undervisning utomhus

I denna artikel redovisas lärares uppfattningar av begreppet utomhuspedagogik.Inledningsvis belyses utomhuspedagogiken utifrån ett teoretiskt perspektiv,med en översikt över tidigare forskning inom området. Denna empiriskastudie visar att begreppet är mångfacetterat med tydliga kopplingartill platsen för lärandet, objektet för och sättet att lära, men även till miljöoch hälsa. Alla respondenter anger vikten av autenticitet, det vill säga avupplevelser av fenomen i sin rätta miljö – kroppen, materien, naturen blirdirekta objekt för lärandet. Behovet av integrering av kroppsrörelse ochsinnlig erfarenhet i skolans ämnen exempelvis matematik och naturorienteringframhålls i respondenternas didaktiska exempel på lärande och undervisningutomhus

Industrial doctoral students as brokers between industry and academia : Factors affecting their trajectories, learning at the boundaries and identity development

The authors look at the learning context for 23 industrial doctoral students and assess the prerequisites for the development of their identity as researchers. The students are located in three different industrial research schools - Management, Medical Bioinformatics and Building and Indoor Climate. The purpose of the study is to describe the students' total learning environment and to ascertain what factors influence, hinder or encourage their development within the doctoral education process. To achieve this, the authors use Lave and Wenger's situated learning theory, conceptual framework and, in particular, trajectory concept (Wenger 1998, 2000). By following the students' histories, participation and ways of belonging to different communities of practice, and their aspirations, huge variations in their learning trajectories can be documented. Six typical cases are elaborated in detail, with a specific focus on the students' participation in and belonging to the environments involved. The procedures for thesis project selection and supervision are two of the five factors scrutinized. However, the trajectory concept, while helpful in the investigation, had to be complemented. Other elements that needed scrutiny were the effects of differences in knowledge formation, unequal power relations and fluctuations in market requirements. Internal business reorganizations that change the company's focus, interests and personnel policies, and which in turn influence the students' progress and prospects, were also considered.Original Publication:Lillemor Wallgren and Lars Owe Dahlgren, Industrial doctoral students as brokers between industry and academia: Factors affecting their trajectories, learning at the boundaries and identity development, 2007, Industry & higher education, (21), 3, 195-210.Copyright 2007 IP Publishing Ltd. Reproduced by permission.http://www.ippublishing.com

Students as learners through the eyes of their teachers in Rwandan higher education

In this study, we aim to explore and thematically analyze higher education teachers’ notions about the most important problems related to students’ learning, including the teachers’ notions of the approaches to learning that the students adopt. The study was carried out in Rwanda with 25 university teachers engaged in group interviews. Inspired by the concepts of metaphors for learning and approaches to learning, five main categories of students’ learning problems were identified: dependence, physical and economic resources, experience of a deep approach to learning, reading culture, and previous preparation for higher education. These problems are interrelated and point to the need to understand study levels in education systems as being interdependent.

Diversity of soils and factors that influencing it in Vidzeme upland moraine's hilly area

Bakalaura darba mērķis ir novērtēt augšņu īpašību izmaiņas morēnu paugurainē un izstrādāt priekšlikumus augšņu kartēšanas metodoloģijai atbilstoši Latvijas un starptautiskajai FAO WRB augšņu klasifikācijai. Bakalaura darbā atspoguļota jauna informācija par augšņu morfoloģiskajām, ķīmiskajām un fizikāli ķīmiskajām īpašībām morēnas pauguraines katēnā, kā arī analizēta augšņu īpašību maiņa augsnes katēnā. Lielu daļu Latvijas teritorijas aizņem paugurains reljefs, kur novērojama strauja augšņu īpašību maiņa. Dažādos novietojumos mainās vairāki vides faktori, to skaitā gruntsūdens līmenis, mikroklimats, veģetācija un citi faktori, kas kopumā ietekmē augsnes fizikāli ķīmiskās un ķīmiskās īpašības. Pētītajā morēnas paugurainē tika konstatēta liela augšņu daudzveidība, kas izriet no vairāku faktoru savstarpējas mijiedarbības. Iegūto rezultātu analīze norāda uz izteiktu granulometriskā sastāva un mitruma režīma ietekmi uz augšņu īpašību maiņu morēnas pauguraines katēnā. Pētījuma rezultāti parāda augšņu kartēšanas problēmas, kuras nepieciešams atrisināt, lai uzlabotu dažādu ar vides aizsardzību saistītu jautājumu risinājumus.The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to measure the changes of soil properties in morainic hills and to bring forward suggestions regarding the methodology of soil mapping in accordance with Latvian and international FAO WRB soil classification. In this research, new information on morphological, chemical and physically chemical soil properties in catena of morainic hills is presented, and changes of soil properties in soil catena are analyzed. A significant part of the territory of Latvia is composed of hilly relief, in which rapid changes of soil properties can be observed. In different positions, numerous environmental factors change, including groundwater level, microclimate, vegetation, as well as other factors, which altogether influences the physically chemical and chemical soil properties. In the morainic hill which was researched in this paper, a vast variety of soils was detected as a result of interaction between different factors. The research result analysis shows a distinctive influence of texture and moisture regime on the changes of soil properties in catena of morainic hills. The results of this research expose problems related to soil mapping, which should be solved in order to improve the known solutions to various environmental problems