Teachers\u27 perceptions of the application of instructional design elements in the distance teaching process

Educators use an instructional design process to improve instruction and to ensure learning. Faculty who teach at a distance must rely heavily on the instructional design process because of constraints in distance instruction. Thus, it is especially important for instructors to know, understand, and apply instructional design elements when planning to teaching at a distance. However, little research has been done in this field. Therefore, additional research has become the focus of this study. This study examines the perceptions of instructors at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Cedar Falls, Iowa, regarding how they understood and applied instructional design elements in the distance teaching process. A descriptive study approach was used with a mailed self-reporting questionnaire as the data collection instrument. A focus group of six distance educators pretested the questionnaire in April 2002. The study sample was instructors at UNI who had been involved in distance teaching using the Internet and interactive television (ITV). A convenience and unstratified sampling method was used to determine the participants. The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses concerning: (a) to what extent the instructors would report implementation of the elements of instructional design, (b) to what extent the instructors had taken advantage of opportunities provided by UNI (or elsewhere) to learn about distance teaching, and (c) what information would be gained that could promote better instruction at a distance at UNI. A combination of different kinds of scales were used in this study. Open-ended questions were also used to answer the questions in the questionnaire. The quantitative data were analyzed using statistical analysis procedures with the statistical package SPSS for Windows. A coding system was used to analyze the qualitative data. Chi-square tests were run on several demographic factors to determine if they significantly predicted results related to training for instructors using the Iowa Communication Network (ICN) and WebCT for distance learning, and training to help instructors design instruction using distance learning technologies. Results showed that generally most instructors at UNI could understand and apply the identified instructional design elements when they taught at a distance. The information from this study provides an understanding of how applying instructional design elements affects the instruction in distance education courses. The data acquired can provide administrators, instructional designers, and instructors in distance education with vital decision-making information for instructional design. Distance education program planners and educators can use this knowledge to improve the quality of distance teaching by making necessary resources and services available to them

Characteristics of Atrial Premature Beat ECG Signals on Variant Maps

Premature heartbeat is also known as extrasystole. It means the foundation of sinus or ectopic heart rhythm, a certain pacemaker in the heart excitable earlier than the basic rhythm, cause the heart to be local or all happening prematurely remove pole. Premature atrial beats may lead to cardiomyopathy. The experimental data in this chapter are provided by Xishan People’s Hospital of Wuxi city, including normal ECG signals and abnormal ECG signals (atrial premature beat). The two types of ECG data sequences are processed experimentally through the variant measurement model, and the differences in the variant maps are compared

Research on Site Coverage Distribution of Beijing Based on Geographic Information System

Site coverage is an important index to learn spatial development pattern of the city. In this paper, with the help of spatial analysis functions of GIS, buffer and sector analysis are imposed in pursuit of finding possible spatial distribution rules of Beijing taken flagpole in Tian’anmen square as center. The results of sector analysis indicate that the building densities in such superior geographical condition areas as southeast and south are higher. Building densities of northern and western areas are low because of their bad terrain. The results of buffer analysis indicate the density of city center is the highest and have a negative relation with the augment of distance. That is to say, the average building density of center areas (buffer 1, 2 and 3, about 7.5km away) is about 26%. The average building density of transition region of city and countryside (buffer 10~20, about 25~50km away from center) is about 9%. The average building density of exurbs (after buffer 20~50km away from center) can't reach to 3%

Educational Technology and Language Teaching: Research on the Application of Videos and Computers

One of the major problems with the use of educational technology in China is the lack of qualified teachers who know their academic field and the application of instructional technology as well. This problem inhibits the improvement of the Chinese instructional environment and the development of the Chinese educational cause. The purpose of this research paper is to present some of the most current research in the effective use of educational technology in foreign language teaching with the focus on two technologies: video and computer. Concerning video technology, different learning styles and the implications for language learning are analyzed; the benefit from using videos and applications involving videos used in semantics teaching and videos used in culture teaching in the second language classroom are presented. Regarding computer technology, the teaching /learning philosophy of computer assisted language learning (CALL) is discussed. After that the overall computer uses in CALL are described with capabilities of computer-based technology, and then CALL material design and CALL applications to the teaching of writing are explored. Some suggestions are given on how to fit educational technology into foreign language teaching in China in order to create a rich instructional environment and to achieve ,optimum learning

Différences en signature entre la Chine et l’Occident

La signature est à la fois un signe d’identité de l’auteur et un signe de certification servant à valider un document. Comme signe d’identité, la signature révèle les traits identitaires de l’auteur et permet de l’identifier. Pourtant, les traits identitaires portés par la signature sont différents selon les cultures. En Occident, la signature révèle davantage les traits identitaires liés à la personne de l’auteur, par exemple, la présence physique lors de la signature, un esprit normal, une volonté libre, etc. En Chine, la signature révèle plutôt les traits identitaires liés à la position sociale de l’auteur, par exemple, la reconnaissance du groupe, les relations avec les autres, etc. Comme signe de certification, la signature a besoin de la reconnaissance des autres pour avoir la force de validation, ce qui est pareil en Chine et en Occident. Mais les critères de reconnaissance peuvent différer d’une culture à l’autre. En Occident, on insiste sur la constance de la signature et met en avant la personnalité indépendante de l’auteur. En Chine, c’est surtout la lisibilité de la signature qui prime, car il faut que les autres savent qui a signé. La lisibilité l’emporte sur la constance.Signature is both a language symbol to express identity and a language behavior of certification. As an identity symbol, signature reflects the signer’s characteristic, which helps to recognize who the signer is by reading his signature. However, different cultures have different attitudes on the characteristics shown by signature. In the west, signature is a reflection more of the individual characters of the signer, such as the physical presence, the mental normality, the free expression of will, and the preservation of identity, and so on. In china, however, signature is a reflection more of social characters of the signer, such as his social status and his relations with other people. The validity of signature, a language behavior of certification, relies on the social recognition, but different cultures have different standards of recognition. In the west, people emphasize the identicalness of signature, and the individuality of the signer, whereas in China, people emphasize the recognizability of signature, and the social recognition of the signer

Body mass, Thermogenesis and energy metabolism in Tupaia belangeri during cold acclimation

In order to study the relationship between energy strategies and environmental temperature, basal metabolic rate (BMR), nonshivering thermogenesis (NST), the total protein contents, mitochondrial protein contents, state and state respiratory ability, cytochrome C oxidase activity Ⅲ Ⅳ of liver, heart, diaphragm, gastrocnemius and brown adipose tissue (BAT), serum leptin level and serum thyroid hormone levels were measured in tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) during cold exposure (5±1oC) for 1 day, 7 days,14days,21 days. The results showed that body mass increased, BMR and NST increased, the change of liver mitochondrial protein content was more acutely than total protein. The mitochondrial protein content of heart and BAT were significantly increased during cold-exposed, however the skeletal muscle more moderate reaction. The state Ⅲ and state Ⅳ mitochondrial respiration of these tissues were enhanced significantly than the control. The cytochrome C oxidase activity with cold acclimation also significantly increased except the gastrocnemius. Liver, muscle, BAT, heart and other organs were concerned with thermoregulation during the thermal regulation process above cold-exposed. There is a negative correlation between leptin level and body mass. These results suggested that T. belangeri enhanced thermogenic capacity during cold acclimation, and leptin participated in the regulation of energy balance and body weight in T. belangeri