E-Learning στη Νότια Αυστραλία. Η χρήση των νέων τεχνολογιών στη διδασκαλία της Νέας Ελληνικής σε σχολεία της Νότιας Αυστραλίας

Please note: this article is in Greek. E-Learning of Modern Greek in South Australian schools: This paper attempts to look into the usage of new technologies in teaching Modern Greek in five South Australian Schools, four of them public and one independent. A questionnaire was given to one hundred students with the objective of collecting and analyzing the results. Based on the data collected, a number of conclusions were drawn regarding whether new technologies are actually used, to what extent, and what should be done to utilize them with the best outcome in the future

Planning for authentic language assessment in higher education synchronous online environments

The teaching of some languages in Australia is under threat due substantially to small enrolments. There is considerable need to preserve Australia’s community languages as part of the country’s cultural and linguistic diversity. However, it can be difficult to generate sufficient numbers to sustain the provision of a specific language course in any one location in Australia. Online technologies can provide a solution to this problem. According to the New Media Consortium Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition “education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning and collaborative models”. Models such as these present a possible solution to the problems associated with providing small enrolment language topics such as Modern Greek. The Logos Australian Centre for Hellenic Language and Culture was established at Flinders University in 2011. Promotion and preservation of Greek language and culture is the focus of the centre which is funded by the South Australian Government with support from the Greek Government. In 2012 the centre moved towards enhancing the delivery of Modern Greek by developing and delivering four language topics and two culture topics online. The delivery of these topics identified assessment as an area which needs further investigation. This paper describes the importance of an assessment strategy for foreign language (FL) learning which is based on the principles of authentic assessment and describes how synchronous technologies can support this strategy

Modern Greek at tertiary level: applying innovative methods of effective assessment and delivery online

In a determined effort to preserve the Modern Greek language as an important part of Australia’s cultural and linguistic diversity, the Logos Australian Centre for Hellenic Language and Culture established at Flinders University in South Australia in 2011 has been enhancing the delivery of Modern Greek and enabling a wider delivery of this small enrolment language by developing online content and an effective model for delivery via synchronous and asynchronous technologies. Six Modern Greek language topics, two cultural topics and some extension materials have been developed and delivered online via the university’s learning management system known as Flinders Learning Online (FLO)

On the mechanism of the Au(I)‐mediated addition of alkynes to anthranils to furnish 7‐acylindoles

Indole is a very common structural motif in alkaloids with a remarkable history in pharma industry. In the continuous search for more direct and efficient access to these valuable structures, a new and rather elegant approach was found by Jin and coworkers, which involved a gold(I)-mediated addition of alkynes onto anthralins. This approach selectively furnishes 7-acylindoles in a rather expeditious way, and it has been shown to be compatible with a large range of decorated reactants, both at the alkyne side and at the anthralin side. We studied the mechanism of this reaction with a set of different alkynes, including disubstituted ones, to establish similarities and differences between them and to aid in the elucidation of key steps in the reaction pathway. The observed regioselectivity seems to be connected to the irreversible formation of a key α-imino gold carbene intermediate, common to all reaction profiles, through the initial regioselective nucleophilic attack of the anthranil N atom onto the alkyne fragment.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/41Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020‐115789GB‐C22Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Accepting the blogging challenge: Modern Greek Language Teaching at Tertiary Level

Since the early 2000s, the educational merit of Web 2.0 authoring in the format of blogging has been widely promoted. In the higher education context, blogs have been used successfully for a wide range of purposes including to develop learner autonomy and intercultural competence (Lee, 2011); to increase student motivation to learn from peers via online interaction in the form of blog comments (Yang Chang, 2012); to support students during internships and placements (Chu, Chan Tiwari, 2012); ‘to develop literary, communicative and digital skills’ (Neira-Piñeiro, 2015: 555); to create an inclusive, communicative learning environment (Kim, 2012); to achieve reflective learning (Muncy, 2014) and as part of an assessment process in which student blogs were tracked ‘with the aim of improving self-reflective processes and providing feedback’(Ion, Cano Ferrer, 2014: 238)

Formation and intramolecular capture of α-imino gold carbenoids in the Au(I)-catalyzed [3 + 2] reaction of anthranils, 1,2,4-oxadiazoles, and 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazoles with ynamides

α-Imino gold carbenoid species have been recognized as key intermediates in a plethora of processes involving gold-activated alkynes. Here, we explored the pathways of the Au(I)-catalyzed [3 + 2] reaction between the mild nucleophiles: anthranil, 1,2,4-oxadiazole, or 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazole, and an ynamide, PhC≡C-N(Ts)Me, proceeding via the formation of the aforementioned α-imino gold carbene intermediate which, after intramolecular capture, regioselectively produces 2-amino-3-phenyl-7-acyl indoles, N-acyl-5-aminoimidazoles, or N-alkyl-4-aminoimidazoles, respectively. In all cases, the regioselectivity of the substituents at 2, 3 in the 7-acyl-indole ring and 4, 5 in the substituted imidazole ring is decided at the first transition state, involving the attack of nitrogen on the C1 or C2 carbon of the activated ynamide. A subsequent and steep energy drop furnishes the key α-imino gold carbene. These features are more pronounced for anthranil and 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazole reactions. Strikingly, in the 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazole reaction the significant drop of energy is due to the formation of an unstable α-imino gold carbene, which after a spontaneous benzaldehyde elimination is converted to a stabilized one. Compared to anthranil, the reaction pathways for 1,2,4-oxadiazoles or 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazoles are found to be significantly more complex than anticipated in the original research. For instance, compared to the formation of a five-member ring from the α-imino gold carbene, one competitive route involves the formation of intermediates consisting of a four-member ring condensed with a three-member ring, which after a metathesis and ring expansion led to the imidazole ring.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. PID2020-115789GB-C22Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2021/41Chiesi Hellas | Ref. 1035