Scenario-based evaluation of an ethical framework for the use of digital media in learning and teaching

nterest in educational podcasting, audio feedback and media-enhanced learning, in its various forms, has grown due to the increased access academic staff and students have to new technologies. The benefits have been widely reported in the educational development and disciplinary literature on learning technology, mobile learning, digital age learning, and assessment and feedback. However, such literature focuses more on what can be done, rather than if it should be done. Hargreaves (2008) signals the need to balance ethical risk in the creative curriculum with actions that maximise beneficence, especially within the context of a sector that espouses to develop critical skills in learners. In a world of constantly developing technology, it is not always easy to appraise the implications of a pedagogic innovation. As practitioners concerned with academic development, our aim is to facilitate academics to reflect on their practice from a variety of perspectives, and we felt that an easy–to-use ethical framework could assist academics to identify potential ethical problems. The Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) is a UK network of academics, developers and learning technologists. They identified the need to consider the ethical risk associated with using digital media in response to examples described in recent literature, and ideas generated by its community. It was as a result of discussions at MELSIG that this collaborative work began. The three members of MELSIG were joined by a colleague with an interest in ethics but who was relatively inexperienced with new technologies. When this work began we looked primarily at digital media, but it is considered that such a framework can be used to appraise the use of other new technologies in learning and teaching. This paper will begin by giving a brief explanation of ethics, as a discipline, and the approach to ethics which underpins this framework. We will then discuss the results from a scenario-based evaluation of the framework, undertaken by the four authors. Following this evaluation, the framework is now being evaluated by a wider community of practitioners, on real examples, and continues to develop as it is exposed to wider use. However, it is considered that the initial scenario-based evaluation raised some interim findings that will be of interest to a wider audience

Succession and goose herbivory in monsoonal wetlands of the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India

Seasonal changes in vegetation in monsoonal wetlands in the Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India, are related to changes in mean water depths which are lowest just before the onset of the monsoon (June 1984; \u3c1 cm), highest immediately after the monsoon (October 1985; 89 cm). Water levels decline slowly over the winter (March 1985; 14 cm);Grazing by Greylag (Anser anser rubrirostris) and Barheaded (Anser indicus) creates openings in the emergent vegetation. The mean distance to open areas, i.e., areas free of vegetation, along grazed transects, before goose grazing was 193 m and after grazing, 43 m. For ungrazed transects, no change in mean distance to open water patches was observed during the same interval (344 m and 339 m, respectively). Seeds dispersed by the feeding and defecation of geese can potentially influence re-establishment of plants in openings;Areas grazed by geese have a seed bank that contains 19-50 species per m[superscript]2 and a total of 3,425-16,195 seedlings per m[superscript]2 as determined by the results of the moist soil and flooded treatments combined. During summer drawdown, annuals and seedlings of woody plants become established in open areas grazed by geese, but no seedlings of any species are found in ungrazed areas. The seed bank contains many species that were not found as adult plants in either grazed or ungrazed sites. Field observations, however, indicate that clonal growth of surviving individuals is primarily responsible for the re-establishment of vegetation in areas opened up by goose grazing, and that recruitment from the seed bank is only of secondary importance;In an experimental clipping study conducted in Bharatpur, India, four plant species were either clipped weekly, every two weeks, or left unclipped while growing at one of 3 water levels (0 cm, 3 cm, or 13 cm below the surface of the water). When clipped underwater, individuals of Ipomoea aquatica Forsk., Paspalidium punctatum A. Camus, and Paspalum distichum Linn., usually died but not those of Nymphoides cristatum Kuntze. In a companion field study in a monsoonal wetland in the nearby Keoladeo National Park, plants of Ipomoea aquatica and Paspalum distichum also usually died when clipped underwater

An interpretative journey into constructivism and primary science curriculum

The principle focus of this study has been a reflection on my planning methodology since 1988. Teachers planning from 19882002 was predominantly individual and was aided by the gradual introduction of State and Commonwealth produced documents. These documents assisted in topic choices and assessment outcomes.Important influences transformed my planning. The first occurred in 1996 and the second in 2002. In 1996 I was involved in the production of a resource kit for teachers titled, Its Working Career and Work Education, Kindergarten to Year 8. During the compilation of this resource kit my planning incorporated the 1995, Teaching and Learning in Science Planning Guide, which resembled constructivism by building knowledge and understanding. In 2002 the curriculum in Tasmanian State Schools was transformed with the introduction of the Essential Learnings Framework 1 and 2. This curriculum innovation had implications on teachers planning methodology with a strong emphasis on collaborative planning.Studies and critiques of environmental units were undertaken in 2000, 2003 and 2004 to ascertain the effectiveness of my planning methodology. The underlying principles of constructivism provided a lens to improve perceived deficiencies in my classroom practice. The inclusion of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) assisted in making constructivism visible. A strong purpose therefore evolved from the study; a more effective planning methodology

View to the future : mid-life women and retirement income planning : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Social Policy), Massey University

The focus of this research is to explore the way six mid-life women are planning for their retirement income. The research explores their aspirations for retirement and identifies factors which shape their expectations of retirement. The place of mid-life economic situation is taken into account as are financial decisions made relating to retirement income. Their information and knowledge about issues related to retirement income planning are explored. Overall this research aims to expand the understanding of mid-life women's planning and preparations for their retirement years. The study used a qualitative approach to enable women to express their own perspective so that personal thoughts and reflections could be explored; exposing individual responses and reasons for actions or inaction. This was underpinned with a feminist theoretical perspective shaping the literature review, the research methods and processes and the ultimate aim: to advance the place of women in retirement. The main findings are that state retirement income continues to be critical for women and that, in spite of high income levels compared to women generally, the participants will not be able to achieve a retirement income plan that will replace dependency on the welfare state. The study showed that when women have sufficient financial resources they plan for their future and make financial arrangements with an aim of improving their retirement. Income levels are critical. The women in this research could not make their plans without income they have. Homeownership and superannuation were the most common aspects of these arrangements. This research identifies issues for social policy development. Certainty of state retirement income provision is critical. The literature shows that levels of female income in New Zealand are inadequate for retirement income preparations to be anything other than a top up to state support. There is a need for further research with a quantitative basis across other groups of women so generalisations can be formed. In conclusion social policy must address inequitable pay experienced by women and how, with limited incomes, women can make the most of their mid-life opportunities to create the best retirement possible. To achieve this state retirement income policy must be adequate for basic living costs and as certain as possible

Vulnerability Assessment for Groundwater Dependent Streams

This guidance document “Vulnerability Assessment for Groundwater Dependent Streams”, describes a multi-step, risk-based approach for evaluating the vulnerability of groundwater dependent streams to changes in the aquifer system. There is a particular emphasis on the summer low flow period, because it is during this time that streams can be sensitive to changes in the aquifer system; however, in principle the methodology can be used to assess stream vulnerability year round

Mothers' and teachers' perceptions of social and independence skills in adolescents with moderate learning difficulties

Parents as partners was one of the cornerstones of the 1981\ud Education Act, emphasizing the importance of parental views and\ud involvement in the education of children with special needs.\ud Recent research suggests that mothers and teachers may disagree\ud over the social and independence skills of handicapped children,\ud although the direction of the disagreement is equivocable. The\ud present study looked at 19 young adolescents (12 - 15 years) with\ud moderate learning difficulties and 18 normal adolescents from a\ud total of 7 Inner London schools. The aim of the study was to look\ud at mothers' and teachers' perceptions of these children and see\ud how their perceptions related to children's interactions with\ud mothers and teachers.\ud The children were observed in their classrooms with their teachers\ud and at home with their mothers for an hour. Subsequently mothers\ud and teachers completed a questionnaire relating to specific social\ud and independence skills of these children. Finally a repertory\ud grid was used to explore the frame of reference mothers and\ud teachers used when judging children as socially mature.\ud Results showed that there was little relationship between the way\ud either set of children behaved at home and at school. Interactions\ud between children with moderate learning difficulties and adults\ud tended to be characterised by control and resistance; those between\ud normal children and adults by care, initiation and acceptance.\ud Although the two groups of children did not behave\ud differently at school, teachers behaved differently towards the\ud two groups.\ud There was very little agreement between mothers' and teachers'\ud ratings of both groups of children in specific social and independence\ud skills. Both mothers and teachers rated children with\ud moderate learning difficulties as less competent than normal\ud children in a number of areas, generally those where there might\ud be an element of danger or where the skill was complex.\ud 3\ud Despite construing social maturity in the same way, mothers and\ud teachers rated children with moderate learning difficulties differently,\ud with mothers seeing them as more mature. Yet when compared\ud with normal children, mothers rated their handicapped\ud children as immature. Teachers rated children with moderate\ud learning difficulties as immature.\ud Additional analysis showed that certain constructs had very different\ud implications for mothers and teachers, which might explain\ud their lack of agreement.\ud The results are discussed in terms of the importance of a shared\ud understanding of this group of children, particularly in view of\ud the increasingly important role of parents in the process of education\ud of children with special needs

COVID-19 and the use of masks by children. Statement from the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region and the European Academy of Paediatrics

Despite the fact that the use of masks and respirators in adults has already reached a consensus in almost all countries and for situations in which they are recommended, this is not the case for the use of mask by children. This statement, regarding the usage of mask by children, has been jointly produced by the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) and the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP). It provides recommendations on the size of the mask, the material and ergonomics of children's masks. The authors also discuss the psychological dimension of children when they are asked to wear a mask. Moreover, they tackle the difficulties of children with disabilities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Environmental perceptions of the blind & their haptic representation,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Thesis. 1972. M.Arch.MICROFICHE COPY ALSO AVAILABLE IN ROTCH LIBRARY.Leaf number 272 used twice. Lacking leaf 271. Accompanied by a companion volume containing illustrations in transparent guard sheets.Bibliography: leaves 290-292.by Ann Middleton Kidwell and Peter Swartz Greer.M.Arch