ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Use of Assistive Technology for People with Special Needs in the UAE
Author: Almekhalfi, Abdurrahman Ghaleb
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Assistive Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Disabilities,Barriers,Faculty Development,Special Education,Special Schools,Teacher Attitudes,Special Education Teachers,Student Needs,Focus Groups,Questionnaires,Mixed Methods Research

Today, technology has become an essential part of the everyday educational setting. Its use has proven to facilitate learning and communication of many students with and without disabilities. Assuredly, assistive technology (AT) has transformed education and empowered students with disabilities. However, research studies investigating AT for students with special needs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are limited, if any. Quantitative and qualitative data collection methodology were used to explore the AT tools, services, barriers, and professional development available in the UAE special needs centers. Results showed that different AT devices existed according to the types of disabilities. In addition, results revealed different types of barriers hindering the use of AT. Results may shed light on the use of AT in the UAE, teachers' perceptions towards this use and barriers impeding such use. Recommendations and suggestions to improve the use of AT wherever and whenever needed in the UAE are discussed.
A Project Management Approach to Applying Best Practices to Online CS/MIS Experiential Learning Projects
Author: Schwieger, Dana
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Program Administration,Best Practices,Online Courses,Computer Science Education,Management Information Systems,Experiential Learning,Web Based Instruction,Educational Benefits,Graduate Study,Course Descriptions,Blended Learning,Student Projects,Cooperative Learning,Teaching Methods

The value of experiential learning projects (which are usually major assessments in courses) in education has been touted since the early 1900s (Dewey, 1938). These projects have the potential to deepen students' understanding of course topics by allowing them to put concepts into practice and watch the results develop. However, experiential learning projects require significant guidance, communication between students and faculty, and direction. Coupled with the communication intricacies of an online learning environment, experiential learning projects become a little more difficult to manage. In this article, the authors examine some of the best practices for teaching online courses as they relate to experiential learning projects, the value of experiential learning projects and then apply a project management approach to addressing the challenges of assigning experiential learning projects in online courses looking at two courses taught at the authors' institution. The authors then describe some best practices that they have incorporated to better manage the application of experiential learning projects in their online classrooms.
Picture Exchange Communication System for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Author: Andersen, Lauren E.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Autism,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Pictorial Stimuli,Augmentative and Alternative Communication,Communication Problems,Communication Strategies

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder that manifests itself within an individual through cognitive, social, and academic deficits. As is true for all spectrum disorders, each individual may experience a range of deficits with varying severity. Many students with autism spectrum disorder experience difficulty in some area of communication. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was developed in an effort to remedy the communication difficulties between individuals with severe ASD and their peers. The main goal of PECS is to enable students with communication deficits to spontaneously communicate with their peers. The system is composed of six different phases in which a student may progress with increasing independency. While many individuals with ASD are able to communicate effectively with PECS, such a system is not suitable for all individuals on the spectrum; therefore, it is imperative for professionals, parents, and peers to be knowledgeable of the implementation, utilization, and culmination of the Picture Exchange Communication System.
&quot;You Know the Homophobic Stuff Is Not in Me, Like Us, It's Out There&quot;. Using Participatory Theatre to Challenge Heterosexism and Heteronormativity in a South African School
Author: Francis, Dennis
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Drama,Theater Arts,Teaching Methods,Social Bias,Consciousness Raising,Homosexuality,Sexual Orientation,Sexual Identity,Reflection,Democratic Values,Adolescents,Video Technology,Social Justice,Qualitative Research,Focus Groups,High Schools,Intervention

Forum Theatre (FT), a participatory improvised theatre form, raises consciousness, enables debate and critical reflection, and encourages a democratic form of knowledge production that engages the audience in their own learning and unlearning. I used FT as a platform to understand how 15- to 18-year-old learners, in a co-educational school in the Free State, experience and respond to heterosexism and heteronormativity. In this article, I explore whether FT sessions, based on the sociodramatic theories of Boal, are a sufficient enough construct to challenge heterosexism. Data collected for this article included videotapes of the performances, discussions, and field notes. The FT scenes and subsequent discussions suggest that young people bemoan heterosexism and heteronormativity in their school and demonstrate a commitment to challenge extreme examples of prejudice and behaviour by their teachers and peers, yet ignore or shy away from everyday examples of heterosexist exclusions and privilege. I argue that a participatory process, such as FT, can be a useful construct to challenge heterosexism, but it is not in itself liberatory, as the issues of socialisation, privilege, and context cannot be bypassed simply through &quot;participation&quot;.
USMCo Payroll System
Author: Cohill, Katrina
Date: 2015-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Accounting,Outsourcing,Manufacturing Industry,Decision Making,Selection,Human Resources,Case Method (Teaching Technique),Administrative Change,Efficiency

The General Manager, Steve Gunderson, is currently charged with leading the decision on whether to outsource the payroll function of the USMCo (UltraSonic Machining Co) organization or to purchase a system and hire a full-time, experienced payroll staff member to manage the details of payroll for the company. There are differing opinions of stakeholders in the business units, and a staff member could lose their job. The objective USMCo is trying to meet is to have a payroll system that works correctly, minimize risk of entering wrong information, reduce the costs of running the payroll processes, and provide more time to the current HR staff for their more important duties. Financial services and HR have differing views on the solution based on their desired outcome and needs. Steve has the goal of streamlining processes and making sense of the business objectives.
The Information Systems Core: A Study from the Perspective of IS Core Curricula in the U.S.
Author: Hwang, Drew
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Information Systems,Core Curriculum,Computer Science Education,Undergraduate Study,College Curriculum,Institutional Characteristics,Accreditation (Institutions),Orientation,College Programs,Standards,Web Sites

To keep up with technology changes and industry trends, it is essential for Information Systems (IS) programs to maintain up to date curricula. In doing so, IS educators need to determine what the IS core is and implement it in their curriculum. This study performed a descriptive analysis of 2,229 core courses offered by 394 undergraduate IS programs in the United States. The result presents a panoramic snapshot of the IS core in the nation from the perspective of IS core curricula. By mapping those core courses to the most recent IS model curriculum, IS 2010, this study also reports how many IS programs offer each of the seven core courses in IS 2010. Moreover, these core courses were examined from three different perspectives: school type, accreditation, and research orientation.
Special Education and At-Risk Kindergarteners as Authors
Author: Kramer-Vida, Louisa
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Special Education,At Risk Students,Kindergarten,Faculty Development,Writing Workshops,Writing Instruction,Teaching Methods,Preschool Teachers,Special Education Teachers,General Education

Special Education and at-risk kindergarteners can be outstanding authors given the appropriate educational opportunity. In a small, suburban public school district, two university professors collaboratively met with experienced special and general education teachers to introduce them to writing workshop methodology. This year-long series of monthly meetings and in-class demonstrations by the consultants supported the kindergarten educators as they taught writing to all children. The special and general education teachers shifted from an emphasis on student products to focusing on children's abilities and needs as the kindergarteners composed their pieces during writing workshop. According to the teachers, student work &quot;far exceeded their expectations.&quot; Pictures of youngsters' compositions, samples of topics used, and some teacher developed tools are included in this article to show that writing workshop was a positive experience for all. The workshop approach motivated the children to see themselves as authors and honored everyone's attempts and accomplishments.
Social Transformation Starts with the Self: An Autobiographical Perspective on the Thinking Style Preferences of an Educator
Author: du Toit, Pieter H.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Change,Reflective Teaching,Cognitive Style,Preferences,Faculty Development,Thinking Skills,Measures (Individuals),Mixed Methods Research,Action Research,Brain,Models,Profiles,Self Concept,Professional Identity,Questionnaires

As an educator I am responsible for my professional development and the professional development of all educators with whom I have scholarly encounters. These encounters involve making a difference in the professional lives of other members of society, for example, in an educational setting with a view to transforming such a society, and transforming the society beyond the boundaries of educational settings. Educators in educational settings, such as schools, universities, and Further Education Colleges should serve their institutions as agents of transformation. As a specialist in educator professional development, specifically in the context of higher education, I look into my contribution to empowering these educators who operate within a micro-education society and to empowering myself. Therefore the point of departure for my research projects in general and the one reported in this article is the self--my preferences in terms of how I approach facilitating the professional development of different groups of educators and monitoring mine. An array of attributes, values, virtues, constructed meaning, competencies, etc. constitutes the self. Data obtained by means of a thinking style questionnaire, the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), serves as part of the baseline data for exploring my teaching practice that revolves around educator professional development. Only some baseline data concerning the self are reported in this article. Some baseline data relate to other individuals--all involved in transforming themselves, their practices and society in some way as an individual self. This, however, is not reported in this article. The focus here is an autobiographical perspective on my thinking style preferences that inform my involvement in educator professional development. The outcome of the analysis of the baseline data pertaining to me includes a mixed-methods approach that complements the continuous action research on the professional development of the self over a period of more than ten years. The data reported present a small-scale collection of quantitative and qualitative data. This small-scale view of who I am as education specialist provides evidence that I have specific thinking preferences and avoidances in my teaching practice in general and facilitating professional development interventions in particular.
Sensory Integration Used with Children with Asperger's Syndrome
Author: Smith, Analisa L.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Asperger Syndrome,Children,Sensory Integration,Intervention,Program Effectiveness,Literature Reviews,Clinical Diagnosis,Incidence,Etiology,Comorbidity,Perceptual Impairments,Human Body

Sensory Integration Program on Children with Asperger's Syndrome This literature review will document the effects of a parent implemented Sensory Integration Program upon children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in order to discern its influence upon these children's overall ability to attend to learning and social development. The infrequency of research on Asperger's Syndrome and sensory-based programs indicates a need for further study into the potential relationship between evaluation regarding Asperger's Syndrome and sensory-based approaches. The following literature review reflects the findings of current research within the fields of psychology, education, neurology, medicine, and occupational therapy as they pertain to Asperger's Syndrome.
A Comparison of the Effects of Tactile and Auditory Stimulation and Choice on the Problem Solving of Students with Attention Problems
Author: Emmert, Stacey
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Tactual Perception,Auditory Stimuli,Problem Solving,Elementary School Students,Stimuli,Word Problems (Mathematics),Mathematics Instruction,Elementary School Mathematics,Grade 5,Grade 4,Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,Rating Scales,Parent Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Worksheets,Video Technology,Manipulative Materials,Time on Task,Observation,Comparative Analysis,Instructional Effectiveness

Using a single-subject alternating treatments reversal design, the effects of three conditions, tactile stimulation, auditory stimulation, and choice of the two, were compared on the math story problem solving of elementary students with attention problems. Students attempted and solved slightly more problems and engaged in fewer off-task behaviors in the stimulation conditions than in baseline. Effects were very modest. Students chose stimulation conditions that were related to their behavior more than their accuracy.
Students' Experimental Research Competences in the Study of Physics
Author: Kurbanbekov, Bakytzhan A.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Physics,Science Instruction,Science Laboratories,Secondary School Science,Teaching Methods,College Science,Foreign Countries,Workshops,Assignments,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Hypothesis Testing,Longitudinal Studies,Student Research,Statistical Analysis,Knowledge Level

The actuality of the investigated problem is caused by the need for students' training at pedagogical high schools to meet the challenges of research activities and the insufficient development of the theoretical, content-technological, scientific and methodological aspects of the formation of their experimental research competencies at the undergraduate level, in particular, within the framework of laboratory course on general physics. The purpose of the article is to identify the most appropriate ways to form experimental research competencies during the laboratory course. The study revealed that the organization of mini investigations within the laboratory works on physics contributes to the formation of experimental research competencies of undergraduate students at pedagogical universities. Results of the investigation can be used in higher education establishments, Institutions of Advanced Training of Teachers of Physics and Physical experts in secondary schools and colleges.
Coastal Pacific Doctor Associates: Implementation of a Purchased System
Author: Schwieger, Dana
Date: 2015-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Medical Services,Information Systems,Database Management Systems,Database Design,Usability,Technical Support,Technology Planning,Online Vendors,Program Implementation,Program Administration,Performance Factors,Case Method (Teaching Technique)

Coastal Pacific Doctor Associates (CPDA) is a multi-physician medical practice located along the west coast. CPDA decided to replace their inadequate and outdated medical office system during a time of tremendous restructuring in the medical software industry. In their impatience, CPDA chose an electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management (PM) system that would better accommodate the needs of a hospital rather than a medical clinic. The system that they chose to purchase was under development and had not been fully tested before it was hurriedly installed as CPDA's main system during a cutover implementation. EMR/PM software representatives failed to live up to their original promises as deadlines passed and the employees were trained in the last days before the go live date. Training took place on a portable network brought in by the sales representatives using manufacturer's test data. After the problems started to escalate, the manufacturer's help line stopped providing assistance and CPDA was left to solve its own problems. The organization in this case faces a number of project management and technology implementation issues. These issues can be addressed in multiple courses including: enterprise architecture, project management, systems analysis and design as well as systems implementation.
From Teachers to Teacher-Leaders: A Case Study
Author: Riveros, Augusto
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Case Studies,Teacher Leadership,Leadership Training,Interviews,Management Development,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Participant Satisfaction,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Semi Structured Interviews,Participant Characteristics,Foreign Countries

This paper reports on a study of teacher leadership conducted in Alberta, Canada. Twenty-one school teachers and administrators were interviewed about their experiences with a provincial teacher-leader program in which they participated from 1997 to 2007. The participants were asked questions related to their experience in the program and how their participation in this initiative influenced their understanding of teacher leadership. Through an interpretive analysis of the data, we identified four themes that emerged from participant responses: (a) teacher leaders generally emerge through informal processes of leadership in their schools and school districts, (b) teacher leaders develop a broader understanding of educational leadership and policy when they work across jurisdictions and school contexts, (c) teacher leaders can be recruited into broader leadership roles by attending to their professional interests and passions, and (d) teacher leaders require flexible structures in the school that facilitate the development of trust and collegiality with their peers. We conclude that these themes play a crucial role in the development of teacher leadership. The findings of this study have implications for policy development, leader recruitment and retention, and teacher professional development approaches in schools.
Foster Youth Who Have Succeeded in Higher Education: Common Themes
Author: Lovitt, Thomas
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foster Care,Child Welfare,College Graduates,Higher Education,At Risk Students,Barriers,Resilience (Psychology),Success,Interviews,Experience,Family Influence,Interpersonal Relationship,Study Skills,Extracurricular Activities,School Counselors,Persistence,Student Attitudes,Goal Orientation,Money Management,Health Insurance,Stress Variables,Counseling,Student Personnel Services,Social Support Groups

All young people, including foster youth and youth with disabilities, can succeed academically given adequate support and advocacy from educators, professionals, and their caregivers. Casey Family Programs (www.casey.org), a Seattle-based national operating foundation that has served children, youth, and families in the child welfare system since 1966, interviewed eight former foster youth who recently graduated from college. With only about 3% of former foster youth earning a college degree (Pecora et al., 2005), these eight students had clearly beaten the odds. Their perspectives on going to college and obtaining a degree despite numerous barriers presents an opportunity to learn how other young adults like them might be better supported. During the course of conversations and correspondences with them, 15 major themes concerning college success and a general outlook on life emerged.
&quot;Cascading Participation&quot; and the Role of Teachers in a Collaborative HIV and Aids Curriculum Development Project
Author: Scott, Duncan
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grade 6,Elementary School Teachers,Foreign Countries,Sex Education,Sexuality,Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS),Teaching Methods,Curriculum Development,Cooperative Planning,Teacher Role,Parent Participation,Specialists,Participatory Research,Action Research,Focus Groups,Observation,Semi Structured Interviews,Barriers,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

This paper presents findings of four Grade 6 teachers' involvement as facilitators of a participatory action research (PAR) project conducted in three South African primary schools. Based on the results of Phase One research which indicated that Grade 6s learn about sexuality, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) from multiple sources, the Phase Two project designers developed a toolkit to help Life Orientation (LO) teachers consult learners on what they know and how they want to be taught. In each school, a curriculum development group comprising the participating teacher, learners, parents and an HIV and Aids specialist worked to enhance the official HIV and Aids curriculum using the information gathered each week by the teacher. This dialogue between the study participants represents the culmination of what we describe as the project's &quot;cascading participation&quot; research model, a term denoting the multiple levels of participant involvement in the study. Although theories of participation often depict a binary relationship between those with power and those without it, the implementation of this project shows how the official curriculum, cultural norms and low parent involvement can exert pressure at different levels to diminish teachers' ability to facilitate social and educational change.
A Mother's Story about Raising Children with Disabilities
Author: Warsi, Sadia
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mothers,Disabilities,Child Rearing,Case Studies,Advocacy,Special Education,Parent Attitudes,Participant Observation,Interviews,Cerebral Palsy,Comparative Analysis,Individual Characteristics,Family Environment,Grief

The purpose of the study was to understand a mother's perspective about raising children with disabilities. This was a unique case study because the mother was a highly educated advocate in the special education profession and the process was very educational for the researcher. A detailed description of the methodology is provided to encourage new researchers and doctoral candidates to study the area of parental perspectives in special education using participant-observer case studies.