ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Working Multimodally: Challenges for Assessment
Author: Wyatt-Smith, Claire
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English Curriculum,Learning Modalities,Technology Uses in Education,Reader Text Relationship,Media Literacy,Visual Literacy,Student Projects,Educational Assessment,Layout (Publications),Visual Aids,Computer Software,Teaching Methods

This article explores the emergence of multimodality as intrinsic to the learning, teaching and assessment of English in the Twenty-First Century. With subject traditions tied to the study of language, literature and media, multimodal texts and new technologies are now accorded overdue recognition in English curriculum documents in several countries, though assessment tends to remain largely print-centric. Until assessment modes and practices align with the nature of multimodal text production, their value as sites for inquiry in classroom practice will not be assured. The article takes up the question: What is involved in assessing the multimodal texts that students create? In exploring this question, we first consider central concepts of multimodality and what is involved in &quot;working multimodally&quot; to create a multimodal text. Here, &quot;transmodal operation&quot; and &quot;staged multimodality&quot; are considered as central concepts to &quot;working multimodally&quot;.  Further, we suggest that these concepts challenge current understandings of the purposes of, and possibilities for, assessment of multimodal text production. (Contains 4 figures and 6 footnotes.)
Using a Poetry Wiki: How Can the Medium Support Pre-Service Teachers of English in Their Professional Learning about Writing Poetry and Teaching Poetry Writing in a Digital Age?
Author: Dymoke, Sue
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,English Teachers,Poetry,Electronic Publishing,Web Sites,Cooperation,Writing (Composition),Writing Instruction,Creative Writing,Teaching Methods

In this paper we report on one aspect of a qualitative study about an online wiki community, which was developed to build collaborative knowledge about poetry among a group of pre-service English teachers. Our paper explores pre-service teachers' experiences of writing in a digital medium and their perceptions of themselves as writers. We focus specifically on the processes of poetry writing (both collaborative and independent) undertaken in this digital medium by two groups of teachers, who were working in contrasting settings in the UK and Canada during their pre-service year. We investigate the affordances (Laurillard, Stratford, Lucklin, Plowman, &amp; Taylor, 2000) that a multimodal, wiki environment offered these teachers for learning about poetry writing and question the impact that these affordances have had both on the teachers' collaborations and the poetry they wrote. In analysing the pre-service teachers' wiki writings we were interested to observe how they shaped themselves as writers and intervened in each other's work in progress within a digital third space. We also wanted to explore how the wiki had supported their professional learning about the teaching of poetry writing during their training year and the implications that this support could have for their own future classroom practice as teachers of writing.
Web 2.0, New Literacies, and the Idea of Learning through Participation
Author: Merchant, Guy
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Curriculum Development,Student Participation,Social Influences,Computer Uses in Education,Computer Literacy,Educational Technology,Internet,Web Sites,Interpersonal Relationship,Computer Mediated Communication,Social Networks

In this paper I identify some current elaborations on the theme of participation and digital literacy in order to open further debate on the relationship between interaction, collaboration and learning in online environments. Motivated by an interest in using new technologies in the context of formal learning (Merchant, 2009), I draw on in-school and out-of-school work in Web 2.0 spaces. This work is inflected by the new literacies approach (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006a). Here I provide an overview of the ways in which learning through participation is characterised by those adopting this and other related perspectives. I include a critical examination of the idea of "participatory" culture as articulated in the field of media studies, focusing particularly on the influential work of Jenkins (2006a; 2006b). In order to draw these threads together around conceptualizations of learning, I summarise ways in which participation is described in the literature on socially-situated cognition. This is used to generate some tentative suggestions about how learning and literacy in Web 2.0 spaces might be envisioned and how ideas about participation might inform curriculum planning and design. (Contains 3 figures.)
Can Maori Children Really Be Positioned as &quot;Deficient&quot; Learners for Reading English?
Author: Harris, Fleur
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Pacific Islanders,Bilingual Students,Foreign Countries,Malayo Polynesian Languages,Language Usage,English Instruction,Indigenous Populations,Language of Instruction,Vocabulary Development,Teaching Methods,Reading Instruction,Elementary School Students

Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. Since British colonial settlement in the early 1800s, Maori children have been predominantly educated in an English-speaking system dominated by colonial governance. In this institution, Maori children have been constructed as deficient learners, primarily in relation to a colonial curriculum taught in English and an assessment regime developed with monolingual and mono-cultural English children. This article, which critically challenges the deficit discourse, outlines the ways in which Maori and English languages co-exist in a fluid stream across the curriculum in a Christchurch classroom in order to scaffold educational achievement in learning to read English, for Maori children. (Contains 2 figures, 2 tables, and 8 footnotes.)
Dancing with Line: Inquiry, Democracy, and Aesthetic Development as an Approach to Art Education
Author: Heid, Karen
Date: 2009-11-29
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Creativity,Charter Schools,Art Education,Inquiry,Active Learning,Aesthetic Education,Democratic Values,Instructional Design,Classroom Techniques,Imagination,Educational Research,Teaching Methods

This qualitative study examines an art lesson in a multiage inquiry-based charter school. The arts curriculum focused on democratic process, dialogical interaction, aesthetic and imaginative understanding, and visual culture art education. Questions considered in the research were: Within an inquiry-based setting what might an art lesson look like? How does creating a dialogical/democratic art classroom support inquiry-based learning? How does an inquiry-based art classroom support and extend creativity and imagination? How might an inquiry-based elementary art curriculum incorporate visual culture? The inquiry process gave students the latitude to practice individual creativity. Imaginative processes were engaged as students planned their own lesson, created their own problems, and expressed their answers through a performance. (Contains 2 figures.)
From Open Content to Open Course Models: Increasing Access and Enabling Global Participation in Higher Education
Author: Morgan, Tannis
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Higher Education,Open Education,Online Courses,Foreign Countries,Delivery Systems,Models,Blended Learning,Access to Education,Instructional Design,Interviews,Observation,Content Analysis,English (Second Language)

Two of the major challenges to international students' right of access to higher education are geographical/economic isolation and academic literacy in English (Carey, 1999; Hamel, 2007). The authors propose that adopting open course models in traditional universities, through blended or online delivery, can offer benefits to the institutions and to the open education movement itself, in particular with non-Anglophone students. This paper describes the model and an implementation with undergraduate students in Canada, Mexico, and Russia. The implementation of the model was examined in three studies, which relied on data collected from student interviews, instructor observations and reflections, instructor interviews, course documents, and discussion forum transcripts. The authors note that the main benefit of an open course model is the development of academic literacy for students of English as an Other Language (EOL). Other benefits include 1) international course transfers, 2) breadth of professorial exposure for the students, 3) flexibility in professors' employment and professional development, and 4) course credits for students. Some of the challenges include 1) varying levels of Internet access, 2) coordination of the participation of the instructors, and 3) different teaching and learning practices. The authors conclude that an open course model might be applied in various contexts, such as in disciplines where global perspectives are important, in applied/professional programs, and in distance or face-to-face courses. Also, the model is useful for students working together on research, case studies, or joint projects, and it could be applied within an institution to enhance inter-disciplinary content and approaches. (Contains 3 figures.)
Incentives and Disincentives for the Use of OpenCourseWare
Author: Arendt, Anne M.
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Delphi Technique,Educational Innovation,Predictor Variables,Program Effectiveness,Performance Factors,Educational Resources,Open Education,Courseware,Barriers,Mail Surveys,Program Attitudes,Use Studies,Interest Inventories

This article examines Utah residents' views of incentives and disincentives for the use of OpenCourseWare (OCW), and how they fit into the theoretical framework of perceived innovation attributes established by Rogers (1983). Rogers identified five categories of perceived innovation attributes: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. A survey instrument was developed using attributes that emerged from a Delphi technique with input from experts in the OCW field. The survey instrument was sent to 753 random individuals between 18 and 64 years of age throughout Utah. Results indicated that the greatest incentives for OCW use were the following: (a) &quot;no cost for materials&quot;, (b) &quot;resources available at any time&quot;, (c) &quot;pursuing in depth a topic that interests me&quot;, (d) &quot;learning for personal knowledge or enjoyment&quot;, and (e) &quot;materials in an OCW are fairly easy to access and find&quot;. The greatest disincentives for OCW use were the following: a) &quot;no certificate or degree awarded&quot;, (b) &quot;does not cover my topic of interest in the depth I desire&quot;, (c) &quot;lack of professional support provided by subject tutors or experts&quot;, (d) &quot;lack of guidance provided by support specialists&quot;, and (e) &quot;feeling that the material is overwhelming&quot;. The authors recommend that institutions work to transition some OCW users into degree-granting paid programs as well as adopt a marketing campaign to increase awareness of OCW. Additionally, OCW websites should make their content available to recommendation engines such as ccLearn iscoverEd, OCW Finder, or OER Recommender and should link to one or more of these sites. (Contains 4 tables.)
Open Textbook Proof-of-Concept via Connexions
Author: Baker, Judy
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Textbook Content,Textbooks,Community Colleges,Textbook Publication,Textbook Preparation,Textbook Standards,Educational Resources,Access to Education,Clearinghouses,Performance Factors,Partnerships in Education,Costs

To address the high cost of textbooks, Rice University's Connexions and the Community College Open Textbook Project (CCOTP) collaborated to develop a proof-of-concept free and open textbook. The proof-of-concept served to document a workflow process that would support adoption of open textbooks. Open textbooks provide faculty and students with a low cost alternative to traditional publishers' textbooks and can help to make higher education more affordable. Connexions provides a publishing platform for open textbook projects. The CCOTP acted as a liaison between community college faculty, open textbook authors, and Connexions. Challenges to the production and adoption of open textbooks include 1) faculty members' and students' expectations of high production quality and ancillaries for open textbooks, 2) methods for documenting and maintaining control over various versions, and 3) the process of converting existing open content to digital and accessible formats. Connexions holds promise as a means to overcome these challenges. Connexions identified lessons learned about open textbook production, such as the importance of a style guide, the advantage of assembly-line workflow, and the importance of naming conventions and standard math authoring tools. Connexions also identified lessons learned about open textbook use by students and faculty, e.g., the value of availability and customizability, the importance of interactivity, the difference in how faculty and students view modularity, and the importance of textbook reading navigational aids. The authors note that the CCOTP recommends using Connexions as the common repository for open textbook content in an effort to provide greater national and international access.
Openness, Dynamic Specialization, and the Disaggregated Future of Higher Education
Author: Wiley, David
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Higher Education,Specialization,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Organizational Change,Open Education,Electronic Learning,Distance Education,Access to Education,Influence of Technology,Educational Development,Trend Analysis

Openness is a fundamental value underlying significant changes in society and is a prerequisite to changes institutions of higher education need to make in order to remain relevant to the society in which they exist. There are a number of ways institutions can be more open, including programs of open sharing of educational materials. Individual faculty can also choose to be more open without waiting for institutional programs. Increasing degrees of openness in society coupled with innovations in business strategy like dynamic specialization are enabling radical experiments in higher education and exerting increasing competitive pressure on conventional higher education institutions. No single response to the changes in the supersystem of higher education can successfully address every institution's situation. However, every institution must begin addressing openness as a core organizational value if it desires to both remain relevant to its learners and to contribute to the positive advancement of the field of higher education. (Contains 2 tables and 1 endnote.)
Peer-to-Peer Recognition of Learning in Open Education
Author: Schmidt, Jan Philipp
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Portfolios (Background Materials),Open Education,Accreditation (Institutions),Recognition (Achievement),Peer Acceptance,Peer Evaluation,Evaluation Methods,Achievement Rating,Academic Standards,Academic Achievement,Distance Education,Educational Change

Recognition in education is the acknowledgment of learning achievements. Accreditation is certification of such recognition by an institution, an organization, a government, a community, etc. There are a number of assessment methods by which learning can be evaluated (exam, practicum, etc.) for the purpose of recognition and accreditation, and there are a number of different purposes for the accreditation itself (i.e., job, social recognition, membership in a group, etc). As our world moves from an industrial to a knowledge society, new skills are needed. Social web technologies offer opportunities for learning, which build these skills and allow new ways to assess them. This paper makes the case for a peer-based method of assessment and recognition as a feasible option for accreditation purposes. The peer-based method would leverage online communities and tools, for example digital portfolios, digital trails, and aggregations of individual opinions and ratings into a reliable assessment of quality. Recognition by peers can have a similar function as formal accreditation, and pathways to turn peer recognition into formal credits are outlined. The authors conclude by presenting an open education assessment and accreditation scenario, which draws upon the attributes of open source software communities: trust, relevance, scalability, and transparency. (Contains 4 endnotes.)
The Technological Dimension of a Massive Open Online Course: The Case of the CCK08 Course Tools
Author: Fini, Antonio
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Knowledge Management,Open Education,Online Courses,Lifelong Learning,Participant Satisfaction,Technological Literacy,Distance Education,Student Surveys,Adult Education,Networks,Technology Education

In 2008, a new term emerged in the already crowded e-learning landscape: MOOC, or massive open online course. Lifelong learners can now use various tools to build and manage their own learning networks, and MOOCs may provide opportunities to test such networks. This paper focuses on the technological aspects of one MOOC, the Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) course, in order to investigate lifelong learners? attitudes towards learning network technologies. The research framework is represented by three perspectives: (a) lifelong learning in relation to open education, with a focus on the effective use of learning tools; (b) the more recent personal knowledge management (PKM) skills approach; and (c) the usability of web-based learning tools. Findings from a survey of CCK08 participants show that the course attracted adult, informal learners, who were not concerned about course completion. Time constraints, language barriers, and ICT skills affected the participants? choice of tools; for example, learners favoured the passive, time-saving mailing list over interactive, time-consuming discussions forums. Some recommendations for future MOOCs include highlighting the purpose of the tools (e.g., skill-building) and stating clearly that the learners can choose their preferred tools. Further research on sustainability and facilitator workload should be conducted to determine the cost and effectiveness of MOOCs. Investigation is also necessary to understand MOOC participant profiles as they relate to course outcomes and retention and whether terms such as "course" and "attrition" are appropriate in this context. (Contains 7 tables and 16 figures.)
The Impact of Openness on Bridging Educational Digital Divides
Author: Lane, Andy
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Higher Education,Open Universities,Educational Technology,Educational Resources,Access to Education,Electronic Learning,Influence of Technology,Technological Literacy,Educational Practices,Open Education,Literature Reviews,Evidence,Disadvantaged,Distance Education

Openness has been a feature of higher education for many decades, particularly through the establishment of open universities, although there remain debates about what openness means in practice. Digital technologies, some based on open principles, and digital content, aided by open licences, have both contributed recently to an extension of what is deemed possible under the heading of openness. Nevertheless, while in principle there may be greater degrees of openness available in higher education it does not mean in practice that many people can still readily avail themselves of these new opportunities to learn, not just because they do not have access to digital technologies but personal circumstances mean they also lack the necessary skills and the confidence to use such technologies in general or for education in particular. In fact it can be argued that this new openness, characterised mainly through the open educational resources movement, may actually widen rather than bridge the digital and educational divides between groups, both within and across national boundaries, through the increasing sophistication in technologies and the competencies expected of learners. This paper reviews some of the evidence supporting these different areas of interest and attempts to provide a synthesis of them. It then argues that actions may be required by many inter-mediaries to help to reduce the diverse social and cultural digital divides within education, including through the mediated use of open educational resources between teachers and learners. (Contains 1 figure.)
A Case Study of an International E-Learning Training Division: Meeting Objectives
Author: McGreal, Rory
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Investigations,Distance Education,International Organizations,Case Studies,Participant Satisfaction,Interviews,Student Surveys,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Open Education,Content Analysis,Training Objectives

This paper presents an evaluation of the work of the Commonwealth of Learning's (COL)eLearning with International Organisations (eLIO) section. Participants in the investigation included a representative sample of the learners (N = 15), their supervisors (N = 5), and the COL staff, including all of the eLIO staff (N = 10). The methodology consisted of an examination of all relevant documents, interviews that formed a learning history, and a sample survey. The investigation concluded that the eLIO achieved its goal of developing a distance learning model, and it met or exceeded identified objectives, with a high degree of satisfaction expressed by all participants. This included teaching +2000 satisfied learners; partnering with eight international organizations; achieving a 62% female participation rate and a high completion rate (75%) in the courses provided; testing, piloting, and delivering two new elearning courses; conducting needs analyses; recruiting/training highly qualified tutors; monitoring; and using appropriate technologies. Shortcomings of the programmes include the lack of pre- and post-tests, little analysis of pricing structures, some unclear instructions (a need for plain English), unclear copyright licensing, only very limited use of available OER software, and the absence of a succession plan for the manager. Based on the high level of satisfaction among all participants, it was recommended that the section maintain its present work and address these shortcomings. (Contains 2 tables and a list of additional reports and publications consulted.)