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There is an increased use of block-based programming environments in K-12 education and computing outreach activities to introduce novices to programming and computational thinking skills. However, despite their appealing design that allows students to focus on concepts rather than syntax, block-based programming by design is inaccessible to people with visual impairments and people who cannot use the mouse. In addition to this inaccessibility, little is known about the instructional experiences of students with visual impairments on current block-based programming environments. This dissertation addresses this gap by (1) investigating the challenges that students with visual impairments face on current block-based programming environments and (2) exploring ways in which we can use the keyboard and the screen reader to create block-based code. Through formal survey and interview studies with teachers of students with visual impairments and students with visual impairments, we identify several challenges faced by students with visual impairments on block-based programming environments. Using the knowledge of these challenges and building on prior work, we explore how to leverage the keyboard and the screen reader to improve the accessibility of block-based programming environments through a prototype of an accessible block-based programming library. In this dissertation, our empirical evaluations demonstrate that people with visual impairments can effectively and efficiently create, edit, and navigate block-based code using the keyboard and screen reader alone. Addressing the inaccessibility of block-based programming environments would allow students with visual impairments to participate in programming and computing activities where these systems are used, thus fostering inclusion and promoting diversity.

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[pt] O presente trabalho pretende investigar algumas formas de participação de autores, leitores e críticos em mídias digitais, especialmente em redes sociais, nesse processo de construção de visibilidade, e as possíveis consequências dessas participações. Para tal, analisaremos tanto a fortuna crítica referente aos tópicos apresentados, bem como publicações que circulam no âmbito virtual, além da análise de perfis no YouTube, Instagram, participações em clubes de leitura, entre outros. A curiosidade sobre a vida de um autor, como afirma Phillip Lejeune, não é algo novo dentro dos estudos literários. No entanto, na contemporaneidade, muitas vezes podemos confundir a vida do autor com o que ele publica em mídias sociais, especialmente as digitais, confundir a função autor com o sujeito empírico. A forma como o autor aparece em mídias digitais pode ser crucial para aumentar sua visibilidade, assim como a da obra que está sendo lançada. No entanto, o autor não é o único ator nesse processo de construção de visibilidade (e nem o único que aparece) em tempos de redes sociais. Junto com ele, temos também o leitor, que cada vez se torna mais presente nesse processo de visibilidade. Com a participação mais acentuada do leitor, resta-nos refletir sobre o papel da crítica nessa transformação das relações, decorrentes do advento das novas tecnologias. / [en] This work intends to investigate some forms of participation of authors, readers and critics in digital media, especially on social network media, as part of the process of gaining visibility, and the consequences of this participation. In order to consider these instances of participation, we will analyze both the theorical concepts related to our inquiry as well as publications that may be found in cyberspace, analyses of social network profiles from YouTube, Instagram, participation in book clubs, among others. The curiosity about an author s life, as proposed by Philp Lejeune, is not a new concept in the area of literature studies. However, nowadays, sometimes we may confuse an author s life with what he/she publishes in his/her social media or mix up the authorship with the person itself. The way that the author presents himself/ herself in cyberspace can be crucial for his/her visibility beyond his work. Authors, however, are not the only actors that we may find in play in cyberspace: along, we may also consider the arising of reader s presence. In the context of reader s presence alongside the author in this environment, we still need to ask ourselves the role of the criticism in these transformations that are a consequence of the emergence of these technologies.

[pt] A presente tese nasceu da seguinte observação: o leitor de literatura, ao se deixar levar pela obra, atendo-se ao seu ritmo, à sua ambiência, enfim, à sua trama, não disponibilizando demais a sua atenção para o sentido que subjaz ao texto, vivenciará momentos de verdadeira intensidade, pois estará inteiramente envolvido com o universo ficcional, a ponto de sentir a presença tangível daquilo que é evocado pela obra; o místico, ao colocar sua atenção na presença do divino, buscando adentrar em seu mistério, envolver-se-á a tal ponto com esta atmosfera sagrada que poderá vivenciar momentos intensos da presença realmente palpável de Deus. O cerne destas vivências está na relação espacial que o leitor tem com o texto e que o místico tem com o divino. Na tese, esta relação espacial é denominada de produção de presença, seguindo as concepções do teórico literário, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, sobre o tema. Demonstrar-se-á no decorrer dos capítulos deste trabalho a conjugação entre vivência mística e vivência estética, tendo por base os conceitos sobre os efeitos de presença. O liame entre estas vivências será abordado na tese a partir da leitura não interpretativa de crônicas e poemas de Cecília Meireles; procurou-se, a partir dos referidos textos, fazer apreciações que buscarão apontar os caminhos para os referidos momentos de intensidade. Por fim, cabe observar que as vivências estética e mística se dão a partir de verdadeiros exercícios práticos em que se destacam a educação dos sentidos e a disposição para contemplação, que em nível religioso está relacionado à busca de atenção no divino, e, em instâncias literárias, é a busca de uma concentração na obra, tendo em vista o encantamento, a apreciação e o deslumbramento por aquilo que é lido. / [en] The present thesis was born of the following observation: the reader of literature, by letting himself be carried away by the work, attending to its rhythm, its ambience, finally, to its plot, not giving too much attention to the sense that underlies to the text, he will experience moments of true intensity, because he will be totally involved with the fictional universe, to the point of feeling the tangible presence of what is evoked by the work; the mystic, by placing his attention in the presence of the divine, seeking to enter into his mystery, will be so deeply involved in this sacred atmosphere that he may experience intense moments of the truly palpable presence of God. The core of these experiences lies in the spatial relationship that the reader has with the text and that the mystic has with the divine. In the thesis, this spatial relationship is called production of presence, following the conceptions of the literary theorist, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, on the subject. In the course of the chapters of this work, the conjugation between mystical experience and aesthetic experience will be demonstrated, based on the concepts about the effects of presence. The link between these experiences will be approached in the thesis from the non-interpretative reading of Cecília Meireles chronicles and poems; From these texts, we sought to make judgments that will seek to point out the paths to the mentioned moments of intensity. Finally, it should be noted that the aesthetic and mystical experiences come from real practical exercises in which the education of the senses and the disposition for contemplation are emphasized, which on a religious level is related to the search for attention in the divine, and in instances literary, is the search for a concentration in the work, in view of the enchantment, the appreciation and the amazement by what is read.

The consequences of less than proficient reading skills are well documented. In educational settings, as children progress through the grades, the expectation that they acquire content knowledge through reading continually increases. However, many children lack the proficient reading skills that would enable them to acquire content knowledge through reading. Consequently, less than proficient reading skills are associated with academic failure and academic avoidance behaviors such as absenteeism and discipline problems. This study examined the effects of sheltered instruction on the academic and non-academic behaviors of a group of struggling readers. A causal-comparative research design was used to compare MCT2 Language Arts scores, attendance, and number of discipline referrals of 28 sixth grade struggling readers attending a rural school in northern Mississippi. Paired-samples t tests were used to compare measures of the dependent variables of students when they were in a traditional classroom setting to when they were in a sheltered instruction classroom setting. The results of the data analysis failed to detect any statistically significant differences between the measures of the dependent variables under the two conditions. Therefore, it appears that sheltered instruction did not have an effect on the academic and nonacademic behaviors of struggling readers. However, there are limitations to the findings of this study. The two most serious limitations are the small sample size and the incomplete data sets. With this small sample size, the t tests may not have been robust enough to detect statistically significant differences. In addition to the small sample size, each of the dependent variables had cases where data were missing. Consequently, a replication of this study is one of the recommendations of this study. Another recommendation is that the effects of sheltered instruction on student achievement be examined after students have been exposed to the treatment for multiple years.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Marjorie Hancock / With the inception of No Child Left Behind, educators are required to ensure proficiency for all students in reading and math, but provide no incentive for developing the talents of gifted students (Gentry, 2006b). Implementing differentiation into the classroom can assist educators in providing appropriate instruction for all students and maximizing the potential of gifted learners. Differentiation modifies curriculum and instruction to meet the diverse needs of students in the classroom (Tomlinson, 1999, 2001, 2003). The purpose of this study was to document how differentiation influenced the gifted readers’ ability to think more critically and the fifth grade teacher’s perceptions of differentiation as it was implemented into the reading curriculum for all readers in her classroom. This qualitative research study was conducted in a fifth grade classroom in a rural mid-western community from October 24, 2008 to February 4, 2009. Data collection included response journals of the gifted readers, audio recordings of literature circle discussions, observations/field notes, digital voice recording of interviews with the gifted readers and the classroom teacher, teacher reflective journal, and weekly meetings. Data analysis revealed three levels of critical thinking within ten categories as outlined in the Written Response Hierarchy of Journal Critical Thinking. Advanced Level Critical Thinking included the categories of Synthesis, Character Affinity, Character Scrutiny, and Evaluative Inquiry. Intermediate Level Critical Thinking was evidenced by the categories of Inference, Image Construction, Author’s Writing Technique, and Prediction. Basic Level Critical Thinking was represented by responses in the Ambiguity and Engagement categories. The Oral Response Hierarchy of Literature Circle Critical Thinking revealed four critical thinking levels of oral response. Analytical and Probe represented Advanced Level Critical Thinking, Conjecture demonstrated Intermediate Level Critical Thinking, and Engagement provided evidence of Basic Level Critical Thinking. Advanced Level Critical Thinking was evidenced in both written and oral responses across the three stages of the study. Data analysis further revealed the teacher’s perceptions of differentiated instruction. Benefits included increase in students’ motivation, active involvement and leadership, exceeding expectations, quality of literature circle discussions, confidence in implementing differentiation with continuous support of a mentor, flexibility, and empowerment to solve problems.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Marjorie R. Hancock / Our society is increasingly bombarded with visual imagery; therefore, it is important for educators to be knowledgeable about the elements of art and to use our knowledge to help students deepen their reading understanding. Arizpe & Styles (2003) noted that students must be prepared to work with imagery in the future at high levels of competency, yet visual literacy is seldom taught in schools. Children are surrounded with multiple forms of literacy daily and frequently the communication is in a nonverbal format. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify textual/visual connections and describe ways the text-illustration relationship can influence understanding for readers in the second grade. This qualitative research study took place in a Department of Defense school in Europe with six second grade students from September 14, 2009 to November 24, 2009. The six student participants were introduced to the basic elements of art—color, shape, line, texture, and value—at the onset of the study. Student participants expressed their textual, visual, and blended textual/visual understanding of four picture storybooks and four informational picture books. Data collection sources included group discussions, student verbal story retellings, student pictorial drawings and retellings, student interviews, observational field notes, teacher email correspondence, and teacher initial/final interviews. Initial analysis was based on Kiefer’s (1995) Functions of Language taxonomy, Kucer and Silva’s (1996:1999) Taxonomy of Artistic Responses and Sipe’s (2008) Categories of Reader Response. The analysis focused on participants’ textual and visual responses and the blending of textual/visual elements. The analysis revealed six emerging Categories of Textual/Visual Understanding including Personal Life Connections, Text Connections, Factual Connections, Predictive Connections, Elemental Connections, and Emotional Connections. The six categories were also reviewed for the dominant category for each student participant and how the textual/visual responses applied to both picture storybooks and informational picture books. Data analysis also revealed the second grade teacher’s perceptions of the text-illustration relationship as a part of the reading process. Student participant benefits included greater student interest and motivation, increased awareness of visual elements in picture storybooks and informational picture books, and higher level thinking expressed through textual/visual connections.

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether certain Ron Davis techniques which have been applied by the Davis Dyslexia Correction Center in America the past two decades could in the short term have a significantly positive influence on the reading ability and psychological functioning of children with a reading disorder, especially regarded against the background of escalating concern about the reading ability of South African learners in general and learners with a reading disorder in particular.

This thesis examines the competing frameworks in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita—the fictional Foreword written by John Ray, Jr., Ph.D. and the manuscript written by Humbert Humbert—in order to understand to what extent the construction manipulates the rhetorical appeal. While previous scholarship isolates the two narrators or focuses on their unreliability, my examination concentrates on the interplay of the frameworks and how their conflicting objectives can be problematic for readers. By drawing upon various theories by Michel Foucault from Power/Knowledge and Louis Althusser’s “On Ideology,” I look into how John Ray, Jr., Ph.D. and Humbert Humbert use authoritative voices to directly address readers with a specific duty, as “parents, social workers, educators” and “ladies of the gentleman,” and I question to what extent this can force readers to unwillingly forfeit their authority in order to adopt an alternative disciplinary gaze in pursuit of a premeditated idea of truth and justice. Using the concept of truth and justice, I explore how psychological discourse and the court are made up of ideologies that operate like the Panopticon, and I question where readers fit despite the strong influence exerted on to them by this structure.