Employing Daisaku Ikeda’s iteration of soka, or value-creative education, I detail a small qualitative study with adolescents involving commonplace, a traditional literacy practice of collecting excerpts from a variety of texts, as well as an accompanying inquiry activity of writing memory vignettes that includes a procedure that I call mirroring text. With an interest in self-reflexive responses to reading, my study explores what happens when five adolescent multiliteracies practitioners select, compile, and respond to excerpted multimodal texts, primarily from social media sites. Conducted in a virtual tenth grade advisory class during the 2020-2021 school closures due to the global pandemic, I discuss the peculiarities and challenges of the virtual learning space and the study activities that occurred therein, as well as the pedagogical implications of commonplace and mirroring for secondary Language Arts.

This study describes the language behaviors and social strategies of English as Second Language (ESL) and English as Primary Language (EPL) pre-kindergarten students during cooperative Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) experiences. Thirty-three pre-kindergarten subjects ages four to five years, were videotaped at two personal computers during self-selected center time. The sources of data for this descriptive study were a parent computer survey, videotapes, a subject interview derived from the Young Children's Computer Inventory, and written records.

This study was supported by the Texas Education Agency and initiated by a consortium composed of Apple Computer, the University of North Texas, and the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, one of the six schools involved with the Columbus Project. The problem in this descriptive study is to determine if training teachers to use application, management, and instructional software on the Macintosh computer will increase their productivity. The sample of teachers involved with the study volunteered for the training.

This study was conducted to investigate mathematics and reading comprehension skill retention of Navy’s 1987 Functional Skills Program graduates over three to twelve month period immediately following training. Two separate studies were conducted. One studied math retention for a course using Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI). The other study investigated a reading comprehension course using Personalized System Instruction (PSI). subjects (N = 97) were divided into four groups based on the length of time elapsed since graduation (3 to 12 months). The sample was the same for both courses, which ran concurrently for eight weeks. Subjects were primarily low academic achievers. The majority were male caucasians (median age 23) from low socio-economic background. A quasi-experimental design using pre-, post, and delayed posttest with a two-way within-subjects ANOVA (Achievement x Time) with repeated measures on the time factor was used to analyze the data. Fisher’s LSD tests were utilized in post hoc contrast of the group’s pre-, post and delayed posttest mean scores. Supplementary data collection and analysis conducted using an orally administered questionnaire suggested that many students were intimidated by computer-based instruction. They also reported that Navy related materials used in the PSI course were too easy to read and did not challenge the reader enough. A statistically significant increase was detected between the pretest and posttest of the math groups under the CAI treatment, indicating that learning took place from pre- to posttest. However, a significant decline was found in math skills over time (posttest to delayed), possibly due to the lack of opportunities for practice of those skills after the training. Likewise, the reading comprehension course using PSI modality produced evidence of a significant increase between pretest posttest scores. This treatment showed no evidence of significant changes over time in reading skills from posttest to delayed test. Practice effects of informal reading activities and the self-motivating effect of skill development were offered as explanatory mechanisms for sustaining these skills. / Ed. D.

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No description available.

The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of technology on attention and concentration within the South African classroom. The theoretical investigation showed the link between focus, attention and concentration. It also revealed the importance of motivation in order to capture the attention of the learner in the classroom. The life-world of the learner is often far removed from the classroom learning context. During the empirical investigation, lessons were conducted with and without the presence of technology in order to ascertain whether a difference in attention and concentration would elicit different results. An ANOVA procedure indicated that there is a significant difference between the average achievements of a group of learners exposed to technology during a lesson, compared to a group not exposed to technology; there is a significant difference between the average attentions of a group of learners exposed to technology during a lesson compared to a group not exposed to technology; there is a significant relationship that exists between motivation and concentration; and that a significant relationship exists between motivation and attention in Mathematics. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This study was planned to explore “the role of e-learning on the professional development of student-teachers in Cameroon”. The researcher’s concern with elearning was sanctioned by the need for a teaching and learning strategy that can help institutions of learning address their problems and improve on their outcome. Seven (7) specific hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study also sought to find out challenges faced by student-teachers in the implementation of e-learning. The study involved a mixed methodological approach. In this respect, a survey of 796 student-teachers drawn from eight (8) Primary Government Teacher Training Colleges and three (3) Higher Teacher Training Colleges was carried out. Also, an experiment with 191 student-teachers of the Higher Teacher Training College was conducted using blended learning. Purposive sampling, cluster sampling, simple random sampling and systematic random sampling techniques were applied where necessary to obtain the sample. Moreover, in the survey, data was collected using a questionnaire while the experimental phase generated data in terms of scores from the first and second test respectively. The student t-test, One-way ANOVA, and Correlation Coefficient were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings of this study offer new evidence that elearning has a significant influence on the professional development of studentteachers in Cameroon. Findings revealed that slow Internet lines or access speed constitute a serious challenge to effective e-learning in Cameroon (Mean = 3.2852). Findings further suggest that Internet-Based Problem Solving and Computer-Based Direct Instruction have an unprecedented role in fostering the professional development of student teachers in Cameroon. Based on this result, recommendations are made to training institutions to embrace ICTs and become more flexible by adopting learning approaches that are dynamic and multi-dimensional as problems in education are becoming more complex. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master's Degree of Technology: Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / The main purpose of this study was to examine how e-learning can help resolve some of the most acute problems that are specific to the nature of the outcomes-based education (OBE) system in developing countries. This was accomplished by investigating the relevant literature on OBE and by designing an e-learning content prototype for the South African version of OBE, with the focus on the training of Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy educators. OBE is an education system centred on the theory of mastery of learning introduced by Bloom in the 1950s. It has been implemented worldwide in primary and secondary schools and also in tertiary institutions. Some studies have shown that OBE is problematic, and that both educators and learners are opposed to this system of education. Existing research also reports that the quality of education in OBE is very poor as compared to that of the traditional education system. This study was an attempt to identify the most acute problems experienced by educators and learners in the OBE context and to design a prototype for e-learning content that can be used in courses in an attempt to solve these problems. The research population of the perceptions survey consisted of Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy educators and learners from the 6 000 primary and secondary schools of the KwaZulu- Natal (KZN) province of South Africa. Eighteen schools formed part of the research sample, with an average of two schools per region (the KZN province is divided into nine regions). Both private and public schools were included in the study. Data for the study were collected from March 2007 to August 2007 in the form of a perceptions survey of 104 educators and 288 learners, yielding an average of six educators and sixteen learners for each randomly selected school. Results from the perceptions survey show that educators and learners do not understand OBE terminology. In addition, educators claim that they are not sufficiently trained for OBE. Research iii participants also report that schools’ basic infrastructure is unsatisfactory, and that their classrooms are overcrowded. Mathematics is perceived as the most difficult subject by both educators and learners. The survey also reveals that most public schools do not have computers and that neither educators nor learners have access to computers in their public libraries. A SCORM- (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) compliant e-learning course was developed in this study to address the most acute problems identified by the survey, based on the Software Engineering Unified Model. The designed e-course contains OBE terminology such as learning outcomes, OBE principles, assessment standards, assessment methods, national curriculum statement and learning fields. The e-learning course content also contains the Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy curriculum for grades 11 and 12. It was constructed using 16 documents extracted from the National Department of Education’s website: 7 documents under Further Education and Training, 4 under Teacher Guide, and 5 under General Education and Training. The evaluation of the e-learning content prototype was conducted through a survey among 36 educators from different primary and secondary schools of the Mnquma Municipality of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. They were trained in the SCORM-compliant e-learning course content at the Walter Sisulu University’s Butterworth campus. The training took place from 10 to 13 November 2009. After the training, educators filled out a questionnaire on their perceptions of the effectiveness of the proposed e-learning content prototype with regard to the practice of OBE. Results from the SCORM e-course evaluation survey showed that the proposed SCORM software artefacts allow educators to have a better understanding of OBE terminology. The proposed software artefact is user-friendly and educators recommended its use not only for Mathematics but for all subjects.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: We present DEADLINER, a special-purpose search engine that indexes conference and workshop announcements, and which extracts a range of academic information from the Web. SVMs provide an efficient and highly accurate mechanism for obtaining relevant web documents. DEADLINER currently extracts speakers, locations (e.g. countries), dates, paper submission (and other) deadlines, topics, program committees, abstracts, and affiliations. Complex and detailed searches are possible on these fields. The niche search engine was constructed by employing a methodology for rapid implementation of specialised search engines. Bayesian integration of simple extractors provides this methodology, that avoids complex hand-tuned text extraction methods. The simple extractors exploit loose formatting and keyword conventions. The Bayesian framework further produces a search engine where each user can control each fields false alarm rate in an intuitive and rigorous fashion, thus providing easy-to-use metadata. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ons stel DEADLINER bekend: 'n soekmasjien wat konferensie en werkvergaderingsaankondigings katalogiseer en wat uiteindelik 'n wye reeks akademiese byeenkomsmateriaal sal monitor en onttrek uit die Web. DEAD LINER herken en onttrek tans sprekers, plekke (bv. landname), datums, o.a. sperdatums vir die inlewering van akademiese verrigtings, onderwerpe, programkomiteë, oorsigte of opsommings, en affiliasies. 'n Grondige soek is moontlik oor en deur hierdie velde. Die nissoekmasjien is gebou deur gebruik te maak van 'n metodologie vir die vinnige oprigting van spesialiteitsoekmasjiene. Die metodologie vermy komplekse instelling m.b.v. hande-arbeid van die teksuittreksels deur gebruik te maak van Bayesiese integrering van eenvoudige ontsluiters. Die ontsluiters buit dan styl- en gewoonte-sleutelwoorde uit. Die Bayesiese raamwerk skep hierdeur 'n soekmasjien wat gebruikers toelaat om elke veld se kans om verkeerd te kies op 'n intuïtiewe en deeglike manier te beheer.