Triggered by the rapid development of information technology, the global teaching and learning environment is facing a revolutionary change in terms of the modes of communication. Since the advent of the first schools, verbal presentation and written text have been the dominant modes of teaching. However, as information technology becomes increasingly integrated in education—with the development of social network communication acting as a catalyst—students are communicating beyond the text mode to incorporate other visual elements, experiencing ‘multimodal communication’. New modes of communication between teachers and students are emerging to replace the once unique textual mode, both within and beyond school. Audio, pictures, symbols and gestures are widely used in the multimodal communication of meaning. Literacy, which is about ability in reading and writing, has gradually shifted towards the emerging multiliteracies. Given this growing use—supported by information technology—of multimodal communication among students, more research is needed to enhance our understanding of the learning processes involved. The objective of my thesis is to explore what and how students learn through multimodal meaning representation on community issues. The research focused in particular on 2007, a transitional year in the curriculum reform of Hong Kong’s secondary schools. During this time, the global social communication network was well used by youth in a local context, and it was found that students were able to create video artefacts including multimodal meaning representation of issues beyond the subject disciplines included in the curriculum reform. This research involved a multiple-case study of six Grade 10 students creating multimodal meaning representation of community issues in 2007, in preparation for a new core subject, “Liberal Studies”, prior to its implementation in the new Hong Kong senior secondary school curriculum in 2009. The Hong Kong Education Bureau introduced a new school-based assessment in the new curriculum, along with the written examination. It specified that each student must make an enquiry on community issues and submit an Independent Enquiry Study (IES) report, in either written or non-written mode such as a video artefact. By conducting participant observations of and in-depth interviews with the students and teachers involved, and applying multimodal analysis to the student video artefacts, the research found that students had learnt through multimodal meaning representation. The findings have helped to conceptualise a new learning framework beyond traditional literacy learning at school. The results have implications for further understanding of how students learn with multimodal meaning representation, and add value to the curriculum reform by incorporating innovative pedagogy in engaging student learning through creating video artefacts on community issues beyond the traditional subject-based curriculum. It is argued that traditional literacy might not be the only condition for the development of multiliteracies, and that the use of multimodal representation will facilitate the development of multiliteracies. Overall, students will learn about topics related to community issues by creating video artefacts with multimodal meaning representation to explain the issues, and at the same time they will develop important thinking skills related to the 21st century. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

<p> Children today are growing up in a technology-saturated world and yet early childhood teachers do not typically include technology in their classrooms, or if they do, they include it inappropriately. The literature states that integrating technology in early education can yield many benefits, but many teachers of young children avoid using technology because they do not know how to incorporate it appropriately. This dissertation is an exploratory observational study of early childhood teachers (preschool through third grade) who integrate technology in their programs in developmentally appropriate ways.</p><p> This study involved three classroom teachers who were identified as model teachers at integrating technology in their classrooms: a preschool teacher and two kindergarten teachers. The study was guided by the recommendations from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children&rsquo;s Media at Saint Vincent College (2012) position statement for early childhood teachers in the appropriate use of technology and digital media in the early childhood classroom.</p><p> In this exploratory collective case study, visits to the classrooms were conducted several times and observations were performed. Checklists and field notes were used to record the findings. The teachers were interviewed before and after the observations to create a clearer picture of the classroom practices. This resulted in three cases that can serve as examples for teachers on how to integrate technology in the early childhood classroom in a developmentally appropriately way for young children. This study also provides recommendations for teachers who want to provide children with digital learning tools that can extend, enrich, and scaffold their learning. This study contributes four conclusions and five recommendations to guide teachers in integrating technology in a developmentally appropriate way for young children.</p>

<p> Student participation in online classroom discussion fora is becoming an increasingly important subject to examine and analyze because of the potential implications participation can have on student performance and persistence. The objective of this study was to determine if a student&rsquo;s participation level in online course discussion fora at a fully online institution serving more than 110,000 students was, associated with the grade earned in the course and the likelihood that the student would reenroll for additional courses within a three-month time frame. An analysis also was performed on data collected from a survey administered to a sample of students; the survey asked for their perceptions of their own participation as it related to the online courses they recently completed. This study was unique compared to other studies addressing student participation in the online classroom because the sample of data analyzed consisted of more than 91,000 unique students, 433 unique courses, more than 16,000 course sections, and more than seven million discussion forum posts consisting of more than 1.2 billion words. However, the results of this study were not unique and mirrored other studies&rsquo; results in that, students who had higher participation rates in the classroom, as measured by the size and number of discussion forum posts, tended to earn higher grades and enroll in additional courses. Results from the survey showed that students more strongly agreed that they participated in the discussion fora on a regular basis than spending time doing things such as helping other students or having fun in other classroom conversations.</p>

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 137. Thesis director: Priscilla Norton. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 8, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-136). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed July 21, 2009). PDF text: viii, 116 p. ; 1 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3350260. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 267-278).

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a methodology that is being incorporated into more medical school curricula. Boston University School of Medicine was one of early adopters of Evidence Based Medicine in the United States. A growing concern in the medical community was that the complexities of applying EBM might be lost when students enter into their clinical rotations, thus there is a need for development of a tool to help reinforce the EBM principles. METHODS: The research team in collaboration with the designers of the Finding Information Framework, a custom-made EBM finding information tool, worked to develop a mobile application to help reinforce the framework for medical students. The app was designed with both Apple and PC operating systems in mind. Key features that were identified from current literature to provide the most user-friendly mobile application. Thus, the research team specifically utilized iOS and Android platforms as both platforms have a centralized app store, possess the highest volume of medical apps available, and are most widely used in the United States by medical students. RESULTS: The Finding Information Framework was a custom-made tool developed to guide new users of EBM, and help them to apply the principles in practice. The mobile application served an added convenience by allowing easy access and fast utilization of the EBM tools. The app was designed on an Android platform first due to its open-source OS and ease in app development to new programmers. Initially, the user-friendly web-based tool, App Inventor (AI), powered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology was evaluated to program the pilot Android app. Using both the AI Component Designer and the Block Editor, several problems were encountered in AI, such as the simplicity of the program and the lack of freedom in design. This moved the project to create the app natively and with a collaborative effort with the BU's Global App Initiative club. Initially, a wireframe was built using Balsamiq. Subsequently, the Android app was built using Android SDK and the iOS app was built in XCode with Objective C; both platforms had design sections prepared in Sketch, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. The last and final step was to obtain Boston University branding privileges for the app. CONCLUSION: The research team identified necessary features based on research to build a user-friendly, professional mobile application of an information mastery framework that can be used off-line. The app is called FIF as it is the title of the information mastery tool designed by BUSM EBM-VIG. With a clear mobile interface, it will be beneficial to the learning and training of medical students in EBM.

<p> The purpose of this research study is to analyze the impact that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have had on institutions of higher learning and explore successful strategies implemented by educational leaders in meeting the challenges of these new learning platforms. As online learning has exploded in recent years&mdash;with MOOCs representing the latest evolution of that process&mdash;traditional educational methods at brick and mortar colleges and universities have been challenged by the scope and reach of virtual scholarship. With this rapid development of online learning, and MOOCs specifically, educators must learn to adapt and embrace these new cyber-driven educational venues to stay relevant in today&rsquo;s ever-changing, global learning environment. The insights garnered from this research project can shed light on actions taken by higher education leaders who have addressed the recent massive, evolving shift to virtual learning while still managing to retain the essence of the traditional college experience at their campuses. It is the researcher&rsquo;s hope that the findings of this study will empower college educators to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of MOOCs on higher learning institutions, and to help them strategize ways to successfully incorporate these virtual learning venues into traditional educational programs at their schools. </p><p> This qualitative, phenomenological research study encompasses the lived experiences of 12 higher education leaders who have had involvement with Massive Open Online Courses at their learning institutions as articulated through data collected from 12 semi-structured Interview Questions, framed by 4 overarching Research Questions. The findings of the research project have significant implications for individuals planning to implement and develop Massive Open Online Courses at their learning institutions.</p><p>

abstract: Over the past 25 years, efforts have been made to integrate technology into teaching and learning. In particular, the personalized learning approach has sought to leverage technology to deliver instruction that is adaptive to the learner and personalized learning environments were used as tools in tailoring instruction to match learner needs. Typically, personalized instruction has been delivered using technology, such as the computer. However, little research has focused on using personalized learning as a tool for remediation. The goal of this study was to empirically investigate the efficacy of personalized learning in Algebra as a remediation tool. This study used a mixed-methods approach to analyze satisfaction with the learning environment, perception of and attitudes toward the content being delivered, and the reported overall experience and the personalized experience in the context of two versions of a computer-based multimedia Algebra learning environment. A total of 117 high school students in grades 10 through 12 participated on a voluntary basis. They had previously taken an introductory Algebra course and were now enrolled in a different math course. The students were assigned to one of two conditions: (a) the computer-based multimedia learning environment on the personalized learning platform known as Personalized Learning and (b) the same learning environment without the Personalized Learning platform. In addition to completing a pre- and post-test, participants were administered attitudinal surveys. Results indicated no knowledge gains in either group at the post-test assessment. Further, analyses by gender and race also did not reveal any significant differences among the groups. However, survey results indicated one significant finding: the students exposed to the personalized learning environment had more positive perceptions towards personalized learning than towards the overall experience with the learning environment. Implications for these results and further goals for this line of research are discussed in greater detail within the context of personalized learning, user experience, and social aspects of learning. This work also provides opportunities in helping educators choose adequate tools for teaching and delivering instruction tailored to learners’ needs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 2015