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Articles 31 - 60 of 77
Full-Text Articles in Education
Teachers’ Thoughts On E-Readers In The Elementary School Classroom, Marcy Zipke
Teachers’ Thoughts On E-Readers In The Elementary School Classroom, Marcy Zipke
Education Faculty Publications
Despite the popularity of e-readers and the enthusiasm of some for their use in secondary education, their utility in elementary education has not yet been systematically explored. Some advantages and disadvantages to teaching elementary literacy with e-readers are identified here. A convenience sample of ten teachers from a variety of different types of elementary schools and classrooms who were e-reader novices read a chapter of a grade-appropriate book on a Kindle and evaluated its use for their students. The teachers gave their opinions and ideas on how the devices could be implemented. Three specific technological affordances of an e-reader that …
Training Teachers For A Virtual School System: A Call To Action, Michael Barbour
Training Teachers For A Virtual School System: A Call To Action, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
Online learning at the K-12 level is growing exponentially. Students learning in supplemental virtual schools and full-time cyber schools, using a variety of delivery models that include and sometimes combine independent, asynchronous, and synchronous instruction, in almost every state in the US. In some instances the knowledge, skills, and abilities required by teachers in this technology-mediated environment is consistent with what they learned about face-to-face teaching in their teacher education programs, while in many instances, the two are quite different. Presently the lack of empirical research into effective K-12 online teaching limits teacher education programs. However, teacher education programs still …
The Farnet Journey: Perceptions Of Māori Students Engaged In Secondary Online Learning, Carolyn Bennett, Michael Barbour
The Farnet Journey: Perceptions Of Māori Students Engaged In Secondary Online Learning, Carolyn Bennett, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
This case study investigated the perceptions of Māori students in the Virtual Learning Network of what constituted effective strategies for engaging them in online learning. In the FarNet cluster, about 63 students from the four secondary and five area schools access the VLN, and approximately 80 percent of those students are of Māori descent. Data collection included online surveys, semi-structured interviews, and observation of online classrooms. The data suggested there was a variety of delivery models experienced by students, most supported by the learning management system. Students identified a range of Web 2.0 strategies currently used by their e-teachers, and …
Virtual Schooling Through The Eyes Of An At-Risk Student: A Case Study, Michael Barbour, Jason Paul Siko
Virtual Schooling Through The Eyes Of An At-Risk Student: A Case Study, Michael Barbour, Jason Paul Siko
Education Faculty Publications
While much of the growth in the popularity of virtual schooling has involved at-risk students, little research exists on the experiences of these students in this largely independent setting. This paper describes a case study of an at-risk student in a rural school in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador who was enrolled in an online course as a means to graduate on time. Data from interviews and video observations were analyzed to reveal several themes. The student was good at prioritizing and understood what students needed to do to succeed in an online environment, yet he often did only …
Secondary Students, Laptops And Game Design: Examining The Potential Of Homemade Powerpoint Games In A Blended Learning Environment, Michael Barbour, Jim Kinsella, Lloyd P. Rieber
Secondary Students, Laptops And Game Design: Examining The Potential Of Homemade Powerpoint Games In A Blended Learning Environment, Michael Barbour, Jim Kinsella, Lloyd P. Rieber
Education Faculty Publications
The integration of technology into K-12 classrooms has long been hampered by the problem of scalability. Familiar software programs, such as MS PowerPoint, can be used as a tool for students to create educational games to deepen their understanding of content. In this article, the authors examine students in two secondary social studies classes that created homemade PowerPoint games as a way to review for their mid-term and final examinations. The authors compared student performance on these exams based upon the topics covered by their game design. While no significant differences in student outcomes were found, qualitative analyses indicate that …
Beyond Jeopardy And Lectures: Using Microsoft Powerpoint As A Game Tool To Teach Science, Jason Paul Siko, Michael K. Barbour, Sacip Toker
Beyond Jeopardy And Lectures: Using Microsoft Powerpoint As A Game Tool To Teach Science, Jason Paul Siko, Michael K. Barbour, Sacip Toker
Education Faculty Publications
To date, research involving homemade PowerPoint games as an instructional tool has not shown statistically significant gains in student performance. This paper examines the results of a study comparing the performance of students in a high school chemistry course who created homemade PowerPoint games as a test review with the students who used a traditional study guide on two separate unit tests. Students scored significantly higher on one of the two unit tests; however, there was no difference in performance between students who created games multiple times. This was the first time a significant difference has been reported when using …
What Are They Doing And How Are They Doing It? Rural Student Experiences In Virtual Schooling, Michael Barbour, Janette Hill
What Are They Doing And How Are They Doing It? Rural Student Experiences In Virtual Schooling, Michael Barbour, Janette Hill
Education Faculty Publications
This qualitative study examined a Canadian virtual school learning experience for students and the kinds of support and assistance most frequently used and valued by students learning in a virtual environment. Students were interviewed and observed during their virtual school classes. In-school teachers were also interviewed and online teachers were also observed. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings indicated that during their scheduled asynchronous class time students were often assigned seatwork or provided time to work on assignments, however, students rarely used this time to complete virtual schoolwork. It was during their synchronous class time that both …
Active Learning, Isabelle D. Cherney
Active Learning, Isabelle D. Cherney
Education Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Psychology Of Gender, Isabelle D. Cherney
The Psychology Of Gender, Isabelle D. Cherney
Education Faculty Publications
This chapter presents examples of active learning activities and how these experiential learning exercises are adapted to the course goals and objectives in a psychology of gender course. The focus of the chapter is on how to best integrate new research findings to the students’ existing knowledge base to create a new appreciation of these complex issues and how they influence each individual’s life
Game Design As An Educational Pedagogy, Michael K. Barbour, Kathy Clesson, Meghan Adams
Game Design As An Educational Pedagogy, Michael K. Barbour, Kathy Clesson, Meghan Adams
Education Faculty Publications
In this paper, the researchers explored the use of homemade PowerPoint games as a pedagogy strategy. This quasi-experimental study examined whether there were performance differences between students in a class that utilized the teachers’ traditional methods of reviewing for a unit exam and students in a second class that utilized homemade PowerPoint games. The analysis of variance indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in the performance or the level of improvement between the two classes, which may have been due to the small sample size. These results are consistent with other studies of homemade PowerPoint games.
Tracing International Differences In Online Learning Development: An Examination Of Government Policies In New Zealand, Allison Powell, Michael Barbour
Tracing International Differences In Online Learning Development: An Examination Of Government Policies In New Zealand, Allison Powell, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
In 2006 the North American Council for Online Learning surveyed the activity and policy relating to primary and secondary e-learning, which they defined as online learning, in a selection of countries. They found most were embracing e-learning delivery of education as a central strategy for enabling reform, modernising schools, and increasing access to high-quality education. While North American countries appeared to be using the internet as a medium to provide distance education at the secondary level longer than most countries, the lack of a guiding vision has created uneven opportunities for students depending on which state or province they live …
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions, Michael Barbour
The Promise And The Reality: Exploring Virtual Schooling In Rural Jurisdictions, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
The history of online learning at the K-12 level is almost as long as its history at the post-secondary level, with the first virtual school programs beginning in the early 1990s. While these opportunities were designed as a way to provide rural students with access to more specialized courses, as opportunities have become organized into virtual or cyber schools the nature of students served by these institutions have broadened. Unlike online learning in general, much less is known about virtual schooling – even less of which is based on systematic research. Regardless, the growth and practice of virtual schooling has …
An Examination Of Government Policies For E-Learning In New Zealand’S Secondary Schools, Allison Powell, Michael K. Barbour
An Examination Of Government Policies For E-Learning In New Zealand’S Secondary Schools, Allison Powell, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
In 2006 the North American Council for Online Learning surveyed the activity and policy relating to primary and secondary e-learning, which they defined as online learning, in a selection of countries. They found most were embracing e-learning delivery of education as a central strategy for enabling reform, modernising schools, and increasing access to high-quality education. While North American countries appeared to be using the internet as a medium to provide distance education at the secondary level longer than most countries, the lack of a guiding vision has created uneven opportunities for students depending on which state or province they live …
Distributed Learning In British Columbia: A Journey From Correspondence To Online Delivery, Tim Winkelmans, Barry Anderson, Michael Barbour
Distributed Learning In British Columbia: A Journey From Correspondence To Online Delivery, Tim Winkelmans, Barry Anderson, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
Canada is characterised by a large geographic area, rugged terrain, and many rural communities whose schools cannot offer the same educational opportunities as their urban counterparts. The province of British Columbia exemplifi es this situation. Since 1919, British Columbia has embraced open and distance learning to provide education opportunities across the vast province. British Columbia now has over 50 public and independent (i.e., private) schools offering distributed learning to almost 60,000 students in primary and secondary education.
Researching K-12 Online Learning: What Do We Know And What Should We Examine?, Michael Barbour
Researching K-12 Online Learning: What Do We Know And What Should We Examine?, Michael Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
The article discusses the research about K-12 online education in the U.S. Research about K-12 online learning are classified into two categories. The first category involves the comparison of the performance of students enrolled in the regular classroom and those enrolled in online courses. The second category deals with research on the qualities of teaching/learning experiences in online learning.
Integrating Multimedia Into Moodle: Resources, Antoinette P. Bruciati
Integrating Multimedia Into Moodle: Resources, Antoinette P. Bruciati
Education Faculty Publications
Create and share multimedia learning materials in your Moodle courses. This presentation introduces methods for embedding multimedia into Moodle for instruction, discussion, and assessment. An overview of free Web 2.0 applications that enable K-12 teachers and their students to produce multimedia files is also included.
Powerpoint Games In A Secondary Laptop Environment, Michael K. Barbour, Jim Kinsella, Lloyd P. Rieber
Powerpoint Games In A Secondary Laptop Environment, Michael K. Barbour, Jim Kinsella, Lloyd P. Rieber
Education Faculty Publications
There is no denying the success and popularity of WebQuests among teachers. For those interested in technology integration, this is a significant step in the right direction. Yet, WebQuests are instructivist examples of technology integration – they are web-enhanced forms of direct instruction. We consider constructing homemade PowerPoint games as a constructionist alternative to WebQuests. PowerPoint is nearly ubiquitous software and teachers already use existing games in their classrooms. The authors contend that a better use of class time for learning is to turn over the act of game design to the children themselves. In this project, students in social …
Research And Practice In K-12 Online Learning: A Review Of Open Access Literature, Cathy S. Cavanaugh, Michael K. Barbour, Tom Clark
Research And Practice In K-12 Online Learning: A Review Of Open Access Literature, Cathy S. Cavanaugh, Michael K. Barbour, Tom Clark
Education Faculty Publications
The literature related to online learning programs for K-12 students dates to the mid-1990s and builds upon a century of research and practice from K-12 distance education. While K-12 online learning programs have evolved and grown over the past decade, the amount of published research on virtual schooling practice and policy is limited. The current literature includes practitioner reports and experimental and quasi-experimental studies, both published and unpublished. This paper reviews open access literature in K-12 online learning and reports on a structured content analysis of the documents. Themes in the literature include steady growth and a focus on the …
Strategy Instruction And Lessons Learned In Teaching Higher Level Thinking Skills In An Urban Middle School Classroom, Karen C. Waters
Strategy Instruction And Lessons Learned In Teaching Higher Level Thinking Skills In An Urban Middle School Classroom, Karen C. Waters
Education Faculty Publications
Through a compilation of standards-based lesson plans for small- and whole-group instruction, this chapter offers a humorous and heartbreaking perspective of the author's experiences during a yearlong university partnership “Book Bistro” in a 7th grade classroom with urban adolescent struggling readers. Using a combination of leveled, fictional, nonfictional, and culturally relevant text, the chapter is written as a personal narrative to address higher level thinking through systematic instruction in comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and structural analysis. A step-by-step implementation procedure for each of the research-based strategies is presented, including concept of definition, discussion web, probable passage, pointed reading, semantic feature analysis, …
Beyond Volunteerism And Good Will: Examining The Commitment Of Schoolbased Teachers To Distance Education, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Beyond Volunteerism And Good Will: Examining The Commitment Of Schoolbased Teachers To Distance Education, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Education Faculty Publications
Two decades ago Newfoundland and Labrador introduced distance education in the K-12 environment. The program focused upon providing advanced-level courses to rural school students, and worked largely due to the widely known, but rarely documented significant amounts of content-based assistance from school based personnel. In the past seven years the province has moved to a virtual school model of distance education and more rural schools find that they must rely upon this virtual school to offer academic-level courses to students with a wide range of abilities. This has created many new responsibilities for teachers that have also gone undocumented. Studies …
Literacy Initiatives In The Urban Setting That Promote Higher Level Thinking, Karen C. Waters
Literacy Initiatives In The Urban Setting That Promote Higher Level Thinking, Karen C. Waters
Education Faculty Publications
How does an urban district become a twice-nominated candidate by the Broad Foundation? In a district in which 72 languages are spoken, 38% of the students live in homes in which English is not the dominant language, and 91% of the population is minority (African American, Asian, and Hispanic), this largest school district in Connecticut not only made student learning a priority, but focused on higher level thinking as part of the process. This chapter provides insight to grassroots implementation of district and department initiatives over the course of five years that emphasized cognitive and metacognitive strategies in advancing the …
Using Blogs To Foster Inquiry, Collaboration, And Feedback In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Carol R. Rinke, Divonna M. Stebick, Lauren Schaefer, Michael Evan Gaffney
Using Blogs To Foster Inquiry, Collaboration, And Feedback In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Carol R. Rinke, Divonna M. Stebick, Lauren Schaefer, Michael Evan Gaffney
Education Faculty Publications
This chapter presents a critical case study on the use of information technology in a pre-service teacher education program. The authors integrated Weblogs (blogs) into two constructivist-oriented teacher preparation courses with the goal of helping students learn to think like a teacher through enhanced inquiry, collaboration, and feedback. The authors found that, through the use of blogs, pre-service teaching candidates grew in their abilities to reflect on their own teaching and to provide constructive comments to peers. The authors’ experience also indicated that while instructor and peer feedback via blogs was valuable, it functioned best when paired with face-to-face meetings …
School, Home, And Community: A Symbiosis For A Literacy Partnership, Karen C. Waters
School, Home, And Community: A Symbiosis For A Literacy Partnership, Karen C. Waters
Education Faculty Publications
With the belief that fertile ground for a literate environment is created through lots of oral language, ancestral anecdotes, and reading a variety of genre in fiction and nonfiction, it is possible to link home and school literacy communities. This chapter describes the connection between district literacy events and functional home activities as the basis for a partnership in developing higher level thinking that transcends the classroom. At monthly get-togethers, families were encouraged to participate in the very activities that were used in the classroom as part of the district's literacy block. In helping families acquire a few basic strategies …
Student Performance In Virtual Schooling: Looking Beyond The Numbers, Michael Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Student Performance In Virtual Schooling: Looking Beyond The Numbers, Michael Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Education Faculty Publications
Seven years ago the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation began a virtual high school within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Designed primarily to provide courses in specialized areas to students in rural areas, where schools have difficulty in attracting these teachers, there is concern that the opportunities provided by this virtual school are “second rate.” The purpose of the study is to examine the student achievement in standardized public exams and final course scores in the province between different delivery models, geographic location and subject area to determine whether or not students are succeeding in the virtual …
Using Semantic Ambiguity Instruction To Improve Third Graders' Metalinguistic Awareness And Reading Comprehension: An Experimental Study, Marcy Zipke, Linnea C. Ehri, Helen Smith Cairns
Using Semantic Ambiguity Instruction To Improve Third Graders' Metalinguistic Awareness And Reading Comprehension: An Experimental Study, Marcy Zipke, Linnea C. Ehri, Helen Smith Cairns
Education Faculty Publications
An experiment examined whether metalinguistic awareness involving the detection of semantic ambiguity can be taught and whether this instruction improves students' reading comprehension. Lower socioeconomic status third graders (M age = 8 years, 7 months) from a variety of cultural backgrounds (N = 46) were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Those receiving metalinguistic ambiguity instruction learned to analyze multiple meanings of words and sentences in isolation, in riddles, and in text taken from the Amelia Bedelia series (Parish, 1979, 988). The control group received a book-reading and discussion treatment to provide special attention and to rule out Hawthorne …
Teaching Metalinguistic Awareness And Reading Comprehension With Riddles, Marcy Zipke
Teaching Metalinguistic Awareness And Reading Comprehension With Riddles, Marcy Zipke
Education Faculty Publications
The article reports on multiple meanings in sentences and metalinguistic awareness in education. Comprehension of lexical ambiguity and structural ambiguity are presented as key components of reading education. The author explores the use of riddles in teaching language comprehension and having students develop their own riddles. The author concludes that riddles can encourage metalinguistic skill development and awareness. Other topics include homonyms, ambiguous sentences, riddle books, and brainstorming.
Robots That Teach: Developing An Integrated Curriculum For Middle School Math, Antoinette P. Bruciati
Robots That Teach: Developing An Integrated Curriculum For Middle School Math, Antoinette P. Bruciati
Education Faculty Publications
Keeping middle school students interested in mathematics and motivating them to succeed are challenges that continually present themselves to even the most seasoned teachers. Students will be drawn to mathematics if they are able to connect it to exciting careers. This paper describes a research-based curriculum model for teachers, grant writers, and others interested in incorporating Lego robotics technologies into an existing middle school mathematics curriculum. The model is based on data gathered from a three year research study in which approximately 150 sixth grade students per year and their teachers collaborated with a middle school Math Coordinator, a school …
How Are They Doing?: Examining Student Achievement In Virtual Schooling, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
How Are They Doing?: Examining Student Achievement In Virtual Schooling, Michael K. Barbour, Dennis Mulcahy
Education Faculty Publications
Six years ago the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation began a virtual high school within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Designed primarily to provide courses in specialized areas to students in rural areas, where schools have difficulty in attracting second language, mathematics and science teachers. However, there has been some concern that the opportunities provided by this virtual high school are "second rate" or only able to cater to independent, self-motivated students. The purpose of the study is to examine the student achievement in standardized public exams and final course scores in the province between different delivery …
Revisiting On-Line Discussion As Practice For Reflective Thinking In Three Sequential Classes, Charles Dittrich, Jonelle Pool, Divonna M. Stebick, Emily Weigler
Revisiting On-Line Discussion As Practice For Reflective Thinking In Three Sequential Classes, Charles Dittrich, Jonelle Pool, Divonna M. Stebick, Emily Weigler
Education Faculty Publications
In a previous study, the authors questioned the potential of an on-line environment for increasing productive reflection in three sequential education classes. Of their findings, the issue of consistency stood out as particularly perplexing, namely, why did students exhibit high level reflections sometimes, but not all the time, in an on-line environment? In this follow-up study, the authors question whether in-class reflections coupled with on-line prompts could yield consistently high level pre-service teacher reflections, as measured by individual and class progress over time. This study also examines perceived relationships between the length of a student's reflection and its productivity, as …
Secondary Students' Perceptions Of Web-Based Learning, Michael K. Barbour
Secondary Students' Perceptions Of Web-Based Learning, Michael K. Barbour
Education Faculty Publications
This article presents the results of a survey study of secondary students' perceptions of useful and challenging characteristics of Web-based learning environments. Data were collected using a modified version of a questionnaire from earlier studies. More specifically, the author focuses on what Web-based learning looks like for secondary students, along with their perceptions of the benefits, challenges, and helpful components of Web-based learning environments. As this study utilized similar instruments to earlier studies that looked at the perceptions of postsecondary students and corporate Web-based trainees, comparisons will be made between the secondary students in this study and the populations in …