Digital Commons Network^™

Does The Use Of Technology In The Classroom Increase Students' Overall Academic Performance?, Jessica Mariah Brown

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Technological advances and a decrease in the cost of technology have resulted in nearly 93 percent of public schools classrooms in the United States having access to the Internet, and a considerable increase in educational programs that incorporate technology into the curriculum (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005). Due to the prevalence of technology in the classroom, the effectiveness of such programs has become a prevailing research topic amongst social scientists. This thesis reviews past research and provides an analysis of relevant studies conducted within the last ten years. Using Daft and Lengel's media richness theory as a basis, this …

From Facebook To Gradebook: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Teen Use Of Social Networking Sites And Academic Achievement, Melody Dickerson Swang

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Strengthening 4-H Program Communication Through Technology, Karl Robideau, Karyn Santl

Journal of Extension

Advances in technology are transforming how youth and parents interact with programs. The Strengthening 4-H Communication through Technology project was implemented in eight county 4-H programs in Northwest Minnesota. This article outlines the intentional process used to effectively implement technology in program planning. The project includes: assessing current communication tools used; evaluating participants' preferences for receiving information; educating staff on current research trends; and training teams of youth and adults with the Forrester Research Model (2011) to implement social media as a program communication tool. The process helps staff identify audience and purpose of using technology for their specific needs.

The Evolution And Future Of E-Books: A Major Shift In Technology, Sean F. O'Connor, Fitzpatrick O'Connor Mr.

Research Papers

Since their creation in 1971 by Michael Hart, e-books have steadily progressed into a major part of our technological landscape through the diffusion of innovations. The technology of e-books and e-readers has only further progressed into the current media landscape of how we read books. The e-book and e-reader technology will only continue at a more rapid pace of heavily impacting the future of book reading exponentially with further adaption of this technology.

The Use Of Information And Communication Technologies To Educate Laity: A Case Study, B. Mark Francis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology-based education is learning primarily based in constructivist styled pedagogies. It is neither good nor bad; its value is inherent to the user and environment where it is placed. While some churches place a high value on the benefits gleaned from its use, others abhor it in religious education.

Why churches incorporate or reject technology-based education is a phenomenon that baffles most educators because the logic invoked is neither sound nor empirical. Either way, technology continues to evolve in education circles beyond the walls of the local church. In order to preserve the historical traditions and the distinctive cultures of …

Assessing The Success Of Dual Use Programs: The Case Of Darpa's Relationship With Sematech—Quiet Contributions To Success, Silenced Partner, Or Both, Gregory James Benzmiller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates a major change in U.S. Government research and development policy away from its traditional mission-based model, toward a distinctly commercially-oriented research approach. The SEMATECH project is offered as an example of a Government Industry Partnership (GIP) dedicated to the development of dual-use programs (DUP) with the stated purpose of regaining technological superiority and market dominance in the production of a technology that had significant implications to national economic and military security. The study, builds upon the previous research of Horrigan, 1996; Porter, 1990; Geisler, 1993, 1997, 2003; Fong, 2000; Harlen 2008, 2010; and Brown, 2010. The study …

The Grizzly, October 27, 2011, Liz Kilmer, Nick Pane, Robert Kelley, Dave Muoio, Lisa Jobe, Sabrina Mcgettigan, Sarah Bollert, Rosie Clark, Stacy Shapiro, Emily Fogel, James Noebels, Marina Mccann, Victoria Cameron, Shane Eachus, Satchel Summers

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

New U Fair Welcomes 40+ Vendors • String Ensemble to Make Debut Tomorrow • IT Department Hosts Tech Expo • Internship Profile: Rebecca Kamm • UCARE Community Week • Saturday Night Fun with the Nerf Club • PostSecret Comes to Ursinus College • Opinions: Graduation Change Irritates Students; Campus Safety is a Necessity, Not a Luxury • Roller Hockey Team Resurrected at Ursinus • Stortz and Narang Lead Bears into Cross Country Championships • Senior Spotlight: Jess Porcelan, Women's Soccer

Social Networking Websites: Impact On Litigation And The Legal Profession In Ethics, Discovery, And Evidence, Sandra Hornberger

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

2011 Uri Diversity Week Keynote Speaker Dr. Michio Kaku: Towards A Multicultural, Scientific, And Tolerant Future For The Planet, Multicultural Center

Multicultural Student Services Center

Why is it important that the future be studied? Iranian-Canadian futurist Alireza Hejazi (2009) has suggested that the study of the future moves us “from a passive or fatalistic acceptance of what may happen to an active participation in creating preferred futures.” Why should the study of the future be democratized? German-Jewish futurist Robert Jungk (1987) observed, “Most developing nations seem to accept that their future lies in catching up with the present of the developed nations…This means that it is in the power of the rich nations to define and refine the future and to propagate their images…This is …

Medicine Of The Future Facilitated By Dr. Michio Kaku, Multicultural Center

Multicultural Student Services Center

Dr. Michio Kaku, Henry Semat Professor, Theoretical Physics, City University of New York. During the 21st century, dramatic advances in science and technology will expand the capacity of health care to extend the human life span and improve the medical quality of life. Genomic medicine will enable physicians of the future to apply computer algorithms in organizing and analyzing genomic data to predict susceptibility to disease. Regenerative medicine will utilize stem cells to facilitate the repair, replacement, and re-growth of aging, damaged, or diseased organs, such as the heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, bladder, and ovaries, in patients suffering from cardiovascular …

A Global Panopticon - The Changing Role Of International Organizations In The Information Age, Jennifer Shkabatur

Michigan Journal of International Law

The outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003 and Swine Flu (H1N1) in 2009 captured a great deal of global attention. The swift spread of these diseases wreaked havoc, generated public hysteria, disrupted global trade and travel, and inflicted severe economic losses to countries, corporations, and individuals. Although affected states were required to report to the World Health Organization (WHO) events that may have constituted a public health emergency, many failed to do so. The WHO and the rest of the international community were therefore desperate for accurate, up-to-date information as to the nature of the pandemics, their …

Interactive Whiteboards: A New Tool For Extension Education, Mary M. Schroeder, Connie S. Burns, Marla M. Reicks

Journal of Extension

Use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in school classrooms and conference rooms is increasing. To evaluate the effectiveness of IWBs as a tool for Extension education, two groups of 3rd and 4th grade Minnesota students (n=325) were taught nutrition using traditional methods or IWBs. Significant increases in knowledge and behavior were observed in both groups after the lessons, with no differences observed between groups. Teachers and Extension staff were generally positive about using IWBs to teach nutrition. The results indicate IWBs can be effective when used for Extension nutrition education in schools.

The Instructional Practices Of K-8 Teachers With Interactive Whiteboards: A Descriptive Case Study, Corey Udell Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The interactive whiteboard (IWB) has become an established component in K-12 classrooms. Although multimedia features are incorporated in interactive whiteboards, research has provided mixed results on teachers' strategic use. This study addressed the following questions: 1) What instructional strategies were observed in a sample of classrooms equipped with IWB technology and how they compared to CREP norms?; 2) How were the interactive whiteboards observed being used in the sample classrooms implementing IWB technology?; and 3) What levels of concern, attitudes, and perceptions did teachers indicate toward IWB implementation and use in the sample classrooms? Strategies used by 19 teachers to …

Current, Virginia Pfau

Theses

I am fascinated by the relationship of modern humans to the natural world, and the ways in which the technology we produce has both positive and negative impacts on it. I want to use my work to create a non-biased, beautiful environment in which others can also contemplate this subject. Clay is an important material not only for its elemental symbolism of earth, but also for its long ties to human craft and culture. Plastics are advanced synthetic materials with various ecologically constructive and destructive aspects in a field with increasing emphasis on environmental sustainability. The synthesis of these two …

Using Authentic Videos To Enhance Language And Culture Instruction In A Formal English Language Learning Setting: Ten Videos And Accompanying Lessons, Rebecca Noelle Norris

Theses and Dissertations

English Language Learners benefit from exposure to English as it is spoken in everyday life by native speakers. This thesis explores the positive aspects of combining the visual and auditory modes to present authentic samples of contextualized language and culture through video. The ten videos, materials, and accompanying tasks provide authentic means for beginning English Language Learners to gain exposure to, and learn to use, the English language as it is spoken by native-speakers in the local setting. The videos, materials, and tasks also highlight varied cultural themes and may be used to supplement the existing texts for the Foundations …

Teachers Perceptions Of The Impact Of Online Grading Systems., Brenda Gail Mize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of the communication aspect of using an online grading program. This study explored teachers' perceptions of the implications of allowing the grading process to become transparent to parents. The purpose of this study was to assist teachers in searching for ways to create a positive parent-teacher relationship. A positive and constructive parent-teacher relationship is helpful to the student. If grades are made available to parents on a daily basis, they will have access to specifics about the academic performance of their child. Parents and teachers will be able to communicate with each other on a …

Interview With Jessica Beckett, Free Geek, 2011 (Audio), Jessica Beckett

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Jessica Beckett by Thomas Yarbrough at Free Geek Portland, Oregon on August 10th, 2011.

The interview index is available for download.

Metal Machine Music: Technology, Noise, And Modernism In Industrial Music 1975-1996, Jason James Hanley

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The British band Throbbing Gristle first used the term Industrial in the mid-1970s to describe the intense noise of their music while simultaneously tapping into a related set of aesthetics and ideas connected to early twentieth century modernist movements including a strong sense of history and an intense self-consciousness. This model was expanded upon by musicians in England and Germany during the late-1970s who developed the popular music style called Industrial as a fusion of experimental popular music sounds, performance art theatricality, and avant-garde composition. As a result, the first generation of Industrial music (1975-1983) can be understood as a …

Global Environmental Problems, The Isa Way, Mitzi Moore, Kathleen Pedder

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit asks freshmen to verbally advocate for an assigned policy option from an assigned roll, during a simulation in which they work in teams to influence a mock Presidential Advisory Panel on Environmental Issues. Learning the content (global environmental problems), researching, and collaborating to establish a position will take one month and be taught primarily through Biology and World Geography classes, with support from Math and Multimedia. They will also read Ishmael in English class, and extend their understanding of sustainability issues by taking a week-long field trip immediately following the simulation.

Bamboo People—An Interdisciplinary Unit For High School, Mitzi Moore

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

A summer assignment asks students to read the book Bamboo People, by Mitali Perkins, and complete assignments in every class that are connected to the book. At the beginning of the school year, teachers use the assignments to extend the learning and help students understand the major themes of the book (child soldiers, landmines, literacy, and service to others). A video conference with the author is planned, as well as interactions with people familiar with modern-day Myanmar/Burma. The culminating activity is to bring all the assignments together in one place by publishing a blog post.

Sampling, Looping, And Mashing . . . Oh My!: How Hip Hop Music Is Scratching More Than The Surface Of Copyright Law, Tonya M. Evans

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

This article examines the deleterious impact of copyright law on music creation. It highlights hip hop music as an example of a genre significantly and negatively impacted by 1) the per se infringement rule applied in some instances to cases involving unauthorized sampling of sound recordings; and 2) traditional (and arguably erroneous) assumptions in copyright law and policy of independent creation and Romantic authorship. For decades hip hop producers have relied on the innovative use of existing recordings (most of which are protected by copyright), to create completely new works. Specifically, cuttin’ and scratchin’, digital sampling, looping and (most recently) …

Sustainable Leadership: Creating Foundations For Lasting Change, Matthew Lynch

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The change in the United States population and the pace of Internet technology-perhaps more dramatic than most universities may have forecasted-translates into more diverse prospective students with changing needs and interests in university education (Wilson & Meyer, 2009). Immigration and U.S. population growth patterns have converged into a new prospective student profile (Banks, 2008), such that between now and the year 2050, one in three U.S. residents will be Hispanic (U.S. Census, 2009). Similarly, African Americans and Black immigrants will increase to 15% of the U.S. population, and the Asian population will grow from 5.1% to 9.2%. People of two …

Aisr Connections, Fall 2011 (2011-2012 Orientation Issue), Aisr

The AC's Research Support Newsletter (Formerly AISR Connections)

Yearly publication of AISR Connections for 2011-2012.

Issue includes:

• FACT Program Incorporates iPads
• Classroom Technologies & Videoconferencing
• Jefferson Digital Commons Posts Half Million Downloads

The mission of Academic & Instructional Support & Resources (AISR) is to strengthen the educational, research and clinical activities of the Jefferson community by providing knowledge-based information, developing and managing instructional technologies and content, supporting and managing campus classroom technologies, and providing leadership in scholarly communication and publishing.

Students Who Aren't Prepared For College Find Less Value In Books And Lecture Than Students Who Are Prepared, Jeffrey B. Henriques, Lyrissa I. Kusse

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Students in three sections of introductory psychology, N = 1051, were asked about the utility of traditional, e.g. instructor, lectures and textbook, and nontraditional, e.g., clickers, podcasts and online lecture slides, teaching tools. Students who felt unprepared for college (25.9%) differed from their peers in their perceived utility of these tools. Both groups of students reported that novel teaching tools were less helpful than traditional teaching tools and while there was no group difference in the perceived usefulness of the novel tools, underprepared students found traditional teaching tools to be less helpful than did prepared students. When the individual tools …

The Movement Of An Object Through A Field Creates A Complex Situation, Jared Scott Greenleaf

Theses and Dissertations

I aim to move the viewer through a system that consists of science fiction, of world building, with themes of nature, technology, and a subtle allusion to comic book aesthetics. Removing customary sci-fi and comic book narrative in favor of concept, self-awareness, and open-ended exploration, the outcome creates a complex setting. The report herein documents the various methods used to create this multifaceted installation space, which was the focus of my selected project.

Writing About Literature In The Digital Age, Derrick Clements, Gideon Burton, Taylor Gilbert, Matthew Harrison

Student Works

Writing about Literature in the Digital Age is a collaborative effort by students at Brigham Young University who are pushing boundaries of traditional literary study to explore the benefits of digital tools in academic writing. This eBook is a case study of how electronic text formats and blogging can be effectively used to explore literary works, develop one's thinking publicly, and research socially. Students used literary works to read the emerging digital environment while simultaneously using new media to connect them with authentic issues and audiences beyond the classroom. As literacy and literature continue their rapid evolution, accounts like these …

A Study Of K–12 Music Educators' Attitudes Toward Technology-Assisted Assessment Tools, Lance D. Nielsen

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this study was to examine K-12 music educators’ attitudes regarding the use of technology in the assessment of music learning. There is a considerable range of musical behaviors with different levels of complexity that can be assessed (Boyle & Radocy, 1987). A variety of software and web-based assessment tools are available for music educators. However, it is unclear how many teachers are taking advantage of incorporating these technological assessment tools into their instructional practice. This study provided current data about the demographics of teachers using technology to assess musical growth and the variables that might motivate a …

The Impact Of The Internet On Wedding Invitation Ordering, Danielle Dimercurio

Graphic Communication

The purpose of study was to analyze and determine the current trends of wedding invitation ordering based on the priorities of marrying couples and the advancement of technology. Traditionally, wedding invitations were ordered in-person from local, artisan stationers. With the advancement of technology and the Internet Revolution in the last 20 years, modern methods have been introduced, including ordering from online retailers and sending electronic invitations, through e-mail.

This study began by interviewing three professionals in different segments of the wedding industry – a wedding planner, stationer, and online marketing manager. Each provided their expert opinion based on their experience …

Cyber Warfare: Explaining The Absence Of Physical Force Responses By States, Conor Mcfarland

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This essay examines the unwillingness of nation-states to use physical force in response to cyber warfare. Specifically, the paper claims that uncertainties regarding international law, state sovereignty, definitions of the use of force, and the problem of attribution in cyberspace contribute to a state’s decision to forego responding to cyber-attacks by using physical force attacks in other domains (i.e., land, air, sea, and space). These concepts are considered within the framework of Neorealist theory and in reference to the literature on cyber warfare. The 2007 series of cyber-attacks on Estonia are utilized as a case study to further examine the …

Technology Integration In Georgia Public Elementary Schools, Timothy H. Sawyer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify actions and practices that effective technology leaders use to support and sustain technology integration in elementary school classrooms. Three Georgia public elementary school principals who had been identified as top building level technology leaders and three each of their teachers were interviewed using researcher developed interview questions that addressed the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) seven factors for successful technology implementation. The interviews provided insights into the principals' and teachers' perspectives regarding the principals' roles in effectively implementing classroom technology in their schools. Interview data were analyzed inductively through …