Improving the quality and effectiveness of computer-mediated instruction through usability evaluations   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Michael S. Crowther  Chris C. Keller  Gregory L. Waddoups 《British journal of educational technology : journal of the Council for Educational Technology》2004,35(3):289-303

Brigham Young University's Center for Instructional Design (CID) creates online courses and multimedia instructional applications for university faculty. This paper asserts that including usability testing as a part of evaluation improves the quality and effectiveness of computer‐mediated instruction. The paper describes the fundamental purpose and functions of usability testing, and also distinguishes between different forms of evaluation: accessibility, quality assurance (QA), usability and implementation. Through a detailed case study, we describe how usability testing improved the quality of a computer‐based chemistry course and facilitated a clearer analysis of the learning effectiveness of this course.  相似文献   

Editorial     

Eve Gregory  Charmian Kenner 《Literacy》2002,36(3):97-98

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The failure of the public schools and the free market remedy     

Henry M. Levin 《The Urban Review》1968,2(7):32-37

A Summary The replacement of the existing system of publicly operated schools by a market of private ones-supported by government vouchers—would probably yield mixed results. On the one hand, some parents would have greater choices among schools and some schools would have to be productive in order to survive in the competitive framework. The increase in consumer choice and the resultant competition among schools would be likely to lead to greater educational benefits for many students and their families (private benefits) than those which they receive under the present monopolistic system.On the other hand, the schools are also expected to fulfill certain social functions. It is in these that a market approach to schooling is likely to yield poor results. For example, basic schooling represents the primary device for equalizing opportunities among racial and social groups. Yet, advantaged children would probably receive far better schooling under the market proposal than would disadvantaged ones, and it is likely that this disparity would lead to larger future inequalities in opportunity between the children of the middle class and those of the poor. Further, it is not clear that a set of largely autonomous schools could provide the common set of values and knowledge necessary for the functioning of a democratic society. Finally, it is likely that the market proposal would increase racial and social stratification of students among schools. Whatever the success of the market in meeting consumer preferences, it would be offset by the market's failure to satisfy the social goals of basic schooling.Fortunately, we are not limited to choosing between the traditional educational bureaucracy on the one hand or an unmitigated free market for educational services on the other. There are several ways to create competition within a public school system. Jencks, Sizer, and Coleman have suggested particular plans based upon the competitive framework, and the proposal for community schools represents a more general framework in which the competition of the market place might be used to advantage. The time is ripe to experiment with at least one of these plans for the children of the ghetto. Do we have any buyers? Henry M. Levin is a research associate with the Economic Studies Division of the Brookings Institute. He has written on economic and educational matters in the Saturday Review, the Journal of Human Resources,and other publications. He is currently organizing a Brookings conference on the community school.  相似文献   

Expanding discourse repertoires with hybridity     

Gregory J. Kelly 《Cultural Studies of Science Education》2012,7(3):535-539

In ??Hybrid discourse practice and science learning?? Kamberelis and Wehunt present a theoretically rich argument about the potential of hybrid discourses for science learning. These discourses draw from different forms of ??talk, social practice, and material practices?? to create interactions that are ??intertextually complex?? and ??interactionally dynamic.?? The hybrid discourse practices are described as involving the dynamic interplay of at least three key elements: ??the lamination of multiple cultural frames, the shifting relations between people and their discourse, and the shifting power relations between and among people.?? Each of these elements requires a respective unit of analysis and are often mutually reinforcing. The authors present a theoretically cogent argument for the study of hybrid discourse practices and identify the potential such discourses may have for science education. This theoretical development leads to an analysis of spoken and written discourse around a set of educational events concerning the investigation of owl pellets by two fifth grade students, their classmates, and teacher. Two discourse segments are presented and analyzed by the authors in detail. The first is a discourse analysis of the dissection of the owl pellet by two students, Kyle and Max. The second analysis examines the science report of these same two students. In this article, I pose a number of questions about the study with the hope that by doing so I expand the conversation around the insightful analysis presented.  相似文献   

Using science songs to enhance learning: an interdisciplinary approach     

Crowther G 《CBE life sciences education》2012,11(1):26-30

Music is recognized as an effective mode of teaching young children but is rarely used in university-level science courses. This article reviews the somewhat limited evidence on whether and how content-rich music might affect college students' understanding of science and offers practical suggestions for incorporating music into courses. Aside from aiding memorization, songs may potentially improve learning by helping students feel relaxed and welcome in stressful settings, engaging students through multiple modes (verbal vs. nonverbal) and modalities (auditory vs. visual vs. kinesthetic) simultaneously, challenging students to integrate and "own" the material through the medium of song lyrics, and increasing students' time on task outside of class through enjoyable listening or songwriting assignments. Students may produce content-rich songs of good quality if given sufficient assistance and encouragement by instructors and peers. The challenges ahead include 1) defining the circumstances in which music is most likely to promote learning and 2) developing rubrics for evaluating the quality of songs.  相似文献   

Lift Every Voice and Sing: Faculty of Color Face the Challenges of the Tenure Track     

Dorothy F. Garrison-Wade  Gregory A. Diggs  Diane Estrada  Rene Galindo 《The Urban Review》2012,44(1):90-112

This article highlights some of the obstacles facing tenure-track faculty of color in academia. Through the perspective of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and by using a counterstories method, four faculty of color share their experiences as they explore diversity issues through engaging in a 1-year self-study. Findings of this qualitative study provide important insights from the perspectives of faculty of color to address ways in which to identify supports that lever barriers during the tenure process.  相似文献   

Case‐based instruction: Improving students' conceptual understanding through cases in a mechanical engineering course     

Aman Yadav  Megan Vinh  Gregory M. Shaver  Peter Meckl  Stephanie Firebaugh 《科学教学研究杂志》2014,51(5):659-677

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Examining the developmental trajectories of adolescent sexual offenders     

Lesleigh E. Pullman  Elisabeth J. Leroux  Gregory Motayne  Michael C. Seto 《Child abuse & neglect》2014

The aim of the current study was to assess the validity of the sex-plus versus sex-only categorization method for distinguishing between different types of adolescent sex offenders (ASOs; Butler & Seto, 2002). It is hypothesized that this categorization method has utility when attempting to distinguish between generalist and specialist ASOs (Seto & Pullman, 2014). Additionally, further classification of ASOs was attempted using a well known juvenile delinquency classification scheme, early-onset versus late-onset offenders (Moffitt, 1993). The current study was an archival analysis of clinical files from a sample of 158 male ASOs seen for clinical assessment at a Metropolitan Family Court Clinic. Results indicate that sex-plus offenders are more antisocial, exhibit more psychiatric issues, and have greater deficits in general social skills compared to sex-only offenders. Conversely, sex-only offenders were found to have more atypical sexual interests, and were more likely to have greater deficits in romantic relationships compared to sex-plus offenders. Due to a power related limitation, little support was found for the use of the early-onset versus late-onset classification scheme with ASOs. Overall, these results provide further support to the validity of a sex-only versus sex-plus distinction. Given these results mirror those found in the generalist/specialist literature regarding the etiology of ASOs, sex-only and sex-plus offenders may indeed have different etiological pathways: sex-plus offenders are more driven by general antisociality factors, as the generalist perspective suggests, and sex-only offenders are more driven by special factors, as the specialist explanations suggest.  相似文献   

Lessons Learned from Exemplary Schools     

Lynne Schrum  Barbara B. Levin 《TechTrends》2013,57(1):38-42

This article presents lessons learned about successful professional development for promoting technology integration from eight exemplary schools. Through a qualitative investigation into school leaders’ and teachers’ intentional goals of improving student engagement and achievement, formal, informal, and individual opportunities are described from these schools. The data led to a deep understanding of the ways these schools implemented PD; in most schools purposeful reconfiguration of the entire curriculum was a corollary to the professional development. We found that the most effective models incorporated district wide, school based, formal and informal opportunities that accommodated preferences in both learning and delivery models.  相似文献   

The relationship between the developmental level of persuasive strategies and their effectiveness     

Gregory J. Shepherd  Barbara J. O'Keefe 《Communication Studies》2013,64(3):137-152

Research on the development of persuasive communication skills has described the emergence of four basic strategies in persuasive messages. This study includes two experiments to assess the role these strategies play in the process of gaining compliance. In both, college students received messages requesting they volunteer for an experiment and advocating compliance. Messages differed in the level of strategic adaptation of the compliance‐gaining appeal they offered. In general, form of request (supported versus unsupported) and content of specific message appeals influenced compliance, but level of strategic adaptation made little or no contribution to message effectiveness.  相似文献