E-learning and Language and Style in Lancaster

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mick Short

This article reports on research conducted in the department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University from 2002 to 2005 on first-year undergraduate student performance in, and reaction to, a web-based introductory course in stylistic analysis. The main focus of this report is a comparison of student responses to the varying ways in which the web-based course was used from year to year. The description of student responses is based on an analysis of end-of-course questionnaires and a comparison of exit grades. In 2002–3, students accessed the first two-thirds of the course in web-based form and the last third through more traditional teaching. In 2003–4 the entire course was accessed in web-based form, and in 2004–5 web-based course workshops were used as part of a combined package which also involved weekly lectures and seminars. Some comparison is also made with student performance in, and responses to, the traditional lecture + seminar form of the course, as typified in the 2001–2 version of the course.

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Crisp

This article presents something of the experience of teaching and studying web-based Language and Style at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, concentrating mainly on the 2004–5 running of the course, which was taught in a blended traditional + web format. It concentrates on this experience and only briefly presents some degree of the socio-linguistic and cultural context to make the experience accessible for those not familiar with Hong Kong. Some quantitative data are given and are supplemented by qualitative discussion of student comments. A particularly important qualitative resource was the weekly journals kept by the students. The main conclusion to be drawn is that the students want to retain the major features of the traditional lecture and tutorial approach to teaching, but value having this supplemented with the interactive dimension of the web-based approach.


Author(s):  
F. Bellas ◽  
O. Fontenla-Romero ◽  
N. Sánchez-Maroño ◽  
J. A. Becerra

This chapter is devoted to the application of Web-based multimedia tools as a complement to traditional e-learning resources to improve the quality of teaching in two senses: adapting lesson contents to improving the understanding and increasing the motivation of the students. The authors present a set of practical tools that have achieved successful results in their courses and that, together, provide a more proactive teaching methodology based on interactive and mobile learning materials. These tools can be divided into two main groups: simulations and interactive videos, directly related to the process of studying, and quizzes and questionnaires, useful to adapt the teaching to the objective comprehension level. In addition, the authors point out the advantages of providing the students with more familiar multimedia materials suitable for being transported and consulted in mobile devices. A basic point of this methodology is that all these resources are available through a Web-based interface, so that the interaction does not depend on the physical presence of the students. Finally, the authors must point out that with their methodology they are focused on monitoring learning, which is achieved directly with online questionnaires, but they have also performed resource monitoring, in terms of degree of satisfaction and practical use. This is achieved, in this case, through the use of surveys and from the analysis of the statistics provided by the Web-based application.


Author(s):  
Christopher Walton

At the start of this book we outlined the challenges of automatic computer based processing of information on the Web. These numerous challenges are generally referred to as the ‘vision’ of the Semantic Web. From the outset, we have attempted to take a realistic and pragmatic view of this vision. Our opinion is that the vision may never be fully realized, but that it is a useful goal on which to focus. Each step towards the vision has provided new insights on classical problems in knowledge representation, MASs, and Web-based techniques. Thus, we are presently in a significantly better position as a result of these efforts. It is sometimes difficult to see the purpose of the Semantic Web vision behind all of the different technologies and acronyms. However, the fundamental purpose of the Semantic Web is essentially large scale and automated data integration. The Semantic Web is not just about providing a more intelligent kind of Web search, but also about taking the results of these searches and combining them in interesting and useful ways. As stated in Chapter 1, the possible applications for the Semantic Web include: automated data mining, e-science experiments, e-learning systems, personalized newspapers and journals, and intelligent devices. The current state of progress towards the Semantic Web vision is summarized in Figure 8.1. This figure shows a pyramid with the human-centric Web at the bottom, sometimes termed the Syntactic Web, and the envisioned Semantic Web at the top. Throughout this book, we have been moving upwards on this pyramid, and it should be clear that a great deal of progress that has been made towards the goal. This progress is indicated by the various stages of the pyramid, which can be summarized as follows: • The lowest stage on the pyramid is the basic Web that should be familiar to everyone. This Web of information is human-centric and contains very little automation. Nonetheless, the Web provides the basic protocols and technologies on which the Semantic Web is founded. Furthermore, the information which is represented on the Web will ultimately be the source of knowledge for the Semantic Web.


Author(s):  
Elvis Wai Chung Leung ◽  
Qing Li

To cope with the increasing trend of learning demand and limited resources, most universities are taking advantage of Web-based technology for their distance education or e-learning (Montelpare & Williams, 2000). One of the reasons is due to the significant price drop of personal computers in recent decades; the Internet and multimedia have penetrated into most households. Moreover, most students prefer to learn from an interactive environment through a self-paced style. Under the Web-based learning model, students can learn anytime, anywhere because they are not required to go to school on schedule (Appelt, 1997). Meanwhile, universities also enjoy the economic benefit due to the large student base that can share the development cost of course materials and other operational expenses. Gradually, more and more universities follow this similar way to provide online education.


2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 777-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine G.W.S. Wong ◽  
Erik P.T. Cheung ◽  
Kitty K.C. Chan ◽  
Kamela K.M. Ma ◽  
Siu Wa Tang

Objective: The mental health of tertiary education students is an area of increasing concern worldwide. The objective of this study is to examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in first-year tertiary education students in Hong Kong. Method: Depression, anxiety and stress were measured by the 42-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, completed on the web by participating students anonymously. Results: A total of 7915 students completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 27.5%. Depression, anxiety and stress levels of moderate severity or above were found in 21%, 41% and 27% of our respondents, respectively. Conclusions: The web-based survey methodology was well accepted by our sample group of tertiary education students. We found high rates of psychological morbidity in first-year tertiary education students in Hong Kong. The high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in the first year of college life is alarming. It illustrates the need for primary and secondary prevention measures, with development of adequate and appropriate support services for this group.


Author(s):  
Hugo Maruyama ◽  
Shikiko Tsukamoto ◽  
Hiromi Toujo ◽  
Takayuki Nambu ◽  
Chiho Mashimo ◽  
...  

Active participation of students is paramount not only for their learning experiences but also for their academic performance. Therefore, various methods have been developed and proven to help students achieve active learning. However, several shortcomings in these methods have been indicated as increasing students’ sense of burden and discomfort, eventually preventing them from benefiting sufficiently. This study aimed to determine the efficiency of a low-load web-based review quiz built by the researchers on Google Forms to enhance students’ reviewing habits and active class participation. Participants in this study were 53 first-year dental hygiene students in a 10-class microbiology course. After each class, all students were given the web-based quiz to prepare for a paper-based review test, which assessed the learning of the content covered in the previous classes. We analyzed the correlations between frequency of participation in the web-based quiz and the average scores of the weekly review tests or the final examination scores. Consequently, voluntary participation in the web-based quiz positively correlated with both short-term and long-term students’ learning outcomes. Through this web-based quiz during the first year of the dental hygiene program, students can develop the “self-learning attitude” needed to pass the national examination.


Data mining is the concept for extracting the appropriate data from the large set of database. In today’s world it is widely used for many applications where learning applications is one of the major part. The e-Learning is the booming technology where anyone can learn everything from any part of the world. It is the digital way of learning the concepts and does not require the help of other persons to do so. It also requires the large space for data storage such as user information, course records and course details and so on. There are lot of learning applications available on the internet among which some might be subjected to frauds. So the security is the demanding thing every users looking for to protect their details. The users also seek for flexibility of using the applications. In perspective of distributed world, the complexity and interoperability of the data brings challenges in e-learning domain.Depends upon learner’s choice, the web based learning modules were developed for the students. Thus, a holistic approach is required for achieving the personalized content since the student groups are heterogeneous in nature. In addition to, the personalized content has to be protected in order to maintain the data integrity and privacy of the users. In this work, we survey about the present scenario of the web-based e-learning systems. Initially, we present the services oriented architecture of the e-learning systems and also clearly explain the different elearning layers.Then, we portray the existing studies processed in web based e-learning systems. Finally, we discuss about the challenges still persists in web-based learning systems. This paper will guide the upcoming researchers in e-learning fields.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don L Jewett

ABSTRACT "Publication forms the core structure supporting the development and transmission of scientific knowledge" (Galbraith2015). Yet, with the WorldWideWeb a dominant part of current scientific publication and information-dissemination, internet "publication" is still paper-based in its style and methods, even when it uses a digital medium. Such a paper-based publishing "model" is NOT adequate for a Web-based world. In 2006, an estimated 3,700 peer-reviewed scientific articles were published per day (Bjork2009)! This totals about 1.35 million articles per year. A similar estimate for 2011 was 1.8 million (Outsell2013), which is almost 5,000 per day. The total number of English-language scholarly documents accessible on the Web was estimated in 2014 to be at least 114 million (Khabsa2014). The methods and features described here are clearly needed now, and will be absolutely necessary in the future, when even more articles are available. In this context of an overload of information from scientific articles, described here is the idea of Knowledge-Step Forums as the basis for creating new peer-reviewed, compended "Literature-Guides", each on a very narrow topic and in a MultiLevel Format (Knowledge-Step Compendia). A multitude of Forum-Compendors, who need not be a senior faculty member (as is the case in traditional literature-reviews), but can be pre-docs, post-docs, and senior medical/surgical residents, will be aided by their mentors and online experts to create these Knowledge-Step Compendia. All participants (students and faculty) will be motivated by their own self-interest and thus each gains from the activity, it being a means to self-organize groups of like-minded scholars that can be the basis for reviews of new data, discovering new ideas, and finding jobs. The Software for Knowledge-Step Forums will also be useful to speed publication on the Web because it will easily support Publication of Preprints with automatic collection of online "peer-review" comments.


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