Mobile Computing and Mixed-Initiative Support for Writing Competence

2012 ◽  
pp. 327-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vive Kumar ◽  
Maiga Chang ◽  
Tracey L. Leacock
Keyword(s):  
Situated Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Grade School ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Core Skill ◽  
Early School ◽  
Mixed Initiative ◽  
The University ◽  
Writing Competence ◽  
The Impact

Writing is a core skill that learners are expected to develop in their early school years and use effectively throughout their later school years. Historically, writing has been considered the purview of grade school education, yet there is evidence that learners seem to lack basic writing skills even at the university level. Unfortunately, the challenges posed by the volume of data created when students write have hampered writing researchers’ attempts to study the impacts of grade school writing initiatives in depth. This chapter introduces two novel approaches to academic writing activities that hold the potential to enhance writing competence and make it easier for researchers to understand the impact of writing interventions. The first uses mobile devices in a situated learning context, and the second uses a mixed-initiative writing system in the classroom.

scholarly journals Sexual violence during research: How the unpredictability of fieldwork and the right to risk collide with academic bureaucracy and expectations

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa T Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Competitive Disadvantage ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Research Endeavour

In a contradictory fashion, researchers, their departments and universities simultaneously recognize the unpredictability of fieldwork experiences and outcomes and help establish a bureaucratic system of planning every component of their research. Ethnographic unpredictability and its consequences are a fact of fieldwork and it is essential that researchers and institutions are prepared to view these as part of interpretable data, to learn from them and not mask them. This article examines ethnographic unpredictability through the lens of sexual violence which I experienced during my doctoral fieldwork in Sierra Leone. I show how I redirected my research and renegotiated my position as an academic. I discuss the culture of risk and analyse the influence of neoliberalism on the university. I describe how ‘market logic’ conceptualizes unpredictability as competitive disadvantage. I show the impact that the imaginary ‘perfect academic’ has on early career researchers and the complicity of mainstream academic (re-)presentation in nourishing the image of the ‘in-control academic’ through muting personal field experiences and vulnerabilities and silencing unpredictable occurrences in academic writing. I conclude with recommendations on how personal situatedness, vulnerabilities, and transformations can be approached as factors in every research endeavour which must not pose threats to an institution’s competitive advantage.

The Impact of Knowledge of English Rhetorical Patterns of Organisation on BA Accounting and Finance Students' Writing Academic Genres

2020 ◽  
pp. 128-149
Author(s):  
Malika Kouti
Keyword(s):  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Rhetorical Patterns ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Academic Genres ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

This chapter discusses the impact of knowing the English rhetorical pattern of organisation on BA Accounting and Finance students' academic writing. More specifically, it focuses on the knowledge of how to structure a letter of application for job hunting purposes. This case study involved the analysis of 40 letters of application written by 40 Accounting and Finance students in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Ghardaïa, Algeria after they had been trained to structure this type of letter. The training lasted for two sessions in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Ghardaia University, Algeria. The training was a direct instruction in which students were shown activities that assisted them in mastering the rhetorical pattern of organisation that concerns letters of application. They were also shown the difference between formal and informal letters of application. The obtained results demonstrated the efficiency of the direct instruction in teaching Accounting and Finance students how to write a letter of application.

scholarly journals Digital Disruption in the COVID-19 Era: The Impact on Learning and Students’ Ability to Cope with Study in an Unknown World

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trixie James ◽  
Gabiela Toth ◽  
Melissa Tomlins ◽  
Brijesh Kumur ◽  
Kerry Bond
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Household Dynamics ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Digital Disruption ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic will forever be known as a disruptive dilemma that impacted many industries in Australia.  For the university sector, sudden lockdown and social distancing rules resulted in an acceleration in the provision of learning and teaching via online platforms, creating new challenges for students and educators. This project explored the ways in which an enabling course supported students through the forced transition from face-to-face classes to online learning due to the COVID-19 restrictions, and the students’ ability to adjust to the disruption caused by the pandemic. This unexpected change provided the opportunity to explore how enabling students perceived this experience and the effect it had on their ability to complete their units of study.  This paper presents findings on the impact that the abrupt transition to online learning had on the students’ educational experience and on their psychological and emotional wellbeing. It was found that most students experienced increased stress due to the changes in household dynamics, responsibilities and a different learning context, yet many reported improved study and technological skills, as well as an improved awareness of their ability to cope with change.  

scholarly journals Implementing Electronic Conferencing Within A Distance-Based University: University Of South Africa Case Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
E. Kritzinger ◽  
K. Padayachee ◽  
M. Tolmay
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Electronic Conferencing ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The outcome of this paper is primarily to survey and analyse student interactions with electronic conferencing systems and to reflect on the impact of such a system on the students’ learning within an open distance learning context. This pilot study is articulated within action research methodology to generate critical reflection on collaborative, online environments such as electronic conferencing systems for teaching and learning. This study aims to assess the benefits and feasibility of integrating such a system within the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) current organisational structure. These results are intended to generate debate and further research within the university into possible evolution in practice within the institution that would address contemporary learning needs of students. As this was a feasibility study, a comparative study of the current tools available for electronic conferencing was warranted. The findings of this study may be used as a basis for further investigation on the challenges that might face the university if online learning were to be implemented. The success of the online conference is nevertheless significant within the context of the University of South Africa. It provides the opportunity to re-examine the current print-based delivery system, and to devise strategies and solutions to significantly increase the quality of learning within the organisation.

scholarly journals TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH TO STUDENTS OF ECONOMICS THROUGH CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS

2022 ◽  
pp. 587
Author(s):  
Tatiana Utkina
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Economic Knowledge ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Knowledge Domains ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The University ◽  
Writing Competence

The article addresses EFL students’ academic writing competence by fostering and evaluating their writing practices through conceptual metaphors. The research dataset comprised 102 Russian students majoring in economics. The students received the instruction based on the framework of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory during their EAP, ESP and EMI courses in economics. Metaphor Identification Procedure VU University Amsterdam (MIPVU) and the method of metaphoric modeling were used to assess EFL writing competence in economic knowledge domains – knowledge of terms and specific concepts, represented as conceptual metaphors. The statistical analysis did not show significant changes in the writing competence level of students when their EAP and ESP writing was compared. However, statistical differences were revealed in the use of metaphors when the students progressed from their EAP to EMI course and from their ESP to EMI course. The qualitative analysis demonstrated main differences within the conceptual metaphor domains in ESP and EMI writing. On the whole, the results reported here suggest the dynamics of FL writing competence of the Russian students specializing in economics when attending an EAP course, an ESP course and an EMI course in economics at the university.

Considerations in the design of WBL settings to enhance students’ employability

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louisa Feldmann
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Student Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Framework ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – A central aim of higher education is employability, in order to enable graduates to act in dynamic working environments. Internships as the prevalent work-based learning (WBL) settings offer such an opportunity during the studies; they are commonly used and broadly researched as interventions to improve students’ skills and competences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influencing factors on students’ skills and competences that lead to employability in WBL settings. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a synthesis of relevant international empirical research on beneficial effects of the very common WBL setting, internship, to create a research framework across disciplines. Findings – The current research is characterized by a search for “best practices,” rather than a holistic and systematic view, acknowledging and taking into account different perspectives and their influence. It cannot sufficiently explain why employability in some WBL settings is enhanced more than in others. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the current understanding and evaluation of WBL as an experiential and situated learning experience. It is essential to take promotive factors from the university, the practical partner and the student perspective into account to understand employability enhancement. Based on these findings, a research framework for a holistic perspective on influencing factors of students’ employability is designed. Research limitations/implications – There is no empirical proof for the findings yet. Future empirical research may, therefore, be directed toward empirical testing of the impact of WBL settings. Originality/value – It is possible to infer recommendations for improving WBL settings from the three parties involved by interlinking situated and experiential theory.

scholarly journals Increasing Student Engagement with Personalized Emails

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Bshaer Alwagdani ◽  
Khalid Alomar
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Adaptive Approach ◽  
E Learning ◽  
King Abdulaziz University ◽  
Mixed Initiative ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Despite a large number of studies in personalizing e-learning systems, only a few sufficiently cover the impact of personalization on university emails. Either universities impose the use of university email or students are reluctant to use it. For instance, It was found that at King Abdulaziz University only 23% of students were using the university email to communicate regularly, unlike the faculty members, who showed an 80% commitment. However, this paper attempts to investigate the effect of applying different personalized systems on the university email and whether using adaptation and adaptability techniques in the university email will cover the huge gap between the university and its members. Specifically, frameworks were built to evaluate the efficiency, frequency of error occurrence, effectiveness, and user satisfaction in each experiment. We focused on testing the usability of personalized email against the existing university email and then evaluate which approach (adaptive, adaptable, or mixed-initiative) is more favorable to personalize the university email. These were conducted and evaluated using 40 subjects. Interestingly, results show that subjects with personalized emails were most efficient and satisfied as well as errors were reduced by 42%. Furthermore, significant differences were found between the three approaches (adaptive, adaptable, and mixed-initiative), and the adaptive approach was the most preferred by the respondents. A set of empirically derived guidelines was also discussed as a basis for developing a suitable university email structure.

Schrijfvaardigheid in de Aansluiting Vwo-wo

1998 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 95-100
Author(s):  
Irene Visser
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Education ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
University Courses ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Writing Standards ◽  
The University ◽  
Writing Competence

The general writing competence of students entering university in the Netherlands is seen as barely sufficient. Writing programmes in secondary education in the Netherlands are seen as deficient in many respects. Also, since teachers at secondary schools have so far been free to set their own writing standards, students in the first year of university courses generally display a wide range of proficiency in writing. The present situation is, therefore, far from satisfactory. This article presents the findings of interviews held at the University' of Groningen during September and October 1997 on this subject, comparing these with relevant data from research papers and conference reports. It concludes with suggesting a solution to these problems of transition between secondary and academic education: a faculty-wide, systematic academic writing programme.

The Impact of a Potential Public/Private Initiative on a Defined Region of the South Suburban Chicago Metropolitan Area

2019 ◽  
pp. 14-32
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Market Area ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The university is considered one of the engines of growth in a local economy or its market area, since its direct contributions consist of 1) employment of faculty and staff, 2) services to students, and supply chain links vendors, all of which define the University’s Market area. Indirect contributions consist of those agents associated with the university in terms of community and civic events. Each of these activities represent economic benefits to their host communities and can be classified as the economic impact a university has on its local economy and whose spatial market area includes each of the above agents. In addition are the critical links to the University, which can be considered part of its Demand and Supply chain. This paper contributes to the field of Public/Private Impact Analysis, which is used to substantiate the social and economic benefits of cooperating for economic resources. We use Census data on Output of Goods and Services, Labor Income on Salaries, Wages and Benefits, Indirect State and Local Taxes, Property Tax Revenue, Population, and Inter-Industry to measure economic impact (Implan, 2016).

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