scholarly journals A set of free cross-platform authoring programs for flexible web-based CALL exercises

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Myles O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Research Tool ◽  
Gap Filling ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Adobe Flash ◽  
Authoring Program ◽  
Cross Platform ◽  
Consecutive Number ◽  
Sound Files

<p>The Mango Suite is a set of three freely downloadable cross-platform authoring programs for flexible network-based CALL exercises. They are Adobe Air applications, so they can be used on Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computers, provided the freely-available Adobe Air has been installed on the computer. The exercises which the programs generate are all Adobe Flash based. The three programs are: (1) Mango-multi, which constructs multiple-choice exercises with an optional sound and/or image; (2) Mango-match, which is for word/phrase matching exercises, and has an added feature intended to promote memorization, whereby an item must be matched correctly not once but an optional consecutive number of times; (3) Mango-gap, which produces seamless gap filling exercises, where the gaps can be as small as desired, down to the level of individual letters, and correction feedback is similarly detailed. Sounds may also be inserted at any desired points within the text, so that it is suitable for listening or dictation exercises. Each exercise generated by any of the programs is produced in the form of a folder containing all of the necessary files for immediate upload and deployment (except that if sound files are used in a Mango-gap exercise, they must be copied to the folder manually). The html file in which the flash exercise is embedded may be edited in any way to suit the user, and an xml file controlling the appearance of the exercise itself may be edited through a wysiwyg interface in the authoring program. The programs aim to combine ease of use with features not available in other authoring programs, toprovide a useful teaching and research tool.</p>

scholarly journals Facilitators and barriers to the utilization of the ACT SMART Implementation Toolkit in community-based organizations: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aksheya Sridhar ◽  
Amy Drahota ◽  
Kiersten Walsworth
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Acceptance Model ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Facilitators And Barriers ◽  
Acceptance Model

Abstract Background Evidence-based practices (EBPs) have been shown to improve behavioral and mental health outcomes for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research suggests that the use of these practices in community-based organizations is varied; however, the utilization of implementation guides may bridge the gap between research and practice. The Autism Community Toolkit: Systems to Measure and Adopt Research-Based Treatments (ACT SMART) Implementation Toolkit is a web-based implementation toolkit developed to guide organization-based implementation teams through EBP identification, adoption, implementation, and sustainment in ASD community-based organizations. Methods This study examined the facilitators and barriers (collectively termed “determinants”) to the utilization of this toolkit, based on the perspectives of implementation teams at six ASD community-based organizations. Two independent coders utilized the adapted EPIS framework and the Technology Acceptance Model 3 to guide qualitative thematic analyses of semi-structured interviews with implementation teams. Results Salient facilitators (e.g., facilitation teams, facilitation meetings, phase-specific activities) and barriers (e.g., website issues, perceived lack of ease of use of the website, perceived lack of resources, inner context factors) were identified, highlighting key determinants to the utilization of this toolkit. Additionally, frequent determinants and determinants that differed across adapted EPIS phases of the toolkit were noted. Finally, analyses highlighted two themes: (a) Inner Context Determinants to use of the toolkit (e.g., funding) and (b) Innovation Determinants (e.g., all website-related factors), indicating an interaction between the two models utilized to guide study analyses. Conclusions Findings highlighted several factors that facilitated the utilization of this implementation guide. Additionally, findings identified key areas for improvement for future iterations of the ACT SMART Implementation Toolkit. Importantly, these results may inform the development, refinement, and utilization of implementation guides with the aim of increasing the uptake of EBPs in community-based organizations providing services to children with ASD and their families. Finally, these findings contribute to the implementation science literature by illustrating the joint use of the EPIS framework and Technology Acceptance Model 3 to evaluate the implementation of a web-based toolkit within community-based organizations.

Presentation of Self in E-veryday Life: How People Labelled with Intellectual Disability Manage Identity as They Engage the Blogosphere

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 40-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex McClimens ◽  
Frances Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Mass Communication ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Presentation Of Self ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Sociological Inquiry ◽  
Cultural Construct ◽  
Field Of Inquiry ◽  
The Web

Very little is known about the online habits of people labelled with intellectual disability. What little information there is focuses more on demographic descriptors rather than any analyses of issues specific to that group. Hence the vast majority of the literature is firmly focused on more generic issues as they affect the general population. Some very few disability dedicated studies, however, have examined homepages maintained by individuals who live with Down syndrome. Here at least is evidence of a field of inquiry that recognises there may be particular aspects of web based communications that deserve special interest. The dynamics of web based communications are fast moving and the relatively static homepage has subsequently given way to Web 2.0 technologies. Here the recent and exponential increase in the popularity of blogging as a means of mass communication has attracted much comment in both popular and specialist quarters. Its ease of use and near universal availability has prompted massive sociological inquiry. But again the profile of people living with intellectual disability is absent from the debate. Our study reports on a project in which adults with intellectual disability were assisted to access the web in general, and the ‘blogosphere’ in particular. Our focus is on the means and methods by which the participants were able to manage their off and online identities. We look at the language employed, the layouts used and the way the online messages and postings reflected or distorted the actual lived experiences of these proto-bloggers. Notions of authorship and audience also contribute to the debate as these issues raise questions about sense of self, disability as a cultural construct and our ability to negotiate the increasingly important virtual world of the web.

scholarly journals Visual Comparison of Phylogenetic Trees Through iPhyloC, a New Interactive Web-based Framework

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhsen Hammoud ◽  
Charles Morphy Santos ◽  
Joao Paulo Gois
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Binary Trees ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Structural Comparison ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Visual Comparison ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Cross Platform ◽  
The Common ◽  
Intuitive Design

Current side-by-side phylogenetic trees comparison frameworks face two issues: (1) accepting binary trees as input, and (2) assuming input trees having identical or highly overlapping taxa. We present a task abstraction of the problem of side-by-side comparison of two phylogenetic trees and propose a set-based measure for detailed structural comparison between two phylogenetic trees, which can be non-binary and not highly overlapping. iPhyloC is an interactive web-based framework including automatic identification of the common taxa in both trees, comparing input trees in several modes, intuitive design, high usability, scalability to large trees, and cross-platform support. iPhyloC was tested in hypothetical and real biological examples.

Innovation in Education through Web-Based Instruction

2016 ◽  
pp. 131-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Levitt ◽  
Joseph M. Piro
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Multiple Literacies ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Instructional Activity ◽  
Innovation In Education ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Cross Platform ◽  
Based Instruction

Technology continues to revolutionize the teaching and learning landscape opening up new possibilities to use new media to digitally enhance multiple literacies. The authors argue for the reconceptualization of the instructional activity of a WebQuest as a single or multi-player high end multimodal experience with potential to stimulate student interest, motivate goal-directed learning behaviors, and positively sustain academic achievement and accomplishment. Suggestions for creating a WebQuest using emerging cross-platform methodology will be probed in order to examine their innovative potential both in teacher preparation and class instruction. Recommendations for utilizing a WebQuest to digitally enable both students and pre-service teachers are also offered.

Tackling Acceptability Issues in Communities of Practice by Providing a Lightweight Email-Based Interface to Social Software

2010 ◽  
pp. 26-37
Author(s):  
Chiu Man Yu ◽  
Denis Gillet ◽  
Sandy El Helou ◽  
Christophe Salzmann
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Social Software ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Joint Activities ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Asset Management System

In the framework of the PALETTE European research project, the Swiss federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) is designing and experimenting with eLogbook, a Web-based collaborative environment designed for communities of practice. It enables users to manage joint activities, share related assets and get contextual awareness. In addition to the original Web-based access, an email-based eLogbook interface is developed. The purpose of this lightweight interface is twofold. First, it eases eLogbook access when using smart phones or PDA. Second, it eases eLogbook acceptance for community members hesitating to learn an additional Web environment. Thanks to the proposed interface, members of a community can benefit from the ease of use of an email client combined with the power of an activity and asset management system without burden. The Web-based eLogbook access can be kept for supporting further community evolutions, when participation becomes more regular and activities become more complex. This chapter presents the motivation, the design and the incentives of the emailbased eLogbook interface.

Learners’ Technological Acceptance of VR Content Development: A Sequential 3-Part Use Case Study of Diverse Post-Secondary Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 343-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinh T. Nguyen ◽  
Rebecca Hite ◽  
Tommy Dang
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Use Case ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Post Secondary Students

Web-based virtual reality (VR) development tools are in ubiquitous use by software developers, and now, university (undergraduate) students, to move beyond using, to creating new and energizing VR content. Web-based VR (WebVR), among other libraries and frameworks, have risen as a low-cost platform for users to create rich and intuitive VR content and applications. However, the success of WebVR as an instructional tool relies on post-secondary students technological acceptance (TA), the intersectionality of a user’s perceived utility (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU, or convenience) with said technological tool. Yet, there is a dearth of exploratory studies of students’ experiences with the AR/VR development technologies to infer their TA. To ascertain the viability of WebVR tools for software engineering undergraduates in the classroom, this paper presents a 3-case contextual investigation of 38 undergraduate students tasked with creating VR content. In each use case, students were provided increasing freedom in their VR content development parameters. Results indicated that students demonstrated elements of technological acceptance in their selection of webVR and other platforms, and not only successfully creating rich and robust VR content (PU), but also executing these projects in a short period (PEOU). Other positive externalities observed were students exhibitions of soft skills (e.g. creativity, critical thinking) and different modes of demonstrating coding knowledge, which suggest further study. Discussed are the lessons learned from the WebVR and VR/AR interventions and recommendations for WebVR instruction. This work may be helpful for both learners and teachers using VR/AR in selecting, designing, and developing coursework materials, tools, and libraries.

The Role of Internet Self-Efficacy in Acceptance of Web-Based Electronic Medical Records

2011 ◽  
pp. 54-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingxiong Ma ◽  
Liping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
Record System ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Medical Record System ◽  
Acceptance Model

The technology acceptance model (TAM) stipulates that both perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) directly influence the end user’s behavioral intention (BI) to accept a technology. Studies have found that self-efficacy is an important determinant of PEOU. However, there has been no research examining the relationship between self-efficacy and BI. The studies on the effect of self-efficacy on PU are also rare, and findings are inconsistent. In this study, we incorporate Internet self-efficacy (ISE) into the TAM as an antecedent to PU, PEOU, and BI. We conducted a controlled experiment involving a Web-based medical record system and 86 healthcare subjects. We analyzed both direct and indirect effects of ISE on PEOU, PU, and BI using hierarchical regressions. We found that ISE explained 48% of the variation in PEOU. We also found that ISE and PEOU together explained 50% of the variation in PU, and the full model explained 80% of the variance in BI.

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