The Development of Individualized Audio‐Visual Learning Units in Junior High School Biology and the Students’ Achievements

Summaries

English

The development of series of audio‐tutorial units for biological education at junior high school level is described. The effectiveness of these units was tested with students from a Kibbutz school and found to produce higher achievement than a ‘normal’ teaching approach, based on the BSCS Yellow Version (Israeli adaptation) materials. The audio‐tutorial method led to a particularly high achievement gain in the case of girls. The achievement gains resulting from the audio‐tutorial approach are explained in terms of the motivational effect of this method on students.     

‘I’ as Maxime ‐ Some Thoughts on the Pedagogical and Therapeutic Use of Audio‐Visual Media

Abstract

It is not a new idea to use audio‐visual media towards therapeutic ends. This paper, acknowledging Aristotle's theory on the purgative virtues of art, also traces contemporary theorists vis‐a‐vis research conducted between 1926 and 1971. Having done so, the author relates this research, through the use of a case study, to the use of alternative audio‐visual materials as applied in the therapeutic sense. It is concluded that the use of audio‐visual materials and methods can offer great potential to the therapist willing to include them in treating patients.     

Audio teleconferencing and the adult learner: Strategies for effective practice

Abstract

Audio teleconferencing is a distance learning delivery system that has often been overlooked by educational institutions and other organizations. However, the trend toward adoption of “high‐end” (and high cost) delivery systems is giving way to a new trend toward appropriate selection of a delivery system based on course content, course design, and intended audience. This article takes a close look at audio teleconferencing as a viable option for many distance learning situations, discusses the importance of the audio component in distance learning, and suggests management and delivery strategies for organizations considering this medium.     

Computer: The use of computer‐mediated communication in training students in group problem‐solving and decision‐making techniques

Abstract

A cost‐effectiveness analysis of training Army National Guard soldiers by audio teletraining technology was conducted. The trainees were n = 225 soldiers nationwide. About half of the trainees received training in a three‐week Unit Clerk Course through traditional residence training, and the remainder received the same instruction through audio teletraining. Objective performance data were collected from written tests on sixteen of the forty‐seven tasks taught. The percentage of trainees in the audio teletraining group that reached criterion (93%) on the first test was significantly higher (by statistical test) than the residence group (85%). In comparing costs, the audio teletraining group had lower training costs per trainee. Projected on an annual basis, the Army National Guard can save $292,404 per year through the use of audio teletraining for the Unit Clerk Course.     

Student perceptions of satisfaction and opportunities for critical thinking in distance education by interactive video

Abstract

Critical thinking is an important component of learning, yet it has received little attention in distance education literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate graduate students' satisfaction and perception of opportunities for critical thinking in distance education courses that utilized a two‐way audio/video system.     

Excerpt from Article ‘Focus on Audio’

Abstract

In this paper audio characteristics are given, and uses of audio are reported. The availability of new hardware and software technologies for sound and the new possibilities of combining computer application and audio application pose new questions as to the developmnent and to the effects of such combination, questions that pertain to design procedures and to CAL principles.     

Student support via audio teleconferencing: Psycho‐educational workshops for post‐bachelor nursing students

Abstract

Although the provision of student services for distance learners is recognized as critical, the development of effective services for distance learners has been minimal. This paper will provide an overview of a recently initiated project designed to provide student services via audio teleconferencing to a population of Post‐R.N. Bachelor of Nursing students at the University of Calgary. A series of psycho‐educational workshops was developed to ease the transitions first to the distant student role and then back to the role of worker. These workshops were implemented and evaluated in terms of both process and content. Evaluation results indicated that the teleconference delivery of psycho‐educational workshops is effective in providing support services to distance students.     

Audio‐Visuality Squeezed into the Classroom

Abstract

This article looks at how the Finnish education system is approaching the emergence of audio‐visual material as a teaching aid, and the problems faced by the producers of this material in coping with the different types of equipment and the differences in values between the target groups of teachers and pupils. It indicates how teachers must develop and how educationalists must be prepared to accept financial and material help from business and industry if advances are not to be delayed.     

“It means a lot of stuff,in a way”. New York City Youth Interpret Other Youth Produced Videos

This article reports on how a small group of New York City adolescents interpreted audio‐visual expressions that were created by youth participating in the international VideoCulture Project. The New York City youth looked for explicit messages in the youth‐produced video films, but also appreciated features of content and form that prompted their curiosity about the youth producers’ intent, as well as experience of everyday life. This study suggests how American culture has influenced these youth's sensibilities about audio‐visual communication, and discusses the value and problems of engaging youth in projects of this nature     

Children's Linguistic Difficulties in a Pitch Directionality Task Involving Cross‐modal Stimuli

Many children perform poorly on traditional tests of pitch discrimination which require them to identify the higher or lower of successive notes. It is proposed that linguistic ambiguity, inherent in the application of spatial terms to auditory domains, contributes to these difficulties. An experiment is reported which compares children's (aged 6 to 11 years) and adults’ recognition of pitch directions in conditions where consonant or dissonant visual cues are presented, with a condition in which only the sounds are presented. Younger children perform best when visual and auditory directions are consonant. Older children show evidence of superior performance in both visual conditions in comparison with peers tested in the audio‐only condition, suggesting that materials making the linguistic ambiguity salient may help promote their awareness of the auditory dimension. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for interventions to facilitate early musical education.     

Triple‐X and passivity — barriers to learning

Abstract

Triple‐X Syndrome is a little‐known condition that is found in approximately one‐in‐a‐thousand girls. The effects are not readily observable and are variable, particularly in the area of academic achievement. However, passivity and delayed expressive language skills are generally noted as characteristics of the syndrome and are very likely to have implications for the child's learning. The extremely passive nature of the child may mean that explicit and direct teaching is required if learning is to keep pace with peers. This paper presents a single case study involving a seventeen‐year‐old girl with Triple‐X. It describes and explains a ’later’ intervention program based on sight recognition of common words, use of controlled text, short‐term auditory memory training, and development of semantic skills and working memory. The program proved successful in improving reading, short‐term memory, and spoken language skills.     

Factors underlying distance learner satisfaction with televised college‐level courses

Abstract

Two investigations were conducted to identify the major dimensions of distance learner satisfaction with live‐broadcast, interactive (one‐way video, two‐way audio) televised college‐level courses. In the first study, factor analyses were used to explore the responses of 201 currently enrolled students to the Telecourse Evaluation Questionnaire. The analyses identified seven distinct dimensions of course satisfaction. A comparable study was conducted one year later using a different sample of 177 distance learners who were also enrolled in the televised courses. A factor analysis of these data validated the original results in that, as predicted, seven comparable dimensions were identified. Overall results are discussed in terms of the practical benefits the research offers to both program personnel and evaluation researchers.     

Initiation in Audio – Visual Communications

Teaching audio-visual communications

Dealing with audio—visual communications and, in the broader sense, communications as a whole, is a subject which has been taught in French schools for many years. It has aroused interest in many neighbouring countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany, and also in countries as far away as Quebec, Panama, the Ivory Coast and Kuwait.     

Faculty planning for distance teaching

Abstract

How faculty in higher education plan instruction is an area about which little is known. The purpose of this study was to describe instructional planning by faculty teaching adult learners via interactive telecommunications technology and to identify their principal concerns when designing distance instruction. Qualitative methods were used to collect and analyze data on planning by eleven full‐time faculty members teaching on an audio‐graphic distance network. Their distance instruction planning process was characterized by three features: term rather than day‐to‐day planning, a primary emphasis on content rather than process, and reliance on the syllabus as the focal point of planning.     

Telemedicine for patient education

Abstract

A telemedicine project was conducted to explore the delivery of childbirth preparation classes originating at a large regional hospital to a remote site at a small rural hospital. Over six months, three series of classes were included in the project, with twenty‐four participants at the originating site and twenty participants at the remote site. A two‐way, audio/video teleconferencing system with multiple cameras and monitors was employed for instruction. A registered nurse taught the class and a site facilitator assisted at the remote site. Evaluation of the project was done through surveys, interviews, and observations. The classes were well received by project participants at both sites. Principal advantages cited were increased availability of the programs, improved attendance, and convenience to rural participants. The principal disadvantages cited focused on technical problems, particularly audio quality.     

An analysis of teacher questioning behaviour in constructivist primary science education using a modification of a descriptive system designed by Barnes and Todd (1977)

An analytical framework was developed (after Barnes and Todd 1977) to enable both the cognitive and social aspects of teacher questioning in constructivist primary science education to be explored. The data categorized within this framework were collected both before and after a period of questioning INSET in the forms of audio‐taped discussions between teacher and children; audio‐taped, focused interviews between teacher and researcher; and reflective written assignments. The categories used within the framework enabled distinctive individual profiles to be identified for the participating teachers, and the manner in which these profiles changed over time could be charted. The potential for developing the usefulness of this framework for future work is considered in terms of refining some categories and improving the research design. It is suggested that the framework could be a useful diagnostic tool to help teachers develop their use of a child‐centred, constructivist teaching philosophy in primary science education.     

Computer conferencing and the electronic white board in the United Kingdom: A comparative analysis

Abstract

This paper compares the educational attributes of two forms of communication currently in use in distance education in the United Kingdom. Although these forms do not cover the spectrum of technology available, they do represent very different modes. The first of these is the Electronic White Board, a form of audio conferencing combined with a visual display. The second is asynchronous computer conferencing, or computer‐mediated communication, a text‐based means of communication.     

The Effectiveness of Radio as an Educational Medium

Abstract

Radio is a mass medium that can be harnessed to enhance an education campaign since it can span great distances and reach a large number oflisteners. Because of its wide coverage, relatively low unit cost, ability to reach those who are illiterate and without the use of mains power, it has proved to be an effective educational medium. The features of the radio medium are: it is a ‘blind’ (ie non‐visual) medium; it functions in real time; and its codes are purely auditory, consisting as they do of speech, music, sounds, noises and silences.

The fact that it is non‐visual can be harnessed to improve education quality since the listener is compelled to support the sound message by using his/her own imagination. No other medium has this educational power of stimulating and developing the abstract thinking of its audience and enriching and activating the listener's imagination.     

Music in Audio‐visual Materials

Music has an important place in theatre productions and in instructional audiovisual material. Why is this, what functions has the music and what are its effects? Literature on music in audio‐visual material and on its design is very scarce. The concept of music and its characteristics are described in some detail, indicating that music per se has no referential meaning. The theory is presented that music has an emotional effect that can be manipulated by the developer of audio‐visual material. On the other hand, music offers resources for commenting and structuring audio‐visual material.     

General or Specific Learning of Figure‐Ground Perception

Abstract

B?, O. 1978. General or Specific Learning of Figure‐Ground Perception. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 22, 129‐153. Two training programs, one for auditory and one for visual figure‐ground perception, were constructed. The training effect for each program was tested in small groups of 8 pupils and the gain compared with a control group. The pupils were partly from an institution for brain damaged children and partly from an institution for mentally retarded. The effect measured was the pre‐test‐post‐test difference on tests for auditory and for visual figure‐ground perception. Both training groups showed higher gain score than the control group on both tests, but the effect was significant only for visual training on visual figure‐ground perception.