“I did not realize so many options are available”: Cognitive authority,emerging adults,and e-mental health

Approximately one in five people in developed countries such as Canada and Australia will experience mental illness during their lifespan, and this statistic may be even higher for people between the ages of 18 and 25. Due to widespread stigma and other issues, access to mental health care is limited. However, given the heavy online use by people in this age range as well as the prevalence of existing online health information, it is possible that “e-mental health,” when delivered in an efficacious and engaging format, could be a viable dissemination option. A quantitative and qualitative online survey was distributed to university students in order to determine their opinions of currently available e-mental health resources. Within the sample (n = 1308), text-based searching on Web sites such as Google as well as reading informational Web sites were the most highly preferred and utilized methods. However, a significant knowledge gap regarding the existence of other e-mental health formats was noted. Suggestions for future research include search engine optimization changes and continued development of e-mental health resources.     

Schooling Heidegger: on being in teaching

The article looks at the practice of teaching in the light of the Part One of Martin Heidegger's major work Being and time. After discussing the main themes of this work, and particularly Heidegger's argument that our fundamental way of being is not cognitive, it examines their implications for such issues as the place of theory and reflection in education. The article then considers generalised approaches to professional work, notably those of Donald Schön and Andrew Abbott. It concludes that teaching has unique characteristics which are illuminated by Heidegger's writing. It suggests that teachers’ practice exhibits a tension between instrumentality and a concernful being-with children, but is fundamentally grounded in the latter.     

Metriken für UML-Modelle

Zusammenfassung. Um einen auf UML basierenden Entwicklungsprozess bewerten und verbessern zu können, werden Metriken für UML-Modelle definiert. Wir stellen einen Satz derartiger Metriken vor und diskutieren ihre Tauglichkeit. Unsere Metriken sind generisch definiert, sie werden zur Bewertung der einzelnen UML-Diagramme spezialisiert. Wir berichten vom Einsatz der Metriken zur Evaluation eines Prozessmodells, das in der Lehrveranstaltung Software-Praktikum eingesetzt wird. Eingegangen am 2. Januar 2001/Angenommen am 20. Dezember 2002CR Subject Classification: D.2.2, D.2.8, D.2.9, K.3.2, K.6.3     

Positioning Informal Learning Research in Museums within Activity Theory: From Theory to Practice and Back Again

This article discusses the theory I have come to rely on most consistently to collect and analyze data, interpret interactions at exhibits, and understand power dynamics within museums at many levels of analysis. Activity Theory has, for me, demonstrated the greatest versatility in informing, supporting, and reciprocally intertwining practice and theory. I describe my own evolutionary process here in the context of Activity Theory in order to demonstrate how I have come to see the theory reflected in my research design and analysis.     

Comparing the Picture Exchange Communication System and the iPad™ for Communication of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Delay

Both picture exchange, a low-tech picturebased communication system, and technologybased interventions, such as the iPad? with communication application, are emerging treatments for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the National Autism Center (2009). Recently, investigations regarding the use of the Apple iPad? to communicate have been conducted with mixed results. The authors used a single-subject alternating treatment design during an extended school year (ESY) program for students with disabilities to compare the independent use and effectiveness of the two approaches (low-tech picture-based versus iPad? equivalent) for three pre-school and two elementary students with ASD and developmental delay (DD). The authors concluded that teaching low-tech picture exchange prior to introducing the iPad? may be effective progression in teaching communication reciprocity skills for some students with ASD/DD. Limitations and strengths of both technologies are discussed.     

An Activity Analysis of Secretarial Duties as a Basis for an Office Practice Course

The cognitive processes used by children during problem solving have received considerable attention in recent years. The identification of the processes used by both successful and unsuccessful problem solvers has been hampered by the difficulties involved in making accurate observations of mental processes which may or may not have physical manifestations during problem solving. In addition, problem solvers themselves often are unaware of many of the thought processes they use while attempting to solve problems. The most popularly used methods for studying problem solving processes are not sufficiently reliable or valid. This study explored the potential effectiveness of a new procedure for identifying and studying certain of the cognitive processes used during problem solving. In addition, the procedure was used to categorize the types of conceptual thinking problem solvers employ, to study the use of trial and error behavior, and to investigate problem solvers’ abilities to coordinate multiple bits of information. It appears that the procedure has application for generating hypotheses about cognitive processes problem solvers use.     

Using collaborative technology to enhance pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge in Science

Groups of 11‐year‐olds in their first term at secondary school were given three cognitive tests. Girls and boys were found to be approximately equal in science knowledge. Boys did slightly better on tests of physical science, especially when these were in multiple choice form, but otherwise there were few sex differences. Neither the style of the question (multiple choice or structured) nor the content (feminine or masculine) had any great effect on sex differences in performance. However, boys performed markedly better than girls on tests of spatial ability and mechanical reasoning. These skills may be important for later success in technical studies at school.     

Enabling connections in postgraduate supervision for an applied eLearning professional development programme

This article describes the practice of postgraduate supervision on a blended professional development programme for academics, and discusses how connectivism has been a useful lens to explore a complex form of instruction. By examining the processes by which supervisors and their students on a two-year part-time masters in Applied eLearning negotiated the blended approach adopted to supervision, it illustrates the conditions that enable connections to occur and flourish. The socio-technical context for supervision was supported using learning technologies (VLE, research wikis and ePortfolios), small group supervision (two to three supervisors and students) and traditional individual supervision. Qualitative data were obtained through surveys and focus groups, and analysed using a framework which drew on connectivist principles. Findings suggest that for increased connections between supervisors and their students, a sense of sanctuary, community and regulation within the supervision process is important; the role of technologies in unifying postgraduate supervision in professional development are discussed.