Hokanson,Brad & Gibbons,Andrew ed (2013) Design in educational technology Springer (Berlin) isbn 978‐3‐319‐00926‐1 283 pp £90 http://www.springer.com/education+%26+language/learning+%26+instruction/book/978‐3‐319‐00926‐1

Here is a well written and well edited book with focus on the concept of design in modern educational technology practice. It is for both new and experienced designers; those new to the field might find opportunities to expand their practice, while experienced designers will find affirmation of many past practices and the opportunity to explore new ideas for future projects. If you think this book is likely to be of value to you, I suggest you buy your own copy Diane P Janes     

Grading ePortfolios: Tracing Two Approaches,Their Advantages,and Their Disadvantages

How does one grade an electronic portfolio? This question is one I have thought about, have enacted, and have written about, primarily in reference to ePortfolios used in writing classrooms (Yancey, McElroy, & Powers, 2013 Yancey, K. B., McElroy, S., & Powers, E. (2013). Composing, networks, and electronic portfolios: Notes toward a theory of assessing ePortfolios. In D. DeVoss & H. McKee (Eds.), Digital writing assessment and evaluation. Computers and composition. Logan, UT: Digital Press/Utah State University Press. [Google Scholar]). But what happens when the content and developmental levels are changed, in this case from an undergraduate first-year writing class to another required class, this one offered at the graduate level, Digital Revolution and Convergence Culture? Is using a scoring guide, the preferred approach in writing classes, the best approach in this new context? Or, following Moss, Girard, and Haniford (2006 Moss, P., Girard, B., & Haniford, L. (2006). Validity in educational assessment. Review of research in education 30, 109–162.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), could one use outcomes to “stage a conversation” around a student's ePortfolio; if so, what might a staged conversation look like? Or what might happen if instead of using outcomes as a framework, students themselves set the terms for that conversation? Here, I consider these options, attending especially to the importance of making good judgments and of fostering learning.     

Substance Abuse Policies in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Survey with Implications for Education of Long-Term Care Providers

The aging of the Baby Boom presents long-term care with many new challenges. Among these are the historically high levels of drug use by this cohort. This study surveyed administrators of licensed skilled nursing facilities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky regarding their perception of current drug use by residents, facility policies and procedures currently in place regarding illicit drug use, and their attitudes toward use of illicit drugs by residents. The results of interviews with 40 administrators or their designees revealed that they have experienced little problem with use or abuse of illegal drugs by residents. Fewer than one-third of the facilities had formal policies in place regarding illegal drug use. Only 10% had any experience with requests for medical marijuana, but almost one in five had a policy on the matter and nearly one-third stated they would support medical marijuana use by some of their residents if the matter arose. These authors recommend the following: (a) that the issue of illicit drug use needs to be addressed now before the situation becomes critical, (b) that administrators and staff need to be educated about recreational drug use and appropriate responses to drug abuse, (c) that screening instruments for drug abuse in this population should be developed and implemented, and (d) that policies regarding medical marijuana need to be adopted by all such facilities.     

Neoliberal common sense and race-neutral discourses: a critique of “evidence-based” policy-making in school policing

The author of this paper uses critical discourse analysis and draws on critical social theory and policy studies to analyze the interdiscursivity between neoliberal common sense discourses around crime and safety and race-neutral discourses, “evidence-based” policy, and the research that supports school policing programs. The author offers a macro-sociological analysis of how neoliberal common sense and race-neutral discourses shape crime policy. Next, the author discusses the rise of “evidence-based” policy formation. She argues that evidence-based policy serves to narrow the scope of what constitutes “scientific” research and delegitimize research that uses race as an analytical lens. Then, through textual analysis of samples of the “evidence” supporting school policing, the author illustrates the ways in which neoliberal common sense discourses around crime and safety and race-neutral discourses become the ideological starting point for the research and internalized within research documents. The result is the creation of a hegemonic “evidence-loop” that privileges ideologically driven research that assumes a “scientific” stance and obscures racial bias while it excludes the critical research on the school policing.     

Reporting Quality of Single-Case Research Published in Learning Disabilities Journals

Single-case research designs are useful for learning disability researchers interested in refining novel interventions (e.g., new mathematics intervention) before scaling, small n populations (e.g., students with comorbid learning and emotional and behavioral disabilities), and testing unique conditions (e.g., remote locales). Much attention has been devoted to developing research quality standards, which is essential for replication and implementation fidelity; however, little is known about the reporting quality of single-case design studies. To gain insight into the quality of learning disability single-case research design study reporting, we analyzed 72 articles published between 2010 and 2021 in six learning disability-focused journals using the Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioral interventions (SCRIBE) standards. Findings suggest that reporting quality has remained stagnant, and none of the studies reviewed met all of the reporting standards. Alignment with standards ranged from 33% to 77%. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Entwicklungsförderung im außerschulischen Kinder- und Jugendsport

The concept “Psychosocial Resources in Sport” (Sygusch, Ein sportartenorientiertes Förderkonzept für Schule und Verein. Schorndorf: Hofmann, 2007) substantiates methodical measures to systematically promote resources such as self-concept, self-efficacy, group cohesion, and social competence. In the PRimus-study this concept was implemented in handball and apparatus gymnastics over 7 months in 29 training groups (age: 12–16 years). The aim, amongst others, was to evaluate whether the concept is effective in child and youth sport. For this purpose a mixed-method design was chosen. The development of resources were measured through qualitative trainer interviews (n?=?39) as well as quantitative surveys of athletes (IG: n?=?374; KG: n?=?270) over three measurement times. The trainer statements show that the intervention initiated resource strengthening processes which indicate a promotion of resources. The quantitative measurements, however, do not reveal substantial changes throughout the intervention period. The change in behavior of coaches and athletes – regardless of the intervention measures – influences the development of resources. Overall, it must be noted that broad-based intervention concepts, which are also feasible, had difficulty proving the effects and the effectiveness.     

Indirekte Gesundheitseffekte des Unterrichtsprogramms HealthyPEP

Numerous studies have confirmed direct health effects of interventions with a physical activity component on students without providing sufficient information on the contents or the degree to which the programs have been carried out. The empirical evidence of the indirect health effects of physical education is weaker. In this article the focus is placed on the evaluation of the indirect health effects, such as the enhancement of physical activity and its psychological determinants (e.g. motivation, attitudes, self-efficacy and knowledge) of the health promotion program HealthyPEP, using a quasi-experimental design with 516 sixth grade students. When taking into account the contents of HealthyPEP and the degree of implementation, it was clear that the program had different effects on the two genders whereby girls evaluated HealthyPEP in a more positive way compared to boys. In girls, positive tendencies were observed on rational cognitive determinants (e.g. knowledge and attitudes towards sports). The contents of HealthyPEP must be further optimized in the future to achieve positive indirect health effects also on boys.