Print to Electronic: The Library Perspective

For publishers and librarians to work well together it will help for publishers have a good idea of the circumstances and challenges currently facing libraries. This includes but is not limited to budget; libraries also struggle with a complex technology environment, quickly changing licensing, pricing and content options, and incomplete adoption of standards by publishers and software vendors. This paper is a short introduction to these issues and includes a brief overview of what publishers can do to help librarians, and what librarians can do to help publishers.     

Individual and developmental differences in reading monitoring: When and how do children evaluate their comprehension?

This paper examines evaluation in reading. Evaluation refers to the processes by which readers monitor their ongoing text comprehension to assess performance and task difficulties. Monitoring is assumed to explain a large proportion of individual differences in text comprehension, in that individuals need to be aware of their objectives and difficulties in order to adjust their strategies to match task requirements. The participants were French children in grades 3 and 5. Study 1 examined their evaluation-related knowledge (i.e., knowledge about reading objectives, sources of difficulties, comprehension awareness). Study 2 examined the children’s actual evaluation behavior during a comprehension task. The results showed that few children provided elaborate verbalizable knowledge about reading tasks, goals and corresponding skills, and that in most cases the children were highly confident in their responses to text comprehension questions, regardless of the correctness of their answer. The contribution of metalinguistic awareness to literacy acquisition as well as the implications of this type of study for educational practice are discussed.     

Österreichs Malaise mit dem Europäischen Hochschulraum

Der rasante Anstieg ausländischer Studierender gilt als die heute auffälligste Veränderung des Hochschulwesens. Die studentische internationale Mobilität wird durch den Wettbewerb um Talente vorangetrieben, aber auch, weil ausländische StudentInnen für Universitäten eine Einkommensquelle darstellen. Diese soll den gesunkenen staatlichen Finanzierungsanteil wettmachen. Auf europäische Ebene wurden das ERASMUS-Programm und der Europäische Hochschulraum geschaffen, um Mobilität zu fördern. An beiden ist Österreich aktiv beteiligt. Da die Studierendenströme in der Europäischen Union unausgewogen sind und hinsichtlich der Gebühren EU-BürgerInnen gleich zu behandeln sind, sind einige Staaten mehr als andere belastet. Österreich ist vor allem vom Zustrom deutscher Studierenden betroffen. Ist die österreichische Antwort darauf, rechtliche Interpretations- oder Änderungsvorschläge zu unterbreiten, adäquat oder wäre vielmehr ein finanzieller Lastenausgleich angebracht?     

Mapping Invitations to Participate: An Investigation in Museum Interpretation

This a/r/tographic inquiry delves into questions about participatory art museum practice, specifically seeking to understand the nature of invitations to participate. Utilising drawings, writing and mapping of embodied participation, questions of how individuals are invited to participate in various locations and how these invitations inform the work of art museums that engage in participatory practice are considered. Conditions for participation, including familiarity, personalisation, enthusiasm, playfulness, narrative, uniqueness, sociability and listening, as well as anti‐invitations that contradict moves toward participation, are discussed in relation to examples from the study and scholarly writing. The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to share research about participatory practice in various locations and its implications for art museums, and second, to explore the potential of arts‐based research methodologies, particularly a/r/tography, for art museum education research.     

Predicting the academic achievement of Puerto Rican and Mexican-American ninth-grade students

The study examines the predictive value of several variabls on ninth-grade grade point average for Mexican-American and Puerto Rican high school students. English and Spanish proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding the language as well as the use of Spanish or English in the home represented the language variables. The students' immigration status, gender, place of geographic residence, and mother's education were also included. Gender andimmigration status significantly predicted GPA. English proficiency was significantly different for the two groups, and the more English-proficient Mexican-Americans did more poorly in high school. No other language variables were significant predictors of the students' GPA in the study.     

I Get to Use an iPod in School? Using Technology-Based Advance Organizers to Support the Academic Success of English Learners

This study investigated the impact of technology-based advance organizers (TBAOs) on the academic performance of 240 4th grade English learners (ELs) participating in a science class in School in the Park (SITP), a museum-school collaboration. While SITP provides a rich, hands-on learning environment, ELs face significant linguistic challenges in their ability to access the dense academic language and concepts provided in SITP??s English only curriculum, thus negatively impacting ELs?? engagement and learning. The TBAOs were designed in response to this issue. The study investigated two forms of treatment: TBAOs viewed on individual handheld mobile devices (HMDs), specifically iPods; and, TBAOs viewed as a whole class on DVD. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative data sources, including a pre- and posttest, hands-on and performance-based assessments, as well as focus interviews. Results showed a significant interaction effect between group assignment, language status and application assessments, indicating ELs performed significantly better in the treatment groups. Students who used the HMD instead of the DVD or no treatment improved their total scores significantly on hands-on, performance-based measurements. Differences between treatment and control groups?? performance on pre-/posttests approached significance. Furthermore, students reported TBAOs supported learning by introducing new material, introducing and reviewing daily academic vocabulary, and helping them anticipate behavioral and procedural expectations of hands-on activities. Classroom and museum educators reported an increase in the treatment groups?? motivation and engagement. The study provided important implications in the use and power of learner-controlled technology in supporting ELs?? linguistic and academic success.