Public Library Services For Wheelchair-Bound Young People In Singapore

This is an exploratory study of public library services in Singapore for young people (defined as those people between thirteen to nineteen years of age) who are wheelchair bound. The research was carried out originally in 2000, but the study still informs policy makers in the Singapore system. Three main research questions are explored:

• What are the information needs of wheelchair-bound young people?

• What are their perceptions of libraries and library services?

• What are the problems they face in using library facilities and services?

The study involves eleven wheelchair-bound people between the ages of twelve and twenty who were selected by means of a purposive sample.

Findings indicate that most participants enjoyed reading books but did not read newspapers. The computer was used primarily as a recreational tool, and the convenience of the Internet appealed to them. There were, however, problems in using computer equipment in the libraries. School libraries were generally inaccessible. There were also problems in using public library services and facilities as well as being in public places. Their use of public libraries was infrequent. They were unaware of the full range of library facilities and services.

The study concluded that there was a need and demand for library services by wheelchair-bound young people. Their information needs and reading habits were no different from those of any young person. Current library promotions were inadequate in stimulating or sustaining their awareness and interest. Transportation was the main obstacle in getting to libraries. The problems faced in using libraries were mainly related to architectural and physical access to library facilities and services.     

Understanding MOOCs as an Emerging Online Learning Tool: Perspectives From the Students

This study examined participants’ learning experiences in the context of a six-week massive open online course (MOOC) in journalism with five thousand students from 137 countries. Three research questions were asked: (1) Who are the students and why are they enrolled in this MOOC?, (2) How much time have the students spent in taking this MOOC and have they completed all the assignments?, and, (3) What have they learned and what aspects of this MOOC do the students find most helpful? Four hundred and nine students responded to a survey and forty-four responded to interview questions. The main findings showed 84% of the participants were working professionals and only 28.9% were from a journalism background. Of those who did not complete the course, lack of time was the top reason. Most participants reported a positive learning experience, but lack of feedback and/or poor quality were reported as negative experiences. The discussion forum was the least liked aspect of the course.     

Collaborative handheld gaming in education

This project describes the trialling of a new form of cooperative learning strategy, in the form of a game known as EcoRangers. EcoRangers is a multi‐player game designed to run on mobile phones, written specifically for education. EcoRangers is one of the first, if not the world's first, instances of this totally new genre of pedagogical tools (i.e. collaborative handheld educational games). In its current iteration EcoRangers is designed to help students practise skills of relevance to the social studies syllabus for Grades 9 and 10 in Singapore's education system, specifically through the pedagogical strategy known as the ‘structured academic controversy’, in which learners debate an open‐ended problem from a variety of perspectives. The trialling was done in three secondary schools, among 50 Grade 9 students. These students were taken through two distinct fieldwork tasks in March–July 2004, with the game being introduced as part of a post‐fieldwork activity.

Jeux collaboratifs sur portables en éducation

Ce projet décrit l'expérimentation d'une nouvelle forme de stratégie d'apprentissage coopératif sous la forme d'un jeu connu sous le nom d'EcoRangers.EcoRangers se joue à plusieurs.Il a été conçu pour fonctionner sur les téléphones portables et composé spécialement pour L'éducation. EcoRangers est un des premiers sinon le premier exemple au monde de cette catégorie d'outils pédagogiques (celle des jeux éducatifs collaboratifs portables) totalement nouvelle. Sous sa forme actuelle EcoRangers a été conçu pour aider les élèves à pratiquer des savoir faire correspondant au cursus de sciences sociales pour les classes 9 et 10 du système Singapourien(13‐14 ans) et plus particulièrement la stratégie connue sous le nom de « controverse académique structurée » au cours de laquelle les apprenants débatent d'un problème ouvert en partant de perspectives différentes.L'expérience a été menée dans trois écoles secondaires avec 50 élèves de 9^e.Ces élèves ont participé à deux tâches « de terrain » distinctes entre mars et juillet 2004,le jeu étant présenté comme faisant partie d'une activité « d'après‐terrain ».

Gemeinschafliches Spielen auf Handhelds oder Handys als Unterricht

Das Projekt beschreibt den Versuch, eine neue Art von Gruppenlernen zu testen, die auf ein Spiel zurück greift, das EcoRangers genannt wird. Dies ist ein Spiel für mehrere Spieler, das auf Handys abläuft und ein Lernspiel ist. EcoRangers ist eines der ersten, wenn nicht sogar das erste Spiel in der Welt, dieser Art. In seiner gegenwärtigen Fassung hilft EcoRangers den Schuelern, Fertigkeiten im Bereich der Social Studies (Gemeinschaftskunde) einzuueben (Lehrplan für Stufe 9 und 10 in Singapur), insbesondere dadurch, dass die Strategie der ‘strukturierten, akademischen Diskussion’ angewendet wird, bei der die Schueler ein offenes Problem aus sehr unterschiedlichen Perspektiven besprechen. Der Versuch wurde in drei Schulen (Sek.II) durchgeführt, wobei 50 Schueler aus Stufe 9 waren. Diese wurden im Rahmen eines Aufenthalts im Gelaende (Maerz–Juli 2004) mit dem Spiel konfrontiert, das als eine Tätigkeit nach dem Arbeiten im Gelände eingefuehrt wurde.     

Effective Internet Research

For many reasons, students with disabilities are not as thoroughly represented in science careers as are their nondisabled peers. In this case study, the authors explore the effects an informal education program focused on environmental science and delivered to college-bound students with disabilities had on comfort level with science and interest in science careers. Results indicate that the informal nature of the program was well-received and increased individuals' confidence in their science ability. The authors present suggestions for translating this experience into a traditional classroom setting.     

Private Demand,Social Equity and Adult Education in Singapore

There are currently two views about the relationship between education and economic development. One rather narrow view treats education as an investment in people — in human capital — that raises productivity and national income just like investments in physical capital. Rational individuals invest in themselves when they see that private returns exceed private cost. Governments should invest in education that gives favourable social rates of returns. Their main function is to respond to the established pattern of demand for education. The second, and broader, view sees education not as a pure investment good, but as a powerful force that increases people's knowledge, changes their values and attitudes, and thus expanding their ability to absorb new technology. In this view, the expansion of educational opportunities is vital to the making of a modern society. Governments should provide education with the objective of creating a fully educated society — a society where everyone has at least six to ten years of formal education. They should create educational and training opportunities ahead of demand, with subsidies and compulsory schooling laws if necessary.     

Gaming in a 3D multiuser virtual environment: engaging students in Science lessons

Based on the exploratory study of a 3D multiuser virtual environment (3D MUVE), known as Quest Atlantis (QA), in a series of Primary Four (10‐ to 11‐year‐olds) Science lessons at Orchard Primary School in Singapore, this paper examines the issues of learning engagement and describes the socio‐cultural context of QA's implementation. The students and teacher were observed during the lessons, interviewed after, and the completed quests were analysed to determine the level of engagement achieved. A pre‐ and posttest on the Science concepts covered was also administered. A seven‐level taxonomy of engagement was used to provide the study with a more holistic perspective of engagement, together with the attempt to concretise the element of engagement into observable traits. Although there was a significant improvement of the posttest over the pretest, the level of engagement of the students was low (between 3 and 4). The lack of engagement might be a result of the distractions in the 3D MUVE, the students’ difficulty with language used in the QA, their lack of computer competency for QA tasks, and/or their inability to complete the quests’ section on reflections. The biggest challenges to the integration of QA into the Science curriculum were the interdependent issues of time (or lack of it) and ‘buy‐in’ by the school and parents.     

Reflections on light monitoring: Evaluating museum lighting options for modern and contemporary art

Spectrometric handheld light meters that can provide adequate data for evaluation of replacement bulbs for contemporary art objects are now commercially available. This approach was taken to assess potential replacements for the incandescent street lamps in Chris Burden's Urban Light at LACMA, Los Angeles, USA. These meters are also useful tools for monitoring and characterizing museum lighting, which are currently done with illuminance (lux) meters. The new spectral light meters will enable conservators to tailor lighting recommendations for individual artworks, when spectral information from these meters is combined with damage function data on artists’ materials. The latter information can be obtained for some materials by a small modification to the microfade testing procedure, as exemplified by microfading colored samples Henri Matisse created during the design phase for La Gerbe.     

Reading and spelling gains following one year of Orton‐Gillingham intervention in Singaporean students with dyslexia

Despite the widespread use of Orton‐Gillingham (OG) based approaches to dyslexia remediation, empirical support documenting its effectiveness is lacking. Recently, Chia and Houghton demonstrated the effectiveness of the OG approach for remediation of dyslexia in Singapore. As a conceptual replication and extension of that research, we report results of 39 students with dyslexia aged between six and 14 years enrolled in an OG intervention programme over a period of one year in a single‐subject research (pre‐test/post‐test) design. Analyses of variance showed that students significantly improved in standardised tests of reading and spelling with moderate effect sizes (Cohen's d = 0.52–0.58). Additionally, an inverse relationship was found between students' ages when they began intervention and gains made during the intervention. Results thus indicate the effectiveness of an OG approach in remediating literacy difficulties in students with dyslexia and, taken together with previous studies, further suggest the importance of early identification and intervention.     

Students’ understanding of voltage in simple parallel electric circuits

This paper reports an investigation of the performance of school students at age 15 on written diagnostic questions involving the prediction of meter readings in simple electric circuits with parallel branches. Results show that these students tend to perceive such questions in resistance‐current terms, with a primary focus on resistor addition, rather than in voltage terms, with two loads being driven from the same source. Common errors in predicting voltages across parallel branches suggest that few students use a mental model of voltage in approaching parallel circuit problems but instead attempt to solve problems by mechanical use of the V=IR equation. Implications for the teaching of electric circuits at this level are identified.