Production and consumption of university Linked Data

Linked Data increases the value of an organisation's data over the web by introducing explicit and machine processable links at the data level. We have adopted this new stream of data representation to produce and expose existing data within The Open University (OU) as Linked Data. We present in this paper our approach for producing the data, based on well-defined workflows at the organisation as well as the technical levels. We also discuss the data already available to consume, and show the potential improvements that Linked Data brings by presenting three applications: (1) the OU Expert Search system for finding experts at the OU based on a specified topic of interest, (2) the Social Study application to identify potential courses for students based on their Facebook profile information, and (3) the Linked OpenLearn application that helps students identify related media and courses to OpenLearn units at the OU. Before concluding the paper, we show the potential benefits and an approach towards interlinking data beyond The Open University with other universities, using a common categorisation scheme.     

Learner Autonomy and ICT: A Web-based Course of English for Psychology

The purpose of this paper is to show how the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) as a tool may change not only the contents, but also the teaching procedures and the scope of the material covered, as well as its relevance for the students of a discipline which is no exclusively focused on English. In class we use the WWW as a source of authentic material for the study of English in the field of psychology. The students have access to current on-line material, and they can work with such diverse web sites as departments of psychology web sites, on-line atlases of the brain, resource web sites, career orientation and professional information web sites, etc. By so doing, the students become proficient in English and become also acquainted with vocabulary related to their main discipline, i.e. psychology. The result is a more dynamic approach to teaching English, so that the students gain autonomy, with the instructor acting only as co-ordinator, supervisor and tutor.

L'autonomie de l'enseigné et les ICT: un cours Web en Anglais sur la psychologie

Le but de cet article est de montrer comment l'utilisation du Web comme outil peut changer non seulement les contenus, mais aussi les procédures d'enseignement et l'importance des documents convus aussi bien que son adaptation pour les étudiants d'une discipline qui n'est pas centrée exclusivement sur l'Anglais. En classe, nous utilisons le Web comme source des documents authentiques pour l'étude de l'Anglais dans le domaine de a psychologie. Les étudiants ont accès aux documents en ligne et ils peuvent travailler avec des sites web divers comme ceux des départements de psychologie des atlas en ligne du cerveaux, des sites de ressources, des sites d'orientation des carrières et d'information professionnelle, etc. Ce faisant, les étudiants deviennent compétant en Anglais et s'habitent au vocabulaire de leur discipline principale, la psychologie. Le résultat est une approche plus dynamique de l'enseignement de l'Anglais de sorte que les étudiants acquièrent une autonomie, l'instructeur agissant seulement comme coordinateur, superviseur et tuteur.

Lerner-Autonomie und IKT: Ein webbasierter Englischkurs für Psychologie

Dieses Papier soll zeigen, wie durch die Nutzung des World Wide Web als Tool u.U. nicht nur der Inhalt sondern auch Unterrichtsschritte und das benutzte Lernmaterial sich ändern kann, wie auch seine Bedeutung für Studenten einer Disziplin, die keineswegs auf Englisch ausgerichtet ist. Im Unterricht benutzen wir das WWW als Quelle für authentisches Material für das Studium von Englisch im Bereich der Psychologie. Die Studenten haben Zugang zu aktuellem Online-Material und können mit diversen Websites von Psychologie Departments, Online-Atlanten des Gehirns, Quellen- und Hilfsmittel-Websites, Berufswahl- und Berufsinformations-Websites usw. Dadurch werden die Studenten erfahrener im Gebrauch des Englischen und erhalten dabei gleichzeitig Vertrautheit mit den Fachbegriffen ihres Studienfachs, z.B. Psychologie. Als Resultat profitiert auch der Englisch- Unterricht , so daß die Studenten selbständiger werden und der Unterrichtende mehr als Koordinator, Superviser und Tutor tätig werden kann.     

Undocumented Latino students pursuing degrees in STEM disciplines: Attitudes,perceptions, teacher support,and future views

If classrooms are being filled with undocumented Latino students, it is essential that teachers are trained on how to better serve this population, placing a particular focus on those students who have a passion for STEM disciplines, because the U.S. deserves a group of multilingual and multicultural student workers who will help America compete with innovators throughout the world. This mixed-methods convergent parallel study examined the primary variables that undocumented Latino students attending a DC public charter school face when choosing STEM studies or degrees. Data were obtained in order to further understand student attitudes towards STEM, positive and negative perceptions about life, support from teachers, and views of the future. Through this study, educators will be able to better assist undocumented Latino students in their pursuit of a STEM discipline.     

Some Internet Applications for Language Teaching: a Web-Assisted Course of English for Construction

The web expands the possibilities of language teaching, particularly in the field of specific areas, like engineering, architecture or the construction industry. It facilitates easy, instantaneous access to sources of information, specialized texts and data that were either unavailable in the past or took a considerable amount of time to access. In addition to providing these specific texts that can be used as teaching and practise material, and serving as an electronic board with information on classes, deadlines, contents, syllabus, etc., the web should also affect the way languages are taught, as well as the learning styles of the students. As many of us start using the web as a teaching resource, we should move from a phase of simply using the new media with the old content, on to developing not only new contents but also new teaching procedures and strategies based on these new media. By showing some of the web pages (http://www.ugr.es/~jmperez/Aparejadores1.html) developed for an English for Construction course at the English Department at the University of Granada, I will comment and reflect on how the Internet is beginning to affect our ways of teaching and learning. Quelques applications d’Internet À l’enseignement des langues. Un cours Web d’anglais pour la

construction. Le Web offre de nouvelles possibilités pour l'enseignement des langues, en particulier dans les domaines particuliers tels que l'ingénierie, l'architecture, ou l'industrie du bÂtiment. Il rend l'accès aux sources d'information facile et instantané notamment pour les données jadis difficilement accessibles voire totalement inaccessibles. Le Web met À disposition des matériaux de cours mais aussi des informations relatives À la gestion de ceux-ci (horaire, programmes, contenus, etc.). Il devrait de plus affecter les faÇons d'apprendre les langues autant que les styles d'apprentissage des étudiants. Comme notre propre pratique d'enseignant nous le montre, nous avons tendance À " faire du vieux avec du neuf ". Nous devrions progressivement arriver À développer de nouveaux contenus mais aussi de nouvelles procédures et stratégies d'apprentissage adaptées aux caractéristiques de ces nouveaux médias. Sur la base de l'analyse de certaines des pages d'un cours d'anglais pour la construction développé au Département d'anglais de l'Université de Grenade, (http://www.ugr.es/~jmperez/Aparejadores1.html), nous tenterons de montrer comment Internet progressivement modifie nos faÇons d'enseigner et d'apprendre. Quelques applications d’Internet à l’enseignement des langues. Un cours Web d’anglais pour la

construction. Einige Internet-Applikationen für den Sprachunterricht. Ein Web-unterstützter Englischkurs für den

Konstruktionsbau. Das Web erweitert die Möglichkeiten des Sprachunterrichtes, insbesondere in spezifischen Bereichen wie denen der Ingenieurwissenschaften, Architektur, oder Konstruktionsbau. Es ermöglicht den einfachen und schnellen Zugang zu Informationsquellen, speziellen Texten und Daten. Diese waren vorher nicht verfügbar, oder ihr Zugang war nur mit grossem Zeitaufwand verbunden. Das Web stellt nicht nur Kursmaterial zur Verfügung, sondern auch Informationen bezüglich deren Verwaltung (Stundenplan, Programme, Inhalt, etc.). Das Web kann auch die Art beeinflussen, wie Sprachen gelehrt werden, und hat somit auch Einfluss auf den Lernstil der Studenten. Wie die eigene Praxis uns zeigt, tendieren wir zum Einsatz der neuen Medien, allerdings mit altem Inhalt. Wir sollten daher nicht nur progressiv neuen Inhalt entwickeln, sondern auch neue Unterrichtsformen und-strategien, die auf den neuen Medien bauen. Anhand von einigen Web-Seiten (http://www.ugr.es/ ~jmperez/Aparejadores1.html), die für einen Englischkurs im Konstruktionsbau vom English Department der Universität von Grenada entwickelt wurde, werde ich kommentieren bzw. reflektieren wie das Internet die Art und Weise wie wir lehren und lernen, uns bereits beeinflusst.     

Briefly noted

THE ART OF RHETORIC IN THE ROMAN WORLD. By George Kennedy. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1972; pp. xvi+658. $18.50; paper $9.75.     

“I Want to Be One Less”: The Rhetoric of Choice in Gardasil Ads

It is nearly impossible to watch television without encountering advertisements for pharmaceuticals that purport to ease a plethora of medical concerns. From restless leg syndrome to heartburn, there are new drugs available for a wide variety of health-related conditions. One of the more controversial remedies on this list is the Gardasil vaccine. Gardasil was designed by the drug company Merck to protect against 4 strains of the sexually transmitted disease human papillomavirus. According to the Gardasil website, one of the human papillomavirus strains that Gardasil protects against causes 70% of cervical cancers. Marketing Gardasil as a miracle product and an anticancer vaccine, Merck in 2006 launched a massive public relations campaign to encourage all young women between 9 and 26 years of age to receive Gardasil.     

Evolution in Freedom? The Meanings of ‘Free School’ in Chile

This article examines the background in which enterprises called free schools, as well as complementary educational activities, have taken root in Chile. Two kinds of recently burgeoning free schools are identified; one supplementing regular schooling with a social justice focus, and another that is a fully fledged alternative to other schooling. The history of freedom itself in Chile is explored from a historical perspective, contrasting somewhat with freedom as it is understood in more developed countries. Parallels to Anglophone free schools such as AS Neill’s Summerhill are also discussed, as well as the sociopolitical context in which Chilean free schools continue to develop.