The bells: A re‐appraisal

The Bells, although universally described by critics as melodrama, departs markedly from the traits most usually associated with the form. An investigation of this seeming contradiction leads to the testing of an alternate model for melodrama and an illumination of the play's structure by means of this model. The resulting analysis points clearly to the need for more theoretical work into the nature of melodrama.     

Evolving strategies for using interactive video resources in mathematics classrooms

In order to understand the role of interactive video (IV) in mathematics classrooms, teachers were given a set of IV resources which were very mixed in character and style, and from which they could freely select. These were used in lessons over an extended period, in some cases two years or longer. By interviewing and by observing lessons, it has been possible to draw some tentative conclusions about the relative merits of different styles of IV in mathematics classrooms. IV resources are often managed in a similar way to computers and this similarity seems to have influenced teachers' opinions and choices. However, the affective impact of video was also evident in teachers' choices. A complex picture emerges with no one style dominating.     

The amazingly patient tutor: students' interactions with an online carbohydrate chemistry course

Many multimedia chemistry courses fail to reach their full educational potential as they do not engage the learner in a meaningful task or give appropriate feedback. Though molecular modelling is a recognised technique widely used in chemistry to enable students to grasp difficult concepts, tutorials often do not afford students either the time or scope to learn by experimenting with molecular structures. In this paper we describe the educational development of a web based organic chemistry tutorial which aims to enable students to learn chemical concepts through the manipulation of structural formulae and the provision of appropriate feedback. An online chemical structure modelling tool was developed to enable molecules to be drawn online and to provide feedback. The aim of this study is to address key issues relevant to the development of educational resources of this nature. It will be of particular interest to teachers and lecturers working within Science and Engineering, audio–visual staff and educational developers.     

‘We’re Not Building Worker Bees.’ What Has Happened to Creative Practice in England Since the Dartmouth Conference of 1966?

It is now five years since the introduction of the current National Curriculum for English in England; it is just over 50 years since the Dartmouth Conference drew together American and English educationalists. This paper reports on a hermeneutic study that presents voices from the field of English teaching in England. It asks questions of today’s statutory instruments in the light of approaches highlighted at Dartmouth, with a focus on writing. It illustrates the challenges faced by English teachers from an examination-focused system, but suggests that ultimately the tradition exemplified by Dartmouth, which promotes creative pedagogies and the potential of writing to develop students’ personal and social growth, survives. It concludes that it is important to promote creative approaches in English classrooms of today and education policy of tomorrow.     

Affordances,Technical Agency,and the Politics of Technologies of Cultural Production

Culture Digitally is a collective of scholars, gathered by Tarleton Gillespie (Cornell University) and Hector Postigo (Temple University). With the generous funding of the National Science Foundation, the group supports scholarly inquiry into new media and cultural production through numerous projects, collaborations, a scholarly blog, and annual workshops. For more information on projects and researchers affiliated with Culture Digitally, visit culturedigitally.org or follow @CultureDig).     

The motivations,attitudes, perceptions and skills of customer service staff working in Australian university student administration

In 2012, government changes to higher education shifted Australia to a demand driven funding model. The consequential increase in student numbers, along with greater focus on retention and student satisfaction, resulted in rising customer expectations. There are now strategic imperatives to change administrative cultures to focus on delivering service excellence. This study analyses customer service behaviours of student administration staff at one Australian university. Using a conceptual framework of motivations, attitudes, perceptions and skills towards customer service, this small-scale study suggests that staff are intrinsically motivated and have largely positive attitudes towards their student customers. A gap was identified between individuals’ perceptions of their customer service delivery compared with that of colleagues, while staff learn informally from their supervisors and colleagues. Finally, this paper explores how universities might develop and embed a workforce that is student-centric, delivering outstanding customer service, while at the same time upholding governance and compliance requirements.     

An investigation into the effect of a NATE/Becta training programme on the use of interactive whiteboards in teaching and learning in Secondary English

This paper describes the evaluation of the impact of a training programme in the use of Interactive whiteboards in Secondary English lessons. It is based on work commissioned from NATE by Becta that produced the publication, Entitlement to ICT in Secondary English ( NATE, 2002 ). Drawing from the work of Kress (2003) , the author argues that new technologies can help teachers to address confidently aspects of multimodality that are a core aspect of the New Literacies. Data collected from a small sample of Secondary English teachers who engaged in the training suggest that all teachers benefited from the training; however, it was found that there has been insufficient support in schools to date for the development of fully confident practice.