A tale of two mailing lists

This paper serves to report a research study on the use made of two separate mailing lists or listservs, for professional development—Oz-Teachers and UK-Schools. Both lists were, and still are, used by teachers in Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as by teachers across the globe, to communicate electronically with each other. The practice of this communication is typically characterised by text messages that pose questions or offer answers; by threads of discussion based around single or combined themes; and by statements of information. In this context, two windows are opened in this study: one shows a dynamic picture of teachers at work and play in the technology of listservs, developing skills and practices in asynchronous communications. The other looks into the content of many of the postings, demonstrating the practices, views, ideas and concerns teachers have with using technology in traditional school and classroom environments. Whilst this paper provides a detailed overview of the study, the full report of the research programme, of which this study constitutes one part, can be found elsewhere, in Lankshear et al. (1997) and Wild (1999).     

A Meta-Analysis of Approaches to Engage Social Work Students Online

ABSTRACT

With an increase in social work courses being offered in online and hybrid formats, it is imperative that social work programs understand the new teaching tenets and engagement mediums employed to meet the new Council on Social Work Education’s Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. This meta-analysis explores best-practices pedagogy for student engagement using the delivery of content through both asynchronous and synchronous methods.     

Teacher Perceptions of Moodle and Throughput in a Blended Learning Programme for In-Service Secondary School Mathematics Teachers

The purpose of this article is to analyse teachers’ perceptions of using the modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment (Moodle) platform as a learning management system in a small-scale blended learning (b-learning) Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programme for in-service secondary school mathematics teachers in South Africa. It describes how the Moodle platform was used in combination with on-campus and later off-campus contact sessions for a widely dispersed population of 76 in-service mathematics teachers over a four-year period. Qualitative data was gathered by means of a questionnaire with open-ended items, while quantitative data was gathered from the centre's archives. The main findings were that Moodle enabled in-service teachers to experience social, cognitive and teaching presences, through synchronous and asynchronous discussions with peers and facilitators, and a teaching presence by submitting their inquiries and assignments online for facilitators to provide them with answers and feedback. The main obstacles to the integration of Moodle were limited availability of technology, slow speed, and unaffordable cost when available. With increased broadband connectivity Moodle holds the prospect for diversifying b-learning experiences that can support teachers’ professional learning outcomes and throughput for distributed populations of practising mathematics teachers, in particular.     

A supportive tool for principals in guiding professional group discussions

ABSTRACT

Background

Developing collective professional capacities in schools is important for school improvement, and principals can initiate such developments. That is, by initiating and leading professional group discussions on teaching and learning, principals can influence teaching practices and, thereby, indirectly affect student outcomes and school improvement. However, research indicates that leading such discussions in communities of professionals can be a challenge for principals.     

论异步教育学派

由湖北大学黎世法从 1979年开始主持的教学改革课题———异步教学研究 ,以其旺盛的生命力迅速在全国各地生根、开花、结果 ,现已得到国内外的认可。异步教学研究课题无论是从理论还是从实践上都具有自己独特的风格 ,在二十多年的发展过程中积蓄了巨大的力量 ,已初步形成教育学派。对异步教育学派的研究 ,有助于对教学改革的深入认识 ,有助于提高基础教育的理论水平 ,特别是对实施素质教育有重大帮助 ,同时还能丰富我国教育科学理论的宝库。     

Student and Teacher Perspectives in Computer-Mediated Learning Environments in Teacher Education

Rapid advances in technology, particularly with the Internet, have led to the availability of numerous tools to support teaching and learning. This study involved the use of an Internet application, Connecting Communities of Learners (CCL), in courses for prospective teachers. Unlike earlier studies involving the use of the CCL, the context of this study related to full-time graduate students who used the CCL to augment weekly face-to-face instruction. An interpretive study was undertaken to ascertain student and teacher perceptions of the learning environments associated with the use of the CCL. Through the use of the CCL, students were able to be autonomous in regard to their own learning, co-participate with their peers and the instructor, and establish and maintain a community of learners in which participants could interact with others as co-teachers and co-learners. The CCL was perceived as a useful tool for building learning environments in which all participants can contribute written texts as evidence of what is known and as objects from which others can learn. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

异步电动机特性研究的(f、b、0)坐标法

采用 (f、b、0 )坐标法 ,推导出适用于分析异步电动机在变频调速时稳态特性的基本表达式。     

Social conversation and effective discussion in online group learning

This paper studies the social talk of high school students in online discussion forums. On-task talk has generally been assessed as valuable discussion because it contributes directly to productive learning. Off-task conversation, on the other hand, is often regarded as useless and a waste of time. Should this social talk indeed be regarded as an off-task activity? Is social talk such as greeting, excusing, comforting and sharing personal feelings irrelevant to learning? This study analyzes threads and argues that social talk is interwoven with on-task talk. It is interesting to note that a substantial quantity of off-task messages served the latent function of guiding group discussion toward making progress in solving collaborative problems in a subtle and indirect manner. The power of “soft talk” embedded in off-task social conversation is explored and fully discussed.     

单片机在电动机软起动中应用

近几年来,单片机已经被认为在现代文明和技术发展与进步中,起着越来越重要的作用;工业上,单片机技术有着广泛的应用,针对其应用的越来越广泛,提出了利用面向对象技术设计的方法,并将其用于以intel16位系列单片机8098为中央处理单元的电子软设计中;因为三相交流异步电动机启动电流过大,易烧毁或损坏电机,基于单片机系统、集成芯片和可控硅为辅助,提出了三相晶闸管交流调压的数字移相控制方法,通过控制触发角来控制输出电压,从而降低电动机的启动电流,使安全稳定的启动。这种方法具有其特点.即达到了延长异步电动机使用寿命的目的,具有故障显示及自诊断功能。     

世纪之交“经典热”探因

20世纪80年代以来,关于文学经典的讨论曾一度是文学理论界最热的话题。直到今天,文学经典的建构、解构及重构问题仍是学术界不同学科共同关注的前沿论题。究其原因,是世纪之交文学转型期的出现导致了＂经典＂的论争不断。世纪之交的经济全球化进程加快,中国社会已逐渐步入消费文化时代,中国的经济政策、国际交往政策、文化交往政策、教育制度和学术制度等,都发生了重大变化。在当前这样的社会环境下,探讨文学经典的建构、解构及重构问题就具有了深刻的现实意义。