Why some teachers easily learn to use a new virtual learning environment: a technology acceptance perspective

After a decade of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education, many teachers still use only a minimum of its affordances. This study looked at how academic staff interacted with a new and unknown VLE in order to understand how technology acceptance and support materials influence (perceived and actual) task performance. In an experimental design, 36 participants were split into a control (online help) and experimental (instructor video) condition and completed five common teaching tasks in a new VLE. In contrast to most technology acceptance model research, this study found that perceived usefulness of the VLE was not related to (perceived) task performance. Perceived ease of use was related to intentions and actual behaviour in the VLE. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the two conditions, although the experimental condition led to a (marginal) increase in time to complete the tasks.     

Maternal mediation in book reading, home literacy environment, and children’s emergent literacy: a comparison between two social groups

The researchers addressed two questions: (1) Does maternal reading mediation and family home literacy environment (HLE) relate to children’s emergent literacy (EL) level? and (2) Do the relationships among these variables differ as a function of socioeconomic strata (SES) level. A total of 94 5–6-year-old children, 47 from low SES (LSES) and 47 from high (HSES) families, and their mothers participated. Mother–child interactions while reading an unfamiliar book were videotaped and their verbal expressions were coded for extracting maternal mediation level. Children’s independent EL level was assessed prior to the interaction. Compared with the LSES group, HSES children showed higher EL levels and their homes had a richer literacy environment. Maternal mediation level differed by SES: LSES mothers paraphrased text more often; HSES mothers’ higher mediation level included a discussion of the written system and making connections beyond the text. In the HSES group, maternal mediation level and HLE related to children’s EL; no such relationships appeared in the LSES group. Results are discussed in terms of children’s socio-economic background and their reading experiences. Implications for researchers and educational practices about the relationships between children’s literacy development, SES, HLE, and parental mediation are discussed.     

互联网与高校德育管理工作软环境的优化

用先进的文化占领网络阵地,用正确的思想引导学生上网,充分发扬网络的优势,克服其弊端是思想政治教育的重要任务。同时网络为思想理论教育提供了一个全新的空间,使高校思想理论教育有可能利用这个空间提高时效性,扩大覆盖面,增强影响力,加强网络环境的建设,是优化高校思想德育教育软环境的又一关键环节。     

虚拟环境中的课程教学团队运作——以综合英语课程为例

本文借鉴虚拟团队概念和投入-过程-产出(I-P-O)模型,分析了综合英语课程教学团队在虚拟环境中运作的三个环节,将保障该团队有效运行的关键要素(沟通与协作、动态工作关系的维系、信任关系的建立)在过程环节中单独列出并进行探讨,以解释教学团队设计、过程和绩效之间的关系。本文旨在引发对虚拟环境中的课程教学团队的多维度思考,以拓展远程开放教育师资队伍建设的发展空间,探索远程开放教育教学团队的运作规律及特性,提升远程开放教育的教学质量。     

网络环境下的大学英语后续课程的延伸——以ESP课程教学设计为视角进行分析

大学英语后续课程教学是对基础阶段大学英语学习的补充和完善。网络ESP课程教学是对教育部提出的"计算机和课堂的英语教学模式"相结合的教学模式的一个成功创新,是大学英语后续课程的重要组成部分,能够更有效地促进学生达到"较高要求"和"更高要求"。     

客家民居聚落环境意义之探析

客家民居聚落是客家人对自身生存、生活环境进行精密思索创造的结果。在漫长的历史发展中,聚落环境被逐渐赋予关于自然、文化与社会的深远意义,成为客家文化最为重要的象征之一。本文试从建成环境意义的角度出发,就客家民居聚落空间图式的系列形成过程探析客家民居聚落环境的意义及其启示。     

高职人才培养目标定位的新思考

大众化高等教育背景下,单一的精英型技能人才目标不仅不切实际,也不能满足学生多样化成才需要,应将高职人才培养目标定位为人力资源开发。在技术日新月异的新时代,高职应适当拓宽人才培养基础,加强学生的通识能力培养,并树立大市场观念,不仅考虑行业企业用人单位的需要,还应考虑学生的需要,摒弃单一的技术理性思维,激发学生自我成才动机,培养学生的创造性。随着企业生产组织方式的变迁,高职人才培养目标应作出相应调整。     

Teaching about the importance of trees: a study with young children

This paper reports on a study undertaken with the primary aim of investigating the effect of the storytelling teaching approach on kindergarten children's retention of ideas about the importance of trees. The study also assessed the effect of storytelling on children's intention to participate in a tree planting activity that they had to select from a list of activities. The story that was created included such elements as binary opposites, mental images, mystery, and wonder, according to Kieran Egan's theory. The study utilized a two‐group design, was conducted in three phases (pre‐test, intervention, and post‐test), lasted 11 weeks, and its results provide evidence of the effectiveness of the storytelling approach when compared with the traditional method of expository teaching complemented with visual images (pictures) of trees and their importance to human beings. The pedagogical appropriateness of the story, which was based upon the binary pair of opposites ‘security–insecurity’, is also discussed in the paper.     

对我国文化生产力运行环境的思考

文化生产力体现人们生产文化产品和提供文化服务的能力和水平,已经成为社会进步和经济发展不可忽视的重要推动力。文化生产力在经济环境、政治环境和社会环境下有效运行,通过改革体制、完善法制、健全市场体系、政府引导和政策扶持等方式可以推动文化生产力发展。解放和发展文化生产力最终目的在于满足人的精神需求。     

基于物联网的远程学习评价探微

随着计算机和网络技术的发展,如何运用物联网改进远程教育已成为关注的热点之一。文章叙述了物联网的连通性、技术性、智能性特征和感知层、网络层及应用层的网络架构,分析了远程学习评价不够客观公正的原因,提出了利用物联网技术多个方面收集、处理学习者学习过程的相关信息,从而改善远程学习评价,以促进建立公平公正、积极向上的远程学习环境,进一步提高远程教育的质量。