Search results for " literacy"
showing 10 items of 448 documents
Design, development and validation of a system for automatic help to medical text understanding
2020
Abstract Objective The paper presents a web-based application, SIMPLE, that facilitates medical text comprehension by identifying the health-related terms of a medical text and providing the corresponding consumer terms and explanations. Background The comprehension of a medical text is often a difficult task for laypeople because it requires semantic abilities that can differ from a person to another, depending on his/her health-literacy level. Some systems have been developed for facilitating the comprehension of medical texts through text simplification, either syntactical or lexical. The ones dealing with lexical simplification usually replace the original text and do not provide additi…
Digital Storytelling and Multimodal Literacy in Education
2014
This article argues in favour of using digital storytelling to encourage a critical socio-educational focus in education and include multimodal explicit teaching in the curriculum. The analysis of fifty digital stories indicates that the students developed a certain awareness of the issue chosen for their story (e.g. violence, racism, war) since the final product transmits a critical perspective on the topic itself. Further work, however, needs to be invested in the development of the digital story content itself and on the issue of multimodal learning, with especial emphasis on the interface between multimodal elements and more traditional modes of transmitting ideas.
Towards new cultures of learning: Personal learning environments as a developmental perspective for improving higher education language courses
2015
AbstractThis article provides readers with an understanding of the concept of the personal learning environment (PLE). It suggests that PLEs can be used in two complementary ways: as a developmental lens for integrating ICT and creating new pedagogical practices and digital literacies for academic language learning, and as a context in which learners can practise and develop core skills such as digital literacies, team and knowledge work, and interactional skills – skills that are needed for success in today’s knowledge economy. The article places PLEs within the broader development related to the cultural changes brought on by the proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies – participation, team…
Einfachheit, Anpassung und Early Literacy
2014
This essay deals with the notions of ›simplicity‹ and ›complexity‹ as well as ›accommodation‹ and ›transgression‹ with respect to child developments in language acquisition and literature acquisition. Focusing on the period of ›Early Literacy‹, it is argued that language development and children’s literature both start with simple patterns and gradually gain complexity. It is shown that children’s literature is a specific input in language acquisition which is accommodated to the needs of children. Both in language acquisition and in literary input, one finds also transgressions of rules.
Reading to Learn From Online Information: Modeling the Factor Structure
2018
Identifying the factor structure of online reading to learn is important for the development of theory, assessment, and instruction. Traditional comprehension models have been developed from, and for, offline reading. This study used online reading to determine an optimal factor structure for modeling online research and comprehension among 426 sixth graders (ages 12 and 13). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to evaluate an assessment of online research and comprehension based on a widely referenced theoretical model. Student performance reflected the theoretical constructs of the model, but several additional constructs appeared, resulting in a six-factor model: (a) locating infor…
Students’ Interpretations of a Persuasive Multimodal Video About Vaccines
2021
The present study investigated students’ (N = 404) interpretations of the main message and use of modes in a persuasive multimodal video on vaccines. It also examined whether students’ topic knowledge, language arts grades, and self-identified gender were associated with their interpretations. Students analyzed a YouTube video in which two entertainers demonstrated the importance of vaccinating children. Students’ interpretations of the usefulness of vaccines varied in terms of quality of reasoning, which was associated with students’ topic knowledge. Notably, many students’ interpretations of the use of modes were incomplete, or they did not even mention certain modes in their response. Th…
Ensuring Sufficient Literacy Practice with Tablet Technology in Zambian Schools
2015
Tablets are a promising mobile device for disseminating e-Learning materials at schools in Africa. E-learning materials can be especially useful for the practice of early literacy skills. Introducing mobile devices to schools can be challenging as teachers are required to make changes to their daily routines and the use of technology can be problematic in overcrowded classrooms. This study aimed to find out the most optimal way of providing GraphoGame literacy intervention via tablets for grade one learners in an urban school environment. The study tested whether GraphoGame mounted on tablets increases initial literacy skills among grade one learners. Three different conditions for providin…
The Influence of Local Culture on Students' Educational Outcomes
2013
All adolescents are closely connected with their living environment, which influences their lives and learning in many ways. For example, individuals’ mental functions develop in interaction within different social, historical, cultural, and institutional contexts. In these environments, we can find different cultural features that have an impact on students’ educational outcomes.
How Are Practice and Performance Related? Development of Reading From Age 5 to 15
2021
Does reading a lot lead to better reading skills, or does reading a lot follow from high initial reading skills? The authors present a longitudinal study of how much children choose to read and how well they decode and comprehend texts. This is the first study to examine the codevelopment of print exposure with both fluency and comprehension throughout childhood using autocorrelations. Print exposure was operationalized as children’s amount of independent reading for pleasure. Two hundred children were followed from age 5 to age 15. Print exposure was assessed at ages 5, 7, 8, 9, and 13. Prereading skills were tested at age 5 and reading skills at ages 7, 8, 9, 14, and 15 (the latter with t…
Backing out of private pension provision - Lessons from Germany
2012
Financing pensions in the EU is a challenge. Many EU countries introduced private pension schemes to compensate declining public pension levels due to reforms made necessary by demographic change. In 2001, Germany introduced the Riester pension. Ten years after introduction the prevalence rate of this voluntary private pension scheme approximates 37 %. However, numerous criticisms raise doubts that the market for Riester products is transparent. Using the 2010 German SAVE survey, this article investigates terminated and dormant Riester contracts on a household level for the first time. Respectively 14.5 and 12.5 % of households who own or have owned a Riester contract terminated or set dorm…