Search results

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development and assessment of learning support environments for academic writing that utilize ICT, such as e-learning and online tutoring, in Japanese higher education. First, the authors introduce the design of an e-learning writing program for the Japanese language and assess whether the program is an effective learning support tool for undergraduates. Second, the authors analyze and assess online tutoring support for academic writing and clarify the merits and disadvantages of online and offline tutoring at writing centers, then suggest instructional strategies by analyzing the writing tutoring process.

The authors adopted e-learning goals to assess its effectiveness. The authors asked the participants questions they could answer from five-point scales, conducted a paired t-test, and included a free description-type questionnaire. Then, to assess online tutoring, the 12 students took pre- and post-test questionnaires, after which the authors conducted a Wilcoxon signed rank test. In addition, the authors carried out a Kruskal–Wallis rank sum test in order to confirm differences in satisfaction level and the effectiveness of face-to-face tutoring and online tutoring.

By analyzing the pre- and post-test results, the t-test confirmed that the students found the e-learning system to be effective for nurturing academic literacy. This means the system is appropriate as a support tool for nurturing academic writing, especially writing knowledge and rules, and university must provide a comprehensive learning support environment including e-learning. Next, the authors found no statistically significant difference between face-to-face and online tutoring, although some problems with the writing process remained. So online tutoring has opportunity to promote autonomous learning. The research results make it clear that because of writing centers’ potential and their effectiveness in utilizing ICT tools.

Research findings about academic writing are to improve the tutoring process and writing strategies, such as the use of ICT for academic writing support like e-learning, online tutoring, do not exist. To provide learning opportunity to learners and promote autonomous learning, e-learning and online tutoring are important. For the reasons noted above, it is necessary to provide an alternative writing support environment to students in Japan. Therefore, the authors report on and assess the development of learning support environments for e-learning programs and online tutoring for academic writing at the undergraduate level in Japan.

Bulk material-handling equipment development can be accelerated and is less expensive when testing of virtual prototypes can be adopted. However, often the complexity of the interaction between particulate material and handling equipment cannot be handled by a single computational solver. This paper aims to establish a framework for the development, verification and application of a co-simulation of discrete element method (DEM) and multibody dynamics (MBD).

The two methods have been coupled in two directions, which consists of coupling the load data on the geometry from DEM to MBD and the position data from MBD to DEM. The coupling has been validated thoroughly in several scenarios, and the stability and robustness have been investigated.

All tests clearly demonstrated that the co-simulation is successful in predicting particle–equipment interaction. Examples are provided describing the effects of a coupling that is too tight, as well as a coupling that is too loose. A guideline has been developed for achieving stable and efficient co-simulations.

This framework shows how to achieve realistic co-simulations of particulate material and equipment interaction of a dynamic nature.

The evolution of technologies has unleashed a wealth of challenges by generating massive amount of data. Recently, biological data has increased exponentially, which has introduced several computational challenges. DNA short read alignment is an important problem in bioinformatics. The exponential growth in the number of short reads has increased the need for an ideal platform to accelerate the alignment process. Apache Spark is a cluster-computing framework that involves data parallelism and fault tolerance. In this article, we proposed a Spark-based algorithm to accelerate DNA short reads alignment problem, and it is called Spark-DNAligning. Spark-DNAligning exploits Apache Spark ’s performance optimizations such as broadcast variable, join after partitioning, caching, and in-memory computations. Spark-DNAligning is evaluated in term of performance by comparing it with SparkBWA tool and a MapReduce based algorithm called CloudBurst. All the experiments are conducted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Results demonstrate that Spark-DNAligning outperforms both tools by providing a speedup in the range of 101–702 in aligning gigabytes of short reads to the human genome. Empirical evaluation reveals that Apache Spark offers promising solutions to DNA short reads alignment problem.

The conducted examination of programming affordances and constraints had the purpose of adding knowledge and value that facilitate the on-going national curricula revision; knowledge that also could be of general interest outside the Swedish K-12 context.

With a qualitative approach, the study was conducted as a document analysis where submitted lesson plans were the base for a directed content analysis.

This study presents findings on how the involvement of programming in mathematics and technology have potential to foster engagement and motivation among students. Findings also indicate that the implementation of programming can develop important general skills that go beyond the boundaries of mathematics and technology. Moreover, the identified constraints could be valuable to improve the on-going curriculum development for K-12 mathematics and technology.

This qualitative study was conducted on a relatively small number of teachers where the majority has taken the courses on a voluntary basis. An important complement would be to conduct a larger quantitative study with data from a more general sample of K-12 teachers.

Results and discussions provide guidance for K-12 teachers and other stakeholders who want to introduce programming as a complementary tool in teaching and learning activities.

The study has a contribution to the on-going implementation of the Swedish national curricula for K-12 mathematics and technology.

During the last years, many studies have been published on teacher training in programming, and how the training can be improved. This study goes beyond the actual teacher training and examine aspects teachers translate to theirs daily work after completing the training.

A variety of alternate technology-enhanced teaching approaches are now available to university students to broaden their learning experiences and complement conventional face-to-face teaching. This paper aims to outline a study conducted at an English Medium Instruction (EMI) University in the Arabian Gulf where students were studying media. The study explored an innovative teaching approach that sought to enhance the students’ interaction with mobile phone applications as part of their learning experiences during the course.

The focus of the study was on enhancing the students’ English writing skills such as vocabulary, spelling and grammar and on improving their technical skills such as in video production. The study collected both quantitative and qualitative data.

The results indicated that mobile phone applications were helpful in improving students’ journalistic writing skills where they had a good level of proficiency in English, more so than students with poor English who are more dependent on traditional learning methods. Students also benefitted from mobile phone video production workshops that were intensive and creative. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that courses and labs in media courses have skilled technicians that can train students in creative mobile phone video production while faculty members need to be trained and proactively encouraged to use mobile phones for teaching and learning purposes.

wBased on the results of this study, it is recommended that courses and labs in media courses have skilled technicians that can train students in creative mobile phone video production while faculty members need to be trained and proactively encouraged to use mobile phones for teaching and learning purposes.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the opinions of first-year Emirati students in a writing-intensive English program regarding the extent to which they found themselves creative and the ways in which they expressed creativity in general. The other aim was to identify the ways in which they tended to make their writing creative. The study also sought to see if there were differences between male and female students’ responses.

Data were collected from 54 first-year Emirati students using a survey with closed and open-ended questions.

Results revealed that only three quarters of the students considered themselves creative. The most common ways in which they perceived themselves creative were through originality, problem-solving and design. With regards to creativity in writing, amongst several factors, they believed that the incorporation of experience, skillful use of lexis and grammar and understanding of their audience in particular make their writing creative. There were no statistically significant differences between male and female students’ responses.

People’s cultural backgrounds play a significant role in their perception of creativity and beliefs in their own creative writing powers. Creative writing skills are, therefore, often among key learning outcomes, and many universities offer their students writing-focused courses. For these courses to be successful, students’ perceptions of creativity skills ought to be taken into consideration. The current study achieved this.

The International English Language Teaching System (IELTS) examination in Academic English includes two writing tasks: summarizing information from a graph or chart, and writing a short essay to support a position on an issue of opinion. The aim of this small-scale exploratory survey was to find out from teachers and students their attitudes towards the usefulness of, and preparation for, the two IELTS writing tasks. ‘Usefulness’ and ‘impact/washback’ are components of test validity, thus eliciting responses (via questionnaires) from 2 major stakeholders (teachers n=17, students n=36) in this high-stakes benchmark exam would provide information about perceptions of validity. The results indicate that both IELTS task one and task two are perceived by teachers and students as having a positive effect on class-based writing skills and bearing a reasonable relationship with skills needed at faculty level. Lack of usefulness was reported mainly by students in the Sharia and Law and Business faculties.

The development of written accuracy among learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) has always been a primary concern for ESL teachers and researchers in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (SLA). While a vast body of research has examined written corrective feedback on students’ written products, few studies have focused on the development of written accuracy among Arabic speaking learners of English using automated feedback tools. This case study first examined the level of written accuracy of Bahraini learners of English in their second year at a higher education institute, highlighting the frequency of errors influenced by their first language (Arabic). The course following this first stage included a significant component of automated feedback on students’ writing; and this study explored the impact that the use of these feedback tools had on learners’ writing in English, tracking development over the course of an academic semester. A corpus of students’ initial writings and subsequent revisions was analysed to identify whether there was an improvement in the accuracy of students’ texts; and students’ perceptions were elicited.

ﻟط ﺎﻟ ﻣﺎ ﻛﺎ ن ﺗ طوﯾ ر اﻟدﻗﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣﮭﺎ رة اﻟ ﻛﺗﺎﺑﺔ ﺑﯾ ن ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹﻧ ﺟﻠﯾ زﯾﺔ ﻛﻠ ﻐﺔ ﺛﺎﻧﯾﺔ اﻟ ﺷـ ﻐ ل اﻟ ﺷـﺎ ﻏل ﻟ ﻣﻌﻠ ﻣ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹﻧﺟ ﻠﯾ زﯾﺔ واﻟﺑﺎﺣ ﺛﯾ ن ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐو ﯾﺎ ت اﻟ ﺗ ط ﺑﯾﻘﯾ ﺔ و ا ﻛﺗ ﺳ ـﺎ ب اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ اﻟ ﺛﺎﻧﯾ ﺔ. ﻓ ﻲ ﺣ ﯾ ن أ ن ﻣ ﺟ ﻣو ﻋ ﺔ ﻛﺑﯾ ر ة ﻣ ن ا ﻷ ﺑ ﺣ ﺎ ث ﻗد د ر ﺳ ـ ت ﻣ ﻼ ﺣ ظ ﺎ ت ﺗ ﺻ ـ ﺣ ﯾ ﺣ ﯾ ﺔ ﺧ ط ﯾ ﺔ ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﻛﺗﺎﺑﺎ ت اﻟط ﻼ ب ، ﻓﻘ د رﻛز ت د را ﺳ ــﺎ ت ﻗﻠﯾﻠ ﺔ ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﺗ ط وﯾ ر اﻟ دﻗﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣﮭﺎ رة اﻟ ﻛﺗﺎﺑ ﺔ ﺑﯾ ن ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹ ﻧ ﺟ ﻠﯾ زﯾ ﺔ اﻟﻧﺎ ط ﻘﯾ ن ﺑﺎﻟ ﻌرﺑﯾ ﺔ ﺑﺎ ﺳ ــﺗ ﺧ دا م أدو ا ت اﻟ ﺗ ﻐذﯾ ﺔ ا ﻻ ﺳ ـــﺗ ر ﺟ ﺎ ﻋ ﯾ ﺔ ﻋ ﺑ ر ا ﻹ ﻧﺗ ر ﻧ ت . ﺗ ﺗ ﻧ ﺎ و ل د ر ا ﺳ ـ ـ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﺣ ﺎ ﻟ ﺔ ھ ذ ه أ و ﻻً ﻣ ﺳ ـ ـ ﺗ و ى ا ﻟ د ﻗ ﺔ ا ﻟ ﻣ ﻛ ﺗ و ﺑ ﺔ ﻟ ﻠ ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﻣ ﯾ ن ا ﻟ ﺑ ﺣ ر ﯾ ﻧ ﯾ ﯾ ن ﻟ ﻠ ﻐ ﺔ ا ﻹ ﻧ ﺟ ﻠ ﯾ ز ﯾ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﺳـ ﻧﺗ ﮭم اﻟﺛﺎﻧﯾ ﺔ ﻓ ﻲ ﻣؤﺳـ ﺳـ ﺔ ﻟﻠﺗ ﻌﻠﯾم اﻟﻌﺎﻟ ﻲ ، ﻣﻊ اﻟﺗ رﻛﯾ ز ﻋﻠ ﻰ ﺗﻛرا ر أ ﺧطﺎ ء اﻟﺗدا ﺧل ﺑﯾ ن اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻻوﻟ ﻰ واﻟﺛﺎﻧﯾﺔ. ﺛم ﺗ ﺳـﺗﻛ ﺷـ ف اﻟد را ﺳـ ﺔ ﺗﺄﺛﯾ ر أ دو ا ت اﻟ ﻣ ﻼﺣظﺎ ت ﻋﺑ ر ا ﻹﻧﺗ رﻧ ت ﻋﻠ ﻰ ﻛﺗﺎﺑﺔ اﻟ ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣﯾ ن ﺑﺎﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹﻧ ﺟﻠﯾ زﯾﺔ ﻛﻠ ﻐﺔ ﺛﺎ ﻧﯾ ﺔ، وﺗ ﺗﺑ ﻊ اﻟﺗ طور ﺧﻼل اﻟﻔ ﺻ ـــ ل اﻟ د را ﺳـــ ﻲ. ﯾﺗ ﺿ ـــ ﻣ ن ا ﻟ ﺗ د ﺧ ل ا ﻟ ﻣ ط ﺑ ق ﻟ ﺗ ﺣ ﺳـ ﯾ ن ﺗ ﻧ ﻣ ﯾ ﺔ ﻣ ﮭ ﺎ ر ا ت ا ﻟ ﻣ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﻣ ﯾ ن ﻣ ﻛ و ﻧًﺎ ﻣ ﮭ ﻣً ﺎ ﻟ ﻠ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﯾ ق ﻋ ﺑ ر ا ﻹ ﻧ ﺗ ر ﻧ ت . ﻗ ﺎ ﻣ ت ا ﻟ د ر ا ﺳـ ﺔ ﺑ ﺗ ﺣ ﻠ ﯾ ل ﻣ ﺟ ﻣ و ﻋ ﺔ ﻣ ن ا ﻟ ﻛ ﺗ ﺎ ﺑ ﺎ ت ا ﻷ و ﻟ ﯾ ﺔ وا ﻟ ﻣرا ﺟﻌﺎ ت اﻟ ﻼﺣ ﻘﺔ ﻟﻠط ﻼ ب ، ﺑﺎﻹ ﺿ ﺎﻓﺔ إﻟ ﻰ ﻣر ا ﺟ ﻌﺎ ت اﻟ ﻧ ظ ر ا ء، ﻟﺗﺣ دﯾد ﻣﺎ إ ذا ﻛﺎ ن ھﻧﺎ ك ﺗ ﺣ ﺳ ن ﻓ ﻲ دﻗﺔ اﻟﻧ ﺻ و ص اﻟﻣﻛﺗ و ﺑ ﺔ ﻟﻠط ﻼ ب .

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student ratings and teacher ratings on a university-level writing assignment in order to investigate the extent to which students have the ability and wherewithal to accurately and reliably assess themselves on a finished writing product. The Pearson Product Moment coefficient was used to determine whether or not there was a statistical correlation between student scores and teacher scores while the Intra-Class Coefficient and Spearman Brown Prophecy formula were used to determine the degree of agreement between raters as well as amongst all of the raters for an average reliability score. In this case the results were very promising as it was found that student and teacher scores correlated very highly and demonstrated a strong degree of agreement. This suggests that self assessment may be used to assist students in this particular context to better understand the conventions of English writing and ultimately improve their overall writing ability.