Abstract

Apart from those whose individual learning needs are recognized for special resourcing, many disadvantaged learners experience difficulties in literacy. Their parents and carers are, potentially, an important source of additional support in encouraging literacy acquisition. In addition, embedded within particular approaches and strategies for developing literacy are a variety of underlying assumptions about the process of literacy acquisition. This paper illustrates these issues with reference to a particular programme currently in use in Literacy Centres in a Land Development Scheme. It will go on to outline the training services given to a group of untrained practitioners leading these centres. This is done in order that they may negotiate effective literacy programmes which can harness all available resources to address difficulties in literacy development. The training focuses on ways to inculcate interaction and collaboration among trainees.

Abstract

Any secondary education technology livelihood and entrepreneurship program should be based on the new Basic Education Curriculum in Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) I based on the standard curriculum designed by the Philippine Department of Education.

This paper is a discussion on the technology livelihood and entrepreneurship as part of the basic education curriculum for secondary school students.    Part of this paper discusses the component and the importance of the TLE program in general and the experiences in terms of implementation of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Laboratory High School (PUPLHS).  To answer the needs of the times along this aspect, PUPLHS designed a revitalized TLE program focusing on livelihood and entrepreneurial  development program through its Mini-Center for Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development.  Activities lined up for this purpose were detailed in the paper.

Abstract

In contemporary society,information technologies and communication technologies (ICTs) are playing crucial role in dissemination of knowledge and information the world over. Universities/ higher education institutions, particularly distance education universities in developed countries are making best use of these technologies for effective and interactive teaching learning process. Developing countries are also trying to adopt the model of developed countries according to their resources and circumstances.

Distance education universities in developed countries like United States of America and United Kingdom are using advanced (emerging) technologies such as computers, Internet (World Wide Web) satellite communication, teleconferencing (videoconferencing and audio conferencing) and virtual reality in education and training.

In developing countries like India, Pakistan and Thailand, distance education universities are using Radio, Television and Internet for teaching learning purpose and students support services. They are using computers mostly for office work. They are trying to adopt advanced technologies like developed countries but they have some limitations of resources (human & material resources). In future it is hoped that developing countries will also be using emerging technologies for teaching learning purpose.

Abstract

Faculty, staff and alumni from Rowan University recently traveled to Antigua, Guatemala  to conduct a technology assessment so that a three to four times yearly teacher training program can be expanded to a year round online professional development program. Since 2002, Rowan Reading Professor Midge Madden and  Professor Emeritus Jane Sullivan have been promoting literacy in Guatemala public schools through teacher workshops and more focused week-long literacy institutes. Illiteracy is to a critical problem in Guatemala, where 77% of the population do not attend school beyond sixth grade.  Three realities contribute to this statistic: 1) there is limited access to middle and high schools for many students, particularly poor children in rural areas; 2) public schooling is not free; students must buy their own books/supplies and uniforms; and 3) teacher training is at best minimal - elementary school teachers need only a high school diploma and there are few baccalaureate teacher training programs to train middle and high school teachers..  Consequently, large numbers of people in Guatemala cannot read or write. The Republica de Guatemala Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Censos Nacionales XI de Poblacion y VI de Habitacion 2002 reports the following: Education, public and private, is paid for by individual families. The only difference between public and private is the level of cost. Public education costs less, but oftentimes it is too much for the average family and the children are not able to study. Fact: 67% of all Guatemalans children 7-14 years old do not attend school. This is the reality of schooling in Guatemala.

Abstract

Learners of English as a foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) can easily learn the correct pronunciation of English words, some linguists have tried to simplify English phonology in general, and English accent in particular, over the past 50 years or so; some schol¬ars have talked about four degrees of pri-mary, secondary, tertiary and weak stress (e.g., Bowen, 1975); some have considered only three degrees of stress: primary, sec¬ondary and weak (e.g., Stageberg, 1964) and some have concentrated on two levels of stress: accented vs. unaccented, or stressed vs. unstressed (e.g., Chomsky and Halle, 1968). No one of these scholars, however, has adopted an orthography-based approach to their discussion of English accent. Since orthography or spelling is the most fixed and static way of representing words in English, like in almost any other language, spelling- or orthography-based rules of accent/stress placement can relieve almost any ESL/EFL learner. In this paper, four easy-to-understand spelling-based rules for stress placement are presented which can help EFL/ESL learners to master correct pronunciation of English words.

Abstract

In early models of online instruction, learning activities and assessments relied primarily on threaded discussions or papers. But advances in online technology, and a growing trend to incorporate collaborative learning strategies, have lead to the emergence of online group projects. While student-centered learning activities such as group projects have a well-established history in traditional educational environments, the value of group work in the online classroom is less clear. A survey of experienced online students and faculty revealed inconsistent perceptions between these two groups concerning the value of group projects in virtual education. Online faculty report that group projects are a valuable tool as group work provides a realistic assessment of requisite professional skills. In contrast, online students indicate that group projects are counterproductive to their choice to pursue an online education. Discussion examines unique challenges to incorporating student-centered collaborative projects in the virtual classroom.

Abstract

Multiple Intelligence Based Teaching (MIBT) applies the multiple intelligence theory in the process of teaching and learning. MIBT explores and develops the intelligence of the students. Also it teaches the content in a multiple way to the students. The objective of the present study is to find out the effectiveness of multiple intelligence based teaching (MIBT) for teaching mathematics for primary school students. Equivalent group experimental design has been selected for conducting the experiment. For each control and experimental groups, 30 sixth standard students have been selected from a school in Karaikal. Finally the study concludes that the experimental group is better than the control group i.e., the Multiple Intelligence Based Teaching (MIBT) method is an effective method for teaching mathematics for primary school students than the traditional method of teaching.

Abstract

Fiste is a three year Comenius project based on a need for innovative and effective ideas for in-service teacher education. The participants are from five countries Finland, Romania, Iceland, Latvia and Spain. The Fiste project is funded by the European Comenius and deals with the use of new web based educational technologies for teaching in-service teachers in Europe.  The Fiste’s main task is to create a common in-service teachers’ course as a new way to provide in-service teacher education based on ICT.  The participants used an on-line platform to set up a course with web-based learning tools.

The World Wide Web offers a great deal of potential in supporting cross-platform cooperative work within locally separated working groups.  The BSCW has been developed as Web based groupware tool using the metaphor of joint virtual workspaces.  The system is particularly practical for teaching and learning in the context of on-line education and already used by large communities for cooperation between students and teachers in distributed areas in Europe.  The paper focus on the use of the BSCW, in the context of the Fiste project.

Abstract

The paper addresses a key issue in language planning of the third world countries, specifically Pakistan, a country that remained under the shackles of Colonialism till 1947 but still does not have a clear cut language policy. Being richly multilingual and multicultural, it has had to cope with the problem of a second language, the national language and the regional and local languages. The often accepted dictum that “choosing to learn a second language affords you unending possibilities does not hold ground here”. Learning a second language is a compulsion. But what is the second language: Urdu, English or some powerful local language. This confusion has since long marred the teaching learning situation in some of the third world countries especially Pakistan. The teacher remains affixed with the Grammar Translation Method. The students have to refer to Urdu to learn English. However, Urdu is not the mother tongue of Ninety three percent of the population. Hence the students have to translate their thoughts twice which more than often results in the loss of meaning. The present study was experimental in nature which sought to find answer to the question: Is it possible to do away with Urdu and refer to the local language of the child while teaching him the English language? The study followed a pre-test post-test single group experimental design. It was found that the students were more enthusiastic in learning the English language through the medium of their local language. It is conceded that Urdu may be taught as a national language but while teaching the foreign language, its middle-man status must be done away with.