Children's text messaging: abbreviations,input methods and links with literacy

This study investigated the effects of mobile phone text‐messaging method (predictive and multi‐press) and experience (in texters and non‐texters) on children's textism use and understanding. It also examined popular claims that the use of text‐message abbreviations, or textese spelling, is associated with poor literacy skills. A sample of 86 children aged 10 to 12 years read and wrote text messages in conventional English and in textese, and completed tests of spelling, reading and non‐word reading. Children took significantly longer and made more errors when reading messages written in textese than in conventional English. Further, they were no faster at writing messages in textese than in conventional English, regardless of texting method or experience. Predictive texters were faster at reading and writing messages than multi‐press texters, and texting experience increased writing, but not reading, speed. General spelling and reading scores did not differ significantly with usual texting method. However, better literacy skills were associated with greater textese reading speed and accuracy. These findings add to the growing evidence for a positive relationship between texting proficiency and traditional literacy skills.     

The effects of keyword cues and 3R strategy on children's e‐book reading

Various studies have found that electronic books (e‐books) promote learning, but few works have examined the use of e‐books along with an adaptive reading strategy for children. The current study implemented a method to extract keyword cues from e‐books to support e‐book reading with the read, recite and review (3R) strategy, and then examined the impact of this on children's reading performance. A pilot work recruited 76 first‐graders, developed the related reading tests and questionnaires. These were later used in assessing the effects of different interventions on the reading performances and perspectives of 74 first‐graders in the main study. Based on the findings of this work, the 3R strategy can be used as an effective approach to guide children's reading with e‐books. In addition, the use of keyword cues incorporated with retrieval practice can provide support with regard to Chinese characters and phonetic information in order to aid children's memorization of the story, thus promoting both phonological awareness and reading comprehension.     

Use of Health‐Related Online Support Groups: Population Data from the California Health Interview Survey Complementary and Alternative Medicine Study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of online support group (OSG) use by those with chronic health problems and to identify characteristics associated with use of OSGs and face‐to‐face groups. METHODS: 6, 795 Californians living with chronic health problems were asked to describe OSG use, face‐to‐face support group use, and frequency/perceived benefit of support group use. RESULTS: 16% had used a face‐to‐face group for health, and 1.8% reported having used an OSG. OSG use was associated with depression/anxiety (OR = 3.51), stroke (OR = 3.03), diabetes (OR = 2.96), cancer (OR = 2.86), and arthritis (OR = 2.52). Use of OSGs was also associated with greater education (OR = 12.2), higher income (OR = 3.1), use of complementary/alternative therapies (OR = 5.2), and worse health status (OR = 3.1). Those with asthma (OR = 0.4), over age 65 (OR = 0.2), and Latinos (OR = 0.2) were less likely to use OSGs. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of use of OSGs for those with chronic health conditions is low, but internet‐based health‐related services have potential to increase the reach of support services for those living with chronic conditions.     

Stop talking and type: comparing virtual and face‐to‐face mentoring in an epistemic game

Research has shown that computer games and other virtual environments can support significant learning gains because they allow young people to explore complex concepts in simulated form. However, in complex problem‐solving domains, complex thinking is learned not only by taking action, but also with the aid of mentors who provide guidance in the form of questions, instructions, advice, feedback and encouragement. In this study, we examine one context of such mentoring to understand the impact of replacing face‐to‐face interactions between mentors and students with virtual, chat‐based interactions. We use pre‐ and post‐measures of learning and a post‐measure of engagement, as well as epistemic network analysis (ENA), a novel quantitative method, to examine student and mentor discourse. Our results suggest that mentoring via online chat can be as effective as mentoring face‐to‐face in appropriately structured contexts more generally – and that ENA may be a useful tool for assessing student and mentor discourse in the context of learning interactions.     

Development and evaluation of a system enhancing Second Life to support synchronous role‐based collaborative learning

Research and commercial interest toward 3D virtual worlds are recently growing because they probably represent the new direction for the next generation of web applications. Although these environments present several features that are useful for informal collaboration, structured collaboration is required to effectively use them in a working or in a didactical setting. This paper presents a system supporting synchronous collaborative learning by naturally enriching Learning Management System services with meeting management and multimedia features. Monitoring and moderation of discussions are also managed at a single group and at the teaching level. The Second Life (SL) environment has been integrated with two ad hoc developed Moodle plug‐ins and SL objects have been designed, modeled, and programmed to support synchronous role‐based collaborative activities. We also enriched SL with tools to support the capturing and displaying of textual information during collaborative sessions for successive retrieval. In addition, the multimedia support has been enhanced with functionalities for navigating multimedia contents. We also report on an empirical study aiming at evaluating the use of the proposed SL collaborative learning as compared with face‐to‐face group collaboration. Results show that the two approaches are statistically undistinguishable in terms of performance, comfort with communication, and overall satisfaction. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A dynamic analysis of the interplay between asynchronous and synchronous communication in online learning: The impact of motivation

With the increased affordances of synchronous communication tools, more opportunities for online learning to resemble face‐to‐face settings have recently become available. However, synchronous communication does not afford as much time for reflection as asynchronous communication. Therefore, a combination of synchronous and asynchronous communication in e‐learning would seem desirable to optimally support learner engagement and the quality of student learning. It is still an open question though, how to best design online learning with a blend of synchronous and asynchronous communication opportunities over time. Few studies have investigated the relationship between learners' actual use of synchronous and asynchronous communication over time. Therefore, this study addressed that relationship in an online course (N = 110), taking into account student motivation, and employing a dynamic inter‐temporal perspective. In line with our assumptions, we found some support for the expected association between autonomous motivation and engagement in asynchronous and synchronous communication, be it restricted primarily to the first course period. Also, positive relations between engagement in synchronous and asynchronous communication were found, with the strongest influence from using asynchronous to synchronous communication. This study adds to the knowledge base needed to develop guidelines on how synchronous communication can be combined with asynchronous learning.     

The Internet and Anti-War Activism: A Case Study of Information, Expression, and Action

This case study examines how traditional and Internet news use, as well as face‐to‐face and online political discussion, contributed to political participation during the period leading up to the Iraq War. A Web‐based survey of political dissenters (N = 307) conducted at the start of the U.S.‐led invasion of Iraq provides the data used to examine the relationships among informational media use, online and face‐to‐face political discussion, and political participation among the respondents, who were recruited through blogs, discussion boards, and listservs opposing the Iraq war. Analyses reveal that among these respondents, Internet news use contributed to both face‐to‐face and online discussion about the situation in Iraq. Online and face‐to‐face political discussion mediated certain news media effects on anti‐war political participation. The study stresses the complementary role of Web news use and online political discussion relative to traditional modes of political communication in spurring political participation.     

Supporting pre‐service teachers in designing technology‐infused lesson plans

The present study compared the effectiveness of two types of just‐in‐time support for lesson planning. Both types contained the same technological information but differed regarding pedagogical and content information. The first type presented this information separately (i.e., separate support); the second type presented this information in an integrated way (i.e., integrated support). In an experimental design pre‐service biology teachers received either the integrated support (n = 26) or separate support (n = 27). They were instructed to create a technology‐infused lesson plan and justify their design decisions. Results showed that pre‐service teachers who used the integrated support had more integrated pedagogical and content‐related justifications and higher quality lesson plans than the group who received separate support. Both groups had few technology‐related justifications, and technology integration was of low quality. These findings confirm the alleged superiority of integrated support over separate support, and suggest that additional guidance is needed for pre‐service teachers to fully integrate technological, pedagogical and content information during lesson planning.     

Reflecting on Connecting: Meta‐Analysis of Differences Between Computer‐Mediated and Face‐to‐Face Self‐Disclosure

Self‐disclosure is a key concept in computer‐mediated communication (CMC) theory and research, but disagreement exists about the impact of CMC, relative to face‐to‐face (FtF) communication, on self‐disclosure. We conducted a meta‐analysis of studies comparing self‐disclosure in CMC and FtF communication to summarize and clarify existing research. We also examined potential moderators of this difference—measure of self‐disclosure, study design (survey or experiment), interaction context (task or social), type of CMC (text‐based or video‐based), and interaction length. Overall, self‐disclosure was higher in FtF communication than in CMC. Measure of self‐disclosure, study design, and type of CMC moderated this difference. Findings suggest mixed support for predictions derived from key CMC theories and a need for CMC theory to more explicitly address self‐disclosure.     

College students' text messaging,use of textese and literacy skills

In this study, I examined reported frequency of text messaging, use of textese and literacy skills (reading accuracy, spelling and reading fluency) in a sample of American college students. Participants reported using text messaging, social networking sites and textese more often than was reported in previous (2009) research, and their frequency of textese use varied across contexts. Correlational analyses revealed significant, positive relationships between text messaging frequency and literacy skills (spelling and reading fluency), but significant, negative relationships between textese usage in certain contexts (on social networking sites such as MySpace? and Facebook? and in emails to professors) and literacy (reading accuracy). These findings differ from findings reported in recent studies with Australian college students, British schoolchildren and American college students. Explanations for these differences are discussed, and future directions for research are presented.     

Students' usability evaluation of a Web‐based tutorial program for college biology problem solving

The understanding of core concepts and processes of science in solving problems is important to successful learning in biology. We have designed and developed a Web‐based, self‐directed tutorial program, SOLVEIT, that provides various scaffolds (e.g., prompts, expert models, visual guidance) to help college students enhance their skills and abilities in solving problems in science. An initial version of SOLVEIT was used in this study. This paper details the features of SOLVEIT that are contextualized within the biological domains of evolution and ecology. A qualitative case study was conducted to evaluate the usability of the program. Selected students were recruited from an introductory biology course at a large public university in the south‐eastern United States. Data for this study were collected through the SOLVEIT database and semi‐structured interviews. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential of the program for improving students' problem solving in biology. Suggestions for the use of SOLVEIT and its further improvement and development are discussed, along with suggestions for future research. This study also provides more general guidance for researchers and practitioners who are interested in the design, development and evaluation of Web‐based tutorial programs in science education.     

Exploring Privacy Management on Facebook: Motivations and Perceived Consequences of Voluntary Disclosure

This study examined the perceived motivations and consequences of voluntary disclosure of Facebook active users using a survey administered to college students in a public‐speaking course. College‐age students who took the survey were motivated to use Facebook because they perceived their relationships improved with friends and family, although using Facebook could become negatively habit forming. The research suggests that users of Facebook use it more for disclosing to distant friends rather than to close friends, which is divergent from most early disclosure research that equates disclosure with intimacy. This research utilizes Communication Privacy Management Theory for the theoretical framework.     

Supporting middle school students' online reading of scientific resources: moving beyond cursory,fragmented, and opportunistic reading

The abundant scientific resources on the Web provide great opportunities for students to expand their science learning, yet easy access to information does not ensure learning. Prior research has found that middle school students tend to read Web‐based scientific resources in a shallow, superficial manner. A software tool was designed to support middle school students in reading online scientific resources through three key strategies: making explicit a skim–read–summarize structure for online reading, using prompts to guide students' reading and foster articulation of thinking, and connecting reading to learning purposes. This study examined the differences between regular and guided online reading performed by eight pairs of sixth graders in a science inquiry project. The students' online reading processes and conversations were captured by a screen‐recording programme. Analysis of 60 h of screen videos showed that the students' online reading in the regular condition was cursory, fragmented, and opportunistic, while the structured online reading was more deliberate, thorough, and purposeful. Overall, the results suggest that middle school students' online reading of scientific resources needs to be guided.     

Effects of Online Comments on Smokers' Perception of Antismoking Public Service Announcements

On YouTube antismoking PSAs are widely viewed and uploaded; they also receive extensive commentary by viewers. This study examined whether such evaluative comments with or without uncivil expressions influence evaluations by subsequent viewers. Results showed PSAs with positive (i.e. antismoking) comments were perceived by smokers as more effective than PSAs with negative (prosmoking) comments. Smokers in the no‐comment condition gave the highest perceived effectiveness score to PSAs. Smokers' readiness to quit smoking moderated the effect of comments on PSA evaluation. Smokers reading negative uncivil comments reported more negative attitude toward quitting and a lower level of perceived risk of smoking than those reading negative civil comments but positive civil and positive uncivil comments did not elicit different responses.     

Information problem‐solving skills in small virtual groups and learning outcomes

This study investigated the frequency of use of information problem‐solving (IPS) skills and its relationship with learning outcomes. During the course of the study, 40 teachers carried out a collaborative IPS task in small virtual groups in a 4‐week online training course. The status of IPS skills was collected through self‐reports handed in over the course of the 4 weeks. Learning was evaluated by means of open‐ended questionnaires before and after the group task. Three types of knowledge learning were evaluated: declarative, procedural and situational. Teachers exhibited a recurrent use of all skills during the whole collaborative task, although periodic use differed from week to week. Results showed a relationship between some IPS skills and declarative and procedural knowledge. The skills that were statistically significant were share information, read peer's information and analyse information. Implications for learning support and instruction are discussed.     

Rehabilitation of an unloved child: semi‐splaying

Splay trees are widely considered as the classic examples of self‐adjusting binary search trees and are part of most courses on data structures and algorithms. Already in the first seminal paper on splay trees (J. Assoc. Comput. Mach. 1985; 32(3):652–686) alternative operations were introduced, among which is semi‐splaying. On the one hand, the analysis of semi‐splaying gives a smaller constant for the amortized complexity, but on the other hand the authors write: Whether any version of semi‐splaying is an improvement over splaying depends on the access sequence. Semi‐splaying may be better when the access pattern is stable, but splaying adapts much faster to changes in usage. Maybe this sentence was the reason that nobody seriously ran tests to compare the performance of semi‐splaying and splaying. Semi‐splaying is conceptually simpler than splaying, has the same asymptotic amortized complexity and, as will be clear from empirical data presented in this paper, the practical performance is better for a very broad variety of access patterns. Therefore, its efficiency is a good reason to use semi‐splaying for applications instead of its more prominent brother. Moreover, its simplicity also makes it very attractive for teaching purposes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effectiveness of MMORPG‐based instruction in elementary English education in Korea

This study investigated the effectiveness of massive multiplayer online role‐playing game (MMORPG)‐based (massive multiplayer online role‐playing game) instruction in elementary English education. The effectiveness of the MMORPG program was compared with face‐to‐face instruction and the independent variables (gender, prior knowledge, motivation for learning, self‐directed learning skills, computer skills, game skills, computer capacity, network speed, and computer accessibility) were examined to see how accurately achievement was predicted in MMORPG instruction. The results indicated that students studying English utilizing online role‐playing games showed higher scores in areas of listening, reading, and writing than those who attended face‐to‐face instruction classes. It was also found that prior knowledge, motivation for learning, and network speed were factors affecting achievement in English learning. These findings suggest that MMORPGs can play an important role in improving English communicative skills.     

EFL learners’ use of online reading strategies and comprehension of texts: An exploratory study

This study investigated EFL learners’ online reading strategies and the effects of strategy use on comprehension. To fulfill the purposes of this study, a Web-based reading program, English Reading Online, was created. Thirty applied English majors, divided into a high group and a low group based on their proficiency levels, were asked to read four authentic online texts; two were appropriate to the students’ level of proficiency, and two were more difficult. Results from data analysis showed that the use of support strategies dominated the strategy use and contributed to most of the comprehension gains, but an exclusive dependence on support strategies did not successfully predict the increase in scores on main ideas and details when the students were reading more challenging texts. On the whole, the use of global strategies significantly contributed to better comprehension, especially for low proficiency students.     

Students' Perceptions of E‐Mail Interaction During Student‐Professor Advising Sessions: The Pursuit of Interpersonal Goals

This study investigated students' preference for e‐mail over face‐to‐face (FtF) communication for interpersonal goal achievement (i.e., instrumental, relational, self‐presentational) with faculty advisors. An exploratory analysis of undergraduate students revealed that they did not prefer computer‐mediated communication (i.e., e‐mail) over FtF communication with advisors when addressing all 3 interpersonal goal types. Significant gender differences were also found, with women reporting more use of e‐mail, and men preferring to address self‐presentational goals in FtF settings. It also was found that compared to Caucasians, African Americans did not prefer CMC to FtF interaction in achieving instrumental and self‐presentational goals. Results of this study suggest that despite the ubiquity of e‐mail communication, undergraduates did not prefer e‐mail over FtF contact with faculty advisors.