Txt lang: Texting,textism use and literacy abilities in adolescents with and without specific language impairment

The present study examined text messaging in adolescence, in particular relationships among textism use, language and literacy skills. Forty‐seven typically developing (TD) 17‐year‐olds and 47 adolescents of the same age with specific language impairment (SLI) participated. Participants completed standardised assessments of cognitive, language and literacy abilities, an interview about frequency of text messaging, and were asked to send a text message in reply to one sent by the experimenter. Adolescents with SLI were less likely than their TD peers to reply to the text message. Non‐senders with SLI (32%) had significantly lower reading abilities than senders with SLI. Senders with SLI composed shorter texts and used less text language than did TD peers. Correlational analyses revealed significant positive relationships among textism density, number of types of textism used and measures of literacy in adolescence. Implications of these findings for educational technology instruction in how to text are discussed.     

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.     

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 effect of text messaging on 9‐ and 10‐year‐old children's reading,spelling and phonological processing skills

This paper reports on an intervention study that considered the impact of text messaging on 9‐ to 10‐year‐old children's literacy skills. One hundred and fourteen children who had never owned a mobile phone before were recruited and randomly allocated to either the intervention or control conditions. All children were pre‐ and post‐tested on a range of reading, spelling and phonological awareness measures. Children in the intervention group were given access to a mobile phone (enabled for text messaging only) for weekends and during half‐term break for a 10‐week period. It was found that there were no significant differences between the two groups of children in terms of their literacy attainment during that period. However, within the mobile phone group, there was evidence that use of text abbreviations was positively related to gains in literacy skills. Moreover, after controlling for individual differences in IQ, and the children's performance at pre‐test, textism usage was able to account for a significant amount of variance in post‐test spelling scores. These results show that text messaging does not adversely affect the development of literacy skills within this age group, and that the children's use of textisms when text messaging is positively related to improvement in literacy skills, especially spelling.     

Against BibliOblivion: How modern scribes digitized an old book

In investigating how to best support the learning of digital competences at school, it is paramount to take into account the concrete reality (cultural, technological, and institutional) that teachers face in their daily struggle to prepare students for the information society. Hence case studies are needed to inform us on the complex relationship between educational aims, technological tools and contextual features in fostering digital literacy. This contribution describes a project ran in a class of an Italian lower secondary school during a course on digital literacy. The project, realized in collaboration with the local children’s library, consisted in the digitization of a text written in late XIX century. The results highlight various educational outcome of the activity. These include both technological progresses, such as improvement of students’ digital competences and refinement of their skills in the use of a word processor, but also cultural and civic benefits, related to opportunities for reflection on the evolution of language and culture, and the sharing of the final product with a large community. The roots of this success are analyzed, in order to suggest general criteria for using digitization activities as an effective method in digital literacy education.     

校企深度合作下的C 语言课程教学改革探索

本文尝试在校企深度合作办学模式下,提出C 语言课程实训创新模式,摆脱传统的“理论知识+实训案例”的简 单模式,将C 语言课程实训教学项目化、专业化和职业化,以真实的企业项目案例为载体,循序渐进地引导学生完成实训项目 开发流程,使其专业知识得到巩固,专业技能得到提升,从而在项目执行力、职业技能与素养方面得到有效锻炼。     

Exploring the role of health literacy on attention to and recall of text-illustrated health information: An eye-tracking study

Although the use of illustrations is often recommended for audiences with limited health literacy, it is unclear how health literacy impacts the use of different online formats. The aim of this paper is therefore to investigate how health literacy influences attention to text and illustrations in online health information, and whether such attention is related to recall of information. Sixty-one participants were exposed to either text-only or text-illustrated information. Using eye tracking, we recorded attention patterns on a health webpage after which recall of information was assessed. Results showed that health literacy influenced the attention–recall relationship. For people with limited health literacy, attention to the illustrations was positively related to recall, whereas attention to the text improved recall of information in the adequate health literate group. As attention to different parts of online health information leads to different information processing routes for people with different levels of health literacy, effective health communication should consider both text and illustrations that attract attention and improve understanding of the health message.     

Reveal codes: A new lens for examining and historicizing the work of secretaries

Using some autobiographical information from my own life and that of my grandmother when we were both secretaries, I argue that we in the academy lack language to describe low-status, gendered and classed work. In order to fairly measure the work that women do with technology as secretaries, and the literacy skills they need to perform this work, we need to shift our perspective and better recognize how we measure knowledge in workplace settings. I investigate some history of secretarial work in America, its relationship to similar female-dominated occupations and its relationship to educational programs promoting literacy. Reveal Codes—a reference to a command in early WordPerfect software programs that allowed typists to view the formatting they had done such as indenting and underlining text—is a metaphor for framing this project as an interrogation of both our work as scholars and the work of secretaries.     

基于深度学习的相似语言短文本的语种识别方法

在语种识别中,传统的N-Gram方法对文本长度依赖度高,因而无法有效地对短文本进行语种识别。现有的基于神经网络的模型无法同时考虑词本身信息和词间组合信息,从而降低了短文本语种识别的质量。针对以上问题,提出一种基于深度学习的字符级短文本语种识别方法。采用卷积神经网络从字符向量中获取词中字符组合信息;通过长短期记忆网络获取词与词之间的特征信息;使用全连接网络实现相似语言的语种识别。在维吾尔语、哈萨克语以及DSL2017数据集上的实验结果表明,该方法可以有效地提高相似语言短文本的识别精度。     

Electronic literacy, critical pedagogy, and collaboration: A case for cyborg writing

This study concerns the convergence of electronic literacy, collaboration, and critical pedagogy in the classroom. I argue that teachers in the humanities must relinquish the vestiges of non-electronic criteria in their assessments of electronic literacy. Instead, the interplay of human and technological factors in the classroom leads to a reaffirmation of literacy as a social process. The radical democratization and multivocality of the corporate or collaboratively-written text demands a critical problematizing of our roles and actions as teacher-readers. The viability of static criteria for good literacy practices vanishes with electronic literacy. Feminist cyborg theory offers a useful paradigm for understanding the corporate text by bridging theories of electronic literacy and theories of collaborative learning. The cyborg is a dynamic techno-fusion of difference and contradiction: much like the corporate text. A cyborgian perspective reaffirms the polyvocalic, instable nature of postmodern literacy and calls for contextual writing criteria.Carol L. Winkelmann, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She teaches electronic literacy, linguistics, and seventeenth-century women's literacy. Winkelmann has written forLinguistics and Education, The Oxford Companion to the English Language, andThe Sixteenth Century Journal. Currently, she is writing about women's political language, violence, and social change education.     

关于电脑集群系统的混合编程的研究

计算机集群以其较高的性价比、很好的可扩展性被广泛应用于各种计算密集的任务中。在面向话题的文本检索研究中,由于所需处理的文本量巨大,使用IMB公司的BladeCenter JS21计算机集群,采用SPMD（Single ProgramMultiple Data）并行算法模式实现了数据的并行处理。本文主要介绍有关混合编程语言程序设计、编程技巧以及调试等方面的经验。     

The Information Literacy Challenge

Abstract

Technological changes are occurring rapidly. As one result, students entering college are bringing very disparate computer skills and attitudes. Some students are reluctant to embrace new technologies; others demand electronic resources for all assignments. By considering the computer access and Internet resources available to elementary school students today, we can only imagine what our users of tomorrow will expect from libraries. Although college students may arrive at our libraries with increased computer skills, their knowledge of electronic information may be lacking. Definitions of information literacy and an overview of information literacy skills are outlined. The Digital Information Literacy program at The University of Texas at Austin, as well as the technological environment and facilities at the institution, serve as a case study for integrating information literacy skills into traditional services and partnerships.     

Virtual peers as partners in storytelling and literacy learning

Abstract   Literacy learning — learning how to read and write — begins long before children enter school. One of the key skills to reading and writing is the ability to represent thoughts symbolically and share them in language with an audience who may not necessarily share the same temporal and spatial context. Children learn and practice these important language skills everyday, telling stories with the peers and adults around them. In particular, storytelling in the context of peer collaboration provides a key environment for children to learn language skills important for literacy. In light of this, an embodied conversational agent, Sam , who tells stories collaboratively with children was designed. Sam looks like a peer for pre-school children, but tells stories in a developmentally advanced way, modelling narrative skills important for literacy. Results demonstrated that children who played with the virtual peer told stories that more closely resembled the virtual peer's linguistically advanced stories: using more quoted speech and temporal and spatial expressions. In addition, children listened to Sam's stories carefully, assisting her and suggesting improvements. The potential benefits of having technology play a social role in young children's literacy learning is discussed.     

Using Prezi to Structure Online Videos for Information Literacy Instruction: A Case Study

This case study describes how librarians at Radford University use Prezi, a free, cloud-based, online presentation software, as a platform to structure the content of short online videos focused on various research skills. By utilizing Prezi's flexible formatting, templates, and panning and zooming features, librarians are able to visually illustrate the relationships between varying concepts. This article discusses the online video creation process, best practices, and lessons learned from delivering structured information literacy instruction in the video medium.     

Exchanging and countering points of view: a linguistic perspective on school students' use of electronic conferencing

Abstract The ability to argue is an important academic goal in secondary education. This paper reports on an exploratory study which investigated how asynchronous text‐based conferencing provides a new site for school students to rehearse and develop their skills in argumentation. The study used linguistic tools of analysis to investigate two key questions:

• ? How is argumentation structured in asynchronous text‐based conferencing?
• ? How do students use language to negotiate their position on an issue?

The originality of our study lies in the use of a functional linguistic method of analysis which provides unique insights into how students use language to argue, insights that can inform teaching and learning both in school history (the context for this paper) and more generally. Our interest in language is based on the premise that it is central to the learning process – a premise supported by work in socio‐cultural psychology and systemic functional linguistics. The most significant findings to emerge from the analysis were that (1) counter‐argumentation was rare; and (2b) the more tentatively a claim is phrased the more likely it is that students will challenge or counter it.     

A real-time interactive virtual classroom multimedia distancelearning system

In this paper, we present the design and development of a real-time interactive virtual classroom multimedia distance learning system at the University of Washington. There has been rapid progress in digital media compression research, and the delivery of media data on the public Internet is becoming widespread. A real-time interactive virtual classroom allows a remote participant to not only receive a live class feed, but also to interact in a live class by asking questions with audio, video in real-time using an Internet connection. Many instructors use electronically prepared slides during their class. The traditional video coding algorithms are not able to compress this slide data very well at low bit-rates. We propose a Web-based real-time presentation system for the electronic slides. Instructors also write text on a white board or a piece of paper during the class. At low bit-rates, conventional video encoding algorithms cannot encode this handwritten text video with enough fidelity, resulting in an illegible decoded video. We propose an extension of the well known bilevel image encoding algorithms to handle the handwritten text video. Our method results in decoded video frames which can be read very clearly when encoded at low bit-rates. We have developed a set of tools which allows recording the live classroom session and automatic creation of a synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL) presentation, which can be used for a later viewing     

A novel approach for enhancing student reading comprehension and assisting teacher assessment of literacy

For students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), reading exercises are critical not only for developing strong reading comprehension, but also for developing listening, speaking, and writing skills. Prior research suggests that social, collaborative learning environments are best suited for improving language ability. However, opportunities for English learners to collaboratively practice reading comprehension are minimal, and due to resource constraints and a lack of accurate evaluation methods, English instructors rarely assess student literacy effectively. In response to these problems, we propose a Tag-based Collaborative reading learning System (TACO) that makes use of Web 2.0 Internet social tagging techniques to provide a collaborative environment for reading English. We test our system’s ability to both improve reading comprehension and aid teachers in accurately assessing literacy by conducting a three-month trial with 56 participating Taiwanese high school students from February to May 2009. During this period, post-testing results show a significant improvement in reading scores among participants in our tag-based system, and survey feedback from teachers suggests an improved capacity for literacy assessment.     

Computer game development as a literacy activity

This study examined computer game development as a pedagogical activity to motivate and engage students in curriculum-related literacy activities. We hypothesized that as a consequence, students would improve their traditional reading and writing skills as well as develop new digital literacy skills. Eighteen classes of grade 4 students were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Both groups studied the same curriculum unit over a 10 week period, however, in addition the experimental group developed computer games related to the unit using a game development shell. An analysis of pre- and post-unit scores on two standardized literacy test batteries revealed that the experimental students performed significantly better on one of the subtests, a measure of logical sentence construction (p = .002). Field notes and teacher interview data indicated that game development helped improve student content retention, ability to compare and contrast information presented, utilize more and different kinds of research materials including digital resources, editing skills, and develop an insight into questioning skills.     

ABRACADABRA in the hands of teachers: The effectiveness of a web-based literacy intervention in grade 1 language arts programs

This study explored how teacher variations in use of a web-technology of known effectiveness, affected growth in literacy. Teachers used ABRACADACABRA (ABRA) (http://grover.concordia.ca/abra/version1/abracadabra.html), in Grade 1 Language Arts classes. Children (N = 60) across three classrooms were exposed to ABRA activities and a control class followed the regular provincial literacy program. Interventions were run by briefly-trained teachers for a total of 16 h. Each teacher chose to use the program in qualitatively distinct ways that corresponded to the first three stages of Sandholtz, Ringstaff, and Dwyer’s (1997) technology integration model, namely: Entry, Adoption and Adaptation. Growth in literacy between pre- and post-test revealed significant differences associated with technology integration style across all measures of literacy and related language skills. The largest and most-widespread effects were evident for the Adaptation group that linked technology content to wider learning themes in the classroom. In terms of overall growth in standardised literacy scores across all six such measures used, Adaptation proved to be 60% more effective than Adoption. Results suggest that explorations of exactly how teachers use technology have important implications for practice as well as for the interpretation of field-based studies of the effectiveness of educational technology.