Promoting creative thinking through the use of ICT

Abstract A great deal has been written about the use of web-based technologies such as the Internet in promoting learning in education. In schools, research has focused primarily on social interaction and group work, student achievement levels and curriculum development. Very little study seems to have been brought to bear upon the promotion of creative thinking by the use of online technologies, and this paper attempts to contribute to this field of study. This paper reports on a pilot study which has investigated the creative impact of information and communication technology (ICT) in a rural primary school in South-west England. The school is unique because it provides a personal networked computer for each of its 41 Year 6 students (aged 10–11 years). A small group of students were interviewed about the learning activities they engaged in over the year, and this paper reports on initial findings with a special emphasis on creative working and thinking ( n  = 6). A model of creativity is presented with three discrete but related modes of activity — problem solving, creative cognition, and social interaction. The paper provides new findings about the nature of creativity in the context of computer based learning environments.     

引入国际先进经验 助推可再生能源规模化发展——国家发展和改革委员会能源研究所王仲颖副所长专访

中国可再生能源规模化发展项目(CRESP)一期已经圆满结束,本刊记者就项目在推动我国可再生能源发展中的作用和影响,专访了国家发展和改革委员会能源研究所王仲颖副所长。王副所长认为,CRESP项目一期是我国规模最大的可再生能源领域国际合作项目,CRESP项目的成功实施,弥补了我国可再生能源技术和经验的不足,推动了我国可再生能源的规模化快速发展。CRESP项目的成功经验,值得在其他的国际合作项目中借鉴和推广,其已成为世界银行在发展中国家实施可再生能源项目的典范。     

《夜访吸血鬼》中克劳迪娅的精神分析解读

为了对《夜访吸血鬼》中克劳迪娅这个人物做出新的阐释,加深读者对该人物性格及其悲剧命运的理解。从精神分析的角度,运用弗洛伊德的人格理论学说,具体分析克劳迪娅精神上本我、自我、超我的发展过程和特点,并进一步阐明造成其人格特征的成因。     

Measuring stress resilience and coping in vulnerable youth: The social competence interview.

A brief interview to measure stress coping capabilities was developed and tested in 4 samples of African American and White adolescents in low-income neighborhoods of 2 large U.S. cities. The Social Competence Interview (SCI) is a 10-min social stressor that assesses physiological and social-emotional responses to a recurring real-life problem. A new behavioral coding system using audiotapes permits reliable and valid assessment of components of social competence, including Interpersonal Skills (expressiveness, empathy), Goal-Oriented Strivings in coping (self defense, social acceptance, competitiveness, stimulation-pleasure, approval, self improvement), and Social Impact (high vs low affiliation/ control). High SCI expressiveness and self-defensive striving create a critical-aggressive social impact, which is correlated with increased hostility and anger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can private reports enhance children’s event recall,lower their suggestibility and foster their metacognitive monitoring compared to face-to-face interviews?

In this paper, two studies are presented in which the social demands of an event recall interview situation were manipulated using two different methodologies and by using different dependent measures as indices for children’s event memory, suggestibility and metacognitive monitoring processes. Participants aged 6–10 years were shown a brief video and then questioned about it 2–3 weeks later. Answers to the recall questions were either given privately by whispering into a teddy bear’s ear or publicly in a normal face-to-face interview. Confidence judgments as indicators for metacognitive monitoring were entered into a computer, either with the interviewer having direct knowledge about them, or with the children entering the confidence judgments in privacy. In line with previous research on this topic, although private reports did not produce poorer performance, neither did they improve performance. In both studies there were no effects of the social manipulations on either recall or metacognitive monitoring and also no age-dependent benefits. The results are discussed in terms of the chosen methodologies and in the light of previous studies.     

Observations in classrooms using a network of handheld devices

Abstract This paper illustrates the educational implications of the design features of public anonymity and private accountability in a classroom network of handheld devices. The author draws from four years of observations of classes using two early network prototypes. Themes discussed are anonymity of data submission to the group, the ability for students to see their data displayed in the group space, the ability for the teacher to instantly assess how all students are doing at any time during a lesson, and that the ability of the network to let all students answer all questions may have an impact upon student engagement in the classroom. The paper goes on to highlight research done in the field of communications using synchronous electronic submission systems and relates this to the use of similar networks in the classroom.     

Is there convergence in the field of UI generation?

For many software projects, the construction of the User Interface (UI) consumes a significant proportion of their development time. Any degree of automation in this area therefore has clear benefits. But it is difficult to achieve such automation in a way that will be widely adopted by industry because of the diversity of UIs, software architectures, platforms and development environments. In a previous article, the authors identified five key characteristics any UI generator would need in order to address this diversity. We asserted that, without these characteristics, a UI generator should not expect wide industry adoption or standardisation. We supported this assertion with evidence from industry adoption studies. A further source of validation would be to see if other research teams, who were also conducting industry field trials, were independently converging on this same set of characteristics. Conversely, it would be instructive if they were found to be converging on a different set of characteristics. In this article, the authors look for such evidence of convergence by interviewing the team behind one of the research community's most significant UI generators: Naked Objects. We observe strong signs of convergence, which we believe signal the beginning of a general purpose architecture for UI generation, one that both industry and the research community could standardise upon.     

当代法国建筑新观察

本文以作者的法国建筑和建筑师专访和实地考察为第一手背景资料,从中整理出印象 深刻而又值得回味的若干片断,意在揭示当代法国建筑的最新发展动向及多样化、个性化的特征。     

面向电视台录音采访文字校对软件

在目前的电视台采访和录音中,有大量的文本任务需要使用语音识别软件进行从语音向文字的转换.如今语音识别的准确率虽然已经足够出色,但对于电视台等严谨的专业领域效果一般,其结果还不能完全信任.由于缺少自动有效地对识别结果进行校对的方法,电视台需要花费大量的人力和物力进行人工校对.因此,本文希望设计并开发一个录音采访文字校对软...     

ICT skills learning strategies and histories of trainee teachers

Abstract As yet, there is only a small volume of research on how trainee teachers develop their personal ICT skills. This paper reports the findings of a one-year action research study which explored in detail the processes by which a cohort of postgraduate teacher trainees learned these skills. Learning histories before the course were found to be complex and varied. Trainees reported that they consciously drew on a repertoire of learning strategies whilst developing their skills, and a set of factors including previous experience, match of learning opportunities with preferences and software attributes affected a successful learning outcome. An initial model of the learning process was completely revised to reflect the findings. Implications of this research for those working with trainees or other adults who are developing their ICT skills are suggested