The last posting that I am going to post this week is a topic regarding on Concordance. In order to do this posting, I have chosen a partner to do the task with me. She is Clara Liew and she had been cooperate with me with several postings we had done earlier which require group work and I enjoy doing the posting with her.

Before going into the discussion on the article “Beyond Concordance Lines: Using Concordances to Investigate Language Development” by Arshad Abd Samad. We’ll begin with the definition of the Concordance. According to Wikipedia, Concordance is ‘an alphabetical list of the principal words used in a book or body of work, with their immediate contexts’.

Here’s a little information from Wikipedia on Concordance application useful in linguistics. As students of linguistic, it is undeniable that Concordance plays a very useful role especially in our language learning process. Concordances are frequently used as a tool in linguistics for the study of a text, such as:

• Comparing different usages of the same word
• Analyzing keywords
• Analyzing word frequencies
• Finding and analyzing phrases and idioms
• Finding translations of sub sentential elements, e.g. terminology, in bitexts and translation memories
• Creating indexes and word lists (useful for publishing)

“Beyond Concordance Lines: Using Concordances to Investigate Language Development” – The Summary

          The main purpose of the article “Beyond Concordance Lines: Using Concordances to Investigate Language Development” by Arshad Abd Samad page 70 in OTL text is to show the use of Concordances in the investigation of language development. “The language corpus offers a useful resource in language pedagogy.” According to (Woolard, 2000), concordance was previously used as the basis of dictionaries and teaching materials and now it has been improved by the use of concordance software. The corpus aids in a way that it informs how words and grammatical constructions are used. In addition, it also makes language teaching and learning more interesting [Schmitt (2002:34)].

          Much effort has been done by the local universities such as University Technology Malaysia (UTM), University Malaya (UM) and University Putra Malaysia (UPM) in developing concordance. One of the results from the effort is EMAS corpus by researches from UPM and it is based on the data of this corpus that this article investigates language development. The EMAS was developed in 2002, consisting almost half a million words (Arshad et al., 2002) and it contains written data in the form of three essays written by around 800 students ranging from primary school to secondary school students. The corpus has proven that most students are average in their English language proficiency. The research was conducted with all the students involved given three essays on several topics which are suitable for their levels and they are given guidelines to write the essay. They are expected to write well if they are familiar with the topic. Pictorial or visual prompt are used to get the optimize result from the students. As the investigating development was carried out, the focus was on specific target structures and it examines the acquisition of these structures for a period of time. The data in EMAS is cross sectional and the development patterns are implied by comparing the language use of three different age group. The corpus is done by studying the language productivity and vocabulary use. The language productivity is indicated by the number of sentences per essay and the words per sentence. The studies show a gradual increase based on their groups. Those that are in the higher group produce more sentences and more use of words.

          The diversity of the vocabulary used in corpus is often determined by calculating the type of token ratio (Schmitt, 2002). The higher ratio indicates more usage of uncommon words while the lower ratio indicates a limited number of words. In examining the sophistication of vocabulary, the nonsensical words in essays are deleted, proper names are excluded and the misspelled words are corrected in order to produce an effective research. This process is determined by using the software such as RANGE (Nation, 2002). As to be expected, the lower grades students used most words from the lowest level or better known as the category of most frequent 1000 English words consisting of 4000 forms and types while the older age groups tend to use a wider range of words. As a conclusion, the use of concordance in this study shows that students with higher level education can apply more words in English. They are able to express their feelings and thoughts in the essay using more choices of words. However, the EMAS corpus was done in the year 2002, it is encouraged that another research should be conducted in the coming years so that we are able to show whether there is improvement in Malaysia’s language programs, as noted by Hunston (2002).

The gist of the discussion of the article

Basically, the article tells us in depth of the use of concordance. On the apparent, it may just seem like you’re reading a research or study that was carried out. When we first came across the article, our first respond towards it was: “Hmmm….so how exactly are we supposed to summarize this? It does not provide us information we need to about concordance to complete the blog task!” As a matter of fact, after putting some thoughts into it, it is basically concordance put into use in the effort of improving language teaching and learning. If read critically, the article actually provides detailed information about the use of concordance; only that it wasn’t told directly. This article has attempted to present the relevant of corpus data in inspecting language development without having to analyze concordance lines. Based on all of the summarization, we can see that the concordance is used to make index and word list, count words frequencies, compare different usage of a word, analyze keywords, find phrases and idioms and lastly publish to the web.

          We’ve browse through the web for to search for the applications of concordance in literary work and linguistic. There are plenty that turned up from the search making it impossible for us to go through it all and but here’s some articles and publications regarding to concordance application in literary work and linguistic.

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York has included Concordance as one of the main resource for English and American Literature study. The passage below adapted from their webpage, <http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/poetry.html#1> shows and explains in great detail on how to find words and passages of poetry. Let’s be honest here, me and my partner is obviously still learners and still in the progress of furthering our understanding towards the usage of concordance; so instead of hearing from us, we thought it’d be better to share the knowledge we’ve obtained to readers of our blogs that comes from the expert.

Poems – Locating and Researching Poetry

Using a Concordance to Find Words or Passages in a Poem

Suppose you are writing a paper on William Butler Yeats and you remember the following phrase:

          When shall the stars be blown about the sky,

          Like sparks blown out of a smithy, and die?

The passage is relevant to your topic, but you can’t remember which poem it’s from. To find the passage, consult a CONCORDANCE. Concordances gather all the words of a certain work or author and arrange them in alphabetical order. Each word is followed by a citation to the appropriate line or passage where the word appears. Most concordances include the surrounding words or line in which the word appears. When using a concordance, try looking up an important word in the passage. For instance, if you look up “smithy” in the concordance of Yeats, you will find:

SMITHY : LIKE SPARKS BLOWN OUT OF A SMITHY, AND DIE?…170 SECRET ROSE 30

This tells you that the passage you are looking for is line 30 of the poem “The Secret Rose,” which can be found on page 170 of the Variorum Edition of the Poems of W. B. Yeats. The introduction to the concordance will tell you which edition or volume the page number refers to. Some concordances refer to two or more editions for greater convenience, usually an “authoritative” edition or a variorum edition. (A variorum edition records differences in the various editions and/or manuscripts.) Remember, concordances don’t contain the actual poems, they just tell you which poems contain the word you’re looking for. You can then find the poem in the edition listed in the concordance or in any “complete” edition of the poet’s works.

To find a concordance to the works of your poet, try a keyword search in the catalog using the poet’s name and the word concordance? The ? will retrieve catalog records with “concordance” (usually used in the title) or “concordances” (usually used in the subject headings). For example:

          k=yeats and concordance?

          k=lorca and concordance?

<http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/poetry.html#1>

Besides that, we’ve also found a publication that applies Concordance as an open source on Shakespeare’s work. The site was built for four attributes: “Power, Flexibility, Friendliness, and Openness” and Concordance is an exploit for looking up words from the poems. To find a word and its links to Shakespeare’s poem, there are choices of typing out the word, it can be either the exact spelling, just the first part of the word form or any part of the word will do as well. “What is a word form? A word like “play” can take several forms, like plays, playing, and played. Each word form is listed in the database, along with the number of times the word form occurs in the text collection.”

Options to choose any letters from A to Z are also provided. Beside the alphabet itself for example A, the numbers of inventory with words in Shakespeare’s work that begins with an A is also stated- “A (1,569)” After picking an alphabet, the whole list of words will be displayed, by selecting any one of the words, where the word occurs in text will be shown. For example, by clicking on ‘abides (8)’, the page will show as below.

Shakespeare concordance: All instances of “abides”

Where the word ‘abides’ occurred in Shakespeare work is not only listed, but even the links to his particular masterpiece is provided. As a literature student, I must say it is very useful because in most of our essays, we’re required to quote from the actual text and finding that particular phrase can be a difficult time consuming task. We remember certain words from the phrase but we can’t possibly memorize the whole phrase and this is when publications as such with the applications of concordance come in handy.

Another great website that that applies Concordance usages and is highly recommended for literature students is ‘The Concordance Workbooks’.

“This site is devoted to the study of literature using literary computer concordances, a form of analyzing text. This document will attempt to help students understand what is meant by literary concordancing and will ask questions about featured Romantic writers which may be answered by using the English department concordance site.”

<http://www.dundee.ac.uk/english/conc.htm>

To further understand corpus linguistics and its connection to ELT, the website below can also be referred to.

http://ifa.amu.edu.pl/~kprzemek/Chapter1.pdf

THE UJI ICT

Top of Form

Describe your experience taking the online test.

          For this week tutorial, our lecturer had asked us to make online quizzes according to different levels. It is undeniable that taking an online quiz might be a little bit challengeable but I found it quite interesting. This is because I think that the online quiz help me to remember some important points that I need to know or based on my general knowledge. However, I found out that some questions are quite difficult. As I am moving from the basic to the immediate level, the questions are getting more difficult and tough. However, I found the online quiz interesting and it is encouraged to perform online quiz in different subjects because the modern technology has play an important role in these days.

          However, in the last quizzes I had taken during the tutorial. I found out that the online quizzes don’t show the answer or explanations to the particular questions especially to the one I had answered it wrong. It would be better if I am able to learn from my mistake and through further explanations; it also helps me to learn more effectively. Maybe, the online quizzes should improve in this area, it would be better if the students are able to learn from their mistake rather they try the questions for a few time without knowing that whether they had answer the right question.

          In addition, I also face some problem when I am taking the online quizzes. This may be due to the slower server and internet line problems as the webpage seems cannot be displayed before I manage to finish the online quiz. Maybe this is not a big deal as all of us can try to do the online quiz again but I think that if the webpage or the server keeps break down, it is a waste of time because we have to consume most of our time in front of the screen. Of course we cannot blame that it is the server or our computer’s problem because we as human also make mistake in our lives.

          In short, I think that it is encourage taking online quizzes for students from different levels apart from university students. This is because the students are able to learn a lot by using the alternative learning tools. However, I hope that improvements in certain areas of the online quizzes can be perform such as the explanations for the question and the improvement for the internet server so that all students are able to take their online quizzes beneficially and the most important, they could learn through the online quizzes.

Make sure you discuss the ability of the test to provide immediate feedback, randomization, security features as presented in lecture.

 Immediate Feedback

          As I had mention earlier, I think that the online quizzes don’t gives us the immediate feedback effectively, however, it may gives us the immediate result for the quizzes as it don’t involve paper work and all the test are evaluated by the computers, so we are able to get the immediate results after we take the online quizzes so we are able to know our ability and knowledge in certain areas.

          However, I think that the immediate feedback that the online quizzes are too general as it does not prove our real ability. For example, the online quizzes may be useful when it is used for academic purpose where students are able to know whether they had mastered certain skills. However, when it goes to the psychology area where the candidate had to answer certain question, the feedback of the online quizzes may not be as accurate and right because the computers are unable to understand human’s thought. It would be better if there are professionals to help the patients in solving their problems and given proper advice to their patients in needs.

Randomization.

          Randomize means to use a method in an experiment, a piece of research, etc that gives every item an equal chance of being considered; to put things in a RANDOM order. Online quiz may be a very easy yet an effective way to perform a survey or research. As we know, people now are lazy to dot down the survey list as it waste time. Apart from that, the use of paper work also needs human energy to evaluate or analyze the final work and it takes time to analyze the large amounts of surveys that had been taken. By using the online quiz, the computers are able to analyze all the task or survey taken in a short period. Apart from that, the computer are also able to organize all the same answers and information in a short period and give immediate feedback so that the online quiz users no need to wait for a long time for the result of the quiz.

          Apart from that, the online quiz is also a very useful tool to do on survey especially the survey covers a large amount of people where we do not need to gather all the people together and perform a survey. By using the online quizzes, all the people need is surf into the particular website and take the quizzes in anytime and anywhere whenever there are computers and internet services. The online quizzes make the life easier where we save a lot of time in organizing and taking the quiz. Besides that, it also save a lot of space and energy as we no longer need people to give out the survey list in order to get respond from the public and no big places required to perform a survey. It is so easy and convenience.

          One of the examples of survey taken in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia might be the personal and attitude quiz which must be taken by the fresh graduates when they enter university. All the students need is just to take the quiz on the internet and they get immediate feedback on the quiz they have take with results in minutes. Besides, there are chart to show the result as well which make the quiz so easy and it saves time too.

Security Features.

          The online quiz is so easy and it is safe too. The users do not need to worry about their privacy because the online quiz performed are private and confidential where all the users are require to type in their password in order to enter or get result of the online quiz. The online quiz is so easy that we do not need people to collect all the quizzes done in paper work. Besides that, the online quizzes are so accurate and fast that you ever miss a chance to miss a question in the quizzes and it so secure that you don’t need to worry that your answers will be lost or being corrected by other users because the answers are sent straight towards the server and evaluation will be made as soon as possible that you receive the correct results and answers in minutes.

          Life is so convenient with online quizzes. However, we have to be aware so that we do not give our password to the others as they are able to perform something which is illegal and against the law by using your username and account. The security feature might be very tight in the world of technology but sometimes human negligence may lead to disaster as well. So, it is advice to keep your username and password secure, don’t simply let a stranger to know your username and password!!!

          In short, it is our responsibilities to make use of the modern technology in effective and beneficial way. Please don’t misuse of the modern technology… In other words, it means that we should be an intelligent and ethic user.

1. Do you think that blogging activity improves your writing skill?

As a student who takes English literature course, it is undeniable that this course needs a lot of writing. As what we had done for the blog activity on computer assisted writing, I found that I had found an alternative in improving my writing especially in writing essays.

If yes what area if not why

For your information, I am going to share with you on how the blogging activity on computer assisted writing had help me in area of organizing the essay, checking for grammar mistakes and I can even found the format on how to write a good essay through this blogging essay.

I am going to make an example; the writing process of academy writing had never be the same after I had go through the blogging activity. I am able to gain a lot of benefits through this blogging activity.

The first area I am going to share is about the format of the essay. For example, by referring to the website especially the www.manythings.org website, here I am able to found the format for the topic on cause and effect essays which is one of the assignment I have to hand up in the courses for Written Communication (SKBS 1033) and that’s my second essay for the assignment and I had make an improvement that I had successfully reduce the time on consultation with Puan Azizah yesterday. Unlike the first essay, I had done a lot of mistake and I spend at least twenty minutes for consultation while it takes less than ten minutes for the second essay and I appreciate this blogging activity.

The next areas I am going to share is in the area on Grammar Checker, Contextual Spell Checker, Patented Text Enrichment. Here the blogging activity on computer assisted writing had show me the way on how the computer had helps me to check out for my grammar and spelling mistakes. So, it is undeniable to say that I had save a lot of time on editing my sentences and had no worries on making so many mistakes for the assignment I have to hand up, of course I am going to use it for the next essay I have to write.

In spite of that, I also manage to discover some software that helps me to improve my writing. For example, the white smoke software is the best software that I had ever found that it had done all the spell checker and grammar checker for me. This really makes the life easier and saves a lot of time. In short, it has help and teach me on make full use of my time.

To make a conclusion, the computer assisted writing blogging activity had definitely help me a lot in areas of writing essay and I appreciate the university for offering me this course that helps me a lot in writing and I am sure it helps me no matter I am still graduate or even I go for work in the future.

2. Do you think that blog is a useful learning experience for you?

It is undeniable to say that blogging is the most interesting thing in life where I can express my feelings freely through the blog. In addition, after going through the blogging activity I have to finish for my assignment on SKBP 1023 especially on computer assisted reading and computer assisted writing, I had learn a lot of things especially in the area of studying. It is indeed the best chance for helping me on making my study life easier especially in university where I need to make full use of my time on both study and play.

If yes to what extend is it useful, enjoyable, practical and effective.

As I had mention earlier, the blogging activity had definitely makes my life easier in the area of study. So is grateful for me to say that the blogging activity is really a good tool that helps to improve in the areas of study especially after the blogging activity I have to do in the course SKBP 1023. I swear there is no much for you to complain if you had the best and way of study as a role of student you are having right now including me!!!

Well, I don’t think that blogging might be enjoyable if you had to write your blog according to the task given. However, if the task is useful in your daily life, I am sure you will not resist on finding information to be written in your blog. It may be enjoyable if you can let other people to share about your experience and the info that you wish others to know. If you found the readers had give a comment on you due to the task you have done, I am sure you will enjoy writing blogs too.

If all of you had a chance, why don’t you give a try on writing blogs as we are moving to the modern era. It is practical for all to write blogs especially for those of you who wish to share your thought and thinking by writing blogs. This may help a lot if you are a shy person and unwilling to share your thought by talking to the others but you wish to let other know and give you the answers for the problem you face. By blogging, the readers who see your blog are able to give a comment on your thought. In short, I can say that blogging might be practical for people from all walks of life.

It is undeniable that blogging is an effective way on sharing your thoughts to the people worldwide. But, I think that blogging also helps us in terms of study especially in the area of reading and writing. Just like what I had done in university now, the purpose I created the blog is to fulfill my assignment for the courses I take but on the other hand it also helps on the area of study especially in the area of writing because frequent practices on writing helps definitely help all of us to improve in writing too.

3. What do you think that you need to know before you can complete the blogging activity successfully.

Before I begin a task on blogging activity, there are few steps that I need to know and practice before I start my blogging my blogging activity. Here, I am going to share with you the few steps that I need to follow in order to finish my blogging activity.

First, I need to know about the purpose of the blogging activity. For example, I had to know what is necessary to write in the blog and add in some useful information and links so that I am able to answer the question correctly and fulfill the requirement in the task.

After knowing the purpose of the assignment, the next step I am going to do is searching for information which is the most important part in blogging activity. In this step, I am going to refer to the OTL textbooks which show me the way to make my assignment. Then, I am going to surf the internet for information according to the website which mention in the textbook.

The third step is editing. It is undeniable that we should not copy and paste to fulfill our assignment. So, instead of copy and paste, I am going to abstract the relevant information and type it in my blog and never forget, I am going to add in the links so that the lecturer is able to know where I get the information and able to comment whether I had do the task correctly

The final step is to post my blogs after I had typed all the relevant information. Of course I would need to approve the comments of my lecturer so that she is able to give me the marks.

4. What are your problems that you face using blog.

The major problems that I face when using the blog is customize my profile. For your information, I need to add on picture, links and audios in my blog. At first, I found some difficulty in adding the links. Firstly, I had type all the links I want to add into the profile, however I found that when I try this, it seems that all the links seems jumble up and I able to open only one of my friend’s profile. Later, I know that I had to add it one by one.

The next thing I found in customize my profile. I was unable to add in the audio file and player to my profile at first. Then after I refer to my friend’s profile, I found that they are using the sonific songspot. Then, I try to log into the related website. Eventually, I had successfully added the song to my blog and I am happy to do that.

Well, I have no much problem on adding pictures into my blog since our senior, Mozart had teach us to add in our picture at the very beginning when he try to teach us on creating our blog. Now, I am happy to see that there are picture, audio and links that make my profile more attractive and easy to access to any of my friend’s blog where I can refer to their works as well.

5. Will you tell your friends, recommend to others about blogging?

There is no doubt that I will recommend to others about blogging because blogging seems to be very important in our lives nowadays. For example, by using blog, you are about to share your thought throughout the world without any obstacles and in the same time, you also receive comment from the reader who had see your blog. By here, you learn from the comments on what is right and wrong. However, everyone is advice to make use of the blog wisely and do not make use of the blog to do illegal thing such as spread out sensitive issues that may irritate the people and society.

Of course we all can make use the blog as an alternative to post out issue that are useful for the readers of our blog like just what I had done in the course SKBP 1023, the blogging activity had definitely changes the lifestyle of a student in terms of reading and writing. Imagine how small works or blogging activity can provide help to the others. Instead of helping ourselves, we are also helping the others, isn’t this ‘shooting two birds with one rock’???

6. Now that you are able to blog online will you continue using it even after the SKBP is over?

The blogging activity had definitely give me an nice experience on expressing my thinking and feelings through the modern technology and it can be said as the most effective way to share our thought.

Since the blog is so interesting and give me a lot of benefit. There is no doubt that I will continue using the blog even after the SKBP is over. Instead, I am going to create another blog regarding on myself and my personal lifestyle. Hopefully I can create this blog after I completed my final exam for my second semester in university and I can’t wait forward to show my blog. Anyway, for those who want to know me more through the blog, maybe you should be a bit patient oh…

This week, I am going to discuss with you about the impact of ICT towards health. The ICT really plays an important role in these modern days. In our daily life, we cannot escape from using the modern tools and gadget such as mobile phones, computers, PDA and the list goes on. But how many of us had known about the impact of ICT towards health?             

The modern information and communication technology had definitely improve the way of communication where all the users are able to experience the direct interaction between users and gives access to enormous quantities of information (Bradley, 2000).           

By the using of ICT, it is possible to keep contact in all times where it can brings the private and professional spheres closer together in order to improve the quality of health. On the other hand, it also increases personal information. For more information about the definition of ICT, you can refer to this website:

 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VDC-4FD0MR8-1-5&_cdi=5979&_user=150792&_orig=search&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F2007&_sk=999769996&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzb-zSkzV&md5=6314125f7c5755a8edf81a8656ca9009&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

                First, let me share with you about the impact on health care practices:

1.       Healthcare networks help care providers access the right information as they need it.

2.       The need to share knowledge and the information is going with shared records, professional guidelines, shared care protocols, health care networks, etc.

3.       Patients are increasingly download better access to the best care available.

4.       There is a need for quality assurance tools designed to improve process.

For more information about the impact on health care practices, please refer to this website:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6T7S-47890YM-5-5&_cdi=5066&_user=150792&_orig=search&_coverDate=11%2F20%2F2002&_sk=999339998&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkzk&md5=45a1b70126a72d6709f6e384ff90a30d&ie=/sdarticle.pdf 

After discussing about the impact on health care practices, I am going to tell you about the major uses of ICT uses in providing accurate and effective ways in giving treatment to the patients such as the Tele-medicine.Tele-medicine is becoming important now because it is a strategic tool in the eyes of public health decision makers while meeting practical productivity improvement and cost reduction needs. Besides, it is also an interesting tool for physicians and health care professionals alike as it improves patient management, continuity of care, efficiency and knowledge distribution according to the article Information technology is changing the way society sees health care delivery by Marius Fieschi.

Apart from that, the process of an operation also become more accurate and effective as the development of ICT are able to identify medical errors and their consequences imposes entering critical data in real time on the physical location of occurrence for transmission via monitoring and traceability system in a later stage.            

In short,we can say that the development of ICT had definitely tightened the gap between people around the world especially in medical area. The changes in medical practices are involving a switch from hospital information systems to health care information systems which involve a larger group of people where decision making is switching from an individual to group level of activity. There is more information in this website: 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6T7S-47890YM-5-5&_cdi=5066&_user=150792&_orig=search&_coverDate=11%2F20%2F2002&_sk=999339998&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkzk&md5=45a1b70126a72d6709f6e384ff90a30d&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

            Despite, there is also the use of communication technology in patient’s management. The uses of ICT involve the uses of cellular phone, laptop and other electronic devices which are very useful in terms of emergency. 

Radiation            

We know that all electronic devices may produce radiation. However, frequent expose to radiation may affect our health. Here, I am going to take an example, it is the most important gadget that most people own one and some people can even live without it. It had becomes part of our lives. Can you guess what is it? It is the mobile phone. The mobile phones will produce the lower-level of RF fields which may affect our health.            

It is to believe that the lower-level of RF field may lead to cancer. In addition, it may also cause other health outcomes such as headaches, short in memory loss, general malaise, nausea, changes in electroencephalography, central nervous system functions and even sleep disturbance. There is more information about the effect of the radiation of the mobile phones, so I encourage you to visit this website:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6TCR-42VM8DN-19-1&_cdi=5177&_user=150792&_orig=search&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2001&_sk=998799998&view=c&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkWz&md5=c9b25d94c1e695ec9c34e544f465020f&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

               Apart from that, surveys also prove that the radiation produce by electronic devices may effects the genetic as well. In addition, there are also effects on gene and protein expression as result of exposure to the radiation. For more information, you can refer to this website:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VKN-4RGFR76-1-1&_cdi=6127&_user=150792&_orig=search&_coverDate=02%2F29%2F2008&_sk=999379997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkWz&md5=25e5c04c6ba68d87fb3071b907b72022&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

Hearing Aids and Reading Speeds.            

 The hearing aid is also a part of ICT devices invented in these modern days which play an important role in helping the people who cannot hear well. A survey conducted had prove that the people with sensor neural hearing often suffer from insufficient speech intelligibility because they have poor understanding of an interlocutor. So, the hearing aids used to improve the speech ability among the patients. There is also a research indicate an improvement of speech-to-noise ratio using different processing methods. There is more information in this website:  

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V1C-4P2YWH1-1-4&_cdi=5671&_user=150792&_orig=search&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2008&_sk=999499998&view=c&wchp=dGLzVzz-zSkWA&md5=e3ff0e42bc708645be6188c206c52699&ie=/sdarticle.pdf            

In spite of that, I am also going to share with you about the importance of hearing aids to nursing home with dementia. 

1.      Being hearing improved detracts from communication abilities that are already compromised by the impact of dementia on memory and language skills.

2.      Being hearing impaired results in loss of sensory input, which can reach on state of the sensory deprivation.

3.      Because of dementia, the affected person is less able to utilize compensatory mechanisms for either communication or sensory activation. 

There are more information regarding to the points above about the importance of hearing aids to nursing home with dementia. Please refer to this website for more information: 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V8X-4HYN4YB-3-1&_cdi=5882&_user=150792&_orig=search&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F2006&_sk=999209998&view=c&wchp=dGLzVzz-zSkWA&md5=ba6191ab5490aab81acd115bdf6599f2&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

                 As a conclusion, there are both positive and negative impacts of ICT towards health. So, it is encourage that all the users can make use of the ICT effectively in order to improve the quality of our health. 

What is Computer Assisted Writing?

On the second blog, I am going to share with you all about some information about computer assisted writing. According to F:\Computer-Assisted Instruction and Writing.mht, computer assisted writing or “Computer-assisted instruction” (CAI) refers to instruction or remediation presented on a computer. Many educational computer programs are available online and from computer stores and textbook companies. They helps o improve the student’s writing in many ways. After defining computer assisted writing, we know that computer assisted writing is a tool which enables us to write in an effective ways.

Computer Assisted Activity

First of all, I am going to share with you about the computer assisted writing activity. Actually, there are many types of computer assisted writing activity and each of them holds its own purposes and functions. In order to discuss further, I am going to show you not only one but two examples of computer assisted writing activity. One of the computer assisted writing activity is the Compupoem. When you refer to the name, you may guess that this activity should relate with poem. That’s it, you are right. But how does this writing activity help the students on their writing especially on writing poem? Maybe you should refer to this website for more information. Please refer http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8274%28198202%2971%3A2%3C96%3AEMCACW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage. This is one of the computer assisted writing activity provide by Stephen Marcus and I find it useful.

The next computer assisted writing activity I am going to share you is one of those we used to deal with especially in students life when writing essays. You probably need this program known as Computer Program for Writing. The computer programs for writing help students by developing ideas, organizing, outlining, and brainstorming. In short, I am going to go on briefly about the functions of the computer program for writing:

1.     Word prediction

2.    Speech-to-text

3.    Text-to-speech

4.    Spell-checker

5.    Thesaurus

These are the basic functions offer by the computer program for writing. Probably, it will satisfy the demand of students and teachers now because this program or activity really helps to guide a person through an effective way of writing an essay. In short, I can say that it is the best tools for students who find handwriting tiring. There are many students who face difficulties with all the necessity for the writing process. They usually have trouble organizing their thoughts and express them on the paper. Their handwriting must be neat enough and their spelling and grammar correct enough in order to convey their message. In this area, many students find the writing task difficult. For more information about computer assisted writing program, you can refer to this website below:

http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/computeraided_writing.asp 

The software         

Actually, there are many computer assisted writing software available in the store worldwide. This computer assisted writing software really satisfies the demand of its consumers because they do help a lot in problem solving especially in writing essays. In order to get a reliable and effective software, I had few computer software to share with you. This software generally containing all of the basics functions that you need to write your essays including Grammar Checker, Contextual Spell Checker, Patented Text Enrichment, Comprehensive Dictionary and Thesaurus, Letter and Document Templates and Instant Error Notification. These are the software recommended:

1.     Read and Write Gold v8.0

2.    White Smoke – The General Writing Version

3.    Stylewriter

4.    textHELP

The URL         

Apart from recommend you to buy the software, there is another alternative that helps you to write a good assay. There are URLs which host computer assisted writing activity. Of course you can use these URLs to search for online activities which not only save time but save energy and save money as well. These are the best URLs I recommend to you all:

1. http://www.manythings.org/casp/
2. http://www.worldwidewriting.com/

Problem solving 

Find one example of text online that you can use to explain one of these type of reading. 

Reading for information 

Our first assignment is to get to know more about computerized reading on problem solving. Computerized reading for problem solving refers to the use of web resources or online reading material to assists gaining insights or information needed to solve a problem.   

“The rapid and prolific introduction of electronic resources poses new challenges for academic reference desks. To help meet these challenges, new ways of looking at the reference process may help.”

 (Quoted from Janet R. Cottrell and Michael B. Eisenberg; “Applying an Information Problem Solving Model to Academic Reference Work: Findings and Implications”)

 <http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crljournal/backissues2001b/july01/cottrell.pdf> 

This online text explains computerized reading on problem solving through reading for information thoroughly. It is a relevant text because it focuses on searching for academic references which fits the purpose of this course; to teach how information technology aid learning.    

Problem solving (Reading for Information) is done almost on a daily basis for people of all ages. It is essential to students especially in full filling their task to complete their assignments. Knowing their way on how to read for information to solve a problem is highly useful.  

The online text mentioned before shows a study of the six steps students perform research 

1. Initiation: Student receives assignment.
2. Selection: Student selects general topic area.
3. Exploration: Student explores material on general topic.
4. Formulation: Student focuses on more specific topic.
5. Collection: Student collects materials on focused topic.
6. Presentation: Student prepares and presents finished assignment.

One should notice that a big part of the process includes reading for information to find answers.  

We took a different approach for this 1^st blog posting assignment by conducting activities to read for information first before we refer to the online text we found for detailed explanations on reading for information. We came up with a few topics that we would love to gain more information about and conduct the activity in the usual ways we always do research through the net to find answers. Only to find out how similar the steps we have taken to the six steps as mentioned above. We begin with the ‘pre-focus’ steps by browsing for the topic and to see the material that the net has to provide us. We then take the ‘semi-focus’ step and choose the most relevant one out of all the listed topics by referring to the background information provided for each topic. It is at the ‘post-focus’ stage where we finally gather specific information that answers to our question directly. 

However, we were introduced to ‘Eisenberg-Berkowitz Model’ through the online text by Janet R. Cottrell and Michael B. Eisenberg; “Applying an Information Problem Solving Model to Academic Reference Work: Findings and Implications”. 

Eisenberg-Berkowitz ModelMichael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz describe a six-stage model of Information Problem-Solving (IPS) in a more detailed level. The model includes six stages in the information problem-solving process:  

1. Task Definition

1.1 Define the problem.

1.2 Identify the information requirements of the problem.

2. Information-seeking Strategies

2.1 Determine the range of possible sources (brainstorm).

2.2 Evaluate the different possible sources to determine priorities.

3. Location and Access

3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically).

3.2 Find information within sources.

4. Use of Information4.

4.1 Engage (read, see, hear) the information in a source.

4.2 Extract relevant information from a source.

5. Synthesis

5.1 Organize information from multiple sources.

5.2 Present information.

6. Evaluation

6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness).

6.2 Judge the information problem solving process (efficiency).  

We conducted our activity once more on reading for information based on this model and realized that it is a much more systematic and efficient way of computerized reading for information. We were well guided to reaching the exact information we need that answer to our topic. Besides that, we manage to deal with problems that often occur in the process of finding information through the net such as; the high proportion of sources, mixture of many irrelevant and unreliable sources that impede the information-seeking process. Our experience with implementing this model simply asserts that a systematic, problem-solving process should be used with making any decision that is based on information. Before we applied this model in our activity, we find ourselves wasting much time browsing through the net and only to gain little useful information from out search in the end. The whole point of reading for information will defeat its purpose if you fail to attain the information that you want or need in the first place, therefore, it is important to read for information systematically.  

Eisenberg-Berkowitz Model ‘has been widely adopted in education circles’. “As more and more colleges and universities develop information literacy competencies, academic librarians also are becoming familiar with its potential” (Quoted from Janet R. Cottrell and Michael B. Eisenberg; “Applying an Information Problem Solving Model to Academic Reference Work: Findings and Implications”)   

Computer Skills for Information Problem-Solving: Learning and Teaching Technology in Context. ERIC Digest.  

<http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-4/skills.htm>

The curriculum outlined below, “Computer Skills for Information Problem-Solving,” demonstrates how computer literacy skills can fit within an information literacy skills context (American Association of School Librarians, 1995)

Internet-related skills are increasingly important for information problem-solving, they are included in this curriculum, and are noted by an asterisk. 

COMPUTER SKILLS FOR INFORMATION PROBLEM-SOLVING: A CURRICULUM BASED ON THE BIG SIX SKILLS APPROACH(copyright Michael B. Eisenberg, Doug Johnson & Robert E. Berkowitz) 1. TASK DEFINITION: The first step in the information problem-solving process is to recognize that an information need exists, to define the problem, and to identify the types and amount of information needed. In terms of technology, students will be able to:

A. Use e-mail, and online discussion groups (e.g., listservs, newsgroups) on the Internet to communicate with teachers regarding assignments, tasks, and information-problems.*

B. Use e-mail, and online discussion groups (e.g., listservs, newsgroups) on the Internet to generate topics and problems and to facilitate cooperative activities among groups of students locally and globally.*

C. Use desktop conferencing, e-mail, and groupware software on local area networks to communicate with teachers regarding assignments, tasks, and information problems.

D. Use desktop conferencing, e-mail, and groupware software on local area networks to generate topics and problems and to facilitate cooperative activities among groups of students locally.

E. Use computer brainstorming or idea generating software to define or refine the information problem. This includes developing a research question or perspective on a topic.

2. INFORMATION SEEKING STRATEGIES: Once the information problem has been formulated, the student must consider all possible information sources and develop a plan for searching. Students will be able to:

A. Assess the value of various types of electronic resources for data gathering, including databases, CD-ROM resources, commercial and Internet online resources, electronic reference works, community and government information electronic resources.*

B. Identify and apply specific criteria for evaluating computerized electronic resources.

C. Assess the value of e-mail, and online discussion groups (e.g., listservs, newsgroups) on the Internet as part of a search of the current literature or in relation to the information task.

D. Use a computer to generate modifiable flow charts, Gantt charts, time lines, organizational charts, project plans and calendars which will help the student plan and organize complex or group information problem-solving tasks.

3. LOCATION AND ACCESS: After students determine their priorities for information seeking, they must locate information from a variety of resources and access specific information found within individual resources. Students will be able to:  

A. Locate and use appropriate computer resources and technologies available within the school library media center, including those on the library media center’s local area network, (e.g., online catalogs, periodical indexes, full-text sources, multimedia computer stations, CD-ROM stations, online terminals, scanners, digital cameras).

B. Locate and use appropriate computer resources and technologies available throughout the school including those available through local area networks (e.g., full-text resources, CD-ROMs, productivity software, scanners, digital cameras).  

C. Locate and use appropriate computer resources and technologies available beyond the school through the Internet (e.g., newsgroups, listservs, WWW sites via Netscape, Lynx or another browser, gopher, ftp sites, online public access library catalogs, commercial databases and online services, other community, academic, and government resources).*

D. Know the roles and computer expertise of the people working in the school library media center and elsewhere who might provide information or assistance.

E. Use electronic reference materials (e.g., electronic encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographical reference sources, atlases, geographic databanks, thesauri, almanacs, fact books) available through local area networks, stand-alone workstations, commercial online vendors, or the Internet.

F. Use the Internet or commercial computer networks to contact experts and help and referral services.*

G. Conduct self-initiated electronic surveys conducted through e-mail, listservs or newsgroups.*

H. Use organizational systems and tools specific to electronic information sources that assist in finding specific and general information (e.g., indexes, tables of contents, user’s instructions and manuals, legends, boldface and italics, graphic clues and icons, cross-references, Boolean logic strategies, time lines, hypertext links, knowledge trees, URLs etc.) including the use of:

oo search tools and commands for stand-alone, CD-ROM, and online databases and services (e.g., DIALOG commands, America Online, UMI, Mead);

oo search tools and commands for searching the Internet (e.g., Yahoo, Lycos, WebCrawler, Veronica, Archie).*

4. USE OF INFORMATION: After finding potentially useful resources, students must engage (read, view, listen) the information to determine its relevance and then extract the relevant information. Students will be able to:

A. Connect and operate the computer technology needed to access information, and read the guides and manuals associated with such tasks.

B. View, download, decompress and open documents and programs from Internet sites and archives.*

C. Cut and paste information from an electronic source into a personal document complete with proper citation.

D. Take notes and outline with a word processor or similar productivity program.

E. Record electronic sources of information and locations of those sources to properly cite and credit in footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies.

F. Use electronic spreadsheets, databases, and statistical software to process and analyze statistical data. G. Analyze and filter electronic information in relation to the task, rejecting non-relevant information.

5. SYNTHESIS: Students must organize and communicate the results of the information problem-solving effort. Students will be able to:

A. Classify and group information using a word processor, database or spreadsheet.

B. Use word processing and desktop publishing software to create printed documents, applying keyboard skills equivalent to at least twice the rate of handwriting speed.

C. Create and use computer-generated graphics and art in various print and electronic presentations.

D. Use electronic spreadsheet software to create original spreadsheets.

E. Generate charts, tables and graphs using electronic spreadsheets and other graphing programs.

F. Use database/file management software to create original databases.

G. Use presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint, HyperStudio, Aldus Persuasion) to create electronic slide shows and to generate overheads and slides.

H. Create hypermedia and multimedia productions with digital video and audio.

I. Create World Wide Web pages and sites using hypertext markup language (HTML).*

J. Use e-mail, ftp, and other telecommunications capabilities to share information, products, and files.*

K. Use specialized computer applications as appropriate for specific tasks, e.g., music composition software, computer assisted drawing and drafting programs, mathematics modeling software.

L. Properly cite and credit electronic sources of information in footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies.

6. EVALUATION: Evaluation focuses on how well the final product meets the original task (effectiveness) and the process of how well students carried out the information problem-solving process (efficiency). Students may evaluate their own work and process or be evaluated by others (i.e. classmates, teachers, library media staff, parents). Students will be able to:

A. Evaluate electronic presentations in terms of both the content and format.

B. Use spell and grammar checking capabilities of word processing and other software to edit and revise their work.

C. Apply legal principles and ethical conduct related to information technology related to copyright and plagiarism.

D. Understand and abide by telecomputing etiquette when using e-mail, newsgroups, listservs and other Internet functions.*

E. Understand and abide by acceptable use policies in relation to use of the Internet and other electronic technologies.

F. Use e-mail, and online discussion groups (e.g., listservs, newsgroups) on local area networks and the Internet to communicate with teachers and others regarding their performance on assignments, tasks, and information-problems.*

G. Use desktop conferencing, e-mail, and groupware software on local area networks to communicate with teachers and others regarding student performance on assignments, tasks, and information problems.

H. Thoughtfully reflect on the use of electronic resources and tools throughout the process.

ADDENDUM: Included here are skills and knowledge related to technology that are not part of the computer and information technology curriculum. These items should be learned in context, i.e., as students are working through various assignments and information problems using technology. Students will be able to:

A. Know and use basic computer terminology.

B. Operate various pieces of hardware and software–particularly operating systems–and be able to handle basic maintenance.

C. Understand the basics of computer programming. Specific courses in computer programming should be part of the school’s curricular offerings.

D. Understand and articulate the relationship and impact of information technology on careers, society, culture, and their own lives.

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Note: Permission is granted for educational use or reprint of all or parts of this curriculum as long as the authors are properly and prominently credited.

* Items are specific to Internet use.

This curriculum guide is an excerpt from “Computer Skills for Information Problem-Solving: Learning and Teaching Technology in Context, ERIC Digest” (1996, March), prepared by Michael B. Eisenberg and Doug Johnson for the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology, Syracuse, NY. (ED 392 463)

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I am going to post the assignment for SKBP 1023 which our lecturers want us to publish inside our blog. Besides that, maybe i am going to post something which relate and happen to my life in these few month by sharing my experience and i hope you enjoy.

Since i am a super car fan, i am going to decorate my blog with lots of picture and images of cars.Of course i am going to add in some video and audio effects in order to make the blog as interesting as i could.