5 Cases of Extraneous Hyphenation

5 Cases of Extraneous Hyphenation 5 Cases of Extraneous Hyphenation 5 Cases of Extraneous Hyphenation By Mark Nichol Hyphens are used primarily to organize two or more words into phrases to aid in reading comprehension. Although errors in the use of hyphens are usually errors of omission, erroneous overuse is also common. Beware of superfluous use of hyphens in sentences such as the ones shown below. 1. The answer is to find a silver-bullet that will wean us from fossil fuels. Hyphenated compound nouns used to be common, but most have become closed compounds. Some exceptions persist or have been coined relatively recently (dry-cleaning, go-getter, light-year, well-being), but â€Å"silver bullet,† meaning â€Å"a simple solution to a complicated problem,† is not one of them: â€Å"The answer is to find a silver bullet that will wean us from fossil fuels.† 2. She found herself routinely all-but-ignoring such comments. Here, all and but modify the verb ignoring, and the phrase needs no hyphenation: â€Å"She found herself routinely all but ignoring such comments.† 3. The company reported a $10-million deficit. Hyphens are not necessary in a phrasal adjective consisting of a numeral and a term for an order of magnitude such as million: â€Å"The company reported a $10 million deficit.† (However, when a number is spelled out and combined with million or a similar term, do hyphenate the phrasal adjective: â€Å"The company reported a ten-million-dollar deficit.†) 4. Hard work must be balanced with a feeling of fun, fellowship, and esprit-de-corps. Native and adopted noun phrases (with rare exceptions such as pick-me-up and tà ªtetà ªte) do not require hyphens: â€Å"Hard work must be balanced with a feeling of fun, fellowship, and esprit de corps.† 5. Roughly two-dozen students stood up at the meeting of the school board to protest the decision. Do not link a spelled-out number with dozen to describe a multiple of twelve: â€Å"Roughly two dozen students stood up at the meeting of the school board to protest the decision.† (However, when using a spelled-out number with score to mean â€Å"a multiple of twenty,† treat the term as a closed compound, as with fourscore.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Dialogue Dos and Don'tsThe Possessive ApostropheUses of the Past Participle

Is the ACT Curved Expert Guide to the ACT Curve

Is the ACT Curved Expert Guide to the ACT Curve SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Whether you've already taken the ACT or are busy preparing for it now,you've likelywondered at some point: isthe ACT curved? Does a 32 on one ACTequal a 32 on another? In this article, we’ll investigate the rumor of the ACT curve andexplain what it really means. Then we'll examine the function of this curve as well as how it's changedover time, before finally explaining what the ACT curve means for test takersand how you can use it to your advantage. Is the ACT Curved? Contrary to popular belief, there is no ACT curve. This means that how well other test takersdo on the ACT willnot affect your ACT score. Even if everyone who took the ACT on a particulartest date were to receive lowscores, none of these scores would be raised or redistributed to establish a more balanced ACT bell curve. In short,your ACT score will always be the exact score you earn on the test- itwill never increase nor decrease as a result ofother test takers' performances. So how does ACT scoring actually work, then? The test's creators,ACT, Inc.,account for variations in difficulty across test dates througha special processcalled equating. This process ensures that scale ACT scores from different administrations of the test always indicate the same level of ability, regardless of when or with whom you take the ACT. Here's howACT, Inc., describesequating: â€Å"Statistical processes, referred to as ‘equating,’ are used to ensure that scores from the same test (e.g., ACT math, ACT English) are comparable across administrations and students, so there is no advantage in taking a test in one administration (e.g., October 2015) over another administration* (e.g., May 2013).† *Emphasis mine. Basically,there's no such thing as an easier or harder ACT test date. ACTs are equated so that your chance of getting a certain scale score is the same for all administrations. This means thata Math score of 28 on one ACT will always equal a Math score of 28 on anotherACT, even if one test contains hardermath questions. So despite what the rumors may claim, there is no "best" time to take the ACTbecause when and with whom you take the ACTis ultimately irrelevant. In truth, neither factoraffectsyour chance of hitting your ACT goal scoreon test day! Even if you were surrounded by Albert Einsteins, their ACT scores still wouldn't affect yours! How Does the ACT â€Å"Curve† Work? Before we delve into the ACT curve,let's take a moment to review the ACT scoring system. The ACT comprises four subject areas: English, Math, Reading, and Science. (There is also a fifth optional Writing section.) Each of the four major sections is assigned a scale score on a scale of 1-36. These four scale scores are then averaged together to give you a composite ACT score out of 36. (This composite score does not include the ACT Writing score.) So how does ACT, Inc.,calculate these scale scores? For each section, you’ll begin with a raw score, which isequivalent to the number of questions you answered correctly. (Note that there are no penalties for incorrect or blank answers.) So ifyou answered 60 out of 75 questions correctly on the English section, your raw English score would be 60. Afterward, each raw score is then converted into a scale score out of 36. But here’s the kicker: how a raw score converts into a scale score varies with each administration of the ACT. This is because each ACT differs slightly in content and difficulty; thus, each test must use a unique equating formula to determinehow its raw scores will translate into scale scores. Unfortunately, this means there's no way for us to know for sure how a raw score will convert into a scale score on an upcoming ACT. That being said, we canestimatehow raw scores may convert into scale scores using score conversion charts fromofficial ACT practice tests. All of these practice tests are based on former ACTs that were actually administered, so the equating processes they employ are guaranteed to be most similar to those used for upcoming administrations. Below are the scoring tables for the2014-15and2016-17ACT practice tests. These tables will show us how raw scores vary in the scale scores into which they convert. 2014-15 ACT Score Conversion Table Scale Score Raw Scores Scale Score English Math Reading Science 36 75 59-60 40 40 36 35 73-74 57-58 39 39 35 34 71-72 55-56 38 38 34 33 70 54 - 37 33 32 69 53 37 - 32 31 68 52 36 36 31 30 67 50-51 35 35 30 29 66 49 34 34 29 28 64-65 47-48 33 33 28 27 62-63 45-46 32 31-32 27 26 60-61 43-44 31 30 26 25 58-59 41-42 30 28-29 25 24 56-57 38-40 29 26-27 24 23 53-55 36-37 27-28 24-25 23 22 51-52 34-35 26 23 22 21 48-50 33 25 21-22 21 20 45-47 31-32 23-24 19-20 20 19 42-44 29-30 22 17-18 19 18 40-41 27-28 20-21 16 18 17 38-39 24-26 19 14-15 17 16 35-37 19-23 18 13 16 15 33-34 15-18 16-17 12 15 14 30-32 12-14 14-15 11 14 13 29 10-11 13 10 13 12 27-28 8-9 11-12 9 12 11 25-26 6-7 9-10 8 11 10 23-24 5 8 7 10 9 20-22 4 7 6 9 8 17-19 - 6 5 8 7 14-16 3 5 4 7 6 11-13 - 4 3 6 5 9-10 2 3 - 5 4 6-8 - - 2 4 3 5 1 2 1 3 2 3-4 - 1 - 2 1 0-2 0 0 0 1 Now how did THIS table get in here? 2016-17 ACT Score Conversion Table Scale Score Raw Scores Scale Score English Math Reading Science 36 75 60 40 40 36 35 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 71 57 38 38 34 33 70 55-56 37 37 33 32 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 31 67 52-53 34 36 31 30 66 50-51 33 35 30 29 65 48-49 32 34 29 28 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 27 62 43-44 30 32 27 26 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 25 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 24 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 23 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 22 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 21 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 20 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 19 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 18 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 17 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 16 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 15 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 14 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 13 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 12 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 11 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 10 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 9 18-19 - - 5-6 9 8 15-17 3 5 - 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10-11 2 3 3 6 5 8-9 - - 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 1 Based onthe charts above, we can see that there are several variations inscore conversions. To get a scale score of 20 on Math, you’d need to answer at least 31 questions correctly on the 2014-15 test but only 29 on the 2016-17 test. This difference hintsthat the Math on the 2014-15 testisof a slightly easier difficulty than that on the 2016-17 test. Why? Becauseyou'd need to score more raw points on the 2014-15 Math section to get the same scale score on the 2016-17 Math section. We can also see that if you were to get a raw Readingscore of 28on the 2014-15 test, you’d get a scale score of 23. Buton the 2016-17 test, this same raw score would net you a noticeably higher score of 25. Once again, this relationship indicates that the 2014-15Reading section is slightly easier than the2016-17 Reading section. So what do these findings ultimatelymean for us? First off, score conversions for the ACT don't seem to vary significantly. On these two tests, most differences are fairly nominal - around two or three points at most - indicating that there likely won't beany giant discrepancies in raw score conversionsfor upcoming ACTs. Perhaps more importantly, though, we seethatyou can never knowexactly how many questions you'll need to answer correctly to geta certain scale score on the ACT. All you can do is estimate the number of correct answers you'll need using patterns in conversions for previous tests. Now, try estimating the number of books in this insanely cool book spiral. Has the ACT Curve Changed Over Time? We know that eachACT uses a different equating formula to convert raw scores into scale scores. But hasthis pattern in conversions changedover time? To answer this question, we’re going to look at the oldest and newest ACT practice tests currently available online: the 2005-06 test and the 2016-17 test. (Remember, these practice tests are based on real ACTs, so their score conversion tables should give us a general sense of how the ACT curve haschanged, if at all, over the years.) 2005-06 and 2016-17 ACT Score Conversions Scale Score Raw Scores (2005-06) Raw Scores (2016-17) Scale Score Eng Math Read Sci Eng Math Read Sci 36 75 60 40 40 75 60 40 40 36 35 74 59 39 - 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 73 58 38 39 71 57 38 38 34 33 72 57 - - 70 55-56 37 37 33 32 71 55-56 37 38 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 31 70 54 36 - 67 52-53 34 36 31 30 68-69 52-53 35 37 66 50-51 33 35 30 29 67 50-51 34 36 65 48-49 32 34 29 28 65-66 48-49 32-33 35 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 27 63-64 45-47 31 34 62 43-44 30 32 27 26 61-62 43-44 30 33 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 25 58-60 41-42 28-29 31-32 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 24 56-57 38-40 27 30 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 23 54-55 36-37 25-26 28-29 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 22 52-53 34-35 24 27 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 21 49-51 32-33 23 25-26 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 20 46-48 30-31 21-22 23-24 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 19 43-45 28-29 20 21-22 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 18 40-42 25-27 19 19-20 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 17 38-39 21-24 18 17-18 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 16 36-37 18-20 17 15-16 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 15 33-35 15-17 15-16 14 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 14 30-32 12-14 14 13 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 13 28-29 9-11 12-13 11-12 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 12 26-27 7-8 10-11 10 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 11 24-25 6 8-9 9 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 10 21-23 5 7 7-8 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 9 18-20 4 6 6 18-19 - - 5-6 9 8 15-17 3 5 5 15-17 3 5 - 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10-11 2 - 3 10-11 2 3 3 6 5 8-9 - 3 2 8-9 - - 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 0-1 0 0 0 1 Glancing at each section, you can probably already see that there are some key differences in how raw scores convert into scale scores. On the Science section, missing three questions gives you a scale score of 33 on the 2016-17 test but only a 30 on the 2005-06 test. This trend applies to the other scores in Science, too:you’d generally have to score more raw points in Science on the 2005-06 test to get the same scale scores in Science on the 2016-17 test. Thus,we can infer thatthe2005-06 Science questions were slightly easier than the 2016-17 Science questions. But do the other sections follow similar patterns? Yep!On Reading, a raw score of 35 translates to a scale score of 32 on the 2016-17 test but only a 30 on the 2005-06 test. Once again, this points to a slight difference in difficulty, with the 2005-06 Reading section being a little easier than the 2016-17 section. Likewise, on Math and English, the 2016-17 test tends to require fewer raw points to get certain scale scores than the 2005-06 test. Even withthe presence of these patterns, however, most differences in score conversions for the two tests are minimal.In fact, the vast majority of raw scores convert intoscale scores only one to two points lower or higher. So despite the fact there are clearly differencesin the equating formulasfor the two tests, we can conclude that the number of questions you must answer correctly to get certain scale scores on the ACT has remained relatively consistent throughout the years. Additionally,by taking into account the consistency of ACT percentiles, we seethat the overall difficulty of the ACT hasn’t experienced any drastic shifts, either, further supporting our conclusion. The number of sprinkles on these cookies is definitely NOT consistent. What Does the ACT Curve Mean for YOU? As I've mentioned before, theACT curve is extraordinarily useful for estimating the number of correct answers you'll need to get the scale score you want on test day. Before you start prepping for the ACT, find your target score. Then, use official ACT score conversion charts from practice tests to estimate the number of questions you'll need to get rightin order to reach your target scores for the English, Math, Reading, and Science sections. Just remember the caveat: noscore conversion chart will apply exactly to your upcoming ACT administration, as each of these charts showcasesthe equating process forone specific test.But by usingseveral charts together, you can give yourself a fairly accuraterange of raw-score-to-scale-score conversions. Additionally, it's important you understandthe following key pointsabout the ACT curve: When you take the ACT does not affectyour scale score.The equating process ensures that test takers on one test date will not have an advantage over test takers on a different test date, and this goes for state-sponsored administrations, as well. So don't believe the rumors - there's no easier or harder test date! (This is why raw scoresconvert differently intoscale scores!) Who takes the ACT does not affect your scale score.Scale scores are not like ACT percentilesin thatthey're not determined by how well other test takers perform. So, really, it doesn’t matter at all who you take the test with. Even if you were to take the ACT with all certified geniuses, their scores still wouldn't affect yours in the slightest! You can'tuse the ACT curve to game the system.Because you'llnever know beforehand how a specific ACTwill convert raw scores into scale scores, youcan't everguarantee yourself a higher score by taking the ACT on a certain date or with a specific group of people. Absolutely none of these factors affects the ACT curve, and anyone who claims otherwise is wrong! Unfortunately, you can't Houdini your way to a high ACT score. Recap: Is the ACT Curved? Despite what's often rumored, there is no ACT curve - at least not a traditional one. The ACT accounts for differences in difficulty among various administrations of the exam through a complex equating process. But because we don't know what the exact equating formula is for each test, we'll never be able to predict with certainty how raw scores on an upcoming ACT will convert into scale scores. Nevertheless, you can use score conversion tables from official ACT practice tests to estimate the number of correct answers you’ll need to reach your goal scores on test day. All official practice tests are based on past ACTs and thusoffer a realistic glimpse intohow raw scores typically convert into scale scores. Overall, the essential facts to remember about the ACT curve are the following: The ACT curve is actually an equating process that accounts for variances in difficulty among different test dates. Therefore,it doesn’t matter when or with whom you take thetest. The ACT curve has remained relatively stable over time, meaning the number of correct answers you need to get certain scale scores varies only minimallywith each test. You can't use the ACT curve to cheat the systemor secure yourself a higher ACT score, so don’t even bother trying! What’s Next? Want to learn more about ACT scoring?Get the rundown onhow the ACT is scoredand check out our guide for detailed tips on what the ACT score range means for you. Need ACT tips and resources?We've got a huge selection here at PrepScholar, whether you're looking for the best ACT prep books or our expert strategies for getting a perfect 36. What about the SAT? Does it have a curve, too? Hop on over tomy in-depth analysis of theSAT curve (coming soon) tolearn more about the SAT equating processand how raw SAT scores convert into scaled scores. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

The Use of Alcohol Rub in Preventing Infection Essay

The Use of Alcohol Rub in Preventing Infection - Essay Example According to Bloom, Fischer & Orme(2009) the ideology is derived from the ethical principle that is required by the clients for the most effective and possible interventions. For evidence based practice, typically, they use reviews of research on intervention effectiveness and then critically assess the reviews on the bases of validity and utility of practice. According to Children’s Workforce Development Council (2011), evidence based practice is a combination of the best external research and practitioner expertise and evaluation that is based on the evidence. I have found that evidence based practice is a way to update knowledge; essentially it can be used in different scenarios. As pointed out by McEwen and Wills (2002), evidence based nursing will fill the gap of research, theory and practice. According to him, it de-emphasizes isolated, rituals and unsystematic clinical experiences and traditions as the basis of practice. Therefore, once a nurse starts opting for evidenc e based practice, they come to know different ways through which they can use the experience of other practitioners (Cluett 2006). This is one of the basic reasons why, as an adult nurse, I prefer evidence based practice. Evidence Based Practice in Nursing: Evidence based practice, help the nurses tend to stay updated on the new discoveries (Beyea & Slattery, 2006).In my experience, I have noticed that as the nurses are sure that their decisions are based on valid information, the confidence in their practice increases, and their decisions power is increased. As cited in Barker J (2010), Pearson et al. (2008) identifies that a nurse is expected to understand the quality of evidence that is... The essay discusses three types of evidences: Systematic review is different from traditional literature review. Systematic review is a way to collect the evidence. In this method, the findings of all methodologically sound studies are summarized. The process reviews can help the practitioners to keep abreast of the medical literature. It involves the application of scientific strategies. In the nutshell, Cochrane Collaboration summaries that a systematic review is a high level overview of primary research on a particular research question that tries to identify, select, synthesize and appraise all high quality research evidence relevant to that question in order to answer it. I believe, when such a form of research is used in nursing, the decision making regarding health and the ratio to get benefits increases. In order to find that alcohol rub helps in preventing the spread of infection, different studies in this area can be reviewed. Through this, particular circumstances can be k nown in which alcoholic hand rubs must be used, and instances where it must not be made use of. Randomised controlled trails help to determine whether a cause-effect relationship exists between treatment and outcome, and to assess the cost effectiveness of a treatment. It is used to examine the effect of interventions on particular outcomes such as death or the recurrence of disease. Some consider randomizing controlled trials as the best research design. Therefore it is considered to be the most powerful type of experimental research.

NURSING (POPULATION AND SAMPLE DISTRIBUTION)-2 Assignment

NURSING (POPULATION AND SAMPLE DISTRIBUTION)-2 - Assignment Example This is also supported by the research results that the Health Functioning variable being determined is a considerable cause for the differences between women and men in carrying out comparative analysis for social support, quality of life and perceived coping. The t-ratio is significant because it indicates the difference between males and females. This is because the alpha value for the study was set at 0.05. Mental health was the largest variance between males and females with a value of -3.15. The data shows that t-ratio = -2.54 have a smaller p value that -2.50. This is an indication of a better health future for men, and women post MI physical roles and components, are highly interconnected and statistically noteworthy. Type 1 error results when the null hypothesis is rejected. There is a risk of Type 1 error in this study because multiple t-tests were performed on the study data. Multiple t-tests increase the risk for Type 1 errors. Bonferroni procedure is necessary for this study because it reduces the risk for Type 1 error. A number of multiple t-tests were conducted on the study data that increased the risk for Type 1 data. Therefore, Bonifferoni procedure is required to reduce risk of Type 1 error. df is the degree of freedom. A number of df values were reported, in the study, because they describe the freedom of different score’s values, in relation to other exiting scores’ values and sum of the scores. The differences between males and females post MI is significant. If this is consistent with the previous research, then I can assume that there will be a better health future for men, and women post MI physical roles and components will be highly interconnected and statistically

Trends in porting existing PC applications to the mobile environment Research Paper

Trends in porting existing PC applications to the mobile environment - Research Paper Example This makes porting existing PC applications to the mobile environment an uphill task for the developers (Damianos Gavalas and Daphne Economou) Interoperability is by far the largest impediment in application development. There are so many devices that run on totally different operating systems, having different screen sizes among other local requirements of the markets. Mobile app developers are therefore faced with a unique challenge of making apps that will work flawlessly across the different platforms. That is why porting of applications is probably the most important concern for app developers today. When porting of applications, there are three important considerations to make. The first is the device type. You have to consider that the app will be running on smart phones, brew devices, or J2ME devices. The second consideration to make is the operating systems used. Quite a number of mobile apps usually need some native functions of a specific operating system. This makes it almost impossible for developers to write code only once and reuse it across the different platforms. Thirdly, you need to consider the device features. Different mobile devices have different features like screen size, keyboard types, and internal memory. A good app must put the variations into perspective (Damianos Gavalas and Daphne

The Use Of Mobile Devices In Schools

The Use Of Mobile Devices In Schools Most of our classrooms of today do not differ much from those of the 19th century, chalk and talk, as well as desk and texts (Roschelle et al. 2000: 76) are still the primary structure of classroom lessons as they were back then. But yet, as explained by Roschelle et al. (2000), todays curricula, together with societal demands, expects students to learn and know a lot more than previous generations. With time, technology increases rapidly and becomes more ubitquitous. Mobile devices have become an integral part of the 21st century student. From cell phones to mp3 players, digital cameras to mobile tablets. These are their tools that is like extentions to their brain (Prensky 2005: 10) that they use in their everyday lives. Educating students without these tools is like educating a doctor whithout a scalpel. The use of mobile technology to facilitate learning is slowly starting to emerge as an area of its own and refered to as m-learning. This review will be looking at what research has been done in the literature regarding the use and integration of mobile devices in the educational system. Research Topic The chosen research topic is part of an existing research project where Android mobile tablets are distributed to schools with mathematics content on. The purpose of my research will be to evaluate the usefulness of the mobipads in supporting mathematics learning in classrooms. This research topic falls into the broad area of mobile learning (m-learning). Problem Outside of schools, new technology such as mobile devices is changing the way we find information, how we learn and even how we are entertained, but, although our education institutes are aware of these happenings outside of schools, they still prohibit the use of mobile phones and other mobile devices (Squire 2009: 73). It is inevitable that technology, but especially mobile devices, needs to be integrated into the schooling system which leaves us with the question: How can mobile devices be integrated into our learning institues to be perceived useful by both educators and learners? Main Research Question As stated is Section 2, I will be conducting research within an existing project which aims to suggest one way to address the problem as stated in Section 3. My main research question then will be: Are mobile devices such as Android mobile tablets a useful tool to support the learning of mathematics in classrooms? Background Background to Topic Digital natives is what students of today are called according to Prensky (2005: 8), because they grew up and live in the digital world of today (Franklin Peng, 2008: 69). Consequently they are very familier with all types of mobile devices as they use it in their everyday lives in numerous day-to-day activities. When mobile devices (excluding mobile phones) first made their appearance, they were referred to as handheld computers and where merely just stripped down versions of their more complex desktop predecessors (Squire, 2009: 71). Squire (2009) further explains that researchers began to study mobile devices more in depth to find out what makes it unique and how it can be utilized. Anytime/anywhere is the most unique characteristic of mobile devices. Mobile learning (m-learning) is a phenomenon that is rapidly evolving as more and more people rely on their mobile devices to provide them with needed information at any time and any location. According to Chang, Sheu and Chan (2003: 337) m-learning consits of three necessary elements: the mobile learning device; the communication infrastructure and a learning activity. Huang and Lin (2007:585) defines mobile learning as activities in which people use mobile devices such as cellphones, personal digital assistants (PDA), mobile tablets (mobipads), etc. to facilitate learning, studying or teaching of any kind. Ting (2005) goes further by stating that mobile learning is not aimed at replacing the traditional classroom learning system, but it provides an additional way to get learning content and to embed learning into the daily lives of people. Huang Lin (2007) cunducted research in the user acceptance of m-learning. Their reseach findings suggest that individuals perceive m-learning a s omnipresent and easy to use and with the mobility it offers, m-learning is regared as a very useful by students. Mathematics has always been known as a problem subject that students underachieves in and struggles to understand. Rubin (1999: 3) argues that it is due to the fact that mathematics is often viewed as an abstract topic, filled with symbols and invisible concepts. He continues to argue that the lack of dynamic and visual illustrations of the maths concepts, makes it all the more difficult to understand, especially for the 21st century student that is more visual orientated. According to Rubin (1999: 3), technology can help to create dynamic visual images. Franklin and Peng (2008) did just that. They distrubuted iPod Touch mobile devices in an eighth grade math class where the students created math videos to explain difficult math concepts to their fellow students. Some of the students responded by saying that in order to be able to create proper videos, it required them to think harder and longer about the mathematics concepts and that they realized how hard it is to explain maths to others. Swan, van t Hooft and Kratcoski (2005: 100) supports Franklin and Pengs (2008) findings by stating that the use of mobile devices can support personalized and collaborative learning. Swan et al. (2005) provided a sample of students with mobile computing devices to take home with them. Their results shows that these devices were not only used inside the formal environment of school, but also infomrally outside of school boundries to facilitate learning. This can be partly explained by the fact that students having a mobile device in hand feels like second nature to students of the contemporary age, it keeps them busy and entertained. Swan et al. (2005: 100) found that students were more motivated and engaged in more learning activites which resulted in students being more productive. Students using mobile technologies to collaboratively perform problem-solving activities, proves to have a positive influence on their level of understanding of the processes and content (Klopfer, Yoon Rivas 2004: 348). In their research case study, Franklin and Peng (2008: 78) found that using technology even helped special education students to better understand the concepts of the mathematics and kept them interested in the content of the work for longer. As previously discussed, the current generation of students grow up constantly exposed to technology and thus are more technology literate than those students of a decade ago (Swan et al. 2005). Keeping in mind the increasing use of mobile gaming devices and video gaming consoles, Squire (2009) investigated how the use of mobile devices ousite of the school environment impacts learning and education. Squire (2009: 72) argues that although the utilization of mobile devices in formal schooling environments are coming around slowly, there already is a big emerging market for gaming companies to develop games for learning. Nintendos Brain Age product and More Brain Training advertising campaigns and UbiSofts My Spanish Coach is a few examples the Squire (2009:72) mentions were one can see that more gaming companies are developing educational games that facilitates some sort of learning. Squire collaborated with Klopfer in (Klopfer Squire, 2008) to investigate the use of augmented reality (AR) games for learning purposes in educational institutes. AR games were developed on the concept that students are players within virtual worlds that are created by the game based on real worlds, and move around, interact and respond to simulated activities (Squire, 2009: 73). Squire (2009: 73) explains further that while students move through this virtual version of a real world, they get access to news clips, historical photographs and other multimedia data relevant to the specific place they are in within the game. Squire (2008: 73) found that through this kind of learning, students develop a tendency to ask deeper questions in problem-solving situations. More reseach done by Klopfer and Squire (2008: 6) brought to light that there are numerous entertainment and educational applications for mobile devices that only enhances these devices teaching potential. All of these apllications are developed with the chatacteristics of mobile technology in mind that includes portibility, connectivity and individuality. These entertainment and educational application offers features like real-time data on a wide range of subjects, immediate feedback on questions and aswers and facilitation of group work by students. Through the literature, it is becoming evident that educators are starting to believe that they can use the unique facilities that mobile devices offers to keep students engaged and more easily distribute the coursework and content to them (Franklin Peng, 2008: 71). Schools of thinking emerging from literature In the literature it comes across that the general school of thinking falls within an interpretivism paradigm which, according to Oats (2006: 291), is used to understand the social context of something. The use of mobile devices is by itself of social nature because it is used to communicate with others, work collaboratively with others and to entertain. When one studies the use of mobile devices, the use of data gathering methods like interviews, questionnaires and diary studies or journal studies are used were the learners are asked to analyse themselves in terms of their own thought and learning experiences (Pachler et al. 2010: 71) with regards to using these mobile devices. This goes together with observations that the researcher does in the natural environment where the mobile technology are being utilized. This kind of research is usually done over a time period, to be able to get a more holistic view of the specific phenomenon. The case study research strategy allowed Frankli n and Peng (2008) to give an indepth discussion of the utilization of iPod Touch mobile devices in two middle schools. Klopfer and Squire (2008) conducted a series of discriptive case studies to learn what the users experiences were of learning through augmented reality games and found it to be a strategy that gets user data quickly and leeds to a rich and detailed description thereof. They gathered their data through participant observaton, unstructured interviewsTo research the use of mobile tablets in a classroom environment for learning mathematics, I will be following the above school of thinking as I think it is most relevant. Many studies do follow the more scientific methods by making use of experiments that they implement in the field to determine the effect of the implementation of the mobile devices. Scanlon, Jones and Waycot (2005:7) refers to an experiment done on a sample of secondary school students. Each student was given a Pocketbook and were instructed to do a few activites with it. Questionairs served as a pre- and post-intervention measurement. A simmular research structure was followed by Klopfer et al. (2004). Rivera (n.d.) conducted a quasi-experiment with a control group and treatment group to test the effects of integrating technology such as skype to communicate with educators and online interactive white boards for online tutoring sessions. Rivera used the course exams as a measuring instrument as well as the amount of times the students accessed the online help site for the course. Observing the two control groups in their classroom environment and online was another gata gathering me thod that she utilized. Sometimes authors combine different research strategies to best suit their research objectives. Huang and Lin (2007) made use of an online survey as a means of gathering data which they then statistically analysed to be able to prove or disprove hypothesis. When authors follow a more scientific school of thinking, generally the data is statistically analised to answer their research questions and draw conclusions from. Challenges The following are challenges that have been identified by the literature regarding the use of mobile devices for educational purposes in classrooms: Lack of technical support. During their research Franklin and Peng (2008:75) that the need for quality technical support is critical. Challenges that they came accros was the provision of wireless technology without an expert to set it up. Although, the teacher had to contact the principle everytime a website that the students needed to work on, got blocked. It is not uncommon that schools are provided with technology to use in their classrooms, but without the necessary technical support and expertise. This can place a big damper on the idea that technology in classrooms is a fun experience and rather easy to use. The scarcity of recharging stations for the mobile devices. Providing facilities for roughly 40 students per class is a primary challenge (Franklin Peng, 2008: 76) that cannot be avoided when wanting to introduce mobile devices into classrooms. Technology skills of educator. Educators of the classes where the mobile devices are implemented, first needs to develop and learn the necessary technology skills to operate the mobile devices (Franklin Peng, 2008). This will be a challenge especially when the educator is of an older generation that did not necessarily grow up with technology and was not previously exposed to a lot of technology. Roschelle et al. (2000: 90) argues that technology support for teachers is often overlooked easily. The curriculum needs rethinking. Squire (2009: 73) expresses difficulties of trying to integrate the mobile media devices into the traditional schooling structure. Franklin and Peng (2008: 76) argues that presenting subjects like maths visually and with the use of technology, is a foreign concept for most educators in schools. The schools capacity to change. Roschelle et al. (2000: 91) argues the some schools are more reluctant at accepting the use of technology into their classrooms and curriculum. They still view the use of mobile devices for learning as foreign and unknown and therefore prefer to hold on to their current schooling structure. Opportunities The following opportunities for further research in the field of m-learning and mobile devices in education that have been identified by the literature: Huang and Lin (2007: 586) states that not much empirical research has been done on on mobile learning from the perspective of the learner. They argue that m-learning can only be improved if the behaviour, experiences and acceptance of the user of m-learning is studied. According to Squire (2009: 70) there has been little research done on to study and understand the impact of mobile media on learning where the mobile device is used outside of formal structures and in students own time. This is supported by Scanlon et al. (2005: 2) when he identifies that there is a need for research on the learning of science on mobile devices in an informal setting. Roschelle et al. (2000: 76) states that further case study research is needed to identify ways to use mobile technology that will support learning most effectively and the successful implementation thereof. More case study research is needed to investigate and better understand the aspects of peoples daily lives where they use mobile devices (Scanlon et al. 2005) and how m-learning relates to that. The use of mobile devices for educational purposes in classrooms as an m-learning tool offers several advantages and opportunities for the students as well as their society: Students can share the knowledge on the mobile devices with their peers in collaborative activities and with other friends or family at home. This opportunity was revealed when Franklin Peng (2008: 77) saw students sharing their earphones with someone else so both can whatch the educational videos on the iPod Touch. Students are provided with the opportunities of anytime/anywhere learning (Squire 2009: 71). Scanlon et al. (2005: 6) supports this by stating that due to the fact that mobile devices are rather affordable and provide portability, accessibility and immediacy, students can get what they need, when they need it (Staudt Hsi, 1999 In Scanlon et al. 2005: 6) and not be bound by their physical location. Students do not just learn about the subject presented by the mobile device, but they also learn how to use the technology, as some students do not have the technology at home and thus not the opportunity of learning about it otherwise (Franklin Peng 2008). This is valuable to the students development and crucial skills to have in their future. Roschelle et al. (2000: 88) identify a few advantages that doing mathematics on technology devices have for the students: (1) students can explore different ways of solving problems by because they can change and manipulate mathematical notations quickly and then (2) receive immediate feedback on the correctness of their notion and (3) students can make more sence out of the maths contect by either associating mathematical concepts to data from the real world or simulations thereof. Conclusion From the research it is clear that both researcher and educators have noticed the fast growing phenomenon that is m-learning through mobile devices. It is slowly but surely redesigning the chalk talk and desk and texts structure of our classrooms. Numerous studies have been done by researchers, some even collaborated with educators, to examine the presence, effects and uses of mobile devices in schools that facilitate learning in both formal and informal settings. Mobile devices offer some unique opportunities: Learning is no longer dependent on the location of the learner, but rather, anyone with a mobile device and the needed wireless connection can learn anything, anywhere and anytime. Knowledge can be shared a lot easier and promotes collaborative learning. Users of the device do not just learn about the content on it, but also about the technology they are working with. The different uses of mobile devices in peoples everyday lives. Because the use of mobile devices in schools is still relatively new, there are some challenges that were identified through literature: Lack of technical support with problems and queries in the classes where mobile devices are being used. The scarcity of recharging stations for the mobile devices in classrooms. Educators need to develop or update their technology skills before they can facilitate a class where the devices are used. The education curriculum needs to be revised in order to facilitate the use of mobile devices and utilize it to its full potential. Some schools still view the use of mobile devices for learning as foreign and unknown and therefore they are reluctant to change. It is sure that, by time, these challenges will be overcome more easily. Drawn from the research, it can be said with certainty that the use of mobile technology in education institutes is the way of the future, but a lot more research is needed on how to utilize it successfully to provide the youth with quality education that will allow them to strive in the world. By researching the effectiveness of using mobile tablets (mobipads) in classrooms as a tool for learning mathematics, will contribute to the m-learning body of knowledge in a much needed way. Word count: 3160

Caring About Our Environment Essay examples -- Environment Ecology Nat

Caring About Our Environment Improving and maintaining the earth’s environment is becoming a more important task every day of our lives. Due to ignorance and frequent carelessness, this important task is quickly becoming a critical one. For this reason, I took it upon myself to construct a strategic plan to enlighten my peers to the problems of our environment. I did this in hopes that it would encourage everyone to act responsibly towards improving and maintaining the environment. With ongoing threats to the earth’s water supply, atmosphere, and surface, I found it necessary to devise a method of environmental enlightenment. I plan to apply this method at my place of academic study, The University. If supported by the faculty and staff and approached with confidence and determination by the student body, I am convinced that our environment on campus would undergo a drastic improvement. As a nation, we are facing many different problems with our environment. Two of the most important focuses are conserving our water supply and protecting the ozone layer. These two ...