Search

Growing interest in online learning has instructors looking for new ways to engage learners in asynchronous discussions. Building on experiences with hashtag use to connect on social media platforms, the purpose of this study is to investigate the contexts of hashtag use and its associated impact on learner engagement in asynchronous online discussions. In more detail, this mixed-methods case study will answer the following questions: 1) How and in what context do students use hashtags in online discussions? and 2) In what ways, if any, does the use of hashtags promote engagement in an online community? Findings suggest that while classifying and organizing course information was a strong motivator for tagging posts, hashtags were also used to connect to others in the learning community, express opinions, and encourage knowledge building. The results from our study contribute to a better understanding of engagement with and through hashtag use.

Student learning is increasingly taking place in digital environments both within and outside schooling contexts. Educational assessments are following suit, both to take advantage of the conveniences and opportunities that digital environments provide as well as to reflect the mediums of learning increasingly taking place in societies around the world. A social context relevant to learning and assessment in the digital age is the great differences in access to and competence in technology among students from different segments of societies. Therefore, access and competency in relation to technology become critical contexts for evaluations that rely on digitally based assessments. This chapter examines the digital divide between students from different segments of the society and discusses strategies for minimizing effects of digital divide on assessments of student learning. The research focuses on two types of demographic groups--gender and socioeconomic status (SES) groups--that have been highlighted in research on the digital divide. The research utilizes data from IEA's International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2013 for Grade 8 students administered in 21 jurisdictions around the world. It thus provides an international perspective on digital divide as an important context for international assessments as well as assessments within jurisdictions such as Mexico that are conducting assessments in digitally based environments.

In gender differential item functioning (DIF) research it is assumed that all members of a gender group have similar item response patterns and therefore generalizations from group level to subgroup and individual levels can be made accurately. However DIF items do not necessarily disadvantage every member of a gender group to the same degree, indicating existence of heterogeneity of response patterns within gender groups. In this article the impact of heterogeneity within gender groups on DIF investigations was investigated. Specifically, it was examined whether DIF results varied when comparing males versus females, gender × socioeconomic status subgroups and latent classes of gender. DIF analyses were conducted on reading achievement data from the Canadian sample of the Programme of International Student Assessment 2009. Results indicated considerable heterogeneity within males and females and DIF results were found to vary when heterogeneity was taken into account versus when it was not.

Introduction: Physicians undertake many transitions during the course of a medical career. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of physicians who moved to a new community. Methods: A semistructured interview format was used to explore transitional experiences, including reasons for moving; the role of colleagues, learning, and organizational structures; how various mediating factors affected perceptions; and how the experience affected the physicians personally. We used qualitative methods in which data were collected, coded, and analyzed concurrently. Results: 20 physicians from family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics described their experiences. Both the professional context and the geographic location affected physicians' perceptions of the move. Both internal and external mediating factors appeared to influence how physicians experienced and adjusted to the move. Physicians who joined functioning units appeared to have fewer problems. The physicians who had more difficulty were physicians who did not come to a specific job, often coming as the result of a spousal move; did not have a professional network in the city; had not sorted out licensure requirements; and were entering community (not institutional) practice. Discussion: This study demonstrates the critical nature of institutional support structures to integrate the newcomer, collegial relationships within the workplace, and the importance of family and friends in mediating the adjustment period. Consideration should be given to structured mentorship or peer-buddy programs and longitudinal educational programs (eg, rounds) that may enable physicians to establish networks and gain practical local knowledge quickly. (Contains 1 figure.)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dimensions of emotional health in two population-based groups (Finland and Canada) of adolescents (ages 13 and 15 years) who self-identify as having a disability or chronic condition, as conceptualized by the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Data from the 2002 WHO Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey were used to compare the prevalence of emotional health (items on feeling low, feeling nervous) within and between countries. Eighteen percent of the Canadian and Finnish samples indicated they had a long-time disability, illness or medical condition. Canadian adolescents with disability or chronic conditions felt low significantly more frequently than their classmates without disability or chronic conditions. In both countries, students with disabilities who had more than one functional difficulty were significantly more likely to report feeling low and nervous. These results illustrate that the severity of disability as measured by the number of functional difficulties, and not merely the presence of disability or chronic condition, or particular functional difficulties, may play an important role in the emotional health of adolescents. Health promotion programs may use this information to guide practice to support the emotional health of students with disabilities.

Background: Adolescents with disabilities are at risk for poor health outcomes including injury. The objective of this study was to examine if disability status modifies the association between risk behavior and injury among adolescents. Methods: The cross-sectional Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey was administered to a representative sample of 7235 Canadian students (grades 6-10) in 2002. Students who reported at least 1 functional difficulty due to a health condition were classified as having a disability. Engagement in up to 6 individual risk behaviors and a summative multiple risk behavior score were considered the primary exposures. Primary outcomes included medically attended injury experienced during a 12-month period. Results: Sixteen percent of students reported a disability. Almost all risk behaviors and all injury outcomes were more common among students with disabilities than in those without disabilities (eg, older age group's smoking: 17.5% vs 8.9%, p = less than 0.01; medically attended injury: 67.4% vs 51.4%, p = less than 0.01). Clear risk gradients were observed between engagement in multiple risk behavior and all injury outcomes. The association between multiple risk behavior and injury was accentuated by disability status among older students, particularly for students with disabilities who engaged in frequent multiple risk behavior (adjusted risk ratio 1.8, 95% CI: 1.6-1.9). Conclusions: Canadian students with disabilities who engage in risk behaviors experience higher risks for medically attended injury than their nondisabled peers who engage in those same risk behaviors. Injury prevention programs that focus on risk-taking behavior should integrate the needs of this high-risk group of adolescents in order to prevent additional disability. (Contains 6 tables.)

Copyright of International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education is the property of Canadian Network for Innovation in Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)