This study aims to explore the effects of implementing the literature circles strategy for teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in levels 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of a public university in the Amazon Region of Ecuador. For this purpose, three English language teachers conducted some action research. Two hundred fourteen students of English Arts…

Graduate students lament the need to achieve the proficiency necessary to competently search multiple databases for their research assignments, regularly eschewing these sources in favor of Google Scholar or some other search engine. The author conducted an anonymous survey investigating graduate student knowledge or awareness of the open-access…

In order to inform foreign language education practices that can empower students to properly retrieve and utilize information in today's society, research on the nature of reading that takes place on the Internet--referred to as online research and comprehension--is of paramount importance. As an initial step, this study investigated the…

Recognizing the paucity of quantitative and qualitative data from North American educational institutions that have pursued open access policies, the authors devised a survey to collect information on the characteristics of these institutions, as well as the elements of the open access policies, the methods of promoting these policies, faculty…

This article investigates academic library needs of doctoral students. The study identifies PhD students' information literacy training needs and explores current levels of library engagement, barriers to use, and gaps in existing services. First-year PhD students at Ulster University (UU) were surveyed and interviews were undertaken with three…

Nowadays, social networks (SN) are increasingly extended at a professional and personal level, and their use has also been included in educational contexts. In the field of translation and interpretation, in which this proposal is framed, the use of SN seems even more relevant, since working as a freelancer is one of the main professional…

Currently language learning is being facilitated by social networks and microblogging, which emerged as a quite new form of communication and content sharing through which users can publish online some small pieces of digital content. This relates to connectivism, a learning theory that views learning as the process of creating connections and…

Aim/Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate how the facilitation of a vocational lecturer (teacher) influenced the engagement of fifteen carpentry students during their learning. This facilitation occurred while the students used smartphones and mobile applications to create visual assessment ePortfolios. Background: To encourage…

Introduction: The market for digital children's books is growing steadily. But the options vary in terms of quality and parents looking for suitable apps for young children can get overwhelmed quickly. This study seeks to answer how families search for suitable applications and what aspects are important to them while selecting. Method:…

As ePortfolios are increasingly being used in universities to help develop self-reflective practitioners, academic teachers and students need to develop the skills and processes required to implement them. During 2015, a series of webinars was presented by a cross-university team to provide professional development for academic teachers,…

Leisure reading is important for personality development and mental growth of children. Reading habits developed during early childhood are likely to continue rest of the life. The main purpose of this study was to investigate leisure reading habits and preferences of young children in Singapore. A questionnaire was used for data collection and…

A grand challenge is a problem that requires broad cooperation for successful resolution from a community of scholars. Several national and international organizations have generated lists of grand challenges to unify the efforts of scholars and practitioners in a field. However, the field of assessment has yet to identify its own set of grand…

With advancing technology, there is increasing interest in differences between listening versus reading comprehension or doing both simultaneously. Ninety-one participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups that received the same instructional material (the preface and a chapter from a non-fiction book), but each in a different input…

Education for Instruction Librarians has traditionally centered upon the acquisition of practical classroom skills. While this approach has merit, from a sociocultural perspective of learning, student development emerges more completely through engagement with the communal activities and values that constitute professional practices rather than…

This paper highlights the findings of a survey completed by ACRL/STS [Association of College and Research Libraries/Science and Technology Section] members on scholarly communication issues. In particular it identifies the percentage of their daily activities that are spent in support of scholarly communication activities; extent of change of job…