Conference advertising by Jaime Selwood
Modern conference papers have evolved almost universally to exploit the potential of digital tech... more Modern conference papers have evolved almost universally to exploit the potential of digital technology to enhance the effectiveness of their presentation, such as slide shows with audio-visual elements and hyperlinks. Posters, on the other hand, even at forums ostensibly dedicated to popularizing technology for improving information sharing and general communication, still largely ignore the novel affordances of digital tools and media, rather continuing to operate almost entirely within the constraints of their traditional material format. In this 90-minute workshop, the organizers will explain and address this anachronism, suggesting a more dynamic vision of poster presentations by way of a three-step approach. First, they will briefly distinguish the nature of poster presentations from that of conference papers so as to highlight the key underlying features of the former. For instance, they will point out how conference paper presentations generally consist of top-down, one-to-many communications focusing on theoretical frameworks or completed research projects, whereas posters more often involve one-to-few interactions focusing on works in progress. Second, the presenters will identify and exemplify some of the unique affordances of digital technology for augmenting these key features, such as the use of mobile applications (apps) providing visitors access to audio-visual data as well as the possibility of self-directed navigation. Finally, the bulk of the session will be dedicated to a hands-on demonstration of the creation of a digital mock-up that participants can use as a simple but effective template for putting together state-of-the-art poster presentations of their own in the future.
Conference Presentations by Jaime Selwood
This presentation will detail the results from a three-year research programme carried out at a n... more This presentation will detail the results from a three-year research programme carried out at a national university in Japan which aimed to analyse how successful mobile technology, specifically smartphones and mobile applications (apps) could be integrated to an English language-learning course. The research was centred on first and second year non-English majors who undertook a compulsory one-semester, 16-week English language course.
The course used in the research project focused primarily on improving general English oral communication skills. Each class contained between 20 and 35 students, from different faculties within the university as well as from a broad range of language abilities and motivations. In each year of the research four courses were included as part of the study with a total of 294 students – all of them non-English native speakers.
Modern conference posters sometimes offer visitors the opportunity to download additional materia... more Modern conference posters sometimes offer visitors the opportunity to download additional materials to supplement the information on display. Yet, while these extras can assist in explaining a poster’s content, they generally ignore the additional affordances that could be derived from a comprehensive exploitation of digital technology, most often relying primarily on the paper or cloth medium on which the poster is traditionally printed. This poster showcases the largely untapped potential of digital technology, specifically mobile devices, which can greatly enhance and enrich the visitor’s experience. By incorporating rich media tags, it presents an in-depth look at ongoing research into the effectiveness of digital posters as part of a language learning course at the university level. It also offers a model for those who are interested in developing and adapting the digital poster concept to fit other learning environments.
I am a big fan of poster presentations, but I also believe they are underused and under-appreciat... more I am a big fan of poster presentations, but I also believe they are underused and under-appreciated. At conferences they are often like the slightly odd uncle that is shoved in the corner at parties and ignored… Additionally, poster presentations don't have to be just a 2D, top-down experience for the viewer. This is, after all, a techie language conference! With this in mind this poster has a digital twin sister where you can access extra information about the presentation-if you want to! Abstract Student Digital Poster Examples
Although modern conference posters sometimes supplement their presentation with computer demonstr... more Although modern conference posters sometimes supplement their presentation with computer demonstrations and other such external supports, most simply rely on the paper or cloth medium on which they are printed. This poster showcases the heretofore largely untapped potential of digital technology for enhancing content and enriching the viewer experience by incorporating digital features in an integrated and, more importantly, interactive fashion. Rather than automatically process the poster elements in the prescribed sequence implied by the authors’ design of their physical layout, visitors are invited to actively use mobile technology to re-prioritize them so as to decide the order and the pace for themselves and, thus, focus on the areas that most interest them. Their journey begins with scanning a QR code onto their smartphone or tablet. They will then be prompted to download and open a free mobile application (app), which will permit them to join a “casual meeting” granting access to an entirely digital poster with links to audio-visual sample data. At that point, they can choose between a local view allowing them to explore the poster on their own and a shared view allowing the presenters to provide them with a guided tour. In either case, they will discover how posters can be transformed and elevated to attract and engage greater audiences and, thus, exhibit their work to a wider public.
Papers by Jaime Selwood
This paper reports on research that aimed to provide initial insight into how university students... more This paper reports on research that aimed to provide initial insight into how university students in two different countries, Japan and Ukraine, coped with greater use of videoconferencing software and whether this resulted in any issues surrounding their online privacy. To facilitate learning under the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors and learners had to speedily adapt to a 'new normal' of intense videoconferencing online learning. However, did this rapid implementation of online learning negatively impact students' privacy? The findings presented in this reflective paper suggest that despite initial concerns, students who participated in the research exhibited low-level concerns regarding the impact of videoconferencing software on their online privacy. Although, students' privacy concerns did grow when presented with long-term or permanent use of online learning as an integral part of a language learning structure.
The first two decades of the 21 st Century have developed into a digital mobile age as increasing... more The first two decades of the 21 st Century have developed into a digital mobile age as increasingly the world interacts through hand-held mobile devices and via the mobile Internet. Therefore, a crucial dilemma for educators and learners is how to best integrate mobile technology into a successful learning environment. One potential solution to this problem is podcasting, a still undervalued educational resource, which can offer educators an inexpensive, beneficial and portable learning tool easily accessible through the mobile Internet and on mobile devices. This presentation will provide in-depth detail into ongoing research into the use of podcasts as a learning tool, specifically at the university level. The goal of the research was to integrate podcasting within an English language-learning course and to observe and analyse any benefits and drawbacks. Over the five years the research has been conducted, detailed feedback has resulted in an 82% favourable disposition by students towards the use of podcasting as a central tenet of their learning process. Additionally, the presentation will focus on experience gained during the last nine years of a publishing a free language-learning podcast in which the presenter will outline how anyone, teaching any subject, can cheaply develop and publish their own highquality podcast. An easy to follow step-by-step guide will be made available to all conference participants that will detail free useful apps, mobile-technology and easy-to-use software that can be useful when creating and publishing podcasts for any level and subject.
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, Mar 1, 2017
This article describes the organization, setup , and evaluation of an exciting new program which ... more This article describes the organization, setup , and evaluation of an exciting new program which is attempting to help first-year university students improve their English speaking and writing skills. Known as Hiroshima University's Program for English Communication (HiSPEC), the program is part of the "Super Global University" initiative, which attempts to create Japanese leaders who have excellent English communication abilities. Here, we focus on the first half of HiSPEC, which is oriented towards speaking skills and the TOEIC ® Speaking test. Students with the highest English entrance exam scores from some faculties were identified and grouped into "small classes," with about 15 students in each. Those non-English majors received instruction from native English-speaking instructors for 90 minutes one day per week during a semester, and took the TOEIC Speaking Test near the beginning of the semester and about 10 weeks later. Results showed that the students' TOEIC Speaking Test scores generally improved, but the improvements were not statistically significant. In questionnaires, students overwhelmingly stated that they enjoyed the courses and, thanks to the program, they had become even more motivated to improve their English conversation skills in the future. The instructors, meanwhile, reported that even though the test scores did not significantly improve, the small class sizes had positive effects on students' English speaking abilities and motivations. Yet, some teachers questioned the validity of using the TOEIC Speaking Test to motivate students, and also expressed concern that there was not enough instruction time between the two test administrations for significant improvement to be expected. The implications are described here.
INTED proceedings, Mar 1, 2019
INTED proceedings, Mar 1, 2017
In the 21st century it has become clear that more and more languagelearning pedagogical materials... more In the 21st century it has become clear that more and more languagelearning pedagogical materials have begun to shift to a digital mobile-access format and away from being a textbook and classroom based one. High quality languagelearning podcasts can provide a cheap, beneficial and portable technology that allows learners the freedom to access useful materials whenever and wherever convenientespecially through smartphones. However, despite the low cost involved in producing and accessing podcasts, educational institutions still seem reluctant to fully utilise them as an integral part of the language-learning process. This presentation will outline the structure of a comprehensive study that analysed the communicative abilities of 102 university freshmen students undertaking a compulsory English oral communication course. The study was divided into a traditional model that was centred-around a paper textbook and digital model where no textbooks were used and the course was structured around a series of high-quality, pedagogically sound English language podcasts. It was found that students progressed in similar ways during the course, regardless of the pedagogical materials used.
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, Mar 1, 2014
The huge growth in ownership of smartphones amongst university students in Japan means that acces... more The huge growth in ownership of smartphones amongst university students in Japan means that access to podcast content has become freely available to users who may download them and use them anywhere and anytime. Yet the focus, content and access the majority of university students have with podcasts is usually tightly controlled by the language instructor. This paper will first provide a background to the growing potential of podcasting within the field of mobile language learning, and then present the results of a study of a synchronised learning podcast-based course at Hiroshima University in which the student participants completed a project to create their own English language podcasts. The paper will conclude with the results from a survey of 61 non-English faculty students conducted at Hiroshima University. BACKGROUND There is a popular cartoon available on the Internet (Cartoon Stock, 2013) that shows a world-weary classroom teacher and a young student engaged in conversation. The student is offering an excuse for non-completion of an assignment by arguing "Had you subscribed to my podcast, you would have learned that my dog ate my homework". What is interesting is not that this cartoon is an accurate representation of a teacher-student interaction, but how podcasts are now perceived to have an accepted place in education (Rosell-Aguillar, 2007) through the reworking of an old homework-themed joke. Yet despite the growing number of English language podcasts available through the Internet-the figure is estimated to be around 115,000 (The Myndset, 2012)-previous educational studies have concluded that university students are still reluctant to engage with podcasts outside of the traditional boundaries of a language-based course (Lauer, 2011). In other words, students are willing to comply with the necessities of completing a course and thus gaining a grade, but once that has been accomplished the desire to continue with any learning materials introduced through that course is highly diminished. Diane Laurillard states in her groundbreaking publication Rethinking University Teaching that academic learning is more than just acquiring knowledge in a traditional academic setting, such as a classroom (Laurillard, 2002). The aim of this paper is to show how the expanded ownership of mobile technology (specifically smartphones) in correlation with an increased awareness of the potential attributes afforded by podcasts, can assist in the language-learning process particularly at the university level.
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, Mar 1, 2016
In a comprehensive longitudinal study, the English communicative abilities of 102 Japanese univer... more In a comprehensive longitudinal study, the English communicative abilities of 102 Japanese university freshmen were analyzed in detail during one semester. Two teachers each taught two courses; in one course a textbook was used, and in the other course podcasts were used. There were several controlled variables, including starting language abilities and student majors. A series of communicative language tests were given at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester. Importantly, the experimental method used here partially mirrored an influential study published by Gilmore (2011), which found that utilizing "authentic materials"-which were mostly Web-based-seemed to be more effective than utilizing textbooks. Thus, the goal of the present study was to confirm Gilmore's findings by determining which pedagogical materials were more effective in improving students' oral abilities: textbooks or podcasts. It was found that students progressed in similar ways, regardless of the pedagogical materials used. For example, students in all four classes improved their scores on listening tests by an average of about 10%, this improvement being statistically significant (p < .05). And, on average, students in none of the classes noticeably improved their vocabulary-grammar scores much. On audio recordings of students having conversations in English, there were remarkable improvements during the semester in all classes with respect to both fluency (number of words uttered during 3 minutes) and the correct pronunciation of /l/. But none of the classes, when taken as a whole, seemed to improve other spoken grammatical trouble spots, such as use of grammatical articles or prepositions. The results seriously question Gilmore's contention that Web-based materials are better than textbooks. BACKGROUND In the 21 st century, it is clear that more and more English pedagogical materials have moved from being textbook-based to being based on the Internet. Such Web-based materials are often said to be "authentic," this word referring to materials which have been created for native speakers and are taught to second language students unaltered (Rafalovich, 2014). But authentic materials also can be defined more broadly as "a stretch of real language, produced by a real speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message of some sort" (Morrow, 1977, p. 13). This latter definition includes language between nonnative speakers, and it excludes text created specifically to teach certain lexicogrammatical items. Thus, well-written dialogs, focusing on culture or news rather than language, can be called authentic. In any case, a great deal of research has found that authentic materials are motivating (e.g., Day, 2004; Peacock, 1997).
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, 2019
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, Mar 1, 2021
本論文では，広島大学外国語教育研究センターで実施したTOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テストの結果を報告する。広島大学が2014年に文部科学省の「スーパーグローバル大... more 本論文では，広島大学外国語教育研究センターで実施したTOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テストの結果を報告する。広島大学が2014年に文部科学省の「スーパーグローバル大学創成支援タイプA：トップ型」を受ける13大学の一つとして認定されたことを受け，本センターでは2016年に小規模編成型英語授業プログラム，HiSPEC プログラムを開始した。本論文で実施報告をするTOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テストは，このプログラムの成果を評価するために導入されることとなったものである。HiSPEC プログラムは2年後に中止となったが，TOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テストはその後も通常カリキュラムの下で2019年まで4年連続で実施された。本論文では，2016年から2017年までのHiSPEC プログラムの下でのTOEIC® Speaking and Writing IP テスト実施を振り返り，2018年と2019年の通常カリキュラムの下での実施への移行について，2019年のスコア報告を中心として述べる。スピーキングとライティングの総合的なスコアを見ると，2019年が四年間で最も成果をあげた年であり，比較的短期間で学生のスコアを向上させることができた。しかし，ライティングのみのスコアの向上は，過去3年間の成績に比べて小さいものであった。
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, Mar 1, 2021
前例のない時代，新型コロナウイルスの世界的パンデミックの間に教育機関は「新しい日常」に迅速に適応することを求められた。そこでは，授業は従来の教室の設定からデジタル領域へと姿を変えた。「双方向オン... more 前例のない時代，新型コロナウイルスの世界的パンデミックの間に教育機関は「新しい日常」に迅速に適応することを求められた。そこでは，授業は従来の教室の設定からデジタル領域へと姿を変えた。「双方向オンライン学習」は，教育者と学習者にとっての新しいパイプとなり，「Zoom」などの言葉は，動詞ではなく固有名詞としての使用がより一般的となった。しかし，安全で便利，かつ教育学的にも適切な学習環境を早急につくり出すにあたり，学生のプライバシーに関する懸念は無視されたのだろうか。授業を迅速にオンラインに移行する必要があったために，学生のプライバシーが犠牲にされてきてはいないだろうか。本論文では，日本の国立大学で実施され，学生のプライバシーがオンライン 授業によって不必要に侵害されたかどうかについての学生の反応を分析した調査の結果を示す。その結果では，学生は オンライン 授業に参加しながら予想外のプライバシー侵害に用心し続けているが，生配信のテレビ会議の使用についてはそこまで深刻に心配していない，ということがわかった。しかし，オンライン 授業が永続的に学生の大学生活の一部になるのであれば，学生は明確に定義されたプライバシーポリシーの範囲が採用されることを望む，ということもこの調査は示した。
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, Mar 1, 2020
Hiroshima studies in language and language education, Mar 1, 2019
This article builds upon previous research investigating the integration of TOEIC ® Speaking and ... more This article builds upon previous research investigating the integration of TOEIC ® Speaking and Writing tests with small group classes (Uenishi et al., 2017; 2018). These classes have been designed to address some of the challenges Hiroshima University faces as one of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's designated "Top Global Universities", particularly in relation to helping students develop the language skills needed in an increasingly globalized world. Started in 2016, the program, known as "HiSPEC", is an experimental one, designed to boost the English abilities of those students with the best English skills during their first-year studies. The focus is on developing students' productive abilities, especially their writing skills. The teaching of writing skills in secondary education in Japan has traditionally been neglected, with the emphasis instead being placed on written content (Gosden, 1996). Similarly, Sadoshima (2008) has noted that at the tertiary level the traditional Japanese academic system places little importance on English writing in the curriculum, although it is taught at a rudimentary level. HiSPEC involves the creation of small-sized classes, with students chosen on the basis of entrance examination results; TOEIC ® Speaking and Writing tests have been integrated into the course schedule. BACKGROUND HiSPEC 2016 has been well documented in our previous two articles (Uenishi et al., 2017; 2018). Consequently, only a summary is provided here. The program involves groups of students from four of the university's faculties: Education, Engineering, Integrated Arts and Sciences, Biological Sciences. Two groups of students are selected from each faculty. In 2016, five instructors were involved, and had the autonomy to teach in their own way. Participating students studied spoken communication in the first semester and writing skills in the second semester. They were given a TOEIC ® Speaking and Writing test close to the beginning of the academic year, TOEIC ® Speaking near the end of the first semester, and TOEIC ® Writing close to the end of the second semester. At the end of the HiSPEC program, feedback was obtained from the students in the form of a questionnaire and instructors also reflected on their own experiences. Regarding TOEIC ® Speaking and Writing results for HiSPEC 2016, the first and second writing test averages showed an improvement, with a t-test showing a significant difference. In contrast, the first and second test average scores for the speaking test showed no improvement. These results might be attributed to instructors taking time to adjust to the new program, so that the later course (writing) yielded better results compared to the earlier one (speaking). However, another factor might be the nature of the tests themselves
Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series, 2019
This chapter focuses on the pedagogical and linguistic benefits that podcasting offers language l... more This chapter focuses on the pedagogical and linguistic benefits that podcasting offers language learners in a world that is becoming increasingly centered around mobile technology. The huge growth in the number of mobile devices owned, the expansion of the mobile internet, and the development of cheaper ways to access online information offers both learners and instructors an ideal opportunity to access specifically prepared content whenever and wherever it is convenient for them to do so. Language learning should be much more than just acquiring knowledge in a traditional academic setting such as a classroom or within a tightly structured and controlled language course. Therefore, this chapter will conclude with a detailed analysis of how podcasting can empower learners to move away from traditional settings and attitudes to language acquisition by individualizing the learning process.
There is no doubt that Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and mobile mediated communication ar... more There is no doubt that Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and mobile mediated communication are linked as technology continues to transform the way we communicate with each other. Campbell (2019) analyzed how mobile communication evolved into portable devices to form a complete system of mobile media, reshaping the fabric of our social lives via 'sociality' and 'spatiality'. In this short paper, we would like to offer a brief overview of the diverse oral presentations which took place in the joint CMC and MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) Special Interest Group (SIG) symposium at the online conference this year. This short paper will introduce various online apps which are available for free in both computer-based and mobile versions and can be adapted to foreign language learning in various ways.
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Conference advertising by Jaime Selwood
Conference Presentations by Jaime Selwood
The course used in the research project focused primarily on improving general English oral communication skills. Each class contained between 20 and 35 students, from different faculties within the university as well as from a broad range of language abilities and motivations. In each year of the research four courses were included as part of the study with a total of 294 students – all of them non-English native speakers.
Papers by Jaime Selwood
The course used in the research project focused primarily on improving general English oral communication skills. Each class contained between 20 and 35 students, from different faculties within the university as well as from a broad range of language abilities and motivations. In each year of the research four courses were included as part of the study with a total of 294 students – all of them non-English native speakers.