Colin Harrison | University of Nottingham (original) (raw)

Papers by Colin Harrison

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those ... more The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Skills. ... This report is made available for educational purposes. Please do not copy or cite without permission of the DfES, who hold the ...

Often in the course of researching for an assignment, project or dissertation you'll be expected ... more Often in the course of researching for an assignment, project or dissertation you'll be expected to deal with a large quantity of reading-books, conference papers or journal articles. See the 'Academic Reading' guide for some general notes, but this guide is aimed at helping you through the process of quickly managing a lot of journal articles. The principles apply to conference papers as well. 0. Overview Take a quick look at the article in its entirety. How many pages is it? Is it dense with figures, equations, or illustrations? This will give you an idea of how much time you may need to devote to it. You may find that it's poorly written or written at a level that's too difficult to read and you would be better reading other articles. You should also be able to establish whether you're looking at primary literature-an article presenting new findings, research, survey results etc; or secondary literature-book reviews, editorials, literature reviews and so on. Think about why you're reading the article. Are you looking for ideas for a topic to cover in an assignment or dissertation? Or are you looking for evidence to support arguments you're making? This may well affect how long you wish to devote to skimming or reading an article. 1. Title Look at the title of the article-usually a journal article title will be quite detailed and informative. Is it really covering what you need to read? Does it have a subtitle? If it's not relevant, move on to something more useful; if it's tangentially relevant consider saving it for another time. 2. Journal Title and 3. Other bibliographic information Look at the rest of the bibliographic information. Author-is this a recognized name in your subject area? Are there multiple authors implying a research team? Is there information about where they're from or where they're researching? (In the example above, look just under the author's name.) All of this can give you some context concerning the paper. Journal title-is it a very wide ranging and perhaps prestigious journal (e.g. Nature) or something very specialized (e.g. the one in the example)? Even information such as the volume number might give clues as to whether this is a new journal title or something long established. Again, it will give you some context.

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2016

oral panic about reading achievement appears to afflict most English-speaking nations from time t... more oral panic about reading achievement appears to afflict most English-speaking nations from time to time, and when this occurs, stories of a decline in achievement appear regularly in the media. Referring to the first skills survey by the OECD, The New Yorker asserted, "In basic literacy,…younger Americans are at or near the bottom of the standings among advanced countries" (Cassidy, 2013, para. 1). In the United Kingdom, The Guardian newspaper told a similar story: "England's young people near bottom of global league table for basic skills" (Ramesh, 2013). Australian students apparently fared no better, even with an emphasis on basic skills: "Focus on basic skills blamed for decline in reading standards" (Patty, 2010). In case you're wondering whether achievement levels are higher in New Zealand, the birthplace of Reading Recovery, Radio New Zealand (2013) reported, "New Zealand's scores in reading, maths and science examined by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012 have fallen since the previous test in 2009" (para. 4). So, have reading achievement levels really fallen in all of these countries, and if they have, what should be done? These are the questions that will be addressed in this column.

Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2004

This paper focuses on online learning experiences of students from a range of disciplines, drawin... more This paper focuses on online learning experiences of students from a range of disciplines, drawing on and presenting outcomes from the SOLE (Students' On l i n e Learning Experiences) project. SOLE, funded by LTSN and JISC, has undert a k e n e valuations of the learning experiences of students using virtual learning e n v i ronments (VLEs) across five disciplines. The paper will introduce the study and p resent a summary of key findings on several aspects including the way in which the VLE was embedded in the pedagogy, tutor and student roles and communication issues. The paper concludes with a discussion of some emergent themes and the ro l e of the discipline in the design and implementation of online learning experiences.

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2009

A central challenge for schools in considering the adoption of social network and creative media ... more A central challenge for schools in considering the adoption of social network and creative media (Web 2.0) technologies is how to support children to engage in productive and creative social learning while protecting them from undue risks. This paper reports findings from a survey and interviews with children aged 11-16, teachers and parents on their attitudes to e-safety and their practices at school and at home. The results showed that 74% of the children surveyed have used social network sites and that a substantial minority regularly interact socially online with people they have not met face to face. Online interaction forms a different, though overlapping, social space to that of face to face friendships. Despite a desire from some teachers to explore the benefits of Web 2.0 for creative and social learning, they report being constrained by a need to show a duty of care that avoids worst case risk to children, to restrict access to social network sites. The respondents also report more direct concerns about internet bullying and exam cheating. We also report a Policy Delphi process with a panel of 30 people with expertise in Web 2.0 and e-safety, to propose, elaborate and then rank 'positions' (informed defensible viewpoints) on e-safety for their desirability and feasibility of implementation. The Delphi panel reached a general consensus that schools should move towards allowing access to Web 2.0 sites, with children being educated in responsible and creative learning.

The Reading Teacher, Nov 1, 1993

Literacy to study issues and initiatives in family literacy from a global perspective. Earlier ap... more Literacy to study issues and initiatives in family literacy from a global perspective. Earlier approaches to family literacy cen tered primarily on parents as partners in help ing their children learn to read. That perspec tive is naturally important, but with vast changes in the demographics of schools and communities, family literacy needs to be approached in a much broader context. Specifically, the commission will main tain the earlier perspective, but also focus on issues related to" environments which enable adult learners to enhance ...

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 1992

A program was developed to examine the computer skills of 180 school leavers and 190 workers in i... more A program was developed to examine the computer skills of 180 school leavers and 190 workers in industry. The 25minute task tested skills of using a mouse, typing information, and ordering parts for a LEG0 construction. In general, school students performed better than the workers in industry, and males better than females. These results are attributed to the greater familiarity of males w i t h computers, particularly in school, where differences in scores were particularly significant.

This report presents evidence relating to Web 2.0 practices as they are currently realised in the... more This report presents evidence relating to Web 2.0 practices as they are currently realised in the educational community at Key Stages 3 and 4. It is one of several reports on Web 2.0 that can be accessed from the Becta website at: http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_rp_02&rid=14543

Becta | Impact study of e-portfolios on learning • the potential of e-portfolios for learning • w... more Becta | Impact study of e-portfolios on learning • the potential of e-portfolios for learning • which aspects of existing projects have an impact on learning • whether these are transferable.

This report explored teaching practices, beliefs and teaching styles and their influences on ICT ... more This report explored teaching practices, beliefs and teaching styles and their influences on ICT use and implementation by pupils. Additional factors explored included the value of school and LEA policies and teacher competence in the use of ICT in classroom settings. ImpaCT2 was a major longitudinal study (1999-2002) involving 60 schools in England, its aims were to: identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out-of-school environment; determine whether or not this impact affected the educational attainment of pupils aged 816 years (at Key Stages 2, 3, and 4); and provide information that would assist in the formation of national, local and school policies on the deployment of ICT

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2018

From the psychology of Bruner (1997) to the literary analyses of Hardy (1977), theorists of mind ... more From the psychology of Bruner (1997) to the literary analyses of Hardy (1977), theorists of mind have argued that we learn, and we live, through narrative. Both asserted that through the deep engagement that comes with encountering new narratives, we inhabit new worlds, we cross borders that have no walls, and in fact, we become ourselves. If reading constitutes a vital route to selfactualization, then it becomes important to ask what moral responsibilities come with the role of being a teacher of reading. What are the moral responsibilities of a reading teacher? I tried asking this question to a number of friends and colleagues, and their answers were remarkably consistent. They tended to feel that a reading teacher does not have any particular moral duties. Yet, I want to suggest that teachers do indeed have three moral duties: to read to their students, to read with their students, and to read for themselves.

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy

Handbook of reading research, 2000

This brief paper summarises current key trends in current reading research in the UK. It focuses ... more This brief paper summarises current key trends in current reading research in the UK. It focuses on two areas in particular – literacy and reader development, and provides examples of ongoing research in both fields. Recent literacy-based research has been influenced by the implementation of the Government’s National Literacy Strategy, and by subsequent initiatives such as the National Year of Reading and the National Reading Campaign. Reader development activity has grown significantly in recent years, to the extent that the Government has allocated two years of funding specifically to projects in this area, and widespread research is ongoing to investigate the outcome of these projects. The paper concludes with a brief examination of research methodologies, and of a possible increased recognition of the efficacy of qualitative data to demonstrate the value and impact of reading.

The Reading for Real Handbook 2nd Edition The Reading for Real Handbook provides a readable and a... more The Reading for Real Handbook 2nd Edition The Reading for Real Handbook provides a readable and authoritative account of current theories which underpin reading and the teaching of reading, and offers practical guidance on how to implement these theories. This new ...

The Becta research project on Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4 has five pr... more The Becta research project on Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4 has five primary objectives:

Journal of Computer …, 2009

Abstract This paper reports findings from a survey and interviews with children aged 1116 years,... more Abstract This paper reports findings from a survey and interviews with children aged 1116 years, teachers and parents on their attitudes to e-safety in relation to social networking and media creation (Web 2.0) and their practices at school and at home. The results showed ...