Word Processing Skills Research Articles

Utility value of improving writing skills for adult basic education students

AbstractMotivational research identifies utility value, or the importance of a learning task to future goals, as central to motivation to learn. This study analyzed survey data (N = 86) collected from adult literacy learners to examine their utility value of writing improvement in grammar and spelling skills, word processing skills, and planning, drafting, and revising skills. Findings revealed that participants had a high utility value of improving writing in all three skill areas and possessed a variety of underlying motivations, including obtaining further education, seeking future employment, and personal reasons. Participants' age, educational attainment, and reading levels showed relationships with utility value of improving grammar and spelling skills, and age showed an additional relationship to utility value of improving word processing skills. This work extends research on motivation in this population and supports the application of expectancy‐value theory to both adult motivation and writing motivation.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Skills as Correlate of Business Education Lecturers’ Instructional Effectiveness in Colleges of Education in South-South Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria

This study examined ICT Skills as correlate of business education lecturers’ instructional effectiveness in Colleges of Education in South-South Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria. Six specific purposes, research questions and null hypotheses guided the study. The design chosen for the study was correlational research design. The population of the study comprised one hundred and seventy-three (173) business educators in seven (7) colleges of education in the study area. ICT Skills Test (IST) and the Instructional Effectiveness Questionnaire (IEQ) were used to collect data for the study. The instruments were validated by three experts and tested for reliability using K-R 20 for ICT skills Test (IST) and Cronbach Alpha coefficient for Instructional Effectiveness Questionnaire (IEQ). The result for ICT Skill Test using K-R 20 was 0.97 and that of Instructional Effectiveness Questionnaire, using Cronbach Alpha coefficient was 0.91. Data collected from the respondents were analysed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) to answer the research questions, while the null hypotheses were tested using t-test associated with simple regression. Findings of the research questions revealed that word processing and database management skills have high positive correlation with business education lecturers’ instructional effectiveness. Findings of the research hypotheses indicated the following: There is a significant relationship between word processing skills and business education lecturers’ instructional effectiveness and there is a significant relationship between database management skills and business education lecturers’ instructional effectiveness. The educational implication of the study is that skills are needed to efficiently use at least the elementary functions of ICT in instructional effectiveness. Therefore, it is crucial for institutions operating business education programmes to recognize the importance of ICT skills and provide ample support and resources to their lecturers in order to ensure their instructional effectiveness in the digital era. It was recommended among others that institutions of learning through its ICT unit should offer workshops and seminars to help lecturers stay updated with the latest advancements in ICT skills such as word processing and database management skills.

ICT Skills and Competencies as Determinant to Reading Habit of LIS Undergraduates in Kwara State University

This study investigates ICT skills and competencies as determinant to reading habit of LIS undergraduates in Kwara state university. The study adopted a Proportional stratified method, where the number of participants from each subgroup was determine by their number relatively to the entire population. The sample size of the study was 306 respondents which cut across all the levels of LIS students in Kwara State University. Data was collected using a questionnaire which was distributed to the 306 respondents in which all the copies of questionnaire were retrieved and used for the study. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentage and frequency count. The findings of the study were: word processing skills, spreadsheet skills and technical skills (maintenance) while on a contrary view minority disagreed with Software design skills and website design skills as the ICT skills that influence reading habit of LIS undergraduates. The study also found out that ICT is used for learning, mastering a range of assessment paradigins, and career development as ICT competencies that influence reading habit of LIS undergraduates. The study recommended that(i)Tertiary institutions offering LIS need to be provided with ICT facilities by the appropriate authorities to enhance the preparation of LIS students for the world of work. (ii)There should be a policy to ensure that all academic research study (project, thesis, dissertation, seminar, conference) are always presented in electronic form.

Evaluating Entrepreneurial Skills Needed by Business Education Students for Self-employment in Colleges of Education, Kano State

This study evaluates the entrepreneurial skills needed by business education students for self-employment in colleges of education in Kano state. Two research questions guided the study. The population for the study was 913 final-year, business education students across the three selected colleges of education in Kano State. The sample size for the study was 256 final-year students in the selected schools. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A 19 items structured four-point rating scale questionnaire, duly validated by experts in the field of business education, measurement and evaluation, and English language was used for the data collection. The instrument was subjected to a pilot test and a reliability coefficient of 0.95 which was taken to reliably determined using the Cronbach Alpha ( ) co-efficient. The data collected for the study were analyzed using percentage scores for the personal data of the respondents and mean scores with a benchmark of 2.50 and above accepting the questionnaire items and the grand mean. The study revealed that Managerial skills, Word processing skills, and Practical entrepreneurial skills among others were identified as entrepreneurial skills needed by business education students for self-employment. Poor funding, lack of adequate infrastructure, and corruption among others were also identified as the constraints hindering the effective acquisition of entrepreneurial skills by business education students. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills is necessary for making graduates of business education to be productive and self-reliant after graduation. As a way forward, it was recommended among others Provide mentorship and coaching: Students need guidance and support as they develop their entrepreneurial skills. Governments and schools can provide mentorship and coaching programs that connect students with successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. These programs can provide students with advice, feedback, and networking opportunities that can help them succeed.

Implementation of Office Technology and Management Curriculum Towards Acquisition of Word Processing Skill

Implementation of Office Technology and Management Curriculum Towards Acquisition of Word Processing Skill

Implementation of Office Technology and Management Curriculum Towards Acquisition of Word Processing Skill

Implementation of Office Technology and Management Curriculum Towards Acquisition of Word Processing Skill

PROFILE AND EFFICACY TO THE TEACHERS’ SKILLS IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the teacher?s profile and the efficacy of the teachers? skills in Information and Communication Technology. Specifically, it once determines the following: First, the profile of the respondents in terms of age, civil status, educational attainment, gender, specialization, and training or seminars attended relative to ICT. Next, is the level of teacher?s efficacy in terms of adaptability, flexibility, growth mindset, and patience. Then the extent of teacher?s skills in using ICT relative to data management, email management, internet navigation, word processing and touch-typing skills. It also determines if the profile and efficacy have a significant relationship to the teachers? skills in ICT. Most of the respondents were aged 30 and below, female, married, with Master?s Units, with 3-4 seminars and training related to ICT, and teaching all subject areas. The teachers? efficacy in terms of adaptability, growth mindset, and patience were very high while flexibility was high. The extent of Teachers? skills in using ICT relative to Data Management, Touch Typing, and Word Processing were interpreted as To a Great Extent while Email Management and Internet Navigation skills were To a Very Great Extent. Teachers? age showed a significant relationship in terms of Data Management, Email Management, Internet Navigation skills, Touch Typing, and Word Processing Skills while teachers? civil status, educational attainment, gender, specialization, and training or seminars attended have no significant relationship. Teachers? efficacy such as adaptability, flexibility, growth mindset, and patience showed significant relationships in terms of Data Management, Email Management, Internet Navigation skills, Touch Typing, and Word Processing Skills. Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were drawn, the profile of teachers was partially accepted in the use of ICT tools in chosen elementary schools in Nagcarlan District. The teachers? efficacy has a significant relationship with the use of ICT tools in chosen elementary schools in the Nagcarlan District. Based on the conclusions of this study, the following recommendations were formulated. To be more computer and information literate, comprehensive and extensive computer literacy programs for teachers may be conducted frequently to meet the needs of the teachers. Using ICT in doing work tasks such as preparing lessons and reports, communicating online, searching for information and other related activities may be strengthened to lessen the burden of teacher?s workloads

Computer laboratory resources and learning of word processing among business and home economics education undergraduates

This study investigated the utilization of laboratory resources for the learning of word processing by business and home economics education undergraduates. The study achieved four objectives, answered four research questions and tested four null hypotheses. The descriptive research design was adopted and the study conducted in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, using 505 business and home economics education undergraduates with 92 respondents sampled using convenience sampling technique. Data were analysed using simple linear regression analysis. Utilization of keyboard, monitor, printer and Microsoft Word, and learning word processing, has significant relationship. It is concluded that the learning of word processing cannot be effective without the utilization of keyboard, monitor, printer and Microsoft Word. It is recommended that business education stakeholders should contribute towards the provision of keyboard, monitor, printer and Microsoft Word in computer laboratory for acquisition of word processing skills by undergraduates.

USING ICT TO SUPPORT STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA

Dyslexic students often have the excellent joint capability, yet many fail to get the mastery of reading. The signs of dyslexia may affect many fields of learning and activities. They may be characterized as a combination of difficulties that influence the learning process in reading, spelling, or writing. It is mainly connected with mastering written language, although spoken language may also be affected. The application of information and communications technology (ICT) is a vital tool to rectify gaps and weaknesses for students who have difficulties spelling and writing and can be highly favorable to dyslexic students. Developing word processing skills allows people with dyslexia, particularly those with scanty motor skills, to better present their work and frees them from the process of writing. Mastering typing and word processing skills are life skills, and the struggle taken up in learning to type will be well recompensed (Beveridge, 1999). In this paper, We will examine the characteristics of dyslexic children and how ICT can facilitate some of their weaknesses and enable them to succeed in taking more control over their learning. We also consider what the advantage and disadvantages to children with dyslexia of using a computer are.

SKILLS NEED OF BUSINESS EDUCATORS FOR UTILISATION OF SYNCHRONOUS INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY IN TEACHING BUSINESS EDUCATION COURSES IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

<p>The main purpose of the study was to determine skills need of Business Educators for utilisation of synchronous instructional strategy in teaching Business Education courses in Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria. Three specific objectives and three research questions were raised, while three hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 276 respondents made up of 164 Business Educators and 112 Computer Education lecturers from 10 State Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria. The sample of the study was 163 respondents made up of 97 Business Educators and 66 Computer Education lecturers from 10 State Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria. Convenient sampling technique was adopted to select respondents for the study. The researcher developed instrument titled Skills Need for Utilisation of Synchronous Instructional Strategy Questionnaire (SNUSIS) was used to obtain data for the study. The instrument was face validated by three research experts in University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The internal consistency reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha which yielded a coefficient of 0.81. The data collected were analysed using Mean and Improvement Need Index to answer the research questions, while hypotheses were tested using t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that there is no significant difference in the Mean rating of Computer Education Lecturers and Business Educators in word processing skills need for utilisation of synchronous instructional strategy in teaching Business Education courses in Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria. The findings also revealed that there is a significant difference between the Mean rating of Computer Education Lecturers and Business Educators in spreadsheet and PowerPoint skills need for utilisation of synchronous instructional strategy in teaching Business Education courses in Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that management of Colleges of Education should provide opportunity for Business Educators to undertake more training on word processing, spreadsheet and PowerPoint through Seminars, workshops and conferences to enhance their ability to utilise synchronous instructional strategy in teaching Business Education courses in Colleges of Education in South-South Nigeria.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0954/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Frequency effects in reading are powerful – But is contextual diversity the more important variable?

AbstractFor decades word frequency has been one of the most important variables in psycholinguistics. Frequent words are more easily recognized and processed more efficiently than rare words. In the fields of word recognition and psycholinguistics, all researchers are reminded to statistically control for word frequency. But is that advice still correct? Are other variables which are correlated with word frequency more important for human language processing? These questions have arisen because of the recent construction of text corpora of billions of words. Also important is the growing practice of archiving word recognition data in databases accessible for anyone to mine. A key result is that words that typically appear in restricted contexts are processed less efficiently than words appearing in diverse contexts. But the new variable of contextual diversity hasn't simply replaced word frequency. This paper traces the history of contextual diversity findings, including the twists and turns towards a more sophisticated understanding of what makes words easy to learn and process. Myriad findings of the last 20 years are discussed: the rational theory of memory, spacing effects in learning, phrase frequency effects, the neural basis of repetition suppression, and why reverse frequency effects are observed in semantic aphasia. Methods reviewed include artificial language learning, event‐related potentials, and eye movement studies. The result is a new appreciation that word processing skills emerge from complex brain networks which include information about words' typical contexts of occurrence.

Perception Of Office Managers on Technology Skills Possessed of Secretaries in Colleges of Education for Managing Information in Enugu State

The study was undertaken to determine the perception of office managers on technology skills possessed by secretariats in colleges of education for managing information in Enugu State. The researcher employed a descriptive survey research design. The study population consisted of 90 office managers from two government owned colleges of education in Enugu State. There was no sampling since the size was manageable. The instrument for the data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher entitled: “Technology Skills Possessed” by Secretaries Questionnaire (TSPSQ). The instrument was duly validated by three experts. The reliability was done using Cronbach Alpha which yielded coefficient of 0.68; indicating the instrument was reliable. The two research questions was answered using mean with standard deviation. While the null hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance using t-test. Results of data analysis relating to the study have shown the following. Networking skills are highly possessed by secretaries as perceived by office managers in colleges of Education for managing information in Enugu State. The office managers equally perceived that word processing skills are highly possessed by their secretaries for managing information. The hypotheses tested, showed that there was no significant difference between office managers in federal colleges of education and their counterparts in state on their perception on technology skills possessed by their secretaries for managing information. Based on the findings, it was recommended that secretaries should be allowed to update their technology skills by attending regular conferences. Keyword: Office Managers, Technology Skills, Secretaries and Colleges of Education . DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-18-14 Publication date: September 30 th 2021

Information and Communication Technology Word processing skills’ In-Service Training for Computer Teachers in Secondary Schools in Nsukka Education Zone

Information and Communication Technology Word processing skills’ In-Service Training for Computer Teachers in Secondary Schools in Nsukka Education Zone

Investigating the Reliability and Accuracy of Teachers’ Judgement in Assessing Writing

Based on two different types of researches, this article explores how teachers’ judgements for the school performance of pupils in the last three grades of the elementary school, relate to their performance in written assessment tests. The aim was to examine the teachers’ judgement accuracy and reliability, and investigate the individual factors that influence them. A series of tests was assigned to the pupils and a variety of writing and word processing skills was measured. The classroom teachers assessed the pupils based on their responses to the objectives of the curriculum in all subjects. They put a numerical score from 5 to 10. Also, the teachers assessed the pupils with Learning Disabilities in the language skills, as well as for the occurrence or not of specific behavioral problems, by completing a Likert 5-point questionnaire. In the first study, the results showed significant correlations, for more tests, at a high level. In the second study, they were low and medium. It seems that teachers evaluate the school performance of their pupils significantly based on their performance in writing tests. However, their judgments about school performance are broader and assess pupils’ overall ability in a variety of subjects. The correlations between the two measurements appear to be influenced by several factors related to the class level or school, the pupils' abilities, the type of test, and the way of assessment.

Reading Failure in a Completely Transparent Orthography Representing a Morphologically Highly Complex Agglutinative Language: the Case of Turkish

This study investigates differences in the word processing skills of students with and without reading difficulties who read Turkish, an entirely transparent orthography. Thirty-five students diagnosed as poor readers and 51 typically developing controls were tested across two experiments, one that assessed their ability to process identicalness of isolated real words as opposed to pseudowords and another that assessed their ability to judge semantic relatedness of two real words. Participants were from two education levels; half of them were 3rd-4th graders and half were 6th–7th graders. An integrative view of the findings points to an apparent failure of Turkish poor readers to develop a lexicalized reading route that mediates word recognition by means of permanent orthographic knowledge. Moreover, their ability to effectively process word letter sequences along a non-lexical grapheme-to-phoneme conversion-based reading route was found to be seriously restricted. Findings are discussed with direct reference to orthographic transparency, dual-route reading theory and the orthographic self-teaching concept.

Cross-situational and ostensive word learning in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Numerous experimental studies have shown that infants and children can discover word meanings by using co-occurrences between labels and objects across individually ambiguous contexts—a phenomenon known as cross-situational learning. Like typically developing children, high-functioning school aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are capable of cross-situational learning. However, it is not yet clear whether cross-situational learning is similarly available to children with ASD who are younger and show a broader range of language and cognitive abilities. Using eye-tracking methodology, the current study provided the first evidence that preschool and early school-aged children with ASD can rely on cross-situational statistics to learn new words. In fact, children with ASD learned as well as typically developing children with similar vocabulary knowledge. In both groups, the children with the highest cross-situational learning accuracy were those who showed the best familiar word processing skills. Surprisingly, children in both groups learned words equally well in the cross-situational task and an ostensive word-learning task, which presented only a single label-object pairing at a time. In combination, these results point to similarities in the word learning abilities available to typically developing children and children with ASD.

XML-based e-assessment system for Office skills in open learning environments.

Learning and teaching systems have seen fast transformations being increasingly applied in emerging formal and informal education contexts. Indeed, the shift to open learning environments is remarkable, where the number of students is extremely high. To allow a huge amount of learners gaining new knowledge and skills in an open education framework, the recourse to e-assessment systems able to cover this strong demand and respective challenges is inevitable. Facing Office skills as those most frequently needed in education and business settings, in this paper, we address the design of a novel assessment system for automated assessment of Office skills in an authentic context. This approach exploits the powerful potential of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and related technologies by transforming the model of both students’ documents and answers to an XML format and extracting from the teacher’s correct document the required skills as patterns. To assign a mark, we measure similarities between the patterns of the students’ and the teacher’s documents. We conducted an experimental study to validate our approach for Word processing skills assessment and developed a system that was evaluated in a real exam scenario. The results demonstrated the accuracy and suitability of this research direction.

Lexico-semantic deficits in people with right hemisphere damage: Evidence from convergent naming tasks

Abstract The right hemisphere (RH) continues to attract considerable scientific attention on its word processing skills. Despite extensive research in this direction, consensus on this issue is lacking. In this context, the present study explored the influence of right hemisphere damage (RHD) on word retrieval (i.e., oral naming) tasks. We administered a battery of 10 convergent naming tasks on a group of 22 right-handed persons with RHD as well as on an equal number of neurotypical age-, gender-, handedness-, and literacy-matched (i.e., control) participants. The comparison of accuracy scores and errors obtained from the two groups revealed significantly poorer performance in the RHD group except on one task (i.e., definition-naming). Additionally, analysis of errors revealed a preponderance of semantic errors. These findings support the role of the right hemisphere in word processing.

Examining the Relationship between Letter Processing and Word Processing Skills in Deaf and Hearing Readers

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between letter processing and word processing skills in deaf and hearing readers. The participants were 105 students (51 of them hearing, 54 of them deaf) who were evenly and randomly recruited from two levels of education (primary = 3rd-4th graders; middle = 6th-7th graders). The students were tested with four computerized paradigms assessing their processing of isolated letter/word pairs under perceptual and conceptual conditions. In both the computerized paradigms, we used the DMASTR software developed at Monash University and at the University of Arizona by K. I. Forster and J. C. Forster for stimulus presentation and data collection. All the experiments were conducted in a quiet room in the participants' schools by a trained experimenter. Findings from the present study show that deaf participants processed letter/word pairs more slowly than their hearing counterparts but with similar accuracy, and that a significant relationship existed between letter and word processing skills in both the deaf and hearing readers tested in this study.

Using Technology To Create A Dynamic Classroom Experience

There are a multitude of diverse technologies available for integration in the college classroom, but considering how to implement these initiatives can be overwhelming to the instructor. The adaptation of this technology is often very simple and involves little more than the Internet and basic word processing skills. A review of the multimedia applications, which are inexpensive (often free), easy to implement, and require limited technology skills, is covered. Multimedia items that can be easily implemented in the college classroom include animation, slideshows, blogging, instant messaging, podcasting, and video on demand. Multimedia, which uses the Internet as its transfer mechanism, can be an effective method of creating a dynamic college classroom experience.