Behavior of Science and Engineering Students to Digital Reading: Educational Disruption and Beyond

This paper investigates the impact of digital reading during educational disruption on science and engineering students' learning experience. Before the pandemic, some studies explored whether university students preferred using printed or digital resources for their academic readings. Amidst the pandemic, online learning became essential. Several studies showed students' preference for printed text. This paper extends a pilot study that was conducted during the first COVID-19 wave in China. A survey consisting of Likert questions and open questions was designed using MS-Forms. The survey was shared with the science and engineering students in Years 2–4 (Levels 1–3) of their study at SWJTU-Leeds Joint School, Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China. This covered students from four undergraduate programs: Civil Engineering with Transport, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science. In total, 223 students participated in this study. The survey was anonymous and was made available to students for a month. The participation rate is nearly 27%. Findings indicate that the behavior of science and engineering students toward digital reading was different than other majors, and it is generally favorable. The necessity for online learning during educational disruption has encouraged some students to develop their digital reading skills. © 2023 by the authors.

Readwell: A Book Recommender Android Application with a Point-of-Sales System

The COVID-19 pandemic has given people much free time. With this, the researchers want to encourage these people to read instead of scrolling through social media. A barrier to reading for many people is not knowing what to read and disinterest in popular books that they would find when they search online. The existing websites that encourage book reading rely on social networking for their recommendations, while the collaborative filtering algorithms applied to books do not exist in the mobile application form. Readwell is a book recommender Android app with a Point-of-Sales System created using Java, Python, and SQLite databases. The information regarding the books was web scraped from the Goodreads website. It aims to apply the more efficient collaborative filtering algorithm to an accessible mobile application that allows users to directly buy the books they are interested in, thus encouraging the reading and buying of books. The researchers created unit test cases to validate the different functionalities of the application. © 2022 IEEE.

Establishment and application of triple PCR method for CPV, CCoV and CRV

Canine parvovirus (CPV), canine coronavirus (CCoV) and canine rotavirus (CRV) are the three main causative viruses of diarrhea in dogs with similar clinical symptoms;thereby it is necessary to establish a high effective molecular detection method for differentiating the above pathogens. By optimizing the primer concentration and annealing temperature, a triple PCR method was established for simultaneous detection of CPV, CCoV and CRV, and then the specificity, sensitivity and repeatability of the method were tested. The results showed that the target fragments of CPV VP2 gene (253 bp), CCoV ORF-1b gene (379 bp) and CRV VP6 gene (852 bp) could be accurately amplified by the triple PCR method with high specificity, the detection limits of CPV, CCOV and CRV were 6.44x10-1 pg/L, 8.72x10-1 pg/L and 8.35x10-1 pg/L respectively with high sensitivity, and the method had good stability. Using this triple PCR method, 135 canine diarrhea fecal samples collected in Chengdu region from 2019 to 2020 were detected, and compared with those of single PCR method. The detection rates of CPV, CCoV and CRV were 16.30%, 20.74% and 4.44%, respectively, and the total infection rate was 51.11% (65/135) with 20.00% (13/65) co-infection rate. The detection results were consistent with three single PCR methods. In conclusion, CPV/CCoV/CRV triple PCR method successfully established in this paper can be applied as an effective molecular method to detection of related pathogens and to the epidemiological investigation.

Reading Habits of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adults

Few studies exist on the reading habits of the deaf population, and most of those that do were published more than 20 years ago. Hence, changes in reading habits due to the availability to the deaf population of online reading material and portable electronic devices have likely occurred. Additionally, in the hearing population, confinement causes changes in reading habits. We used an online questionnaire to compare the reading habits of 102 deaf and hard of hearing adult residents of Spain both before and during COVID-19 confinement. In general, more reading occurred during confinement, although not all participants showed this pattern: Regular readers read more during lockdown. Motivations for reading were largely unaffected by confinement. Furthermore, the time spent reading was not related to the availability of books at home: More was read in digital format during confinement.

A 'novel' approach to inculcating life skills

Reading is an important life skill and competency. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the reading culture got threatened as the purchase of books declined significantly, and encouraging reading skills emerged as a bigger challenge. However, setting up a reading club online in the postpandemic world and discussing books while using kindles, e-books, and open-source materials might hold the key. This chapter deals with the set-up of a 'Novel Room' at Jai Hind College, India (Autonomous higher education institute), which is a book discussion club, and the success had with it. Seventy-two individuals are mapped in the data, which is by and large positive. Through the feedback data collected, this chapter analyzes a semi-quantitative study that highlights the role of such student-centric clubs, especially book discussion clubs can foster healthy reading habits and developing other soft skills such as empathy, self-confidence, creativity, and ability to deal with social problems. © 2023 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Writing and reading fiction behind the lines: Creative learning on the home front

The purpose of this paper is to investigate writing and reading that would engage postsecondary students under crisis conditions in which face-to-face peer and teachers' support might not be available. In this project, I am looking at how students can use writing and reading fiction to understand their own experiences in being locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting with a one-paragraph short story to a fully developed narrative with plot, characterization, theme, and narrative voice, writing assignments lead to a growing realization of how reflection and writing emerge from the body, the mind, and the imagination. Reading a novel, Deafening (2003), by Frances Itani, shows students how a writer links battle scenes from World War I to the flu epidemic on the home front. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021. All rights reserved.

Digital Reading Check-Ins: Supporting Independent Digital Reading

We know that teacher support during independent reading can greatly impact the growth and development of beginning readers. However, the rapid conversion to online learning in the 2020-2021 school year required teachers to rethink and retool traditional strategies to meet the needs of their online learners. This teaching and learning guide explores the use of a digital reading check-in strategy to support beginning readers as they read independently on digital platforms. We explain how this strategy was implemented successfully in a first-grade classroom and how it can be employed with any digital reading platform used in classrooms today.

Reaching Rural Students with Resources and Enrichment-Focused Learning in the Summer Months

Each student selected books during the last week of school and during the last days of the summer program, so that they had access to books when school was not in session. Since book ownership is an important motivator for reading, the students kept their books and were treated to one additional book on the last day of the program, when they took a field trip to a bookstore. Study Design Reallocating school resources required a research focus with data collection and analysis for continued approval of summer program funding. The mixed-methods design of the study included quantitative data (e.g., registration, attendance, STAR reading scores, Likert scale questions on student and parent questionnaires) and qualitative data (e.g., student focus groups, open-ended questions on student and parent questionnaires). Parents' written consent and students' assent were provided for STAR reading, focus group, and questionnaire data collection each summer.

Is That Plausible?

Specifically, when evaluating the connections between sources of information and knowledge claims, it is important for students to reconsider the plausibility of competing claims. [...]as students work through the six steps, they are prompted to ask "Is it plausible?" when evaluating competing claims. Using this strategy, students are likely to come across information that fits into one of the following categories: misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation (see Table 2). [...]perhaps a student reads an article that falsely claims only women can contract the human papillomavirus (HPV) and states that the virus causes cervical cancer as evidence for this claim. To do this, students should check the source by asking the following questions: * Who wrote the article and where did the information first appear online? * Is the person who wrote it an expert, or did the author draw the information from expert sources? * Did the information appear on a reputable outlet? * Does the author have a financial or political motivation for making the claim that could compromise their objectivity?

An evaluation of headsprout early reading as an online parent-mediated intervention for primary school children

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and lengthy absences from the classroom, there is a need for large-scale remedial programs to support young children to "catch-up" on literacy and numeracy skills. A stratified randomized controlled trial was used to evaluate the Headsprout Early Reading (HER) program as a parent-mediated digital literacy intervention. A between-groups design compared differences in reading-dependent outcome measures for 36 children assigned to one of three intervention groups: with support, without support, and waitlist-control. Children completed significantly more episodes when parents received implementation support from the researcher compared to the without support group. Children receiving Headsprout instructions demonstrated marginally greater gains than the waitlist-control group in posttest outcome measures;however, differences in reading outcomes were not significant between groups at posttesting. The current research provides tentative support for HER and importantly, highlights the importance of providing support for parents implementing interventions at home. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Big challenges, small solution: Microcourses at the University of Oklahoma

[...]microcourses are an ideal vehicle for high-impact, cohort-building projects-experiences that can never substitute for study abroad but that can contribute to a cohesive learning community. [...]the writing assignments consisted of short response papers of 200-250 words in length in German that students posted on the course discussions page to elicit comments and questions from their peers. [...]microcourses provide an ideal workshop-like format for the development of particular linguistic skills that are sometimes overlooked in a language curriculum, such as translation, sustained listening, dramatic reading techniques, or explication of data (Grafikbeschreibung). [...]microcourses are exceptional at fostering a sense of community.

It's Worth a Shot

The presentation contained information about the virus, how it spreads, the vaccine, who should and should not take it, when it is recommended to be taken, how it invokes an immune response on a cellular level, and what role protein synthesis plays in the vaccine. Students and their partners were given one of seven viruses to research: measles, mumps, rubella, influenza, hepatitis B, rabies, or COVID-19. Students researched the disease and its vaccine type using credible sources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), Johns Hopkins University, etc. Students answered the following questions: * How does the virus spread? * What are the symptoms of the virus? * How common is the virus? (statistical number) * What does the virus look like? (include picture with antigens shown) * When is the vaccine recommended by the CDC? * How often does the booster for the vaccine need to be taken? * Who should not receive the vaccine? * How does the vaccine work on a cellular level? (Be specific about the type of vaccine and how it invokes an immune response) * What role does protein synthesis play in the vaccine? * What is the vaccine efficacy or effectiveness? * Does the vaccine do any of the following: * Change the host cell's DNA? * Give the person the disease?

Academic reading as a social practice in higher education

In this study, an undergraduate teacher education course is used to explore whether and how academic reading seminars reflect the theoretical notion of academic literacies and provide a learning environment for developing academic and professional learning and engagement. The data analyzed in this article are transcribed recordings of small group activities where students discuss scientific articles based on a template. First, our empirical analysis shows that the use of the template facilitated dialogical discussions and the development of a cognitive skillset and disciplinary categories when used in a social setting. Second, we found that the most challenging part of designing a reading practice related to the academic literacies tradition was fostering a dialogical environment for discussing the validity of findings across different contexts and provide for discussions encompassing complexity, nuances, and meaning making. We found traces of such discussions in all the transcripts;however, many examples were in a premature stage. The paper concludes with a discussion on, and some suggestions for, further development of the template used in the reading seminars. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Higher Education (00181560) is the property of Springer Nature 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 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 . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Occurrences of similar viral diversity in campus wastewater and reclaimed water of a university dormitory.

Water reuse from wastewater sources still remain some critical safety concerns associated with treacherous contaminants like pathogenic viruses. In this study, viral diversities in campus wastewater (CWW) and its reclaimed water (RCW) recycled for toilet flushing and garden irrigation of a university dormitory were assessed using metagenomic sequencing for acquisition of more background data. Results suggested majority (>80%) of gene sequences within assembled contigs predicted by open reading frame (ORF) finder were no-hit yet believed to be novel/unrevealed viral genomic information whereas hits matched bacteriophages (i.e., mainly Myoviridae, Podoviridae, and Siphoviridae families) were predominant in both CWW and RCW samples. Moreover, few pathogenic viruses (<1%) related to infections of human skin (e.g., Molluscum contagiosum virus, MCV), digestion system (e.g., hepatitis C virus, HCV), and gastrointestinal tract (e.g., human norovirus, HuNoV) were also noticed raising safety concerns about application of reclaimed waters. Low-affinity interactions of particular viral exterior proteins (e.g., envelope glycoproteins or spike proteins) for disinfectant ligand (e.g., chlorite) elucidated treatment limitations of current sewage processing systems even with membrane bioreactor and disinfectant contactor. Revolutionary disinfection approaches together with routine monitoring and new regulations are prerequisite to secure pathogen-correlated water quality for safer reuse of reclaimed waters.

The Effect of Android Application on EFL Students' Mastery of Research Method for Applied Linguistics Course

Covid-19 pandemic has forced online classes to be conducted mostly without proper introduction and preparation. This shift also made teachers and students gradually accustomed to independent learning. Several mobile applications have been developed for foreign language learning. However, only few Android applications were developed for non-linguistic courses offered by foreign language departments at the university level. The effectiveness of such an application to improve students' learning in universities, therefore, has not been conducted. This article reports the finding of a quasi-experimental research on the effect of using an Android application tailored for Research Method for Applied Linguistics students at an English department on their mastery of the course. The research data were collected through tests and a documentary study and calculated using ANCOVA statistical calculation. With the course mastery as the dependent variable, the use of Android application as the independent variable, and reading skills as covariates, the research revealed that the use of Android Learning Application significantly improves the EFL students' mastery of Research Methods for Applied Linguistics course. Further researchers are suggested to study the effect of the use of Android learning application on EFL students' mastery of a non-language course with significantly different students' levels of reading skills.

Investigation on health and professional consciousness and mental health of military medical students during coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic

Objective To understand the health and professional consciousness and mental health of military medical students during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. Methods From Feb. 17 to Feb. 20, 2020, an electronic questionnaire was used to investigate the attitudes and coping styles of military medical students towards quarantine and delay of school opening, their attitudes towards online teaching, and health and professional consciousness during COVID-19 epidemic;and their mental health status was scored by symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90). Results A total of 2 736 valid questionnaires were collected. The students basically understood and agreed with the quarantine and delay of school opening during the epidemic, and 70.83% (1 938/2 736) supported online teaching. During the quarantine period, 85.31% (2 334/2 736) of the students chose to listen to music or watch TV series for relaxation, and 64.69% (1 770/2 736) insisted on learning, reading literatures or writing papers. Students could basically form the habits of washing hands frequently and wearing masks, and their consciousness of health protection was higher than that before the epidemic. For military medical students, their professional beliefs and determination have been strengthened during the epidemic, and many students wanted to join in the fight against the epidemic. The survey found that 12.94% (354/2 736) of the students had mental health symptoms, and the top 3 SCL-90 factors were obsessive-compulsive disorder (78.53%, 278/354), interpersonal sensitivity (64.12%, 227/354), and depression (44.07%, 156/354). Conclusion During the epidemic, military medical students can generally adapt to the difficult environment and improve themselves. The mental health problems of military medical students have their own characteristics, special attention must to be paid, and the humanistic education of medical students should be strengthened.Copyright © 2022, Second Military Medical University Press. All rights reserved.

No evidence of a major learning slide 14 months into the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark

We study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's academic performance in Denmark 14 months into the pandemic using nationwide and exceptionally rich data on reading test scores and family background (N ≈ 200,000 per year). We find no evidence of a major learning loss. While pupils in grade 8 experienced a three percentile points loss in reading performance, pupils in grades 2 and 4 experienced a learning gain of about five percentile points, possibly resulting from school closures being significantly longer among older (22 weeks) than younger children (eight weeks). Importantly and in contrast to pre-registered expectations, we find little evidence of widening learning gaps by family background. Further analyses point to that all of these patterns were already in place a few months into pandemic, suggesting that learning gaps did not widen during subsequent, longer school closures. We also find some indication that boys and low-performing pupils suffered more from school closures than girls and high-performing pupils, but these differences are minor. We discuss which political measures may have been instrumental for overcoming the COVID-19 learning slide in Denmark. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of European Societies is the property of Routledge 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 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 . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Where are we now?

(For more information on the behavioral aspects of MTSS, see https://mtss4success.org/resource/ integrating-SEL-within-MTSS.) MTSS provides 3 levels of intervention: tier 1 (universal) interventions that are available to all children;tier 2 interventions that are intensive, individualized supports, and often provided in a small group setting;and tier 3 interventions that are more intensive and individualized and may include referral for consideration of special education services.1 Foundational aspects of the model include as follows: O universal screening to identify children who are having difficulties;O tailoring intervention to meet student need;and O systematically monitoring student progress. Federal regulations provide states and local school districts with a substantial amount of flexibility when implementing MTSS to ensure that programming and intervention can be tailored to the needs of their communities.1 Critics of the model point out the need for timeliness in the monitoring phase to avoid students spending too long in a lower-level intervention.2 How are learning disabilities diagnosed? The role of the pediatrician in promoting literacy skills Encouraging families to read with young children and provide exposure to language and book promotes foundational reading skills. In general, individuals with reading difficulties are atriskforpoor-er health and vocational outcomes, so early identification and intervention are especially important.11 Closing the loop Getting back to our case, IK's pediatrician can obtain a bit more history about the nature of his reading difficulties and provide advice to his family to contact the school about his progress.

The Impact of COVID: Case Study of an Academic English Reading Course at Qassim University

This paper contributes to the burgeoning field of research investigating the educational effects of COVID. A questionnaire with both open and closed questions was administered to female takers of an Academic English Reading course at a Saudi university, eliciting responses about aspects of the quality of delivery of that course before and after the onset of COVID. From this quantitative and qualitative student evaluation of traditional class teaching (TCT) versus emergency remote teaching (ERT), some findings emerged that echoed those in the few comparable studies in the West. For example, certain features like the greater autonomy of the student in ERT than TCT were liked by some students but not others, while features such as the superiority of teacher-student communication in TCT were more uniformly approved. Furthermore, predictions from the literature such as that favouring TCT would be associated with greater self-efficacy, or a greater perceived degree of transactional interaction between student and teacher were not supported in the context of this study. Analysis of suggestions for ERT improvement leads to the conclusion that, at present, it may be that students need training to exploit the existing ERT, rather than that the ERT to be altered. © 2023 Manal Saleh M. Alghannam.