Designing the User Interface of an Interactive
Software Environment for Children
D. Grammenos, A. Paramythis, C. Stephanidis
Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas
Science and Technology Park of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, GR-71110 GREECE
e-mail: {gramenos, alpar, cs}@ics.forth.gr
Abstract. This design experience paper reports on the preliminary design of the user interface of an interactive software environment for children 4-8 yeas old, which supports the creation of an ‘electronic diary’. The paper focuses on the design rationale, and on the specification of the interaction with the system. More specifically, the outcomes of the interaction design process (i.e., a user interface specification) are presented, along with the issues and problems that had to be tackled, as well as the adopted solutions and the followed assumptions and conventions.
1. INTRODUCTION
The “Today’s Stories” project (see Acknowledgements) aims to develop the social, communicative and emotional skills of children through a collaborative reflective activity based on the interesting events that take place during a day. This is to be accomplished by empowering children to create a diary of interesting events during the day. The creation of the diary consists of two stages. First, during the day, children can capture events by using a wearable camera (the KidsCam). The same event can be captured by different children, thus providing alternative views. Then, by the end of the day, the collected material is transferred (automatically, through a wireless network) to a workstation (the Magic Mirror), where children can view, annotate and edit it, by using an appropriate software tool (the Diary Composer), thus constructing their Today’s Stories. The users of the Diary Composer are children between 4 and 8 years old, from two different countries (Denmark and Israel), as well as their teachers.
During the early phases of the project, requirements and context analysis activities, as well as brainstorming and discussion sessions took place and cooperative inquiry techniques (Druin, 1999a) were employed (whith children) in order to shape the requirements and the high-level concepts upon which the user interface was to be developed (Today’s Stories Consortium, 1999; Koutra et al., 2000). This paper builds upon the outcomes of the aforementioned activities and reports on the preliminary design of the user interface of the Diary Composer, focusing on the design rationale, and on the specification of the interaction with the system. The high-level goals of the performed design activity were to:
? Convey available functionality in a highly visual form and do not rely on textual representations, in order for the system to be language independent as well as usable by younger children that can not read, since “highly visual menus and icons appear to be appealing to children and easy for them to understand and use” (Wilson, 1988).
? Create an open learning system1 (Jonassen et al., 1993) which can be adapted to suit the children preferences and cultural background (e.g., by adding self-made annotation symbols) and skills (e.g., by customising the functionality offered).
? Incorporate interactive elements and provide adequate metaphors (Erickson, 1990) that are intuitive both in terms of the function they represent, but also in terms of how they are to be operated upon (i.e., provide affordances (Norman, 1988)).
? Make the presentation and interaction appealing to children by making all the components of the user interface (inter)active and by providing feedback to indicate ‘successful’ interaction steps (Norman, 1988; Cooper, 1995), through animation (Baecker, Small, 1990) and audio effects (Mountford, Gaver, 1990) that on the one hand facilitate the comprehension of the concepts, and on the other hand promote and support exploratory styles of interaction.
? Create a ‘forgiving’ environment where there is no ‘incorrect’ or ‘wrong’ input and where active support and guidance is offered whenever needed (Cooper’s “Don’t make the user look stupid” and “Make errors impossible” design principles (Cooper, 1995)).
? Be gender-neutral (but also gender-customizable) and avoid the pitfalls of gender-oriented (and usually male-oriented) design (Furger, R., 1998).
? Avoid the use of cumbersome input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse) and interaction techniques (e.g., double-click).
The ultimate goal was to provide a transparent user interface, so that children can focus their energies on their activities and not on the interface (Norman, 1990), since if the children’s attention is focussed on the interface itself, then it gets in the way of exploration and knowledge construction (Winn, 1993).
2. DESIGNING THE USER INTERFACE
One of the problems encountered when designing the user interface, was that, although several related software products2 targeted to the same user groups (a number of them are described in: Today’s Stories Consortium, 1999; and in: Druin, Solomon, 1996) is available in the market, the relevant literature is relatively limited. Usually, what is described in literature is the final interface design and the high-level process followed to achieve it, but often a number of issues are neglected or missing, such as: (a) user interface design alternatives and decisions; (b) the design rationale; and (c) empirical data concerning the usability and value of the designs after testing them with children, and on how testing affected the redesign of the system.
Some helpful general user interface design guidelines for children were found in (Nicol, 1990) and (Druin, 1999a), as well as an illustrating example of a movie authoring and design system (but targeted to 12- to 14-year-old children). Furthermore, a comprehensive list of guidelines for the design of educational software is provided in (Temple University, 1999), but it is oriented towards course-based software.
1 According to (Jonassen et al., 1993) open learning systems are those which are: (a) need driven; (b) learner-initiated; and (c) conceptually and intellectually engaging.
2 Although the system described in this paper shares some common aspects with them, it differs considerably in respect to its philosophy, educational goals and offered functionality.
Along with the above, children- and education-related sources, design knowledge, experiences, and collections of guidelines on more ‘conventional’ user interfaces were also taken into account, such as (Galitz, 1997; Howlett, 1996; Norman, 1988; Shneiderman, 1998; Tognazzini, 1996; Weinschenk et al., 1997; Wood, 1998), as well as sources on cultural diversity issues (Galdo & Nielsen, 1996; Fernandes, 1995; Nielsen, 1990). Additionally, an interesting insight and guidelines on direct manipulation and drag and drop can be found in (Cooper, 1995).
The following sections describe the outcomes of the interaction design process (i.e., a user interface specification), along with the issues and problems tackled in the design phase, the adopted solutions and the followed assumptions and conventions.
2.1. Functional Specification
The following are the principal functional specifications of the Diary Composer (Today’s Stories Consortium, 1999):
The Magic Mirror ‘mode’
A Magic Mirror metaphor is used to familiarise children with the system. When the system is inactive it emulates a mirror by displaying on its screen the video input that is captured through a video camera positioned on top of the workstation.
The Video Explorer ‘mode’
When a child, or more, holding KidsCams approach the Magic Mirror, the Workstation switches to video review mode where all the video clips captured by the KidsCams that are in a short range are presented as thumbnails. The children can select, delete or send (to a friend) a video clip, or can review the clips of a previous day. If more than one video clips are related to the same episode, then they are presented linked to each other, so that a multiple perspective view of the event can be provided.
The Video Composer ‘mode’
When one, or more, video clips are selected from the Video Explorer, the system enters to annotation mode. Here children can collaboratively annotate the selected video clips. Children are also able to insert and remove picture, sound effects and voice annotations. Furthermore, a mechanism for extending the collection of the existing annotation symbols / sounds is provided. Video playback functions are also be supported (e.g., play, stop, fast), as well as volume control and a mechanism to close some of the opened video clips (in order to concentrate in one or two of them). Finally, children can delete video clips, switch the annotations on and off, save the annotated video clips and of course return back to the Video Explorer.
In addition to the above, on-line, context-sensitive help to all tasks is also provided. Because of the nature of the system and the particular characteristics of the target user group, a touch screen was selected as the preferable input device, but mouse (or equivalent pointing device) input is also supported, in order to enable use of the system on ordinary PCs (e.g., for home use).
2.2. The Magic Mirror
The user interface works like a ‘mirror’. The input from a camera positioned on top of the magic mirror (workstation) is displayed (inverted to simulate a mirror) on the screen. When one or more children approach within a predetermined distance from the Magic Mirror (this is detected through their camera signals) the user interface automatically switches to ‘Video Composer’ through a ‘dissolve’ effect.
2.3. The Video Explorer
2.3.1. Requirements and constraints
According to the project specifications (Today’s Stories Consortium, 1999), a ‘timeline’ metaphor was adopted for representing the functionality related to reviewing the video clips stored in the KidsCam. A timeline is a horizontal line, spanning from the left to the right side of the screen, on which thumbnails of the video clips are placed according to the point in time at which they were captured (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: A timeline
A number of requirements concerned the use of the timeline metaphor (Koutra et al., 2000): (a) Due to both technical and complexity reasons, the maximum number of concurrently
visible timelines was limited to 3. All the available video clips from a single day should be visible in the timeline window, so as to avoid back and forth movement (i.e., scrolling) in the timelines.
(b) Children should be allowed to delete video clips from the timeline and have access to a
previous day’s “Today’s Story”. [Initially, an upper limit of 4 video clips per timeline was assumed, but it was also required to accommodate a considerably larger number of video clips.]
(c) If a video clip was annotated, the annotated version (including maybe an icon
representing the ‘annotated’ status of the icon) should be presented on the timeline instead of the original one.
(d) Video clips referring to the same episode should be explicitly linked and should act as a
group (e.g., if any one of them was selected then all of them should be selected).
In the light of the above mentioned requirements and constraints the design of the Video Explorer’s user interface addressed a number of issues which are discussed in detail in the following subsections.
2.3.2. Content and meaning of the timelines
A timeline contains video clips that are captured within a single day. In other words, the timelines within the ‘Video Explorer’ represent a time frame of today. Two design options were considered:
(a) the timelines would always represent the same (fixed) time frame (e.g., from 8 a.m. to 2
p.m.); or
(b) they would represent a variable time frame which is proportional to the period in which
the separate video clips were captured.
If option (a) was selected, in the case that all the video clips were captured in a short period (e.g., between 9 a.m. and 11. a.m.) more than half of the available space would be left blank (Figure 2). Since the available screen estate is quite limited and the size of video thumbnails should be maximised, the part of the timelines that have no thumbnails (the ‘white space’) should be minimised. Thus, option (b) was considered as more appropriate.
Figure 2: Fixed time-frame timelines window
An additional problem stemmed from the non-scrollable timelines approach (and was inherent in both of the above options): in the case that the video clips of different children concentrated on different time periods (e.g., child X shot 4 video clips between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., while child Y shot 4 video clips between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.) it was impossible for the timelines to accommodate both the large time range (from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and the large concentration of thumbnails in little screen space without overlapping of the thumbnails (Figure 3). This problem is addressed by the Isis Story builder (Kim, 1995) through focusing on groups (cliques) of temporally close elements and letting the user work with only of them at a time – but this solution requires some kind of scrolling or switching between groups of thumbnails, which in this case was decided (following the project’s requirements) not to be supported.
Figure 3: A problem with non-scrollable timelines
However, since the activity of video capturing was expected to be performed by children at scheduled (i.e., determined) points in time (e.g., during the break, or during a visit to a museum), it was expected that the various video clips will be, more or less, concentrated in close points in time. Thus, it was decided that the timelines should represent a variable time frame varying according to the period in which the separate video clips were shot.
To calculate this time frame the following formula was adopted:
? Start of the timelines = the quarter of an hour that is before (the time of the earliest video clip minus a quarter of an hour) – e.g., if the first video clip was shot at 8.35 a.m., then the start of the timelines would be the quarter of an hour that is before (8.35 – 15 = 8.20) which is 8.15 a.m.
? End of the timelines = the quarter of an hour that is after (the time of the latest video clip plus a quarter of an hour) – e.g., if the last video clip was shot at 1.35 p.m., then the end of the timelines would be the quarter of an hour that is after (1.35 + 15 = 1.50) which is
2.00 p.m.
An analogue time-scale is then adjusted on the timelines. The reason why quarters of an hour are used is that they can be conveniently represented. Furthermore, a quarter of an hour is subtracted and added to the start and end of timelines, respectively, in order to avoid having thumbnails at any one of the ends of the timelines.
Figure 4: Representation of a time-frame
In order for the start and end time of the timelines to be easily understandable, a small clock (along with a time indication below it) is added over the start, medium and end of the timelines (Figure 4). Although this information might be redundant (or useless) for younger children that are not able to read or understand the time, it can be quite useful to older children (or to the teachers) in order to be aware of what the timelines represent, since this changes dynamically. Children that can not read have the option of hearing the time simply by touching on the clock. In any case, the actual usefulness of the clocks, as well as the appropriateness and timing of presentation for different age groups will be investigated during the evaluation of this preliminary design with children.
In addition to the above, the three timelines have different colours and patterns so that children can distinguish their own timeline. The same colours and patterns are used to frame the thumbnails, in order incorporate them on the timelines and provide a coherent image, but also make it possible to distinguish the ‘author’ of each video clip during the annotation phase. Furthermore, a small picture of the child’s face (or another picture selected by the child) is presented at the beginning of each timeline (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Distinguishing the timelines
2.3.3. Placement of the thumbnails on the timelines
An inherent problem of the thumbnails is that although they represent a single point in time (i.e., they correspond to a single pixel of a timeline), they have considerable size and span over several pixels. This means that if two consecutive thumbnails correspond to two close points in time, they will probably overlap. A way to minimise this problem is to minimise the size of the thumbnails. On the other hand, as the size of the thumbnails decreases, so does their clarity (it becomes more difficult to see their content), and their ease of use (it becomes more difficult to select them). Additionally, the size of a thumbnail can not be less than 64 x 48 pixels, in order for it to be large enough for being selected using a finger on a touch screen. Furthermore, the screen resolution for which the application is designed is 1024 x 768,and a part of the screen is devoted to a ‘toolbar’ (see below). As a consequence of these constraints, it is impossible to place more than 10 thumbnails on the same timeline.
Last, but not least, the fact that thumbnails belonging to different timelines but corresponding to the same episode (i.e., point in time) should be someway linked together imposes an additional constraint on the layout of the thumbnails, as well as to their size, since part of the screen should be devoted to visualise the linking.
Taking into consideration the above constraints, two different design approaches were proposed:
(a) a less general approach which has the advantage of being quite simple and easy to use and
understand, and therefore more suitable for the younger children; and
(b) a more general approach, supporting the display of a larger number of thumbnails, but
more complex, and therefore suitable for older children.
Following approach (a), some constraints arise concerning: (i) the number of the thumbnails; (ii) the time frame during which thumbnails were captured; and (iii) thumbnails’ distribution over time. Thus, (i) the maximum number of video clips that are transferred from the KidsCam to the Video Explorer is considered to be less than, or equal to, 4; (ii) all the video clips are captured in, more or less, the same (limited) time frame (e.g., from 9.15 a.m. to 10.45 a.m.); and (iii) all the video clips belonging to the same timeline are captured in intervals such that their thumbnails do not overlap when positioned on the timeline. These three constraints guarantee that the thumbnails can be placed on the timelines without incurring in the problems discussed in Section 2.2.2.
Two or more video clips referring to the same episode are surrounded by a coloured frame, with a semi-transparent background. Since there are only 3 timelines, the following 3 combinations can arise (Figure 6):
Figure 6: Alternatives for linking related video clips
As mentioned above, placing the thumbnails directly on the timeline might lead to overlapping between them. In the approach (b), the solution adopted to overcome this problem– is to place the thumbnails alternatively over and under the timeline, and link them to it through a line (Figure 7). If the minimum thumbnail size (64x48 pixels) is used, there is enough space for up to 20 thumbnails on a single timeline, a number that is possible to accommodate ‘advanced’ use of the system. The maximum thumbnail size that can be used is 128 x 96 pixels (this is constrained by the vertical size of the screen) and offers up to 10 thumbnails per timeline at an acceptable resolution.
Figure 7: Linking thumbnails to timelines
When the minimum thumbnail size is used, a preview (or ‘zoom’) function is provided to help identifying thumbnails’ contents: when one or more video clips are selected a larger version is presented (Figure 8). Then, if the child presses / clicks on the zoomed video clips, the Video Composer is called, while if the child presses / clicks anywhere else, he / she returns to the Video Explorer. A coloured circle with a semi-transparent background surrounds two or more video clips referring to the same episode. Since there are only 3 timelines, the combinations illustrated in Figure 9 can arise.
Figure 8: Zooming in the video clips
Due to the lack of literature and software relevant to the above tasks, this solution represents only a preliminary finding (based on expert knowledge in the HCI and educational software domains) on the usability and appropriateness for the target user groups. Thus, the optimal parameter values (e.g., maximum number and size of thumbnails per timeline) and adequacy of the solutions for different user groups, will be investigated and defined collaboratively with children.
Figure 9: Alternatives for linking related video clips
2.3.4. Additional functionality offered by the user interface
In addition to the above functions, children should be allowed to delete a video clip (and undo the deletion), send / give it to a friend, view a previous day’s ‘Today’s Story’ and get help. It is quite obvious that all these functions can not and should not be implemented directly on the timelines. Additionally, most of them are ‘horizontal’ in the sense that they are also used in other parts of the system (e.g., in the Video Composer). In a ‘traditional’ window-based user interface those functions would belong to a toolbar. Because of the overall style of the suggested user interface, instead of a typical toolbar, part of the screen is separated and ‘populated’ by interactive objects that provide the above functionality. These objects are:
2.3.5. Sketches and visualizations of the Video Explorer user interfaces
The above steps lead to the creation of the following sketch (Figure 10) of the Video Explorer user interface for approach (a):
Figure 10: Sketch of the Video Explorer user interface – approach (a)
3 A Memory Box is a special I/O device developed by the project. It is a wooden box equipped with infra-red that can store in it data and transmit its contents to a computer.
A sample visualisation of the Video Explorer user interface for approach (a) follows (Figure
11).
Figure 11: A sample visualisation of the Video Explorer user interface – approach (a)
The following (Figure 12) is a sketch of the Video Explorer user interface according to approach (b):
Figure 12: Sketch of the Video Explorer user interface – approach (b)
The above sketches and visualisations should not be considered as ‘final’ user interfaces. They are preliminary mock-ups that are used to illustrate some of the alternative design options. Their usefulness relies in the expressiveness of images compared to text, especially in order to: (a) communicate the design; and (b) constitute a common ground for the designers, the developers, and the other stakeholders (teachers, parents, children) for discussing and clarifying issues, and identifying problems or misunderstandings regarding the user interface and functionality of the future system.
2.4. The Video Composer
When a single thumbnail or a group of thumbnails is selected through the Video Explorer, the user interface switches to the ‘annotation mode’ (the Video Composer), in which children can view and annotate the selected video clips with pictures, sounds and voice commentary. This section provides a detailed analysis and the design specifications of the annotation user interface, and discuss intrinsic constrains, arising problems and their solutions.
2.4.1. Requirements and constraints
According to the project’s specification (Koutra et al., 2000), children should have access to functionality for video control similar to the one offered by popular video editing software (e.g., Play, Stop, Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward, Slow motion, Volume Control). Additionally they should be empowered to view the original video clip without annotations (i.e., be able to switch annotations on/off). In the case that more than one video clips are open, they should be treated as one, which means that there should be no separate controls for each of them. In this case, children should be able to 'close' (and later open) any of them, so that they can focus on just one or two video clips.
Support for three types of annotations was foreseen: image (i.e., symbols), sound (i.e., effects) and voice (i.e., spoken narrative). Image and sound annotations should probably be selected through some kind of ‘palette’. There should be no restrictions on the number of annotation symbols included in the final Diary Composer system. Annotation symbols could be grouped on separate palettes (e.g., emotions, actions, user-defined). This grouping should not be made explicit to the children and each palette should have a flat structure.
Image and sound annotations should be inserted (in a specific frame) by stopping (pausing) the video clip and then adding an annotation symbol on it. When the annotation procedure is over, the system should automatically add the annotation symbol in a predefined number of frames before and after the selected frame, ensuring that it is visible for a time period that is perceivable by the human eye / brain. Annotations should be automatically saved. Voice annotations should be treated in a different way, due to their nature. It should be possible to insert a voice annotation both while the video clip is playing and on a specific (paused) frame. In the first case the child should be able to add to the video clip a running commentary (in the same way that a sports caster describes a football game). In the second case, the video clip should be paused and a comment should be inserted at the specific point in time.
When more than one video clips are annotated concurrently, the new annotations should not replace the existing ones. Any previously existing annotations should be explicitly deleted / removed by the children.
Finally, children should also be provided with a function for removing annotation symbols, but there should be no function available for removing all the annotations simultaneously (i.e., ‘resetting’ the video clip).
In the following sections, the issues and design decisions concerning the design the user interface of the ‘Video Composer’ and stemming from the above requirements and constraints are discussed.
2.4.2. Supported video control functions and their representation
Concerning the video control functions to be offered in the Video Composer, two options were considered. The first option was to support all the functions available by common video editing programs (e.g., Play, Play Backwards, Stop, Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward, Slow Backward & Forward). The second option was to reduce the set of functions for the sake of simplicity and visual clarity, since the user interface is intended for use by young children. The minimum functions opted for to facilitate the annotation process are: Play (forward & backward), Stop (in the sense of ‘pause’), and Fast (forward and backward). When the system is to be used by very young children, these are reduced to just Play (forward & backward) and Stop.
Video functions are represented by conventional video controls, since (at least the older) children are quite familiar with them (see Figure 13). Another possible representation suitable for very young children makes use of graphics, such as a hare for fast forward, a turtle for slow forward, etc. In addition to the above, children can start and stop a video clip simply by touching / clicking on it. Once more, the aforementioned alternatives, as well as the actual level of video control needed to support the annotation task, will be investigated during the user trials.
Figure 13: Examples of rectangural and round buttons for video control
When more than one video clips are open, only a single manifestation of the video buttons is visible (and not one for each video clip), since (according to the project requirements) they should all treated as one. The buttons are placed on a ‘control box’ (see Figure 14).
Figure 14: Example of video control box
Volume control is performed through the interaction object presented below (Figure 15):
Figure 15: Volume control
If the ‘+’ button is pressed. the volume increases and a sample (short) tone is played. If the ‘-’ button is pressed the volume decreases and a sample tone is played. If the ‘speaker’ button is pressed, a sample sentence is played. Furthermore, in order to provide additional visual feedback, the size of the speaker increases / decreases when the ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons are pressed.
When children wish to focus on just one or two of the video clips, they can close the other(s) through a special ‘handle’, attached on the side of each video clip. When this handle is pressed, the video clip shrinks to a thumbnail which also includes this special handle (Figure 16). The thumbnail is just a ‘still’ picture and thus is not affected by the use of the video controls. When the thumbnail or its ‘handle’ is pressed / clicked, it ‘grows’ back to its normal size and functionality. This function can be omitted when the system is to be used by younger children.
Figure 16: Closing and opening a video clip
2.4.
3. Representation and functionality of the annotation symbols and palettes
The image palette has the ‘look and ‘feel’ of a collection of stickers (e.g., when an image is selected an ‘un-stick’ visual and sound effect is produced), since most of the children are quite familiar with stickers and can intuitively understand their purpose and functionality. When one of these pictures is selected a short description is heard. Two exemplary representations of the image palette are illustrated in Figure 17.
Figure 17: Examples of image annotation palettes
The sound palette looks significantly different than the image palette in order to avoid confusion. Actually, it looks like a CD that has pictures representing sound effects on it. These pictures have a different look than those of the image annotation palette; they all include a small CD icon (Figure 18). When one of these pictures is selected, the respective sound effect is played, along with a visual effect of the picture sticking to the mouse pointer.
Since image and sound annotations are not allowed while the video clip is playing, the image and sound palettes are (and look) inactive during that period and become activated as soon as the video clip is stopped.
Figure 18: Example of a sound annotation palette
In addition to the above, an unlimited number of annotation symbols and multiple annotation palettes are supported through an easy and direct approach: a set of previous / next buttons reside close to each palette and enable the users to browse through the available palettes (see Figure 19). When one of these buttons is pressed, a new palette slides on top of the old one. Offering this functionality is important since “the use of varieties of sign systems can enhance still further our understanding of the constructedness of knowledge, the value of considering multiple perspectives” (Knuth & Cunningham, 1993). This functionality can be omitted when the system is to be used by younger children.
Figure 19: Examples of annotation palettes with previous / next buttons
The annotation palettes can be easily customized by the children, who can fill them with their own items (images and sounds) by using a Memory Box. If the content of a Memory Box is an annotation item, it can be dragged and dropped on an empty position of a (relevant) annotation palette, so as to be added on it. The palettes include empty positions by default, and additionally the children can create more empty positions by deleting existing items. Children can remove palette items, by dragging and dropping them to the trashcan. Undelete is supported through pressing / clicking the trashcan.
The final ‘look and feel’ of the palettes, as well as the annotation symbols that are presented on them, will be shaped collaboratively with children, to appeal to their individual preferences but also to their cultural background. Some suggestions for annotation symbols can be found in (Dreyfuss, 1984; Frutiger, Bluhm, 1998; Horton, 1994; Rudolf et al., 1977).
2.4.4. Video clip annotation
To add an image or sound annotation, first the video clip has to be stopped. Then:
a) To add an image annotation the child drags an image from the annotation palette and
drops it anywhere on one of the video clips. The child can then move the annotation symbol and change its position on the video clip.
b) To remove an image annotation the child drags it from the video clip it resides upon and
drops it anywhere outside the video clip. In case it drops it on another video clip, the annotation is transferred to it.
Sound annotations work in a similar way, with the difference that when the annotation symbol is pressed, the sound effect represented by the symbol is played instead of an ‘un-stick’ sound effect.
Speech annotations are treated differently. Firstly, a microphone control is used instead of a palette. The microphone control is animated (small ‘beams’ of sound appear) when active, to provide relevant feedback. Secondly, there are two alternative ways for inserting voice annotations:
a) ‘Running’ voice annotation (i.e., add to the movie a running commentary, in the same
way that a sports caster describes a football game). The annotation starts and ends by pressing the microphone button. When the video clip is played back, the annotation is played along with it, substituting its original sound. This type of annotation is represented on the video clip by means of a microphone symbol.
b) ‘Still’ voice annotation: First, the video clip has to be stopped. Then, the microphone
button is pressed. The annotation ends either by pressing the microphone button again or by starting the video clip. When the video clip is played back, it (automatically) stops at the annotated point, the comment is played (along with some feedback that the specific annotation is played – e.g., the annotation symbol flashes) and then the video clip is resumed. This type of annotation is represented on the video clip by means of a microphone symbol with a small stop button on it.
It is expected that in the final version of the user interface only one of the above approaches will be supported (to avoid confusion), but the decision of which will prevail will be made after testing of both approaches with actual users.
The presentation of annotations can be switched on and off, through the following two-state button (Figure 20):
State 1
When pressed, annotation palettes become inactive
(and / or hidden) and video
annotations are switched
off. The button changes to State 2. State 2 When pressed, annotation palettes become active (and visible) and video annotations are switched on. The button changes to
State 1.
Figure 20: Annotation switching button
2.4.5. Additional issues and functionality
A toolbar, which is quite similar to that of the Video Explorer, resides on the one side of the user interface. The only difference is that the calendar control is replaced by a control (looking like the ‘back’ button in Figure 21 or like a miniature of the timelines) for returning to the Video Explorer.
Figure 21: Sample ‘back’ button
2.4.6. Sketches and visualisations of the Video Composer user interface
The above analysis and discussion lead to the creation of the following (first) sketch (Figure
22) of the Video Composer user interface:
Figure 22: A first sketch of the Video Composer user interface
An expert usability evaluation (Nielsen, 1994) of the above user interface sketch revealed two possible drawbacks:
(i) the annotation palettes were too far from the video clips;
(ii) the video control and the open / close buttons were ‘mixed’ with the palettes.
These drawbacks were solved by reversing the position of the video clips and their controls (see Figure 23 below). As a result, the video clips provided a physical barrier that separated (and grouped) the video control buttons from the annotation functions.
Figure 23: A sketch of the revised Video Composer user interface
The following (Figure 24) is a sample visualisation of the revised Video Composer user interface:
Figure 24: A sample visualisation of the revised Video Composer user interface
Since the Video Composer provides some complex functionality and might overwhelm or perplex very young children during their first contacts with the system, a simpler version of the user interface, containing only the ‘bare necessities’ for the video annotation task, has also been designed (Figure 25).
Figure 25: Alternative version of the Video Composer user interface for very young children
3. DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
This paper reported on the preliminary design of the user interface of the Diary Composer software of the Today’s Stories project. Since the user interface is intended for use by very young children (4-8 years old) the design relies highly upon visual rather than textual interaction. The resulting environment is intended to be aesthetically pleasing and appealing to children, while, at the same time, it aims to support simple, intuitive interaction through the adoption of adequate interaction techniques, the use of suitable metaphors to represent system functions, and the continuous provision of visual and audio feedback. Furthermore, the final system should be customised to the needs, requirements and preferences of the children, promoting self-expression and individuality.
The outcome of the work reported in this paper will be used to create prototypes which, following the principles of User-Centred Design (Norman and Draper, 1986), will be tested with, and evaluated by, actual users (i.e., children) (Hanna et al., 1997). These activities will eventually lead to refinements and elaboration of the design and overall improvement of the user interface, as well as to comparisons between design alternatives. Furthermore, they will help to ensure that the system behaves as it is expected to, and to assess whether the requirements and goals set during the requirements phase have been met. Some of the issues revealed through this design activity, and require further investigation and experimentation with actual users (i.e., children), include:
? the representation of time on the timelines;
? the maximum number, minimum size and the positioning of the thumbnails on the timelines;
? the level of functionality needed by, and adequate for, children of different ages;
? the customisation of the visual and sound components of the user interface for children of different age and/or with different cultural backgrounds (Galdo & Nielsen, 1996;
Fernandes, 1995; Nielsen, 1990);
? the type and representation of annotation symbols that will be included on the annotation palettes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work reported in this paper has been carried out by the Institute of Computer Science of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas under a subcontract commissioned by the Lambrakis Research Foundation, in the context of the project “Today’s Stories” P29312 funded by the European Commission in the framework of the Intelligent Information Interfaces (i3), Experimental School Environment Programme. The “Today’s Stories” consortium comprises: Starlab (Belgium), G?teborg University (Sweden), Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute for Production Technology (Denmark), Nr. Brody Skole (Denmark), Computer Technology Institute (Greece), Lambrakis Research Foundation (Greece), The Center for Futurism in Education (Israel).
The authors wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement received from Dr. George Neofotistos, Lambrakis Research Foundation.
REFERENCES
Baecker, R., & Small, I. (1990). Animation at the Interface. In B. Laurel (Ed.), The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design (pp. 113-122). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
Cooper, A. (1995). UI Design About Face: The Essentials of user Interface Design. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide
Dreyfuss H. (1984). Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols. New York: John Wiley & Sons
Druin, A. (1999a). Cooperative Inquiry: Developing New Technologies for Children with Children. In Proceedings of the Conference on Human factors in computing systems: the CHI is the limit (CHI '99), Pittsburgh, PA, USA (pp. 592-599). New York: ACM Press. Druin, A. (Ed.). (1999b). The Design of Children’s Technology. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc.
Druin, A. & Solomon, C. (1996). Designing Multimedia Environments for Children. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Erickson, T.D. (1990). Working with Interface Metaphors. In B. Laurel (Ed.), The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design (pp. 65-73). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.,
首届“教育教学技能大比武”总结 为期半个月的青年教师首届“教育教学技能大比武”活动已经圆满落下帷幕。参加本次比赛的教师都是38周岁以下的青年教师，比赛内容包括讲课、答辩、三笔字、演讲四个环节。这次活动在学校领导的大力支持下，在全体教师的努力配合下，在参赛教师积极参与、认真准备下，取得圆满成功。 回顾本次比赛活动，老师们无论是在个人综合素质、教材把握能力还是在课堂驾驭能力上都有精彩的展示，下面对本次活动做一个总结： 一、讲课赛环节 这十九位青年教师对此次比赛高度重视，认真备课、讲课，为我们呈现了一节节风格各异、亮点纷呈的课，主要呈现了一下几个特点： 1、备课充分、设计用心。 老师们在备课过程中，能深入钻研教材，做了大量充分的准备。老师们都精心设计导语，创设情境，千方百计地激发起学生强烈的求知欲，能够把知识和能力深入浅出又扎扎实实的传授给学生，每一节课都朴实无华，每一节课都独具匠心，比如：郑珊老师在讲授《图形的旋转》一课时，教学设计层次分明，抓住平移和旋转的特征明确其描述方法，在新授的过程中能够放手让学生自己思考-动手操作-小组交流-展示（说明描述），老师引导学生亲历学习过程，通过几个有效的追问，使自己体会掌握了学习内容。 2、教学扎实有效，注重基础训练。 老师们能够抓住教学目标，精心设计每一个环节，同时老师们十分注重基础训练，比如高年级语文老师在教学中注重字词的品读与指导，在阅读教学中，老师能通过阅读来领悟文本的内涵，例如王玉英讲述《梅花魂》一课，她更注重引导学生“品词、品句、品读”以此让学生以读明理，以读悟情，通过“品”字让学生真正体会到了外祖父为什么那么珍爱墨梅图，从而理解梅花的品行，上升到中国人的气节。语文中低年级教学中，教师注重字形的书写字文的理解和区别运用，比如赵彤霞老师执教《植物妈妈有办法》一课，能在文中恰到好处的让学生理解“许多”和“许”“多”的区别，并用“纷纷”说一句话。又比如赵志芳执教《秋天的雨》一课中，注重了“爽”字的书写指导，教学中注重句子的训练，让学生练说比喻句。 3、注重学生情感态度和学习习惯的培养。 注重学生情感态度和学习习惯的培养是成为这次比赛课的又一亮点。老师们在教学中，做到自始至终关注学生的情感，营造宽松、民主、和谐的教学气氛，尊重每个学生，积极鼓励他们在学习中的尝试，保护他们的自尊心和积极性。比如吴蕊霞老师的鼓励具有个性化，激励性的语言常挂嘴边，成为学生不断学习、创新不可缺乏的精神动力。同时在教学中注重学习习惯的培养，比如高月枝老师在授课的同时适时对学生进行了课常规的教育，整个一节课，教学秩序井然有序，对于刚上学两个星期的孩子真的很难得。 4、善用多媒体教学。 本次讲课赛几乎所有的老师都制作了精美实用的多媒体课件，追求既生动形象又快捷高效的教学效果。特别是赵丽和龚伟科两位老师用我们上学期培训的知识制作了白板课件。 5、教师素养良好。 通过这次比赛，我们欣喜地看到我校青年教师具备良好的教师基本素质。他们教态大方得体，语言清晰，具有较强的亲和力和应变能力。王敏、陈蓉等老师她们在课堂上文雅得体的教态，丰富的肢体语言以及亲切和蔼的微笑，都给我们留下了深刻的印象，深受学生的喜爱。 针对本次讲课赛反映出的问题，给老师们提出以下建议，跟老师们商榷：1、语文教学中，略读课文的教学教师应大胆放手学生，让学生充分展示自己。有感情的朗读，重在先理解再
The way 的用法 Ⅰ常见用法： 1)the way+ that 2)the way + in which（最为正式的用法） 3)the way + 省略（最为自然的用法） 举例：I like the way in which he talks. I like the way that he talks. I like the way he talks. Ⅱ习惯用法： 在当代美国英语中，the way用作为副词的对格，“the way+ 从句”实际上相当于一个状语从句来修饰整个句子。 1)The way =as I am talking to you just the way I’d talk to my own child. He did not do it the way his friends did. Most fruits are naturally sweet and we can eat them just the way they are—all we have to do is to clean and peel them. 2）The way= according to the way/ judging from the way The way you answer the question, you are an excellent student. The way most people look at you, you’d think trash man is a monster. 3）The way =how/ how much No one can imagine the way he missed her. 4）The way =because
教师即兴演讲题目之63个话题 来源：思雨教育资源网|教学资源|课件论文|作文作者：无边思雨发表日期：2009-5-30 13:16:19 阅读次数： 910 查看权限：普通文章 1、如何维护班集体荣誉？ 2、如何看待学生时代早恋问题？ 3、成人与成才二者是怎样的关系？结合实例说明自己的观点。 4、不同地域、不同背景、不同习惯的同学之间该如何相处？ 5、怎样面对学习、生活中遇到的挫折？ 6、你最崇拜的人是谁？“名人”还是自己？ 7、你认为我们是否应有感恩之心？感恩于谁？ 8、你希望自己会是怎样一位老师？你会如何教育自己的学生？ 9、“言行、仪表”与个人的发展。 10、如今继续提倡“勤俭、节约”作风是否已过时？ 11、在各种资料、媒体中常讲张扬个性，你认为我们该张扬什么样的个性？ 12、三轮车工人方尚礼自己生活的如乞丐，却将自己蹬车收入的35万多元用来资助失学儿童，当病重时，社会捐助给他治病的钱，也被他捐给了希望工程。你对方尚礼的这种行为有何评述？ 13、电视广告不宜过多 14、保护环境是每个人的责任 15、我中学时代的一个朋友 16、世界需要热心肠 17、向权威挑战 18、2008年的我 19、我爱电视广告 20、我的母亲 21、尊重是孩子成长的基石 22、如何培养学生的好奇心 23、推广普通话 24、“恶语伤人六月寒” 25、我心中的偶像 26、假如我是画家 27、童年趣事 28、珍惜现在 29、我最爱看的电视节目 30、有人认为老师是不断燃烧的蜡烛，你认为呢？ 31、新课程背景下良好师生场的营造。 32、让谐趣幽默走进我们的课堂。 33、阅读教学中如何开展有效的对话教学？ 34、如何正确处理价值取向和个性化阅读的关系？ 35、新课程背景下一堂好课的标准是什么？ 36、“语文教学工具性与人文性统一”的内涵是什么？ 37、如何实践语文教学的人文性和工具性的“统一”？ 38、如何挖掘教材资源，准确选点，扎实训练？
The way的用法及其含义（二） 二、the way在句中的语法作用 the way在句中可以作主语、宾语或表语： 1.作主语 The way you are doing it is completely crazy.你这个干法简直发疯。 The way she puts on that accent really irritates me. 她故意操那种口音的样子实在令我恼火。The way she behaved towards him was utterly ruthless. 她对待他真是无情至极。 Words are important, but the way a person stands, folds his or her arms or moves his or her hands can also give us information about his or her feelings. 言语固然重要,但人的站姿,抱臂的方式和手势也回告诉我们他(她)的情感。 2.作宾语 I hate the way she stared at me.我讨厌她盯我看的样子。 We like the way that her hair hangs down.我们喜欢她的头发笔直地垂下来。 You could tell she was foreign by the way she was dressed. 从她的穿著就可以看出她是外国人。 She could not hide her amusement at the way he was dancing. 她见他跳舞的姿势，忍俊不禁。 3.作表语 This is the way the accident happened.这就是事故如何发生的。 Believe it or not, that's the way it is. 信不信由你, 反正事情就是这样。 That's the way I look at it, too. 我也是这么想。 That was the way minority nationalities were treated in old China. 那就是少数民族在旧中
定冠词the的用法： 定冠词the与指示代词this ,that同源,有“那(这)个”的意思,但较弱,可以和一个名词连用,来表示某个或某些特定的人或东西. (1)特指双方都明白的人或物 Take the medicine.把药吃了. (2)上文提到过的人或事 He bought a house.他买了幢房子. I've been to the house.我去过那幢房子. (3)指世界上独一无二的事物 the sun ,the sky ,the moon, the earth (4)单数名词连用表示一类事物 the dollar 美元 the fox 狐狸 或与形容词或分词连用,表示一类人 the rich 富人 the living 生者 (5)用在序数词和形容词最高级,及形容词等前面 Where do you live?你住在哪? I live on the second floor.我住在二楼. That's the very thing I've been looking for.那正是我要找的东西. (6)与复数名词连用,指整个群体 They are the teachers of this school.(指全体教师) They are teachers of this school.(指部分教师) (7)表示所有,相当于物主代词,用在表示身体部位的名词前 She caught me by the arm.她抓住了我的手臂. (8)用在某些有普通名词构成的国家名称,机关团体,阶级等专有名词前 the People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国 the United States 美国 (9)用在表示乐器的名词前 She plays the piano.她会弹钢琴. (10)用在姓氏的复数名词之前,表示一家人 the Greens 格林一家人(或格林夫妇) (11)用在惯用语中 in the day, in the morning... the day before yesterday, the next morning... in the sky... in the dark... in the end... on the whole, by the way...
“tｈｅwａｙ+从句”结构的意义及用法 首先让我们来看下面这个句子: Ｒead the foｌloｗｉnｇpassagｅａnd talkａbout ｉt wi ｔh your classmaｔes．Try tｏｔeｌl whaｔyｏu thiｎk ｏf Tom aｎd ｏｆｔhe ｗay the chiｌｄrenｔrｅated ｈim. 在这个句子中，ｔhe waｙ是先行词,后面是省略了关系副词that或in whｉch的定语从句。 下面我们将叙述“the ｗaｙ+从句”结构的用法。 1.tｈe wａy之后，引导定语从句的关系词是tｈat而不是hoｗ,因此，<<现代英语惯用法词典＞＞中所给出的下面两个句子是错误的：Ｔhｉs is ｔｈeｗayｈowｉtｈａppened. This is the way how he ａlwａｙs treats me. 2．在正式语体中,thaｔ可被in which所代替;在非正式语体中，ｔhat则往往省略。由此我们得到theｗay后接定语从句时的三种模式：1) tｈe ｗaｙ＋ｔhａt-从句２）the way +ｉn whiｃh－从句3) the ｗay +从句 例如：Ｔｈe way(in whiｃh ，thａt) ｔhｅｓｅｃomｒade ｓloｏｋａｔｐrobｌems is wrong．这些同志看问题的方法
不对。 Ｔｈｅｗａy(that ,ｉn ｗhiｃh)yoｕ’ｒe doinｇit is comple ｔeｌy crａzy.你这么个干法,简直发疯。 Wｅａdmiｒｅd him for thｅｗay ｉｎｗhｉch he fａｃeｓdiｆficultieｓ． Waｌlａｃe ａｎd Ｄarwiｎｇreed ｏn the way ｉｎwhi ｃh ｄｉfｆｅrｅnt forms ｏf life had ｂegｕn.华莱士和达尔文对不同类型的生物是如何起源的持相同的观点。 Thｉs is ｔｈe ｗaｙ（tｈａｔ) hｅdｉd it. I lｉkeｄｔhe waｙ(ｔhat) ｓｈeｏｒganized ｔhe ｍeetｉng． 3.theｗay(tｈat)有时可以与hｏw(作“如何”解）通用。例如： That’s tｈe ｗaｙ(tｈaｔ) shｅspoke. = Tｈat’s how shｅspoke.
表示“方式”、“方法”，注意以下用法： 1.表示用某种方法或按某种方式，通常用介词in(此介词有时可省略)。如： Do it (in) your own way. 按你自己的方法做吧。 Please do not talk (in) that way. 请不要那样说。 2.表示做某事的方式或方法，其后可接不定式或of doing sth。 如： It’s the best way of studying [to study] English. 这是学习英语的最好方法。 There are different ways to do [of doing] it. 做这事有不同的办法。 3.其后通常可直接跟一个定语从句(不用任何引导词)，也可跟由that 或in which 引导的定语从句，但是其后的从句不能由how 来引导。如： 我不喜欢他说话的态度。 正：I don’t like the way he spoke. 正：I don’t like the way that he spoke. 正：I don’t like the way in which he spoke. 误：I don’t like the way how he spoke. 4.注意以下各句the way 的用法： That’s the way (=how) he spoke. 那就是他说话的方式。 Nobody else loves you the way(=as) I do. 没有人像我这样爱你。 The way (=According as) you are studying now, you won’tmake much progress. 根据你现在学习情况来看，你不会有多大的进步。 2007年陕西省高考英语中有这样一道单项填空题： ——I think he is taking an active part insocial work. ——I agree with you_____. A、in a way B、on the way C、by the way D、in the way 此题答案选A。要想弄清为什么选A，而不选其他几项，则要弄清选项中含way的四个短语的不同意义和用法，下面我们就对此作一归纳和小结。 一、in a way的用法 表示：在一定程度上，从某方面说。如： In a way he was right.在某种程度上他是对的。注：in a way也可说成in one way。 二、on the way的用法 1、表示：即将来(去)，就要来(去)。如： Spring is on the way.春天快到了。 I'd better be on my way soon.我最好还是快点儿走。 Radio forecasts said a sixth-grade wind was on the way.无线电预报说将有六级大风。 2、表示：在路上，在行进中。如： He stopped for breakfast on the way.他中途停下吃早点。 We had some good laughs on the way.我们在路上好好笑了一阵子。 3、表示：(婴儿)尚未出生。如： She has two children with another one on the way.她有两个孩子，现在还怀着一个。 She's got five children，and another one is on the way.她已经有5个孩子了，另一个又快生了。 三、by the way的用法
青年教师朗诵比赛活动方案 （2014----2015）学年度下学期 一、活动目的： 学校是推广普通话，规范语言文字的主阵地，教师作为推广普通话的中坚力量有着不可忽视的重要作用。因此，为了加强教师基本功训练，提升教师的朗读水平，教导处根据语言文字规范化活动计划，开展以“朗读美文展我风采”的教师朗诵比赛。通过教师美文朗读比赛，提高我校青年教师普通话水平，营造浓厚的校园读书氛围，提升教师教学基本功，促使教师重视朗读教学，促进学生健康和谐发展。 二、活动组织：教导处 三、具体活动安排： 1、培训时间：6月8日（周一）下午14:30 2、比赛时间：6月15日（周一）下午14:30 3、比赛地点：四楼舞蹈室 4、参赛人员：35岁以下（含35岁）青年教师必须参加，同时欢迎35岁以上教师参加。 5、比赛内容：作品自选，体裁不限（不少于三分钟） 6、比赛形式：可配乐，参赛人员独立诵读。 7、评委：黄冬梅蒋丽丽郭艳华贺芳刘忠霞冷静武玉德 8、分数统计：王辉赵慧贤
9、主持：徐金凤 四、活动程序： 1、学校将在赛前一周邀请校长对参赛人员进行培训。 2、参赛教师提前十分钟到达比赛场地，做好准备工作。 3、14:40正式进行比赛，按抽签顺序进行。 4、评分办法：比赛采取现场评分的办法，满分10分，比赛结束后，进行分数汇总、统计，取平均分，宣布比赛成绩。 5、校长点评并作总结。 五、设奖情况： 本次比赛将设一等奖2名，二等奖3名，三等奖5名，优秀奖若干名。比赛成绩计入年末教师量化考核。 六、朗诵比赛评分标准 （一）、主题内容（2分） 1、内容（1分）：题材不限，内容健康向上；充实生动，有真情实意 2、主题（1分）：寓意深刻，富有感召力 （二）、普通话（3分） 1、发音（1分）：语音准确1分，较准确0.8分，基本准确0.5分，不准确不得分。 2、语速（1分）：语速恰当、声音洪亮，表达自然流畅1分，因不熟练，每停顿一次扣0.1分。
青年教师基本功大赛即兴演讲题目【题目1】我的兴趣爱好【题目2】谈谈内心和谐【题目3】人最难超越的高度就是自己【题目4】我的价值观【题目5】谈谈与人相处【题目6】坚守心灵的一方沃土【题目7】给快乐找个理由【题目8】年轻 没有什么不可以【题目9】心底无私天地宽【题目10】人是需要一点精神的【题目11】我们与时代同行【题目12】生活从“心”开始【题目13】让更多的人快乐 【题目14】面对繁杂的教学工作 你如何调整心态 【题目15】和谐、健康、快乐【题目16】我喜爱的书刊【题目17】你如何发展自己的专业弱点【题目18】善待自己 呵护希望【题目18】.上公开课对一个教师的成长的作用【题目19】培养积极心态 感悟责任人生【题目24】永不言弃 我心永恒 准备时间 3分钟 【题目25】.你怎样做个身心健康的老师【题目26】你如何看待家长满意工程 【题目27】新课程执行过程中 你碰到最棘手的问题是什么【题目28】课堂教学中 你最关注的是什么【题目29】你希望学校领导关心青年教师哪些方面【题目30】谈谈自己的业余生活【题目31】简评最近的工作情况。【题目32】怎样才能提高教师的凝聚力。【题目33】.谈谈做班主任的心得【题目34】.你怎样定义教师【题目35】简介杨森中学【题目36】.点评一位我校的优秀教师【题目37】.如何看待家长的不理解【题目38】.谈谈卫生与健康【题目39】谈谈我校的环境. 【题目40】谈谈如何管理学生【题目41】谈谈你对职业道德的认识【题目42】我参加校本研修之感想。【题目43】“依法治教 注重服务 着力塑造行业形象” 请你谈谈你的设想【题目44】.如何发挥你校师生之特长 【题目45】.怎样调动老师的工作积极性 【题目46】.谈谈你对校本教研的看法。【题目47】.我是怎样备课的。【题目48】.维持校门口的秩序 我的一点想法。【题目49】如何丰富教师的业余生活 缓解教师的心理压力 【题目50】谈谈你对节日文化的认识【题目51】学校活动很多的情况下 你如何调节自己的心态 【题目52】德育倡导“全面德育 全员德育” 请你谈谈自己的理解。【题目53】如何让家长尊重教师 【题目54】你认为提高教育质量应从哪里抓起【题目55】从哪些方面帮助班主任管理学生篇二：教师即兴演讲题目之63个话题 教师即兴演讲题目之63个话题 来源：思雨教育资源网|教学资源|课件论文|作文作者：无边思雨发表日期：2009-5-30 13:16:19 阅读次数： 910 查看权限：普通文章 1、如何维护班集体荣誉？ 2、如何看待学生时代早恋问题？ 3、成人与成才二者是怎样的关系？结合实例说明自己的观点。 4、不同地域、不同背景、不同习惯的同学之间该如何相处？ 5、怎样面对学习、生活中遇到的挫折？ 6、你最崇拜的人是谁？“名人”还是自己？ 7、你认为我们是否应有感恩之心？感恩于谁？ 8、你希望自己会是怎样一位老师？你会如何教育自己的学生？ 9、“言行、仪表”与个人的发展。 10、如今继续提倡“勤俭、节约”作风是否已过时？ 11、在各种资料、媒体中常讲张扬个性，你认为我们该张扬什么样的个性？ 12、三轮车工人方尚礼自己生活的如乞丐，却将自己蹬车收入的35万多元用来资助失学儿童，当病重时，社会捐助给他治病的钱，也被他捐给了希望工程。你对方尚礼的这种行为有何评述？ 13、电视广告不宜过多 14、保护环境是每个人的责任
The way的用法及其含义（一） 有这样一个句子：In 1770 the room was completed the way she wanted. 1770年，这间琥珀屋按照她的要求完成了。 the way在句中的语法作用是什么？其意义如何？在阅读时，学生经常会碰到一些含有the way 的句子，如：No one knows the way he invented the machine. He did not do the experiment the way his teacher told him.等等。他们对the way 的用法和含义比较模糊。在这几个句子中，the way之后的部分都是定语从句。第一句的意思是，“没人知道他是怎样发明这台机器的。”the way的意思相当于how；第二句的意思是，“他没有按照老师说的那样做实验。”the way 的意思相当于as。在In 1770 the room was completed the way she wanted.这句话中，the way也是as的含义。随着现代英语的发展，the way的用法已越来越普遍了。下面，我们从the way的语法作用和意义等方面做一考查和分析： 一、the way作先行词，后接定语从句 以下3种表达都是正确的。例如：“我喜欢她笑的样子。” 1. the way+ in which +从句 I like the way in which she smiles. 2. the way+ that +从句 I like the way that she smiles. 3. the way + 从句(省略了in which或that) I like the way she smiles. 又如：“火灾如何发生的，有好几种说法。” 1. There were several theories about the way in which the fire started. 2. There were several theories about the way that the fire started.
教师基本功是教师从事教育教学工作必须具备的最基本的职业技能。它包括通用于所有教师的一般基本功，也包括学科教学和教育工作的基本功。教师基本功是加强青年教师职业道德建设的一项重要内容，也是教师从事教育教学工作必须具备的最基本的职业技能。如果说教学是技术加艺术，那么这种技术和艺术主要表现在教师课堂教学的基本功上面。它是教师素质的重要表现，也是教学成败的关键。过去所说的教师基本功，无非是三字一画（钢笔、毛笔、粉笔字和简笔画）和语文基础知识、口头表达能力等，再加上一些专业学科的基本功（音乐、体育、美术等）。在新一轮的课程改革中，需要我们重新看待教师的教学基本功。随着时代的发展，教师基本功的含义越来越广，教 师基本功包括的范围越来越大。下面我谈谈自己对教师应该具备的基本功的认识。 一、为人师表教师基本功应以德为先，教师的基本素质首当其冲的是师德素质。 我认为教师首先要有高尚的师德，只有思想上以学生为本，有做名师的愿望，至少有一个积极健康的心态，才能练好基本功。 1、有理想，有事业心。 2、以身作则学校无小事，处处皆教育，教师一言一行都会对学生造成影响。 二、爱的能力教师做的是人的工作，应该有人文素质，在爱
人过程中进行教育教学工作。爱学生也是一种技能，爱他们，使他们 容易、愉悦接受。 三、表达能力. 1、语言表达普通话是教师的职业语言，教师能用普通话进 行教学，普通话一般应达到国家语委制定的《普通话水平测试》二级水平。 2、文字表达教师的工作比较繁重，但是要学会反思和总结， 把心得体会写出来，才能少走弯路，更快进步，摆脱烦琐；才能轻松、高效的工作。 四、动手能力. 1、三笔一画这是传统意义的教师基本功。 2、板书板书不仅表现出一位教师上课的基本功，而且也体现教师的教学态度乃至性格。 3、运用、制作教具使用、制作教具方面，能按教学要求，正确使用教具；能就地取材，制作简易的教具。 4、现代信息技术的掌握和运用。 5、演示一般教师的演示指教态，教师也要做一个演员。 五、备课能力
way 的用法 【语境展示】 1. Now I’ll show you how to do the experiment in a different way. 下面我来演示如何用一种不同的方法做这个实验。 2. The teacher had a strange way to make his classes lively and interesting. 这位老师有种奇怪的办法让他的课生动有趣。 3. Can you tell me the best way of working out this problem? 你能告诉我算出这道题的最好方法吗？ 4. I don’t know the way (that / in which) he helped her out. 我不知道他用什么方法帮助她摆脱困境的。 5. The way (that / which) he talked about to solve the problem was difficult to understand. 他所谈到的解决这个问题的方法难以理解。 6. I don’t like the way that / which is being widely used for saving water. 我不喜欢这种正在被广泛使用的节水方法。 7. They did not do it the way we do now. 他们以前的做法和我们现在不一样。 【归纳总结】 ●way作“方法，方式”讲时，如表示“以……方式”，前面常加介词in。如例1； ●way作“方法，方式”讲时，其后可接不定式to do sth.，也可接of doing sth. 作定语，表示做某事的方法。如例2，例3；
教师基本功是什么1 我们常说“教学基本功”如何如何，多指教师的专业功底，教学基本技能，教学方法以及由此产生的教学效果等等，放在一个讨论教师质量和教育教学质量的背景下，我们是不是关注一下：什么是教师基本功呢？ 基本素质 教师的基本素质首当其冲的是师德素质。师德不能等同于职业道德，但却函盖职业道德。我觉得职业道德主要是针对物品或没生命的，或有生命也不是传道授业与做人思想工作的。教师的职业道德重要的在于“师”字上，即为人师的职业道德。只是时下还有多少人能够有称职的师德呢？！当下的教育环境下，教师一方面普遍出现职业倦怠，一方面却又师德开始退化！教师的现状让人担忧！ 我觉得，教师的基本素质应还包括人文素养，没有人文素养的教师眼中根本就不会有“人”的存在，也就不会在新课程中体现“以人为本”的理念，更不会在课堂上有“生命的气息”！我觉得人文素养应该尊重生命、尊重人的尊严，还要包括带头遵守社会文明公约、法律法规等，并成为践行的时代先锋。也就是说，教师还要在遵守社会文明等方面真正为人师表！ 基本知识 教师职业的特殊性，必然要求每一个教师要具备一定的基本知识，即包括教育理论、学科知识、心理学知识等。教师教育理论的丰厚与否往往束缚一个教师的发展与理论素养的高低，甚至影响到教师的教育思想与个人成长;而学科知识除了学科的相关基础知识外，还应包括学科的前沿知识；因为现在的学生压力大，心理又非常脆弱，这就给教师的教育工作增加了难度，因此，教师的基本知识应该要有心理辅导的知识，再说，当下的教师工作压力大，许多教师心理也存在一定的问题，他们本身更需要心理的自我调适能力。 基本能力 教师应具备的基本能力是什么呢？我认为应该是学习能力、科研能力、解决问题能力、写作能力、组织教学能力、协作能力等。 知识日新月异，特别是网络的盛行，让知识的传播与创新更快，因此，教师如果没有学习能力，就不能与时俱进，便会成为时代的落后者，这会影响到教师自身的发展与教育水平高低。况且，现在对于终身教育或终身学习理念的倡导，作为一名教师更应该成为这一理念的先驱。 科研能力是不是教师的必备能力？或者说教师要不要搞教育科研？我觉得不一定每一个教师都要成为研究型教师与专家型教师，但具备一定的教育科研能力，或了解教育科研的方法，或参与并体验科学研究的过程，应该是教师要积极投入的一种体验。而且，当前新课程提倡的探究性学习或研究性学习，本身就是要培养学生的科学素养与科学精神！如果教师不具备
小学英语教师基本功比赛朗读材料-MY DREAM My Dream Everyone has a lot of dreams. Some people want to be rich, dreaming of becoming millionaires [m?lj?'ne?] overnight. Others want to be famous, dreaming of suddenly jumping to great fame. I have a lot of dreams,too. When I was a young girl, I dreamed of becoming a scientist like Hua Iuogen in future. However, I knew very well that I could not succeed without painstaking ['pe?nzte?k??]efforts. So I studied hard in the middle school and college in order to attain my goal. After graduating from college, I found a job as a teacher. Although I was very busy with teaching, I never gave up my goal. I read a lot of books to get more knowledge. I made experiments to practice and apply what I had learnt from the books. Sometimes, I was so deeply indulged [?n'd?ld?] in my research that I forgot my meals and time. Now I have made great progress. Several of my research papers have been published. The methods ['meθ?d] proposed in my papers have been proven
t h e-w a y-的用法
The way 的用法 "the way+从句"结构在英语教科书中出现的频率较高, the way 是先行词, 其后是定语从句.它有三种表达形式:1) the way+that 2)the way+ in which 3)the way + 从句(省略了that或in which),在通常情况下, 用in which 引导的定语从句最为正式,用that的次之,而省略了关系代词that 或 in which 的, 反而显得更自然,最为常用.如下面三句话所示,其意义相同. I like the way in which he talks. I like the way that he talks. I like the way he talks. 一.在当代美国英语中,the way用作为副词的对格,"the way+从句"实际上相当于一个状语从句来修饰全句. the way=as 1)I'm talking to you just the way I'd talk to a boy of my own. 我和你说话就象和自己孩子说话一样. 2)He did not do it the way his friend did. 他没有象他朋友那样去做此事. 3)Most fruits are naturally sweet and we can eat them just the way they are ----all we have to do is clean or peel them . 大部分水果天然甜润,可以直接食用,我们只需要把他们清洗一下或去皮.
教师基本功即兴演讲 【篇一：青年教师基本功大赛即兴演讲题目】 青年教师基本功大赛即兴演讲题目【题目1】我的兴趣爱好【题目2】谈谈内心和谐【题目3】人最难超越的高度就是自己【题目4】 我的价值观【题目5】谈谈与人相处【题目6】坚守心灵的一方沃 土【题目7】给快乐找个理由【题目8】年轻?没有什么不可以 【题目9】心底无私天地宽【题目10】人是需要一点精神的【题目11】我们与时代同行【题目12】生活从“心”开始【题目13】让更 多的人快乐?【题目14】面对繁杂的教学工作?你如何调整心态 ?【题目15】和谐、健康、快乐【题目16】我喜爱的书刊【题目17】你如何发展自己的专业弱点【题目18】善待自己?呵护希望 【题目18】.上公开课对一个教师的成长的作用【题目19】培养积 极心态?感悟责任人生【题目24】永不言弃?我心永恒?准备时间 ?3分钟?【题目25】.你怎样做个身心健康的老师【题目26】你如何看待家长满意工程?【题目27】新课程执行过程中?你碰到最棘 手的问题是什么【题目28】课堂教学中?你最关注的是什么【题目29】你希望学校领导关心青年教师哪些方面【题目30】谈谈自己的 业余生活【题目31】简评最近的工作情况。【题目32】怎样才能 提高教师的凝聚力。【题目33】.谈谈做班主任的心得【题目34】. 你怎样定义教师【题目35】简介杨森中学【题目36】.点评一位我 校的优秀教师【题目37】.如何看待家长的不理解【题目38】.谈谈 卫生与健康【题目39】谈谈我校的环境. 【题目40】谈谈如何管理 学生【题目41】谈谈你对职业道德的认识【题目42】我参加校本 研修之感想。【题目43】“依法治教?注重服务?着力塑造行业形 象”?请你谈谈你的设想【题目44】.如何发挥你校师生之特长? 【题目45】.怎样调动老师的工作积极性?【题目46】.谈谈你对校 本教研的看法。【题目47】.我是怎样备课的。【题目48】.维持校 门口的秩序?我的一点想法。【题目49】如何丰富教师的业余生活 ?缓解教师的心理压力?【题目50】谈谈你对节日文化的认识【题 目51】学校活动很多的情况下?你如何调节自己的心态?【题目52】德育倡导“全面德育?全员德育”?请你谈谈自己的理解。【题目53】如何让家长尊重教师?【题目54】你认为提高教育质量应从哪里抓 起【题目55】从哪些方面帮助班主任管理学生 【篇二：教师基本功即兴演讲需要准备几分钟】
way的用法总结大全 way的用法你知道多少，今天给大家带来way的用法，希望能够帮助到大家，下面就和大家分享，来欣赏一下吧。 way的用法总结大全 way的意思 n. 道路,方法,方向,某方面 adv. 远远地，大大地 way用法 way可以用作名词 way的基本意思是“路,道,街,径”,一般用来指具体的“路,道路”,也可指通向某地的“方向”“路线”或做某事所采用的手段,即“方式,方法”。way还可指“习俗,作风”“距离”“附近,周围”“某方面”等。 way作“方法,方式,手段”解时,前面常加介词in。如果way前有this, that等限定词,介词可省略,但如果放在句首,介词则不可省略。
way作“方式,方法”解时,其后可接of v -ing或to- v 作定语,也可接定语从句,引导从句的关系代词或关系副词常可省略。 way用作名词的用法例句 I am on my way to the grocery store.我正在去杂货店的路上。 We lost the way in the dark.我们在黑夜中迷路了。 He asked me the way to London.他问我去伦敦的路。 way可以用作副词 way用作副词时意思是“远远地,大大地”,通常指在程度或距离上有一定的差距。 way back表示“很久以前”。 way用作副词的用法例句 It seems like Im always way too busy with work.我工作总是太忙了。 His ideas were way ahead of his time.他的思想远远超越了他那个时代。 She finished the race way ahead of the other runners.她第一个跑到终点,远远领先于其他选手。 way用法例句
t h e_w a y的用法大全
The way 在the way+从句中, the way 是先行词, 其后是定语从句.它有三种表达形式:1) the way+that 2)the way+ in which 3)the way + 从句(省略了that或in which),在通常情况下, 用in which 引导的定语从句最为正式,用that的次之,而省略了关系代词that 或 in which 的, 反而显得更自然,最为常用.如下面三句话所示,其意义相同. I like the way in which he talks. I like the way that he talks. I like the way he talks. 如果怕弄混淆，下面的可以不看了 另外，在当代美国英语中,the way用作为副词的对格,"the way+从句"实际上相当于一个状语从句来修饰全句. the way=as 1)I'm talking to you just the way I'd talk to a boy of my own. 我和你说话就象和自己孩子说话一样. 2)He did not do it the way his friend did. 他没有象他朋友那样去做此事. 3)Most fruits are naturally sweet and we can eat them just the way they are ----all we have to do is clean or peel them . 大部分水果天然甜润,可以直接食用,我们只需要把他们清洗一下或去皮. the way=according to the way/judging from the way 4)The way you answer the qquestions, you must be an excellent student. 从你回答就知道,你是一个优秀的学生. 5)The way most people look at you, you'd think a trashman was a monster. 从大多数人看你的目光中,你就知道垃圾工在他们眼里是怪物. the way=how/how much 6)I know where you are from by the way you pronounce my name. 从你叫我名字的音调中,我知道你哪里人. 7)No one can imaine the way he misses her. 人们很想想象他是多么想念她. the way=because 8) No wonder that girls looks down upon me, the way you encourage her. 难怪那姑娘看不起我, 原来是你怂恿的