The relationship between reliability and statistical power is considered, and tables that account for reduced reliability are presented. A series of Monte Carlo experiments were conducted to determine the effect of changes in reliability on parametric and nonparametric statistical methods, including the paired samples dependent t test, pooled-variance independent t test, one-way analysis of variance with three levels, Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired samples, and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test for independent groups. Power tables were created that illustrate the reduction in statistical power from decreased reliability for given sample sizes. Sample size tables were created to provide the approximate sample sizes required to achieve given levels of statistical power based for several levels of reliability.

No abstract

With the growing trends in favor of online course offerings in higher education

The use of electronic portfolios is increasingly becoming popular in teacher education programs. The electronic portfolio allows learners to express their work and take ownership over their own ability to plan and assess and reflect upon their learning during a specific period of time. While many teacher education programs have adopted electronic portfolios in order to meet accreditation requirements, others use electronic portfolios to develop and improve on students' technology skillstrain students on how to better use technology in instruction and student assessment. Irrespective of the reasons for adoption, there is the need to assess students' perceptions of electronic portfolios, and especially to explore the benefits and challenges students face in using electronic portfolios in their course work. Using a qualitative research design, the current study explored teacher candidates' attitudes toward electronic portfolios and the differences that electronic portfolios bring to their profession. Such a study is necessary to help administrators identify students' needs to ensure that they are gaining the maximum benefits from the use of electronic portfolios in their programs of study.

Many instructors are using literary texts along with language structure books in English as a Secondary Language (ESL) classrooms. Since literature is often written to portray a particular cultural or authentic experience, the material presented may not be familiar to ESL students. Also, the students may find such texts structurally complex and impossible to understand. To overcome these challenges, instructors need to implement strategies that will make the literary materials relevant and useful to student learning. The current study describes how multiple technologies were successfully employed in the presentation of Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart. In addition, ESL students’ reactions to the integration of technology in instruction were explored. Findings from this study have pedagogical implications for instructors who plan to incorporate literature and technology into their ESL curricula