5.10.04

WP EM Lists

White paper on electronic mailing lists --LISTSERV and Majordomo

Introduction

LISTSERV

In popular usage, “listserv” signifies a list server, or an electronic mailing list enabler. The electronic mailing list can be thought of as an e-mail-based discussion forum. Collison (et al., 2000) defines listserv as

Software that relays emails that have been sent to a particular mailbox, set up by an administrator. The emails then go to the email addresses of all participants who have requested to receive them by ‘joining’ or ‘subscribing to’ the listserv. Listservs are commonly used to host Internet discussion groups. (209)

West Logootee Teaching Resources (West) defines a listserv (used in its generic sense) as

a wonderful communication tool that offers its members the opportunity to post suggestions or questions to a large number of people at the same time. When you submit a question or something that you want to share to the listserv, your submission is distributed to all of the other people on that list.

Majordomo

IFLANET goes on to note that while LISTSERV is now a commercial product sold by the developer of the software, Eric Thomas's L-Soft, the software was originally designed to operate on IBMs VM operating system. Currently it is available on other common operating systems. Other common types of mailing list software are "majordomo" and "listproc".

Majordomo

Majordomo, like LISTSERV, is a program which automates the management of Internet mailing lists. Majordomo is a freeware system. Listproc is owned and developed by BITNET. The knowledge base at Indiana University defines Majordomo this way:

Majordomo is a program for managing email distribution lists. It allows one or more individuals to use a single distribution list from multiple computing systems. It also allows the owner of a list to set approvals for subscription requests and postings.

Majordomo’s home site for the software at www.greatcircle.com/majordomo. Also available there is Majordomo Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at www.greatcircle.com/ majordomo .

Which is better?

One of the frequently asked questions is: Which is better, Majordomo or LISTSERV? "Managing Mailing Lists", by Alan Schwartz, discusses the topic. Here is a brief review of the book by David Barr (from http://www.visi.com/~barr/managing-maillist-review.html, accessed October 3, 2005:

This book covers both server and list administration for Listproc, Majordomo, SmartList, and LISTSERV Lite. It starts of by covering the basics of an email message and a mailing list, and what mailing list software does. It even covers how you can do some basic mailing list functions with sendmail without using an MLM (Mailing List Manager). While the software this book covers are mostly UNIX-specific, this book is a must-have for anyone wanting to install and run mailing list management software. In one book you can see the different features of the leading UNIX-based MLM's, and get an honest appraisal of their relative strengths and weaknesses. You may have already have decided on one MLM, but this book may change your mind! Not just for server administrators, this book covers all the issues with respect to managing a mailing list. Learn about how to run a moderated list, or how to offer a digested version of your list. This book is also well laid out -- with multiple "layers". As you read on things are covered in greater detail. The last chapters are an in-depth reference for the commands and features of each MLM covered.

Commands

The basic user commands are outlined by IFLANET as follows:

Subscribing

To subscribe to a list, send an e-mail message to the mailing list address with one line in the body of the letter:

subscribe listname yourname

where listname is the name of the list, and yourname is your full name (e.g. sub SAS-L John Smith).

Unsubscribing

To have your name removed from a mailing list, send an e-mail message to the mailing list address with one line in the body of the letter:

SIGNOFF listname

where listname is the name of the list (e.g. signoff SAS-L).

Posting

If you have an article (comments, questions, etc.) that you wish to distribute to all members of a list, send it as e-mail to the list address for that list. Please note that the list address is different from the mailing list address

Tips

West presents the following ten tips:

1. When responding to a listserv, keep your messages brief.

2. Include a portion or a summary of the message you are responding to, but don't forward the entire message.

3. Stick to the topics intended for discussion on the listserv. If you deviate from the intended discussion topics, someone may recommend a listserv more suited for your thread of discussion.

4. Don't use all upper cases when writing. This is thought of as shouting.

5. Have an opening and closing in your message such as dear… and bye…

6. Be careful when using humor in your messages. Use emoticons to get across your emotions.

7. Don't send meaningless messages with no content, such as "I agree!"

8. Identify yourself. This could be your first and last name and possibly your school or place of business.

9. Avoid flaming individuals on the listserv. If you have a conflict with an individual, settle it by private e-mail messages.

10. Don't be critical of people's queries posted to the listserv. Many people are newbies to the listserv. Send them a private message and "gently" make suggestions if you think it is warranted. We're here to learn, share, and grow from each other.

As a combination of e-mail and asynchronous chat or discussion group, many of the elements of each find their way into the process. The use of emoticons help convey attitudes that words alone may not convey. The following are commonly used ASCII ( basic text-only) representations:

:-) Smiley

;-) Winkey smiley

:-> Devilish grin

:-( Frowny face

%-) User's been staring at the screen too long.

In addition, there are common acronyms used in chat rooms that are also used in electronic mailing lists. Here are some common examples:

BTW By the way

FYI For your information

HTH Hope this helps

IMO In my opinion

IOW In other words

LOL Laughing out loud

ROTFL Rolling on the floor laughing

Tools

There are many tools related to electronic mailing lists. From http://www.listTool.com you can obtain a free tool that makes the process of subscribing, unsubscribing and sending commands to 878 mailing and discussion lists (in categories such as law, art, music, computers, news, business, humor and more) easy. You don't have to remember which commands to send to some obscure e-mail address to subscribe or unsubscribe. The list server machine automatically distributes e-mail messages from one member of a list directly or through a moderator to all other members on that list. Digests, electronic journals, announcements, and discussion groups are some of the types of content that are delivered through the thousands of lists available on the Internet.

You may send administrative commands (e.g., to subscribe to a list, create a list, get information about a list, or change how a list behaves) to your Majordomo list's administrative address. For more information about Majordomo commands, see the Knowledge Base document

What are some of the basic commands for Majordomo?

When you subscribe to a list, your name and e-mail address is automatically added to the list. You will receive a standard letter of welcome (via e-mail) telling you about the list. From that time on, you will receive all mail (postings) sent to the list by its members. You may follow the discussions or join in on them. If you respond, you can send your response to the list (in which case, all members of the list will receive it), or to an individual on the list. You can signoff (unsubscribe) from a list at any time. You can also get a listing of all the members of a list and their e-mail addresses. (IFLANET

You may send administrative commands (e.g., to subscribe to a list, create a list, get information about a list, or change how a list behaves) to your Majordomo list's administrative address. For more information about Majordomo commands, see the Knowledge Base document

Resources

A site that presents a tabulation of discussion e-lists:

http://learnativity.com/d-lists.html

Some examples of e-mail discussion groups that cover distance education are as follows:

ASAT-EVA

Distance education evaluation group

listserv@unlvm.unl.edu

AUDIOGRAPHICS-L

Audiographics in distance education

listserv@cln.etc.bc.ga

COLICDE

Distance Education Research Bulletin

colicde-request@unixg.ubc.ca

DEOSNEWS

Distance education on-line symposium

listserv@lists.psu.edu

Website: www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deosnews/deosnews.asp

DISRES-L

Distance education research list

listserv@ryerson.bitnet

DISTED

On-line chronicle of distance education and communication

listserv@pulsar.acast.nova.edu

More subscription information:

www.fcae.nova.edu/disted/subscrib.html

Distance education and an International emphasis or orientation include the following:

ANDREA

European distance educators

listserv@nki.no

ASDEN

Australian schools of distance education electronic network

majordomo@cleo.murdoch.edu.au

CREAD

Latin American and Caribbean distance and continuing education

listserv@vm1.yorku.ca

DEOS-L (moderated)

International discussion forum for distance learning

listserv@lists.psu.edu

Website: www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deos-l/deosl.asp

Notes

(1) From APA Electronic Media Spelling Guide: “LISTSERV is a trademarked, proprietary term; unless you know that is what is being used, you should use "electronic mailing list" rather than the, admittedly, more commonly used "list server." LISTSERV* (tm) -- the generic term is electronic mailing list.”

Moderated list: With moderated list, an assigned individual or team inspects and may edit submissions prior to posting to the group The attempt is to avoid spamming (unsolicited, bulk commercial e-mail messages) or spamming (overloading the mailbox with unwanted messages).

Threads: grouping e-mail messages by subject in sequence of responses.

References

Collison, G.,

APA Electronic Media Spelling Guide (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2005 , from APA site: http://www.apastyle.org/spelling.html

West Logootee (n.d.) Retrieved October 3, 2005, from West Logootee Web site: http://www.siec.k12.in.us/%7Ewest/edu/listman.htm .

3.10.04

Motivation

Student Motivation
An AskERIC Response
April 2003
Question

How can I help motivate my students?
Response

Hello,

In response to your request for information on student motivation, we conducted a sample search of the ERIC database. Below we have appended our search strategy, 13 citations with abstracts, and directions for accessing the full text. These citations may represent an introductory, rather than exhaustive, search for information on your topic.

If you would like to conduct your own free ERIC database searches via the Internet, please visit the ERIC Database Help pages for directions or go directly to http://www.eduref.org/Eric/adv_search.shtml to search.

I have also attached some related resources that may be helpful.

Thank you for using AskERIC! If you have any questions or would like further assistance, please do not hesitate to send another message.

AskERIC Staff

Internet Sites:

* How Can Teachers Develop Students' Motivation -- and Success?
An interview with Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Columbia University, about the role of motivation in learning.
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr197.shtml

* Motivating Today's Students: The Same Old Stuff Just Doesn't Work
"Two teachers and a principal offer their perspective on classroom practices that can enhance students' learning experiences and further the goal of keeping students motivated and engaged."
http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/text/portraits1.2.html

* Tools for Teaching: Motivating Students
Identifies teaching strategies to promote learning and enhance student motivation.
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html

* Increasing Student Engagement and Motivation
From Time-on-Task to Homework (October 2000)
This booklet offers practical strategies to help teachers promote student engagement in learning. Provided by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
http://www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/index.html

* Hard Work and High Expectations: Motivating Students to Learn (June 1992)
The conference on Hard Work and High Expectations brought together prominent researchers who addressed the topic of student motivation from different social, cultural, and instructional perspectives. Summaries of the critical elements of their findings and conclusions are incorporated in this booklet; summaries of selected papers are included at the end.
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/work.expectations.k12.4.html

* ERIC Digest - Motivation and Middle School Students (1998)
http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed421281.html

* ERIC Digest - Student Motivation To Learn (1994)
http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed370200.html

* ERIC Digest - School Leadership and Student Motivation (1992)
http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed346558.html

Below are several ERIC Citations that may be relevant to your question. For information on obtaining the full text of the materials cited below please refer to our document on how to obtain the full text of materials cited in ERIC at: http://www.eduref.org/Eric/Help/obtain.shtml
For more information about ERIC Citations, including an explanation of the abbreviations used for the field codes, please see: http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Qa/archives/fields.shtml

ERIC Database Citations through 3/2003:

Search Strategy: student motivation (All Descriptors) AND motivation techniques (All Descriptors) and 1995-2003 (Publication Date)

Click here to run this search in the ERIC Database:

Record 1 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED448127
CHN: SP039639
AU: Ingram,-Michael-A.
TI: Extrinsic Motivators and Incentives: Challenge and Controversy.
PY: 2000
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED448127
DT: Information-Analyses-General (070)
CP: U.S.; Oregon
LA: English
PG: 23
DE: *Incentives-; *Rewards-; *Student-Motivation
DE: Academic-Achievement; Dropout-Prevention; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Public-Education; Self-Motivation
AB: This article reviews the literature and provides examples of extrinsic motivators and incentives being used in public schools to decrease dropout rates, increase attendance, and increase academic achievement. The use of incentives has grown in favor as a way to increase student achievement, intrinsic motivation, self-worth, and retention. Certain characteristics must be present in incentives to ensure success in motivating students. These include establishing definite patterns of change in behavior, melding with students' interests, and having consistent standards of implementation. Students will respond favorably to rewards if they feel there is a reasonable chance of success, they are convinced that the personal risks are not overwhelming, and they believe that the product or reward is worth the effort needed to succeed. Educators do not universally support incentives in education. Many believe that the use of extrinsic motivators undermines individuals' intrinsic motivation. Evidence clearly shows that extrinsic rewards can either enhance or reduce interest in an activity, depending on how they are used. Despite continued controversy, incentive programs can serve a valuable function in schools, providing an additional source of motivation and support for students. (Contains 45 references.) (SM)
LV: 1
CH: SP
FI: ED
DTC: 070
UD: 200105 (RIE)

Record 2 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED447360
CHN: CG028401
AU: Talbot,-Gilles-L.
TI: Motivational Design of Instruction To Mediate Student Motivation.
PY: 1998
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC02 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED447360
DT: Opinion-Papers (120); Reports-Descriptive (141)
CP: Canada; Quebec
LA: English
PG: 48
DE: *Student-Motivation
DE: Academic-Achievement; Classroom-Techniques; Curriculum-; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Modeling-Psychology; Student-Behavior; Students-; Teachers-; Training-
ID: Commitment-; Mediation-
AB: This report presents information concerning a model of instruction that was designed to mediate student motivation. The text's purpose is five-fold: to explain what it means to mediate student motivation; to convince the reader that changes in instructional design can motivate both students and teachers; to demonstrate how to make changes to instructional design while respecting the established curriculum, teaching styles, and individual differences; to explain faulty student attribution and how it effects persistence and achievement; and to illustrate how teachers may encourage students to "work smarter and not harder." The text opens with the statement that persons need training in being students. The first lesson explains how to get and hold students' attention. The focus then shifts to modeling as a way of securing the commitment of teachers and students. It examines student behavior and students' time and effort spent on assignments. Some suggestions as to how to correct faulty attributional thinking are offered, followed by tips on how to be a professional student. The author describes good versus bad strategies, explaining that it is important to think through specific behaviors and sequences of behaviors. Some of the efforts that other institutions have made involving intervention plans are summarized. The third section presents actual examples of problems faced by the author. (Includes seven appendices and a glossary of terms.) (MKA)
LV: 1
CH: CG
FI: ED
DTC: 120; 141
UD: 200105 (RIE)

Record 3 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED446819
CHN: PS028886
AU: Kariotakis,-Constantine; Kelly-Moutvic,-Karen; Roberts,-Cathy
TI: Teaching Strategies To Improve Student Motivation.
PY: 2000
NT: Master's Action Research Project, Saint Xavier University and Skylight Professional Development Field-Based Masters Program.
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED446819
DT: Dissertations-or-Theses-Undetermined (040)
CP: U.S.; Illinois
LA: English
PG: 76
DE: *Change-Strategies; *Motivation-Techniques; *Student-Improvement; *Student-Motivation; *Teaching-Methods
DE: Classroom-Environment; Classroom-Research; Cooperative-Learning; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Intervention-; Multiple-Intelligences; Performance-Based-Assessment
AB: This action research project evaluated a program to improve student motivation. The targeted population consisted of sixth- and eleventh-grade students in grammar/literature, physical education, and social studies classes in suburban Chicago. Three interventions were selected: incorporation of multiple intelligence strategies, implementation of cooperative learning, and use of authentic assessment. A post-intervention student survey and checklist indicated that student motivation was improved by the intervention. (Eleven appendices include parent letter, student surveys, and lesson materials. Contains 27 references.) (Author/EV)
LV: 1
CH: PS
FI: ED
DTC: 040
UD: 200104 (RIE)

Record 4 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED444087
CHN: CG030237
AU: Komarchuk,-Nick; Swenson,-Audra; Warkocki,-Lynn
TI: Improving Secondary Student Academic Success through the Implementation of Motivational Strategies.
PY: 2000
NT: Master of Arts Action Research Project, St. Xavier University and Skylight Professional Development.
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC02 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED444087
DT: Dissertations-or-Theses-Undetermined (040); Tests-or-Questionnaires (160)
CP: U.S.; Illinois
LA: English
PG: 44
DE: *Academic-Achievement; *Educational-Improvement; *High-School-Students
DE: Change-Strategies; Cooperative-Learning; High-Schools; Motivation-Techniques; Multiple-Intelligences; Student-Motivation; Teacher-Student-Relationship
ID: *Illinois-(Chicago-Suburbs)
AB: This paper reports on a project created to improve high school students' academic success. Students in three schools in the suburbs south of Chicago were targeted. Lack of student success was attributed to several probable causes: teacher-student relationships, curriculum relevance and choice, family issues, teacher expectations, lack of incentives, past academic performance, risk taking, and teaching to just a few of the multiple intelligences. Interventions were based on motivational strategies, such as strengthening the student/teacher relationship, employing the use of activities that targeted the multiple intelligences, and providing students with academic choices. Following the interventions, almost half of the target population indicated that their motivation increased. Cooperative learning and activities that built the student/teacher relationship proved to be the most successful strategies in improving academic success of the target population. This paper includes Appendix A, "Parent Letter," Appendix B, "Teacher Observation Checklist," Appendix C, "Student Survey," and Appendix D, "Student Questionnaire." (Contains 25 references.) (Author/JDM)
LV: 1
CH: CG
FI: ED
DTC: 040; 160
UD: 200102 (RIE)

Record 5 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED418785
CHN: PS026362
AU: Tuckman,-Bruce-W.; Trimble,-Susan
TI: Using Tests as a Performance Incentive To Motivate Eighth-Graders To Study.
PY: 1997
NT: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association (105th, Chicago, IL, August 15-19, 1997).
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED418785
DT: Reports-Research (143); Speeches-or-Meeting-Papers (150)
CP: U.S.; Florida
LA: English
PG: 14
DE: *Homework-; *Incentives-; *Motivation-Techniques; *Performance-Factors; *Test-Use
DE: Classroom-Techniques; Comparative-Analysis; Educational-Strategies; Grade-8; Junior-High-Schools; Middle-Schools; Motivation-; Science-Education; Self-Motivation; Student-Evaluation; Student-Motivation; Testing-Problems
ID: *Middle-School-Students; *Testing-Effects
AB: Forty-one middle school students in two eighth-grade classes were taught half of their science chapters in the conventional manner with homework assignments, and half of their chapters by having short classroom quizzes on each unit. Quizzes were expected to stimulate incentive motivation as a mediator between a goal object, mastery, and the responses necessary to attain that objective, effective studying. Quizzes had already proven effective with college students. Chapter mastery was measured by multiple-choice tests accompanying the textbook. Students completed the first five chapters doing homework and the second five doing quizzes, with chapter pairs matched for difficulty across condition in an equivalent time samples design. Results indicated that on the first pair of chapters, students given homework outperformed students given quizzes; on the second and third pairs, there were no differences between conditions; on the fourth and fifth pairs, quizzed students significantly outperformed homework students, the final difference reaching an effect size of almost .50. Based on the findings, it was concluded that regularly-occurring quizzes can become a motivator to study or a stimulator of self-regulatory behavior, even though initially they may not have that effect. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/SD)
LV: 1
CH: PS
FI: ED
DTC: 143; 150
UD: 199809 (RIE)

Record 6 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED412010
CHN: PS025870
AU: Eisele,-Todd
TI: Improving the Motivation of Middle School Students through the Use of Curricular and Instructional Adaptations.
PY: 1996
NT: Master's Action Research Project, Saint Xavier University and IRI/Skylight Field-Based Master's Program.
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED412010
DT: Dissertations-or-Theses-Masters-Theses (042); Reports-Evaluative (142)
CP: U.S.; Illinois
LA: English
PG: 66
DE: *Change-Strategies; *Instructional-Innovation; *Student-Improvement; *Student-Motivation
DE: Classroom-Techniques; Cooperative-Learning; Grade-7; Instructional-Effectiveness; Junior-High-Schools; Learning-Strategies; Middle-Schools; Motivation-Techniques; Self-Motivation; Student-Empowerment; Student-Participation; Teaching-Methods
ID: *Middle-School-Students
AB: This action research project evaluated a program to improve student motivation, attendance rate, percent of homework returned, and student academic growth. The targeted population was a seventh-grade class in a middle school in north central Illinois. The problem of inadequate student motivation was documented by means of attendance rates, students' time-on-task, class participation, and teacher journals recording classroom behavior and academic achievement. Analysis of probable cause research revealed that students' inadequate motivation is related to their poor self-esteem, unchallenging and repetitive assignments, emotionally stressful classroom environments, and extensive use of extrinsic rewards. A review of solution strategies resulted in the selection of three major categories of intervention: cooperative learning, students choice in activities and assignments, and lessons designed to reflect students' learning preferences. Post-intervention data indicated an increase in intrinsic motivation. Behaviors believed to be extrinsically motivated, such as attendance and homework completion, showed smaller increases. (Five appendixes include observation checklists and sample instructional materials. Contains 36 references.) (Author/EV)
LV: 1
CH: PS
FI: ED
DTC: 042; 142
UD: 199802 (RIE)

Record 7 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED407128
CHN: PS025358
AU: Conrad,-Linda-Marie
TI: Student Motivation and Cooperative Learning.
PY: 1994
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED407128
DT: Opinion-Papers (120)
CP: U.S.; Ohio
LA: English
PG: 57
DE: *Cooperative-Learning; *Motivation-Techniques; *Student-Motivation
DE: Classroom-Environment; Classroom-Techniques; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Group-Activities; Informal-Assessment; Learning-Activities; Student-Evaluation; Teacher-Student-Relationship; Teaching-Methods
AB: This paper describes one teacher's use of cooperative learning techniques to increase motivation in her students. After briefly describing the problem of student motivation, reviewing the literature that addresses the topic, and noting the characteristics of the class and students, the paper provides a detailed discussion of the teaching methods used to facilitate cooperative learning, including (1) its goal of ensuring that every student feel success, (2) the assignment of task objectives but not specific duties, (3) a component for individual assessment, and (4) the teacher's role as "guide on the side." The paper also describes evaluation methods and group-building exercises. The paper concludes by noting that cooperative learning is a powerful method of increasing student motivation. Teaching and evaluation materials and lesson plans are appended. Contains nine references. (EV)
LV: 1
CH: PS
FI: ED
DTC: 120
UD: 199709 (RIE)

Record 8 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED407056
CHN: PS023738
AU: Phillips,-Linda; Steinkamp,-Michelle
TI: Improving Academic Motivation.
PY: 1995
NT: M.A. Action Research Project, Saint Xavier University.
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED407056
DT: Dissertations-or-Theses-Undetermined (040)
CP: U.S.; Illinois
LA: English
PG: 97
DE: *Academic-Achievement; *Academic-Aspiration; *Learning-Motivation; *Motivation-Techniques; *Student-Motivation
DE: Cooperative-Learning; Educational-Strategies; Grade-4; Grade-5; Intermediate-Grades; Low-Achievement; Motivation-; Portfolio-Assessment; Portfolios-Background-Materials; Self-Motivation; Student-Educational-Objectives; Underachievement-
ID: *Achievement-Motivation-Training
ID: Motivational-Design; Rockford-School-District-205-IL
AB: This practicum project implemented a program designed to improve the motivation to learn among fourth- and fifth-graders in a fast growing, industrial community surrounded by prosperous farms in northern Illinois. The problem of low motivation was documented by systematic classroom observations, teacher interviews, and student surveys. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students had little or no ownership in their learning, demonstrated little confidence and low self-esteem, and exhibited an inability to transfer learning. A review of solution strategies suggested by knowledgeable others, combined with an analysis of the problem setting, resulted in the selection of four major categories of intervention: implementation of cooperative learning strategies, development of a portfolio assessment plan, application of a tool to foster organizational skills, and institution of goal-setting techniques. The four-part intervention had a positive influence on the students' academic motivation. Evidence of academic motivation included an increase in the number of extra academic activities completed, the positive feedback on the portfolio assessment and assignment notebook, the relationship between the goals set and then accomplished, and the positive classroom atmosphere created by the use of cooperative learning strategies. (Contains 20 references and 23 appendices including sample forms, progress data, portfolio information, and other samples generated from the study.) (Author/SD)
LV: 1
CH: PS
FI: ED
DTC: 040
UD: 199709 (RIE)

Record 9 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED405321
CHN: SP037200
AU: Schnackenberg,-Heidi-L.
TI: Practical Motivational Techniques for Preservice Teachers and Instructional Design Strategies.
PY: 1997
NT: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (Albuquerque, NM, February 1997).
PR: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DL: http://orders.edrs.com/members/sp.cfm?AN=ED405321
DT: Tests-or-Questionnaires (160); Speeches-or-Meeting-Papers (150); Reports-Descriptive (141)
CP: U.S.; Arizona
LA: English
PG: 10
DE: *Classroom-Techniques; *Motivation-Techniques; *Preservice-Teacher-Education; *Student-Motivation
DE: Elementary-Secondary-Education; Higher-Education; Program-Effectiveness; Questionnaires-; Student-Attitudes; Student-Teachers; Teacher-Attitudes
ID: Preservice-Teachers
AB: This paper describes educational units for preservice teachers that pertain to specific practical motivational techniques for the preservice teachers to use in their classrooms (grades K-12). The units are designed so that students will be able to name four motivational techniques, select the strategy that exemplifies a motivational technique, and describe how to implement specific motivational techniques in given classroom scenarios. Program materials include: the instructor guide, the student guide, overhead transparencies, and a pretest and posttest for each student. The program was field tested with 24 undergraduate education majors; analysis of the data indicated that the program was successful. Two appendices provide: the student reaction sheet, with responses detailed for 24 students; and the instructor reaction questionnaire with responses. (ND)
LV: 1
CH: SP
FI: ED
DTC: 160; 150; 141
UD: 199707 (RIE)

Record 10 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: EJ530128
CHN: SP525362
AU: Towns,-William-C.
TI: The Reconciliation of W. Edwards Deming and John Dewey: An Exploration of Similarities in Motivation Theory.
PY: 1996
SO: Educational-Foundations; v10 n2 p73-87 Spr 1996
ISSN: 1047-8248
DT: Opinion-Papers (120); Journal-Articles (080)
LA: English
DE: *Motivation-Techniques; *Rewards-; *Self-Motivation; *Student-Motivation
DE: Discipline-; Educational-Philosophy; Elementary-School-Students; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Secondary-School-Students; Teacher-Expectations-of-Students; Total-Quality-Management
ID: *Deming-(W-Edwards); *Dewey-(John)
AB: Interrogates similarities and misconceptions common to W. Edwards Deming and John Dewey, examining a reconciliation of the two within the context of motivation theory and concluding that Deming and Dewey are very similar in general outlook and the shared belief in the integrity of the individual within the social system. (SM)
CH: SP
FI: EJ
DTC: 120; 080
UD: 199701 (CIJE)

Record 11 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED378167
CHN: SP035685
AU: McCombs,-Barbara-L.; Pope,-James-E.
TI: Motivating Hard To Reach Students. Psychology in the Classroom: A Series on Applied Educational Psychology.
CS: American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
PY: 1994
ISBN: 1557982201
AV: APA Order Department, P.O. Box 2710, Hyattsville, MD 20784.
PR: Document Not Available from EDRS.
DT: Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052)
CP: U.S.; District-of-Columbia
TA: Teachers; Practitioners
LA: English
PG: 123
DE: *Class-Activities; *High-Risk-Students; *Learning-Motivation; *Motivation-Techniques; *Student-Motivation; *Teacher-Role
DE: Classroom-Techniques; Educational-Environment; Educational-Psychology; Elementary-School-Students; Elementary-School-Teachers; Elementary-Secondary-Education; High-School-Students; Higher-Education; Incentives-; Individual-Development; Instructional-Effectiveness; Secondary-School-Teachers; Self-Concept; Self-Motivation; Student-Adjustment; Teacher-Education; Teacher-Effectiveness
AB: This book explores ways that teachers can work to motivate elementary, middle, or high school students who have lost interest in learning by explaining motivation and providing suggestions for student and teacher empowerment. It opens with two case illustrations of difficult to reach students and invites the reader to offer their response. The following four sections each address one of the book's four goals: (1) explaining motivation and how to enhance it by reviewing current theories of motivation, discussing what that research implies about effective practice, and looking at research findings specifically about motivating hard to reach students; (2) exploring what impact the nature of motivation may have on teacher role through different notions of teacher roles and what it means to motivate students; (3) providing strategies for helping individual students draw on their natural motivation to learn, particularly by helping them to understand and value themselves; and (4) providing strategies for establishing a classroom climate that fosters and sustains motivation through opportunities for growth and self-determination, encouraging academic risk taking, and creating a positive learning climate. Final sections return to the opening case illustrations for further discussion, and review the major points of previous sections. Includes a glossary. (JB)
LV: 3
CH: SP
FI: ED
DTC: 052
UD: 199505 (RIE)

Record 12 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED369773
CHN: SP035224
AU: Stipek,-Deborah-J.
TI: Motivation To Learn: From Theory to Practice. Second Edition.
PY: 1993
ISBN: 020514697
AV: Allyn and Bacon, A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 160 Gould Street, Needham Heights, MA 02194.
PR: Document Not Available from EDRS.
DT: Information-Analyses-General (070); Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052); Books (010)
CP: U.S.; Massachusetts
TA: Teachers; Practitioners
LA: English
PG: 292
DE: *Diagnostic-Teaching; *Motivation-Techniques; *Positive-Reinforcement; *Self-Motivation; *Student-Motivation
DE: Achievement-Need; Educational-Research; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Epistemology-; Fear-of-Success; Higher-Education; Learning-Motivation; Literature-Reviews; Social-Cognition; Student-Behavior; Teacher-Education; Teacher-Expectations-of-Students; Teacher-Student-Relationship; Theories-; Theory-Practice-Relationship
AB: This book integrates theory, research, and practical issues related to achievement motivation, and provides an overview of current theories in the field, including reinforcement theory, intrinsic motivation, and cognitive theories. The text gives concrete examples and practical guidance for diagnosing and improving students' motivation, focuses on motivation in academic situations, and gives examples from athletic and other achievement contexts. Charts, checklists, and diagnostic tools are provided to help practicing teachers diagnose motivational problems and assess the motivational effects of their own behaviors and teaching strategies. Following a preface, the volume is organized into the following 12 chapters: (1) "Profiles of Motivational Problems" (introduces five children with motivational problems); (2) "Defining Achievement Motivation"; (3) "Reinforcement Theory"; (4) "Social Cognitive Theory"; (5) "Intrinsic Motivation"; (6) "Maximizing Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom"; (7) "From Reinforcement to Cognition"; (8) "Perception of Ability"; (9) "Achievement Anxiety"; (10) "Maintaining Positive Achievement-Related Beliefs"; (11) "Communicating Expectations"; and (12) "Real Students" (considers possible remedies for the problems of the children introduced in chapter 1). Appendices provide forms and instructions for identifying motivation problems, external reinforcement (teacher self reports), observations of teachers' use of praise, ratings of the intrinsic value of tasks, and teacher ratings of student helplessness. (Contains approximately 500 references.) (LL)
LV: 3
CH: SP
FI: ED
DTC: 070; 052; 010
UD: 199409 (RIE)

Record 13 of 13 - The ERIC Database

AN: ED362952
CHN: EA025312
AU: Raffini,-James-P.
TI: Winners without Losers: Structures and Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation To Learn.
PY: 1993
ISBN: 0205140084
AV: Allyn & Bacon, 160 Gould Street, Needham Heights, MA 02194.
PR: Document Not Available from EDRS.
DT: Books (010); Guides-Classroom-Teacher (052)
CP: U.S.; Massachusetts
LA: English
PG: 286
DE: *Motivation-Techniques; *Reinforcement-; *Student-Motivation; *Teacher-Motivation
DE: Apathy-; Classroom-Environment; Elementary-School-Students; Elementary-Secondary-Education; Rewards-; Secondary-School-Students; Self-Esteem
AB: This book has two major purposes. The first is to help teachers gain a firm understanding of the theory and research that identifies the factors that have made it difficult for many students to meet their psychological and academic needs within traditional classrooms. Second, the book provides teachers with over a hundred suggestions for structural changes and motivational strategies designed to help satisfy these needs and thereby increase student motivation to learn. The first of 10 chapters, "Introduction," includes the goals for education and the book's approach--research based recommendations and strategies for motivation. Chapter 2, "Psychological Needs of Students," includes Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the needs of self-worth, autonomy, and competence. Chapter 3, "Student Apathy in the Classroom," includes the topics of apathy, academic ability, and failure-avoiding behavior. Chapter 4, "Fostering and Undermining Intrinsic Motivation," includes the characteristics of intrinsically motivating behavior, how rewards effect motivation, and minimally sufficient control. Chapter 5, "Developing a Motivating Classroom Personality," includes the topics of organizational patterns, goal orientation, and target structures. Chapter 6, "Enhancing Student Self-Esteem"; chapter 7, "Enhancing Student Autonomy"; chapter 8, "Enhancing Competence in All Students"; chapter 9, "Facilitating Students' Need for Relatedness"; and chapter 10, "Stimulating Student Involvement and Enjoyment of Learning" give recommendations and strategies concerning the respective topic of each chapter. An appendix details motivational strategies classified by target areas and grade level. (Contains 174 references.) (RR)
LV: 3
CH: EA
FI: ED
DTC: 010; 052
UD: 199403 (RIE)

White paper on listserv

Introduction

In popular usage, “listserv” signifies a list server, or an electronic mailing list enabler. The electronic mailing list is an e-mail-based, often moderated, subscription-based discussion forum. For instructional technology generally and distance education particularly, the electronic mailing list offers a way of building a community resource.

Collison (et al., 2000) defines listservs as

Software that relays emails that have been sent to a particular mailbox, set up by an administrator. The emails then go to the email addresses of all participants who have requested to receive them by ‘joining’ or ‘subscribing to’ the listserv. Listservs are commonly used to host Internet discussion groups. (209)

West Logootee Teaching Resources (West) defines a listserv (used in its electronic mailing lists sense) as

a wonderful communication tool that offers its members the opportunity to post suggestions or questions to a large number of people at the same time. When you submit a question or something that you want to share to the listserv, your submission is distributed to all of the other people on that list. http://www.siec.k12.in.us/%7Ewest/edu/listman.htm .

As a combination of e-mail and asynchronous chat or discussion group, many of the elements of each find their way into the process. The use of emoticons help convey attitudes that words alone may not convey. The following are commonly used ASCII ( basic text-only) representations:

:-) Smiley ;-) Winkey smiley :-> Devilish grin :-( Frowny face %-) User's been staring at the screen too long.

In addition, there are common acronyms used in chat rooms that are also used in electronic mailing lists. Here are some common examples:

BTW By the way FYI For your information HTH Hope this helps IMO In my opinion
IOW In other words LOL Laughing out loud ROTFL Rolling on the floor laughing

West presents the following ten tips:

1. When responding to a listserv, keep your messages brief.

2. Include a portion or a summary of the message you are responding to, but don't forward the entire message.

3. Stick to the topics intended for discussion on the listserv. If you deviate from the intended discussion topics, someone may recommend a listserv more suited for your thread of discussion.

4. Don't use all upper cases when writing. This is thought of as shouting.

5. Have an opening and closing in your message such as dear… and bye…

6. Be careful when using humor in your messages. Use emoticons to get across your emotions.

7. Don't send meaningless messages with no content, such as "I agree!"

8. Identify yourself. This could be your first and last name and possibly your school or place of business.

9. Avoid flaming individuals on the listserv. If you have a conflict with an individual, settle it by private e-mail messages.

10. Don't be critical of people's queries posted to the listserv. Many people are newbies to the listserv. Send them a private message and "gently" make suggestions if you think it is warranted. We're here to learn, share, and grow from each other.

Majordomo

Majordomo, like LISTSERV, is a program which automates the management of Internet mailing lists. The knowledge base at Indiana University defines Majordomo this way:

Majordomo is a program for managing email distribution lists. It allows one or more individuals to use a single distribution list from multiple computing systems. It also allows the owner of a list to set approvals for subscription requests and postings.

Majordomo’s home site for the software at www.greatcircle.com/majordomo. Also available there is Majordomo Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at www.greatcircle.com/majordomo/majordomo-faq.html .

One of the frequently asked questions is: Which is better, Majordomo or LISTSERV? "Managing Mailing Lists", by Alan Schwartz, discusses the topic. Here is a brief review of the book by David Barr (from http://www.visi.com/~barr/managing-maillist-review.html, accessed October 3, 2005:

This book covers both server and list administration for Listproc, Majordomo, SmartList, and LISTSERV Lite. It starts of by covering the basics of an email message and a mailing list, and what mailing list software does. It even covers how you can do some basic mailing list functions with sendmail without using an MLM (Mailing List Manager). While the software this book covers are mostly UNIX-specific, this book is a must-have for anyone wanting to install and run mailing list management software. In one book you can see the different features of the leading UNIX-based MLM's, and get an honest appraisal of their relative strengths and weaknesses. You may have already have decided on one MLM, but this book may change your mind!

Not just for server administrators, this book covers all the issues with respect to managing a mailing list. Learn about how to run a moderated list, or how to offer a digested version of your list. This book is also well laid out -- with multiple "layers". As you read on things are covered in greater detail. The last chapters are an in-depth reference for the commands and features of each MLM covered.

There are many tools related to electronic mailing lists. From http://www.listTool.com you can obtain a free tool that makes the process of subscribing, unsubscribing and sending commands to 878 mailing and discussion lists (in categories such as law, art, music, computers, news, business, humor and more) easy. You don't have to remember which commands to send to some obscure e-mail address to subscribe or unsubscribe. Get free listTool updates by signing our Guest Book. If you have been here before, check out what new lists have been added on our What's New Page.

The list server machine automatically distributes e-mail messages from one member of a list directly or through a moderator to all other members on that list. Digests, electronic journals, announcements, and discussion groups are some of the types of content that are delivered through the thousands of lists available on the Internet.

IFLANET goes on to note that while LISTSERV is now a commercial product sold by the developer of the software, Eric Thomas's L-Soft, the software was originally designed to operate on IBMs VM operating system. Currently it is available on other common operating systems. Other common types of mailing list software are "majordomo" and "listproc". Majordomo is a freeware system. Listproc is owned and developed by BITNET.

When you subscribe to a list, your name and e-mail address is automatically added to the list. You will receive a standard letter of welcome (via e-mail) telling you about the list. From that time on, you will receive all mail (postings) sent to the list by its members. You may follow the discussions or join in on them. If you respond, you can send your response to the list (in which case, all members of the list will receive it), or to an individual on the list. You can signoff (unsubscribe) from a list at any time. You can also get a listing of all the members of a list and their e-mail addresses. (IFLANET)

You may send administrative commands (e.g., to subscribe to a list, create a list, get information about a list, or change how a list behaves) to your Majordomo list's administrative address. For more information about Majordomo commands, see the Knowledge Base document What are some of the basic commands for Majordomo?

The basic user commands are outlined by IFLANET as follows:

Subscribing
To subscribe to a list, send an e-mail message to the mailing list address with one line in the body of the letter: subscribe listname yourname
where listname is the name of the list, and yourname is your full name (e.g. sub SAS-L John Smith).
Unsubscribing
To have your name removed from a mailing list, send an e-mail message to the mailing list address with one line in the body of the letter: SIGNOFF listname
where listname is the name of the list (e.g. signoff SAS-L).
Posting
If you have an article (comments, questions, etc.) that you wish to distribute to all members of a list, send it as e-mail to the list address for that list. Please note that the list address is different from the mailing list address

West presents this diagram (reproduced by courtesy of the Tri-Service Toxicology Consortium):















A site that presents a tabulation of discussion e-lists:

http://learnativity.com/d-lists.html

Some examples of e-mail discussion groups that cover distance education are as follows:

ASAT-EVA
Distance education evaluation group
listserv@unlvm.unl.edu

AUDIOGRAPHICS-L
Audiographics in distance education
listserv@cln.etc.bc.ga

COLICDE
Distance Education Research Bulletin
colicde-request@unixg.ubc.ca

DEOSNEWS
Distance education on-line symposium
listserv@lists.psu.edu
Website:
www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deosnews/deosnews.asp

DISRES-L
Distance education research list
listserv@ryerson.bitnet

DISTED
On-line chronicle of distance education and communication
listserv@pulsar.acast.nova.edu
More subscription information:
www.fcae.nova.edu/disted/subscrib.html

Distance education and an International emphasis or orientation include the following:

ANDREA

European distance educators
listserv@nki.no

ASDEN
Australian schools of distance education electronic network
majordomo@cleo.murdoch.edu.au


CREAD
Latin American and Caribbean distance and continuing education
listserv@vm1.yorku.ca

DEOS-L (moderated)

International discussion forum for distance learning
listserv@lists.psu.edu
Website:
www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deos-l/deosl.asp

Notes

(1) From APA Electronic Media Spelling Guide: “LISTSERV is a trademarked, proprietary term; unless you know that is what is being used, you should use "electronic mailing list" rather than the, admittedly, more commonly used "list server." LISTSERV* (tm) -- the generic term is electronic mailing list.”

Moderated list: With moderated list, an assigned individual or team inspects and may edit submissions prior to posting to the group The attempt is to avoid spamming (unsolicited, bulk commercial e-mail messages) or spamming (overloading the mailbox with unwanted messages).

Threads: grouping e-mail messages by subject in sequence of responses.

Notes

(1) From APA Electronic Media Spelling Guide: “LISTSERV is a trademarked, proprietary term; unless you know that is what is being used, you should use "electronic mailing list" rather than the, admittedly, more commonly used "list server." LISTSERV* (tm) -- the generic term is electronic mailing list.”

Moderated list: With moderated list, an assigned individual or team inspects and may edit submissions prior to posting to the group The attempt is to avoid spamming (unsolicited, bulk commercial e-mail messages) or spamming (overloading the mailbox with unwanted messages).

Threads: grouping e-mail messages by subject in sequence of responses.

References

Collison, G.,

APA Electronic Media Spelling Guide (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2005 , from APA site: http://www.apastyle.org/spelling.html

West Logootee (n.d.) Retrieved October 3, 2005, from West Logootee Web site: http://www.siec.k12.in.us/%7Ewest/edu/listman.htm .


References

Collison, G.,

APA Electronic Media Spelling Guide (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2005 , from APA site: http://www.apastyle.org/spelling.html

Indiana University's Knowledge Base. Retrieved on October 3, 2005, from http://kb.iu.edu/data/afej.html

West Logootee (n.d.) Retrieved October 3, 2005, from West Logootee Web site: http://www.siec.k12.in.us/%7Ewest/edu/listman.htm .