Online Dividing fractions with variables Tutors

Online Dividing fractions with variables Tutors Dividing fraction with variables is a tool in which fraction is divided with the variables. The only condition of feasibility is that all the denominator of fraction terms shall not be equal to zero. The result of division of fraction with variables will give constant as well terms. Constant term is always divided by the constant term and the variable is always divided by the variable. In this case, for ease we can change the sign of division to multiplication and it shall be done by just taking the reciprocal of second fraction. This can be better understood by the suitable examples. The examples are shown below:- Question 1: Divide :- (22 x^22 + 44 x^44) / 11 x^11 Solution: Given (22 x^22 + 44 x^44) / 11 x^11 In the first step we will separate the addition symbol as shown below: (22 x^22/ 11 x^11) + (44 x^44/ 11 x^11) Now we will divide the constant term with constant and variable with variable, we get = 2 x^ (22-11) + 4 x^ (44-11) = 2 x^11 + 4 x^33 So (22 x^22 + 44 x^44) / 11 x^11 = 2 x^11 + 4 x^33 Question 2: Divide :- (49 x^8 + 63 x^4) / 7 x^2 Solution: Given (49 x^8 + 63 x^4) / 7 x^2 In the first step we will separate the addition symbol as shown below:- (49 x^8/ 7 x^2) + (63 x^ 4/ 7 x^2) Now we will divide the constant term with constant and variable with variable, we get = 7 x^ (8-2) + 9 x^ (4-2) = 7 x^6 + 9 x^2 So (49 x^8 + 63 x^4) / 7 x^2 = 7 x^6 + 9 x^2.

reactants in photosynthesis Online Biology Tutors Tutorpace

reactants in photosynthesis Online Biology Tutors Tutorpace Photosynthesis is the process of formation of organic compounds from Carbon dioxide and hydrogen donor like water using radiations or light energy trapped by chlorophyll. Oxygen is evolved where water is used as hydrogen donor. During photosynthesis, light energy is changed into chemical or bond energy present inside the organic compounds. The overall equation for photosynthesis is 6 CO2 + 12 H2O + photons C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 6 H2O Water is the hydrogen donor. A molecule of water can donate only one hydrogen. As photosynthesis converts inorganic carbon into organic state, it is also called carbon assimilation. Carbon dioxide as raw material: It is obtained from air. Concentration of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is only 0.03%.However the total amount is quite large, sufficient to last for several years even without replenishment. For passing into photosynthetic cells,carbondioxide dissolves in water .Aquatic plants also depend upon dissolved carbon dioxide present in water .If we increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in atmosphere by hundred times the rate of photosynthesis goes on increasing. But in practice it is extremely difficult to increase carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere to the optimum level required for photosynthesis. Water as raw material: Water is a raw material for all photosynthetic organisms except bacteria. Bacterial photosynthesis is anoxygenic.Photosynthetic bacteria used either organic acids or reduced sulphur as reluctant for carbon assimilation. It is amazing that of the total water absorbed by a plant body only 1% is used in photosynthesis. Water may become a limiting factor during drought condition. Photosynthesis is a redox process in which hydrogen is obtained from various sources. In oxygenic photosynthesis, water is used as reductant and oxygen is evolved from water.

Where Can I Find a Sign Language Course

Where Can I Find a Sign Language Course How to Find Sign Language Courses ChaptersSign Language Classes in the UKLearn Sign Language in LondonLearn Sign Language in ManchesterLeeds Sign Language LearningSign Language in GlasgowUnlike German, French and Spanish or even Mandarin Chinese, the second languages of choice in our schools, sign language is a less obvious choice for becoming bilingual.Yes, you would be considered bilingual, with all of its advantages and benefits, if you learned sign language.Why do people learn sign language?The obvious answer is that they are deaf or hearing impaired or someone in their life is. Maybe they have a deaf child or want to work with deaf children. Or maybe they discovered the joys and benefits of a career as a sign language interpreter.Whatever reason you have for learning how to sign, we applaud you. Now, on to help you achieve your goal of learning sign language.First, you should be specific about which sign language you would like to learn. British sign language would be the clear choice; after all, you live in the UK, right?You might also be interested in French sign language; many of us like to hop the channel for a holiday in Provence or Brittany.American sign language is fairly popular; most of the online resources are for ASL, as it is called. You might focus on American signing if you have friends and family across the pond, or if you regularly communicate with deaf Americans in the course of your business.This article focuses on British sign language and where, in the UK, you can learn how to sign in that language.Our sources tell us that now is a good time to get into a sign language class. The year has just started and many of those courses are about to start, ready to tackle the basics before moving on to complex conversations.What are we waiting for? Let’s get to it! CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Disco ver all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsSign Language Classes in the UKBefore we can lay out any courses, we have to make clear that, even though sign language is largely grouped into British, American, French, Mandarin… and so on for every spoken language of the world, there is no ‘one sign fits all’ in sign language.That is because signing grew out of the deaf community itself.Contrary to popular thought, it is not a language devised by hearing people so that the deaf can communicate with them. There are no universal signs save for perhaps general ones such as waving, nodding one’s head and ‘thumbs up’, indicating ‘good’.In British sign language, ‘good’ can be signed either by showing one thumb up, two thumbs up or by rotating the palms upward, similar to how a hearing person might gesture when saying ‘what?’.The word ‘hung ry’ can be signed in several different ways in BSL! Sign languages grew regionally, out of a need to communicate Image by StockSnap from PixabayEach sign is fairly homegrown and may even be region-specific. So, with few unifying factors â€" other than the consensus that that signing is a visual language and is very expressive, you might think it difficult to find class offerings at the national level.Still, there are a couple, and Signature is such an enterprise.Formerly known as the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People or CACDP, this organisation was founded in 1980 and became a registered charity in 1982 to promote the role of the deaf or hard of hearing in society.In 2009, CACDP became Signature, one of the few awarding bodies of deaf language services in the UK.They provide education and certification in the areas of:British Sign Language (Levels 1 through 6)International Sign LanguageSign language interpretingNational Vocational Qualifications or NVQ (now Regulated Qualifications Framework)Deaf Awareness and CommunicationsCommunication with deaf peoplecommunication with Deaf-blind peopleFacilitating communication with deaf people â€" lipspeaking skillsthey also provide Level 3 certification in note-takingLevel 3 certificates for Language Service Professionals in lipspeaking and note-takingSignature has training centres all over the UK; you only need to find their web page to find the location closest to you.The only other national training service we found that teaches British sign language, that offers online courses as well as other resources such as a signing dictionary and fingerspelling challenges is British Sign.We featured them in our companion article that lists resources for learning sign language.Now, let’s look at individual cities and what sign language courses they have to offer. You don't need to attend a school for the deaf to understand this sign! Image by PublicDomainPictures from PixabayLearn Sign Language in LondonAs you might suspect, our capital city hosts a wealth of classes intended to teach the deaf and anyone who wishes to learn how to communicate visually.Merton College and Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College both offer 5-week introductory courses while, in Stepney, at Sign Say, you might take a night course or an intensive-study course in sign language.In North London, in Camden, you’ll find the Frank Barnes School. It is a campus for deaf children but they also offer accredited BSL courses, including NVQ certification all the way to Level 6.Remark!, in central London, promotes their services by offering a free taster course after which you may continue your studies, ultimately earning your Level 6 certificate. As for making a career out of sign language, you may go on to take their interpreter courses…City Lit (Covent Garden) off ers the mother-lode of all BSL courses!From fingerspelling to receptive skills workshops, you can gain all of the practice and instruction you need in these intensive, one-day courses. If you are looking for something more durable, you may check out their full BSL curriculum, from Level 1 through Level 6.The only downside to City Lit’s classes is that they tend toward the pricey; you might consider free offerings if you are not sure whether pursuing full certification in signing is right for you.Manchester College and the other at the University of Manchester, the latter being open only to university students.However, The Manchester College offerings are open to the public and you needn’t have any experience with sign language to take their part-time course. It is recommended that you start with Level 1; additionally, they offer a Level 2 course to expand your knowledge of signing.If you’d rather not attend college, you might enjoy BSL classes at the Manchester Deaf Centre.Loc ated in Crawford House on Booth Street, they offer deaf awareness training as well as sign language courses up to Level 3. All of their classes are taught by a qualified BSL teacher with more than a decade of teaching experience.You'll surely pick up some tips for learning sign language there!Leeds Sign Language Learning Your second language, signing, includes a universal sign that means 'good' Image by Niek Verlaan from PixabayLoiners have nearly as many choices for learning to sign as Londoners do!You may, for example, drop in on the courses at Swarthmore College. There, you will learn about deaf culture and become deaf-aware, learn basic sign vocabulary, body language and facial expressions.As you might expect from such a friendly, inclusive city as Leeds, there is a long-standing society for deaf and blind people; they offer courses in sign language as well.Under the rather clever name they’ve adopted, CoHearentVision, you can find introductory, Level 1 and Level 2 classes in sign language, as well as other classes, including deaf-blind awareness classes and tactics for communicating with deaf and hard of hearing people.These are long-term offerings; for example, the Level 2 BSL class lasts for 25 weeks. Oh, the things you’ll learn!Deaf culture, often overlooked by the hearing, is a very pert inent aspect of learning sign language. These courses will delve deeply into the deaf experience, ensuring you will come out with a more refined, more positive attitude towards deaf people and being deaf.If you don’t have quite that much time, you might be interested in Signability’s short course offerings.You cannot learn how to sign in a day but you can gain an awareness of the challenges facing the deaf community in a hearing world, take part in their BSL Bootcamp and take a taster course in signing.You may even get an introduction to the deaf community in Leeds, where you could learn more about the advantages of knowing how to sign.As we mentioned before, there are plenty of BSL classes on offer in Leeds and throughout West Yorkshire; you only need to look a little to find the course you want.Sign Language in GlasgowLike other great cities, Glesga has more than one venue for learning how to sign.Especially if you were approaching sign language as a future career prospect, yo u would benefit from taking BSL classes at Deaf Perspective. They teach signing to levels 1, 2 and 3; also up to Level 6 NVQ.If you are only just starting to learn how to sign, you might go for classes at Glasgow Clyde College. They offer both weekend and night classes; each course is eight weeks long and, if we daresay, very reasonably priced.Naturally, once you get a bit of experience signing, you will want to join the Sign Language Society at Glasgow University. This is an informal group who gets together every so often to talk together and sharpen receptive skills.They also have BSL Level 1 classes available… or maybe you would join them when they visit with hearing dogs.There are so many great people and agencies that teach sign language in the UK!If we’ve not mentioned the resources for learning sign language in your city, please list them in the comments section; doing so will help others near you who wish that they too could sign.

A Summer Checklist for Incoming College Freshmen

A Summer Checklist for Incoming College Freshmen Congratulations on your college acceptance, and on choosing your home for the next few years! By now, the pressure you feel has probably eased a bit, and theres time to relax. However, the transition from high school to college is a significant one, and preparation is key when it comes to a successful first semester as a college freshman. You may be wondering where to begin when it comes to preparing for this new chapter. When writing a summer checklist as an incoming college freshman, prioritize tasks like signing up for orientation, registering for classes, searching for extracurriculars, and exploring the school as a whole. Here is a sample summer checklist for incoming college freshmen: Summer checklist item #1: Sign up for orientation Register for an early orientation to (hopefully) get the classes you want, as well as to familiarize yourself with the campus and to see your official dorm and cafeteria options firsthand. Orientation is also the first real chance youll have to make new friends, so be open to introductions and dont be afraid to start a conversation during campus tours. Summer checklist item #2: Consider your options Maybe youre the person whos wanted to be a teacher since the age of three, or maybe youre still not sure about what to study. Spend a few hours looking through the course catalog to see what majors are available, and keep in mind that you can start as an undeclared student. [RELATED: What I Wish I Knew About Picking a College Major] Summer checklist item #3: Explore online While youre perusing the course catalog, you should also navigate the schools website. See what it offers, and ask yourself a few questions: What kind of resources does this college have for students? What is the online learning system like? Where can I find school policies on dorm life, academic integrity, and student rights? When are the major sporting events? This is also a great opportunity to look at the school calendar and to note holidays, midterm and final schedules, and other important dates. Summer checklist item #4: Register for classes Waiting until the last minute to register for courses might leave you stuck with that 8:00 a.m. English class on the other side of campus. Make sure you know when the first day of freshman registration is, and have your classes picked out beforehand so you can be confident in creating your first college schedule. You can knock out some of the introductory courses for your potential major or try a couple of classes from different disciplines in-between general requirements. Be ready with a list of first and second choices on registration day, especially at a large school with lots of students. [RELATED: How to Create Your First College Schedule] Summer checklist item #5: Choose at least one extracurricular The first year of college can be a little intimidating and even occasionally lonely. One way to combat the discomfort of this major transition is to choose a club or activity to join right away. Take some time during the summer to see whats available in terms of intramural sports, student clubs, volunteer work, or even popular campus jobs, and figure out how to work an interest of yours into your schedule. Summer checklist item #6: Buy textbooks Once youre registered for classes, youre going to need school supplies. Textbooks can be a major expense, so see if you can find used copies in local bookstores or online for less than theyll cost in the campus bookstore. If you dont have a computer, youll also likely need one of those. Summer checklist item #7: Friend your roommate Sometime during the summer youll be notified who your roommate is; get in touch over social media or email, and get to know them! You may hit it off, or at the very least you can coordinate whos bringing the mini-fridge and other dorm room must-haves. You can also talk about preferences for having visitors, sleep schedules, and other roommate issues. Summer checklist item #8: Take a look at your finances This is a great time to learn a little about finances, and to make sure that youre set up for success. Youll probably want to open a bank account. Make sure youve filled out all of your financial paperwork for scholarships, grants, and/or student loans, and build yourself a budget for covering tuition, books, living expenses, and spending money. Summer checklist item #9: Speak with your parents or guardians Make sure you communicate clearly with your parents or guardians about things like finances, expectations for how often youll call or come to visit, and other pieces of your relationship that might change now that youre off on your own. If you build a plan together, it can help prevent future conflict. Summer checklist item #10: Get check-ups Finally, get check-ups for yourself, any pets youre taking with you, and your mode of transportation. There may be mandatory vaccinations that youll need before moving into a college dorm. If youre moving far away, youll want to guarantee your car or bike is reliable and in good working condition. Your first semester will be full of new experiences, people, and situations, but you can easily set yourself up for success (and a lot of fun) with this summer checklist for incoming college freshmen. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

Simplify Radical Expression

Simplify Radical Expression Radical expression is a mathematical expression which can consists of radicals, variables and numbers. The meaning for the word radical is root. Radicals are very much used in almost every topic of mathematics. There are different mathematical operations that can be used to simplify and solve questions related to radicals expressions. Two radicals can be added or subtracted if they have the same number or expression in the root, this makes them similar radicals to carry mathematical operations. Example 1: Simplify and find the answer for the given radical expression 2 3 x + 5 3 x 3 x? Solution: The given question is on adding and subtracting radicals. This question contains the adding and subtracting the similar radical 3. The first step of the question is solving for 23 x + 53 x = 73 x. Now subtract 3 from the earlier answer 73 x = 6 3 Therefore simplifying the radicals gives 2 3 x + 5 3 x 3 x = 6 3 x. Hence solution = 6 3 x. Example 2: Simplify find the answer for the given question 5 x + 45 x 25 x? Solution: The given question is on adding and subtracting radicals. This question contains the adding and subtracting the similar radical 5 The first step of the question is solving for 5 x + 4 5 x = 5 5 x Now subtract 25 x from the earlier answer 5 5 = 3 5 Therefore simplifying the radicals gives 5 x + 45 x 25 x = 35 x Hence solution = 35 x.

10 Extremely Influential Guitarists Who Were Not Technically Great

10 Extremely Influential Guitarists Who Were Not Technically Great Megan L. You dont have to be a virtuoso guitarist to touch peoples hearts with your music! Guitar teacher  Samuel B.  shares a few of his favorite great-but-not-that-great famous guitar players Towards the end of Johnny Cashs autobiography, youll find the following paragraph: As to my musical future, my prospects look good. I can whack on a guitar as incompetently as I could a year ago, probably more so. I can sing just as well, or as badly, as I ever could. And Ive got more songs trying to go through me than ever; Ive written three in the last three weeks. Despite his technical limitations,  Johnny Cash remains an iconic musician, and likely will for decades to come. It is a mistake, I think, to automatically link great music  with technical perfection. Vaughan, Hendrix, and Clapton aside, the majority of my guitar heroes were not superb musicians. Their influence is based on innovation and expression to a much greater extent than it is on fluid musicianship. Cash is just one example. Here are nine others: Bob Dylan Guitar-wise, the best Ive heard of Dylan are the tracks on his first album for Columbia: Bob Dylan (1962). With two exceptions, its 14 tracks are traditional songs or material by other artists which Dylan adapted to a fast-paced “high and lonesome” style involving intense strumming and (in some cases) intricate fingerpicking. Despite these energetic musical highlights, none of his other albums boast remarkable guitar moments. While Dylan has proven himself an exceptional and highly influential lyricist, his musicianship is considered average at best. Tom Petty Just listen to the opening chords of “Free Fallin.” They are about as simple as they come. The song itself has no chorus or bridge. Very few figures in rock create anthems as memorable as Pettys. Theyre not based on intricacy â€" just gut and tone. Pettys music  is raw and exuberant. Any listener can relate to it. Richie Havens A former doo-wop and gospel singer, Havens maintained a career of playing an alternate tuning with his thumb over the neck. The sound of his strumming and his voice was unmistakable â€" a powerful yet warm and soothing balm. At times, he described his guitar as more of a tool than an instrument. Havens contribution to music history was not based so much on musical excellence as it was on his ability to use his artistic gifts and his grandfatherly wisdom to inspire the best in others. BB King Footage from the 1988 documentary Rattle and Hum includes a collaboration between U2 and King. During the rehearsal, King twice indicates how poorly he plays chords. Kings calling card was his vibrato which (like Havens thumb chords) was his alone. Who can forget his childlike face after telling Lucille to talk to him and closing his eyes? Kurt Cobain Even on Nirvanas intimate MTV unplugged album, no guitar highlights are apparent. In most respects, Cobain was an innovative songwriter and bandleader. He should be credited as having been one of the key players that brought alternative music to the mainstream. Few bands had a sound as full-bodied and expressive as Nirvanas. Joni Mitchell Mitchells diverse use of open tunings is not well-known. Shes used more of them than any recognizable guitarist I can think of. The sound of her lower strings has been compared to that of a snare drum. The sound of her higher ones to that of a cool jazz horn section. Shes even taken to having her electric “VG-8” guitar tuned offstage as each song on her set list is in a different tuning. Still, she is not a technically brilliant guitarist. Dave “The Edge” Evans I  once saw  Evans provide a televised tour of his onstage lineup of pedals and related electronic tools during U2s Zoo TV tour in the early 90s. Among the guitarists whove honed a recognizable niche in alternative music, hes a chief innovator. The haunting opening lines of “With Or Without You” should be considered a revolutionary piece of musical history in of itself â€" a single sustained note over multiple measure of the bass line (not an easy feat actually). The strumming later in the song comes close to imitating the sound of a train. As with Cobain, credit is due as praise for the sound itself â€" not for how fast and flashy he has played it. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers When it comes to attitude and energy (not to mention lyrical brilliance and enough stage presence to convert an entire arena of avid concertgoers into instant fans), nobody compares to Amy and Emily (The Indigo Girls). Theyve penned what I consider to be some of the most memorable songs of the last two (nearly three) decades (ie “Closer To Fine”, “Joking”, “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee”, “Least Complicated”). As is true with many of the others mentioned, unforgettable guitar licks are few (if any) on their albums and in their live shows. Theyve given us a beautiful tapestry of poetry and emotion thats easy for most of us to appreciate and understand. What did you think of this list? Are there any famous guitar players youd like to add? Let us know in the comments below! Samuel B. teaches beginner  guitar lessons in Austin, TX. He teaches lessons face-to-face without sheet music, which is his adaptation of Japanese instruction (involving a call-and-response method). Learn more about Samuel here! Photo by Mathias Miranda Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

What Language do Animals Speak

What Language do Animals Speak Do animals use language? Its clear to anyone who has had a pet that animals communicate. My dog and cat are both great at telling me when they need to go outside, when theyre hungry, and when theyre angry. My cat is especially great at telling me shes angry. She usually does it by running between my legs while Im going down the stairs. Basically shes trying to break my neck to show me that Im failing her.Anyway, after watching the TED-Ed video that we selected this week, I found that it is interesting to  ask  whether animals have language, and what the difference is between language and communication.Before watching the video below, what do you think is the difference between having a language and being able to communicate? Do you think there are any  animals that have language?Watch the video below, then see if you can answer the questions. Answer the questions in comments and well respond. Answer the questions below in comments and well respond.How do honey bees communicate with e ach other? What do they communicate about?What 4 things are required for language?Why do you think these 4 things are required to define language?Which of these requires modal verbs and the conditional tense?What surprising things can prarie dogs do?What are chimps unable to do that prevents them from having language?What do dolphins lack?Even Washo and Kokos impressive abilities are still  ______  by the language skills of most 3 year old humans.

How do students react to automated film-analysis essay evaluation

How do students react to automated film-analysis essay evaluation Recently, I reported on the perils and promise of a project I have been working on with Dr. Frank Bonkowski. We created an automated film-analysis essay evaluation system to provide the correction and formative scoring of essays to his advanced English Second Language learners at CEGEP de St-Laurent, in Montreal, Canada. The idea was to have the Virtual Writing Tutor process an essay and give formative feedback on grammatical errors, content and organization, vocabulary use, and scholarship. He tried the automated formative evaluation system with his students and we have some preliminary results to share. To see the first blog post on this topic and test the system with a sample essay, click below. Automatic Film Analysis Essay Evaluation Perils and Promise How will automated film-analysis essay evaluations help? We expected the system would help in two ways. First, we expected that the essay evaluation system would reduce the teachers workload by about 12.5 hours per week. Every time a teacher assigns an essay to his or her 120-150 students, the ten minutes spent correcting each essay adds about 25 hours of work to the teachers workload. Spread over two weeks, thats about 2 hours a day of extra work. However, by using the regularly scheduled computer lab hour to have students submit their essays to the VirtualWritingTutor.com online essay evaluation system, we expected that the teacher would be able to forgo much of that correction work. Secondly, we expected that students would be able to use the automatically generated feedback and scores on multiple drafts of their essay to improve the final result. That seems to be the case, also. Frank filmed semi-structured interviews with a handful of his students, asking them about their experience using the formative evaluation system. As we expected, students made multiple revisions of their essays, using the feedback and score from the Virtual Writing Tutor to guide the changes they made to their vocabulary, cohesion, language accuracy, thesis statement and topic sentences. The experiment Frank and I discussed the essay format, indicators of essay quality, and how students would use the system. Frank prepared his students with a series of lessons on researching and writing a film-analysis essay. Meanwhile, I worked with my programmer to define thresholds and comments based on essay features that we can detect with the Virtual Writing Tutor. With their research in hand, the students wrote a draft of their essays in the multimedia lab, but instead of handing them in to the teacher and waiting two weeks for feedback, the students ran their essays through the Virtual Writing Tutors formative film-analysis essay evaluation system. In just 2 seconds, the system generated four pages of feedback, scores, and comments on how to improve their grades. Using formative evaluation from the VWT, students revised for a week and handed in their final draft for Frank to evaluate. The results are encouraging. The students textThe first page of feedback The second page of feedback The third page of feedback The fourth page of feedback Bugs and catastrophic failures Until the system was fully debugged, the axiom held true that human intelligence fails by degrees but Artificial Intelligence fails catastrophically. Some students encountered Internal server error messages when they submitted incomplete drafts. Others balked at mystifyingly low scores triggered by a misspelled heading for their Works Cited list, two apostrophes instead of quotation marks, camelcase or other unexpected characters in their in-text citations, lack of paragraphing, and other formatting errors. Obviously, human teachers are still better able at handling the unexpected chaos in student writing than the VWT. We gleaned two insights from the failures. First, human coaching is essential for getting confused students to use the system successfully. (Incidentally, I have come to believe that the teachers prestige increases when students come to view him or her as an ally in a battle against the machine.) We expect that the second time they use it, they will understand the limitations of the machines AI and develop some persistence and patient problem-solving in the face of trouble. Second, we saw the need for a method to anonymously capture texts that trigger system errors and bad feedback. To that end, we added a Rate Feedback button and popup that would allow students signal a positive or negative reaction (thumbs up or down) and leave comments to guide our debugging efforts. Rate Feedback popup Semi-structured interviews What follows below are the video recordings and key findings from those semi-structured interviews. A summary of the increases in scores between the first draft and the final draft calculated by the Virtual Writing Tutors film-analysis essay evaluation system is given for each student interviewed. On average, the five students that Frank interviewed improved their scores by 21.2%. Frank told me that he selected the students to interview based on their willingness to revise their drafts, so it is doubtful that all of his students increased their scores by 21%. Student reaction #1: Ada Ada improved her score by 47% from 50% to 97%, making 7 revisions. She found the automatically generated comments detailed and useful. She rewrote her topic sentences based on sentiment analysis feedback to make stronger claims. She also added film and literary analysis vocabulary to improve the depth of her analysis. Student reaction #2: Sophie Sophie improved her score by 20%, going from a 59% to a 79%. She added literary analysis vocabulary based on suggestions of words listed in the automatic comments. Sophie also made corrections based on the grammar checker feedback. Student reaction #3: Alissa Alissa improved her score by 14%, going from 68% to 82%. She made her topic sentences more specific based on the sentiment analysis feedback, and she used the examples of a model topic sentences in the comments to rewrite her own topic sentences. She rewrote her conclusion based on feedback on her word choice. She increased the number and specificity of transition words to build cohesion. Student reaction #4: Valencia Valencia revised her essay 2-3 times and improved her score by 11%., going from 76% to 87%. She used the grammar feedback to improve her language accuracy (spelling). She increased the number and specificity of transition words to build cohesion. She made her thesis stronger using sentiment analysis feedback and the example of a model topic sentence provided in the comments. Student reaction #5: Rosalie Rosalie improved her score by 14%, going from a 63% to a 77%. She added film and literary analysis vocabulary to increase her score. She notes that the system did not recognize her Works Cited section at first. Part of the increase in her score may have been due to our debugging efforts. What have we learned about automated film-analysis essay evaluations? Remember that this was an early pilot of the system. Though we are optimistic that automated formative essay evaluations are likely to become a more common feature of ESL instruction in the future, this was simply a proof-of-concept experiment. We see this as encouraging evidence that there could be a place for automated essay scoring for formative purposes in our own courses. There is still a lot to learn. Franks comments Frank shared some of his own observations with me. He told me that his score of each students essay did not exactly match the score generated by the VWT. The system cannot tell the difference between meaningful reflections on a film and well-structured blather. Feedback overload Frank also told me that the volume of feedback (four 8.5 x 11 inch pages at a time) was overwhelming for some students. Some students told Frank that they just wanted the system to tell them what to do next. This remark prompted me to ask my programmer to put the comments into collapsed accordion sections showing just the score for each of the four dimensions of evaluation: content and structure, vocabulary, language accuracy, and scholarship. In some cases, we just want the headlines of the news and not all the details all at once, right? In the first iteration of the evaluation system, the comments were all regular black text. Since then, I have colour-coded the feedback so that green comments indicate 100%, black comments come with scores of 60%-90%, and red comments are for scores that less than 60%. In this way, students get a better sense of what requires immediate attention. How it works now with accordion sections and colour-coded comments. Reliability In terms of the system helping a teacher determine a summative score for the final drafts of the film-analysis essays, Frank told me that the system seemed most reliable at scoring the range and depth of vocabulary. Because it involved a straight count of literary analysis words and film analysis words, it helped him make an evidence based judgement about how much of the literary analysis toolkit he had taught them in class. Sometimes, even a straight count of vocabulary items can indicate achievement. Essays with literary terms suggest that student can and are willing to use literary terms in an analysis of a film. Thats good. Reliably less reliable were the automatically generated language accuracy scores. Foreign actors and directors names were flagged as errors even when correctly spelled. Whoops! Im not too worried about this, though. The system will perform better in the future. I added a list of exceptions to the grammar checkers internal spelling dictionary. However, the false alarms created some consternation for students. They were disappointed to see low language accuracy scores with no way to improve them. Frustrating. I get it. Coverage Frank noted that there were a number of glaring errors that the system missed. Obviously, the lack of error-detection coverage is a concern for me. I have been coding error detection rules for the past seven years, focusing mostly on high-beginner and low-intermediate learner errors. Now that Frank is using the system with his advanced students, I will have to write more rules to detect their most common errors. I will get there eventually. First, do no harm Frank certainly did not seem to think that the quality of his students writing declined. This automatic essay evaluation system is not doing anybody any harm. Nicks comments On the whole, we are both pretty confident that the system is helping students with their writing. Students seem to be able to use the scores and the comments to make changes to their essays. Gamification of revision I suspect that there is a kind of gamification happening. The student might enjoy using a comment to get an extra percent or two. Each revision provides a little boost and creates a kind of ludic loop. You play, your points increase, and you want to keep playing. Thats good. At junior college, students can sometimes lack college readiness. They can have the attitude of I did my homework and now its the teachers problem. Jock Mackay at a conference in 2014 called it efficiency syndrome. Students often try to get their school work done as quickly as possible. Think of it as optimal foraging. Students want a score above zero while expending as little energy as possible. Gamifying essay writing with automated formative evaluations seems to keep even underachieving students coming back to the task because they get immediate feedback that the job is not quite done yet. They keep plugging away at it, willing to make a micro effort in order to get the next bump in their score. Scholarship checker Upon reflection, I admit that the Scholarship calculation is still very rudimentary. Frank told me that some students reference lists were very sloppy but scored 100% anyway. I should explain that the system simply checks for a Works Cited heading and counts the number of non-empty lines below it. We have not made any attempt to check if the MLA style has been followed or not. At junior college, I am usually happy just to see that students are discovering and reporting other peoples ideas. They will have to up their game at university, but we can work on a more rigorous analysis using MLA or APA style requirements in the future. Revision strategies The fact that the students Frank interviewed reported making multiple revisions is the biggest news. Why? Getting students to reread and reflect on specific features of their writing is itself progress. Franks students said that the scores with comments were helpful in guiding their revisions. This tells me that the cognitive load of explicit, detailed feedback will remain manageable for some students with just accordion buttons and colour-coded comments. If we discover that only the most highly proficient students can use the comments productively and other weaker students find it all too bewildering, we will have to reflect on how teachers give feedback to that kind of student. Experienced teachers comments with stressed out students will tend to focus on the next concrete step toward improvementnot the next 30 steps. One strategy we could use might be an easy-win summary box of only the feedback with the biggest impact on the the students score. As a teacher faced with an anxious student, I would not want to try to give feedback on all aspects of the essay at once. Instead, I might draw the students attention to glaring omissions. For example, I might say, You have made a good start, but you forgot your works-cited section. Adding that will increase your score by 25%! Big score boosts can alleviate that sense of helplessness and allow for further revisions later. It is something to think about. Please follow and like us: