The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s indirectly led to an increased emphasis on ... more The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s indirectly led to an increased emphasis on communication skills in the workplace. This paper examines the communication needs of the workplace and whether the education system prepares them for these needs.
Students and researchers are frequently required to write summaries, either during examinations o... more Students and researchers are frequently required to write summaries, either during examinations or as part of their ongoing work. This paper describes some features of a summary, derived from work in Natural Language Processing, briefly examines the AutoSummarize tool in Microsoft Word, and then proposes that such tools can be used in teaching.
The paper describes three approaches that are used to teach the symbols of Indic scripts, such as... more The paper describes three approaches that are used to teach the symbols of Indic scripts, such as Devanagari-shape similarity, productive symbols, and through an alphabetic system.
Although Indians represent a sizable market for computers and mobile phones, the technology for t... more Although Indians represent a sizable market for computers and mobile phones, the technology for typing and displaying text in Indic scripts has lagged far behind the demand. The main hurdles have been (a) the nature of the Indic scripts and (b) the lack of compatibility across software providers. This paper examines three input devices -manual typewriters, computer keyboards, and mobile phone keypads-that have modified existing models for English. It compares these with the technology developed for typing text in Japanese.
When creating or selecting texts for instruction, textbook writers frequently rely on their judgm... more When creating or selecting texts for instruction, textbook writers frequently rely on their judgment about the difficulty of a text. For a more objective measure of text difficulty, text analysis tools are available. This paper briefly describes one such tool, Coh-Metrix, which can identify linguistic and psycholinguistic features of texts. The text analysis tool was used to analyze the texts in four textbook series that are used in Classes 1-4. The results on four parameters are displayed, allowing a comparison between textbook series and across grades.
India is a multilingual and multiscriptal country; however, with globalization, there is an incre... more India is a multilingual and multiscriptal country; however, with globalization, there is an increasing demand for education i n English despite the fact that neither parents nor children know English. This paper examines the first year of school instruction where children aged 3;6 learn to form the components and letters of the English alphabet. I focus on how four children try to make sense of literacy through English. With formal school instruction, they begin to limit their notions of literacy to writing the alphabet sequence, and move their sense
In their survey of literacy attainment in the primary grades in rural India, ASER (2011) found a ... more In their survey of literacy attainment in the primary grades in rural India, ASER (2011) found a mismatch between the high expectations of textbooks and the reality of student abilities. This paper examines the readability of English textbooks used in the primary grades in English-medium schools. Using the text analysis tool Coh-Metrix, it found differences on four parameterstext length, narrativity, type-token ratio, and use of anaphora-between the commercial textbooks and the new government textbooks. The commercial textbooks use texts to teach language by manipulating linguistic variables, whereas the new government textbooks focus on the story. The results are discussed in terms of the educational philosophies and assumptions of the two types of organizations, and recent directions in textbooks.
About 2300 years ago, a script called Brahmi was developed and used in India (Salomon, 1996). Der... more About 2300 years ago, a script called Brahmi was developed and used in India (Salomon, 1996). Derivatives of this script spread through most of India and, by the 6th century, they had spread to Southeast Asia through trade and Buddhism. All scripts derived from Brahmi are today known as abugidas, and it is at this category of scripts—and, in particular, text entry in such—that this chapter is directed. Although Brahmi is no longer in use, it is the source of most of the scripts used today in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Many of these ...
The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s indirectly led to an increased emphasis on ... more The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s indirectly led to an increased emphasis on communication skills in the workplace. This paper examines the communication needs of the workplace and whether the education system prepares them for these needs.
Students and researchers are frequently required to write summaries, either during examinations o... more Students and researchers are frequently required to write summaries, either during examinations or as part of their ongoing work. This paper describes some features of a summary, derived from work in Natural Language Processing, briefly examines the AutoSummarize tool in Microsoft Word, and then proposes that such tools can be used in teaching.
The paper describes three approaches that are used to teach the symbols of Indic scripts, such as... more The paper describes three approaches that are used to teach the symbols of Indic scripts, such as Devanagari-shape similarity, productive symbols, and through an alphabetic system.
Although Indians represent a sizable market for computers and mobile phones, the technology for t... more Although Indians represent a sizable market for computers and mobile phones, the technology for typing and displaying text in Indic scripts has lagged far behind the demand. The main hurdles have been (a) the nature of the Indic scripts and (b) the lack of compatibility across software providers. This paper examines three input devices -manual typewriters, computer keyboards, and mobile phone keypads-that have modified existing models for English. It compares these with the technology developed for typing text in Japanese.
When creating or selecting texts for instruction, textbook writers frequently rely on their judgm... more When creating or selecting texts for instruction, textbook writers frequently rely on their judgment about the difficulty of a text. For a more objective measure of text difficulty, text analysis tools are available. This paper briefly describes one such tool, Coh-Metrix, which can identify linguistic and psycholinguistic features of texts. The text analysis tool was used to analyze the texts in four textbook series that are used in Classes 1-4. The results on four parameters are displayed, allowing a comparison between textbook series and across grades.
India is a multilingual and multiscriptal country; however, with globalization, there is an incre... more India is a multilingual and multiscriptal country; however, with globalization, there is an increasing demand for education i n English despite the fact that neither parents nor children know English. This paper examines the first year of school instruction where children aged 3;6 learn to form the components and letters of the English alphabet. I focus on how four children try to make sense of literacy through English. With formal school instruction, they begin to limit their notions of literacy to writing the alphabet sequence, and move their sense
In their survey of literacy attainment in the primary grades in rural India, ASER (2011) found a ... more In their survey of literacy attainment in the primary grades in rural India, ASER (2011) found a mismatch between the high expectations of textbooks and the reality of student abilities. This paper examines the readability of English textbooks used in the primary grades in English-medium schools. Using the text analysis tool Coh-Metrix, it found differences on four parameterstext length, narrativity, type-token ratio, and use of anaphora-between the commercial textbooks and the new government textbooks. The commercial textbooks use texts to teach language by manipulating linguistic variables, whereas the new government textbooks focus on the story. The results are discussed in terms of the educational philosophies and assumptions of the two types of organizations, and recent directions in textbooks.
About 2300 years ago, a script called Brahmi was developed and used in India (Salomon, 1996). Der... more About 2300 years ago, a script called Brahmi was developed and used in India (Salomon, 1996). Derivatives of this script spread through most of India and, by the 6th century, they had spread to Southeast Asia through trade and Buddhism. All scripts derived from Brahmi are today known as abugidas, and it is at this category of scripts—and, in particular, text entry in such—that this chapter is directed. Although Brahmi is no longer in use, it is the source of most of the scripts used today in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Many of these ...
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Papers by Renu Gupta