PDF Hybrid learning theory and practice 7th international conference ichl 2014 shanghai china august
Hybrid Learning Theory and Practice
7th International Conference ICHL 2014
Shanghai China August 8 10 2014
Proceedings
1st Edition Simon K. S. Cheung
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Blended Learning Education in a Smart Learning Environment 13th International Conference ICBL 2020 Bangkok Thailand August 24 27 2020 Proceedings Simon K. S. Cheung
Adaptive and Intelligent Systems Third International Conference ICAIS 2014 Bournemouth UK September 8 10 2014 Proceedings 1st Edition Abdelhamid Bouchachia (Eds.)
3 School of Foreign Languages East China Normal University 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai, 200062, PR. China yqren@admin.ecnu.edu.cn
Abstract. For a better understanding of the status quo of blended learning, this paper conducted a survey in five high schools in Shanghai. The results of the survey indicate that high school learners are not fully aware of the value of blended learning, and that only a small proportion of them have applied blended learning to their study. Although high school learners hold positive attitudes towards blended learning, guidance from their teachers is quite limited in this respect. Teachers seldom offer online learning resources or online courses to learners. This leads to the limited application of blended learning. The paper also discovers that learner’s involvement in blended learning is heavily influenced by factors such as family commitment, learning time, and learning devices. Based on these findings, the paper finally puts forwards a number of suggestions on how to improve the effectiveness of blended learning among young learners.
Different scholars have defined blended learning from different perspectives [1, 2]. Driscoll defines blended learning as a way to combine or mix modes of web-based technology (e.g. live virtual classroom, self-paced instruction, collaborative learning, streaming video, audio, and text) to accomplish an educational goal, combine various pedagogical approaches (e.g. constructivism, behaviorism, cognitivism) to produce an optimal learning outcome with or without instructional technology, combine any form of instructional technology (e.g. videotape, CD-ROM, Web-based training, film) with face-to-face instructor-led training to mix or combine instructional technology with actual job tasks in order to create a harmonious effect of learning and working [3]. Singh and Reed
* Corresponding author.
S.K.S. Cheung et al. (Eds.): ICHL 2014, LNCS 8595, pp. 1–10, 2014.
proposed that blended learning should focus on optimizing achievement of learning objectives by applying the "right" personal learning technologies to watch the "right" personal learning style to transfer the "right" skills to the "right" person at the "right" time [4]. Bonk’s definition of blended learning is very simple and brief. He holds that the concept of blended learning is established with the advent and development of the Internet [5]. Therefore blended learning is a combination of face-to-face instruction with online learning [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Bonk’s definition of blended learning has currently become a classical version in the academic circle.
Lots of Chinese scholars have developed the theory of blended learning based on Bonk’s definition. Li believes that blended learning is based on the reflection on online learning, and that it integrates face-to-face instruction with online learning. It is a teaching model which aims to reduce cost and enhance learning efficiency [11]. He proposes that blended learning is the combination of traditional learning and online learning [12]. On the one hand, the teacher plays a dominant role in monitoring the teaching process, offering guidance, and arousing learners’ inspiration; on the other hand, blended learning is also a learner-directed process which aims to exert learners’ initiative and creativity. Such a learning model is expected to achieve the best learning results by integrating advantages from both sides.
As two key factors of blended learning, face-to-face instruction and online learning do not always share a fixed proportion. Online learning can be either teacher guided or learner directed. Although the ultimate goal of blended learning is to improve the effectiveness of learning, it does not mean that the content of online learning should be closely related to what is taught and learned in the classroom. Blended learning can be generalized as an online learning model which involves learners with elementary educational background, higher educational background, or face-to-face lifelong educational background.
It has been widely proved that blended learning is a better learning model than pure face-to-face classroom teaching or online learning [13]. We should not only offer more theoretical support to blended learning, but also help teachers, students, and the public better understand and recognize blended learning. Due to the development of the Internet and the advancement of educational technology, various online courses and new techniques and instruments for online learning have sprung up and learners have more access to computers and such network environments which are essential for online learning. In China, blended learning is acknowledged to have been widely applied in the elementary and higher educational systems. Teachers from the elementary educational system are deeply engaged in the exploration of blended learning with a view to promoting the integration between curriculum development and information technology [14]. But currently, no specific data have supported the popularization of blended learning in schools. For this reason, the authors have decided to conduct a survey in 5 high schools in Shanghai and it aims to answer the following questions:
• Has blended learning been widely applied by high school students in Shanghai?
• What are the types and characteristics of blended learning among these learners?
• What are the factors that may influence students’ blended learning?
These research questions seek to discover the actual application of blended learning among students, to explore the negative factors that hinder the application of blended learning, and therefore to offer more constructive suggestions for the further development of blended leaning in the elementary educational system.
2 Research Method
2.1 Research Subjects
The research selected 400 senior two high school students from 10 classes of 5 high schools in Shanghai. These five schools are located in different districts of Shanghai. Of the five schools, the best has 90% students enrolled by the first-class universities in China; while the poorest only has less than 30%. Such percentage reflects the average educational levels in Shanghai’s high schools.
2.2 Questionnaire
The questionnaire consists of 56 questions categorized into four parts: learners’ general background, classroom learning, inquiry-based learning, and the habit of online leaning. A total of 400 questionnaires have been delivered and collected, and 393 are effective. There are questions concerning the proportion of blended learning in education include: Have you ever heard of blended learning? What’s your attitude towards the use of online resources for classroom teaching and learning? Do your teachers offer you the chance to read or watch some online resources for classroom teaching? There are also questions concerning the types and characteristics of blended learning: What are the online resources that your teachers have recommended? What’s your method of online learning? Do you ask the Internet for help when you meet with learning difficulties? And how do you finally solve such problems? Questions concerning the negative factors that hinder the application of blended learning include: What are the factors that prevent you from learning online? What are your parents and teachers’ attitudes towards net surfing?
The questionnaire contains a lot of items related to online learning. Strictly speaking, online learning is not equivalent to blended learning. But to high school students, leaning is a subject-based process and they tend to understand online learning as a hybrid concept related to various subjects and courses. In this sense, online learning and blended learning are closely connected. In the design of the questionnaire, the authors inquired some of the subjects and the result indicated that the items associated with online learning directly reflected learners’ understanding of blended learning.
2.3 Data Processing
The data of this research is processed and analyzed with SPSS 20.0 software.
3 Research Method
3.1 Overview
The data of the questionnaire indicate that 89.0% students have never heard of blended learning and that 83.1% students have never heard of MOOCs. Generally speaking, learners are not fully aware of blended learning or those online learning resources that support blended learning.
However, the data also indicate that most students hold a positive attitude towards blended learning. 52.8% students believe it necessary or very necessary to support classroom learning with online resources. 41.2% students don’t think it matters too much whether to use online resources or not. Only 5.9% think it unnecessary to prepare online resources for classroom learning.
Although students hold such a positive attitude, they are not actively involved in blended learning. Only 14.5% students participate in online learning. Among them, those who have studied online courses of Khan Academy, Coursera, edX, and Udacity only account for 4.0%, 1.1%, 1.8%, and 1.5% respectively. When students meet with learning difficulties, about 18.5% of them will first turn to the Internet for help. When they preview or review a certain chapter of a course, only 13.2% students agree that learning online is their top priority.
3.2 Equipment
Good equipment is an essential guarantee of blended learning. The questionnaire inquired about the possible equipment used for blended learning, such as PC, laptop computer, pad, e-books, Mp4, and cell phones. Data indicate that cell phones are used most, Mp4 next, followed by laptop computer, pad, PC and e-books.
Fig. 1. Students’ attitudes towards blended learning
3.3 Teacher's Role
According to the data, 79.4% students agree that their teachers never or just occasionally arrange them to read or watch online learning resources before or after the class. As regards the forms of classroom teaching, 54.2% students do not care whether there are online resources or not, and only 6.8% welcome online resources. 86.1% students agree that their teachers never or occasionally recommend online courses or lectures to them. Only 17.4% students admit that online learning resources are mainly recommended by the teacher.
3.4 Teacher’s Information Literacy
According to the result of the questionnaire, 93.9% students agree that their teachers always or often use PPT in classroom teaching; 19.1% students agree that their teachers always or often show them movies in classroom teaching; 15.4% students agree that their teachers always or often show them documentaries; 42.8% students agree that their teachers always or often play teaching videos of the course; 66.6% students agree that their teachers always or often show them cartoons, and 50.6% students agree that their teachers always or often use teaching software. The rest of the students agree that their teachers occasionally or never use multi-media equipment.
Fig. 2. Students’ possession of different equipment
Fig. 3. Online learning resources recommended by teachers
43.8% students agree that their teachers always or often use PC in classroom teaching; 61.6% students agree that their teachers always or often use laptop computers; 19.8% students agree that their teachers always or often use the pad; 49.9% students agree that their teachers always or often use the e-board. The rest of the students admit that their teachers occasionally or never use the above-mentioned teaching aids.
3.5 Students’ Habit of Blended Learning
The order of priority for the students to obtain online learning resources tends to follow the following pattern: scattered items (66.8%) first, followed by textbooks and reference (27.0%), academic journal (2.5%), online courses (1.9%), subscription materials (1.1%), and other materials (0.5%). When students meet with learning difficulties, 52.5% of them tend to search the Internet for the direct answer; 39.8% of them tend to search the Internet for reference materials; 5.5% of them tend to discuss these problems with other online users, and 2.1% of them tend to read or watch online courses. 85.0% students choose text materials as the major type of media of all online learning resources. 12.6% students choose visual materials while 2.4% students choose audio materials. 64.9% students search the Internet for online learning resources when they do revision after class, 6.8% students tend to search for online learning resources when they do prevision before class. As for students’ motivation for online learning, it is mainly direct, problem-driven, and fragmented rather than
Fig. 4. The use of teaching resources
Fig. 5. The use of teaching equipment
organized, systematic, and reflective. And the online materials that students use for blended learning is mainly text based.
3.6 Negative Factors
30.2% students think that they are restricted too much by their parents. 27.2% students agree that they don’t have time for online learning. 24.1% students complain
Fig. 6. Ways of obtaining online resources
Fig. 7. Students’ online learning behavior
Fig. 8. Negative factors of online learning
that online learning is not convenient at all. 19.6% students think of low Internet speed as the major negative factors. 16.1% students agree that equipment problems prevent them from learning online. Of all the students, 27.7 of them agree that they are able to learn online freely.
4 Conclusion
4.1 The Status Quo of Blended Learning in Shanghai
As one of the most developed city in China, Shanghai has achieved a fairly high level in educational informatization. Targeted at the high school students in Shanghai, this research is supposed to present the best case of blended learning in China’s elementary educational system. However, the result of the survey indicates that high school students in Shanghai are still not fully aware of blended learning, their participation in blended learning is quite low, and they are unfamiliar with newly emerged online learning models such as MOOCs and seldom do they get involved in such courses. When they meet with learning difficulties, they tend to seek help from peer learners, or try to solve the problem by reading textbooks or reference books. Online learning becomes peripheral. There is thus a sharp contrast between the reality and the optimistic attitude held by scholars and researchers who believe in the wide application of blended learning. Currently most research in blended learning is still conducted at the theoretical or experimental level. More frontline teachers need to get engaged in the research and practice of blended learning.
4.2 Types and Characteristics of Blended Learning among High School Students
Despite their incomplete awareness of blended learning and low participation in it, most students hold a positive attitude towards blended learning supported with online learning resources. Some students have subconsciously integrated blended learning with their own learning style. This is the so-called self-blended learning, that is, students have the ability to autonomously choose online learning resources in the process of blended learning[15].
Research data also indicate that most teachers tend to teach by using PPT and videos. The application of information technology to their teaching is a good display of their information literacy, but they seldom recommend online learning resources to their students and they’re not eager to integrate blended learning with classroom teaching. The vast majority of students also hold a negative attitude towards teacher-directed blended learning. This is due to the fact that teachers focus more on using multi-media resources in their classroom teaching but they do not offer enough guidance to encourage online learning outside the classroom. The online learning resources recommended by the teacher are also mainly text-based files and learning software. More systematic learning resources such as online courses and lectures are seldom recommended.
For lack of teachers’ guidance, problems also arise in students’ self-directed blended learning. Their online learning is not systematic and the effect of online learning also needs to be improved. Their online learning is mostly simple, fragmented, problem-
driven, and their purpose of online learning is to solve specific problems. By searching for the answer on the Internet, they have plenty of access to text-based resources, but rarely do they choose more systematic online courses supported with various audio and visual resources. Most students tend to make use of online learning resources when they review their lessons after class. They seldom use online resources for prevision. Therefore in practice online learning becomes supplementary and superficial. This is far from the actual effect that we aim to achieve by integrating blended learning with online learning.
4.3 Factors Affecting Blended Learning
Students’ insufficient participation into blended learning is not only under the influence of the general educational system, but also under the restriction of such environmental factors as the Internet devices, the Internet speed, and family control, etc. Among these factors, family control of Internet surfing accounts for the largest percentage. About 30% students agree that restrictions from parents have prevented their online learning. In the questionnaire, the data from “the habit of using the Internet” indicate that teachers and parents never completely restrict access to the Internet. On the contrary, most teachers and parents encourage students to search the Internet and practise online learning. The conflict lies in the fact that students’ online learning does not follow a linear pattern. Their learning is motivated gradually in the process of net surfing. But such net surfing is usually aimless at the initial stage. Although teachers and parents support online learning, they cannot tolerate such aimless and learner-directed online behaviors. The difference in the understanding of online behaviors forces students to practice online learning with stronger purposes, such as the search for a specific answer. This in turn deprives students of more autonomous blended learning.
As regards the learning devices, most students have owned one or more of the following: personal computer, laptop, pad, e-book, MP4, and cell phone. And cell phones have the highest ownership. Considering that we are still not fully prepared to use cell phones for mobile learning, some students still think that poor equipment is one of the major negative factors against online learning. It is possible that in some underdeveloped areas outside Shanghai, the negative influence of poor equipment on online learning will remain much stronger. Besides, insufficient time of online learning, slow Internet speed, and the inconvenience of online learning are also other negative factors against blended learning.
5 Suggestions
Blended learning is still not fully understood by high school students, and only a small percentage of them have practiced blended learning. Despite students’ positive attitudes towards blended learning, relevant guidance from the teacher is quite limited. Teachers seldom recommend systematic online courses and resources to students. Therefore blended learning in practice follows a simple and straightforward pattern. It is problem-directed, but not systematic or reflective. Various factors may adversely influence students’ blended learning, such as family control, learning de-
vices, and learning time, etc. To further promote the development of blended learning in the elementary educational system, we need to extend the concept of blended learning among teachers, students, and parents, help teachers offer more guidance and recommend more online learning resources, and encourage parents to create a freer online learning environment. And students’ low participation in blended learning will be radically changed if we can stimulate their learning motivation and help them accept blended learning.
Acknowledgements. This research is supported by the 2012 Annual National Key Project of National Science Education of China (Grant No. ACA120005).
References
1. Oliver, M., Trigwell, K.: Can ‘blended learning’ be redeemed. E-learning 2(1), 17–26 (2005)
2. Osguthorpe, R.T., Graham, C.R.: Blended Learning Environments: Definitions and Directions. Quarterly Review of Distance Education 4(3), 227–233 (2003)
3. Driscoll, M.: Blended learning: Let’s get beyond the hype. E-learning, 54 (March 2002)
4. Singh, H., Reed, C.: A white paper: Achieving success with blended learning. Centra software (2001)
5. Bonk, C.J., Graham, C.R.: The handbook of blended learning: Global perspectives, local designs. John Wiley & Sons (2012)
6. Young, J.R.: Hybrid teaching seeks to end the divide between traditional and online instruction. Chronicle of Higher Education 48(28), A33 (2002)
7. Reay, J.: Blended learning: A fusion for the future. Knowledge Management Review 4(3), 6 (2001)
8. Rooney, J.E.: Blending learning opportunities to enhance educational programming and meetings. Association Management 55(5), 26–32 (2003)
9. Sands, P.: Inside outside, upside downside: Strategies for connecting online and face-toface instruction in hybrid courses. Teaching with Technology Today 8(6) (2002)
10. Ward, J., La Branche, G.A.: Blended learning: The convergence of e-learning and meetings. Franchising World 35(4), 22–23 (2003)
11. Li, K., Zhao, J.: The theory and application of blended learning. E-education Research 135, 1–6 (2004)
12. He, K.: Understanding new developments in the theory of educational technology from the perspective of blended learning. E-education Research 131, 1–6 (2004)
13. Garrison, D.R., Kanuka, H.: Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education 7(2), 95–105 (2004)
14. Zhan, Z., Li, X.: Blended learning: Definition, stragety, present, and future tendency. Eeducation Research 275, 1–5 (2009)
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University 2575 Sand Hill Road, MailStop 88, Menlo Park CA 94117 USA
bebo@slac.stanford.edu
Abstract. The New York Times famously branded 2012 “The Year of the MOOC” given the upsurge of interest in so-called “Massive Online Open Courses.” MOOCs were seen as the future of distance education and the realization of a dream to “democratize” education. Anyone with online access could become a “student” and participate freely in courses offered by the world’s most knowledgeable professors at the most elite universities. Class sizes were unprecedented – it was not unusual to have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of participants in some very popular courses. The Times declaration followed the launch of edX, by Harvard University and MIT, and the rapid growth of MOOC platforms and providers such as Coursera and Udacity. The Sand Hill Road venture capitalists invested substantial funds in these providers even though a monetization model was not obvious. It is now almost two years since “The Year of the MOOC” and we must ask ourselves whether the enthusiasm over the MOOC model was/is still warranted. Have MOOCs been successful in changing the direction of online education? What problems, issues, and challenges have MOOC adopters encountered?
The “Gartner Hype Cycle” is a popular and often-used tool developed by the Gartner IT research and advisory firm. [1] It seeks to track the maturity, adoption, and application of new technologies (often seen as disruptive) with respect to time. It reflects the “hype” often seen with new technologies (or applications) and what happens with that “hype” over the passage of time. In the end it hopefully indicates the important phases of a technology’s life cycle. Gartner identifies five key phases in the evolution of a technology’s life cycle or “period of relevance” (from Wikipedia) [2]:
Technology Trigger
A potential technology breakthrough kicks things off. Early proof-of-concept stories and media interest trigger significant publicity. Often no usable products exist and commercial viability is unproven.
Early publicity produces a number of success stories—often accompanied by scores of failures. Some companies take action; many do not.
Trough of Disillusionment
Interest wanes as experiments and implementations fail to deliver. Producers of the technology shake out or fail. Investments continue only if the surviving providers improve their products to the satisfaction of early adopters.
Slope of Enlightenment
More instances of how the technology can benefit the enterprise start to crystallize and become more widely understood. Second- and third-generation products appear from technology providers. More enterprises fund pilots; conservative companies remain cautious.
Plateau of Productivity
Mainstream adoption starts to take off. Criteria for assessing provider viability are more clearly defined. The technology’s broad market applicability and relevance are clearly paying off.
When graphically expressed as visibility (i.e., “hype”) with respect to time, the cycle is represented as in Figure 1.
Assuming that it would be appropriate to apply the MOOC phenomenon to the “Gartner Hype Cycle,” the relevant questions would be:
Fig. 1. The “Gartner Hype Cycle”
• What is the applicable time scale?
• Which phase in the cycle best describes the present influence and adoption of MOOC technology?
2 Discussion
The “Technology Trigger” in the evolution of MOOCs as a technological entity most likely came from the realization that connectivist teaching and learning could fit well on the currently defined technical and social infrastructure of the Internet/Web. It is typically acknowledged that the first MOOC was, in fact, a course and a network about the emergent practices and the theory of Connectivism taught by Stephen Downes and George Siemens through the University of Manitoba, Canada in 2008. [3] The course was not only about Connectivism but provided a demonstration of its practice through Web 2.0 concepts such as blogs and chat facilities, multimedia, and social networking.
The evolution and the growth of the MOOC concept from the Downes/Siemens course to the “Year of the MOOC” are well documented. In recent years it has been difficult to find an educational journal or conference that does not include some reference to MOOCs and the issues surrounding their adoption. Statistics abound regarding the number of MOOCs currently available, the size of enrollments, and completion rates.
There are strong indications that MOOCs may now be on the leading edge of the “Trough of Disillusionment.” This proposition comes from the four groups that would be the primary stakeholders in MOOC success or failure: the institutions, the faculty, the students, and the investors.
Institutions are clearly questioning the wisdom of putting their curriculum (the intellectual capital that lies in their faculty) online for free. Some institutions have made a substantial investment into the development and support of MOOCs. For example, at Stanford University the faculty demand to create MOOCs has resulted in a backlog of three to four months in the audio-visual department. While massive participation in a Stanford MOOC could be perceived as a matter of prestige for the university (amongst the elite institutions), it is not unreasonable to ask what is their Return on Investment (ROI)? It would be hard to prove that MOOCs provide Stanford with a viable mechanism for recruiting top students. Similarly, it is unlikely that at any time in the future Stanford will allow MOOC completion to be applied towards a Stanford degree. Interestingly, Stanford is using edX as its principal MOOC platform rather than Coursera or Udacity (both of whom were developed by Stanford faculty). [4] It is possible that Stanford is finding secondary value in the collaboration with the other institutions that are members of the edX Consortium.
Faculty acceptance of MOOCs has been mixed. Motivated faculty members have found the new methods of teaching required by the development of a MOOC to be challenging. Lessons learned from teaching MOOCs and the diversity of students and student involvement can potentially result in new methods applicable to traditional, classroom, face-to-face teaching. Other faculty may be motivated by the large enrollment numbers and the opportunity to be recognized internationally as an outstanding “subject matter expert.” Some faculty have also felt threatened by the concept of “flipped classrooms” and how adoption of such a course style might diminish their faculty role in the “higher education of the future.” Faculty should be worried about the lack of robust student assessment mechanisms currently found in MOOCs.
As perhaps should be said for any teaching and learning environment, students stand to be the big winners with MOOCs. For motivated students, participation in MOOCs addresses the rising costs of higher education or even the need for a university degree. MOOCs can potentially satisfy one of the longtime goals of distance education and “the digital divide” by providing access to high-quality educational content to anyone anywhere in the world for little or no cost. Enrollment statistics in existing MOOCs have expanded the definition of students. MOOC “learning communities” often contain university students, lifelong learners (e.g., retirees), “learning on demand” participants, and others. Socialization between such a diversity of active students has proven to appreciably enhance the learning and teaching experience. Student disillusionment in MOOCs may be reflected in the low completion rates and the realization that many students require a more structured educational environment. To many students MOOC content has simply become another online commodity to be compared and evaluated with other options.
It is safe to say that the “hype” and “inflated expectation” surrounding MOOCs created a “new cottage industry” that some investors were eager to be a part of. The two best-known MOOC platforms, Coursera and Udacity, were both developed by faculty members who had developed successful (judging from enrollment numbers) courses. Well-known venture capitalist firms were eager to financially support their efforts in the hope that a monetization model for MOOCs could be identified. [5] Development of such a model has been “slow in coming.” It is generally agreed that course content should remain free to students, but additional services and functionality may be provided at a charge. Coursera offers students completion certificates that are potentially recognized by major employers. [6] Also offered are recruitment contacts and job placement services allowing employers access to the names of high-performing MOOC students. Costs of such services may be shared between students and employers/recruiters. On Udacity non-paying students [7] have access to course videos and exercises and can view and manage their progress, but a paid subscription gives them access to in-class projects, feedback from instructors and a verified certificate. As such, MOOC platform providers are leveraging the expert content from universities and following in the footsteps of the longtime commercial online educational providers (e.g., The University of Phoenix).
In addition to providing expert content, colleges and universities are themselves exploring ways to “monetize the MOOC model.” For example, in March 2014, Harvard Business School announced its HBX program. [8] HBX requires that students apply for admission and must already be pursuing at least a four-year degree at another institution. HBX is not free with tuition for its first term priced at $1,500. Instruction and assessment will be done as with other MOOCs and students successfully graduating will receive a Credential of Readiness verified by Harvard Business School. This “modified MOOC model” assumes that registration costs will offset the usual MOOC dropout rate and that students will be highly motivated by the prospect of receiving Harvard certification.
3 Conclusion
Yes – “MOOC-Mania” has likely come to an end (i.e., it has reached the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”). But rather than disillusionment (as suggested by the next phase
of the “Gartner Hype Cycle”), stake-holders in the MOOC model (institutions, faculty, students, and investors) should take the opportunity to reflect on the pedagogies that can possibly be implemented via MOOCs and how they might influence future higher education both online and in the classroom. Despite the fact that to some educators MOOCs appear to be a fad or a threat, the questions that have arisen surrounding them should not be ignored. Educational researchers should continue to explore new MOOC models and paradigms (e.g., xMOOCs, cMOOCs, etc.).
A “Slope of Enlightenment” may come when it is realized that MOOCs are global events, not regional ones in the way that traditional university courses tend to be. That is, MOOCs provide the capability to transcend the specific concerns of the stakeholders. MOOCs may be one of the only ways to satisfy George Siemens’ vision “learning is a social trust-based process, and limitations of language and shared context may circumscribe people’s capacity to engage with others to the full potential of the [Connectivist] model.”[9] Technology ownership and bandwidth certainly present barriers at this time, but they are simply technical problems that are likely to be solved in the future if there is sufficient motivation. If it is accurate to assume that the time scale on the “Gartner Hype Cycle” is approximately linear, then this “enlightenment period” should be realized within the next four to five years.
3. Connectivism and Connective Knowledge: The Daily (September 15, 2008), http://connect.downes.ca/archive/08/09_15_thedaily.htm
4. Stanford University: Homepage of Stanford Online, http://online.stanford.edu/openedx
5. Hepler, L.: Coursera lands $20 million in new funding despite online education turmoil. Silicon Valley Business Journal (November 22, 2013), http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/11/22/ coursera-lands-20-million-in-new.html?page=all
6. Coursera Student Support: What is a Verified Certificate? How can I use It?, http://help.coursera.org/customer/portal/articles/ 1167998-what-is-a-verified-certificate-how-can-i-use-it
7. Kolowich, S.: Udacity Will No Longer Offer Free Certificates. The Chronicle of Higher Education (May 14, 2014), http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/ udacity-will-no-longer-offer-free-certificates/51757
8. Borchers, C.: Harvard Business enters online education fray. Boston Globe (March 21, 2014), http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/03/20/ harvard-business-school-launches-online-educationprogram/L2x3xMuBgjR12TLlh01XYO/story.html
9. McAuley, A., Stewart, B., Siemens, G., Cormier, D.: The MOOC model for digital practice, https://www.academia.edu/2857149/ The_MOOC_model_for_digital_practice
A Kinet-Affective Learning Model for Experiential Learning in Smart Ambience
Horace H.S. Ip* and Julia Byrne
AIMtech Centre and Department of Computer Science, City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
cship@cityu.edu.hk
1 Introduction
With the increasing development and implementation of 3D visualization and interactive media technologies in education under the auspices of game-based [1], experiential, virtual reality (VR) [2] or smart ambience [3] (defined here as a VR environment that is responsive to user’s natural motion/gesture within it) learning, students and teachers are increasingly exposed to new and unique forms of learning experiences that go beyond those possible with traditional teaching methods.
However the corresponding development of learning / instructional models and pedagogies that serves to underpin the design of such 3D technology and sensor-driven learning scenarios are lacking behind. Such psycho-educational underpinnings are critical to our understanding and evaluation of the effectiveness and the pedagogical deployment of these new learning media and technologies, as well as gaining insight into the interplay between the three domains of learning activities [8], i.e. body movement (kinematics or psychomotor [9]), emotion (affect) and mind (cognition) within a responsive virtual reality space.
Features of game play exist in many VR-based or smart ambience learning scenarios [7], providing the learner with a multi-sensory learning experience involving body motion and gesturing, visual and audio, and in some case, olfactory stimulations. Such features of game-based learning highlight intrinsic motivation through varying aspects of control, challenge, curiosity and competition. These features also determine how the students can actively participate and control their body movements within the 3D virtual environment and experience the challenges of achieving certain learning goals. Success can lead to positive feelings resulting in greater motivation in learning.
In this paper, we will revisit a model for kinet-affective learning which we call the SAMAL Model first presented by the authors in a previous paper [4] and using it to illustrate the possible interplay between the body, mind and emotion in two distinct 3D immersive learning environments that integrate elements of game play. The two VR-based learning environments and the associated interactive learning scenarios provide the experiential learning platforms respectively for two very different groups of students with very different cognitive levels and learning objectives, namely university freshman, and severely intellectual disabled (SID) students.
2 A Kinet-Affective Learning Model for VR-Based Learning
The SAMAL model is motivated by experiential theories in education and gamebased learning, and the use of the body moving within the virtual reality space. It begins to provide a rationale that underpins the design of a 3D experiential learning platform and the associated VR-based learning scenarios. This model integrates the concepts of (a) experiential learning in VR space which is considered as an active learning process based upon trial and error through the kinesthetic interaction with the 3D virtual scene and engaging the body in the learning scenario; and (b) the concept of control and focus in relationship to learning. By drawing upon the insights from Kolb’s model for experiential learning [5] and Sundstrom’s model of the affective loop [6], the SAMAL Model attempts to explain how the immersive and interactive elements of the VR-based learning scenario links the aspects of kinematics (psychomotor), affect and cognition in experiential learning.
A typical VR-based learning (game) scenario challenges a learner to navigate (move) through a series of virtual scenes or landscape, interact with virtual characters and manipulate virtual objects along the way to achieve certain learning (game play) objectives. Such multimodality activities within a trial and error process stimulate three aspects of learning domain, namely the body, mind and affect, and facilitate the practice of experiential learning, together with mental control and focus during the trial and error process. The experiential learning cycle of the SAMAL model (Figure 1) which highlights the psychomotor and cognitive aspects of learning is based upon Kolb’s theory of experiential learning which suggests that learning involves an iterative process of concept formulation and modification, or refinement, through active experimentation which may involve physical body movement or gesturing. Active Experiment
Fig.
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The sides of this (Fig, 101, a, a), facing east and west are three and a half feet long, two feet high on the south end, and two and a half feet on the north. They are in one piece, which is secured by nailing the boards which form them to cleats, which are one inch from the ends. The north end (Fig, 101, b) is three feet by two and a half feet, the south (Fig. 101, b), three feet by two, and made the same as are the sides. The slanting top of the sides (Fig. 101, a, a) is made by using for the upper board, the strip formed by sawing diagonally from corner to corner a board six inches wide and three feet long. The cover (Fig. 101, g), which is removed in the figure, is large enough to cover the top and project one inch at both ends. It should be battened, and held in one piece by cleats (Fig. 101, h) four inches wide, nailed on to the ends. These will drop over the ends of the box, and thus hold the cover in place, and prevent rain and snow from driving in. When in place this slanting cover permits the rain to run off easily, and will dry quickly after a storm. By a single nail at each corner the four sides may be tacked together about the hives, when they can be packed in with straw (Fig. 101), which should be carefully done if the day is cold, so as not to disquiet the bees. At the centre and bottom of the east side (Fig. 101, c), cut out a square eight inches each way, and between this and the hive place a bottomless tube (the top of this tube is represented as removed in figure to show entrance to hive), before putting around the straw and adding the cover. This box should be put in place before the bleak cold days of November, and retained in position till the stormy winds of April are passed by. This permits the bees to fly when very warm weather comes in winter or spring, and requires no attention from the apiarist. By placing two or three hives close together in autumn—yet never move the colonies more than three or four feet at any one time, as such removals involve the loss of many bees—one box may be made to cover all, and at less expense. Late in April these may be removed and packed away, and the straw carried away, or removed a short distance and burned.
CHAFF HIVES.
Messrs. Townley, Butler, Root, and others, prefer chaff hives, which are simply double-walled hives, with the four or five inch chambers filled with chaff. The objection to these I take to be: First, Danger that so limited a space would not answer in severe seasons; Second, That such cumbrous hives would be inconvenient to handle in summer; and, Third, A matter of expense. That they would in part supply the place of shade, is, perhaps, in their favor, while Mr. A. I. Root thinks they are not expensive.
WINTERING IN CELLAR OR HOUSE.
With large apiaries the above method is expensive, and specialists may prefer a cellar or special depository, which I think are quite as safe, though they demand attention and perhaps labor in winter. After my experience in the winter of 1874 and 1875, losing all my bees by keeping them in a house with double walls filled in with sawdust, in which the thermometer indicated a temperature below zero for several weeks, in which time my strongest colonies literally starved to death in the manner already described, I hesitate to recommend a house above ground for Michigan, though with very numerous colonies it might do. Such a house must, if it answer the purpose, keep an equable temperature, at least 3° and not more than 10° above freezing, be perfectly dark, and ventilated with tubes above and below, so arranged as to be closed or opened at pleasure, and not admit a ray of light.
A cellar in which we are sure of our ability to control the temperature, needs to be also dry, dark, and quiet, and ventilated as described above. As already stated, the ventilator to bring air may well be made of tile, and pass through the earth for some feet and then open at the bottom of the cellar. If possible, the ventilator that carries the foul air off should be connected with a stove pipe in a room above, with its lower end reaching to the bottom of the cellar. The College apiary cellar is grouted throughout, which makes it more dry and neat. Of course it should be thoroughly drained.
The colonies should be put into the depository when the hives are dry, before cold weather, and should remain till April; though in
January and March, if there are days that are warm, they should be taken out and the bees permitted to fly, though not unless they seem uneasy and soil the entrance to their hives. Always when taken out they should be placed on their old stands, so that no bees may be lost. Towards night, when all are quiet, return them to the cellar. I would not remove bees till towards night, as it is better that they have a good flight, and then become quiet. When moved out it is very desirable to brush away all dead bees which is an argument in favor of a movable bottom-board. In moving the hives, great care should be exercised not to jar them. It were better if the bees should not know that they were being moved at all.
That the moisture may be absorbed, I cover the bees with a quilt, made of coarse factory cloth, enclosing a layer of cotton batting. Above this I fill in with straw which is packed in so closely that the cover may be removed without the straw falling out. If desirable the straw may be cut—or chaff may be used—and may be confined in a bag made of factory, so that it resembles a pillow. I now use these and like them. This is not only an excellent absorbent, but preserves the heat, and may well remain, till the following June.
I have found it advantageous, when preparing my bees for winter, in October, to contract the chamber by use of a division board. This is very desirable if wintered out doors, and with frames a foot square is very easily accomplished. By use of eight frames the space (one cubic foot) is very compact, and serves to economize the heat, not only in winter, but in spring. By thus using a division board with only three frames, I have been very successful in wintering nuclei. We have only to guard against low temperature.
Perhaps I ought to say that all colonies should be strong in autumn; but I have said before, never have weak colonies. Yet for fear some have been negligent. I remark that weak colonies should be united in preparing for winter. To do this, approximate the colonies each day four or five feet till they are side by side. Now remove the poorest queen, then smoke thoroughly, sprinkle both colonies with sweetened water scented with essence of peppermint, putting a sufficient number of the best frames and all the bees into one of the hives, and then set this midway between the position of the hives at
the commencement of the uniting. The bees will unite peaceably, and make a strong colony. Uniting colonies may pay at other seasons. It may seem rash to some, yet I fully believe that if the above suggestions are carried out in full, I may guarantee successful wintering. But if we do lose our bees—with all our hives, combs and honey, we can buy colonies in the spring, with a perfect certainty of making 200 or 300 per cent, on our investment. Even with the worst condition of things, we are still ahead, in way of profit, of most other vocations.
BURYING BEES.
Another way to winter safely and very economically, is to bury the bees. If this is practiced the ground should either be sandy or well drained. If we can choose a side-hill it should be done. Beneath the hives and around them, straw should be placed. I should advise leaving the entrance well open, yet secure against mice. The hives should all be placed beneath the surface level of the earth, then form a mound above them sufficient to preserve against extreme warmth or cold. A trench about the mound to carry the water off quickly is desirable. In this arrangement the ground acts as a moderator. Five colonies thus treated the past winter, (1877-8) lost all told less than one-half gill of bees. As this method has not been so long tried, as the others, I would suggest caution. Try it with a few colonies, till you are assured as to the best arrangement, and of its efficacy I am inclined to think that it is next to a good snow-bank, as a winter repository.
SPRING DWINDLING.
As already suggested, this is not to be feared if we keep our bees breeding till late autumn. It may be further prevented by forbidding late autumn flights, frequent flights in winter, when the weather is warm, and too early flying in spring. These may all be curtailed or prevented by the packing system as described above, as thus prepared the bees will not feel the warmth, and so will remain quiet
in the hive. Nine colonies which I have packed have been remarkably quiet, and are in excellent condition this, February 25th, while two others unpacked have flown day after day, much, I fear, to their injury. I would leave bees in the packing till near May, and in the cellar or ground, till early flowers bloom, that we may secure against too rapid demise of bees in spring.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE HOUSE APIARY.
DESCRIPTION.
This is a double-walled house, which may be rectangular or octagonal in form. The outer wall should be of brick, and made as thin as possible. Inside of this there should be wooden strips twoinches thick, which should receive a layer of paper-sheeting inside, which may be held by nailing strips two-inches wide immediately inside the first mentioned strips. These last strips should receive lath, after which all should be plastered. This may cost more than a purely wooden structure, but it will be more nearly frost-proof than any other kind of wall, and in the end will be the cheapest. There will be two dead air-chambers, each two inches deep, one between the paper and brick, the other between the paper and the plaster. The entire wall will be at least eight inches thick. If desired, it may be made less thick by using one-inch strips, though for our very severe winters the above is none too thick. The doors and windows should be double and should all shut closely against rubber. The outer ones should consist of glass, and should be so hung as to swing out, and in hot weather should be replaced with door, and window-screens, of coarse, painted, wire gauze. A small window just above each colony of bees is quite desirable.
Somewhere in the walls there should be a ventilating tube—a brick flue would be very good—which should open into the room just above the floor. Above it might open into the attic, which should be well aired. Ventilators such as are so common on barns might be used.
The pipe for admitting air, should, as in the cellar before described, pass through the ground and enter the floor from below. A
good cellar, well ventilated and thoroughly dry will be convenient, and should not be neglected. I would have the building but one story, with joists in ceiling above eight inches thick. Above these I would sheet with building paper, fastened by nailing strips two inches deep on top, above which I would ceil with matched boards. I should lath and plaster below the joists. The hives, which are to be kept constantly in this house, may rest on two rows of shelves, one at the floor, the other three feet high, and should be arranged for both top and side storing in the small section frames. Indeed, the hive need only consist of the two rabbeted side-boards (Fig, 30, c), and a division-board with quilt. The entrances of course pass through the wall. An alighting-board, so hinged as to be let down in summer, but tightly closed over the entrance during very severe winter weather, I should think would be very desirable. Between the double windows, which it will be remembered shut closely against rubber, sacks of chaff may be placed in winter, if found necessary to keep the proper temperature. With few colonies this might be very necessary. The adjacent entrances should vary in color, so that young queens would not go astray, when they returned from their "Marriage flight."
ARE THEY DESIRABLE?
As yet, I think this question cannot be answered. Some who have tried them, among whom are Messrs. Russell and Heddon, of this State, pronounce against them. Perhaps they have faulty houses, perhaps they have had too brief an experience to judge correctly. Others, among whom are Messrs. A. I. Root, Burch, and Nellis, have tried them, and are loud in their favor. I think these first trials are hardly conclusive, as perfection seldom comes in any system with the first experience. That the early use of these houses has met with so much favor, seems to argue that with more experience, and greater perfection, they may become popular. Yet I would urge people to be slow to adopt these costly houses, as enough will do so to thoroughly test the matter; when, if they prove a desideratum, all can build; whereas, if they prove worthless, we shall not have to
regret money squandered, in the adoption of what was of doubtful value.
THE CASE AS IT NOW STANDS.
The desirable points as they now appear, are: First. The bees are in condition to winter with no trouble or anxiety. Second. The bees are handled in the house, and as they fly at once to the windows, where they can be suffered to escape, they are very easily and safely handled, even with little or no protection. Third. As we can extract, manipulate honey boxes, etc., right in the same house, it is desirable on the score of convenience. Fourth. As the bees are protected from the sudden rise of the out-door temperature, they will be kept from frequent flights during the cold, forbidding days of fall, winter and spring, and will thus be more secure against spring dwindling. Fifth As the bees are so independent of out-door heat, because of the thick walls, with intervening-air-spaces, they are found less inclined to swarm. Sixth. We can lock our house, and know that thieves cannot steal our hard-earned property.
The objections to them are: First. The bees leave the hives while being handled, crawl about the house, from which it is difficult to dislodge them, especially the young bees. This objection may disappear with improved houses and practice. Second. In very severe winters, like that of 1874 and 1875, they may not offer sufficient protection, yet they would be much safer than chaff hives, as there would be many colonies all mutually helping each other to maintain the requisite temperature, and the walls might be even thicker than specified above, without any serious inconvenience. Third. Some think it pleasanter and more desirable to handle bees out-doors, where all is unconfined. Fourth. The cost of the house; yet this is only for once in a life-time, and saves providing shade, sawdust, packing-boxes, complex hives, etc.
So, we see the question is too complex to be settled except by careful experiment, and this, too, for a series of years. There are so many now in use in the various States, that the question must soon
be settled. I predict that these structures will grow more and more into favor.
CHAPTER XIX.
EVILS THAT CONFRONT THE APIARIST.
There are various dangers that are likely to vex the apiarist, and even to stand in the way of successful apiculture.—Yet, with knowledge, most, if not all of these evils may be wholly vanquished. Among these are: Robbing among the bees, disease, and depredations from other animals.
ROBBING.
This is a trouble that often very greatly annoys the inexperienced. Bees only rob at such times as the general scarcity of nectar forbids honest gains. When the question comes: Famine or theft, like many another, they are not slow to choose the latter. It is often induced by working with the bees at such times, especially if honey is scattered about or left lying around the apiary. It is especially to be feared in spring, when colonies are apt to be weak in both honey and bees, and thus are unable to protect their own meager stores. The remedies for this evil are not far to seek:
First. Strong colonies are very rarely molested, and are almost sure to defend themselves against marauders; hence, it is only the weaklings of the apiarist's flock that are in danger. Therefore, regard for our motto, "Keep all colonies strong," will secure against harm from this cause.
Second. Italians, as before stated, are fully able, and quite as ready, to protect their rights against neighboring tramps. Woe be to the thieving bee that dares to violate the sacred rights of the home of our beautiful Italians. For such temerity is almost sure to cost the intruder its life.
But weak colonies, like our nuclei, and those too of black bees, are still easily kept from harm. Usually, the closing of the entrance so that but a single bee can pass through, is all sufficient. With the hive we have recommended, this is easily accomplished by simply moving the hive back.
Another way to secure such colonies against robbing is to move them into the cellar for a few days. This is a further advantage, as less food is eaten, and the strength of the individual bees is conserved by the quiet, and as there is no nectar in the fields no loss is suffered.
In all the work of the apiary at times of no honey gathering, we cannot be too careful to keep all honey from the bees unless placed in the hives. The hives, too, should not be kept open long at a time. Neat, quick work should be the watch-word. During times when robbers are essaying to practice their nefarious designs, the bees are likely to be more than usually irritable, and likely to resent intrusion; hence the importance of more than usual caution, if it is desired to introduce a queen.
DISEASE.
The common dysentery—indicated by the bees soiling their hives, as they void their feces within instead of without—which has been so free, of late, to work havoc in our apiaries, is, without doubt, I think, consequent upon wrong management on the part of the apiarist, as already suggested in Chapter XVII. As the methods to prevent this have already been sufficiently considered, we pass to the terrible
FOUL BROOD.
This disease, said to have been known to Aristotle—though this is doubtful, as a stench attends common dysentery—though it has occurred in our State as well as in States about us, is not familiar to me, I having never seen but one case, and that on Kelly's Island, in
the summer of 1875, where I found it had reduced the colonies on that Island to two. No bee malady can compare with this in malignancy. By it Dzierzon once lost his whole apiary of 500 colonies.—Mr. E. Rood, first President of the Michigan Association, has lost his bees two or three times by this same terrible plague.
The symptoms are as follows: Decline in the prosperity of the colony, because of failure to rear brood. The brood seems to putrefy, becomes "brown and salvy," and gives off a stench, which is by no means agreeable, while later, the caps are concave instead of convex, and have a little hole through them.
There is no longer any doubt as to the cause of this fearful plague. Like the fell "Pebrine," which came so near exterminating the "silk worm," and a most lucrative and extensive industry in Europe, it, as conclusively shown by Drs. Preusz and Shönfeld, of Germany, is the result of fungous or vegetable growth. Shönfeld not only infected healthy bee larvæ, but those of other insects, both by means of the putrescent foul brood, and by taking the spores.
Fungoid growths are very minute, and the spores are so infinitesimally small as often to elude the sharp detection of the expert microscopist. Most of the terrible, contagious diseases that human flesh is heir to, like typhus, diphtheria, cholera, small pox, &c., &c., are now thought to be due to microscopic germs, and hence to be spread from home to home, and from hamlet to hamlet, it is only necessary that the spores, the minute seeds, either by contact or by some sustaining air current, be brought to new soil of flesh blood or other tissue—their garden spot—when they at once spring into growth, and thus lick up the very vitality of their victims. The huge mushroom will grow in a night. So too, these other plants —the disease germs—will develop with marvelous rapidity; and hence the horrors of yellow fever, scarlatina, and cholera.
To cure such diseases, the fungi must be killed. To prevent their spread, the spores must be destroyed, or else confined. But as these are so small, so light, and so invisible—easily borne and wafted by the slightest zephyr of summer, this is often a matter of the utmost difficulty.
In "Foul Brood" these germs feed on the larvæ of the bees, and thus convert life and vigor into death and decay. If we can kill this miniature forest of the hive, and destroy the spores, we shall extirpate the terrible plague.
REMEDIES.
If we can find a substance that will prove fatal to the fungi, and yet not injure the bees, the problem is solved. Our German scientists —those masters in scientific research and discovery, have found this valuable fungicide in salicylic acid, an extract from the same willows that give us pollen and nectar. This cheap white powder is easily soluble in alcohol, and when mixed with borax in water.
Mr. Hilbert, one of the most thoughtful of German bee-keepers, was the first to effect a radical cure of foul brood in his apiary by the use of this substance. He dissolved fifty grains of the acid in five hundred grains of pure spirits. One drop of this in a grain of distilled water is the mixture he applied. Mr. C. F. Muth, from whom the above facts as to Herr Hilbert are gathered, suggests a variation in the mixture.
Mr. Muth suggests an improvement, which takes advantage of the fact that the acid, which alone is very insoluble in water, is, when mixed with borax, soluble. His recipe is as follows: One hundred and twenty-eight grains of salicylic acid, one hundred and twenty-eight grains of soda borax, and sixteen ounces distilled water. There is no reason why water without distillation should not do as well.
This remedy is applied as follows: First uncap all the brood, then throw the fluid over the comb in a fine spray. This will not injure the bees, but will prove fatal to the fungi.
If the bees are removed to an empty hive, and given no comb for three or four days, till they have digested all the honey in their stomachs, and then prevented visiting the affected hive, they are said to be out of danger. It would seem that the spores are in the honey, and by taking that, the contagion is administered to the young
bees. The honey may be purified from these noxious germs, by subjecting it to the boiling temperature, which is generally, if not always, fatal to the spores of fungoid life. By immersing the combs in a salicylic acid solution, or sprinkling them with the same, they would be rendered sterile, and could be used without much fear of spreading contagion. The disease is probably spread by robber bees visiting affected hives, and carrying with them in the honey the fatal germs.
I have found that a paste made of gum tragacanth and water is very superior, and I much prefer it for either general or special use to gum Arabic. Yet it soon sours—which means that it is nourishing these fungoid plants—and thus becomes disagreeable. I have found that a very little salicylic acid will render it sterile, and thus preserve it indefinitely.
ENEMIES OF BEES.
Swift was no mean entomologist, as shown in the following stanza:
"The little fleas that do us tease, Have lesser fleas to bite them, And these again have lesser fleas, And so ad infinitum."
Bees are no exception to this law, as they have to brave the attacks of reptiles, birds, and other insects. In fact, they are beset with perils at home, and perils abroad, perils by night and perils by day.
THE BEE MOTH—Galleria Cereana, Fabr.
This insect belongs to the family of snout moths, Pyralidæ. This snout is not the tongue, but the palpi, which fact was not known by Mr. Langstroth, who is usually so accurate, as he essayed to correct
Dr Harris, who stated correctly, that the tongue, the ligula, was "very short and hardly visible." This family includes the destructive hop moth, and the noxious meal and clover moths, and its members are very readily recognized by their unusually long palpi, the so-called snouts.
F . 102.
F , 103.
The eggs of the bee moth are white, globular and very small. These are usually pushed into crevices by the female moth as she extrudes them, which she can easily do by aid of her spy-glass-like ovipositor. They may be laid in the hive, in the crevice underneath it or about the entrance.—Soon these eggs hatch, when the gray, dirty looking caterpillars, with brown heads, seek the comb on which they feed. To better protect themselves from the bees, they wrap themselves in a silken tube (Fig, 102) which they have power to spin. They remain in this tunnel of silk during all their growth, enlarging it as they eat. By looking closely, the presence of these larvæ may be known by this robe of glistening silk, as it extends in branching outlines (Fig, 103) along the surface of the comb. A more speedy detection, even, than the defaced comb, comes from the particles of comb, intermingled with the powder-like droppings of the caterpillars, which will always be seen on the bottom-board in case the mothlarvæ are at work. Soon, in three or four weeks, the larvæ are full
grown (Fig, 104). Now the six jointed, and the ten prop-legs—making sixteen in all, the usual number of caterpillars—are plainly visible.
F . 104.
F . 106.
F . 105.
These larvæ are about an inch long, and show, by their plump appearance, that they at least, can digest comb. They now spin their cocoons, either in some crevice about the hive, or, if very numerous, singly (Fig, 105, a) or in clusters (Fig, 105, b) on the comb, or even in the drone-cells (Fig, 105, c) in which they become pupæ, and in two weeks, even less, sometimes, during the extreme heat of summer, the moths again appear In winter, they may remain as pupæ for months. The moths or millers—sometimes incorrectly called moth-millers—are of an obscure gray color, and thus so mimic old boards, that they are very readily passed unobserved by the apiarist. They are about three-fourths of an inch long, and expand (Fig, 106) nearly one and one-fourth inches. The females (Fig, 107) are darker than the males (Fig, 107), possess a longer snout, and are usually a little larger. The wings, when the moths are quiet (Fig, 107) are flat on the back for a narrow space, then slope very abruptly They rest by day, yet, when disturbed, will dart forth with great swiftness, so Réaumur styled them "nimble-footed." They are active by night, when they essay to enter the hive and deposit their one or two hundred eggs. If the females are held in the hand they will often extrude their eggs; in fact, they have been known to do this even after the head and thorax were severed from the abdomen, and still more strange, while the latter was being dissected.
Male. Female.
It is generally stated that these are two-brooded, the first moths occurring in May, the second in August. Yet, as I have seen these moths in every month from May to September, and as I have proved by actual observation that they may pass from egg to moth in less than six weeks, I think under favorable conditions there may be even three broods a year. It is true that the varied conditions of temperature—as the moth larvæ may grow in a deserted hive, in one with few bees, or one crowded with bee life—will have much to do with the rapidity of development. Circumstances may so retard growth and development that there may not be more than two, and possibly, in extreme cases, more than one brood in a season.
It is stated by Mr Quinby that a freezing temperature will kill these insects in all stages, while Mr. Betsinger thinks that a deserted hive is safe, neither of which assertions are correct. I have seen hives, whose bees were killed by the severe winter, crowded with moth pupæ or chrysalids the succeeding summer. I have subjected both larvæ and pupæ to the freezing temperature without injuring them. I believe, in very mild winters, the moth and the chrysalids might be so protected as to escape unharmed, even outside the hive. It is probable too, that the insects may pass the winter in any one of the various stages.
HISTORY.
These moths were known to writers of antiquity, as even Aristotle tells of their injuries. They are wholly of oriental origin, and are often
referred to by European writers as a terrible pest. Dr Kirtland, the able scientist, the first President of our American Bee Convention, whose decease we have just had to mourn, once said in a letter to Mr. Langstroth, that the moth was first introduced into America in 1805, though bees had been introduced long before. They first seemed to be very destructive. It is quite probable, as has been suggested, that the bees had to learn to fear and repel them; for, unquestionably, bees do grow in wisdom.—In fact, may not the whole of instinct be inherited knowledge, which once had to be acquired by the animal. Surely bees and other animals learn to battle new enemies, and vary their habits with changed conditions, and they also transmit this knowledge and their acquired habits to their offspring, as illustrated by setter and pointer dogs. In time, may not this account for all those varied actions, usually ascribed to instinct? At least, I believe the bee to be a creature of no small intelligence.
REMEDIES.
In Europe, late writers give very little space to this moth. Once a serious pest, it has now ceased to alarm, or even disquiet the intelligent apiarist. In fact, we may almost call it a blessed evil, as it will destroy the bees of the heedless, and thus prevent injury to the markets by their unsalable honey, while to the attentive bee-keeper it will work no injury at all. Neglect and ignorance are the moth breeders.
As already stated, Italian bees are rarely injured by moths, and strong colonies never. As the enterprising apiarist will only possess these, it is clear that he is free from danger. The intelligent apiarist will also provide, not only against weak, but queenless colonies as well, which from their abject discouragement, are the surest victims to moth invasion. Knowing that destruction is sure, they seem, if not to court death, to make no effort to delay it.
In working with bees, an occasional web will be seen glistening in the comb, which should be picked out with a knife till the manufacturer—the ruthless larva—is found, when it should be
crushed. Any larva seen about the bottom board, seeking a place to spin its cocoon, or any pupæ, either on comb or in crack, should also be killed. If, through carelessness, a colony has become hopelessly victimized by these filthy, stinking, wax devourers, then the bees and any combs not attacked should be transferred to another hive, after which the old hive should be sulphured by use of the smoker, as before described (page 216), then by giving one or two each of the remaining combs to strong colonies, after killing any pupæ that may be on them, they will be cleaned and used, while by giving the enfeebled colony brood, if it has any vigor remaining, and if necessary a good queen, it will soon be rejoicing in strength and prosperity.
We have already spoken of caution as to comb honey and frames of comb (page 216), and so need not speak further of them.
BEE KILLER—Asilus Missouriensis, Riley.
This is a two-winged fly, of the predacious family Asilidæ, which attacks, and takes captive the bee and then feeds upon its fluids. It is confined to the southern part of our country.
The fly (Fig, 108) has a long, pointed abdomen, strong wings, and is very powerful. I have seen an allied species attack and overcome the powerful tiger-beetle, whereupon I took them both with my net, and now have them pinned, as they were captured, in our College cabinet. These flies delight in the warm sunshine, are very quick on the wing, and are thus not easily captured. It is to be hoped that they will not become very numerous. If they should, I hardly know how they could be kept from their evil work. Frightening them, or catching with a net might be tried, yet these methods would irritate the bees, and need to be tried before they are recommended. I have received specimens of this fly from nearly every Southern State. There are very similar flies North, belonging to the same genus, but as yet we have no account of their attacking bees, though such a habit might easily be acquired, and attacks here would not be surprising.
F . 108.
BEE-LOUSE—Branla Cœca, Nitsch.
F . 109.
Imago.
Larva.
This louse (Fig, 109) is a wingless Dipteron, and one of the uniques among insects. It is a blind, spider-like parasite, and serves as a very good connecting link between insects and spiders, or, still better, between the Diptera, where it belongs, and the Hemiptera, which contains the bugs and most of the lice. It assumes the semipupa state almost as soon as hatched, and strangest of all, is, considering the size of the bee on which it lives, and from which it sucks its nourishment, enormously large. Two or three, and sometimes even more, (the new Encyclopedia Britannica says 50 or
