Delivering Learning Materials Research Articles

Examining the role of learning engagement in technology-mediated learning and its effects on learning effectiveness and satisfaction

We examine students' learning effectiveness and satisfaction in technology-mediated learning by analyzing how it influences the underlying learning process, with a focus on the role of learning engagement. We propose a structural model that explains students' learning effectiveness and satisfaction, and then empirically test that model and the associated hypotheses with an experiment involving 212 university students learning Adobe Photoshop. Our experimental data show that the effects of technology-mediated learning are mostly mediated by learning engagement. In particular, the use of preprogrammed video contents to deliver learning materials negatively affects learning engagement, which in turn reduces perceived learning effectiveness and satisfaction. However, technology-mediated learning appears to have no significant effects, direct or moderating, on learning effectiveness or satisfaction. These findings have several important implications for technology-mediated learning research and practice.

Mobile Learning : Educating for Life and for All

As the world population increases so does the need to educate more people. However, because of the current education infrastructure and delivery model, it is impossible to educate everyone to achieve at least a basic education level to function in society. Educators and government must change the current system to deliver education in flexible formats so that lifelong learning can be expanded and basic education for all can be achieved. With the increasing availability of open education resources and electronic learning materials, learners can access the learning materials using technology such as mobile devices and tablets. Many citizens around the world have mobile devices and tablets rather than desktop and laptops computers. Hence, educators must deliver learning materials for access by mobile devices. This will help to achieve the “education for all” and “education is a human right” goals set by the different international agencies.

Web-based Architecture for Mobile Learning

The availability of multimedia web resources and the development of mobile phones are two major factors that have opened the way towards the development of M-learning systems. These systems are designed for nomadic learners; they are designed to deliver learning material that adapts to the learner context. In this research we developed a mobile learning system that exploits existing web resources to generate learning material which fits the actual needs of the learner. The system constructs a personalized learning web for a mobile user who needs to learn about a specific topic. The system manages the gathering, authoring, packaging and delivery of learning material. The architecture of the implemented system uses a set of web services to retrieve information and learning resources from the web. These learning resources are packaged into lightweight learning objects designed according to preset layouts. Besides, the system constructs an ontology-like hierarchical content structure to organize learning objects into a learning web allowing the learner to navigate freely according to his/her needs and constraints. The paper presents the design, implementation and an evaluation of the system.

An assessment of the learning benefits of using a Web-based Learning Environment when teaching accounting

The impact and use of information and communication technology on learning outcomes for accounting students is not well understood. This study investigates the impact of design features of Blackboard 1 used as aWeb-based Learning Environment (WBLE) in teaching undergraduate accounting students. Specifically, this investigation reports on a number of Blackboard design features (e.g. delivery of lecture notes, announcements, online assessment and model answers) used to deliver learning materials regarded as necessary to enhance learning outcomes. Responses from 369 on-campus students provided data to develop a regression model that seeks to explain enhanced participation and mental effort. The final regression shows that student satisfaction with the use of a WBLE is associated with five design features or variables. These include usefulness and availability of lecture notes, online assessment, model answers, and online chat.

Podcasts – an adjunct to the teaching of dentistry

The aim of this study was to evaluate how clinical students reacted to the use of Podcasts for undergraduate teaching. The most popular way of listening to them was on a computer. Students scored highly the subject matter of the Podcasts and used them for learning around the subject, especially during examination time. Podcasts are a valuable vehicle for delivering learning materials to students: offering flexibility but in tune with students' love of downloading materials to use when they wish.

E‐learning activity‐based material recommendation system

PurposeComputer based systems have great potential for delivering learning material. However, problems are encountered, such as: difficulty of Learning resource sharing, high redundancy of learning material, and deficiecy of the course brief. In order to solve these problems, this paper aims to propose an automatic inquiring system for learning materials which, utilize the data‐sharing and fast searching properties of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and JAVA Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB).Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes an application to utilize the techniques of LDAP and JAXB to reduce the load of search engines and the complexity of content parsing. Additionally, through analyzing the logs of learners' learning behaviors, the likely keywords and the association among the learning course contents is ascertained. The integration of metadata of the learning materials in different platforms and maintenance in the LDAP server is specified.FindingsAs a general search engine, learners can search contents by using multiple keywords concurrently. The system also allows learners to query by content creator, topic, content body and keywords to narrow the scope of materials.Originality/valueTeachers can use this system more effectively in their education process to help them collect, process, digest and analyze information.

A Simulation Environment for e-Learning in Digital Design

Deeds is a simulation environment for e-learning in digital electronics. The simulators cover combinational and sequential logic networks, finite state-machine design, and microcomputer interfacing and programming. They are integrated together, and therefore allow the design and test of embedded digital systems. The environment guides students' activities by delivering learning materials through specialized browsers. An extensive collection of learning materials is available. This paper includes an example of activity on a problem assignment.

U-learning을 위한 OSGi에 기반한 USB 단말기 시스템 개발

U-learning (ubiquitous learning) systems, which deliver learning materials anytime and anywhere, allow learners to watch live lectures on PDAs, tablet PCs and notebook computers via broadband and wireless Internet. These systems have various problems; first, terminal devices are expensive, and it is difficult to maintain their efficiencies. Secondly, Internet does not guarantee quality of service (QoS), and in general it does not provide real-time services. Finally, the security of these systems is weaker in a local network than in an external network. The USB-based terminal system based on the OSGi service platform was designed as a ubiquitous system, in order to solve those problems. The USB terminals, used in this system, are inexpensive, and it is easy to maintain their performances. Also, this system solves the problems of security in a local network and provides guaranteed QoS. To accomplish this, the number of USB terminals connected to the system has to be limited according to the formula proposed in our paper. This system uses the OSGi specification as a middleware. It supports the discovery mechanism of the USB terminals, maintenance and administration of the system. Finally, this paper shows a driver's license testing system as an example u-learning application1.

Incorporating the Hybrid Learning Model into Minority Education at a Historically Black University

Background In 2005, the regents of the University System of Maryland instituted a policy in 2005 that all students enrolling in a Maryland State University as of the fall of 2007 take on average 12 of their credits through out-of-classroom experiences and other nontraditional means. The definition of out-of-classroom experiences includes: e-learning, internships, student teaching, and a host of other activities. Founded in 1886, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a historically black, 1890 land grant institution and a member of the thirteen-campus University System of the State of Maryland. The student body is approximately 3,700, with 10% of the enrollment representing graduate students. UMES is located in a rural region and is the most affordable four-year institution of higher education in the state. With the institution's inexpensive tuition and minimal enrollment criteria, the university attracts a large number of students from a lower socio-economic background than is found in colleges and universities across the state. The Department of Business Management and Accounting is one of the largest departments on campus. The department has approximately 420 majors, offering programs that include Business Management, Marketing, Accounting, and Business Education. The Department of Business was chosen because of its size and adequate socio-economic representation of the UMES student body. Additionally, a historically black institution was chosen due to the lack of substantial research that focused specifically on the perceptions of African American college students with respect to e-learning. WebCt has been adopted as the course management system of choice by the University System of Maryland. UMES began integrating WebCt into their curriculum in 2001. Currently, UMES offers a large number of web-enhanced courses, a few dozen of hybrid courses, and a handful of fully online courses. Literature Review The higher-education classroom has undergone radical reformations in the last decade as a result of technological development, causing academicians across the globe to recognize the importance of technology in higher learning. Technology has illustrated that the classroom does not need to be the nucleus of learning, as networked multimedia are able to extend the teaching and learning experience (McClintock, 1999). Course websites have proved to be an effective means of delivering learning materials, with students responding positively to the quality resources they make available. Wernet, Olliges, and Delicath (2000), who surveyed students who used WebCT in a social work course, found that all of the respondents considered the online course materials beneficial to their overall learning experiences. The movement from the traditional classroom to web-enabled learning has been explained as a move from a behaviorist methodology to a constructivist one (Lewis, MacEntee, DeLaCruz, Englander, Jeffrey, Takach, Wilson, & Woodall, 2005). Koohang and Harman (2005) assert that e-learning by its very nature is rooted in constructivist ideology, where knowledge acquisition is a self-directed activity that is facilitated by an instructor. They draw correlations between elements inherent in both constructivism and e-learning including: collaboration, social discourse, problem solving, exploration, anchored instruction, critical thinking, the revisiting of information in multiple perspectives and representations, intellectual discourse, knowledge construction, and scaffolding. Much of the instructional-technology-based research that has been conducted in the past decade focused on the examination of fully online learning experiences. Significantly less attention has been paid to the blended, or hybrid, learning format. Hybrid courses blend face-to-face interaction with online learning and customarily involve the delivery of curricular materials, access to resources, submission of assignments, and online discussions that may be asynchronous or synchronous in nature. …

Attitudes to the application of a Web-based learning system in a microbiology course

Computer-based systems have great potential for delivering learning material. Here, a Web-based learning management system is employed by a medical university to support undergraduate courses. The objective was to help the university’s staff to understand the readiness and attitudes of students to the use of information technology, their orientation to new learning environments, and the functionality of the system. The participants were a cohort of first-year medical students enrolled in an introductory microbiology course. Students’ attitudes to information technology and learning styles were measured by a rearranged questionnaire, and a principal component analysis identified the students’ orientations to information technology and the learning environment. The results of the study revealed that students showed readiness to and positive attitudes towards information technology in education and exposed a possible benefit from its use in the long run. However, they also conveyed negative opinions of the learning management system used in their coursework, suggesting a need for change of the technology. This study provides evidence that in order for computer-based system to be effective they must be designed and implemented with care, otherwise they may risk to lower students’ interests and activation.

Classroom innovation: engaging students in interactive multimedia learning

With the infusion of the multimedia technology into the education arena, traditional educational materials can be translated into interactive electronic form through the use of multimedia authoring tools. This has allowed teachers to design and incorporate multimedia elements into the content to convey the message in a multi‐sensory learning environment. The focus in education is thus moving towards using multimedia as the instructional media and a platform in teaching and learning. This paper focuses on using the multimedia design process to enable educators to re‐design their educational curricula into an interactive and media‐rich learning environment. This multimedia educational design process will reinforce and strengthen the traditional instructional communication process and foster a number of innovative methods to communicate knowledge to the learners. In this context, there is a need to adjust the educator's approach to teaching, preparing content and delivering learning materials.

The WebCT Discussion List and How it is Perceived

Students today have an increasingly complex array of educational media that they can use to access educational material. While universities are under pressure to find cheaper, faster and hopefully better ways to interact with students, it is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that these media meet the educational and learning needs of students. The Internet is being increasingly used by universities to deliver learning materials. This research examines university students’ perceptions of the usefulness of a web-based discussion list as a learning tool. The study examines different student characteristics and seeks to establish linkages between students’ characteristics and their perceptions of a WebCT discussion list.

Teaching oral surgery to undergraduate students: a pilot study using a Web-based practical course.

The Internet has been used in oral surgery teaching mainly to deliver learning material across the World Wide Web and to make use of online interactivity resources in everyday surgical practice, such as by e-mails, discussion groups, and chats. The aim of this paper is to describe and evaluate a Web-based practical course on oral surgery principles, which was applied to undergraduate students. This course was investigated as a distance learning simulation in which the student would be performing surgical activities at home, and the teacher and the school environment would be absent. A Web site was created containing the course material. For this study, the students participated in the Web-based course in a multimedia lab equipped with computers and Internet, internal sound system and TV circuits. In the event of significant mistakes by students, the TV circuit could be used to show the correct procedure for all the participants at the same time. Microcameras were used to monitor the student's actions during the Internet use. Students' impressions were determined by a questionnaire. Computer manipulation with ease and antiergonomic postures were observed. We concluded that distance learning courses with practical modules must be considered as a special type of educational modality, with reference to the relationship between the student and the computer.

Learning tool or potplant stand? Students' opinions of learning from a CAL program in a distance education context

<span>Although teaching institutions are continually moving towards electronic forms of delivering learning material, a study of first year adult distance chemistry students found that they had developed a successful learning profile based on their present printed learning material and were reluctant to consider the use of alternative methods of delivery. The reasons for this reluctance were explored by developing a Computer Aided Learning program, based on the students existing learning strategies, and offering it as an alternative to printed material. Although many volunteered to use the program only a third of these persevered with its use. Reasons for abandoning the program were generally associated with a fear that they may be wasting their time in having to learn a new method of study. However those that did use the computer program considered it to be a more efficient way of learning than from printed material.</span>

Peer teaching and peer learning revisited

In 1991, Wendy Assinder described a classroom experiment she had carried out in which her students prepared their own classroom materials and then taught them to each other. She subsequently reported on the positive effects of this approach on their language learning, and on their attitudes towards learning. Inspired by her findings, and those of others, two university language teachers conducted a similar classroom experiment, in which students actively participated in developing and delivering learning materials for an ESP course in legal English. This article describes how the course was conducted, and the results of the course evaluation, to which the students and teachers both contributed. It then discusses the results, which were much less positive than Assinder's, Attempting to see why this might have been the case, and making recommendations for future uses of the approach.

Building and testing a virtual university

As the number of students entering higher education increases along with the requirement for greater cost efficiency, the potential benefits of computer based learning (CBL) and computer based assessment (CBA) are great. The diversification into distance learning, community education and industrial training which higher education is currently exploring can also be enabled through the adoption of CBL and CBA, especially if they can be delivered over networks which reach into homes, offices and factories as well as educational institutions. Clyde Virtual University (CVU) is a test bed for exploring, developing and evaluating techniques for delivering learning materials, supporting collaborative learning and carrying out assessment over the Internet. CVU was conceived in the Summer of 1995. The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) provided funds under its “Use of the MANs Initiative” from Autumn 1995 to Summer 1996. This paper reports on CVU’s first year of operation. During the year an extensive educational Web site has been designed and implemented. This report details the enhancements that were made to a basic Web server to create an educational site. It discusses the problems and design issues encountered when creating educational Web-based material. It examines the subject areas where courseware titles have been converted for Web delivery. Finally it concludes with CVU’s plans for the future now that it has been awarded a further 2 years funding from SHEFC.

Computer-based tools to support learning from hypertext: Concept mapping tools and beyond

Although hypertext can be a useful way of delivering learning materials it is problematic in that there is no requirement to actively manipulate knowledge as part of the interaction. The mindtools, or concept mapping, approach requires learners to construct graphical representations of the information that they cover forcing them to engage more actively in the information as a consequence. Advocates of concept mapping argue that by encouraging learners to represent their knowledge using a node-link formalism, learners are forced into activities that aid the organization and integration of knowledge, and that the map itself can serve to communicate the learner's knowledge more effectively than text. This paper reports the results of a study designed to test the effectiveness of a concept mapping tool in aiding student learning from a hypertext system. It was found that use of the concept mapping tool enhanced the scores on a post-test when compared to standard note taking. Qualitative analyses of the process of network construction, and of the maps produced argue that there may be a case for offering learners more support in the networks that they construct, to explicitly encourage structuring activities and it is hoped integration, and more encouragement to revise networks so to enhance their use in communication.

NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR HOME‐BASED LEARNING: THE CHALLENGE TO CAMPUS‐BASED INSTITUTIONS

Abstract Although there may be little expansion for conventional higher education on campus in the next decade, there is an unmet and growing need to provide home‐based continuing education. This will require an effective means of delivering learning materials to homes on a greater scale than can be handled by broadcasting alone, as well as the production of high quality software appropriate both to the means of delivery and the needs of students. There are several developments in technology which hold out promise for home use; these need to be developed as part of a wider learning system. Campus‐based institutions are well placed both to develop the hardware and to produce suitable learning materials, but this means that higher education institutions must show a much more flexible attitude to continuing education and to co‐operation with other organisations.