ICT Courses Research Articles

Access and use of the internet among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

The study surveyed the use of Internet among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. 240 questionnaires were distributed using a stratified sampling method. A total of 190 questionnaires were returned and all were usable. The access point for using Internet among the undergraduates was mostly the computer center of Dhaka University. Findings revealed that a high percentage of the Internet was used among the undergraduates. Some problems they face in their use of the Internet include slow speed of the connection, limited number of PCs and other related issues of using Internet. The study recommends that the university and arts faculty should provide more access points for the students. Departmental computer labs, Internet facilities and incorporating ICT courses in the academic syllabi should be started to those departments where it is needed to overcome the problems. Moreover, modern net connection technologies need to be used and training program needs to be started for the undergraduates.

Blog-enhanced ICT courses: Examining their effects on prospective teachers’ ICT competencies and perceptions

Blogs are used as a technology support tool in teaching–learning processes in contemporary schools, especially in higher education. This paper examines the effects of using blogs on prospective teachers’ perceived ICT competencies and perceptions in blog-enhanced ICT courses. Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used in the data collection and analysis processes. The findings indicate that most of the participants perceived blogs to be an important tool that changed their ICT perceptions in a positive way and familiarized them with ICT. The participants also perceived the use of blogs as important for the acquisition of ICT competencies.

Flexible learning programme (FLP) in Universiti Teknologi MARA: New opportunities for Malaysian higher education and training

The Flexible Learning Programme (FLP) has enabled the process of education and training to be expanded in an online virtual college mode, enabling students to use the state-of-the-art, and multi-media, e-Learning techniques. University Technology Mara (UiTM) has responded by applying the revolutionary new eLearning concept in her attempt to be futuristic towards the next generation of distance-learning. In doing so, the flexible learning programme offers an expanding range of exciting new formats for ICT and website design courses. Students may access the readymade information and references electronically and communicate online and interact through Internet. UiTM in general and the Faculty of Information Management in particular has moved a step further in providing education through Internet, known as the flexible learning program. This faculty became the first to provide a master’s program through flexible learning known as the Masters of Science in Information Management. The first group of 77 students came from all over Malaysia. It is interesting to note that the response from the participants has been encouraging despite the fact that this is a new mode of learning in Malaysia. The monthly seminars that are being held not only help in the reinforcement of the student’s capacity to absorb and to consolidate the sessions, but also to provide a good forum for discussions. This paper will attempt to explain the FLP and how it has so far sustained in meeting the objective of the program, despite the fact that it is of recent phenomena. This program has run smoothly and the rate of students’ response have continuously been encouraging. Key words: University technology Mara, faculty of information management, masters of science in information management, UiTM, flexible learning programme, e-learning.

What Students are Telling us about Why They Left Their ICT Course

Student attrition is an issue of particular concern in the field of ICT because the industry faces staffing shortfalls. The study described in this paper provides further understanding of the causes of attrition from ICT courses by exploring the reasons students give for leaving their ICT courses. An online survey of early leavers from four Australian universities was conducted. The results show that many factors can contribute to the attrition of ICT students, and that for many students it is a combination of issues that leads to their withdrawal. Only a relatively small number of ex-students had experienced serious life events that necessitated their withdrawal. It was much more common for the participants to cite reasons associated with the university environment, the teaching of their ICT course, and their inability to combine their studies with other commitments. Recommendations are made to address issues that could be mitigated by university action.

Flexible learning programme (FLP) in Universiti Teknologi MARA: New opportunities for Malaysian higher education and training

The Flexible Learning Programme (FLP) has enabled the process of education and training to be expanded in an online virtual college mode, enabling students to use the state-of-the-art, and multi-media, e-Learning techniques. University Technology Mara (UiTM) has responded by applying the revolutionary new eLearning concept in her attempt to be futuristic towards the next generation of distance-learning. In doing so, the flexible learning programme offers an expanding range of exciting new formats for ICT and website design courses. Students may access the readymade information and references electronically and communicate online and interact through Internet. UiTM in general and the Faculty of Information Management in particular has moved a step further in providing education through Internet, known as the flexible learning program. This faculty became the first to provide a master’s program through flexible learning known as the Masters of Science in Information Management. The first group of 77 students came from all over Malaysia. It is interesting to note that the response from the participants has been encouraging despite the fact that this is a new mode of learning in Malaysia. The monthly seminars that are being held not only help in the reinforcement of the student’s capacity to absorb and to consolidate the sessions, but also to provide a good forum for discussions. This paper will attempt to explain the FLP and how it has so far sustained in meeting the objective of the program, despite the fact that it is of recent phenomena. This program has run smoothly and the rate of students’ response have continuously been encouraging. Key words: University technology Mara, faculty of information management, masters of science in information management, UiTM, flexible learning programme, e-learning.

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' TRAINING IN INFORMATION COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE ESL CLASSROOMS IN MALAYSIA

Today there is sufficient evidence that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT henceforth) has a significant influence on the teaching and learning process that takes places in the classroom. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the ESL preservice teachers‘ attitudes, competency and preparation in integrating ICT in their teaching and learning activities. The study employed a quantitative survey method and involved a total of 70 pre-service Teaching English as Second Language (TESL) teachers in the Faculty of Education from a public university in Malaysia. These preservice teachers, who had undergone 12 weeks of practicum teaching in secondary schools, were given a set of questionnaire and the data gathered from the questionnaires were statistically analyzed. The results indicated that the pre-service teachers do possess positive attitudes, moderate level of competency and are adequately prepared in integrating ICT in the classroom. The study also highlighted that the lack of facilities and technical malfunction in schools as the biggest obstacle for the pre-service teachers in their efforts to integrate ICT in the classroom. These result suggested that teachers must be well prepared for ICT use in the classroom. Therefore continuous training and ICT courses should be seen as solution in assisting teachers strengthen their ICT skills and in encouraging them to keep up to date with newer technologies.

Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Attitude towards Information and Communication Technology Usage

Problem statement: Rural development through ICT has been the focus of the Malaysian government. ICT is an important tool nowadays and in order to be a developed community, the community especially those in the rural areas must use it wisely. Besides the numerous benefits offered by the ICT, it would be helpful to know whether the rural community especially their leaders which are the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) members use ICT or not. Approach: This is a quantitative study and the respondents were selected based on the simple random sampling. A total of 240 JKKK members from four states in Peninsular Malaysia were selected as the respondents. A questionnaire was used to gather the data needed. Results: Results obtained revealed that their attitude towards ICT usage was moderate. Further analyses using Independent t-test and ANOVA have identified that the factor of position held and level of education have significant difference with attitude towards ICT usage. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation performed have confirmed that the factors of period of using a computer in a week, period of using internet in a week and income per month have a positive and significant relationship with attitude towards ICT usage. On the other hand, the factors of period of staying in the Village Vision Movement and age have a negative and significant relationship with attitude towards ICT usage. Conclusion/Recommendation: It is recommended that ICT seminars and courses can be conducted to expose and train the JKKK members to be more competent in using ICT. Increasing the number of ICT centers in the community would provide more opportunity for JKKK members to learn more about ICT. These recommendations should be targeted to JKKK members in the lower management level, lower education, lower income, elderly and members who do not use computer and internet.

Norwegian secondary school teachers and ICT

ICT is meant to be integrated in all subjects in Norwegian schools; nevertheless many teachers are reluctant to use ICT in their own teaching. This paper explores to what extent teachers use ICT in their classroom teaching and what teacher‐level factors influence the use of ICT. It draws on an analysis of 10 focus‐group interviews with 10 teachers and a quantitative study of 59 teachers in three lower secondary schools in Hamar, Norway. The teachers showed commitment to ICT; however, may did not see the educational value, except for increased access to learning material and to stimulate learner motivation. Teachers also expressed lack of ICT confidence even though they have been taking part in ICT courses. A main finding is that to integrate ICT in one’s own teaching is a difficult and gradual process and teachers must be given time to find their own way to merge ICT with their own teaching style.

Blogging as a social medium in undergraduate courses: Sense of community best predictor of perceived learning

The purpose of the study was to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning. Fifty pre-service teachers from two undergraduate ICT courses which incorporated blogs participated in this study. The data were obtained via three online questionnaires (Collaborative Learning scale, Sense of Community scale, and Perceived Learning scale) administered throughout Fall 2009–2010. The research questions were answered by using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and multiple linear regressions. Results indicated that the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning and perceived learning; also, they had moderate feelings related to sense of community in the classes which incorporated blogs. Additionally, to a great extent sense of community and to a much lesser extent of computer knowledge level were the predictors of explaining their learning perceptions.

First year university students’ self-perception of ICT skills: Do learning styles matter?

Do ICT skills of freshmen change in 6 months at the university? What is the contribution of learning styles (or patterns) to the explanation of the variance in self-perceived ICT skills and the possible change in these skills? And what is the contribution of learning styles and of gender, social class, and ICT course attendance to the explanation of the variance in these skills? To answer these questions, data were collected in a panel research project that recruited 714 freshmen at a large Belgian university. The data show that the ability of the students to maintain a computer and to develop a website improves at the university but not the ability to use the Internet or to apply basic ICT skills. The analyses show that there is a link, albeit weak, between learning styles and self-perceived ICT skills. Learning styles can partially explain differences between groups of students with different characteristics. The data show that having a certain learning style might influence the perception of students of their ICT skill, but learning styles do not allow one to predict the change in the self-perceived ICT skills of the students.

Socio- economic factors that impinge computer usage in administration works among village leaders in Malaysia

The main purpose of this paper is to discover and determine the socio-economic factors that impinge the usage of computer in the administration work among village leaders in Malaysia. Using simple random sampling, a total of 240 village leaders which are the Village Development and Security Committee members, have been selected as the respondents for this study. Face to face interview was conducted to gain the data needed. To run the appropriate analyses, SPSS software was employed. Based on the results gained, the level of computer usage in administration work among Village Development and Security Committee members was at a moderate level. There were significant difference in computer usage in administration work in the factors of gender, ICT courses attended, type of position, education and zone where the Village Development and Security Committee members live. Results show that there was significant and positive relationship between usage of computer in administration work and income per month. Positive and significant relationship also was detected between computer usage in administration work and knowledge on computer usage while significant and negative relationship can be identified between computer usage in administration work and age. To enhance computer usage in administration work among Village Development and Security Committee members, it is recommended that every Village Development and Security Committee office and member should be supplied with at least a computer and internet connection. Furthermore, subsidy on purchasing computer should be provided to Village Development and Security Committee members. Special training courses can be introduced to Village Development and Security Committee members in order to inform them on the benefits of using the computer.

NVLab, a Networking Virtual Web-Based Laboratory that Implements Virtualization and Virtual Network Computing Technologies

In various ICT courses, it is necessary to establish a proper space where each learner has access to a set of network devices with which he/she can build and test networks with different structures and components. This will enable the learners to practice working on multiple devices as in the case of real world context, and freely apply modifications to the network structure to solve any issue that may arise with the current scenario. While on-campus facilities are designed to meet this criterion, current Web-based laboratories either have fixed network designs, or do not offer a number of real devices to work on. Taking a step forward toward building a Web-based laboratory, we used open source Virtualization and Virtual Network Computing technologies in NVLab, a system that offers the learners tools to draw, configure, test, and troubleshoot network designs using real Operating System instances running in the virtual mode on a host machine. The functionality of the system has been experimented by introducing a case study exercise to a group of remote learners as part of Computer Networks course. Evaluating the participants' advancement was done by comparing their answers to a level test prior and after completing the exercise. The evaluation showed that the learners achieved better results in the level test after completing the exercise and were able to use the system efficiently.

The effects of social, familial, and personal factors on students’ course selection in Iranian technical schools

The purpose of the present study was to explore the effects of selected social, familial, and personal factors on students’ course selection in Iranian technical schools. In this survey, 249 male and female students were randomly selected from technical schools in the Andimeshk Area of Iran to provide data on social, familial, and personal factors that they thought could affect their selection of accounting, computer engineering, welding, ICT, or other similar courses in technical schools. The data were collected through a researcher-made likert scale questionnaire and were analyzed using step-by-step regression analysis. The results indicated that social, familial, and personal factors considered in this study were meaningfully related to the selection of courses by students. Moreover, means comparison analyses indicated that there was no significant difference between male and female students in terms of being affected by such factors in their choices.

Implementing ICT Techniques in Teaching for the Effective Implementation of the New Nine Years UBE Curriculum in Anambra State

Implementing ICT Techniques in Teaching for effective implementation of the new nine years UBE curriculum is the objective of this research study. The study investigated the effective implementation of ICT in the new nine years UBE curriculum. The survey was based on four research questions. A sample total of 3048 science and non-science teachers consisting of 551 science teachers from private primary and 823 science teachers from public junior secondary schools, and 731 non-science teachers from from private primary and 943 non-science teachers from government owned junior secondary school from the six different educational zones in Anambra State. A questionnaire titled “implementing ICT Techniques in Teaching for Effective Implementation of the New UBE Curriculum” (IICTEINUBEC) was used for data collection. Data was analyzed using mean ratings. The Findings include that the schools did not have ICT course outlines specifying the progressive topics to be learnt by primary and Secondary school students, science based subjects which require the use of ICT for its effective teaching / learning are not being used. It was recommended that teachers should not teach the use of ICT in education independently but portraying its scientific nature correlating it with other conventional science subjects taught in schools and that ICT based education courses should be structured into the school curriculum so that it can be taught at different levels in logical and procedural sequence.

The Role of a Stand-alone ICT Course in a Malaysian Public University: How Effective is it for Student Teachers?

This research attempts to measure student teachers’ confidence toward ICT and their perceived ICT skills after completing a stand-alone ICT course at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Two separate paired samples t-tests results revealed that there was a positive shift in the student teachers’ confidence toward ICT as well as an improvement in their perceived ICT skills towards the end of the course. The pre-test result showed that participants with lower prior ICT experience were as confident as those with higher experience before enrolling in the course. They, however, had much lower perceived ICT skills. The post test results showed that those with lower prior ICT experience still had similar confidence level toward ICT compared to those with higher prior computer experience but the gap between their perceived ICT skills had reduced. The responses obtained from interviewing six student teachers showed that participants were more confident with ICT related tools and felt that their ICT skills improved towards the end of the stand-alone course. The study offered some evidence that stand-alone ICT courses can benefit student teachers.

New Curriculum Approach in Teaching Network Security Subjects for ICT Courses in Malaysia

New Curriculum Approach in Teaching Network Security Subjects for ICT Courses in Malaysia

Integration of ICT in the reference services curricula of Nigerian library and information science schools

This paper examines the curricula of library and information science schools in Nigeria with a view to determining the ICT content of the reference services courses offered by these schools. The curricula of three universities as well as the National Universities Commission (NUC) minimum standards for university library and information science schools and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) minimum standards for polytechnic library and information science schools provided the needed data. The result shows that while there are ICT courses in the library and information science curricula, there is no ICT content in the reference courses taught in both the universities and the polytechnics.Keywords: reference service, ICT, curriculum, library and information science schools, electronic reference service The Information Technologist Vol. 3(1) 2006: 27-35

Ethnography of mediation in an educational ICT course

This article comprises a discussion in which a theory of culture as a system of is used as an interpretativeion frame for the inquiry into the culture of a university course. The argument is that the theory of learning that is applied in the same study, namely sociocultural and related theories, coheres with the methodological lens of what I have termed ethnography of mediation as mode of inquiry. In the ethnographic images of electronic tool-making, the ethnographic text included in the article, the core of the culture of the M.Ed coursework is portrayed is the focus on electronic, interactive tools. There is less fertile ground in which to cultivate theoretical richness in the course, despite the motivation of the lecturer and the strong theoretical course content. The students' tacit theories of learning and of knowledge are regarded as a possible obstacle in their appropriation of the literature on learning and teaching. The successful engagement with electronic tool-making seems to come...

Designing and Implementing a Project-Based ICT Course in a Teacher Education Setting: Rewards and Pitfalls

ICT literacy is more than the ability to operate a computer system. It includes an intricate and sophisticated set of higher order skills and cognitive capabilities. In view of the relevant literature, a project-based ICT literacy course was designed with the aim of addressing and developing such capabilities in combination to technical skills acquisition. The course was implemented in a Greek university and a small cohort of undergraduate trainee teachers participated in it. Analysis of the tutor's field notes and students' anonymous written comments and descriptions of the course led to a list of successes and failures regarding the objectives set, the learning environment, the assessment method employed and the project themes selected. Students' evidenced lack of basic information skills and inexperience with project work were the main factors inhibiting and influencing the whole process. Findings are discussed with reference to previous studies and they seem to reinforce the idea that the problems encountered in ICT education are mostly pedagogical rather than technological.

The effects of case‐based learning on early childhood pre‐service teachers' beliefs about the pedagogical uses of ICT

The study examined the extent to which case‐based learning could have an effect on pre‐service teachers' beliefs about the pedagogical uses of ICT in the classroom. One hundred second year early childhood pre‐service teachers enrolled in an ICT course participated in the study. Research data were collected with a questionnaire, reflection papers, course evaluations and focus interviews. The findings showed that initially the majority of pre‐service teachers had negative beliefs and certain misconceptions regarding the pedagogical uses of ICT and that case‐based learning effected their beliefs and conceptions. Future research studies should examine the extent to which a case‐based learning approach for the teaching of ICT in pre‐service teacher training can actually have an effect on appropriately integrating ICT into real classroom practices.