Open University Malaysia Research Articles

The Use of Facebook for Online Discussions among Distance Learners.

With the advent of Web 2.0 tools, educators are looking to these new technological tools to examine its potential in enhancing teaching and learning. While its runaway success as a social networking tool is now renowned, the use of Facebook for educational purposes may be considered still at its infancy stage. This paper describes the use of Facebook as a platform for academic discussions among distance learners. It offers a glimpse into how mobile learning via SMS together with Facebook was used to support and enhance the blended learning approach at Open University Malaysia for three courses: Learning Skills for Open and Distance Learners, Company Law and Renal Nursing. Data on user interactions collected were from the ―Page Insights‖ tools available to Page administrators for the whole duration of a course semester. Facebook interactions examined include total number of fans, total interactions, interactions per post, post quality and unique page views. Findings indicate that Facebook does have the potential to draw distance learners to engage in meaningful academic conversations but the quantity and quality of posts very much depends on the timing as well as the topics of discussion.

A Comparative Study on Learner's Performance: A Collaboration between Open University Malaysia (OUM) and Kolej Tentera Darat Malaysia (KTD)

The collaboration between Open University Malaysia (OUM) and Kolej Tentera Darat (KTD), an army college started since 2002. OUM held strongly on the believe of lifelong learning and this collaboration are able to provide education opportunities to those who missed their earlier chances in pursuing higher education. The purposes of this study are: 1) to do a descriptive study on the learner's performance and 2) to determine the impact of conducting different approach in teaching and learning system. The outcome of this study will be able to show the different approaches of teaching and learning in strategic collaborations.

E-MATHEMATICS: PRE-INSTRUCTIONAL AND SUPPLEMENT INSTRUCTION AND THEIR IMPACT OF STUDENT'S ONLINE PARTICIPATION AND FINAL EXAM SCORE

Open University Malaysia (OUM), Malaysia's first open and distance learning with over 70.000 students, offers more than 51 programs to-date. More than 90% of its students are working adults who are unable to leave their jobs or families behind to pursue their dream of getting a degree. The blended learning approach adopted by OUM provides the flexibility for working adult's to obtain the required paper qualification and to upgrade their knowledge. One of the important elements of blended learning is the use of online discussion forum where learning takes place beyond classroom. Mathematics, a traditionally difficult course, forms part of the prerequisite for students to obtain a business degree at OUM. The adult learners at OUM generally have left school for at least five years and most of them have low grades in Mathematics at O' Level. Thus it is a big challenge for these adult learners to undertake a Mathematics course via online with minimum Face-to-Face contact with their tutors. This paper focuses on the implementation of pro-instruction workshop and supplemental instruction to find its impact on student's online participation and exam results of 88 students. The contents of the online forum were also analyzed using a 34-item instrument derived from the Community of Inquiry model. Results obtained showed that there was a strong correlation between workshop participation and final exam score. Independent samples t-test conducted showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of online discussion ratio and final examination between participants attached to a tutor conducting the workshop and extended coaching compared to participants attached to another tutor using the normal teaching guide. The means COI score obtained for mathematics between the two tutors indicated that there is a difference in the teaching and cognitive presence but almost similar in the social presence.

TOWARDS A MORE EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF LEARNERS AND TUTORS IN ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUMS

Online discussion forums have the potential to add value to the total learning environmental in open distance learning. A study analyzing more than a hundred online forums from twenty offered by four faculties was conducted at the Open University Malaysia (OUM). The study aimed to determine how effective online forums were in contributing to the blended learning pedagogies adopted by the university. Using the Community of Inquiry model to evaluate the effectiveness of the forum discourse, the forums were examined to determine the extent of social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence in the forums. The study also looked at similarities and differences in interactions in the various forums. Several interesting observation were made as a result of the analysis. One major observation made was the need for tutors to be trained on how to field questions, pose questions and lead as well as moderate the discussions. The study was timely to ensure that online discussion forums contribute further to the blended learning environment at OUM.

THE NEED FOR PARTICIPATION IN OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION: The Open University Malaysia Experience

This paper provides an overview of adult learner participation in open and distance education by focusing participation needs based on selected socio-demographic variables such as age, years of working experience and monthly income. The related study involved a sample of 454 Open University Malaysia students from a number of learning centres located in different parts of the country. The study found that adult learners are generally below the age of 39, relatively not affluent, have less than 20 years of work experience and have a high need for participation. The highest need is professional advancement, followed closely by cognitive interest, and communication improvement while the lowest reported need is escapism/social stimulation. Age and work experience exhibited negative regression coefficients, indicating inverse associations with participation need. These results are comparable to the findings of previous research on the role of age, work experience and monthly income as factors determining participation in adult higher education.

Changing Faces of Open and Distance Learning in Asia

It is no incident that IRRODL begins the year of 2007 with this regional focus edition on “Changing Faces of Open and Distance Learning in Asia.” Over the recent years, there has been tremendous growth and diversity in open and distance learning (ODL) in Asia. With over 56 percent of the global population, Asia has over 70 universities that are dedicated to open access to education, including seven out of 11 of the world's mega universities (universities with over 100,000 active students in degree-level courses) serving six million active students all together (Daniel, 1996). Quite a few distance teaching universities or programs such as the Bangladeshi Open University, the Hanoi Open University, the Open University Malaysia, and the Open and Distance Learning Program in Singapore, have been established since the 1990s and now provide tertiary level education to those seeking continuing education opportunities. Virtual universities are growing fast and, with 17 virtual universities in Korea alone! Many conventional, campusbased universities have started to offer e-Learning programs as well. For example, 67 e-Colleges have been established within conventional research universities in China.

Improving Learning of Programming Through E-Learning by Using Asynchronous Virtual Pair Programming

The problem of learning programming subjects, especially through distance learning and E-Learning, has been widely reported in literatures. Many attempts have been made to solve these problems. This has led to many new approaches in the techniques of learning of programming. One of the approaches that have been proposed is the use of virtual pair programming (VPP). Most of the studies about VPP in distance learning or e-learning environment focus on the use of the synchronous mode of collaboration between learners. Not much research have been done about asynchronous VPP. This paper describes how we have implemented VPP and a research that has been carried out to study the effectiveness of asynchronous VPP for learning of programming. In particular, this research study the effectiveness of asynchronous VPP in the learning of object-oriented programming among students at Open University Malaysia (OUM). The result of the research has shown that most of the learners have given positive feedback, indicating that they are happy with the use of asynchronous VPP. At the same time, learners did recommend some extra features that could be added in making asynchronous VPP more enjoyable.

E-LEARNING CHALLENGES AS PERCEIVED BY COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE: OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA'S EXPERIENCES

E-learning has become ingrained in conversations that border around learning, however, how much and how effectively e-learning is practiced and understood is an issue that needs further investigation. This paper will first provide an overview of elearning practices in Malaysia followed by detailed findings of e-learning practices at Open University Malaysia. Findings of a survey done on 26 Malaysian organizations show that only 4% truly practice some form of e-learning. Nevertheless most participants in the survey noted that e-learning will be the preferred choice in time to come. The survey also shows that most organizations are still very comfortable with a blended style of learning or training. Findings of a research conducted at Open University Malaysia (OUM) shows that as a new player in e-learning initiatives, the OUM has achieved much especially in ensuring that its over 30,000 students are practicing some form of e-learning. At OUM, although self-managed and face-to-face learning are the preferred choices, much effort and resources are pumped into elearning in ensuring that OUM has the right mix for its blended mode. The paper will present a report on findings of e-learning and explicate issues within to determine how e-learning efforts can be further refined to support the overall blended pedagogy practiced at OUM.

Education and Research via the Open University Malaysia (OUM) – An Opportunity for Local Government

In this era, the provision of education and dissemination of research-based knowledge need not be restricted to conventional methods such as classroom settings and face-to-face interactions. Advancements in communications via improved technologies enable people from all over the world to seek knowledge to support their needs, conduct global research via teleconferencing, and study at their own pace wherever they are and according to their level of ability. Naturally governments, too, are aware of this flexibility to increase their effectiveness and improve the capacity of their staff.