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This study exammes the design, development and deployment of a multimedia CD-ROM for beginning Mandarin learning for adult learners in Macao. It focuses on three major issues: first the development, from existing textbooks and CD recordings, of the Mandarin CD-ROM 'Click!' series; second the use of an ethnographic research methodology to evaluate the first volume of the CD-ROMs; and third answers to questions as to the benefits and limitations of a multimedia CD-ROM and its appropriateness in Mandarin learning. The design of this study uses an ethnographic approach to develop and evaluate instructional materials with the Knirk and Gustafson (1986) instructional development model and its aim is to apply ethnographic techniques to the different stages of the instructional development process. Due to the special circumstances of this study, the order of this research started with an initial literature review, a pilot study, further literature review, a main study, a follow-up study, and ended with a further literature review. The pilot study, which included a user-interface focus group and a pilot interview, was conducted initially to identify problems, analyse learners' entering skills, content/curriculum, existing materials and the community'S characteristics. The pilot study was used to observe learners' attitudes and learning styles to help to establish instructional objectives and strategies. The first volume of the 'Click!' CD-ROM series was developed after the analysis of the first set of data, which constituted the problem determination and design stages of the model. The pilot study then moved into the development stage. The development stage of the instructional model was an iterative process. First, a main study was conducted to evaluate and revise the first volume of the 'Click!' CD-ROM senes. The mam study included conducting a teacher focus group, in-class observations and main interviews. Notes from these observations and interviews provided valuable data to revise the second volume of the 'Click!' CD-ROM series. Then a follow-up study was carried out to evaluate and revise the first volume of the CD-ROM series again to ensure reliability and validity of the data. The third volume of the 'Click!' CDROM series was developed at the end of this research study. The findings present implications for multimedia design and the development and deployment of a Mandarin learning package for Portuguese adult learners in Macao. The actual outcome suggested that the role of the teachers is still irreplaceable, not even with technology.

This research is a case study of the way students at a Further Education College are making use of computer technology, in particular their use of the Internet, both at home and at college. The research used a multi-method approach that involved the collection of data by use of questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire was completed by two hundred students drawn from a range of courses offered at the college. The students invited to complete the questionnaire represented both full time and part time students. From the students who completed the questionnaire twenty were invited to take part in individual interviews. From the data collected the researcher has been able to establish a link between a student's cultural background and their use of computers and the Internet. The researcher has been able to gather data to support the theory that for students from some cultural backgrounds there is a likelihood that they will use Infonnation Technology for certain tasks more than students with a different cultural background. As a means of identifying groups of students who could be described as having the same cultural background the data gathered was analysed by comparing students by gender, ethnic group and religion. This research has shown that the use of computers and the Internet has become part of everyday life and as such part of our society's culture. However the research has shown that different cultural groups within our society are using the Internet in different ways and for different purposes. The data showed that male students had a more positive attitude towards computers than female students; it was also found that male students made more use of email at college than female students. The researcher has found two significant differences regarding students' use of the Internet, namely that males use the Internet more than females for entertainment and that students from a Pakistani ethnic origin use the Internet more than white students for private use. Students from Pakistani ethnic origins were also found to use email at home more than students from other ethnic backgrounds. Part of the questionnaire was used as a student self-assessment of Infonnation Technology (IT) skills and the training they had received. Analysis of this section of data showed that whilst the amount of training of students in the use of IT is independent of gender, religion and ethnicity the level of skills claimed was not. Male students claimed a higher level of IT skills than female students and the level of skill in IT claimed by Christians is significantly less than that claimed by both Muslims and those of no religion. The questionnaire results led the researcher to believe that students from different cultural backgrounds were using computers and the Internet differently. The interviews were used to probe the implications of these differences with students from particular ethnic groups. The results showed that, at the college where the study took place there were Muslim Pakistani females students who were using the Internet as their main means of social interaction, when not at college. For these students this level of social interaction would not have been available to them they did not have access to the Internet. These students were making extensive use of chat rooms on the Internet. They prearranged to talk on line to people they knew, and they did this on a regular basis. This is in contrast to female students from other cultural groups who did not use chat rooms to the same extent, and when they did it was to talk to people they did not know. The research also found that some computer use was independent of a student's cultural background. One such area related to students having difficulties or problems when using the Internet. From the students interviewed the researcher believes that for many of the students the instruction they are receiving, particularly with reference to using the Internet, is inadequate to meet their needs. In addition to the lack of IT training, some students saw the monitoring of computer use as problematic. Parental monitoring students' use of computers at home was mainly done by having the home computer located in a family room. Few of the students said that content monitoring software was being used on these machines. All students accepted this monitoring within the home environment but many were unhappy with the monitoring arrangements that the college had put in place. This research project has shown that it is not sufficient for future education researchers to investigate computer use in terms of type of use alone, as has been the case in many previous studies. This research has shown that how students choose to use computers needs to be interpreted in terms of their gender and cultural background.

Thesis (M. Tech. Information and Communications Technology)--Vaal University of Technology. / The personal computer has changed the way people think and live and has found its way into every area of life. The ability to work with computer technology is a requirement for today's world. The number of virtual learning environments (VLE's), is increasing and e-learning has been promoted as a solution for remote education. Computer literacy, the ability to use computers to perform a variety of tasks, is becoming fundamental to the learning process. Students need to be computer literate, because they are expected to use the computer in most of their subjects, by completing projects, perform electronic searches or typing assignments, to name a few. Many of the learners, who enrol at Vaal University of Technology (VUT), do not have this basic skill, and a great number of them do not have their own computers. It is thus still necessary for VUT to offer a subject such as Computer End Using to provide the learners with the basic level of computer literacy. According to the South African Qualifications Authority, computer literacy is on NQF level 4. Although computer literacy is regarded as being at a lower level than the first year in higher education, it remains a vital prerequisite for completing qualifications. It is therefore important that higher education institutions offer training for fundamental computer skills. This is also supported by the National Plan for Higher Education (NPHE), which emphasizes the mainstreaming of academic development. VUT faces a challenge in terms of providing computer literacy training through online learning. The exact skills the students need in order to engage in online learning, are the same skills taught online, subsequently these programmes require motivated learners with fundamental computer skills. The two online learning packages that were investigated in this study were a national product (HS Training) and an international product (SimNet). An informed recommendation was made with regard to the software

Αντικείμενο της εργασίας μου είναι η E-learning. Αρχικά εξετάζω την πορεία της μέσα στον χρόνο, τα πλεονεκτήματά της αλλά και τα μειονεκτήματά της σε σχέση με την παραδοσιακή εκπαίδευση. Σαν μια νέα διάσταση στον χώρο της εκπαίδευσης χρειάζεται νέος σχεδιασμός τόσο όσον αφορά στην οργάνωση των μαθημάτων και του εκπαιδευτικού υλικού όσο και για την διαχείριση της τάξης. Συνεχίζω με την παρουσίαση των διαφόρων μοντέλων ανάπτυξης της E-learning που έχουν κατά καιρούς προταθεί. Μέσα από αυτά και κυρίως λόγω των προβλημάτων που αναδεικνύονται, διαφαίνονται και οι προοπτικές εξέλιξης της που δεν είναι άλλες από την συνδυασμένη μάθηση στην οποία και γίνεται ιδιαίτερη αναφορά αφού όπως όλα δείχνουν αναμένεται τελικά να επικρατήσει λόγω των πλεονεκτημάτων που προσφέρει. Ακολουθούν σκέψεις και προβληματισμοί ανθρώπων που έχουν ασχοληθεί ιδιαίτερα με την εκπαίδευση από απόσταση καθώς επίσης και προτάσεις για την αποδοτικότερη χρήσης της. Αυτοί που καλούνται να υλοποιήσουν την νέα αυτή μέθοδο μάθησης είναι βέβαια οι εκπαιδευτικοί και σίγουρα οι σκέψεις τους και οι προβληματισμοί τους έχουν θέση στην παρούσα εργασία. Στην συνέχεια γίνεται μία προσπάθεια αξιολόγησης της αποτελεσματικότητας της E-learning μέσα από διάφορες έρευνες που κατά καιρούς έχουν γίνει σε διάφορα σημεία του κόσμου. Στο κεφάλαιο για την κατάσταση στην Ελλάδα παρουσιάζω το Πανελλήνιο Σχολικό δίκτυο το οποίο είναι επιφορτισμένο με την παροχή τηλεματικών και άλλων υπηρεσιών στην πρωτοβάθμια και δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση, με παράλληλη παράθεση των στοιχείων εκείνων που δείχνουν κατά πόσο οι υπηρεσίες αυτές χρησιμοποιούνται από μαθητές και εκπαιδευτικούς έτσι ώστε έμμεσα να φανεί κατά πόσο η εκπαιδευτική κοινότητα είναι πρόθυμη να χρησιμοποιήσει την νέα τεχνολογία. Συνεχίζω με τον μοναδικό πανεπιστημιακό φορέα που κάνει χρήση της Ε-learning ο οποίος είναι το Ελληνικό Ανοικτό Πανεπιστήμιο επικεντρώνοντας την προσοχή ιδιαίτερα στο τμήμα εκείνο που αξιοποιεί και αναπτύσσει την νέα αυτή μορφή της εκπαίδευσης. Στην συνέχεια αναφέρομαι στην πετυχημένη προσπάθεια της Ρουμανίας πάνω στην E-learning η οποία θα μπορούσε να λειτουργήσει ως οδηγός για άλλες αντίστοιχες προσπάθειες και κλείνω την εργασία μου με παρουσίαση διαγραμμάτων που δείχνουν πως έχει η κατάσταση στα διάφορα κράτη της Ευρώπης σχετικά με την χρήση της νέας αυτής μορφής μάθησης. / The object of my study is E-learning. Initially I refer to E-learning through the time, the advantages and the disadvantages related to the traditional education. As a new dimension in the space of education it needs a new planning in the way the courses are organized, the educational material and the class management. I continue with the presentation of various models of growth of E-learning that have been proposed. Through them and especially through the problems that have appeared, we can see the prospect of E-learning that is not other than the hybrid learning. There is particular report in this kind of learning because all elements show that this learning will finally prevail, because off the advantages that it offers. Some thoughts and reflections of persons that have particularly dealt with the education from distance are presented as well as proposals for more efficient use. Those that are called to materialise this new method of learning are the teachers and surely their thoughts and their reflections have been writen in this work. Then becomes an effort of evaluation of effectiveness of E-learning through various researches that occasionally have taken place all over the world. In the chapter for the situation in Greece I present the Hellenic School network which is charged with the rendering of telematics and other services in the first and secondary education. Moreover there is a parallel presentation of the elements that show how much these services are used by students and teachers. Through these elements we can see the degree the educational community is willing to use the new technology.I continue with the unique academic institution in Greece that makes use of E–learning, which is the Greek Open University, focusing the attention particularly in that department that develops and uses this new type of education. Then I refer to the succesful effort of Romania in E - learning which would be a good example for other similar efforts. I close my work with the presentation of diagrams that shows the situation in Europe with regard to the use of this new type of learning.

Μέσα στο πλαίσιο μιας παγκόσμιας κοινωνίας η οποία μεταβάλλεται με υπερβολικά γρήγορους ρυθμούς και χαρακτηρίζεται από έντονα στοιχεία πολυπλοκότητας, οι Τεχνολογίες Πληροφορίας και Επικοινωνιών επηρεάζουν καθοριστικά κάθε πτυχή της οικονομικής, επαγγελματικής, κοινωνικής και ατομικής ζωής. Όσον αφορά στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία μέσα στην Ελληνική πραγματικότητα, ο τρόπος με τον οποίο οι μαθητές «μαθαίνουν», δεν έχει αλλάξει ουσιαστικά τα τελευταία 40 χρόνια. Οι ΤΠΕ μπορούν να παίξουν ένα σπουδαίο ρόλο στο «Νέο Σχολείο», το οποίο τοποθετεί το μαθητή στο επίκεντρο της εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας, ο οποίος μετέχει ενεργητικά στις δραστηριότητες μάθησης. Για να επιτευχθεί αυτός ο στόχος, θα πρέπει ο εκπαιδευτικός να διαθέτει τα απαραίτητα εφόδια που θα του επιτρέψουν να λειτουργήσει στη νέα πραγματικότητα και να αξιοποιήσει τα νέα δεδομένα με χρήση των ΤΠΕ. Μέσα από τα έργα «Επιμόρφωση Εκπαιδευτικών στη Χρήση και Αξιοποίηση των ΤΠΕ στην Εκπαιδευτική Διδακτική Διαδικασία» της Κατηγορίας Πράξεων 2.1.1.θ. «Επιμόρφωση εκπαιδευτικών στις Τεχνολογίες Πληροφορίας και Επικοινωνιών (ΤΠΕ)» του ΕΠΕΑΕΚ ΙΙ και «Επιμόρφωση των εκπαιδευτικών για την αξιοποίηση και εφαρμογή των ΤΠΕ στη διδακτική πράξη» του ΕΠ «Εκπαίδευση και Δια Βίου Μάθηση», ΕΣΠΑ (2007-2013), το οποίο υλοποιείται με τη συγχρηματοδότηση της ΕΕ και του ΕΚΤ έχει ξεκινήσει προσπάθεια επιμόρφωσης μεγάλου αριθμού εκπαιδευτικών των ελληνικών σχολείων της πρωτοβάθμιας και της δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης στη διδακτική αξιοποίηση των Τεχνολογιών της Πληροφορίας και των Επικοινωνιών στην τάξη. Αυτές οι διαπιστώσεις αποτέλεσαν την αφορμή για την εκπόνηση της μελέτης που παρουσιάζεται στην παρούσα εργασία, και η οποία έχει ως σκοπό τη μελέτη του τρόπου σχεδίασης εκπαιδευτικών σεναρίων από εκπαιδευτικούς ΠΕ 60, με χρήση των ΤΠΕ. Το ζητούμενο ήταν να διαπιστώσουμε, σε ποιο βαθμό οι εκπαιδευτικοί που επιμορφώθηκαν με βάση το προαναφερόμενο έργο, κατασκεύασαν εκπαιδευτικά σενάρια σύμφωνα με τους βασικούς άξονες σχεδίασης και πως ανέδειξαν την προστιθέμενη αξία των ΤΠΕ. Συγκεκριμένα η εργασία αποτελείται από δύο μέρη: Στο πρώτο, που αφορά στη θεωρητική πλαισίωση του θέματος, γίνεται μια προσπάθεια καταγραφής της εξέλιξης της ένταξης των ΤΠΕ στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία σε Ελλάδα και εξωτερικό. Ειδικά όσον αφορά στην Ελληνική πραγματικότητα, γίνεται προσπάθεια συσχέτισης του Διαθεματικού Ενιαίου Πλαισίου Προγράμματος σπουδών με τις ΤΠΕ. Επίσης, ασχολείται με τις θεωρίες μάθησης και την εφαρμογή τους στη διδασκαλία και τη μάθηση με χρήση των ΤΠΕ. Στο δεύτερο μέρος παρουσιάζεται καταρχήν η μεθοδολογία που ακολουθείται (το αντικείμενο, το δείγμα, τα ερωτήματα και τα χρησιμοποιούμενα ερευνητικά εργαλεία) για τη διεξαγωγή της έρευνας. Στη συνέχεια το κύριο μέρος της εργασίας αφορά στην περιγραφική και πολυπαραγοντική ανάλυση των ερευνητικών δεδομένων. Τέλος η έρευνα ολοκληρώνεται με τη συζήτηση και σύγκριση των αποτελεσμάτων που πήραμε τόσο από την περιγραφική, όσο και από την πολυπαραγοντική ανάλυση, καθώς και με την επισήμανση διαφόρων ερωτημάτων ή παρατηρήσεων που προκύπτουν από την όλη διαδικασία και που πιθανότατα χρήζουν περαιτέρω διερεύνησης. / How ICT influence teachers on designing educational scripts.

Thesis (M.Tech. (Information Technology, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences))--Vaal University of Technology, 2006 / The sole purpose of a test is to make a measurement. Assessment is very much a process of measurement, whether the outcome is used for baseline, diagnostic, formative or summative purposes. When measurement is taken, in whatever form, a score is obtained. The score that is obtained forms the important part of assessment, because this score determines the outcome of the assessment, the decisions that are to be made regarding the student’s progress, curriculum changes and the evaluation of a course as a whole. Although a score is obtained from a test, the analysis thereof is frequently much neglected. The use of computers in education is not a new concept. The first computer application goes back a long way when computers were first used to do psychological testing. It then became clear that computers can be applied to more fields in education, especially in the field of testing. In the early days real progress was slow, since computers were expensive and were only used in large companies. However, the scenario has changed with the widespread availability of personal computers that has enabled educators to focus on the appropriate role of computerisation in the development, administration, scoring and interpretation of tests. The main objective of this study is to show the major advantage of using computers as a comprehensive assessment tool and to demonstrate the ability to construct and ‘bank’ test items to subsequently produce a standardised test. An added advantage was the computer’s ability to administer tests to students and manage student progress records. The research findings indicate that a Comprehensive Computer-Assisted Assessment Tool (CCAT) has the potential to contribute to the enhancement of assessment and that it can enable educators to prepare valid, reliable and fair test items which were more difficult and time-consuming without technology.