This half-thesis gives an overview of the influence of the microcomputer on the way in which mathematics is done, taught and learnt. The nature of mathematics and the nature of the tutor, tool and tutee modes of microcomputer usage are discussed as background. A case is made for the use of action research methods and a classroom-based curriculum development model to facilitate innovation and the integration of the microcomputer into the mathematics classroom. A curriculum development cycle of situation analysis. planning, trial and evaluation is advocated. This approach is used to develop a microcomputer-based course aimed at enhancing the reasoning skills of standard 7 pupils. Pupils, working in groups of three, interact with the PROLOG system to build up databases of facts and rules. The microcomputer is used in tutee mode. In "teaching" this tutee, pupils discover the need for formal language and logical reasoning. Active learning is promoted by pupils' interaction with the PROLOG system and by discussions within groups. In this environment the teacher becomes a consultant and constructive critic rather than a lecturer. Findings suggest that the microcomputer plays an important role in terms of pupil motivation and that the microcomputer-based course enables pupils to experience formal language usage and logical reasoning·as relevant activities. Pupil databases provide evidence of the pupils' ability to make appropriate use of rules and to distinguish between and-conditions and or-conditions. The objective of making pupils think was largely achieved. It is recommended that the course be incorporated in the standard 1 or standard 8 curriculum to complement or replace parts of the Euclidean geometry sections as a vehicle for developing logical reasoning skills. Suggestions for the further use of the microcomputer as an investigative tool in mathematics classes and for further microcomputer-inspired courses are also made. The provision of appropriate training to enable teachers to make effective and innovative use of the microcomputer in mathematics lessons is advocated.

Science education in South Africa is not improving much. Many science educators do not have appropriate science qualifications. Majority of the learners have limited facilities to learn science. In this dilemma the move to OBE may result in further substantial deterioration of science education. A possible way out is to use computers in science education to facilitate the learning process. This study was designed to investigate how computers contribute to learners’ skills development in a physics course. A series of interactive computer simulations of colour mixing and a number of closely related traditional practical activities are aimed to promote learners’ understanding of colour. It was concluded that while computer environments have greater potentialas learning tools, they also limit interactions in significant ways.

This thesis contends that the growing phenomena of multi-user networked "learning environments" should be treated as distributed interactive systems and that their developers should be aware of the systems and networks issues involved in their construction and maintenance. Such environments are henceforth referred to as distributed learning environments, or DLEs. Three major themes are identified as part of systems support: i) shared resource coherence in DLEs; ii) Quality of Service for the end- users of DLEs; and iii) the need for an integrating framework to develop, deploy and manage DLEs. The thesis reports on several distinct implementations and investigations that are each linked by one or more of those themes. Initially, responsiveness and coherence emerged as potentially conflicting requirements, and although a system was built that successfully resolved this conflict it proved difficult to move from the "clean room" conditions of a research project into a real world learning context. Accordingly, subsequent systems adopted a web-based approach to aid deployment in realistic settings. Indeed, production versions of these systems have been used extensively in credit-bearing modules in several Scottish Universities. Interactive responsiveness then emerged as a major Quality of Service issue in its own right, and motivated a series of investigations into the sources of delay, as experienced by end users of web-oriented distributed learning environments. Investigations into this issue provided insight into the nature of web-oriented interactive distributed learning and highlighted the need to be QoS-aware. As the volume and the range of usage of distributed learning applications increased the need for an integrating framework emerged. This required identifying and supporting a wide variety of educational resource types and also the key roles occupied by users of the system, such as tutors, students, supervisors, service providers, administrators, examiners. The thesis reports on the approaches taken and lessons learned from researching, designing and implementing systems which support distributed learning. As such, it constitutes a documented body of work that can inform the future design and deployment of distributed learning environments.

The influence of modern technology on education is becoming more noticeable and has implications for the curriculum and the teaching methods of mathematics. The microcomputer can be used effectively as a powerful teaching and learning aid within the mathematics classroom. This study considers the role of the computer as an aid to teachers and pupils in the teaching and learning of mathematics and shows it as having great potential. At present relatively few schools in South Africa are using the computer as a teaching aid in the mathematics classroom. The researcher proposes that some reasons are a shortage of suitable programs, the fact that few teachers have adequate skills in educative uses of the computer and most teachers are not skilled in programming techniques. Based on this assessment of the problem, spreadsheet programs related to some mathematics lessons, together with teaching notes and pupils' material have been developed. Besides describing the potential of the computer in mathematics, this study outlines the development of three spreadsheet packages and suitable teaching methodologies used for each package, and assesses an action research investigation undertaken by the researcher, teachers and pupils when using these spreadsheet packages in six classes. The findings of the investigation are most encouraging. The overall conclusion is that computer spreadsheet packages can assist the teacher in making the learning of mathematics more effective, more interesting and more enjoyable.

There is a variety of possible ways in which computers can be used to enhance mathematics education. This thesis attempts to identify, analyse and classify these possibilities, particularly at the secondary school level. It describes and exemplifies applications ranging from drill-and-practice through games and simulations to problem solving by computer programming. Software evaluation procedures are considered in some depth. Illuminative evaluations of various items of software and there classroom use are reported. The underlying methodology is small-scale action research. Insights gained during the process of investigating each class of software lead to the eventual formulation of a scheme for classifying mathematics education software by means of 'multidimensional attributes'. It is contended that this scheme will help mathematics teachers to make well informed and sound professional judgements regarding the evaluation and use of computer programs for teaching/learning purposes. Also, it is hoped that this scheme and the thesis as a whole will contribute towards the establishment of well founded standards and procedures for software development in the field of mathematics education. Several implications of the computer for the mathematics curriculum in South Africa are suggested. A note of caution is sounded regarding possible detrimental effects of the computer and several questions requiring further research are posed. A recommendation arising from the thesis is that in-service training courses concerning computer applications in mathematics education should be run for secondary school teachers.

The creation and development of educational hypermedia by teachers and educational staff is often limited by their lack of computing skills, time and support from the educational institutions. Especially the lack of computing skills is a hinderance to most of today’s educational experts. The problem is to find out how those educational experts could be supported by computer based tools which are tailored especially to their needs without having any technical limitations. In this study the separation of technical and educational content in educational hypermedia is examined as a solution to this problem. The main hypothesis of this study is that the separation of technical and educational content is possible if it is based on a fine-grained structure of different teaching and learning strategies and their conversion into an authoring tool. Such an authoring tool would make the creation of educational hypermedia very easy for teachers and therefore enable them to overcome the existing obstacles. The development of a new model, the creation of a new XML language and the implementation of a new authoring tool form the basis for a detailed investigation. The investigation was done by undertaking several research tasks like the evaluation of the XML language and the authoring tool by a group of educational experts of different knowledge domains, the practical usage of the authoring tool for the creation of real-life based educational material and the analysis of the gained research results. The analysis of the qualitative data showed that the separation of educational and technical content in educational hypermedia is possible and that it can be applied by educational experts with low computing skills as well as by technical experts with no educational background. Furthermore, the analysis allowed some additional insights into the creation of educational material by teachers and how it can be improved. The main conclusion of this study is that authoring tools in educational hypermedia should use the separation of educational and technical content based on different teaching and learning strategies which allows educational experts with low computing skills to create educational content for delivery via the World Wide Web.

A case study carried out at Edgewood College of Education (Natal) attempted to demonstrate how in-house training could provide staff with the necessary computer literacy skills to integrate computer technology into lecturing and teaching programmes. The duration of the project was six months and during this time a group of thirty academic staff members were exposed to computer technology via practical experience, lectures and demonstrations. The results gleaned from the project show that most of the staff involved in the project developed sufficient computer skills to be of benefit in their professional and personal tasks. In addition the recognition of the value of word processing and desk top publishing led to the staff encouraging students to use these software packages in the preparation of coursework. Consequently the use of the computer resources increased noticeably in the six month period. One of the goals of the study was to show how staff, once computer literate, would make use of generic software to integrate computer technology into their lecturing programmes. This did not happen and the reasons for this failure are discussed.

The incorporation of best practice in e-learning environments can increase the probability of success for companies and learners alike. By identifying and understanding the barriers that potential learners may face when interacting with e-learning products, the potential for e-learning failure may be alleviated. There are a variety of benefits that may be realised by companies incorporating e-learning opportunities into their management strategies. However, certain pedagogical principles, metrics and components need to be investigated and implemented in order for a corporate e-learning environment to be successful. The aim of this research is to prototype and evaluate a practical e-learning environment for software training (eLESTP) with e-learning components consisting of interactive learning objects that can guide the development and management of online training in the corporate context. The eLESTP is based on a theoretical contribution that is conceptualised in the form of an e-learning environment for software training (eLESTT). Hence, this study followed a research methodology that is appropriate for educational technologies, namely the Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology, which was applied in iterative cycles. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected by means of a case study, interviews, a focus group and survey. The proposed eLESTP underwent several iterations of feedback and improvement and the result is a real-world solution to the problem at hand. With the purpose of determining the success of corporate e-learning, the barriers and critical success factors for e-learning as well as evaluation criteria were explored. Interviews, a focus group and a survey were conducted in order to validate the investigated literature in a real-world context. Informal interviews enabled a better understanding of the organisational context of this study. The focus group was conducted with customers who were undergoing face-to-face training using conveyancing software developed by Korbitec. Many of the issues faced by learners identified in literature regarding e-learning in developing countries were identified by the participants from the case study. An e-learning survey was used to gather information regarding the intention of Korbitec’s customers to use e-learning as well as their satisfaction with using e-learning. From the survey, it was found that respondents were positive regarding intention to use and satisfaction toward e-learning usage. DBR Cycle 1: Problem Investigation and Proposal entailed the initial problem investigation by conducting a literature review, focus group and survey. DBR Cycle 2: Design Alternative 1 of this study involved a design alternative for eLESTP, namely Prototype 1. DBR Cycle 3: Design and Evaluate Alternative 2 involved the design and prototyping of Prototype 2 for eLESTP as well as the improvement of Prototype 2 through sub-cycles of testing and refinement. The suggestions for improvement were obtained from the relevant stakeholders at Korbitec who are content developers and subject-matter experts. The criteria used to evaluate the success of eLESTP, including its e-learning components, were synthesised and adapted from literature and a new set of evaluation criteria for e-learning environments in software training contexts was proposed. The evaluated eLESTP consists of the technology basis of the Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle), design guidelines for e-learning components, certification and competency-based training, pedagogical principles and best practice. Overall, eLESTP was positively received by various evaluator groups in formative and summative evaluations. The research results indicate that the use of an e-learning environment for software training purposes was useful and necessary. In support of this Masters dissertation, the following three conference papers have been published and presented at one local conference and two international conferences. In addition, an article has been published in an accredited journal: 1. IDIA 2015, Conference Paper – Zanzibar (Tanzania); 2. Conf-IRM 2016, Conference Paper – Cape Town (South Africa); 3. MCIS 2016, Conference Paper – Cyprus (Europe); and 4. IJIKM 2016, Journal Article.

The fundamental purpose of this research is to establish whether mathematics can be taught effectively with the use of appropriate media and to further establish the possible effects of media in the teaching of mathematics. The research touched on the principles and guidelines of media selection and the various methods that could be utilized in conjunction with media in the teaching of mathematics in the pre-primary and primary schools. In media selection, the emphasis was that media must be chosen objectively rather than on the basis of personal preference and that the effectiveness of media is dependent on the suitability of the physical conditions surrounding it. The overall findings regarding media utilization is that most educators believe that media used in conjunction with a suitable or appropriate method should help to actualize what is expected from the learner. The research method in this study can be divided into a literature study and an empirical investigation. The literature study was done with a view to support the introductory orientation of this study. The focus was on learning as an active process, it also highlighted how the young learners acquire knowledge and how their interaction with their environment impacts on their cognitive development. The research also dealt with concept formation with special reference to the variety of concepts such as physical sensory concepts, action-function concepts, evaluative concepts and abstract concepts. The questionnaire was used to gather data from seventy (70) educators about media integration in the teaching of mathematics in the pre-primary and primary schools. An observation guide was also used during the observation of the presentation of twelve (12) lessons by eight (8) teachers from the pre-primary and primary schools. The lessons included the nature and characteristics of media employed in the lessons. The following factors were taken into account: (a) lesson plan layout (b) specific outcomes (c) contact accuracy and relevance (d) learner variables and interest (e) the learning environment and (ij the mediation capabilities of the educator (g) availability of media in schools The discussion of data collected was followed by the data analysis and interpretation. The statistical techniques were used to put the researcher in a position to either reject or accept the null hypothesis. The techniques used were the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, the Pearson Correlation coefficient, the NPar Test and Friedman Test. On the basis of the findings the researcher has sufficient, concrete evidence to conclude that the results invalidate the null hypothesis tested. Therefore the researcher's conclusion is that: (a) there is a possible effect of media in the teaching of mathematics lessons in the preprimary and primary schools. (b) there is a possible effect of media selection and integration of media in mathematics lessons. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

South African learners continue to perform poorly in high school Circle Geometry. Lack of learner confidence and motivation in Mathematics may be the contributing factors to the low success rate in Circle Geometry. These factors, coupled with Conventional Teaching Instructions (CTI), may have contributed to the significant reduction in the number of learners enrolled for Mathematics, and provided a rationale for the study that explored a possible alternative teaching pedagogy to motivate and eventually improve learner performance in Circle Geometry. The study aimed to investigate the comparative effects of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) and CTI on the performance and motivation of Grade 11 learners in the topic of Circle Geometry. The population of the study consisted of Grade 11 Mathematics learners from 65 secondary schools in the Ekurhuleni North District of Gauteng province in South Africa. Using convenience sampling techniques two schools with n=136 Grade 11 Mathematics learners and two teachers participated in the study. One school formed the experimental group (n=71) and the other school formed the control group (n=65). The study followed a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group approach consisting of pre-and post-test measures. Intact classes participated in the study as it was not possible to randomly select participants for the study. Both groups wrote a standardised achievement pre-test to ascertain their performance status at the beginning of the study. CAI was implemented in the experimental school while CTI was implemented in the control school. A similar post-test was administered on both groups to measure the comparative effects of each teaching method on the performance of learners. A questionnaire was also administered to both groups to measure the motivation of learners. A purposive sample (n=12) was selected from both groups to participate in semi-structured interviews to account for the results of the test and the questionnaire. A socio-constructivist theory framed the study. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse data. The results of this investigation indicated that the use of the computer software, GeoGebra, in the teaching and learning of Circle Geometry improved the performance and motivation of Grade 11 learners. / Mathematics Education / M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)