The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of normal instruction supplemented by the computer-assisted instruction English program Grammar Game on achievement and attitude scores of vocational-technical students in Thailand. The experimental design was a 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA design. One hundred seventy-eight students at the Lanna Polytechnical College in Thailand were randomly selected from the population of 10 classrooms. Four classes were intact groups, with two classes randomly assigned to the experimental groups which received Lecture/CAI and the other two as control groups which received Lecture. The 89 students in each group were divided into high- and low- ability, based on their previous English scores. Subjects received treatment for nine weeks. Pre-test and post-test instruments on achievement and attitude were administered to both groups. The Statistical Analysis System (SAS), and the General Linear Model (GLM) package computer program yielded the MANOVA results. Based on data analysis, the findings were as follows: (1) There was a significant difference between the students in a Lecture/CAI English program and the students in a Lecture English program when they were compared simultaneously on the achievement and attitude scores, F(l, 176) = 18.97, p < .05. (2) There was no significant interaction between the types of teaching methods and levels of ability when achievement was used as the dependent variable, F(l, 174) = .48, p > .05. (3) There was no significant interaction between the types of teaching methods and levels of ability when attitude was used as the dependent variable, F(l, 174) = .06, p > .05. The conclusion was that normal instruction supplemented by CAI improved achievement and attitude scores. On the other hand, the effect of two types of methods on achievement remained the same for high- and low-ability students and so did the effect of two types of methods on attitude. Future research should examine different CAI software packages, CAI within a full year, the effects of ability on achievement and attitude, background knowledge, more levels of independent variables, characteristics of an effective CAI program, and a case study with larger population in Thailand.

Indigenous languages worldwide are rapidly disappearing, forced out of use by the spread of dominant Western culture and its languages. On the Warm Springs reservation of Oregon, the Culture and Heritage department, the tribal agency in charge of language preservation, is offering instruction in all three languages of the reservation: Wasco, Sahaptin and Northern Paiute. Most of the class offerings target the children of the tribes. In an effort to stimulate their interest, Culture and Heritage has considered creating language learning computer games. During a ten-week internship with Culture and Heritage in the spring of 1999, I did preliminary research for a Wasco computer game. Using participant observation and informal interviews with children, elders and Warm Springs Elementary School teachers, I developed a possible structure and scenario for a game centered on traditional subsistence activities. I also identified obstacles to the realization of language computer games, such as lack of technological resources in Warm Springs, and elders' resistance to computers. Results and recommendations were issued in a public meeting in Warm Springs and presented in a report. This thesis is a case study exploring in greater depth issues that arose during my internship, like the politics of anthropological fieldwork on reservations, and issues related to the Wasco computer game project, such as the pragmatics of language preservation and the role of computers in reversing language shift. On the latter, it was found that the introduction of computers tends to disrupt traditional hierarchies and patterns for the transmission of knowledge. In view of the cultural, financial and logistic costs, the benefits of Computer Assisted Language Learning for the preservation of severely endangered languages are uncertain at best. / Graduation date: 2002

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

The integration of Information and Communication Technology in the indigenous language classroom lags behind compared to other subjects. In many ways, indigenous language teachers find it difficult and to some extent, impossible to integrate ICT into their classroom activities. The focus of this study is to explore the ways in which ICT could be used as a learning tool in an Oshikwanyama First Language classroom. I investigated the use of Wikipedia translation as an additional teaching and learning tool. I concentrated on the impact that ICT tools have on learning, and the motivation it has on learners to learn Oshikwanyama. This qualitative case study was conducted in an urban school in northern Namibia. The adoption of ICT at the school is good as there is a full-fledged computer lab with unlimited wireless internet access. This was a requirement for the project to enable the participants to work online. I purposefully chose higher-level learners (Secondary phase) for this study. I conducted a survey with them on their access to and use of ICT devices in their daily lives, and thereafter conducted a basic computer workshop and a Wikipedia translation project with them. My research findings show that although the use of ICT is part of the learners’ lives, most of the communication through ICT devices is done in English not Oshikwanyama. Wikipedia translation offers a stimulating learning platform for learners to learn Oshikwanyama and English at the same time and this improved their performance in both languages. Furthermore, the Wikipedia translation, which was done collaboratively, gave learners the confidence to work with other learners to create knowledge. Lastly, Wikipedia translation motivates learners to learn Oshikwanyama and use it in their daily ICT interaction.

The Departments of Computer Science and Information Systems at Rhodes University currently share certain honours-level (fourth year) course modules with students from the corresponding departments at the previously disadvantaged University of Fort Hare. These lectures are currently delivered using video-conferencing. This was found to present a number of problems including challenges in terms of implementing desired pedagogical approaches, inequitable learning experiences, student disengagement at the remote venue, and inflexibility of the video-conferencing system. In order to address these problems, various e-learning modes were investigated and synchronous e-learning were found to offer a number of advantages over asynchronous e-learning. Live Virtual Classrooms (LVCs) were identified as synchronous e-learning tools that support the pedagogical principles important to the two universities and to the broader context of South African tertiary education, and commercial LVC applications were investigated and evaluated. Informed by the results of this investigation a small, simple LVC was designed, developed and customised for use in a predominantly academic sphere and deployment in a South African tertiary educational context. Testing and evaluation of this solution was carried out and the results analysed in terms of the LVC’s technical merits and the pedagogical value of the solution as experienced by students and lecturers/facilitators. An evaluation of this solution indicated that the LVC solves a number of the identified problems with video-conferencing and also provides a flexible/customisable/extensible solution that supports highly interactive, collaborative, learner-centred education. The custom LVC solution could be easily adapted to the specific needs of any tertiary educational institute in the country, and results may benefit other tertiary educational institutions involved in or dependant on distance learning.

Computers are excellent tools and assistants in foundation-phase classrooms. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) influences the way teachers teach, as well as the way learners learn with regard to the curriculum. The responsibility for providing foundation phase-learners with educationally appropriate computer experiences in literacy, numeracy and life skills rests with the educators because the learners' progress in learning depends on the skills, attitudes and ingenuity of the educators, and the software they select for the learners. Educators should have the vision, the knowledge and the experience to introduce and apply CAI to benefit every learner in the didactic situation. Educators' general lack of knowledge and skills in this area has necessitated the compilation of didactic guidelines. The guidelines emerged from the literature that was consulted for this study. These guidelines should assist educators in providing successful CAI for learners. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

The project integrates computer technology with English as a second language curriculum and instruction. It utilizes the World Wide Web to deliver computer-assisted instruction in English grammar, reading and conversation. Moreover, the project shows the impact of computer technology in helping students develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and meaningful and applicable skills for employment.

After a brief history of composition studies demonstrating a community realizing the need for more inclusive research practices, this thesis shows composition struggling with its identity as an academically legitimized discipline.