Thesis (D.Tech.: Language Practice) - Dept. of Language and Translation, Durban University of Technology, 2007 / An in-depth investigation into the nature of composing was carried out to provide the theoretical basis for a computer mediated learning application, an interactive writing tutor computer program which might be customised by users to fit different educational contexts. The investigation was carried out within a critical realist perspective, from which viewpoint composing can be seen to have an external reality in common with other social phenomena. The intended outcome was to arrive at a description of writing which more closely approximated the reality so as to design more effective learning interactions, in particular, the writing tutor program itself

Thesis (D.Tech.: Language Practice) - Dept. of Language and Translation, Durban University of Technology, 2007 / An in-depth investigation into the nature of composing was carried out to provide the theoretical basis for a computer mediated learning application, an interactive writing tutor computer program which might be customised by users to fit different educational contexts. The investigation was carried out within a critical realist perspective, from which viewpoint composing can be seen to have an external reality in common with other social phenomena. The intended outcome was to arrive at a description of writing which more closely approximated the reality so as to design more effective learning interactions, in particular, the writing tutor program itself

Contemporary higher education makes use of computers and the Internet more than ever before and the extent to which education is delivered via these media is only likely to increase in the future. While computer-mediated communication and education have been studied extensively, relatively little research has examined the potential impact of cultural background (e.g. social class) on students' experiences of different learning media. To address this gap, the current research uses a multi-sample (6 samples; n = 473), quasi-experimental approach to interrogate the relationship between student social class background and learning environment on various educational and individual outcomes. Examining a trichotomous (lower, middle, upper) conceptualization of social class across three distinct learning environments (face-to-face, computer-mediated, and fully-online) I find evidence of effects of student social class, learning environment and their interaction. In general, middle class students vary the least across conditions; lower class students tend to score lower on outcomes overall but with some notable exceptions for shared experience in face-to-face settings and comfort in online settings; and upper class students tend to experience a laboratory-based computer-mediated learning environment most positively. Implications for studying computer-mediated learning and social class are discussed, along with implications for real-world online education.

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I samband med att Akademiska sjukhuset bytte ut sitt journalsystem till Cosmic R8.1 gavs utbildningar i det nya systemet till de anställda. Detta arbetets syfte var att undersöka vilka inlärningsmetoder och moment som användes för att utbilda slutanvändarna om det nya journalsystemet före dess införande, samt föreslå eventuella förbättringsmöjligheter baserat på metodernas befintliga stöd i vetenskapliga artiklar. Fyra intervjuer utfördes på tre olika personer som har utformat utbildningarna, utbildat slutanvändare eller varit involverad i både utformning och utbildning. Intervjuerna analyserades med en kvalitativ analys och genom ett ramverk för utbildning av slutanvändare som baseras på Adaptive structuration theory. Metoderna som användes var kollaborativ inlärning, inlärning från datorer och inlärning med datorer. Dessa metoder har stöd i ett fåtal vetenskapliga artiklar, inga av dessa källor har visat på att de skulle vara sämre än katederundervisning. Två metoder som har fått stöd av fler vetenskapliga artiklar är observationsinlärning och enaktiv inlärning, metoder som baseras på reflektion av andras och egna beteenden. / When the Swedish hospital Akademiska sjukhuset changed its journal system to Cosmic R8.1, training in the new journal system was given to the employees. The purpose of this work was to investigate the training methods and moments used to educate end users about the new journal system before its implementation, and also suggest possible improvement opportunities based on the existing support of the methods in scientific literature. Four interviews were conducted on three different people who have designed the programs, trained end users or have been involved in both design and education. The interviews were analyzed with a qualitative analysis and through a framework for end-user training based on Adaptive Structure Theory. The methods used were collaborative learning, learning from computers and learning with computers. These methods are supported by a few scientific articles, none of these sources have shown that they would be inferior to cathedral teaching. Two methods that have been supported by more scientific articles are observational learning and inactive learning, methods that are based on the reflection of others and their own behaviors.