From Introduction: The impact of computer technology has not yet been felt in South African primary schools. Yet it is believed that the effect of microelectronics on society will cause a revolution as significant as the industrial revolution. Whereas the industrial revolution amplified and extended the power of human muscles, the new microcomputer technology will mostly be concerned with amplifying and extending the power of the human mind. In order that the future generation might come to terms with the rapidly changing conditions, it is suggested that children of school age benefit by gaining experience with the new technology. It was against this background of challenge that I began to explore various uses of the new technology. The Cockcroft Committee (1982) investigation considered many aspects of mathematics teaching in primary and secondary schools in England. They gave a clear indication of the place of the microcomputer in mathematics teaching when they made this significant observation, "There can be no doubt that the increasing availability of microcomputers in schools offers considerable opportunity to teachers of mathematics to enhance their existing practice and also to work in ways which have not hitherto been possible." (para. 402). The aspect of 'doing' mathematics 'in ways which have not hitherto been possible' caught my attention. I saw the microcomputer as a powerful tool which would extend the children's range of mathematical experiences through the use of simulations. Seymour Papert (1980) propounds an exciting vision of education for the future which consists of collaboration between computers and children. His philosophy does not allow for computers programming children through drill and practice methods. He envisages the child programming the computer and mastering the powerful technology by using a highly active problem solving method. Besides learning problem solving skills, the aspect most emphasized by Papert (1971, 1972, 1980) is that through building and experimenting with computer programs, a child ought to gain new mathematical insights in the topic under investigation.

A major objective of Academic Development Programmes is to support the student in acquiring a level of language competence which is sufficient to enable the student to cope with the linguistic demands of academic courses. Language teaching programmes in the Academic Development context in South Africa suffer from a number of constraints: staffing, time on task, relevance, and difficulty of integration with learning in other coUrses. A review of developments in the field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) shows that computers can be used to support language learning. CALL materials range from simple instructional programs to powerful linguistic research tools and need to be integrated into wider language programmes so as to support and enhance other teaching and learning activities. However, relatively little research has been done to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of CALL in language development courses within Academic Development programmes in South Africa. The development of a system designed to enable students to practise proof-reading and editing is described and evaluated. Suggestions are made for using this system with other CALL materials within a computer assisted language development environment. It is argued that CALL can be used feasibly and effectively in this environment to enhance learning and to counteract constraints.

Succesful computer technology use can be achieved through teachers, students, and support from staff members, administrators, and even parents. Technology needs to continue to be a standard that all teachers and students strive to meet as they do all other standards in school. Innovative and sucessful teachers use technology in their daily lesson plans, lesson implementation, and use it as motivation for their students.

This project examines the creation of an online tutor training Web site designed to teach those tutors at the California State University, San Bernardino's Learning Center who cannot attend tutor training in person. The training Web site utilizes the instructional design ADDIE model.

The problem of this study was to determine if the mathematics achievement of at-risk students using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) differed significantly from other groups of students.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

A computer program and an associated instruction manual were developed to fill a need for a useful learning tool for the study of transmission network power-flow programming techniques. Past programs were found to use techniques that did not give the student "hands-on" programming lessons, but instead gave them practice at using "pull-down menu" type of programming experience. The PFLOW program written is intended to be used "hands-on" with a complete instruction manual included to help the student use the program successfully and study the complete analysis technique. This includes network modelling, structure of input data, understanding program software, and correct meaning of outputs based on the complete knowledge of program solution methods. Sample input and outputs are also included to help get the student started, and to demonstrate the use of the PFLOW program. This program should prove beneficial to those with a general background in power transmission systems analysis.

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)

Thesis submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Doctor's Degree in Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the current learning methods that are typically used by special populations (an elderly subject group), and to explore their general level of effectiveness. The primary research questions explore how this subject group is currently learning to use the Internet and for what purposes, along with what the typical barriers are that this group experiences when seeking to use the Internet, together with factors that motivate them to participate in learning programs. This study has special relevance for elderly adults along with computer instructors who specifically train the elderly to learn to use the Internet. The findings may also be of interest to others who interact with other special populations, directly or indirectly, including web designers, healthcare professionals, librarians, and others. The project was prompted by the author‘s experience teaching and observing elderly adults learning to use the Internet, and his desire to develop a more effective teaching strategy for them. The thesis explores the basic principles of adult learning, including components from self-directed learning, the theory of multiple intelligences, ethnographic research and other theories and approaches that have the potential of contributing to teaching this subject group, including the use of language in describing their learning successes and failures. Data analysis consisted of observing over 200 older adults learning to use the Internet over a two-year period. The evaluation of participants was based on empirical (defined in the glossary) and subjective analysis of levels of participation, progress and other factors. To supplement the large-scale results with rich data, the author of this study also performed detailed interviews with 14 elderly Internet users along with five teachers of the elderly. Additional material was gathered from academic journal articles, online databases and other related sources. The author tested and applied several research methods to achieve the most effective outcome. This iii included participant observation from ethnographic research, along with empirical and basic quantitative research. The author also uses autoethnography in his research approach, an emerging qualitative research method that allows the researcher to write in a highly personalized style, drawing on his or her experience, as kind of a autobiographical personal narrative. The intent of auto-ethnography is to acknowledge the link between the personal and the cultural and to make room for non-traditional forms of inquiry and expression. In embracing personal thoughts, feelings, stories, and observations as a way of understanding the social context they are studying, these researchers are also shedding light on their total interaction with that setting by making their every emotion and thought visible to the reader. Auto-ethnography also gives researchers an opportunity to do primary research and draw data from their observations. An identifiable pattern that is reviewed in more detail in the Results section emerged from these different findings. The primary outcome that emerged is that there are many approaches to learning, and these methods need to be examined, tested and selectively adapted for each individual to achieve the maximum benefit. The widespread demand for Internet training has resulted in fragmented and inconsistent training schemes that are generally focused on classroom-based instruction. The author encourages a systematic self-testing by the subject group member (and their teachers) to explore currently available training methods and combine the elements that they find most effective towards a personalized approach to learning based on individual interests, aptitudes, and the availability of the local training resources. The percentage of the elderly using the Internet is rising rapidly, and the current training options are limited in some areas in the United States. Based on the author‘s empirical observations, the self-directed approach to learning appears to show the most promise for this elderly subject group, in the sense that they generate their own best learning schematics, while their instructor guides and facilitates the process. iv This thesis has made a primary contribution to the research in several ways. First of all, the author made a synthesis that has not been made previously. He combined the concept of self-directed learning with several methods of learning improvement, such as the use of assistive technology for the disabled, memory skill-building, and the application of symbols and metaphors to increase the ability of this subject group to comprehend the learning materials. This is arguably the best approach for adapting to this rapidly evolving subject group population. Additionally, he applied the concept of kaizen, a Japanese term from their manufacturing sector that represents continuous, ongoing improvement, to teach to members of this group the concept of self-monitoring and improvement. Additionally, the research was cross-disciplinary and used different methodologies, including ethnography, empirical and basic quantitative research. Several additional contributions and innovations are described later in the thesis.