Higher education has experienced notable changes driven by accelerated advances in computer technology, the same force that has reshaped our society and many aspects of life. Many believe that promising results can be seen and that students are better served in a computer-mediated instruction/learning environment due to the computer’s seemingly infinite abilities to multiply and expand. However, not everyone shares the same optimism due to a number of complicated issues facing the introduction of computers into the academic area. Despite school managers', teachers’, and administrators’ views of computer-mediated instruction/learning, learners’ perceptions are just as important when studying the instructional use of the computer technology. This study provides insight into how participants’ demographic profiles contribute to their perceptions of computer-mediated learning, how students perceived the impact of computer-mediated learning on their achievement, and how having had to use computers impacted their attitude toward (future) learning using computer technology. The findings of the study include: (a) a Pearson Product-Moment Correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant, low positive association between students’ perceived effectiveness in the area of computer-mediated learning and their major grade point average (MGPA). It also revealed a statistically significant, moderate positive association between having to use computers for class(es) in students’ major program areas and their attitude toward learning using computer technology, (b) a T-test revealed a statistically significant difference between male and female students, for the statement: “I think effective Computer-Mediated Learning ensures that students are engaged and motivated in learning (the given subject).” Female students’ mean score was higher than that of male students and (c) an ANOVA test found statistical significant differences among groups of students based on their cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and their perceived effectiveness of computer-mediated learning. A Tukey HSD test indicated the CGPA group 3.50 – 4.00 obtained a higher mean score than the other two groups, 2.00 – 2.49 and 2.50 – 2.99.

The evolution of computer networks and the Internet has transformed the world. Digital communication technologies offer exciting options and new challenges for Open and Distance Learning (ODL). This dissertation presents a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) training pilot* in order to investigate and critique the use of Learning Management Systems distance-driven teacher development programmes. Globally, English language learning is in high demand. Conventional contact training is unable to reach sufficient numbers of aspirant teachers to ensure quality and to promote access. The study uses design-based research as a means of unravelling the complex relationships between theory, best practice, and implementation in both ODL and TEFL. It concludes by recommending foundational institutional changes as the most appropriate means to effective distance and computer-assisted education. / English Studies / (M.A. (English))

The evolution of computer networks and the Internet has transformed the world. Digital communication technologies offer exciting options and new challenges for Open and Distance Learning (ODL). This dissertation presents a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) training pilot* in order to investigate and critique the use of Learning Management Systems distance-driven teacher development programmes. Globally, English language learning is in high demand. Conventional contact training is unable to reach sufficient numbers of aspirant teachers to ensure quality and to promote access. The study uses design-based research as a means of unravelling the complex relationships between theory, best practice, and implementation in both ODL and TEFL. It concludes by recommending foundational institutional changes as the most appropriate means to effective distance and computer-assisted education. / English Studies / (M.A. (English))

Coincidental increases in online instruction at institutions of higher education and in online social networking generally in the U.S. have created opportunities for research into how digital interpersonal connectivity affects online learning. This study examined interactive webcasts, or webcasts plus chat, that were part of an online undergraduate course covering Internet knowledge and skills at a large public university. Symbolic interactionism served as the theoretical framework for explicating interactive webcasts as useful online learning environments by exploring the complex processes that instructional staff employed to manage their actions and interactions as moderators in the webcasts and chats. A constructivist grounded theory approach guided the collection and analysis of empirical data in the form of webcast media and transcripts, chat logs, students‘ reflective writing, and semi-structured, intensive interviews with instructional staff. From the study emerged theoretical categories in three tiers related to a generalized moderator process called minding the verge: moderators minded the verge in three conditions of interaction– converging, attending, and diverging; in three loci of interaction – webcasts, chats, and webcasts+chat; and through six actions of moderating – bonding, orientating, guiding, tending, validating, and branching. The results of this study provide moderators for the course with insights into their actions in the interactive webcasts and with concepts moderators can use to explore how to manage interactive webcasts more effectively. Beyond effecting substantive changes to interactive webcasts for the course, the study may guide others who wish to pursue further studies of webcasts+chat as they occur in the course or elsewhere, or of other mixed-media environments, or who wish to adopt mixed-media environments for instruction. Other potential areas for research that emerged from this study include the affective states of participants in the webcasts+chat and the use of affective devices, such as emoticons and abbreviations, for showing affective states; the effect that format has on the efficacy of webcasts+chat used for computer-mediated instruction; and the processes students employ to manage actions and interactions in the webcasts and chats. / text