Lithuanian society isn’t enough informed about open-source computer software, witch fully can change commercial products. In this work e-learning system and main problems of their implementation were analyzed. The open-source software e-learning system was created available for all users. We can find in it the information about the open-source software, usage tutorials, tests for knowledge examination and all related news. This e-learning system is implemented so that further its development is relied on users, with a minimal system administrator intervention. The created system was compared with ideal and now existing e-learning systems, its advantages and disadvantages were identified. According to the users opinion, the system passes all main requirements of internet systems. During implementation of this e-learning system the software configuration and implementation problems were encountered. The recommendations of experts and knowledge found in different forums were very helpful. There is the promise that the developed e-learning system will help to promote the open source software in Lithuania, for Lithuanian users.

Thesis (DTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / This thesis is based on an analysis of the position of mobile learning within learning and instructional design theories in Higher Education. It seeks to understand the concept of mobile education or mobile learning, the technology of mobile learning and its interactions with other media of learning. It also aims to unlock the relationship between the learning theory and mobile learning as well as the position of mobile learning, handheld and wireless technologies at universities. The research design, approach, methodology and methods of this study were framed around the qualitative grounded theory. This approach guided the process of collecting and analysing data as well as the discussion of key findings. The data was gleaned from personal interviews and analysis of literature. The analysis of the data focused on the social, economic, ideological and technological dynamics and the way they have shaped the complex landscape of mobile learning in higher institutions of learning. It also concentrated on the recurrent paradigm shifts and changes and their implications for teaching and learning in higher institutions. The analysis of data uncovered several issues that are pertinent to our understanding of mobile learning. For example, it revealed that mobile learning is not about the mobile technology but rather about the learner and the learning experience, with the media playing the role of an instrument for mobilising learning and instruction. It also led us to the conception that mobile learning has the potential to promote outdoor learning. This is because this type of technology provides learners with information that they need about their learning context. Finally it was evident from data that learning was moving away from process to an institutional social phenomenon. It has acquired asocial institutional meaning in conceptions such as the learning society and organisation as well as lifelong and ubiquitous learning. In this light, this study concludes that integrating classroom-based learning with informal mobile learning can add value to formal classroom-based learning and it can also enhance learners' overall learning experience. Moreover, although the concept of learning space is not restricted to online learning, it is likely to create new learning spaces. The project also concludes that mobile learning resonates with the learning and instructional design theories such as the associative, constructive and situated learning theory.

Software products have been racing against aging problem for most of their lifecycles, and evolution is the most effective and efficient solution to this problem. Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) is a new technique for software product for evolving development and reengineering methods. The main steps for MDA are to establish models in different levels and phases, therefore to solve the challenges of requirement and technology change. However, there is only a standard established by Object Management Group (OMG) but without a formal method and approach. Presently, MDA is widely researched in both industrial and research areas, however, there is still without a smooth approach to realise it especially in electronic learning (e-learning) system due to the following reasons: (1) models’ transformations are hard to realise because of lack of tools, (2) most of existing mature research results are working for business and government services but not education area, and (3) most of existing model-driven researches are based on Model-Driven Development (MDD) but not MDA because of OMG standard’s preciseness. Hence, it is worth to investigate an MDA-based method and approach to improve the existing software development approach for e-learning system. Due to the features of MDA actuality, a MDA-based evolution method and approach is proposed in this thesis. The fundamental theories of this research are OMG’s MDA standard and education pedagogical knowledge. Unified Modelling Language (UML) and Unified Modelling Language Profile are hired to represent the information of software system from different aspects. This study can be divided into three main parts: MDA-based evolution method and approach research, Platform-Independent Model (PIM) to Platform-Specific Model (PSM) transformation development, and MDA-based electronic learning system evolution. Top-down approach is explored to develop models for e-learning system. A transformation approach is developed to generate Computation Independent Model (CIM), Platform-Independent Model (PIM), and Platform-Specific Model (PSM); while a set of transformation rules are defined following MDA standard to support PSM’ s generation. In addition, proposed method is applied in an e-learning system as a case study with the prototype rules support. In the end, conclusions are drawn based on analysis and further research directions are discussed as well. The kernel contributions are the proposed transformation rules and its application in electronic learning system.

Adaptyvus elektroninis mokymas - elektroninio mokymo rūšis kuri prisitaiko pagal besimokančiojo poreikius. Šis mokymas labiausiai panašus į tradicinį mokymą. Kiekvienais metais į universitetą įstoją skirtingas kompiuterio raštingumo žinias turintys studentai, todėl būtų naudinga kompensuoti trūkstamas studentų žinias. Studentai galėtų kompensuoti trūkstama žinias savarankiškai, panaudojant adaptyvų elektroninį kursą. Šiam tikslui pasiekti buvo nuspręsta kurti adaptyvaus elektroninio mokymo sistemą. Sistemos kūrimo metu atlikti tokie tyrimai: • atlikta apklausa, kurios metu išsiaiškintas žmonių požiūris į adaptyvų elektroninį mokymą; • išanalizuota esamos elektroninio mokymo kūrimo sistemos ir elektroninio mokymo kursai; • išanalizuotos galimo grįžtamojo ryšio rūšys; • sukurta sistemos duomenų bazė, kurioje bus saugomi pagrindiniai duomenys susiję su vartotoju ir vartotojo mokymosi įvertinimais; • sukurtas sistemos prototipas dviejų kurso dalių mokymuisi; • atliktas eksperimentas, kuriuo metu aštuoniolika žmonių mokėsi adaptyviu elektroniniu būdu. Jų rezultatai palyginti su tą pačią medžiagą besimokančiųjų rezultatais tradiciniu būdu. / Adaptive electronic learning – a kind of electronic learning that meets the learner`s requirements. This learning is the most similar to traditional learning. Students with different knowledge of computer literacy enter the university every year, so it would be useful to compensate the lack of their knowledge. Students could compensate the lack of knowledge on their own, by applying an adaptive electronic course. In order to achieve this goal, it was decided to create a system of adaptive electronic learning. Here are the analyses made while creating the system: • A survey that clarified people`s attitudes towards adaptive electronic learning was made; • An analysis of an existing system of electronic learning creation and courses of electronic learning was made; • The types of possible feedback were analysed; • A system database that keeps the main data related to the user and his learning evaluations was developed; • A system prototype for learning of two parts of the course was designed; • An experiment of 18 people taking adaptive electronic learning was carried out. The results were compared with those of learning the same material in traditional way.

Este estudo teve por finalidade analisar a utilização de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem (AVA) como apoio ao processo de ensino e aprendizagem para a disciplina presencial de Gestão da Inovação, oferecida aos alunos do curso de Administração de Empresas da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo. Tal proposta foi baseada no ambiente educacional Teleduc, integrado a alguns recursos multimídias, com o apoio de um mapa conceitual. Foram utilizadas tanto a pesquisa qualitativa, com abordagem exploratória, quanto a quantitativa, com abordagem descritiva. O método utilizado na pesquisa exploratória foi baseado em um estudo de caso, utilizando-se da técnica de entrevistas em profundidade, que possibilitou um melhor conhecimento do problema estudado. Como método da pesquisa descritiva foi utilizado o levantamento realizado por meio de um questionário estruturado de avaliação de satisfação, aplicado a uma turma de alunos de graduação do curso de Administração de Empresas, universo deste estudo. Inicialmente, foi concebido um modelo conceitual do sistema de apoio, sendo desenvolvida sua arquitetura. Nessa etapa, foi construído um mapa conceitual de um dos tópicos da disciplina em foco. Tanto a arquitetura do sistema, quanto o mapa conceitual, foram avaliados por professores e especialistas. Posteriormente, foram definidos as ferramentas e os recursos tecnológicos necessários para o desenvolvimento e aplicação do ambiente proposto e a forma pela qual o sistema pré-concebido deveria se relacionar com a disciplina existente. Por fim, um protótipo de ambiente virtual de aprendizagem foi desenvolvido e efetivamente utilizado junto a população deste estudo. / This study analyze the use of a electronic learning system as support to presencial discipline of Management of the Innovation, offered to course of Business Admnistration?s students of Economy, Administration and Accounting Ribeirão Preto College which makes part of University of São Paulo. The proposal was based on the electronic learning system Teleduc, integrated to some resources multimedia, with the support of a conceptual map. This study used in such a way the qualitative research, how much the quantitative one. The method used in the qualitative research was based on a case study, using the interviews technique, that made possible a better knowledge about studied problem. As method of the descriptive research the survey was used, applied to a students? group that belongs to graduation of the course of Business Admnistration, universe of this study. Initially, a conceptual model support?s system was conceived, being developed its architecture. In this stage, a conceptual map one of topics was constructed of disciplines in focus. The architecture of the system, and the conceptual map, had been evaluated by professors and specialists. Later on, the tools and all necessary technological resources for the development and application of the considered environment had been defined and the way which the conceived system would have to related with discipline existing. Finally, a virtual environment archetype of learning was developed and effectively used together the population from this study.

This study listens to the contributions of recent graduates from the University of Victoria’s Bachelor of Engineering Program, hearing their understanding of ethics and equity, and how they experienced learning this in the program. This is done with consideration of how their understanding and experiences might inform curricular and pedagogical improvements in the experience of learning ethics and equity. Using a case study of these participants and their experiences at the University of Victoria, this research takes into account the context of engineering education accreditation standards and the current state of the curriculum that the participants completed. The findings suggest that participants have a limited understanding of what ethics and equity means, both personally and professionally. Participants also found it difficult to recall learning occasions for ethics and equity. Recommendations are made for curricular reform, taking an integrated and across the discipline approach to teaching ethics and equity to undergraduate engineers. / Graduate

Este estudo teve por finalidade analisar a utilização de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem (AVA) como apoio ao processo de ensino e aprendizagem para a disciplina presencial de Gestão da Inovação, oferecida aos alunos do curso de Administração de Empresas da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo. Tal proposta foi baseada no ambiente educacional Teleduc, integrado a alguns recursos multimídias, com o apoio de um mapa conceitual. Foram utilizadas tanto a pesquisa qualitativa, com abordagem exploratória, quanto a quantitativa, com abordagem descritiva. O método utilizado na pesquisa exploratória foi baseado em um estudo de caso, utilizando-se da técnica de entrevistas em profundidade, que possibilitou um melhor conhecimento do problema estudado. Como método da pesquisa descritiva foi utilizado o levantamento realizado por meio de um questionário estruturado de avaliação de satisfação, aplicado a uma turma de alunos de graduação do curso de Administração de Empresas, universo deste estudo. Inicialmente, foi concebido um modelo conceitual do sistema de apoio, sendo desenvolvida sua arquitetura. Nessa etapa, foi construído um mapa conceitual de um dos tópicos da disciplina em foco. Tanto a arquitetura do sistema, quanto o mapa conceitual, foram avaliados por professores e especialistas. Posteriormente, foram definidos as ferramentas e os recursos tecnológicos necessários para o desenvolvimento e aplicação do ambiente proposto e a forma pela qual o sistema pré-concebido deveria se relacionar com a disciplina existente. Por fim, um protótipo de ambiente virtual de aprendizagem foi desenvolvido e efetivamente utilizado junto a população deste estudo. / This study analyze the use of a electronic learning system as support to presencial discipline of Management of the Innovation, offered to course of Business Admnistration?s students of Economy, Administration and Accounting Ribeirão Preto College which makes part of University of São Paulo. The proposal was based on the electronic learning system Teleduc, integrated to some resources multimedia, with the support of a conceptual map. This study used in such a way the qualitative research, how much the quantitative one. The method used in the qualitative research was based on a case study, using the interviews technique, that made possible a better knowledge about studied problem. As method of the descriptive research the survey was used, applied to a students? group that belongs to graduation of the course of Business Admnistration, universe of this study. Initially, a conceptual model support?s system was conceived, being developed its architecture. In this stage, a conceptual map one of topics was constructed of disciplines in focus. The architecture of the system, and the conceptual map, had been evaluated by professors and specialists. Later on, the tools and all necessary technological resources for the development and application of the considered environment had been defined and the way which the conceived system would have to related with discipline existing. Finally, a virtual environment archetype of learning was developed and effectively used together the population from this study.

The study investigated the acceptance of electronic (e-learning) based instruction in selected South African companies based upon the dominants of e-learning acceptance that included computer self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioral intention to use. A quantitative research methodology was conducted on a sample of male and female trainees in selected South African companies using e-learning as a mode of instruction (N=191) using the “E-learning Acceptance Measure” by Ong and Lai (2006). Analysis of variance was used to determine whether the biographical characteristic of gender could account for any differences towards the determinants of e-learning acceptance. Multiple stepwise regression was used to determine differences between dominants of e-learning acceptance and gender. The results of the study showed that there were no statistically significant differences in mean between men’s rating of computer self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioral intention than that of women. In terms of influences, the results show the existence of influence between certain dominants of e-learning acceptance however no gender differences were found in influence. Recommendations were made based upon these results on how South African companies can help trainees accept and use e-learning.

With the increasingly widespread adoption of online learning, education is at an important crossroads. Spirituality and character building were once an important part of formal education. In the more secular modern era, many institutions of higher learning have neglected the spiritual aspects of teaching and learning. There is increasing academic interest in the relationship between spirituality and education. At the same time, relatively little attention has been paid to how spiritual and character development can be facilitated in online courses. This study seeks to better understand the how to develop spirituality and character building more effectively in online education through three related studies. The first article explores published research related to spirituality and education. Definitions are derived for two different perspectives, a contemporary North American view, and the Brigham Young University view. A second article reports on a quantitative analysis of how spiritually strengthening and character building, both Aims of a BYU Education, were accomplished in 63 online courses taught recently at BYU from the perspective of approximately 1730 students. The third article, “Spiritual and Character Development in Online Education from the Instructors’ Perspective”, qualitatively investigates the actions of instructors to more effectively accomplish these two Aims in their online courses based on their self-reported responses to six open-ended questions. Students responded to 77 questions (using 7-point Likert Scales) related to these two Aims. Structural Equation Modeling showed four constructs as having significant influence on their spiritual and character development: genuine caring for students (by teachers), Gospel connections, instructor’s morality, and ethics in relation to the course. Twelve subfactors of social, cognitive and teacher presence, and student engagement indicated these four subfactors related to spiritual and character development. Instructors that are more intentional and explicit also utilize active learning techniques. These ask students to do more than just read about or talk about spirituality and character development. Rather, they involve students in active learning activities such as reflecting on ethics, creating personal value statements/constitutions, and setting and periodically reporting on related goals.

External support, such as that provided by parents, plays an important role in helping students in K-12 online education engage in their education and obtain academic success. The Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework has been proposed as one way of conceptualizing the communities that support students, including the roles that parents and guardians play. Research studying parental support in online education could benefit from the structure offered from the ACE framework, but, due to the framework's novelty, it has not been widely applied in research. The first article in this thesis sought to use the ACE framework to synthesize past research on the roles parents take when they become involved in their students' online education. Results indicated that the framework has strong potential for understanding research on parental roles but that there are some roles discovered in the literature that do not fit cleanly in the framework. The second article further explored the ACE Framework's application in studying parental roles by interviewing parents in another context to understand their reported roles in supporting their students. Findings for this study further validated the usefulness of the ACE framework, but also exposed patterns in the roles not covered by the ACE framework. These patterns suggest looking at the ACE framework through a systems approach rather than an egocentric model.