We are at a point in the history of higher education in South Africa when radical changes are occurring in instructional delivery system models. Of increasing significance is a mixed mode of traditional and distance delivery (i.e. Telematic Learning Systems at the PU for CHE). In this changing environment, language lecturers, the persons responsible for developing language modules within various Telematic programmes, remain a key element in the teaching and learning process. However, these lecturers are suddenly expected to make appropriate decisions in terms of distance education technology classification, evaluation, and consequent selection without the necessary knowledge and/or capacity to make effective technological decisions. The purpose of this article is to assist "Lone Ranger" language lecturers, in making pedagogically sound decisions when classifying, evaluating and selecting distance education technologies by: (a) considering technology selection as part of the instructional design process, (b) referring to some reasons for using technology for language learning, (c) focusing on criteria for classifying and evaluating distance education technologies, and by (d) reviewing selected studies in order to indicate the application possibilities of technologies for language teaching and learning. / Thesis (M.A. (English))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2002

This study examined the effectiveness of a hybrid instruction in terms of students&rsquo / achievement, knowledge retention, and attitudes towards course content and course satisfaction. An in-depth analysis was done to understand students&rsquo / perceptions about the effective domains of interactive learning, which included pedagogical philosophy, learning theory, goal orientation, task orientation, source of motivation, teacher role, metacognitive support, collaborative learning, and structural flexibility of a hybrid course. In this study quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were used in conjunction. Experimental study was carried out to understand if there is a significant difference between the hybrid course and the traditional course in terms of students&rsquo / achievement, retention, satisfaction, and attitude. Qualitative analysis was done to understand students&rsquo / perceptions about the effective dimensions of interactive learning. The subjects of this study were 50 students in a &ldquo / Computer Networks and Communication&rdquo / course, offered by the Computer Education and Instructional Technologies Department of METU. The control and experimental groups consisted of 24 and 26 students respectively. The students in the experimental group were interviewed one on one at the end of the treatment. The quantitative findings of the study indicated no significant difference between the hybrid course and the traditional course in terms of students&rsquo / achievement, retention, satisfaction, and attitude. The qualitative findings of this study showed that the amount of information supplied in the course web-site, need for metacognitive support, authentic learning activities and collaboration, type and source of motivation, individualized learning and access to internet played important roles in students&rsquo / learning in the hybrid course.

This diploma thesis deals with the processing of selected parts of the series "A je to" within the framework of an interactive teaching physics in elementary school. Thesis is divided into two parts. Theoretical, describing motivation and interactive teaching and part practical, in which they are processed, video materials and their theoretical analysis.

A presente investigação trata de um estudo de caso no âmbito do Ensino de Ciências, da atitude investigativa associada às ações de alunos do Ensino Médio quando envolvidos em um Ambiente Interativo de Aprendizagem (AIA) orientado por uma intervenção metodológica de caráter investigativo e construtivista. As atividades constitutivas do AIA para o âmbito de Ensino Informal foram organizadas e estruturadas sob a forma de jogos de RPG – Roleplaying Game, orientadas pelo Modelo Didático Investigativo e tendo como tema a Ciência Forense e a Investigação Criminal. O AIA foi planejado para oferecer situações-problema e recursos (bibliográficos, experimentais, tecnológicos) aos participantes, de modo que eles pudessem, ao interagir com tais recursos, expressarem suas ideias, a fim de resolverem o problema proposto. O contexto está situado em um Curso de Extensão promovido pelo Centro Universitário UNIVATES que envolve, principalmente, a elaboração, o desenvolvimento, a produção e a implementação de um AIA, de âmbito informal e presencial, ligado ao Ensino de Ciências, como estratégia para a aprendizagem de comportamentos investigativos e da divulgação da Ciência e da Tecnologia. Propôs-se avaliar como o Ambiente Interativo de Aprendizagem orientado pelo Modelo Didático Investigativo favorece o desenvolvimento de atitude investigativa (conjunto de comportamentos) de seus participantes. Os dados coletados constituíram-se dos materiais produzidos pelos estudantes durante sua participação no AIA, tais como respostas a guias de reflexão e diários, depoimentos, entrevistas, bem como gravações em áudio e vídeo, utilizando-se da análise textual discursiva como estratégia de análise qualitativa de dados para chegar aos resultados da pesquisa. Para a identificação e análise dos comportamentos investigativos desenvolvidos nos diferentes momentos e etapas da intervenção metodológica pelos alunos investigados, após a coleta de dados, foram extraídas as unidades de informação relevantes, seguindo-se da categorização destas unidades. Essas categorias (comportamentos) foram construídas tendo por base a fundamentação teórica desse estudo e adaptadas segundo as ações dos estudantes no decorrer do desenvolvimento das atividades. Buscou-se, pois, perceber as contribuições do ambiente de aprendizagem implementado para o desenvolvimento dos comportamentos nos estudantes, dando suporte para o entendimento de aspectos relacionados à atitude investigativa dos sujeitos investigados. Os resultados obtidos podem servir de referência para a definição e implementação de estratégias para o ensino na área de Ciências, bem como de outras áreas da Educação Básica, na medida em que estes estudos propiciem um melhor conhecimento sobre o processo educacional em espaços de formação e investigação. / This research is a case study in science teaching, on the investigative attitude associated with the actions of high school students when involved in an Interactive Learning Environment (ILE) guided by a methodological intervention of investigative and constructivist character. The constitutive activity of the ILE for the scope of Informal Education were organized and structured in the form of RPG - Role Playing Games, directed by Didactic-Investigative Model, and on the subject of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation. The ILE was designed to provide problem situations and resources (bibliographic, experimental, technological) to the participants, so that they could, by interacting with these resources, express their ideas in order to solve the proposed problem. The context is set in an Extension Course sponsored by the Centro Universitário UNIVATES. It involves mainly the design, development, production, and implementation of an ILE, with informal and classroom scope, on Science Teaching, as a learning strategy to investigative behavior and Science and Technology dissemination. It was proposed to assess how the Interactive Learning Environment directed by Didactic-Investigative Model favors the development of investigative attitude (set of behaviors) of its participants. Collected data consisted on the materials produced by the students during their participation in the ILE, such as responses to reflection guides and diaries, testimonies, interviews, and audio and video recordings, using textual discursive analysis as a strategy of qualitative analysis to get to the research results. For identification and analysis of investigative attitudes developed by the investigated students at different times and stages of methodological intervention, the relevant information units were extracted after data collection, followed by the categorization of such units. These categories (attitudes) were constructed based on the theoretical foundation of this study, and adapted according to students' actions during activities development. We therefore sought to understand the contributions of the learning environment implemented for attitude development in students, giving support to the understanding of issues related to investigative attitude of the subjects investigated. Results can serve as reference for definition and implementation of strategies for teaching in science area, as well as other areas of basic education, to the extent that these studies provide better understanding of the educational process in areas of training and research.

This diploma thesis deals with Elica DALEST applications, which are a part of the DALEST project (Developing Active Learning Environment for Stereometry). The goal of the project is to create a suitable tool for teaching stereometry. This thesis deals with 7 out of 13 applications which are part of the DALEST project. The goal of my thesis is to create materials which can be used for presentation of features of Dalest applications to mathematics teachers. Instructional videos are part of the thesis and can be found on the enclosed CD. One of the goals of my thesis is to present created materials to elementary schools teachers in practice.

A presente investigação trata de um estudo de caso no âmbito do Ensino de Ciências, da atitude investigativa associada às ações de alunos do Ensino Médio quando envolvidos em um Ambiente Interativo de Aprendizagem (AIA) orientado por uma intervenção metodológica de caráter investigativo e construtivista. As atividades constitutivas do AIA para o âmbito de Ensino Informal foram organizadas e estruturadas sob a forma de jogos de RPG – Roleplaying Game, orientadas pelo Modelo Didático Investigativo e tendo como tema a Ciência Forense e a Investigação Criminal. O AIA foi planejado para oferecer situações-problema e recursos (bibliográficos, experimentais, tecnológicos) aos participantes, de modo que eles pudessem, ao interagir com tais recursos, expressarem suas ideias, a fim de resolverem o problema proposto. O contexto está situado em um Curso de Extensão promovido pelo Centro Universitário UNIVATES que envolve, principalmente, a elaboração, o desenvolvimento, a produção e a implementação de um AIA, de âmbito informal e presencial, ligado ao Ensino de Ciências, como estratégia para a aprendizagem de comportamentos investigativos e da divulgação da Ciência e da Tecnologia. Propôs-se avaliar como o Ambiente Interativo de Aprendizagem orientado pelo Modelo Didático Investigativo favorece o desenvolvimento de atitude investigativa (conjunto de comportamentos) de seus participantes. Os dados coletados constituíram-se dos materiais produzidos pelos estudantes durante sua participação no AIA, tais como respostas a guias de reflexão e diários, depoimentos, entrevistas, bem como gravações em áudio e vídeo, utilizando-se da análise textual discursiva como estratégia de análise qualitativa de dados para chegar aos resultados da pesquisa. Para a identificação e análise dos comportamentos investigativos desenvolvidos nos diferentes momentos e etapas da intervenção metodológica pelos alunos investigados, após a coleta de dados, foram extraídas as unidades de informação relevantes, seguindo-se da categorização destas unidades. Essas categorias (comportamentos) foram construídas tendo por base a fundamentação teórica desse estudo e adaptadas segundo as ações dos estudantes no decorrer do desenvolvimento das atividades. Buscou-se, pois, perceber as contribuições do ambiente de aprendizagem implementado para o desenvolvimento dos comportamentos nos estudantes, dando suporte para o entendimento de aspectos relacionados à atitude investigativa dos sujeitos investigados. Os resultados obtidos podem servir de referência para a definição e implementação de estratégias para o ensino na área de Ciências, bem como de outras áreas da Educação Básica, na medida em que estes estudos propiciem um melhor conhecimento sobre o processo educacional em espaços de formação e investigação. / This research is a case study in science teaching, on the investigative attitude associated with the actions of high school students when involved in an Interactive Learning Environment (ILE) guided by a methodological intervention of investigative and constructivist character. The constitutive activity of the ILE for the scope of Informal Education were organized and structured in the form of RPG - Role Playing Games, directed by Didactic-Investigative Model, and on the subject of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation. The ILE was designed to provide problem situations and resources (bibliographic, experimental, technological) to the participants, so that they could, by interacting with these resources, express their ideas in order to solve the proposed problem. The context is set in an Extension Course sponsored by the Centro Universitário UNIVATES. It involves mainly the design, development, production, and implementation of an ILE, with informal and classroom scope, on Science Teaching, as a learning strategy to investigative behavior and Science and Technology dissemination. It was proposed to assess how the Interactive Learning Environment directed by Didactic-Investigative Model favors the development of investigative attitude (set of behaviors) of its participants. Collected data consisted on the materials produced by the students during their participation in the ILE, such as responses to reflection guides and diaries, testimonies, interviews, and audio and video recordings, using textual discursive analysis as a strategy of qualitative analysis to get to the research results. For identification and analysis of investigative attitudes developed by the investigated students at different times and stages of methodological intervention, the relevant information units were extracted after data collection, followed by the categorization of such units. These categories (attitudes) were constructed based on the theoretical foundation of this study, and adapted according to students' actions during activities development. We therefore sought to understand the contributions of the learning environment implemented for attitude development in students, giving support to the understanding of issues related to investigative attitude of the subjects investigated. Results can serve as reference for definition and implementation of strategies for teaching in science area, as well as other areas of basic education, to the extent that these studies provide better understanding of the educational process in areas of training and research.

A presente investigação trata de um estudo de caso no âmbito do Ensino de Ciências, da atitude investigativa associada às ações de alunos do Ensino Médio quando envolvidos em um Ambiente Interativo de Aprendizagem (AIA) orientado por uma intervenção metodológica de caráter investigativo e construtivista. As atividades constitutivas do AIA para o âmbito de Ensino Informal foram organizadas e estruturadas sob a forma de jogos de RPG – Roleplaying Game, orientadas pelo Modelo Didático Investigativo e tendo como tema a Ciência Forense e a Investigação Criminal. O AIA foi planejado para oferecer situações-problema e recursos (bibliográficos, experimentais, tecnológicos) aos participantes, de modo que eles pudessem, ao interagir com tais recursos, expressarem suas ideias, a fim de resolverem o problema proposto. O contexto está situado em um Curso de Extensão promovido pelo Centro Universitário UNIVATES que envolve, principalmente, a elaboração, o desenvolvimento, a produção e a implementação de um AIA, de âmbito informal e presencial, ligado ao Ensino de Ciências, como estratégia para a aprendizagem de comportamentos investigativos e da divulgação da Ciência e da Tecnologia. Propôs-se avaliar como o Ambiente Interativo de Aprendizagem orientado pelo Modelo Didático Investigativo favorece o desenvolvimento de atitude investigativa (conjunto de comportamentos) de seus participantes. Os dados coletados constituíram-se dos materiais produzidos pelos estudantes durante sua participação no AIA, tais como respostas a guias de reflexão e diários, depoimentos, entrevistas, bem como gravações em áudio e vídeo, utilizando-se da análise textual discursiva como estratégia de análise qualitativa de dados para chegar aos resultados da pesquisa. Para a identificação e análise dos comportamentos investigativos desenvolvidos nos diferentes momentos e etapas da intervenção metodológica pelos alunos investigados, após a coleta de dados, foram extraídas as unidades de informação relevantes, seguindo-se da categorização destas unidades. Essas categorias (comportamentos) foram construídas tendo por base a fundamentação teórica desse estudo e adaptadas segundo as ações dos estudantes no decorrer do desenvolvimento das atividades. Buscou-se, pois, perceber as contribuições do ambiente de aprendizagem implementado para o desenvolvimento dos comportamentos nos estudantes, dando suporte para o entendimento de aspectos relacionados à atitude investigativa dos sujeitos investigados. Os resultados obtidos podem servir de referência para a definição e implementação de estratégias para o ensino na área de Ciências, bem como de outras áreas da Educação Básica, na medida em que estes estudos propiciem um melhor conhecimento sobre o processo educacional em espaços de formação e investigação. / This research is a case study in science teaching, on the investigative attitude associated with the actions of high school students when involved in an Interactive Learning Environment (ILE) guided by a methodological intervention of investigative and constructivist character. The constitutive activity of the ILE for the scope of Informal Education were organized and structured in the form of RPG - Role Playing Games, directed by Didactic-Investigative Model, and on the subject of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation. The ILE was designed to provide problem situations and resources (bibliographic, experimental, technological) to the participants, so that they could, by interacting with these resources, express their ideas in order to solve the proposed problem. The context is set in an Extension Course sponsored by the Centro Universitário UNIVATES. It involves mainly the design, development, production, and implementation of an ILE, with informal and classroom scope, on Science Teaching, as a learning strategy to investigative behavior and Science and Technology dissemination. It was proposed to assess how the Interactive Learning Environment directed by Didactic-Investigative Model favors the development of investigative attitude (set of behaviors) of its participants. Collected data consisted on the materials produced by the students during their participation in the ILE, such as responses to reflection guides and diaries, testimonies, interviews, and audio and video recordings, using textual discursive analysis as a strategy of qualitative analysis to get to the research results. For identification and analysis of investigative attitudes developed by the investigated students at different times and stages of methodological intervention, the relevant information units were extracted after data collection, followed by the categorization of such units. These categories (attitudes) were constructed based on the theoretical foundation of this study, and adapted according to students' actions during activities development. We therefore sought to understand the contributions of the learning environment implemented for attitude development in students, giving support to the understanding of issues related to investigative attitude of the subjects investigated. Results can serve as reference for definition and implementation of strategies for teaching in science area, as well as other areas of basic education, to the extent that these studies provide better understanding of the educational process in areas of training and research.

This thesis proposes creating an interactive learning environment for Human Computer Interaction (HCI) to facilitate access to, and learning of, important design knowledge. By encapsulating HCI knowledge into reusable claims stored in a knowledge repository, or claims library, this learning environment aims at allowing students to effectively explore design features to limit their reliance on intuition to mold their interfaces, help them address proper design concerns, and evaluate alternatives for their designs. This learning approach is based on active learning where students create their own knowledge by gathering information. However, building adequate development records from which students can gather HCI knowledge is critical to support this approach. This thesis explores using effective reusable design components to act as design records to create an interactive learning environment for students learning HCI design. An initial prototype for the learning environment introduces claims as an encapsulation mechanism for design features from which students can gather HCI knowledge. Pilot testing outlines the accessibility, applicability and reusability problems associated with this approach. To solve theses issues, a taxonomic organization of an improved form of claims (reference claims), is introduced to share core design knowledge among students. A taxonomy is designed as a way to expose students to important design concerns as well as a method to categorize claims. Reference claims are introduced as improved claims inspired by reference tasks to expose students to design alternatives for design concerns. A detailed taxonomy and a set of reference claims for the domain of notification systems demonstrate how existing theories of design can be translated into reference claims to create an interactive learning environment. An experiment illustrates the applicability and reusability of reference claims for various designs within a particular domain. Finally, an evaluation assesses the benefits of this learning environment based on reference claims in terms of improving student designs and increasing the amount of HCI knowledge they reuse. Results show that by exposing students to valuable concerns and alternatives for the design of interactive systems, an interactive learning environment based on reference claims can improve students' understanding of the design scope and lead to an increased use of existing HCI knowledge in their designs. / Master of Science

Aim:  The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the development of a video-supported interactive learning model for movement awareness among nursing students. Methods:  Study I was a cross-sectional survey regarding prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) among nursing students. In the remaining three studies a learning model was developed and explored; II - the inter-personal interaction (qualitative content analysis), III - the students’ experiences of using the learning model (phenomenological hermeneutics), IV - the students’ learning processes (hermeneutic approach). Results: 143 of the 224 respondents in study I reported MSS during the previous 12 months and of those 91 reported impact on physical daily life activities. The odds ratio for reporting MSS study year 3 was 4.7 (95% CI: 2.1 – 10.7). Study II shows that the students’ movement awareness and self-analysis developed when encountering their own movement through video feedback. Studies III and IV show that the facilitator’s reflective and responsive approach appears to be essential in creating interaction and a permitting learning atmosphere. The students became emotionally and cognitively challenged and personally engaged, were motivated to change by discovering details in their movements and gained a greater understanding of the relationship between their own movements and current or risk for future MSS. They also experienced emotional, cognitive and bodily confusion, which was interpreted as a necessary step in the changing process. Conclusion: MSS among nursing students appears to be a problem and education regarding ergonomic movements and principles is suggested to be emphasized in the nursing curriculum. The video-supported learning model enabled encountering and discovering one’s own body and movement in different ways, which facilitated reflection and motivation for change, which was supported by the facilitator’s reflective approach. The learning model, which could contribute to multifactorial ergonomic interventions, could also support movement awareness and learning in practical learning situations within education and rehabilitation. Further research needs to study the model in different contexts and in relation to MSS prevention.

Aplicativos educacionais podem promover diversos benefícios a professores e alunos, desde a redução de tarefas repetitivas à realização de atividades impossíveis com o uso de apenas lousa e papel. Módulos de Aprendizagem Interativa (iMA) são uma família de aplicativos educacionais que fornecem atividades interativas integradas a Sistemas de Gerenciamento de Cursos. O desenvolvimento de iMA, similarmente ao de outros sistemas criados em contexto de projetos acadêmicos, enfrenta problemas relacionados a manutenção e evolução de software, que afetam suas contribuições à sociedade. Isso é provocado principalmente pela degradação do código com o tempo e dos métodos ad-hoc utilizados, sem sistematização do processo ou procedimentos explícitos para prevenção desses problemas. Com o objetivo de aprimorar esse processo, esta dissertação apresenta uma Linha de Produto de Software (LPS) criada para o desenvolver iMA. O método usado para criá-la envolveu análise do domínio, formado pelos iMA existentes, a elaboração de um modelo de sistema para definir as responsabilidades das características obrigatórias, variantes e opcionais aos aplicativos, e a implementação de um arcabouço de aplicação. Assim, essa LPS consiste nesse arcabouço e seus manuais de funcionamento interno, utilização e evolução, promovendo reúso de código, arquitetura e processo. A avaliação deste trabalho foi conduzida com uma prova de conceito e um estudo de caso. A prova de conceito descreve o desenvolvimento de um novo iMA, chamado iTangran, apresentando a factibilidade da utilização da LPS para essa tarefa. O estudo de caso investigou com maior profundidade o impacto da LPS sobre a criação da nova versão de um aplicativo existente, chamado iVProg. Os resultados obtidos mostram que o oferecimento de um processo e uma arquitetura que guiam as tarefas do programador de iMA teve grande influência na sua percepção de produtividade e satisfação, além de contribuírem para a qualidade do código criado e sua documentação, fatores essenciais para a prevenção dos problemas de desenvolvimento enfrentados atualmente. / Educational software provide many benefits for teachers and students, from reducing repetitive tasks to offering assignments impossible with the use of only blackboard and paper. Interactive Learning Modules (iLM) are a family of educational systems which offer interactive assignments integrated with Learning Management Systems. The development of iLM, similarly to other software created in context of academic projects, faces issues related to software maintenance and evolution, which hinder their contributions to society. This is mainly caused by code degradation with time and to ad-hoc methods used, without a systematic process and explicit considerations to prevent these problems. With the goal of improving this process, this work presents a Software Product Line (SPL) for the development of iLM. The method used to create this SPL involved an analysis of the domain, which are the existing iLM, the creation of a system model in order to define the responsibilities of mandatory, variant and optional features among systems, and the implementation of an application framework. Therefore, the SPL consists of this framework and its manuals for internal operation, utilization and evolution, providing code, architecture and process reuse. Contributions of this work were evaluated by a proof of concept and a study case. The proof of concept describes the development of a new iLM called iTangran, presenting the possibility of using the SPL for this task. The study case investigated more deeply the SPL impact on the refactoring process of an existing iLM, iVProg. Results show that a guide and an architecture for the tasks undertaken by programmers have a significant influence on the perceived productivity and their satisfaction while working, also contributing to code and documentation quality, which are essential factors to prevent development problems such as those faced nowadays.