Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Selected Philippine high schools have decided to implement a blended learning program as part of its solution to address the problem of classroom shortage. This study investigated the differences between how teachers teach online and in face to face environments. It also looked into the policies needed to be in place if pedagogical change is expected in schools. This study employed a mixed methods research, where the qualitative data set was used to deepen survey results. A survey was designed to find out the learning activities implemented in F2F and online environments, teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and perception of pedagogical change. The survey was conducted to all eleven blended learning teachers of one school. Survey results showed that F2F activities were more student-centered than activities in the online environment. Furthermore, majority of the teachers believed that shifting to blended learning changed the way they teach. The second phase of the study involved observations of classes of four teachers in three learning environments: online, F2F and regular classes. The four teachers, the ICT coordinator and the school principal were also interviewed about their beliefs on teaching and learning, the role of technology in schools and their experience of blended learning from both the pedagogical and policy perspectives. Findings indicate that teachers leaning towards instructivist-behavioral orientations will most likely implement the same strategies in blended learning environments. They tend to view pedagogical change as being influenced by the national curriculum and student characteristics. Teachers with constructivist-cognitive perspectives implement more student-centered strategies online and viewed pedagogical change as a change in teacher roles. The availability of technology infrastructure, frequency and duration of blended learning classes were also found to be external drivers of pedagogy. From the perspective of policy, a shared vision, the national curriculum, the roles of program implementers and teacher support all influence the implementation of the blended learning program. The study recommended a review of the scheduling scheme, the practice of team teaching and training on collaborative technologies for both teachers and students. From the policy perspective, a program framework, a blended learning curriculum and evaluation standards for blended learning teachers were identified as critical support mechanisms for successful program implementation. This study argued that the introduction of technology and blended learning programs in schools should go beyond addressing the problem of classroom shortage and achievement test results. It questioned the government’s vision of educational reform and recommended a change in its perception of the role of technology in education. A change in vision, curriculum, assessments and work practices were found to be essential elements that enable lasting educational reform. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Social Network Sites (SNSs) are increasingly influencing the academic and industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and settings. Although SNS has been claimed that it occupied too much of peoples’ daily lives by many researchers and scientists, the fact also demonstrates the growing use of SNS in education area, which proved that SNS has its unique pedagogical significance and potential to foster students’ learning experience. Used and promoted in many countries around the world, SNS is now not only serving as a social network environment (SNE) for people to communicate, but also a platform for academic information exchange and sharing in various contexts. This study aimed at exploring the differences between western and Chinese localised SNS, evaluating the practicability of SNS use in China’s education, and identifying certain problems in the implementation. Referenced by the literature on SNS experiment in teaching, cultural influence and pedagogy value, Chinese SNS would be analysed from comprehensive perspectives. This study combined two parts, one was the comparison study for four selected SNSs from China and foreign countries, the other was the research experiment conducted with a class of 17 students enrolling in an English educational institution in Chinese mainland, where the students took a spoken English course which lasted for one and a half month. The selected SNSs used in the experiment were implemented to facilitate the teaching and support designed learning process that requires students to explore the use of SNS and motivate them to interact more with peers and teacher off-class while completing the course objectives. Date collection and analysis conducted mixed methods in this research, the data of this research were collected by different levels of participants’ interviews, observations, recordings and questionnaires that covers the perceptions for research topic, everyday use of SNSs, taken-forgranted interactions and communication among teacher and students in the learning and teaching process. This research not only justify the practicability of SNS use in China’s education, it also revealed various functions that SNSs could provide in China’s education. In terms of functionality, it could serves as a platform for (a) facilitating presentation and demonstration, (b) developing personal learning record and portfolios, (c) distributing and sharing resources, (d) promoting student-teacher offline interaction, (e) enabling free comment and feedbacks. Theoretical research would be conducted and practical implementation would also be introduced. Through the experiment, the research would make the best of SNSs in education, which further discuss the special characteristics of Chinese localised SNSs and broaden the understanding of using SNS in education. Pedagogical principles are also discussed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The use of computer as an instructional technology: Internet as an instrument in the teaching and learning process in tertiary institutions in the North West Province of R.S.A. was surveyed to identify and reveal problems encountered by lecturers and students with regard to the use of computer as an instructional technology in the teaching and learning process. The main focus of the study was on the following areas, firstly, to find out whether tertiary institutions such as UNW, TNW, Technikon RSA, Mafikeng College and Vaal Triangle Technikon have enough computers with internet connections. Secondly, to find out whether the sampled institutions UNW and Vaal Triangle Technikon have enough computers to adequately provide students with computer skills. Thirdly, whether all the lecturers are computer literate. Fourthly, to find out whether there are adequate resources to assist students without prior computer knowledge in order to cope with the information technology age. Lastly, whether students are prepared to accept changes brought by computer technology. The investigation involved two tertiary institutions, that is, Vaal Triangle Technikon in Klerksdorp area and UNW in the Mafikeng district. Questionnaires were used for data collection in this study. Data were. collected and analyzed. The study found out that there were not enough resources to cater for students to cope with information on technology as it is upgraded on frequent basis. And that most of the students agreed that they are prepared to accept changes brought by the computers as it would prepare them to face working environment. Conclusions drawn from the study revealed that there is a serious problem lecturers and students face regarding shortage of computers (See Table 11 & 12). And that most of the lecturers have computer experience but are not provided with enough computers to provide students with computer skills. / (M.Ed.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2003

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / This thesis reports on the development and testing of a framework for making sense of the collective professional learning of primary Science and Technology teachers in an elearning mediated context. Web-based networks and collaboratories are playing an increasingly prominent role in private and public sector knowledge building and innovation. In Education, online communities now frequently support teachers’ professional learning. However, despite the pervasiveness of this network zeitgeist, such studies rarely describe or analyse (let alone theorise) teachers’ collective learning, focusing paradoxically instead on the learning of individuals, albeit in group contexts. Without a clear understanding of collectivity, the design of initiatives for systemic professional renewal is significantly impeded. This investigation addresses this urgent need to describe, analyse and theorise teachers’ collective learning. Serendipitously, an Australian Research Council Linkage Project, DESCANT (SciTech), provided a context that confronted those ethical, theoretical and pragmatic challenges necessary to make collective learning both possible and likely. Cohorts of primary Science and Technology teachers, supported by consultants, Education Department officers and University researchers, worked together, in networked ways, to conceive, prototype and trial an e-learning environment for the professional development of cohorts of their peer teachers. Democratic participation was assured, a generative theory of learning adopted and pragmatic steps taken so as to establish a principled, yet experimental, trial for studying collective learning. Group learning at every stage of this process was documented, and examined for ethical, theoretical and pragmatic evidence of collectivity. That is, judgements were made as to whether the learning that occurred at each stage of the project could be understood as a complex, dynamic learning ecology. The study’s findings reveal that collective professional learning did occur, to a greater or lesser extent, at every stage of the DESCANT process. Furthermore, the collective learning of these teachers could be well described and explained by considering how those ethical, theoretical and pragmatic challenges - the pillars of the learning ecology framework developed here - were met. The account makes clear just how complex, dynamic, highly nuanced and ecological in nature collective learning is. It was then a small step to theorise systemic professional renewal in terms of collective conceptual movements on an adaptive (learning) landscape and, in the light of what occurred, to extrapolate, speculatively, from the generative theoretical pillar with which the study began. Of course, this study has acknowledged limitations. Nevertheless, its successful small-scale piloting of a learning ecology framework for making sense of collective, networked professional learning demonstrates that the framework has a range of epistemic benefits - not least, internal and external coherence. As well, it provokes thinking about key characteristics of networked approaches to collective professional learning. Above all, this study suggests the worth of continuing to test and refine this learning ecology framework in those diverse settings where systemic renewal is critical.

This thesis looks at the popularity of e-learning globally, especially taking shape in Malaysia.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 2001. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education, 2001. / System requirements: IBM PC or compatible, or Macintosh computer. Data in Appendix 3, on disk: Web site maps and Web pages of the 6 versions of the subject site. Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-217).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Also available in print.