This study reports on the development, implementation and evaluation of an online master’s module called Management Information Systems in Education, in the specialization phase in the master’s course in Administration and Management in Education. The pedagogical and practical issues that have to be addressed when teaching with a Learning Management System (LMS) were explored during the evaluation process of the online environment. It was conducted in the form of a design experiment. The online module was built using Moodle software and the study was undertaken at the Faculty of Education of the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique. An evaluation questionnaire with open-ended questions was developed to evaluate the online component of the module. The questionnaires were completed by a sample of seven adult students who were registered for the optional module and their lecturer. Observations on the Moodle site were also conducted. An adaptation of Cronjé’s (2006) model of the four quadrants of teaching and learning was used to develop the conceptual framework. An interpretive analysis of the data plotted the answers to the research questions on the adapted Cronjé model. The findings indicate that the use of an online module designed and delivered through Moodle is recommended because it can be accessed at any time and at any place; it provides the opportunity to collaborate with others virtually; it provides an opportunity to learn more; it is an easy way to study; it is a useful educational package that can be adopted by teachers to supplement the teaching and learning process in schools; it assists in solving many problems related to information management at work; it helps in diversifying the learning activities; and it improves communication possibilities. / Dissertation (MEd (Computer-Integrated Education))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There has been a global transformation of higher education institutions (HEIs) in response to a wave of dynamic education sector reforms; specifically, this is related to the adoption of educational technologies to enhance teaching-and-learning practices, education management, research and administration. This situation has placed a strain on HEIs in South Africa and elsewhere, due to changing societal expectations, the inevitable integration of technology, and specifically eLearning into traditional interventions; and at the same time, the increasing pressure on practitioners to deliver quality education. Equally important, the question arises whether Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is indeed constructively impacting teaching-and-learning practices. Consequently, a need has arisen for ePedagogy training and support for academics and students within challenging, complex HE settings. Within this context, the research has endeavoured to position the eLearning discourse within a global perspective; as well as to explore the theoretical underpinnings which impact the application of learning, and specifically eLearning. In particular, the merging of learning theories; different teaching and learning approaches, and technology that enables the creation of effective eLearning models and provides a more structured approach to the implementation of eLearning, were studied. Building on this theoretical basis, the importance and content of models within the discourse have highlighted the recent emphasis on the delivery of quality education. The principal thrust of this research was, therefore, to highlight the main developmental phases towards the creation of an Integrated eLearning model to influence organisational cultural change in Higher Education Institutions. The research was built on an in-depth case study of a large HEI, namely: the University of the Western Cape (UWC), over the period September 2005 to October 2011. This explorative, longitudinal study was undertaken because of the numerous “unsuccessful” or “incomplete” eLearning implementations in developing countries, as well as the many challenges faced by academics. As a result, the study explored the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of eLearning within the empirical setting of UWC, a complex higher education environment. This has been an accumulative exercise that started shortly before the establishment of the E-Learning Development and Support Unit (EDSU) and the ‘eLearning Awareness Campaign’ – reflecting on the deployment of a non-coercive approach to the implementation of eLearning and its impact on the organisational culture of the institution. The result was the development of an Online Course Creation model, which forms the core of phase 1 (September 2005 – December 2006) of the case study. Subsequently, phase 2 (January 2007 – August 2008) of the case study showcased gaps in the Online Course Creation model and emphasised that eLearning implementation in a complex higher education setting should go beyond the focus on ePedagogy with regard to effective online course creation. Hence, this second phase of the case study involved the development of a revised eLearning model, the Inclusive ePedagogy model. Consequently, phase 3 (September 2008 – October 2011) of the case study highlighted the main developmental stages implemented in the creation of a final Integrated eLearning model, and discussed how these integrated factors contribute to the implementation of eLearning, and ultimately, influence the organisational cultural change within UWC. Interaction with various stakeholders during the phases of the study included interviews and questionnaires. As a result thereof, the research reflected on the exponential growth of eLearning; improved attitudes and mindsets; strategic commitment for the infusion of technology and ePedagogy; and the institutional teaching and learning strategy. On the other hand, these results are in stark contrast to the lack of management in the development of the home-grown Open Source platform, coupled with intermittent access to internet connectivity. This shortcoming has often hindered online teaching and learning initiatives and support processes. Furthermore, the research has indicated how educational technology has positively impacted on prevailing communities of practice, and has even led to sound practices, such as sharing online courses/modules within the institution and with the global community. The escalating numbers of students seeking eLearning training and support have been supported by blended eLearning approaches. These approaches reflect the importance of integrated curriculum design. Moreover, the presented Integrated eLearning model, shows that ‘eLearning success’ can never be claimed, but is rather a process undergirded by a dedicated support team committed to continuous eLearning marketing, together with the review of processes within dynamic, complex higher education settings. Equally important, eLearning implementation within a HEI inherently impacts the organisational cultural changes. This is not just a once-off event, as it entails the difficult task of changing mindsets toward the use of new pedagogies, in order to supplement traditional instruction. At the same time, considering people-development processes; as well as organisational issues, which include peoples’ perceptions at different times of the eLearning continuum, is presented as various factors, which contribute to the successful implementation of eLearning. The most important factors contributing to successful eLearning implementation, as established through the research, and also incorporated into the proposed Integrated eLearning Model are: the provision of holistic online activities; integrated institutional ICT infrastructure and systems; the support of educators and students; the necessary positive attitude by lecturers to take a hands-on role in the application of blended eLearning practices – aligned to research – and the contribution to the knowledge era; the importance of communities of practice within and outside the institution; the need for motivated formal leadership and educators to take ownership of the development of aligned, integrated curriculum strategies supportive of emergent educational technologies; continuous commitment to eLearning support, and quality-assurance processes; sustainable eLearning change management and marketing strategies; as well as crucial integrated professional leadership, management and support of the elements of the Integrated eLearning model.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There has been a global transformation of higher education institutions (HEls) in response to a wave of dynamic education sector reforms; specifically, this is related to the adoption of educational technologies to enhance teaching-and-learning practices, education management, research and administration. This situation has placed a strain on HEls in South Africa and elsewhere, due to changing societal expectations, the inevitable integration of technology, and specifically eLearning into traditional interventions; and at the same time, the increasing pressure on practitioners to deliver quality education. Equally important, the question arises whether Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is indeed constructively impacting teaching-and-learning practices. Consequently, a need has arisen for ePedagogy training and support for academics and students within challenging, complex HE settings. Within this context, the research has endeavoured to position the eLearning discourse within a global perspective; as well as to explore the theoretical underpinnings which impact the application of learning, and specifically eLearning. In particular, the merging of learning theories; different teaching and learning approaches, and technology that enables the creation of effective eLearning models and provides a more structured approach to the implementation of eLearning, were studied. Building on this theoretical basis, the importance and content of models within the discourse have highlighted the recent emphasis on the delivery of quality education. The principal thrust of this research was, therefore, to highlight the main developmental phases towards the creation of an Integrated eLearning model to influence organisational cultural change in Higher Education Institutions. The research was built on an in-depth case study of a large HEL namely: the University of the Western Cape (UWC), over the period September 2005 to October 2011. This explorative, longitudinal study was undertaken because of the numerous "unsuccessful" or "incomplete" eLearning implementations in developing countries, as well as the many challenges faced by academics. As a result, the study explored the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of eLearning within the empirical setting of UWC, a complex higher education environment. This has been an accumulative exercise that started shortly before the establishment of the E-Learning Development and Support Unit (EDSU) and the 'el.earning Awareness Campaign' - reflecting on the deployment of a non-coercive approach to the implementation of el.earning and its impact on the organisational culture of the institution. The result was the development of an Online Course Creation model, which forms the core of phase 1 (September 2005 - December 2006) of the case study. Subsequently, phase 2 (January 2007 - August 2008) of the case study showcased gaps in the Online Course Creation model and emphasised that eLearning implementation in a complex higher education setting should go beyond thefocus on ePedagogy with regard to effective online course creation. Hence, this second phase of the case study involved the development of a revised eLearning model, the Inclusive ePedagogy model. Consequently, phase 3 (September 2008 - October 2011) of the case study highlighted the main developmental stages implemented in the creation of a final Integrated el.earning model, and discussed how these integrated factors contribute to the implementation of eLearning, and ultimately, influence the organisational cultural change within UWC. Interaction with various stakeholders during the phases of the study included interviews and questionnaires. As a result thereof, the research reflected on the exponential growth of eLearning; improved attitudes and mindsets; strategic commitment for the infusion of technology and ePedagogy; and the institutional teaching and learning strategy. On the other hand, these results are in stark contrast to the lack of management in the development of the home-grown Open Source platform, coupled with intermittent access to internet connectivity. This shortcoming has often hindered online teaching and learning initiatives and support processes. Furthermore, the research has indicated how educational technology has positively impacted on prevailing communities of practice, and has even led to sound practices, such as sharing online courses/modules within the institution and with the global community. The escalating numbers of students seeking eLearning training and support have been supported by blended eLearning approaches. These approaches reflect the importance of integrated curriculum design. Moreover, the presented Integrated eLearning model, shows that 'eLearning success' can never be claimed, but is rather a process undergirded by a dedicated support team committed to continuous eLearning marketing, together with the review of processes within dynamic, complex higher education settings. Equally important, eLearning implementation within a HEI inherently impacts the organisational cultural changes. This is not just a once-off event, as it entails the difficult task of changing mindsets toward the use of new pedagogies, in order to supplement traditional instruction. At the same time, considering people-development processes; as well as organisational issues, which include peoples' perceptions at different times of the eLearning continuum, is presented as various factors, which contribute to the successful implementation of eLearning. The most important factors contributing to successful eLearning implementation, as established through the research, and also incorporated into the proposed Integrated eLearning Model are: the provision of holistic online activities; integrated institutional ICT infrastructure and systems; the support of educators and students; the necessary positive attitude by lecturers to take a hands-on role in the application of blended eLearning practices - aligned to research - and the contribution to the knowledge era; the importance of communities of practice within and outside the institution; the need for motivated formal leadership and educators to take ownership of the development of aligned, integrated curriculum strategies supportive of emergent educational technologies; continuous commitment to eLearning support, and quality-assurance processes; sustainable eLearning change management and marketing strategies; as well as crucial integrated professional leadership, management and support of the elements of the Integrated eLearning model.

A learning analytics dashboard (LAD) is an application that illustrates the activity and progress of a user in a self-regulated, online learning environment. This tool mines source data to provide meaningful information that supports decision making and positively impacts learning behaviour. Research on this topic explores how learning activities and pedagogical goals are impacted by integrating LADs into learning and/or teaching environments. Currently, the majority of the research is centred around predicting student academic performance and identifying students that are at risk of failing. The popularity of integrating technology into educational practices has led to the adoption of LADs into learning management systems (LMS) or massive open online courses (MOOCs). The objective of this paper is to develop a concept for a standalone prototype LAD, for an Introductory Statistics course (STA 1000), to be potentially integrated into the University of Cape Town's (UCT) LMS, Vula. The dashboard aims to create and incorporate meaningful visualisations, that have the potential to primarily assist students as well as educators. Visualised information in the LAD aims to positively impact students to enhance and drive effective learning, which could consequentially aid educators. Additionally, the dashboard will aim to provide actionable feedback, derived from predictive modelling and course analytics, that positively impacts learning behaviour and identifies factors that the student could most effectively use to leverage their chances of passing and improve academic performance. Predictive analytics aim to identify academic factors, that a student has control over, such as course assessments and engagement variables, at certain time points in the academic semester and provide a useful course of action at those time points. Other than variables measured throughout the course, the predictive modelling takes certain prior academic information into consideration.

A well working communication between students and lecturers, both in and outside of class, has shown to be very important for a positive learning experience and an effective learning environment. Students need to have a critical mindset of their own cognitive reasoning and their learning process. With support from the lecturer, this will improve the student’s selfassessment but also their academic journey through their higher education. As students are becoming more native online, it is of utter most importance the online communication works as well as the direct physical communication does. This can be achieved through having a learning management system (LMS) that assists lecturers with handing out information and assists students with an easy way to receive information regarding their educational work. This study aims to examine whether the current LMS systems are sufficient enough. This by gathering data from both students and lecturers at two different universities through a survey and six semi-structured interviews to find out what the current issues are. The gathered data made it possible to determine the specific needs of both students and lecturers for a well-functioning LMS. DeLone and McLean created a system success model (D&M model), aimed to analyse the quality of an information system, which could be applicable to an LMS. The model consists of different variables and their relationship to one another. An adaptation of the D&M model is the Hexagonal E-learning assessment model (HELAM model) that includes similar but adapted variables for the information system. By comparing the results with the variables from these models it was concluded that both universities face similar issues, even though their systems are different. The results also indicated that there are significant variables in the D&Mand HELAM model that relates to how learning management systems are used to its best potential. / Väl fungerande kommunikation mellan studenter och föreläsare, både i och utanför klassrummet, har visat sig vara mycket betydande för en positiv läroupplevelse och effektiv lärmiljö. Studenter behöver ha ett kritiskt tankesätt över deras egen kognitiva tankegång och deras läroprocess. Med stöd från föreläsare kan detta förbättra studenternas självbedömning men även deras akademiska resa genom deras högre utbildning. Eftersom studenter bli mer vana online så är det viktigt att kommunikationen online fungerar lika väl som den direkt fysiska kommunikationen gör. Detta kan uppnås genom att ha en läroplattform (LMS) som kan assistera föreläsare med utdelningen av information men även assistera studenterna att genom ett enkelt sätt ta emot information angående deras studiearbete. Den här studien ämnar undersöka om det nuvarande LMS systemen är tillräckliga. Detta genom att samla data från både studenter och föreläsare på två olika universitet genom en enkät och sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer för att ta reda på vad de nuvarande problemen är. Den insamlade datan gjorde det möjligt att avgöra vad de specifika behoven är från studenter och lärare för ett väl fungerande LMS. DeLone och McLean skapade en systemframgångsmodell (D&M-model) ämnad att analysera kvaliteten av ett informationssystem som kan vara applicerbart på en LMS. Modellen består av olika variabler och deras relationer till varandra. En variant av D&M-modellen är “Hexagonal E-learning assessment model” (HELAM-modellen) som inkluderar liknande men anpassade variabler för informationssystemet. Genom att jämföra resultatet med variablerna från dessa modeller drogs slutsatsen att båda universiteten har liknande problem, trots att de inte använder samma system. Resultaten tyder även på att det finns variabler från D&Moch HELAM modellen som har signifikans och relaterar till hur en läroplattform bör användas för sin bästa potential.

Flera lärosäten erbjuder distansutbildningar, det betyder att någon typ av webbaserat verktyg används. Verktyget, en så kallad lärplattform, fungerar som ett stöd för lärande, undervisning, administration samt kommunikation genom olika funktioner. En lärplattform är kopplingen mellan lärare och studenten i en distanskurs.  Tidigare forskning visar på att det finns bristande kunskaper i att planera och genomföra en distanskurs med stöd av en lärplattform bland lärare. Forskning kring lärares teknikkunskaper, färdigheter samt användandet av en lärplattform bland högre utbildning är låg och behöver forskas vidare på. Studien undersöker vilka befintliga funktioner i en lärplattform lärarna väljer att använda för att planera och genomföra en distanskurs. Där syftet med studien är att få en förståelse för vilka strategier lärare använder för att planera och genomföra en distanskurs med stöd av en lärplattforms befintliga funktioner. Studien utgick från en kvalitativ interpretativ ansats där datainsamlingsmetoden semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes. Sju lärare på Högskolan i Halmstad intervjuades individuellt. För att analysera empirin skapades en kodbok med litteraturdrivna kodord ur ett teknopedagogiskt perspektiv. Svaret på studiens frågeställning är att lärare använder huvudsakligen tre olika strategier för att planera och genomföra en distanskurs med stöd av en lärplattform. / Several universities offer distance education, which means that they use some type of web-based tool. The tool, known as a Learning Management System (LMS), acts as a support for learning, teaching, administrating and communicating through different features. The LMS is the connection between teacher and student, a platform used to distribute course material and to communicate. Previous research shows that there is a lack of knowledge among teachers on how to plan and implement a distance education with the support of a LMS. The knowledge about LMS usage in practice at higher education are low and needs to be researched further. The study examines the existing features of a LMS that teachers choose to use, to plan and implement a distance education course. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of which strategies teachers use when planning and implementing a distance learning course with the support of a LMS existing features. The study used a qualitative interpretive approach in which the data collection method, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Seven teachers at Halmstad interviewed individually. To analyze the empirical data a codebook was created with literature oriented code word from a technological pedagogical perspective. The answer to the study's question is that teachers mainly use three different strategies to plan and implement a distance learning course with the support of a LMS.

Decentralization of web is, also known as Web 3.0 or Semantic Web, is catching on quickly. Deployment of a decentralized network or system for learning purposes in an educational institution could involve the use of new cutting-edge technologies and tools behind blockchain systems and Social Networking Sites (SNS). These technologies can be applied in the education sector to reap numerous benefits. The benefits could be in the areas of longdistance learning, real-time availability of learning content and assignments, improved collaboration between instructors and students, better evaluation of student performance, secure and transparent payment systems for courses, and easy and structured access to student records. Yet other benefits could be achieved by the implementing educational institution in the form of automation (using artificial intelligence and machine learning tools), cost reduction, improved efficiency, system reliability, and data security and privacy. However, like everything else, the decentralization of web or other such networks comes with its own set of challenges. This research study focuses on the challenges associated with implementing a decentralized learning model for learning systems of an educational institution. The study involved both primary and secondary research. First, a thorough review was conducted of the existing literature on the implementation of decentralization technologies in the education sector. Then, a survey was conducted among 25 students to collect information on their views of what these challenges are and to validate the findings from literature revie. The study concludes that, to fully realize the benefits of deploying these technologies to DWeb learning models, several challenges need to be overcome quickly. The survey that was conducted corroborated the findings from the literature review to a large extent. Though many respondents showed their satisfaction with the decentralized e-learning practices where they have been deployed, there still seem to be large gaps in understanding, awareness, deployment, and fine-tuning of such learning systems. The survey results revealed a strong resistance to the use of new technologies among educators; a lack of accessibility to resources and technical support; and a lack of competency and confidence due, perhaps, to a lack of operational training. Overcoming these challenges would require better awareness and understanding of the current trends and developments among both students and instructors. Education system should be well-prepared to train and update both students and instructors on how to best utilize these technologies to reap their benefits. Collaboration through digital means, as opposed to iii one-on-one classroom interactions, would also require a change in the mindset of the users of these learning models. / <p>Master Thesis </p>

Avec la place prépondérante qu’occupent les technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) en éducation, nous avons cherché lors de cette étude à comprendre le processus d’adoption d’une innovation pédagogique avec les TIC. Plus précisément, c’est avec un environnement numérique d’apprentissage (ENA) que le contexte d’innovation a été mis en place. Pour ce faire, un ENA a été déployé pour l’ensemble des enseignants et des élèves du secondaire d’une commission scolaire de la région de Montréal. Au préalable, les enseignants n’avaient pas accès à un ENA et la plupart n’avaient jamais été en contact, autant comme enseignant ou en tant qu’apprenant, à un ENA. Nous pouvions par conséquent considérer la situation comme étant innovante. C’est donc dans ce contexte d’innovation pédagogique avec les TIC que nous avons réalisé cette recherche. L’objectif général de la recherche avait pour but de mettre en place un prototype d’ENA afin d’identifier les facteurs qui favorisent l’adoption de l’innovation par les enseignants du secondaire puis de voir quelles sont les perceptions de l’ENA lors d’un design de fonctionnalités pédagogiques et dans quelle mesure les enseignants ont perçu les affordances. Également, cela a permis d’élaborer des principes de design pour que les enseignants puissent mieux exploiter les TIC avec l’ENA. Pour réaliser cette recherche, nous avons utilisé l’approche méthodologique Design-Based Research. Ainsi, nous avons effectué trois itérations qui comprennent chacune un cycle caractérisé par le design d’un prototype, son implémentation, sa mise à l’essai dans un contexte réel et son évaluation. L’objectif de la première itération était d’abord exploratoire. Celle-ci visait l’implémentation et l’expérimentation de l’ENA en prévision d’une diffusion large. Une entrevue de groupe et un journal de bord ont permis de documenter cette itération. Les résultats obtenus ont montré que l’ENA était pertinent pour les enseignants. Cependant, nous avons relevé qu’un ensemble d’adaptations et de modifications avaient été nécessaires avant de procéder à la diffusion large de la plateforme. Ces interventions visaient à s’assurer que l’ENA réponde le mieux possible au contexte et à la réalité des enseignants. Lors de la deuxième itération, nous avions pour objectif d’identifier avec le Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) de Davis, Bagozzi et Warshaw (1989) les facteurs qui favorisent l’adoption de l’ENA. Les résultats de cette phase nous ont montré que, d’une part, nos données s’ajustent bien avec le modèle TAM et que, d’autre part, la dimension de l’utilité est un bon prédicteur pour l’adoption de l’ENA. Pour la troisième itération, nous avons réalisé avec neuf enseignants, répartis sur deux sites, un design participatif de fonctionnalités pédagogiques. Cette démarche avait pour objectif d’analyser les perceptions des enseignants relatives à l’ENA. Cette itération a été évaluée par des entrevues semi-dirigées. L’analyse des résultats nous a permis de confirmer l’utilité de l’ENA, notamment en matière de réinvestissement des activités réalisées. Également, les enseignants ont mentionné l’importance de la formation et de l’accompagnement dans la démarche de design de fonctionnalités pédagogiques. Cette itération visait aussi à voir dans quelle mesure les affordances des TIC dans l’ENA ont été perçues. Cette démarche d’intervention consistait également à placer les enseignants en situation de perception d’affordances. Cela ne nous a cependant pas permis d’articuler une relation directe entre le design de fonctionnalités pédagogiques et sa mise en œuvre en contexte réel avec la perception explicite des affordances de l’ENA. / With the ever increasing place that information and communication technologies (ICT) occupy in education, we sought to understand the process by which teaching innovations, by means of ICT, were adopted in classrooms. More specifically, the context of innovation in this study was set up through a Leaning Management System (LMS). In order to do this, a LMS was set up for the secondary school teachers and students of a greater Montreal area school board. As a premise, teachers did not have access to LMS and the majority had never been in contact with LMS as teachers or learners. We could therefore consider this learning situation as being innovative in and of itself. Thus, it is in this innovative teaching context, using ICT, that this research was carried out. The general objective of our research was to set up a LMS prototype in order to identify the factors which support the adoption of teaching innovations by secondary school teachers. Then, we wanted to see to what extent the teacher’s perceptions of the LMS gave them the impression that the pedagogical design functions used were useful and how the affordances was perceived. This made it possible for us to determine principles of design that would allow teachers to better exploit ICT in a LMS. To carry out this research, we used the Design-Based Research methodological approach. Thus, we carried out three iterations each of which involved one cycle characterized by the design of a prototype, its implementation in an authentic setting and its evaluation. The objective of the first iteration was mainly exploratory. It aimed at the implementation and the experimentation of the LMS in preparation for a broader distribution. A group interview and logbook entries made it possible to document this iteration. The results obtained tend to show that the LMS was relevant for teachers. However, we also observed that a set of adaptations and modifications were necessary before carrying out the broader distribution of the platform. By making these interventions, we wanted to make sure that the LMS catered to the teaching context and the teachers’ reality as best as possible. In the second iteration, we used Davis, Bagozzi and Warshaw (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to identify the factors which support the adoption of a LMS. The results of this phase indicate that, on the one hand, our data conforms well with the TAM model and that, on the other hand, the perceived usefulness dimension appears to be a good predictor of the adoption of the LMS by teachers. For the third iteration, we implemented a participatory design of teaching features process with nine teachers divided into two sites. This approach was aimed at analyzing teacher perceptions concerning the LMS. This iteration was evaluated using semi-directed interviews. Result analysis enabled us to confirm the utility of the LMS, more specifically with respect to the level of reinvestment of the activities carried out. In addition, teachers mentioned the importance of training and coaching in the design of teaching features process. In this iteration, we also wanted to see the extent to which the affordances of ICT was perceived in the LMS. This intervention process involved placing teachers in a situation of perception of affordances as well. This, however, did not allow us to articulate a direct relationship between designing teaching features and their implementation in authentic contexts with the explicit perceptions of affordances of the LMS.

Information and Communication Technology is used in the education field in Sweden toimprove learning quality. The aim of this research is to investigate the use of LearningManagement Systems in primary schools, in the specific context of the role of LearningManagement System (LMS) in learning and teaching processes from teachers‟perspectives. Furthermore, This Thesis aims to explore teachers‟ perceptions of how touse this learning management system which is used in primary Swedish schools.Six teachers from two different primary schools in small municipality in the south ofSweden participated in semi-structured interviews. The theoretical model of UnifiedTheory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) inspired this qualitativeresearch along with the other related past studies. This quantitative model was only usedto sensitize the research process, for collecting and analysing qualitative data in thisstudy.The different elements of the theory such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy,social influence and facilitating conditions along with studies helps in conducting studybasedon qualitative approach for analysing the interviews. The research results indicatethat teachers were content with the usage of this learning management system, but thereis a lack of knowledge regarding this system. The system is helpful in performanceevaluation, planning, communication and overall working for routine tasks. Theresponses of interviews showed that teachers are not trained for using the features ofLearning management system in the way that it is designed for. The findings showed thatteachers require the support from professionals to integrate the system into their routineplanning. Furthermore, they also emphasise on the need to make the system user-friendlywith easy navigation. The findings of this study were compared to previous studies, anda further comparison was carried out regarding how it relates to the determinants andmoderating factors such as peer influence, internal perceptions and motivations, timeconstraints, organisational structure and facilitating conditions. Hence, support andtraining are needed to enhance learning and teaching through this Learning managementsystem.

In the Internet era, more and more courses are taught through a course management system (CMS) or learning management system (LMS). In an asynchronous virtual learning environment, an instructor has the need to beware the progress of discussions in forums, and may intervene if ecessary in order to facilitate students¡¦ learning. This research proposes a discussion forum activity flow tracking system, called FAFT (Forum Activity Flow Tracer), to utomatically monitor the discussion activity flow of threaded forum postings in CMS/LMS. As CMS/LMS is getting popular in facilitating learning activities, the proposedFAFT can be used to facilitate instructors to identify students¡¦ interaction types in discussion forums. FAFT adopts modern data/text mining techniques to discover the patterns of forum discussion activity flows, which can be used for instructors to facilitate the online learning activities. FAFT consists of two subsystems: activity classification (AC) and activity flow discovery (AFD). A posting can be perceived as a type of announcement, questioning, clarification, interpretation, conflict, or assertion. AC adopts a cascade model to classify various activitytypes of posts in a discussion thread. The empirical evaluation of the classified types from a repository of postings in earth science on-line courses in a senior high school shows that AC can effectively facilitate the coding rocess, and the cascade model can deal with the imbalanced distribution nature of discussion postings. AFD adopts a hidden Markov model (HMM) to discover the activity flows. A discussion activity flow can be presented as a hidden Markov model (HMM) diagram that an instructor can adopt to predict which iscussion activity flow type of a discussion thread may be followed. The empirical results of the HMM from an online forum in earth science subject in a senior high school show that FAFT can effectively predict the type of a discussion activity flow. Thus, the proposed FAFT can be embedded in a course management system to automatically predict the activity flow type of a discussion thread, and in turn reduce the teachers¡¦ loads on managing online discussion forums.