This thesis explores the use of an online robotics course, in the context of Technology Education, for senior secondary school students in an urban New Zealand (NZ) school. The reasons for using an online course are discussed through investigating the need for quality resources to assist schools in providing students with appropriate learning experiences, and knowledge to enable them to make informed choices with respect to technology careers. There is a shortage of students pursuing technology careers and that in turn influences the NZ economy (Baron & McLaren, 2006). The purpose of the study was to examine how an online robotics course can be used for teaching robotics and engaging students in a blended environment. The author planned, implemented, monitored and reviewed an online course in robotics through an action research approach using formative evaluation methods to determine the effectiveness of the individual action research cycles. After reflection at the end of each AR cycle, the online course was modified and updated to improve student engagement. Qualitative methods were used to analyse online discussions, classroom observations and discussions, and one to one interviews with the participants. Research findings identified four themes that influenced student engagement with the online robotics course: access to the online course, the students’ background knowledge and skills, the students’ interaction with the online course and the students’ conation or internal motivation. The research findings are discussed in terms of areas that need to be addressed when using an online course to teach robotics. These areas are the course design, student considerations and course implementation. Course design, or how the course is structured, includes opportunities for students to develop their thinking skills, experiences and activities for learning, and opportunities for conversation and interaction. Course design must also accommodate student considerations. Student considerations focus on the needs of the learners and their readiness to ensure successful engagement in the online course in terms of their background knowledge and skills in electronics and Web 2.0 tools, their conation and their key competencies. Course implementation includes the factors that need to be taken into account in the execution of the online course such as reliable access to the online course, the students’ interactions with the online course, and the learning culture of the school and classroom, and the role of the teacher. The thesis justifies the rational for using an online robotics course and describes how an online robotics course can address and advance student learning outcomes, how online tools can be used for assessment purposes, the aspects of course design that are successful for teaching robotics and online learning experiences that provide positive outcomes for students. Recommendations for teaching practice in terms of school-wide programmes to develop and support students’ digital literacy and key competencies, and teacher professional development in Technology Education and online robotics courses are provided. Suggestions for future research are given in terms of student conation, the development of critical thinking skills through forums and how teachers’ philosophies can be aligned to Technology Education and the intent of the NZ Curriculum.

Enhanced innovative learning through the purposeful development of effective blended teaching and learning environments supported by a variety of interfaces is a strategic focus of the NWU and specifically the Faculty of Educational Science. There are several emerging models to ensure effective online and blended learning but the prominent model that has attracted attention is the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework developed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer in 2000. The CoI framework is conceptually grounded in theories of teaching and learning in higher education and is consistent with John Dewey’s work on community of inquiry. CoI is deeply rooted into pragmatism as is evident in Dewey’s argument where he explains the idea of extracting meaning from experience. The focused of this study was on blended learning in a graduate teacher training course in Technology Education. The content of Technology as a subject is derived from other disciplines such as science, engineering and design. Due to the unique features of Technology as a subject, it was of great value, within this applied discipline, to investigate the unique patterns and relationships occurring among CoI presences in such a module of a teacher training graduate course. The purpose of the study was to:  develop an understanding of how the three presences (teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence) in CoI enhance online learning;  investigate the extent of CoI in a blended mode of delivery within a TE graduate course; and  develop, implement and evaluate a module for a graduate course in Technology teacher training for a blended mode of delivery, based on requirements for the development of CoI. A design-based research methodology approach was followed for this study and included qualitative and quantitative methods in a multi-strand design. Design-based research is intrinsically linked to, and developmentally nourished by, multiple design and research methodologies, which utilises many data collection and analysis methods and which makes it suitable for a mixed method research. Findings from the literature review on the value of CoI for the effectiveness of online learning indicated that blended learning is dependent on the ability to facilitate a CoI. It is through the application of the principles for CoI that a successful transition from a face-to-face to a blended mode of delivery for the applied subject TE was possible. Findings with regard to the extent to which CoI manifested itself in this Technology graduate course indicated that teaching presence manifested itself to a good extent in the TE undergraduate course. The main findings that were of concern with regard to teaching presence included: insufficient clear instructions and communication, feelings of isolations and disconnectedness, lack of immediacy and the inability to connect online feedback to lecturer expertise. Although social presence did manifest itself to some extent in the TE undergraduate course, it was the hardest to establish out of the three presences. The main issues arising from the manifestation and existence of social presence included: insufficient sense of belonging in the online environment, students didn’t feel comfortable expressing themselves affectively as well as uneasiness to communicate, interact and participate online with other module participants. Finally, cognitive presence did manifest itself to a satisfying extent in the TE undergraduate course. Findings suggest that there was a not sufficient structured triggering events to create a sense of puzzlement which suggests that more activities must be included that will encourage reflection and therefore will improve the movement through the cognitive inquiry process. Other findings from the study indicated that students experienced time management and the coordination and management of group activities as challenging. These challenges experienced by students reflect a lack of self-regulation skills in learning presence. Other challenges included that students experienced in the online environment of blended learning included: accessibility, lack of technology skills and the newness of blended learning. Design principles for the manifestation and existence of CoI for effective learning within a TE graduate module were establish for teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence. The research contributed to the field by reporting on the process of how CoI can be enhanced in a blended learning environment for a complex subject such as Technology, and by providing evidence based guidelines for the design and implementation of blended learning with CoI principles as guidelines. / PhD (Curriculum Development Innovation and Evaluation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Enhanced innovative learning through the purposeful development of effective blended teaching and learning environments supported by a variety of interfaces is a strategic focus of the NWU and specifically the Faculty of Educational Science. There are several emerging models to ensure effective online and blended learning but the prominent model that has attracted attention is the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework developed by Garrison, Anderson and Archer in 2000. The CoI framework is conceptually grounded in theories of teaching and learning in higher education and is consistent with John Dewey’s work on community of inquiry. CoI is deeply rooted into pragmatism as is evident in Dewey’s argument where he explains the idea of extracting meaning from experience. The focused of this study was on blended learning in a graduate teacher training course in Technology Education. The content of Technology as a subject is derived from other disciplines such as science, engineering and design. Due to the unique features of Technology as a subject, it was of great value, within this applied discipline, to investigate the unique patterns and relationships occurring among CoI presences in such a module of a teacher training graduate course. The purpose of the study was to:  develop an understanding of how the three presences (teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence) in CoI enhance online learning;  investigate the extent of CoI in a blended mode of delivery within a TE graduate course; and  develop, implement and evaluate a module for a graduate course in Technology teacher training for a blended mode of delivery, based on requirements for the development of CoI. A design-based research methodology approach was followed for this study and included qualitative and quantitative methods in a multi-strand design. Design-based research is intrinsically linked to, and developmentally nourished by, multiple design and research methodologies, which utilises many data collection and analysis methods and which makes it suitable for a mixed method research. Findings from the literature review on the value of CoI for the effectiveness of online learning indicated that blended learning is dependent on the ability to facilitate a CoI. It is through the application of the principles for CoI that a successful transition from a face-to-face to a blended mode of delivery for the applied subject TE was possible. Findings with regard to the extent to which CoI manifested itself in this Technology graduate course indicated that teaching presence manifested itself to a good extent in the TE undergraduate course. The main findings that were of concern with regard to teaching presence included: insufficient clear instructions and communication, feelings of isolations and disconnectedness, lack of immediacy and the inability to connect online feedback to lecturer expertise. Although social presence did manifest itself to some extent in the TE undergraduate course, it was the hardest to establish out of the three presences. The main issues arising from the manifestation and existence of social presence included: insufficient sense of belonging in the online environment, students didn’t feel comfortable expressing themselves affectively as well as uneasiness to communicate, interact and participate online with other module participants. Finally, cognitive presence did manifest itself to a satisfying extent in the TE undergraduate course. Findings suggest that there was a not sufficient structured triggering events to create a sense of puzzlement which suggests that more activities must be included that will encourage reflection and therefore will improve the movement through the cognitive inquiry process. Other findings from the study indicated that students experienced time management and the coordination and management of group activities as challenging. These challenges experienced by students reflect a lack of self-regulation skills in learning presence. Other challenges included that students experienced in the online environment of blended learning included: accessibility, lack of technology skills and the newness of blended learning. Design principles for the manifestation and existence of CoI for effective learning within a TE graduate module were establish for teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence. The research contributed to the field by reporting on the process of how CoI can be enhanced in a blended learning environment for a complex subject such as Technology, and by providing evidence based guidelines for the design and implementation of blended learning with CoI principles as guidelines. / PhD (Curriculum Development Innovation and Evaluation), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The use of machine learning to predict output from data, using a model, is a well studied area. There are, however, a number of real-world applications that require a model to be produced but have little or no data available of the specific environment. These situations are prominent in Intelligent Environments (IEs). The sparsity of the data can be a result of the physical nature of the implementation, such as sensors placed into disaster recovery scenarios, or where the focus of the data acquisition is on very defined user groups, in the case of disabled individuals. Standard machine learning approaches focus on a need for training data to come from the same domain. The restrictions of the physical nature of these environments can severely reduce data acquisition making it extremely costly, or in certain situations, impossible. This impedes the ability of these approaches to model the environments. It is this problem, in the area of IEs, that this thesis is focussed. To address complex and uncertain environments, humans have learnt to use previously acquired information to reason and understand their surroundings. Knowledge from different but related domains can be used to aid the ability to learn. For example, the ability to ride a road bicycle can help when acquiring the more sophisticated skills of mountain biking. This humanistic approach to learning can be used to tackle real-world problems where a-priori labelled training data is either difficult or not possible to gain. The transferral of knowledge from a related, but differing context can allow for the reuse and repurpose of known information. In this thesis, a novel composition of methods are brought together that are broadly based on a humanist approach to learning. Two concepts, Transfer Learning (TL) and Fuzzy Logic (FL) are combined in a framework, Fuzzy Transfer Learning (FuzzyTL), to address the problem of learning tasks that have no prior direct contextual knowledge. Through the use of a FL based learning method, uncertainty that is evident in dynamic environments is represented. By combining labelled data from a contextually related source task, and little or no unlabelled data from a target task, the framework is shown to be able to accomplish predictive tasks using models learned from contextually different data. The framework incorporates an additional novel five stage online adaptation process. By adapting the underlying fuzzy structure through the use of previous labelled knowledge and new unlabelled information, an increase in predictive performance is shown. The framework outlined is applied to two differing real-world IEs to demonstrate its ability to predict in uncertain and dynamic environments. Through a series of experiments, it is shown that the framework is capable of predicting output using differing contextual data.

Telecare and especially Mobile Care Systems are getting more and more popular. They have two major benefits: first, they drastically improve the living standards and even health outcomes for patients. In addition, they allow significant cost savings for adult care by reducing the needs for medical staff. A common drawback of current Mobile Care Systems is that they are rather stationary in most cases and firmly installed in patients’ houses or flats, which makes them stay very near to or even in their homes. There is also an upcoming second category of Mobile Care Systems which are portable without restricting the moving space of the patients, but with the major drawback that they have either very limited computational abilities and only a rather low classification quality or, which is most frequently, they only have a very short runtime on battery and therefore indirectly restrict the freedom of moving of the patients once again. These drawbacks are inherently caused by the restricted computational resources and mainly the limitations of battery based power supply of mobile computer systems. This research investigates the application of novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to improve the operation of 2 Mobile Care Systems. As a result, based on the Evolving Connectionist Systems (ECoS) paradigm, an innovative approach for a highly efficient and self-optimising distributed online machine learning algorithm called MECoS - Moving ECoS - is presented. It balances the conflicting needs of providing a highly responsive complex and distributed online learning classification algorithm by requiring only limited resources in the form of computational power and energy. This approach overcomes the drawbacks of current mobile systems and combines them with the advantages of powerful stationary approaches. The research concludes that the practical application of the presented MECoS algorithm offers substantial improvements to the problems as highlighted within this thesis.

Previous research suggests that the optimal time of day (TOD) for cognitive function for young adults occurs in the afternoon and evening times (Allen, et al. 2008; May, et al. 1993). The implication is college students may be more successful if they schedule classes and tests in the afternoon and evening times, but in asynchronous learning environments, “class” and tests take place at any TOD (or night) a student might choose. The problem is that there may be a disadvantage for students choosing to take tests at certain TOD. As educators, we need to be aware of potential barriers to student success and be prepared to offer guidance to students. This research study found a significant negative correlation between TOD and assessment scores on tests taken between 16:01 and 22:00 hours as measured in military time. While this study shows that academic performance on asynchronous assessments was high at 16:00 hours, student performance diminished significantly by 22:00 hours. When efforts were taken to mitigate the extraneous variables related to test complexity and individual academic achievement, the effect TOD had on assessment achievement during this time period was comparable to the effect of test complexity on that achievement. However, when analyzed using a small sub-set of the data neither GPA nor TOD could be used to predict student scores on tests taken between 16:01 and 22:00 hours. Finally, individual circadian arousal types (evening, morning and neutral) (Horne & Ostberg, 1976) and actual TOD students took tests were analyzed to determine if synchrony, the match between circadian arousal type and peak cognitive performance, existed. The synchrony effect could not be confirmed among morning type students taking this asynchronous online course, but evidence suggests that synchrony could have contributed to student success for evening types taking this asynchronous online courses. The implication of this study is that online instructors, instructional designers and students should consider TOD as a factor affecting achievement in asynchronous online courses. Results of this research are intended to propose further research into TOD effects in asynchronous online settings, and to offer guidance to online students as well as online instructors and instructional designers faced with setting deadlines and advising students on how to be successful when learning online.

A critical factor of e-learning success is the e-learning readiness of the online user. However, there is a scarcity of studies on online instructors' e-learning readiness (E-Readiness) in an online learning environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there were correlations among online instructor E-Readiness dimensions and factors at the design and delivery stages that affect system outcomes. In this study, the DeLone and McLean model was used as a framework for research to test E-Readiness with the System Design stage (comprising System Quality, Information Quality, and Service Quality), System Delivery stage (comprising System Use, and User Satisfaction) and Net Benefits stage (comprising Net Benefits). A total of 113 online instructors at a Caribbean university system completed a Web-based questionnaire containing previously validated and adapted items. The questions were answered using a five-point Likert scale and the survey results were analyzed using aggregates and linear regression statistical methods. The results revealed that the e-learning systems success score of the university was 4.07 out of 5 or 81.4%, while the E-Readiness score of online instructors was 4.53 out of 5, or 90.6%. Linear regression analysis showed that E-Readiness was a significant and positive predictor of the System Design, System Delivery, and System Outcome stages and their associated dimensions. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the constructs together accounted for 42.2% of the variance in Net Benefits. Of the six predictors in the model, User Satisfaction provided the largest unique contribution when the other predictors in the model were held constant. The other predictors in the model (System Quality, Service Quality, Information Quality, System Use and E-Readiness) were not statistically significant and provided no significant or unique contribution to Net Benefits. Further information is provided regarding factors affecting net benefits among online instructors using online learning environments. This information can be used to address online instructors' barriers to technology use.

Training plays a key role in bridging employer skills needs and in raising the productivity of employees and individual firms. Many large organisations have long established in-house training programmes and the means for progressive personal development for employees. However, Smaller to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) have not mirrored the same. SMEs are less likely to provide off the job training to employees because of operational demands. There is a lack of structured approach to training within a SME. Despite the vast array of training programmes available to SMEs, very little has been done to tailor the training to the specific learning needs of SMEs. Web Based Training Environment (WeBTiE) is a tailored online training solution specific to a SMEs’ training needs. The portal within which online training is provided is the collaborative efforts of the Employer, Employee and Training Vendor. The portal encapsulates not only the learning content, but provides the learning support necessary to guide employees through the training and reinforce work-based practises with the use of a Community of Practice. Unlike many other training models the originality of this model is that it combines Pedagogy principles in the development of the training programme, along with e-learning model, Etivities for Structured On The Job Training. The generic nature of this model allows it to be adaptable for SMEs in a variety of industries and the tailoristic feature provides the flexibility necessary to permit the adaptability. This thesis focuses on the barriers SMEs face when attempting to train employees. By determining employee learning and training needs and establishing a ‘Learning Foundation’, can we move forward with the development of a training programme commissioned for SMEs. The work in this research is underpinned by learning theories and online learning and the application of these (adapted if necessary) in the context of the day-to-day constraints typical of SMEs.

Digital learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in colleges and universities in the United States (Allen & Seaman, 2013; Godev, 2014), including in the social field of second language learning. In larger language programs in particular, online and blended (partially online) courses are gaining popularity, such as the recently cited "hybrid revolution in Spanish-language learning" (Long, 2014, p. 1). Administrators look to digital solutions to tight finances, a lack of classroom space, and student demands. A current challenge in the field is helping instructors and students adapt to digital pedagogy and a new perspective: Technology provides innovative possibilities for instruction and interaction, not solely a distance replication of face-to-face courses (Blake, 2009, 2013, 2014; Goertler, 2011, 2014). To be successful, digital learning must include pedagogically sound course design and adequate support for both instructors and learners, requirements that may make this trend not as economical as originally believed (Godev, 2014).Responding to Hermosilla's (2014) declaration that "a pending task is to gather accurate data on existing hybrid Spanish programs in US colleges and universities in order to carry out comparative studies" (p. 3), this dissertation examines lower-division blended courses of languages other than English currently or recently taught at U.S. colleges and universities. The dissertation follows Wu's (2015) assumption that the courses appearing in the prior research literature might not be representative of the vast number of blended courses that now exist. The dissertation draws upon an original survey of 121 instructor and administrator participants representing 52 language programs and 13 languages, interviews with 21 of these participants, and surveys of 35 students in 4 participants' classes. Conducted using mixed methods and thematic analysis, the dissertation provides information about blended course designs so that other institutions can learn from them and emulate them. The study explores the choices that underlie the selection and development of curricula, materials, and technologies in blended language courses; student, instructor, and administrator perspectives on these courses; and support (training, professional development, and resources) available to participants. Most participants (98 in total) reported being very or somewhat satisfied with the current setup of their blended courses. Variables correlated with instructor satisfaction included a greater number of years of instruction (overall and in the blended format), instructors' amount of influence over the curriculum and materials, their choice of teaching blended classes, and the availability of technology training in their programs. Themes emerging from the interviews included an emphasis on the communicative approach, the use of textbook website packages and (in a few cases) open educational resources, a frustration with inadequate student preparation, instructor autonomy, and varying levels of support for instructors and students. Blended courses in basic language programs are best served when instructors choose their level of technological integration, contribute to the course design, and are offered preparation and support related to both technology and teaching methods. The study recommends ways that institutions, departments, instructors, and students of languages can make the most of digital pedagogy, not only in officially blended courses, but also in courses across the spectrum of technological integration, from fully face-to-face to fully online. Useful strategies include selecting and creating technological materials that align with the skills that instructors and administrators want students to develop, providing training and support for both pedagogy and technology to new and continuing instructors, and offering technological support to students. The lessons of this study are applicable not only to courses that are officially blended, but also to all language programs considering or evaluating new technological integrations.

Undergraduate courses such as mathematics, science, and computer programming require high levels of decision making, concentration, and cognitive demand. Researchers in the field of instructional design are interested in effective instructional strategies that can aid practitioners in teaching such abstract and complex skills. One example of an instructional strategy that has proven effective in teaching these skills is cognitive apprenticeship (CA). While CA has been applied to courses such as mathematics and computer programming in face-to-face and blended learning environments, there is little evidence of the advantages of applying CA in a fully online computer programming course. Specifically, the introductory programming course, CS1, is the first contact that undergraduate computer science students have with their chosen major. Historically, drop-out rates for CS1 have been high and thus strategies for effective teaching of this course have served as an important topic in the research literature. The goal was to design and validate internally an online CS1 course that incorporates CA strategies. A two-phase design and development research method was used to guide the construction and internal validation of a fully online CS1 course. Phase one resulted in the design and development of the course guide. An expert-review process using the Delphi technique was implemented in phase two to validate the design with regard to its effectiveness, efficiency, and appeal. Three rounds of review by the panel resulted in consensus. Results from the expert-review confirmed the application of CA as an effective, efficient, and appealing instructional strategy to use when designing an online CS1 course. Future research should focus on external validation of the design by implementing the course to evaluate its effectiveness, efficiency, and appeal among stakeholders. In addition, it is hoped that the course guide can be used to help practitioners design and implement a fully online CS1 course that uses CA strategies.