Includes vita. / Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 130 pages. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: This study investigated the effects of animation for a technology-assisted German grammar presentation on modal verbs. The premise was that many intangible concepts of dynamic grammar involve syntactic components that possess visuo-spatial characteristics. It was further speculated that these characteristics could be more effectively represented by animated versus static instructional presentations.The supposition that animation would lend pedagogical advantage was supported by dual coding theory (Paivio, 1971, 1990), which posits two functionally separate representational systems, the verbal and the nonverbal, with dynamic mental imagery residing solely in the nonverbal system. The strength of dually coded information is that it is represented in both subsystems and, due to referential associations that cross between the two, is more easily retained and recalled.Under two treatment conditions, 44 university students of beginning German (GER 101) received large-screen multimedia instruction concerning the meanings and conjugated forms of German modal auxiliary verbs, and the grammatical rules which govern sentence structure. The independent variable was the type of visualization: static or animated text. The dependent variables were participants' total test scores as well as their individual scores on each of two task types: conjugation and word order. In addition, a posttest survey asked participants for their opinions of the instructional treatments.Participants in both treatment groups achieved high scores on the posttest with no significant difference between them; however, the posttest survey showed that the groups did differ significantly in their opinions of the treatments, with those in the animated group reporting more positive reactions to the presentation. Detailed planning and lengthy preparation of both treatments may explain the high scores for both groups, and the elementary nature of the content may also account for the resulting ceiling effect. Animation should be studied further, especially with respect to more preliminary tasks, more complex tasks, as well as in concert with other aspects of multimedia, such as interactivity, user-control, practice, and feedback. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

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

A qualitative investigation into language education students' use of computer-mediated communication, this study reveals how the diversity, support and resources constructed through students on-line dialogue served to scaffold students' language and content learning. The study focuses on student interaction on an asynchronous bulletin board used as an adjunct to a graduate seminar. The radicals of persistent conversation (Bregman & Haythornthwaite, 2001) interacted with elements of the seminar design to facilitate non-native speakers' entry into the dialogue, while simultaneously affording all students with opportunities for exercising agency in their own learning. Relationships between native and nonnative speakers of English were altered by nonnative speakers' ability to communicate their competence, and participants developed a strong identity as a community. Diversity and community evolved as valuable contributors to individual learning.

Distance education is, by its very nature, a response to the development of communications technology in the Industrial Era, coupled with the societal changes initiated by these developments (Garrison and Cleveland-Innes, 2010: 14). The current distance learning landscape is thus shaped by changing social needs brought about by the impact of advancements in technology. This case study investigates the effectiveness of new aspects of digital learning tools as additional resources in the TEFLA course, a Short Learning Programme (SLP), offered by UNISA. These aspects of digital course delivery introduce e-learning by incorporating synchronous and asynchronous digital teaching and learning tools, in the shape of MOOCs (asynchronous learning), as well as webinars (synchronous learning). This study reviews the effectiveness of these online tools in enhancing the learning experience of TEFLA students. The theoretical framework that informs this study is based on the connectivism and socio-cultural theories of knowledge acquisition. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

A qualitative investigation into language education students' use of computer-mediated communication, this study reveals how the diversity, support and resources constructed through students on-line dialogue served to scaffold students' language and content learning. The study focuses on student interaction on an asynchronous bulletin board used as an adjunct to a graduate seminar. The radicals of persistent conversation (Bregman & Haythornthwaite, 2001) interacted with elements of the seminar design to facilitate non-native speakers' entry into the dialogue, while simultaneously affording all students with opportunities for exercising agency in their own learning. Relationships between native and nonnative speakers of English were altered by nonnative speakers' ability to communicate their competence, and participants developed a strong identity as a community. Diversity and community evolved as valuable contributors to individual learning. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this curriculum project is to provide an approach to enrich the process of teaching and learning. This project uses psychological tools to stimulate students' multiple intelligences and to encourage students to know how to manage their learning, so that learning English will no longer be boring; instead it will be creative and practical.