This is a study of students’ meaning making in web-based higher education courses. Conditions for students meaning-making change when interaction technology is used to support educational practices. Widened Participation policy activities often use web-based programs to attract “new” groups of more experienced students. The study used a communicative approach and focused on how previous experiences influenced actions and meaning making when students encountered challenges related to course objectives. Mediated Discourse Analysis was used to analyse asynchronous communication in 10 groups during 18 weeks of a 4-year part-time distance education program, training childminders for a Bachelor of Education, specialising in early childhood.  Appearances of meaning-making were traced to changes and breaks in student communication and presented as themes of orientations of actions namely:  • participation, the manifestation of presence, engagement in course work and the creation of space for engagement  • positioning, the creation of a student identity, the organisation of work, and the construction of a group culture  • reference, the orientation actions took in a nexus of practices. Where did students go for examples and to challenge theoretical concepts? • changing experience is a collection of moments of reification, when students came to make realisations of relevance to subject and task.  This study tells an alternative story to research on web-based education stating difficulties to achieve in-depth communication. The mediated environment offered strength for meaning-making and knowledge building as time, in the opportunity to develop new perspective through thinking and in encountering concepts again and again. As numbers, in the necessary impact of other’s experiences. And as distance, provided by the shift of actions in asynchronous communication, forcing thoughts into written language and making them accessible for reflection and criticism. If we are serious about widening participation we should regard students not only as numbers but instead as a valuable resource that may contribute to change in education. In this context, the combination of new groups of students and web-based scenarios provides future avenues for an informed pedagogical approach to higher education.

Enrollment in online courses within colleges and universities is growing at a rate far exceeding that of enrollment in classroom-delivered, face-to-face courses. Given this growth, it is important that administrators understand the costs required to deliver online courses. A frequently asked question by policy-makers is whether online instruction is more or less expensive to deliver than comparable face-to-face, classroom-delivered instruction. The objectives of this study were to 1) develop a exploratory model for deriving a cost measure for classroom-delivered instruction and an analogous model for deriving a cost measure for delivering online instruction, 2) perform an interinstitutional comparison of both classroom-delivered and online-delivered courses, 3) identify the opinions and assumptions of various campus administrators regarding online courses, and 4) identify the role of costs in the academic decision-making process regarding offering online courses. The study employed a mixed-methods research methodology. The quantitative analysis was performed using publicly available data from seven public institutions. The qualitative analysis entailed directed interviews with 12 preidentified campus decision makers from those institutions: six chief business officers and six chief academic officers. The study found that, for the organizations studied, online courses are delivered at a lower unit cost than face-to-face courses. In addition, the study determined that as an academic decision factor, cost is overwhelmed by other factors such as enrollment growth, campus space constraints, and broadening access. / text

This study investigates the use of a Web Based Learning environment to support a newly introduced Problem Based Learning curriculum at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine. Questionnaires, observations and interviews form the basis of this qualitative study amongst first and second year students. Attempts are made to interrogate the way in which staff members use the system to support a constructivist learning environment. In addition similar prior research at this institution is taken into account and reported in the literature review. While not disputing the findings of earlier research the qualitative methodology used here shows some discrepancies with previous research. In particular, although learners are able to, and do, make use of the system it is predominantly used for the dissemination and retrieval of information. The basic premises of construction of knowledge are not facilitated by the Medical School's use of the Web Based Learning environment and of great concern was the small number of staff members who saw it as an integral part of the new curriculum and learning process. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This study aimed to explore the effects of instructional methods in the asynchronous web-based &ldquo / Science and Math Teaching Methods Course&rdquo / on pre-service teachers&rsquo / achievement, metacognition, and attitudes towards computer, WWW, and the web-based course. It was conducted with two groups, total of 63 third grade pre-service teachers, and one instructor (the researcher), in the Elementary Education Department at Bosphorus University in the academic year of 2003-2004. The Instructor used `Direct Instruction` method based on behaviorist approach for one group, and `Indirect Instruction` method based on constructivist approach for the other one. The general metacognition questionnaire and, attitude scales for the computer and WWW were given as pretests, and after a fourteen-week treatment period they were given as posttests to both groups. Additionally, in the middle of the semester a midterm exam, and at the end of the semester a final exam, and attitudes towards web-based course scale were administered. Thus, the effectiveness of the two different instructional methods was compared. The data obtained were analyzed by statistical techniques of multivariate analyses of covariance. Results of the statistical analyses indicated that the group exposed to the web-based indirect instruction had significantly higher achievement on the final exam than the one exposed to the web based direct instruction. On the other hand, the group exposed to the web based direct instruction had significantly higher attitudes towards web-based course than the one exposed to the web-based indirect instruction. However, the statistical analyses failed to show any significant differences between the groups on the midterm exam, metacognition, and, attitudes towards computer and WWW.

Thesis (M.T.S.C.)--Miami University, Dept. of English, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 31).

Η αναπαράσταση γνώσης αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό πεδίο της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης. Ενώ η αναπαράσταση γνώσης για τον κόσμο στην καθημερινή ζωή μας γίνεται σε φυσική γλώσσα, για τα υπολογιστικά συστήματα είναι απαραίτητο να χρησιμοποιηθεί ένας συμβολισμός που να παρέχει ακριβή αναπαράσταση της γνώσης, κάτι που δεν μπορεί να παρέχει η φυσική γλώσσα λόγω της πολυσημαντικότητας των προτάσεων. Μια γλώσσα αναπαράστασης είναι η Κατηγορηματική Λογική Πρώτης Τάξης –ΚΛΠΤ (First Order Logic-FOL). Η ΚΛΠΤ ως γλώσσα αναπαράσταση γνώσης και αυτομάτου συλλογισμού έχει πολλές πτυχές. Μια από αυτές με την οποία ασχολούμαστε στην παρούσα διπλωματική είναι η μετατροπή φυσικής γλώσσας (ΦΓ) σε Κατηγορηματική Λογική Πρώτης Τάξης (ΚΛΠΤ). Πρόκειται για μια ad-hoc διαδικασία, για την οποία δεν υπάρχει κάποιος συγκεκριμένος αλγόριθμος. Στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας αναπτύχθηκε ένα σύστημα το οποίο μοντελοποιεί την διαδικασία της μετατροπή φυσικής γλώσσας (ΦΓ) σε κατηγορηματική λογική (ΚΛΠΤ) και αυτοματοποιεί την διαδικασία εισαγωγής προτάσεων-παραδειγμάτων για τον χρήστη-διδάσκοντα. Παράλληλα μέσω μιας αλληλεπιδραστικής διεπαφής (User Interface) κατευθύνει τον χρήστη-φοιτητή κατά την διάρκεια της μετατροπής παρέχοντας βοήθειες και υποδείξεις για κάθε πρόταση. Ο χρήστης-διδάσκοντας μπορεί να εισάγει προτάσεις-παραδείγματα σε ΚΛΠΤ στο σύστημα. Στην συνέχεια κάθε πρόταση ΚΛΠΤ αναλύεται αυτόματα στα βήματα της διαδικασίας και αποθηκεύονται τα κατάλληλα στοιχεία. Μια άλλη πτυχή της διπλωματικής αποτελεί η υλοποίηση της ημι-αυτοματοποίησης της παραγωγής κατάλληλων υποδείξεων σε όλα βήματα της διαδικασίας για κάθε πρόταση. Για την υλοποίηση αυτή χρειάστηκε να γίνει μια κατηγοριοποίηση των επιπέδων των παρεχόμενων υποδείξεων και μια τυποποίηση των λεκτικών εκφράσεων των αντίστοιχων μηνυμάτων. / Knowledge Representation is a fundamental topic of Artificial Intelligence. In everyday life people use natural language to communicate, however natural language cannot be used for knowledge representation in computer systems. The main reason is that natural language has not clear semantic. A basic KR language is First-Order Logic (FOL), the main representative of logic-based representation languages, which is part of almost any introductory AI course and textbook. Teaching FOL as a knowledge representation and reasoning language includes many aspects. One of them is the translation of natural language (NL) sentences into FOL formulas, often called logic formalization of NL sentences. It is an ad-hoc process; there is no specific algorithm that can be automated within a computer. This is mainly due to the fact that NL has no clear semantics as FOL does. During this master thesis, a web-based interactive system has been developed. It’s main aim is to provide a structured process to students and guide them in translating a NL sentence into a FOL one. Also an assistant system has been created to automate the insert of new sentences into the system. The teacher can insert the sentence in natural language and it’s FOL formula. Then the formula is automatically analyzed and the necessary information for the translation is extracted and stored. Another work done during this master thesis is the implementation of a semi-automatic help generation system. The aim of this system is to recognize the students’ errors and provide them help and guidelines during the stages of the conversion process.

Cette recherche se situe au croisement de quatre domaines différents : la didactique du FOS ; l’analyse de discours ; l’autonomisation de l’apprenant et l’apprentissage sur le web. Nous avons recueilli un corpus qui nous a fourni des données permettant de concevoir des activités discursives et contextualisées exploitant le web (web-based learning, web comme outil de communication, web comme artéfact intégrant dans l’environnement d’apprentissage) pour l’apprentissage du français dans le cadre du FOS – tourisme. Nous avons choisi de mettre l’accent sur l’activité discursive parce qu’elle nous permet de répondre à deux questions : - que faut-il enseigner/apprendre dans un contexte du FOS du tourisme ? - quelles sont les caractéristiques des discours impliqués ? Notre corpus comporte deux guides imprimés sur le Vietnam (environ 1000 pages) et le discours oral des guides touristiques transcrit à partir des enregistrements dont la durée totale est d’environ 10 heures continues. Il s’agit donc à la fois de l’extraction de données dans le corpus, du transfert de ces données à la didactique et de leur réutilisation directe dans la conception des activités d’apprentissage. Le transfert consiste en l’application des conclusions tirées de l’analyse du corpus pour l’élaboration des activités discursives tandis que la réutilisation de ces données consiste en d’extractions des éléments du corpus pour les intégrer aux activités discursives. Pour analyser le corpus et pour structurer, programmer les activités discursives, nous avons fait appel au langage XML et conçu des scripts informatiques permettant son exploitation (analyse et activités d’apprentissage). Enfin, notre recherche débouche sur une perspective didactique. Nous recommandons la démarche discursive pour la conception d’un programme de formation et d’activités discursives. Nous illustrons cette démarche par des activités d’apprentissage concrètes. Il est à noter que s’il agit d’une étude exploratoire et non expérimentale. / This research lies at the intersection of four different areas: French for specific purposes; discourse analysis; learner autonomy and web based learning. We’ve collected a corpus which provided data for designing contextualized discursive activities exploiting the web (web-based learning : web as a communication tool, web as artifact integrated into the learning environment ) in the context of FOS for tourism. We chose to focus on the discursive activity because it allows us to answer two questions: - What should be taught / learned in a context of FOS for tourism ? - What are the characteristics of speech involved ? Our corpus comprises two printed travel guides on Vietnam (approximately 1000 pages) and oral discourse transcribed from records of tour guide speeches (about 10 hours in total). It is therefore both data mining in the corpus, the transfer of this data for applied linguistic and their direct reuse in the design of learning activities. The transfer is the application of the conclusions drawn from the analysis of the corpus for the development of discursive activities while the reuse of these data consists in extracting corpus elements to integrate them into discursive activities. To analyze the corpus, to structure and to program discursive activities, we used the XML and developed scripts for computer operations (analysis and learning activities ). Finally, our research leads to a didactic perspective. We recommend the discursive approach for the design of syllabus and discursive learning activities. We illustrate this approach with some learning activities. It should be noted that this is an exploratory study and not an experimental one.

This diploma thesis deals with ERP systems and web information systems such as ERP. The theoretical part describes the historical development of information systems and the inclusion of web information systems in the context of historical development. Analysis of existing ERP systems is followed by a section dealing with the current coverage of business processes by ERP systems and general recomended criteria for choosing information systems. The practical part contains a survey of perceptions of web information by organizations. The survey is conducted using questionnaires, which were interviewed randomly selected medium-sized and small organizations. The second part contains a comparison of classical information systems such as ERP with thick client with a web information system with thin client. These systems are compared using a multi-criteria analysis.

This study examined the effectiveness of employing videoconferencing and Web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel. Due to the acute shortage of special education personnel, it was anticipated that the use of videoconferencing and online instruction would provide a convenient way for students to attend class without having to travel to the actual location of the educational site. Further, it was believed that this initiative would result in higher student enrollment in special education teacher certification programs, consequently leading to an increase of personnel in the field. Moreover, the increase in personnel would enhance the ability of educational institutions to address the dismal academic, social, and behavioral outcomes of students with disabilities. Information for the study was collected from surveys that investigated how students perceived the use of videoconferencing and web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel. Ninety-four graduate students responded to the videoconferencing surveys while 88 responded to the Web-based instruction surveys. Six respondents were randomly selected to participate in face-to-face interviews designed to investigate the effectiveness of both approaches. Findings indicated that videoconferencing and Web-based instruction are convenient ways for students to attend class although videoconferencing sites may not be conveniently located to all learners. Furthermore, the effectiveness of these media depends on several factors: the instructor, the course structure, the learners' learning styles, the quality and quantity of interaction between learners and the instructor, and whether technological problems interfere with the learning process. The study determined that the more structured and organized the course, the more significant the learning outcomes. Also, the maturity level of the students lends itself to accountability toward achieving the desired learning goals. Technological problems and the lack of user-friendly technology lower the effectiveness of videoconferencing and Web-based instruction. Further research will be valuable in improving theories and approaches currently used in the application of videoconferencing and Web-based instruction in the preparation of special education personnel.

The study's purpose was to identify demographics, educational background, finances, formal and informal education and experiences, reading habits, external environmental factors, psychological factors, and computer efficacy factors that predict a student's ability to successful complete an online (Web-based) distance learning community college course. Major student retention theories and student attrition and persistence research guided the study. Distance learners (N = 926) completed four surveys, which collected data for 26 predictor variables that included age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, support others, course load, first-time student, last semester attended, student type and location, financial stability, tuition payment, prior learning experiences, reading habits, family support, enrollment encouragement, study encouragement, time management, study environment, employment, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, locus of control, self-efficacy, computer confidence and skills, and number of prior online courses. Successful or unsuccessful course completion was the dependent variable. Statistical analyses included Cronbach's alpha, Pearson chi-square, two-sample t test, Pearson correlation, phi coefficient, and binary logistic regression. Variables in each factor were entered sequentially in a block using separate binary logistic regression models. Statistically significant variables were course load, financial stability, prior learning experiences, time management and study environment, extrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and computer skills. Selected predictor variables (N = 20) were entered hierarchically in a logistic regression model of which course load, financial stability, and self-efficacy were statistically significant in the final block. Correlation coefficients were computed for statistically significant predictor variables to determine whether the significance was confined to the control group or an overall level of significance. Findings were supported through cross-validation and forward stepwise entry of variables in logistic regression. Despite having two or more at-risk factors, distance learners who had high levels of self-efficacy, good computer and time management skills, financial stability, a favorable study environment, were enrolled in more than one course, and believed their prior learning experiences helped prepared them for their course were more likely to be successful.