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

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

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

Several prominent rhetoric and composition scholars have called for researchers to forefront the activity of an interaction (see Shipka, 2005; Yancey, 2009; Spinuzzi, 2011). This focus is particularly needed in the study of online writing instruction; with its emphasis on the unit of analysis being the action itself, activity theory proves useful to analyze the human-computer and human-human interaction that occurs in the online environment. Drawing from Haas’ (1996) assertion that technology is a site to examine “the relationship between culture and cognition,” this dissertation presents findings from an ethnographic case study that investigates CMS tool use in an online FYC writing course. Using activity theory as a theoretical and methodological frame, findings show how students made CMS tool-use decisions based not only in function, but also on culturally shared beliefs held about interaction in the online instructional environment itself. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this dissertation discusses two findings: students overwhelmingly use instructor direction when making navigation decisions and when complying with implicit rules. From the findings, this dissertation analyzes how the perceived assumptions that students and instructors in the online writing course make about the intended and unintended motivations of tool use reflect their actual practices. The dissonance that exists within the spaces created between intention and outcome are highlighted by this methodological and theoretical frame. Additionally, analyzing online writing course tool use can have larger programmatic applications in that by understanding what happens in an online writing course and what motivates its users, instructors can better deliver a course and administrators can better assess both a course/instructor and a course management system. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only. / Department of English

Effectiveness and usefullness among the important factors that affect success of online learning environments. During this study, a course-content management system developed regarding effectivity and usability related concerns. One major aim of this study is to develop effective and usable system. In this study, a course-content management system designed and developed under the light of previous researches. In the design phase, effective design strategies and characteristics of effective and usable learning systems were explored, and system was designed considering these strategies. Then, development phase applied. After system developed, usability techniques was explored, and heuristic evaluation method was choosed as a usability method to measure usability of the system. During the study, modified version of a checklist that was prepared considering usability heuristics. Applied checklist contains total 108 questions under 13 heuristics (major usability problem). Heuristic evaluation is an expert review method. Therefore, this study should have been evaluated by experts. 8 experts enrolled in this study. All experts are either Phd or graduate students at instructional technology departments and they have enrolled in web-based studies. They investigated the usability of the course-content management system according to the usability related criterias on the checklist. When test results were considered, a course-contentmanagement system developed during this study was found usable. Results of this study may enlighten the way of future studies.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2004. / Title from title page screen, viewed Jan. 21, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Dent M. Rhodes (chair), Temba C. Bassoppo-Moyo, Kenneth F. Jerich, W. Max Rexroad. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-149) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Peninsula Technikon, 2004 / This dissertation was written in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology in the Faculty of Information Technology at the Peninsula Technikon in South Africa. The dissertation covers the introduction of the study; the reviews of the case, Free and Open Source Software; the discussion of methodology of software project management in terms of software engineering; the analysis of assessment methods; the techniques of using PHP, MySQL, Apache and CVS; and the implementation of a test module. The research represents the consideration of the problem, namely that there are few free assessment manager programmes that can be used for the quick and efficient deployment of academic assessments. An experimental research method was used to with the aim of solving the above problem. In other words, a test management system module had to be designed and implemented to function within the architectural constraints of a developing Open Source Software (OSS) Learning Management System (LMS), which is called Knowledge Environment for Web-based Learning Next Generation (KEWL.NextGen). The test management system is a module developed on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in PHP and MySQL application. The scripts of this test module are written under the KEWL.NextGen' application framework, which is based on a close approximation of model, view and controller (MVC) design III pattem. Now the entire source coding of the test module has been uploaded to Web site http://kngforge.uwc.ac.za. This test module can be used for the creation and management of an online test. It provides facilities to create a new test, and to preview, edit, delete and mark an existing test. Three question types have been achieved, namely multiple-choice, true/false and short answer.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Peninsula Technikon,Cape Town, 2004 / Higher education and online discussions are an integral part of collaboratively based e-Learning systems. However, there problems can be associated with current online discussion models. For example, it can be easy to set open-ended discussions which attract little participation and to assess contributions can be difficult or time-consuming. Students may not achieve the expected learning outcomes without proper structure and management in online discussions. This paper proposes to design and implement a discussion forum object to function within the architectural constraints of an existing Oss learning management system (to meet target user requirements) that is a web-based environment for online discussions where the facilitator can structure each discussion according to its nature and where learning requirements are using already designed templates.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Peninsula Technikon, Cape Town, 2004 / This document describes the design and implementation of an Assignment Management Module (AMM) to function within the architectural constraints of an eXisting open-source software (OSS) Leaming Management System (LMS). The project is established for Infonmation Technology Department Master Degree Project of the Peninsula Technikon. The Assignment Management Module will be constructed in orders to make it easier to create, mark, and manage assignments and record individual student perfonmances. The design entailed work on different function blocks like a user's authorisation, files uploadfdownload and mailing reminder unit as well as writing and testing of the application code on the intemet/intranet. The development process of the project to explore how to fu lfi11 software engineering methodology in an open-source environment, also presents details of the design architecture and technologies to be used, as well as being mindful of its future directions. The target audience of this document is anyone with an interest in an open-source software project in general, and in a Learning Management System in particular. If the reader has also been a contributor to Learning Management System, and especially to the management of assignments, this document may provide additional value, in that it strives to present a new approach to the understanding of such a module.

The purpose of this study is to describe and offer a description of postgraduate students' experiences of computer-mediated communication in an interactive web-based learning environment. This is relevant to the South African context regarding its appropriateness and feasibility as a distance-learning medium. In this research study the collaboration of offline and online learning as a dual medium is briefly looked at. Concepts involved in web interactions, such as computer-mediated communication, are reviewed and some of these experiences are described. A systems qualitative analysis was employed in the research design, and consequently a systemic lens was utilised as the theoretical perspective. This lens allowed for a revealing of interactional and communication patterns involved in web-based learning environments. The findings in this research study are discussed and some recommendations for web learners and course presenters are briefly highlighted. / Dissertation (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted