As the world perches on the dawn of a new millennium, the strides humankind has made in the advancement of information and communications technologies such as the World Wide Web (WWW) and Internet, have surpassed even the greatest of expectations. Technology is a force that is reshaping the way we live. In the field of Public Administration it is being given increased prominence as a social restructuring force which has immense potential to assist with the delivery of public services. One of the areas in which it is having a notable impact is in the field of education. This study investigates the role of World Wide Web (WWW) technologies in the delivery of education at South African Tertiary institutions. An overview of the experiences of practitioners in the higher education arena in using Web-based technologies is provided. Both the problem-areas as well as positive aspects of Web-based teaching are reviewed. Specific emphasis is placed on the benefits of using the WWW to support resource-based, student-centred learning as envisaged in the Education White Paper 3: A Programme For The Transformation Of Higher Education and Technology-Enhanced Learning in South Africa: A Strategic Plan. Lecturers from fifteen South African tertiary institutions were surveyed. From the results of the survey the extent of usage (currently and in the immediate future) of specific WWW features for course delivery are determined. Possible problems that exist in our institutions, which may be impeding the implementation of Web-based courses, are also highlighted in the analysis of the survey. Lastly, the survey provides some insights into the key aspects of Web-based courses that are important in supporting student-centred learning. The following recommendations are suggested, bearing in mind the limited sample size with which the survey was conducted: • Lecturers designing Web-based courses should make a concerted effort to move away from the use of the Web to merely support delivery of lectures and to incorporate WWW features that would support a more dynamic, interactive, student-centred approach to course delivery. • Management at the departmental, faculty and institutional level should be encouraged to create the possibility for and invest in adequate training of both academic and support staff to support WWW-based course delivery. • Heads of academic units (Departmental Heads) should support lecturers in the adoption of WWW technologies by creating a psychological and physical space to experiment and try out new ideas. • Tertiary institutions should investigate possible collaboration with external partners in the private sector, e.g. vendors of information and communication technologies as a means of alleviating the high financial costs associated with implementing Web-based courses. • The design of Web-based courses should be based on a student-centred learning approach in which the learner is able to select an individualized path in the learning process, and achieve the learning objectives at his/her own pace. Further, the Web course should include the following features to support such an environment: Hosting of students' Web pages; interactive platforms to promote synchronous communication; online drill and testing; course management functions; tracking facilities; and features to provide a secure environment to maintain integrity of students' work and other confidential information. / Thesis (MPA)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

<p>Since there was a need for an Educational Management Information System (EMIS) in the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan, we designed and implemented a prototype for use in the ministry and investigated the appropriateness of using Agile methods for producing the EMIS. The prototype consisted of a database containing data about schools and a Dari interface which was used by educational planners, managers and policy makers of the ministry for decision making and planning. Agile methods are relatively new in software engineering and have an approach and development guidelines which strive for user satisfaction and early incremental delivery of software. We adapt them to local conditions due to their collaborative client-developer approach. The interface, a key component, is easy to use and e cient. The key research result is an evaluation concerning the appropriateness of using Agile Methods for developing the EMIS. Focus groups and surveys were used to develop the prototype and accomplish the study.</p>

We know that education can be an arduous process. Countries use different approaches based on societal acceptances, but effective education always requires enormous efforts. Whether success is achieved, depends on the development of a rigorous and progressive curriculum, while at the same time providing all students the opportunity to learn” (Ravitch, 2010, p. 225). The purpose of this study was to analyze the success at which web-based curriculum is being utilized to meet the needs of at-risk students by providing them with the opportunity to recover lost credit as a means to keep them on the path to high school graduation. The institutions studied were select institutions that are identified by the Indiana Department of Education as recognized alternative education providers as well as select known public school corporations, in East Central Indiana, who are using web-based curriculum credit recovery programs. This researcher investigated the effectiveness of this credit recovery strategy as a tool to improve academic achievement and ultimately high school graduation. Additional information was sought on the challenges experienced in terms of support from the key stakeholders in breaking way from a traditional school setting when addressing the needs of students who are in jeopardy of failing to graduate. Data was obtained from the Indiana Department of Education and looked at graduation rates, dropout rates, as well as End of Course Assessment results. A survey was distributed to the survey population in an effort to gather a deeper understanding of the successes and failures schools were experiencing in an effort to break away from the status quo, leverage the advances of modern technology in an effort to provide students with multiple opportunities to realize academic success. The literature review compiled research on the current opinions for the utilization of web-based curriculum programs, the national attention being directed at public education as a key element in the economic slump of the American economy, and the economic impact on local and national economies for students who do not complete high school. Student achievement data collected from the survey population revealed positive trends on graduation rates, dropout rates, and performance on the Algebra I and English 10 End of Course Assessment. Recommendations for positive implementation of web-based credit recovery programming were discussed. Future research on this subject was recommended and ideas included a possible longitudinal study on a select group of at-risk students to identify strengths and weaknesses of this type of program. / Department of Educational Leadership

This thesis explores how teachers are shown on-screen by asking the following questions: do on-screen, fictional portrayals of high school teachers affect student perceptions of their own teachers and further, how do these perceptions affect student-teacher relations and expectations of the classroom experience? Ten high school students in grades eleven and twelve were interviewed using surveys, one-on-one interviews, and a focus group. The findings revealed that fictional representations affect students in a multitude of ways, namely in student’s expectations of teachers and schooling and in how individual identities are formed and fostered. This study also found that while the participants demonstrated many critical literacy skills, they were noticeably lacking in others, thus speaking to the need for increased critical literacy education in our schools.

This study investigated the students&rsquo / perceptions about the web-based learning environment in the blended learning environment in terms of web-based instruction, online collaborative learning and the online instructor. The study tried to show the contributions of the web-based instruction in traditional face-to-face instruction. In this case study, Programming Languages II Course (CEIT211), a undergraduate course at Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department (CEIT), at Middle East Technical University, at the 2002-2003 Spring semester, was delivered as blended learning with a new web site. Totally 65 subjects, 2nd year CEIT students, attended the course in the term and participated to the study. The course was delivered via traditional face-to-face instruction and supported with the web site. At the end of the semester, three questionnaires were administrated in order to understand the students&rsquo / perceptions about web-based learning environment in terms of web-based instruction, online collaborative learning and online instructor. The time spent on the web site and the numbers of messages posted to forum were other data sources in this study. The data were statistically analyzed. The quantitative data showed that the students&rsquo / perceptions about web-based instruction and online instructor were positive, but online collaborative learning perceptions are about neutral. Beside the research questions, some design considerations in the blended learning case were presented. The study results may be used in evaluation of the blended learning environment for the instructor and for the department, may show a direction in the future design of the course.

This exploratory study provides a qualitative and quantitative report on the integration of a specific online information system into the science curriculum using authentic tasks in a class setting. It investigates how they use an online information database and tools to create meaning. An in-depth analysis was done to understand students&amp / #8217 / perceptions about the usability of a web-based learning tool used in science course, properties of a web-based learning tool, the quality of the content, and the structure of web-based instruction. It also aimed to explore the effects of the Web-based learning in a science course on students&amp / #8217 / achievement and attitudes toward science learning. The subjects of this study were 51 &Ouml / zel Bilim Okullari students in secondary school (6th, 7th and 8th grades) classes. It was conducted throughout the academic year of 2004-2005. The Science Achievement Test and attitude scales for science learning were given as pre-tests at the begging of academic year. They were given as post-tests and the students were interviewed in groups of five at the end of the academic year. The total time of using the web site of the course was kept by Web log-system. The quantitative findings of the study indicated that there were significant differences between the pre-tests and post-tests of the science achievement test and attitude scale. In addition, there were a positive relationship between the site usage time and achievement and attitude of the students towards science learning. The qualitative findings of this study showed that the amount of information supplied in the web site of the course, access to the Internet, doing assignments and taking online exams played important roles in students&amp / #8217 / science learning. However, the students did not prefer to use e-mails and chat rooms to collaborate with their fiends. They preferred to communicate face to face with their friends, and they preferred SMS because of ease of use. The results and the discussion set out in this study have some important implications for teachers and instructional designers. The study contributes to an understanding of online learning and provides a basis for empirical study of learners performing real educational tasks. The insights gained in this small-scale study will help teachers construct better online learning environments with regard to pedagogy and technological innovation.

Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 346-360). / Electronic reproduction. / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xviii, 360 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

<p>Web technologies have necessitated a transformation culture in higher education<br /> institutions. Many of these institutions are employing web technologies whose<br /> development, for varying reasons, is not supported by research in their field and<br /> domain of use. One such field is instructional design for the web learning.<br /> Although there is a lot of research on the most effective instructional design<br /> strategies, the use of research for web-based learning applications has been<br /> limited. <br /> <br /> This thesis reports on a study aimed at transforming the research on instructional<br /> design into practice by designing an instructional design system and providing an<br /> argument for its implementation. The argument is intended to facilitate the design<br /> and development of an instructional design subsystem of the web, that would in<br /> turn offer effective and efficient ways for creating web-based learning materials<br /> to instructors.<br /> <br /> The study started by examining the various paradigms, theories and practices of<br /> instructional design with the intent of using them to enrich and improve the<br /> practice of instructional design in web learning. It undertook a thorough and<br /> systematic review of the literature on instructional design in order to come up<br /> with an instructional design system. The design approach used successful design<br /> patterns that have been used elsewhere, e.g. in software design, to create common<br /> responses or solutions to recurrent problems and circumstances. Instructional<br /> design patterns were identified in this study as the recurrent problems or processes<br /> instructional designers go through while creating instructional materials, whose<br /> solutions can be reused over and over again.<br /> <br /> This study used an iterative developmental research process of finding and<br /> modelling an instructional design process as the research methodology. This<br /> process follows and builds on existing research on instructional models, theories<br /> and strategies, and ensures that the same methodology can be used to test the<br /> theories in the design, thus improving both the research and the design.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.