Worldwide, people who are unable to study full-time at residential higher education institutions choose distance education as their mode of study. Such students who are mostly employed adults with multiple responsibilities face many challenges in the process. Students majoring in Mathematics often struggle to master the mathematics content of the major modules and therefore have to attempt the examination several times. The UODL at the Potchefstroom campus of the NWU incorporated IWBs as learning technology in order to improve the communication and support to their students. This study aims to determine how scaffolding of mathematics concepts can be facilitated via IWBs in order to enhance the learning experience of teacher-students towards their understanding of the fundamental principles of mathematics. The study is based on the Stoner model for implementing ICT learning technologies and the focus of the study relates specifically to the design integration phase of the Stoner cycle. The population for the study consisted of all OLG teacher-students who were registered for NWPK 512—a mathematics major module within the ACE programme. A group of ten participants attending at the White River centre and a control group of ten participants from another centre were used during the study. The study followed a mixed-method research design and was performed according to a Kirkpatrick evaluation for training programmes which involves evaluation on five different levels, namely reaction, perception whether learning occurred, change in behaviour, results and return on investment. The qualitative data were analysed through ATLAS.ti ™ augmented with descriptive statistical techniques. Descriptive statistical techniques and effect sizes were calculated to analyse the quantitative data. Reliability and validity of the instrument were calculated. Findings of the study indicated that scaffolding of mathematical concepts via IWBs enhanced students’ understanding of the fundamental concepts of mathematics. The group of participants performed significantly better after they have attended the scaffolding IWB sessions. The introduction to and incorporation of scaffolds for learning mathematics over distance can create an environment of effective mathematics education for all teacher-students as well as for the students in their respective classrooms. / MEd (Curriculum Development), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Under det senaste decenniet har testbaserat lärande väl etablerats som ett effektivt sätt att främja hållbar inlärning. Många sorters material och omständigheter har utforskats i relation till denna metod. Endast nyligen har dock individuella skillnader i relation till testbaserat lärande fått uppmärksamhet som ett forskningsområde. Ett område hittills förhållandevis outforskat är relationen mellan individuella skillnader i kognitiv kapacitet och inlärningsprocessen med återhämtning som inlärningsmetod. Denna studie hade för avsikt att utforska denna relation genom att mäta generell flytande intelligens och arbetsminneskapacitet för ett urval av gymnasieelever (n = 189, M = 16.89 år gamla) som använde testbaserat lärande som inlärningsmetod. Resultaten indikerar att arbetsminne och flytande intelligens båda är relaterade till inlärningsprocessen, men att det förstnämnda är så till en signifikant högre grad än det sistnämnda. / During the last decade, test-enhanced learning has been thoroughly cemented as an efficient way to promote durable learning. Many materials and conditions have been explored in relation to this method. Only recently, however, have individual differences in relation to test-enhanced learning received attention as an area of study. An area as of yet relatively unexplored is the relationship between differences in cognitive ability and the process of retrieval as a method of learning. The present study set out to explore this relationship by measuring general fluid intelligence and working memory capacity in a sample of upper secondary level students (n = 189, M = 16.89 years of age) who used a test-enhanced learning method. The results indicate that working memory and fluid intelligence are both related to this learning process, however the former to a significantly higher degree than the latter

Business information systems (BIS) comprise technological (e.g. programs), informational (e.g. content) and social artifacts (e.g. collaboration structures). Typically, such systems are constantly and collectively developed (co-developed) further by a variety of individuals within the organization. By recognizing these varying types of actors (concerning their goals, technical expertise and language means) and their predominantly developed artifact type, one can distinguish two types of subsystems: technical subsystems wherein the development of the system behavior is conducted by software developers; and business subsystems dominated by end-users developing informational artifacts. So far, co-development structures within and between these subsystems are not well understood, especially the aspect that - potentially driven by appropriate measures such as the provision of domain-specific languages - co-development might shift between these subsystems. This paper presents an approach for characterizing the co-development of real-world BIS with respect to direct participation from different kinds of contributors. This multilayered approach allows us to analyze the co-development with programming languages, domain-specific languages and end-user tools. The approach is suited to assess the direct participation of individuals from different subsystems in the development of evolving BIS. We focus on the intersection of these subsystems, present appropriate metrics and a multilayered analysis scheme. Contributions to artifacts are analyzed using social network analysis to detect structural properties of continuous co-development. The application to Learn@WU, a real-world BIS, demonstrates how end-user enabling technologies have shifted the co-development effort of the system from a small group of developers to a several orders of magnitude larger group of contributors. We observed an increase of direct participation over time on both informational and executable artifacts, while the number of technical experts was more or less constant. Our approach may act as a trigger for the application and further development of rigorous instruments for assessing co-development of BIS. (authors' abstract)

An increasing amount of attention has been brought to language learning through digital games. Incidental learning through different media types such as in print and online have also seen an increased amount of research done in recent years. This study examines the amount of incidental learning that occurs across three media types (in print, online, and in a digital simulation game) as well as participants' perceptions of how enjoyable and helpful these media types are. Results suggest that of the three media types, incidental learning occurred most through the online reading. Furthermore, although not statistically significant, participants in the present study found the reading in print to be most enjoyable and helpful.

This thesis explores the role of modularity for achieving a better adaptation of learning technology to pedagogical requirements. In order to examine the interrelations that occur between pedagogy and computer science, a theoretical framework rooted in both fields is applied. During the twentieth century, the focus of pedagogical research and practice has gone from behaviourism, via cognitivism, to learning theory based on constructivism. Changes in learning objectives and an increasing cognitive complexity of learning tasks are likely to have contributed to this evolvement. This puts new requirements on the design and implementation of pedagogical instruction (instructional design) and its application to learning technology. Using instructional design together with technology requires the pedagogical process to be predetermined, which is partly contradicted by the nature of constructivism. Many constructivist approaches require social interaction and dynamic learning environments that can adapt to changes that are required by different pedagogical approaches. Those requirements have been met using modular approaches for content, i.e., learning objects, implemented in non-modular web-based virtual learning environments (VLE), like learning management systems (LMS). This thesis argues that modularity promotes adaptability and adaptivity, but that the current practice of using learning objects and LMSes is too restricted to fulfill the increasing needs for flexibility. The reasons are that the learning object concept is still too ill-defined to function as a component framework, and there are complex and unsolved issues regarding the representation of pedagogical instructions. This is especially complicated from a constructivist perspective where pedagogical instructions cannot always be assumed to be predetermined, which needs to be encountered for by technology. This thesis contributes to the research field by suggesting a modular approach that includes both digital learning content and VLEs. This was accomplished by suggesting a taxonomy and an abstract model for learning objects, which address both functional and technical properties. Furthermore, six action areas are suggested in order to enhance the technical quality of learning objects. Using the abstract model as a basis, the software architecture of learning objects was addressed in order to separate data, logics and presentation – including the separation of the representation of pedagogical process from the components that implement it. This facilitates the combination of modularity and representation of pedagogical instruction that utilizes machine-processable semantics, enabling the utilization of modularity at composition time as well as at run-time. This approach has resulted in a SOA-based architecture framework that has been used as blueprint for implementing two prototypes of modular VLEs, using different technology platforms. The objective was to verify the taxonomy, the abstract model, and the architecture framework. The experiments have shown that it is possible to incorporate learning content and the VLE into the same modular framework in order to provide the flexibility needed for learning technology to better adapt to changing pedagogical requirements. The experiments have also shown how pedagogical processes benefit from being represented using machine-processable semantics in being able to better utilize the flexibility offered by modularity in keeping the components of the VLE together by representing context and structure. This has been illustrated by adding semantic annotations that were used to dynamically connect pedagogical instruction to annotated learning objects, using machine-processable semantics. / QC 20100903

This research achieves two main goals: First it proposes a set of extensions to the existing Opencast Matterhorn lecture video capture system, which should enhance its effectiveness and enable the collection of fine-grained datasets for further research. These extensions allow users to quickly and easily create, find, tag, annotate, and share `clipshows' of their video recorded classes both publicly and privately. Second, the tracking data generated when users create or view the clipshows using these extensions are used to analyze the efficacy of the system.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Many teaching and learning practices in higher education, including social work education in South Africa, tend to be characterised by a transmission mode of instruction, whereby knowledge moves from the expert educator to the student. This study investigates the extent to which an authentic learning framework can be used to improve the teaching of meso practice in social work to a class of 80 second-year students at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. A modified version of educational design-based research, was deployed which created a set of guidelines to inform future research and course design. Design-based research includes an iterative process, however, and the four-phased modified version of design-based research used in this study deploys just one roll-out of a redesigned course on meso practice, using the elements of authentic learning (Herrington, Reeves & Oliver, 2010). Phase 1 consisted of a review of the literature on meso practice education and the authentic learning framework. Phase 2 involved an analysis of practical problems identified by six educators and four field instruction supervisors, based on the way they teach and supervise students in the area of meso practice intervention. In Phase 3 the course was implemented and evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively by the student participants and four field instruction supervisors. Phase 4 consisted of a reflection on the entire process, to produce design guidelines using the elements of authentic learning and the inclusion of affect in course design. Mixed-methods research was undertaken, incorporating primarily qualitative data with quantitative data from a survey conducted with the students. Findings from this study have led to an augmented list of authentic learning elements, which includes the use of affect in meso practice and the development of guidelines for educators which have the potential to be relevant and applicable in other courses, contexts and disciplines. / NRF / Pillay, R. (2017). Crafting a meso practice course using elements of authentic learning for undergraduate social work students in South Africa. PhD thesis. University of the Western Cape

This document is a report on an experiment in which mathematical skills were taught to first year university students using the Web as a method of instructional delivery. Special attention was paid to the ability of students from disadvantaged backgrounds to cope with this method of delivery. Overall, the results obtained by students using this method were slightly better than that of students on the equivalent paper-based course. However, students from disadvantaged backgrounds fared marginally worse than those on the paper-based course. The results of these students allow extrapolation to a broader context where Web-based teaching of disadvantaged communities may be used. Definitions for knowledge, information, learning and teaching were developed. These definitions were then used as the foundation for creating the Web pages used in the experiment. / Dissertation (DPhil (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Information Science / unrestricted

In our rapidly developing society, companies and education have to continuously reflect upon their ways of working in order learn and improve. Learning within organizations can be measured by studying behavioral change, and research has shown that behavioral change can be achieved with technology enhanced interventions and coaching. The purpose of this study is to explore how the participants perceive a behavioral change process when it is matched with technology, what aspects of the process that effect the participants’ learning and behavior, and to find a technological solution which enables coaching for behavioral change. This has been done by a user-centered designed process where the participants used surveys to assess their behavior and attitudes. The data collected was then used as basis for coaching, reflection and feedback. In conclusion, this study showed a perceived change in behavior due to reflection and increased transparency into the change process, both facilitated by the technology added to the process. / I vårt snabba utvecklingssamhälle måste företag och utbildning ständigt reflektera över sitt arbetssätt för att lära sig och utvecklas. Lärande inom organisationer kan mätas genom att studera förändringar i beteende, och forskning har visat att beteendeförändring kan åstadkommas med teknikförstärkta interventioner och coaching. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur deltagarna uppfattar en process för beteendeförändring när den matchas med teknik, vilka aspekter av processen som påverkar deltagarnas lärande och beteende, samt att hitta en teknisk lösning som möjliggör coaching för beteendeförändring. Detta har gjorts genom en användarcentrerad designprocess där deltagarna använde enkäter för att skatta sina beteende och attityder. Den data som samlades in användes sedan för coaching, reflektion och återkoppling. Sammanfattningsvis visade studien en upplevd beteendeförändring på grund av reflektion och ökad transparens i förändringsarbetet, vilka underlättades av teknikförstärkningen.

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