This dissertation rationalizes the best use of Web-based instruction (WBI) for teaching music theory to private piano students in the later primary grades. It uses an integrative research methodology for defining, designing, and implementing a curriculum that includes WBI. Research from the fields of music education, educational technology, educational psychology, and interaction design and children receive primary consideration. A synthesis of these sources outlines several research-based principles that instructional designers can use to design a complete blended learning environment for use within the piano studio. In addition to the research-based principles, the precise methods of determining instructional tasks and implementing the program online are described in detail. A full implementation is then deployed, and piano teachers evaluate the extent to which the online program fulfills the research-based principles. This dissertation does not argue for the complete migration of theory instruction from traditional workbook approaches to an entirely Web-based medium but rather outlines the best use of face-to-face instruction, collaboration amongst students, teachers, and parents, and interaction with a Web-based program. This formative research provides a complete model of integrating WBI within the piano studio that can guide instructional designers and music educators.

The current supplementary web based English learning in Taiwan provides online learning resources and gives assessments at the end of each lesson to evaluate learners' online learning results. Based on the testing results, instructors may adjust their in-class instructional method to focus on the students' weaknesses. For the average classroom size of 40 students with one instructor, it is extremely difficult to provide individual learning content for each learner's needs because each student has his or her own weaknesses. This study conducted the situated environment with Vygotsky's dynamic assessment theory to test learner's learning achievements and satisfactions as compared to the current web learning environment. The study finds that when both groups of Taiwanese students used Internet based learning, those that utilized the situated and dynamic learning assessment environment showed a statistically significant higher achievement score than those using only the current online learning environment (p < .01). In addition, learners in the SDLA environment had statistically significant higher satisfaction scores than those in the current web learning environment.

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No description available.

This study is a qualitative examination of community college students' experiences taking on-line courses. The study addresses the research question, "How do community college students construct their on-line experiences?" In order to answer this question, the following foci were examined: What are the characteristics of students taking online courses?, Why are they taking on-line courses?, What are facilitative or debilitative dimensions or features that promote or inhibit success in on-line courses?, and, How does the community college infrastructure support students taking web-based courses? The results of the study were grouped into 4 categories: Interpersonal Support, Student Characteristics, Course Issues, and Infrastructure Support. All but 2 of the findings of the PRCC Study are supported by research. The first factor not mentioned in the literature is that some students choose to take a course on-line if they are not interested in the content of the class. The second finding not implicated in the research is that electronic distractions of Instant Messaging™ and the lure of surfing the Web seem to be more debilitating than interruptions from other sources such as family and work. Other implications of this study involve concerns that are common to both on-line and on-site instruction, as well as the connection between constructivism and on-line learning. Facilitative and debilitative dimensions or features that promote or inhibit success in on-line courses imply that faculty and institutions need to be adapting to the demands of teaching and learning on the Web. Implications of the Study examine improvements to the study and ideas for future research. / Ph. D.

Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.

BACKGROUND: The need to create controlled vocabularies such as ontologies for knowledge organization and access has been widely recognized in various domains. Despite the indispensable need of thorough domain knowledge in ontology construction, most software tools for ontology construction are designed for knowledge engineers and not for domain experts to use. The differences in the opinions of different domain experts and in the terminology usages in source literature are rarely addressed by existing software. METHODS: OTO software was developed based on the Agile principles. Through iterations of software release and user feedback, new features are added and existing features modified to make the tool more intuitive and efficient to use for small and large data sets. The software is open source and built in Java. RESULTS: Ontology Term Organizer (OTO; http://biosemantics.arizona.edu/OTO/) is a user-friendly, web-based, consensus-promoting, open source application for organizing domain terms by dragging and dropping terms to appropriate locations. The application is designed for users with specific domain knowledge such as biology but not in-depth ontology construction skills. Specifically OTO can be used to establish is_a, part_of, synonym, and order relationships among terms in any domain that reflects the terminology usage in source literature and based on multiple experts' opinions. The organized terms may be fed into formal ontologies to boost their coverage. All datasets organized on OTO are publicly available. CONCLUSION: OTO has been used to organize the terms extracted from thirty volumes of Flora of North America and Flora of China combined, in addition to some smaller datasets of different taxon groups. User feedback indicates that the tool is efficient and user friendly. Being open source software, the application can be modified to fit varied term organization needs for different domains.

The current research aimed to identify the main factors that affect students’ performance in web-based courses in a university in Jordan. In order to achieve this goal the current research design employed a mixed methods approach in that it embraced an exploratory approach in the first phase and moved to an explanatory approach in the second phase. The exploratory phase consisted of conducting four group interviews with students enrolled in web-based courses at the Accounting Department at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences and one group interview with Accounting instructors. While the explanatory phase employed a quantitative method (questionnaire) to examine the study’s proposed models. Astin’s Input-Environment-Outcomes (I-E-O) guided the current study’s framework to investigate factors that may influence student performance in web-based courses. Input variables were computer experience, student attitude toward web-based learning, self-efficacy, motivation, and prior performance. Environmental variables included student perceptions of the interaction of instructors; use of technology; and participation in the online learning environment. Data was gathered from a survey of 461 undergraduate students enrolled in two web-based accounting courses at the Hashemite University in Jordan. The most important contribution of the current study is that it conducted the analysis in the context of a developing country (Jordan). Therefore, this study will fill the gap in the literature regarding the effect of using web-based learning on student performance in Jordan and will provide the basis for further research in developing countries on student performance in web-based learning. The study also adds to collective knowledge of the effects of e-learning by adding a case study set in a new context to the existing range of studies. In doing so it broadens the scope of research on e-learning effectiveness. The results indicated that the study’s model was valid and fit the data and it was reasonable to test the model in terms of path significance. The study explained 73% of the variance in student performance, but only 3% of the variation in change in performance was explained. The findings of the current research revealed that input variables (particularly prior performance and student attitudes toward web-based learning) were the most significant, direct input factors affecting student performance. In addition, it was found that environmental variables (particularly student participation in web-based courses and student perceptions of the interaction of their instructors) also had a significant direct effect on student performance. These findings underline that it is not the technology used in the learning process that makes a difference in student performance in web-based learning, but it is instructor interactivity and the pedagogy used in teaching the Accounting courses at the Hashemite University. This is not to say that technology is unimportant or that it can be ignored. However, the functionality, usability and reliability of e-learning technology have rapidly improved to the point where questions of how it is deployed and exploited become more important than what it is capable of doing.

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

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