A Java applet is developed to interactively and dynamically illustrate the fundamental concepts of finite element analysis. An applet is a computer program written in the object-oriented Java programming language and is embedded in web pages. Java applets are well suited for delivering interactive graphical content over the Internet since they are platform and operating system independent. The applet developed includes a wide range of elements including one-dimensional truss and beam elements, triangular and quadrilateral plane stress and plane strain elements, and two-dimensional four-node and eight-node iso-parametric elements and plate elements. Along with the applet there is a series of web pages describing the fundamental concepts of finite element analysis, example problems and instructions for use. The applet provides a novel approach for teaching basic finite element analysis concepts. It provides students a means for checking their work, reinforces fundamental concepts learned in class, and enhances students' learning experiences by allowing them to experiment by building and analyzing complex models and visualizing results as changes are made to the model. The applet can be used as supplementary material complementing classroom and textbook instruction. / Master of Science

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

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.

Online education creates new demands on organization and structure in order to make use of its advantages with the technology for learning. Research in this area elucidates new possibilities with the computer as a medium, to individualize and make the learning more flexible. Meanwhile, the empirical study shows practical limitations, which affects the design of web-based teaching. As a result, we have started to develop a guideline, which describes these new possibilities and common problems with the new learning environment. We have structured the guideline by first defining the problem area and then giving recommendation or in some cases proposal of improving the technique. The purpose with the guideline is to illustrate and support teachers with knowledge and inspiration to make the design of this new form of education suitable in its practice.

Throughout life, we continuously accumulate data, information and knowledge. The ability to recall much of this accumulated knowledge commonly deteriorates with time, though some forms part of what is referred to as tacit knowledge. In the context of education, students access and interact with a teacher’s knowledge in order to create their own, and may have their own data, information and knowledge that could be added to teacher’s knowledge for everyone’s benefit. The realization that students can contribute to enhancing personal knowledge is an important cornerstone in developing a mentor (teacher, tutor and facilitator) focused knowledge system. The research presented in this thesis discusses an integrated framework that manages an individual’s personal data, information and knowledge and enables it to be enhanced by others, in the context of a blended teaching and learning environment. Existing related models, structures, systems and current practices are discussed. The core outcomes of this thesis include: • the virtualMe framework that can be utilized when developing Web based teaching and learning systems; • the sniplet content model that can be used as the basis for sharing information and knowledge; • an annotation framework used to manage knowledge acquisition; and • a multimedia object (MMO) model that: o allows for related media artefacts to be intuitively grouped in a logical collection; o includes a meta-data schema that encompasses other metadata structures, and manages context and referencing; and o includes a model allowing component parts to be reaggregated if they are separated. The virtualMe framework provides the ability to retain context while transferring the content from one person to another and from one place to another. The framework retains the content’s original context and then allows the receiver to customise the content and metadata so that the content becomes that person’s knowledge. A mechanism has been created for such contextual transfer of content (context retained by the metadata).