Selecting a learning management system (LMS) in developing countries: instructors' evaluation

Learning management systems (LMSs) contain hidden costs, unclear user environments, bulky developer and administration manuals, and limitations with regard to interoperability, integration, localization, and bandwidth requirements. Careful evaluation is required in selecting the most appropriate LMS for use, and this is a general problem in web-based education. One possibility is to automate this evaluation process using computer-aided techniques. In this article, the researcher has focused on the idea of automating the evaluation process and has developed a computer-aided system named Easy Way to Evaluate LMSs (EW-LMS), for the quick and efficient evaluation of LMSs, especially for developing countries, where the idea of using an LMS may be relatively new. The investigation described in this article was carried out with 88 voluntary higher education instructors to test the usefulness of the developed system. Two types of quantitative questionnaires were used during the study. The results obtained indicate that the instructors were highly satisfied using the developed system, and the EW-LMS is technically sound and well developed. Theevaluation system can help instructors to select the best LMS appropriate to their educational needs and their type of usage in the shortest possible time, with little effort, without any specialized technical knowledge/training and by following simple, user-friendly steps. The system is oriented to anyone interested in evaluating and using an LMS in web-based education. Those individuals who may be interested in using this software are instructors, students, or anyone else who may have an interest in LMSs, and educational organizations such as universities, schools, and institutes.     

A telepresence learning environment for opera singing: distance lessons implementations over Internet2

The Opera eLearning project developed a solution for opera singing distance lessons at the graduate level, using high bandwidth to deliver a quality audio and video experience that has been evaluated by singing teachers, chorus and orchestra directors, singers and other professional musicians. Prior to finding a technological model that suits the user's requirements, several experiments have been conducted, testing and prototyping different technologies, until arriving at a telepresence, immersive sound model. This paper summarises the findings of this pilot stage, and its interest includes the management of innovation exercises across a multidisciplinary team, based on usability and a user-centred design. Some of the technology tested includes professional audio and video equipment, software for A/V signal capturing and transmission on uncompressed formats, A/D converters, and other auxiliary devices. The resultant model has later been successfully used in a formal case study, delivering 14 remote masterclasses.     

Manifestations of Quality Learning in Computer-Mediated University Courses

A prototype computer-mediated communication system was assessed for its capability to stimulate intellectual activity through mandating peer comments in graduate and undergraduate computer science classes. Measured against Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, about half the total comments in two classes exhibited no evidence of classifiable intellectual activity. Of the remaining half, a positive correlation was found between number of characters and level of cognition exhibited by a comment, though exceptions were found at every level. A significant but weak relationship was also shown between cognitive level of comments and level of classes. The results suggest modifications to the computer-mediated communication system so that students more effectively engage in peer–peer assessment.     

Effects of an augmented reality-based mobile system on students’ learning achievements and motivation for a liberal arts course

ABSTRACT

Although Augmented Reality (AR) technology has already been adopted into mobile learning environments, additional effort must be put towards providing strong evidence that AR-based mobile systems are excellent educational tools that make a positive impact in or outside of the classroom. Our study utilized a similar AR-based mobile learning system developed to authentically teach a liberal arts course at a Taiwanese university. Under controlled study environments, we were able to design a system that could impart relevant concepts from the course to students outside of the traditional classroom setting. Experimental results demonstrated that students with the opportunity to learn through the proposed system demonstrated higher learning motivation, had better learning performance and comprehension abilities than those studying via the conventional outdoor instruction approach. Moreover, the questionnaire survey conducted after our study revealed that “confidence” was the most highly rated motivational factor among students who used the proposed system, suggesting that students were quite motivated to learn using the novel system supplemented with technological advances because they felt more sure of their knowledge and performance. Thus, we believe that using the proposed system can effectively improve the learning outcomes of students enrolled in the liberal arts course, with the particular benefit of boosting confidence in gaining new knowledge, which leads to an improvement of overall learning performance and motivation.     

A model to predict educators’ attitudes towards technology and thus technology adoption

Abstract

“Technology”, the buzz word for the last ten to fifteen years in South Africa. Technology availability is quite often mistaken for technology adoption and use. Technology has been made available to almost all tertiary institutions and at least some public schools. However, in most tertiary institutions many professors still refuse to use technology to enhance their lectures and many educators in schools have not yet “come on board” in a manner of speaking. The South African government has indicated its intention to ensure that every school has access to a wide choice of diverse, high quality communication services that will benefit all learners and local communities (DOE 2004). It is important that the Department of Basic Education recognizes that regardless of the amount of technology and its sophistication, technology will not be used unless educators have the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to infuse it into the curriculum. The aim of this paper is to determine educators’ attitudes towards technology and thus technology adoption in teaching and learning. In doing so, this study attempted to determine what educators’ attitudes/perceptions (used synonymously) are towards constructs (e.g. relative advantage, perceived behavioural control, complexity) extracted from the different information systems (IS) technology adoption models. Thereafter, regression analysis was used to determine the best predictor of educators’ attitudes and thus technology adoption. The findings of this study suggest that overall the educators perceptions are somewhat positive across most IS constructs with the notable exception of Perceived Behavioural Control and Facilitating Conditions where the mean are below 3.5. The analysis suggests that the independent variables explaining the greatest amount of variance in computer attitudes are in order of predicative value: extrinsic motivation, perceived usefulness, complexity, perceived behavioural control and relative advantage. The results point to the importance of educators’ vision of technology itself, their experiences with it, their perceptions towards computer attributes and the conditions that surround its introduction into schools in shaping their attitudes towards technology and its subsequent diffusion into their educational practice.     

The Pragmatic Barrier

A small-scale phenomenological study reveals interesting and suggestive insights into the pedagogical technology experiences of late-career faculty with institutional recognition as successful instructors. Referred to in much of the literature as “resistant” and assumed to lack training in pedagogical technology and/or to adhere to passive learning strategies, the faculty in this study described attempts, successful and unsuccessful, to integrate technology into their teaching. Their experiences and perceptions point out the questionable effects of taking a “toolism” approach to faculty development and the risk associated with proceeding with unexamined assumptions about such faculty and their technology use.     

Giftedness considered from the perspective of research on learning and instruction

This article argues that research and educational practices relating to gifted students can highly benefit by linking up more closely with the mainstream of research on learning and instruction. The CLIA-model for the design of powerful learning environments that consists of four interconnected components (Competence, Learning, Intervention, and Assessment) is thereby used as a framework. The kind of learning processes needed to acquire adaptive competence are well in tune with features of exceptional performance, namely active, constructive, self-regulated and goal-oriented learning. Therefore gifted students should be taught in powerful learning environments that induce in them learning processes that embody those characteristics. Interventions focused on gifted students such as acceleration, grouping and differentiated instruction can benefit from taking into account the components and characteristics of the CLIA-model.     

The sub‐culture of music and ICT in the classroom

In this paper the authors utilise findings from the Economic and Social Research Council‐funded InterActive Education project to present a characterisation of the sub‐culture of school music with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in England. They consider the opportunities and challenges ICT presents to the teaching of primary (ages 4–11) and secondary (ages 11–18) classroom music through an investigation of the perceptions, personal philosophies and pedagogical styles of seven teachers with whom they worked over a period of three years. Their work is underpinned by Goodson and Mangan’s definition of subject sub‐culture and they draw on Shulman’s notion of ‘knowledge bases’ in order to categorise and discuss the data. Through the identification and elaboration of key themes, the authors provide a snapshot of the emerging sub‐culture of music and ICT in schools.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

This article reports on the distribution of the use of graphic calculators over the whole secondary school population in a Local Education Authority (LEA) in the United Kingdom. Quantitative and qualitative census data on the extent and nature of graphic calculator use have been obtained. A feature of this project is in the use of a teacher research team to gather data naturalistically. This work was designed to augment previous work in this area by providing census details for an entire LEA and by including reasons why graphic calculators are not used. The authors found that the key factors which contributed to use were: expertise within mathematics departments; regard for graphic calculators as learning aides from mathematics staff and as information and communication technology from senior staff; a ‘critical mass’ of older/higher attaining students. Key factors which inhibited use of graphic calculators were: lack of time to learn how to use the calculator and how to teach with it; concern over recent examination restrictions; perceptions of computers being a resource priority     

京西潭柘寺地区石炭-二叠纪沉积相及沉积环境演化

在野外剖面、钻孔岩心宏观沉积相分析及岩相类型的归纳总结基础上,根据各类岩相在垂向上的组合关系及在平面上的分布,识别出障壁-泻湖相、三角洲相、河流相及湖泊相等4种沉积相及其多种亚相类型,并建立了相应的垂向沉积序列。其中障壁岛-泻湖沉积相发育于本溪组—太原组中下部,三角洲沉积相对应于太原组上部—山西组,河流沉积相主要发育于下石盒子组—红庙岭组,湖泊沉积相发育于双泉组。研究区总体上沉积环境有从海到陆的演化过程,古气候有从温暖潮湿到相对炎热干燥的变化,聚煤作用发生于气候温暖潮湿的本溪组、太原组和山西组沉积期,在下石盒子组、红庙岭组及双泉组沉积期由于气候相对干旱,区内聚煤作用停止,没有发育煤层。