DTheses (Athabasca University)
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The experience of Gulf Arab students new to e-learning
No full textTechnology-based initiatives are being implemented around the world as a means of improving quality and expanding access to education. With this implementation, however, it has become apparent that, to be successful in a technologically mediated learning environment, students need to develop new skills and modify behaviours that were successful in a traditional face-to-face environment. On every continent one can find initiatives to develop appropriate delivery methods, curricula, resources, and support that utilize new technologies to improve education quality and effectiveness and to address the particular needs of local learners. Government and educators in the State of Qatar face a challenge in that little research has been done into the culturally-specific needs of Arab distance learners, particularly those in Qatar. In the absence of such research, policymakers must rely on studies from other states that do not share their cultural and historical heritage. This study utilized a qualitative approach to examine Qatari students’ experiences in a pilot eSchoolbag project, which combines face-to-face instruction with e-learning resources and strategies. The experiences were reported by the students themselves, within the context of their cultural and educational environment. The study drew on Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s Community of Inquiry model and Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture to structure and interpret the experiences of the participants. It utilized an open-ended pen-and-paper survey and semi-structured small-group interviews with 12 students who represented a range of experience and ability in the use of computers and the English language, though all used Arabic for communication at home. Participants’ experiences reflected elements of online communities of inquiry, with some variations due to this particular group’s age and blended rather than wholly online learning context. Educational values, English-language ability, and experience with computers emerged as structural issues that affected students’ e-learning experience. Three essential elements of the experience for this particular group of students were found to be motivation, belonging, and adjustment. The results of the study add to the body of knowledge about the experience and needs of school-aged Arab students in e-learning.200
A Case Study of Client Attitude Towards the Transformation of User Manuals into an Online Environment
No full textThe purpose of this longitudinal case study was to investigate the features and functionality that an online help system must embody in order to make new and experienced users successful. The study targeted individual software users employed in the home care industry during a transformation of user manuals from Word-based user assistance to an online help system. The theoretical framework selected for this study was a user-centric approach. User attitude towards the introduction of an online help system during a transformation of user manuals was investigated through the use of surveys and interviews. Guiding this longitudinal case study posed the following question, what features and functionality must an online help system embody in order to make new and experienced users successful? A second question inquired, which usability guidelines support an online help system to successfully deliver software application information to new and experienced users? The literature review examined: autonomous learners, online help users, distance-delivered course-based programs, and distance education adaptation of teaching and learning techniques, online distance education, learning, training, industry knowledge transfer, Canadian best practices, human-computer interaction, user-centric design models, learner experience theory, learning styles and usability guidelines. In this case, the researcher studied the attitude of software users towards the introduction of an online help system during a transformation of user manuals from a word-based format to an HTML format. The researcher identified features and functionality embodied in an online help system designed to give users success and design strategies to address ways to enhance learner experience. Findings from the analysis described: support users by maintaining the previous materials format; follow usability principles in the design of the online help system; demonstrate new functionality to users; develop online learning tutorials for the new user; offer hands-on workshops for users to play with new features; engage users to participate during all aspects of the transformation process; identify the level of software experience users have with the software. To give new and experienced online help user’s success, the researcher urged developers and designers to follow a user-centric approach, apply usability guidelines, and understand learning styles. User success arises from clearly defining learner needs, well-designed interface and well-designed training.200
Enterprise Architecture Framework Applications Towards Service Oriented Architecture
Get PDFA large challenge facing today’s enterprises is the integration of their own disparate systems to be more competitive and react more strategically to market opportunities. Service Oriented Architecture(SOA) is a style of architecture where the use of reusable and discoverable services are used as components to meet business requirements. The promise of SOA is that the use of these services will allow the organization to increase business agility and reuse of software components. There are some challenges to implementing a SOA. One of the challenges is to present view from the enterprise perspective. Typically, projects take only a view of individual business unit without concerns for the entire organization. Enterprise Architecture(EA) describes the current business and IT processes and how they map together. The two most popular EA Frameworks, Zachman Framework and The Open Group Architecture Framework(TOGAF), are designed to help the organization clarify the current IT Architecture and help provide a roadmap to the goal or future IT architecture. It is with the enterprise view that these frameworks provide that SOA can be supported towards a more successful implementation. There is work underway to determine the relationship between SOA and EA. Whether by clarification from industry experts or direct modifications of the EA Frameworks, EA Frameworks are being used to help implement SOA. It is through the enterprise view and architectural tools provided by the EA Frameworks that SOA can be supported.2008-0
Acquisition of Soft Skills and Affective Outcomes in Online Distance Education: A Secondary School Study
No full textCanada is facing a shortage of workers skilled in affective outcomes, specifically soft skills. Some fingers are pointing to the primary and secondary institutions for failing to aptly prepare future employees with those skills. While these skills have been considered a part of the ‘hidden’ curriculum in the education of children, outcomes from our education curriculum, especially in primary and secondary schools, appears to not be meeting the soft skill requirements essential to today’s job market. While much literature explains the necessary inclusion of soft skill instruction in distance education, empirical evidence of its permeation and levels of success is limited. Is it possible to teach soft skill via distance educational media? If so, what practices accommodate them and how does this acquisition compare to traditional models of education? A mixed mode method was planned for the collection and analysis of data. Students within three Alberta school districts were invited to participate in this study; however, a lack of student involvement limited the quantifiable results collected from the six online distance education students. Six teachers were interviewed on their school’s policy and individual techniques teaching effective communication, working cooperatively in groups, acting responsibly, flexibility in learning, and creative problem-solving skills. Interviews were held with both online distance education and traditional school settings so that comparisons of methodology of soft skill teaching/modeling could be made. While soft skill teaching and practice is apparent in both types of educational settings, there appears to be a lack of continuity between school and the work force. That the online distance educational setting is effectively teaching the soft skills within the affective domain, with possibly greater degrees of success than their traditional counterparts. Comments and ideas by teachers and administrators are discussed along with possible explanations to be considered. Limitations to this study are also described with the recommendation of further studies into this Canadian problem.200
Experience with support services of graduate students with disabilities studying at a distance: A Case study
No full textThis study examines the characteristics of graduate students with disabilities studying at a distance and their experience with formal disability-specific support services. Fourteen respondents completed an online survey exploring demographic characteristics, the use of support systems at the institution, their previous experience with support systems, and disclosure of the disability to the institution. Six of the respondents participated in an e-mail interview, where they described similar themes in greater depth as well as the impact of the disability on their studies, and the challenges and benefits of studying at a distance. None of the subjects used formal disability-specific support services. Reasons for non-participation included a lack of awareness about the services, the preference not to disclose the disability, and the availability of support from other sources. The most prevalent reason was that services were deemed unnecessary. Through effective study strategies and the development of their own coping mechanisms, these students appeared to be able to support themselves with nominal assistance from the institution. To strengthen support for these students, institutions can ensure more information about support services reaches students, faculty and staff have a strong understanding of disability-specific support at the institution, and avenues for interaction among students and with instructors are increased.200
A Community College Distance Education Delivery Model for a Post Diploma/Degree Human Services Management Certificate Program
No full textFrom 2005 to 2006, the Community Studies Department Chair at Algonquin College approached relevant program advisory committees with the intention of developing a post diploma/degree certificate program in the area of front line human services management. Given the work and personal demands placed on targeted potential students, a distance education approach was suggested. This research project was undertaken to explore content areas and delivery methods in a certificate program that would meet the needs of both potential adult learners and pertinent local human service agencies. A mixed research method was used including online survey and face to face interview methods. Survey invitations were sent out to 112 Ottawa Carleton agencies, administered over a 6 week period, ultimately producing a response rate of 54 returns or 48%. From a quantitative standpoint, survey data revealed that respondents stem from varied social service backgrounds, strongly value a number of human services management skills, express a strong need for leadership/management training and applaud a strong emphasis on online training delivery coupled with some face to face contact. Most participants are comfortable with computer usage and many have access to high speed internet. A good majority have 6 to 10 hours a week to devote to coursework and study. Qualitative results indicate that interviewees underline a range of human services management responsibilities that at times can blur into unforeseen additional worker roles. Team work dynamics and organizational leadership are reported as ongoing management challenges and identified as areas requiring additional training opportunities. This research project shows that there is a need and desire for a Human Services Management Certificate program at Algonquin College.200
Survey of VOIP-based Technology and Suggestions for Improvements
Get PDFVoIP over WLAN is poised to become an important Internet application. However, there are two major technical problems that stand in the way. These are low VoIP capacity in WLAN and unacceptable VoIP performance in the presence of coexisting traffic from other applications. In this paper we review literature [11] (Ganguly, 2006), containing ways of improving VoIP performance. One method of improving VoIP performance is giving higher priority to VoIP packets at the Access Point when there is a mixture of TCP and VoIP packets. Another method is multiplexing packets from several VoIP streams. This helps increase the amount of data sent by reducing the number of packets as there is an overhead associated with each packet. Reducing the number of packets would allow more data to be transmitted. The jitter buffer repeats old packets to prevent reduced quality due to delayed packets. Algorithms can be applied to reject packets which have been delayed too long to prevent the jitter buffer from growing too long at the access point. The sampling rate of the voice analog message can be adjusted to prevent too many packets from being transmitted and still keep the VoIP signal quality high. The number of hops (Comeras, 2007) is studied [6] to find the optimal number of hops without saturation of bandwidth. End-to-end model is simulated [7] with different parameters, like packet size, to find an optimal set of parameters. Interference to VoIP devices from blue-tooth devices is investigated [8]. When multiple devices send packets through a media, collisions occur. When a collision occurs, the devices have a back-off period. ii Random back-off period is investigated [11] to increase capacity. When VoIP devices leave one2008-1
The Relationship Between Leaning Style and Student Success in a Distance Education Program
No full textLearning styles theory has contributed to educational research in that the various measurements of learning style provide a framework on which to create learning models that may contribute to student success for the largest number of students in a variety of settings. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between learning style and student success in a distance education program of studies. I examined the ways that distance educators can assist students with diverse learning styles and suggested how one method of measuring learning style can provide possible solutions to compensate for learning style differences. Using the Kolb learning style inventory to measure the various ways that students learn, I then explored the impact of their learning style on their ability to participate in a distance education program of studies. A case study methodology was employed. Participants in this study included students participating in a diploma program in a community college in Southwestern Ontario. Individuals who agreed to participate in the study were given the Kolb LSI by mail or by fax. Once they completed the learning style inventory participants were interviewed by telephone to elicit their thoughts on how they were able to achieve positive learning outcomes in the distance learning environment. An analysis of the resulting interview transcripts was then conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the recurring themes that emerged. One result was that many participants related strategies that they had learned from their studies which were transferrable to the work that they did. Although this was not found to relate directly to learning style, it does relate to the experiential learning cycle developed byKolb which is a basis of his learning style theory. Based on the results of this study, understanding how individuals use their learning style to complete their distance education course is one tool that can offer some insight into student success.200
Student-Student Interaction in an Online Continuing Professional Development Course: Testing Anderson's Equivalency Theorem
No full textContinuing education programs for laboratory professionals benefit from the creation of a community of inquiry which encourages students to think critically and learn deeply. Student-student interactions are an essential factor in that structure. This research asked the question, “Is interaction between students a necessary component of online learning for medical laboratory professionals?” The study examined the impact of student-student interactions in an online professional development course in medical laboratory science. Anderson’s equivalency theorem serves as a theoretical frame and identifies categories of the independent variable, student-student interaction. Three dependant variables were explored: (1) student test scores; (2) quantities of student-content and student-instructor interactions; and (3) change in student approaches to learning. Results show statistical significance for student-content and student-instructor interactions. Findings approached the level of significance for surface approach scores. Simple measures of effect showed the relationship of a mildly positive change in deep approach scores combined with a moderately negative change in surface approach scores for the treatment group. Although the study was hampered by a short experimental time-frame and a small sample size, evidence supports the inclusion of student-student interactions via CMC in online instruction for medical laboratory continuing education programs.200
Northeastern Saskatchewan Aboriginal Students' Perceptions Of Their Distance Education Experiences And The Relationship To Their Aboriginal Culture
No full textThe central issues explored in this research were the ways in which the current Eurocentric model of education has failed to provide for the unique educational needs of Aboriginal people, and the ways in which distance education provision can be redesigned in order to provide a more culturally appropriate educational model for Aboriginal communities. The purpose of this case study was to identify the key factors relating to Aboriginal students’ values, beliefs and practices that contribute to a positive distance education experience for six adult Aboriginal students studying at a community college in Northeastern Saskatchewan. These factors were compared to those identified in the literature and from this research recommendations were made for changes and additions to the support services necessary for these community college students to realize successful distance education experiences. The literature showed the importance of addressing the issues of cultural sensitivity and cultural integrity when designing and delivering distance education courses for Aboriginal learners. The reviewed literature was categorized under three broad topics: Aboriginal education and cultural factors, distance education barriers, and access issues and support issues in distance education. A case study research design was used where participants were interviewed in written and oral formats. The interview questions were based on information researched in the literature review and from these interviews general themes were identified and then confirmed in a focus group session. Research results identified the value of community, the need for a common area to study and incorporation of aboriginal beliefs and content in course curricula. Student transience and alleviation of various stressors were also determined as factors affecting distance education experiences. From this research support services necessary for promoting/fostering successful adult Aboriginal distance educational experiences for these students were recommended. The recommendations include on-reserve distance education, tutoring, library and transportation services, crosscultural education provision and orientation/transition sessions. Provincial distance education course accessibility and delivery would also benefit these students.200