3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Developing a valid and reliable quality design criterion rubric to evaluate online courses: a case of three entrepreneurial online short courses at the University of the Witwatersrand(2019) Makda, FatimaOnline learning has been identified as a growing area in the education sector and many educational institutions are expanding their offering of online courses. When designing online courses, there are several design considerations and decisions that need to be made. Despite the development of various instructional design literature and the potential of online courses to support learning, there exists a gap between theoretical knowledge (theory) and practice (reality). The objective of the current research study is to determine the effectiveness of the design of online courses for teaching and learning, and what designers and instructors of online learning environments should collectively consider in terms of the quality of the design for online courses. The current study found the dimensions (1) course information, course structure and course organisation, (2) interaction and communication, (3) multimedia design, (4) assessment and feedback, and (5) effective use of technology of online courses to be important contributors towards the quality design of online courses. Using these dimensions, a valid and reliable evaluation instrument was developed – a rubric. In the current study, the rubric is used as an evaluation tool to evaluate three online short courses at a university level. The current study uses a quantitative instrument design methodology as it involves measuring by scoring various criterion on the developed rubric. These scores were measured and analysed using simple descriptive statistics. Qualitative descriptive evaluations of the online short courses were also done. Both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the online course analysis were integrated to ascertain a summative conclusion of the three online courses and whether the rubric, as a design framework, needed further improvement or not. The current study provides a contribution towards literature by advancing the development of best practices in terms of quality design and evaluation of online courses. The rubric offers a framework to determine what components contribute towards quality design in online courses. This framework contains a set of benchmarks that will assist instructors and course designers in one of two ways; (1) as a self-evaluation tool for an online course thus advising the appropriate stakeholder on how to revise their current online course, and (2) as a best practice guideline to design a new course within the online environment.Item Students' perceptions of the requirements of success in an Open, Distance and eLearning (ODeL) institution: the case of Unisa(2018) Tladi, Lerato. Sonia.This research sought to determine the effects of students’ perceptions of their abilities to perform various functions for successful study through ODeL on their actual performance. The study also focused on determining their understanding of their institutional context, specifically what differentiates open distance and e-learning (ODeL) institutions from contact institutions and the type of attributes, resources and support required to succeed in ODeL. The target population was students who had started studying at the University of South Africa (Unisa) for the first time during the first semester of 2015 and then re-registered again during the second semester of the same year. To measure students’ perceptions, three self-efficacy measures were used, namely self-regulated learning self-efficacy (SRLE), distance learning self-efficacy (DLSE) and computer and online technologies self-efficacy (COTSE). SRLE was an adaption of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MLSQ) by Pintrich and de Groot (1990) and comprised fourteen (14) statements which were divided into three (3) subscales. These subscales were student persistence self-efficacy (SPSE), time and study environment management self-efficacy (TSEMSE) and seeking help self-efficacy (SHSE). The SPSE subscale had four (4) statements, TSEMSE had five (5) statements and SHSE had four (4) statements. All statements for the various subscales were rated using a 6-point Likert scale, from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. DLSE was an adaptation of the DLSE scale by Zhang, Duan, and Wu (2001) and had nine (9) statements which were rated using a 6-point Likert scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. COTSE was an adaptation of Miltiadou and Yu's (2000) Online Technologies Self-Efficacy Scale (OTSES) and had thirty-two (32) statements, which were divided into four (4) subscales, namely internet competencies self-efficacy (ICSE), myUnisa self-efficacy (MUSE), myLibrary self-efficacy (MLSE) and email communications self-efficacy (ECSE). Unlike SRLE and COTSE, each of these statements in the COTSE scale was rated using a four (4)-point Likert scale, from ‘not confident at all’ to ‘very confident’. To measure student success, students’ credit scores were obtained from the student database. A single case embedded study was used as a research strategy, and within that, qualitative and quantitative data was collected using an online survey. Permission was obtained from ethical committees at the University of Witwatersrand and at Unisa before commencing with survey administration and before requesting student data from the database. The survey was administered to 15 557 students but only 670 students responded. However, only 263 of the 670 were deemed as suitable for data analysis, this representing a response rate below 2.0%. Responses were received from mainly African females (43%) who were employed (63%) and had no dependents (69%). Furthermore, most of the respondents had no prior distance learning experience (84%). The results of the quantitative analysis indicated a general understanding of the attributes, resources and support needed to study successfully through ODeL. Understanding of institutional context was reinforced by the results of the qualitative data. Regarding the effects of self-efficacy on student performance, DLSE had more importance in this study than SRLE or COTSE. Overall, only DLSE was found to have a significant effect on academic attainment albeit with a low effect (r=-.13), explaining only 1, 7% of the variation in the academic achievement between successful and unsuccessful students. DLSE also explained 10% of the variation in academic achievement between successful and unsuccessful students who, although new to Unisa, were not new to higher education (transfers). DLSE was also significant among those with no prior distance learning experience, r=-.17, explaining 3% variation between successful and unsuccessful students. Statistically significant differences were also found in DLSE levels for students with 6-9 modules whereby successful students had significantly higher levels of DLSE than unsuccessful students, r=-.20. COTSE was statistically significant among students aged below 30 years, with a small to medium effect of r=-.16, thus explaining 2,56% variation between successful and unsuccessful students. SRLE had no significance at all in this study. Keywords: distance learning self-efficacy; self-regulated learning efficacy; computer and online technologies self-efficacy; academic attainment; distance-learning successItem Exploring the use of iPads in the documentation of visible teaching and learning: a case study of a Grade 3 Reggio Emilia inspired classroom(2018) Phakathi, NelisiweThis is a research report on an ethnographic study which sought to explore the use of iPads in the documentation of visible learning in a Reggio inspired school. It is common to say children are always curious about technological devices particularly, iPads. There is little literature on how effective such devices are in children’s’ learning. This research sought to make a contribution to the understanding of digital technology in these terms within a Reggio Emilia inspired primary school classroom environment in terms of the use by both teachers and leaners. Visible teaching and learning are key theoretical concepts in the Reggio Emilia approach to learning. This research investigated how digital technologies, particularly iPads, contribute in the documentation of visible teaching and learning for young children. The scope of the research covered how learning is made visible using iPads, and what value the introduction of iPads adds in the documentation of visible learning. The research was aimed at exploring if and how using iPads would engage learners and give them the opportunity to document their thinking and learning so as to make it visible. This study will contribute to the available literature on the pedagogical use of iPads in a Reggio Emilia context, in particular in relation to the documentation of visible teaching and learning. The results showed that iPads afforded learners with complex ways in which they could document their learning. With the introduction of iPads there was a high level of participation from learners. iPads offered learners multiple forms of representation of their thinking.Item Open learning, educational development and empowerment : the case of the Open learning Systems Education Trust (OLSET).(2009-02-12T09:14:09Z) Silva, Adilia Suzette FeioAt the time this research was conducted, OLSET’s “English in Action” (EIA) programme worked with large numbers of foundation phase learners and teachers in seven of the nine provinces of South Africa, using interactive radio instruction. In addition, the programme provided in-service training for the teachers, and classroom support based on open learning principles. This study focuses on the self-reports of teachers and principals in the programme, which have been examined in relation to educational development and empowerment theory. The researcher has attempted to establish whether the programme was meeting its objectives in terms of provision of radio lessons, classroom materials, in-service training and classroombased support, and whether empowerment was taking place among teachers involved in the programme. The first stage of the study involved the development of a database of schools involved in the programme, from which a convenience sample was drawn. The analyses then involved thematic content analysis of 541 teacher and principal questionnaires and 202 teacher and principal personal accounts obtained in 2001 and 2003. Prior to 2001, the programme had operated under severe financial constraints. A longitudinal design was used to establish whether there were differences in teacher perceptions under conditions of financial constraint in 2001 and adequate programme funding in 2003. In vivo coding was used throughout the analyses to enable the content categories developed to reflect the words used by teachers in reporting their perceptions of the programme’s work, the benefits they derived with respect to their teaching, and the difficulties experienced at school level with respect to both resourcing as well as consistent quality of programme delivery. Observation was then conducted in 36 classrooms in 2003, to assist in substantiation of the themes found in the 2001 and 2003 questionnaire and personal account data. Recurring themes in the questionnaire and narrative data indicated that the EIA programme was meeting its objectives. Teachers were using the OLSET materials, and reported benefits in terms of improved classroom management and teaching practices. In the observations conducted in classrooms in which the programme was implemented there was indication that the programme’s methodology was being applied, and that teachers and learners were using English more than mother-tongue. Teachers also reported that they were empowered through the materials, workshops and classroom support provided by the programme. Quality of service delivery, however, varied across schools, dependent on donor finances, the radio broadcast delivery, quality of radios, the capacity of the programme to deliver sufficient materials to the schools, as well as the capacity of programme staff to reach all teachers and schools, particularly in the rural areas.