bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Relevance of Learning Processes for IT Implementation
Authors: Bondarouk Tanya , Sikkel Klaas
Published: May 2011

The starting point of this chapter is the belief that it is neither the quality of the technology, nor that of the individual users, but the interactions amongst people in groups of users concerning a new system that determines the success or failure of IT implementation. Aiming at conceptualisation of the role of group learning in IT implementation, we first develop a theoretical framework based on the experiential learning cycle that includes five processes: collective acting, group reflecting, knowledge disseminating, sharing understanding, and mutual adjustment. Second, we illustrate the roles of learning processes in three case studies. Analysis of the interviews with 98 users of information technologies has revealed a unique function of group learning in the IT implementation. It is shown that group learning emerges immediately after a new IT is introduced to the targeted users; it may take different directions (for or against adoption of the technology); it itself can develop during the IT implementation and either progress or take a turn for the worse. The chapter elaborates on three organisational conditions important for directing the constructive group learning: managerial support issues, structural and nonstructural group characteristics, and technological features that turn group learning in a positive direction.
Competing in the Marketplace
Authors: Folkers Deirdre A.
Published: May 2011

Higher education has traditionally been very slow moving, with change being measured in years or even decades. Recently, external forces have combined to challenge higher education’s resistance to change. These forces range from the growth of the Internet, to the emergence of a new student population, to a continued decline in governmental support. Together these changes have caused institutions to reexamine both how they function and how they interact with the outside world. Distance education has become a concrete manifestation of the changes in higher education; however, the incorporation of online education often has far-reaching effects, impacting the organization financially, structurally, and culturally. This article will examine the external forces that are challenging higher education. It will further examine the managerial, organizational, and cultural issues that arise as colleges and universities seek to move from the physical “marketplace” to the virtual world of the “marketspace” through the integration of distance education programs.
Towards an Ontology for Information Systems Development—A Contextual Approach
Authors: Leppänen Mauri
Published: May 2011

This chapter presents an ISD ontology, which aims to provide an integrated conceptualization of ISD through anchoring it upon a contextual approach. The ISD ontology is composed of concepts, relationships, and constraints referring to purposes, actors, actions, and objects of ISD. It is presented as a vocabulary with explicit definitions and in meta models in a UML-based ontology representation language. We believe that although not complete the ISD ontology can promote the achievement of a shared understanding of contextual aspects in ISD. It can be used to analyze and compare existing frameworks and meta models and as a groundwork for engineering new ISD methods, and parts thereof.
Ontological Analysis of KAOS using Separation of References
Authors: Matulevicius Raimundas , Heymans Patrick , Opdahl Andreas L.
Published: May 2011

Goal modeling is emerging as a central requirements engineering (RE) technique. Unfortunately, current goal-oriented languages are not interoperable with one another or with modeling languages that address other modeling perspectives. This problematic because the emerging generation of model-driven information systems is likely to depend on coordinated use of several modeling languages to represent different perspectives of the enterprise and its proposed information system. The chapter applies a structured approach to describe a well-known goal oriented language, KAOS, by mapping it onto a philosophically grounded ontology. The structured approach facilitates language interoperability because when other languages are described using the same approach, they become mapped onto the same ontology. The approach thereby provides an intermediate language for comparison, consistency checking, update reflection, view synchronization and, eventually, model-to-model translation, both between goal-oriented languages and between different languages.
Understanding E-Government Development
Authors: Siau Keng , Long Yuan
Published: May 2011

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have been used to enhance services and improve the efficiency of government operations. To further improve the e-government operations, understanding e-government development and studying factors that affect e-government development are important research topics. The purpose of this research is to investigate factors influencing e-government development through a social development lens. Based on growth and regional development theories, this chapter hypothesizes that income level, development status, and region are three factors that differentiate e-government development in various countries. Group comparison tests are conducted using secondary data from the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme. The results support the hypotheses that significant differences in e-government development exist between countries with respect to the three categorical variables mentioned. In addition, the paper applies planned post hoc tests to further investigate the differences in e-government development between different groups of countries (e.g., countries with low income vs. countries with high income). The results of this research are valuable to e-government scholars and practitioners. As the research involves data from countries all over the world, it contributes to understanding e-government development factors on a global scale.
An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model to Determine the Intention to Use Biometric Devices
Authors: James Tabitha , Pirim Taner , Boswell Katherine , Reithel Brian , Barkhi Reza
Published: May 2011

Protection of physical assets and digital information is of growing importance to society. The need for development and use of security technologies is ever increasing. As with any new technology, user acceptance of new software and hardware devices is often hard to gauge, and policies to introduce and ensure adequate and correct usage of such technologies are often lacking. Security technologies have widespread applicability to different organizational contexts that may present unusual and varied adoption considerations. This study adapts the technology acceptance model and extends it to study the intention to use security devices, more specifically biometrics, across a wide variety of organizational contexts. Due to the use of physiological characteristics, biometrics present unique adoption concerns. The extension of the technology acceptance model for biometrics is useful, as biometrics encompass many of the same adoption concerns as traditional security devices, but include a level of invasiveness that is obvious to the user. Through the use of vignettes, this study encompasses a systematically varied set of usage contexts for biometric devices to provide a generalizable view of the factors impacting intention to use over all categories of situational contexts of the device’s use. The technology acceptance model is extended in this study to include constructs for perceived need for privacy, perceived need for security, and perceived physical invasiveness of biometric devices as factors that influence intention to use. The model is shown to be a good predictor of intention to use biometric devices and implications of the results for biometric and security technology acceptance is discussed.
Advancing End User Development Through Metadesign
Authors: Costabile Maria Francesca , Fogli Daniela , Lanzilotti Rosa , Mussio Piero , Parasiliti Provenza Loredana , Piccinno Antonio
Published: May 2011

End-user development means the active participation of end users in the software development process. In this perspective, tasks that are traditionally performed by professional software developers at design time are transferred to end users at use time. This creates a new challenge for software engineers: designing software systems that can be evolved by end users. Metadesign, a new design paradigm discussed in this chapter, is regarded as a possible answer to this challenge. In this line, we have developed a metadesign methodology, called Software Shaping Workshop methodology, that supports user work practice and allows experts in a domain to personalize and evolve their own software environments. We illustrate the Software Shaping Workshop methodology and describe its application to a project in the medical domain. The work proposes a new perspective on system personalization, distinguishing between customization and tailoring of software environments. The software environments are customized by the design team to the work context, culture, experience, and skills of the user communities; they are also tailorable by end users at runtime in order to adapt them to the specific work situation and users’ preferences and habits. The aim is to provide the physicians with software environments that are easy to use and adequate for their tasks, capable to improve their work practice and determine an increase in their productivity and performance.
Privacy Statements as a Means of Uncertainity Reduction in WWW Interactions
Authors: Pollach Irene
Published: May 2011

Grounded in uncertainty reduction theory, the present study analyzes the content of 50 privacy policies from well-known commercial Web sites with a view to identifying starting points for improving the quality of online privacy policies. Drawing on traditional content analysis and computer-assisted textual analysis, the study shows that privacy policies often omit essential information and fail to communicate data handling practices in a transparent manner. To reduce Internet users’ uncertainty about data handling practices and to help companies build stable relationships with users, privacy policies need to explain not only the data collection and sharing practices a company engages in but also those practices in which companies do not engage. Further, more exact lexical choice in privacy policies would increase the transparency of data handling practices and, therefore, user trust in World Wide Web (WWW) interactions. The results also call for less verbose texts and alternatives to the current narrative presentation format.
Evaluating Group Differences in Gender During the Formation of Relationship Quality and Loyalty in ISP Service
Authors: Lin Chieh-Peng , Ding Cherng G.
Published: May 2011

This study examines the moderating role of gender during the formation of relationship quality and loyalty in the context of IT service. In the proposed model, expertise, relational selling behavior, perceived network quality, and service recovery indirectly influence a customer’s loyalty through mediation of relationship quality. Gender moderates each model path. The moderating effects are examined simultaneously using data from customers of Taiwan’s leading Internet service provider. Test results indicate that the influences of perceived network quality on relationship quality and of relationship quality on loyalty are stronger for males than females, while relational selling behavior influences relationship quality more for females than for males. Furthermore, service recovery influences relationship quality for both the male and female groups, but its influence does not differ significantly between the two groups. Finally, expertise exerts an insignificant influence on relationship quality for both groups. Implications of the empirical findings also are discussed.
Portals and Potlach
Authors: Leclair Carol , Warren Sandi
Published: May 2011

The authors are Métis scholars and members of the Métis Women’s Circle. The Métis Women’s Circle is a not-for-profit, national organization that represents approximately 200 aboriginal women of Métis and mixed heritage from across Canada. The Circle offers services and programs to develop and share Métis communities’ knowledge with their people and the broader Canadian public. This chapter represents a dialogue between the authors regarding the protocols for information technology as seen from their indigenous worldviews.
Developing Culturally Inclusive Educational Multimedia in the South Pacific
Authors: Robbins Christopher
Published: May 2011

This chapter explores how educational technology can be developed according to indigenous learning approaches of the South Pacific. It is based on an expansive research and development project conducted 2003-2004 at The University of the South Pacific (USP). After an introduction to several aspects of indigenous South Pacific learning approaches and their usage in the formal learning sector, I make several recommendations for instructional technology design based on these principles, illustrated with examples of educational technology projects that apply these recommendations. Specifically, we follow educational multimedia efforts at USP that enable learning in wholes, encourage observation and imitation and utilize vernacular metaphors and languages. This includes recommendations for interface design, interaction design and decentralized content localization.
Learning to Internet Bank
Authors: Brady Fiona
Published: May 2011

The increasing deployment of technology is changing the way services are delivered. New technologies require people to learn new procedures to do the same things they were doing previously as well as to learn to use entirely new services. Business has made little accommodation for the diversity of users and their situations as the use of technology increases and the human interface with its client’s decreases. This study looks at how indigenous peoples in a remote area access Internet banking services. Internet banking is a discrete technological skill that has been effectively acquired without outside assistance or direction: this makes it a useful lens to view the process of technology skill acquisition.
Multimedia Curriculum Development Based on the Oval Tradition
Authors: Inglebret Ella , Banks Susan Rae , Pavel D. Michael , Friedlander Rhonda , Stone Mary Loy
Published: May 2011

Responsiveness to cultural background has become a dominant theme associated with efforts to increase the effectiveness of human service delivery, both in educational and medical settings (Battle, 2002). As a consequence, service providers are in need of educational materials that accurately portray cultural factors impacting their interactions with members of culturally diverse groups. To address the need for materials pertinent to indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest (American Indians and Alaska Natives), an interactive, multimedia educational unit, titled “Diverse Voices: Native Perspectives in Human Service Delivery,” was developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (HO29K70133). A collaborative endeavor among faculty and students at Washington State University in partnership with members of nearby indigenous communities, this project sought to provide an information source for non-indigenous students and professionals, while simultaneously using a culturally congruent pedagogy — the oral tradition.
Problem-Based Online Learning in Indigenous Tertiary Education
Authors: Foster Rosemary , Meehan Michael
Published: May 2011

In a degree program traditionally offering problem-based-learning (PBL) in a classroom setting, we began to explore how information technology could improve tertiary education for indigenous Australians. As a result, problem-based-electronic-learning (PBeL) was devised, piloted and implemented online from 2003. This case study allows reflection on the problems and possibilities associated with this change to the learning environment for the indigenous-majority student population.
Digital Songlines
Authors: Leavy Brett
Published: May 2011

Digital Songlines is a software toolkit being developed by the Australasian Cooperative Research Centre for Interaction Design. It consists of an applied set of protocols, methodologies and a software program for the collection and sharing of indigenous cultural heritage knowledge. Regular consultation with indigenous traditional owners and representative groups is an essential component of the development process. This article provides an overview of the components of the Digital Songlines toolkit, and illustrates the development of the cultural heritage system in its current prototype. The system employs virtual reality tools to enable aboriginal communities to digitally preserve, protect and promote their arts, culture and heritage. The 3-D visualisation will allow users to appreciate the land as central to the culture, stories and lives of indigenous peoples.
Indigenous Language Usage in a Bilingual Interface
Authors: Keegan Te Taka , Cunningham Sally Jo , Apperley Mark
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we investigate the extent and characteristics of use of the Maori language, the indigenous language of Aotearoa (New Zealand), in a large bilingual Web site. We used transaction log analysis to investigate whether Maori was utilised by users of the Web site and how usage characteristics differed between users of Maori and users of the more commonly spoken English language. We found that Maori language was used in one quarter of all active sessions, and that in these sessions users were more likely to browse the Web site, whereas users working in the non-indigenous English were more likely to use the search facility. We also identified a new category of user of bilingual Web sites: the bilingual user.
Cut from the Same Cloth
Authors: Palmer Mark H.
Published: May 2011

The construction and implementation of geographic information systems (GIS) within the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is yet another attempt to assimilate American Indians into the greater American society. Historically, the BIA collaborated with Christian missionaries to assimilate indigenous Americans. The United States federal government implemented the reservation and boarding school systems, and promoted the English language and Christianity while effectively suppressing indigenous languages and religions. Today the BIA collaborates with new missionaries who are distinctly technical and corporate. This particular BIA/GIS implementation strategy can have homogenizing and universalizing impacts upon American Indian cultural landscapes, geographic knowledge and native languages.
E-Community-Based Tourism for Asia's Indigenous People
Authors: Harris Roger W. , Vogel Doug , Bestle Lars H.
Published: May 2011

Indigenous peoples are good for national tourism development in Asia because they present an exotic image that helps to differentiate countries from each other. However, tourism is far from being good for indigenous peoples, as they are often excluded from the revenues that tourism generates and are subjected to the environmental degradation and cultural pollution that mass tourism inflicts upon them. information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the hands of such people can help alleviate some of this imbalance. By catering to the rising demand for authentic travel experiences that do not damage the environment, and in a manner that is under the control of the indigenous peoples themselves, ICTs empower local communities to operate small-scale tourism on their own terms. Once familiar with the ICTs, such people can go on to apply them to their special needs, in accordance with international conventions concerning the well-being of indigenous peoples.
The Meaning of Culture in Online Education
Authors: Wang Chun-Min , Reeves Thomas C.
Published: May 2011

Individual online learning courses and even entire online degree programs are increasingly a part of the mainstream in higher education. Steadily-improving online delivery systems and an emphasis on globalization have encouraged more and more higher education institutions to try to reach diverse learners around the world. In light of the growing population of learners from various cultural backgrounds engaged in online education, there is an urgent need to understand how culture affects online education. This chapter presents a review of the literature regarding cultural dimensions in online education, and draws implications from this literature for design and research in this area.
Challenges to Implementing E-Learning in Lesser Developed Countries
Authors: Olaniran Bolanle
Published: May 2011

The integration of communication technologies and the Internet has created an explosion in the use of e-learning both locally and globally. The beneficiaries of this new media integration are organizations at large, in both developed and lesser-developed countries. For instance, globalized organizations have been able to develop training programs that serve their needs. However, global e-learning raises some implications, which include communication, culture, and technology, that must be addressed before successful implementation and outcome can occur.
Theorizing a Multiple Cultures Instructional Design Model for E-Learning and E-Teaching
Authors: Henderson Lyn
Published: May 2011

This chapter demonstrates the inadequacy of multicultural and internationalization instructional design models as the solution for equitable outcomes in the learning, credentialing, and employment stakes in the 21st century. Internationalizing learning and teaching eclipsed multiculturalism as the acclaimed strategy when Western universities entice international non-English-speaking-background students to their campuses or offer degrees to such e-learning students who reside in their own countries. Global and Western businesses establishing niches in overseas countries also use the concept of internationalizing their e-learning materials for the cultural training of staff. In their place, a theoretical model of multiple cultures provides the rationale and strategies for creating and adapting e-learning resources for local, national, and international e-learning contexts.
E-Learning Localized
Authors: Lin Meng-Fen (Grace) , Lee Mimi Miyoung
Published: May 2011

The power of Internet provides unprecedented opportunities for learners to obtain diverse content and for educators to quickly distribute resources. In the increasing globalized learning environment, OpenCourseWare (OCW) is one of the recent movements to utilize the Internet in making educational materials freely available to the world. However, the fact that these materials are offered mainly in English poses challenges to the non-English speaking population in many parts of the world. In response to such concern in the Great China Region, a localization project called the Opensource OpenCourseWare Prototype System (OOPS) was born in Taiwan in February, 2004 (Lin & Chu, 2005). OOPS aims to break the language barrier and deliver the openly-accessible English educational materials to the Chinese-speaking audience in their native language. This chapter presents the detailed background and history of this project, and highlights three challenges that OOPS has faced in its early stage of development. They are: (1) access to materials, (2) issues about translation, and (3) complexity of intra-cultural communication. Based on the first author’s direct experience with the project, suggestions and implications for future research are also offered.
Pedagogy in Commercial Videos
Authors: Becker Katrin
Published: May 2011

Books, film, television, and indeed every other medium that came before them has been used and sometimes studied as media for the delivery of instruction. Outstanding examples of each medium have been applied to educative purposes with enduring results. Digital games are now also receiving attention in this context. A first step to gaining an understanding for just how a particular medium can be used in education is to study the outstanding examples, regardless of their original purpose. This chapter examines numerous well-known and commercially successful games through the lens of several known and accepted learning theories and styles, using the premise that “good” games already embody sound pedagogy in their designs even if the incorporation of those theories was not deliberate.
simSchool and the Conceptual Assessment Framework
Authors: Gibson David
Published: May 2011

simSchool is a game-based simulation developed with funding from the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3, 2003) program of the United States Department of Education. The simulation provides users with a training environment for developing skills such as lesson planning, differentiating instruction, classroom management, special education, and adapting teaching to multiple cognitive abilities. This chapter uses simSchool as an example to present and discuss an application of the Conceptual Assessment Framework (CAF) of (Almond, Steinberg, & Mislevy, 2002) as a general model for building assessments of what users learn through games and simulations. The CAF organizes the theories of teaching as well as the inferential frameworks in simSchool that are used to provide feedback to players about their levels of knowledge and abilities as teachers. The framework is generally relevant and useful for planning how to assess gains made by users while playing games or using simulations.
Designing Online Games Assessment as
Authors: Loh Christian Sebastian
Published: May 2011

Online retailers make successful use of sophisticated online tracking mechanisms to profile their customers in order to understand their buying habits. Online multiplayer games make use of similar technologies to keep track of gamers’ activities, for better management of in-game resources and to settle disputes. However, educators looking to online games as a learning tool lack a similarly powerful strategy to help them reconstruct users’ gaming decisions in order to understand the learners and make effective use of games as teaching/learning tool. Moreover, it is necessary to develop an assessment component for online games to measure its effectiveness, or the return of investment. This chapter outlined a strategy to design the much needed assessment into online games as “information trails.”
Invisibility and the Ethics of Digitalization
Authors: van der Velden M.
Published: May 2011

The diversity of knowledge is crucial for finding credible and sustainable alternatives for living together. Yet, a preoccupation with content and connectivity obscures the role of information technology by making invisible different ways of knowing and other logics and experiences. How do we deal with diversity and difference in information technology? In this chapter, two cases are explored in which dealing with difference is a particular political and ethical concern. The designs of Indymedia, an Internet-based alternative media network, and TAMI, an Aboriginal database, are informed by the confrontations over different ways of knowing. They translate difference without sacrificing diversity, providing clues for building credible and sustainable design alternatives that will not hurt others.
Privacy and Property in the Global Datasphere
Authors: Burk D. L.
Published: May 2011

Adoption of information technologies is dependent upon the availability of information to be channeled via such technologies. Although many cultural approaches to information control have been identified, two increasingly ubiquitous regimes are battling for dominance in the international arena. These may be termed the utilitarian and deontological approaches and may be identified roughly with the United States and the continental European tradition. Each approach has been aggressively promulgated by its respective proponent via international treaty regimes in the areas of privacy and intellectual property, to the virtual exclusion of other alternatives. Absent a drastic shift in international treaty dynamics, these dominant conceptions likely will curtail the development of alternate approaches that might otherwise emerge from local culture and tradition.
Interactions among Thai Culture, ICT, and IT Ethics
Authors: Bhattarakosol P.
Published: May 2011

Information is important to humans because without information, no task can be performed. Therefore, information and communication technology (ICT) was invented and implemented to serve the needs of people. This facility has both positive and negative impacts on Thai society. However, it is generally the information technology ethics of the user that determines the direction of use of the technology. This chapter presents the relations among Thai culture, ICT, and IT ethics, in which all impacts are considered and described. The discussion in this chapter indicates that there are various factors related to development of IT ethics, but the one main factor is family background. Thus, in order to increase the IT ethics of users in an ICT world, the proposed solution in this chapter is to create a strong family and instruct children in their religion. Although this method is long-term, the outcome is worth the wait.
We Cannot Eat Data
Authors: Paterson B.
Published: May 2011

Computer ethicists foresee that as information and communication technology (ICT) increasingly pervades more and more aspects of life, ethical issues increasingly will be computer-related. This view is underpinned by the assumption that progress is linear and inevitable. In accordance with this assumption, ICT is promoted as an essential component of development. This notion ignores the cultural origin of computing. Computer technology is a product of the Western worldview, and consequently, the computer revolution is experienced differently by people in different parts of the world. The computer revolution not only threatens to marginalize non-Western cultural traditions, but the Western way of life also has caused large-scale environmental damage. This chapter argues that computer ethics has to critically analyze the links between computing and its effects on cultural diversity and the natural environment and proposes that the Earth Charter can function as a framework for such holistic research.
Current and Future State of ICT Deployment and Utilization in Healthcare
Authors: Carsten Stahl B. , Rogerson S.
Published: May 2011

The ever-changing face of ICT can render its deployment rather problematic in sensitive areas of applications, such as healthcare. The ethical implications are multifaceted and have diverse degrees of sensitivity from culture to culture. Our essay attempts to shed light on these interplaying factors in a cross-cultural analysis that takes into account prospective ICT development.
Modeling Discourses
Authors: Iandoli Luca , Zollo Giuseppe
Published: May 2011

In this chapter we introduce the concept of verbal model. A verbal model is a mathematical modeling of the variables contained in a discourse and of the relationships among them. A discourse may contain linguistic variables, i.e., variables assuming linguistic values. For instance the variable “performance” can assume values such as poor, satisfying, above average, excellent, etc. Verbal models can accept linguistic inputs as well as quantitative variables and can be implemented starting from the discourse map through fuzzy logic algorithms. Such algorithms can simulate to a certain degree the theories of action contained in explanations. This chapter presents an introduction to fuzzy logic and to some possible ways of constructing verbal models, while we provide several examples in Chapters XIII and XIV.
Modeling Rules
Authors: Iandoli Luca , Zollo Giuseppe
Published: May 2011

In Chapter XII we outlined the basic structure of a verbal model and its main components: Judgments, rules and qualifiers. This chapter illustrates several approaches in representing the relationships among linguistic variables contained in a verbal model (rules). The description of the examples will skip technical details and it is mainly aimed at illustrating possible applications, finalities and advantages of verbal models.
Organizational Observers as Agents of Change
Authors: Iandoli Luca , Zollo Giuseppe
Published: May 2011

In this book we propose using verbal data such as discourses and speech as input for organizational analysis. One of the main differences between verbal data and traditional quantitative data is that the latter are objective whereas the former may give rise to multiple interpretations. In this chapter we deal with the issue of the reliability of discursive data and try to provide an answer to the following questions: How one can be sure the information contained in discourse has been correctly interpreted? Is there more than one admissible interpretation? When is an interpretation admissible? We show that in order to answer such questions the organizational analysts have to assume a mindset and research attitude that are rather different than the traditional objectivist point of view.
Information and Communication Technologies
Authors: Finger Glenn , McGlasson Maret , Finger Paul
Published: May 2011

Teaching and learning in the 21st century should be markedly different from earlier times through the design of new teaching and learning environments. Through the presentation of three models of technology-rich learning environments (teacher-directed, learner-centered and mediated), this chapter provides a case study of the design and delivery of a course called Learning with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) guided by a mediated learner approach, using new approaches to using ICTs and assessment for learning as key course design drivers. That course aims to prepare future teachers who demonstrate strong theoretical and practical understanding of designing and creating effective ICT teaching and learning experiences, and are confident and proficient users of ICTs. We provide an analysis of the implementation of that course through the presentation of the learning stories and reflections of students. Specific discussion is provided about the conceptualization and implementation of an e-portfolio approach to promote deep learning.
Instructional Designers on the Borderline
Authors: Keppell Michael J.
Published: May 2011

This chapter examines the unique role of instructional designers within the university setting, particularly when their knowledge is combined with leadership positions to broker across communities of practice. In their role as brokers, they coordinate multi-disciplinary projects and collaborations that foster connections across communities of practice, acting effectively as language translators. The instructional designer has an influential position in an organisation when they can utilise their multi-disciplinary perspective to create new possibilities for innovative design and professional development. This borderline position needs to be carefully managed as it is a precarious balance between being accepted as a change agent, and being ineffective. This chapter will outline a case study that examines the role of an instructional designer in influencing institutional change through the introduction of blended learning.
Instructional Design, Development, and Context Expertise
Authors: Gunn Cathy , Cavallari Beth
Published: May 2011

The work of instructional designers in the current higher educational context is part of a complex process that traverses a range of professional relationships and communities of practice. The requisite professional skills include the ability to operate and communicate effectively across these different professional cultures. The term “culture” is used in a novel way to reflect the “academic tribes” concept described in the literature, and to highlight the complexity of working relationships in teams that are often transitory. This chapter presents a model that situates the instructional designers’ role within the process of educational design and development. The model is derived from many years experience of managing development teams of different size and composition. Representative case studies provide evidence of its effectiveness across a range of projects and situations.
Delivering Online Expertise, Online
Authors: Quinton Stephen
Published: May 2011

This chapter describes two strategies for delivering educational design expertise and online professional development via the Internet. The issues and difficulties pertaining to the design and application of online staff development are examined in terms of the factors and needs that were observed during the implementation phases. The professional development initiative focuses on staff development Web sites which aim to inspire instructional design staff to understand the implicit teaching and learning goals used by lecturers and to assist lecturing staff to increase their awareness of instructional design methodologies. This approach allows participants engaged in online developments to share a common pool of understanding and expertise. The chapter concludes by identifying the potential advantages of the Web-based professional development strategies.
Intercultural Collaborative Project-Based Learning in Online Environments
Authors: Murphy Karen L. , Gazi Yakut , Cifuentes Lauren
Published: May 2011

The growth of online coursework has introduced challenges for learners, instructors, and course designers involved in culturally and linguistically diverse environments. Online learners face the challenges of a lack of visual cues and increased expectations for interaction and collaboration in ways that learners in conventional settings may not encounter. In online environments that include elements of globalization such as international learners, multicultural course content, and twinning projects between universities (Mason, 1998), intercultural communication issues introduce further complexities. This chapter addresses the question, “How can we overcome potential cultural discontinuities in online collaborative project-based learning environments?” We first identify differing worldviews, communication practices, and technological issues that can present barriers that frequently arise in intercultural online courses. We then identify constructivist project-based teaching strategies that reduce these intercultural barriers. Differing worldviews can be reconciled by fostering collaboration, grouping, relevance, and metacognition. Communication barriers can be minimized by attention to language and community building. Technological problems can be reduced by using asynchronous communication, simplifying online communication systems, and providing technical training and ongoing technical support. The chapter concludes with a model for a third, or polycentric culture that minimizes differences among individuals in terms of their worldviews, communication practices, and technological issues.
Interface Design for Web Learning
Authors: Uden Lorna
Published: May 2011

“Usability rules the Web!” (Nielsen, 2000). It is very easy to recommend that a Web-learning application should be usable, but it is often a difficult design objective to achieve. We believe that usability can be achieved by bringing the interface closer to the user’s way of thinking and working. It is important to design applications that are based on the mental models of users in order to achieve high usability. Designing high usability can be achieved by adopting user interface design models and an object-oriented approach. We have developed a methodology—the Web user object modelling (WUOM) method—to guide designers to develop Web learning applications that have high usability. This chapter describes the WUOM method to develop a Web application for learning circuits based on WUOM. Evaluation of the Web application shows that it has high usability.
Evaluating Flexible Learning in Terms of Course Quality
Authors: Collis Betty , Margaryan Anoush
Published: May 2011

Learning becomes more flexible when options are offered to learners, not only about the time and place and pace of learning, but also relating to types and origins of study materials, to forms and quantity of learning activities and assignments, to ways of interacting with others within the course, and to forms of assessment. De Boer (2004) has analyzed flexible course delivery within universities and found that the most flexibility is found in logistic aspects of the course such as flexibility in dates by which assignments must be submitted or flexibility in the location of course meetings, whereas pedagogical flexibility in which the learner can tailor aspects of the learning process itself is still relatively little seen. Within companies, flexible learning is often described as e-learning or blended learning. In an analysis of literature about flexible learning in companies, Margaryan and Bianco (2002) found that e-learning typically involves logistic flexibility at the price of pedagogy: little or no options are available for social interaction, a direct relationship with an instructor, or for choice in types of learning activities and ways of carrying out those activities.
Assessing Online Collaborative Learning
Authors: Harasim Linda
Published: May 2011

This chapter considers the unique opportunities for assessing online collaborative learning (OCL) in both formal (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and non-formal (workplace) education contexts. The chapter provides a theoretical framework, a methodology, and a set of tools for understanding and assessing online collaborative learning and conceptual change. Online collaborative learning (OCL), it is argued, provides hitherto unprecedented qualities for implementing, supporting, and assessing individual and group intellectual progress. The chapter focuses especially on the unique opportunities whereby instructors, educators, researchers, and students can analyze and assess learning (conceptual change) in OCL environments and applications: that is, online discussion that progresses from divergent (brainstorming) to convergent (conclusive statements) in such educational activities as group seminars, discussions, debates, case analyses, and/or team projects. Examples of OCL applications, such as the design of online student-led seminars, and ways to assess student moderators and student discussants, are included.
Enlivening the Promise of Education
Authors: Kaur K.
Published: May 2011

An important dimension in education is interaction, that is, the coming together of a number of people to discuss, debate, and deliberate about issues of common concern. In distance education, such social environments are as much present in online learning contexts as they are in face-to-face learning contexts such as tutorials. This chapter expands the notion of teacher student interaction to focus on integrating human computer interaction in the curriculum. This is done through the use of online discussion forums at Open University Malaysia that help build collaborative online communities using common principles of teaching and learning. Citing a recent case in point, this chapter demonstrates how the Open University Malaysia-Collaborative Online Learning Model for online interaction helped cultivate learner-centric virtual discussions and supported an interactive online community that showcased characteristics of social interdependence and instructional support. This chapter takes a social constructivist view of human computer interaction by proposing an instructional model supported by collaboration, guidance, interdependence, cognitive challenge, knowledge construction, and knowledge extension. The Introduction section of this chapter provides the rationale for human computer interaction and gives an overview of current-day perspectives on the online classroom. This is followed by a trenchant review of recent research on online interaction with a view to outlining the theoretical premise for the use of computers to develop thinking and collaborative or team skills. This section also provides a rationale for the use of online forums and gives a frame of reference for the role of the instructor in this enterprise. In the next section of this chapter, the Open University Malaysia-collaborative online learning model is described, with details on The Learning Context as well as Group Learning Outcomes, which may be seen as inherent parts of the model. Under the sub-section Knowledge Construction, the chapter carries a qualitative analysis of online interaction for one Open University Malaysia course using a comprehensive list of indigenous categories and sub-categories as well as examples of interactions that match each sub-category. The chapter ends with a Summary, a statement of Acknowledgement, a list of References, and an Appendix. The appendix contains the Task that was used for the course for which online interaction in this chapter was analyzed.
From Concept to Conference
Authors: Vatsky Sharon
Published: May 2011

This chapter discusses various points of view of the process of developing of a videoconferencing lesson that focuses on an architectural landmark, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The lesson was the result of collaboration among provider educators from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and three teachers. The project involved a working partnership that lasted a year and a half, culminating with the launch of the videoconference lesson. Information on establishing the goals, developing the program, and assessing outcomes are provided. This chapter includes input from the museum and from teachers at participating schools about the collaboration process and its value to participants.
The Impact of Multi-Media Videoconferencing on Children's Learning
Authors: Newman Dianna L.
Published: May 2011

The use of videoconferencing as a means of bringing external informal educators into the K-12 classroom is an area of increasing interest in the field of education. To date, however, few studies have documented the impact of the process on students’ cognitive and affective outcomes. This chapter presents findings from a series of studies that compared student outcomes for those who received technology-supported videoconferencing with those who did not receive videoconferencing. Findings indicate that students who participated in videoconferencing had higher scores on cognitive indicators, were more motivated to learn the material, and were more interested in learning about related topics.
Videoconferencing A New Literacy
Authors: Silverman Stan
Published: May 2011

With the advent of broadband telecommunications and affordable equipment, videoconferencing has emerged to replace expensive and elaborate distance learning systems that had been developed in the early 1980’s. Yet, as we enter the close of the first decade of the 21st century, videoconferencing has not fulfilled its potential. The following chapter describes and poses solutions to the issues of access, equity, student achievement, pedagogical strategies, and the integration of emerging communication and media technologies that if deployed can transform videoconferencing to become a high performance tool for teaching and learning. In addition, as we embrace the millennial generation with unique characteristics that distinguish it from generations that have gone before must acknowledge the global, diverse and politically charged world. As a result, there is also an urgency to deploy videoconferencing with its fullest capacities; this urgency is an embedded theme in the writings that follow.