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Gomana, Lindokuhle Gcina, and Kerry-Lynn Thomson. "Towards a framework for the integration of information security into undergraduate computing curricula." Thesis, Nelson Mandela University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13691.
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Information is an important and valuable asset, in both our everyday lives and in various organisations. Information is subject to numerous threats, these can originate internally or externally to the organisation and could be accidental, intentional or caused by natural disasters. As an important organisational asset, information should be appropriately protected from threats and threat agents regardless of their origin. Organisational employees are, however, often cited as the “weakest link” in the attempt to protect organisational information systems and related information assets. Additionally to this, employees are one of the biggest and closest threat-agents to an organisation’s information systems and its security. Upon graduating, computing (Computer Science, Information Systems and Information Technology) graduates typically become organisational employees. Within organisations, computing graduates often take on roles and responsibilities that involve designing, developing, implementing, upgrading and maintaining the information systems that store, process and transmit organisational information assets. It is, therefore, important that these computing graduates possess the necessary information security skills, knowledge and understanding that could enable them to perform their roles and responsibilities in a secure manner. These information security skills, knowledge and understanding can be acquired through information security education obtained through a qualification that is offered at a higher education institution. At many higher education institutions where information security is taught, it is taught as a single, isolated module at the fourth year level of study. The problem with this is that some computing students do not advance to this level and many of those that do, do not elect information security as a module. This means that these students may graduate and be employed by organisations lacking the necessary information security skills, knowledge and understanding to perform their roles and responsibilities securely. Consequently, this could increase the number of employees who are the “weakest link” in securing organisational information systems and related information assets. The ACM, as a key role player that provides educational guidelines for the development of computing curricula, recommends that information security should be pervasively integrated into computing curricula. However, these guidelines and recommendations do not provide sufficient guidance on “how” computing educators can pervasively integrate information security into their modules. Therefore, the problem identified by this research is that “currently, no generally used framework exists to aid the pervasive integration of information security into undergraduate computing curricula”. The primary research objective of this study, therefore, is to develop a framework to aid the pervasive integration of information security into undergraduate computing curricula. In order to meet this objective, secondary objectives were met, namely: To develop an understanding of the importance of information security; to determine the importance of information security education as it relates to undergraduate computing curricula; and to determine computing educators’ perspectives on information security education in a South African context. Various research methods were used to achieve this study’s research objectives. These research methods included a literature review which was used to define and provide an in-depth discussion relating to the domain in which this study is contained, namely: information security and information security education. Furthermore, a survey which took the form of semi-structured interviews supported by a questionnaire, was used to elicit computing educators’ perspectives on information security education in a South African context. Argumentation was used to argue towards the proposed framework to aid the pervasive integration of information security into undergraduate computing curricula. In addition, modelling techniques were used to model the proposed framework and scenarios were used to demonstrate how a computing department could implement the proposed framework. Finally, elite interviews supported by a questionnaire were conducted to validate the proposed framework. It is envisaged that the proposed framework could assist computing departments and undergraduate computing educators in the integration of information security into their curricula. Furthermore, the pervasive integration of information security into undergraduate computing curricula could ensure that computing graduates exit higher education institutions possessing the necessary information security skills, knowledge and understanding to enable them to perform their roles and responsibilities securely. It is hoped that this could enable computing graduates to become a stronger link in securing organisational information systems and related assets.
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Tatnall, Arthur, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "A curriculum history of business computing in Victorian Tertiary Institutions from 1960-1985." Deakin University, 1993. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20051201.145413.
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Fifty years ago there were no stored-program electronic computers in the world. Even thirty years ago a computer was something that few organisations could afford, and few people could use. Suddenly, in the 1960s and 70s, everything changed and computers began to become accessible. Today* the need for education in Business Computing is generally acknowledged, with each of Victoria's seven universities offering courses of this type. What happened to promote the extremely rapid adoption of such courses is the subject of this thesis.
I will argue that although Computer Science began in Australia's universities of the 1950s, courses in Business Computing commenced in the 1960s due to the requirement of the Commonwealth Government for computing professionals to fulfil its growing administrative needs. The Commonwealth developed Programmer-in-Training courses were later devolved to the new Colleges of Advanced Education. The movement of several key figures from the Commonwealth Public Service to take up positions in Victorian CAEs was significant, and the courses they subsequently developed became the model for many future courses in Business Computing. The reluctance of the universities to become involved in what they saw as little more than vocational training, opened the way for the CAEs to develop this curriculum area.
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Demenis, Tomas. "Nuotolinių studijų kurso Programavimas grafinėje terpėje reinžinerija." Master's thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2008. http://vddb.library.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2008~D_20080929_135454-94663.
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Šiame magistro darbe mes analizuojame nuotolinių studijų kurso bendrai ir mokymo medžiagos atskiromis kurso dalimis pertvarkymą. Reinžinerijos koncepcinis modelis yra įvairiai interpretuojamas ir yra taikomas programinės įrangos rengimo, ar vadybos moksluose. Tai yra daroma, kad sistemas būtų galima geriau panaudoti. Jos analizuojamos ir pertvarkomos tolimesniam naudojimui. Mes sujungiame minėtų sričių reižinerijos koncepto reikšmes ir naudojame tai kaip metodinį pagrindą nuotolinių studijų srityje. Mes analizuojame nuotolinių studijų kurso struktūrą. Tada pristatome kursus paruoštus ir naudojamus užsienio universitetuose, susijusius su ‘Programavimu grafinėje terpėje‘, trigubo pastovumo principu, Bloom taksonomija ir jos pritaikymu kompiuterijos mokslų studijavimui, informatikos mokymo programa 2001 (angl. computing curriculla 2001). Toliau, mes siūlome konceptualią nuotolinių studijų pertvarkos struktūrą iš dėstytojo perspektyvų ir pristatome atvejų analizę, kurioje pora temų yra pertvarkytos, atsižvelgiant į trigubo pastovumo principą ir reikalavimus kompiuterių mokslų studentams.<br>In this master thesis we analyse a problem of reengineering of a distance study system, in general, and the learning material of a separate course, in particular. Reengineering concept with its different interpretations is used in software engineering and management sciences. It deals with making systems better maintainable, examination and reconstitution of the system for further reimplementation. We combine the meaning of reengineering concept in both mentioned areas and employ it as methodological background in distance study area. We analyse the structure of the distance study course. Then we introduce the courses, prepared and delivered in foreign universities and related to ‘Programming in GUI’ course, triple consistency principle, Bloom taxonomy and its applicability to computer science studies, Computing Curricula 2001. Further, we propose a conceptual distance study course reengineering framework from the lecturer’s perspective and present a case study, in which two topics were reengineered, considering triple consistency principle and requirements for computer science students.
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Clark, Martyn. "Constructing the discipline of computing : implications for the curriculum." Thesis, University of Kent, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.411937.
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Nivens, Ryan Andrew. "Computing in STEM." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/239.
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Nivens, Ryan Andrew. "Avenues for Embedding Computing in STEM." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/2638.
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Faulkner, Xristine. "The impact of usability : integrating usability engineering into the computing curriculum." Thesis, London South Bank University, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.412420.
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Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability Engineering (UE) are areas of expertise that are still relatively new to computing and many HCI educationalists are still wrestling with methods of teaching in an effective way, a diverse and difficult subject. The teaching of HCI skills is not always undertaken by computing departments; it may be carried out by departments of psychology, ergonomics, business and perhaps even art based subject areas. This probably adds to the diversity of approaches adopted by HCI academics who attempt to fit in with the ethos of their hosting departments. In order to teach students to use effective HCI skills it is necessary to adopt somewhat diverse teaching strategies. The traditional lecture and laboratory based sessions do not lend themselves to providing a ripe environment for those wishing to develop expertise in the area of HCI and related fields. Interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a team are of prime importance to the development of suitable usability skills. Usability experts frequently comment that their interpersonal skills are used not just with users but with their colleagues as well. The Open Ended Group Project (OEGP) is one such way can be used to impart and develop skills which will be useful to the HCI student. The OEGP has no fixed solution and involves working in teams which can and should be multidisciplinary. This provides students with the opportunity to use their skills and the skills of others, and to develop their powers of communication. The OEGP has been used in education for many years but it is comparatively recently that computing education recognised how the OEGP could be adapted to its needs. Usability engineering is a term used to cover a variety of activities. However, a definition of the terms `usability', `usability evaluation' and `usability engineering' is presented here and it is suggested that used in these ways the terms are more useful and specific. This covering paper discusses the work carried out in the field of usability and the teaching of HCI and human factors related courses. It concludes that the teaching of HCI is not typical of the teaching for other computing subjects but that it can provide a rich source of expertise for computing students. It discusses the impact of the OEGP and looks at attempts to define usability engineering as a distinct activity from usability evaluation and usability.
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Flori, Katherine. "Using Computing Technology in an Interdisciplinary Theater Curriculum for Urban High School Seniors." NSUWorks, 2007. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/519.
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In response to the technology explosion and to poor student performance on standardized exams nationwide, new education standards are being created at the federal, state and local levels. Yet, with all these innovations and a renewed focus on high schools, students graduate under-prepared for the job market or for higher education. Moreover, they lack the motivation to make the most of their final year of high school. This dissatisfaction promotes a systemic disengagement that is exacerbated in the exit year, known as senioritis.
Fifty New York City high school seniors participated in a study to determine whether participation in a technology-infused, interdisciplinary program would encourage them to maintain their grades and attendance. The Experimental Group was comprised of 25 seniors involved in Art, Theater, Music, and Business classes. The Control Group was created from the remaining senior student body. A pool of Control Group students matching each Experimental Group participant in gender, academic average, and number of days absent was created. From each pool of matches, a Control Group participant was randomly selected.
The common goal of the Experimental Group was the successful production of a play. This team effort brought together students and teachers in all involved disciplines. Students in this skills driven, results-oriented environment developed the 21th Century workplace skills of collaboration, creativity and cross-disciplinary thinking. Further, they applied their existing software skills, learned new ones as the need presented itself, and employed the appropriate technology tool for the task at hand. At term's end, academic averages and attendance records of both groups were compared using the data from the last term of the junior year as a baseline. While both groups maintained their academic averages, the Experimental Group also maintained its attendance. There was no significant difference between the two terms in the number of days absent of the Experimental Group. However, the Control Group significantly increased the number of days absent as compared with the previous term. The data suggests that one remedy for senioritis is engaging seniors in a technology rich, authentic workplace environment that cultivates 21 $I Century workplace skills.
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Cady, Donna. "An Investigation of the Effects of The Integration of Computing Technology in a Science Curriculum on Female Students' Self-Efficacy Beliefs Toward Computing." NSUWorks, 2005. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/438.
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Literature indicates clear evidence that women are underrepresented in computer related fields of study and professions. This gender inequity can be attributed to women's lack of interest and participation in the use of technology (American Association of University Women, 2000). Since males and females display a similar interest in technology during their early school years, it is perplexing that such a large gender gap exists by high school (Oliveri, 2004). One of the major factors influencing technology acceptance is self-efficacy toward computing (Emurian, 2004).
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role that a computer-enhanced curriculum played in influencing female students' self-efficacy beliefs toward computing. Literature indicates that female students enjoy working on tasks that are interdisciplinary in nature. This is especially true with regards to technology (Margolis & Fisher, 2003). If the computer-enhanced curriculum is linked to other subject areas, it is more likely to be appealing to young women (Clark, 2003). Traditional computer courses are typically taught as an isolated curriculum. If female students can understand that technology can be used for more than just programming, they may be more apt to become actively involved and increase their self-efficacy beliefs.
The results of this study demonstrated that female students who participated in an integrated approach to computing had significantly higher self-efficacy beliefs toward computing than students who participated in a traditional computer class. The students using the integrated model of instruction became more engaged with technology. The female students in this group enjoyed learning about computers and developed confidence needed to complete technology tasks. The results of this study offer a possible solution for changing female students' decisions to enroll in computer courses.
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Nivens, Ryan A. "The Growing Role of Computing, Computer Science, and Computational Thinking in K-12." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/4738.
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Blomme, Paul. "A study of the models and trends in information science education and their implications for Tafe curriculum planning, computing lecturers and learners." Thesis, Curtin University, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1029.
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This chapter provides an introduction to two contrasting vocational course: the Associate Diploma in Applied Science (Computing) award, based on the content driven curriculum model and the first year Diploma of Information Technology award, based on the National Information Technology curriculum model. It develops the research questions pertaining to each model. It provides a full description of the present study and the adoption of a system approach in evaluating two contrasting curriculum models. Finally, this chapter justifies the study in terms of the significant impact the Information Technology has on society.Chapter Two reviews the literature on the theories from different disciplines and research findings in order to guide the present study. This eclectic section discusses theories related to Cognitive Science, Instructional Theories, Information Technology (IT) and Science Education, and Vocational Curriculum Models.Chapter Three describes the environment in which the content driven model has developed. It examines the historical changes and influences that have occurred in the Western Australian Technical and Further Education (WA TAFE) computing curriculum in terms of educational goals, content mix and profile, and assessments types. It investigates the relevance of the curriculum and the syllabi to meet the changing needs of industry; and assess the desirable and undesirable consequences of the content driven curriculum model.Chapter Four evaluates the effect of the content driven model. It examines the degree of satisfaction of the graduates with aspects of their Associate Diploma of Applied Science (Computing) courses in 1991/2/3 based on the NCVER study (1993), Dawe (1993) and Arrowsmith (1993/4) surveys. The results from each relevant question are provided, discussed and evaluated. This evaluation provides an in-depth view of graduates educational backgrounds prior to enrolment in the course, their satisfaction levels of teaching effectiveness and course organisation, present employment status, their preferences for further studies and their demographic profile.Chapter Five evaluates the current state of affairs under the new policy directions of the National Curriculum based on the CBT approach. Through classroom surveys, this chapter provides an evaluation of learners degree of satisfaction with aspects of their Advanced Certificate IV of the National IT Curriculum. For comparison purposes, these surveys also provide information on students educational backgrounds, level of satisfaction, their present employment status and preferences for further studies. It is most useful for curriculum planners, wanting to be cognisant in implement a CBT driven curriculum model.Chapter Six compares, evaluates and summarises the differences between the content and the CBT driven curriculum models. This chapter pays particular attention to the shifting of graduates and students satisfaction levels with their two different courses and the effects of moving from a content to a CBT driven curriculum model. It examines the changes in learners satisfaction levels and explains the reasons of patterns of changes, given that learners educational backgrounds, teachers effectiveness and other factors have remained constant over the last five years. This comparison is useful for curriculum planners, computing lecturers and employers as it makes them aware of the strength and weaknesses of these two contrasting curriculum models.Chapter Seven answers the question of the effectiveness of these two contrasting models. This has considerable implication for curriculum planners, computing lecturers and employers in terms of the ability of students to transfer skills and adapt to the rapidly changing IT environment. This study cannot predict the future, however, it makes long and short term recommendations for the sector based on historical evidence, research findings from the literature, surveys and interviews.
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Angermund, Malin. "The Computing Curriculum : En textanalys av rekommendationer för implementeringen av den nya läroplanen i England 2014." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och utbildningsstudier, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-364029.
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Sammanfattning Denna studie syftar till att problematisera och diskutera argument som ligger till grund för läroplansförändringar. I följande studie studeras rekommendationer som låg till grund för implementeringen av den nya läroplanen i England 2014, ”The computing curriculum”, då man önskade marknadsanpassa undervisningen inom digital teknik (digitalisering). Studien görs genom en kvalitativ textanalys av två rapporter skrivna 2011–2012. Rapporterna som analyserats är “Next Gen. Transforming the UK into the world’s leading talent hub for the video games and visual effects industries” samt “Shut down or restart? The way forward for computing in UK schools”. För att uppnå syftet har följande frågeställningar formulerats: På vilka nivåer i skolsystemet läggs ansvaret i rekommendationerna? Finns det förslag på arbetsfördelning eller ekonomiska förutsättningar för att rekommendationerna skall kunna utföras? Resultatet som framkommit av analysen är att totalt 7 av de 21 analyserade rekommendationerna utgår från formuleringsarenan, 12 från transformeringsarenan och 2 från realiseringsarenan. I diskussionsdelen framkommer också att det i dessa rekommendationer finns förslag på arbetsfördelning och ekonomiska förutsättningar för att rekommendationerna skall kunna utföras.
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Blomme, Paul. "A study of the models and trends in information science education and their implications for Tafe curriculum planning, computing lecturers and learners." Curtin University of Technology, Science and Mathematics Education Centre, 1997. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=12112.
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This chapter provides an introduction to two contrasting vocational course: the Associate Diploma in Applied Science (Computing) award, based on the content driven curriculum model and the first year Diploma of Information Technology award, based on the National Information Technology curriculum model. It develops the research questions pertaining to each model. It provides a full description of the present study and the adoption of a system approach in evaluating two contrasting curriculum models. Finally, this chapter justifies the study in terms of the significant impact the Information Technology has on society.Chapter Two reviews the literature on the theories from different disciplines and research findings in order to guide the present study. This eclectic section discusses theories related to Cognitive Science, Instructional Theories, Information Technology (IT) and Science Education, and Vocational Curriculum Models.Chapter Three describes the environment in which the content driven model has developed. It examines the historical changes and influences that have occurred in the Western Australian Technical and Further Education (WA TAFE) computing curriculum in terms of educational goals, content mix and profile, and assessments types. It investigates the relevance of the curriculum and the syllabi to meet the changing needs of industry; and assess the desirable and undesirable consequences of the content driven curriculum model.Chapter Four evaluates the effect of the content driven model. It examines the degree of satisfaction of the graduates with aspects of their Associate Diploma of Applied Science (Computing) courses in 1991/2/3 based on the NCVER study (1993), Dawe (1993) and Arrowsmith (1993/4) surveys. The results from each relevant question are provided, discussed and evaluated. This evaluation provides an in-depth view of graduates educational ++<br>backgrounds prior to enrolment in the course, their satisfaction levels of teaching effectiveness and course organisation, present employment status, their preferences for further studies and their demographic profile.Chapter Five evaluates the current state of affairs under the new policy directions of the National Curriculum based on the CBT approach. Through classroom surveys, this chapter provides an evaluation of learners degree of satisfaction with aspects of their Advanced Certificate IV of the National IT Curriculum. For comparison purposes, these surveys also provide information on students educational backgrounds, level of satisfaction, their present employment status and preferences for further studies. It is most useful for curriculum planners, wanting to be cognisant in implement a CBT driven curriculum model.Chapter Six compares, evaluates and summarises the differences between the content and the CBT driven curriculum models. This chapter pays particular attention to the shifting of graduates and students satisfaction levels with their two different courses and the effects of moving from a content to a CBT driven curriculum model. It examines the changes in learners satisfaction levels and explains the reasons of patterns of changes, given that learners educational backgrounds, teachers effectiveness and other factors have remained constant over the last five years. This comparison is useful for curriculum planners, computing lecturers and employers as it makes them aware of the strength and weaknesses of these two contrasting curriculum models.Chapter Seven answers the question of the effectiveness of these two contrasting models. This has considerable implication for curriculum planners, computing lecturers and employers in terms of the ability of students to transfer skills and adapt to the rapidly changing IT environment. This study cannot predict ++<br>the future, however, it makes long and short term recommendations for the sector based on historical evidence, research findings from the literature, surveys and interviews.
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Baker, Diana Clare. "Teachers' encounters with major disciplinary and curriculum change : a theoretical framework in the context of ICT and computing." Thesis, Durham University, 2017. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12434/.
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The impact of teachers’ beliefs on effective curriculum change implementation is widely recognised. This study identifies the factors affecting the change process; developing and presenting a theoretical model of the process of curriculum change precipitated by disciplinary shift as perceived by the teachers experiencing the transformation. It was carried out in the context of, arguably the most significant disciplinary shift in the last two decades of the English National Curriculum: the movement from ICT to Computing. The research was founded on the views, beliefs and experiences of existing ICT teachers as they ‘lived through’ the planning and implementation of the new curriculum. The research followed an inductive interpretive approach to expose a theoretical model grounded in this data. This grounded research methodology is original in both its emphasis and context. The model that emerges identifies that teachers’ beliefs act to form their enacted support of the new curriculum that manifested itself in a number of ways. The teachers’ beliefs that drive their enacted support form a complex interrelationship that involves’ their beliefs, regarding the nature of IT education and student ability; their perceptions of how the curriculum change would personally affect them and their stated support of the new curriculum. Each of these aspects has a number of intervening influences meaning that for each individual teacher there were both positive and negative forces acting on each. As the emergent model identifies how teachers respond to curriculum change the conclusions of this research have consequences for both teachers, and school leaders and policy makers. Additionally, in presenting existing ICT teachers’ beliefs regarding IT education, and how these were formed through their biographies and how they have influenced said teachers’ responses to the new curriculum this study establishes new knowledge and understanding of subject specialist teachers and their beliefs, in both ICT and other disciplinary areas.
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Rolandsson, Lennart. "Programmed or Not : A study about programming teachers’ beliefs and intentions in relation to curriculum." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Teknikdidaktik, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-160724.
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In the intersection of technology, curriculum and intentions, a specific issue of interest is found in the gap between teachers’ intentions and implementations of curriculum. Instead of approaching curriculum and technology as something fait accompli, teachers are considered crucial in the re-discovery of what and how to teach. The thesis depicts the mind-set of teachers and their beliefs in relation to computing curriculum. Three perspectives are covered in the thesis. Based on original documents and interviews with curriculum developers, the enactment of the computing/programming curriculum during the 1970s and 1980s is explored (Paper 1). This historical perspective is supplemented with a perspective from the present day where current teaching practice is explored through teachers’ statements (seminars with associated questionnaires) regarding their beliefs about teaching and learning programming(Paper 2). Finally with a view from a theoretical perspective, teachers’perception of instruction is discussed in relation to a theoretical framework where their intentions in relation to theoretical and practical aspects of knowledge are revealed (Papers 3 & 4). The initial incitement to offer computing education during the 1970s was discovered in the recruitment of a broader group of students within the Natural Science Programme and the perception that it would contribute to the development of students’ ability to think logically and learn problem solving skills. Data concerning teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning programming unravels an instructional dependence among today’s teachers where students’ logical and analytical abilities (even before the courses start) are considered crucial to students’ learning, while teachers question the importance of their pedagogy. The thesis also discover two types of instruction; a large group putting emphasis on the syntax of programming languages, and a smaller group putting emphasis on the students’ experiences of learning concepts of computer science (not necessarily to do with syntax). In summary the thesis depicts an instructional tradition based on teachers’ beliefs where the historical development of the subject sets the framework for the teaching. Directly and indirectly the historical development and related traditions govern what programming teachers in upper secondary school will/are able to present to their students. From deploying two theoretical approaches, phenomenography and logic of events, upon teacher’s cases it is shown that the intended object of learning (iOoL) is shaped by the teacher’s intentions (e.g., balancing the importance oftheory and practice, using different learning strategies, encouraging learning by trial-and-error and fostering collaboration between students for a deeper understanding). The teachers also present a diverse picture regarding what theoretical knowledge students will reach for.<br><p>QC 20150227</p>
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Woollard, William John. "The rôle of metaphor in the teaching of computing : towards a taxonomy of pedagogic content knowledge." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2004. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/11227/.
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The teaching of computing, like all subjects, requires a range of strategies to take the curriculum content (skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes) and put it in a form that is more easily digested by learners. Metaphor has a particular rôle in the world of computing in that: it is embedded in the design of computer hardware and software; it is part of human computer interface and it underpins important facilities such as icons, pointer actions and window displays. It is proposed that metaphor plays an important rôle in the pedagogic content knowledge (PCK) of computing teachers. The research adopts a grounded theory approach using text analysis software to record and process a range of documents, statements, interview transcripts and text book analyses. The study is underpinned by consideration of pedagogic content knowledge. The major data source are reflections and reports of experienced and successful computer teachers working at post-16 level (grades 12-13) in 20 south-of-England schools and colleges. It is proposed that metaphor usage can be divided into many distinct forms. The most easily recognised metaphor is the narrative theme where an object, function or system is described in the clothes of another, more familiar object, function or system. The other approaches with a metaphoric nature identified are algorithm, model, rôle play and diagram. In contrast to metaphoric, it has been identified that approaches are also based upon literal teaching. The outcomes of the research reveal a new perspective upon the pedagogic content knowledge with respect to the teaching of computing in post-compulsory education. A model of approaches that identifies the key areas and emphasises the rôle metaphor plays in both the teaching strategies and the subject knowledge of computing, is presented. Different practices are described, compared and presented in a form that will help practising and pre-service teachers identify their own preferred approach or approaches. Future research is proposed to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of particular metaphoric strategies. In particular, the rôle non-literal teaching approaches can make in enabling younger pupils to understand the principles of computing and how non-literal approaches can be used to ensure students are more motivated in their studies will be made.
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Hewner, Michael. "Student conceptions about the field of computer science." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/45890.
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Computer Science is a complex field, and even experts do not always agree how the field should be defined. Though a moderate amount is known about how precollege students think about the field of CS, less is known about how CS majors' conceptions of the field develop during the undergraduate curriculum. Given the difficulty of understanding CS, how do students make educational decisions like what electives or specializations to pursue?
This work presents a theory of student conceptions of CS, based on 37 interviews with students and student advisers and analyzed with a grounded theory approach. Students tend to have one of three main views about CS: CS as an academic discipline focused on the mathematical study of algorithms, CS as mostly about programming but also incorporating supporting subfields, and CS as a broad discipline with many different (programming and non-programming) subfields. I have also developed and piloted a survey instrument to determine how prevalent each kind of conception is in the undergraduate population.
I also present a theory of student educational decisions in CS. Students do not usually have specific educational goals in CS and instead take an exploratory approach to their classes. Particularly enjoyable or unenjoyable classes cause them to narrow their educational focus. As a result, students do not reason very deeply about the CS content of their classes when they make educational decisions.
This work makes three main contributions: the theory of student conceptions, the theory of student educational decisions, and the preliminary survey instrument for evaluating student conceptions. This work has applications in CS curriculum design as well as for future research in the CS education community.
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Mammadov, Samir. "Factors impacting the integration of one-to-one computing initiative into learning and teaching in Azerbaijan." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/23576.
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During recent decades the educational community around the world has witnessed an increasing interest in programmes aiming at providing teachers as well as learners of all ages with direct access to personal computing devices and the vast amount of information such provision enables. These types of programmes are known as “one-to- one computing”, a term that indicates a very widespread distribution of computers in educational settings. Research into such patterns of provision has accordingly become a priority. Understandably, the realities of one-to-one programme implementation vary considerably across the nations, since cultural setting, educational system, customs of technology use and teachers’ experiences are all significant aspects that influence the process. However, there can be certain commonalities across all these aspects in countries whose educational systems have a largely shared history, as is the case in the former Soviet Union states. Azerbaijan’s experience in the field, as one of the countries with a post-soviet educational system going through curriculum reforms, was very attractive for a comprehensive study with the primary focus on identifying the factors influencing the infusion of one-to-one computing into learning and teaching. The research question developed for this study was: “What factors influence the integration of one-to-one computing into teaching and learning?” Qualitative research methods were used to gather data at three purposively selected schools, two in the capital city of Baku and one in a provincial town. The research data were collected by conducting classroom observations, interviews and focus group discussions with main stakeholders of the programme allowing for investigation of students’, teachers’ and parents’ experiences throughout the implementation process. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach the gathered data were analyzed in two major stages: the first one employed the ‘helicopter view’ approach to attain a preliminary picture, followed by the process of coding, memo-writing and analysis. The second stage of the analysis resulted in a thematic summary into teacher, student and classroom-dynamics-related categories. The findings revealed that the students were the most enthusiastic about the changes brought to the learning process with the introduction of the lightweight, small and inexpensive devices, commonly known as netbooks. The students improved their technological skills and knowledge and applied these skills in acquiring domain knowledge. By providing students with netbooks, the one-to-one programme introduced anytime, anywhere, and individualized learning opportunities. The study also revealed that the introduction of netbooks was leading to students developing collaborative learning skills. In addition, the study found that most of the teachers were developing new teaching methods to continue the programme implementation. They invested extra time and worked hard, notwithstanding the lack of guidelines both on the integration of technology with pedagogy and on meeting newly-set National Curriculum standards. Some teachers overcame the technological challenges that arose along the way eagerly, while others used them as an excuse to discontinue the programme implementation. The parents’ opinions varied considerably, some of them supported the innovation, while others considered the frequent usage of technology excessive, unnecessary and potentially damaging to their children’s health. The latter group of parents expected their children to be taught similarly to them, with a primary focus on the development of handwriting and speaking skills as well as the habits of reading printed books. The research has identified eight major factors influencing the integration of one-to-one computing into teaching and learning: embedding ICT in the curriculum, fostering of exploratory learning, student satisfaction, new learning practices, professional development, school leadership support, teacher beliefs and parental support. Most importantly, the findings have revealed the importance of addressing teacher professional development in terms of integrating technology with pedagogy and meeting curriculum standards through technology-infused teaching methods. These factors indicate the improvements needed for successful programme implementation. It is hoped that the results can be adopted by educational leaders to inform their decisions on one-to-one programmes, thereby contributing to successful integration.
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Dickerson, Jeremy. "Analysis of Computing Skills and Differences Between Demographic Groups: A Basis for Curriculum Development in Computer Technology Courses at UNC-Wilmington." NCSU, 2005. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-06292005-102215/.
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This study examined the entry-level computing skills of undergraduate education majors at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington during the Spring 2005 semester. This study also compared groups based on demographic categories to investigate if certain demographics were predictors of specific skills competency. This study utilized a representative convenience sample of 186 participants. The participants were pre-tested for their ability to complete 60 computer skills in the Microsoft Office Suite using an online performance test called Skills Assessment Manager by Thomson Course Technology. The data was analyzed as a whole group performance using descriptive statistics and analyzed for analysis between demographic groups using a non-parametric statistic test (the Mann Whitney U Test). The results yielded data that informed the researcher of the skills of the participants prior to taking a mandatory computer skills course. As a result, it was found that a large portion of students were able to do many of the skills before taking the mandatory skills course. It was also found that demographics were not a reliable predictor of computer skills. This study provided data that helped to inform the faculty at UNC-W that the curriculum for the computer skills course needed to be changed based on entry skills of students to reflect the abilities of students in 2005.
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Machado, Marcelo de Oliveira Costa. "Geração de sequências curriculares adaptativas baseada no perfil dos alunos e materiais didáticos utilizando o algoritmo Presa-Predador." Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), 2018. https://repositorio.ufjf.br/jspui/handle/ufjf/6726.
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Previous issue date: 2018-03-26<br>CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior<br>O e-Learning é a representação tecnológica da Educação a Distância, sendo uma al-ternativa que as pessoas têm encontrado para adquirir conhecimento acadêmico ou extra-curricular. Os usuários desses sistemas podem acessar os conteúdos a qualquer momento e lugar, bastando possuir um dispositivo computacional com acesso à Internet. Todavia, para que essa tecnologia seja ainda mais utilizada, não somente como um complemento, mas também como uma alternativa primária, é necessário tratar diversos desafios da área. O foco das principais tecnologias baseadas na melhoria da educação, por muitos anos, tem sido a transferência de informação baseada na figura central de um professor. Esse aspecto, em conjunto a omissões relevantes, tais como a contextualização da experiência de aprendizagem de acordo com o perfil do aluno, são considerados os principais obstá-culos na adoção do e-Learning. Nesse contexto, um dos desafios mais interessantes nessa área é a seleção de uma sequência de materiais didáticos que considere as características do aluno no momento da entrega de conteúdo didático — Sequência Curricular Adaptativa (SCA). A geração da SCA é considerada um problema da classe NP-Difícil estimulando a utilização de metaheurísticas, particularmente de abordagens de Computação Evoluci-onista, na solução do problema. O presente trabalho propõe uma solução para geração de uma SCA que considere as informações intrínsecas e extrínsecas do aluno. O Algoritmo Presa-Predador foi escolhido para o problema mostrando-se adequado. Os resultados da solução proposta, se deram a partir de experimentos com uma turma real de alunos e mostram que a adaptação proposta, além de conseguir selecionar materiais didáticos que atendam aos objetivos de aprendizagem do aluno, interfere positivamente na qualidade do entendimento dos conceitos. Ademais, o grupo de alunos que recebeu a SCA a par-tir da proposta apresentou menor desistência, sugerindo um fator motivacional. Ainda como contribuição do trabalho, foi gerada uma base de materiais didático que poderá ser utilizada em experimentos futuros, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento da área.<br>e-Learning is the technological representation of Distance Education, being an alterna-tive that people have found to acquire academic or extracurricular knowledge. The users of these systems can access the contents anytime, anywhere simply by having a computer device with Internet access. However, for this technology to be even more used, not only as a complement, but also as a primary alternative, it is necessary to address several challenges. The focus of the main technologies based on the improvement of education, for many years, has been the transfer of information based on the central figure of a tea-cher. This aspect, together with relevant omissions, such as the contextualization of the learning experience according to the student profile, are considered the main obstacles in e-Learning adoption. One of the most interesting challenges in this field is the selection of the sequence of learning resources that considers learners characteristics at the content delivery time - Adaptive Curriculum Sequence (ACS). The ACS generation is considered a NP-Hard problem, stimulating the use of metaheuristics, particularly of Evolutionary Computing approaches. The present work proposes a solution to generate an ACS that considers the intrinsic and extrinsic information of the learner. The Prey-Predator Al-gorithm was chosen for the problem and it have been proved suitable. The proposed solution results were based on a real learning enviroment (with real learners) and show that the proposed adaptation, besides being able to select learning resources that meet the learners learning goals, positively affects the quality of understanding. Besides, the group of students who received the ACS from the proposal presents less dropout, sugges-ting a motivational factor. In addtion, the database of learning resouces was generated which may be used in future experiments, contributing to the development of this field of research.
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Evans, Robert. "Integrating Security into the Undergraduate Software Engineering Curriculum." UNF Digital Commons, 2015. http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/600.
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This research included a thorough examination of the existing software assurance or what is commonly called software security knowledge, methodologies and what information security technologies is currently being recommended by the information technology community. Finally it is demonstrated how this security knowledge could be incorporated into the curriculum for undergraduate software engineering.
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Stefanidis, Angelos. "Undergraduate information systems in the UK : analysing curriculum skills and industry needs." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2014. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/14267.
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In recent years there have been repeated calls for universities to better equip students with skills which are relevant to business and industry. The field of Information Systems (IS), along with the wider discipline of computing, has often been described as outdated, slow to adopt new technologies and unable to keep up with the fast pace of change of the real world . Exacerbating the issue of academic relevance in relation to industry needs, universities around the world have experienced a growing disinterest in the study of IS and computing, resulting in worryingly low levels of new graduates who do not meet industry demands. To understand the contentious relationship between academia and business in relation to IS, the research presented in this thesis investigates the current IS undergraduate provision in the UK and its alignment with the skill requirements of the IS industry. This is achieved through a two-stage approach of examining the position and expectations of each stakeholder, followed by the development of a method to facilitate the alignment of their inter-related needs. As part of the first stage, the investigation into the academic stakeholder undertakes a holistic analysis of IS curriculum to quantify its content. This leads to the identification of original Career Tracks which specify the IS careers promoted by the curriculum. The second stage involves the investigation of the business stakeholder measuring the careers in demand and the skills that support them. The resulting findings from these investigations show that it is possible to determine the skills required by IS graduates in the UK to meet the demands of industry. This is achieved through the use of a newly developed IS Course Survey Framework that enables the configuration of IS courses to align to specific career tracks, thus mapping directly to the needs of industry as expressed through their job requirements and associated skills demand.
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Hidson, Elizabeth Frances. "Challenges to pedagogical content knowledge in lesson planning during curriculum transition : a multiple case study of teachers of ICT and Computing in England." Thesis, Durham University, 2018. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12623/.
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In September 2014 the new National Curriculum programmes of study for Computing became mandatory in England, replacing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a school subject and introducing Computer Science into schools. This posed a challenge for in-service ICT teachers without Computer Science subject knowledge: teachers needed to develop both subject and pedagogical knowledge to make the transition from teaching ICT to teaching Computing. This multiple case study explores teachers’ perceptions of the curriculum change and how they have responded in practical and pedagogical terms to planning lessons aligning with the new programmes of study. Nine teachers participated, each of whom had been teaching ICT pre-2014. The study used semi-structured interview questions while teachers engaged in lesson-planning activities, captured mostly using desktop-sharing via internet telephony. A modified version of Shulman’s pedagogical reasoning framework and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) facilitated analysis of teachers’ pedagogic practices in lesson planning. The study shows teachers’ concerns about the lack of clarity surrounding the curriculum change, and the lack of access to suitable professional development (CPD). Most highlighted the primacy of programming and Computer Science at the expense of Information Technology and Digital Literacy, the other two strands of the new curriculum. The study also shows the dynamic nature of lesson planning. Knowledge deficits slowed down the fluency of teachers’ lesson-planning processes, but the use of lesson materials created by others helped them to develop PCK. The term transitional pedagogical reasoning has been used to describe the process by which unfamiliar but necessary concepts are assimilated into the pedagogical reasoning process while the teacher develops sufficient subject knowledge and PCK. Recommendations have been made for Computing curriculum policies to recognise and promote Computing pedagogy. This understanding should underpin initial teacher education in Computing, CPD for in-service teachers, and strategic development of the subject in the longer term.
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Royal, Joy. "Are They Ready? a Multi-case Study of Traditional and Innovative Texas Teacher’s Perceptions of 21St Century Skills in Teaching and Learning." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2012. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc115150/.
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The 21st century is now in the second decade and the need for 21st century skills is discussed at all levels of education as necessary for student success in the future. Federal, state, and districts are addressing this need and have written technology plans to address 21st century skills needed. the purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the knowledge of 21st century educational technology. the data includes seven recorded interviews from two separate research projects covering two models of education as teachers discuss teaching, learning, and technology. the data studied determines how educational technology perceived in the school environments has been integrated into the classrooms. the initial scripting of video interviews from two research projects began the analysis of data. Particular themes emerged in response to questions established by the two separate research projects focused on classroom, school, and district environmental arrangements that examined; teaching responsibilities and practices; student learning opportunities; and how technology is woven throughout instruction. Further exploration of themes stemmed from analysis conducted with the qualitative software program, NVivo 9. the themes discussed in this paper relate to instructor perceptions of teaching, learning, classroom procedures, and the role technology plays in each. Also noted are the factors beyond the teacher’s responsibility and set rules that include the school environment, district expectations, and supported teaching strategies for the schools. the teachers expressed their view that technology is an important support for learning and that they used technology to accomplish many of the tasks related to supporting teaching and learning. As perceived by the teachers, a major component that surfaced as a result of the analysis was children’s technology use was most drastically influenced by the expectations of the instructional leader to develop and the need to foster 21st century learning strategies such as critical thinking skills, self-assessment, and problem solving. Therefore, the school environment and expectations of the administrative level of management in the school systems, made the most impact on the learning opportunities the students were afforded where technology was an appropriate tool for learning.
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Kimball, Jeffrey. "Motivations of Students in the Open-Ended Use of Mobile Computing in Lecture-Based Classrooms." NSUWorks, 2015. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/366.
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While research supports the integration of mobile computing into instruction, there is disagreement concerning the unstructured use of mobile devices in lecture-based college classrooms. Research supports the argument that unstructured use creates distraction and decreased academic performance. Research also suggests that unstructured use actually supports lecture instruction through personalized learning situations. In either case, the motivations of students to use mobile device is often unclear. This study sought to investigate the motivations for students’ acceptance of mobile devices. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was utilized to identify the factors leading to college students’ adoption of mobile devices. A survey based on UTAUT was distributed to 254 college students in six distinct lecture-based general education courses. The results revealed that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, and Social Influence were positively correlated with Behavioral Intention for class-related behavior, with Performance Expectancy being the most significant. None of the constructs were significant for behavior unrelated to lecture. Analysis of the students’ intention based on the UTAUT moderators of age, gender, and experience did not produce any significant difference, nor did an analysis of the classes by subject. The study concludes that the ability of a mobile device to complete specific tasks was the strongest motivating factor leading to intention.
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Van, Rensburg Gail Janse. "The development of a modularised curriculum for computer competency courses for technikon learners / Gail Janse van Rensburg." Thesis, Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/516.
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This study investigated the implications that the scheduling of a block module for a
computer competency course over two weeks, has had on the curriculum. The block
module was presented at the start of the first semester, 2001 at the Vaal Triangle
Technikon. The objectives were to:
develop a flexible, outcomes-based curriculum in which the learners had to
demonstrate capability and employability by integrating computer competencies
in other modules;
design and implement an effective learning and teaching strategy in order to
ensure that learners will achieve the learning outcomes within two weeks; and to . implement continuous, integrative assessment methods in order to foster the
learning of hands-on skills that can be integrated in the learners' academic
programmes.
The researcher followed an action research approach, in order to assess the
improvement of current educational practices. A target group of first-year learners
was divided into a block module-group and a semester-group. The researcher made
use of data triangulation, by collecting qualitative and quantitative data comprising
structured interviews and open-ended and structured questionnaires completed at
different stages of the project.
This research report comprises three articles. The first article reports on the high
success rate of the block module-group and reveal that these learners could retain.
and utilise the computer competencies that they had to utilise for completing
assignments, to a larger degree than the semester-group.
The second article reports that experiential learning, as an outcomes-based strategy,
fosters learning in accelerated learning contexts.
The third article concludes that the continuous integrative approach to assessment
fosters w-operation, feedback through self-assessment and the ability of learners to
apply computer competencies in new situations.
It is recommended that lecturers in all the associated departments should
collaboratively assign and assess tasks in progressive advanced modules. It
concludes that, in order to utilise resources optimally when scheduling block
modules, ail associated departments would have to be fully modularised.<br>Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003.
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Donley, Kevin Scott. "Coding in the Curriculum: Learning Computational Practices and Concepts, Creative Problem Solving Skills, and Academic Content in Ten to Fourteen-Year-Old Children." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2018. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/514678.
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Educational Psychology<br>Ph.D.<br>The fundamentals of computer science are increasingly important to consider as critical educational and occupational competencies, as evidenced by the rapid growth of computing capabilities and the proliferation of the Internet in the 21st century, combined with reimagined national education standards. Despite this technological and social transformation, the general education environment has yet to embrace widespread incorporation of computational concepts within traditional curricular content and instruction. Researchers have posited that exercises in computational thinking can result in gains in other academic areas (Baytak & Land, 2011; Olive, 1991), but their studies aimed at identifying any measurable educational benefits of teaching computational concepts to school age children have often lacked both sufficient experimental control and inclusion of psychometrically sound measures of cognitive abilities and academic achievement (Calao, Moreno-León, Correa, & Robles, 2015). The current study attempted to shed new light on the question of whether using a graphically-based computer coding environment and semi-structured curriculum –the Creative Computing Course in the Scratch programming language –can lead to demonstrable and significant changes in problem solving, creative thinking, and knowledge of computer programming concepts. The study introduced 24 youth in a summer educational program in Philadelphia, PA to the Scratch programming environment through structured lessons and open-ended projects for approximately 25 hours over the course of two weeks. A delayed treatment, control trial design was utilized to measure problem solving ability with a modified version of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Fourth Edition (WJ-IV), Concept Formation subtest, and the Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement, Third Edition (KTEA-3) Math Concepts and Applications subtest. Creative problem solving was measured using a consensual assessment technique (Amabile, 1982). A pre-test and post-test of programming conceptual knowledge was used to understand how participants’ computational thinking skills influenced their learning. In addition, two questionnaires measuring computer use and the Type-T (Thrill) personality characteristic were given to participants to examine the relationship between risk-taking or differences in children’s usage of computing devices and their problem solving ability and creative thinking skills. There were no differences found among experimental and control groups on problem solving or creative thinking, although a substantial number of factors limited and qualified interpretation of the results. There was also no relationship between performance on a pre-test of computational thinking, and a post-test measuring specific computational thinking skills and curricular content. There were, however, significant, moderate to strong correlations among academic achievement as measured by state standardized test scores, the KTEA-3 Math Concepts and Applications subtest, and both the pre and post Creative Problem Solving test developed for the study. Also, higher levels of the Type T, or thrill-seeking, personality characteristic were associated with lower behavioral reinforcement token computer “chips," but there were no significant relationships among computer use and performance on assessments. The results of the current study supported retention of the null hypothesis, but were limited by small sample size, environmental and motivational issues, and problems with the implementation of the curriculum and selected measures. The results should, therefore, not be taken as conclusive evidence to support the notion that computer programming activities have no impact in other areas of cognitive functioning, mathematic conceptual knowledge, or creative thinking. Instead, the results may help future researchers to further refine their techniques to both deliver effective instruction in the Scratch programming environment, and also target assessments to more accurately measure learning.<br>Temple University--Theses
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Jakupovic, Jasmin. "Educated to Learn : How to enhance the education of computer science and informatics." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, JTH. Forskningsmiljö Datavetenskap och informatik, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-31902.
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The very nature of computer science with its constant changes forces those who wish to follow to adapt and react quickly. Large companies invest in being up to date in order to generate revenue and stay active on the market. Universities, on the other hand, need to imply same practices of staying up to date with industry needs in order to produce industry ready engineers. By interviewing former students, now engineers in the industry, and current university staff this thesis aims to learn if there is space for enhancing the education through different lecturing approaches and/or curriculum adaptation and development. In order to address these concerns a qualitative research has been conducted, focusing on data collection obtained through semi-structured live world interviews. The method used follows the seven stages of research interviewing introduced by Kvale and focuses on collecting and preparing relevant data for analysis. The collected data is transcribed, refined, and further on analyzed in the “Findings and analysis” chapter. The focus of analyzing was answering the three research questions; learning how higher education impacts a Computer Science and Informatics Engineers’ job, how to better undergo the transition from studies to working in the industry and how to develop a curriculum that helps support the previous two. Unaltered quoted extracts are presented and individually analyzed. To paint a better picture a theme-wise analysis is presented summing valuable themes that were repeated throughout the interviewing phase. The findings obtained imply that there are several factors directly influencing the quality of education. From the student side, it mostly concerns expectation and dedication involving studies, and from the university side it is commitment to the curriculum development process. Due to the time and resource limitations this research provides findings conducted on a narrowed scope, although it can serve as a great foundation for further development; possibly as a PhD research.
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Jefferson, Miranda. "Film learning as aesthetic experience: Dwelling in the house of possibility." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8587.
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Abstract Drama is an ancient art form and progressive pedagogy in education. It is the collective act of imagining and seeing ourselves in action, in the moment, towards a destiny. Film is a modern art form and an evolving pedagogy in schools. Narratives in moving pictures are a dramatic form of mediated communication. This research concerns drama teachers’ experiences with screen drama and filmmaking pedagogy. In a rapidly digitised world, mediated forms of communication through technology are a vital source of social connectivity, information and storytelling. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in education is a response to the digital culture but the integration has been likened to the ‘hammer in search of a nail’. ICT in education is demanding the development of pedagogies that connect a deep understanding of technology, curriculum outcomes and teacher professional learning. This research is concerned with exploring and developing best practice in a creative and critical pedagogy for moving pictures as aesthetic learning in schools. Drama teachers as teachers of aesthetic, embodied, collaborative and narrative learning are uniquely placed to respond to and critique the development of an authentic and effective pedagogy for film narrative. The school and curriculum structures and resources to support film learning are also examined through the drama teachers’ experiences. The research is praxis-oriented and uses a montage of interpretive practices in a collective case study to explore in depth six teachers’ experience with film learning. The study’s design involves the facilitation of film learning workshops and explores the participants’ aspirations, expectations and realisations for film learning in their schools. The participants’ experiences highlight the problems, possibilities and opportunities of film learning as aesthetic learning and raise issues about the role of and tensions with arts pedagogy as a learning paradigm in schools and the curriculum. The teachers’ stories reflect an educational culture, leadership and curriculum structure that does not necessarily allow, support or develop on-going professional learning and teacher innovation for authentic student learning.
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Vũ, John Huân. "Software Internationalization: A Framework Validated Against Industry Requirements for Computer Science and Software Engineering Programs." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2010. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/248.
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View John Huân Vũ's thesis presentation at http://youtu.be/y3bzNmkTr-c.
In 2001, the ACM and IEEE Computing Curriculum stated that it was necessary to address "the need to develop implementation models that are international in scope and could be practiced in universities around the world." With increasing connectivity through the internet, the move towards a global economy and growing use of technology places software internationalization as a more important concern for developers. However, there has been a "clear shortage in terms of numbers of trained persons applying for entry-level positions" in this area. Eric Brechner, Director of Microsoft Development Training, suggested five new courses to add to the computer science curriculum due to the growing "gap between what college graduates in any field are taught and what they need to know to work in industry." He concludes that "globalization and accessibility should be part of any course of introductory programming," stating:
A course on globalization and accessibility is long overdue on college campuses. It is embarrassing to take graduates from a college with a diverse student population and have to teach them how to write software for a diverse set of customers. This should be part of introductory software development. Anything less is insulting to students, their family, and the peoples of the world.
There is very little research into how the subject of software internationalization should be taught to meet the major requirements of the industry. The research question of the thesis is thus, "Is there a framework for software internationalization that has been validated against industry requirements?" The answer is no. The framework "would promote communication between academia and industry ... that could serve as a common reference point in discussions." Since no such framework for software internationalization currently exists, one will be developed here. The contribution of this thesis includes a provisional framework to prepare graduates to internationalize software and a validation of the framework against industry requirements. The requirement of this framework is to provide a portable and standardized set of requirements for computer science and software engineering programs to teach future graduates.
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Mashingaidze, Kenneth Tatenda. "Adopting and contextualising international computing curricula: a South African case." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24400.
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Submitted in partial fulfilment of an M.Com. degree in Information Systems, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand,
March 2017<br>Purpose – The aim of this research is to examine one case of the adoption and contextualisation of an international computing curriculum at a South African university in order to improve the understanding of this process for literature as well as practice. An international computing curriculum is a curriculum developed by international professional and scientific bodies such as the Association for Information Systems (AIS), Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) or the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
Design/methodology/approach – The research adopts an interpretivist approach and follows an exploratory research design using qualitative methods to gather data and directed content analysis for data analysis. The research site is a traditional South African university which has used the IS2010 curriculum as a guideline for their undergraduate Information Systems degrees. The site was chosen using convenience sampling. Data was obtained through interviews with staff at the Information Systems department as well as university documentation.
Findings - The research indicates that university objectives, university context and industry skills needs have shaped the way the university has adopted and contextualised the IS2010 curriculum. The research also indicates that there are two types of challenges that were encountered: challenges caused by IS2010 and existing challenges that affected IS2010. The major challenges caused by IS2010 were the absence of important elements related to teaching and learning, particularly pedagogy. The challenges that affected the adoption of IS2010 but were not caused by IS2010 were challenges that the university was already facing. These include the language of instruction, institutional culture, staff shortages and students’ cultural and educational background.
Originality and Practical contribution – Most of the research on this area focuses on African countries other than South Africa. Researchers have argued that it is important to conduct this kind of research on an individual country level because of the unique nature of the challenges facing each country. This research is an attempt to conduct such research specifically for South Africa. The research findings have shed light on how a South African university may adopt and contextualise an international computing curriculum and the challenges the university might face in doing so. This will in turn help computing educators in addressing such challenges and provide some guidance on how to go about doing so. The research also puts forward a conceptual framework that can be used to research computing curriculum contextualisation in South Africa.<br>GR2018
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Marshall, Linda. "A graph-based framework for comparing curricula." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/37060.
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The problem addressed in this thesis was identified in a real life context in which an attempt was made to re-constitute a BSc Computer Science degree programme. The curriculum was modelled on the ACM/IEEE Computing Curriculum of 2001. It was further required to comply with accreditation requirements as defined by ABET’s Computing Accreditation Commission. Relying on a spreadsheet, the curriculum was iteratively and manually evaluated against the ACM/IEEE curriculum specification. A need was identified to automate or at least semi-automate this process.
In this thesis a generalisation of the problem is presented. Curricula are modelled as directed graphs (digraphs) in which graph vertices represent curriculum elements such as topics, knowledge areas, knowledge units year- levels or modules. Edges in the graph represent dependencies between these vertices such as belonging to grouping or pre-requisites. The task of curriculum comparison then abstracts to a task of digraph comparison.
A framework, the Graph Comparison Framework, is proposed. The frame- work comprises of components which are used to guide the digraph comparison process. The so-called Graph Trans-morphism algorithm component is the only component in the framework which is mandatory. The algorithm converts the information from one of the digraphs being compared into the structure of the other. This conversion enables the graphs to be compared as graph isomorphisms. All digraphs are modelled as sets of triples, making it possible to subtract one digraph from another using the set minus operator. The resultant difference sets are used by components defined in the framework to quantify and visualise the differences.
By modelling curricula as digraphs and applying the framework to the di-graphs, it is possible to compare curricula. This application of the framework to a real-world problem forms the applications research part of the thesis. In this part, domain knowledge of curriculum design is necessary to apply to the curriculum being developed in order to improve it.<br>Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014.<br>Computer Science<br>unrestricted
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Subramaniam, Manimegalai M. "The development of information technology curricula guidelines and skill standards toward a theory of the emergence of computing degree programs /." 2007. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11112007-224407.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2007.<br>Advisor: Kathleen Burnett, Florida State University, College of Information. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed March 12, 2008). Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 216 pages. Includes bibliographical references.
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Liebenberg, Janet Adri. "A framework for relevant software development education / Janet Adri Liebenberg." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/15362.
Full textAbstract:
It is widely acknowledged that there is a shortage of software developers with the right skills and
knowledge. In respect of their university education, students want to take courses and carry out
projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals. The software development industry on the
other hand, expects students to be educated in courses and projects, which are relevant for their
professional career and equip them to be well-prepared for the workplace. In the middle, between
the students and the industry, is the university that is expected to meet the needs of the students
on the one side and the software industry on the other side.
The unique contribution of this research is the development of a framework for relevant software
development education by addressing the question: How can universities ensure that software
development education provides knowledge and skill sets that are relevant to both the software
development industry and software development students? The literature study investigates the
software development class, focusing on the students and the educators. Furthermore, a review
of the software development workplace is done with attention to the software developers and their
employers. The problems and challenges facing three role players in software development
education, namely the students, the university and the industry are investigated. Lastly, the role
of the university in relevant software development education is considered with a specific focus
on curricula.
In the empirical study a questionnaire was developed to investigate the relevance of software
development education from the perspective of the students. The questionnaire enquired about
students’ interests in each of a list of software development topics and further questions relating
to students’ views and needs for a relevant education are presented. The questionnaire was
completed by 297 software development students and it was found that although a gap exists
between students' needs and software development education, students’ education does have a
predominantly social relevance and also a moderate personal and professional relevance.
A second questionnaire was developed to investigate the relevance of software development
education as it pertains to the software industry. The questionnaire enquired about the
perceptions of professional software developers regarding what topics they learned from their
formal education and the importance of these topics to their actual work. The questionnaire was
completed by 214 software development professionals and again it was found that there is a gap
between the industry’s needs and software development education. Questions related to the
industry’s needs, as well as an open-ended question at the end of the questionnaire offered rich
insights into the industry’s view of its new graduates and the problems and challenges
surrounding software development education. The quantitative data, as well as the qualitative
data offered solutions to these problems and challenges.
The students’ views are compared with the professional software developers’ views to investigate
the compatibility between the relevance of software development education for students and the
relevance for the software industry. The analysis reveals matching and differing views.
A framework for relevant software development education was developed to address the gap
between software development education and the students’ needs, as well as the gap between
software development education and the industry’s needs. The problems and challenges that
might cause SD education to be less relevant are presented and recommendations to industry
and university for relevant software development education are made.<br>PhD (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
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"Distributed learning in designing curriculum in a one-to-one computing environment." PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY, 2009. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3350007.
Full text
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Wang, An-Tsu, and 王恩慈. "Key Learning Concepts for the New Computing Curriculum in Taiwan Secondary Schools-- A Delphi Survey." Thesis, 2016. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/24574501185694425843.
Full textAbstract:
碩士<br>國立臺灣師範大學<br>資訊教育研究所<br>104<br>The new computing curriculum for Taiwan secondary schools is scheduled to launch in 2018. To provide teachers with great flexibility, the curriculum only outlines themes and topics for students to learn, without further details on key concepts to be covered. It will certainly be a challenge to the textbooks writers and the computing teachers to decide which concepts to teach and which to skip. This study intends to give suggestions for the "key learning concepts" to be included in the curriculum. The Delphi technique was employed to collect different views and derive consensus from a panel of twenty-one computer science education experts, including computing teachers in schools and professors in universities.
The first draft of Delphi survey questionnaire consists of six themes (programming, algorithms, data representation, processing and analysis, IT applications, IT and human society) and 117 learning concepts developed from the computing curriculum. After three-rounds of survey, the expert panel derived 92 key learning concepts. Concepts which are not yet get consensus from the experts had been examined and provided recommendations for when included in learning. The results serve as useful references for computing teachers and textbook authors when implementing the new curriculum.
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Strnad, Michal. "Přenositelnost transformace ICT výuky na 2. stupni ZŠ v Anglii do českých podmínek." Master's thesis, 2015. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-344515.
Full textAbstract:
TITLE: Portability of transformation of lower secondary ICT education in England into the Czech conditions AUTHOR: Bc. Michal Strnad DEPARTMENT: Department of Information Technology and Technical Education SUPERVISOR: Doc. RNDr. Miroslava Černochová, CSc. ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with teaching Computing subjects at secondary schools in England as a model for transformation of teaching ICT at schools in the Czech Republic. The thesis focuses on the portability of aspects of teaching Computing to the Czech environment and endeavours to identify the possible barriers to implementation processes. The aim of the thesis is to bring new stimuli for changes in the Czech ICT curriculum that are based on the experience of teaching ICT and Computing in the UK. The theoretical part of the thesis consists of the analysis and comparison of the Czech and British curricular documents and the study of academic and journalistic texts. The empirical part uses questionnaires focused on opinions of Czech and English experts on teaching ICT or Computing. It also uses interviews with English teachers of Computing and observations of Computing and ICT lessons at English secondary schools. Based on the results of both parts of the thesis, several recommendations for changes in the ICT study program in Framework Educational...
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Freeman, Homa. "Curriculum development in higher education: a study of change and the change agents in the computing discipline." Thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1395474.
Full textAbstract:
Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>Changes in Science and Technology happen rapidly and Computing has emerged as an integral element of these changes. In response to these changes, an ‘urgent’ educational change is needed at undergraduate level. This is vital to ensure that graduates are well-prepared for the challenges of the 21st century. Supporting the need for change, this study is looked at the phenomenon of curriculum change in the computing discipline by identifying the forces of change that are in play in the university sector, and the challenges posed by the pre-existing curricula models. This study has bridged the gap between the abstract knowledge attained from former research and the substantial knowledge on curriculum change in computing by providing a holistic picture of the barriers and facilitators of curriculum change as well as highlighting the role of teaching academics in curriculum change. Drawing on a mixed method approach, the issue of change is examined from a number of different perspectives, divided into three phases. In the first phase, the learning outcomes from the computing curriculum documents of 195 core courses from a range of top universities in Australia and New Zealand were scrutinised and mapped to the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy in terms of the cognitive process dimensions. The results of the analysis revealed a mismatch between lower-order and higher-order cognitive skills according to the cognitive process dimensions in the revised taxonomy. This was particularly identified at the initial level (Remember) and the final level (Create). The results of this phase were contributed to provide assistance to curriculum developers in the computing discipline, and to reinforce their views about learning outcomes and curriculum infrastructures. In the second phase, the factors impacting on curriculum change were identified through a review of the literature. An online survey was used to identify what factors (external, organisational, student-related factors and factors related to the features of curriculum) exerted the most impact on curriculum change. As a result, these factors were then classified into the three groups of people involved, pedagogy and technology. The results of the analysis showed where the gaps are, and which areas need attention, revealing the critical role of universities in dealing with curriculum change. In this phase, the teaching academics’ perceived abilities to be involved in curriculum change were also examined. The results showed that teaching academics showed a high mean score, in terms of sense of connection and communality (M = 3.30, SD = 0.549), but a low mean score in sense of leadership (M = 2.85, SD = 0.767) and rewards and recognition (M = 2.70, SD = 0.691). Therefore, more investigation is needed to address the root causes and recommendations for improvement. The findings showed that demographic factors had no impact on the academics’ self-efficacy. The focus of the last phase was on how teaching academics reflected on their roles as agents of change in bringing about changes in curriculum. This was achieved by conducting interviews which drew on the academics’ own insights into their roles. The characteristics of the teaching academics as agents of change were summarised as being passionate about teaching, resilient, enthusiastic and self-aware and having critical mindset. The findings of this study showed that improving academics capacity, areas of connection and communality among academics, ownership in bringing about change in curriculum and rewards and recognition are needed more attention. This study, in overall, has provided some directions for curriculum change including linking the higher and lower order thinking skills, skilling up academics, keeping up with global technology, providing more support to implement novel pedagogies, paying more attention to students’ voice, and customising mathematical content. Moreover, this study concluded that shifting the view over teaching is required, whereas giving considerable value to research (rather than teaching) appeared to impact on academics’ self-efficacy in terms of their sense of reward and recognition.
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"Forging Paths Through Hostile Territory: Intersections of Women's Identities Pursuing Post-Secondary Computing Education." Doctoral diss., 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.14625.
Full textAbstract:
abstract: This study explores experiences of women as they pursue post-secondary computing education in various contexts. Using in-depth interviews, the current study employs qualitative methods and draws from an intersectional approach to focus on how the various barriers emerge for women in different types of computing cultures. In-depth interviews with ten participants were conducted over the course of eight months. Analytical frameworks drawn from the digital divide and explorations of the role of hidden curricula in higher education contexts were used to analyze computing experiences in earlier k-12, informal, workplace, and post-secondary educational contexts to understand how barriers to computing emerge for women. Findings suggest several key themes. First, early experiences in formal education contexts are alienating women who develop an interest in computing. Opportunities for self-guided exploration, play, and tinkering help sustain interest in computing for women of color to engage in computing at the post-secondary level. Second, post-secondary computing climates remain hostile places for women, and in particular, for women of color. Thirdly, women employ a combination of different strategies to navigate these post-secondary computing cultures. Some women internalized existing dominant cultures of computing programs. Others chose exclusively online programs in computing to avoid negative interactions based on assumptions about their identity categories. Some women chose to forge their own pathways through computing to help diversify the culture via teaching, creating their own businesses, and through social programs.<br>Dissertation/Thesis<br>Ph.D. Justice Studies 2012
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Adegbehingbe, Oluwakemi D. "Factors affecting computing students’ awareness of the latest ICTs." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10321/1396.
Full textAbstract:
Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015.<br>Education is constantly challenged by rapid technological changes both in terms of curriculum renewal and in terms of students’ awareness of these new technologies. This is the reason why the aim of this study is to analyse factors affecting computing students’ awareness of the latest ICTs. This aim is further divided into four research sub-aims: the selection of the relevant theories for this research; the design of an appropriate conceptual model to support it; the empirical testing of the above mentioned model; and finally, recommendations arising from the research results. The first research sub-aim is accomplished through selection of the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) as the theoretical framework of this study after a review of different theories of technology adoption. The second research sub-aim is accomplished through the design of a conceptual model which is an adaptation of the relationship between the prior conditions construct and the knowledge/awareness construct of IDT. The prior conditions that were studied are students’ perceived exposure to career guidance and students’ perceived curriculum currency. These prior conditions were analysed as possible predictors of computing students’ technology awareness. The third sub-aim is accomplished by means of a survey of 116 computing students from the four universities of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the results of which validated most of the relationships hypothesized by the above mentioned model. Having knowledge/awareness as the main variable of the current study can be seen as its main contribution in view of the fact that only two studies from the reviewed literature on IDT are examining the awareness/knowledge construct. The fourth sub-aim is accomplished by means of some recommendations, one of which is that gender and ethnicity be considered when curriculating computing courses both at the high school level and at the university level.
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Shie, Ruei-Ming, and 謝瑞明. "Research the Effect on Learning Interest and Learning Outcomes by Using Cloud Computing Services Junyiacademy Platform for Elementary School Mathematics Curriculum." Thesis, 2016. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/nujh9c.
Full textAbstract:
碩士<br>樹德科技大學<br>資訊工程系碩士班<br>104<br>This study aims to explore the impact of using on-line courses in the Junyiacademy platform of cloud computing services on the learning interests and outcomes of students in the elementary school math classes about the lesson of area. The subjectsof the study are the fourth graders who have studying in the school the author’s working for. The students study one unit of the math curriculum through on-line courses in the Junyiacademy platform at the computer classroom for four periods in one week. Experimental approach has been applied in this research. The resulting figures gathered from on-line courses in the Junyiacademy platform of cloud computing services have been analyzed to evaluate the learning outcomes of the students who studied on line.
The on-line courses in the Junyiacademy platform of cloud computing services also have been used to promote students’ learning motives.Based on the analysis, the following results has been discovered:
1. After the experiment, students’ learning outcomes have been greatly improved on the unit of area in math.
2. Students like teaching approach of on-line platform courses more than ordinary teaching approach.
3. To raise students’ learning interests in math, using Junyiacademy platform in the cloud for assisting teaching is very helpful.
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Chen, Jyun-Chen, and 陳俊臣. "The development of a cloud-based computing learning system to improve students’ scientific critical thinking ability: A study of a fourth-grade science and technology curriculum." Thesis, 2017. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/dyfra5.
Full textAbstract:
博士<br>國立臺灣師範大學<br>科技應用與人力資源發展學系<br>105<br>Teaching students how to participate in activities that improve scientific critical thinking ability is the purpose of science education. Scientific critical thinking ability in research helps in understanding how to integrate information, make inferences about things, and solve problems. Improving students’ scientific critical thinking ability has received attention worldwide, such as the Program for International Student Assessment, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Taiwanese Ministry of Education. Much research on science education has contributed to developing critical thinking competence indicators, assessment tools, and curricula. This study was based on the findings of previous studies, particularly the prediction-observation-explanation (POE) inquiry learning model, which aims at helping students understand core scientific problems step by step through self-explanation to correct misconceptions and to improve their scientific critical thinking ability. This study used the POE inquiry learning model to develop a learning method to improve students’ scientific critical thinking ability. The Repertory Grid Technique and the Collaborative Learning Strategy were assimilated into the POE inquiry learning process to strengthen the students’ learning effect. A cloud-based computing system and smart classroom were used to present real science situations to help students solve problems and improve their scientific critical thinking ability. A quasi-experimental method was used, and there were three experiments in this study. The first experiment was conducted for five weeks with 125 fourth grade students. The result showed that using the POE inquiry learning model improved students’ scientific critical thinking ability. Moreover, the Repertory Grid Technique (or the Collaborative Learning Strategy) could reinforce the effect of POE inquiry learning model. The second experiment was conducted for twenty weeks with 266 participates. The result proved the finding of the first experiment. Moreover, the results showed that using the POE inquiry learning model, the Repertory Grid Technique, and the Collaborative Learning Strategy improved students’ scientific critical thinking ability. The third experiment was conducted for twenty weeks with 666 participates. The result proved the finding of the second experiment. Finally, from the whole experimental process, the result showed that the Repertory Grid Technique helped students to integrate basic knowledge in the POE inquiry learning process so they could avoid learning difficulties caused by a lack of or incorrect knowledge, while the Collaborative Learning Strategy helped students to discuss and cooperate as a group to avoid learning difficulties caused by self-qualification.
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Tatnall, Arthur. "Innovation and change in the Information Systems curriculum of an Australian University: a socio-technical perspective." Thesis, 2000. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/368/.
Full textAbstract:
Information Systems is a relatively new curriculum area and one that is still growing in size and importance. It involves applied studies that are concerned with the ways people build and use computer-based systems in their organisations to produce useful information. Information Systems is, of necessity, a socio-technical discipline that has to deal with issues involving both people and machines; with the multitude of human and non-human entities that comprise an information system.
This thesis reports an investigation of how Information Systems curriculum is made and how the choices of individual lecturers or groups of lecturers to adopt or ignore a new concept or technology are formed. It addresses this issue by describing a study into how the programming language Visual Basic entered the Information Systems curriculum of an Australian university, and how it has retained its place there despite challenges from other programming languages. It is a study of curriculum innovation that involves an important but small change in the curriculum of a single department in a particular university.
Little of the literature on innovation deals with university curriculum and most reported work is focussed on research, development and diffusion studies of the adoption, or otherwise, of centrally developed curriculum innovations in primary and secondary schools. The innovation described here is of a different order being developed initially by a single university lecturer in one of the subjects for which he had responsibility. It is important primarily because it examines something that does not appear to have been reported on before: the negotiations and alliances that allow new material, in this case the programming language Visual Basic, to enter individual subjects of a university curriculum, and to obtain a durable place there.
The research investigates a single instance of innovation, and traces the associations between various human and non-human entities including Visual Basic, the university, the student laboratories, the Course Advisory Committee and the academic staff that made this happen. It follows the formation of alliances and complex networks of association, and how their interplay resulted in the curriculum change that allowed Visual Basic to enter the Information Systems curriculum, and to fend off challenges from other programming languages in order to retain its place there.
I argue that in this curriculum innovation no pre-planned path was followed, and that representations of events like this as straightforward or well planned hide the complexity of what took place. The study reveals the complex set of negotiations and compromises made by both human and non-human actors in allowing Visual Basic to enter the curriculum.
The study draws on the sociology of translations, more commonly known as actor-network theory (ANT) as a framework for its analysis. I show that innovation translation can be used to advantage to trace the progress of technological innovations such as this. My analysis maps the progress of Visual Basic from novelty to ‘obvious choice’ in this university’s Information Systems curriculum.
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Panday, Annelee. "Recommendations for improvement to the South African information technology curriculum: a case study of new higher certificate graduates' first year of employment." Diss., 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/26211.
Full textAbstract:
Employment issues in South Africa (SA) are a significant problem. There are ongoing discussions revolving around the employability challenges facing South African graduates, particularly in the Information Technology (IT) sector. The preparedness of these IT graduates has been questioned with many looking towards skill sets and employability status while others have scrutinised the validity of the IT curriculum meeting industry needs.
The research focuses on a case study of graduates from an accredited, private higher education institution in SA. The study followed a qualitative approach using questionnaires and interviews to understand the experiences of employers, employed graduates and recruitment personnel upon employment of the graduates. This study investigated, determined and confirmed recommendations to adapt the South African higher education IT curriculum to improve the productivity of IT graduates upon employment.<br>School of Computing<br>M. Sc. (Computing)
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(7023182), Hamdan Abdulaziz Alamri. "EFFECTS OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH ON STUDENTS’ SELF-DETERMINATION AND LEARNING ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION." Thesis, 2019.
Find full textAbstract:
Online higher education courses are often designed using a one-size-fits-all model that treats students as instructional users rather than participants who contribute according to their learning needs and interests. Although many scholars have discussed personalized learning as a means to customize instruction over the past three decades, few have investigated the impact of personalized learning interventions. In particular, there is a gap in the literature on interventions using customized instructional content in online courses to provide individuals with opportunities to address their own learning needs and choices. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of this instructional approach on students’ self-determination, intrinsic motivation, learning engagement, and online learning experiences.<br><div>The researcher applied a convergent parallel mixed-methods design to collect, analyze, and merge quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously. Qualitative findings have converged with and diverged from the quantitative data. Quantitative results revealed that personalized learning has a statistically significant effect on students’ perceived feelings of autonomy and their online learning experiences. The approach also showed a significant effect on students’ perceptions toward their instructors. The findings showed that the majority of learners perceived personalized learning to be an effective instructional approach. According to the qualitative findings, this approach showed a positive effect on students’ self-determination (autonomy and competence), intrinsic motivation, engagement, and online learning experiences. However, the intervention did not show a positive effect on students’ feelings of relatedness.<br></div><div>This study may contribute to the understanding of effective and influential teaching and learning approaches, especially in online learning environments. The final findings might inform educators, instructional designers, and instructors about the personalized learning potential of tailoring online courses to students’ needs and interests, which may increase student motivation and engagement.<br></div>
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(9155498), Daniel C. Ernst. "The Android English Teacher: Writing Education in the Age of Automation." Thesis, 2020.
Find full textAbstract:
<p>In an era of widespread automation—from grocery store self-checkout machines to self-driving cars—it is not outrageous to wonder: can teachers be automated? And more specifically, can automated computer teachers instruct students how to write? Automated computer programs have long been used in summative writing evaluation efforts, such as scoring standardized essay exams, ranking placement essays, or facilitating programmatic outcomes assessments. However, new claims about automated writing evaluation’s (AWE) formative educational potential mark a significant shift. My project questions the effectiveness of using AWE technology for formative educational efforts such as improving and teaching writing. Taken seriously, these efforts portend a future embrace of semi, or even fully, automated writing classes, an unprecedented development in writing pedagogy.</p><p>Supported by a summer-long grant from the Purdue Research Foundation, I conducted a small-<i>n </i>quasi-experiment to test claims by online college tutoring site Chegg.com that its EasyBib Plus AWE tool can improve both writing and writers. The experiment involved four college English instructors reading pairs of essays comprising one AWE-treated and untreated version per pair. Using a comparative judgment model, a rubric-free method of writing assessment based on Thurstone’s law, raters read and designated one of each pair “better.” Across four raters and 160 essays, I found that AWE-treated essays were designated better only 30% of the time (95% confidence interval: 20-40%), a statistically significant difference from the null hypothesis of 50%. The results suggest that Chegg’s EasyBib Plus tool offers no discernible improvement to student writing, and potentially even worsens it.</p><p>Finally, I analyze Chegg’s recent partnership with the Purdue Writing Lab and Online Writing Lab (OWL). The Purdue-Chegg partnership offers a useful test case for anticipating the effects of higher education’s embrace of automated educational technology going forward. Drawing on the history of writing assessment and the results of the experiment, I argue against using AWE for formative writing instruction. In an era of growing automation, I maintain that a human-centered pedagogy remains one of the most durable, important, effective, and transformative ingredients of a quality education.</p>
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(9778250), Geoffrey Augutis. "The journey to digital pedagogy in secondary schools - how peer facilitation can support a technology program." Thesis, 2024. https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/The_journey_to_digital_pedagogy_in_secondary_schools_-_how_peer_facilitation_can_support_a_technology_program/28879736.
Full textAbstract:
<p dir="ltr">Digital Literacy (formerly ICT Capability) is one of the seven general capabilities outlined in the Australia curriculum designed to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions to live and work in the twenty-first century (ACARA, 2021). The modern world is increasingly digital, with immense technological literacy required for many job roles and career paths. For this reason, technology in education has been and will continue to be a focus point for Australian schools and beyond. </p><p dir="ltr">While opinion commonly supports the premise that there is a need to prepare our children for a digital world, successfully deploying such programs in schools has been fragmented (ACARA, 2014). This study explores the common factors that lead to successful technology programs being deployed in schools and further builds on existing knowledge of whether peer facilitation can further support a classroom technology environment. </p><p dir="ltr">Through a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach, this thesis explores these factors firsthand, collecting rich data to inform the continuous improvement of a classroom program and then analyses the completed dataset through a Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021) process. Rigour applied to a conclusive dataset via thematic analysis performed over the top of DBR analysis is methodologically significant and novel to the broader research community. </p><p dir="ltr">This study provides a valuable contribution to the field of educational technology by combining theory with practice in working classroom environments to suggest a framework based on the successful factors that include teacher professional learning, device to student ratio, financial investment and the new factor of student peer leadership. This framework gives a practical direction for future planning and deployment of programs.</p>
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(8699952), Jacob H. Askeroth. "ONLINE LEARNING THROUGH EMERGING INNOVATIONS AND PLATFORMS: DIGITAL BADGES AND MOOCS." Thesis, 2020.
Find full textAbstract:
<p>Innovations in technology are changing not only everyday
life for many individuals around the world but are also influencing the
expansion of online learning opportunities at an accelerated rate (Collins
& Halverson, 2<a></a>018; Mah, 2016). Online learning
platforms allow for scalability, flexibility, greater global access, and
innovative and new ways to deliver education (Goodman, Melkers, & Pallais,
2019; Kizilcec et al., 2019). Enrollments in online learning programs and
opportunities have seen significant growth in recent years (Seaman, Allen,
& Seaman, 2018; U.S. Department of Education, 2018) with continued and
steady growth expected into the future.
The ubiquity and newness of new online learning formats present a
challenge in linking research and practice.
Through three separate academic papers, the following dissertation discusses
and considers key questions and topics with regards to the use of digital
badges and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), two types of emerging online
innovations and platforms, and aspects of their efficacy. The three papers respectively 1) identify and
discuss the theoretical and empirical foundations digital badges use in
specific learners groups by reviewing current literature; 2) highlight the
application of a use case in which digital badges have been implemented as a
means to offer training; and 3) explore the perceptions of MOOC instructors
toward quality learning in their courses in a case study. Conclusions are drawn and solutions as well
as potential future directions for research and practice of discussed. </p>
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(8788169), Julia Bryan. "Effects of Movement on Biometric Facial Recognition in Body-Worn Cameras." Thesis, 2020.
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<p>This study examined how three different manipulations of a single policing stance affected the quality scores and matching performance in a biometric facial recognition system; it was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, the researcher collected qualitative survey data from active, sworn law enforcement officers in 15 states. In the second phase, the researcher collected quantitative data using a single facial recognition subject and a static body-worn camera mounted to an adjustable tripod. In the third phase, the researcher collected quantitative data from body-worn camera-equipped law enforcement officers who filmed a stationary target as they executed a series of specified movements from the interview stance. The second phase tested two different body-worn cameras: one that is popular among law enforcement agencies in the United States, the Axon Body 2; and one that is inexpensive and available to the general public via a popular internet commerce website. The third phase tested only the Axon Body 2. Results of the study showed that matching results are poor in a biometric system where the test body-worn camera was the sensor, with error rates as high as 100% when the body-worn camera wearer was in motion. The general conclusion of this study is that a body-worn camera is not a suitable sensor for a biometric facial recognition system at this time, though advances in camera technology and biometric systems may close the gap in the future. </p>
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(10730865), Scott Tecumseh Thorne. "TEACHER SUPPORTS USING THE FACILITATOR MODEL FOR DUAL CREDIT IN OPEN ENDED DESIGN THINKING COURSEWORK: UNIVERSITY COLLABORATION AND HIGH SCHOOL IMPLEMENTATION." Thesis, 2021.
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The facilitator model for dual credit offers a way for student to earn directly transcripted credit to colleges and universities, overcoming many barriers faced by other dual credit models. Successful implementation of this model requires high degree of involvement from the cooperating institution. This IRB approved qualitative case study explored the needs of five teacher facilitators in both summer professional development and on-going support throughout the school year when implementing a facilitator model for dual credit with open-ended design coursework. Code-recode and axial coding techniques were applied to over 90 hours of transcribed data, artifacts, and observations from a seven month period to find emerging themes and offer recommendations for implementation.