THE MILLENNIAL KIAIS

The development of social media technology provides people with more accessible information about religious knowledge. Everyone can learn the religion from social media, particularly Youtube. This phenomenon seems to force young Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) kiais (religious experts) such as Gus Baha, Gus Miftah, and Gus Muwafiq to be more adaptive and familiar to social media platform, like Youtube. This makes them close to being called “the millennial kiais.” Using a phenomenological approach based on observations on Youtube, this paper examines the performance of millennial kiais in carrying out the process of dakwah (Islamic proselytization) and in becoming role models for social education as they do. The educational interaction carried out by these millennial kiais on Youtube seems to be very effective in attracting the interest of wider citizens. The number of their viewers reaches between four to eight million in one year. The number of videos viewed is around one hundred. The model of social education introduced by these millennial kiais is analyzed through the Bandura theory which starts through a process of stimulation and observation and is followed by a process in mental cognition, which creates motivation and demands a response by clicking the likes button and subscribing comments. The response marks the beginning of a constant change of behavior

Perceived Factors and Value of Online Master Degrees in Romania

oai:ojs.www.managementdynamics.ro:article/8In the last #ve years, online master degrees were introduced in the educational offer by major higher education institutions from Romania. Although there were few pure online master degrees, the demand for such degrees has been continuously growing. More recently, a legislative measure discouraged the existence of a pure online learning degree, despite the success these degrees enjoyed and the positive opinion of employers. In this context, the present study aims to measure the perceived value and satisfaction of online master degrees among graduates of this type of degrees, the factors that influenced their choice to enroll in an online master program, and the perceived opinion of employers towards online master degrees. Findings reveal an overall increased satisfaction and perceived learning among graduates. We also found that the demographic characteristics and the grades students received during the years of study and at the graduation exam (dissertation) are strong predictors of perceived value and satisfaction with online master degrees

Keberkesanan pemberian pembayang menggunakan agen pedagogi beranimasi dalam sistem latihan berasaskan web

Pembayang (hint) merupakan salah satu taktik pedagogi dalam pembelajaran terutamanya dalam pembelajaran secara berhadapan atau one-on-tutoring. Ia dapat bertindak sebagai pemangkin dalam mengaktifkan pengetahuan yang tersimpan di dalam pemikiran seseorang di samping mensimulasi kesimpulan yang diperlukan untuk memenuhi sesuatu tugas berpandukan pengetahuan yang telah diperolehi sebelum ini. Sejajar dengan perkembangan teknologi komputer dan internet, pelbagai sistem pembelajaran dan latihan dapat dicapai oleh pengguna. Namun yang demikian, kebanyakan sistem latihan yang sedia ada tidak dilengkapkan dengan strategi pedagogi yang sesuai seperti mana yang diterapkan oleh pengajar seperti di dalam kelas. Pelajar hanya membaca perkataan yang statik dan pembayang yang sama diberikan kepada setiap pelajar tanpa mengambilkira tahap kefahaman mereka (Brusilovsky, 1998). Justeru itu, tujuan penyelidikan ini ialah untuk memperkenalkan penggunaan agen pedagogi beranimasi dan melihat keberkesanannya untuk memberikan pembayang dalam sistem latihan berasaskan web. Skop soalan hanya tertumpu pada soalan objektif dan betul atau salah serta memfokuskan 3 topik dalam dalam bahasa pengaturcaraan java iaitu pengenalan java, pembinaan kelas dan penciptaan objek. Kaedah penyelidikan yang dijalankan melibatkan 6 fasa iaitu kajian awal dan ulasan karya, pembangunan prototaip, pengujian, analisis data dan dokumentasi. Selain itu, seramai 80 sampel data yang terdiri daripada pelajar sarjana muda dan diploma diuji bagi melihat keberkesanan penyampaian pembayang menggunakan agen pedagogi beranimasi

Technological innovation and change in the university

It is by now common knowledge that one of the aspects upon which the survival of the University depends is how it will make the best possible use of the new technologies (e-learning). Despite the acceptance of this principle, difficulties arise when one attempts to proceed from the mere declaration to actually planning activities and putting them into effect. This research, the result of collaboration between teachers and researchers of the Educational Science and Engineering Faculties of the University of Florence, focuses on certain theoretical concepts and reference apparatus, bringing international literature to bear on the specific case of Italy. [english version]It is by now common knowledge that one of the aspects upon which the survival of the University depends is how it will make the best possible use of the new technologies (e-learning). Despite the acceptance of this principle, difficulties arise when one attempts to proceed from the mere declaration to actually planning activities and putting them into effect. This research, the result of collaboration between teachers and researchers of the Educational Science and Engineering Faculties of the University of Florence, focuses on certain theoretical concepts and reference apparatus, bringing international literature to bear on the specific case of Italy. [english version

An analysis of user requirements for virtual classroom/collaboration software

This report focuses on an analysis of the user requirements for virtual classroom/collaboration software (VCCS) in learning and teaching. It collates and priorities existing users requirements, reviews tools in the market, and recommends good tools that fit these requirements

Rethinking e-learning strategy 2.0 in the digital age: case study of the future school project in the Kingdom of Bahrain

PhD ThesisThis research aims to rethink e-learning strategy in the digital age by taking The Future School Project in The Kingdom of Bahrain as a case study and by investigating and evaluating e-learning strategies. In the Digital Age, the new technologies of web 2.0 (such as Facebook, blog, YouTube, etc.) have changed the learning landscape, where learners are becoming active participants and creators of knowledge. Many claims and suggestion have made about learning potential of Web 2.0 tools and technologies, however, these claims and suggestions have not been based on research evidence. New research is critical because many learning institutions and schools are making significant investments in e-learning; however, changes in the learning process have been incremental rather than transformational, mainly due to the lack of strategic direction. The research approach adopted in this dissertation includes (1) Observations and Document Analysis, (2) Interviews Stakeholders and (3) Questionnaires (Staffs, Teachers and Students). The findings show how teachers and students are using ICTs in learning. Moreover, they explain another factor which has an impact on the successful integration of technology in e-learning: this factor is the gaps between e-learning policy, the actual practice of teachers, and students’ practice; these three worlds are very far apart. Also the findings show that Web 2.0 could bridge the gap between digital natives and the educational system leading to successful integration of technology in learning. Furthermore, it explains the role of Web 2.0 in learning and provides an e-learning strategic framework for evaluating e-learning. The research recommends (1) Using social network sites Facebook and video sharing site YouTube in learning, (2) Triangulation of e-learning policy, teacher practice and students practice, (4) Rethinking using current ICTs, and (5) Encouraging and monitoring teachers using ICTs.Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrai

Application of machine learning algorithms in adaptive web-based information systems

Hypertext users often face the difficulty of identifying pages of .information most relevant to their current goals or interests, and are forced to wade through irrelevant pages, even though they know precisely what they are looking for. In order to address this issue, this research has investigated the Technical feasibility and also the utility of applying machine learning algorithms to generate personalised adaptation on the basis of browsing history in hypertext. A Web-based information system called MLTutor has been developed to determine the viability of this approach. The MLTutor has been implemented,tested, and evaluated. The design of MLTutor aims to remove the need for pre-defined user profiles and replace them with a dynamic user profile building scheme in order to provide individual adaptation. This is achieved by a combination o f conceptual clustering and inductive machine learning algorithms. This integration of two machine learning algorithms is a novel approach in the field of machine learning. In the initial prototype of MLTutor, a simple attribute based conceptual clustering algorithm and the ID3 algorithm were implemented. An assessment of the initial prototype highlighted the need for an in-depth investigation into the machine learning component of the prototype. This investigation led to the development of a multiple decision learning algorithm named SG-1 and a scheme for attribute encoding within the system. In order to assess these enhancements a comparative study was conducted with four adaptive variants of MLTutor along with the non-adaptive control. The adaptive variants were developed to allow alternative approaches within the machine learning component of the system to be compared. Two of the variants applied the clustering algorithm dynamically and used two different Cluster selection strategies. These strategies were based on the last page visited and a weighting of recently visited pages. The other adaptive variants used pre-clustered data with the same cluster selection strategies. The comparative evaluation undertaken on the variants used a number of established evaluation criteria and also introduced an original cross analysis scheme to determine how the adaptive component of MLTutor was utilised to complete a set of tasks. This cross analysis scheme highlights a number of weaknesses related to the evaluation methods commonly used in the field of adaptive hypermedia. The results have also highlighted a technical limitation with the particular clustering algorithm employed, specifically the generation of a heterogeneous cluster that results in poor suggestions in some circumstances. The results of the evaluation show that the MLTutor is a functional and robust system. Although the utility of using machine learning algorithms to analyse browsing activity in a hypertext system is unproven, the technical feasibility has been established