THE ROLE OF AN INTEGRATED E-LEARNING PLATFORM IN INCREASING THE PROCESSMANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY

This paper aims to present the steps taken and solutions implemented at the Cisco Networking Academy of the University of Bucharest in order to increase the process-management efficiency and the student satisfaction degree, mainly via the implementation of an own e-learning learning platform.The results are a significant improvement of work relationships, due to the fact that everyone's responsibilities are clearly defined together with the expectations for each employee. Furthermore, productivity tools enable us and our instructors to concentrate on increasing the quality of our students' learning experience in order to obtain even higher degrees of student satisfaction, retention, and promovability as a direct measure of teaching/learning success.Instructor Experience, User satisfaction, E-learning platform, Management Module, Student Assessment

Constructs that contribute to student satisfaction for participating in graduate level courses delivered by full motion interactive fiber optic communications network

The purpose of this study was to measure constructs that contribute to graduate student satisfaction with interactive televised courses that have been taught via Iowa Communications Network (ICN). In this study student satisfaction with the instructor\u27s communication and teaching skills, accessibility of the instructor out of classroom, course management, course content, and quality of technology was measured by using the Student Satisfaction with ICN (SSICN) questionnaire. Students\u27 needs and their suggestions to improve the quality of education through ICN were identified through five open-ended questions. The population for the study was 690 graduate students who took ICN courses between spring 1996 and spring 1997. From the population, 300 students were selected by using stratified random sampling design. The SSICN questionnaire was mailed to students in the fall, 1997. Two follow-up contacts were made to non-respondents;Descriptive statistics were calculated for each item. Using t-tests to investigate the student satisfaction with each construct, student differences in ratings based on site-type and gender were explored. A correlation analysis was done to investigate the relationships between student satisfaction, age, and motivation. A content analysis of the responses to the open-ended questions indicated student satisfaction with their positive learning experience using interactive televised courses through ICN;The t-test analysis revealed that there were significant differences between male and female students in their satisfaction with accessibility of instructor out of classroom. However, no significant differences were found between male and female students\u27 satisfaction with the constructs when considering only students in the origination site. When considering only the remote site students, t-test analysis shows there were significant differences between male and female students based on their satisfaction with course management and accessibility of instructor out of classroom. This study did not show any significant relationships between student satisfaction, student\u27s age, and motivation for taking ICN courses;From the 150 students who responded to questionnaire, 19 students will not recommend taking ICN courses to other students. Most of those students (17) who did not recommend ICN course to others were from the origination site. Students in both site-types felt that technical problems affected their learning. Course management had the lowest satisfaction rating among all constructs. Students at the remote sites perceived that they did not have access to course materials and reserved material in the library;Students at the remote sites demanded more feedback from the instructors. Based on the results of this study several recommendations were made to improve the quality of the ICN delivery system. One important recommendation called for educators and program planners who deal with distance education at both origination and remote sites simultaneously to give greater attention to the particular needs and concerns of origination site students, and to assure that their needs are also being accommodated during course delivery

Dynamic measuring tools for online discourse

When evaluating participation within an Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN), current best practices include counting messages and reviewing participant surveys. To understand the impact of more advanced dynamic measurement tools for use within an ALN, a web-based tool, known as iPET (the integrated Participation Evaluation Tool), was created. iPET, which leverages Social Network Analysis and Information Visualization techniques, was then evaluated via an empirical study. This research demonstrates that using a tool such as iPET increases participation within an ALN without increasing facilitator workload. Due to the fact that active online discussion is a key factor in the success of an ALN, this research demonstrates that dynamic measuring tools for online participation can help ensure a positive outcome within an online learning environment

The Robust Learning Model with a Spiral Curriculum: Implications for the Educational Effectiveness of Online Master Degree Programs

This study integrated the Spiral Curriculum approach into the Robust Learning Model as part of a continuous improvement process that was designed to improve educational effectiveness and then assessed the differences between the initial and integrated models as well as the predictability of the first course in the integrated learning model on a wide range of educational effectiveness indicators for online master degree programs. Meaningful improvement in educational effectiveness was validated by the study. The importance of the first course\u27s predictors in predicting and explaining the various degree program educational effectiveness indicators was also very instrumental. The theoretical and practical implications of the study\u27s findings for online faculty, university administrators, and policy makers were examined

Students\u27 perceptions of a course dedicated website A regression analysis to predict its use

There has been an unprecedented surge in the number of web related tools used for course delivery. This paper examined the reasons for students to go to course dedicated websites and the impact these sites have on classroom attendance. An empirical assessment shows that course dedicated websites enhance learning and do not tempt students to turn away from the classroom. A software program called Zlocker which gives students and teachers an opportunity to share a locker in cyberspace was incorporated in the courses that were examined in this study

Purposes of Evaluation of University Instructors: Definitions, Delineations and Dimensions

Research and writings on evaluation of college and university instructors are expanding. Not unrelated to this phenomenon are controversies which focus on justification and use of ratings of instructors1 as well as attempts to meet demands and ward off pressures for ac- countability. Also not unrelated to it are uncertainties and confusion surrounding purposes of evaluation of instructors and a widespread feeling that no single evaluation instrument can best suit more than one purpose. This paper describes considerations for establishing purposes of evaluation. We discuss definitions, delineations, and dimensions of purposes, and propose general models which can serve as guidelines for further development and specification of purposes

Integrated Formative Assessment as a Vehicle toward Meaningful Learning in the Systems Analysis and Design Workshop

This research was performed within the systems analysis and design workshop. In addition to standard technical issues, this workshop consisted of a variety of tasks that were designed to enhance students\u27 capabilities related to non-technical knowledge areas such as critical thinking, interpersonal and team skills, and business understanding. Each task was reviewed and assessed by both the students and the instructor. The main research study objective was to examine the effect of employing team-based peer-review and formative assessment in an information systems workshop on the learning process of the students. Data referring to the grading process will be presented and analyzed as well as the students’ reflections which demonstrate their perception of the workshop’s constituents

Data mining technology for the evaluation of learning content interaction

Interactivity is central for the success of learning. In e-learning and other educational multimedia environments, the evaluation of interaction and behaviour is particularly crucial. Data mining – a non-intrusive, objective analysis technology – shall be proposed as the central evaluation technology for the analysis of the usage of computer-based educational environments and in particular of the interaction with educational content. Basic mining techniques are reviewed and their application in a Web-based third-level course environment is illustrated. Analytic models capturing interaction aspects from the application domain (learning) and the software infrastructure (interactive multimedia) are required for the meaningful interpretation of mining results