Evaluating The Usability And Accessibility Of LMS “Blackboard” At King Saud University

King Saud University is in the process of adopting and implementing the interactive Blackboard Learning Management Systems (LMSs) with features that allow members of staff and teachers from different faculties to access, upload assignments, send quizzes, download content, and evaluate the academic progress of the members of faculty. However, many faculty members complain about the accessibility and usability of the e-learning software because of the perceptions that the interactive features are not user friendly. Little research has been done to evaluate the accessibility and usability of the e-learning software. The current study was conducted to answer the research questions on the accessibility and usability of the blackboard vista e-learning software and the barriers of user experience when interacting with blackboard. The study was based on the hypothesis that Blackboard LMS is highly accessible and usable by teachers in the King Saud University and a hypothesis that stated otherwise. The elements that were evaluated using questionnaires include the design user interface, navigational features, and ease of use to answer the research questions. The results proved the hypothesis that ‘Blackboard LMS is accessible and usable by the teachers from different faculties for the delivery of content in the King Saud University. However, the study recommends that university should customize the e-learning software to the needs of the teachers to offer courses in English and in Arabic to increase and enhance the accessibility and usability of the software.

Devices and digitized content in Primary Education

Due to the latest changes in our society, it is necessary to offer students of different school stages new skills and abilities in line with current challenges. The digitization of curricular contents, the web accessibility and the use of mobile devices in the classrooms constitute one of the conditions to establish the new pedagogical order that is demanded for schools in the 21st century (Lindgren, 2015; Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Unesco, 2012). Education professionals must be aware that changing the media to transmit the curriculum content does not guarantee the achievement of good academic results. All of this makes us wonder: to what extent the presence of technologies can stimulate changes in teaching models? And, what are the functions of digital content in schools? Undoubtedly, the different administrations have been, for years, promoting experimental programs that promote the transfer of technologies to school systems (e.g. Digital Culture Plan at School). Among these programs, we highlight those that provide technological equipment and Internet access in educational centers and, on the other hand, those that introduce the use of mobile devices, such as tablets, for curriculum development in the classroom. Both lines of action are linked to guidelines laid down by the field of production and distribution of digital content (Bustamante, 2011). The presence of these technologies affects both the design and development of the curriculum (Gimeno, 2015) and the management of the institution. In fact, the migration of content in traditional format ­­—the textbook— to the digital one is linked to the demand to facilitate a new model of government in the centers. The “management revolution”, as Ducker (1993, p. 51) points out, has succeeded in placing “management” first, leaving “the factors of production” in the background. Management is "providing knowledge to find out how existing knowledge can be applied to produce results". The inclusion of tablets in classrooms, along with other didactic resources, does not lead to the consolidation of a non-hierarchical management model, as Díaz, Civís y Longás (2013, p. 219) point out. It is alluded to a management model where centralized control is maintained, in which accountability is presented through continuous assessments of contents, formats and knowledge produced and reproduced in classrooms. In this contribution we present the evolution of a research that analyzes the implementation of digital devices and the transformation of curricular contents. This research begins in a pre-competitive research project funded by the University of Valencia, where the transfer of technologies is studied as a resource that offers to the educational institution a new organizational and management system. Specifically, it offers the analysis of the transition from the traditional textbook to the digital one. Once finished, we tackle a new project of the National R&D&I Plan (Escuel@ Digit@l, EDU2015-64593-R), which continues the objective of analyzing the current state of production, distribution and use of didactic materials in digital format

Medicine shortages and challenges with the procurement process among public sector hospitals in South Africa : findings and implications

Background: Medicine shortages are a complex global challenge affecting all countries. This includes South Africa where ongoing medicine shortages are a concern among public sector hospitals as South Africa strives for universal access to healthcare. The objectives of this research were to highlight challenges in the current pharmaceutical procurement process for public sector hospitals. Subsequently, suggest potential ways forward based on the findings as the authorities in South Africa seek to improve the procurement process. Method: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 pharmacy managers in public sector hospitals in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. A thematic content analysis was performed, with transcripts coded by two of the authors. Coding was discussed until consensus was reached. Categories were developed and grouped into themes. Results: The ‘Procurement process’ emerged from the data as the overarching theme, rooted in three main themes: (i) The buy-out process that was used to procure medicines from suppliers other than the contracted ones; (ii) Suppliers not performing thereby contributing to medicine shortages in the hospitals; and (iii) Challenges such as the inaccuracy of the electronic inventory management system used in the hospitals. Conclusions: Effective management of contracts of suppliers by the Provincial Department of Health is crucial to ensure accessibility and availability of essential medicines to all citizens of South Africa. Ongoing monitoring and support for the future use of computerised inventory management systems is important to reduce medicine shortages, and this is being followed up

Archival Issues in Network Electronic Publications

published or submitted for publicatio

Evaluating global e-government sites: A view using web diagnostics tools

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2004 The AuthorsSeveral governments across the world have embraced the digital revolution and continue to take advantage of the information and communication facilities offered by the Internet to offer public services. Conversely, citizens’ awareness and expectations of Internet based online-public-services have also increased in recent times. Although the numbers of the different national e-Government web portals have rapidly increased in the last three years, the success of these portals will largely depend on their accessibility, quality and privacy. This paper reports the results of an evaluative study of a cross-section of e-Government portals from these three perspectives, using a common set of performance metrics and Web diagnostic engines. Results show that not only are there wide variations in the spectrum of information and services provided by these portals, but that significant work still needs to be undertaken in order to make the portals examples of ‘best practice’ e-Government services

Improving CE with PDM

The concept of Concurrent Engineering (CE) centers around the management of information so that the right information will be at the right place at the right time and in the right format. Product Data Management (PDM) aims to support a CE way of working in product development processes. In specific situations, however, it is hard to estimate the contribution of a particular PDM package to CE. This paper presents a method to assess the contribution to CE of a PDM package in a specific situation. The method uses the concept of information quality to identify the gap with CE information quality requirements. The contribution of PDM to bridge this gap is estimated. Decisions on improvement actions are supported to improve readiness for PDM as well as to improve CE. The method has been tested in a real-life situation