Pembangunan Bahan Kursus Multimedia Fizik Terma Menggunakan Authorware

Mata pelajaran Fizik adalah satu mata pelajaran bidang sains yang begitu penting, tetapi mata pelajaran ini dikenal pasti sebagai satu daripada mata pelajaran yang sukar (khalijah et. al., 1995; Subahan, 1991). Selari dengan perkembangan IT, kaedah pengajaran fizik perlu dimajukan termasuk oleh golongan guru sendiri, Guru memainkan peranan untuk mempelbagaikan kaedah pengajaran mereka agar lebih menarik dan berkesan. Walau bagaimanapun penggunaan perisian atau bahan kursus fizik dalam pengajaran tidak dapat dilaksanakan berikutan kekurangan bahan itu sendiri di perimgkat kebangsaan. Sehubungan itu kajian ini mendedahkan peringkat-peringkat pembangunan bahan kursus. Berpandukan Model Reka Bentuk Pemprototaip Pantas Tripp dan Bichelmeyer (1990), proses pembangunan sesuatu bahan kursus telah dikenal pasti melaui peringkat-peringkat pebangunan itu sendiri dan hasil yamg diperolehu adalah berupa pengetahuan terhadap proses yang dilalui. Dalam pembangunan sesuatu bahan kursus, keperluan kandungan dan objektif ditentukan, diikuti peringkat mereka bentuk. Beberapa reka bentuk cadangan telah diutarakan iaitu reka bentuk untuk navigasi utama bahan kursus dan unit-unit lain dalam pengajaran fizik termasuk penerangan linear bermultimedia, penerengan bermultimedia interaktif, amali maya, demonstrasi, permainan, soalan latihan atau ujian dan latih tubi. Peringkat seterusnya ialah pengarangan yang dilakukan menggunakan perisian pengarangan Macromedia Authorware 4 di samping perisian sokongan lain digunakan untuk menghasilakan komponen-komponen multimedia iaitu komponen teks, audio, grafik, animasi dan video. Topik Fizik Terma iaiu di bawah tajuk Haba mata pelajaran Fizik Tingkatan Empat, digunakan sebagai isi pelajaran bahan kursus. Bahan kursus yang terhasil seterusnya dlnilai daripada perspektif pelajar untuk bahagian persembahan bahan kursus, kandungn isi pelajaran dan soalan dibina di dalam bahan kursus. Ujian rintis dijalankan kepada 30 orang pelajar tingkatan empat. Tiga bahagian utama dinilai iaitu item untuk bahagian persembahan, isi pelajaran dan soalan terbina menunjukkan tahap prestasi komponen-komponen yang terkandung di dalamnya adalah tinggi iaitu lebih daripada 60% menyatakan secara positif. Walau bagaimanapun 63% menyatakan komponen bunyi/narasi adalah tidak mencukupi. Secara umumnya hasil ujian memang menunjukkan pelajar mempunyai persepsi yang positif terhadap bahan kursus

Multisensory design elements in stimulating learning environment for Dyslexic children

This research aims to investigate multisensory design for stimulating learning environment for children with learning disabilities. Nowadays, there are many learning facilities like Dyslexia centres and schools exist in Malaysia due to increasing pattern of children with the symptoms. Regardless of the situation and arising numbers of existing Dyslexia centres, no standard guidelines to follow for classroom setting of the facilities in establishing the multisensory learning environment for the dyslexic children. Providing the correct support through a proper learning environment setting is very important as the condition is curable. However, an inappropriate corrective method would cause to delay of improvement or worse, affecting their social development which is important for their future. Therefore, understanding multisensory design elements are essential to all Dyslexia centres and schools in creating a stimulating environment for the children. The objectives of this research are to identify and determine the multisensory design elements for the interior spaces of Dyslexia centres and schools. Also, to assess the condition of the existing Dyslexia centres and schools in relation to the multisensory elements in stimulating learning environment for the dyslexic children. Direct non-participant observation was adopted for data collection method while analysis was done based on the availability of multisensory elements in the selected Dyslexia centres and schools. The research found that there are four (4) multisensory design elements that are important for stimulating and engaging learning environment for dyslexic children, which are; visual elements, auditory elements, tactile elements and kinesthetic elements. These integrated learning elements are essential and practical, particularly for dyslexic children. The research also found that most of the visited facilities are not providing sufficient learning standards that stimulate the learning environment for dyslexic students. Most of the facilities did not provide the principle elements of psychology in design which is the most crucial elements of the learning process. Upon the identified multisensory design elements, further and broader scale of research is recommended to establish a design guideline or standard requirements in designing Dyslexia centres and schools in Malaysia

Attitudes towards ICT integration into curriculum and usage among university lecturers in Vietnam.

Although the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into the curriculum was a crucial process in ensuring the quality of education, it has still not been given greater concern by the administrators and lecturers in some universities in Vietnam. The purpose of this descriptive-survey research is to determine lecturers' attitudes towards ICT integration into the curriculum and its use in the classroom. The research questions sought to measure the frequency of ICT use in teaching and learning among lecturers and their attitudes towards ICT integration into the curriculum to improve teaching; and to determine if a correlation existed between lecturers' attitudes towards ICT integration into the curriculum and their ICT use in the classroom. A population of 109 lecturers at a public university in Vietnam participated in this survey. The results of the correlation analysis identified a slightly moderate positive relationship between lecturers' attitudes towards ICT integration into the curriculum and their ICT use in the classroom. Although ICT was not highly used, lecturers recognized the benefits of ICT that they had chosen to incorporate into their teaching. These findings could be used for future research to promote positive educational changes through the integration of ICT into the curriculum in universities

Influential Predictors of Students’ Academic Achievement in Online Peer Learning Among Undergraduate Students

Social media is widely used by students. Previous studies have projected conflicting results regarding the influence of online peer learning via social media on academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that impact on academic achievement. Building on the literature, the study proposed a conceptual model consists of self-efficacy; engagement, performance expectancy, social influence, peer feedback, and collaboration were incorporated as independent variables that influence the academic achievement. Data was collected from 369 undergraduate students. The findings of regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor of academic achievement in online peer learning was performance expectancy followed by collaboration, social influence, and engagement. An online peer learning influences significantly on academic achievement.  Decision makers were advised to support the implementation of online peer learning in universities. Keywords: Social Media, Online peer learning, Academic achievement, UTAUT

Ecological perspectives of ICT affordances in Malaysian higher education learning environment.

There is a continuous struggle on understanding learning settings, particularly with ICT integrations (i.e. incorporate the use of ICT in teaching and learning practice and environment). This paper aims to illuminate an alternative means of understanding virtual learning environment which is through affordances (perception-action coupling). Qualitative inquiry implemented in gathering participants’ experiences and perceptions regarding ICT integration in teaching practices through focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews. This study shows that preferences of ICT integration in a learning environment closely related to ICT affordances. Understanding of ICT affordances is indispensable in order to assessing conduciveness of learning environments with the ICT integrations

Influential predictors of students' academic achievement in online peer learning among undergraduate students

Social media is widely used by students. Previous studies have projected conflicting results regarding the influence of online peer learning via social media on academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that impact on academic achievement. Building on the literature, the study proposed a conceptual model consists of self-efficacy; engagement, performance expectancy, social influence, peer feedback, and collaboration were incorporated as independent variables that influence the academic achievement. Data was collected from 369 undergraduate students. The findings of regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor of academic achievement in online peer learning was performance expectancy followed by collaboration, social influence, and engagement. An online peer learning influences significantly on academic achievement. Decision makers were advised to support the implementation of online peer learning in universities

An exposition of constructivism account to construct knowledge and to create meaningful learning environment for teacher education

Since last ten years, it becomes indispensable to talk about constructivism in relation to the teaching and learning process. Yet the term of constructivism is still not well defined and contradicts. Generally constructivism refers to a set of views about how individuals learn and about how those who help them to learn ought to facilitate, which in this paper referred as Constructivist Learning Account (CLA). CLA holds an assumption that learners actively construct their own sets of meanings and understandings; knowledge is not a mere copy of the external world, nor is knowledge acquired by passive absorption or by simple transference from one person (educator) to another (a learner or knower). Clearly, knowledge is constructed not acquired. CLA also stresses that we cannot be certain that any two individuals will construct the same understandings. Even if they use the same linguistic formulations to express what they have learned, their deep understandings might be quite different. Hence, a better understanding of constructive learning accounts as a component of a long life learning process and how teacher education programme should engage with it is needed to create a meaningful learning environment

Relationship between social media usage and academic achievement among tertiary students in Malaysian public university

The increasing use of social media among tertiary students is one of the highly growing phenomena in the academia. Various studies show students’ high involvement in using social media network to interact with their peers, lecturers and discussing learningmaterials. Full understanding of the social media and how it is being utilized in education is needed, especially in knowing the relationship between social media used and academic achievement among tertiary students as we know the tertiary students are at large used this technologies. The aims of this study is to examine the relationship between social media used (online peer learning) and academic achievement among tertiary students in one of the Malaysian public university. The study was based on quantitative method with a correlational design using questionnaires that was modified from previous study and validated by a panel of experts. The sampling technique was stratified from 17 faculties and 328 respondents involved in this study. There are positivesignificant low correlation between the variables measured. The highest correlation is between collaboration and academic achievement followed by the correlation between performance expectancy and academic achievement, engagement and academic achievement,social influence and academic achievement, peer feedback and academic achievement, and lastly, self-efficacy and academic achievement. Practical implications and recommendations were given to enhance the engagement of students via online peer learning

Analisis kesalahan dalam menyelesaikan operasi penambahan dan penolakan pecahan dalam kalangan murid tahun empat

Artikel ini bertujuan untuk melaporkan jenis kesalahan yang dilakukan oleh murid tahun 4 semasa menyelesaikan masalah penambahan dan penolakan pecahan. Bagi tujuan tersebut, analisis jalan kerja dan jawapan murid bagi empat jenis masalah pecahan akan dibincangkan. Dapatan kajian mengenal pasti bahawa kesalahan miskonsepsi merupakan kesalahan yang paling kerap dilakukan oleh murid terutamanya dalam operasi penolakan pecahan berbeza penyebut (70%) dan dalam operasi penambahan pecahan berbeza penyebut (60%). Peratusan kesalahan miskonsepsi yang tinggi menunjukkan bahawa murid tidak menguasai konsep asas pecahan dan mereka cenderung untuk menggunakan konsep operasi nombor bulat dalam melaksanakan operasi penambahan dan penolakan pecahan

Assisted performance – a pragmatic conception of online learning

This paper proposes a novel theoretical perspective on the nature of online learning. Taking a socio-cultural perspective, an argument is offered for the theorisation of peer to peer learning as a variety of ‘assisted performance’. Using this theoretical lens, a case study is then offered which uses this model to frame an analysis of the nature and occurrences of online exchanges between students, and with tutors. The case study looks at two years of online discussion in a Master’s programme in a United Kingdom university. The results suggest that looking for examples of assisted performance in the online exchanges can offer insights into the learning that can take place in online discussion and offers one way of recognising meaningful online interaction, and therefore point to ways of promoting such exchanges