Organizational Frames and Digital Citizenship in Saudi Arabia Schools

In the school organizational setting, various frames play integral roles in facilitating a streamlined management of the learning activities. Notably, education organizations depend on the collaborative efforts of different departments that facilitate the delivery of quality learning experiences. The main frames applicable in the school organizational environment incorporate the aspects of the structure, human resources (HR), politics, and the symbol of the institution. Thus, enhance the efficiency of the mentioned frames goes a long way in promoting the realization of the educational facility’s goals and objectives (Hamdan, n.d.). The education system in Saudi Arabia seeks to ensure that all schools in the country integrate the structural, HR, political, and the symbolic frames. In the era of modern technological changes, the education sector is prompted to adopt the advancements to enhance learning experiences. The trend has led to the development of digital citizenship in the education sector (Manning, 2013). Nonetheless, the structural frame in the Saudi Arabia school system has demonstrated progress towards the adoption of technology primarily, through the embracement of digital communication systems. The HR frame has also witnessed considerable improvements in online recruitment processes by using multiple and different online platforms for advertising vacant positions among other processes. The symbolic and political frames have also witnessed changes influenced by technology in the school setting. However, some education organizations in Saudi Arabia have failed to address or promote digital citizenship in the school setting. Obviously, both the teaching staff and students in Saudi Arabia have put in place little effort in embracing technology in the learning processes, and thus, made small steps towards joining the digital citizenship community. Notably, school organizations in Saudi Arabia observing the K-12 classroom system lacks technology vision statements to guide the various activities of the institution towards with respect to the digital trends in the sector (Alrashidi & Phan, 2015). For these reasons, this paper examines the problem of failing to address and promote digital citizenship in the Saudi Arabia educational environment by considering the structural, HR, political, and symbolic frames

The Extent of Comprehension and Knowledge with Respect to Digital Citizenship Among Middle Eastern and US students at UNC

Digital technologies have revolutionized the way people acquire information and gain new knowledge. With a click or touch on the screen, anybody who is online can sail in the digital world and accomplish many things.  As such, the optimal use of information and communication technology involves user comprehension, knowledge, and awareness of positive digital citizenship.  The purpose of this study was to examine the scope of knowledge and understanding about digital citizenship among Middle Eastern and US students at the University of Northern Colorado. It also examines the difference among Middle Eastern and US students at the University of Northern Colorado in three categories: respect, education and protection. The study was based on a questionnaire that was distributed to 51 students at the University of Northern Colorado. The result reveals that there was not a significant difference between Middle Eastern and US students at the University of Northern Colorado in term of digital citizenship awareness. This study recommends examining other variables that may affect on digital citizenship. Keywords: Digital citizenship, awareness, respect, educate, protect, Middle East.

The Extent of Comprehension and Knowledge with Respect to Digital Citizenship Among Saudi Arabia Teachers

This study aimed at exploring the extent of comprehension and knowledge of digital citizenship among Saudi Arabia teachers. A mixed methods research design was chosen for this study in order to identify the scope and perceptions of digital citizenship awareness among Saudi Arabia teachers based on Ribble’s characterization of respect, educate, and protect and the concurrent triangulation research design to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Specifically, this study focused on investigating how demographic characteristics such as gender, grade level of teaching, and years of experience could influence the perceptions of Saudi teachers with regard to digital citizenship awareness through the semi-structured interviews and an online survey to gather qualitative and quantitative information. Interview results demonstrated teachers’ perceptions of digital citizenship and awareness of such factors as respect, educate, and protect according to Ribble’s categorization. Four male teachers answered the questions about their knowledge of digital citizenship. There were also statistically significant findings on digital citizenship and the importance of such factors as gender, the years of experience, and the grade level of teaching. The answers of teachers helped to reach statistical significance on the level of digital citizenship awareness for Saudi Arabia teachers. Several recommendations on how digital citizenship awareness could be improved and what steps could be taken in future research were given and properly explained

0E2FA: Zero Effort Two-Factor Authentication

Smart devices (mobile devices, laptops, tablets, etc.) can receive signals from different radio frequency devices that are within range. As these devices move between networks (e.g., Wi-Fi hotspots, cellphone towers, etc.), they receive broadcast messages from access points, some of which can be used to collect useful information. This information can be utilized in a variety of ways, such as to establish a connection, to share information, to locate devices, and to identify users, which is central to this dissertation. The principal benefit of a broadcast message is that smart devices can read and process the embedded information without first being connected to the corresponding network. Moreover, broadcast messages can be received only within the range of the wireless access point that sends the broadcast, thus inherently limiting access to only those devices in close physical proximity, which may facilitate many applications that are dependent on proximity. In our research, we utilize data contained in these broadcast messages to implement a two-factor authentication (2FA) system that, unlike existing methods, does not require any extra effort on the part of the users of the system. By determining if two devices are in the same physical location and sufficiently close to each other, we can ensure that they belong to the same user. This system depends on something that a user knows, something that a user owns, and—a significant contribution of this work—something that is in the user’s environment

Usability testing of Google cloud applications: students' perspective

Modern information and communication technologies affect all areas of life significantly, including education and learning. Cloud storage tools are one of the forms of modern information technologies that are employed to serve the educational process. The current research aims to study the use of Google cloud applications (Google Classroom, Google Plus and Google Drive) in education and to determine the most appropriate web-based training environment in view of the level of usability. The experimental method was applied in this study using a sample of 200 students from Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University. The current research found that there was some convergence in the usability of the three environments. Based on the results of the study, it was found that the environment of Google Classroom has the highest usability value (86.45), and also showed statistically significant differences in scholastic achievement in the application the service of Google Classroom in the educational process

Integrated approach to chemical process flowsheet synthesis

Chemical process synthesis is an open ended step of process design as it deals with the problem of how to develop and integrate the chemical process flowsheet. Over the past four decades, very few systematic procedures have been proposed for the rigorous synthesis of complete chemical process flowsheets. Mathematical design and heuristics from experience of past processes are the two main methods usually employed in process synthesis. Most approaches for new designs use heuristics based on studying reaction and separation systems in isolation. This thesis discusses the development of a new process synthesis systematic procedure and software that integrates a knowledge based system with Aspen HYSYS process simulator, HYSYS optimizer, Aspen Icarus economic evaluator, and databases, utilising knowledge from existing industrial processes to obtain design rules. The proposed generic superstructure for the synthesis and optimization of reaction-separation-recycle systems has been validated. To account for the non-ideal behaviour of reactors, modular simulation is used and an example of the approach is illustrated for a fluidized bed reactor. Preliminary work in customizing Aspen HYSYS to simulate new unit operation has been illustrated. A Visual Basic for Application (VBA) programming code has been developed to link the integrated knowledge based system (IKBS) to Aspen HYSYS. The prototype IKBS has been applied for the selection of reactor-separator-recycle systems for ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, acetic acid and cumene manufacturing processes as case studies. A wide range of chemical reactors and separators were considered during the selection process and then elimination occurs at different levels leading to the best alternatives being selected for simulation, optimization and economic evaluation in the second phase of the IKBS for future development. The suggested alternative reactor-separator-recycle systems by the IKBS include currently used processes in addition to novel and recommended reactors/separators in industrial research. The proposed integrated knowledge based approach to chemical process flowsheet synthesis is expected to yield a cost effective design methodology for the petrochemical industry.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The Reality of Practicing Differentiated Learning in Gifted Classes from the Perspective of a Gifted Student and Her Associates

The study aims to identify the reality of practicing and applying differentiated learning for gifted students through adopting the following: a survey descriptive approach in which a set of qualitative instruments such as interviewing a gifted student, a quantitative instrument, a questionnaire for teachers of the gifted, an observation instrument and the document analysis instrument to check what female teachers present with regard to professional practice of differentiated learning in gifted classes.             From the perspective of the gifted student, practicing differentiated learning in gifted classes was not as expected. Contrary to that, teachers’ responses, according to the questionnaire, showed that they did. The use of the observation instrument was to perceive the practice from another perspective. The study concluded that practicing differentiated learning by teachers was lacking, as they continued to use traditional methods of teaching. To ensure teachers’ understanding of the concept of differentiated learning, the document analysis instrument was used. It was clear that the professional training offered by the school and training office was relatively good, but the real practice didn’t cope with its quality.&nbsp

Competences in digital online media literacy: Towards convergence with emergency remote EFL learning

Copyright © 2020 by Academic Publishing House Researcher s.r.o. With the emergency shift to remote learning due to the spread of COVID-19 and the advent of communication technology, developing digital online media literacy (DOML) has become necessary for Saudi English as foreign language (EFL) students. Media literacy empowers EFL students to access, analyze, evaluate, and produce digital online media texts. The preparatory year (PY) is a bridging year that links school outcomes to university demands. This study examines the competences in DOML among students in PY at Saudi University. It also examines whether any differences can be attributed to gender. To accomplish this, a four-dimensional survey of 36 items was adapted from T. Hallaq\u27s (Hallaq, 2016) to serve EFL context. The simple sample consisted of 170 respondents (85 males and 85 females). The results showed that the respondents are competent in DOML (m=3.73), and that there were no statistical differences between females and males. This result indicates that the respondents are ready for the emergency remote learning. Both males and females are subject to the same homogeneous educational system. The paper concludes with some pedagogical implications for emergency remote EFL learning