Assessing the acceptance of UiTM Pahang users towards the implementation of blended learning approach / Azniza Ahmad Zaini...[et.al.]

This paper discusses the initial investigation on the factors that influence the acceptance of both lecturers and students of the implementation of Blended Learning (BL) approach in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Pahang. Blended learning, also known as semi-attendance based learning, offers flexibility of learning and utilizes the technologies in education. About 30% of the total courses of the various programs in UiTM need to be conducted online by June 2013. However, some of the lecturers were afraid that the students would refuse to participate in online learning and some of them lack IT skills so that they might need extra time to prepare their lecture notes online. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 86 final year students of Diploma in Computer Science registered for the programming course and 67students of Diploma in Banking registered for the Malaysian economy course during the June-October 2013 Semester to assess their acceptance of the new approach. At the same time, 53 lecturers from various faculties at UiTM Pahang were also involved in the survey using convenience sampling method and the data were then analysed using descriptive statistics. The users’ perception on i-Learn Portal usage for the BL method, as well as the benefits of implementing Blended Learning approach in their teaching and learning process were also identified. The findings reveal that the students could adapt with the BL approach since most of the students were computer and Internet literate and were gradually adapting to the mixed approaches in assessments. Most of the students also agreed that the implementation of Blended Learning should be continued corresponding with the development of technology, but there were some suggestions on the improvement of the Learning Management System (LMS) portal to achieve the benefits that Blended Learning offers either in physical or virtual classrooms. On the other hand, the findings show that majority of the lecturers do accept the implementation of blended learning mode in their teaching and learning process although they are not ready to do so

A smart model for web attendance: contactless technology / Haslinda Noradzan, Siti Nurbaya Ismail and Mahfudzah Othman

Students' attendance records are important documents for academic institutions that reflect the students' performances and the credibility of the institutions. This research discusses the feasibility study that has been done in UiTM Pahang to identify the problems of recording and reporting students' attendances using manual attendance system. In this study, 550 respondents ranging from the lecturers, students and the management of UiTM Pahang have taken part in the fact-finding process through distributions of questionnaires. From the findings, a well-managed system is indeed needed to be reinforced in order to make the process of recording and reporting the attendances more efficient. This research discusses the development of the proposed Smart Model Attendance Register System (SMART) by adapting the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology. The new system is being developed involving the integration of various open source web-based technologies such as MySQL, PHP and Apache Web Server and accordingly making the system more efficient and cost effective. The new system consists of automated processes such as ability to generate online attendance reports, warning letters and graph charts thus making the processes of recording and reporting the students' attendances more efficient and well-organized

Thematic analysis of issues experienced by blended learning learners / Noridah Abu Bakar … [et al.]

Blended learning has been recognised as an opportunity to improve the teaching and learning process by complementing the strengths and weaknesses of face-to-face instructions and online learning. While most researches focused on the success factors, there is a research gap in the issues of blended learning which has become a barrier to the learning process. This research seeks to explore the issues of blended learning process experienced by learners in higher education. A survey to a selected group of Blended Learning learners based on convenience sampling techniques was carried out to explore these issues. Qualitative data analysis was used to analyse descriptive data thematically and categorised into few main themes. With regards to the issues, 37 raw themes were identified and were categorised into seven (7) main themes. The findings showed that Learning Management System (LMS) was the main issue followed by engagement issue, material issue, server issue, network issue, instructor issue and device issue. The recommendations made by the respondents were also discussed as their points of view are treasured. This study has direct implications to higher education policy makers, ICT administrative teams, curriculum designers, and educators as instructors for blended learning approach