Rosnaini Mahmud

Computer games development experience and appreciative learning approach for creative process enhancement

Nurturing children into thinking creatively needs to take account of what interest them. Therefore, the study conducted engaged students with computer games development as it corresponded with the young generations habits and interests. This was done with the purpose to enhance the creative process experienced by students. It involved 69 Malaysian form one (grade seven) students, aged 13-14 year-old. Appreciative learning approach, which consisted of discover, dream, design and destiny stages, was applied in treatment group whiles control group applied self-paced learning, followed by do-it-yourself session. Findings showed students in treatment group gained accelerated mean score in creative process experienced on the second week and stabilized thereafter for the following weeks. These mean scores were significantly higher than control group, throughout the study. Although students in control group exhibited significantly lower mean scores in creative process, yet these mean scores gradually getting higher and higher each week significantly. As a conclusion, appreciative learning approach contributes significantly on the level of creative process experienced by students. However, creative process experienced did not happen in a clear-cut order of inspiration, clarification, evaluation, distillation, incubation, perspiration (ICEDIP). In addition, it is not true that without appreciative learning approach, students will not experience any creative process. Creative process happens all the time when the mind is active but the level can be accelerated by appropriate pedagogical approach. Caution is warranted, as this article is just part of the action research being carried out in applying appreciative learning approach as a teaching practice in computer games development class.

Teachers' Acceptance of ICT and Its Integration in the Classroom.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify factors that affect teachers’ motivation to use information and communications technology (ICT) in the classroom. The study aims to determine the extent to which selected variables, such as personal experience, school environment and technological factors, influenced teachers’ tendency to accept and utilize ICT in teaching. Design/methodology/approach – The study used primary data sources from Mazandaran, Iran, that included field notes and semi-structured interviews. Findings – Results revealed that adequate support from administrators, directives to teachers to use ICT, appropriate ICT skills and knowledge as well as adequate resources were important factors that influenced the utilization of ICT in the classroom. Findings also showed that insufficient technical support discouraged teachers from using ICT in teaching, while increasing adequate equipment and technical support in schools encouraged teachers in this respect. Research limitations/implications – Because this study was conducted on a small number of participants, its findings may not apply fully to other educational institutions. Practical implications – The results from this study would be helpful to educational departments and institutions in their formulation of policies to encourage the use of ICT in education. The findings would also give a better insight of what constitutes an environment that is conducive for learning where ICT is integrated into the classroom. Originality/value – By focusing on teachers’ intention, this study provides important insights into which factors influence teacher attitude to use ICT into classroom. As a result, the finding will help the development of e-learning quality enhancement and assurance strategies.

Barriers of Using Jusur Learning Management System in Saudi Arabia Universities

T he purpose of this study was to determine the main barriers faced by faculty members from using Jusur LMS in Saudi universities. This study was quantitative in nature and employed a descriptive research design. The sample of this study included 454 faculty members from four public universities in Saudi Arabia who had experience using Jusur LMS for instructional purposes. Data were gathered through the use of a web-questionnaire. Findings indicated that barriers faced by faculty members from using Jusur LMS were considered at a moderate level. Further analysis also revealed that respondents identified numerous administrative and technological barriers such as lack of technical, administrative and financial supports. In the technological domain, they faced obstacles with availability of appropriate hardware, poor internet connectivity, the lack of internet access, unsuitable software and technological resources in the Arabic language. It is suggested that for an improved utilization of Jusur LMS at Saudi universities, barriers such as administrative and technological obstacles must be taken into due consideration.

The influence of subjective norm on intention to use of learning management system among Malaysian higher education students

In recent years, the use of learning management system by universities has been increasingly growing. However, the results of several studies have revealed that students do not fully use the information systems. The present study proposes a model which investigates the influence of three constructs of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and subjective norm on behavior intention to use of learning management system. The sample size was 216 Malaysian undergraduate students. The results of the study revealed that the proposed model accounts for 31.1 % variance of behavior intention to use.

The contribution of institutional factors to course satisfaction with perceived learning as a mediator among student in Malaysian research universities

Distance learning in Malaysia has seen phenomenal growth especially in higher education where there are numerous universities offering online courses that have specifically provided access to students who were challenged by space and time constraints. Regardless of the dramatic increase of online courses and student enrollment, there are many indications that online courses are unsuccessful at meeting students’ needs and students are dissatisfied with their online course experiences, which brings about a serious concern regarding the dropout rates of online courses. For solving this issue, it is crucial that researchers identify and study the factors that lead to student satisfaction with online courses because course satisfaction is considered to be the largest determinant in reducing dropout in distance learning environment. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of institutional factors in terms of support including technical support, administrative support, and university support toward course satisfaction among 367 undergraduate distance students in Malaysian research universities. The result of the study revealed that institutional factors were a significantly positive, and strong factor associated with course satisfaction. Further, both direct and indirect effects of institutional factors on course satisfaction were significant, which means the effect of this variable on course satisfaction is partially mediated by perceived learning.

Differences in students’ mathematics engagement between gender and between rural and urban schools

The purpose of this study was to explore secondary school students’ mathematics engagement focusing on the cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement domains. A total of 387 students (186 male and 201 female) from the urban and rural secondary schools in Pahang, Malaysia, were randomly selected. There were 158 students from the urban schools and 229 students from the rural schools. Descriptive analyses for mathematics engagement domains revealed behavioural engagement had the highest mean (M = 3.74, SD = .63), followed by cognitive engagement (M = 3.56, SD = .43) and affective engagement (M = 3.48, SD = .47). The mean for students’ overall mathematics engagement was 3.56 (SD = .46). Further analyses showed there were significant differences in each of the engagement domains in mathematics learning (affective, cognitive and behavioural), where students in the urban schools showed significantly better in the mean scores for affective, cognitive, behavioural domains and the overall mathematics engagemen...

Understanding Teacher Educators’ Beliefs and Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Teacher Training Institute

Technological competencies for teacher educators cannot be developed without consideration of an array of factors that impact the teaching and learning processes. This paper presents successful experiences and problems associated with the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as perceived by five teacher trainers. As realities indicate that there are significant barriers to the effective use of technology, the complex and less visible space of teacher trainers’ must be addressed and understood. By understanding teacher trainers’ beliefs and use, we can better design Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes plus other support system deemed necessary. Factors that both stimulate and obstruct will be discussed in this case study carried out in a Teacher Training Institute. Results among others highlight the need for technology environment that allows for learning and growth.