LIB 4900 – Social Informatics – Fall 2015

MLA Citation: Momani, Alaa M. “Comparison Between Two Learning Management Systems: Moodle And Blackboard.” Online Submission (2010): ERIC. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.

Research Question: What are the key differences between Moodle and Blackboard (the most famous known Learning Management System) and what makes each one special in its own way?

Methodology: The Author uses practical research to give a descriptive result organized report. He categorizes the comparison of features into six main factors which are; Pedagogical factor, Learner environment, instructor Tools, Course and Curriculum Design, Administrator Tools, Technical Specifications.

Extent to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study: This article and study takes a social informatics approach in the way it fully lays out the field of the ICT, in this case is Blackboard and Moodle. From there he points out in a classified manor the facts of each software and takes it further by applying the S.I. approach by looking at the factors in the eyes of a learner and an instructor. From there after reading these points and classifications we can see what’s missing from each other, what sets them apart and ultimately. only by doing this can you see the diciplinary field, uses and negatives, as well as consequences from picking just one of the two learning systems. It even looks at feedback, progress, cost and other outside factors that intertwine with the ICT in discussion.

MLA citation: Teo, Timothy. “Preservice teachers’ satisfaction with e-learning.” Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal 42.1 (2014): 3+.Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.

Research Question: How effectively the teachers can teach through a e learning system?

Methodology: The author used the usability test and question and answering process. They collected the Data and showed the effectiveness of e learning system from real the life scenario.

Extent to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study:

The study shows the effectiveness level of the e learning system. The Author interviewed the students who are enrolled to the e learning system and try to analyze the current e learning system. Can  the e learning  system be an alternative to our current traditional way of  teaching? So the researcher collected the usability test data and found out that ” 71.6% of the variance in satisfaction was accounted for by its antecedents and the amounts for perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions, and tutor quality were 61.7%, 68.5%, 48%, and 35.2%, respectively “(Teo). The research study was done on the students of one institution.

Online multimedia learning with mobile devices and desktop computers: an experimental test of Clark’s methods-not-media-hypothesis

MLA citation: 

Sung, Eunmo, and Mayer, Richard E. “Online Multimedia Learning with Mobile Devices and Desktop Computers: An Experimental Test of Clark’s Methods-not-media Hypothesis.” Computers in Human Behavior 29.3 (2012): 639-47. Web.

This article came from Computers in human behavior, which is a peer reviewed journal that gives insight to many different experimental tests on the method of media.

Research question:

What processes differentiate desktop online multimedia learning from mobile?

Methodology:

This article uses some of the same methods of research that we have learned in class. The main methodology that i noticed was being used was the usability tests. The usability tests were a big part of this research because that seemed to be a staple that they were basing alot of there ideas off of. The usability test that they conducted consisted of administering a test on both desktop (computer) and mobile (iPad) and then compared the scores, results, and clicks between the two. I am glad that i got to see this type of methodology used in action because it is exactly the route that my group seems to be heading in.

Extent to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study:

This article touches upon many of the ideas from social informatics and places emphasis on the study of information from an institutional context. In Mayer’s words; “An important implication for instructional designers is that instructional design principles that improve learning in a desktop environment can apply to learning in newly emerging mobile learning environments. This study also shows that it is possible to successfully combine instructional principles to create effective lessons, whereas previous work has examined the principles in isolation” (4.3).

Mayer also stated how the study was not finished because he believed he needed to conduct more tests to find an answer with clear evidence. A lot of what he spoke about in this article had to with our educational system and the way that we arr taught to learn from an institutional stand point. I look forward to looking for more pieces relating to the same topic from this author.

Reenvisioning Teaching and Learning: Opportunities for Campus IT

MLA Citation:

Malcolm Brown. “Reenvisioning Teaching and Learning: Opportunities for Campus IT.” portal: Libraries and the Academy 14.3 (2014): 383-391.Project MUSE. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. <https://muse.jhu.edu/>.

According to the Johns Hopkins University Press, “portal: Libraries and the Academy [is] an international refereed quarterly journal, publishes articles that focus on all aspects of librarianship, knowledge management, and information services and studies within higher education. portal articles are intended for an audience that is interested in the broad role and impact of libraries within the academy.”

Research Question:

How are the roles of the chief information officer, academic technologist and campus academic technology infrastructure being transformed?

Methodology:

This journal article is does not use any of the methodology we discussed on class. Rather than employing tactics such as usability tests, interviews, etc., this article instead uses the consolidated approach. The author gathered his own research, analyzed it and interpreted it in a way that poses a solution to the research question above.

Extent to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study:

This article embodies the principles of social informatics, in the sense that emphasizes the importance of institutional subtext. In fact, this article is entirely about how institutional bodies within the infrastructure of higher education must be adjusted. In Brown’s words, “The ever-increasing variety of curricular resources, course models, technology, and staffing support available to instructors provide a similar opportunity to create pathways constructed out of new connections. The institution, too, has fresh opportunities to deliver a more personalized learning experience for students, constructed in part through both traditional and nontraditional partnerships” (384).

Brown is conscious of the interdisciplinary interplay that happens around ICTs. He even speaks upon the concept of disruptive innovation, stating that “We have seen disruptions occur over the past fifty years in other sectors of the economy, such as manufacturing, music, journalism” (385).

Though this article does not apply directly to web portal technologies such as CUNYPortal, it builds upon this notion that infrastructural issues need to be worked out from many levels. Brown focuses in on the campus IT offices, such as the roles of the CIO and the academic technologist. He outwardly says that “the new situation for higher education is calling for a cultural change, something that is always difficult” (389). In other words, he is speaking to the truth of co-shaping.

Title:

Comparing dropouts and persistence in E-learning courses

APA Citation:

Levy, Y. (2007). Comparing Dropouts and Persistence in E-learning. Computers & Education, 48(2), 185-204

Research Question:

Why do students attending e–learning courses dropout at substantially higher rates than their counterparts in on-campus courses?

Methodology:

Several studies were conducted in regard to dropouts from on-campus and “distance” education courses. The study proposes a clear and precise definition of dropout from academic courses in the context of e–learning courses. The researchers conducted various studies in the hopes to find an answer to the question of why students drop courses. The researchers found that students attending e–learning courses dropout at substantially higher rates than their counterparts in on-campus courses. Realizing there had to be a reason or flaw in the system they began to dig deeper. The study explores two main ideas: academic focus of control; & students’ satisfaction with e–learning. Their results prove that students’ satisfaction with e–learning is a key indicator in students’ decision to dropout from e–learning courses. I found it interesting that dropout students or “non-completers” reported to have significantly lower satisfaction with e–learning than students who successfully completed “completers” the same e–learning courses. This shows that students who finshed the entire course had better things to say in regard to the technologies.

Extent to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study:

Given that Social informatics is the study of communication and information tools in cultural or institutional concepts, this idea directly links to the journal article that i have chosen to blog about. The author, Yair Levy, has put together multiple pieces on learning enviroments and e learning atmospheres so the information he has came up with is deffinately a reputable resource. This study deffinately applies to the social informatics methods of studying E-Learning systems.

APA CITAION: Khan, Shahadat Hossain. “A Model for Integrating ICT into Teacher Training Programs in Bangladesh Based on TPCK.” International Journal of Education and Development Using Information and Communication Technology 10.3 (2014): 21-31. Web.

Methodology: The author used Descriptive Qualitative methodology for his research.

The journal article is about ICT use in the educational sectors in developing countries like Bangladesh and why it is important for those countries to merge into a technology based education system. We are living in an age of information technology. Information technology is the most important aspect in today’s world.  We can’t really do anything without information technology. So we have to know how to operate the machines and technological aspects to keep ourselves on track in the fast paced world. There is no second choice in this regard. The developed countries like USA, Canada, UK, Australia etc. took great initiatives to train their population on ICT. The educational system on those countries are using technology based teaching and improving in a large scale.

The problem is with the developing countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal etc. All though they have started using technology based education system, they are way behind comparing to the developed countries. They have many problem, funding is one of them. If you want to merge a system to another, you have might face some difficulties. Proper funding  is one of them. Again without the technology based education, social and economic improvement is almost impossible. So basically the author focused on the importance of ICT based education system and how the developing countries can merge into an ICT based education system.

MLA Citation:

Ouyang, John Ronghua, and Nile Stanley. “Theories And Research In Educational Technology And Distance Learning Instruction Through Blackboard.”
Universal Journal Of Educational Research 2.2 (2014): 161-172. ERIC. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Research Question:
This presentation is reviewing various
educational technology related theories, exploring and
discussing up-to-date theoretical research and applications.

Methodology used:
A review and discussion of various theories in education. This paper reviews educational technology related theories. Learning theories discussed in the research and later applied to an evaluation of Blackboard’s distance learning environment platform. Theories discussed are: Constructivist theory, a brief description of the multiple intelligence theory, anchored instruction theory, cognitive flexibility theory, theory of diffusion of innovations, distribution cognition theory, dual-coding theory, experiential learning theory, script theory, situated cognition theory, and symbol system theory. At the end of the article Blackboard is discussed in the context of the stated theories.

Extent of social informatics approach to the research study:
According to the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction “Social informatics (SI) is a theoretical and empirical approach to the study of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in society.” The authors Ouyang John Ronghua, and Nile Stanley explore the popular theories of education and then review the Blackboard platform in the context of those theories. This paper definitely applies to social informatics methods of studying ICT systems.

Comparative Analysis of Academic Web Sites

MLA Citation:

MECHITOV, A. I., MOSHKOVICH, H. M., TAYLOR, R. G., & UNDERWOOD, S. H. (2001). COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC WEB SITES. Education, 121(4), 652. Retrieved from http://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA78535651&v=2.1&u=cuny_baruch&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=2d6b0a271a79fb041e4ad03d574f0f70

According to Academic OneFile, Education is “a professional journal presenting studies and theoretical papers on all areas of teaching and learning in both school and university settings. Issues focus on school psychology, the prevention of delinquency through high school programs, curriculum, instructional procedures, and practices in education.”

One preliminary note on this particular study from me — though it seems to be geared more towards informational websites (baruch.cuny.edu) than web portals (cunyportal.cuny.edu), the web portal still emphasizes information content and overall design, though I don’t think entertainment value is as big a factor.

Research Question:

What characteristics should a university web site embody in order for it to be effective and useful for its student users?

Methodology:

The researchers designed a 27-question survey to evaluate the effectiveness of 13 Alabama public state universities. The participants were predominantly juniors and seniors taking a CIS course about Internet applications at the University of West Alabama. All in all, 31 students participated in the survey, which was presented to them as assignment for the course.

In terms of dependent variables, each student used MS Explorer 4.0 as the browser. The researchers chose schools from the same state in order to “have a representative pool of institutions which included universities of all sizes and levels, but also to control, as much as possible, for regional differences and other extraneous variables” (655).  The survey was conducted in the middle of the semester, ensuring as best as possible that all of the students had the same level of pre-established knowledge about Java, HTML and basic web design.

The questions were designed to gauge the students perception of each website’s information content, entertainment value and overall design. The researchers found that that the students favored entertainment value above all, then considered availability/accessibility of information and aesthetic value after that.

Extent to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study:

If social informatics is an interdisciplinary means of evaluating human-computer interaction, with an emphasis on institutional and cultural factors, then this study more or less fulfills that definition. Likewise, if social informatics believes that context key, then the design of the study embodies that concept. For example, the researchers specifically state that “[their] approach to reduces generalizability. However, given the aforementioned caveat that the perception of site effectiveness is likely to be very contextual, we believe that the present study provides an example of site evaluation and what such evaluations may yield, and not a conclusive set of standards” (655).

The Benefit of a Comprehensive, Integrated, and Granular Data System for Community and Technical College Institutional Research.

APA:

Schoenecker, C. (2010). The benefits of a comprehensive, integrated, and

granular data system for community and technical college institutional research. New Directions For Institutional Research, 2010(147), 81-108.

Research Question:

According to the peer-reviewed journal, It describes the Minnesota system’s organization and information infrastructure, IR office’s staffing and its role in developing and implementing an accountability framework for the system, how the unit has changes, and prospects for the future of IR system. How the unit’s role is affected by supporting both two-year colleges and universities (pg 81).

Methodology:

First of the methodology that I found in this journal is through survey. Schoenecker says that to find out system’s statistician, “third coordinates a survey of graduates and is a reporting expert “(pg 84).

Second methodology is also survey form but for different purpose. This survey to know the employment rate after the student graduate. Schoenecker says that, “each college and university is responsible for conducting an annual follow-up survey of its graduates regarding employment and continued education” (pg 91).

Thrid methodology is through oral histories and historical tracing. When IR staff communicates with the new staff, they using software and teach the new staff. For example, “Experienced IR staff frequently use the listerv to share their knowledge with newer staff” (pg 97).

A lot of the methodology in this journal that I found that is through quantitative method. IR staffs use the information and data in the system to analyze and produce different type of reports. For example, “The Research Unit consulted with the IR Group as it developed the measures and statistical analysis to identify acceptable level of improvement” (pg 88).

The extend to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study:

From the user aspect, the state system can be use by the students to register class, apply financial aid and etc. IR staff can also use the system to analyze and create different types of report such as system satisfaction or performance report of students or others.

Techonology aspect, the state system has categories into community college, technical college and state university, which total up is 36 colleges and 7 universities. All of the universities and colleges is using this state system to transfer students or do other admission documentary.

Information aspect, IR staff using the data in the system to analyze report and compare the target for every year. For example, “The Research Unit provides analysis, information, and consultation to community and technical college leaders and university and system leaders in support of the system’s performance improvement process” (pg 86).

Social and organization aspect, some of the reports from the state system also send to the federal state so that government has information to do update. Besides that, the state system also divided into two categories, one is for system staff and another is for campus staff. These two categories have different organizations to handle different role or function.

http://www.cio.com/article/2439102/enterprise-resource-planning/university-erp–big-mess-on-campus.html

I found a journal article that was posted on May 1, 2005 on CIO website called “University ERP: Big Mess on Campus” written by Thomas Weilgum. I thought it was interesting for me because I’m writing a research paper about CunyFirst (Fully Integrated Resources & Service Tool) in CUNY colleges that supported by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

The article is about how students returned to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst campus in the fall of 2004 not knowing that new system was implemented while they were out for the summer. The problems started when they couldn’t log into the school’s new online registration system. Usually new systems require to set up a new password which students didn’t know about until they returned to campus. Students probably flooded the “I forgot my password” option because they couldn’t log in. After about a thousand of these requests, the system crushed, which was the result of a PeopleSoft Web portal implementation that had been rushed. “The freshmen were going crazy because they didn’t know where to go,” said one of the senior students. For the first three days of the semester, classes were half-empty and long lines everywhere. Around the same time other universities like Stanford University and Indiana University experienced problems too with the new implemented ERP system where nonfunctioning Web portal prevented students from finding out where their classes were or in Indiana University they were denied financial aid.

According to this article all these problems began because college executives relied too much on this new software hoping for a quick fix and expecting people to learn on their own to navigate the system. After all the ERP system is expensive itself which means hiring experts or recruiting staff would result in cost overruns.

Representatives from PeopleSoft said that a large part of the problem results from the inexperience of universities IT departments and their tendency to rush implementations and inadequately test the new systems. They try to do too much in too little time. Also lean staffs and tight budgets at most university campuses usually lead to a lack of proper training and systems testing.

Sincerely,

Nina K.