LIB 4900 – Social Informatics – Fall 2015

COMPUTER-APPLICATIONS IN EDUCATION – A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

D. Midian Kurland and Laura C. Kurland

MLA Citation of the article:

• The article is about how computers have changed our lives but more importantly, changed the way that we learn
• Studies how computers are being used with increased frequency and success in schools at all grade levels and in all subject areas
• Relates to our topic because it gives an overview of the history of computers in education and also gives an overview of how they are increasingly being used
• Section devoted to the administrative use which was an interesting area we are looking about researching

MLA Citation: 

Agudo-Peregrina, Ángel F., Hernández-García, Ángel, and Pascual-Miguel, Félix J. “Behavioral Intention, Use Behavior and the Acceptance of Electronic Learning Systems: Differences between Higher Education and Lifelong Learning.” Computers in Human Behavior (2013): Computers in Human Behavior. Web.

Research Questions:

Difference between higher education and life long e-learning systems; Behavioral intentions and accpetance of electronic systems

Methodology:

Literature Review (Peer reviewed journal entries)

The main purpose if this research example was to investigate the use of computers within human behavior. The author used use of journal entries and research that was done in the past and cited many different studies within his case study. The author also mentioned that a smaller portion of his research model was done by handing out questionaires and analyzing the results; he felt that the results from the questionaire were not as accurate as the previous methodology he had used

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

I have found that this study takes a social informatics approach in the sense that it places a heavy emphasis on the role of the user and the ways which the computers and systems are made to prioritize the needs of human usability so that they can use the e-learning model with ease. The author often would mention the institutional needs and how the systems were built to coinicde with the culture that the organizations were implemented into. The study states “Results suggest a trade-off effect between habit and behavioral intention. Two components of perceived usefulness are identified: performance and flexibility”. This is clear proof that human behaviors were always kept in mind.

MLA Citation: Navimpour, NJ. Zareie, B. “A Model for Assessing The Impact of E-learning Systems On Employees.” Computers in Human Behavior. 53. 2015. 475-485. Web of Science. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Research Question: Which factors are significant in satisfaction of employees using e-learning systems?

Methodology: In an effort to determine employee’s satisfaction with e-learning systems, the researchers in this article first elected to conduct a literature review revolving around the relationship between experimental learning and learning satisfaction and whether learning satisfaction contributed positively to career opportunities. A questionnaire was also designed and given to a select group of employees in which the respondents were asked to agree or disagree with questions using a five point Liker scale.

 Extent to which this article takes a social informatics approach to the research study: This study takes a social informatics approach in that it stressed and emphasized the element of the user and how they interacted with the specific ICT. Rather than dwelling on strictly putting the ICT under the microscope, these researchers decided to delve into the beliefs and effects of the user base. The research in this article was based overall on employee satisfaction but in order to get a fair measurement these researchers broke this concept into four sections: educational technology, motivation, educational content & attitude. By analyzing the data in this fashion, researchers were able to ultimately identify the most important aspects from each area, and tie it all together to paint the bigger picture.

MLA Citation:

Mtebe, Joel S.1. “Learning Management System Success: Increasing Learning Management System Usage In Higher Education In Sub-Saharan Africa.” International Journal Of Education & Development Using Information & Communication Technology 11.2 (2015): 51-64. Education Source. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.

Research Question:

Whether Learning Management Systems (LMS) in institutions of higher learning are fulfilling their potential in the region of the sub-Sahara.

Methodology:

Literature review

Extent of social informatics approach:

This paper’s use of the literature review methodology does not necessarily employ a social informatics approach. But cited works and previous research have employed many elements of SI. An SI approach was undertaken by the cited authors. A study of the effectiveness, utilization, awareness and use of a Learning Mangement System ICT was conducted. University populations of students and faculty were studied to gauge their use, knowledge, awareness and utilization of a Learning Management System, i.e. Blackboard, Moodle, Sakai, and KEWL specifically. A lack of interdisciplinary study into the Learning Management System problem was a downfall of an SI approach.

MLA Citation:

Bringula, Rex P., and Roselle S. Basa. “Factors affecting faculty web portal usability.” Educational Technology & Society 14.4 (2011): 253+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

According to its website, Educational Technology & Society is a quarterly, peer-reviewed academic journal. Ultimately, it “seeks academic articles on the issues affecting the developers of educational systems and educators who implement and manage such systems.”

Research Question:

This study seeks to answer a lot of questions. In the introduction portion, it lists the following questions as what it was designed to answer:

(1) What are the faculty-related factors in terms of age, highest educational attainment, level of computer applications and Internet skills, commitment of use of faculty web portal, and presence of internet access at home?

(2) How evident are the web portal design-related factors, such as ease of navigation, information content, availability, speed, and aesthetics, in the existing faculty web portal?

(3) What is the level of usability of the web portal elements (academic transactions and online research) as to frequency of use? and

(4) Do the faculty-related factors and web-portal design-related factors, singly or in combination, affect the faculty web portal usability? (254-255)

I think a less nuanced, consolidated version of the above questions is something along the lines of:

What factors affect educational web portal usability for students and faculty?

Methodology:

The study modeled its methodology after the research paradigm below:

The researchers conducted questionnaires on faculty at East-Manila University. Researchers took note of factors such as age, education, availability of internet access at home, understanding of computer applications, Internet skills and overall use of the faculty web portal. They also used a “multiple regression analysis at 1% level of probability and 99% reliability was used to determine which of the faculty- and web portal design-related factors would significantly affect the usability of faculty web portal” (259). Ultimately, there was quite a bit of statistical number-crunching to show a correlation.

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

This study takes a social informatics approach in that it really emphasizes the role of the user base in design and execution; it takes into account cultural and institutional quirks, focusing in on university itself and even the Philippines. It literally gauges the way people interact with this specific ICT, and notes that “web portal programmers should develop a web portal based on the needs of the users” (261). Lastly, it draws to a close with a series of recommendations for developers, such as advocating portal use training. In other words, the study not only identifies the needs of the faculty, but takes it a step further and puts it into simplified language for developers to better execute.

APA: Database Administration. (2002). In L. C. Hillstrom & K. Hillstrom (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Small Business (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 296-300). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3404300160&v=2.1&u=cuny_baruch&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=0ad283adb6d622b20b05eab33cacfe25

Research Question:

This article is about the understanding of data administration and how the small business selecting the data management system and what should the small business considered or aware before or after selecting data system.

Methodology:

Seriously I couldn’t find any methodology in this article. Most of them is based on the author ‘s thought and explanation. Probably one of the methodology that might fit in this article is that historical tracing. When the author says that, “In the past, the database record might have included text information about the employee—birth date, address, starting date…company’s location” (pg297).

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

The small business is considered as an organization aspect of social informatics in this research study. Some the content is discussed how does small business choosing the right data management system and what would be the consideration when selecting the right system.

In the technology aspect of social informatics, author also mentioned that small business could choose the form or way of how the data can store and use by their user. Author says that, “if the data is vast and is stored on a remote mainframe, end-users throughout the company can all access the data from their desktop using computer networking technology” (pg296), it means that the users can use the data whenever they want as long as their system is connect with the networking technology.

MLA Citation

King, Emma. “Exploring Factors That Influence Adoption of E-Learning Within Higher Education.” British Journal of Educational Technology. 46(6). 2015. 1272-1280.

Research Question

What are the influences of the adoption of e-learning technologies within higher learning environments?

Methodology

A series of studies were carried out at the University of Warwick with a pool of participants that included both students and faculty. There were 48 participants in total, 37 were broken into focus groups and 11 were studied in individual interviews. A demographic questionnaire was also completed by all participants in an effort to help assess the extent to which the sample might be representative of the population of the university. The focus group ad interview data was analyzed using data coding, categorization, identification of themes ad interpretation. Participants identified the infrastructure of the institution, staff attitudes and attributes and perceived student expectations as key factors that impacted an adoption of e-learning within the university.

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

This article had many aspects of social informatics involved. Not only were they sure to get a wide range of participants to take part in the study, the author was also able to ensure that there was a relatively even gender split and wide distribution of age and years of teaching experience. Having a diversified participant pool can provide a larger variety of results and would give a better understanding of a wider range of views. The study also delved into the way in which the ICTR was being used within this university and how/why each group used and felt about the technology. The ways in which the institution adopted and influenced the technology was also a big theme in this article.

MLA Citation:

Drabble, Anne1. “An Examination Of Literacy, Knowledge, And Learning In An Online Community Of Practice.” International Journal Of Literacies 22.1 (2015): 1-8. Education Source. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

Research Question:

Examine the online communication that pre-service teachers engaged in on a social netowrking site as part of a curriculum and planning unit at an Australian University.

Methodology:

Case study of pre-service teacher communications using an online social networking system.

Extent of social informatics approach:

This research study conducted in an Australian University looked at teachers as individuals, in a group and also “communities of practice” – a group of people who share a concern or passion for something they do. The study wanted to guage the communication and how the groups of pre-service teachers (student teachers) engaged using social networking technology. the literature review the author points to Eckert (2006) that “there is a distinct link between a person and the group”. This study also discusses the experience that is shared between participants when part of an online learning community. The author points to Zhang (2001) that ” shared collaborative communication constructed within

communities of practice lead to learned changes in values and behaviours”. Social informatics approach was very evident as results were evaluated based on the engagement of pre-service teachers using the university communication system.