Chapter I
INTRODUCTION Background of the Study In today’s modern times when everything comes in handy and almost in real-time, it is hard to keep a balance between efficiency, speed and accuracy in one hand and values, virtues and responsibilities on the other. Teachers and learners of this age have become accustomed to the easy access provided by the worldwide web to online references such that books and the printed materials are now often disregarded and considered by some as obsolete. This can be explained by the evolving concepts, ideas and references made available by the Internet and other electronic media that are updated by the minute. This is widely known as Electronic Learning.
Electronic Learning allows the influx of information right to where the user is located. It gives the user access to the vast references from the different parts of the globe on a specific topic and allows the user to browse on different materials without having to leave the comforts of his home, his school, and the community where he belongs. More popularly known as E-Learning, “it is a method that makes educational content available on electronic media” (http://www.demarque.com/demarque/english/home/elearning.asp).
Among the many advantages the E-Learning offers is its ability to bring forth substantial amount of information in just a short time and at any given period, regardless of location. “The instruction offers delivery systems that can reduce costs substantially. Students get more learning compared to the traditional four-wall-classroom setting education. The campus is open 24 hours for online study and through CD-ROM. Such training is time-efficient, cost-effective, and develops students' learning at one's preferred pace thereby making self-paced learning a reality. Students also have access to educational and learning materials that they can explore and download even at home, in a friend's house, or even inside the comforts of an internet café” (http://www.brokenshire.edu.ph/elearning/advantage.html).
Modernization in the aspect of education has not only limited its scope in the provision of online references but has already transformed the school into many faces. One of the evolving educational cultures at this moment is the use of the Electronic Discussion Board which does not only remodel the method of instruction but has actually revolutionized the manner by which learning is passed from one to another.
Brokenshire College is among the many schools in the country today that use electronic learning facilities alongside the traditional classroom set-up, particularly the Electronic Discussion Board. In the three years of existence of the E-Learning department of the college it has put up three e-Learning laboratories, furnished with 144 computer units. All three laboratories are used to assist the educators in the delivery of instruction. It is also in the e-Learning laboratories where online examinations are conducted and Electronic Discussion Boards are answered. Modular classes are also conducted in the laboratories.
It has been observed that while the campaign for the use of the e-Learning resources was intensified last semester through training and informal gatherings as venue for discussion, not many instructors of the college, particularly those from the General Education department, are using the Electronic Discussion Board program. However, no measure as to solicit the feedback of the instructors regarding the matter has been conducted.
The Electronic Discussion Board program of Brokenshire College is still in its Beta stage and this has been the case for over a year already. No mechanism for gathering feedbacks from educators has been installed except for informal discussions that were mostly not documented. Results of this review will be helpful in assessing the need for improvement of the said program.Statement of the ProblemThis study aims to answer the following questions:
1. What are the perceptions of educators of Brokenshire College, particularly those from the General Education department, on the value of the Electronic Discussion Board as a learning tool in terms of:
1.1 advantages
1.2 disadvantages?
2. What are the factors affecting the preferences of educators on the use of the Electronic Discussion Board program?
3. How is the Electronic Discussion Board of Brokenshire College used, either:
3.1 as a communication tool between educators and students
3.2 for assignments
3.3 for quizzes/exams
3.4 for discussion?
4. What is the impact of Brokenshire College’s context in the Electronic Discussion Board use in terms of:
4.1 Internet connectivity
4.2 physical set-up of computers
4.2.1 location of computers
4.2.2 capabilities of computers
4.2.3 number of computer units available
4.3 assistance provided by staff and the E-Learning department to educators who use the program?
Objectives of the Study The influx of information, coupled with the development of Electronic Learning programs, has presented both the educators and the students with varying techniques in the transmission and reception of knowledge. The researcher feels the need to investigate on the use of the electronic learning resources, particularly on the Electronic Discussion Board, as an educational tool in Brokenshire College where a paradigm shift is transforming the school from the traditional set-up it was once were to what it is today.
Specifically, the research is geared towards the identification of the advantages and disadvantages of the Electronic Discussion Board as perceived by educators of Brokenshire College from the General Education department since these factors may or may not contribute to the preferences of educators in the use of the program as reported in the number of educators employing the Electronic Discussion Board.
The researcher also hopes to identify elements affecting the preferences of educators in the use of the Electronic Discussion Board as well as factors affecting the use of the said program. Significance of the StudyThe result of this study will provide baseline data about the strengths and weaknesses of the Electronic Discussion Board as will be shown in the result under the advantages and disadvantages agenda. This will be helpful in considering areas for improvement of the program.
The discussion/interview results will also open up venues for deeper investigation related to the topic, or may be blown up by the researcher for another study in the next time.
Furthermore, this study will serve as a focus of a follow-up study for other researchers who wish to dig deeper into the dynamics of Electronic Discussion Board. Scope and Limitation of the Study This study will take place in Brokenshire College. The study will focus on the collection and analysis of base data about how educators of Brokenshire College perceive the use of the Electronic Discussion Board as an education tool, the factors affecting the preferences of educators on the use of the Electronic Discussion Board, the manner by which the Electronic Discussion Board is used in the college and the impact of the context of Brokenshire College in the use of the Electronic Discussion Board program.
The study will involve educators from the General Education department since the Beta stage involves educators from the said department only. The General Education department is responsible for the instruction of fundamental courses. More specifically, the study will involve educators from the General Education department who employed the Electronic Discussion Board program during the Academic Year 2005-2006 as well as those who did not. Chapter II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKPresented herein are the related literatures to the study. These materials are relevant in the comprehension of the subject that will be studied. Conceptual and theoretical frameworks of the research study will also be presented in this chapter.
Theory Base
The Electronic Discussion Board, used as a tool for the delivery of instruction and education, is actually dependent on the Internet. There are already a number of research studies in relation to the use of the Internet as an education tool. Studies with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of the use of the Internet show a number of points that are necessary to digest if an institution is into this kind of education delivery.
Advantages of using the Internet include its ability to arouse the interest of students, the ease of communication among teachers for sharing ideas, the availability of new resources, and the potential to develop new relationships all over the world (Pool et al. 1995). The Internet also offers the possibility of interaction with experts (P. McCorkle, Internet Message, July 18, 1995).
However, there are problems such as making sure that the technology is used in educationally appropriate ways. Too often people worry more about the accessibility of the Internet to all students than about using it effectively in their classrooms (Maddux 1994). Other problems include antiquated hardware and software, lack of technical and curriculum support, lack of coherent structure, stability, and documentation, lack of training, censorship, and quality control (Murphy 1995). Effective use of the Internet is also dependent on the teachers’ technological skills (Peha, 1995) as well as their ability to cope to new models of teaching and learning (Follansbee et al., 1996).
While the use of the Internet can change teachers’ attitudes towards the computer as an instructional tool and can encourage them to restructure their classes, continued and effective use requires ongoing training, technical support, home access, and time to learn how to incorporate it into teaching (Gallo & Horton, 1994; Honey & McMillan, 1993).
“The information explosion dictates the need for faster and better thinkers to scan, digest, assess, and act upon a bewildering bombardment of facts (di Sessa, 1988). Every day something new can be learned; thus, something new could be taught (Alexander & Knight, 1993). According to Woronov (1994), computers themselves do not automatically change the nature of teaching and learning. Seemingly, the ways that teachers integrate computer learning with classroom instruction through energy and creativity appear to be the catalysts that create fertile, thriving, learning environments (Gates, 1995)” (http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_3/hamza/).
Conceptual Framework
In this study, the preferences of educators from the General Education department of Brokenshire College in the use of the Electronic Discussion Board will be determined by the context in which the school has.
The input of the study is the context of Brokenshire College which includes internet connectivity, the physical set-up of the computers which includes the location, capabilities and the number of units, and the assistance provided by the department to the users of the program. The process is the Electronic Discussion Board. The output is the teacher preference on the use of the Electronic Discussion Board program with reference to the speed of Internet connection, accessibility and quality service of the department. Chapter III
METHODOLOGY This part of the study will present the research design to be employed by the researcher. The research design will include the method of the study, profile of the participants and other sources of data, instrument to use in gathering data, the sampling technique to be used, and the procedure of the study. Method UsedA series of Focus Group Discussions and interviews will be conducted to extract data to identify advantages and disadvantages of the Electronic Discussion Board program as well as in gathering data regarding the preferences of educators in Brokenshire College on the use of the Electronic Discussion Board. A focus group interview is a structured group process used in research studies that need to obtain detailed information about a particular topic.
Interviews will also be conducted to key personnel responsible for the creation and development of the Electronic Discussion Board program. Interviews will be tape-recorded and will be transcribed for later use.
The data to be obtained from the discussions/interviews will be analyzed using the content analysis and cross-case comparison techniques. Content analysis, also called textual analysis, “is a standard methodology in the social sciences on the subject of communication content” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_analysis). Sources of DataPrimary sources of data will be the participants to join in the discussion/interviews. They will be educators in Brokenshire College, particularly from the General Education department, who used the Electronic Discussion Board as well as those who did not use the program during the Academic Year 2005-2006. The director for the E-Learning Department of the college will also be another primary source of data, as well as the laboratory staff of the department. Another source is the recorded discussions/interviews of educators.
Departmental records and reports of the e-Learning Department of Brokenshire College for the Academic Year 2005-2006 will also be another secondary source of data. Data Gathering Instrument The instrument to be used in gathering the necessary data will be the focus group discussion guide questions. This questionnaire will be distributed to the respondents to determine the result to the problems at hand. However, the questions will have to be validated by the e-Learning Department director of Brokenshire College before it will be distributed to the respondents.
After the instrument is validated by the director it will be then distributed to the educators for pre-test, which will be the first round of interview and discussion to test its reliability and validity.
The result of the discussions/interviews will be analyzed using the content analysis and cross-case comparison methods. Sampling Techniques Complete sampling will be used to obtain data from the educators of the General Education department. These educators will be grouped in accordance to the subject matter they taught during the Academic Year 2005-2006.
The discussions will include interviews with educators who used the electronic board discussion program during the Academic Year 2005-2006, as well as those educators who did not use the program.
The director for the e-Learning Department of Brokenshire College will also be interviewed. Complete sampling will also be used to interview the staff of the department directly responsible for handing assistance to the users of the program. Procedure of the StudyA letter requesting for the conduct of this study will be given to the office of the director for e-Learning department of Brokenshire College. Once the request is granted, a set of questions will be prepared. These questions will be validated by the director. After that, a pre-test for its reliability and validity will be conducted to the respondents. The schedule of the discussion will be set after the pre-test.Interview Guide QuestionsThe questions that will be addressed in the discussions will include:
1. What are the perceptions of educators of the General Education department of Brokenshire College regarding the use of the Electronic Discussion Board?
1.1 What are the advantages of the use of the Electronic Discussion Board?
1.2 What are its disadvantages?
2. What are the factors affecting the preferences of educators of the General Education department on the use of the Electronic Discussion Board?
3. How is the Electronic Discussion Board program used by the educators of the General Education department of Brokenshire College?
4. What are the impact of the context of Brokenshire College on the use the Electronic Discussion Board in terms of:
4.1 Internet Connection
4.2 Physical set-up of computers
4.3 Assistance provided by the e-Learning laboratory staff to educators?
References:Gallo, M. & Horton, P. (1994). Assessing the effect on high school teachers of direct and unrestricted access to the Internet: A case study of an east central Florida high school. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(4), 17-39.
Maddux, C. (1994). The Internet: Educational prospects and problems. Educational Technology, 34(7), 37-42.
Murphy, 1995.
P. McCorkle, Internet message, July 18, 1995
Peha, J. (1995). How K-12 teachers are using computer networks. Educational Leadership, 53(2), 18-25.
Pool et al. 1995.
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