Vol. 14, No. 3, September 1998

Organisational culture: electronic support for occupational learning

M. Saunders

Centre for Studies in Education and Training, Lancaster University

Email: m.saunders@lancaster.ac.uk

This paper outlines the inter-relationship between telematic learning support and the organisational culture of the workplace. It defines occupational learning and types of organisationally generated knowledge while siting them in different forms of learning context. The paper identifies concepts of organisational culture and assesses the plausibility of the argument that telematics can effect changes in culture. It contextualises these issues in new research on the impact of Information and communication technology (ICT) on organisations in general.

Keywords: Information technology; Learning; Organisational culture; Telematics

Accepted: 20 October 1997

An evaluation of the development of IT in a college of nursing and midwifery

W. Lauder, S. Currie, J. White & B. Scott

Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Stirling

Email: william.lauder@stir.ac.uk

This paper presents the findings of a case study of the development of IT in a College of Nursing and Midwifery. Data were collected by means of postal questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, direct observations and documentary evidence. The findings suggest that the majority of staff used some form of IT on a regular basis, but only 50% of students used college-based IT facilities. The main use of IT was for administrative and productive purposes and there was little evidence of IT in teaching/learning methods. Training offered to staff was poorly attended and training offered to students did not meet what they perceived as their needs. Although most staff used IT there was still evidence of resistance and stress related to IT use. The use of IT in the study college was driven by tactical considerations rather than as a part of an explicit strategy.

Keywords: Education; Health; Nursing; Strategy; Support; Training; Video-conferencing

Accepted: 1 November 1997

The effect of gender on children's software preferences

R.W. Joiner

School of Education, Open University

Email: r.w.joiner@open.ac.uk

Previous studies have found that gender differences in computer based problem solving can be ameliorated by changes in the software content. A study is reported in this paper which tests the hypothesis that this finding can be explained in terms of gender differences in software engagement. The children (16 boys and 16 girls) were aged between 10 and 11 and were shown four versions of the same computer-based problem: a male stereotyped version (the Pirates); a female stereotyped version (the Princesses); a gender neutral version (the Honeybears) and an abstract version (Blocksworld). The boys preferred the Pirates significantly more than the Princesses. There was no significant differences in the girls' preference for either the Honeybears, the Pirates or the Princesses. Although these findings do not support the hypothesis, they are consistent with research concerned with the effects of gender stereotyping on children's toy selections.

Keywords: Children; Computers; Gender; Software Preferences

Accepted: 23 December 1997

Software design to support discussion in the primary curriculum

R. Wegerif, N. Mercer & L. Dawes*

School of Education, The Open University and *School of Education, de Montfort University

Email: r.b.wegerif@open.ac.uk

This paper puts forward a framework for the integration of pedagogy and software design to support educationally valuable discussion within the primary curriculum. In order to illustrate and to evaluate this framework two educational programs were designed to be used in conjunction with a series of lessons to coach the use of 'exploratory talk' in small group work. Evaluation of the first item of software, in the area of citizenship, focused upon the difference that off-computer lessons in exploratory talk made to the way it was used. Evaluation of the second program, in the area of science, focused on the effect of the overall approach on learning outcomes. The results of these two illustrative studies support the value of the proposed framework. The first shows that combining software design with the off-computer coaching of exploratory talk can enhance the quality of interactions at the computer. The second shows that, with this pedagogical framework, computers can be used to stimulate collaborative learning and to direct it towards curriculum goals.

Keywords: Citizenship; Collaborative Learning; Discourse Analysis; Evaluation; Friction; Primary Education; Science

Accepted: 6 January 1998

Learning in cyberspace: shaping the future

R.S. Gilliver, B. Randall & Y.M. Pok

Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore

Email: rbj@np.ac.sg

Proponents of multimedia and Internet based educational tools have long claimed their potential, but the absence of broad based quantitative research from controlled experimental use, continues to mitigate the transfer of that potential to reality. This paper reports on experimental work in Singapore, which was designed to establish a supportable theoretical foundation for the hypothesis that the use of information technology (IT) resources in education, does improve pedagogic outcomes. The authors reach a positive conclusion, and attribute those improved outcomes to the use of IT resources through the conduit of improved student motivation. The paper also draws the important distinction between using multimedia and the Internet as a facilitator of learning rather than teaching, and reports upon the research project in detail, particularly improvements in student understanding and results, quantified at 11% in one semester. There were also productivity gains of 16% for educators as a result of effective use of Internet resources and use of the Internet to deliver course material for learning. Based on the research work done, this paper draws the statistically valid conclusion that use of IT resources does improve student learning.

Keywords: Higher education; Internet; Learning outcomes; Motivation; Productivity

Accepted: 29 January 1998

The impact of computer anxiety and self-efficacy upon performance

M.J. Brosnan

School of Social Sciences, The University of Greenwich

Email: m.j.brosnan@greenwich.ac.uk

The relationship between computer anxiety and computer performance is examined using a self efficacy framework. A novel database searching task was demonstrated to fifty participants using two procedures (namely, accessing the data tables directly and constructing look-up tables). Levels of computer anxiety, prior experience and perceptions of self efficacy were recorded. The results indicate that computer anxiety directly influences the number of correct responses obtained whilst self efficacy determines how the task is attempted. Less anxious subjects obtained more correct responses and subjects with higher perceptions of self efficacy used more look-up tables. The results indicate that self efficacy theory can account for around half the variance in computer performance and that how a task is attempted should be assessed in addition to accuracy and speed of performance.

Keywords: Computer anxiety; Self efficacy; Performance; Relational database

Accepted: 8 March 1998

Self-directed learning in simulation-based discovery environments

T. de Jong, W.R. van Joolingen, J. Swaak, K. Veermans, R. Limbach, S. King* and D. Gureghian*

University of Twente and *EDS-Ingévision, France

Email: jong@edte.utwente.nl

SIMQUEST is an authoring system for designing and creating simulation-based learning environments. The special character of SIMQUEST learning environments is that they include cognitive support for learners which means that they provide learners with support in the discovery process. In SIMQUEST learning environments, a balance is sought between direct guidance of the learning process and sufficient freedom for learners to regulate the learning process themselves. This paper describes the basic mechanisms of the SIMQUEST learning and authoring environments. The functionality authors have in providing the learner with guidance and some of the experiences on how authors use these opportunities and learners employ the cognitive support are reported.

Keywords: Authoring systems; Computer-based learning; Discovery learning; Self-directed learning; Simulation

Invited paper