Information Systems - Theses

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    An investigation of interactivity and flow: student behaviour during online instruction
    PEARCE, JON MALCOLM ( 2004-12)
    This thesis combines ideas from human-computer interaction, education and psychology to explore the interactions of students in an online learning environment. The motivation for the work was to understand better how to engage students in a highly enjoyable experience of online learning. The thesis describes three experiments. The first experiment was an exploratory study investigating the influence of learner interactions in an online physics learning task. Students worked through an online learning experience that offered high and low levels of interactivity. The aim was to explore their interactions and choices in an environment in which they could elect to move from the highly interactive mode to the less interactive mode at any time. Web logs were used to track their interactions and question probes gathered data on their emotions, learning goals and strategies. The analysis revealed a number of different patterns of interaction. Statistical analysis showed that most, but not all, preferred to follow an interactive path through the material. Students who used the interactive materials showed improved learning gains in transfer-style questions compared to those in the less interactive mode. Several issues were identified as important to consider in a follow-up study: emotions, affect, challenge, and the degree of control that the learner perceives.
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    Innovation in university computer-facilitated learning systems: product, workplace experience and the organisation
    Fritze, Paul A. ( 2003-06)
    This thesis reports on the development of a generic online system to support learning and teaching at the University of Melbourne. New online technologies, the fostering of innovation at national and university levels and my position within a central educational unit provided the opportunity in 1996 to adapt a previous software package for online use. My observations of the problematic nature of computer-facilitated learning (CFL) production led me to take an open approach to the development, seeking both a practical product and enhanced understanding. A series of formative questions defined the scope and goals of the study, which were to: *produce a generic online learning system; *increase understanding of the workplace experience of that development; and *develop an organisational model for the further development of generic CFL systems. Given this multi-disciplinary focus, many paradigms in the literature could potentially have guided the study. A number of these aligning with the research purposes, context and constructivist philosophy of the study, were reviewed from the perspectives of learning, CFL development and the organisation.