Al-huthaify (2008) conducted a study to investigate the differential impact of using e- learning on student achievement, mental abilities, and attitudes in science learning at middle school in the seventh grade. To achieve this, the sample was 60 students divided onto two groups, an experimental group of (N=29) students (we used a private school in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and (N=31) students in control groups. The researcher used pre and post achievement tests and mental abilities, as well as an attitude questionnaire.
The results showed a significant difference in the posttest of students’ achievement between the two groups, in favour of the experimental group that used e-learning. No significant differences were found between the two groups in mental abilities or in attitudes towards science.
Overall, the mean score for the experimental group was slightly higher than the control group both in mental abilities and in attitudes towards science. However, this rise is important in that it has statistical meaning. The limitation of this study was that the researcher did not apply the experience to public schools but instead used a private school because of the availability of computers. Moreover, the students in the experimental group were taught by the researcher himself, so the bias factor may impact results.
A comparative study of Al-Dael (2002) found a statistical significance between students who used a computer in learning the three skills of arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, and multiplication) of math in both a pretest (Meg=10.71, Mcg=09.00) and a posttest (Meg=14.15, Mcg=11.02).
The results above were found when he applied the experiment at the Institute of Capital Model in second grade for 40 students distributed into two groups, one an experimental group (N=21) that used a computer laboratory for teaching and learning math, and a control group (N=19) that used a traditional method. The period of the experiment was two weeks for both groups. A pre- and post achievement test was administered for both groups to investigate the effect of using the computer in teaching and learning addition, subtraction, and multiplication in math.
The limitation of this study is the small sample size and that the experiment was applied in a private institute, not a public school in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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In the Sultanate of Oman, specifically at the Faculty of Education, Ali (2002) conducted a study aimed to investigate the effect of using information technology on the Internet for student math teachers on their academic achievement and their attitude towards using the Internet in teaching.
The sample was 50 second-year undergraduate students. A pre- and posttest of students’ achievement was conducted, as well as an attitude questionnaire.
The results found a statistical difference between the pre- and post-achievement test (p=.01, p<.05) in favour of the posttest. However, there was no statistical significance of the attitude towards using the Internet for teaching math. The effect size in this study is very high at 1.3. The researcher attributed the negative attitude to using the Internet in teaching to the shortness of the experimental period.
PowerPoint computer software was used by Sulaiman(2007) to examine the effectiveness
in students’ achievement and attitude towards using it in the teaching of art education, specifically artistic taste, at a middle school in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Participants (N=120) students were divided into two groups, one an experimental group (N=60) who used a PowerPoint program to teach artistic taste, while the second control group (N=60) used a traditional method. For gathering data, students’ achievement test and an attitude questionnaire were administered to both groups.
The result indicated that in the posttest, students who used the PowerPoint program outperformed the students who used the traditional method; therefore, there was statistical significance between the two groups taking the posttest, in favour of the experimental group. Moreover, there was a great difference between the mean scores pre- and post- attitude towards using the computer to teach art, in favour of post-attitudes (M pre=61.6, M post=79.7). Also, there was a statistical significance for the posttest.
Sobhi & Abdullah (2003) conducted a study to investigate the effects of using computer assisted-learning (CAL) in Islamic education to improve the rules of Tajweed in the reading of the Holy Quran for tenth graders in high school in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. One hundred and fifteen participants divided into 57 students (N= 32 male and N= 25 female) as a control group used a traditional method, and 58 students (N= 33 male and N= 25 female) as an experimental group used CAL.
The instrument of data collection was a pre- and post-Tajweed test. After the experiment concluded, results showed that the students who used CAL performed better both in an oral
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and theoretical test than students in the control group. Also, there was statistical significance between them in favour of the experimental group, while there was no significant difference between the two groups in relation of sex (male or female).
Fathallah (2006) conducted an experiment with a group of undergraduate students (N=117 student teachers) at the College of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and divided them into three groups. Group one was the first experimental group (N=41) that used the PowerPoint software for topic presentation. The second experimental (N=38) group of students used PowerPoint software plus video clips for topic presentation. Finally, the control group (N=38) of students used a traditional method. The aim of this was to investigate whether using PowerPoint software alone or PowerPoint for presentation with video clips improved or developed students’ achievement of understanding, skills, and attitudes towards use educational means and techniques in teaching.
For data collection, a pre- and a posttest for students’ achievement and an attitude questionnaire were administered; moreover, observation cards to measure skills in the use of technologies were used as well during the teaching.
The results revealed significant differences between the three groups with regard to achievement tests, in favour of the first experimental group. Also, the second experimental group had a statistically significant difference compared to the control group, a big difference between the first and second experimental group compared to the control group (d= 23.91, 19.02, and 5.01, respectively). According to skills scales, there was statistical significance between the three groups. What was striking was that students in the second experimental group performed better on skills scales than those in the first experimental group. On the other hand, the second experiment was better than the first with regard to attitudes towards using means and techniques in teaching; thus there was statistical significance between the three groups, in favour of the second experimental group. Effect sizes for all were (EC one=24.62; EC two=15.64; and finally CG=5.54).
Due to the development of students’ skills and attitudes towards using means and techniques in teaching through use of video clips integrated to a PowerPoint presentation on the topic, the researcher recommended using this teaching method to demonstrate the importance of means and techniques on education.
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Al-Karsh (1996) conducted a study to investigate the effects of computers in math to improve students’ achievement and skill in an engineering unit for ninth grade in high school in Egypt. Two groups were created, one an experimental group (N=35) and the second a control group (N=34). For both groups, an achievement test and a skills test were conducted.
Results revealed that students who used a computer in math did better than students who used a traditional method. Thus, there was statistical significance in favour of the experimental group. Also, students who used the computer got a high efficiency in the skills of mathematical proof compared to the students in the control group.
The researcher recommended generalizing the use of the computer program in teaching to the engineering unit. But the weakness of this argument to generalize the method (i.e. use computer software) is that the sample is very small.
In (2007) Beshayrah and Manzalawy made a study to investigate the impact of computer- assisted learning (CAL) versus cooperative learning in students’ achievement on the topic of earth’s history for seventh graders in middle school in Jordon.
The participants were 115 students (57 male and 58 female). Divided into two experimental groups, experimental group one (N=59) used computer-assisted learning for learning earth history. The other was experimental group two (N=56) that used a cooperative learning method without a computer. Pre- and posttests were administered for both groups for gathering data.
After the experiment finished, in spite of results showing that the mean scores for students (both male and female) who used CAL (Ec1) were slightly better than students who used cooperative learning (Ec2), there was no statistical significance between the two groups (CAL or cooperative learning) with regard to posttest achievement.
The researcher attributed this result to two reasons: first was that the two methods (i.e. CAL and cooperative learning) were new methods for seventh-grade students, which led to an increased motivation to learn science. The second reason was that the experimental period was very short. I think investigating the effect of using both methods, whether CAL or cooperative learning and comparing to the traditional method, is more beneficial than seeking the achievement and attitude towards using them.
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Alttamar and Sulaiman (2006) conducted a study to investigate the effect of computer- assisted learning (CAL) in developing achievement of first-degree equations amongst seventh-grade students in State of Kuwait.
The sample was 124 students divided into two groups: one a control group (N=62) that used a traditional method in teaching the method unit, and the second an experimental group (N=62) that used computer-assisted learning for the same topic. The pre and posttest to assess achievement was administered to both groups.
The results showed a statistical significance between the two groups, in favour of the experimental groups, regarding students’ comprehension and application levels and ability to solve equations of one degree in one variable, while there was no statistical significance for the remember level. The limitations of this study are that the method (CAL) was applied on only one topic and for a short period of time. Thus, generalizing the results needs more study.
3.5.1 Discussion and analysis of the Arabic studies
There have been many attempts in Arab studies to use computer applications (e.g. PowerPoint and Word) in various scientific fields, although there is no Arab study (to the best of my knowledge) that covers or examine the ability of simulation software in improve academic achievement for students or enhancing conceptual change or supporting students’ attitudes towards science learning either together or each separately. Two studies of nine found that it used computer program in science field, first study for Al-huthaify (2008) who used e-learning for science teaching and his result was positive in the student's academic achievement in favor of students who exposed to e-learning, but he did not mentioned the science topic or concept, also he did not refer to kind of software which was used in his study and finally he conducted his study in a private school and not public or a government, thus we cannot to be generalized. The second is for Beshayrah & Manzalawy (2007) used educational program for teaching earth history for students in seventh grade and they found that there was no statistical significance between the experimental and control groups, the researchers attributed this finding to the short duration of the experiment and the educational program and cooperative learning was new method for the students. Also they did not mention what kind of computer program which they was used their study, as well as any topic specifically the history of the earth in science. Therefore, as these of limitations in
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the Arabic studies do not make you study discusses in the impartial or objective form. But these previous studies give an impression that there is an inclination or trend to use computer software in optimizing learning in Arab countries.
Many studies recommended that those responsible for education process in the Arab countries to pay attention to technology and attempt to benefit from its enormous and rapid development in the field of education. For example, Al-Huthaify (2008) recommended that educational leaders should use electronic education within the education processes in general and in science teaching especially, also that they should work to involve electronic education within the pre-service science teacher’s education in the College of Education, as well teaching science teachers to use computer to teach science during their training programs. Aldeal (2002) recommends conducting many studies on the influence of computer teaching subjects at the primary stage to develop problem solving and creative thinking by providing educational programs in schools at the primary stage. In conclusion, it is noticed that there are recommendations in all of the studies to call the attention of education officials to the idea that ICT should be associated with the education process. This indicates that there is a trend to use technological education tools in teaching and learning. Table 7 shows all the studies in brief.
The current study, as an experimental study, attempts to contribute to replenishing the Arab studies by using simulation software as a replacement for practical work in the primary school in Kuwait.