Incorporating the Intervention

The process of the incorporation of OCL in the Authoring Language course progressed by obtaining the course syllabus, content and outline from the Head of Department of Educational Multimedia before being introduced to the lecturer who was assigned at the start of the semester to teach the Authoring Language course (SPM2322) (this happened on the 14th of December 2009). The process of meeting with the lecturer of Authoring Language began when the researcher emailed the head of the Department of Educational Multimedia requesting a meeting with him and the lecturer who taught the course. The consent from the lecturer of Authoring Language was obtained (see Appendix B) for the researcher to act as lecturer, and then the course outline was restructured. The lecturer of Authoring Language was also informed that the course outline would be re-structured for the OCL intervention, with the involvement of the researcher as lecturer for 13 weeks (from week 1 to week 13). The remaining topics, week 14 to 15, would be taught by the lecturer of Authoring Language, who would also handle the course marks and grading. The lecturer of Authoring Language also agreed with the incorporation of OCL activities into the course outline, as depicted in Table 5.4.

Table 5.4: The OCL Course Outline

Week Topics Notes

Lecture Part 1 - Introduction to Authoring Language Concepts

1 What is authoring language (AL), programming language

(PL), authoring systems (AS) and web authoring (WA)

Task 1

3 Authoring Phase Task 1 due Lecture Part 2 - CDROM based Authoring Language

4 Authoring Language Software Task 2

5 Text, Graphics and Animation

6 Audio and Video

7 Interactivity and Programming in AL Task 2

due Semester Break

Lecture Part 3 - Web-based Authoring Language

10 Webpage Authoring Software Task 3

11 HTML Linking Tag And Accessories

12 Packaging and Distribution of Files Task 3

due Course evaluation

Lecture Part 4 - Issues on Authoring Language Software

14-15 *Future Development of AL and WA

Note.* Topics in weeks 14-15 were taught by another lecturer, who was not involved in the research.

The OCL activities were divided into two modes which were firstly designed to reflect the goal of fostering students’ participation through collaboration and negotiations. As described in Table 5.2, students were organised into groups for this work, with groups formed within subject majors. A total of nine groups of four to six students was formed from the 46 students in the class, of which two groups were from the Chemistry (SPK) and Physics (SPP) programmes respectively, while another five groups were from the Mathematics (SPT) programme (refer to Appendix L for full details of the participating groups). Students within their online groups (intra-group) engaged in Task 1 and 3. The second mode of OCL had the goal of fostering students’ participation through collaboration and negotiations, as they learnt about different types and processes of Authoring Language across online groups (SPK, SPP and SPT) in Task 2 (inter-group). The goals of task 2 were to produce a report based on a scenario of teaching Science and Mathematics using ICT in Malaysian secondary

schools. This task was achieved through inter-group discussions based on collaboration and interaction among Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics students.

In weeks 1 to 3 of the course, students were given Task 1 – the problem-based discussion scenario (see Figure 5.2) – which required them to discuss the concept of authoring language within their online group. The online discussion was conducted with the goal of fostering students’ participation through sharing information, negotiating and making decisions as a group to improve their understanding and knowledge in Authoring Language in order to select an appropriate authoring tool, as well as preparing the group for Task 2. In the next four weeks (weeks 4 to 7), students engaged in discussions across online groups based on the knowledge they gained in the previous discussions on authoring language concepts; the discussion also focused on the development of CD-ROM based authoring language. Task 2 was specifically designed to foster collaboration and to build upon knowledge from the previous weekly activities in Task 1. Finally, in weeks 10 to 12, the discussion covered activities for Task 3 which was conducted within an online group and focused on webpage Authoring Language, as well as preparing the students for their final individual course assignment. Task 3’s goal was to develop a tool (website) for teaching and learning ICT in Malaysian secondary schools. This task involved the process of re-designing an existing tool into a new and dynamic design which required an online group discussion of this new design before development went ahead. The problem-based discussion scenario, used as the starting point for online discussions within online groups and across online groups is depicted in Figure 5.2 (see Appendix J for details of the problem-based discussion scenario used in this study).

The Problem-based Discussion Scenario: Task 1 and 2

23 December 2009

Dear Sir,

TECHNOLOGY GRANT 2010: AUTHORING LANGUAGE SOFTWARE

Kindly be informed that applications for a Technology Grant for Johor secondary schools are now open for 2010.

2. The following aspects should be considered and addressed for the Technology Grant 2010 application:

a. Software suitability with Science and Mathematics teaching and learning b. Software compatibility

c. User-friendly aspects of the software

d. The required training duration for the software e. External resources and references for the software

3. Kindly submit the complete proposal for a Technology Grant for Authoring Language software to the following address:

Ministry of Education

Federal Government Administrative Centre 62100 Putrajaya

4. Should you require any further clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Instructions:

Your group will assist the class in preparing for the proposal of the Ministry Education Technology Grant 2010. The proposal should make clear five aspects of the requirement by discussing how these aspects will affect the Science and Mathematics teaching and learning. For the purpose of the discussion, each group will work on their own within their online group space created in eLearning (the

discussions will be recorded and evaluated). You are required to discuss all aspects

within your group and make a group decision before your group can be involved and participate in the inter-group discussion in Task 2. There is a timeframe for the group discussion before the commencement of inter-group discussion (see below).

Important dates:

For intra-group discussion – discussion start 4/12 and deadline is 3/1 For inter-group discussion – discussion start 4/1 and deadline is 31/1 Reflection and improvement – deadline is 14/2

Each student in the group is expected to contribute substantively to the preparation of the proposal. How you decide who will do what is up to you, but you will be submitting an evaluation of your own and each group member’s contribution at the end of the task. Remember that the learning tasks are not just a chronological report; instead, your discussion should illustrate real problem solving in the school. I will be monitoring each of the group discussions’ progress in eLearning and will help and support your discussion as the task progresses.

The Problem-based Discussion Scenario: Task 3

Cikgu Hamidah has been instructed by her headmaster to transform the old static ICT web page in SMK Zanariah to a new fresh and dynamic web page. The original is shown below:

However, before she can work on the transformation, she needs to understand the concept of static and dynamic web pages, and what elements of the latter need to be included. She finds the task very challenging, since she has a limited knowledge of ICT. She has decided to seek consultation from your group. In a small group, please discuss (online discussion) the above scenario, taking into consideration the following key points:

 The concept of static and dynamic web pages

 The elements of a dynamic web page

 Web page design or template

Produce a report about your group’s evaluation of the old static web page that includes overall strengths and weaknesses of the page and your group’s solution regarding the aspects of web page elements and template (or design).

The length of report must not exceed 5 pages!

Developing web page:

Use your group’s report to transform the old static web page into a new fresh web page. It should be interesting and attractive.

The transformation of the static web page must be congruent with the report!