Creative Learning and MOOCs : Harnessing the Technology for a 21st Century Education [1 ed.] 9781443884723, 9781443880985

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Creative Learning and MOOCs

Creative Learning and MOOCs: Harnessing the Technology for a 21st Century Education Edited by

Nabil Sultan and Haifa Jamal Al-Lail

Creative Learning and MOOCs: Harnessing the Technology for a 21st Century Education Edited by Nabil Sultan and Haifa Jamal Al-Lail This book first published 2015 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2015 by Nabil Sultan, Haifa Jamal Al-Lail and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-8098-1 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-8098-5

CONTENTS

Introduction Nabil Sultan and Haifa Jamal Al-Lail 1 Innovative Teaching as a Means for Enhancing Creative Learning Aghareed Tayeb

1

4

2 Education as a Service (EaaS): The MOOCs Phenomenon Nabil Sultan

20

3 MOOCs: Potential and Prospects Safdar Muhammad

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4 Faculty Attitudes towards MOOCs in Higher Education Tayeb Brahimi and Akila Sarirete

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5 A case study on undergraduate student opinion on the use of MOOCS at a private university in Saudi Arabia Ziad Eljishi and Terumi Taylor

67

6 MOOCs: The Student Experience Huda Hyjazie

74

7 Context-Aware MOOCs Mubarak Mohammad, Alaar Alsaig and Ammar Alsaig

82

8 Towards Open Educational Resources: Opportunities and Challenges Amani Alsaqqaf 9 Edmodo – An Asynchronous Métier Pir Suhail Sarhandi and Amina Gorie Sindhi

110

128

10 Learning Through Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games Yumna Aziz Ansari

138

11 Teaching Operations Management Using Hands-On Educational Tools and Interactive Games Burçin Bozkaya

151

12 Vocabulary Uptake from Listening to Songs on YouTube in Saudi Arabia and the Effect of Intentional Teaching 160 Caroline Large 13 E-Learning System for Arabic Deaf Children Nahla Khalil, Manal Al-Thomali, Siham Al-Zahrani, Abrar Al-Juaaid, Teghreed Al-Thibati, Samar Al-Harthi and Ebtihal Al-Ghamdi 14 The Interaction between Online Learning and Educational Culture: A Saudi Arabian Experience Amani Hamdan 15 E-learning: Inculcation of Values and Ethics in Higher Education Learners Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad and Asadullah Shah

179

197

205

Contributors

225

Index

227

INTRODUCTION NABIL SULTAN AND HAIFA JAMAL AL-LAIL This book contains selected articles that were presented at the 11th Learning and Technology Conference held by Effat University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in February 2014. The articles represent research and viewpoints by a cohort of academics from different educational communities. The central theme of these articles is the realization that learning and teaching is being impacted by technology and innovation. Schools, colleges and academic institutes took the lead in harnessing this technology and created innovative opportunities for learning that did not exist before, such as e-learning. The emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represents a new and interesting development in the use of technology and innovation for creating further opportunities for both students and educators. &KDSWHU2QHVHWVWKHVFHQHIRUWKLVERRN,QWKLVFKDSWHU7D\HEUHÀHFWV on the traditional and new modalities of learning and teaching. In doing so, she highlights the importance of creativity and innovation and the use RI WHFKQRORJ\ IRU WKH GHYHORSPHQW RI WKH WZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\ NQRZOHGJH society. Through this chapter Tayeb advocates the need to empower educational actors in order to unlock the creative and innovative potential of young learners. &KDSWHU7ZRE\6XOWDQLVDUHÀHFWLRQRIWKHGLVUXSWLYHFKDUDFWHULVWLFVRI some innovations with a focus on online learning and teaching and MOOCs. In doing so the author invokes the theory of disruptive innovations as proposed by Christensen and his colleagues from Harvard Business School to highlight those disruptive qualities. The author reserves much of this chapter for MOOCs by tracing its recent history and potential impact on higher education in developed and developing countries while also highlighting the challenges that this innovation faces. :KLOH0XKDPPDGLQ&KDSWHU7KUHHUHÀHFWVIXUWKHURQWKHSRWHQWLDODQG challenges of MOOCs he does not see this phenomenon as a threat to established higher education institutes. Rather, MOOCs, according to him, can be used alongside those establishments in order to improve post-secondary school education. Moreover, he sees MOOCs as a useful tool that can be

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Nabil Sultan and Haifa Jamal Al-Lail

XVHGWR¿OOJDSVRINQRZOHGJHWKURXJKWUDLQLQJFRQWLQXLQJHGXFDWLRQDQG life-long learning. In Chapter Four Brahimi and Sarirate provide further insights into the recent developments of MOOCs and explain how faculty members and students interact with this learning methodology. In doing so, the study focuses on the analysis of some surveys that were conducted by major survey companies and universities worldwide. The authors see MOOCs as a development that will bring a transformative change to education in general and to the way academic institutions are working. In Chapter Five El-Jishi and Taylor present a case study exploring opinions of students with regard to MOOCs at a private university in Saudi Arabia. The study is based on a mixed method approach that uses a closed question survey and structured interview questionnaires. The study reveals interesting but mixed views about MOOCs from these students. In Chapter Six Hyjazie presents a case study aimed at exploring the prospects of MOOCs from a student experience perspective. Issues relating to course size, supporting staff, communications with students and class forums are presented and discussed. In doing so, the author highlights and LGHQWL¿HVIDFWRUVWKDWFDQEHDYRLGHGIRUIXWXUHRQOLQHFRXUVHVLQRUGHUWR ensure their success. In Chapter Seven Mohammad et al examine some of the challenges that MOOC providers are facing by focusing on marketing and student engagement. In doing so, the authors propose the application of context-awareness techniques and principles to address those challenges. Furthermore, the authors also provide a general structure for storing context using three different database models and compare them in terms of their performance and modelling ability. In Chapter Eight Alsaqqaf presents a case study to explore the prospects of a pre MOOCs initiative by implementing open courseware through an open education resource system at a Saudi University. The author also examines the motivation and needs for implementing such a project and the opportunities and challenges it presents. In Chapter Nine Ahmed and Sindhi examine the impact of social media from an education perspective by exploring the advantages of using personal learning networks. The authors devote a great deal of their chapter to examining Edmodo, the social learning platform that was developed in 2008 by two former Chicago education administrators. Chapter Ten by Ansari examines the merits of using video games to enhance learning. Through using a case study Ansari in this chapter focuses particularly on massive online games as useful educational tools and their

Introduction

3

SRWHQWLDOIRUGHYHORSLQJRWKHUOHDUQHUV¶VNLOOVVXFKDVHI¿FLHQWWHDPZRUN and communication. 5HÀHFWLQJ RQ KLV WHDFKLQJ H[SHULHQFH %R]ND\D LQ &KDSWHU (OHYHQ explores the application of various hands-on teaching tools, online games and other teaching aids for facilitating interactive teaching and active learning. In doing so he presents his actual experience of using such a tool for a college’s junior-level Operations Management course. In Chapter Twelve Large looks at the impact of songs on learning. She examines the effects of listening to story-songs via YouTube on the vocabulary uptake amongst adult female students who attend elementary classes at the Jeddah British Council in Saudi Arabia. This study also explores the possibility of replicating this approach within the country. Furthermore, WKH DXWKRU DOVR H[DPLQHV WKH SRVVLEOH LQÀXHQFH RI RIIHULQJ PRUH WHDFKHU support in the form of deliberate teaching, compared to conducting a more storytelling or incidental-type learning session, and the repercussions of these methods on the resulting student vocabulary depth of knowledge. Khalil et al. in Chapter Thirteen investigate an e-learning system that offers help with learning Arabic and English text using sign language for deaf Arab children. The system is designed to improve the children’s indeSHQGHQFHFRQ¿GHQFHPRWLYDWLRQDQGVRFLDOFRQWDFW0RUHRYHUWKHV\VWHP can also be used by hearing people who want to learn the language in order to communicate with deaf people. In Chapter Fourteen Hamdan uses a survey conducted at a Saudi university for female students in order to investigate the relationship between culture and online learning and explore the ways in which culture and cultural values affect the application and success of online-learning strategies. Particular attention in this chapter is directed at learners’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of online communication. In Chapter Fifteen, Farooq, Hafeez, and Shah use a case study to explore online learning from the perspective of moral values and ethical training given that learning, according to these authors, is not only about the transmission of knowledge but also about character building and producing a skilled workforce equipped with sound moral values.

CHAPTER ONE INNOVATIVE TEACHING AS A MEANS FOR ENHANCING CREATIVE LEARNING AGHAREED TAYEB Abstract Creativity and innovation are becoming increasingly important for the GHYHORSPHQWRIWKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\NQRZOHGJHVRFLHW\7KH\FRQWULEute to economic prosperity as well as to social and individual wellbeing and are essential factors for a more competitive and dynamic community. Education is seen as central in fostering creative and innovative skills. Creativity is a form of knowledge creation; therefore stimulating creativity has positive effects for learning. Thus, educational actors should have the power to unlock the creative and innovative potential of the young. Creative learning is therefore any learning which involves understanding and new awareness, which allows the learner to go beyond notional acquisition, and focuses on thinking skills. It is based on learner empowerment and centredness. Innovation is the application of such a process or product LQ RUGHU WR EHQH¿W D GRPDLQ RU ¿HOG ± LQ WKLV FDVH WHDFKLQJ 7KHUHIRUH innovative teaching is the process leading to creative learning, the implePHQWDWLRQRIQHZPHWKRGVWRROVDQGFRQWHQWZKLFKFRXOGEHQH¿WOHDUQHUV and their creative potential. In this respect an innovative teacher is someone who teaches in a way that is new or groundbreaking at the school, while integrating ICT to support that teaching, i.e., is someone who uses ICT in new or groundbreaking ways. Meanwhile, to be innovative, teachers need to UHÀHFWFRQVLGHUSRVVLELOLWLHVLQWHUDFWZLWKRWKHUVDQGWU\RXWLGHDV Teaching will be highly effective if teachers start to use the recent multimedia technologies like computers extensively or modify the conventional mode of teaching. A comparison between traditional learning and multimedia learning is given in the text. The article also provides an overview of the theoretical foundations for creativity and innovation in the context of education. It emphasizes the need to encourage the development of pupils’ and students’

Innovative Teaching as a Means for Enhancing Creative Learning

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creative and innovative potential. Also, the article develops the notions of “creative learning” and “innovative teaching”.

Keywords: Teaching; Learning; Creativity; Innovation; Multimedia Teaching

Introduction Education is an engine for the growth and progress of any society. It not only imparts knowledge and skills and inculcates values, but is also responsible for building human capital which breeds, drives and sets technological innovation and economic growth. Information and knowledge stand out as very important and critical inputs for growth and survival. Rather than looking at education simply as a means of achieving social uplift, the society must view education also as an engine of advancement in an information era propelled by its wheels of knowledge and research leading to development (Damodhara & Rengarajan, 2007). &UHDWLYLW\ KDV EHHQ GH¿QHG DV D SURGXFW RU SURFHVV WKDW VKRZV D EDOance of originality and value. It is a skill, an ability to make unforeseen connections and to generate new and appropriate ideas. Creative learning is therefore any learning which involves understanding and new awareness, which allows the learner to go beyond notional acquisition and focus on thinking skills. It refers to the potential for learners to develop their creative skills and learn in a new, creative way. Innovation is the application of such a process or product in order to EHQH¿W D GRPDLQ RU ¿HOG ± LQ WKLV FDVH WHDFKLQJ 7KHUHIRUH LQQRYDWLYH teaching is the process leading to creative learning, the implementation of QHZPHWKRGVWRROVDQGFRQWHQWVZKLFKFRXOGEHQH¿WOHDUQHUVDQGWKHLUFUHative potential. Creative learning requires innovative teaching. Innovative teaching is the practice both of teaching for creativity and of applying innovation to teaching practices. Both aspects call for an educational culture which values creativity and sees it as an asset in the classroom (Ferrari, Cachia & Punie,  7HDFKHUVDUHNH\¿JXUHVLQFRQVWUXFWLQJDFUHDWLYHFOLPDWHEXWWKH\ need support from both policymakers and institutions. In particular, curricula and assessment are key areas to be addressed in order to allow creativity in the classroom.

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Aghareed Tayeb

Motivation is one of the main factors conducive to creative output. $PDELOH VSHFL¿HGWKDWLQWULQVLFPRWLYDWLRQLVPRUHLPSRUWDQWWKDQ extrinsic. For Amabile, intrinsic motivation is about passion and interest, an internal desire to do something. She sees motivation as one of the three components of creativity, the other two being expertise and creative thinking skills (see Figure 1-1).

Figure 1-1. The three components of creativity (Amabile, 1998)

Even if all three components of creativity can be improved, motivation is WKHRQHWKDWFDQEHPRVWLPPHGLDWHO\LQÀXHQFHGE\WKHZRUNHQYLURQPHQW DVH[SHUWLVHDQGFUHDWLYHWKLQNLQJVNLOOVDUHGLI¿FXOWDQGWLPHFRQVXPLQJWR LQÀXHQFH$PDELOH  Creative experience can be seen as opposite to reproductive experience (Taylor, 1988). Moreover, creativity is the ability to see possibilities that others haven’t noticed (Craft, 2005), the critical process involved in the generation of new ideas (Esquivel, 1995), the ability to make connections that are not common. It requires cognitive and creative thinking skills, in other words divergent thinking (Runco, 1990) and imagination (Craft, 2005), and also evaluation (Runco, 1990). Creativity also demands a set of SHUVRQDOLW\WUDLWVZKLFKFDQEHHQKDQFHGRUPRGL¿HGE\WKHHQYLURQPHQW For this reason, the environment needs to nurture creativity and to boost intrinsic motivation. Besides, creativity is not limited to the arts, as it can be manifested in all ambits of human knowledge. Moreover, it should not EHFRPHDQLQVWUXPHQWDOWHUPWREH¿OOHGZLWKDQ\NLQGRIFRQWHQWDQGXVHG in every kind of context (Gibson & Ewing, 2011). Figure 1-2 shows a summary of these characteristics: in the outer circle what creativity requires, in the inner shape what creativity is.

Innovative Teaching as a Means for Enhancing Creative Learning

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Figure 1-2. What creativity is and what it requires

Technologies play a crucial role in learners’ lives and can enable educational change towards an innovative and creative school environment. They could act as a platform to foster creative learning and innovative teaching and are currently offering a variety of opportunities for constructive change. However, access to technology is not enough. Accordingly, this report argues that both teachers and learners must acquire the critical skills LQWKHLUXVHRIWHFKQRORJLHVWREHDEOHWREHQH¿WIURPWKHPLQDQHIIHFWLYH innovative and creative way. Educational systems should also take into account the empowerment culture brought about by new technologies, putting the learner at the centre of the learning process. Otherwise, there is the risk that education policies and systems become irrelevant for students’ real and future needs. There are other factors, alongside technologies, that support creative learning and innovative teaching. These factors have been called enablers and are the circumstances or support mechanisms that make creativity and innovation more likely to thrive. These are: assessment; culture; curriculum; individual skills; teaching and learning format; teachers; technology; tools. The co-existence of several of these factors would give rise to an enabling environment where creative learning and innovative teaching could blosVRP,IHQDEOHUVDUHQRWSUHVHQWFUHDWLYLW\ZLOOEHOHVVOLNHO\WRÀRXULVK,I on the other hand, all enablers are in place, it is still not possible to deduce that creativity and innovation are happening, as teachers and students will still have to actively engage in the creative and innovative process. Enablers

Aghareed Tayeb

8

are therefore indicators of the kind of environment which could nourish creative learning and innovative teaching.

Traditional Teaching Method In the pre-technology education context, the teacher is the sender or the source, the educational material is the information or message, and the student is the receiver of the information. In terms of the delivery medium, the educator can deliver the message using “chalk-and-talk” and overhead projector (OHP) transparencies. This directed instruction model has its foundations embedded in behavioural learning (Skinner, 1968) and it is a popular technique, which has been used for decades as an educational strategy in all institutions of learning. Basically, the teacher controls the instructional process, the content is delivered to the entire class and the teacher tends to emphasize factual knowledge. In other words, the teacher delivers the lecture content and the students listen to the lecture. Thus, the learning mode tends to be passive and the learners play little part in their learning process (Orlich, 1998). It has been found in most universities by many teachers and students that the conventional lecture approach in the classroom is of limited effectiveness in both teaching and learning. In such a lecture students assume a purely passive role and their concentration fades off after 15–20 minutes. In this FRQWH[WWHDFKLQJLQFODVVURRPXVLQJFKDONDQGWDONLV³RQHZD\ÀRZ´RI information as seen in Fig. 1-3.

SENDER (TEACHER)

RECEIVER (STUDENT)

)LJXUH7UDGLWLRQDOOHDUQLQJ$RQHZD\ÀRZlearning process (Teo & Wong, 2000)

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Innovative Methods of Teaching (Multimedia Learning Process) Traditional educational approaches have resulted in a mismatch between what is taught to the students and what industry needs. As such, many institutions are moving towards problem-based learning as a solution to producing graduates who are creative, thinking critically and analytically to solve problems. In this paper, we focus on using multimedia technology as an innovative teaching and learning strategy in a problem-based learning environment by giving the students a multimedia project to train them in this skill set. Problem-based learning is becoming increasingly popular in educational institutions as a tool to address the inadequacies of traditional teaching. Since these traditional approaches do not encourage students to question what they have learnt or to associate with previously acquired knowledge, problem-based learning is seen as an innovative measure to encourage students to learn how to learn via real-life problems (Boud & Feletti, 1999). Being in the information era (though many futurists claim that we have passed into a post-information age) it is rather straightforward to realize that a new agenda has been introduced in our lives, where Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) play an important role in regard to education, collaboration, communication, etc. Education (compulsory, higher schools, universities, etc.) seems to be a particularly important sector WKDWLVEHLQJLQÀXHQFHGE\QHZWHFKQRORJLHVKDYLQJLQPLQGWKHLPSRUWDQW role that education has in today’s world (Vagelatos, Foskolos & Komninos, 2010). In contemporary pedagogical theories, the cooperation between educaWRUV DQG VWXGHQWV LV FRQVLGHUHG WKH PRVW HI¿FLHQW ZD\ WR OHDUQ LQ WKH VR called framework of “active participation in learning”. People who interDFWH[SHULHQFHFRJQLWLYHFRQÀLFWVWKDWGULYHWKHPWRQHZFRJQLWLYHPRGHOV Students learn through cooperation with other students. On this basis, cooperative activities which promote active learning are encouraged, as well as respect for different approaches to and emphasis on authentic situations (Paraskeya & Dimakos, 2009). The Internet evolution that we have experienced in the last two decades, DQG PRUH VSHFL¿FDOO\ WKH VR FDOOHG :HE  KDV DV PDLQ FKDUDFWHULVWLFV exactly what was described above, the most important being the cooperative environment. Thus the question that arises is what innovation Web 2.0 brings to the educational system where ICT has already (one way or another) taken place.

Aghareed Tayeb

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The teacher uses multimedia to modify the contents of the material, which will help the teacher to represent the subject in a more meaningful ZD\7KHPHGLDHOHPHQWVFDQEHFRQYHUWHGLQWRGLJLWDOIRUPPRGL¿HGDQG FXVWRPL]HGIRUWKH¿QDOSUHVHQWDWLRQ%\LQFRUSRUDWLQJGLJLWDOPHGLDHOHments into the project, the students are able to learn better since they use multiple sensory modalities, motivating to pay more attention to the information presented and retain the information better. Multimedia, is the combination of various digital media types such as text, images, audio and video, into an integrated multi-sensory interactive application or presentation to convey information to an audience. A representation of multimedia learning is given in Fig. 1-4.

Teacher

Multimedia

Student

Figure 1-4: Multimedia learning (an interactive learning process)

Enablers are indicators of the kind of environment which could nourish creative learning and innovative learning. The most effective of these enablers are:

Appropriation of technology There are different ways in which users interact with technology in learning processes (Loveless, 2008). Interaction with technology is primarily based on how users understand the capacity of technology. Loveless calls this level of learning the “active learning process”. Interaction with ICT provides users with new ways of doing things:

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“extend or enhance ability; novel ways of dealing with a task which might change the nature of the activity itself or provide limitations and structure ZKLFKLQÀXHQFHWKHQDWXUHDQGERXQGDULHVRIWKHDFWLYLW\´:KHQOHDUQLQJWR use a new technology, there are different ways users interact with it. As Loveless argues, it is the interplay of human intention and activity which exploits the potential of a technology. Literature in this area demonstrates that the digital generation, which is DVVXPHGWREHWRWDOO\SUR¿FLHQWZLWKWHFKQRORJ\RIWHQODFNVEDVLFWHFKQRlogical skills and IT knowledge (Herold, 2009). Thus if we want children WR EH FUHDWLYH ZLWK WHFKQRORJ\ ZH KDYH ¿UVW DQG IRUHPRVW WR WHDFK WKHP how to use it. A longitudinal study carried out by the CIBER research team demonstrates that the Google Generation tends to rely heavily on search engines and does not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the LQIRUPDWLRQWKH\¿QGRQWKH,QWHUQHW5RZODQGV )LHOGKRXVH 7KLV is another example which demonstrates how the potential of a medium is not exploited because students have not been taught the basic skills which are required when searching for information online.

The role of teachers Literature and research suggest that technology is endowed with a potential to innovate education (Blandow & Dyrenfurth, 1994; Tarrago, 1993). However, teachers need to modify their teaching methods to accommodate the changed interaction patterns. The effective use of new technologies requires innovative teaching skills. When students are not provided with adequate understanding of what technologies can do, there is a high probability that they will replicate familiar forms and ideas using the new tools, as opposed to using the new tools to explore new connections and different ways of fashioning. A study conducted in primary schools on how students used online tools to communicate and participate in online communities highlights the same point (Turvey, 2006). Despite relative autonomy in virtual spaces, most children did not attempt to experiment with the potential of the tools but rather followed predictable patterns of behaviour. This shows that provision of creative spaces and freedom for exploration does not necessarily lead to creative learning. The role of the teacher within and outside virtual spaces is important in WHDFKLQJVWXGHQWVKRZWREHFUHDWLYHDQGLQQRYDWLYH7HDFKHUV¶SUR¿FLHQF\ in using technology is another issue covered in the literature (Shaffer, 2006). Teachers who are not conversant with the technologies they use in their

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teaching may not feel comfortable with showing their lack of expertise in front of their students. As Shaffer argues, if a teacher cannot read, it would EHGLI¿FXOWIRUKLPKHUWRLGHQWLI\ZKHWKHUDERRNLVEDGRUZKHWKHUKLVKHU reading is adequate to judge the book. When it comes to technology, similar behaviour is noted. In order for innovative teaching to take place, teachers need to be aware of the available resources and how such resources may be useful. Teachers also need to be able to identify creative processes when they take place. An example given at a conference captures this point clearly. In the UK, it has been observed that one way for teenagers to be popular in FODVVLVWRGRZQORDGPXVLFDWKRPHDQGWKHQEHWKH¿UVWWRVKDUHLWZLWKWKHLU classmates through a Bluetooth application. While for one teacher such an activity may appear frivolous or even a waste of time, for another teacher this activity may represent new ways for youngsters to engage with technology. These teachers may thus use their technical knowledge and try to integrate new ways of teaching using their students’ technology. Another example could be integrating the downloading of e-books in classrooms or sharing school resources for a language class. Many teachers today recognize that a new generation of computer literate learners demand sophisticated e-learning resources and ‘support from their instructors’ (Wang, Huang, Jeng and Wang, 2008). However, it is not always clear how teachers should integrate technology in their teaching. Lack of technical personnel to help teachers manage laboratories, as well as the fact that teachers are often not compensated for the extra time needed to integrate ICT in their teaching, are some challenges and limits imposed by school systems with an ever increasing number of subjects (Bottino, 2003). Emerging technologies, like for example SNS (Social Networking Sites), are based on notions of networking. In the educational context, networking could enable people to develop collaborative forms of learning. However, most school systems are still based on transmissive models (Bottino, )RUFKHUL 0RO¿QR1RVV :LWKLQVXFKV\VWHPVWKHUROHRIWKH teacher is fundamental, if creative learning is to take place. Other challenges for teachers highlighted by another study conducted in Denmark relate to: WHDPWHDFKLQJRQWKH,QWHUQHWRUJDQL]DWLRQDOFKDOOHQJHVDQGGLI¿FXOWLHV  WDNLQJRZQHUVKLSDQGJURXSOHDGHUVKLSDPRQJVWWKHVWXGHQWVOHDUQHUVDQG new aesthetic norms and standards for learning projects (Borgnakke, 2004). This highlights fact that ICT training for teachers is an important step in making education how it should be today. Teacher training, learning digital competence within context and innovative learning approaches have indeed

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been highlighted as enablers for pedagogical innovation in the context of ICT in an IPTS Policy Brief (Ala-Mutka & Redecker, 2008a). Another study conducted in Korean schools show that there are six factors which hinder teachers from using games in their teaching, namely: LQÀH[LELOLW\ RI FXUULFXOXP QHJDWLYH HIIHFWV RI JDPLQJ VWXGHQWV¶ ODFN RI UHDGLQHVV ODFN RI VXSSRUWLQJ PDWHULDOV ¿[HG FODVV VFKHGXOHV DQG OLPLWHG budget (Baek, 2008).

Technologies for Learning, Creativity and Innovation The debate on the role of ICT for creativity and innovation in education has become an important one over the past decade. The rapid development of technology, mainly as a result of the Internet, has brought about an upsurge of technological tools which young people are appropriating for use in their everyday lives. As explored by the domestication theory, the arrival of ICT in homes has brought the mobilization of material resources, skills, cultural values and social competences and capabilities (Silverstone, 2006). The recent rise of social media is also having an impact on education. The potential of relational communities, as opposed to locational communities (Bess, Fisher, Sonn & Bishop, 2002), allows the expansion of interests and expertise with people outside one’s local community who are interested in the same topics. These new forms of communities facilitate collaboration across space and time. Evolution in communication practices suggests that developments for pedagogy need to address what it means to be educated in our times (Loveless, 2007), so as to avoid “yesterday’s education for tomorrow’s kids” (Prensky, 2005). In the past few years, the emergence of a new wave of technologies has been observed. The rapid uptake of these technologies, which are generally referred to as social computing applications, has also taken many by surprise. Social computing applications vary from social networking sites (like Facebook and MySpace); the sharing of bookmarks (del.icio.us; Citeulike); the sharing of multimedia (Flickr; YouTube); online gaming (Second Life); and blogging, to mention but a few. These applications offer new opportunities for people to express their creativity, make it available to a large audience and get feedback (Cachia, Compañó & Da Costa, 2007). Analysis RIFUHDWLYHSHRSOHDQGDUWLVWLFLQQRYDWLRQGHPRQVWUDWHVWKDWVFLHQWL¿FDQG artistic innovation also emerges from collective effort. This is commonly

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referred to as social creativity (Fischer, Giaccardi, Eden, Sugimoto & Ye, 2005). As discussed by Fischer et al. (2005), an appropriate socio-technical setting can amplify creativity amongst a group of people by augmenting individual creativity and also social creativity. Blogging is an example of how youngsters are using technologies to express their creativity and to be innovative. These applications demonstrate the variety of ways in which users learn how to learn, which according to Rogers (1983) is a major component of creativity. The example of blogging shows that children learn how to write for a public, how to link their work to other works, how to network with other bloggers and how to utilize the blog for their eventual career paths, amongst other skills. This facilitates creative learning, as it enables users to use technology to learn in new, creative ways. Such learning processes demonstrate that technology has great potential for creative learning. Technological skills are important not only for children at schools but also for lifelong learning (EC, 2008). The different levels of interaction and collaboration characteristic of new technologies facilitate personalization of learning paths. Learners become active stakeholders, who are “‘empowered to shape their own learning spaces and resources” and collaborative learning processes. In order to foster creative learning and innovative teaching, curricula need to undergo a skilful and thorough development, where re-balancing is DNH\IDFWRU7KHOLWHUDWXUHLGHQWL¿HGVHYHUDODVSHFWVIRUHQKDQFLQJWKHFXUriculum: the balance between different areas of education; the balance along the curriculum (from pre-school to higher education); the balance between SUHVFULSWLRQDQGIUHHGRPDQG¿QDOO\WKHEDODQFHEHWZHHQVWXGHQWV¶LQWHUests and other educational stakeholders’ agendas. Traditionally, creativity has been associated with the artistic world (Ferrari, Cachia and Punie, 2009); however, as Florida (2002) argues, creativity is an important component of economic growth and social transformation. Technology is one of the major components for fostering future creative communities, together with talent and tolerance (often referred to as Florida’s 3 Ts – Technology, Talent and Tolerance). In terms of innovation, social computing interfaces are particularly interesting in this debate because in various ways they harness the emerging and increasing role of the user in the innovation-development process, as well as the ongoing shift towards open innovation (Lindmark, 2009). Various online applications could be used to empower teachers to become innovative in their teaching, as well as students to develop their creative skills and learn creatively.

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Enabling Innovative Teaching and Creative Learning In addition to what has been understood about creativity and innovation, there is also a profusion of implicit theories on creativity, which allow people to judge what is creative and innovative without being able to explain RUGH¿QHZKDWFUHDWLYLW\DQGLQQRYDWLRQDUH5XQFR %RWKDVSHFWV – research and innovation – contribute to the vagueness and elusiveness of the terms, complicating the tasks of looking for creativity and innovation in practice. At the same time, there is a gap between policies and practices. A support mechanism is needed to facilitate the implementation of policies. This also applies to the discourse of creativity and innovation in education. If member states promote creativity and innovation in their educational policies, this does not guarantee that schools will show creativity and innovation in their day to day practices. As many researchers found, one of the barriers to creativity and innovation in schools consists of teachers’ overloaded schedules. The demand for creative learning and innovative teaching from policy-makers has to be matched with a support mechanism, i.e. with policies and tools that help all educational actors to pursue creative and innovative paths. Besides, policies for creativity and innovation in education need to be in line with other policies and with what is demanded from teachers and students, as contradictory messages will increase uncertainty and further impede the adoption of necessary measures for a creative learning environment. Moreover, policies need to be mirrored by practices, for instance by establishing a nurturing VFKRROFXOWXUHRUE\¿QGLQJVXSSRUWLQWKHDYDLODELOLW\RIFHUWDLQWRROVLQ order to be applied in an effective way and to have a positive impact. It becomes evident therefore that looking for manifestations of creativity and innovation is challenging for several reasons: • Creativity and innovation are processes which do not always result in WDQJLEOHRXWFRPHVDQGDVDUHVXOWLWFDQEHGLI¿FXOWWR¿QGHYLGHQFHRI them; • Creativity and innovation are exposed to subjectivity, arbitrariness and interpretation; thus making it challenging to compare data; • Policies are not necessarily mirrored in practice: encouraging creativity and innovation in policies is not enough, as there is a need for a support mechanism. The fostering of creativity and innovation does not uniquely rely on the intention of educators and pupils, as there are several conditions to be met before a creative and innovative environment can be promoted. In

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this sense, policies and common practices may provide the circumstances for creative learning and innovative teaching or, on the contrary, obstruct them. It is therefore interesting and necessary to examine which conditions can trigger creative learning and innovative teaching in order to support DQGDOORZWKHPWRVSUHDG$V%XUNH SXWVLW³LIFUHDWLYLW\LVGLI¿FXOW WRGH¿QHRQHFHUWDLQWKLQJLVWKDWLWLVSRVVLEOHWRFUHDWHWKHFRQGLWLRQVLQ which creativity is more likely to thrive”. As demonstrated, the role of the teacher in formal educational environments is fundamental to bring about new pedagogies or to stimulate change (Ala-Mutka, Punie & Redecker, 2008). Hence, teachers need institutional support to be creative and innovative. Nonetheless, an assessment of creativity and innovation in educational practices cannot rely on the fortuitous and incidental number of individuals with the will and the inspiration. It was hence decided to investigate and assess the “enablers” for change. This will allow an understanding of the basic conditions for fostering creative learning and innovative teaching.

Conclusion The use of innovative methods in educational institutions has the potential not only to improve education, but also to empower people, strengthen governance and galvanize the effort to achieve human development goals for a country. Across the world, information technology is dramatically altering the way students, faculty and staff learn and work. Internet-ready phones, handheld computers, digital cameras, and MP3 players are revolutionizing college life. As the demand for technology continues to rise, colleges and universities are moving all sorts of student services to online delivery. ,&7KDVPDGHPDQ\LQQRYDWLRQVLQWKH¿HOGRIWHDFKLQJDQGDOVRPDGH a drastic change from the old paradigm of teaching and learning. In the new paradigm of learning, the role of the student is more important than teachers. We need to have interactive teaching and this changing role of education is inevitable with the introduction of multimedia technology. Although technology is endowed with a potential to foster creative learning and innovative teaching, unless teachers change their teaching methods positive results will be limited. Teachers also need to have the required knowledge to be able to identify creative and innovative skills and processes amongst their students.

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Creativity and innovation are understood as interrelated concepts; the ¿UVWUHIHUVWRDSURGXFWRUSURFHVVZKLFKVKRZVDEDODQFHRIRULJLQDOLW\DQG value, and the second to the implementation of such a process or product in a given sphere. However, creativity is more strongly linked to learning, and innovation to teaching, hence the notions of creative learning and innovative teaching. Creativity should be understood as a skill which may be developed through creative learning and innovative teaching. The fostering of such a skill depends substantially on the development of curricula, where a balance among the different subject areas, between prescription and freedom should be a priority. Assessment in schools also needs to be addressed as current PHWKRGVRIWHQGRQRWWDNHLQWRDFFRXQWFUHDWLYLW\DQGPD\HYHQVWLÀHLW The fostering of creativity and innovation cannot rely on the intention of educators and pupils, as there are several conditions to be met to promote a creative and innovative learning environment. Therefore, a set of “enablers” is proposed as a framework for understanding the conditions or the support mechanisms that allow creative learning and innovative teaching to emerge and thus facilitate creativity and innovation. These are: assessment; culture; curriculum; individual skills; teaching and learning format; teachers; technology; and tools.

References Ala-Mutka, K., Punie, Y. & Redecker, C. 2008. Digital competence for lifelong learning: policy brief. 5HWULHYHG IURP KWWSIWSMUFHV(85GRF-5& TN.pdf Amabile, T. M. 1998. How to kill creativity: in today’s knowledge economy, creativity is more important than ever. Harvard Business Review, 76(5), 76–88. Baek, Y. K. 2008. What hinders teachers in using computer and video games in the classroom? Exploring factors inhibiting the uptake of computer and video games. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 11(6), 665–671. Bess, K. D., Fisher, A. T., Sonn, C. C. & Bishop, B. J. 2002. Psychological sense of community: research, applications, and implications. In A. T. Fisher, C. C. Sonn & B. J. Bishop (eds), Psychological sense of community: research, applications and implications. 1HZ@î 0.75 0.375 1 >@ >@ Thus, the ranking values for C1, C2, C3 are 10, 7, 4.375 respectively. The result indicates that C1 is more suitable and closer to what the student is looking for than C2 and both are closer than C3. More complex examples with more options can be calculated using the same approach. Hence, this approach can be used for marketing courses based on the knowledge of current MOOC context and queries or preferences of students and MOOC providers.

Adaptations to Improve Engagement The knowledge of context at any point in time can help increase the quality of the learning experience and service provision. In order to succeed and survive the intense competition between different MOOC providers, MOOC platforms should be adaptive. Adaptation means changing strategies, service delivery and quality of service continuously. Here changes mean improvements and suitable adjustments to enhance the learning experience. Adaptation depends primarily on gathering and processing context information. Our proposed Context Gathering Unit should continuously monitor and collect dimensions of all engaged entities in the model. After WKDW UXOHEDVHG UHDVRQLQJ HQJLQHV VKRXOG EH FRQ¿JXUHG WR DQDO\VH WKH RYHUDOOFRQWH[WRI022&V7KH022&SODWIRUPVKRXOGLQFOXGHDÀH[LEOH rule-based engine that uses context to evaluate situations and execute rules WKDWEH¿WDVLWXDWLRQ)RUH[DPSOHLIWKHPHGLDQWLPHRIZDWFKLQJYLGHRV decreases then this is an indicator that perhaps video segments are long or have boring materials. Another scenario is: if only some videos have a lower median, whereas others have a higher median, it indicates that those videos with a higher median have interesting materials that should be focused on or effective engagement techniques that need to be reused. If the number of

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students enrolled on the course who do quizzes or assignments decreases then this might be an indicator of heavy workload or less interest in continuing the course. At this point, providing some incentives might be useful to LQFUHDVHVWXGHQWUHWHQWLRQ0DQ\RWKHUVFHQDULRVDQGUXOHVFDQEHGH¿QHGLQ the same manner. Employing adaptation is not a trivial task and it might be overwhelming. The collected statistics drawn from context information might be misleading sometimes. For example, if the number of students engaged in a course decreases this might be an indicator that many of them enrolled by mistake or just in order to explore the topic in general. This means that it is normal that the median time of watching decreases. In this case, the minority of students who actually enrolled because they wanted to complete the course might be enjoying it and the quality of delivery for them might be acceptable. Thus, in such scenarios perhaps no adaptation is required and it will be better for the course to continue as it is. However, this requires a method of discriminating between those students who are really interested in the course and those who are just passing by. The ranking algorithm that we provided in the previous section can play an important role in this process. It will allow the MOOC platform to select only the students who have a JUHDWHU GLVSRVLWLRQ WR HQMR\ DQG ¿QLVK WKH FRXUVH E\ UDQNLQJ DOO VWXGHQWV and selecting only the higher ranked portion as targets for selective adaptation. The lower ranked portion should not be ignored but rather different adaptations employed for them. Hence, by employing context gathering, ranking, and rule-based reactions, it is possible to perform for the same course different adaptations that might result in better learning experiences for all participants according to their level of interest. This approach can help instructors to focus only on interested students and not waste their energy assuming that they are serving 100,000 students whereas in fact they are actually serving only 5000.

Storing and Managing Context A context database is essential to manage a heterogeneous collection of contexts and their history in order that context information, both past and current, are made available in a time-critical manner for providing critical services. This is the motivation for us to provide a general implementation structure for context that could be embedded in a Service-Oriented Application (SOA) or any other ubiquitous computing system. Additionally, we

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propose a design for storing context history that maximizes data management and enhances accessibility.

Context types The three important entities in any SOA are service, service requester (SR), DQGVHUYLFHSURYLGHU63 (DFKHQWLW\ZLOOEHLQÀXHQFHGE\LWVRZQVHWRI FRQWH[WV7KXVZHGH¿QHWKHWKUHHFDWHJRULHV6HUYLFH&RQWH[W6& 6HUYLFH Requester Context (SRC) and Service Provider Context (SPC). A context of type SC describes the service status. For example, a service may be “temporarily unavailable” in some contexts or is available only in certain contexts. $FRQWH[WRI65&TXDOL¿HVWKHVWDWXVZKLOHUHTXHVWLQJRUUHFHLYLQJWKHVHUvice. For example, the location and time parameters characterize the context of a client while requesting or receiving a service. A context of type SPC TXDOL¿HVVHUYLFHDYDLODELOLW\DQGVHUYLFHTXDOLW\IRUDVHUYLFHSURYLGHGE\D SP. As an example, a SP may have licence to provide service within 10 km of the location where SP is registered. So, his location and the authorized zonal information for his service contribute to constructing SPC contexts. Contexts from these categories regulate and restrict service provisioning LQ62$&RQWH[WVRI6&DQG63&W\SHVPXVWEHSUHGH¿QHGLQWKHV\VWHP although contexts of type SRC may vary dynamically due to the mobility of SRs. In general, a context type can be put into one of the three subtypes: permanent, temporal and transient. A permanent context needs to be saved. Contexts that arise in a Health Care service domain are examples of this type. A temporal context may undergo changes. Many contexts that arise in business applications are of this type. As an example, a business rule of a multinational corporation might change depending upon government-imposed legalities. A transient context arises dynamically, and after its use it may never arise again. Contexts that arise in many game playing systems are of this type.

Generic context model The generic context model has three main parts: ContextInfo, ContextRule and ContextValue. Based on the context representation introduced by Wan (2006) we have structured ContextInfo and ContextRule as shown in Figure 7-2. However, ContextValue requires a more sophisticated structure in order

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to capture the change of values. We decided to include information such as WKHLGHQWL¿HURIWKHFRQWH[W¶VFROOHFWRUDQGDGDWHDQGWLPHRIFROOHFWLRQ

Figure 7-2. The main structure of the context

The information included in the ContextValue is included in two difIHUHQWQRGHV$GLPHQVLRQQRGHLQIRUPDWLRQLVVSHFL¿FWRHDFKGLPHQVLRQ separately. This information includes source ID which is the context collecWRU¶VLGHQWL¿HU6LQFHLQIRUPDWLRQIRUHDFKGLPHQVLRQFDQEHFROOHFWHGE\ several collectors, it is important to know which collector has collected the information to track it in case of a failure. Also, date and time of collection are made part of ContextValue in order to record the history of change. The second node of ContextValue is the registration node. This node includes information that is general for all dimensions such as context type, requester ,'SURYLGHU,'VHUYLFH,'DQGGDWHWLPHRIWKHODVWXSGDWH7KLVLQIRUPDWLRQH[FHSWGDWHWLPHRIODVWXSGDWH LVQRWXSGDWHGIUHTXHQWO\5DWKHULWLV set when the service is executed and will remain the same for other updates. 7KH¿HOGVLQWKLVQRGHDUHGH¿QHGEHORZ • lastupdate: includes the date and time of last update of the ContextValue • requesterID: includes the ID of the requester to whom the service is provided • providerID: includes the ID of the service provider • serviceID: includes the ID of the service • ContextType: can be permanent, temporal or transient • intialdate: includes the date and time when the context was initialized • lifetime: includes the time window for the life of the context

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NoSql Implementation for Generic Context Structure NoSql technology is selected to implement the generic context structure for the following reasons: (1) it supports semi or free schema which makes it suitable for managing dynamic data; (2) it supports hierarchical structures; (3) it is highly scalable which makes it suitable for distributed databases; (4) LWPDQDJHVDWWULEXWHVZLWKPXOWLSOHYDOXHVDQG LWSURYLGHVHI¿FLHQWTXHU\ processing mechanisms (Dey et al., 2001). There are three main categories of NoSql database, based on their storing techniques: Document-Oriented, Key-Value, and Column-Oriented. Each of these NoSql technologies has many tools to support its operations. We decided to use these three database technologies for managing contexts. We choose one implementation from each class: MongoDB for Document-Oriented, Redis for Key-Value, and Hbase for Column-oriented. The following describes how each of these technologies can be used to implement context.

Service context model in MongoDB MongoDB is an open source document-oriented database. Each record in WKLVVW\OHLVFDOOHGDGRFXPHQW$GRFXPHQWLVPDGHXSRIDJURXSRI¿HOGV and their associated values. It can contain embedded documents with an RYHUDOOVL]HWKDWGRHVQRWH[FHHG0%7KHQXPEHURI¿HOGVQHHGQRWEH the same in all documents. That is, each record can have a different structure. Each document has a unique key by default. A secondary key can be assigned. A collection is a pool of documents, which is equivalent to a table in SQL. The database supports all primitive types (Integer, String, Float), and arrays. Figure 7-3 shows our proposed MongoDB model for the generic context VWUXFWXUH,QWKLV¿JXUHWKH&RQWH[W,QIRQRGHLVPRGHOHGDVDQHPEHGGHG GRFXPHQWWKDWFRQWDLQVDOOGLPHQVLRQVDV¿HOGVZLWKWKHLUW\SHVDVYDOXHV 7KH&RQWH[W5XOHLVPRGHOOHGDVDQHPEHGGHGGRFXPHQWZLWKRQH¿HOGRI string type. The ContextValue is modelled as an embedded document that FRQWDLQV¿HOGVDQGDUUD\VDVIROORZV7KHdatetime, clientID, providerID, and serviceIDDUHPRGHOOHGDVUHJXODU¿HOGV(DFKGLPHQVLRQRIWKHFRQWH[WLV PRGHOHGDVDQDUUD\VWUXFWXUHZKLFKZUDSVWKHLQIRUPDWLRQVSHFL¿FWRHDFK dimension in one memory block. Thus, all information regarding one dimension including sourceIDGDWHWLPHRIFROOHFWLRQDQGYDOXHRIWKHGLPHQVLRQ can be retrieved by the name of the dimension. The rational for representing dimensions as arrays instead of embedded documents is to reduce the

levels of document embedding. Increasing the levels of document embedding makes MongoDB’s operations resource-intensive and causes complex query processing and retrieval. Thus, with the current structure, when an update operation is performed, only the lastupdate ¿HOG DQG GLPHQVLRQ values are updated with a single query.

Service context model in Redis Redis is an open source advanced key-value database. A record in the key-value database consists of a key mapped to its corresponding value. Redis is considered advanced EHFDXVHLWSURYLGHV¿YHSRVsible data structures for the value type. These data structures are String, Hash, Set, List and Sorted Set. A String is a single value with a maximum size of 512MB. A Hash is a set of pairs where each SDLUFRQVLVWVRIDQDPH¿HOG and its corresponding value. A single Hash record could have up to 232 – 1 pairs. A Set is an unsorted and not duplicated group of elements connected to a single key. In

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Figure 7-3. Service context model in MongoDB

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Figure 7-4. Service context model in Redis.

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a Set, the maximum number of element is 2³² – 1. A List is simply a list of string values that are ordered as they are entered. A List could have a maximum size of 2³² – 1 values. A Sorted Set is similar to a Set, but each value has a score attached. A score is an integer number attached to each value of a Sorted Set. The values of a Sorted Set are sorted in ascending order based on their score. The maximum number of values in a Sorted Set is similar to a Set. Figure 7-4 depicts our Redis key-value model, for context structure. The model uses strings and Hashes to model elements. Because ContextInfo consists of many pairs of dimension names and their types, Hash is a good data type to use. Similarly, ContextValue contains pairs. However, it has WZROHYHOVRIKLHUDUFK\7KH¿UVWOHYHOLVXVHGWRPDSWKHQDPHVRIGLPHQsions to their value keys. The second level is used to map the value keys to nested Hashes that include dimensions’ information. The ContextRule attribute is modeled as a String data type because it contains only one value which is the ContextRule statement.

Service context model in HBase Hbase is an open source column-oriented database. It supports key-value techniques, and it is based on the BigTable technology, which is designed E\*RRJOH,WSURYLGHVÀH[LEOHWDEOHVWUXFWXUH$Q+EDVHWDEOHFRQWDLQVD bunch of Key-Values wrapped together under one name. This name is called &ROXPQ)DPLO\&) &ROXPQ4XDOL¿HU&4 LVD¿HOGRIGDWD5RZ.H\ is a unique key that differentiates a row from another. Cell stores an atomic value. To store this value or retrieve it, three keys are needed. These keys DUHURZNH\FROXPQIDPLO\DQGFROXPQTXDOL¿HU7KHVL]HRIDFHOOFRXOG be from 10 to 50 MB. Version is characterized by a time stamp. Every time GDWD LV LQVHUWHGXSGDWHG LQ D FHOO WKH V\VWHP VWRUHV D WLPH VWDPS IRU WKLV DFWLRQ,IWLPHVWDPSLVQRWVSHFL¿HGZKHQUHWULHYLQJGDWDWKHV\VWHPDXWRmatically returns the latest one. +EDVHGRHVQRWKDYHD¿[HGSUHGH¿QHGVFKHPDZKLFKPDNHVLWYHU\ ÀH[LEOHWRVWUXFWXUH&RQWH[W0RGHO)LJXUHVKRZVWKHVHUYLFHFRQWH[W model in Hbase, in which we have named the column family as Context Family. The Context Family is mapped to the set of dimension names. It is also mapped to some columns that provide information to the ContextValue. Actually, columns are the data that are related to one or more rows. Rows are the data that are related to the dimensions. As illustrated by FigXUHRQO\WKH&RQWH[W9DOXHQHHGVDOOWKH¿HOGVUHSUHVHQWHGE\FROXPQV This results in rows with different length. The third row key is ContextRule

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Figure 7-5. Service context model in Hbase

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A comparison of the three models We compare the three models in terms of the features afforded by the underlying database models and in terms of their performances. Table 7-1 compares their structural features and Table 2 compares their performance. The CAP Theorem (Brewer, 2000), which studied consistency, availability, and partition tolerance of NoSql databases, states that any NoSql database should have two strong features out of three. Han, Haihong, Le & Du (2011), state that MongoDB, Redis and Hbase have the two strong IHDWXUHV RI FRQVLVWHQF\ DQG SDUWLWLRQ WROHUDQFH &37  5HGLV LV D ÀH[LEOH database but has some limitations compared to the other two. The constraints on data type, indexing system and key value structure make it more GLI¿FXOWWRXVHZLWKFRPSOH[ULFKGDWD2QWKHRWKHUKDQGERWK0RQJR'% and Hbase can handle complex data. MongoDB supports hierarchical structures by permitting nested documents and allowing secondary indexing. In Hbase, hierarchical structures are supported by nested columns with multiple indexing. These features help developers to structure rich context data. 0RQJR'%LVHDVLHUWKDQ+EDVHLQFRQ¿JXULQJDQGFRGLQJ7DEOH We tested the performance of the three databases using the YCSB benchmarking tool (Cooper, Silberstein, Tam, Ramakrishnan & Sears, 2010).We XVHGGLIIHUHQWZRUNORDGVGH¿QHGE\F@RQQHFWLYLVP LV WKH WKHRU\ IRU WKH digital age”. Connectivism is based on constructivist principles that state learning is not acquired or gained; rather, it is distributed across a network of connections, built and grown (Downes, 2007). In connectivism, the transition for learning occurs when knowledge is ignited through the process of a learner connecting to and sharing information with a learning community. Proponents of connectivism believe that knowledge is distributed across an information network and can be stored in a variety of digital formats.

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In Edmodo, knowledge is constructed through connecting with other learners. Discussions and posts in Edmodo create a diversity in the opinions of its users that helps students nurture their critical and social skills needed LQWKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\7KLVVRUWRIFRQQHFWHGOHDUQLQJLVDIXQGDPHQWDOSULQFLSOHRIFRQQHFWLYLVPVR(GPRGR¿WVLQWKLVWKHRU\RUIUDPHZRUN eminently.

Changing Perspectives in Education Technology is advancing and changing at breakneck speed so students need a way to keep abreast with all that interests them and have relevant UHVRXUFHVDWWKHLU¿QJHUWLSVThe urgent challenge now is to move education LQWRWKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\6WXGHQWVPXVWEHFRPHSUR¿FLHQWLQQHZVNLOOV that are in demand in post-secondary learning, on the job and in modern society. According to A State Leaders Action Guide to 21st Century Skills (Vockley, 2006) “students must learn critical 21st century content that is QRWUHÀHFWHGLQWKHFRUHFXUULFXOXPWRGD\´6WXGHQWVDUHQRZSUHSDUHGIRU the working environment where technology skills are imperative for job searching and training. For an insurgency to take place in education, drastic changes will have to take place that will change perspectives on student learning. According to Christensen, Horn and Johnson (2008), the key to revolutionizing the classroom is not just by adding technology, but rather by the ways that technology will be introduced. They believe that future schools must be student-centred. Educators are fully aware that students have different types of intelligences; therefore they do not all learn in the same way. As a result learning should be both personalized and customized to serve all students effectively. Tailoring our teaching to accommodate each student is highly expensive under the current education system. Christensen, Horn & Johnson recommend introducing more computer-based learning. “We need to introduce the innovation disruptively” they write, “– not by using it to compete against the existing paradigm and serve existing customers, but to target those who are not being served – people we call non-consumers. That way, all the new approach has to do is be better than the alternative – which is nothing at all.” With the introduction of digital technology, the K-12 classroom environment is gradually being transformed. The advent of technological tools like wireless Internet access, mobile communication devices, smart SKRQHV DQG PRUH KDV OHG WR WKH RQVHW RI WZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\ %OHQGHG

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Learning approaches. Educators recognize that technology is at the core of virtually everything society does today and understand that its implementation in the education system is crucial. Initially whiteboards, overhead projectors and word processors were used as a support tool for conventional teaching methods. It has since developed into a process or pedagogy. According to Christensen, Horn & Johnson (2008) the issue is no longer one of how to use technology to teach, but one where educators acknowledge WKHZD\WKHZRUOGLVDOUHDG\GHYHORSLQJDQGXQGHUVWDQGWKHVLJQL¿FDQFHRI online literacy and the role that collaboration and online engagement plays in student learning and their future workplace environment. Bearing that in mind, classrooms and institutions are also undergoing SK\VLFDORUHGL¿FHFKDQJHVWRDFFRPPRGDWHWKHVWUXFWXUDOQHHGVRIDWHFKQRORJ\GHSHQGHQW FXUULFXOXP 7KH FODVVURRP RI WKH WZHQW\¿UVW FHQWXU\ reaches out beyond its four walls, bringing in external resources with digital tools. Thus there is enhanced student involvement because they are actively engaged in the learning process. 6WXGHQW DQG HGXFDWRU UROHV DUH LQ ÀX[ ZLWK VWXGHQWV QRZ WDNLQJ an active part in their own learning. Learning is now more student-centred rather than educator-centred. Educators are also becoming life-long learners as they shift into new styles of information sharing. Spector, Merrill, Merrienboer and Driscoll (2008) support my notion that educators are willing to learn and to implement technological skills based on prior knowledge and experience, which builds upon educators varying their facilitating styles in accordance with advances in education that enhance their students’ learning environment in both asynchronous and synchronous learning. This is conclusive with the idea that educators who are well informed and knowledgeable can adapt the study programme to meet the ever-growing demands of their students.

Synchronous and asynchronous learning Synchronous, the term in the technology world, means something that refers to events that are synchronized, or contacted, in time. While synchronous learning has improved the traditional education system in its own powerful way, asynchronous learning is exceptionally advanced. Traditionally, students needed to be physically present to engage in learning with other students. However students can engage each other when it is most convenient and a knowledge trail is left of discussions. $V\QFKURQRXVOHDUQLQJLVGH¿QHGDVDQ\OHDUQLQJHYHQWZKHUHLQWHUDF-

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tion is delayed over time. This allows learners to participate according to their schedule, and be geographically separate from the instructor. In so doing, it creates strong bonds between educator and learner because the student can directly contact the educator or group for assistance or access course materials at any time. Asynchronous tools are synonymous with the term “anytime, anywhere tools”. Because it is computer- or Internet-based, however, asynchronous learning has the capability of immersing its students completely within an HQYLURQPHQW PRVW EHQH¿FLDO WR OHDUQLQJ $V\QFKURQRXV HGXFDWLRQ LV QRW bound by location or time constraints; thus previously ignored individuals can take advantage of educational experiences. Learners from varying time zones and different continents can now participate in the same courses. ConWHQWFDQEHH[SORUHGDQGGLVFXVVHGLQJUHDWGHSWKRURQDVXSHU¿FLDOOHYHO DOORZLQJ OHDUQHUV WKH WLPH WR UHÀHFW DQG IRUPXODWH WKRXJKWIXO UHVSRQVHV This sets it apart from classroom style learning. The main advantage is that students can also interact with other students or educators through e-mail, online discussion groups and online bulletin boards. Hiltz and Wellman (1997) in their studies found that asynchronous GLVFXVVLRQLVVXI¿FLHQWWRVXSSRUWWKHGHYHORSPHQWRIDOHDUQLQJFRPPXnity in which the students establish both cognitive and emotional elements needed for effective learning. As with the other types of e-learning, asynchronous training is also self-paced and interactive. The asynchronous environment is most appropriate for those who learn best by thinking about content on their own, and who can structure their time to accommodate instruction. Blanchette (2001) has investigated the communication of students in asynchronous discussions and found students in this formation involved in higher order of cognitive interactivity compared to students from the face to face meeting.

Edmodo as an Asynchronous Métier $V1DP.LP SRLQWVRXW³VWXGHQWVDUHHDVLO\GLVVDWLV¿HGZLWK a system requesting too many steps to obtain online information”. The main advantage of Edmodo becomes obvious: there are very few steps in signing up. All that students need is to enter their names, passwords and an access code to the class which is generated by their class teacher. Entering their email account is optional as well. Edmodo’s interface is optimized for mobile devices and facilitates delivery of e-learning and documents in mobile formats. According to Harasim

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(1990), environments that have interactive and asynchronous aspects enable active learning. It is particularly useful for social media functions related to e-learning such as creating discussion threads and posts, creating content items, commenting on blogs and journals, mail, discussions, announcements and even learning modules, assessments, assignments etc. Some of the distinct advantages of using Edmodo as an asynchronous métier are that learners can work through the content according to their own schedule and do the assignments at their own pace. This practice not only JLYHVWKHPDXWRQRP\EXWDOVRHQDEOHVWKHPWRUHÀHFWRQWKHLUZRUN7XWW\ and Klein (2007) suggest that for assignments that challenge students’ creativity, the virtual approach could generate better ideas by giving students all the time they need to process.

Some distinctive features offered on Edmodo Free – A safe, ad-free, social networking site. Registration is completely free. It is accessible via the website or as an application on smart phones or on any other mobile devices. The Mac version was recently launched to accommodate more users. Interface – Learners are not intimidated by the setup or layout, as it is VLPLODUWR)DFHERRNWKHUHIRUHWKH\¿QGLWHDVLHUWRXVH Personalized accounts – Teachers can create individual groups for their students and include sub-groups. Students create their own Edmodo accounts. Parents are also allowed to create their own accounts. Privacy – every student is given an access code to join the group. The passwords are reset every two weeks. Focus Groups – Teachers can create multiple groups for various subjects and tailor the communication for each group. The teacher can assign tasks and explain content online. /LEUDU\±LWLVHDV\WR¿QGDQGPDQDJHDOOUHVRXUFHVDVLWDXWRPDWLFDOO\ VDYHVDQ\OLQNHPEHGRU¿OHWKDWZDVHYHUVHQWRUUHFHLYHG7KURXJKWKLV IHDWXUH LW LV SRVVLEOH WR ¿QG YLHZ DUFKLYH DQG GHOHWH DQ\ ¿OHV DQG ZHE resources by group, message type and eventually tags. Posts – can be individualized or sent to an entire group simultaneously. An automatic record is kept of all posts. A post can be sent repetitively. Polls – It is a simple system that allows the teacher to post polls to the groups to get quick anonymous feedback from the students effortlessly. Quizzes – Create or upload quizzes and tests that can be completed online. The quizzes can be timed or set to start automatically.

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Grading – work can be submitted online and then further graded using rubrics. This can be linked to the teacher’s online grade book. This can be easily accessed at any time. Edmodo can facilitate the work of educators. Calendar – can be set with due dates and important notices and reminders. Multiple alerts for various groups can be set in advance. This feature can help an educator plan and track activities more carefully by planning ahead. Threaded discussions – allow learners to post questions or opinions on a message board that is accessible to all within a group. However the teacher is able to lock or delete individual posts. Parental access – Parents can access the groups via an access code. They are able to keep abreast of classroom activities and post comments. Communities – teachers can create or join existing communities with WKHVDPHLQWHUHVWVRULQWKHVDPH¿HOG7KXVWKHWHDFKHULVHVVHQWLDOO\GHYHORSLQJKLVKHURZQVNLOOV Badges – for quick feedback a teacher can award badges in response to work that is submitted.

Conclusion The advent of technology in the classroom as a learning tool has revolutionized the way educators teach and the way in which learners learn. Traditional teaching is no longer an option for an educator who wants to KDYHDQLPSDFWRQKLVKHUVWXGHQWV7KHUHIRUHFKRRVLQJDQHIIHFWLYH3/1 like Edmodo to manage and deliver learning is one of the most critical decisions any educator can make. Edmodo can, if implemented and used effectively, change the learning environment to provide a more qualitative VHUYLFH LQ WKH ¿HOG RI HGXFDWLRQ 7R IXUWKHU VXSSRUW WKLV YLHZ 0DF%ULGH DQG/XHKPDQ QRWH³>W@KHEHQH¿WVZLOOQRWEHDXWRPDWLFEXW rather will require thoughtful teacher planning”. Numerous studies reported that using a management system like Edmodo can help improve communication and collaboration in a course (Hutchins, 2001; Pollack, 2003); enhancing class lectures and feedback to students about grades (Morgan, 2003); giving students greater access to materials (Yip, 2004); and improving learning in other ways (Klecker, 2002).

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References Blanchette, J. (2001). Questions in the online learning environment. Journal of Distance Education, 16(2). Christensen, C. M. & Horn, M. 2008. How do we transform our schools? Education Next, 8. 5HWULHYHG IURP KWWSZZZKRRYHURUJSXEOLFDWLRQVHGQH[W html Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B. & Johnson, C. W. 2008. Disrupting class: how disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York, London: McGraw-Hill Professional. Cohen, E.G. Designing Groupwork (1986). New York: Teachers College Press. Downes, S. 2007. What connectivism is>:HEORJSRVW@Half an Hour. Retrieved IURP KWWSKDOIDQKRXUEORJVSRWFRPZKDWFRQQHFWLYLVPLVKWPO accessed 14 August 2013. (GPRGRKWWSZZZHGPRGRFRPKRPH Harasim, L. (ed.). 1990. Online education: perspectives on a new environment. New York: Praeger. Hiltz, S. R. & Wellman, B. 1997. Asynchronous learning networks as a virtual classroom. Communications of the ACM, 40(9), 44–49. Hutchins, H. M. 2001. Enhancing the business communication course through WebCT. Business Communications Quarterly, 64(3), 87–95. Jonassen, D., Davidson, A., Collins, M., Campbell, J. & Haag, B. B. 1995. Constructivism and computer-mediated communication in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 9(2), 7–26. Klecker, B. M. 2002. Evaluation of electronic blackboard enhancement of a graduate course in school counseling. Paper presented at the conference for the Mid-South Educational Research Association, held at Chattanooga, TN. MacBride, R. & Luehmann, A. 2008. Capitalizing on emerging technologies: a case study of classroom blogging. School Science and Mathematics, 108(5), 173–184. Morgan, G. 2003. Faculty use of course management systems. Denver: Educause Center for Applied Research. Nam Kim, H. 2007. The phenomenon of blogs and theoretical model of blog use in educational contexts. Computers & Education, 51, 1342–1352. Pollack, T. A. 2003. Using a course management system to improve instruction. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association of Small Computer 8VHUVLQ(GXFDWLRQ0\UWOH%HDFK6RXWK&DUROLQD5HWULHYHGIURPKWWSZZZ WRELQFOVFRPOHDUQLQJQHWZRUNKWPDFFHVVHG-DQXDU\ Siemens, G. 2004. Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age. elearnspace. 5HWULHYHG IURP KWWSZZZHOHDUQVSDFHRUJ$UWLFOHVFRQQHFWLYLVPKWP RQ  August 2013. Spector, J., Merrill, M., Merrienboer, J. & Driscoll, M. 2008. Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology. 3rd edition. Taylor & Francis. Tobin, D. 1998. Building your personal learning network. Retrieved from KWWS ZZZWRELQFOVFRPOHDUQLQJQHWZRUNKWPRQ0D\ Tutty, J. & Klein, J. 2007. Computer-mediated instruction: a comparison of online and face-to-face collaboration. Education Tech Research, 56,101–124. USA Department of Education. 2006. Preparing students to compete in the 21st century.

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Vockley, Martha. 2006. A state leaders action guide to 21st century skills: a new vision for education. Tucson, AZ: Partnership for 21st Century Skills; retrieved from www.21stcenturyskills.org on 26 May 2015. Weir, S. (1989). The computer in schools: Machines humanizer. Harvard Educational Review, 59, 61–73. Yip, M. C. W. (2004). Using WebCT to teach courses online. British Journal of Educational Technology, 35(4), 497–501.

CHAPTER TEN LEARNING THROUGH MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES YUMNA AZIZ ANSARI Abstract When technology was introduced into schools and universities, academics hoped it would bring a revolutionary change in the educational system. Unfortunately, when we compare the educational system in the past and in WKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\ZHFDQVHHWKDWQRVXFKFKDQJHRFFXUUHG6WDQGDUGized tests and standardized ways of teaching are prevalent today even with the use of technology in most educational institutions. While this may be the case, video games could be used to bring about a change. Video games have the advantage of being able to simulate a certain learning environment in a fun and entertaining way that allows the learner to solve real life problems at their own pace. This is especially important in WKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\DVPRVWQHZDQGHPHUJLQJ¿HOGVUHTXLUHLQQRYDWLYH thinking – something that is not taught at schools. Learning through massive online games in particular has been the interest of many because of their ability to support large numbers of players simultaneously. These games allow players to interact in virtual worlds and ZRUNWRJHWKHUWRDWWDLQDVSHFL¿FJRDO7KHSRWHQWLDORIWKHVHJDPHVEHLQJ XVHG LQ HGXFDWLRQ WR GHYHORS VNLOOV VXFK DV HI¿FLHQW WHDPZRUN DQG FRPmunication is extremely high. This paper looks at the appeal of massive online games as educational tools in comparison to traditional methods for the current generation of digital leaners. It also looks at the skills that can be learned through MMORPGs as well as the features that contribute to a learning experience by providing intrinsic motivation. Data was collected from students in grades 6 to 13 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was found that the majority of the students believe video games would motivate them to learn. Most of them also believed that MMORPGs should be used to teach. Keywords: MMORPGs; Video games; Learning; Educational systems; Innovation

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Introduction: Traditional Education The educational system that is present even now in the United States and in other parts of the world was born during the Industrial Revolution (Shaffer, 2006). The Industrial Revolution began in the United Kingdom in the eighteenth century and later spread to the rest of the world including the United States. Throughout this time, there were major changes in agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transport and technology which resulted in an enormous effect on socioeconomic and cultural conditions around the world (Montagna, 2013). In 1820, hundreds of thousands of Americans moved from their homes in the countryside to cities in order to form the workforce of urban factories. %\WKHUHZHUHPRUHWKDQWKLUW\¿YHFLWLHV±QLQHRIZKLFKKDGDSRSulation of over 100,000 people including both Americans and immigrants. This resulted in overcrowding, crime, poor sanitation and riots. Violent strikes across the country made civic leaders realize that something had to be done. This was when education was offered as a solution to their social problems. The system that existed at the time consisted of small village schools that were not adequate for educating thousands of city children. It was then that John Philbrick, an author and school administrator, argued that “the future of our cities will be largely what education makes it”. William T. Harris, a school reformer, pointed out the need for free popular education carried out in a system of schools beginning from primary grades to university (Shaffer, 2006). This was the situation in which the current educational system was IRUPHG LVRODWHG FODVVURRPV ¿OOHG ZLWK FKLOGUHQ RI VLPLODU DJHV ± ZKHUH each student had their own desk; the nine month school year and classes ¿YHGD\VDZHHNZKHUHHDFKFODVVZDVIRUPLQXWHVDQGHDFKFODVVZDV to be given 130 hours of instruction in a single subject. The curriculum presented was the same for all subjects – standardized tests that catered to a standardized way of thinking and learning. This system was based on the factory model where order and discipline was emphasized above anything else. In those times, strict order was extremely necessary to successfully control hundreds of students at one time (Shaffer, 2006). It wasn’t until the 1990s that the importance of technology in education arose. This resulted in a demand for the education community to remake schools as technology-driven institutes. Schools spent millions of dollars merely on computers, networks, high-speed Internet, educational software and other digital technologies. Additionally, there was a growing need to promote a progressive approach to learning where reformers hoped to bridge the gap between innovative learning and standardized school practices using WHFKQRORJ\LQRUGHUWRSUHSDUHVWXGHQWVIRUZRUNLQWKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\

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They hoped such an effort would result in a widespread change in teaching and learning (Halverson & Smith, 2009). Unfortunately, this was not the case. Despite the fact that technology is widely prevalent, schools still implement the same teaching and testing styles that were invented during the Industrial Revolution. This means that the current educational system tends to concentrate on teaching all students the same content in the same amount of time while ignoring the fact that each student has a different learning rate (Duffy, 2010). The problem with this system is the lack of emphasis on the problem solving, communication, and group working skills that are needed in the workforce today (Klopfer, 2008).

Literature Review: The Role of Video Games in Education The fault with the current educational system lies in the fact that it was made for a completely different era. Today, children are more interested in playing video games than attending school because the traditional system lacks the motivational incentives needed (Petkov & Rogers, 2011). The following section will look at how video games provide a means for learning and if they can in fact be better tools than traditional educational methods. When it comes to the learning process, interest plays a major role. Interest is what gives one their determination to learn and what leads to a deeper understanding of a subject (Clark, Lyons & Hoover, 2004). According to :DGHDVFLWHGLQ&ODUN/\RQV +RRYHU UHVHDUFKFRQ¿UPVWKHFRQnection between higher interest and greater learning. Video games in general, are a form of hidden edutainment that create interest in the player by providing an exciting learning environment for gaining knowledge. Multiple researches have shown that video games have the ability to enhance the learning interest of students and even increase their intrinsic motivation to learn (Hwang, Sung, Hung, Huang &Tsai, 2012). Intrinsic motivation is different from extrinsic motivation because it refers to motivation from within that is based on one’s interests – specifically those that provide some kind of challenge. Intrinsic motivation can DULVHIURPIDFWRUVVXFKDVSULGHVHOIIXO¿OPHQWDQGFRPSHWLWLYHQHVV$FWLYities such as reading a book, solving puzzles, or playing softball can all be intrinsically motivating if done out of one’s interest in the activity and are personally rewarding. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is developed due to external factors such as not wanting to fail in an exam, bonuses from work and not wanting to be punished by one’s parents (Intrinsic Motivation, 2004). According to Deci and Ryan (as cited in Intrinsic Motivation,

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2004), research has shown that intrinsic motivation leads to better concepWXDO OHDUQLQJ JUHDWHU FUHDWLYLW\ PRUH FRJQLWLYH ÀH[LELOLW\ DQG HQKDQFHG well-being. Video games are intrinsically motivating because they allow players to fully immerse themselves in the game, making them feel as if they are a part of the world they are playing (Huang & Johnson, 2011). They also continually challenge the player in a virtual world that the player can control which is not only fun and stimulating but also rewarding when the XVHUFRPSOHWHVDVSHFL¿FJRDO*RSLQ, 2013). A study done by Ke (as cited in Hwang, Sung, Hung, Huang & Tsai, 2012) proved that computer games have a greater impact in promoting learning motivation than the paper and pencil approach. This shows that video games do play a role in creating interest and higher motivation in learning. Additionally, it can be said that video games stimulate creativity and allow for collaborative and active learning. This is because a game environment enforces learning by allowing one to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes without fear of real life consequences (Huang & Johnson, 2011; Méndez & Martínez, 2012). Interacting with the virtual environment can lead to a greater impact on learning due to visual consequences or results (Buchanan & Elzen, 2012). Furthermore, games engage the player in a world that is interconnected through a series of critical elements which form a complex environment. This allows the player to develop transferable and predictive problem-solving strategies while playing the game. This means that the player learns to apply strategic and problem solving skills learned through playing a game to other similar situations. An example of this is Sims City, where the player can control all the components that are involved in running a city and the results depend on the decisions they make. Such a game is called a simulation game because it simulates a real life situation which the player can interact with freely up to a certain point. Video games are also epistemic in nature because they encourage players to WKLQNOLNHH[SHUWVLQD¿HOG6KDIIHU 

MMORPGs and Learning MMORPG stands for massive multiplayer online role playing games. Role playing games are games that allow you to assume the role of a character and participate in adventures that are usually set in a fantasy or science ¿FWLRQHQYLURQPHQW5ROHSOD\LQJJDPH 7KHPDLQIHDWXUHVRIUROH playing games include being able to customize your character, their possesVLRQVDQGLQÀXHQFHWKHVWRU\OLQHWRDFHUWDLQGHJUHH

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MMORPGs consist of hundreds of online users from all over the world – simultaneously interacting in a virtual world through their personalized characters. According to Dickey (2007) “conversation and discourse are important features of learning environments” and this is exactly what MMORPGs provide. MMORPGs allow players to plan, strategize and comPXQLFDWHZLWKRWKHUSOD\HUVLQDYLUWXDOZRUOG7KLVDOORZVWKHPWRUHÀHFW on what they’ve learnt and discuss ideas with other players. It also provides interactive challenges which require players to analyze, synthesize and evaluate multiple modes of gaining information while using critical thinking skills to solve problems (Dickey, 2007). MMORPGs also simulate environments but are different from other games because they allow the player to perform open-ended actions. The environment in a MMORPG also has the potential to intrinsically motivate one to learn by having challenges while being fun, interactive and providing ongoing feedback all at the same time (Barnett & Archambault, 2010). MMORPGs are different from other genres in a couple of ways. Unlike other games, the storyline in MMORPGs does not center around a single narrative that the player has to discover. Instead, the environment contains thousands of short narratives (called quests) which the player has the choice to participate in or not. Upon completion of a quest, the player’s character will be rewarded in terms of their attributes or skills. In this way, the players help shape the environment through their decisions and actions. Additionally, gameplay in a MMORPG continues even after the player has logged off (Dickey, 2007). According to research by Sarsar (2008), MMORPGs are the most played game genre. It was found that from a group of 100 male students living in the UAE, 62% played MMORPGs. Additionally, 31% played MMORPGs for over 40 hours each week with one student playing for more than 75 hours. When the students were interviewed about a particular MMORPG, World of Warcraft, it was found that the game improved their English and their computer skills. They also liked the challenges the game provided and found WoW both engaging and absorbing. Furthermore, the idea of socializing and cooperating with others in a virtual fantasy world seemed appealing to them. In another piece of research carried out by Yee (as cited in Cole & Grif¿WKV LWZDVIRXQGWKDW00253*VDSSHDOWRDYDULHW\RISOD\HUVIURP adults to teenagers, all with different backgrounds. It was also found that players spend on average more than half a working week playing this genre. A study done by Susaeta, Jimenez, Nussbaum, Gajardo & Andreu (2010) explored the effects of MMORPGs in classrooms by introducing a MMORPG based on ecology. The game allowed the students to visualize the food chain and ecological equilibrium concepts. Additionally, the game’s

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complex environment explored the consequences of human actions through GLIIHUHQWTXHVWV7KLVDOORZHGWKHVWXGHQWVWRUHÀHFWRQWKHYLVXDOUHVXOWVRI their actions and discuss them at great length. The research showed that the JDPHPRWLYDWHGVWXGHQWVWRZRUNWRJHWKHUWRIXO¿ODVHULHVRIFXUULFXOXP objectives. From this it can be said that MMORPGs help promote teamwork and can be used to understand how the world works.

Summary and conclusions There is ample evidence that video games are important teaching tools that are better suited to today’s generation of students, providing a variety of incentives to learn and thus providing a more immersive, effective learning process.This is because video games consist of simulated complex virtual worlds that can be interacted with to gain knowledge, solve problems and develop teamwork and communication skills. They are intrinsically motivating because of elements such as exciting narratives, challenges, immersion, visual appeal and interactive gameplay. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games are becoming increasingly popular because of their ability to allow multiple players to interact with one another in a virtual environment. This means that MMORPGs have the potential of being used in classrooms to help students develop skills such as effective communication and team working skills. Additionally, it can be said that teachers are needed to guide the learning process through these games in order to maximize their potential. One of the ways this can be done is by encouraging students to think actively while playing and initiating discussions about what they’ve learned.

Current Research The current research looks at students, the majority of whom live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. According to the literature review, it was assumed that Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games are the most played video game genre among middle and high school students and thereby have the potential of providing a medium from which they can learn. It was also assumed that their appeal lies in the fact that they provide interaction between players in the virtual world. Additionally, the research attempted to answer questions such as what are the skills that can be learned through playing MMORPGs? And would video game motivate students to learn? Additionally, the research

144

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attempts to explore whether or not students are willing to learn from massively multiplayer online role playing games if they were used to teach.

Methodology The participants that were analysed were both male and female students from grades 6 to 13. A total of 175 students participated of which 57% were male and 42% were female. An exact male to female ratio, unfortunately, could not be obtained due to limited control on who was responding. In order to carry out the research, a questionnaire was created using an RQOLQHVXUYH\WRRO7KHVXUYH\LQTXHVWLRQFDQEHIRXQGDWKWWSZZZVXUYH\WRROFRPV6))$7KHTXHVWLRQQDLUHKDGDWRWDORITXHVWLRQV ranging from which video game genres the participants played to whether or not they think MMORPGs should be used to teach. Ideally, for such a research, an experimental research or face-to-face interviews would be PRUHDSSURSULDWHEXWEHFDXVHRIOLPLWHGWLPHDQGGLI¿FXOWFLUFXPVWDQFHV (as is stated in the limitations), this was not the case. The questionnaire was distributed online on social networks through friends and family but copies were also printed out and passed out at international schools. The intention was to pass out the questionnaires to numerous schools around the city of Jeddah but again, due to the limitations this was not possible, and responses were obtained from a single school. The questionnaires were then collected from the school and manually entered into an excel sheet along with the responses online for analysis.

Results Which grade are you in? 6th

4.57%

7th

13.71%

8th

2.86%

9th

13.14%

10th

25.71%

11th

25.14%

12th

12.00%

13th

2.86%

145

Learning through Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

Which video games do you play? Mobile games (e.g. Angry Birds, Candy Crush)

66.3%

Action (e.g. Halo)

49.7%

Adventure (e.g. Skyrim)

44.0%

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing games

44.0%

First Person Shooters (e.g. Call of Duty)

42.3%

2IÀLQH5ROH3OD\LQJJDPHVHJ$VVDVVLQ¶V&UHHG

40.0%

Online games (e.g. Flash games)

32.0%

Simulation games (e.g. The Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon)

29.1%

Strategy games (e.g. Age of Empire, Civilizations)

24.6%

Problem Solving (e.g. Myst, Nancy Drew)

16.0%

Mystery (e.g. Nancy Drew)

11.4%

Don’t play video games

1.7%

How many hours a week do you play MMORPGs?

What skills have you learned through playing MMORPGs? Team working skills

71.43%

Less than 5

46.8%

Communication skills

62.34%

5–15

29.9%

Observation skills

61.04%

36+

13.0%

&RPSXWHU,QWHUQHWVNLOOV

55.84%

26–35

6.5%

Problem solving skills

49.35%

16–25

3.9%

Language skills (reading, vocabulary etc.)

37.66%

:KDWGR\RX¿QGDSSHDOLQJDERXW00253*V" Interacting with other players within the game

36.00%

Customizing your own character

29.14%

*DLQLQJPRUHVNLOOVZHDSRQV/HYHOOLQJXSHWF

26.86%

The challenges

25.14%

The graphics

24.00%

The main storyline

17.71%

The quests

17.71%

5ROHSOD\LQJDVDVSHFL¿FFKDUDFWHU

14.86%

Exploring different worlds

14.29%

Yumna Aziz Ansari

146

Would video games motivate you to learn?

Do you think MMORPGs should be used to teach?

Yes

58.29%

Yes

49.71%

No

38.86%

No

42.29%

Didn’t respond

19.43%

Didn’t respond

8.00%

Discussion Hypothesis 1: The ¿UVWK\SRWKHVLVDVVXPHGWKDWPDMRULW\RIWKHVWXGHQWV played MMORPGs but in fact that was not the case. The results showed that the most played genre was mobile games. This could be because of the vast majority of people who use mobile devices. According to Kerbs and Vahidi (2013) it was predicted by mobile manufacturers that there were 5.3 billion mobile users globally in 2011 and this number is probably increasing. Another possibility is that massive multiplayer online role playing games may not be as popular among females as they are among males as there may be different game preferences between the two genders (Floros & Siomos, 2012). The data also shows that 46.8% of students played MMORPGs IRUOHVVWKDQ¿YHKRXUVHDFKZHHN)URPWKLVLWFDQEHVDLGWKDWSHUKDSV MMORPGs are not as popular among students living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia although due to the small sample size further research will have to be carried out to verify this claim. Hypothesis 2: However, the data obtained is in line with what was assumed in the second hypothesis: the results show that 36% of those who SOD\ 00253*V DV ZHOO DV WKRVH ZKR GRQ¶W ¿QG LQWHUDFWLQJ ZLWK RWKHU players within a game appealing. According to a research carried out by &ROH DQG *ULI¿WKV  00253*V KDYH WKH SRWHQWLDO WR EULQJ SOD\HUV together and build long lasting relationships. This means that MMORPGs can be used to avoid issues such as social isolation and low self-esteem which may result from playing other computer games. Other features that PRVW SDUWLFLSDQWV ¿QG DSSHDOLQJ DUH EHLQJ DEOH WR FXVWRPL]H \RXU RZQ FKDUDFWHUJDLQPRUHVNLOOVZHDSRQVDQGWKHFKDOOHQJHVWKHJDPHSURYLGHV all of which foster intrinsic motivation within the player. The player may become emotionally attached to the characters they design and invest hundreds of hours advancing their character’s skills and weapons. In this way, they play an important part in the development of their characters which eventually leads to the player taking on a certain role in the game. This is called role-playing and is a technique through which complex systems and UHODWLRQVKLSVFDQEHXQGHUVWRRGDQGDUHXVHGLQFHUWDLQ¿HOGVWRWHDFKDQG learn (Dickey, 2007).

Learning through Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

147

Game titles: From the participants who said they did play MMORPGs, the majority mentioned game titles such as World of Warcraft, League of Legends and Lord of the Rings Online. Research question one: The participants were also asked what skills they had learned through playing MMORPGs in order to understand their potential if they were ever used as teaching tools. Some 71% of participants said they had gained team working skills by playing MMORPGs. This is because MMORPGs require the players to work together to achieve a certain goal. Communication plays an important role in developing this skill because players have to create social connections in order to complete tasks which require a group effort. They also need to learn to depend on RWKHUSOD\HUVLQWKHJDPHEHFDXVHHDFKFKDUDFWHUKDVDVSHFL¿FDELOLW\ZKLFK they have to use to get the task done. MMORPGs can also help the player develop their observational skills as is proved by the data gathered. This is done through exploring, observing and making speculations in order to ¿QLVK FHUWDLQ TXHVWV$GGLWLRQDOO\  RI WKH SDUWLFLSDQWV VDLG WKDW WKH\ had developed problem solving skills while playing MMORPGs. One of the ways this can be done within the MMORPG environment is by exposing the player to resources and processes and then providing a challenge in which they must make guesses on which recourses, processes and skills they should combine (Dickey, 2007). Research question two: The participants were then asked whether or not video games would motivate them to learn. More than 50% of the participants said that they believe video games would motivate them to learn. This is in agreement with what was discussed in the literature review concerning games providing intrinsic motivation. However, an absolute answer to this question cannot be obtained unless an observational study is conducted measuring the student’s motivation in learning before and after a video game with educational content is played. Finally, the participants were asked whether or not MMORPGs should be used to teach and then told to explain why or why not. The responses to this question were very interesting. 49.7% of the participants said they should be used to teach. 42% said they shouldn’t and 8% chose to not answer the question. Additionally, 63% of those who said MMORPGs should not be used WRWHDFKGLGQRWSOD\WKDWVSHFL¿FJHQUHDQGRIWKRVHWKDWFKRVHQRWWR answer did not play MMORPGs or video games at all. Furthermore, when asked why they should not be used to teach, the words most participants XVHGZHUHZRUGVVXFKDVWKHJDPHVEHLQJD³GLVWUDFWLRQ´D³EDGLQÀXHQFH´ “being addictive” or not having educational content. On the other hand, when the participants were asked why MMORPGs should be used to teach,

148

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the majority used words such as it being a “fun” and “interactive” method of learning. They also said it would motivate students to learn by making learning interesting and improve their teamwork, communication and problem solving skills. Moreover, they said it would increase their curiosity and creativity by presenting ideas in different contexts.

Conclusion This research was carried out to investigate the potential of using MMORPGs to teach. From the data collected it can be said that a majority of students are willing to learn from MMORPGs due to various reasons. As for those students that are not – there are a couple of factors that need to be considered. First of all, the majority of these students have not played MMORPGs and perhaps do not realize their potential. Second, it is true most MMORPGs do not currently contain educational content (Hou, 2012); however this can be changed once people realize their potential as teaching tools. Third, although certain MMORPGs do contain content that may be controversial and cannot be used in a teaching environment, this particular issue is beyond the scope of this current paper. The purpose of this paper was only to suggest MMORPGs as better educational tools for today’s generation of learners. Finally, MMORPGs cannot teach the student everything they need to know. Teachers play an extremely important and invaluable role in providing feedback as well as guiding the student’s learning process through MMORPGs. This is discussed by Mifsud, Vella and Camilleri (2013) who pointed out that teachers are needed in order to guide the learning process by making links between the gameplay and teaching and learning concepts. This way, the student is more likely to focus on learning because the knowledge will help them complete their in-game task. Further, it can be said that teachers and game designers alike need to collaborate to design MMORPGs that not only allow the player to acquire the skills and knowledge needed in WKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\EXWDOVRLQFOXGHWKHIHDWXUHVWKDWSURYLGHWKHSOD\HU with intrinsic motivation. Finally, it can be seen that MMORPGs show great promise when it comes to using them as teaching tools. They provide an environment through which learning can be achieved through trial and error without fear of consequences. They are better suited to today’s generation of learners because WKH\SURYLGHWKHPZLWKWKHVNLOOVWKDWDUHQHHGHGLQWKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\ And most importantly, they encourage the student’s curiosity, imagination

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and their need to delve deeper into concepts and ideas by providing them with intrinsic motivation.

Limitations 7KH PDLQ OLPLWDWLRQV RI WKLV UHVHDUFK ZHUH GXH WR OLPLWHG WLPH DQG GLI¿cult circumstances. It just so happened that when it came to gathering the data, majority of schools in Jeddah were in their exam week and therefore the questionnaire could not be passed out to additional schools due to lack of cooperation from their administration. However, due to the tight schedule, waiting till exams were over and permission could be obtained was not feasible. Therefore, the data sample is not completely representative of the student population in Jeddah. Furthermore, in order to prove that MMORPGs are better educating tools than traditional methods, it would have been more appropriate to carry out an experimental or a case-by-case observational study, but because of limited time and resources this was not possible.

References Barnett, J. H., & Archambault, L. 2010. How Massive Multiplayer Online Games incorporate principles of economics. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning,54(6), 29–35. Buchanan, K., & Elzen, A. M. 2012. Beyond a fad: why video games should be part of 21st century libraries. Education Libraries,35(1–2), 15–33. Clark, R. C., Lyons, C. & Hoover, L. 2004. Graphics for learning: Proven guidelines for planning, designing, and evaluating visuals in training materials. Performance Improvement,43 ±GRLS¿ &ROH +  *ULI¿WKV 0 '  6RFLDO LQWHUDFWLRQV LQ 0DVVLYHO\ 0XOWLSOD\HU Online Role-Playing Gamers. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 10(4), 575–583. GRLFSE Dickey, M. D. 2007. Game design and learning: A conjectural analysis of how massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) foster intrinsic motivation. Educational Technology Research and Development, 55(3), 253– GRLV Duffy, F. M. 2010. Dream! create! sustain!: Mastering the art and science of transforming school systems/DQKDP0'5RZPDQ /LWWOH¿HOG(GXFDWLRQ Floros, G. & Siomos, K. 2012. Patterns of choices on video game genres and Internet addiction. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(8). doi: F\EHU Gopin, E. 2013. Finding and evaluating great educational games. In Transforming K-12 Classrooms with Digital Technology. IGI Global.

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Halverson, R. & Smith, A. 2009. How new technologies have (and have not) changed teaching and learning in schools. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 26(2), 49–54. Hou, H. 2012. Exploring the behavioral patterns of learners in an educational massively multiple online role-playing game(MMORPG). Computers & Education, 58 ±GRLMFRPSHGX Huang, W. D. & Johnson, T. 2011. Instructional game design using cognitive load theory. In Instructional design: concepts, methodologies, tools and applications, pp. 1586–1606. IGI Global. Hwang, G., Sung, H., Hung, C., Huang, I. & Tsai, C. 2012. Development of a personalized educational computer game based on students’ learning styles. Educational Technology Research and Development,60(4), 623–638. Intrinsic Motivation. 2004. In The concise Corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science.5HWULHYHGIURPKWWSZZZFUHGRUHIHUHQFHFRPHQWU\ ZLOH\SV\FKLQWULQVLFBPRWLYDWLRQ Kerbs, R., & Vahidi, M. 2013. Content adaptation for handheld mobile devices. International Journal of Technology, Knowledge & Society,9(1), 113–125. Klopfer, E. 2008. Augmented learning: Research and design of mobile educational games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Méndez, M. R. & Martínez, E. C. 2012. GAMESTAR(T): An ARSGAMES Project. In C. Gonzalez, Student usability in educational software and games. IGI Global. Mifsud, C. L., Vella, R. & Camilleri, L. 2013. Attitudes towards and effects of the XVH RI YLGHR JDPHV LQ FODVVURRP OHDUQLQJ ZLWK VSHFL¿F UHIHUHQFH WR OLWHUDF\ attainment. Research in Education, 90. Montagna, J. A. 2013. The Industrial Revolution. Retrieved 8 November 2013 from KWWSZZZ\DOHHGX\QKWLFXUULFXOXPXQLWV[KWPO Petkov, M. & Rogers, G. E. 2011. Using gaming to motivate today’s technology-dependent students. Journal of STEm Teacher Education,48(1), 7–12. role-playing game. 2006. ,Q +LJK 'H¿QLWLRQ $= JXLGH WR SHUVRQDO WHFKQRORJ\. 5HWULHYHG IURP KWWSZZZFUHGRUHIHUHQFHFRPHQWU\KPKLJKGHIUROHBSOD\ing_game Sarsar, N. M. 2008. What children can learn from MMORPGs. Retrieved 18 1RYHPEHU  IURP KWWSZZZHULFHGJRYFRQWHQWGHOLYHU\VHUYOHW ERICServlet?accno=ED501741 Shaffer, D. W. 2006. How computer games help children learn. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Susaeta,, H., Jimenez, F., Nussbaum, M., Gajardo, I. & Andreu, J. 2010. From MMORPG to a classroom multiplayer presential role playing game. Journal of Educational Technology & Society,13(3), 257–269.

CHAPTER ELEVEN TEACHING OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT USING HANDS-ON EDUCATIONAL TOOLS AND INTERACTIVE GAMES BURÇIN BOZKAYA Abstract Recent experience in higher-education teaching suggests various uses of hands-on teaching tools, online games and other teaching aids that facilitate interactive teaching and hence “active learning”. In this paper, we present actual design elements for a college-junior-level Operations Management course that makes use of a set of teaching aids and interactive games. We also GHVFULEHRXUDFWXDOH[SHULHQFHZLWKWKHWRROVSUHVHQWHGKHUHDQGUHÀHFWRQ what it takes for a successful implementation of this and other similar tools. Keywords: Hands-on Teaching; Active learning; Interactive teaching aids

Introduction Active learning is a teaching philosophy that has recently received growing support from the higher-education teaching community (Brant, Hooper, and Sugrue, 1991; Prince, 2004; Meyers & Jones, 1993; Silberman, 1996; Frederick, 2002). It involves the active participation of students in engaging classroom activities that facilitate a better learning process and environment. It is argued that by engaging in such activities, students establish analogous connections to facts of life outside the classroom, and hence better internalize or digest the subject matter. Active learning is greatly supported by interactive teaching aids or hands-on tools, such as interactive games or simulations. In this paper, we describe our experience in teaching a junior-level undergraduate course, namely Operations Management, using interactive teaching aids. While none of these teaching aids is new, we take pride in putting them together in

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a single introductory-level course in a way that is suitably oriented towards Management students. Our experience suggests that this way of teaching greatly improves students’ perception of the amount of learning achieved and their engagement levels in classroom activities. 7KHUHVWRIWKLVSDSHULVRUJDQL]HGDVIROORZV¿UVWZHSURYLGHGHWDLOVRI the interactive teaching aids we use in our Operations Management course; WKHQZHUHÀHFWRQRXUHLJKW\HDUH[SHULHQFHZLWKYDULRXVOHVVRQVOHDUQHG and provide our concluding remarks.

Interactive Teaching Aids for OPIM 301 OPIM 301, Operations Management, is a junior-level undergraduate course offered at Sabanci University School of Management. This course has been offered 16 times since the 2005–2006 academic year; the author of this paper delivered it eight times. The course is intended for students majoring in Management who are expected to take 6 required core courses, one of ZKLFKLV23,0ZKLOHWKHUHPDLQLQJFRXUVHVDUHRIIHUHGLQWKH¿HOGV of Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Management Information Systems, Organizational Behaviour and General Management. Originally designed DVDQLQWURGXFWRU\FRXUVHWRWKH¿HOGRIRSHUDWLRQVPDQDJHPHQWWKHFRXUVH objectives are set so that the following learning goals are to be achieved: ‡ 6WXGHQWVVKRXOGEHDEOHWRGH¿QHRSHUDWLRQVPDQDJHPHQWDQGKRZLW ¿WVLQWRWKHRYHUDOORUJDQL]DWLRQ • Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the product-process matrix and its strategic implications. • Students should be able to understand various production and service processes and analyse and improve process performance. • Students should be able to use quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to analyse and improve operations. • Students should be able to describe the bullwhip effect, its reasons and how to mitigate it in supply chains. • Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of basic inventory management concepts. • Students should be able to analyse a business scenario and make operations-related analysis and decisions. As outlined and described in the course syllabus and also as part of a general strategy adopted for teaching quantitative courses at Sabanci School of Management, the actual delivery of the course includes many opportunities for hands-on experience made possible by certain interactive teaching

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aids and tools. The following sections describe each tool, its intended goals and the actual in-class implementation details.

In-class exercises using Microsoft Excel A key teaching aid used in OPIM 301 involves the use of Microsoft Excel in a number of ways in quantitative analyses that are part of the topics taught. There are two main reasons for adopting a tool such as Excel as part of the teaching experience: • Increased use of Microsoft Excel in numerous organizations for planning and analysis tasks. Today, analysts working at various types of corporations or agencies rely on Excel analysis tools to analyse a business problem, produce solutions to it and deliver it via a presentation. For a business professional who has majored in Management, Excel is an indispensable tool. • Many operations management curriculum topics (see examples EHORZ  LQFOXGH FRPSOH[ TXDQWLWDWLYH PRGHOV DV ZHOO DV GHVFULSWLYH prescriptive analysis techniques to generate acceptable solutions for these models. Excel is a great teaching tool used for overcoming the complexities involved in the subject matter and providing increased comprehension of these models and their associated solution approaches. Microsoft Excel has therefore been actively used in OPIM 301 as a teaching aid for the following course topics: • Teaching basics of linear programming by using Excel Solver add-in to generate optimal solutions to a problem of interest. Examples covered in OPIM 301 include resource allocation (product mix) problems, facility location and layout problems, assembly line balancing problems and aggregate sales and production planning problems. • Teaching use of probability distributions and calculation of various statistical measures. For instance, while teaching waiting line management and inventory management, Excel functions are used to draw values from distributions such as Normal, Exponential or Poisson. • Teaching statistical quality control, including control charts. Excel is used to calculate process capability indices, upper and lower control limits etc. Each class is further organized so that when students work on an exercise, they are asked to submit their work through SUCourse, the online course

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management system of Sabanci University. Their submissions are then graded by the teaching assistant, which constitutes part of their course grade.

Using Lego bricks to understand principles of linear programming and resource optimization 2SHUDWLRQV0DQDJHPHQWLQYROYHVWKHXVHRIOLPLWHGUHVRXUFHVLQDQHI¿FLHQW and effective way, while producing and delivering the main products and services a company offers in the market place. In many cases, a planner must decide on how to allocate scarce resources such as labour, raw material, machine or equipment hours etc. to different product lines or service offerings. Linear and Mixed Integer Programming approaches are quite useful in formulating such problems and generating alternative solutions. An important pitfall while introducing and teaching the main concepts of linear programming such as decision variables, objective function, feasible and optimal solutions, shadow price, reduced cost etc. is to do this via mathematical notation, when the real challenge is to provide the intuitive understanding of these concepts. In OPIM 301, we have been inspired by the work of Pendegraft (1997) and have been using Lego blocks to teach these concepts. Students are provided with six large and eight small Lego blocks as “raw material” and are asked to produce the best combination of WDEOHVDQGFKDLUVSURGXFWGH¿QLWLRQVRIZKLFKDUHDOVRJLYHQ WKDWPD[Lmizes total revenue generated. The example is purposely designed as a toy SUREOHPVRWKDWWKHVWXGHQWVDUHQRWVWUXJJOLQJWR¿QGWKHRSWLPDOVROXWLRQ (which can easily be found in a matter of three or four minutes), but instead are expected to intuitively digest the main notions of linear programming. Once students come up with an optimal solution for this simple problem, the instructor further stimulates discussion by offering additional large or small Lego pieces for purchase (to introduce the concept of shadow price) or changing the sale price of tables (as a result of a hypothetical competitor entering the market) to emphasize the importance and necessity of sensitivity analysis. The above discussion is further complemented by the use of Microsoft Excel and its Solver add-in as an in-class exercise. The main message of this exercise is to convince the students that they will need some kind of computational tool that can handle large-scale real-life problems. At this point, the students are also informed about an array of optimization software packages available for them to use in their professional work.

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The Beer Game Perhaps one of the most widely used educational aids, the Beer Game was originally developed by a group of professors at MIT Sloan School of Management in the 1960s as a simulation game for demonstrating various concepts and principles of supply chain management (Sterman, 1989, 1992). In OPIM 301, we have adopted a board-game version of the Beer Game. In a usual class session of two or three hours, we invite students to join game tables of four to eight players. For a typical class size of 40 stuGHQWVWKLVPHDQVVHWWLQJXSDPD[LPXPRI¿YHJDPHWDEOHVZLWKRQHRUWZR students sitting in each of the four roles: Factory, Distributor, Wholesaler DQG5HWDLOHU$IWHUJRLQJRYHUWKHEDVLFVDQGUXOHVRIWKHJDPHIRUWKH¿UVW 20 minutes of the lecture, we conduct two trial runs of the game, and then let students take the lead and complete as many rounds (i.e. game weeks) of the game as the class time permits. A typical two-hour lecture can accommodate about 30–40 weeks of the game, whereas in a three-hour class students can complete the full 50-week version. Any remaining time at the end of the lecture can be utilized by having the students plot weekly charts of actual inventory, orders placed etc. In our experience, the Beer Game most helps the students with the following principles and notions: • Introducing the basic concepts of supply chains such as various roles played by different companies. • Understanding why information sharing among supply chain participants is critical for overall collaboration in the supply chain. • Experiencing and understanding the bullwhip effect, i.e. the oscillating behaviour of the actual inventory in response to a supply chain partner’s actions to satisfy customer demand. The best gain is obtained, as in most interactive educational games, when the students personally experience all of the concepts above and hence irreversibly register them in their internal learning processes.

Cups Game In OPIM 301, we also teach lean manufacturing topics, where we cover the concepts of just-in-time production, elimination of waste, push vs pull production systems and their advantages, disadvantages, so on. The Cups Game, originally developed by Jackson (1996), demonstrates the concept

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of push and pull production by simulating a real production setting in the classroom. The production setting imitates a four-stage process where standard foam coffee cups are handled at each stage with a certain value-added operation performed on them. Operators of each stage are chosen from among the VWXGHQWV7KH¿UVWVWDJHLVZKHUHIRXULGHQWLFDOFXSVDUHSODFHGLQDIRXUFXS holder. In the second stage, the operator places dots on each cup. In the third stage, the operator places lids on each cup, and the fourth stage is where the straws are unwrapped and inserted into the lids. Two more students are called for help with two additional tasks: a) supplying raw material to all VWDWLRQVE SHUIRUPLQJTXDOLW\LQVSHFWLRQVRQWKH¿QLVKHGSURGXFW To demonstrate the key differences between push and pull production V\VWHPVZHUXQWKHJDPHLQWZRHLJKWPLQXWHVHVVLRQV,QWKH¿UVWVHVVLRQ we supply unlimited raw material and ask the student at each stage to proGXFHDVPXFKDVSRVVLEOHDQGSXVKWKHUHVXOWLQJVHPL¿QLVKHGSURGXFWWRWKH next stage. In this version, inventory quickly piles up in front of the slowest stage, which is usually the last stage due to the unwrapping of the straws. As the inventory piles up, so do the personal mistakes that result in various quality problems. This is the “push” version of the game, and we also play a very energetic piece of background music to motivate the students. In the second run of the game, we again supply unlimited raw material and ask the students to produce as much as possible, but with one important restriction: we set up kanban spaces between the stages and limit the amount of work-in-process (WIP) that can be stored in each kanban space. Once a downstream kanban space is full, the operator must stop processing the next item until the space becomes free again. When the next operator removes the item from the kanban space, this serves as a signal for the upstream operator to start working on the next item. This represents the “pull” version of the game, and this time we play a mild, soothing piece of background music to indicate that pull systems are calm, much less chaotic, resulting in far fewer quality problems. During the two executions of the production line, students are asked to keep track of several measures that are later used to compare the two systems. These include a) number of items completed, b) cycle time, c) throughput time, d) space requirement for WIP and e) number of quality defects. After the two sessions are completed, the students quickly discover that by simply changing the production philosophy, it is possible to produce at the same rate with less inventory, fewer defects and shorter throughput time. These observations constitute the basis of class discussion both during and after the production simulations are run.

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/LWWOH¿HOG2QOLQH6LPXODWLRQ /LWWOH¿HOG7HFKQRORJLHV/7 LVDZHEEDVHGYLUWXDORQOLQH IDFWRU\VLPXODtor developed by Sunil Kumar and Samuel C. Wood at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, later licensed to Responsive Learning Technologies ,QF/LWWOH¿HOG7HFKQRORJLHV6LPXODWLRQ*DPH ,WLVGHVLJQHGDVD teaching aid in courses that focus on process analysis, queuing, scheduling and inventory. LT is a company that produces circuit boards for digital satHOOLWHUHFHLYHUVWKURXJKWKHPDLQSURGXFWLRQVWHSVRIERDUGVWXI¿QJWHVWLQJ DQG¿QHWXQLQJ6WXGHQWVUXQWKLVIDFWRU\ZLWKWKHRYHUDOOJRDORIJHQHUDWLQJ maximum revenue, with the resources and tools they are given. In OPIM 301, we use LT primarily to support the learning environment for basic process analysis concepts such as throughput rate and time, bottleneck, utilization and process capacity. Students form teams of three or four, subscribe to the game as a team and take actions about certain settings of the game throughout the course of the simulation. Overall, students KDYHWKHRSWLRQWRSXUFKDVHVHOOPDFKLQHVFKDQJHLQYHQWRU\UHRUGHUSRLQWV DQGRUGHULQJTXDQWLWLHVFKDQJHDPDFKLQHVFKHGXOLQJSDUDPHWHUDQG¿QDOO\ select from choices of order delivery lead time quotes. In fact we offer two runs of the game with different parameters and decision options, one to cover process analysis related topics, and the other to cover inventory management related topics. LT game parameters can be changed by the administrator, which may ZHOO EH WKH LQVWUXFWRU KLPKHUVHOI VXFK DV VLPXODWLRQ GXUDWLRQ RU FORFN amount of cash available, initial number of machines etc. to create a variety RIJDPLQJVFHQDULRVWKDWFRXOG¿WGLIIHUHQWWHDFKLQJREMHFWLYHVDQGSUHIHUences. We take advantage of such options to adjust the duration, content and learning goals of each gaming experience.

Lessons Learned and Conclusions There are many lessons learned from a repeated experience of engaging students with interactive games and educational teaching aids. From the students’ point of view, we can safely say that all the feedback we have received is positive. Some of the quotes we have received over time on course evaluation forms are: “The thing I found most useful about this course was the games we played in order to learn better and keep involved.”

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“The instructor created a competitive atmosphere during the simulation games, which encourage students to participate more.” “The games during class hours and simulation games were very useful I think.” “A wide range of materials such as Excel, assignments and games were used, and this made the course more understandable and effective.” Clearly, the more students feel themselves engaged in the learning activity, the more they will internalize and digest the course material that is covered. Besides, the techniques we apply in this course well serve our pedagogical goal of “learning by doing”. Also, in many cases, the students did not even fully realize that they were “learning” until they were somehow informed about the concepts and topics that they were taught. Some of our observations on ways to improve our practice and hence the learning process of students include: • In some cases, students should be well informed in advance about the particulars of the teaching aid, preferably through detailed documentation about the game, exercise etc. • Proper lecture time including case discussions must accompany the kind of teaching aids described above, to facilitate diverse ways of teaching the same material, as different students will respond differently to various approaches. Such approaches will also bring real life examples and related discussions into class, contributing more to the general philosophy of active learning. • Special consideration must be given to those students who may not be as familiar with certain technologies or tools as others. There may be perception differences among students when it comes to online games, Excel-based exercises and so on. • For the kind of teaching aids described to work consistently with few RU QR WHFKQLFDO GLI¿FXOWLHV WKH VHOHFWHG WRROV VKRXOG QRW KDYH YHU\ VSHFL¿FKDUGZDUHRUVRIWZDUHUHTXLUHPHQWVEXWVKRXOGVLPSO\ZRUN with widely available tools (e.g. web browser, Microsoft Excel). $¿QDOUHPDUNRQKRZWRH[WHQGRXUZRUNWR¿WZLWKLQD022&PDVVLYH RSHQRQOLQHFRXUVHV IUDPHZRUNZH¿QGWKDWDOPRVWDOORIWKHWHFKQLTXHV we use in OPIM 301 can easily be extended to become part of a course that can be offered as a MOOC. Because most of the tools described above are either online (e.g. Excel exercises that can be downloaded, and the Little-

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¿HOGIDFWRU\VLPXODWLRQJDPH RUFDQEHHDVLO\PRGL¿HGVRWKDWWKH\FDQEH offered online (e.g. online version of The Beer Game, or online versions of the Lego and Cups Game that can be programmed), a course such as OPIM FDQHDVLO\EHRSHQWRPDVVLYHRQOLQHDFFHVV:HEHOLHYHWKLVVLJQL¿HV further the value of interactive teaching tools and aids.

Acknowledgment Our special thanks are due to Sabanci School of Management and Sabanci University administration, which have always been in full support of our teaching philosophy of active learning. We were able to implement most RIWKHWRROVZLWKWKH¿QDQFLDOVXSSRUWH[WHQGHGE\6DEDQFL6FKRRORI0DQagement.

References %UDQW*+RRSHU( 6XJUXH%:KLFKFRPHV¿UVWWKHVLPXODWLRQRUWKH lecture? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 7(4), 469–481. Frederick, P. J. 2002. Engaging students actively in large lecture settings. In Stanley, C. A. & Porter, M. E. (eds). Engaging Large Classes: Strategies and Techniques for College Faculty (pp. 58–66). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company. Jackson, P. 1996. The Cups Game. NSF Product Realization Consortium Module Description, Cornell University. /LWWOH¿HOG7HFKQRORJLHV6LPXDWLRQ*DPH5HWULHYHG-XO\IURPKWWS OLWWOH¿HOGUHVSRQVLYHQHWOLWWOH¿HOGOLWWOH¿HOG+RPHKWPO Meyers, C. & Jones, T. 1993. Promoting active learning: strategies for the college classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pendegraft, N. 1997. Lego of My Simplex. OR/MS Today, Issues in Education, 24(1), 128. Prince, M. 2004. Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223–231. Silberman, M. 1996. Active Learning. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Sterman, J. D. 1989. Modeling managerial behavior: misperceptions of feedback in a dynamic decision making experiment. Management Science, 35, 321-339. ²²²7HDFKLQJWDNHVRIIÀLJKWVLPXODWRUVIRUPDQDJHPHQWHGXFDWLRQOR/ MS Today, 40–44.

CHAPTER TWELVE VOCABULARY UPTAKE FROM LISTENING TO SONGS ON YOUTUBE IN SAUDI ARABIA AND THE EFFECT OF INTENTIONAL TEACHING CAROLINE LARGE Abstract This study examined the effect of listening to a story-song via YouTube on the vocabulary uptake amongst adult female students attending elementary classes at the Jeddah British Council in Saudi Arabia, with an interest in investigating the possibility of replicating within this country previous research where good lexical learning accompanying songs has been demonstrated. Reasons for this interest include the pressing need for Saudi students to experience vocabulary growth, since very limited vocabulary acquisition has been shown to occur in the national schools, as well as the reluctance of these learners to access the medium of music for vocabulary learning purposes. However, it could be surmised that the use of YouTube offers good potential for vocabulary growth as Saudi nationals are believed to have a propensity for accessing YouTube while using WKH,QWHUQHW7KHUHZDVDOVRDQLQWHUHVWLQH[DPLQLQJWKHSRVVLEOHLQÀXHQFH of offering more teacher support in the form of deliberate teaching, compared to conducting a more storytelling or incidental-type learning session, and the repercussions of these methods on the resulting student vocabulary GHSWKRINQRZOHGJH:KHQWKHRYHUDOOZRUGJDLQ¿JXUHVZHUHDQDO\VHGLW was concluded that listening to a song on YouTube does result in durable vocabulary acquisition among Saudi students; additionally, the exposure to this medium also resulted in a positive change of learners’ attitudes towards the vocabulary learning potential of listening to music online. Furthermore, although the results suggested that incidental learning appeared to be a more WLPHHI¿FLHQWYRFDEXODU\OHDUQLQJPHWKRGWKHUHVXOWVIURPDSURGXFWLYHWHVW suggested a deeper word knowledge arising from the longer lesson.

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Introduction Vocabulary has been recognized as “an essential component of language” (Willis & Ohashi, 2012), and acknowledged as a central constituent of the “successful teaching of foreign languages” (Milton, 2012). However, in the context of Saudi Arabia, “research repeatedly reports very little vocabulary uptake” by English students in the national schooling system (Alsaif & Milton, 2012). It also has been noted that there is “no evidence” indicating that the Saudi learner makes “good use” of songs, or other online sources, to expand their personal lexical knowledge (Alsaif & Milton, 2012). This is despite the fact that research elsewhere shows the useful contribution of songs to vocabulary acquisition (Medina, 2000; Milton, 2008). This absence appears perhaps surprising when considering that Internet usage in Arabia is reported to have increased by 16% in 2013 (Al-Humaidan, 2013), and when considering that 44% of Saudis are said to access YouTube on a daily basis (Bashraheel, 2012). Much research has been conducted on the vocabulary uptake resulting IURP SURORQJHGH[WHQVLYH UHDGLQJ 1DWLRQ   7KLV FDQ EH GHVFULEHG as incidental acquisition, where the learning occurs without the intentional effort of the reader (Brown, Donkaewbua & Waring, 2008). Extensive reading involving stories is felt to be motivational due to the resultant reader engagement, pleasure and enjoyment (Mason & Krashen, 2004; Mason & Krashen, 2010). However, Saudi nationals are not considered to have a developed culture of book reading (Gulf News, 2012), and graduates from Saudi educational institutions have been shown to possess a very limited vocabulary knowledge (Alsaif & Milton, 2012; Al-Masrai & Milton, 2012). It has therefore been recommended that Saudi English learners should be presented with increased lexical items in order to provide a “better coverage” of language, so as to subsequently enable these students to access independent reading with a view to expanding their vocabulary further (Alsaif & Milton, 2012). 7KHEHQH¿WVRIH[WHQVLYHUHDGLQJKDYHEHHQH[WUDSRODWHGWRIRUPZKDW may be considered a more extreme viewpoint, where the replacement of classroom teaching with reading and listening to stories is advocated, since “language development can occur without formal instruction” (Cho & Choi, 2008). There is a well-documented, ongoing dispute regarding the superiority of incidental learning of vocabulary versus intentional teaching (Mason & Krashen, 2004; McQuillan & Krashen, 2008; Mason & Krashen, 2010). This debate has led to questions concerning the value of deliberate instruction when using songs in the classroom (Milton, 2008).

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It is speculated that songs containing stories may also promote word XSWDNHUHWHQWLRQWKURXJKWKHHQMR\PHQWRIOLVWHQLQJWRVWRULHV0HGLQD  LQDVLPLODUZD\WRH[WHQVLYHUHDGLQJSURJUDPPHV0DQ\EHQH¿WV have been proposed in connection with the use of music in the classroom, including the fun and motivation resulting from this exposure (Overy, Ferriara & Ludke, 2011), and the powerful ability of music to engage students strongly through appealing to their emotions (Harmer, 2001). Further to this, songs have been found to be effective tools in promoting incidental vocabulary acquisition (Medina, 2000; Milton, 2008; Pinsonneault, 2008). However, this is an under-researched area, with little attention paid to the contribution offered by the teacher in promoting YRFDEXODU\ JDLQ 0HGLQD   0RUHRYHU WKH HI¿FDF\ ZRUG XSWDNH per minute) of the variety of popular classroom techniques traditionally employed to exploit this medium has not been fully investigated, so there is “little direct empirical” evidence relating to the use of songs (Beasley & Chuang, 2008). Related to all the above, and bearing in mind that the “vast majority of VNLOOVYRFDEXODU\UHVHDUFKKDVIRFXVHGRQUHDGLQJ´6FKPLWW LWZDV felt that a study involving investigating vocabulary uptake through using, as a listening text, a song available on YouTube would be of interest in the context of the EFL classroom in Saudi Arabia. This research was intended to investigate the potential of this previously under-utilized medium of music and the Internet in the Kingdom (Alsaif & Milton, 2012) in aiding vocabulary gain among Saudi students. There was an interest in examining the possibilities of reproducing, in the Arabian context, previously demonstrated vocabulary uptake through listening to songs. Furthermore, it was considered worthwhile to examine the value of intentional versus incidental vocabulary learning at the Jeddah British Council, as a study by Ahmad (2011) has intimated a possible superiority of incidental type learning over intentional study amongst Saudi students. Also to be examined was the UHVXOWDQWLQÀXHQFHRIWKHVHWHDFKLQJVWUDWHJLHVRQWKHGHSWKRINQRZOHGJH of the target words (i.e. different degrees of knowledge ranging from word recognition to the ability to produce the vocabulary item). This study was to be classroom-based, utilizing existing students drawn from actual classes and exploiting authentic material (available publicly via the Internet on YouTube), containing real vocabulary as the target lexis, embedded within a real context. The study proposed to set up two groups in an attempted mirror of the Mason and Krashen study (2004): a songonly group, involving minimal teacher intervention, and a song-plus group, incorporating rich instruction and student output activities. A song was

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chosen that was accessible on YouTube and contained a storyline which was anticipated to be of interest and relevance to the particular student body. A potential aim of this study would be to offer EFL teaching practitioners, particularly those within Saudi Arabia, possible recommendations regarding conceivable and practicable classroom techniques for use with songs available on YouTube. The objective of this advice would be the possibility of introducing an alternative and engaging multimedia instrument, with previously untapped vocabulary learning opportunities, into those English classrooms in Arabia in which an openness to the use of music exists. This is of particular interest to this researcher, due to working in the WHDFKHUWUDLQLQJ¿HOGLQWKHFRXQWU\WKURXJKWKHGHOLYHU\RIWKH&DPEULGJH CELTA programme. The key questions guiding this research were: 1 To what extent will listening to a song on YouTube promote effective vocabulary learning amongst EFL students in Saudi Arabia attending elementary classes at the British Council Jeddah Women’s Centre? 2 Is intentional vocabulary teaching (compared to offering less teacher support) during a classroom lesson sequence involving listening to a VWRU\VRQJDQHI¿FLHQWXVHRIFODVVURRPWLPH" 3 How will intentional vocabulary teaching affect the students’ depth of knowledge of the target lexis?

Method Subjects The subjects in this research were 52 elementary female students (A1 on the European Common Framework) attending classes at the Jeddah British &RXQFLO:RPHQ¶V&HQWUH3HUPLVVLRQZDV¿UVWREWDLQHGIURPHDFKJURXS with regard to their willingness to participate in a research study involving listening to a song, as listening to music is avoided by some Islamic learners in Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Design Twenty target words were selected which were expected to be unfamiliar to students of this level (Medina, 2000; Mason & Krashen, 2004). For both treatment groups, a list of these chosen lexical items was made available to

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ensure all students were aware of the vocabulary emphasis of the lesson, as in the Mason and Krashen study (Mason & Krashen, 2004). The story-plus lesson was planned for a full 90 minute session. During this time, the treatment group was introduced to 14 of the target words in two separate pre-teaching sessions, similar to what File and Adams (2010) term “isolated” teaching of vocabulary. This vocabulary instruction stage involved students working together with split information tasks (Nation, 2001), followed by feedback where the teacher elucidated the meaning further through the use of elicitation, concept check questions and other visual support such as miming. There was also a brief pronunciation focus where particular problematic features were highlighted and drilled to aid memory (Thornbury, 2002). This intentional teaching focus was measured as taking in the region of 20 minutes. ,Q WKH VWRU\SOXV OHVVRQ WKH FODUL¿FDWLRQ RI WKH UHPDLQLQJ VL[ WDUJHW words was planned to occur during the feedback phase which followed each separate verse. Student understanding of the lyrics was elicited, together with the elucidation of meaning and pronunciation of the outstanding six target lexical items through similar techniques described above. The teaching of these six words was estimated to have taken approximately 3 minutes in total in the lesson. In the story-only lesson, each verse was followed by teacher supported FODUL¿FDWLRQFRUUHVSRQGLQJWRHDFKOLQHRIWKHO\ULFVZKHUHWKHWHDFKHU³EULHÀ\ explained the meanings of the unknown words” as well as using “pictures or actions” (Mason & Krashen, 2004). In both groups, learners were provided with the lyrics to read while listening (as in Medina, 2000; Penno, Wilkinson & Moore, 2002; Mason & Krashen, 2004; Milton, 2008; File & Adams, 2010).

The Song The song “Patches” (Dickie Lee, 1962) was chosen due to its availability on YouTube, as well as its relatively slow pace, measured at roughly 64 words per minute (Brown, Donkaewbua & Waring, 2008). This tempo was felt to be conducive to a low-level English class (Medina, 2003). Also involved in this decision was the song’s credible story-like quality of a romantic nature, being a tale of class and money likely to interest and engage these predominantly young female students, familiar with societal divisions, and thereby optimizing the possibilities of language acquisition through the use of comprehensible input which is “extremely interesting, even compelling” (Mason & Krashen, 2004).

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7KLV VRQJ ZDV DOVR VHOHFWHG EHFDXVH LW FRQWDLQV D VLJQL¿FDQW QXPEHU of word forms likely to be unknown by the participants, which became DSSDUHQW ZKHQ WKH UHVXOWV IURP WKH RQOLQH 1DWLRQ¶V 9RFDEXODU\ 3UR¿OH ZHUHDQDO\VHGKWWSZZZOH[WXWRUFD ,WZDVIRXQGWKDWRIWKHWDUJHW vocabulary can be categorized into levels above the British National Corpus K1 frequency band (the 1000 most common words), so these lexical items could be expected to be unknown by the participating students.

Procedure The treatment lessons were all conducted by the same teaching practitioner (the researcher) to avoid teacher bias, which could “negatively affect the internal validity of the study” (de la Fuente, 2006), as well as to ensure that “the instructional sessions were equivalent” (File & Adams, 2010). Before commencing the treatment lessons, randomly selected students were withdrawn from each group to take part in the productive pre-test, which was then followed by all students completing the questionnaires and vocabulary pre-tests. For both the song-plus group and the song-only group, the music was played in stages on an interactive whiteboard using the pause facility on YouTube. This was to allow for maximum teacher support and prevent student fatigue, as recommended by Brown, Donkaewbua & Waring (2008). The song-plus group was furnished with meaning-based discussion tasks, at regular intervals, in the interest of ensuring an overall balance to the lesson between meaning-focused input and meaning-focused output (Nation  :HEE   )LQDOO\ D VWRU\ UHWHOOLQJ VHVVLRQ RI DURXQG ¿YH PLQXWHV concluded the song-plus lesson (as in Mason & Krashen, 2004). Exactly three weeks after the treatment lessons, the students were unexpectedly presented with productive post-tests where the same students were interviewed, followed again by all students undertaking an unanticipated receptive post-test, as well as the completion of the post-questionnaires.

The measurement instruments Pre- and post-questionnaires were designed in order to determine the participants’ preferred vocabulary learning strategies (as in Kojic-Sabro & Lightbrown, 1999). There were closed questions intended to gauge opinions and habits regarding learning vocabulary during class time as well as

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at home (ibid.), and open questions regarding the prevalence of accessing multimedia resources, such as songs and the Internet. The receptive vocabulary test was prepared in a multiple-choice format (as in Brett, Rothlein & Hurley, 1996; Medina, 2000; Penno, Wilkinson & Moore, 2002; Brown, Donkaewbua & Waring, 2008). Word gain results were calculated (i.e. pre-test correct answers were subtracted from post-test FRUUHFWDQVZHUV DQGDWWHVWZDVDSSOLHGWRWHVWWKHVLJQL¿FDQFHRIWKHZRUG JDLQ¿JXUHVIRUWKHHQWLUHJURXS

Results The questionnaires The pre-questionnaires illustrated that students made use of a wide range of resources to study vocabulary, both in class and at home, which included listening to songs and using the Internet. Although around 25% of each group indicated that they did not regularly use these resources, an interesting shift post-treatment towards the positive response occurred in both groups (see Table 12-1). Also of interest are the post-listening responses to the designated song (see Table 12-2). It can be seen that both treatment groups, post-listening, expressed similar majority positive feelings towards the song; however, it appears that more learners from the song-plus group listened additionally to the song at home. A strong reason given by both groups, supporting their enjoyment of the song, is the potential it offered for learning new words. Furthermore, it would seem that the students liked the song because of the story itself, and even though they found it sad, they stated it was nevertheless understandable and enjoyable.

The productive tests It is evident from Table 12-3 that the mean word gain of the song-plus group is nearly double that of the song-only group. However, this should be considered merely a sample of the total participant pool (due to the low number RISURGXFWLYHWHVWFDQGLGDWHV WKXVVXJJHVWLQJWKDWWKHVH¿JXUHVDUHLQGLFDtive only and not authoritative.

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The multiple-choice receptive tests When considering the pre-test mean scores, the similarity of results between the two groups can be seen. It also can be noted that a higher word gain of 2.12 is apparent for the song-plus group (see Table 12-4). An overall word gain for both groups of 7.11 was obtained. The t-test VFRUHRIFDQEHYLHZHGDVDVLJQL¿FDQWGLIIHUHQFHEHWZHHQWKHSUHWHVW results and post-test results (i.e. word gain). The word gain results for each individual word were also analysed (see Figure 1). The graph displays the overall similarity in word gain between the two groups, with a few exceptions. )LQDOO\ HI¿FLHQF\ ¿JXUHV FDOFXODWHG DV ZRUG JDLQ SHU PLQXWH DV LQ Mason and Krashen (2004) were produced (see Table 12-5). As can be seen, different results are conceivable depending on the time period selected for the calculations. The word gain for the song-only group was divided by 20 minutes (the time period required for this lesson). For the song-plus, the whole lesson time period was 90 minutes, the pre-teaching + integrated teaching time period was 23 minutes + 20 minutes (as for song-only) = 43 PLQXWHV7KHVHHI¿FLHQF\¿JXUHVZHUHWKHQGLUHFWO\FRPSDUHGWRWKH0DVRQ and Krashen study (2004) in Table 12-6.

Discussion 5HVXOWVIURPWKLVVWXG\LQGLFDWHWKDWVLJQL¿FDQWYRFDEXODU\XSWDNHRFFXUV through listening on YouTube to a well-chosen song which suitably engages the learners. The results also appear to indicate that intentional teaching results in higher word gain; however, when the time periods for the respecWLYHVHVVLRQVDUHIDFWRUHGLQWRWKHFDOFXODWLRQVORZHUHI¿FLHQF\¿JXUHVDUH evident for the song-plus group. Although the productive tests were insuf¿FLHQW LQ QXPEHU WR EH UHJDUGHG DV DXWKRULWDWLYH WKH VXSHULRU RXWFRPHV obtained by the focus-on-form group could possibly imply a more realistic difference between the two research treatments.

Research Question 1 A consideration of the overall mean word gain of 7.11 (Table 4), appears to reveal the potential power of the use of songs on YouTube in promoting OH[LFDOOHDUQLQJ7KLVUHVXOWVRPHZKDWHFKRHVWKH¿QGLQJVRI0LOWRQ 

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who found considerable vocabulary uptake as a result of student exposure to songs. It is therefore pertinent to explore the factors which contributed to the success and effectiveness of using this medium. First, it can be noted that 75% of all treatment students liked the song 7DEOH ZKLFKFRQ¿UPVWKHVXLWDELOLW\RIWKHFKRLFHDYLWDOIDFWRULQWKH success of the language learning potential of the lesson (Dunyasheva, 2010). Of interest is the increased student acknowledgement, following the treatment, concerning the potential lexical contributions of two new multimedia avenues i.e. the Internet and songs (Table 1). When analysing this data, it can be observed that the research resulted in an expansion of the vocabulary self-access study options available to the participants (12% increase in students acknowledging the lexical worth of the Internet, 14% increase regarding songs). Independent learning can be viewed as pivotal in tackling the volume of words an elementary student is required to learn (Milton, 2008). When considering that “Saudi Arabia is now the biggest user of YouTube per capita in the world” (Habib, 2013), this change in learner opinion PD\EHUHJDUGHGDVSRWHQWLDOO\YHU\EHQH¿FLDO)XUWKHUPRUHVLQFHVWXGHQW VHOIUHJXODWLRQKDVEHHQLGHQWL¿HGDVFULWLFDOIRUOHDUQHUVWRXQGHUVWDQGDQG pursue “methods of learning that are effective for themselves” (Schmitt, 2010), the perceived contribution from these treatment sessions could be regarded as having useful long-term consequences for these Saudi students. Finally, the primary reasons cited for lack of student enjoyment of the song (post-treatment questionnaires) would seem to be as a result of both a religious predilection, and also because of the actual storyline of the lyrics (which was described as “sad”). However, the aforementioned changes of opinion give the impression of the possibility of overcoming possible societal biases, perhaps through the ability of music to evoke “positive emotions ZKLFKFDQORZHUWKHµDIIHFWLYH¿OWHU¶´0HGLQD  7KH QDUUDWLRQ LWVHOI ZDV DOVR D SULQFLSDO MXVWL¿FDWLRQ JLYHQ E\ WKRVH students who enjoyed the song, lending weight to Mason and Krashen’s argument that stories are “interesting and pleasant” (Mason & Krashen, 2010) and, because of this, learners are more likely to continue with this pursuit (ibid.). Also of interest in this respect is another post listening observation reported by the students, relating to the impact of the song on memory, with a number of students using a similar phrasing (post-treatment questionnaires), along the lines that the music causes the words 2to stay in my mind”. This is supported by research evidence showing the “bond which exists between music and verbal learning” (Medina, 2002). There were further reasons listed by the learners for their enjoyment of the song. A number of students stated that they liked the song because it

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was understandable. This resonates with Medina’s (2003) observation concerning the application of Krashen’s comprehensible input principle against the lyrics of the chosen song i.e. learners should be able to understand the VRQJVWRU\ZKLFKVKRXOGDOVRFRQWDLQQHZZRUGVPDGHDYDLODEOHIRUDFTXLsition, embedded in a rich contextual environment (ibid.). Finally, students also remarked that the treatment lessons had been “fun”, intimating that the music had introduced welcome variety into the regular curriculum, and so provided a desirable and “alternative means of promoting second language acquisition” (Medina, 2000). The logical teaching implication is to recommend that songs on YouTube are used with “increasing frequency” in the Saudi classroom (Medina, 2000) amongst willing student participants. Songs accessible on YouTube can also be commended to the EFL teacher in Saudi Arabia as a highly effective autonomous learning resource, allowing students to acquire vocabulary at a rate far faster “than is observable from classroom input” alone (Milton, 2008), as well as providing for increased amounts of worthwhile language repetition, which can valuably augment classroom learning (ibid.). Within the context of Saudi Arabia, a necessary approach to the introduction of this medium is seeking the prior permission of the target student body, coupled ZLWKDQH[SODQDWLRQRIWKHODQJXDJHOHDUQLQJEHQH¿WVREWDLQHGWKURXJKOLVtening to songs, with a possible follow up test to illustrate to the learners their resulting vocabulary progress.

Research Question 2 (I¿FLHQF\¿JXUHVIRUWKLVUHVHDUFKDQGWKH0DVRQDQG.UDVKHQVWXG\PHDVured in words per minute, see Table 6) can be further compared as below. $FRPSOHWHDQGFRQ¿GHQWFRPSDULVRQLVQRWSRVVLEOHGXHWRWKH0DVRQ DQG .UDVKHQ VWXG\ HPSOR\LQJ D ORQJHU DWWULWLRQ SHULRG RI ¿YH ZHHNV DV opposed to the three weeks of this research), and additionally due to the utilization by the aforesaid study of further post-tests which contributed to additional student learning. Similar student numbers were involved in both studies – 52 students in this research and 58 in the Mason and Krashen study. It is interesting to note the broad similarity replicated by this research. ,IWKHVH¿JXUHVDUHVXSHU¿FLDOO\H[DPLQHGWKH\ZRXOGDSSHDUWRVXSSRUWWKH 0DVRQDQG.UDVKHQVWDWHPHQWWKDW³KHDULQJVWRULHVLVPRUHHI¿FLHQWWKDQ skill building exercises” and to conclude that incidental vocabulary acquisiWLRQLVVLJQL¿FDQWO\VXSHULRUWRGHOLEHUDWHFODVVURRPWHDFKLQJ However, as Nation and Webb (2011) have astutely observed,

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This way of equating time on task carries its own disadvantages. Such a calculation is likely to be to the detriment of the longest treatment, especially if the longest treatment also involves attention to other language features besides those being researched. It could therefore be conjectured that a directly proportional comparison EHWZHHQWLPHKHUHPHDVXUHGLQSUHFLVHXQLWVRIPLQXWHVUHODWHGVSHFL¿FDOO\ to vocabulary increase, likewise measured empirically through word gain, LVDQRYHUVLPSOL¿FDWLRQRIWKHFRPSOH[LWLHVRIWKHQDWXUHRIVHFRQGODQJXDJH acquisition. As learning vocabulary is at the heart of learning a language, it could furthermore be argued that the primary focus of any related discussions is better directed at the factors leading to word uptake, as well as considering the possibilities for maximizing these criteria to promote optimum vocabulary gain. In this regard, it was noted that the song-plus WUHDWPHQWOHVVRQUHVXOWHGLQDKLJKHUZRUGJDLQRI7DEOH WKHLQÀXHQFH RI ZKLFK FDQ EH PDJQL¿HG WKURXJK WKH PXOWLSOLFDWLRQ RI WKLV ¿JXUH over a period of a week of lessons. With regard to the existence of other unmeasured language features (Nation & Webb, 2011), this can be related to the students’ engagement HYLGHQW GXULQJ WKH ¿QDO VWRU\WHOOLQJ DFWLYLW\ LQ WKH VWRU\SOXV OHVVRQ LH ÀXHQF\ODQJXDJHGHYHORSPHQW VLQFHVWXGHQWRXWSXWLVWKRXJKWWRLQYROYH a more demanding and deeper word knowledge. Furthermore, it can be surmised that these additional language features include “other aspects of language” acquired by students but not captured by the testing procedures, as observed by Mason and Krashen (2004) e.g. grammar, the increase of collocation familiarity (ibid.), as well as student noticing ““colligational patterns, new nuances of meaning and improved lexical access speed” (Brown, Donkaewbua & Waring, 2008). Finally, the word uptake from the shorter lesson must be considered quite remarkable, as this treatment comprised less formal teaching, couSOHGZLWKDUHGXFHGWLPHDOORZDQFHLQGLFDWLQJDJDLQWKHHI¿FDF\RIVRQJV DQG VWRULHV LQ SURPRWLQJ YRFDEXODU\ OHDUQLQJ DQG SRVVLEO\ UHÀHFWLQJ WKH propensity amongst Saudi students for incidental learning (Ahmad, 2011). In this connection, however, it must be noted that due to the challenging nature of the text (falling well below the recommended 98% of word knowledge required for listening comprehension), this song-only group was very dependent on the teacher’s explanation in order to gain full understanding. It can therefore be concluded that the arguments which would raise intentional teaching above incidental learning or vice versa are unhelpful and that advice to the teaching practitioner should recommend the incorporation

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of the full array of activities which lend themselves to all forms of learning, thereby escalating the vocabulary learning potential of the classroom.

Research Question 3 To develop the adequate knowledge-depth necessary to use new vocabXODU\ LQ D SURGXFWLYH PDQQHU PRUH WKDQ D ³ÀHHWLQJ H[SRVXUH WR WDUJHWHG vocabulary” is required (File & Adams, 2010), and so an increase in time is mandatory. The productive results do appear to intimate a possible deeper understanding of the target vocabulary amongst the song-plus group, with a mean word gain nearly double that of the song-only group, and so would seem to suggest “a more comprehensive understanding of word meaning” (Penno, Wilkinson & Moore, 2002). It can be noted that students of both groups randomly accessed the song on YouTube at home which resulted in IXUWKHUOHDUQLQJ7KLVLQÀXHQFHFRXSOHGZLWKWKHORZQXPEHUVRIWKHWHVW participants, would seem to indicate the infeasibility of extrapolating an authoritative conclusion.

Limiting factors The lower than planned participant numbers in both treatment groups preYHQWHG GH¿QLWLYH FRQFOXVLRQV IURP EHLQJ UHDFKHG LQ WZR RI WKH UHVHDUFK questions. Similarly, the lower than expected student numbers taking part in the productive testing limited the results to an indicative status only. Furthermore, the use of YouTube allowed for random and uncontrolled additional student access to the target language. While this resulted in useful word gains for these learners, it also blurred the distinction between the two experimental groups. This had an effect on both the receptive results, and therefore on the second research question and also the productive results, thus affecting the third research question as well.

Summary and conclusions This study has shown that good levels of vocabulary learning are possible amongst Saudi adult female elementary-level students when an interesting, emotionally engaging and lexically rich song is played on YouTube and accompanied by a variety of teacher support mechanisms which allow for

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WKH FODUL¿FDWLRQ RI PHDQLQJ:KHQ FRPSDUHG WR WKH ZRUG JDLQ RFFXUULQJ in Saudi schools (just one word per classroom hour, as in Alsaif & Milton  WKHPHDQZRUGJDLQ¿JXUHRIREWDLQHGE\WKHVWXGHQWVLQWKLV UHVHDUFKFDQEHFRQVLGHUHGDQDI¿UPDWLRQRIWKHYDOXHDQGSRWHQWLDORIXVLQJ songs on YouTube in the EFL classroom in Saudi Arabia. An interesting consequence of the research is the recorded change in attitude registered, with around 25% of the 52 students moving towards a more positive opinion regarding the role of songs, as well as the Internet, in support of vocabulary learning. This shift of perspective can be considHUHG VLJQL¿FDQW ZKHQ UHFRJQL]LQJ WKH FHQWUDOLW\ RI OHDUQHU LQGHSHQGHQFH together with time spent on study, in the arsenal of vocabulary learning strategies (Kojic-Sabro & Lightbrown, 1999), and when acknowledging that a new avenue for home study has been made available to the students (nearly half of this student population listened to the song again in their RZQWLPH 7KLVVLJQL¿FDQFHLVDXJPHQWHGZKHQDSSUHFLDWLQJWKHVXSUHPH vocabulary learning challenge faced by the elementary EFL student, and when perceiving that listening to songs outside of formal teaching contributes to the increase of the student lexicon, which need not “require a huge investment of time or effort from the teacher” (Milton, 2008). Furthermore, since Saudi students are not considered to have a developed culture of book reading (Gulf News, 2012), and since many young Saudis now use the Internet “to get free education and training” (Habib, 2013), listening to songs RIIHUVDQDOWHUQDWLYHPHGLXPIRUWKHVHOHDUQHUVWREHQH¿WIURPWKHDGYDQtages associated with exposure to stories.

Classroom implications • In case the target participants have a religious predisposition against music, it is important to seek permission beforehand, coupled with a GHVFULSWLRQRIWKHODQJXDJHOHDUQLQJEHQH¿WVZKLFKFDQHQVXH • It is of vital importance for teachers to select from YouTube a lexically rich song of interest to the designated student body, to enhance the learning potential of the music. • Teachers should consider harnessing the power of storytelling through choosing a song containing an inviting storyline. • The opacity of the lyrics should be considered during the selection process, alongside the possibility of using a variety of visual support aids to elucidate the meaning. • Teachers should raise student awareness of collocations as an integral

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part of the pool of target vocabulary, in order to maximise the lexical learning potential of the input. • Teachers can plan for both rich instruction, incorporating student-centred negotiation of meaning through split information tasks, along with more integrated explanations of those words with a lower learning load. • Drilling of new vocabulary occurring in the lyrics is recommended as a vocabulary learning tool, both as a pronunciation technique to link new words to familiar patterns, as well as a method to offer memorisation support. • Teachers ought to consider operating the listening sequence in stages through the use of the pause tool on YouTube. • Classroom practitioners are recommended to plan for a student output stage following the listening sequence (e.g. retelling of the story), in order to provide the opportunity for the development of a deeper word knowledge. • Teachers should direct students to the YouTube location of the song under study, in order to encourage further accessing of the song, thereby allowing for valuable repetition of new lexis. • Finally, it is recommended that homework tasks, which would necessitate a repeat listening to the song on YouTube, be assigned. It is expected that these classroom implications would not apply exclusively to the TESOL environment but would be transferable to other language learning situations, due to the presence of general foreign language vocabulary learning principles underpinning these recommendations.

Recommendations for further research ,WZRXOGEHEHQH¿FLDOIRUIXUWKHUUHVHDUFKWRLQYHVWLJDWHWKHDGYDQWDJHRXV effects of learning vocabulary from story-songs with learners from other ODQJXDJHEDFNJURXQGVDQGZLWKGLIIHUHQWODQJXDJHSUR¿FLHQFLHV7KHUHLV also a need for the repetition of the song-only and song-plus treatments incorporating a larger productive testing aspect. $VLWLVIHOWWKDWDIRFXVRQHI¿FLHQF\FDOFXODWLRQVLVXQKHOSIXODQGQRW representative of the true and complex nature of language learning, this form of analysis is not recommended. Rather, research into classroom teaching techniques, applicable to lessons using songs, and the contribution of these methods to maximum vocabulary uptake, is preferred. Future research could furthermore investigate the effect of the use of

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YouTube as an independent learning aid. The inclusion of a control group, introduced to the input song through the use of a CD, is recommended. The ZRUGJDLQUHVXOWVRIWKLVJURXSFDQEHFRPSDUHGWRWKH¿JXUHVIRUWKHWUHDWment group (exposed to the input through YouTube), thereby measuring the LQÀXHQFHRIWKH,QWHUQHWRQLQGHSHQGHQWOHDUQLQJ

Appendix

Song-plus Song-only Total Mean

Internet percentage increase (positive attitude) 9% 15% 12%

Song percentage increase (positive attitude) 14.5% 13% 13.8%

Table 12-1. Attitudes to songs and learning vocabulary: Post-treatment positive percentage swing

Song-plus Song-only Total

Did you like the song “Patches”? Yes No 20 6 19 7 39 13

Did you listen to “Patches” at home? Yes No 15 11 9 17 24 28

Table 12-2. Post-treatment student responses to the song

Song-plus Song-only

Total word gain 79.5 39.5

Mean word gain 7.23 3.95

Table 12-3. Productive mean word gain

Vocabulary Uptake from Listening to Songs on YouTube

Song-plus Song-only Total t-test

Pre-test mean 8.73 9.15 8.94

Post-test mean 16.9 15.2 16.05 11.5

175

Mean word gain 8.17 6.05 7.11

Table 12-4. Overall receptive word gain

)LJXUH:RUGJDLQIRUHDFKOH[LFDOLWHPVRQJSOXVVRQJRQO\

Song-plus Song-only

Word gain

(I¿FLHQF\ (whole lesson)

(I¿FLHQF\ (pre-teaching + integrated)

8.17 6.05

0.09 0.3

0.19 -

(I¿FLHQF\ (pre-teaching + integrated + output) 0.17 -

7DEOH(I¿FLHQF\¿JXUHVIRUERWKWUHDWPHQWJURXSV

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Mason and Krashen This research (full lesson calculation) This research (vocab focus only)

Story/Song-plus Story/Song-only 0.16 0.25 0.09 0.3 0.17

7DEOH&RPSDULVRQRIHI¿FLHQF\¿JXUHV

Acknowledgment This study was carried out as part of the author’s MA dissertation at Sunderland University. The author would like to thank the TESOL department for their guidance and support.

References Ahmad, J. 2011. Intentional vs. incidental vocabulary learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(5), 67–75. Al-Humaidan, M. 2013. Internet Use up 16%. Arab News (25 May). Retrieved from: www.arabnews.com. Al-Masrai, A. & Milton, J. 2012. The vocabulary knowledge of university students in Saudi Arabia. TESOL Arabia, 19(3), 13–19. Alsaif, A. & Milton, J. 2012. Vocabulary input from school textbooks as a potential contributor to the small vocabulary uptake gained by English as a foreign language learners in Saudi Arabia. The Language Learning Journal, 40(1), 21–33. Bashraheel, L. 2012. YouTube Raising the Bar on Saudi Entertainment. Saudi Gazette (23 September). Retrieved from www.saudigazette.com.sa. Beasley, R. & Chuang, Y. 2008. Web-based music study: the effects of listening repetition, song likeability and song understandability on EFL learning perceptions and outcomes. TESL-EJ, 12(2). Brett, A., Rothlein, L. & Hurley, M. 1996. Vocabulary acquisition from listening to stories and explanations of target words. Elementary School Journal, 96(4), 415–422. Brown, R., Donkaewbua, S. & Waring, R. 2008. Incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading, reading-while-listening, and listening to stories. Reading in a Foreign Language, 20(2). Cho, K. & Choi, D. 2008. Are read-alouds and free reading “natural partners”? Knowledge Quest, 36(5), 69–73. de la Fuente, M. J. 2006. Classroom L2 vocabulary acquisition: investigating the role of pedagogical tasks and form-focused instruction. Language Teaching Research 10(3), 263–296.

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Dunyasheva, L. 2010. The role of songs in learning a foreign language. Valley Voices: A Literary Review, Fall 2010 Supplement, 81–85. File, K. & Adams, R. 2010. Should vocabulary instruction be integrated or isolated? TESOL Quarterly, 44(2), 222–249. Gulf News. 2012. Make reading an integral part of your daily routine. Gulf News (12 October), p. 4. Habib, K. 2013. Young Saudis take to YouTube to learn and master new skills. Arab News (13 February). Retrieved from www.arabnews.com Harmer, J. 2001. The Practice of English-Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Education. Kojic-Sabro, I. & Lightbrown, P. 1999. Students’ approaches to vocabulary learning and their relationship to success. Modern Language Journal, 83(2), 176–192. McQuillan, J. & Krashen, S. 2008. Commentary: can free reading take you all the way? A response to Cobb (2007). Language Learning& Technology, 12(1), 104–108. Mason, B. & Krashen, S. 2004. Is form-focused vocabulary instruction worthwhile? Regional Language Centre Journal, 35(2), 179–185. ———. 2010. A reader’s response to File and Adam’s “The reality, robustness, and possible superiority of incidental vocabulary acquisition”. TESOL Quarterly, 44(4), 790–793. Medina, S. 2000. The effects of music upon second language vocabulary acquisition.)RUHIURQW3XEOLVKHUV$YDLODEOHDWZZZIRUHIURQWSXEOLVKHUVFRPHVOPXVLF FDWHJRU\DUWLFOHV Medina, S. 2002. Using music to enhance second language acquisition: from theory to practice. In Lalas, J. and Lee, S., Language, literacy and academic development for English language learners. Harlow: Pearson Educational. Medina, S. 2003. Acquiring vocabulary through story-songs. MEXTESOL Journal, 26 5HWULHYHGIURPZZZIRUHIURQWSXEOLVKHUVFRPHVOPXVLFFDWHJRU\DUWLFOHV Milton, J. 2008. Vocabulary uptake from informal learning tasks. Language Learning Journal, 36(2), 227–237. ———. 2012. Vocabulary input, vocabulary uptake and approaches to language teaching. The Language Learning Journal, 40(1), 1–5. Nation, I. 2001. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Nation, I. & Webb, S. 2011. Researching and analysing vocabulary. Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning. Overy, K., Ferriara, F. & Ludke, K. 2011. Songs and Singing in Foreign Language Learning. Thesis. Edinburgh: The University of Edinburgh. Penno, J., Wilkinson, I. & Moore, D. 2002. Vocabulary acquisition from teacher explanation and repeated listening to stories: Do they overcome the Matthew Effect? Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(1), 23–33. Pinsonneault, B. 2008. Authentic input in early second language learning. Thesis. Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts. Saudi Gazette. 2013. Saudis getting creative on YouTube (19 November). Retrieved from www.saudigazette.com.sa. Schmitt, N. 2010. Researching vocabulary. London: Macmillan. Thornbury, S. 2002. How to teach vocabulary. Harlow: Pearson Education. Willis, M. & Ohashi, Y. 2012. A model of L2 vocabulary learning and retention. The

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Language Learning Journal, 40(1), 125–137. Xiangming, L. 2009. Effectiveness of music on vocabulary acquisition, language usage, and meaning for mainland Chinese ESL Learners. Contributions to Music Education, 36(1), 73–84.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN E-LEARNING SYSTEM FOR ARABIC DEAF CHILDREN NAHLA KHALIL, MANAL AL-THOMALI, SIHAM AL-ZAHRANI, ABRAR AL-JUAAID, TEGHREED AL-THIBATI, SAMAR AL-HARTHI AND EBTIHAL AL-GHAMDI Abstract This paper describes an e-learning system (E-LS) which offers Arabic sign language especially for Arabic children for the purpose of teaching, educating and entertaining. The system is a web-based interpreter of sign language which is designed to handle deaf children’s need and to improve their indeSHQGHQFHFRQ¿GHQFHPRWLYDWLRQDQGVRFLDOFRQWDFW Also the paper provides bilingual information (Arabic text and Arabic sign language) that can allow Arab deaf students to learn sign language directly from their own language. The system (E-LS) can be used by deaf people to learn sign language and also by hearing people to be able to communicate with deaf people. As the use of computers becomes widespread, it makes it very convenient to study using computer software and the Internet. Keywords: Arabic Sign Language; Deaf children; Deaf education; E-learning; Learning system; Sign language; Web-based education

Introduction The Internet offers a powerful source of information to everyone who is willing to use it and is one of the most valuable tools in education. DisDEOHG SHRSOH LQFOXGLQJ GHDI FKLOGUHQ DUH RQH RI WKH JURXSV WKDW EHQH¿W from this tool. Communication may be the biggest challenge of all – getting and giving information, exchanging ideas, and sharing feelings – whether in one-to-one contact or in groups. Sign language bridges the gap between

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the hearing world and the deaf world, making it possible for deaf and hearing people to communicate their feelings, thoughts, intentions and so forth. Sign language can be used to discuss all types of matters including family, friends, politics, work or anything that could be communicated through the spoken word. It is a visual language composed of a set of hand signs or JHVWXUHVDQGVSHFL¿FPRYHPHQWVRIWKHDUPVIDFHKHDGDQGERG\SRVWXUH A gesture in a sign language is equal to a word in a written language. Similarly, a sentence in a written language is equal to a sequence of gestures in a sign language. There are many forms of sign language that have been developed by many people in different areas in the world (Drigas et al., 2005; Gennari & Mich, 2008; Heritage Lottery Fund 2009; Auslan). One of the most common forms of this primary means of communication for deaf people in America and Canada is known as American Sign Language (ASL). Of course deaf people had a natural way of communicating with each other even before ASL developed, but ASL is now the third most commonly used language in the United States after English and Spanish according to the National Association of the Deaf (Solina et al., 2001). In 2003, the World )HGHUDWLRQ RI WKH 'HDI FRQ¿UPV WKDW  RI GHDI SHRSOH ODFN HGXFDWLRQ or are under-educated, illiterate or semi-literate (World Federation of the 'HDI 6RPHVWXGLHVVKRZGHDIFKLOGUHQKDYHGLI¿FXOW\UHDGLQJ0DUVFKDUNDQG+DUULV FRQ¿UPHGWKDWWKHLUOHDUQLQJSURJUHVVLVH[WUHPHO\ VORZ7KLVH[SODLQVZK\GHDIFKLOGUHQIDFHGLI¿FXOWLHVXVLQJWKHZHEZKHQ accessing written information. Therefore, designing e-learning programs that are user-friendly for them plays a big role in teaching deaf children. Some of these e-learning applications are improving children’s language GHYHORSPHQW ± VHH KWWSZZZHOHDUQLQJIRUNLGVRUJ'RFXPHQWVHINSUHVVReleaseClosetheGapMay032007.pdf for some examples. As for Arabic sign language, Mohandes (2006) proposes a system that translates Arabic text into Arabic sign language. There is also an automatic Arabic sign language (ArSL) recognition system based on the Hidden Markov Models (HMMs).

Literature Review Sign language is one way of communicating using non-verbal communication VHHKWWSZZZSURIHVVLRQDOFRXQVHOOLQJFRPW\SHVRIQRQYHUEDOFRPPXnication.html). There are national sign languages; one of the very common ones is the American Sign Language (ASL), which signs the alphabet

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with one hand (Kulkarni et al., 2010; for further research see Nakamura, 1995; Wilcox & Wilcox, 1997; Butterworth & Flodin, 1995). Adamo-Villani (2007) describes the design and evaluation of an immersive Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for deaf children using ASL. The formative evaluation showed the need to support the interface query for users to determine what actions are available for objects. Gennari and Mich (2008) have proposed an e-learning framework that creates a common platform for both normal and disabled students so they can both achieve academically. The deaf students can communicate with the instructor and other students by messaging over the chat-room system. But this system needs training on using it and it does not support the learning of sign languages in general. To encourage the deaf children to use ASL, Shirali-Shahreza & Shirali-Shahreza (2008) proposed a system which is implemented using PHP scripting language. This system is not used for e-learning as it could be used for web browsing. Another system is proposed (Adamo-Villani et al, 2004) which is an interactive program to teach ASL for K-3 mathematics by 3D animation. But this system is limited to a special type of course and age group. Stewart (2007) proposed a library that is available on the ASL browser website for teaching the ASL. For each word, the “ASL Browser” site has a movie showing a person saying the word using ASL. The movies are in Quicktime format. Although this system supports a small sized movie its reliability is still low. For German Sign Language (Straetz et al., 2002) proposed a Learning Management System (LMS) offering German SL videos corresponding to every text in the learning environment. Drigas (2005) presented a similar LMS for Greek Sign Language. The systems are designed notably for deaf DGXOWVZKRZDQWWRPDLQWDLQDQGLPSURYHWKHLUPDWKHPDWLFDODQGUHDGLQJ writing skills. These systems require large bandwidth for downloading videos so the reliability of these systems is low. Efthimiou & Fotinea (2007) and Efthimiou et al. (online) proposed a platform environment that allows development of various educational applications accessible by deaf users for Greek Sign Language. As for British Sign Language, Ohene-Djan & Naqvi (2005) proposed a Kids Sign Online (KSO) system designed to teach British Sign Language in tandem with English to deaf children. Burd et al. (2001) proposed text-tosign browsers for users of British Sign language but it is currently in only limited use. One of the major problems is that BSL and ASL do not translate word for word into English or vice-versa, as they have distinct grammars RIWKHLURZQDQGWKHUHIRUHLWZRXOGEHGLI¿FXOWWRWUDQVODWHDVLWHGLUHFWO\

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Supporting Italian deaf children Gennari & Mich (2008) present a logic-based web tool for deaf children (LODE) that aims at stimulating deaf children globally to reason on narratives written in Italian. Thus LODE presents children with e-stories and apt exercises that stimulate them to analyse the temporal relations between events and to produce new relations consistent with the story. Vettori et al. (2004) presented an Electronic Bilingual Dictionary of Italian Sign Language. Tania & Rosella (2008) have also proposed a bidirectional web dictionary for ISL-Italian. For Australian sign language, Potter et al. (2010) describe the initial stages of a research project aimed at teaching preliterate deaf children Auslan using a software application deployed on a mobile technology device. Suzuki & Kakihana (2008) proposed a Japanese and ASL Dictionary System for Japanese and English users. All the above research on supporting sign language for deaf people involve non-Arabic sign language for deaf people. For Arabic Sign Language (ArSL) some research (Mohandes, 2006) proposes a system that translates Arabic text to ArSL. Words that correspond to signs from the ArSL dictionary call a pre-recorded video clip showing the sign. If the word does QRWKDYHDFRUUHVSRQGLQJVLJQLQWKH6/GLFWLRQDU\LWLV¿QJHUVSHOOHG%XW this system depends on the videos and videos need a large bandwidth for downloading. Also Aliaa et al. (2011) introduce an automatic Arabic sign language (ArSL) recognition system based on the Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). Similarly, Albelwi & Alginahi (2012) present a vision-based system that provides a feasible solution to Arabic Sign Language (ArSL) recognition of static gestures of alphabets. Regarding the ArSL e-learning system (Abo El-Soud et al., 2010), this system is dedicated to teaching deaf adults by converting the Arabic web page to ArSL. The authors of this paper present an e-learning system which offers e-learning Arabic sign language especially for Arabic children for the purpose of teaching, educating and entertaining. The system is a web-based interpreter of sign language which is designed to handle deaf children’s need and to improve their LQGHSHQGHQFHFRQ¿GHQFHPRWLYDWLRQDQGVRFLDO contact.

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System Requirements Arabic Sign Language (ArSL) database Because there has been no serious attention to Arabic sign language recogQLWLRQWKHUHDUHQRFRPPRQGDWDEDVHVDYDLODEOHIRUUHVHDUFKHUVLQWKLV¿HOG Therefore, we had to build our own database of reasonable size. We used the Smart Draw program to build our database.

Figure 13-1. Smart Draw Screen Shot

The database table’s structures: Administrator:

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Dictionary:

Games:

Language:

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Main Words:

Quiz:

Function requirements Use case diagram: The early stages of a development project feature a “use case” diagram, a representation of a set of events that occurs when someone uses a system to complete a process. Normally, a use case is a relatively large process, not an individual step or transaction, to describe real world DFWLYLWLHV DQG PRWLYDWLRQV 7KH GLDJUDP FDQ EH UH¿QHG LQ ODWHU VWDJHV WR UHÀHFWXVHULQWHUIDFHDQGGHVLJQGHWDLOV)LJXUHVKRZVWKHXVHUORJLQ

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page with the options of managing words, letters, quiz, games and dictionary. Figure 13-3 shows the deaf children’s words, dictionary and lessons. All users of the website can exchange messages.

Figure 13-2. Admin Use Case Diagram

Fig. 13-3: Deaf and Dumb Use Case Diagram

Admin functional requirements: Login to the system Manage words Manage letters Manage Quiz Manage Games Manage Dictionary

User functional requirements: View words Use dictionary View lessons Attend quiz Use games

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Web-based System for Arabic Deaf Children

Figure 13-4. Entity–Relationship Diagram

7KLVV\VWHPSURGXFHGDQHOHDUQLQJV\VWHPZKLFKVDWLV¿HVWKHQHHGVRI$UDbic deaf children. The basic aim of this project was to design a user interface divided into four sections: Arabic and English dictionary, main words, educational materials and games. The entity–relationship model for the system is shown in Figure 13-4. The system’s components produce educational

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Figure 13-5. Data Flow Diagram

PDWHULDOIRUGHDIFKLOGUHQLQDQLQWHUDFWLYHZD\DVVKRZQLQWKHGDWDÀRZ diagram (Figure 13-5). The system requirements include admin functional and user or deaf functional requirement. This means that computer technology can open up new doors for this user group and make them less isolated and dependent on others. The system is implemented by using Microsoft Visual Studio, MySQl and Adobe Photoshop to design the interface. A customized, colourful and friendly interface was designed in order to meet the requirement of deaf children. This system is designed with a user interface element (menu bar). The menu bar appears horizontally at the top of the screen. The menu bar is a list of commands or options available to allow users to interact with the content of the website. Because the menu bar is the workhorse of bars, it is larger and contains many useful items divided into six areas. These items are Home, About us, Dictionary, Basics, Admin, Contact us.

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Home Page: The home page is the page that the browser uses when it starts, the web page that appears every time you open the browser. Clicking the KRPHSDJHEDUIRXQGRQWKHPHQXEDUZLOOWDNH\RXWRWKHVSHFL¿FSDJHZH have set as the system browser’s home page. About us: Clicking on this takes you to a page informing visitors why they are on the site or why they should be on the site. The page also explains the aims and the purpose of the website (Figure 13-6).

Figure 13-6. About Us Page

Dictionary: Clicking on Dictionary takes you to the page which displays the translation of an Arabic or English word into Arabic Sign Language (Figure 13-7).

Figure 13-7. Dictionary Page

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Basics: Clicking on Basics takes you to the page which displays the letters in Arabic and Sign Language (Figure 13-8).

Figure 13-8. Basics Page.

Admin bar: The Web Site Administration Tool lets you view and manDJHWKHZHEVLWHFRQ¿JXUDWLRQWKURXJKDVLPSOHZHELQWHUIDFH)LJXUH  This is where visitors need to be logged in before doing anything useful; we make it as easy as possible for them to log in or register. Visitors can log in and access the admin back end by username and password.

Figure 13-9. Admin Login Area

The administrator coordinates and manages the website via the administration tool. The administrator determines which user level-group has permission to use the corresponding “informative” and communication tools. The administrator can log in and access the drop-down menus to manage the

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website. (Drop-down menus are normally hidden from view and not seen by ordinary members or visitors to the site and are tKHUHIRUHDQHI¿FLHQWWRROIRU administrator.) A submenu or cascading menu is a secondary menu displayed on demand from within a menu (Figure 13-10). A submenu item includes individual commands: Dictionary, Games, Lessons, Quiz, Logout. The administrator can perform functions such as modifying site pages, adding events and customizing the contact database to display the data displayed for the children.

Figure 13-10. Administration Menu

By selecting from the menu the administrator can manage the dictionary page to add or delete any word (Figure 13-11) and can manage the games page to add or delete games from the website (Figure 13-12).

Figure 13-11. Administration submenu to add or delete words to the dictionary.

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Figure 13-12. Administration submenu to add or delete games.

The administrator can manage the main word page through the submenu bar to add or delete main words listed in both text and sign language (Figure 13-13).

Fig. 13-13 Administration menu to add or delete words.

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The administrator can manage the Quiz page to add Arabic and English quizzes with options to select the right answer (Figure 13-14).

Figure 13-14. Administration menus to add or delete English and Arabic quizzes.

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Contact us: Clicking on Contact us displays the email address and phone contact of the administrator of the website (Figure 13-15).

Figure 13-15. email and contact number for the administrator of the website.

Conclusion and Future Work In this paper we have presented the colourful intelligent interface to encourage deaf children to read and study and also to understand and learn to communicate with deaf and hearing children especially through the games and puzzles presented on this site. The e-learning materials presented take into consideration the requirements and needs of deaf children who suffer low reading skills. There is still some work that needs to be done in the future. There is still the challenge of improving the website to include sign language video and animation as well as to include stories to enhance children’s reading.

References Abo El-Soud, M., Hassan , A. E., Kandil, M. S., & Shohieb, S. M. 2010. A proposed web based framework for e-learning and dictionary system for deaf Arab students. International Journal of Electrical & Computer Sciences 10(1). Adamo-Villani, N. 2007. A Virtual Learning Environment for deaf children: design and evaluation. International Journal of Human and Social Sciences 2(2).

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Adamo-Villani, N., Doublestein, J. & Martin, Z. 2004. The MathSigner: an interactive learning tool for American Sign Language. Paper presented at the 8th IEEE International Conference on Information Visualisation. Albelwi, N. R. & Alginahi, Y. M. 2012. Real-time Arabic Sign Language (ArSL) recognition. ICCIT. Auslan: Australian Sign Language.KWWSZZZEDELHVDQGVLJQODQJXDJHFRPDXVlan-australian.html Burd, E., Donkin, J. Marshall, S. & Boldyreff, C. 2001. The case for the use of plain English to increase web accessibility. Paper presented at the 3rd International Workshop on Web Site Evolution (IEEE , WSE). Butterworth, R. & Flodin, M. 1995. The Perigee visual dictionary of signing. Revised ed. New York, NY: Berkley Publishing Group, 1955. Drigas, A. S. 2005. An e-learning management system for the deaf people. WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education, 2(1). Drigas, A. S., Kouremenos, D., Kouremenos, S. & Vrettaros, J. 2005. An e-learning system for the deaf people. Paper presented at the ITHET 6th Annual International Conference, Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic, 7–9 July. TC2-17. Session T1A. Efthimiou, E. & Fotinea, S. 2007. An environment for deaf accessibility to educational content. Greek national project DIANOEMA (GSRT, M3.3, id 35), Hammamet-Tunisia, ICTA. ———, Sapountzaki, G., Karpouzis, K., & Fotinea, S. Developing an e-learning SODWIRUPIRUWKH*UHHN6LJQ/DQJXDJH>2QOLQH@$YDLODEOHDWKWWSZZZLOVSJU GRFVDPHD/1&6BSGI Gennari, R. & Mich, O. 2008. Designing and assessing an intelligent e-tool for deaf children. Paper presented at the Intelligent User Interface Conference, Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Spain, January. Copyright 2008 ACM 978-1-59593-987 Heritage Lottery Fund 2009. Thinking about language heritage.KWWSZZZKOIRUJ XNSUH$SULOIXUWKHUUHVRXUFHV'RFXPHQWV7KLQNLQJBDERXWB/DQJXDJHBKHUitage.pdf Kulkarni, V. S. et al. 2010. Appearance based recognition of American Sign Language using gesture segmentation. International Journal on Computer Science and Engineering 2(3), 560–565. Marschark, M. and Harris, M. 1996. Success and failure in learning to read: The special case of deaf Avatar Menu to choose course embedded module (course) children, in C. Cornoldi & J. Oakhill (eds), 5HDGLQJFRPSUHKHQVLRQGLI¿FXOWLHV processes and intervention (pp. 279–300), Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Mohandes, M. 2006. Automatic translation of Arabic text to Arabic sign language. Paper presented at AIML 06 International Conference. Nakamura, K. 1995. About American Sign Language. Deaf Resource Library, Deaf /LEUDU\5HWULHYHG0D\IURPZZZGHDÀLEUDU\RUJDVOKWPO Ohene-Djan, J. & Naqvi, S. 2005. An adaptive WWW-based system to teach British Sign Language. Paper presented at the 5th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies. Potter, L. E., Korte, J. & Nielsen, S. 2010. Seek and Sign: an early experience of the joys and challenges of software design with young deaf children. Paper presented at OZCHI 2011 (28 November – 2 December 2010), Canberra, Australia. Shirali-Shahreza, M. & Shirali-Shahreza, S. 2008. Encouraging persons with hear-

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ing problem to learn sign language by Internet websites. Paper presented at the 8th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies. Solina, F., Krapeå, S. & Aleš, J. 2001. Multimedia dictionary and synthesis of sign language, in Design and management of multimedia information systems ed. Mahbubur Rahman Syed, pp. 268–281. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing. Stewart, D. 2007. American Sign Language (ASL) Browser. Michigan State UniverVLW\$YDLODEOHDWKWWSFRPPWHFKODEPVXHGXVLWHVDVOZHE Straetz, A. S., Kaibel, K., Raithel, V. Specht, M., Grote, K. & Kramer, F. 2002. An e-learning environment for deaf adults. The ATBG (Aachener Testverfahrenzur Berufseignung von Gehörlosen) project, Aachen University. Suzuki, E. & Kakihana, K. 2008. Japanese and American Sign Language dictionDU\V\VWHPIRU-DSDQHVHDQG(QJOLVKXVHUV$YDLODEOHDWKWWSZZZDFOZHERUJ DQWKRORJ\:::SGI Tania, D. M. & Rosella, G. 2008. An intelligent visual dictionary for Italian Sign Language. Journal of Web Engineering 7(4). Vettori, C., Streiter, O. & Knapp, J. 2004. Processing: the design of e-LIS, an Electronic Bilingual Dictionary of Italian Sign Language and Italian: from Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) to Sign Language. Wilcox, S. & Wilcox, P. 1997. Learning to see: American Sign Language as a second language. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. World Federation of the Deaf. 2003. Position Paper regarding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ONLINE LEARNING AND EDUCATIONAL CULTURE: A SAUDI ARABIAN EXPERIENCE AMANI HAMDAN Abstract The purpose of this paper is to build on the insights of educators regarding WKHUHODWLRQVKLSEHWZHHQFXOWXUHDQGRQOLQHOHDUQLQJ0RUHVSHFL¿FDOO\WKLV paper aims to explore the ways in which students’ culture of learning is changing as a result of the introduction of various modes of online learning. It also aims to explore the ways in which culture and cultural values affect the application and success of online-learning strategies. Particular attention is directed to learners’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of online communication. The paper is based on primary data drawn from undergraduate female students’ responses regarding how online education LVFKDQJLQJWKHLUOHDUQLQJFXOWXUHDQGKRZWKHLUFXOWXUHLVLQÀXHQFLQJRQOLQH education. Sixty-seven undergraduate Saudi female students participated LQ WKH VXUYH\7KH OLWHUDWXUH LQ WKH ¿HOG RI RQOLQH DQG GLVWDQFH HGXFDWLRQ is explored to help answer these questions. The participants indicated that online education helped them to challenge some cultural norms, enhance their learning culture and improve their communication skills. Keywords: Online education; Distance education; Cultural implications of online learning; Saudi Arabia online learning; Online education and cultural issues; Integrative approach

Introduction This paper aims to explore the ways in which Saudi students’ culture of learning is changing as a result of the introduction of various modes of online learning. It also aims to explore the ways in which culture and cul-

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tural values affect the application and success of online-learning strategies. Particular attention is directed to learners’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of online communication. This research analysis is based on observations of two groups of female Saudi university students as they began to integrate online-learning systems into their studies. The analysis also draws on the key literature relating to online learning.

Saudi education: The traditional approach Since the advent of public education in Saudi Arabia in the 1960s, the Kingdom has adhered to a traditional educational culture. This system is premised on the transmission of information from the professor or teacher (“the SRZHU´ WRWKHVWXGHQWV³WKHHPSW\YHVVHOV´³WKHGLVHPSRZHUHG´ 3DXOR Freire (2003) has developed a similar analogy to describe this approach, which he calls the “banking system of education”; this is an educational approach that resembles “an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor” (pp. 53, 72). The banking system of education is the antithesis of what Freire advocates – an education that announces the importance of dialogue, engagement and equality, that denounces silence and that deplores oppression. Saudi education continues to manifest many aspects of the banking system. In accordance with Freire’s analogy, Saudi professors and teachers do not usually engage in dialogue with students over the course of the learning process but instead they impose information that is often unrelated to students’ needs and experiences. Indeed, critics of the Saudi curriculum and SHGDJRJ\ SRLQW RXW WKDW WKH 6DXGL HGXFDWLRQ V\VWHP GRHV QRW UHÀHFW WKH experiences of the majority of students and that much of what they learn is largely irrelevant to their lives and careers, especially in the curriculum that was used prior to the implementation of a reformed curriculum in 2009 (Hamdan, 2012, 2013; Almutairi, 2008; Duignan, 2012). On standardized tests, Saudi students are often expected to provide answers that may have little or no connection to their background or context. This is also the situation in most Arab Muslim universities and schools.

Online Education in Saudi Arabia Online learning, including distance education by online means, has received increasing attention among Saudi educators as a way of increasing the

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accessibility of higher education. This type of instruction offers access to many students who aspire to study at university level but live in remote areas or are working to earn income and therefore are unable to attend school physically. Distance education is an aspect of online education that continues to offer great untapped potential. Al-Khalifa (2009) remarked that Saudi Arabia “has been slower than many nations to move into distance education and that it has a very short history of using printed, electronic, or broadcast means for students who are not physically on site” (para. 1). The Saudi Ministry of Higher Education has begun to acknowledge the need to implement online technologies in order to offer opportunities to the increasing numbers of students graduating from high school. According to Tony Bates (2009), a consultant who runs many e-learning workshops and provides e-learning training across the region, some of the more forward-thinking leaders of Saudi education have been exploring online education over the course of the last decade: King Fahd University in Dhahran has been working closely with UBC in Canada since 2003, with staff from King Fahd University visiting UBC for workshops a few times over this period. The use of e-learning at King Fahd University for Oil and Petroleum, for instance, had become widespread, both to support classroom teaching and in a hybrid mode, with a mix of reduced classroom time and online learning. (para. 3)

Methodology The primary method of gathering data for this study was a survey. There were 12 survey questions (Appendix B part one) and 100 copies were sent out to students. Participation was voluntary as was indicated in the letter of information. Students were reminded that they could withdraw from the study at any time without any penalties and they were asked to bring the written answers to the following class and to submit them to the teaching assistant.

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Validity of the questionnaire The validity of the questionnaire was explored through the use of experts: a professor emeritus, whose specialty is curriculum and online learning, and two external educators. The professor was also asked to judge the clarity of the wording and the appropriateness of each item and its relevance to the main research questions being asked. The experts were asked to consider the following questions: 1 What do you think the questionnaire measures? Does it represent assessment principles and the content of the course? 2 Is the questionnaire or the course DSSURSULDWHIRUWKHVDPSOHSRSXODtion? 3 Is the questionnaire comprehensive enough to collect the information needed to address the purpose and goals of the study?

The participants 7KH VWXG\ SDUWLFLSDQWV ZHUH DOO IHPDOH ¿UVW\HDU XQGHUJUDGXDWH VWXGHQWV at two Saudi universities in which the medium of instruction is English. Because of the gender segregation within the Saudi education system – males are taught only by males, whereas women may be taught by males and females – the researcher only had access to female students. These students attend a variety of colleges: Interior Design, Business Administration, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Engineering. The majority of the students in this study had not previously made intensive use of technology for studyLQJRUIRURWKHUHGXFDWLRQDOSURFHVVHV7KLVFRXUVHZDVWKHLU¿UVWH[SHULHQFH with online learning as a mandatory part of their education.

Data collection procedure The researcher informed the students of the rationale for the study and provided them with an information letter and consent form. These asserted that there would be minimal risk associated with participating in the study because anonymity and privacy would be assured and because the results of WKHVWXG\ZRXOGQRWLQÀXHQFHWKHVWXGHQWV¶FRXUVHJUDGHV3DUWLFLSDQWVZHUH made aware of the fact that they could withdraw from the data-collection process at any time. Students were given the consent form before data collection began. They completed the questionnaire in the last week of classes,

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a process that required about 20 to 30 minutes. Anonymity was maintained by asking respondents to avoid writing their name on the answer sheets and to submit them to the TA.

Results and Interpretation As explained above, Saudi university students come from a school culture that teaches them to rely on the teacher as the sole source of and conduit for knowledge. The strong hold that the traditional approach to education has on the minds of many students leads some of them to resist approaches that place them at the centre of the learning process – and this is especially the case when they have to engage in discussions as a precondition for learning. Online learning helps to address this tendency to resist by offering students a multitude of new opportunities to interact with classmates and professors in relation to their learning experiences. One might argue that it would be a stretch to think that online education can actually have an impact on a culture of learning in a relatively short WLPHIUDPH7KLVZRXOGVXUHO\WDNHWLPHHVSHFLDOO\LQDODUJHVRFLHW\FRXQtry like Saudi Arabia with deep historical roots and entrenched traditions. Nevertheless, many Saudi students are acquiring a new culture of learning as a result of being introduced to online communication and web-based instruction. One of the core elements of this new learning culture is the shift from unilateral communications (from the professor to the students) to a multilateral approach. Within this emerging approach, not only are communications between the professor and the students much more two-way but the students are also gaining opportunities to interact with each other in a classroom setting. Thus, thanks to online learning, Saudi students are being moved closer to the centre of the education process.

The students’ feedback: embedded themes Some themes emerged from the data and in this section I discuss some of the points that repeatedly appeared in the students’ feedback, in the profesVRUV¶REVHUYDWLRQVDQGLQWKH¿HOGQRWHV7KHHPHUJLQJWKHPHVZHUHPDLQO\ related to the changing learning culture in such areas as time-management skills and learning skills. From the data it appears that the students believe that online education gives them greater control over the learning process, including the ability to post their feedback and assignments online and to

202

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discuss points that interest them in the readings. This greater control is what is moving the students to the centre of the learning process and is thereby helping to change the learning culture.

Discussion of students’ learning culture Culture is relevant to this research study in that the researchers tested how Saudi female students’ learning culture (through a representative group of SDUWLFLSDQWV KDVEHHQLQÀXHQFHGE\WKHLURQOLQHOHDUQLQJHQJDJHPHQWV$V discussed above, Saudi Arabia has a collectivist culture with high-context FRPPXQLFDWLRQVDQGPLQLPDOFRGLQJWKRXJKWKLVZDVQRWVSHFL¿FDOO\FRQsidered in this study in relation to online learning. The ways in which and the GHJUHHVRIVXFFHVVZLWKZKLFKIHPDOHVWXGHQWVLQWHUDFWEHQH¿WDQGJURZ with online learning need to be explored in greater depth over an extended time period. Although there were some limitations on access to online education as a result of poor or inadequate Internet infrastructure as well as VRPHWHFKQLFDOGLI¿FXOWLHVWKHVWXG\SDUWLFLSDQWVIRXQGLWWREHLQGLVSHQsable to have unlimited access to the Internet. They also argued that their introduction to online sources enabled them to gain experience with different ways of thinking, different styles of writing, and different approaches to improving their communication skills. They also learned to become more persistent as a result of the slowness of Saudi Internet connections.

Solutions and recommendations Students must understand the protocols and guidelines for using online communication before joining online communities. These protocols concern the ethical standards that are necessary for students to follow in order to become responsible users of online resources. Some of these ethical standards include respecting privacy, maintaining security and avoiding plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Yet, despite such concerns, it appears from this research study that few concrete measures are being undertaken to address them. Unfortunately, in Saudi Arabia the centralized server has in many cases proved to be detrimental to learning, as it is often used to prevent or restrict access to important web resources because they touch on controversial issues of a political, sexual or religious nature, even if these DUHUHODWHGWRHGXFDWLRQDO¿HOGV&HQWUDOL]DWLRQKHOSVWRVWDQGDUGL]HSURFHdures and practices, but it can also be used to limit students’ opportunities

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WREHQH¿WIURPPDQ\YDOXDEOH,QWHUQHWUHVRXUFHV7KLQNLQJVKRXOGQRWEH restricted or censored, regardless of the subject. This restriction should be studied and discussed further, with a view to its eventual reform.

Conclusion 7KLV SDSHU GHPRQVWUDWHV WKDW RQOLQH OHDUQHUV¶ FXOWXUH RI OHDUQLQJ LV LQÀXenced by online education and vice versa. It also provides ideas on how students’ learning can be enhanced in the process of connecting to one another and to their professors. It furthermore provides insight into the ways in which the introduction of online learning can complement traditional teaching approaches and, in turn, positively impact students’ learning FXOWXUHV7KHHYLGHQFHVKRZVWKDWVWXGHQWV¶FXOWXUDOEDFNJURXQGLQÀXHQFHV their perception of and performance in online learning environments in the sense that some students from some cultures require more help than some students from other cultures in order to become independent learners (Almutairi, 2008). This study analysed student–student and student–instructor interactions UHÀHFWLQJ VWXGHQWV¶ HQJDJHPHQW LQ DQG EHQH¿WV GHULYHG IURP RSHQ DQG online learning. Students revealed how their engagement in online discussion improved their critical-thinking skills and allowed them to think deeply about various subjects in ways that would not be possible if it were not for online learning. Students’ engagement in online learning helps them to develop greater planning and time-management skills as well as greater self-discipline. Students in the study displayed an improvement in their ability to set and follow through on short- and long-term goals. These students’ excitement for and involvement in many of the aspects of the technology available to them made online education an outstanding vehicle for the improvement of their skills. Traditional learning approaches are still predominant in most Saudi classrooms. Nevertheless, online education is in the process of being introduced and many universities are employing blended learning strategies that are constructing new learning realities for students. 6WXGHQWV¶OHDUQLQJFXOWXUHLVFOHDUO\EHLQJSRVLWLYHO\LQÀXHQFHGE\RQOLQH education – an approach that enables them to participate actively in discussions, to engage in self-directed learning, and to construct their learning by drawing on and creating their own experiences. Thanks to online learning, the traditional unilateral approach to education is being supplemented and HYHQFKDQJHGWRUHÀHFWDPRUHPXOWLODWHUDOHWKRV

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References Al-Khalifa, S. H. 2009. The state of distance education in Saudi Arabia. Retrieved IURPKWWSHOHDUQPDJDFPRUJDUFKLYHFIP"DLG  Almutairi, N. H. 2008. 7KH LQÀXHQFH RI HGXFDWLRQDO DQG VRFLRFXOWXUDO IDFWRUV RQ the learning styles and strategies of female students in Saudi Arabia. Leicester: University of Leicester. Bates, T. 2009. A personal view of e-learning in Saudi Arabia. 5HWULHYHGIURPKWWS ZZZWRQ\EDWHVFDDSHUVRQDOYLHZRIHOHDUQLQJLQVDXGLDUDELD/ Duignan, G. 2012. Teaching international teachers: how Saudi Arabian teachers experience learning about teaching during a New Zealand professional development course. Unpublished Master of Teaching and Learning, University of Kent, Canterbury. Hamdan, A. 2012. The cultural aspects of e-learning and the effects of online communication: a critical overview. In G. K. Ugur Demiray & T. Volkan Yuzer (eds), 0HWD&RPPXQLFDWLRQ IRU UHÀHFWLYH RQOLQH FRQYHUVDWLRQV PRGHOV IRU GLVWDQFH education (Vol. 1, pp. 187). Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global). Hamdan, A. 2013. An exploration into “private” higher education in Saudi Arabia: improving quality and accessibility? ACPET Journal for Private Higher Education, 2(2), 33–44. Freire, P. 2003. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York and London: Continuum.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN E-LEARNING: INCULCATION OF VALUES AND ETHICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION LEARNERS MUHAMMAD SHAHID FAROOQ, ABDUL HAFEEZ MUHAMMAD AND ASADULLAH SHAH Abstract Education is not only transmission of knowledge but also strives to produce a skilled workforce equipped with sound moral values. Formal education primarily has the potential to create such learning environments, whereas online learning platforms lack direct face-to-face interaction of teachers and learners. Research provides evidence that e-learning opportunities have more potential to indulge in unethical behaviour than traditional formal education. This study was conducted to explore the phenomenon of e-learning from the perspective of learning of moral values and ethical training. A descriptive quantitative approach was used to unfold the realities of the e-learning mechanism from the perspective of moral training of the students. The sample consisted of teachers (23), students (142) and staff of e-learning management (23) involved in online courses. Data were collected from the respondents by using a questionnaire. Analysis of the data showed that the academic institutions offering online courses have theoretical policies for ethical development but are least interested in its implementation. This study also highlighted the need for a model indicating how this challenge of moral and ethical development of higher education learners can be addressed by educational institutions. Keywords: Education; Online learning; e-Learning platform; Ethics.

206 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

Introduction Education is the foundation of any society and puts the nation on the way to progress. Education transmits a common set of beliefs, values, norms and understanding from the adult generation to its youth. The purpose of education is not to make a student literate but adds rational thinking, knowledge DELOLW\DQGVHOIVXI¿FLHQF\DQGWREXLOGDVWXGHQW¶VFKDUDFWHU:DQ-XVRK & Kamaruzaman, 2009). Ethical and moral values are integral to a skilled professional produced by academic institutions. These professionals use their competence for the welfare of society. So one of the major objectives of higher education institutions is to produce professionals equipped with subject knowledge having strong ethical values. These values are absorbed by the students through a socialization process whereby students grow up among families, society and teachers. With the advent of the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the Internet, academic institutions made dramatic changes in the educational process. Electronic learning (e-learning) is the evolutionary mode of education adopted by educational institutions by choice and demand. Generally e-learning is a technology-oriented platform where education can be conveyed anywhere at any time (Desai, 2008). The physical infrastructure of academic institutions, libraries and books has been replaced by the latest technologies and the Internet which are providing lots of opportunities for subject knowledge. Besides this, academic institutions are offering online courses where all content is delivered via technology. Instructors and learners communicate virtually via the e-learning platform and this is the predominant feature of e-learning. E-learning differs from traditional classes in which instructors and learners are engaged in face-to-face interaction. Despite the many advantages of e-learning for academic institutions, it is challenging for them to inculcate ethical and moral values in students because of the lack of physical interaction of students with their teacher and the lack of a proper ethical policy of online instruction (Hafeez, Asadullah, Rosydi & Farooq, 2013). Students’ social situation is the best way to judge their ethical and moral developPHQW LI WKH VWXGHQWV SURGXFHG WKURXJK HOHDUQLQJ SODWIRUPV DUH GH¿FLHQW in this regard, then society and the whole nation will suffer. It is a serious concern that the professionals produced through e-learning lack ethical values and social skills. Despite the advantages of e-learning, it complicates the traditional problems of education like cheating, plagiarism, violation of privacy, vandalism, theft and spying into cyberspace (Kuldeep, 2006). Some of these problems directly affect the moral and ethical development of the students, which is the main objective of education. Isa,

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Akmar & Jusoff (2008) also claimed that the temptation to commit unethical behaviour in the e-learning environment is greater than in traditional education. Academic institutions offering online courses through e-learnLQJ DUH GH¿FLHQW LQ GHYHORSLQJ WKH HWKLFDO DQG PRUDO YDOXHV RI VWXGHQWV so it is challenging for academic institutions using e-learning to produce future professionals having ethical and moral values to serve society. This challenge can be addressed by developing proper ICT tools and methods to FRPSHQVDWHIRUWKLVGH¿FLHQF\

Literature Review Education Education is a process of preparing human beings to contribute to the community (Siddiquee, 1986). Moreover the method which assists youth to develop their personality by acquiring required knowledge, skills and methods is called education, while teaching is building people’s abilities according to their capability (Mucella, Melis, & Eryilmaz, 2011). Although one of the objectives of education is character building, unfortunately there is a lack of content for ethical development in formal education. The institutions feel that it is not their responsibility (Colby & Sullivan, 2008). Character building has to be addressed at an earlier stage and they are concerned with the marketable material.

e-learning Various resources and technological tools used for communication, creation, dissemination, storing and to manage data and information are called ICT (Sahin, Balta & Ercan, 2010). Tatjana, Pogar & Raspor (2010) said that HGXFDWLRQLVDSURFHVVRIDFTXLULQJNQRZOHGJHDQGVNLOOVFRPSULVLQJ¿YH basic elements: the learner, the teacher, the content, the goals to be achieved and the context or learning environment. The advance of ICT has brought changes in all these elements. E-learning is the use of ICT for delivering study material, evaluating the abilities of students and improving the interaction among students and teachers (Isa, Akmar & Jusoff, 2008). Most academic institutions are using e-learning as an educational platform because of its advantages like increased accessibility to information, self-pacing and interactivity. There are two modes of e-learning in academic

208 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

institutions: fully online and blended. In fully online mode, all content is delivered via technology without any physical interaction between learners and instructors; blended mode is used to supplement traditional classroom learning which is mix of virtual and face-to-face environments. The major difference between online and traditional face-to-face teaching is that in fully online e-learning it is not necessary for teachers and students to be in the same place. Different types of ICT are used to educate learners through e-learning platforms for chat, group discussion, learning object repositories and audio and video communications, whereas in traditional classroom WHDFKLQJWKHOHDUQHUVKDYHWREHZLWKWKHHGXFDWRU(OHDUQLQJKDVPRGL¿HG the classic teacher-centred approach to a learner-centred approach where teachers through ICTs become supervisors-facilitators and learners become PRUHVHOIGHSHQGHQWFDSDEOHRI¿QGLQJQHHGHGLQIRUPDWLRQDQGDFFHVVLQJ suitable knowledge (Tatjana, Pogar & Raspor, 2010). According to a 2013 report by the Babson Survey Research Group, over 6.7 million postsecondary students were enrolled in at least one online class in 2011, compared to only 1.6 million in 2002, and higher-education instituWLRQVFRQWLQXHWRUH¿QHDQGHQKDQFHWKHLURQOLQHFXUULFXOXP,QDERXW 72 per cent of these schools offered some form of online learning, and that number has steadily increased to nearly 87 per cent in 2012. Colleges also have emphasized the creation of fully online degree programmes, and 62 per cent of the schools surveyed now award degrees only through distance education (Coleman, 2014). Shawar, Al-Sadi & Sarie (2007) said that the amount of interaction plays a great role in the effectiveness of the educational process but lack of physical interaction remains the biggest barrier to the success of the educational process in e-learning. Compared with traditional learning, there are more chances for learners to deviate from the teaching object and behave unethically because of the lack of physical interaction where learners have more freedom without proper monitoring by the instructor (Zhang, Ma, & Qingshuang, 2011).

Ethics in e-learning Ethics are an integral part of education. Ethics refers to the standards of moral behaviour that are accepted by society as right versus wrong (Nickels, McHugh & McHugh, 2008). The concern for morality, value and justice is evaluated for goodness or badness. Due to advances in technology, there are many problems related to ethical issues. Various studies show that the

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ethical development of our students and graduates is declining (Ali, Salleh & Sabdin, 2010; Ledesma, 2011; Patel & Taghavi, 2011). Technological development is making ethical issues more prominent (Stahl, Rogerson, & Wakunuma, 2009). UNESCO has started a special Ethics Education Program (Have, 2006; Unesco, 2003). The European Universities and other European associations had to arrange a conference to publish a declaration on ethical development in higher education. Stahl, Rogerson & Wakunuma (2009) also highlighted some ethical issues that may arise from the latest technologies: data collection, privacy, security, trust, ever-present technologies, lack of human contact and over-dependence on technologies . Kracher & Cynthia (2004)LGHQWL¿HGVL[FULWLFDOHWKLFDOLVVXHVGXHWRWKH use of electronic means: access, intellectual property, privacy and informed consent, protection of children and security of information. Academic institutions are also facing ethical issues directly or indirectly because of the integration of technologies. During the last decade, the use of learning has contributed to the decline of moral standards among students (Yeung, Wong & Chan, 2002). Brown (2008) has observed that with electronic means of learning we have to face two problems in addition to all of those which we are facing through the Internet: • The e-learning consumer faces a variety of moral challenges related to engaging in the learning process. • The e-learning provider faces a host of moral challenges related to the quality of the learning outcomes. Academic fraud is a very common ethical issue in academic institutions. )HVV LGHQWL¿HGWKHIROORZLQJFDWHJRULHVRIDFDGHPLFIUDXGLQDSSURpriate assistance on examinations, misuse of sources on papers and projects, writing assistance and other inappropriate tutoring, misrepresentation in the collection and reporting of data, improper use of academic resources, disrespecting the work of others, lack of protection for human subjects in research, breaches of computer ethics, and lack of adherence to copyright and copy-protection. 2OW   DOVR LGHQWL¿HG VRPH DFDGHPLF GHFHLWV HOHDUQHUV PD\ XVH unauthorized resources in completing assignments; copying and pasting from the Internet is common practice among e-learners today; e-learners may collaborate among themselves when taking an assessment; and e-learners may take advantage of ICT technical faults (e.g. interruption). The National Survey of Student Engagement (Kuh, 2007) indicates that as

210 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

many as 59% of US students involved in e-learning programmes admit to some sort of academic fraud either “very often” (27%) or “often” (32%). Tarish, Laurel, Roben & Ruth (2011) described the effects of mobiles in e-learning and said that many students divert themselves from studies by playing games and other luxuries on their mobiles and laptops in the online environment and a survey of postgraduate students and their teachers found that more than 40% of students used their mobile phones during lectures to send or receive text messages, while 70% had their phone ringing during the class. There are many other studies which have reported the sharp increase in plagiarism in academic institutions because of the unethical use of ICT, suggesting the need for further investigation (Baruchson-Arbib & Yaari, 2004; Scanlon, 2004).

Objectives of the Study The study strived to explore the following objectives: • To assess the importance of character building as an integral component for higher education learners. • To identify the main factors of the character building of learners that are missing in online courses (e-learning). ‡ 7R¿QGRXWPHFKDQLVPVLQRQOLQHFRXUVHVIRUFRPSHQVDWLRQIRUPLVVing factors that are required for the character building of learners.

Research Questions How can academic institutions offering online courses through e-learning support the inculcation of ethical and moral values in students along with subject knowledge so that they become useful members of society?

Sub-questions with hypotheses Q1. Are academic institutions responsible for the character building of students at higher education level to become useful members of society? 1H1- The character development of students is important to become useful members of society.

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1H2- Academic institutions play a major role in the character building of students. 1H3- Academic institutions offering online courses through e-learning do not care about the ethical and moral values of learners that affect the character of students. 1H4- A student graduating through an e-learning platform is weaker in character. 1H5- Ethical policies and guidelines can help academic institutions to develop the character of students. Q2. Are the ethical aspects (character building) of students paid attention to in online classes and online courses offered through e-learning platforms? 2H1,Q DVVLJQPHQWV DQG TXL]]HV RI RQOLQH FRXUVHV SODJLDULVP FRS\ paste and cheating is common among students that are negatively affecting the character of students. 2H2- In online classes, students do not take interest or care about the lectures by paying attention to other activities on Internet or digital devices. 2H3- Physical environment (classroom, home, company of friends, location, e.g. Internet cafés or other places) plays a major role in students’ FKDUDFWHUEXLOGLQJEXWWKHLQGHSHQGHQWDQGÀH[LEOHOHDUQLQJHQYLURQPHQWV provided for e-learning are not appropriate for the moral development of students and affects it badly. 2H4- The ethical content of the curriculum plays a major role in the character development of students but there is a lack of ethical content in the curriculum for online courses that is negatively affecting the character of students. Q3. Are the lack of physical interaction and traditional teaching methods of a teacher in e-learning affecting the moral development of students? 3H1- The physical presence of the teacher plays a major role in the character building of students in academic institutions but there is a lack of face-to-face interaction of a teacher with students in online courses, that is negatively affecting the character of students. 3H2- Due to teachers’ traditional teaching methods, students become weaker in character but alternative methods using ICTs can be used to compensate for this in e-learning platforms. Q4. Can students help each other in observing and developing ethical and moral values in the e-learning environment? 4H1- Members of society (family, parents, friends, colleagues etc.) play

212 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

a major role in the character building of students but they lack involvement in knowing about the progress of a student and his activities in e-learning and this negatively affects students’ moral development. 4H2- Members of society (family, friends, colleagues and others) can be used to observe and monitor the ethical and moral values of students. Q5. Is society being affected by a student who graduated from an academic institution using an e-learning platform? 5H1- A morally weaker graduate will be less useful for the betterment of society. Q6. How can ICT help to inculcate ethical and moral values to develop character in the higher education learner? 6H1- Methods and tools with the aid of ICT can be devised by integrating required elements that can be used to enhance the ethical development of students through the e-learning platform. 6H2- Online courses with the help of ICT can be designed to compensate for the physical absence of the teacher, to develop students’ character.

6LJQL¿FDQFHRIWKH6WXG\ 7KLV VWXG\ KDV PXOWLGLPHQVLRQDO VLJQL¿FDQFH $GPLQLVWUDWRUV DQG SURgramme coordinators of e-learning systems are the primary audience of this study. They can get insight about the moral development of students enrolled in on-line courses. This study will also be helpful for parents and community stakeholders for the proper upbringing of the students. The professionals can better be produced by keeping in mind the mechanism of monitoring and control of unethical behaviour that this study explored. The students, teachers and staff working in e-learning systems can get information about the challenges and prospects of the ethical development of students studying through virtual spaces. Future researchers and policy PDNHUV FDQ EHQH¿W IURP WKH ¿QGLQJV RI WKLV VWXG\ WR IRUPXODWH IXUWKHU studies and policies for character building and the moral development of students at higher education level. Guidelines are also provided for academic institutions offering online courses in an e-learning environment that can support the inculcation of HWKLFDODQGPRUDOYDOXHVLQJHQHUDODQGVSHFL¿FDOO\LQVWXGHQWVDORQJZLWK subject knowledge. It is anticipated that in future it will provide a basis for

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developing methodologies and tools to incorporate moral and ethical values in higher education learners.

Method and Procedure The study was a descriptive quantitative enquiry based on a survey approach. The population of the study was students, teachers and the staff of e-learning management systems working in e-learning environments in higher education. Through random sampling 23 teachers, 142 students and 23 staff members from e-learning environments belonging to eight different areas of study were selected. The quantitative data were collected by using a questionnaire developed by the researchers. This instrument was pilot WHVWHGDQGLWZDVYDOLGDWHGE\H[SHUWVLQWKH¿HOG7KHTXHVWLRQQDLUHZDV based on such components as: factors of learners’ character development in formal education; lack of factors required for the character development of students in online courses (using e-learning LMS for formal education); status of academic institution offering online courses (using e-learning) for formal education; ethical behaviour of students in online courses (e-learning LMS); how academic institutions using (e-learning LMS) can overcome GH¿FLHQFLHVDQGFRQWUROXQHWKLFDOEHKDYLRXUDQGWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIIDFWRUV required for character development.

Data Analysis and Interpretation The quantitative data were collected from the respondents through selfreport survey by using a questionnaire. The data were tabulated and analysed using SPSS. The descriptive and inferential statistics were applied for data analysis. The sample respondents (188) related to e-learning included 23 teachers, 142 students, 17 e-learning management staff and 6 from other categories of support staff. Among these 188 respondents 13% were beginners in e-learning, 20% had been associated with e-learning for less than one year, 34% less than three years but more than one year, and 33% for more than WKUHH\HDUV7KHUHVSRQGHQWV¶¿HOGVRIVWXG\ZHUH&RPSXWHU6FLHQFH  Engineering (19), Business Administration (39), English (21), Science (26), Sharia and religion (12), Education (25) and Medical Sciences (11).

214 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

Min.

Max.

Mean

Standard Deviation

Members of society (family, parents, friends, colleagues etc) play a major role in the moral development of students.

1

5

4.40

.844

Physical environment (classroom, home, company of friends, location i.e., Internet-café or other places) plays a major role in the moral development of a students.

1

5

4.31

.821

Physical presence of teacher plays a major role in the character building of the students in academic institutions.

1

5

4.21

.888

Ethical content of curriculum plays a major role in character building of students.

1

5

4.04

.889

Statements

Table 15-1. Factors of learners’ character development in formal education (N=188) (Strongly agree=5, Agree=4, Neutral=3, Disagree=2, Strongly disagree=1)

Table 15-1 indicates that respondents show strong agreement for the statements that member of society (Mean = 4.40, Std. Deviation = 0.844), physical environment (Mean = 4.31, Standard Deviation = 0.821), physical presence of teacher (Mean = 4.21, Standard Deviation = 0.888), and ethical contents in curriculum (Mean = 4.04, Standard Deviation = 0.889) play a major role in character building of students. It can be concluded that the content of ethical training in the curriculum has less importance as compared to the physical presence of teacher, classroom, home, school and social environment.

215

E-Learning: Values and Ethics in Higher Education

Max.

Mean

Standard Deviation

1 There is a lack of face-to-face interaction of a teacher with students in online courses of LMS that is negatively affecting the character of students.

5

3.79

1.121

There is a lack of ethical content in the curriculum for online courses through LMS that is negatively affecting the character of students.

1

5

3.70

1.068

There is a lack of involvement of members of society (parents and guardians of students), to know about the progress of a student and their activities in LMS, that is affecting character building of a student negatively.

1

5

3.43

1.119

,QGHSHQGHQWDQGÀH[LEOHOHDUQing environment (online classes, home, company of friends, location i.e., Internet-café or other places) provided for e-learning are not appropriate for the moral development of students and affecting negatively.

1

5

3.28

1.201

Statements

Min.

Table 15-2. Lack of factors required for character building of students in online courses (using e-learning LMS for formal education) (N=188) (Strongly agree=5, Agree=4, Neutral=3, Disagree=2, Strongly disagree=1)

Table 15-2 shows that in the opinion of respondents lack of face to face interaction of students and teacher (Mean = 3.79, Standard Deviation = 1.121), lack of ethical content in the curriculum (Mean = 3.70, Standard Deviation = 1.068), lack of involvement of members of society (Mean = 6WDQGDUG'HYLDWLRQ  PDWWHUPRUHWKDQÀH[LEOHOHDUQLQJHQYLronment (Mean = 3.28, Standard Deviation = 1.201) for ethical training of students. It can be concluded that lack of face-to-face student–teacher interaction, lack of ethical content and lack of involvement of members of society contribute negatively in character building of students in e-learning environments.

216 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

Min.

Max.

Mean

Standard Deviation

In online classes through LMS, actual attendance is low and the students are not attentive.

1

5

3.87

1.082

In online assignments and quizzes through LMS, plagiarism, FRS\SDVWHDQGFKHDWLQJDUH common among students.

1

5

3.33

1.240

In online courses through LMS, while communicating with the teachers and other students, students tell lies (e.g. about accessing the Internet, having read material from the Internet etc.).

1

5

3.21

1.247

Statements

Table 15-3. Status of academic institutions offering online courses (using e-learning) for formal education (N=188) (Strongly agree=5, Agree=4, Neutral=3, Disagree=2, Strongly disagree=1)

Table 15-3 shows that in the institutions offering online courses the actual attendance is low and the students are usually not attentive (Mean = 3.87, Standard Deviation = 1.240), assignments are plagiarized (Mean = 3.33, Standard Deviation = 1.240), and they tell lie in their communications (Mean = 3.21, Standard Deviation = 1.247). It can be concluded that in the RSLQLRQRIWKHUHVSRQGHQWVLQRQOLQHFRXUVHVVWXGHQWV¿QGRSSRUWXQLW\IRU cheating and lack of seriousness. Table 15-4 shows that respondents’ opinion regarding the ethical behaviors of students studying in online courses are regulated by ethical policies and guidelines (Mean = 3.82, Standard Deviation = 0.911), monitoring (Mean = 3.74, Standard Deviation = 0.941), involvement of parents (Mean = 3.30, Standard Deviation = 1.316) and warning for punishment (Mean = 3.28, Standard Deviation = 1.257). It can be concluded that for ethical development of students in online courses the ethical policies implementation, proper monitoring of students’ activities, and parental involvement in the teaching and training of students is needed. The respondents perceive that their academic institution has an ethical policy but it is not followed (Mean = 2.32, Standard Deviation = 1.067), as well as having ICT tools for monitoring of unethical activities but not using them (Mean = 2.22, Standard Deviation = 1.034). It can be concluded that

217

E-Learning: Values and Ethics in Higher Education

theoretically the policies are formulated but they lack implementation for control of unethical behaviour (Table 15-5). Min.

Max.

Mean

Standard Deviation

Ethical policies and guidelines can help academic institutions to develop the character of students for online courses through LMS.

1

5

3.82

.911

ICT tools can help academic institutions to monitor and control the online activities of students in LMS.

1

5

3.74

.941

Involving the parents and guardians of students in LMS would be helpful in character building of students.

1

5

3.30

1.316

Warning the students about their unethical activities (e.g. plagiarism, cheating or copy-paste in assignments) and punishing them (e.g. reducing their marks etc) would help in preventing them from doing it again.

1

5

3.28

1.257

Statements

Table 15-4. Ethical behaviour of students in online courses (e-learning LMS) (N=188) (Strongly agree=5, Agree=4, Neutral=3, Disagree=2, Strongly disagree=1)

218 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

Min.

Max.

Mean

Standard Deviation

Academic institution has an ethical policy and guidelines for online courses in e-learning management systems and these are followed.

1

4

2.32

1.067

Academic institution has ICT tools and mechanism for online courses in LMS to monitor and control unethical activities of students and they are followed.

1

4

2.22

1.034

Statements

7DEOH+RZFDQDFDGHPLFLQVWLWXWLRQVXVLQJHOHDUQLQJ/06 RYHUFRPHGH¿ciencies and to control unethical behaviour? (N=188) (No=1, Don’t know=2, Yes but not followed=3, Yes and followed=4)

Min.

Max.

Mean

Standard Deviation

Role of ethical contents in curriculum.

1

6

2.97

1.925

Role of society members (parents, guardians etc.).

1

6

2.86

1.545

Role of physical environment (learning places) given to students for studies.

1

6

2.66

1.755

Role of instructors.

1

6

2.33

1.347

Role of ICT infrastructure to control unethical activities.

1

6

2.31

1.288

Role of academic institutional ethical policy.

1

6

2.04

1.328

Statements

Table 15-6. Importance of factors required for character development (N=188) (Most Important=6, Very Important=5, Important=3, Less Important=2, Least Important=1)

Table 15-6 shows that the roles needed to be performed for character development are ethical content in curriculum (Mean= 2.97, SD=1.925), society members involvement (Mean= 2.86, SD=1.545), physical environment of learning organizations (Mean= 2.66, SD=1.755), instructors of

219

E-Learning: Values and Ethics in Higher Education

e-learning courses (Mean= 2.33, SD=1.347), ICT infrastructure for monitoring (Mean= 2.31, SD=1.288) and ethical policy of institutions (Mean= 2.04, SD=1.328). It can be concluded that the role of all the above stated factors are important for the character development of students in e-learning environments. Teachers (N=23) Min Max Mean Religious education focuses on the character building of students along with domain knowledge in formal academic institutions.

1

5

2.65

Students (N=142) SD .647

Min Max Mean 1

5

1.97

E-learning staff (N=23) SD .914

Min Max Mean 1

5

2.47

SD .624

Table 15-7. Opinion of teachers, students and e-learning management staff about the role of religious education in character development (Strongly agree=5, Agree=4, Neutral=3, Disagree=2, Strongly disagree=1)

Table 15-7 shows that teachers (Mean= 2.65, SD= 0.647), students (Mean= 1.97, SD= 0.914) and e-learning staff (Mean= 2.47, SD= 0.624) are unaware of the role of religious education in character building in e-learning environments. $Q$129$WDEOHVKRZV WKDWWKHUHLVQRVLJQL¿FDQWGLIIHUHQFHDPRQJ the opinion of teachers, students and e-learning management staff about different factors and status of ethical behaviors and control in an e-learning system (Table 15-8). It can be concluded that all the respondents have the same opinion regarding the factors, status of ethical behaviour and the mechanism of control. 7KH QH[W $129$ WDEOH VKRZV WKDW WKHUH LV QR VLJQL¿FDQW GLIIHUHQFH among the opinion of teachers, students and e-learning management staff about roles of different variables for ethical behaviour and control in e-learning systems (Table 15-9). It can concluded that all the respondents have the same opinion regarding the role of different variables for ethical behaviour and tools for the control of unethical behaviour in e-learning.

220 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

Variables Factors for learners’ moral development

Lack of factors required for character building

Status of academic institution offering online

Ethical behaviour of students in online courses

Academic institutions and control of unethical behaviour

Sum of squares

df

Mean square

Between Groups

6.478

3

2.159

Within Groups

927.330

185

5.067

Total

933.807

188

Between Groups

10.416

3

3.472

Within Groups

1521.303

185

8.268

Total

1531.718

188

Between Groups

4.324

3

1.441

Within Groups

999.777

185

5.434

Total

1004.101

188

Between Groups

19.356

3

6.452

Within Groups

1154.107

185

6.272

Total

1173.463

188

Between Groups

4.372

3

1.457

Within Groups

1525.458

185

8.291

Total

1529.830

188

F

Sig.

.426

.735

.420

.739

.265

.850

1.029

.381

.176

.913

Table 15-8. Comparison of opinion of teachers, students and e-learning management staff

221

E-Learning: Values and Ethics in Higher Education

Sum of squares

df

Mean square

F

Sig.

Between Groups

5.015

3

1.672

.947

.419

Within Groups

324.645

185

1.764

Total

329.660

188

Role of ICT infrastructure to control unethical activities

Between Groups

3.717

3

1.239

.744

.527

Within Groups

306.389

185

1.665

Total

310.106

188

Role of instructors

Between Groups

3.781

3

1.260

.691

.558

Within Groups

333.663

185

1.823

Total

337.444

188

Between Groups

10.610

3

3.537

1.493

.218

Within Groups

435.795

185

2.368

Total

446.404

188

Role of physical environment given to students for studies

Between Groups

2.773

3

.924

.297

.828

Within Groups

573.440

185

3.117

Total

576.213

188

Role of ethical contents in curriculum

Between Groups

9.651

3

3.217

.866

.460

Within Groups

683.216

185

3.713

Total

692.867

188

Variables Role of academic institutional ethical policy

Role of society members

Table 15-9. Comparison of opinion of teachers, students and e-learning management staff about different roles

222 Muhammad Shahid Farooq, Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, Asadullah Shah

Conclusion 7KH¿QGLQJVRIWKLVVWXG\VKRZWKDWWKHODFNRIIDFHWRIDFHWHDFKLQJQHJDtively affects the character building of the students. The curriculum at higher education level lacks content for the ethical development of students. The institutions offering online courses or e-learning opportunities have policies to control such unethical activities as plagiarism, copying and pasting of material, violation of copyright and cheating in completion of assignments, EXW WKHLU LPSOHPHQWDWLRQ LV YHU\ SRRU 2QOLQH FODVVHV EHLQJ ÀH[LEOH DQG independent (at home or at other locations in the company of friends) seem inappropriate for moral development and has a negative effects. All the respondents feel that character building is a must for future professionals. Parents and community leaders should be involved in the character building mechanism for university students. It is recommended that institutional policies for monitoring and control should be properly implemented. The curriculum of professional studies should contain content related to the inculcation of ethical values in the students. This study also highlighted the need for a model that might help the educators to equip the individuals with moral values and life skills.

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CONTRIBUTORS Al-Ghamdi, Ebtihal is a Student at the College of Computers and Information Technology Taif University. Al-Harthi, Samar is a Student at the College of Computers and Information Technology Taif . Al-Juaaid, Abrar is a Student at the College of Computers and Information Technology, Taif University, Saudi Arabia. Alsaig, Alaa is Lecturer at the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Alsaig, Ammar is Lecturer at the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Alsaqqaf, Amani is Assistant Professor at the Deanship of E-learning, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Al-Thibati, Teghreed is a Student at the College of Computers and Information Technology Taif University. Al-Thomali, Manal is a Student at the College of Computers and Information Technology, Taif University, Saudi Arabia. Al-Zahrani, Siham is a Student at the College of Computers and Information Technology, Taif University, Saudi Arabia. Ansari, Yumna Aziz is a Graduate of Computer Science from Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Bozkaya, Burçin is Associate Professor of Operations Management and the Associate Dean at Sabanci School of Management, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey. Brahimi, Tayeb is Assistant Professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Effat University, Saudi Arabia. Eljishi, Ziad is Lecturer at the Department of General Education, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Farooq, Muhammad Shahid is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Hamdan, Amani is Associate Professor at the University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia. Hyjazie, Huda is an Independent Researcher, Montreal, Canada. Jamal Al-Lail, Haifa is President of Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

226

Contributors

Khalil, Nahla is Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Taif, Taif, Saudi Arabia. Large, Caroline is Senior Teacher at Jeddah Women’s Teaching Centre, the British Council, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Mohammad, Mubarak is $I¿OLDWH$VVLVWDQW3URIHVVRUDWWKH'HSDUWPHQW of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Muhammad, Abdul Hafeez is Lecturer at King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. Muhammad, Safdar is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Sarhandi, Pir Suhail is Lecturer at the English Language Institute, King Abdul Aziz University and Dar Al Fikr Schools. Sarirete, Akila is Dean of the College of Engineering and Assistant Professor at the Computer Science Department, Effat University, Saudi Arabia. Shah, Asadullah is Professor at the International Islamic University, Malaysia. Sindhi, Amina Gorie is English Coordinator at Nobles International School, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Sultan, Nabil is Professor and Dean of the College of Business Administration at A’Sharqiyah University, Ibra, Oman. Tayeb, Aghareed is Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Minia University, Minia, Egypt. Taylor, Terumi is Instructor at the Department of General Education, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

INDEX

10gen 23 access to courses 29, 47–9, 71–2, 199 active learning see interactive learning affordability 47–9 Africa, Internet usage 33–4 Alexander, Bryan 56 Amabile, T. M. 6 American Sign Language 180–81 Arab countries 32–3, 35, 57 see also Saudi Arabia Arabic Sign Language 179–94 assessment 49–50, 79 asynchronous learning 131–3 Australia 57 Australian Sign Language 182 Baek, Y. K. 13 Bates, Tony 199 Beer Game 155 behavioural learning 8 Blanchette, J. 133 Blended Learning 131–2 blogging 14, 134 Borg, Nic 129 British Sign Language 181 FHUWL¿FDWHVRIFRXUVHFRPSOHWLRQ 28, 30–31, 90–91 China 57 Christensen, Clayton 21, 24, 31–2 collaborative learning 130, 142–3, 147 commercial interests 49, 54

completion rates 61–3, 83–4 connectivism 130 context awareness 84–109 copyright 209, 222 Cormier, Dave 40, 56 costs of higher education courses 26, 35–6 of running MOOCs 46 Coursera 22, 23, 27, 43–4, 56, 59–60, 73–81, 83  FHUWL¿FDWLRQ± monitoring of student interaction 86–7 courses adaptation 98–9 completion see completion rates credit-bearing 29 design 41–3 selection 93 Craft, A. 6 creativity 4–17 credit-bearing courses 29 Cups Game 155–6 deadlines 77 deaf children 179–94 developing countries 32–4, 45–6 development, education for 5 discussion 31, 75, 78, 133–4, 142–3, 201 disruptive innovation 21, 24–7 distance learning 41 distributed transfer learning 54

228

Index

Downes, Stephen 21, 56 drop-out rates 61–3, 83–4 e-learning 205–222 see also interactive learning; online learning economic growth 5 Edinburgh University 27 Edmodo 128–35 Edraak 57 education, function 5 educational technology 131–2 edX 23, 27, 28, 40, 56, 57, 86 Egypt 57 employers 31, 64 enabling of creativity 7–8 Esquivel, G. B. 6 ethics, in online learning 79, 205–222 Ewing, R. 6 Excel, as teaching aid 153–4 face to face course delivery 64 facilitated networks 32 factory model of education 139 factory production 156–7 fees see costs Fess, R. A. 209 Florida, R. L. 14 France 57 fraud 209–210 free university courses 21–2, 35–6 Freire, Paulo 198 FUN (France Université Numérique) 57 FutureLearn 28, 40, 57 games, hindrances to their use in Korean schools 13 Gates, Bill 55 Georgetown University 23 German Sign Language 181 Gibson, R. 6 Greek Sign Language 181

Harasim, L. 133–4 Harris, William T. 139 Harvard University 23, 27 Haywood, Jeff 27, 29 HBase 105–8 Hewlett-Packard 21 Hiltz, S. R. 133 Hommel, Ulrich 31 honour codes 79 see also ethics Horn, M. 31–2 LGHQWLW\YHUL¿FDWLRQ India 45–6 innovative teaching compared with traditional methods 8–9  GH¿QHG enabling 15–16 support for 15–16 interactive learning 9–11, 49, 54, 131–3, 201 Internet use 32–3, 202–3 Italian Sign Language 182 iversity 28–9, 57 Jaggars, Shanna Smith 63 Japan 57 Jordan 57 just-in-time production 156 Klein, J. 134 Klöpper, Hannes 28–9 Koller, Daphne 22 Korea 13 Krashen, S. 161, 162, 163–5, 167, 168–70, 176 laboratories 50, 56 language teaching 160–76 learning culture 197–203 learning management systems 41–3 Lebanon 57 Lego, as teaching aid 154

Index

libraries 50 lifelong learning 14 /LWWOH¿HOG2QOLQH6LPXODWLRQ Loveless, A. M. 10–11 Manitoba University 21, 56 marketing 93 Mason, B. 161, 162, 163–5, 167, 168–70, 176 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 23, 27 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) business models 21–3, 27–9, 56, 90 history 21–4, 39–40 model of learning and teaching 20–21 name 40, 56 prospects 45–51 statistics 59–63 Massively Multiplayer Online RolePlaying Games (MMORPGs) 138–49 MenaVersity 57 MongoDB 102–3, 107–8 motivation 6, 44–5, 77, 140–41, 147 multimedia learning 9–10, 41 Nation, I. 161, 164, 165, 169–70 New York University 21 Ng, Andrew 22 Norvig, Peter 44 O’Hara, Jeff 129 Olt, M. R. 209–210 online gaming 138–49 online learning 25–6, 35, 41, 48, 197–203 ethics 205–222 open courseware 111–14 open educational resources 110–26 Open2Study 57 operations management 151–9

229

Pearson 28, 55 Peer to Peer University 40 peer-assessment 79 personal learning networks 128–35 Philbrick, John 139 plagiarism 210, 222 Plous, Scott 76 problem-based learning 9, 141–2, 147 Queen Rania Foundation 57 quests 142 Redis 103–5, 107–8 Reshef, Shai 21 Riecke, Marcus 57 role playing games 141 Rolfe, V. 114–15 Runco, M. A. 6 Rwaq 57 Sabanci University School of Management 152–9 Sarsar, 142 Saudi Arabia 57, 67–72, 110–26, 143–9, 160–76, 197–203 searching for MOOCs 84, 93 Shaffer, D. W. 11–12 Shirky, C. 23–4 Siemens, George 21, 56 sign language 179–94 simulation games 141, 155–8 SkillAcademy 57 Skinner, B. F. 8 smart phones 33 social construction of knowledge 130 social media 13 social networking 12, 31–2, 69 Sokolsky, Mike 22 songs, in language learning 160–76 sponsorship 77, 80 spreadsheets, as teaching aids 153–4 Stanford University 22, 56 Stavens, David 22

230

Index

student-centred learning 131–2, 201–2 student interaction 86–7 see also interactive learning student retention see completion rates Sullivan, Teresa 23 synchronous and asynchronous learnings 132–3 teaching assistants 78 teaching methods, traditional vs innovative 8–9, 11–12, 198 technology empowers learners 7 learners lack skills 11 must be complemented by skills 7  WHDFKHUSUR¿FLHQF\LQ± Thrun, Sebastian 22, 23, 44 Tinti-Kane, Hester 55 Turvey, K. 11 Tutty, J. 134 Udacity 22–3, 27, 44, 56 Umm Al-Qura University 110–26 University of the People 21 urbanization 139 video games 138, 140–43 Virginia University 23 vocabulary growth 160–76 Voss, B. D. 63 Wan, K. 85–6 Web 2.0 9 Wellman, B. 133 World of Warcraft 142 YouTube 160–76