نشریه فناوری های آموزشی در یادگیری
پیاپی 2 (بهار 1394)

This study aims to investigate the effect of multimedia conversational instruction style on increasing communication skills in the student’s girls with partial hearing loss in Tehran. The research method is quasi-experimental and the statistical population is composed of all elementary school 6th-graders with partial hearing loss in Tehran out of whom 15 students were randomly selected using the convenience sampling method and placed in two control and experiment groups. The instrument for data collection is Attarha Communication Skill Assessment Inventory (2007) which has three subscales. The experiment group received training in 7 sessions using the researcher-developed multimedia software program, and the control group was excluded from training. Descriptive statistics (central and dispersion indices) and inferential statistics (univariate covariance analysis) were adopted for data analysis. The results generally suggest that multimedia conversational instruction style improves communication skills including emotional management, others’ perception and self-assertion in the students with partial hearing loss. Therefore, the results indicate that multimedia conversational teaching style has a positive impact on increased communication skills in the students with partial hearing loss.

This study aims to investigate the effect of teaching-learning process, research and teaching quality on efficiency of distance education. The factor of teaching-learning process is composed of four sub factors, namely feedback, academic achievement assessment, using educational supplements and resources and models and teaching methods. The research factor has three sub-components of research contracts, seminars and congresses and sabbatical leaves, and the factor of teaching quality has three sub-components, viz. lesson plan, teaching implementation and teaching assessment. The research questionnaire, composed of 36 items, was developed through the review of literature and the model designed. Once the questionnaire reliability was determined, its validity was confirmed by means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The research findings suggest that the factors of suitability of educational and curriculum plans, educational and research facilities and equipment, financial resources, objectives, teaching-learning process, research, teaching quality, student satisfaction, developed scientific products and alumni are among the main effective factors in efficiency of distance education. According to the analyses carried out, it can be said that the effect of teaching-learning process, research and teaching quality on efficiency of distance education is significant and positive.

This study aims to investigate the role of e-learning skills in the virtual students’ academic achievement and satisfaction. The statistical population is composed of all students at the E-Learning Education Center at the University of Tehran and Mehr Alborz Higher Education Institute out of whom, 388 individuals were selected as the sample using the relative stratified sampling method and based on Kerjessi and Moregan Table. The research method is correlation, and two researcher-developed questionnaires, e-learning preparation measurement test, and academic satisfaction test were used for data collection. Content validity of these two tests through using the views of seven e-learning specialists and their reliability upon trial administration to 60 students and calculation of Cronbach’s alpha were put at 0.84 and 0.87 respectively. Moreover, in order to measure and assess academic achievement, the researchers employed the students’ mean of academic achievement. The research data were analyzed by means of a t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression, the results of which indicated that the level of students’ skills is mediocre, level of academic satisfaction is mediocre, and the level of their academic achievement is good. Pearson correlation coefficient demonstrated that there is a correlation between metacognitive and cognitive skills and academic achievement. Furthermore, the results and findings suggest that there is a correlation between metacognitive and cognitive skills and academic satisfaction, while no significant relation was found between the variables of technological skills and communication skills and academic achievement and satisfaction. The share of metacognitive skills in prediction of the students’ academic achievement is 32.8%, and that of cognitive skills is 11.5%. In addition, the share of metacognitive skills in prediction of students’ academic satisfaction is 50%, and that of cognitive skills is 17.5%.

In virtual educational systems, selecting an appropriate and effective approach to the quality of experience in virtual learning requires knowledge and adoption of pedagogical aspects. To this end, this study aims to investigate the pedagogical aspects of virtual universities in Tehran. The research method is quantitative and of survey nature. The statistical population consists of all faculty members at virtual universities in Tehran who were serving in the academic year 2014-2015 out of whom 240 individuals were selected using the cluster sampling method as the research sample. The data collection instrument is a researcher-developed questionnaire which was developed by the researchers in 39 closed-end items on the basis of Likert 5-point scale, varying from “completely agree” to “completely disagree” once they extracted pedagogical aspects of virtual universities. For the purpose of determining validity of the instrument, specialists and experts’ views on this subject were used, and in order to ensure reliability of the questionnaire, the researchers employed Cronbach’s alpha coefficient the following flexibility aspects = 0.54, tools for establishing communications = 0.62, teaching-learning approaches = 0.69, plan and resource management = 0.85, appraisal approaches =0.72, collegiate symbols = 0.76, and academic culture = 0.63, with the total put at 0.79. For the purpose of data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. In the former, mean, SD, and frequency were used; in the latter, single-sample t-test was adopted for answering the research questions. Finally, SPSS22 program was employed for data description and analysis. The research findings suggest that means of collegiate symbol and academic culture are lower than the mediocre degree, implying that the level of the both components is lower than the mediocre point. The rest of the components with their level of significance higher than 0.05 are not significantly different than the mediocre level, implying that their status is mediocre. It can therefore be concluded that the current status of pedagogical aspects of virtual universities is far from ideal.

This study aims to investigate the quality of e-learning at Amirkabir University based on the elements of educational design. The research method is descriptive and analytical. The statistical population comprises all core and specialized courses corresponding to the field of applied mathematics – operations research in e-learning program of the university in the academic year 2012-2013. The sampling method is random sampling whereby the course “Engineering Statistics and Probability” was selected. The data collection instrument includes a researcher-developed checklist developed based on the elements of educational design. Formal validity was employed for the purpose of examining validity and its reliability coefficient was put at 0.78 as suggested by Cronbach’s alpha. In order to gather the data, the specialists received online training in 6 sessions. Afterwards, they filled in the checklist. Descriptive and inferential statistics as well as SPSS program were applied in data collection. The results suggest that the quality of e-learning at Amirkabir University based on the elements of educational design is relatively ideal.

This study primarily aims to investigate direct impact of the variables of experience, anxiety, computer self-efficacy and academic engagement in relation to academic achievement of the students at Payame Noor University of Fars Province. Its method is correlation. Using Kerjessi and Morgan formula, the researchers selected 410 students from among those studying at the Payame Noor University of Fars Province with random sampling method. The data collection instruments in this study include the standards questionnaires analyzed by means of route analysis and Lisrel application. The variables of cognitive, motivational and behavioral engagement, computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety have a direct, significant impact on the students’ academic achievement. Therefore, the research hypotheses are verified, i.e. the variable of computer self-efficacy has a direct, significant effect on the students’ cognitive, motivational and behavioral engagement; the variables of computer experience and computer anxiety have a direct, significant impact on the students’ computer self-efficacy; and ultimately, computer experience has a reverse, significant effect on the students’ computer anxiety. In examining overall and direct effects, it was found out that out of the effective variables in academic achievement, computer self-efficacy with an overall effect of 0.39 has the greatest impact on academic achievement, and cognitive engagement with a direct effect of 0.24 vis-à-vis other variables has the greatest effect on the students’ academic achievement, while the variable of computer anxiety is the only one which has a reserve effect vis-à-vis other research variables. Moreover, the model has a good and ideal fit toward the data.

This study aims to investigate the impact of cooperative learning and individual conceptual map on the students’ motivation and academic achievement. The research method is quasi-experimental with pretest and posttest design and a control group. The statistical population comprises all high school 1st grade girls in Hamedan. The statistical sample consists of 60 individuals who were selected using the cluster random sampling method. In this study, 20 participants were taught with cooperative learning method, 20 were taught by means of individual conceptual map methods, and 20 individuals formed the control group. The data were collected using academic motivation questionnaire and academic achievement test. In order to analyze the data, the researcher adopted covariance analysis test. The findings suggest that teaching with cooperative learning method and individual conceptual map leads to an improvement in the students’ academic motivation and academic achievement (P<0.001). The research results suggest that for the teachers to raise the level of students’ academic achievement and motivation, they should pay attention to the role of motivational factors in teaching with cooperative learning method and individual conceptual map.