Literature review for a presentation system to facilitate computer-based
learning
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) of Rhodes University
Lindsey Gouws
Grahamstown, South Africa 24th June 2011
Abstract
My research project looks at presentation systems as a tool for computer-based learning.
Computer-based learning presents a unique set of context-specific challenges. In this literature review I aim to give an overview of the history and climate of computer-based learning in rural South Africa, as well as to focus on adapted presentations as a vehicle of delivery for e-learning techniques. I also discuss issues related to usability, effectiveness and social and technological considerations in developing an e-learning system.
0.1. INTRODUCTION 1
0.1 Introduction
Computer-based learning is a field of Computer Science that has enormous potential, but presents a unique set of challenges. The elements of computer-based learning are as much social as they are technological. This literature review takes a broad look at e-learning, and the various goals and problems associated with it. It explores the South African ICT landscape as a focus area for e-learning and development. On a more technical side, this literature review examines presentation systems as a tool for e-learning, the evolving technologies associated with presentation systems, and concludes with open source and testing considerations.
0.2 E-learning and Computer Based Learning
At the core of many e-learning initiatives in rural areas is the digital divide: an unequal access to new technologies [7]. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has compared depriva- tion of telecommunication technologies to fundamental humanitarian and social security issues [7].
E-learning is not restricted to school-learning, but includes computer-based education on factors like social issues and healthcare. The challenges in providing access to computer- based solutions are logistic, in the form of funding and infrastructure available [16], as well as social, in terms of people’s exposure to and ability to adapt to new technologies in the face of other social and economic problems [9]. Thus, any initiative aimed at rural ICT development must take these factors into account.
0.2.1 Evaluating e-learning systems
Ardito et al. [3] provide a framework for evaluating the usability of e-learning systems.
They evaluate the usability of a system along the dimensions of presentation, hypermedi- ality, application proactivity and user’s activity [3]. These dimensions are considered for their effectiveness and efficiency. The authors used this framework to evaluate postgradu- ate univeristy students; these students have a different background to the target audience in mind for this project, but this does not detract from the value of the framework as an evaluative tool.
0.2. E-LEARNING AND COMPUTER BASED LEARNING 2 Presentation
The system is evaluated on the visualisation of tools and elements. This includes the ability of the educator to provide support and visualisation in the lessons they prepare [3].
Hypermediality
Hypermediality considers how effectively the system allows users to communicate through different modalities (audio, video), as well as the logical flows that a lesson could take [3].
Care should be taken not to misuse hypermediality and confuse or overload the user.
Application proactivity
The system should be easy to use, minimise possibility for errors, and provide constructive feedback. This may include activities for the student which mirror the context of use [3].
User’s activity
The system should attend to user needs that may occur while using the system [3]. This should extend to catering for unplanned activities.
0.2.2 Goals of e-learning
E-learning is a field which primarily attempts to provide a useful and effective educational resource. The primary goals of e-learning are to . . .
Share knowledge
Collaboration and sharing are important facets of e-learning. E-learning provides a vehicle to make better resources available to a wider group of people. This may take the form of vertical sharing or horizontal collaboration.
Vertical collaborationoccurs when educators from better backgrounds can make learn- ing materials accessible to people who otherwise would not have access to the same quality
0.2. E-LEARNING AND COMPUTER BASED LEARNING 3 of resources. Wang et al. [18] identify the management and retrieval of reuasable content as an important facet of e-learning systems. Reusability means that the same content generated by highly skilled educators can be distributed to learners where the quality of education is lacking at relatively small cost.
Horizontal collaborationoccurs when users of the system can engage with each other and supplement each others’ knowledge. Ardichvili describes virtual communities of prac- tice (VCoPs) as “important vehicles of collective learning” [2]. He discusses VCoPs mostly in terms of the workplace environment, but the principles discussed can be extended to apply to e-learning. A VCoP is created when members of an online community are able to engage in discussions and generate their own knowledge, providing a supportive and flexible environment for learning [2].
Empower people through the knowledge shared
Student empowerment has been identified as a key issue in e-learning, with factors of initiative, contribution, collaboration, self-dependence and self-organising playing a cru- cial role [5]. The information supplied to people through e-learning platforms should be topical, relevant and applicable. The kinds of information supplied by e-learning in- clude academic assistance, medical information and social information, and are virtually limitless.
Actively engage with the learner
Studies have shown that e-learning is more successful when the learner is not a passive recipient, but rather an interactive participant [17]. In particular, interactive engagement enables students to grasp high-level models and conceptual knowledge more easily [17].
As discussed above, self-dependence and self-organising are important factors in creating empowerment through e-learning [5]. An e-learning system should therefore enable a learner to exercise these factors. The hypermediality of systems as discussed by Ardito et al. [3] above may be an important compenent of actively engaging a learner.
Use the tools available to faciliate learning
When designing an e-learning system, the ICT facilities available for the system to be used with must be considered. The ICT technologies typically available in a rural South African context will be discussed in Section 0.3.
0.3. COMPUTING IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT 4
0.2.3 What makes an e-learning system good?
When designing an e-learning system, it is essential to be mindful of the target audience.
Ehlers [4] identifies the learner as the base for all good e-learning systems, with a focus on co-production between the learner and the learning-environment. Sun et al. describe the following dimensions which affect user satisfaction in e-learning: learner, instructor, course, technology, design and environmental dimensions [17].
0.3 Computing in the South African context
0.3.1 What is the general computing climate in South Africa?
As with many other areas of development, the ICT landscape in South Africa has been affected by the country’s history of Apartheid [16]. In a 2010 ICT Development Index (IDI) investigation, South Africa ranked 87 out of 154 countries [16]. South Africa, like many other countries, has been influenced by ICT for Development (ICT4D), and has a government objective to improve access to information and ICTs [16]. The following table gives some insight into the computer, cellphone and internet resources available to South Africans.
Information Society Indicators Values
Fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants (2008) 8.91 Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 92.2 Internet users per 100 inhabitants (2008) 8.43 Broadband Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants (2008) 0.86
% population covered by mobile signal (2007) 99.79 International internet bandwidth (bits per internet user) 852 Proportion of households with computer (2007) 14.8 Proportion of households with Internet (2007) 4.8 Fixed broadband Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants (2008) 0.8 Table 1: Information Society Indicators in South Africa [16]
0.3. COMPUTING IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT 5
0.3.2 What computer resources are available in rural South Africa?
There are a number of public access facilities available to people in South Africa, which aim to address the issue of proving ICT services for the wider population. These access points include telecentres, libraries, self-assisted ICT points or kiosks, and phone shops [16].
Although cybercaf´es exist in South Africa, there are very few of them in outerlying rural areas [16]. Access to libraries in South Africa has proved problematic as many people cannot afford library fees, and the ICT facilities in previously disadvantaged areas are often substandard [16]. These issues need to be mitigated to enable better use of library facilities. A telecentre is a public venue, where internet-connected computers are available for general use. In South Africa, telecentres are provided by legislative mandate, as well as by community based organisations working with business partners [16]. An obstacle to effective operation of telecentres is the lack of managerial and technical skills in some centres [16]. From Table 1, it is clear that cellphones are the most widespread form of ICT among the general population.
Cellphones
In South Africa, access to cellphones has been changing the telecommunications landscape.
In a 2009 study, Kreutzer [13] found that over 60% of South African people over the age of 16 own a cellphone. Furthermore, he found that among the 411 low-income Cape Town youth whom he interviewed, 96% of the respondents use a cellphone on a typical day, regardless of whether they own one or not [13]. This research indicates that cellphones may play a crucial role in making resources accessible to South African youth.
0.3.3 People and computers
In a developing country, the obstacles for ICT development extend beyond financial and infrastructure concerns to human factors. Hvoreck´y [11] identifies the following primary issues which may hinder people using e-learning: language barriers, absense of prereque- sites, technology hurdles and difficulty with translation. Language barriers are a particular issue in South Africa, where there are 11 official languages. Language barriers and dif- ficulty with translation also make it difficult to share content, when the language it is produced in is tied to a specific geographical location [11]. Technology hurdles have been
0.4. EVOLUTION OF PRESENTATION SYSTEMS 6 discussed in Section 0.3.2. Obstacles to e-learning may also be emotional and psycholog- ical [15], when users may experience computer anxiety [17]. The absense of prerequisites becomes a particular problem when the absense of qualified teachers has an impact on education [11]. Ironically, this barrier to e-learning is also one of the key issues that it aims to address.
0.4 Evolution of Presentation Systems
This project examines the creation of a presentation system to facilitate computer-based learning. Presentation systems have undergone a sort of natural evolution from traditional systems like Microsoft PowerPoint. Open source alternatives like Open Office Impress make presentation systems more accessible, while there has also been an evolution towards web-based alternatives.
0.4.1 Traditional presentation systems
In a teaching environment, films, videos and overhead projectors have traditonally been used as presentation tools [6]. Over time, these methods have been replaced with computer- based alternatives. One of the most well known presentation systems is Microsoft Power- Point, which will form the basis for most of the discussion here.
PowerPoint as a pedagogical tool
One of the areas that PowerPoint has traditionally enjoyed a lot of success in is as a teaching tool in an academic environment. Ian Fraser [6] describes his experiences in using PowerPoint as a pedagogical tool, highlighting some of the benefits and problems with it. Fraser identifies transitional effects, multimedia content and logical structure as some of the main features he enjoyed when using PowerPoint [6]. However, he experienced difficulties with navigation, and with the lack of flexibility in the lesson flow [6]. He highlights the point that the presentation system should be a supporting tool, which enhances the user’s pedagogical style rather than overshadowing it [6]. The fact that traditional presentation formats like PowerPoint are tied to expensive proprietary software is also an issue.
0.4. EVOLUTION OF PRESENTATION SYSTEMS 7
0.4.2 Multimedia and other features
Mutimedia is an important element in presentation systems. Multimedia allows for rich, dynamic content which enhances presentations. Intelligent Multimedia Presentation Sys- tems (IMPS) ensure that a presentation caters effectively for the needs of the user [10].
An IMPS selects the best mix of the following factors: what is presented to the user, where it is presented, and when [10]. All of these factors are important when creating a fully integrated dynamic multimedia presentation.
0.4.3 Towards browser-based solutions
HTML Slidy is a web-based system which provides an alternative to traditional presenta- tion systems [14]. Slidy can be used in an online form, enabling collaboration and sharing, or as a local file, using a browser as a vehicle for display. A Slidy presentation consists of an HTML document, which is linked to some supporting JavaScript and CSS files [14].
The file can be edited by anyone with some knowledge of HTML and JavaScript. A rel- atively simple authoring system could be created to fit in with Slidy and make it more usable for the average user. Dave Ragget, the creator of Slidy, has expressed the desire to create a browser-based editor for Slidy [14], which has not yet been created. A separate presentation tool called S5 was developed by Eric Meyer, which has many of the same attributes and abilities as Slidy [14].
0.4.4 Mobile-based presentation systems
In Section 0.3.2, it is shown that cellphones are the most pervasive form of ICT in South Africa. In this light, mobile devices should be considered as a platform for multimedia presentation tools. The cellphone provides some inbuilt functionality that makes it at- tractive as a platform for multimedia presentations. This includes an inbuilt camera for capturing image and video content, an inbuilt microphone for capturing audio content, a general-purpose computing platform and a wireless network connection [12]. Combined with the high rate of cellphone use among the general population and the amount of time people generally spend interacting with a cellphone [12], these factors combine to create an environment where content can be easily generated, accessed and shared between users.
0.5. WEB TECHNOLOGIES, USING THE BROWSER, AND STAND-ALONE VS.
SERVER BASED SYSTEMS 8
0.5 Web Technologies, using the browser, and stand- alone vs. server based systems
0.5.1 Evolution of the browser
With the rise in popularity of the internet, the browser has become one of the most important pieces of software. From its early beginnings in the 1990s, the browser has evolved as a platform for many desktop-style applications [1]. The browser offers many advantages as a development platform, it is not (usually) Operating System specific, as well as being freely available and accessible [1]. There have been three important phases in the development of web pages (and by extension, web browsers): Simple “classic” web pages, animated multimedia pages, and rich internet applications [1].
Simple classic pages are like real pages, usually featuring mostly text, as well as some static images [1]. These web pages could contain forms with simple buttons and menus, and are navigated through hyperlinks [1]. Although conceptually simple, these static web pages are very common [1], and form the base for many other developments.
In animated multimedia pages, the interaction becomes more dynamic and complex.
Interactive web pages were driven in part by commercial incentives, and incorporate multimedia context such as video, animations and audio clips [1]. The technological developments driving this era were the development of the JavaScript language, as well as plug-ins like Adobe Flash, Quicktime and Shockwave [1], requiring the browser to become more advanced.
Rich internet applicationsare built on Web 2.0 technologies, where the most important features are collaboration and interaction [1]. Rich internet applications are web-based applications which provide the same functionality as traditional desktop applications [1].
It is in this phase that we truly see the browser being used as a platform for application development. The common technologies used to build rich internet applications include Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), Google Web Toolkit and Microsift Silverlight [1].
HTML, CSS and JavaScript
As described above, the beginning of the web was rooted in static pages, which are typically HTML pages. HTML provides some basic text formatting, but is more powerful
0.6. OPEN-SOURCE CONSIDERATIONS 9 when used in conjunction with other languages. The era of animated multimedia pages brought JavaScript and CSS to the forefront [1]. JavaScript is a client-side scripting language which allows for more dynamic content, while CSS makes creating and editing the design of a website much simpler.
AIR, GWT, Silverlight
Adobe Integration Environment uses a language called ActionScript to create applica- tions, and is built on other Adobe technologies like Flash and Flex builder [1]. Google Web Toolkit is built on Java, and applications are translated into JavaScript [1]. the benefit of using Google Web Toolkit is that GWT applications can be run in an ordinary browser without requiring special plug-ins [1]. Microsoft Silverlight is integrated with the Visual Studio development environment, and can be used to make Flash-style web appli- cations [1]. The drawback with Silverlight is that it requires special plug-ins to execute in a browser [1].
0.5.2 Desktop vs web-based systems
As the browser has had to evolve to accomodate web-applications [1], so desktop applica- tions have had to change and migrate. Increasingly, desktop applications like Microsoft Office are being challenged by web-based alternatives like Google Docs. Web-based appli- cations offer a range of benefits over traditional systems: they are easier to update, more widely accessible, and highly interactive [1].
0.6 Open-source considerations
0.6.1 Why should e-learning systems be open source?
Open source is a development paradigm that has been gaining popularity. According to the Open Source Initiative website1, the driving goals of open source are better quality and reliability, flexibility, lower cost, and avoiding vendor lock-in. The term open source is usually associated with availability of source code, but the open source definition includes
1www.opensource.org
0.7. USER TESTING 10 free distribution, availability of source code, allowing modifications and derivations, as well as prohibiting discrimination of various sorts. To be labeled as open source, software must go through the license review process.
As seen above, many of the open source considerations are important to an e-learning project. Better quality and reliability is important to an initiative which aims to em- power people, while lower cost is essential for deployment in previously disadvantaged areas. Allowing modifications and derivations allows other authors to further develop and improve the system, benefiting the end user. The prohibition of forms of discrimination means that social and technological issues should be dealt with in a sensitive manner.
0.7 User Testing
As discussed above, usability is one of the most important features of an e-learning system;
the system must cater to an individual’s needs and provide a pleasant and rewarding experience. User testing is therefore an important facet of developing an e-learning system.
Usability testing provides asubjective assesment of how usable the system is believed to be [8].
Granic describes a scenario-based evaluation, which is comprised of three phases: a walk- through test, a memo test, and a usability satisfaction questionnaire [8]. A walkthrough test requires the users to perform a specific task [8], and evaluates the suitability, learn- ability and error rate of the system. A memo test happens after the walkthrough; the user is required to explain a command or remember the command name for a task [8].
A memo test evaluates the memorability of system components, and whether the system makes subjects feel satisfied or frustrated [8]. The usability satisfaction questionnaire is the final step in the evaluation; questions are created based on reference literature, and responses are graded on a semantic differential scale [8]. A questionnaire represents the subjective responses of individuals, but the overall accumulated responses reflect a more objective value for the system pleasantness [8]. The scenario-based evaluation appears to be a comprehensive testing mechanism, which may be used as a whole or split into desired parts.
Despite all the benefits of user testing, there are people who believe that applying heuris- tics is sufficient evaluation for an e-learning system [8].
0.8. CONCLUSION 11
0.8 Conclusion
From the discussions above, it is clear that there are numerous social and technologi- cal issues associated with the field of e-learning. Particularly, the South African ICT landscape reveals inequality among access to ICT resources, which must be carefully con- sidered when devising a computer-based learning system. There has been a surprisingly similar development trend in e-learning and presentation systems. Both of these fields have shown a draw towards multimedia content, interactivity and a flexible and adapt- able flow. This suggests that these constraints should be at the forefront when devising a presentation system to be used for e-learning. Another strong element which stands out is the prevalence of cellphone use and access to cellphones. This suggests that consideration should be given to making systems cellphone accessible.
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