Students’ Concerns and Views on Effectiveness of Implementation of a Post-Diploma in Basic Education Distance Learning Programme (Published)
This study sought to find out issues of serious concern to Post-Diploma students at the Kumasi Study Centres of the University of Education, Winneba, distance education programme. It also solicited their views on how to address those concerns. A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative survey using a self-designed structured questionnaire was employed to randomly select 291 respondents from a population of 1,200. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.73. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 16.0 version). The study identified inadequate feedback and contact with lecturers/instructors, poor facilities and conditions at the study centres, high cost of programme, delay in the supply of modules, absenteeism of instructors, among others, as issues of serious concern to students. The number one issue of concern was delay in the supply of modules. It was revealed that early supply of modules, ensuring improvement in facilities and conditions at the centres, among others, would address students’ concerns on the programme. The study contributes to the importance of student involvement in successful implementation of distance education programmes.
Keywords: Effective Implementation, Programeme, Students Concerns, Students Involvement, Views., distance learning
The New Approach on Distance Learning Supported By Knowledge Bases and Semantic Web (Published)
In this paper, the authors deal with the new approach on distance learning with the use of technological solutions based on knowledge bases and the semantic web. There are large number of papers, books, studies and the like, which deal with electronic and mobile learning but there are almost no papers which deal with intelligent learning. New technologies based on knowledge bases and semantic web allow completely new approaches of learning to those who for whatever reasons do not want or cannot attend seminars, lectures, courses or any other form of training. Here, for the first time beside electronic (e-Learning), mobile (m-Learning) we introduce intelligent (i-Learning) and a unique integrated concept (e-m-i-Learning). In the paper it is used Protégé platform for the update of basic knowledge as the basis of different mode of distance learning. The emphasis in the paper is not only on distance study than on any other learning that they can organize and any other business system which is not bound by time and place.
Keywords: E-M-I-Learning, E-learning, Knowledge Bases, distance learning