The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing information and computing technology (ICT) adoption for Omani faculty members from a framework of Rogers' theory of diffusion of innovation. Three hundred Omani faculty members from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) participated in the study. The survey consisted of five parts: (a) an 18-item questionnaire on ICT uses and skills, (b) a 1-item questionnaire on adopter category, (c) a 44-item self-constructed questionnaire on perception of barriers to adopting ICT, (d) a 50-item questionnaire on ICT attributes adapted from Moore and Benbasat, and (e) a 15-item questionnaire on demographic and job-related variables. Descriptive statistics indicated that the faculty members overall used ICT at the "Sometimes" level and had ICT skills at the "Intermediate" level. The most frequently used and skillful ICT functional areas were Website browsing, Internet search engine, and word processing. One-way ANOVAs found significant group differences of ICT uses and skills, perception of barriers, and perception of ICT attributes in the category of adopter. Early adopters used ICT more, had higher ICT skills, perceived fewer barriers in the adopting process, and recognized higher values of ICT attributes than later adopters did. Multiple regression analysis showed the level of ICT …

Bivariate correlation was used to examine possible relationships between instructor immediacy and instructor presence, and a statistically significant correlation was found. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence caused significant variance in student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. For all three of the latter dependent variables, the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence was found to cause statistically significant variance. However, although the overall regression models were significant in all three tests, instructor immediacy was not found to be a significant individual predictor for causing variance in affective learning, cognition, or motivation, whereas instructor presence was found to be a significant individual predictor of all three. Finally, factorial ANOVA revealed that, for perceptions of instructor immediacy, only classification and course type were found to explain significant variance, with undergraduate students in asynchronous courses reporting significantly lower instructor immediacy. For perceptions of instructor presence, graduate students tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did undergraduate students, and students in synchronous courses tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did students in asynchronous courses.

The feeling of ownership is a topic of research that has not been addressed as a component in the integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. The effectiveness of this abstract concept in relationship to digital computing is important in the evaluation of one-to-one initiatives in education. This paper reports findings of a research study conducted using a new ownership survey instrument I developed, the Laptop Usage Inventory (LUI). Also administered during the study was the Student Attitude Survey given in a pretest/posttest design. The instruments were administered to seventh and eighth grade students in a north Texas middle school in the 2007-2008 school year. The methodology used to evaluate the Laptop Usage Inventory consisted of Cronbach's alpha and various scaling methods. LUI scale scores were correlated with the results of the Student Attitude Survey to compare students' attitudes toward school before and after using a laptop computer for the school year. Implications for laptop initiatives and for the classroom are discussed and a future research agenda is presented.

The Global Village Playground (GVP) was a capstone learning experience designed to address institutional assessment needs while providing an integrated, contextualized, and authentic learning experience for students. In the GVP, students work on simulated and real-world problems as a design team tasked with developing an alternate reality game that makes an impact on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the design of the GVP as a capstone experience. The research design follows a qualitative case study approach to gather and analyze data collected from the instructors and students participating in the pilot implementation of the GVP. Results of the study show predominantly favorable reactions to various aspects of the course and its design. Students reported to have learned the most through interactions with peers and through applying and integrating knowledge in developing the alternate reality game that was the central problem scenario for the course. What students demonstrated to have learned included knowledge construction, social responsibility, open-mindedness, big picture thinking, and an understanding of their relationship to the larger society and world in which they live. Challenges that resulted from the design included the amount of necessary to build …

With the world amidst globalization and economic flux affecting business, industry, and communities the need to work together becomes increasingly important. Higher education serves an important role in developing the individual teaming capabilities of the workforce. This environment is the time and place - opportunity for student personnel to develop these capabilities. This multiple case study utilized the analysis phase (learner, setting and job) of an instructional design model to analyze learner characteristics, the higher education environment/undergraduate experience, and the job/skills associated with individual teamwork knowledge, skills, and abilities of students from a senior cohort of the TRiO - SSS Project at a public student-centered research institution. The results yielded themes to promote the development of target populations individual teamwork KSAs which should increase their readiness to meet the teaming demands of today's employers. With an engaging undergraduate experience, inclusive of interaction with faculty members and collaborative learning with their peers, structured opportunities to practice individual teamwork KSAs in a work setting or internship, these underrepresented students may be an asset that is needed to meet the global workforce needs and fill civic capacities in their home communities.

Many are beginning to see the promise that the quantum world has offered those who manage and lead organizations (Wheatley, 1992; Zohar, 1997). The Newtonian world is one in which all "things" are reduced to their smallest parts, separated, divided, and analyzed with predictability, with complete control being the ultimate goal. The quantum world is one of infinite possibilities, infinite fields of influence, and infinite relationships. The hallmark characteristics found in a manager who has been schooled in the quantum sciences are flexibility, responsiveness, synchronicity, serendipity, creativity, innovation, participation, and motivation. In a quantum organization there is the constant awareness of the whole system, but there is also diversity (wave or particle), which allows for self-organization that is based on the environment and its requirements. In the quantum world many paths lead from A to Z, and depending on the path chosen, numerous realities wait to unfold. It was the goal of this research to explore the changing of leader behaviors through exposure to the models and theories found in quantum physics. From a quantum perspective this behavior change is possible; the only question is the readiness, willingness, and ability of the leaders to allow their behaviors to be surfaced …

When expenses become an issue, training is often one of the first budget items to be cut. There have been a number of evaluation studies about rates of return from training interventions. Most results are based on interviewing participants about the value of the intervention and its effect on their productivity. This often results in quadruple digit return on investment indications. Decision makers who control the budget often view these kinds of results with skepticism. This study proposes a methodology to evaluate training interventions without asking participants their opinions. The process involves measuring learning through a series of pre-tests and post-tests and determining if scores on pre-tests can be used as predictors of future return on investment results. The study evaluates a series of return on investment scores using analysis of variance to determine the relationship between pre-tests and final return on investment results for each participant. Data is also collected and evaluated to determine if the financial results of the organization during the period of the training intervention could be correlated to the results of the training intervention. The results of the study suggest that the proposed methodology can be used to predict future return on investment from training …

Computer technology has been used in education for years, and the government budgets large amounts of money to foster technology. However, it is still a debated whether computer technology makes a difference in students' learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to find if any relationship exists between computer use by teachers and students and the students' academic achievement in math and reading for both traditional populations and English language learner (ELL) tenth graders. Computer use in this study included the computer activities by students and teachers, in terms of the time, frequency, activities types, the places students use computers, teachers' computer activities, and the training teachers received. This study used data gathered from tenth grade students from the dataset Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Fifteen thousand, three hundred and sixty-two students were randomly selected to represent all U.S. tenth-graders attending schools in 2002. The findings showed diverse relationships consistent with the literature. Based on the findings, some suggestions were made to teachers and parents about the quality of school work and computer use by students and teachers.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the application of the chunking process to the design and delivery of workforce training. Students in a 1-hour course (N = 110) were measured on learner reaction, learning score achievement, and knowledge retention to see whether or not chunking training in a 1-hour session into three 20-minute sessions to match adult attention span resulted in a statistically significant difference from training for 1-hour without chunking. The study utilized a repeated measures design, in which the same individuals in both the control group and experimental group took a reaction survey instrument, a posttest after the training, and again 30 days later. Independent samples t tests were used to compare the mean performance scores of the treatment group versus the control group for both sessions. Cohen's d was also computed to determine effect size. All hypotheses found a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control group.

The study's purpose was to identify demographics, educational background, finances, formal and informal education and experiences, reading habits, external environmental factors, psychological factors, and computer efficacy factors that predict a student's ability to successful complete an online (Web-based) distance learning community college course. Major student retention theories and student attrition and persistence research guided the study. Distance learners (N = 926) completed four surveys, which collected data for 26 predictor variables that included age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, support others, course load, first-time student, last semester attended, student type and location, financial stability, tuition payment, prior learning experiences, reading habits, family support, enrollment encouragement, study encouragement, time management, study environment, employment, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, locus of control, self-efficacy, computer confidence and skills, and number of prior online courses. Successful or unsuccessful course completion was the dependent variable. Statistical analyses included Cronbach's alpha, Pearson chi-square, two-sample t test, Pearson correlation, phi coefficient, and binary logistic regression. Variables in each factor were entered sequentially in a block using separate binary logistic regression models. Statistically significant variables were course load, financial stability, prior learning experiences, time management and study environment, extrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and computer skills. Selected predictor variables (N = 20) …

The purpose of this research was to measure users' satisfaction with computer support in the higher education environment. The data for this study were gathered over a 5-week period using an online survey. Subjects (N=180) were members of a college at a major Texas university, which included both faculty and staff. SERVQUAL was the instrument used in this study. Two-ways statistical ANOVA analyses were conducted and revealed three statistically significant differences for Gender, Classification, and Comfort Level.