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Abstract

For the purpose of clarity and consistency, the term e-learning is used throughout the paper to refer to technology-enhanced learning. This paper describes selected aspects of the implementation model, which aims at the improvement and complex assurance of quality and cost efficiency in the context of e-learning. Within the described project, a complex quality assurance method, based on a model for quality assessment of e-learning - ELQ, has been proposed and verified. A modified Kirkpatrick Evaluating Four Level Model has been used for evaluation of quality of blended learning. After implementation of described models, experimental data has been collected and analyzed. These will drive the direction for future improvements.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 ( 2015 ) 312 – 319
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014.
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.347
ScienceDirect
Global Conference on Contemporary Issues in Education, GLOBE-EDU 2014, 12-14 July 2014,
Las Vegas, USA
Measuring of Quality in the Context of e-Learning
Martin Misuta
*
, Katarina Pribilovab
aDepartment of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Economic Informatics, University of Economics in Bratislava, Dolnozemska cesta 1/b, 852 35
Bratislava, Slovakia
bDepartment of Mathematics and Informatics, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Priemyselna 4, 91843 Trnava, Slovakia
Abstract
For the purpose of clarity and consistency, the term e-learning is used throughout the paper to refer to technology-enhanced
learning. This paper describes selected aspects of the implementation model, which aims at the improvement and complex
assurance of quality and cost efficiency in the context of e-learning. Within the described project, a complex quality assurance
method, based on a model for quality assessment of e-learning ELQ, has been proposed and verified. A modified Kirkpatrick
Evaluating Four Level Model has been used for evaluation of quality of blended learning. After implementation of described
models, experimental data has been collected and analyzed. These will drive the direction for future improvements.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014.
Keywords: e-learning; quality; project; Kirkpatrick model.
1. Introduction
The quality of education is a widely used phrase at present. The quality can be seen differently in conjunction
with the knowledge, information and educational technologies. These can be considered as catalyst for change in
education, where the goal of our efforts is reforming and modernizing education for our knowledge-based society.
One part of the effort is devoted to the special issues of quality of e-learning, which is seen as a potential tool for
changes in education. Not only a number of studies (e.g. (Agariya & Singh, 2012; Al-Mushasha & Nassuora, 2012;
Bremer, 2012; Ceobanu & Asandului, 2009; Clements & Pawlowski, 2012; Dobre, 2012; Gamalel-Din, 2010;
* Martin Misut. Tel.: +421- 2 6729 5859; fax: + 421-2 -6729 5182
E-mail address: martin.misut@euba.sk
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of GLOBE-EDU 2014.
313
Martin Misut and Katarina Pribilova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 ( 2015 ) 312 – 319
Cheung & Vogel, 2013; Iqbal & Ahmad, 2010; M. Z. Iqbal, Maharvi, Malik, & Khan, 2011; Islam, 2013;
Jayakumar, Manimaran, & GopiAnand, 2013; Jung, 2012; Lai & Sanusi, 2013; Liu, Huang, & Lin, 2012; Marshall,
2012; Masoumi & Lindström, 2012; Meier, Seufert, & Euler, 2012; Ossiannilsson & Landgren, 2012; Ramakrisnan,
Yahya, Hasrol, & Aziz, 2012; Saatz & Kienle, 2913; Tamrakar & Mehta, 2011; Teodora, Mioara, & Magdalena,
2013; Voogt, Knezek, Cox, Knezek, & Brummelhuis, 2013; Zhang & Cheng, 2012) have been published, but
various interest groups and commercial institutions dealing with these issues rose recently, one of them being the
European Foundation for Quality in eLearning (EFQUEL). Its declared aim is to share experiences on the use of e -
learning, to enhance individual, organizational, local and regional development, digital skills and promote social
cohesion and personal development. (more at http://efquel.org)
Education is one of the two basic functions of the University. A big pressure to rationalize public educational
institutions exists currently in Slovakia, while as a survival factor was defined in the quality of them. Quality
criterion for science and research is widely accepted and has a quantifiable expression; the situation is more
complicated for the quality of education. For a comprehensive assessment of the quality of an educational institution,
it is necessary to formalize also this aspect of its activities. The quality of educational activity from the perspective
of future is crucial to the creation of a suitable environment providing the necessary educational services to students
in terms of content, availability, speed, flexibility, timeliness and the like, so that not only process, but also outcomes
reflect the quality standards. Lack of generally accepted quantifiers of quality, as well as strong state pressure on
results of science, create a space for the innovation in education and specifically the development and subsequent
broad implementation of such a education model, which substantially contribute to enhancing the quality of the
institution. The measurement (quantification) of the quality of education is the key element in improving the quality
of education.
The article describes a way of ensuring the quality of blended teaching as a partial result of the project
“Rationalization of education at Trnava University in Trnava". The issue of quality in e-learning is discussed in the
second part, the basic framework of the project and the methods and technologies are described in detail further.
Partial results obtained during the two years of the project are discussed at the end.
2. Quality of e-learning
E-learning as a term refers to a variety of different forms of technology-supported learning, usually characterized
as the application of knowledge, information and educational technology to link people to each other and / or with
educational resources, for the purpose of education (formal or informal) (Ehlers & Hilera, 2012). Quality in e-
learning is understood in two contexts: "quality through e-learning", which refers to the quality of education in
general by means of the use of e-learning tools; the quality of e-learning itself that is the subject of improving the
quality of e-learning as such, is the second one. (Teodora et al., 2013)
Auvinen and Peltonen (cited in Dobre, 2012). indicate that the quality of education can be defined from three
perspectives: technological, economic and pedagogical. The quality standards were associated with particular
outcomes in the past. This meant that quality was evaluated on the base of courses quality and pre-defined learning
outcomes. This approach changed in recent years. According to Bremer (Bremer, 2012), process-oriented
approaches began to prevail. This means that not only the output, but also the quality of the entire process is subject
to evaluation.
Thair et al. (Thair, Garnett, & King, 2006) defined the quality in the context of higher education as a following
combination of organization activities:
x Improving core activities (teaching, research and institution services)
x Alignment of activities, budget and resources with the strategic plan
x Demonstration of leadership and innovation in all activities
x Exploration of the needs of students, other customers, stakeholders and the market
x Investing in human resource development
x Use of data, information and knowledge for decision making
x Improving outcomes
314 Martin Misut and Katarina Pribilova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 ( 2015 ) 312 – 319
In the literature, one can find a number of other models, frameworks and recommendations for quality assurance
in e-learning e.g. (Marshall, 2012; Masoumi & Lindström, 2012; Saatz & Kienle, 2913; Udo, Bagchi, & Kirs, 2011;
Zhang & Cheng, 2012) The fact that the quality principles of successful technology-supported learning are the same
as those in the traditional classroom, was one of the basic premise of the initial approach. The fundamental
requirement of this premise is that well-designed learning activities will ensure success regardless of the means
(technology). It must be said that e-learning is not just another way of implementation of traditional teaching, but it
is a new approach to education. The methods of quality assurance must take in the account this fact. (Masoumi &
Lindström, 2012)
The level of quality, usually achieved, can be assessed by the two ways: through benchmarking or by the
specification of standards. Benchmarking means the comparison of performance and results achieved by the
evaluated entity against the results and performance of the entity operating under comparable conditions. When
standards are defined, the performance is set by comparing them with standards. Although benchmarking is a
complex process to be applied at universities (Oliver, 2005), in e-learning context is used. The initiative "E-
xcellence +" under the auspices of the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) and "The
e-learning benchmarking exercise" of European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities (ESMU) can be
referenced as an example. (Ebba Ossiannilsson, 2011)
Currently, there are standards and recommendations for quality in e-learning (for example, the Institute for
Higher Education Policy; Learning Object Metadata (LOM) Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC), the
Quality Assurance Agency). (Oliver, 2005) The intensive research in this field is visible at present while "the best
practices" (Agariya & Singh, 2012; Al-Mushasha & Nassuora, 2012; Yee, 2013) that can be used as potential
performance standards, are often published.
The quality of traditional teaching at a university is not homogeneous and varies from subject to subject, so varied
quality of e-learning within one university can be observed, as well. (Oliver, 2005) To eliminate this diverse level of
quality, it is necessary to implement a system of quality that ensures the required minimum level of e-learning
quality across the university. That was the basic idea, which resulted in the project at Trnava University in Trnava".
3. Description of the project
This project is focused on pilot testing of methods and tools that consistently enhance the quality of education,
while education is considered in various combinations of traditional and technology-supported learning assuming a
decisive share of blended learning i.e. combination of traditional teaching with e-learning. The extent of technology
integration in education is dependent on the particular subject, the preferred style of teaching, the teacher's
competence and the like. Methods, tools and system model are being implemented (2014) at the university as a
whole. A number of activities, procedures and steps, directly or indirectly affecting the quality of education and
covering not only the education process, but also all related areas, such as university-related legislation, financing,
organization and management of education, technical, human and other information assumptions, has been tested
during the project.
The entire project is divided into four main activities:
x Design and verification of a system of direct measurement of quality in higher education
x Design and verification of actions to enhance the quality of higher education
x Design and verification of actions to eliminate information inequality in relation to public
x Design and verification of evaluation of the results of actions
The following outputs were implemented within the first activity:
a) Extension of infrastructure for the deployment of technological support of education as a tool for improving the
quality of higher education and tool for obtaining data for direct measurement of quality in higher education
b) Design of pilot blended courses within the mathematics and computer science study programs
c) Method for e-learning courses design
d) Users of infrastructure and tools were trained
e) Design of a system of direct measurement of quality in higher education
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Martin Misut and Katarina Pribilova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 ( 2015 ) 312 – 319
f) Verification of a system of direct measurement of quality in higher education
The extension of infrastructure for technological support of learning as a tool for improving the quality of higher
education and tool for obtaining data for direct measurement of the quality of higher education include:
x Learning Management System - (LMS) - a support system that creates the conditions for and allows education,
management, provision and evaluation of blended courses, obtaining feedback from students and teachers.
x Virtual Classroom - Web Conferencing - is a system that allows a teacher to meet with students using computers
and the Internet, while the teacher can transmit voice, images from a web camera, and share his desktop where he
can start a slideshow or any other application that is the content of education. This step contributes to the
improvement of the educational process by allowing the students to follow the lectures when they are ill or
during the preparation for an exam or just need to repeat some parts of lectures.
The Virtual Classroom expands the implementation of blended learning, which can be managed through a
learning management system (LMS) as the virtual classroom is directly integrated with the LMS so that:
x Online lectures, directly accessible via the LMS can be planned within the course
x Online lectures records can be included among educational resources
x It is possible to organize an interactive online seminar and make it available through the LMS
It has been necessary to prepare the educational content of blended e-learning and then verify the quality of
education after finishing the infrastructure for the implementation of e-learning and the tool for data mining system
for direct measurement of the quality of education.
This part of the project took place in the following phases:
x Developing of methodologies
x Design of courses content
x Digitization - processing of course content into electronic form for online and blended learning.
Developed methodology covers the following activities:
x Design of courses and training materials concepts:
o didactic concept
o graphic concept
x Create a script templates for e-learning courses
x Defining rules for creating media (animations, illustrations, audio ...)
The content for the purpose of the blended pilot courses has been developed by the authors of content, which
were teachers of the following five subjects: Geometry II, Algebra I, Mathematics, Operating Systems and Computer
Architecture, and Database Systems I.
The Design of Quality measurement system is based on the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2007)
of measuring the effectiveness of training. This model was developed at the University of Wisconsin in the United
States and includes four levels of evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.
The reaction is quantitatively measurable by questionnaire, where student´s satisfaction with the presented
content, its form, methods of education, teacher etc. can be determined. Questionnaires were filled electronically
using the LMS. Gained knowledge, skills and habits have been measured within the second level - Teaching. Within
the design and verification of a direct measurement of the quality of education system we have focused on such ways
of obtaining results that minimize subjective influences manifested increasingly in oral examinations. The pre-tests
and post-tests were conducted electronically using the LMS. Behavior is the most important level of measuring
quality, but at the same time, the most difficult to obtain the necessary data and their evaluation. It is a measurement
of the actual transfer of knowledge, experience and attitudes into practice. This is done usually by questionnaire or
checklist, while it is necessary to leave some time for the maturity of knowledge obtained by e-learning. This means
that the measurement is carried out after some time after the course is finished. Questionnaires were made
electronically using the learning management system. The fourth level of quality measurement, results, checks
whether students perform tasks better, if their efficiency, accuracy and overall productivity increased. In accordance
316 Martin Misut and Katarina Pribilova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 ( 2015 ) 312 – 319
with the originally designed Kirkpatrick model, this level is focused on practical learning outcomes through the
measurement of the financial benefit from a graduate. The effect cannot be measured directly in money at
universities. Therefore, the above model has been adapted (Misut, Pribilova, Orolinova, & Kotulakova, 2013) for
university education. The practical benefit is seen as the improvement of student competences in the university
education process and was evaluated through surveys of students and teachers with a time lag.
Design and verification of measures for enhancement of the higher education quality in a study program,
Teaching of Mathematics and Computer Science, was a goal of second activity. The results of the quality
measurements system have shown weaknesses in the education process quality and directed us to the areas where it
was necessary to propose activities for quality improvement. In this activity, we have proposed concrete actions in
different areas which have a direct and indirect impact on the quality of education. These areas are:
x Educational material
x Structure / virtual environment
x Communication, collaboration and interactivity
x Student Assessment
x Flexibility and adaptability of education
x Support (students and staff)
x The skills and experience
x Vision of the use of e-learning
x Allocation of resources
x A holistic aspect
The application of innovative forms of education requires new approaches to the educational process and also to
the management of the University introducing innovative processes. Changes in individual areas cannot be
implemented in isolation. It is necessary to proceed systematically, based on the plan that addresses activities for
enhancement of the quality of higher education globally.
We have chosen for implementation, based on the analysis of European policy and quality education projects and
practices of national organizations such as the eEurope Action Plan, Horizontal E-Learning Integrated Observation
System (HELIOS), Sustainable Environment for the Evaluation of Quality in E-Learning (SeeQuence), European
University Quality in eLearning (Enrique's), European Foundation for quality in eLearning (EFQUEL), European
Association for quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and others, a Model of e-learning quality (Åström,
2008). The following methodologies and strategies have been developed within the implementation of this model:
x The methodology for the creation of digital materials, including concrete pedagogical and technical criteria
(methodological and didactic concept of educational materials)
x Explicit strategy for communication, collaboration and interactivity depending on the educational requirements,
availability of technology and human resources
x Strategy for fair and flexible system of student assessment
x Strategy for improving the flexibility and adaptability of education, based on the pedagogical point of view and
students´ needs
x Strategy to support students, teachers and organizations, including technical, administrative and social support on
request
x A strategy for the development of teachers' skills
x Strategic plan for e-learning with long-term perspective
x Strategy of existing resources reallocation and creation of new resources according to the needs of e-learning
The implementation of the proposed short-term actions has been made within the project through an action plan.
The aim of the third activity was the implementation of a tool capable of effectively eliminating the information
disparity between university and public. Implementation of a modern communication tool (University wiki) that can
not only eliminate the information disparity, but also effectively share knowledge, build social networks, share
information and discussion, create and share web pages, documents and multimedia content, etc. was the basis for
this activity. Two-way communication is the advantage of wiki. This means that in contrast to the static web pages
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Martin Misut and Katarina Pribilova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 ( 2015 ) 312 – 319
designed primarily for university communications towards the public, the wiki system allows communication in the
opposite direction from the public to the university, as well. This element has been mainly used to obtain feedback
on the published information through public discussion and evaluation of the content.
To check the results we used electronic questionnaires for students, teachers and the public, through which we
investigated whether the information deemed to be sufficient and understandable, respectively what information the
public is interested in and what it would like to know more about.
Wiki is a tool that is used after successful implementations as:
x Collaborative tool
x University's intranet publishing tool
x Tool for creating learning materials
x Tool to reduce e-mail communication
x Blogging tool and more
The activity Design and results verification of actions for the education quality improvement, based on a system
of direct quality measurement, is the logical outcome of a project. This activity examines the professional aspects
and actions applicability for enhancement of the higher education quality.
Inputs for this activity are the strategies defined for each area of the actions for that method of assessment and
verification of these inputs have been proposed. Implementation of this activity is based on the execution of
multiple, interlinked activities:
x A proposal of the individual actions results evaluation
x A proposal of overall outcome evaluation
x Verification of the evaluation
Nine areas, for which actions are formalized in the respective strategies, have been proposed during the activity.
Individual actions are not formulated as directly measurable variables, but together they help to raise the quality of
education, which is measured on the basis of a direct quality measurement system, proposed in the first activity.
Currently, the perception of the applied changes, as well as fulfillment of different strategies, recommendations and
plans defined as outputs of previous activities is carried out through electronic questionnaires and personal
interviews with target groups. To quantify the benefits of the proposed measures, the quality measurement processes
were applied to the other groups of respondents after short-term activities had been implemented. Evaluation of
taken activities effect will be possible by comparison of gained results with the results of first processes quality
measurement. The output of this activity will be in a form of report containing the results of the measures for all
covered areas.
4. Conclusions
Data from the first direct quality measurement are being currently analyzed along with tests and questionnaires
for all four levels of evaluation (05/2014). Measuring of quality through pre-tests and post-tests is finished. Data
collection for the fourth step of adapted Kirkpatrick model will be completed in the coming weeks. Then the
contribution of the e-learning quality model implementation will be possible to evaluate.
Implemented technologies are already part of the standard learning process and they are used in other educational
units, as well. Positive feedback from students at the beginning of the university wiki and integrating virtual
classrooms in the LMS is dominant. This fact is perceived only by the immediate feedback at present. The actual
effect will be shown after the end of the analysis. Therefore, the conclusion is open, although so far the data is
supporting positive expectations. It is already clear that proposed methodological materials and practical
recommendations on development of education content, on communication of e-learning participants, the
recommendations relating to the organization of education, proposals for legislative changes regarding the rights and
obligations of e-learning participants, counting work load of teachers in e-learning and others positively influence
not only the quality of education, but also the overall improvement of attitudes of e-learning participants, and thus
the overall atmosphere of the institution.
318 Martin Misut and Katarina Pribilova / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 177 ( 2015 ) 312 – 319
Acknowledgements
This research was financially supported by the EU OPV-2010/1.2/02-SORO, ITMS26110230039 and partially by
KEGA (Grant No. 010TTU-4/2012).
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... As stated above, it is important to emphasise the necessity to understand how to manage the quality of E-learning. Numerous studies have shown that quality is the most significant factor for E-learning systems (Misut & Pribilova, 2015). As discussed before, quality can be evaluated by many indications and attributes which may have various influences on quality, such as pedagogy, authority, institution, learning background, instructor, performance, simplicity, information security and accuracy, interaction, learner, admin, etc. (Nikolić et al., 2018). ...
... As discussed before, quality can be evaluated by many indications and attributes which may have various influences on quality, such as pedagogy, authority, institution, learning background, instructor, performance, simplicity, information security and accuracy, interaction, learner, admin, etc. (Nikolić et al., 2018). Similarly, various models and approaches for quality assurance in E-learning can be found in literature (Misut & Pribilova, 2015). Those authors believe that the quality policies of successful learning with the support of information technology are equal to those in the traditional approach. ...
... Those authors believe that the quality policies of successful learning with the support of information technology are equal to those in the traditional approach. Finally, by embracing E-learning as a relatively new approach to education, it should be emphasised that well-composed elements will ensure success regardless of applied technology (methods) (Misut & Pribilova, 2015). ...
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Abstract The pandemic resulted in lockdown measures worldwide, which forced humanity to seek online alternatives to almost every human activity, including the education system. This research aims to develop a new integrated model to determine the predictors of the quality of E-learning during the pandemic disruption. This paper provides the development of the traditional approach based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) into the prediction method based on the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). This research was conducted on a sample comprising 1,254 students of the University of Belgrade. The results show that Authority initiative had the most important influence and significance in predicting the perception of the Quality of E-learning during the pandemic. At the same time, the Information Security predictor had the most negligible impact. The findings contribute to the raising the academic community and policy-makers awareness to the necessity of dealing with quality in E-education to a greater extent, especially in emergencies such as pandemics. The suggested combination of constructs that predict the Quality of E-learning has never been analysed in previous research by applying SEM-ANN methodology, which represents the additional contribution of this study. Keywords quality, E-learning, pandemic, higher education, SEM-ANN
... When standards are established, performance is determined by comparing it to those criteria. Although benchmarking is a difficult procedure to implement at universities, it is employed in the context of LMS [45]. ...
... These might be viewed as a catalyst for educational change, with the purpose of changing and modernizing education in order to meet the needs of our knowledge-based society. One element of the work is focused on the unique difficulties of e-learning quality, which is considered a possible tool for educational change [45]. ...
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This thesis report encompasses a comprehensive collection of research projects that contribute to the advancement of software engineering in various domains. The projects undertaken in this study are diverse and address critical challenges faced by the soft- ware industry, with a focus on requirements management, log analysis, testing processes, marketing-mix influence, project management, and quality assurance in education. The first project presents a hybrid approach aimed at overcoming requirements chal- lenges in the software industry. By combining different methodologies and techniques, this approach offers a robust and adaptable framework for effectively managing require- ments throughout the software development lifecycle. The second project focuses on developing a system that utilizes machine learning techniques to analyze logs from a given system. By leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, this system enables efficient and accurate log analysis, leading to improved system performance, debugging, and troubleshooting capabilities. In the third project, an innovative unified testing process framework is proposed for small and medium-sized tech enterprises. This framework incorporates the principles of the CMMI-SVC model to enhance the maturity of the software testing process, thereby ensuring higher-quality software deliverables. The fourth project investigates the influence of marketing-mix efforts on brand equity in the Bangladesh software industry. By conducting an in-depth analysis of marketing strategies and their impact on brand equity, valuable insights are obtained for software companies to optimize their marketing initiatives and strengthen their brand positioning. The fifth project introduces a hybrid project management model tailored specifi- cally for software quality improvement in startup tech companies. This model integrates various project management approaches to foster efficient resource allocation, risk man- agement, and quality assurance practices, thereby enhancing overall project success and product quality. Lastly, a quality assurance model is proposed to facilitate education and equality in Learning Management Systems (LMS). This model emphasizes the importance of en- suring equal access to education and the provision of high-quality learning experiences through effective quality assurance practices within LMS platforms. Collectively, these projects contribute to the advancement of software engineering by v addressing critical challenges, introducing novel methodologies, and promoting excellence in various areas of software development. The findings and insights from these projects can serve as valuable resources for researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers in the software industry seeking to enhance their processes, improve product quality, and drive organizational growth and success.
... Efficiency measurement was a very important aspect in the management of educational units to improve the quality of education (Martínez-Caro et al., 2015;Munoz, 2016). Schools were said to be efficient if they found ways to produce maximum levels of student achievement with some available resources (Misut & Pribilova, 2015;Ray, 1991;Wößmann & Schütz, 2006).. The meaning of education efficiency was the ability to do well and deliver desired results without losing resources and effort, time, and money. ...
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Efficiency is one of the determinants of the quality of education in schools. This study aimed to measure the performance of Indonesian provinces in managing elementary schools by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This research is evaluation-research using a quantitative approach. As many as 34 provinces in Indonesia were defined as DMUs by using six input variables, namely the number of schools, the number of teachers, the number of teachers certified more than the degree of bachelor, the number of students, the number of classes, and the number of libraries. Meanwhile, there were three output variables, namely the number of graduates, the number of schools that were A-accredited, and the average national exam. The robust data envelopment analysis (RDEA) applied the number of replications B=100, 500, and 1000. The results indicated that RDEA provided better accuracy and preciseness. Overall, all 34 provinces in Indonesia were found to have good performances in managing elementary schools where their efficiency scores were above 90% for both the traditional DEA and RDEA approaches. The implications of this research can be used as a study for stakeholders in making policies to improve the quality of education.
... E-learning is an approach to facilitate the application of knowledge and information and enhance learning using personal computers, CD-ROMs' and the internet for education [12]. The critical components of an e-learning programme are divided into four broad categories: curriculum, learners, educators, and, support, and evaluation (Misut & Pribilova, 2014;Gautam & Tiwari, 2016) [13,14]. Nursing education curricula have also been significantly influenced by technological advances Risling, (2017) and will be shaped by e-learning in the future as the technological landscape is growing with advances in all spheres of human interaction [15]. ...
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Technical education requires regular upgrades in pedagogical methodologies to keep up student’s skill on par with ever demanding job market. This paves the way for creating newer e-learning concepts for classroom to replace or supplement established teaching protocols. In line with this motive, this study deals with the development of an educational software tool to understand the traits of an internal combustion engine. The core of this software tool consists of polynomial regression equations, which in turn was arrived from statistical models using real world experimental data. A MATLAB-based GUI allows the operator to effortlessly interact with the software tool. Upon installation, the software requires the user to define input variables for it to automatically compute data and represent the output data in both visual and tabulated form. The advantage of three-dimensional surface plots for visual representation allows for understating the interactive effect of multiple input parameters on any given output parameter. Overall, average relative error for the model is less than 6%, thus exhibiting a good statistical fit.
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The journal is published as an Quarterly Journal with 4 issues per year., Also It publishes manuscripts (Original research , review articles, Short communication , Case , Mini Review ., Scientific Studies). ‫الثقاف‬ ‫البيت‬ ‫من‬ ‫تصدر‬ ‫علمية‬ ‫مجلة‬ ‫ال‬ ‫اتفورد‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ست‬ ‫جامعة‬ ‫ف‬ ‫عرب‬ ((‫األول‬ ‫الفرع‬-: ‫عالم‬ : ‫ر‬ ‫النش‬ ‫دار‬ ‫العرب‬ ‫البيت‬ ‫ف‬ ‫الثقاف‬ ‫الهند‬) ‫أيضآ‬ ‫تصدر‬ ‫و‬) ((‫اق‬ ‫العر‬ ‫ف‬ ‫الثاب‬ ‫بفرعها‬ : ‫المحل‬-‫النجف‬-‫ر‬ ‫والنش‬ ‫للطباعة‬ ‫المارد‬ ‫ر‬ ‫النش‬ ‫دار‬) ,) ‫بدأت‬ ‫عام‬ ‫لها‬ ‫اصدار‬ ‫أول‬ ‫المجلة‬ 6102 ‫و‬ ‫المزدوج‬ ‫للتقييم‬ ‫بحوثها‬ ‫تخضع‬ ‫بواقع‬ 4 ‫سنويآ‬ ‫أعداد‬ ‫ع‬ ‫أرب‬ ‫المجلة‬. ‫الكوفة‬ ‫جامعة‬ ‫رئاسة‬ ‫من‬ ‫كتابي‬ ‫من‬ ‫ر‬ ‫اكت‬ ‫لها‬ ‫وكذلك‬ , ‫بغداد‬ ‫ف‬ ‫اقية‬ ‫العر‬ ‫والوثائق‬ ‫للكتب‬ ‫الوطنية‬ ‫االيداع‬ ‫دار‬ ‫ف‬ ‫مسجلة‬ , ‫العلمية‬ ‫قيات‬ ‫ر‬ ‫الت‬ ‫ف‬ ‫اعتمادها‬ ‫ف‬ ‫ر‬ ‫تنش‬ ‫و‬ ‫التخصصات‬ ‫كافة‬ ‫العلمية‬ ‫واإلنسانية‬ ‫البحوث‬ (‫البحوث‬ ‫ر‬ ‫وتنش‬. ‫أألكاديمية‬ ‫المقاالت‬ , ‫العلمية‬ ‫و‬ ‫الهندسية‬ ‫و‬ ‫العلمية‬ ‫و‬ ‫الطبية‬ ‫التخصصات‬ ‫بمختلف‬).... , ‫اإلنسانية‬ ‫اسات‬ ‫الدر‬ , ‫اجعات‬ ‫المر‬ , ‫علوم‬ , ‫الصناع‬ ‫الذكاء‬ , ‫الحاسوب‬ , ‫ي‬ ‫اإلنكلت‬ ‫االدب‬ ‫بحوث‬ , ‫العربية‬ ‫اللغة‬ ‫بحوث‬ , ‫خ‬ ‫التاري‬ , ‫الفنون‬ ‫و‬ ‫أألدب‬ ‫و‬ ‫بوية‬ ‫ر‬ ‫الت‬ ‫ع‬ , ‫ياء‬ ‫الفت‬ ‫الكيمياء,‬ , ‫الرياضيات‬ , ‫الرياضة‬ ‫النانو‬ ‫التخصصات‬ ‫و‬ .... , ‫الصيدلة‬ , ‫ر‬ ‫اللت‬ , ‫النفس‬ ‫علم‬ , ‫الحياة‬ ‫لوم‬. ‫األخرى‬ ‫أألكاديمية‬ ‫ببغداد‬ ‫اقية‬ ‫العر‬ ‫والكتب‬ ‫الوثائق‬ ‫دار‬ ‫ف‬ ‫اإليداع‬ ‫رقم‬ 2478 ‫لعام
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The current research is aimed at analyzing modern problematicity of professionally-oriented English training of future International Relations specialists with the introduction of information and communication technologies that is vital issue requiring a complex and multilevel consideration; it is a response to the noticeable demand of state and business structures for highly qualified specialists in terms of establishing, developing and bringing to a new level of partnership and communication between subjects of international relations and law with different structures and functions as well. Purpose. The objective of the research is to examine and evaluate the impact of ICT on professionally-oriented English learning styles of the university students majoring in International Relations based on a system of theoretical and research methods. Results. Professionally-oriented English training of future International Relations specialists with the introduction of information and communication technologies is primarily characterized by multifunctionality, efficiency, productivity, intensity, students’ possibility of quick and effective creative self-realization, availability of personal educational trajectory. Learning process, based on distance learning, is multifaceted, mobile and situation-oriented. Learning a foreign language (blended learning, case technology, e-learning, flipped learning, etc.) is a time-consuming process. ICT are viewed as the introduction of a complex of programs for managing learning process at higher education establishments, the creation of a single information and communication learning space (integrated, multifaceted, resource-intensive) for higher education, the development of integrated occupations, project activities, as well as distance learning, network interactions.
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Equal access to a good quality Higher Education is becoming an inevitable issue among the generation in Indonesia. As the youth demographic dominates the country’s population, Indonesia calls for transformational change within its Higher Education (HE) sector. To support the implementation of said change, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Directorate General of Higher Education established the Indonesia Cyber Education Education Institute (ICE-I) in July 2021. ICE-I is a university consortium that consists of fourteen private and public universities, including Universitas Terbuka (UT, Indonesia Open University). The establishment of the ICE-I requires all members of the consortium to openly collaborate in providing distance education through the implementation of technology-integrated learning. At the same time, it also raises an issue on whether the national accreditation standards can ensure the quality standards of open and distance education as a consortium. This paper elaborates on the effort to build a Quality Assurance Toolkit, named ICE-I QA Toolkit which is deemed as a new standard of online course quality and the entry point for transforming open and distance learning culture in each consortium member and will subsequently attract larger contributions from other HE institutions, as well as individual professional contributor.
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There have been few efforts to investigate the concept of quality from learners' perspectives or to incorporate their needs and perceptions in quality standards in distance education. This is rather surprising, particularly in distance education contexts where the quality of the learning is not derived only from the products and services delivered to the learner but also from the knowledge, understanding, and relationships that are codeveloped by both teachers and learners during the teaching and learning processes. This study proposes and verifies a conceptual model of the 10 dimensions of quality in distance education from the learners' perspectives and investigates gender differences in the perception of quality in distance education with 1,665 distance learners from 11 Asian countries and one territory. The results show that all 10 dimensions across supportive, pedagogical, and environmental domains in the model are important in judging quality in distance education. Also, gender differences are found in the perceived importance of 10 quality dimensions, barriers to DE, important supporters, and types of support received. The implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for further research and development are offered.
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E-learning development for enterprises is still in its infancy in that scholars are still working on identifying the critical success factors for e-learning in organizational contexts. This study presents a framework considering how organizational factors affect the quality and service of e-learning systems and how these factors influence organizational benefits in the view of IS success model and resource-based theory. A questionnaire survey of 120 Taiwanese companies was performed to validate the framework. The results show that top management support, information security policy, and institutional policy are positively related to system quality, while top management support, organizational learning culture, and institutional policy are positively related to system service. Additionally, system service is significantly related to organizational benefits. Our model provides two novel aspects of e-learning study. Firstly, we extend IS success model by incorporating four organizational factors as antecedences influencing system quality and system service. Secondly, the model is framed and examined on an organizational level, which provides a top-down view for managers when designing and implementing e-learning systems in the organizational context.
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Web-based or “online” learning commonly known as e-Learning which makes use of internet technologies has been widely used by many education institutions around the globe. Higher education institutions have been using Learning Management system (LMS) as a part of their campus-based and distance teaching. To date, very little research has been carried out to investigate whether the uses of LMS actually contribute to student learning. In this paper, we present a higher education blended teaching method for improving student learning. By blended teaching, we mean the combination of face-to-face teaching and the uses of a LMS for learning, teaching and assessment activities. Student’s learning progress is guided and gauged by Shulman’s (2002) table of learning. The LMS that we use at La Trobe University is Moodle. To demonstrate the usefulness of our method, we also present in this paper the results of applying it to teaching a third year software engineering subject, CSE3MQR (Metrics, Quality and Reliability).
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Benchmarking is becoming a more and more commonly used method for quality assurance and enhance-ment in higher education today. The aim of this study was to explore the impact and value of benchmarking e-learning in universities. Two European benchmarking initiatives, E-xcellence+ through the European Associa-tion of Distance Teaching Universities [EADTU] and an e-learning benchmarking exercise through the Euro-pean Centre for Strategic Management of Universities [ESMU], were studied using an exploratory multiple case study method and cross-case analysis of the findings. The findings indicated the value and impact of a variety of as-pects of benchmarking e-learning on different levels, and stressed the need for a holistic and contextual ap-proach as both benchmarking and e-learning are complex and comprehensive phenomena. This study also shows that benchmarking, in line with national and international quality boards/agencies, is a powerful tool for making improvements to teaching and learning in higher education.
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Abstract‘Under which conditions does ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning?’ This was the leading question of the International EDUsummIT in The Hague, the Netherlands. The bases for the discussion were the scholarly findings of the International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, a synthesis of research in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. Seventy international policymakers, researchers, and practitioners developed a Call to Action, which summarizes the main action points where policy, research, and leadership need to join forces in order to successfully implement ICT in educational practice. These main action points include a view on the role of ICT in 21st century learning; conditions for realizing the potential of multiple technologies to address individual needs of students; better understanding of the relationship between formal and informal learning; the implications of technology for student assessment; the need for models for leadership and teacher learning to successfully implement technology; the potential of ICT for digital equity; and the development of a list of essential conditions to ensure benefit from ICT investments. In this contribution, we present the Call to Action and synthesize the research on which the Call is based.
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The aim of this paper is to develop a reliable and valid e-learning quality measurement scales from the learner as well as faculty perspectives in Indian context. Exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis was done which is presented in two forms; covariance model and the structural model. The covariance model shows that the factors namely collaboration, industry acceptance and value addition are important from the learner's point of view whereas the factors namely transparency in assessment, technical know-how and engagement (from students) are important from faculty point of view. Factors namely course content and design structures(technology/website design) are found equally important for learner's as well as faculty's perspective. The structural models validate the previously extracted factors along with their indicators. The findings of this study validate the long held belief that e-learning quality is a multidimensional construct and serves as a critical success factor. The proposed scale will help in identifying issues that contribute towards e-learning quality in Indian context and thereby formulating strategies accordingly, resulting in efficient (in terms of cost) and effective (outcomes) e-learning practices, which is the necessity of the hour for the economic development of the country. A fair amount of literature on e-learning dealt with identifying factors explaining the constructs of quality, perceived value and satisfaction. But there is paucity of research pertaining to e-learning quality scale development and validation from the learner as well as faculty perspective. This study is an attempt to bridge this gap in the existing literature.