Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Fauziah Redzuan et al.
emotional state during a period of learning (Sandanayake and Madurapperuma 2009). Chen, Chuah
and Teh (2010) also attempted to use KE in their study on instructional design.
Many methods of KE exist, namely, KE Type I and Type II, Category Classification Method, KE
System, Virtual KE System, and many more. For the purpose of this research, we selected KE Type II
as being the method most suitable for this area of study, as identified by its research design.
6. Proposed model
This paper reports a brief description of the proposed research model. The chosen model is based on
the principles of the Aptum model, highlighted by Hasle (2006) and interaction design. The Aptum
model was chosen as it consists of elements that are strongly proposed for effective communication
and is related to emotion. The interaction design also is included in the model, as from the literature it
is an important element in learning. The Aptum model consists of the elements of the Orator (the
speaker or instructor), the Scena (the audience or the receiver), the Res (the content), the Verba (the
style or the form of presentation or interface), and the Situatio (the context). According to Hasle (2006)
the Aptum model emphasises the balance between the elements, to achieve the apt. The more the
balance, the better is the apt.
However, the Aptum model is a general model, and adaptation is needed in order to discover the
knowledge of how a specific combination of design elements affects emotional experience in
eLearning environment. To enable this, KE methodology was adopted, as it has been successfully
proven in discovering relations between emotion and design.
Therefore, we argue that, based on the principles of Aptum model and interaction design, there is not
one element that affects the positive emotional experience in learning, but rather a combination of
elements that results in a positive emotional experience of the learners. The important elements
extracted from the Aptum model are the interface, content, and context. For this experiment, the
emotional experience based on the combination of interface, content, and interaction design were
being evaluated.
As far as the authors are aware, no other researchers have yet applied the principles of the Aptum
model, interaction design, in combination with KE, to extract the design elements based on the
emotional experience of the learners in online learning. For interested readers, who would like to read
in detail about the proposed model, please refer to Redzuan et al (in press).
7. Methodology
To proceed with the research, we took several steps based on the KE technique. The KE Type II
method based on (Nagamachi and Lokman 2011), is followed.
Steps were adopted from the KE Type II (Phase 1), but were adapted specifically at the Extracting
Item/Category step. Figure 1 shows in detail all of the steps adopted in this study using the KE Type II
method. Section 7 (Methodology) and Section 8 (Analysis and Discussion) of the paper are related to
Figure 1.
7.1 Selecting survey target
During the survey target selection phase, researchers began with the general problem, identified from
the literature and then focused on the specific problem of the design of the learning material for
courses in an eLearning environment. A short survey was administered to undergraduate university
students in Information Technology and Network, at the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical
Sciences to which the first author of this paper is affiliated. The survey was conducted in order to
confirm that the problem in the design of learning materials is still relevant. Initially, 45 students were
selected and surveyed to ascertain their opinions on which of five courses needed support for
eLearning. The results are shown in Table 1.
A comparison was made between the two groups. Both groups valued eLearning as important to
course code ITS472 (Database course) so that they would be able to study at their own pace and
time.
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