Development of a Web-based System to Support Self-Directed ...

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Research question and population The goals of the present study are to: (1) make students respond to the developed web-based environments that are interactive, and (2) investigate the effects of such environments on the learning of the technical skills, more specifically, microfabrication technology. The two classes that have been chosen were taught by the same instructor and the course was of the undergraduate level. Students were required to take the course of “Introduction to Micro- electro-mechanical System” to familiarize themselves with the fundamental concepts, and then they were asked to take the course of “Microfabrication Technology” to have a comprehensive understanding of the microfabrication technical skills. The participants in the Experimental group were comprised of 45 students in their senior year, while the Control group was comprised of 30 senior-year students, who were trained under the conventional learning environment, whereas the students in the Experimental group were trained for microfabrication technology with the support of the interactive, web-based environments. The hypothesis that “the developed web-based environments that are interactive have a positive effect on student technical skills in microfabrication technology” was tested, and the premise was that students of the two groups had equal prior knowledge and skills, or in other words, that the baseline drawn was objective. First examined was the prior knowledge of microfabrication in students. Fifty multiple-choice questions in the Cognitive Aptitude Test (Table 1) showed that there were no observable differences (p>.05) in terms of prior knowledge among students from the Experimental and Control groups before their participations in the microfabrication course. This indicates that before the experimental teaching had taken place, there were no differences noted in cognition in the students from the two groups. The results indicated that the hypothesis for the study was reasonable. Table 1. Comparison of cognition between students from the experimental and control groups Group Control group (n=30) Mean SD Experimental group (n=45) Mean SD p t Pre-course Cognition *p < .05 57.65 11.82 58.24 11.23 .682 -.412 Research setting and methods The effects of the interactive, web-based learning environment developed were examined quantitatively, as well as qualitatively. The quantitative analysis was drawn based on pretest and posttest scores; both of the pre- and post- tests were administered in the first and the final week of the 18-week semester term. The qualitative data were collected after interviews were conducted at the end of the courses, along with questionnaires administered to measure levels of satisfaction among participants toward the courses and their perceptions of the teaching methods used after completion of the courses. The course structure presented, the self-directed learning approach, as well as the interactions exchanged were among the items that were examined. The Cronbach’s alpha value of internal consistency was 0.769, which translated into strong reliability, as the criterion validity was based on the significantly positive correlation of test scores for several universities. Results and discussion Table 2 shows the participants' responses for items that were associated with their levels of satisfaction on the webbased learning interactions. The results showed that 93.3% of the participants agreed that the web-based learning interactions helped them with their problem-solve skills with the utilization of microfabrication technologies (mean, M = 4.15; standard deviation, SD = 0.521), while 90.0% of the participants believed the interactive learning environments to have been a conducive learning environment (M = 3.98, SD = 0.632). Table 3 illustrates the students' perceptions on the various features of the web-based learning environment. Nearly ninety percent of the students surveyed agreed that the interface design was user-friendly and thought the content of the course "well-organized." They also felt that the interactive web-based learning environments were able to facilitate the investigation and planning of activities in the microfabrication laboratory, which made microfabrication technology more appealing to them. The students believed that such environments not only improved their technological skills but also enhanced their ability to integrate the learned technologies with the theories studied. 208
However, a few participants felt isolated while completing assignments in the web-based learning environments, possibly due to the lack of face-to-face interactions involved. The interviews revealed that most students believed the course to be challenging, intellectually stimulating and engaging, and they have also offered positive feedback toward microfabrication technology. Table 2. Satisfaction with the interactive web-based learning environments Responses Items SA A US DA SDA M SD The interactive web-based learning systems helped me to solve problems on MEMS technologies. 13 25 7 0 0 4.15 .521 The interactive web-based learning systems provided a conducive 10 27 6 2 0 3.98 .632 learning environment. Note: SA = Strongly Agree (5), A = Agree (4), US = Unsure (3), DA = Disagree (2), and SDA= Strongly Disagree (1), M = Mean, SD = Standard Deviation Table 3. Perceptions of the interactive web-based learning environments Responses Items SA A US DA SDA M SD The interactive web-based learning system enhanced my interests 13 25 7 0 0 4.16 .547 toward learning of microfabrication technology. It was easy to gain access to technical support. 10 27 5 3 0 4.01 .606 The course materials satisfied my learning needs. 6 20 9 6 4 3.57 .919 The interface is user friendly and attractive. 15 22 8 0 0 4.19 .619 The online course contents were well structured. 11 22 9 3 0 4.01 .703 I was able to obtain the materials from the interactive web-based learning system for learning. 9 23 10 3 0 .391 .683 The interactive web-based learning systems encouraged learning. 17 22 6 0 0 4.24 .543 I obtained feedback from interactive web-based learning systems as frequently as needed 13 26 6 0 0 4.14 .502 I was able to interact with the web-based learning systems as 15 24 6 0 0 4.23 .512 frequently as needed I was able to obtain assistance in understanding content that is related to microfabrication with use of interactive web-based learning systems. 9 25 8 3 0 3.96 .621 I was able to understand the microfabrication course content from interactive web-based learning systems. 11 24 7 3 0 4.01 .686 The use of materials in the interactive web-based learning systems enhanced my understanding of the microfabrication technology. 6 24 7 4 4 3.75 .795 I would like to repeat the experience. 23 17 5 0 0 4.32 .545 Table 4. Comparisons of Pre-and Post-Test scores for the undergraduate students Control group (n = 30) Experimental group (n = 45) Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test M SD M SD t p M SD M SD t p Operation of machines 7.70 0.92 8.07 1.08 -1.94 0.062 7.87 0.97 8.69 0.87 -5.046 0.000 Selection of process parameters 7.93 0.98 8.13 0.90 -0.84 0.405 7.82 1.05 8.60 0.99 -3.613 0.001 Process planning 7.20 0.96 7.27 0.91 -0.27 0.787 7.11 1.37 8.13 .99 -3.778 0.000 a The maximum grade for each part of the question was 10.00, and the maximum grade for the entire question was 30.00. 209
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