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————

THE IMPACTS OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA DATABASE PROGRAM
(INTELSTACKS)
IN EDUCATION

By

Prince Yaw Nimako

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Telecommunications

1993

ABSTRACT

TI-IE IMPACTS OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA DATABASE PROGRAM
(INTELSTACKS)
IN EDUCATION

By

Prince Yaw Nimako

INTELSTACKS program, in a form of multimedia database, was developed to
fulfill some of the requirements for the teaching of and research on modern
international telecommunication issues. The students beliefs about the
medium's difficulty level, its entertainment potentials, the type of information
presented, and typical instructional demands can exert as much influence over
learning as the medium itself. The database was used to support traditional
classroom instruction and was assigned to students as one of the major sources
of reference to support their term paper. A qualitative study was conducted to
assess all the major attributes of INTELSTACKS in relation to student learning
gains.

The survey results did indicate that the legibility and comprehensibility of
information, the fun to use quality of the program, and sounds showed a
statistically significant effect on students' learning gain. The students found the
program a good starting point and a foundation for research. Majority of them
expressed their willingness to use the program again for their future research on

media.

ii

THE IMPACTS OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA DATABASE PROGRAM
(INTELSTACKS) IN EDUCATION. Copyright ©1993 by Prince Yaw N imako.
Printed and bound in the United States Of America. No part of this Thesis may
be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without
written permission from the author.

iii

DEDICATION

to Agathe Akoua Nimako, my wife
to Agnes Aka, my step daughter
to Nana Serwaa-Amanpene Nimako and Nana Agyeiwaa Nimako,
my daughters.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is a pleasure to express my unqualified gratitude to the co-authors of
INTELSTACKS program for giving me the privilege of being a member of
INTELSTACKS production team. Working with those two experts not only gave
me a sound preparation towards my professional activities in technology in
education, but also gave me the ideal understanding of the importance of "Joint
Intellectual Venture".

I am indebted to Dr. Joseph Straubhaar who, as chairman of my thesis
committee, academic advisor, and content expert of INTELSTACKS program,
accepted my request for studying the educational potentials of INTELSTACKS
program for my master of arts thesis. Again, I thank him for giving the
production team an access to his personal library of sources and recommending
valuable references that helped the team for the collection of data to build the
program.

My sincere thanks also go to Dr. Carrie Heeter who, as Director of
Communication Technology Laboratory of Michigan State University,
INTELSTACKS technical advisor, designer, and programmer, as well as a
member of my thesis committee gave me the benefits of her expertise in
”hypermedia and multimedia in education". Learning about hypercard program
at that short period of time in order to be able to fully participate in
INTELSTACKS development was very challenging. But due to her motivations
and "savoir-faire", it is a pride today to count myself as one of the hypercard

application fanatics especially in multimedia environments.

I am glad to reveal my deep appreciation to the Office of the Dean of College of
Arts and Sciences as well as Communication Technology Laboratory of Michigan
State University, for the equipment made available for the development and
testing of INTELSTACKS prototype.

Finally, I am very grateful to the individual graduate students who contributed
in diverse ways towards the development of INTELSTACKS program. In
particular, thanks are due to Mr. Pericles Gomez for his technical support.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 1 1
Dedicatron ..................................................................................................................... 1 v
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... v
Table Of Contents .......................................................................................................... vii
List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1
Background of the Study ................................................................................... 2
Purpose of the Study .......................................................................................... 3
Methodology of INTELSTACKS Development and the Field Test ......... 3
The Study Sample ............................................................................................... 5
Definition of Terms ............................................................................................ 5
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................ 8
Multimedia .......................................................................................................... 13
Lessons for Study about INTELSTACKS ....................................................... 15
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY OF INTELSTACKS DEVELOPMENT
AND FIELD TEST ........................................................................................................... 18
Rationale for INTELSTACKS Procedure ....................................................... 18
Development Procedure ................................................................................... 18
Events of Instruction .......................................................................................... 22
INTELSTACKS Prototype ................................................................................. 23
Field Test ............................................................................................................... 24
Hypothesis ............................................................................................................ 24
The Study Sample ............................................................................................... 26
Training ................................................................................................................ 26
Equipment ............................................................................................................ 27
Demonstration and Practice ............................................................................. 27
Development of Survey Instrument (Content Validity) ........................... 28

vii

Data Collection .................................................................................................... 28

CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................. 29
Independent Variables ............................................................................................. 3O
Dependent Variables .......................................................................................... 30
Summary Statistics ............................................................................................. 30
Visual and Summary Analyses ....................................................................... 37
Hypotheses Testing ............................................................................................. 41
Summary of the Hypotheses Testing ............................................................. 50
CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 51
Summary: ............................................................................................................. 51
Limitations of Operationalizations and Generalizations .......................... 51
Proposed Future Study ...................................................................................... 52
Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 54
Recommendations ............................................................................................. 56
References ..................................................................................................................... 59
Appendix A: Questions on INTELSTACKS ............................................................. 61
Appendix 8: Electronic Media Stack ..........................................................................
Appendix C: Print Media Stack ...................................................................................
Appendix D: General Information Stack ..................................................................
Appendix E: World Map Stack ....................................................................................

viii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1A: Efficiency ................................................................................................... 31
TABLE 1B: Learning Gain .......................................................................................... 32
TABLE 1C: Difficulty ................................................................................................... 33
TABLE 1D: Preference ................................................................................................. 34
TABLE 1E: Hardware 8: Software Usage ................................................................. 35
TABLE 1F: Frequency of Hypercard Usage (Months) ........................................... 35
TABLE 1G: Frequency of Hypercard Usage (Hours) .............................................. 36
TABLE 1H: Hypercard Again ..................................................................................... 36
TABLE 2: Correlation Matrix for Independent Variables ................................. 37
TABLE 3: Correlation Matrix for Dependent Variables .................................... 38
TABLE 4: Bivariate Relationships Between Independent and

Dependent Variables. ............................................................................. 39
TABLE 5: Completely Randomized Block Design (CR-p) ................................ 53
TABLE 6: Randomized Block Design (RB-p) ....................................................... 54

ix

CHAPTERI

INTRODUCTION
The traditional instruction and research on international telecommunications
have principally depended on textbook-based courses, stand-alone database
systems, and formal lectures supported by a variety of audio visual materials.
Projection of overhead transparencies remains the dominant medium.

The modern integrated electronic learning systems have made it possible
to combine text materials, sounds, graphics, colors, animation, and etc. in a form
of multimedia that can be stored on a stand-alone floppy disks or computer hard
disks. In the case of international telecommunications, there are no clearly
defined or designed integrated instructional and research database systems,
especially combining electronic and print media information into one
educational program.

A hypercard media database, called INTELSTACKS, developed at the
Department of Telecommunication, Michigan State University, was specially
designed to fulfill some of the requirements for the teaching of and research on
modern international telecommunication issues. The purpose of INTELSTACKS
is to provide students with some basic demographic and media information and
geographic location of each country on the globe. The program provides also
users with a tool for sorting and analyzing the data. Such Opportunity would
help the telecommunication students or any user of the program to better
understand and give a meaningful account of media impacts on economic,
political, social, and cultural developments within and across nations. The main
sections of the study consist of the background and purpose of the study, review
of literature related to INTELSTACKS program, sample, methodology for
INTELSTACKS development, field test, data collection, data analysis, summary,

 

conclusions, recommendations, and bibliography.

W

Educational media programs are perceived as external devices which, along with
other factors, set the stage for cognitive activities, precisely because they are part
of a learner's a priori anticipations. What a student thinks or believes to be the
case about a particular mediated presentation can come to exert at least as much
influence over learning as the medium itself. This may include beliefs about the
medium's difficulty level, its entertainment potential, the type of information
usually presented, and typical instructional demands.

Presumably, differences in the qualities attributed to different media may
influence learning related behaviors of students. According to Salomon (1981),
the amount of mental effort invested in nonautomatic elaboration of material
(i.e., mindful processing) depends primarily on two factors: (1) the learner's
perception of the learning-relevant characteristics of the medium and task, and
(2) the learners own perceived self-efficacy in elaborating the information they
will receive.

As each new medium is put into educational use, researchers and
educators need to consider the impact of the medium's introduction in the
curriculum (e.g., interactions between the instructor and the students) and the
changes the teaching and learning undergo. Newer media also afford convenient
and often novel ways to shape instructional presentations. Evidence from past
symbolic system and general cognitive science research (Clark, 1983) indicate that
many different symbolic presentations, such as words, pictures, and figures
sometimes serve the same or similar functions in cognitive processing. This
recommends that instructional designers and curriculum planners could choose

the less expensive or more convenient medium for instruction, provided that its

symbolic modes were sufficient to yield the necessary cognitive transformations
required by the learning task and learner. If new media programs, such as
hypercard, allow for flexible and local construction, then the attributes of newer
media may serve as powerful causal variables that influence learning and
performance. The allowance for students' manipulation of input data, according
to Lesgold and Reif (1983), may activate specific mental operations that facilitate
the acquisition of knowledge as well as their improved mastery.

W
The primary purpose in conducting this study is to assess the extent to which
INTELSTACKS program attributes and the instructional presentation it affords
can facilitate students' understanding of complex international
telecommunication issues so that they will be able to analyze and give a
meaningful account of media impacts on economic, political, social, and cultural
developments within and across countries. Essentially, the field test will seek to
test the main attributes of the program such as the legibility and
comprehensibility of information, whether it is hard or fun to use the program,
the impacts of graphics and sounds, and organization of information in the

program.

“mu.- DAO .0 0 ell . : Ole I ll 0 ’ul .k' é x" lo! 3 5! D [‘1
INTELSTACKS Development and Instructional Procedures:
During the initial planning stage, the following elements or components that
might influence the program's effectiveness, efficiency, appeal, and credibility
were carefully studied. In the case of deve10pment procedure, the Topic, Subject-
matter, Characteristics of the Target Population, Goals, Tasks, Objectives,

Applicable Category Of Knowledge, Evaluation, and Resources. These were

 

regrouped under three main domains. First, Problem Definition. Here the
content expert identified the problem with traditional methods of teaching,
analyzed the TC 498 students' characteristics, resources, and team responsibilities.
Second, Product Development. At this level the production team identified
objectives, methods, and construct prototypes. These included enabling and
terminal performance objectives, specifications of instructional strategies, media
forms, description of instructional design specifications, technical review of the
prototype, and construct and assemble of the program. Third, Program
Evaluation. This consisted of testing the prototype, analyzing the results, and
implementation and / or recycling of the program. For instance the content
expert (i.e., the TC 498 class instructor) had to use the program to support his
traditional methods of teaching TC 498 course. The students were asked to use
the database as a resource for their class assignments and research or term paper.
The researcher conducted a survey at the end of the term, determined
relationships among results, methods, objectives, and goals, and finally
indicated the kinds of revisions (if any) or suggested implementation without
major revisions.

The early planning also took into account four instructional design issues that
might enhance the INTELSTACKS program for educational purposes. The basic
questions raised were the following. First, Purpose: What problem would the
program attempt to solve? Second, Conditions: What would be taught, who
would be taught, and what would be the potential contraints to the program in
terms of classroom setting, resources, teaching, and learning? Third, Treatment
(methods): What would be the suggestions about how to apply the database
during instruction and information searching and usage by the students ?
Fourth, Outcomes: What would be the goals of using the program to support

traditional instruction including effectiveness, efficiency, and appeal? Who

 

would be the people observed ?

HELDJESI
In an effort to test educational potentials and production qualities of
INTELSTACKS prototype, a field test was concluded during the Spring Term,
1990. The research methodology and procedures are explained. Thus the study
sample is described, equipment used is specified, training, demonstration and
practice are described, the construction of survey instrument is discussed, the
hypotheses are stated, data collection, and data analysis procedures are

delineated.

W
The sample group used for the study included all the 38 students in the TC 498
class, Spring Term, 1990 of the Department of Telecommunications, College of

Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University.

W

INTELSTACKS: International Media Database Stacks. It is a hypercard-based
media database developed to provide students with some basic
demographic and media information and geographic location of
each country on the globe.

Hypercard: It is a computer (Macintosh) software that helps you to write your
own programs. It is like a pencil, ruler, and piece of paper you use to
create a blank of paper form that could be reproduced in quantity.
The form then becomes a tool to make information gathering and
display easier.

Multimedia: It is characterized as a presentation that incorporates many media
forms. For example, a presentation that uses computer-generated
charts, audio effects such as music and voice, slides, and videodisc
images.

Hypermedia: It is characterized as multimedia only it carries it one step further
by allowing the learner or user to interact with the presentation. We
create a hypermedia environment, for example, by programming a
computer to control CD—ROM drives, Videodisc players, Video-
taped and animations.

Hypertext: The electronic presentation of text that takes advantage of the
random access capabilities of the computer that allow user
controlled random access of information.

Branching: The technique for moving from one place to another in the
program. A computer program such as INTELSTACKS containing
multiple paths which are either chosen by the learner or prescribed
by the program.

Peripheral: Electronic equipment connected to a computer. Peripherals include
printers, overhead projectors, modems, videodisc players, and disk
drives.

LCD: liquid Crystal Display. A digital display mechanism made up of
character-forming segments of a liquid crytal material sandwiched
between polarizing and reflecting pieces of glass.

CAI: computer-assisted instruction. It is also known as computer-aided
instruction, computer-based instruction (CBI), computer-assisted
learning (CAL), or computer-based training (CBT).

MINTTAB: It is a general purpose statistical software developed for students,
engineers, social and physical scientists, managers, and others who
have to organize and analyze data.

Interactivity: In CAI, it refers to the activities performed by both the learner and
the computer. Thus, two-way communication between the user and
the computer program.

Reactive design: It is the lowest level of interactivity. There is little learner
control Of content or program operation. Thus, program-controlled
content and feedback.

Coactive design: It is the second level of interactivity, the learner has control of
the program structure.

Proactive design: It is the highest level of interactivity, the learner controls both
the content and structure of the program.

Flowchart: This is a graphic representation of the flow of the program showing

all segments, tracks, and options.
Tutorial: The mode of CA1 in which the computer serves as a private teacher.
Formative evaluation: A type of evaluation that takes place during the
development of an instructional program so that changes can be

made before the product is complete.

Summative evaluation: A type of instructional evaluation that takes place after
a program has been completely developed and implemented.

CHAPTERZ

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The history of our experience with media in teaching has been characterized by
expectations. On one hand, each new medium has raised our hopes for benefits
to instruction and learning. On the other hand, there has been a historical
concern on the part of parents and educators over the impact of increased
exposure to newer media. This concern carries with it a fear that children might
be harmed or misdirected if they spend too much time with newer media.
Earlier studies emphasized gross, undifferentiated comparisons of the learning
impact of newer media, such as television, with more "traditional" media such
as classroom instruction. Recent studies have exchanged the behaviorally based
comparison between media with more cognitively oriented questions. These
cognitive researchers have moved from asking which medium was a better
teacher to the concern with which "attributes" of media might combine with
learner traits under different task conditions and performance demands to
produce different kinds of learning.

Introduction of technologies and techniques should be accompanied by the
development Of relevant cognitive skills (Olson & Bruner,1974). Olson argued
that any accomplishment of human activity must begin with an understanding
of the activities whereby information is picked up from the environment, A
mentally transformed, and stored.

Salomon (1979) offered a theory based on the assumption that (a) both the
media and the human mind employ symbols to represent, store, and manipulate
information, and (b) that some of the symbol systems employed in cognition are
acquired from the symbol systems employed by the media. The Olson theory
(1976) attempts to show how in instruction the content of the medium is related

to the knowledge acquired, while the means employed are related to the skills,
strategies, and heuristics that are called upon and developed. This implies that
perhaps the function of media that presents new symbol systems is not so much
to convey old knowledge in new forms but rather to cultivate new skills for
exploration and internal representation.

The more distinctive or contrived the symbol system used to represent
information, the more distinctive the mental skills that are required and called
upon. For example, Salomon (1974) distinguished between televised instruction
that only employed the technology of television without much emphasis on the
medium's unique symbolic potentialities and televised instruction that does
utilize these features fully such as zooming of camera lens. The results showed
that only the latter was found to make a difference in the kinds of knowledge
acquired and the meanings derived from instruction as it calls upon different
sets of mental skills.

Greenfield (1984) and Salomon (1979) reviews have shown that symbolic
features of mediated experiences and instruction seem to affect differentially the
skills activated in the service of knowledge acquisition and on the mastery of
these skills. This supports the Vygotskian view that a particular coding or
structural elements of the media (e.g., filmic causal sequences) or particular
afforded activities (e.g., programing) may have specific effects on related mental
skills. Thus, the employment of a coding element such as a close-up, or the
allowance for students' manipulation of input data (e.g., Lesgold 8r Reif, 1983),
may activate specific mental operations that facilitate the acquisition of
knowledge as well as their improved mastery.

The possibility of skill activation and cultivation from specific media
attributes also raises new conceptual and empirical questions. If media's symbolic

modes of information presentation can activate, even cultivate mental

 

operations and skills, are these skills unique? What is their utility? And how far
do they transfer? These questions are of particular interest with respect to the use
of computers in instruction ( Papert, 1980; Pea & Kurland, 1985; Tikomirov,
1974;), for many computer-afforded activities are rationalized in terms of their
unique effects on transferability skills. For instance, one may pause to ask
whether one's knowledge in LOGO programing would help the one to solve
some logically related complex problems in the real world? Writes Papert (1980):
"By providing a very concrete, down-to-earth model of a particular style of
thinking, work with the computer can foster...a 'style of thinking'...that is to say
learning to think articulately about thinking.” In all, it appears that media's
symbolic forms and computer afforded activities may have skill-cultivation
effects, but that these are not necessarily unique nor easily transferable. It is,
therefore, necessary for future educational media research to ask not only how
best we can develop the understanding and mental representation of media
information but also how best we can relate that acquired knowledge to a real
contexts or apply it to solve real world problems.

Studies on student choice of instructional conditions by Saracho (1982),
Machula (1978-79), and Clark (1982) indicated that student enjoyment of
instructional media and their subsequent learning achievement were negatively
correlated. The study suggested that allowing students to choose the medium or
method they prefer may not always result in maximum learning outcomes. A
year long study by Saracho (1982) found that students assigned to Computer
Assisted Instruction (CAI) in basic skills liked the computer less but learned
more than from other media. Similarly, Machula (1978-79) gave instruction to
over 100 undergraduates via television, voice recording, and printed text.
Students liked the television less but learned more from it than from the voice
recording which they liked more.

10

A review by Clark (1982) has indicated that students incorrectly assess the
extent to which the instructional methods associated with the medium allow
them the most efficient use of their effort. It was found that higher ability
students seem to like methods and media that they perceive as better structured
and more directive because they think these demand less effort to achieve
success. Lower ability students, on the other hand, seem to like less structured
and more discovery-oriented methods and media. They seem to avoid investing
the effort required by the more structured approaches which they may expect to
result in failure.

It seems that as each new medium comes along, researchers select questions
previously addressed to the older media (Clark, in press, Gardiner, 1982; Wartella
& Reeves, 1983). Two important lessons and questions are summarized as

follows:

1. Past research on media has shown quite clearly that no
medium enhances learning more than any other medium
regardless of learning task, learner traits, symbolic
elements, curriculum content, or setting.

Gross comparisons of computers or video disc technologies versus more
conventional media for instruction are not likely to prove to be more useful in
the future than they have been in the past. All such research was subject to
compelling hypotheses concerning uncontrolled effects of instructional content,
method, and novelty. We do not expect that any known or to-be-developed
media will alter this expectation. However, evaluations of developed and
developing media-based programs might useftu compare alternative forms of
delivering and shaping instruction on the basis of cost efficiency and appeal to
students without necessarily making inferences about "learning" or

"performance" (effectiveness) advantages due to the medium selected. According

11

to Raiser and Gagne (1982), the future media selection schemes should be based
on appeal and efficiency rather than presumed learning benefits. This is similar
to the views of instructional theorists (Reigeluth, 1983), that instructional
outcomes (effectiveness, efficiency, and appeal) should focus on the instruction
rather than on the learner; learning achievement (effectiveness) is but one aspect

of instructional outcomes.

2. Any new technology is likely to teach better than its
predecessors because it generally provides better
prepared instructional materials and its novelty
engages learners.

As each new medium is developed and gradually introduced to educational
settings, it provides the opportunity for trying out novel and often engaging
instructional design strategies. So, as each new medium is put into educational
use, researchers might consider a number of different questions. For example, we
might ask about the impact of a medium's introduction on the setting (e.g.,
organizational climate, interactions between provider and user groups,
allocation of resources), and the changes the setting undergoes (e.g., Sheingolg et
al., 1983).

Office of Technology Assessment (OTA,1988) research on educational uses
of computers in a wide range of applications has also found that the varied
capabilities of the technologies are key to their power. Educators use interactive
technologies for many purposes; there is no single "best use" of technology in
schools and colleges to improve learning. Among others, the OTA findings
showed that students using databases outperform other students in tests of
information processing skills. In addition, databases help students to understand
underlying concepts and relationships better, work more cooperatively, and
become more enthusiastic about gathering and analyzing data. The studies also
revealed that "hypertext" systems allow students to effectively manipulate text,

12

graphics, and different levels of information. This supports the view that some
cognitive strategies such as frames, chunking and maping are best for certain
category of knowledge such as verbal information, concrete concept, and rule

(Gagne & Wager, 1988) .

MULTIMEDIA
"The ability to transfer information is what education is all about", and
multimedia systems allow you that by using the sensory functions of the body.
Multimedia is the combination of visual, graphics, audio, and textual materials
using simple or sophisticated technology. ”The best things that come from
multimedia tools", according to Roberts (1991), "are the motivation to really
learn and the students increased self-esteem when they see and show off the
results." Interactive multimedia allows students to prospel themselves forward
by their own curiosity (i.e., learning by digression) and build, connection by
connection, their very personal understanding of the world (T.H.E., Special Issue,
IBM Multimedia, Sept, 1991). Multimedia allows teachers to transform teaching
and learning. Teachers create exciting and effective learning environments
where students are given the opportunity to have hands-on "content-
performance" practice with those learning tools. Consequently, they become
active participants rather than passive recipients of information, says Knight
(1991). Putting tools in the hands of students in turn forces them to think about
relationships. According to Soloway of University of Michigan (T.H.E., February
1991, vol 18), in the classrooms, using multimedia learning becomes an active
process where student uses the technology to communicate his or her
understanding of a subject to those around him or her.
Based on interviews with dozens of educators and industry people as to

why they use multimedia technology instead of more traditional classroom

13

tools, here are some of the responses regarding benefits, to both students and

educators, for using multiple integrated technologies in the classroom (T.H.E.,
Feb 1991): Multimedia

Reaches all the senses which enhances learning. It is tailored to the
learning styles of individuals whether they are visual, verbal, auditory, or
physical learners.

Encourages and validates self-expression, helps students to have more
control and more of a voice in their own learning process.

Fosters communication between students and teachers. It allows ideas to
flow in ways that may not always be possible through words alone.

It is a lot of fun.

Makes sense: technology is already built into the lives of today's students,
so it is something with which they feel comfortable.

Creates an active rather than passive atmosphere because it forces the
students to participate and think about what they are learning. "Engages
the disengag ", said one educator.

Gives sense of ownership to the user. Students actually create what they

learn and there is often physical evidence of that learning.

Studies suggest that students studying in pairs or small groups learn faster, retain

more, and feel more positive about the learning process and about themselves.

Individualized multimedia instruction also allows students of varying skill

levels to learn productively within a single classroom environment.

Despite all those teaching and learning benefits from multimedia, there is

still a need for indepth research on these new educational tools since many

questions still persist regarding the full potentials of multimedia. For instance,

have educators or the companies that produce multimedia products really

stopped to think about the variety of purposes of putting multimedia into

14

educational uses? Or is there simply a growing trend to gather together all
available technologies, repackage or repurpose, and use them without true
consideration for pedagogical value? What is not so readily understood is the
extent of multimedia's ability to help better educate students. There is a
mounting concern that not enough users of multimedia have paused to consider
the consequences of using or adopting those technologies in our educational
systems. "At this stage we do not know whether multimedia helps the learning
process" said White (T HE, Feb., 1991).

According to Fred D'Ignazio of East Lansing High School, Michigan
('T.H.E., Feb., 1991), multimedia has to go through the cycle of experimentation,
discovery, and reinvention since multimedia is still young to have been tested
and conclusively proven effective in research laboratories. In response to the
question whether multimedia is an effective tool, Ion Young (T.H.E., Feb., 1991)
believes that multimedia is at least as effective today as other methods of

teaching and learning, but there is no proof.

W

The literature reveals that media do not affect learning in and of themselves.
Rather, some particular qualities of media may affect particular cognitions that
are relevant for the learning of the knowledge required by students with specific
aptitude levels when learning some tasks. The study and development of media
in education are aimed at the improvement of the education, not the
glorification of the media. If that is the case, then there is a need to conduct a
formal study, not mere summative evaluation, to assess and improve (if judged
necessary) the educational potentials of a teaching and learning tool like
Intelstacks. This suggests some interesting questions that the researcher may

address. For example, to what extent may the students' understanding of the

15

subject-matter (Intelstacks Information) facilitate students' understanding of
complex international issues? In what ways may the cognitive strategies such as
"chunking" or organization of the information (e.g., networks, electonic media,
print media, programs, etc) help students to better acquire the concrete concepts
of international media systems? To what extent may Intelstacks attributes such as
sounds, graphics, and "hot buttons" enhance students' learning of the subject-
matter?

In response (partial Or full) to the above questions, INTELSTACKS
program was primarily developed in an attempt to solve the complex teaching
and learning of facts and concepts about international media systems within and
across nations. The design strategies were to breakdown the generalities (e.g.,
networks) and examples (e.g., radio and television) of media concepts and facts
into logical units, present those concepts and facts to students in a form of class
presentations by the content expert (instructor), and then ask students to use the
"hot buttons" built into the program to navigate easily through the stacks for an
indept knowledge. Again, the Find and Sorting tools were purposely provided so
that students could connect those facts and concepts together, see, analyze, and
understand the kinds of relationships that exist among the INTELSTACKS
information (especially the electronic media, print media, and general
information). Such learner control or manipulation .of information would not
only motivate the student to learn more in an efficient way but also help him or
her to perceive the kinds of impacts that different media systems have on
national and international economic, social, and cultural developments. Apart
from the amount of information that the student could gain from the database,
the special attributes of INTELSTACKS such as sounds, maps, content
organization, screen design (especially the legibility of the text formats), and
other graphics were designed to promote instructional outcomes (i.e., teaching

16

and learning efficiency and appeal). Another interesting factor that needed to be
considered here was "comprehensibility". Anderson and Lorch (1983) found that
children attend to televised material that is comprehensible to them. This
implies that comprehensibility determines attention rather than the other way
round. This suggests that instructional production techniques should be oriented
to conveying comprehensible information rather than attracting attention. The
study of INTELSTACKS attempted to identify all the critical attributes of the
program which not only distinguish between other media in meaningful ways
but which also affect learning relevant cognitions.

17

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY OF INTELSTACKS DEVELOPMENT AND FIELD TEST

RATI NA INTE TA PR ED

Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) continues to incorporate more and more
multimedia elements. The use of color, sounds, graphics, and animation makes
software or courseware entertaining and educational. Melding of audio, visual,
and text materials into one program is a better way to excite students about the
prospects and processes of learning (T.H.E., Multimedia Source Guide, 1992-1993).
Unlike most of other educational software or courseware, the basic tenets that
make INTELSTACKS program more a strategic tool for instruction and research
are the importance that the authors attached to the academic content (Substance),
Instructional Design Process (Style or Method), and communication technologies
(Tools)

W

During the initial planning stage, the following elements or components that

might influence the program's effectiveness and credibility were carefully

studied: the Topic, Subject-matter, Characteristics of the Target Population, Goals,

Tasks, Objectives, Applicable Category of Knowledge, Evaluation, and Resources.

Some series of events of instruction were considered as well, such as gaining

attention. .

TOPIC: A general topic ( General’ Information on International Media and
Programs) was selected from the broad telecommunication subject
area. The general topic was further divided into subtopics forming

the four major stacks of the program. Thus, General Information,

18

Electronic Media, Print Media, and Telephony were selected. Due
the to interdependence or interrelated nature of the stacks, a
branching system using a hypercard program was best thought of as
the appropriate mode for content presentation. The hypercard
program was chosen because of itscapabilities of combining sounds,
text, graphics, color, etc in a form of one multimedia program. The
instructional strategies chosen were stand-alone tutorials and

classroom presentations.

SUBJECT-MATTER ANALYSIS. The knowledge base or relevant information

about facts and concepts of each country and its media was carefully
analyzed and selected to build the database.

TARGET POPULATION . Factors such as the age, expected academic skills, and

GOALS.

interests of the users or students were the author's concern. As the
program was originally planned for TC 498 students or users with
the same academic standard or above, the target population was
considered as mature students or users who could handle complex
issues. Also, the students in TC 498 were assumed to have taken
some basic courses such as TC 220 and TC 230 and that they had
acquired the necessary entry prerequisites such as the invention of
telegraphs and telephones, to use the INTELSTACKS program. For
those users who have not mastered the prerequisite skills, the
reference guide built in the program sufficiently served as a facilator
or sources for introductory studies on telecommunication issues. Of
course, to arouse each student's interest during class instruction is a
difficult task. So the use of sounds, maps, moderate graphics, and
different text styles was a way of getting users or students attention.

The main goals that the author expected to accomplish as a result of

19

the program were:

— Providing students and teachers a maximum of information that
could be useful for classroom applications.

- Integrating body sensory attributes of media such as sound, text,
maps, and graphics into a single computerized source that will
enhance users' cognitive skills.

- Providing an international media database system that can be
accessed from on campus locations such as computer laboratories,
the main library as well as personal stand-alone floppy and hard
disks.

INSTRUCTIONAL TASKS. The nature of the program design provides the
users with the guidelines to use or efficiently learn from the
database. For instance the data were organized into logical units
and navigating through the stacks was done using the "hot
buttons".

OBJECTIVE. After careful study of the content for a particular country or
countries within the INTELSTACKS program, students should be
able to build connections between the amount of media penetration
and services on one hand and demographic information on the
other hand. Thus, the student could understand and give a
meaningful account of media influence on economic, political,
social, and cultural developments within and across nations.

APPLICABLE CATEGORY OF KNOWLEDGE. The type of learning outcomes for
this program could be described as:

a. Textual Information; recalling figures, percentages, names, and

organized bodies of factual information.

b. Concrete Concepts; identification of properties or components of a

20

country's telecommunications system, such as development of
radio, television, satellite, computers, cable, programs, radio and
television stations and networks, etc.

c. Rule; the ability to relate media to national and international
development issues.

(1. Problem solving; the ability to apply the appropriate media rules
or systems of a specific country (e.g., the United States or United
Kingdom) to another (e.g., Ghana) especially when dealing with
media related issues.

EVALUATION. Two types of evaluatiOn process, formative and summative,
were used to assess the educational potentials of the program. The
authors were highly interested in finding out whether the database
system would be effective for instruction and research, interesting
and motivating, had high standards of technical and aesthetic
quality, and also what revisions were needed to improve the
INTELSTACKS program.

The formative evaluation was an ongoing process throughout the entire

development process. After the first design by the researcher, the production

team met to examine, discuss, criticize, and then made changes where necessary.

The graphic designer finally designed the INTELSTACKS format. The researcher

and the content expert met from time to time to examine the input data and

updated some of the information.

After the first version of the program was developed the author deemed it

necessary to test it on a sample of the target population. This summative

evaluation, in a form of Field Test, forms the basis of this thesis (study). The
methodology, findings, and conclusions are discussed in the remaining chapters.

RESOURCES. At this stage of the process, three important issues were

21

considered: equipment and software; human resources; and financial matters.
W As INTELSTACKS demand a standardized program
(i.e., hypercard), a Macintosh microcomputer was predetermined. A LED
crystal projector, simple overhead projector, and normal classroom white
screen were needed as a peripherals.
Human Resources: The topic and the program goals helped the author to
determine the skills needed to develop the program and how much time in
terms of human effort. The people needed were content expert (TC 498 course
instructor), graphic designer and programmer (hypermedia expert in the
Department of Telecommunication, and instructional designers (two
graduate students in the Department of Educational Systems Development,
College of Education).
Einang'g Mafigs: Depreciation of equipment to be used at the Department of
Telecommunications and individuals to be paid for their time were
considered.
Due to the limited resources, the co-authors (the content expert and the
hypermedia expert) made some important decisions so as to save time, money,
and human effort. For example, time for trial and evaluation was built into the
content expert's course schedule. Two interested graduate students, both
majoring in Instructional Design and Technology, agreed to work on the project
development. The hypermedia expert from the same Department of
Telecommunication served as the programmer as well the overall technical ‘

advisor.

E F TR
The co-authors also carefully considered the use of some series of events that

might promote internal learning processes, as suggested by Gagne's learning

22

model. These include:

a.

Gaining attention. The program title, introduction, and initial instruction
were presented using special graphics. Text attributes such as, boldface,
and italics were used where necessary.

Stimuli. Distinctive features, such as graphics and text attributes were used
to present the information in organized, systematic, and small segments.
Guiding Learning; The "hot buttons" serve as facilitators for relating ideas
within a stack or to those of other stacks. Again, the use of maps helps
students to locate countries on the globe and also to make better
connections on telecommunication issues such as physical conditions
affecting media adoption in a particular region, cross border data flow,
tariffs, satellite and frequency allocations.

INTERACTIVITY. As a means of making the program more meaningful to the

user, the highest level of interactivity (i.e., Proactive Design) was the level
of choice instead of Reactive and Coactive. The proactive design permits
the user to control both content and structure of the program whenever

there is a need by sorting and manipulating the database.

FLOWCHART. The use of a flowchart initially gave the graduate assistant a

broad "map" of the program's structure. This helped to identify branches,
input points, graphics, and other program features. Also, it helped to make
accurate judgement whether there was a balanced mixture of text

attributes and graphics on the cards or screen display.

W
Intelstacks is a hypercard based program. It comprises five stacks; (1) General

Information such as population, GNP, Education, etc (2) Print Media such as

daily newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines. etc (3) Electronic Media such

23

as television, radio, computers, satellite, etc (4) Telephony such as telephone
manufacturers, devices, ownership, local and long distance services, and (5)
World Map representing each country. These stacks are interconnected by the
"hot buttons" found on each card in the program. Prior to the field test, country
indexing and statistical tools as well as the Telephony stack were not activated.

When the INTELSTACKS prototype was ready for the field test the researcher
and the content expert (i.e., TC 498 course instructor) carefully studied the
program (content, fields, buttons, stacks, etc). All the activated stacks and buttons
worked successfully and the content or information was sufficient enough for

class applications. Then we decided to test the program on TC 498 students.

EIELILTESI

It is extremely difficult, in teaching and learning, to give accurate measurement
of all media attributes that may have an impact on student learning
achievements. The scope of this study was defined to assess all the major
attributes of INTELSTACKS in relation to student learning gains.

In an effort to test educational potentials and production qualities of
INTELSTACKS prototype, a field test was conducted during the Spring Term,
1990.. The research methodology and procedures are explained in the following
sections. The study sample are described, equipment used is specified, training,
demonstration and practice are described, construction of survey instrument is
‘ discussed, the hypotheses are stated, data collection, and data analysis procedures
are delineated.

W
The students' ease of reading the text formats (legibility) and understanding of

the subject-matter (comprehensibility) were expected to have a major infuence

24

on the accomplishment of their mental processing of information presented in
the INTELSTACKS program. Therefore, the design techniques such as the text
formats, content organization, and terminology or wording need careful
examination.

Second, the sounds, graphics, and special effects built into the program
deserve attention. This is true because all that we normally hear (as sounds or
noise) and see textually or graphically during instruction tend to activate the
body senses, especially in times of learning difficulties, boredom, or fatigue.
Thus, sounds and special effects are expected to play a part in getting students'
attention and stimulating them to be active learners. Furthermore, the searching
tools such as the "Hot Buttons", Find, and Sorting provide learner control or
manipulation of information. This control not only motivates students to learn
more in an efficient way but also permits them to make sense of what they are
learning. Making navigation through the stacks a fun should help motivate
students to take control.

These critical elements prompted the researcher to formulate the following four

hypotheses to guide the collection and analysis of data for the study.

The legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information, the sounds
and graphics built into the program, how fun and easy to use the program is, and
the organization of information in the program have statistically significant

positive effects on students' understanding of the course material.

The legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information, the sounds
and graphics built into the program, how fun and easy to use the program is, and

25

the organization of information in the program have statistically significant

positive effects on students' learning enhancement in class.

amiss:
The legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information, the sounds
and graphics built into the program, how fun and easy to use the program is, and
the organization of information in the program have statistically significant

positive effects on students' stimulation to think in new ways.

Emma;
The legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information, the sounds
and graphics built into the program, how fun and easy to use the program is, and
the organization of information is organized in the program have statistically

significant positive effects on students' discovery of something interesting.

WE

The sample group used for the study included all the 38 students in TC 498 class,
Spring Term, 1990. This class consisted of twenty male and eighteen female
students, majoring in international telecommunications. The class was
considered as homogeneous since all the 38 students were undergraduates

(juniors and seniors) except two who were graduate students.

TRAINING

As the program was new to the students the instructor, assisted by one graduate
assistant, organized a three - hour training session. The training program focused
on how to operate a Macintosh microcomputer, accessing the database from

Communication Arts and Science Macintosh Laboratory workstation or stand-

26 .

alone floppy disk, techniques of navigating through the stacks, using special
commands for the program, and how to get help.

EQLIIEMENI
The equipment and software used for the instructor's class demonstration and

presentations included one MAC II microcomputer, one liquid crystal overhead
projector, one large white screen, the hypercard program and the INTELSTACKS
program.

Immediately after the first day demonstration and presentation of the
INTELSTACKS to the entire class, the database program was installed on all the
workstations at the Communication Macintosh Laboratory workstations. A copy
of the program was made available to any student who requested that on his or
her own floppy disk. There were enough microcomputers for each student, so
this provided an opportunity for the students either to work in groups or

individually.

12W

For a period of four weeks the instructor used the international media database
to support his traditional classroom teaching. After seeing the database in
presentation form, the students were asked to use the database at the Mac Lab or
their own copies of the program on floppy disks to support their class
assignments after lectures. The researcher and other graduate student were
scheduled to assist the students during the laboratory periods. The instructor
assigned the INTELSTACKS program to the students as one of the sources of
reference to support their term paper.

27

W

The researcher constructed a survey instrument with which to gather
information vital to the study. The content expert, the hypermedia expert, and
two graduate assistants reviewed the draft of the survey questionnaire. They
previewed the survey instrument for content validity, with appreciable
suggestions for changes in some individual questions. Considering the newness
of hypercard to many students, the two professors suggested the inclusion of
students' prior knowledge of the hypercard program in the questionnaire.

DAIAQQLLECTIQN

During the last class of the term, the questionnaire (see appendix A), was
administered to all the 38 students in TC 498. The students responded
independently and the papers were collected at the end of the class.

CHAPTER4

DATA ANALYSIS

The principal variables and the INTELSTACKS attributes that were studied
included, first the independent variables: legibility and comprehensibility of
INTELSTACKS information, the extent to which the sounds enhanced the use of
the database, the extent to which the graphics detracted students from using the
database, students' fun to use the program, how hard they found it to use the
program, and the extent to which the organization of information in the
program confused them when using the database. Second, the independent
variables were questions whether students thought INTELSTACKS enhanced
their learning of and understanding of course material, stimulated them to think
in new ways, and resulted in their discovery of something interesting that they
did not know before using the program.

Both descriptive (summary) and inferential statistics (simple regression
and correlation) were used to analyze the data. Multiple regression was the
statistical model used to test the statistical significance of all the four
hypotheses. The practical significance of INTELSTACKS program was judged
through the quality of the students' term papers and individual remarks. A
MINTI‘AB statistical program was used to analyze the data.

1.In arial '

The information presented in the database was legible and

comprehensible 5 4 3 2 1
The database was hard to Use - 5 4 3 2 1
The graphics detracted from database information 5 4 3 2 1
The sounds enhanced the database information 5 4 3 2 1
The database was fun to use 5 4 3 2 1

The way information is organized in the database is confusing 5 4 3 2 1

2. Dggndent Variables:

The database has enhanced my understanding of course
material 5 4 3 2 1

The database has enhanced my learning from class 5 4 3 2 1
The database stimulated me to think in new ways 5 4 3 2 1

I discovered something interesting I did not know before
when I used the database myself 5 4 3 2 1

Before testing the hypotheses both visual analysis and summary, statistics were
made using scatter diagrams and descriptive tables obtained from the MINITAB

output of the principal variables.

W

Table 1: The statistics describing the percentage and average of the students'
ratings of all the 36 variables used for the study are presented in this table. The
variables are classified into domains; Factor Efficiency, Learning Gains,
Difficulty, Preference, Hardware and Software Usage, and Frequency of Hypercard
Usage.

Fa r

 

 

 

W
PERCENTAGE
Agree Disagree Average
High Low
5 4 3 2 1
VARIABLES:

Legibility &
Comprehensibility: 31.6 52.6 15.8 -—— -—- 4.2
Efficient access: 31.6 42.1 23.7 2.6 ----- 4.0
Sounds enhanced: 7.9 18.4 39.5 21.1 13.2 2.9
Fun to use: 10.8 48.7 40.5 -—- -—— 3.7
Documentation
sufficient: 2.6 36.8 44.7 7.9 7.9 3.2
Map not important: 2.6 2.6 10.5 36.8 47.4 1.8

 

 

The summary of the above data indicates that, first, students' ratings of the
legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information and how fun it
was to; use were very positive. No student perceived low or negative effect of
these two aspects of program on their learning enhancement. Second,
concerning efficiency in accessing information, only 3% of the students felt
INTELSTACKS was not efficient way to access information, while 73% agreed or
strongly agreed that it was efficient, and 24% found it average. Third, the
program's documentation was found to be average. Fourth, 84% .of the students
found the maps, built into program to help students locate locations of the
countries, very important. Only 5% agreed that they were not important, and
11% found them average. Fifth, all the students rated the program as a fun to
use. Finally, on the average, 66% of the students agreed that the sounds
enhanced the database information.

31

1.§.

 

 

 

 

W
PERCENTAGE
Agree Disagree Average
High Low
5 4 3 2 1
VARIABLES:

Enhanced learning: 10.8 40.5 35.1 8.1 5.4 3.4
Stimulated to think: 5.3 13.2 47.4 29.0 5.3 2.8
Understand course {
material: 5.3 34.2 42.1 15.8 2.6 3.2
Discover something: 18.4 39.5 29.0 5.3 7.9 3.6

 

Regarding learning effectiveness, 52% of the respondents strongly agreed that the
program enhanced their learning in class, while 35% neither agreed nor
disagreed, and 13% said it contributed little to their learning process in class.
Concerning the students' attitude about understanding of the course material
with the help of the program and whether the program stimulated them to
think in new ways, they found the program to be average. However, 58% said the
program helped them to discover something interesting that they did not know
before.

32

 

 

 

 

Wt!
PERCENTAGE
Agree Disagree Average
High Low
5 4 3 2 1

VARIABLES:
Hard to use: --- 2.6 23.7 39.5 34.2 1.9
Graphics detract: 2.6 2.6 18.4 34.2 42.1 1.9
Not good to learn about
media: --— 10.5 13.2 44.7 31.6 2.0
Organization of
information confusing: --- 26 18.4 50.0 29.0 1.9
Insufficient training: 2.6 7.9 36.8 42.1 10.5 2.5
Rather not have used the
database: 2.6 10.5 21.1 39.5 26.3 2.2

 

On the design related items, the percentage Of the students who had difficulty
using the program was very minimal. Table 1c shows that 74% disagreed that the
program was hard to use, 79% also disagreed that the way the information was
organized in the program was confusing, and only 5% agreed that the graphics
detracted them from effectively using the database. Again, 50% found the
training sufficient, 66% liked to use the database, and only 34% agreed that

databases are not a very good way to learn about media from other countries.

 

 

 

W
PERCENTAGE
Agree Disagree Average
High Low
5 4 3 2 1

VARIABLES:
Do not like computers: 5.3 2.6 31.6 21.1 39.5 2.1
Program is different: 7.9 29.0 39.5 18.4 5.3 3.1
liked program less: 5.3 2.6 31.6 52.6 7.9 2.4
Liked program better: 5.3 21.1 60.5 7.9 5.3 3.1
Program better for in-
class presentation: --— 13.2 18.4 42.1 26.3 2.2
Program close to final
version: 10.5 23.7 47.4 15.8 2.6 3.2

 

 

Regarding the researcher's concern about the quality of the program, in relation
to other software or courseware that the students have used for instruction and
research, he found that, on the average, the students liked INTELSTACKS better
than other software they have used, 60% liked the program just like any other
programs they have used, and 66% found it different from other software.
However, 68% of the students did not like it for in-class presentation. About 50%
expressed the need to update the program. Concerning the students' attitude

towards the use of computers in education, 8% expressed dissatisfaction.

Har ar a

 

 

 

 

W
PERCENTAGE

1=use 0=Do Not Use

(YES) (N o)
VARIABLES:
IBM 63.9 36.1
MACINTOSH 47.2 52.8
OTHER COMPUTERS 16.7 83.3
Word Processor 88.9 11.1
Spread Sheet 50.0 50.0
Database 41.7 58.3
Hypercard 27.8 72.2
Other Software 11.1 88.9

 

Table 1E indicates that about half of the class are non Macintosh users and 64%
are IBM (compatible) users. As for software, only 28% of the students knew how
to use hypercard, and only 42% had ever used a database. Word Processing is the
most commonly used software, followed by Spread Sheet.

 

 

Fr u H r a M n
W
MONTHS WITH HYPERCARD
Months Count Percent
0 13 56.5
1 1 4.4
2 1 4.4
4 2 8.7
8 1 4.4
12 4 17.4
24 1 4.4

 

 

35

Concerning the question on students' familiarity with Hypercard program, 23
out of 38 students responded to this question. The data as described by the
MINITAB show that only one student had used hypercard program for more
than one year before the study, four students for almost a year, three students
between four to eight months, four students barely a month, and 13 students had

never used Hypercard prior to the study.

Fr H

 

 

WWW
HOURS PER WEEK WTTH HYPERCARD

Hours Count Percent
0 7 33.3
1 6 28.6
2 4 19.5
3 3 14.3
15 1 4.8

 

 

Twenty one students responded to the question on the number of hours spent
on hypercard per week. The table shows that only one student spent almost 15
hours a week on hypercard application, seven spent less than an hour, six spent

an hour, and the rest two hours on the average.

 

 

Hmcard Again
IABLElflz___—HmrsardAxain

Count Percent
1: Will use Again 23 95.8
0= Will Not Use Again 1 4.2

 

 

The question as to whether a student will use the program again or not, 24
students responded. All the respondents, except one, expressed their willingness
to use the program again.

W

As a means of checking for multicolinearity, all the six independent variables
were first, plotted against each other. Second, correlations were run for all the
independent variables. The scatter diagrams and the correlations output obtained
helped the researcher to determine the nature of relationships among the

independent variables (see Table 1).

Rl' ' AmnIn nVarial

 

 

IEBIEZ' I: ll' III'EII 1”,.”

LEGCOM HARD GRAPDR SON DENH FUNUSE ORGCONF

LEGCOM - -.223 i -.421 .099 .530 -.449
HARD - — .257 -.181 —.318 .626
GRAPDR — - - -.210 -.380 .566
SONDENH - - — - .434 -.008
FUNUSE - - - -.347

Significance at .05

 

The correlation matrix table above indicates that there were slight associations
between (1) the legibility and conprehensibiity of INTELSTACKS information
and how students found it fun to use the program, (2) Hard to use the program
and the organization of information confusing, (3) Graphics detracting from
database information and the organization of information confusing. As the

multicolinearity was not severe, the researcher decided to use all these media

37

 

attributes to test the hypotheses formulated for this study, at 95% level of

 

 

confidence.
la ° n hi aria l
IEBIE3° [2 ll' MI' E D I I]! 'll
UNDSMAT ENHLRN STIMU
ENHLRN 0.727
STIMU 0.515 0.526
DISCOV 0.028 0.325 0.168

 

Significance at .05

 

The correlation matrix for the dependent variables above indicates that there are
moderate positive associations between all the variables, students'
understanding of the course material, learning enhancement, stimulation to
think in new ways, and discovery of something interesting. Only discovery Of
something new that showed weak positive associations between students'
understanding of the course material and students' discovery of something
interesting. On the other hand, there was a strong positive relationship between
students' understanding of the course material and their learning enhancement.
These correlations were tested at 95% level of confidence.

Correlating the independent with the dependent variables, the researcher
checked to see whether the independent variables were linearly related to the
dependent variables or not. Also, correlations were run to see the strength of the
bivariate relationships between the independent and dependent variables (see

Table 4).

- i: --0,Lh1- L1. a: owl-no: ‘ . D-ul-no- aria-l .

 

 

 

 

'3 -" ou'-nonu-u. o ."‘I°'l .A ‘95,: t""l'.‘| I

Mariahles.
UNDMAT EN HLRN STIM DISCOV
LEGCOM .387 .468 .128 .204
HARD -.019 .136 .024 .091
GRAPDR -.095 -.341 -.169 —.219
SONDENH .196 .443 . .216 .365
FUNUSE .502 .703 .372 .223
ORGCONF -.061 -.063 .141 .035
Significance at .05

W

First independent variable, whether students thought the program was
fun to use: here we clearly see a very strong positive association (.703)
between how students found it fun to use the program and how the
program enhanced their learning, positive association (.502) between
whether students found the program fun to use the program and their
understanding of the course material, and slight positive association (.372)
between whether students found it fun to use the program and whether
they were stimulated to think in new ways.

Second independent variable (Legibility and comprehensibility of
INTELSTACKS information): here we observe that there is positive
relationship (.468) between how legible and comprehensible the students
rated INTELSTACKS and how strongly students thought INTELSTACKS
enhanced their learning, and slight positive relationship (.387) between
how legible and comprehensible the students rated INTELSTACKS and
students' self reported understanding of the course material.

39

Third independent variable, how much students thought the sounds
enhanced the database: There are positive relationships between (1)
enjoying the sounds and feeling that learning has been enhanced (at. 443,
which is moderately related), students' discovery of something interesting
(at .365, which is moderately related , stimulations to think in new ways
(at .216, which shows weak association) and their perceived understanding
of the course material (at .196, this also shows a very weak association).
Fourth independent variable, how hard the program is to use: We can see
from the table that there are very weak associations between hard to use
the program and all the dependent variables.

Fifth independent variable, how much graphics detracted from the
database): Here we observe that there are weak negative associations
between graphics detracting from the database and students'
understanding of the course material as well as their stimulation to think
in new ways. Again, graphics detraction shows a fairly significant negative
associations between learning enhancement and students' discovery of
something interesting.

Sixth independent variable, how much organization of information
confused the students: This shows practically no relationship between any
of the dependent variables. These correlations were tested at 95% level of

confidence.

The scatter diagrams revealed that there were no linear relationships between

these independent variables, Hard to use the program, Graphics detracting from

the database, and Organization of information confusing, and all the dependent

variables. Again, the correlation matrix of Table 4 indicates that the independent

variables, Hard to use the program, Graphics detracting from the database, and

Organization of information confusing, have no strong relationships with the

40

dependent variables.Despite these weak associations, the researcher still found it
necessary to include all the attributes (independent variables) in the analysis. The
reason was that the intent of the study was primarily to assess all the attributes or
factors that might contribute negatively or positively to the educational

potentials of INTELSTACKS program.

W

The researcher was interested to know if there was any statistically significant
evidence of an association between the media attributes and the students'
learning achievement or gain. In light of this, four hypotheses were developed to
test each of the six predictors used for this inferential analysis. Multiple
regression was a statistical model used to test the statistically significance Of the
four hypotheses.

In the following analyses the researcher used how legible and
comprehensible of INTELSTACKS information was, the extent to which sounds
enhanced the database, the extent to which graphics detracted students from the
database, how fun and easy to use the program was, and the extent to which the
organization of information in the program confused the students, to measure
(1) students' understanding of the course material, (2) students' learning
enhancement in class, (3) students' stimulation to think in new ways, and (4)
students' discovery of something interesting that they did not know prior to the
use of the program.

Each hypothesis was tested at 95% level of confidence using 30 degrees of
freedom, as expected from the MINITAB out put. This gave a critical value of
2.042 for the 36 observations.

41

The lggibilig and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information, the sounds

and graphics built into the prwam, how fun and easy to use the program was,
. . - oraniza-o'n f infourma'n in - oro- am ha - i ifi an n iti e

effgs on students' understanding of the course material.

 

M'TB>regrc4 6c5c8c9 c10 c11c19c40

 

The regression equation is:

UNDSMAT = - 1.11 +0233

LEGCOMP + 0.161

HARD + 0.118

GRPHDTR-0.010 SONDENH + 0.700 FUNUSE +0.115

ORGCONF

37 cases used 1 case contains missing values

Predictor Coef Stdev t-ratio p

Constant -1.111 1.244 -0.89 0.379
LEGCOMP 0.2328 0.2380 0.98 0.336

HARD 0.1605 0.2024 0.79 0.434
GRPHDTR 0.1184 0.1655 0.72 0.480
SONDENH -0.0096 0.1331 -0.07 0.943

FUNUSE 0.7003 0.2642 2.65 0.013
ORGCONF 0.1153 0.2642 0.44 0.666

s = 0.7527 R-sq = 33.8% R-sq (adj) = 20.6%

Analysis of Variance

SOURCE DF SS MS F p
Regression 6 8.6786 1.4464 2.55 0.041
Error 30 16.9971 0.5666

Total 36 25.6757

SOURCE DF SEQ SS

LEGCOMP 1 3.0482

HARD 1 0.3398

GRPHDTR 1 0.1655

SONDENH 1 1.0912

FUNUSE 1 3.9259

ORGCONF 1 0.1079

Unusual Observations

Obs. LEGCOMP UNDSMAT Fit Stdev.Fit Residual St.Resid
14 4.00 5.000 3.688 0.386 1.312 2.03R
25 4.00 1.000 2.425 0.333 -1.425 -2.11R
34 3.00 4.000 2.439 0.335 1.561 2.32R

R denotes an obs. with a large st. resid.

 

42

 

The regression output gave the following coefficients for INTELSTACKS

principal attributes used for the study: elegibility and comprehensibility of

INTELSTACKS information 0.23, hard to use the program 0.16, graphics

detracting from the database 0.12, sounds enhancing the database -0.01, the

organization of information confusing 0.12, and fun to use the program 0.70.

These results indicate that:

1.

Legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS

information increased the understanding of the course material for those
students who found it easier to read and understand the information
presented in the program.

On the other hand, the program decreased the understanding of the course
material for those individuals who (a) found it difficult to use the
program, (b) were confused by the organization of information in the
program, and (c) were detracted by the graphics. The sounds showed a
slight negative effects on students' understanding of the course material.
However, the coefficients for these attributes were not statistically
significant. The t-ratios were: for legibility and comprehensibility of
INTELSTACKS information 0.98, hard to use the program 0.79, graphics
detracting from the database 0.72, sounds

-0.07, and organization of information confusing 0.44. This lack of
signifance implies that it may have been chance alone that the results gave
those coefficients in the sample. The coefficient in the population, all
international telecommunication majors in the Department of
Telecommunication, may well be zero, in which case these attributes
would have no relationship with the students' understanding of the

course material in class.

3. The coefficient for more fun to use the program was positive (+ 0.70). This
suggests that the "Hot buttons", Find, and Sorting tools made it more fun
for the students to efficiently access the information, connect facts and
concepts together, and better understand the course material. Thus,
making INTELSTACKS program enjoyable and appealing to use as an
instructional and research tool. The t-ratio for this coefficient was 2.65
which was statistically significant. This tends to rule out the possibility of
chance variation producing this result. Controlling for other independent
variables, students who thought INTELSTACKS was fun to use were more
likely to think it enhanced their understanding of course material.

Our regression equation explained 33.8% of the variation in students'

understanding of the course material. The remaining 66.2% of the variation was

left unexplained. Again, the output listed two unusual observations. These data
points were checked to see if there were mistakes in typing or coding, but no

errors were found.

H

M

The lggr'bilig and comprehensibiliry of INTEQTACKS information, the sounds
and graphics built into the program, how fun and easy to use the prpgram was,
and the prganizap'pn pf infprmap'pn in the prpgram hare sigpifigant ppsitive
effgs pn sgdents'learning enhancement.

 

 

M'TB > regr c12 6 c5 c8 c9 c10 c11 c19 c41
The regression equation is:
ENHLRN = — 2.25 + 0.219 LEGCOMP + 0.450 HARD — 0.119
GRPHDTR + 0.156 SONDENH + 0.941 FUNUSE +
0.086 ORGCONF

36 cases used 2 cases contain missing values

Predictor Coef Stdev t-ratio p

Constant -2253 1.035 -2.18 0.038

LEGCOMP 0.2190 0.2046 1.07 0.293

HARD 0.4499 0.1822 2.47 0.020

GRPHDTR -0.1194 0.1380 -0.87 0.394

SONDENH 0.1561 0.1106 1.41 0.169

FUNUSE 0.9406 0.2204 4.27 0.000

ORGCONF 0.0864 0.2220 0.39 0.700

s = 0.6248 R-sq = 67.4% R-sq (adj = 60.7%

Analysis of Variance

SOURCE DF SS MS F p
Regression 6 23.4283 3.9047 10.00 0.000

Error 29 11.3217 0.3904

Total 35 34.7500

SOURCE DF SEQ SS

LEGCOMP 1 7.3500

HARD 1 1.3636

GRPHDTR 1 1.4912

SONDENH 1 6.0914

FUNUSE 1 7.0730

ORGCONF 1 0.0591

Unusual Observations

Obs. LEGCOMP ENHLRN Fit Stdev.Fit Residual St.Resid
12 4.00 4.000 2.591 0.166 1.409 2.34R
13 4.00 2.000 3.357 0.257 -1.357 -2.38R

R denotes an obs. with a large st. resid.

 

45

 

The coefficient for student ratings of the legibility and comprehensibility of
INTELSTACKS information was 0.22, how hard the program was to use 0.45, the

extent to which graphics detracted students from the database was -0.12, the

extent to which sounds enhanced the database was 0.16, how much fun students

thought the program was to use was 0.94, and how much the way information

was organized in the program confused students was 0.09. These results suggest

that:
1.

Controlling for the other independent variables, students who found the
program hard to use also felt that it enhanced their learning. How hard it
was to use the program had a t-ratio of 2.47, which was statistically
significant.

Perceived legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information
and enjoyment of the sounds moderately enhanced students perceived
learning. The t-ratios were: legibility and comprehensibility 1.07 and
sounds 1.41. These were not statistically significant.

How fun it was to use the program was positively related to learning
enhancement. The coefficient was highly statistically significant. It has a
t-ratio of 4.27, thus ruling out the possibility of chance variation producing
this result.

Our regression equation explained 67% of the variation in students' learning

enhancement. The remaining 33% of the variation was left unexplained. Again,

the output listed two unusual observations.

H

The legibility and comprehensibiligr pf INTELSTACKS information, the sounds
and graphics built into the program, how fun and easy to use the prpgram was,
an r anizati n f inf rmati n in r am av i ifi an itive
effects on students' stimulation to think in new ways.

 

 

MTB > regr c15 6 c5 c8 c9 c10 c11 c19 c42
Theregressionequationis

STIMU = 0.22-0.034 LEGCOMP - 0.090 HARD - 0.258 GRPHDTR -
0.052 SONDENH + 0.643 FUNUSE + 0.606 ORGCONF

37 cases used lcase contains missing values

Predictor Coef Stdev t-ratio P

Constant 0.223 1.434 0.16 0.877

LEGCOMP -0.0343 0.2744 —0.13 0.901

HARD -0.0901 0.2334 -0.39 0.702

GRPHDTR -0.2576 0.1909 -1.35 0.187

SONDENH -0.0519 0.1535 -0.34 0.738

FUNUSE 0.6431 0.3047 2.11 0.043

ORGCONF 0.6062 0.3047 1.99 0.056

s = 0.8680 R-sq = 27.2% R-sq (adj) = 12.6%
AnalysisofVariance

SOURCE DF SS MS F P
Regression 6 8.4267 1.4044 1.86 0.120
Error 30 226003 0.7533

Total 36 31.0270

SOURCE DF SEQSS

LEGCOMP 1 0.4840

HARD 1 0.0939

GRPHDTR 1 0.6029

SONDENH 1 1.2027

FUNUSE 1 3.0614

ORGCONF 1 2.9817

UnusualObservations

Obs. LEGCOMP STIMU Fit Stdev.Fit Residual St.Resid
30 4.00 5.000 2.761 0.283 2.239 2.73R

 

 

47

The regression coefficients for the attributes were: students' ratings of the
legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information was -0.03, how
hard the program was to use was 0.09, the extent to which the graphics detracted
students from the database was -0.26, the extent to which the sounds enhanced
the database was -0.05, how fun students thought the program was to use was
0.64, and the way information was organized in the program confused students
was 0.61. These results reveal that:

1. Legibility and comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information, hard to
use the program, graphic detracting from the database, and sounds were
not statistically significant. Their t-ratios were: legibility and
comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information -0.13, hard to use the
program -0.39, graphics distracting -1.35, and sounds -0.34. These make us
believe that it might have been chance alone that students were not
stimulated by these attributes.

2. The coefficient for feeling that organization of information was confusing
was positive. The t-ratio was 1.99, which was statistically significant.
Finding that the information was organized in a confusing way actually
stimulated students to think in new ways. Perhaps the database
organization conflicted with their own mental structure of international
telecommunications, but also provided them with a new way of
organizing that information.

3. The coefficient for how fun it was to use the program was positive. It has a
t-ratio of 2.11, which was statistically significant. This has practical
significance: making fun connections to facts and concepts may tend to
stimulate high order thinking about the issue.

 

 

Our regression equation explained only 27% of the variation in students'
stimulation to think in new ways. The remaining 73% of the variation was left
unexplained. Again, the output listed one unusual observation.

Hyppthsrs’ 4:

Th lauo1115 1-10 cum-r-h- 11y- s of 'LI ‘ inf-norma'n h ooun
and graphics built into the program, how fun and easy to use the program was,
and the organization of information in the program have sigm'ficant positve
afaors on or~en' o°S oV' of lother; ' a a oo no know ofore usin_

the INTELSTACKS prpgram.

 

MTB>regrc18 6 c5 c8 c9 c10 c11 c19 «:43

Theregressionequationis

DISCOV = 0.96 + 0.289 LEGCOMP + 0.227 HARD - 0.200 GRPHDTR
+ 0.338SONDENH + 0.001 FUNUSE + 0.175 ORGCONF

37 cases used lcase contains missing values

Predictor Coef Stdev t-ratio p

Constant 0.960 1.792 0.54 0.596
LEGCOMP 0.2893 0.3428 0.84 0.405

HARD 0.2272 0.2915 0.78 0.442
GRPHDTR -0.1995 0.2384 -0.84 0.409
SONDENH 0.3379 0.1917 1.76 0.088

FUNUSE 0.0014 0.3805 0.00 0.997
ORGCONF 0.1751 0.3806 0.46 0.649

s = 1.084 R-sq = 22.0% R-sq (adj) = 6.4%

Analysis of Variance

SOURCE DF SS MS F p

Regression 6 9.930 1.655 1.41 0.244

Error 30 35.259 1.175

Total 36 45.189

SOURCE DF SEQSS

LEGCOMP 1 1.719

HARD 1 0.956

GRPHDTR 1 1.358

SONDENH 1 5.648

FUNUSE 1 0.000

ORGCONF 1 0.249

UnusualObservations

Obs. LEGCOMP DISCOV Fit Stdev.Fit Residual St.Resid
7 5.00 1.000 3.291 0.399 -2.291 -2.27R
14 4.00 1.000 3.341 0.557 -2.341 -2.52R
25 4.00 5.000 2.463 0.480 2.537 2.61R

R denotesanobs.withalargest.resid.

 

49

 

The coefficients for this analysis were: students ratings of the legibility and
comprehensibility of INTELSTACKS information was -0.29, how hard the
program was to use was 0.23, the extent to which the graphics detracted students
from the database was -0.20, the extent to which the sounds enhanced the
database was 0.34, how fun students thought the program was to use was 0.00,
and the way information was organized in the program confused students was
0.18. These outcomes tell us that neither the overall regression nor any of the
individual coefficients were significant predictors of discovering something
interesting.

Our regression equation explained only 22% of the variation in students'
understanding Of the course material. The remaining 78% of the variation was

left unexplained. Again, the output listed three unusual observations.

W
The ratings of the 38 students involved in this study did indicate that students

who found the program fun to use perceived understanding of the course
material, learning enhancement, and stimulation to think in new ways.

On the other hand, the students' difficulty to use theprogram showed statistically
significant effect on their learning enhancement. Also, finding the organization
of INTELSTACKS information confusing had statistically significant effects with
regard to students' being stimulated to think in new ways.

CHAPTERS

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMIWENDATIONS

SUMMARY:

Purpose of the study:

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which INTELSTACKS
program attributes and the instructional presentation it affords can facilitate
students' understanding of complex international telecommunication issues so
that they will be able to analyze and give a meaningful account of media impacts
on economic, political, social, and cultural developments within and across

countries.

Field Test:

In an effort to test educational potentials and production qualities of
INTELSTACKS prototype, a field test was concluded during the Spring Term,
1990. The research methodology and procedures were explained. Thus the study
sample was described, equipment used was specified, training, demonstration

and practice were described, construction of survey instrument was discussed,

the hypotheses were stated, data collection, and data analysis procedures were
delineated.

 

The really big limitation of this INTELSTACKS study is that all subjects were
exposed to the exact same software. Some found it fun and easy to use, some
found it confusing, and some were detracted from the database by the graphics.
Also, you rely on self reported enhanced learning and enhanced understanding.

51

If one were to redo such a study, one should create two versions of the software.
One fun to use, with good sounds and graphics, and the other normal plain
software. And one should measure learning quantitatively. The study of the
INTELSTACKS program has three limitations. First, for the purpose of assessing
such content specific program pertinent to introductory course on international
telecommunication issues, the sample used for the study was limited only to
students at this course level, majoring in international telecommunications.
However, due to the scope and relevance of the database, the study could be
replicated on all the students majoring in international telecommunication as
well as all international telecommunication professionals. Second, the sounds,
graphics, and text formats were designed to serve only those who have normal
hearing and sight capabilities. In this case the program could be used only by
person with no hearing and sight impairements. Third, the cost involved in
hiring additional students to work on the documentation, the time limits set to
complete the program in order to be able to apply it Fall Term, 1990, and lack of
sufficient information on some countries placed some limitations on the
volume of information needed to optimize the use of the program. However,
this study is likely to have a statistical and practical values for all students
majoring in international telecommunications as well all telecommunications

professionals.

W

In an effort to investigate the nature of students' difficulties in using the
program, as encountered by some students and which was proved statistically,
the researcher propose the need for an immediate (or in the near future) a study
of INTELSTACKS that would control for consequences of content level and
design strategies. Specifically, the design should take into account (a) the course

52

level (e.g., TC 498, TC 869, TC 870, and TC 871) and the modified version of the
sounds, graphics, text formats, searching tools, and reorganization of the
information in the program. The proposed design should be a true experiment.
The researcher suggests two designs: a completely randomized design (CR-p) and
randomized block design (RB-p), see tables 5 and 6 below.

WEE—((3:9)- This study will principally seek to assess
the nature of difficulties that the design techniques might have produced that
affected students' ease of use of the program. Regarding the INTELSTACKS
design techniques, the sounds can be either eliminated, changed, or reduced to
the minimum level, the graphics too can either be eliminated or simplified, the
information has to be reorganized in the program, but the searching tools such as
the "hot buttons", find, and sorting will be the same as the original. The
treatment groups will use the revised version and the control groups will use

the original version of INTELSTACK.

 

 

 

 

CLASSES: TC 498 TREATMENT CONTROL

 

 

REVISED VERSION ORIGINAL VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random Blgxkgd Qgsigp (RB-p): The main purpose of this study is to assess the
extent to which both the design techniques and the content complexity or

53

difficulty may have on students in two different class levels (e.g., TC 498 and TC
870 or TC 871). Here, the researcher will compare the group means for treatment
and control groups (a) within classes and (b) between classes. The within class
comparisons will test the design techniques whereas that of between classes will
test whether the content is appropriate for TC 498 class.

 

 

PROGRAM
TREATMENT CONTROL

 

 

TC 498; REVISED VERSION ORIGINAL VERSION

CLASSES:

 

 

TC 498: REVISED VERSION ORIGINAL VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study did indicate that, in general, the legibility and

comprehensibility of information, the fun to use quality of the program, and

sounds showed a statistically significant effects on students learning gain. The

study provided a useful information in relation to previous media research

findings:

1. Legibility and Comprehensibility of information. The statistically
significant effects of these attributes on students' learning gain support the

54

Olson theory (1976) that attempted to show that in instruction the content
of the medium is related to the amount of new knowledge that a learner
may acquire.

2. The Fun to use. The findings about this attribute support the views (Gagne
and Reiser, 1982) that future media selection schemes should be based on
appeal and efficiency rather than presumed learning benefits.

3. Efficiency in accessing information. The students' positive remarks on
INTELSTACKS efficiency in accessing information support the views of
Reiser and Gagne (1982) that future media selection schemes should be
based on appeal and efficiency rather than presumed learning benefits.

4. Software Better. The majority of the students expressed that Intelstacks
was better than other software that they have used. This supports the OTA
findings (1988) that any new technology is likely to teach better than its
predecessors.

The concerns as to whether graphics detracted, whether students
experienced difficulty in using the program, and whether the organization of the
information in the program was confusing, all these showed extremely low
correlations between students' learning gain. With regard to other attributes,
84.21% of the students found the maps very important and 44.74% considered
the documentation average.

The practical significance of INTELSTACKS for instruction and research
activities is best judged by the overall students' remarks. About half of the
students stated that the program is user-friendly, easy to use, a good starting
point, and a foundation for research. One student said "INTELSTACKS database
is easy to use, no hassle; I prefer it to Lotus because I do not have to continually
use those complicated functions." According to some students, once all the

necessary information is put into the program and updated annually or

55

periodically, it will be a great resource, save students' time, and make research a
lot more simple. If it is continually updated, it will be a fine tool and easier to use
than checking out textbooks. "All software is helpful, however, after a prolonged
exposure to any system, shortcomings become evident," said one student.
However, some major critiques were made such as "everything seemed empty,
the texts looked very small, and the mode of presentation made it difficult to
read the data from the overhead projector in the classroom."

About computers in general, one student said "I am very unfamiliar with
computers, but the more I have used them, the more I have found them to be
beneficial". According to other student, "I am not really knowledgeable about
computers because computers are not my friend." Another stated, "I have a very
little experience with these systems, however, I am willing to give it a try. It
seems like an efficient way to organize this sort of data."

The statistically significant effects of the major attributes of the program
on students' learning gain, coupled with the overwhelming satisfaction
expressed through individual comments, are clear indication that
INTELSTACKS database program effectively and efficiently contributed to the
understanding of the complex international telecommunication issues. Again,
students' willingness to use INTELSTACKS database again for their subsequent
telecommunications research activities, justifies the educational potentials of the

program for our college and university students in the country and abroad.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The researcher has a few reflections to share with the authors of INTELSTACKS
program as well as the Department of Telecommunications. Many educational
programs, developed or purchased with the hard currency, have failed to

respond to the needs of our traditional and local educators, that is, incompatible

56

with the traditional systems of education. The major concerns of the researcher

are:

1.

To realize the full potentials of INTELSTACKS program and to facilitate

the ease of use of the program the authors of INTELSTACKS should

consider a built-in tutorial. This should take a form of "Help Hot-buttons"

that may:

- provide guidelines or a checklist for operating a Macintosh
microcomputer, especially for new users

— offer some basic concepts about hypercard. For example, browsing,
input data or updating the INTELSTACKS database.

-— briefly explain each stack in the program.

The statistical tool built within the program should be activated so that

INTELSTACKS users can have the Opportunity to instantly run some

statistical analyses. In addition to that, the authors should provide the

means of presenting the data in graphs, especially for those non

statisticians.

The Department of Telecommunications should provide both technical

and financial support for updating the data. I recommend a graduate

student in International Telecommunications Area should be hired to

assist the content expert (instructor) with documentation and updating Of

the program periodically.

The authors should consider converting the text from black and white to

colored form. Also, the content per card shOuld be reduced so as to make

room for larger boldface graphics or text. These may enhance classroom

group presentations.

The authors should consider building additional stacks that may

incorporate some basic or general concepts and facts taught in other

57

undergraduate and graduate courses in telecommunications. Such
integration would help users at different levels to relate and better
understand the general telecommunications issues.

Considering the scope of the database and the pedagogical values of the
program, the authors should submit the program to all
telecommunications agents, especially International Telecommunications
Union, for their appreciations. Not only their feedback would provide a
means of updating the data but also serve as a relevant resource for

research in International Telecommunications.

10.

11.

12.

REFERENCES

Clark, R. E (1982). Antagonism between achievement and enjoyment in
ATI studies. Educational Psychologists, 17(2), 92-101.

Fred D'Ignazio, (1991). Providing Techniques 8: Training in Multimedia
Instruction. T.H.E. February, 1991 (IBM Multimedia Supplement).
Greenfield, P. (1984). Mind and Media: The effects of television, video
games, and computers. Cambridge, MA: Havard University Press.

Knight (1991). Interactive Multimedia in Education. THE. Journal,
September, 1991 (Special Issue).

Lesgold, M.A., & Reif, F. (1983). Computers in Education:

Machula, R. (1978-1979). Media and effect: A comparison Of video tape,
audio tape, and print. Journal of educational Technology Systems 7(2), 167-
185.

Olson, D. & Bruner, J (1974). Learning through experience and learning
through media. In D. Olson (Ed.), Media and symbols: The forms of
expression, communication, and education (73rd yearbook of the National
Society for the study of Education). Chicago University Press.

Olson, D. (1976). Towards a theory of instructional means, Educational
Psychologists, 12 14—35.

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas.

I” q, " I, .

New York: Basic Books. (1:; "‘2: Z (J . C, 9 S 1 4.2

Pea, R., 6: Kurland, M. (1985). On the cognitive effects of learning
computer programming. New ideas in psychology.

Realizing the potential (Report of a research conference). Philadelphia, PA:
American Society of Educators.

Reiser, R., & Gagne, R. (1982). Characteristics of media Selection Models.

59

 

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

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Roberts, P. (1991). Multimedia. Electronic Learning: January, 1991 volume
10 (4).

Salomon, G. (1974). What is learned and how it is taught: The interaction
between media message, task and learner. In D. Olson (Ed.), Media and
symbols: The forms of expression, communication, and education (73rd
yearbook of the National Society for the study of Education). Chicago
University Press.

Salomon, G. (1979). Interaction of media, cognition, and learning. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ;, t f 5 4

Saracho, ON. (1982). The effect of Computer Assisted Instructional
Program on basic skills achievement and attitude toward instruction of
spanish speaking migrant children. American Educational Research
Journal 19(2), 201-219. '

Soloway, E. (1991). Multimedia in the Classrooms: T.H.E. February, 1991
Volume 18 (7).

Tikomirov, OK. (1974). Man and computer: The impact of computer
techonology on the development of psychological processes. In D. Olson
(Ed.), Media and symbols: The forms of expression, communication, and
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US. Congress, OTA., Power On; New Tools for Teaching and Learning.
O.T.A—SET-379 ( Washington DC: US. Government Printing Office,
September 1988).

Name:
Class:
Date:

Please, rate your agreement or disagreement with the statements below based on
your reactions to INTELSTACKS, the International Media Database used in class.
Choose "5" if you strongly agree, "1" if you strongly disagree, or the number
between those two that best describes your attitude.

STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE DISAGREE

The database has enhanced my understanding of
course material 5 4 3 2 1

The information presented in the database was
legible and comprehensible 5 4 3 2 1

The database was an efficient way to access
information 5 4 3 2 1

Databases are not a very good way to learn about
media from other countries. 5 4 3 2 1

The database was hard to use 5 4 3 2 1
The graphics detracted from database information 5 4 3 2 1

The sounds enhanced the database information 5 4 3 2 1

The database was fun to use 5 4 3 2 1
The database has enhanced my learning from class 5 4 3 2 1
I would rather not have used the database myself 5 4 3 2 1

61

Appendix A (Continued)

STRONGLY STRONGLY
AGREE DISAGREE

The database is better for in-class presentation than

for individual exploration 5 4 3 2 1
The database program (how it works) is close to

what it should be in the final version 5 4 3 2 1
It is not important to include world maps as a

method of navigating within the database 5 4 3 2 1
I discovered something interesting I did not know

before when I used the database myself 5 4 3 2 1
The way information is organized in the database

is confusing 5 4 3 2 1
In general, I don't like using computers 5 4 3 2 1
The database for class seems different from other

software I have used 5 4 3 2 1
I like this software much less than the other

software I have used 5 4 3 2 1
I like this software better than the other software I

have used 5 4 3 2 1
The training I received was insufficient 5 4 3 2 1
The written documentation was sufficient 5 4 3 2 1

 

62

Appendix A: (Continued)

These next questions are about computers and software in general.

What kind(s) of computers do you use the most?
IBM Compatibles .............. Macintosh ............. Others

What kind(s) of software have you used for courseware and personal

 

 

 

 

assignments?
Word Processing .._......... Spreadsheet ............. Database
._.......... Hypercard .............. Other (please list)
n u H
I have used Hypercard for years months or weeks
I work with Hypercard approximately ............ hours per week
I would like to use Hypercard again Yes NO

 

 

 

On the back of this page, please comment on INTELSTACKS—
Things you like and things you would change about the software and the way it

has been used in class 1111!!!!

 

 

THANK YOU

Adve rtisi

 

64

Country

Newspapers

Books

Foreign I:
National 13
Regional E

 

65

General .- ‘ J ‘.

information about

UNITED STATES “3:,“

Official Languages Engl h
Capital Washington D.C
Population 245414000 El Urban Population(%)-|?

Regime—Areatkm
GNP-'Capita (U35) _|Zl

GNP held by top 10% of population (9:) Eli]

Life Expectancy -|Zl
Literacy Rate (%1 5+years)EmI§J

 

 

“A. .n...Lm.. .fi‘ - he!» card

66

' ' ' ~ ' J
World Map
. . - Country

List

 

67

’-‘

li'l'l‘I‘l'I'l‘l'l'l‘l'l'l'l‘l'l; ' countru
Canada ' 7 E: I List

United States

 

68

PTT
ministrg
independent

first phone
other phones
telex

modem

fa

nationallg set switches c .11
x regional w a iting
mobile ITU / international lines tra ff ic

 

69

 

 

MICHIGAN STATE UNIV. LIBRARIES
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