CCE Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Computing Technology in Education (DCTE)

Department

Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences

Advisor

Getrude W. Abramson

Committee Member

Helen St. Aubin

Committee Member

Steven R. Terrell

Abstract

The use of information technologies to develop, manage, access, and to use learning resources and content from a variety of sources has changed the academic and learning environment. There was a need to focus on the identification of tools and the development of skills to manage these resources, particularly in the kindergarten to grade 12 classrooms. For the students and educators of School District 92 (Nisga' a), there was also a need to provide access to important Nisga'a cultural and heritage learning objects as many preserved videos, pictures, historic documents, cultural teaching materials, and various printed matter were not available for student and teacher use in the schools. This study created an instance of a learning object repository, the Nisga' a Learning Object Repository, and deposited a sample set of 65 objects into the repository in order to evaluate the technology as a school resource. A teacher and student panel survey instrument evaluated the repository as a tool for accessing learning resources. Ten teachers and 15 students returned final surveys. Topics evaluated included uses of learning objects, learning object categories, object attributes, reasons to use the repository, the resource as a multimedia distribution system, and the resource as a digital reading room. The CAREO platform was used to construct the repository, and the ALOHA metadata tool was used to develop metadata for the objects. The Canadian Core Learning Metadata Application Profile was the standard used when writing the metadata.

The learning object repository functioned successfully in its ability to store and retrieve different types of objects. The resulting product is truly a technology-based storehouse of Nisga'a culture readily available for use by students and teachers. The technology moves learning and instruction further towards an integrated multimedia environment, and its potential depends on further development and use in the classroom. Additional research, teacher training, and showcase presentations would further lay the foundation for a broadening of classroom use.

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