THE UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC BOOKS AS A SUPPLEMENT TO LEARNING AND ITS IMPLICATION ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF LEVEL III PLM

NURSING STUDENTS

I.

Electronic Books

Definition An Electronic book is generally defined as simply an electronic version of a print book or textbook, hence E for electronic (http://www.ebooktemplatesource.com). It is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. (Gardiner and Musto, 2010). That is to say, instead of holding a book in your hands you merely hold a device (such as a Kindle) and read the words on the screen. Electronic book is an application with a multimedia database of instructional resources, which include hyperlinked text, instructors audio/video clips, slides, animation, still images, etc. as well as content-based information about these data, and metadata such asannotations, tags, and cross-referencing information (Balkir and Ozsoyoglu). The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book," but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. (oxford dictionaries, 2010). Moreover, it is viewed as the electronic version of a traditional print book that can be read by using a personal computer or by using an eBook reader. (An eBook reader can be a software application for use on a computer, such as Microsoft's free Reader application, or a book-sized computer that is used solely as a reading device, such as Nuvomedia's Rocket eBook.) eBook readers also include built-in dictionaries, and alterable font sizes and styles. Sources

Source is the available internet sites, CD offered from bookstores and other publishing companies that will provide copies of the electronic version of available textbooks. It was said on previous study that publishers have also begun to expand their digital offerings. In 2007, a consortium of publishers launched CourseSmart, an online marketplace for e-books that students can download and read on their computers. Three years later, CourseSmart offers more than 7,000 e-books and claims that its sales have been growing steadily. More recently, other companies have entered the ebook market, including Barnes & Noble and Textbooks.com (http://www.hewlett.org). Publishers that consistently provide electronic text are: cengage Learning CQ Press, F.A. Davis Company, John Wiley & Sons, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson Education, Reed Elsevier, Inc., and W.W. Norton(http://www.utoledo.edu). E-books have many formats competing for prime time, including Adobe PDF, Microsoft Reader, eReader, Mobipocket Reader, EPUB, Kindle and iPad. One of the First E-Book Devices was introduced by NuvoMedia in 1998, the Rocket eBook was one of the first handheld e-book readers. In late 2007, Amazon.com revolutionized the e-book market with the introduction of its Kindle e-book reader and e-book inventory. The Kindle was the first e-book to offer free, wireless access to download e-books and search the Web. An E-Bookshelf on the iPhones and Androids are widely used to read e-books. This Aldiko bookshelf application for Android smartphones lets users download thousands of free and paid e-books. Aldiko converts publishers' content into stand-alone e-book applications (http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com). Although it is not necessary to use a reader application or device in order to read an Ebook (most books can be read as PDF files), they are popular because they enable options similar to those of a paper book - readers can bookmark pages, make notes, highlight passages, and save selected text

(http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com). Generally, most students acquire their ebooks through PDF file because of its compatibility with any operating system. PDF files can be viewed and read using a PC and/or a MAC computer. Saving the ebook as a PDF file is the most universal method (http://www.ebooktemplatesource.com)

Accessibility Accessibility refers to how easily a person can obtain a copy of an electronic book. As the use of technology emerges today, students gain access to internet sites where they can download electronic books either for free or at low costs. Users can purchase an eBook on diskette or CD, but the most popular method of getting an eBook is to purchase a downloadable file of the eBook (or other reading material) from a Web site (such as Barnes and Noble) to be read from the user's computer or reading device (http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com). The

download process from the internet varies according to the speed of your internet connection. Electronic books can be free to download or most commonly purchased at low costs, although most bestseller ebooks have similar to that of hardcover print books (http://www.ebooktemplatesource.com). Moreover, a great share of e-books is available online for free, minus the minimal costs of the electronics required. An e-book can be purchased/borrowed, downloaded, and used immediately, whereas when one buys or borrows a book, one must go to a bookshop, a home library, or public library during limited hours, or wait for a delivery. Depending on possible digital rights management, e-books can be backed up to recover them in the case of loss or damage and it may be possible to recover a new copy without cost from the distributor (http://www.icdri.org).

II.

Electronic Books as a Supplement to Learning

While the notion of a convergence between vast knowledge of the internet and rapidly improving consumer electronics technology sounds great for making home life better, what good can it do for teaching and learning? Well, not much really. But a Net-ready electronic textbook could do a lot for the cause. Consumer electronics companies generate a lot of revenue and so they have a lot of money to spend on new product

research and development, hence the constant stream of electronic gadgets that proliferate in our collective consciousness and flood our television commercials. Educational technology may not be quite the big business that televisions and microwave ovens are, but some serious time, effort, and yes, money are being spent on leveraging all of this increased bandwidth and processing power for the sake of teaching and learning. The computer has become a multimedia tool suitable for production and presentation of very sophisticated, engrossing educational materials spanning all subject matter and age levels. The convergence of interactive media with the on-demand information flow afforded by the internet takes the latter scenario- students working through material on an individually controlled, self-paced basis- and adds to it the ability for the material itself to be expanded and updated on a near-constant basis. Textbooks have long been crucial to providing the content of education because they organize information and make it convenient and manageable for learners. The printed textbook, however, is becoming overly expensive for students, not to mention the world's poor -who desperately need better learning. Also new information is being added to human knowledge so rapidly that a textbook may be out of date by the time it appears in print where digital online textbooks--downloaded from the Internet-- can be regularly revised and updated. Clearly, traditional printed textbooks alone will not be adequate to meet the world's education needs. Fortunately, powerful new technologies can greatly overcome those limitations. The next wave of the computer revolution in education is the implementation of the electronic book as an important supplement to learning. It can contain everything that a printed text contains, but it can also incorporate self-pasting problem statements, live worksheets, and multimedia elements. The electronic book is an editable document, allowing each student to incorporate his/her own notes from classroom discussion or self-study. Problem solutions can be provided at the click of a mouse, and these are

also editable. Distribution can be as simple as a file drag and drop into a public server directory. Commercially available tools now make the creation of electronic documents as easy as using a word processor.

Textbooks can be printed with URLs of online resources included for supplementary or updated information. The textbooks themselves can be delivered in electronic format to eliminate the need for printing updated versions; rather than buying a fleet of new-hard bound books whenever a new edition is published, educators can subscribe to a volume and have updates delivered to them through the Net. Students, of course, will need a computer of some sort (laptop, e-book, PDA) to read the text, but the text can theoretically remain constantly updated at dramatically reduced publishing costs- not to mention the positive impact that paperless texts can have on the environment. A traditional math textbook contains practice questions and answers to help students achieve mastery. Often, some of these Q&As are supplemented with full explanations of how the solution is obtained, but cost and space constraints make thoroughly explaining each and every question impossible. Now imagine an electronic version of a math textbook, perhaps one that a student can download to a handheld e-book device. This electronic book has a screen for viewing, a speaker and headphone jack for listening and modest input capabilities. To keep costs down, its not nearly as sophisticated as a full-fledged laptop computer, but it can store a semester or twos worth of textbooks. Now imagine this portable e-book connected to the Internet. Supplementary math problems would be available on demand to students who needed them. The problems could be customized to different subject areas and skill levels (a feature commonly known as adaptive learning) and automatically downloaded as needed by intelligent texts. For example, a student who did well on a set of multiplication problems but struggled with division would automatically get an extra set of division problems at the end of the chapter. Students who excelled with the material would get a set of advanced problems- or even self-paced learning units presenting new material- to keep them challenged and engaged. The possibilities begin to mount rather quickly, and this is just within the framework of mimicking the print texts we are used to. The fun begins when we allow ourselves to think outside of the box, as they say, and abandon our notions of what educational materials have always been, in favor of what they could be. (Kravitz, 2004)

Characteristics

An electronic book is particularly suited to enhancing learning outside the classroom, and can significantly reduce the burden associated with computationally intensive course material. This is a new medium, however and has characteristics that make it distinct from a printed text apart from its ephemeral electronic form. A distinguishing feature of the electronic book is extensive hyperlinking. The set of links created by an instructor permits a user to rapidly find definitions, concepts, equations, and related information. In this sense, the electronic document has more in common with a database than a printed text. The organization of these links is the most significant issue in the design of this genre of books. Page numbers and linear ordering have less relevance in this medium than they do in a standard text. Textual discussions are commonly "layered". That is, a summary of a topic is presented on a single page and details and extensions are accessed via the links. Depending on the particular tool used to create the electronic book, multimedia elements can be embedded to enhance its pedagogical value. Carefully selected audio or video clips and animations can also be an aid in understanding dynamic subject matter. Some authoring tools permit a viewer to execute small applications or "shell out" to other environments, for example, to simulation packages, statistics packages, drawing tools, or equation solvers. These

tools must be present on the same file server on which the electronic book resides. The electronic book complements a printed text. Students perennially complain that texts provide too few examples, and these are seldom annotated with sufficiently detailed explanations. If an author supplied multiple examples for every concept, and explained each in full detail, the resulting printed text would be daunting both in cost and sheer weight. The electronic book has no size limitation. An author can provide an unlimited number of examples. The user is not overwhelmed by the size of a document because there is never more than a screenful of information in view. The ultimate size of the electronic book is hidden. The user only needs to know how to find what he/she needs. One student may study only one or two examples to achieve a desired level of confidence, while another may examine several. Worked problems are fruitful candidates for a layered design. Explanations can be attached with hyperlinks to each

portion of the solution developed for an example. Students in need of casual assistance can find it with a mouse click. If a brief explanation is not sufficient, a student can be referred back to a more complete textual discussion of the topic. On the other hand, the student who already understands the material can concentrate on the core development of the problem solution without all the attached verbiage. Many students learn exclusively from the examples. An electronic book meets their needs more effectively than a printed text. If the environment in which the problem solutions are created

supports machine computation, then the student can also experiment with different parameter values. Electronic books may not be suitable replacements for printed texts because the computer screen imposes an ergonomic limitation. Most viewers cannot tolerate discussions requiring more than a screenful or two of text. Thus the electronic

book is not an appropriate place to pursue lengthy, detailed textual explanation of a concept. However, this limitation has the benefit of encouraging brevity and

sharpening focus. The electronic book is an excellent place to summarize the essential elements of a development pursued at length in a printed text. It encourages authors to focus on relevant issues and to avoid the goal of a printed text to be all-inclusive. Student Perspective An electronic book is an editable textbook. A student can augment a personal copy of the text with his/her own class notes and print only the sections needed, and thus have an individualized study guide. The electronic book can serve as an interactive solution manual. Sample problem statements and figures can be cut and pasted into a

personal worksheet and students can access supplied hints or solutions as needed. The effectiveness of self-study is particularly enhanced if an instructor designs an appropriate set of links to needed definitions and concepts. A feature that is particularly well-received by students is the issue of supplying required property data with a clickable link. Impact in the Classroom An experienced instructor is familiar with the roadblocks to learning the subject matter in a course and has probably coached several students through those obstacles. The

electronic book is a convenient place to archive all that acquired experience. If the electronic book is used to supply a number of carefully selected worked examples, students tend to master concepts more quickly. The electronic book has been used as a supplement to the printed text. Typically, a mix of problems was assigned from both sources. Examples from the electronic book were assigned as a study aide along with additional problems from the printed text for which no solutions were available. (Reklaitis, Wiley, 1983)

III.

Learning

A.

Nature of Learning

Learning is defined in this chapter as a relatively permanent change in mental processing, emotional functioning, and/or behavior as a result of experience. It is a dynamic process by which individuals acquire new knowledge or skills and alter their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and actions. Learning takes place as individuals interact with their environment and incorporate new information or experiences with what they already know or have learned.

Learning occurs continuously throughout a person's lifetime. To define learning, it is necessary to analyze what happens to the individual. For example, an individual's way of perceiving, thinking, feeling, and doing may change as a result of a learning experience. Thus, learning can be defined as a change in behavior as a result of experience. This can be physical and overt, or it may involve complex intellectual or attitudinal changes which affect behavior in more subtle ways. In spite of numerous theories and contrasting views, psychologists generally agree on many common characteristics of learning.

There is no such thing as a one size fits all learning environment. Some people learn best when they see what is being taught, while others process information best auditory. Many will prefer movement or touching to make the learning process complete. The best approach to learning styles is a multisensory approach. This type of environment allows for children, who are primarily kinesthetic or motor learners, to be able to learn through touch and movement; it allows the visual learner to see the concept being taught, and the auditory learner to hear and verbalize what is being taught. Ideally, the best learning takes place when the different types of processing abilities can be utilized. Dr. Mel Levine had this in mind when he wrote his book, A Mind At A Time. This book explains how we learn and why it is okay to learn the way we are wired.

B.

Learning Process

This encompasses learning process in a more broad perspective. Process or levels of learning may be classified into numerous breakdowns but there are only four (4) major levels that we must be familiarized with, and these are: (1) Rote; (2) Understanding; (3) Application, and; (4) Correlation.

Rote refers to the lowest level for this is the ability of an individual to repeat something which one has been taught, without understanding or being able to apply what has been learned. Rote learning is a technique which avoids understanding the inner complexities and inferences of the subject that is being learned and instead focuses on memorizing the material so that it can be recalled by the learner exactly the way it was read or heard. The major practice involved in rote learning techniques is learning by repetition, based on the idea that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more it is repeated. Rote learning is used in diverse areas, from mathematics to music to religion. Although it has been criticized by some schools of thought, rote learning is a necessity in many situations.

Understanding is also known as intellection. This particular level or process of learning refers to the comprehension of the disseminated information or merely the dos on how will the individual grasp the nature or the meaning of a particular word, idea, concept,

agenda or topic. s a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object of understanding. Understanding implies abilities and dispositions with respect to an object of knowledge sufficient to support intelligent behavior. An understanding is the limit of a conceptualization. To understand something is to have conceptualized it to a given measure.

Application implies that what has been learned from what has been taught are now on its way to its reality. For in the Application level, the individual is actually putting what has been learned from what has been taught in to ever day life.

Correlation is one of the most crucial and yet the most significant. Correlation means associating what has been learned, understood and applied with previous or subsequent learning experiences. is that level at which the student becomes able to associate an element which has been learned with other segments or blocks of learning. The other segments may be items or skills previously learned, or new learning tasks to be undertaken in the future.

C.

Learning Sources

Primary sources People rely on original documents, witnesses in the past to recreate the stories that have occurred in the past. We call these witnesses to "primary sources" because they constitute the first evidence of what happened, what we thought or what was said. Primary sources are all that has been created at a time when an event happened or shortly after. These sources are often rare or unique. However, some primary sources may also exist in many copies, if they were popular or easily accessible at the time of their creation.

Primary resources can be put into four basic categories: official records, personal records, media and the arts, which include photos, literature and archeology. Official records from government or other institutions serve as objective records of the past, whereas personal resources such as diaries or letters are more biased. Secondary sources Secondary sources are information second-hand witnesses published. They are so named because they were created after the primary sources, and they often use primary sources, or discuss it. Secondary sources may provide further opinions about a past event or a primary source, sometimes distort facts. There are often many copies of secondary sources, which can be found in libraries, schools or homes. Libraries and archives preserve objects, such as documents and books that help us to discover the events that unfolded in the past. One way to organize these objects is divided into primary sources and secondary sources. What makes an object a primary or a secondary source often depends on how they are used. The primary and secondary sources when we use them together, help us to understand people, ideas and events of the past.

D.

Types of Learners

To understand how to move from passive to active learning, it is important to understand the different types of learners. There are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic. People learn using a variety of these methods, but one method is usually predominant. Familiarity with the characteristics of each learning style and associated strategies allows you to address the needs of each type of learner.

1.

Visual Learners

They tend to be fast talkers.

y y y y y y

They exhibit impatience and have a tendency to interrupt. They use words and phrases that evoke visual images. They learn by seeing and visualizing. Your teaching strategy for visual learners should include the use of demonstrations and visually pleasing materials, and you should make an effort to paint mental pictures for learners.

2.

Auditory Learners

y y y y y y y

They speak slowly and tend to be natural listeners. They think in a linear manner. They prefer to have things explained to them verbally rather than to read written information. They learn by listening and verbalizing. Your teaching strategy for auditory learners should sound good and should be planned and delivered in the form of an organized conversation.

3.

Read-Write Learners

y y y y y y y y y y

They prefer for information to be displayed in writing, such as lists of ideas. They emphasize text-based input and output. They enjoy reading and writing in all forms. Your teaching strategy for read-write learners should include writing out key words in list form. The learners will learn by silently reading or rewriting their notes repeatedly; writing out in their own words the ideas and principles that were taught or discussed; organizing any diagrams, graphs, other visual depictions into statements (e.g., The trend is . . . ); and putting reactions, actions, diagrams, charts, and flowcharts into words. They like multiple-choice tests.

4.

Kinesthetic Learners

y y y y y y y y

They tend to be the slowest talkers of all. They tend to be slow to make decisions. They use all their senses to engage in learning. They learn by doing and solving real-life problems. They like hands-on approaches to things and learn through trial and error. Your teaching strategy for kinesthetic learners should include hands-on demonstrations and case examples to be discussed and solved.

IV.

Academic Performance A. General Weighted Average

According to the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Handbook (2009), this is the formula for computing the General Weighted Average: GWA = [GWA1] UNITS 1 Where: GWA = Students Over-all General Weighted Average for the Semester GWA 1 = Students General Weighted Average for the Subject (Grades) UNITS 1 = Number of Units Enrolled for the Semester ( excluding PE subjects and NSTP )

According to the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Handbook (2009), here is the corresponding description of the given grades:

1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 5.00 DU (5.00) Inc. DO

Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Passed Failed Dropped Unofficially Incomplete Dropped Officially

In order to stay in PLM and retain a "Good Standing" scholastic status each semester, scholars need to maintain a general weighted average. The requirement is 2.25 for freshmen, and 2.50 for the upperclassmen (sophomores, juniors and seniors).

B.

Six Levels of Cognitive Behavior

Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains A committee of educational psychologists was formed after the Convention of American Psychological Association to develop a classification system for levels of intellectual behaviors. In the 1956, chaired by Benjamin Bloom and his other contributors Englehart, First, Hill, and Krathwol published a book introducing his three domains of learning: thought (Cognitive), emotion (Affective) and physicality (Psychomotor). Each of the domains is set up in a hierarchical taxonomy of learning. The three domains constitute the whole personality of an individual.

The three domains of learning provides a systematic framework for designing a series of appropriate learning approaches that will facilitate students achievement of the course objectives and desired competencies and outcomes, although the domains address the three aspects of learning separately, the domains are actually interviewing (Oermann, 2003). Inherent in the concept of taxonomy is the notion that although these three domains of cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of learning are described as existing as separate entities, they are, in fact, interdependent and can be experienced simultaneously. Humans do not possess thoughts, feelings and actions in isolation of one another and typically do not compartmentalize learning. In the taxonomy of educational objectives, the objectives in each domain are ordered in a taxonomic form of hierarchy. The learners must successfully achieve behaviors at lower levels of the domains before they are able to adequately learn behaviors at the higher levels of the domains (Bastable, 2008). Emotions are organized responses that adaptability trigger cognitive activities and direct actions. The ability to recognize the meanings of emotions and their relationships and to reason and problem solve on that basis is the result of emotional intelligence the relation between emotional quotient and non-intellective factors namely: study habits and attitudes, academic behavior, self-esteem, and temperament. His findings showed that students emotional quotient was significantly related to their study habits and attitudes, behavioral academic self-esteem and phlegmatic temperament either singly, or in combination (Salovey and Mayer, 2005). Learning domains, sometimes referred to as categories of learning outcomes, are critical to consider in planning lessons. By analyzing the type of learning domain or outcome desired, it will become easy to determine which activities, assessments, and representational modes such as face-to-face, video, online and multimedia utilization are optimal based on the learning outcome desired. With the access to learning technologies more available to faculty and with greater numbers of students having access at home and work, it is possible and desirable to use multiple representational modes to increase the probability that students will attain higher levels of learning (Menix, 2005).

Cognitive Domain Bloom divided the cognitive domain into six progressive levels. The first three of the six are the concrete learning stages. The first cognitive level is knowledge level. It is the first and lowest level of cognitive domain. This level designates a time for the students to use simple recall or recognition of materials. This level lays the foundation for all the thinking that occurs for the learner. At this stage, the learner is gathering a great deal of data that can be useful to enhance the topic about which facts have been gathered. Comprehension Level is the first level of understanding of a given topic. Whereas the first level is generally not much more than memorization or recitation of given facts, it requires some rudimentary understanding. After having developed the level of comprehension on any content area, the individual become capable of a) translate, summarize or define acquired knowledge in his own words, b) interpret the acquired information or knowledge on his own and give examples, and c) extrapolate, which means the individual relates two or more events, concepts or phenomena and thus, describes and explain events. Application level is the stage of learning when the student is able to put use the material he has learned up to this point. This is the pre-abstract thinking stage when students are first asked to solve problems. They can make generalizations based on the information they have memorized and to which they have been able to put up some meaning. Analysis Level is the first truly abstract thinking level of the cognitive domain of learning. The idea of analysis level is for the learner to break down all the information given into some kind of workable categories or parts so that it can be more easily or more comprehensively explained. It takes some item of knowledge and moves it from more complex to its more basic, simpler parts. At the synthesis level, the student can take apart analyzed elements and put them back together again, creating some kind of a new whole by such reassembly. It

should be noted specifically that a new, unique form must be produced with the available sources. The students will have gone through the four previous levels with an understanding that they will take the pieces of information they have identified, used, and broken down into varied parts, and create something new from that learning. Evaluation Level is the process of judging the worth or a value of a thing. The thing may be an idea, an object, a process, a procedure, or a product. It includes facts, concepts, principles, theories, and laws of biological sciences. Evaluation is the highest and most complex cognitive ability which involves all the five abilities. It is a quantitative and qualitative process. Evaluation develops decision-making ability in the individual and involves judgment in terms of internal and external criteria. (R. Wyatt, 2007) Affective Domain The affective taxonomy covers development from being open to new experiences through the internalization of a personal value system. Emotion is linked directly to memory, which is why people remember everything about where they were when they had an emotional experience, such as hearing about an assassination. High-level affective traits are necessary for students to be able to participate in critical thinking discussions because conceptualizing and internalizing values are essential. (L. Richlin, 2006) The affective domain has five levels of learning. The objectives relating this domain are generally concerned with the attitudes and emotions of the students. Some argue that this domain is more appropriately relegated to church and the home, and is, to some extent, a warranted observation. Stud dents must be able to make a choice and not have to bend to the will of a teacher or a peer about the judgments they make the choices they choose to follow. Krathwol, Bloom, and Masia (1964) have developed five stages a person goes through in learning to establish attitudes or values. The five stages of the affective domain are called receiving level, responding level, valuing level, organization level, and characterization by a value or complex level. Each level deals with the degree of internalization of a specific value, attitude, or emotion approached by the students. (R. Wyatt, 2007)

Psychomotor Domain The final domain that Bloom identified is the psychomotor domain. This domain is especially relevant to physical education, music, art, and the various vocational educations such as agriculture, business, or home economics. The four levels are fundamental movement (little control by the participant), generic movement (basic movement), ordinative (some control and improvisation), and creative movement (movement unique to student). Understanding Blooms Taxonomy develops competencies in the teacher by which he can design effective learning experiences devise and organize fruitful and interesting co-curricular, and take care of all around development of a students personality. (R. Wyatt, 2007)