VALLEY VIEW UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

VVU
Excellence Integrity Service

SUBJECT:

INFT 415 : DISTRIBUTED AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

RESEARCH PAPER
[TOPIC:]
APPLICATION OF DISTRIBUTIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
TECHNIQUES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN BOSO D/A
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN GHANA

LECTURER: MR. ERIC ABANDOH SAM

INDEX NUMBER:

SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF
FINAL YEAR FINAL SEMESTER EXAMS (L400 S3 2019)

DATE:
31ST MAY 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1...……………………………………………………..……...3
Introduction...……………………………………………………………....3
Background of this journal………………………………………................4
Background of Participants.............................................................................4
Objectives of this journal…………………………………………...............5
Journal outline……………………………………………………................5
Motivation to write this journal…………………………………………….5
Reflection Question………………………………………………...............6

CHAPTER 2………………………………………………………………7
Literature Review…………………………………………………………..7

CHAPTER 3…………………………………………………….. ……….13

Studied Concept Implementation…………………………………………..13
Reflection Question………………………………………………………...13
First Approach……………………………………………………………...14
Second Approach…………………………………………………………...15
Third Approach……………………………………………………………..15
References…………………………………………………………………..17
CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This paper is a contemplative journal giving a detailed analysis of processes,

techniques and approaches I used to solve peculiar learning and teaching
problems found in my school of service.

Areas that are highlighted in this article include:

o Active Learning
o Increasing Student Participation
o Writing Assignments
o Problem-based Learning
o Discussions
o Effective Questions
o Ice Breakers

Background of this Journal

Background of participants

Objective of this journal

I will……….

I intend to delve into techniques, approaches and methods derived from the
above course studied to help me in my approach towards teaching in the
above mentioned school.

This journal will……..

Journal Outline
This journal is organized as follows:

Chapter 1: Introduction - Introduction background of the participants,

purpose and significance of this journal.
Chapter 2: Literature review - This chapter will explain some of the key
terms that will be used in this journal.

Chapter 3: Studied Concept Implementation - This chapter will look at how

I intend to implement the concepts I acquired during the one week intensive
class of studying
. Chapter 4: Conclusion.
. Bibliography

Motivation to write this journal

REFLECTION QUESTION
CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Computer - According to the Oxford dictionary a computer is an electronic

device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according
to instructions given to it in a variable program.
Software Engineering – using the knowledge of computers and computing to
help solve problems (Pfleeger and Atlee, 2010).
Java – software that “enables users to develop and deploy applications on
the Internet for servers, desktop computers and small hand-held devices”
(Liang, 2011).
Application Program Interface(API) – a program that contains predefined
sub programs and interfaces for developing Java programs (Liang, 2011).
Java Development Toolkit – is a java development tool (Liang, 2011).
Integrated Development Environment – a software for rapidly developing
Java programs e.g. Eclipse,
TextPad, etc (Liang, 2011).

Software Development Team – A software development team is basically a

team that comprises of computer programmers, a project manager, system
analyst who come together to develop a computer system application
(Pfleeger and Atlee, 2010).
Source code – is taken to mean any fully executable description of a
software system. It is therefore so construed as to include machine code,
very high level languages and executable graphical representations of
systems (Harman and Jones, 1997). Also, (also referred to as source or
code) is the version of software as it is originally written (i.e., typed into a
computer) by a human in plain text (i.e., human readable alphanumeric
characters) (“Source Code Definition”,
2006).
Software - is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and
instructions, often broken into two major categories: system software that
provides the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and
application software which is used by users to accomplish
specific tasks (“Computer Software Definition”, 2007).
End user - refers to the ultimate operator of a piece of software (Norman,
1998). Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) - is a digital circuit that performs
arithmetic and logicaloperations.
The ALU is a fundamental building block of the central processing unit
(CPU) of a computer,
and even the simplest microprocessors contain one for purposes such as
maintaining timers. The processors found inside modern CPUs and
graphics processing units (GPUs) accommodate very powerful and very
complex ALUs; a single component may contain a number of ALUs
(Stallings, 2010).
Network Administrator – is a person who manages an organizations
computer network infrastructure (Stallings, 2007). A network administrator,
network analyst or network engineer is a person responsible for the
maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer
network. This normally includes deploying, configuring, maintaining and
monitoring active network equipment (Wikipedia.com, 2011).

The Art of Changing the Brain

The “The Art of Changing the Brain” is a book that explores the biology of
the brain and how the brain works in the learning process. The author James
E. Zull explores the biology of the brain functions and how they each work
together to promote learning and hence aid in the
teaching process.
Sense –> Integrate -> Act
The idea of “Sense -> Integrate -> Act” was taken from the Second chapter
of the book “Where we ought to be”. They are the functions of the brain
cortex. According (Zull, 2002, p.15) sensing refers to receiving signals from
the outside world through the sensory organs namely, eyes, ears, skin,
mouth and nose. In computer graphics, an image is seen as a lot of dots
(called pixels) drawn on the screen. Each pixel has basically two properties
(color and position).
Using an introductory class to computer graphics as an illustration, in order
to implement sensing, first each student will be required to open an image in
paint (an application in windows used for drawing and basic graphic work).
Each student will then zoom in on any part of the image. The higher the
maximization factor, the more pronounce each individual dot in the image
will become visible (See Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2). This will illustrate the
presence of the pixels in the image.

Figure 3.1 Normal Image view.

Figure 3.2 Zoom in view of the image (focus on the logo).
“Integration means that these individual signals are put together so that
whatever is being sensed is recognized in the sum of all these signals” (Zull,
2002, p. 15). In order to help the students integrate this illustration, I will
require the students to view the computer screen as an image like the
picture. Where the screen is made of many dots (pixels) each having a
position and color property. I will then give the students five minutes to
think about what they have seen in the illustration and how it can be applied
to the computer screen. And the students will also develop a plan of action
on how to manipulate or draw images on the computer screen.
“At their most basic, these integrated meanings become plans for actions”
(Zull, 2002, p.16). In order for the students to act and complete their
learning cycle, they will be required to write out how they think they can
change what is displayed on the computer screen. Depending on the number
of students in the class, the class will be divided into groups of three to five
members. Each group member will then share what he or she has written
down with the other group members.
After five minutes each group will then share their deductions on how to
manipulate imagery on the computer screen with the rest of the class. After
that each student will submit a report on how to manipulate the imagery on
the computer screen for assessment.
Prior Knowledge
“All learners, even newborn babies have some prior knowledge. Learners do
not begin with a blank slate” (Zull, 2002, p.93). There are three important
facts about prior knowledge that was stated by Zull in his book “The Art of
Changing the Brain”; “First, prior knowledge is a
fact”, “second, prior knowledge is persistent” and thirdly “prior knowledge
is the beginning of new knowledge” (Zull, 2002, p.94). According Zull,
prior knowledge is the knowledge acquired
by the student through personal experiences about a subject.
Most of the first year students in the “Introduction to Computer Science I”
have some prior knowledge about computers which comes into conflict with
computer science. For example, most students do not understand that, a
computer with all its computational power understands only ones and zeros.
Since they come from very diverse backgrounds (from firsttime computer
users to adept computer programmers or gamers) finding out what they
know about computers will be important. For example to teach the class
about the various parts of the computer system and how they work together
to make the computer work, I need to know what the student knows about
what a computer is.
There are several ways that can be used to get the students’ prior knowledge.
One way is through a questionnaire. To achieve this, I am going to set 15
statements to be answered true, false or no idea about computer systems. For
example “The machine code for the computer is
made up of 1s and 0s. True False No Idea”. See Appendix A. These
statements will be based on facts about the computer systems which most
computer users are expected to know. The questionnaire will be in the form
of a quiz that will be administered to the student. Three choices
will be available (a. true, b. false, c. No idea) from which the student will
select one option. The students will be told that the quiz is for prior
knowledge acquisition and not for academic assessment.
The quiz is going to be evaluated as follows:
Number of Number of
Name of Number of “No
Correct Incorrect
Student Idea” Answers
Answers Answers
Student A
Student B
Student C
Table 3. 1 Sample table for organizing the results of the quiz.

A statistical analysis will be done on the results to find the standard

deviation and average of each of the column. And the results of the
statistical analysis will determine where to begin the lesson, based on the
following hypothesis: “If the average of the Number of Correct
Answers (ave (NCA)) is greater than the average of the Number of Incorrect
Answers (ave(NIA)) and the If the average of the Number of Correct
Answers (ave (NCA)) is greater than the average of the Number of “No
Idea” Answers (ave (NNA)), then the students have enough prior
knowledge to start the lesson.”
Mathematically, H0 : ave (NCA) > ave (NIA) and ave (NCA) > ave (NNA)
If the hypothesis is true then the students, collectively have some prior
knowledge about the lesson on computer systems. Else, then the students do
not enough prior knowledge collectively about the lessons. If the students do
not have enough prior knowledge about the lesson, then I will have to build
some prior knowledge based on what they know about computers. Because
the lesson on computer systems introduces some concepts which are a bit
confusing to the average computer user, building the right prior knowledge
about computer systems is essential to understanding how the computer
system works.
In order for me to build the right prior knowledge with the students, I need
to know the level of knowledge of each student.
“Whatever the neuronal networks are in the student brain, a teacher cannot
remove them. They are a physical fact. As we will see later, it may be
possible to reduce the use of particular networks, or to use other networks in
their place, and some networks may die out or weaken with disuse.” (Zull,
2002, p. 101)
And since prior knowledge can be classified as experience, each student will
be required to present a journal of their experiences with computers and a
paper on how they understand how a computer works based on their
experiences.
Helping People Learn
Another concept that I got from “The Art of Changing the Brain”, is helping
people learn (Zull, 2002, p.129). As a teacher my main goal is to help my
student learn.
Oliver Wendell Holmes said that “once we stretch our mind around a new
idea, it never returns to its former shape.” This fits much of what I have
been saying about how we learn. As new and different networks of neurons
fire because of our sensory input – our experience – these networks
constantly change. (Zull, 2002, p. 129)
In order to help my students learn, I need to help facilitate the process of
physically changing their brains. In teaching software engineering to first
year computer science students who do not have little or no programming
experience, they need to know how to break a problem into steps. I will state
and explain the steps in the software engineering process. Pfleeger and
Atlee describe the quality of software in at least three ways, “the quality of
the product, the quality of the process that results in the product and the
quality of the product in the context of the business environment in which
the product will be used. (Pfleeger and Atlee, 2010)” I will
repeat this statement until the students understand how to measure the
quality of the software they will be required to develop in their career.
The software engineering process involves requirement analysis and
definition, system design, program design, writing the programs, unit
testing, integration testing, system testing, system delivery and maintenance
(Pfleeger and Atlee, 2010). The requirement analysis and definition involves
breaking the software into smaller pieces that can easily be understood and
deal with. Since each student went through the registration system I will ask
them to list all the steps that they went through to complete their
registration, and then to illustrate their answer with a diagram (Zull, 2003, p.
136). Then to divide the registration into three parts – academic,
financial and others, then list the steps in each part and illustrate the steps
with a diagram.
The students will then be asked to compare the two methods and evaluate
which method was easier to use. I will repeat this process with other
analogies (everyday process that requires following a predefined set of
rules), like preparing a local dish, getting to a popular destination
from the university through public transport whilst correcting the mistakes
they make. Also they will be required to construct their own acronyms from
the first letters of the names of the stages
in the software engineering process.
Giving Control to the Learner
This will be the greatest challenge to me as a teacher, since will require to
giving the control of the learning process to the student and serve as a guide
instead of the autocratic leader.
“It is easy to simply receive and integrate information, when we don’t have
to do anything or even tell anybody about what is tucked away in there.”
“To plan a venture into the future, basing everything on our ideas and
hypotheses, can be frightening. Our
thoughts are still abstract. We have not seen them played out in the real
world before, and this lack of concreteness increases the risk.” (Zull, 2002,
p.179).
In teaching software engineering, one way of giving control of learning to
the student is to give them real life problems and allow them to use what
they have studied in the software
engineering lesson as guide to develop software solutions for these problems
(Zull, 2002, p.203).
Depending on the size of the class, the students will be divided into groups
of four to six. The criteria for selecting group members will be dependent on
the strength and skills of each student.
This will prevent two students of similar talents from being in the same
group, creating groups
with similar strengths. Each group will assign roles to each member. Some
of the roles include project managers, programmers, testers, etc.
This activity is to allow the students to learn on their own by applying the
abstract ideas they have accumulated and test them to see if they are
concrete or not. “No matter what ideas our
front cortex has created, we cannot know if they are true until they have
been tested in a concrete and active way” (Zull, 2002, p.204). Each group
member will write a report by listing the important facts on the group’s
activities both during and outside the class. I will review each report to
ensure that the right procedures and the right things are being done. If there
is something in the report which is not correct about software engineering,
depending on the nature of the error, will either call the whole group or
individual to correct them before sharing it with the rest of the class.
Giving control to the student will help them derive their own meaning when
they try out their own ideas (Zull, 2002, p.188).
Learning and Motivation in the Postsecondary Classroom
In this book, Marilla Svinicki discusses the issue of how to motivate the
students in your class to learn by learning about learning. There are several
interesting concepts that the author discussed about how to help my students
to learn.

Learn about learning

Learning about learning seems to be an ambiguous concept but it makes a
lot of sense. In order to motivate a student to learn, I need to know about
learning and also how to motivate students to learn. To achieve this, I intend
to take courses in teaching in the classroom. The first step I took was taking
the class EDCI 606 Teaching in Higher Education. This course has given
me valuable lessons, arsenals and resources that have helped me changed the
way I see how students learn.
Also learning is a collective activity so I intend to start a journal on my
learning about learning experiences. This journal will be a record of my
daily experiences in the classroom. It will also help me keep a record of all
my activities in the classroom (See Appendix B). The
purpose of the journal is to keep track of all activities and be able to make
the necessary amends to them.
The following entries will be made in the journal, the date of the activity
occurred, the name of the course, the title of the lesson, the location of the
activity (name of school, name of
town and country), a detailed description of the activity, the result of the
activity and a conclusion.
The result of the activity will describe the outcome of the activity. This will
include feedback from students, results of tests, description of student
attitudes, etc. The conclusion will be what I think about the results and what
I intend to do about the results, either improve it or record it.
I will also share my experiences with the other teachers to get their inputs on
ways I can improve my teaching methods.

Identify the Key Features

“During the learning of content, learners are picking out key features that
define the concepts and making connections between that new information
and their existing world views”
(Svinicki, 2004, p.14). In introducing students to Java (a programming
language), I will identify
the key features that need to be learnt:
To review computer basics, programs, and operating systems.
To explore the relationship between Java and the World Wide Web
To distinguish the terms Application Programming Interface
(API),Integrated
Development Environment (IDE), and Java Development ToolKit (JDK)
To write a simple Java program
To display output on the console
To explain the basic syntax of a Java program
To create, compile, and run Java programs
Each student will be provided with a summary sheet, before the
commencement of the
lesson. A basic definition of each key concept will be given before any key
feature is analyzed.
During the lesson, each student will write out how he or she understands the
key feature based on the lesson, the definition and their experiences
CHAPTER THREE

STUDIED CONCEPT IMPLEMENTATION

REFERENCES