INF4860/002/0/2024

Tutorial Letter 002/0/2024

E-Learning: Concepts and Principles

INF4860

Year module

School of Computing

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife email address and
make sure that you have regular access to the myUnisa module
website, INF4860-2024-Y, as well as your group website.

Note: This is a fully online module and therefore it is only available on myUnisa.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………… 3
2 DUE DATE, CALCULATION OF YEAR MARK AND FINAL MARK…………………… 3
3 VERY IMPORTANT…………………………………………………………………………... 4

4 ASSIGNMENT 1 TASKS ……………………………………………………………………. 4

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1 INTRODUCTION
Dear Student
INF4860, like many postgraduate offerings, is a research-driven module where students are
expected to adopt a research-oriented focus. The nature of the tasks you will complete will require
you to work independently (with lecturer support of course).
Secondly, as you progress through this course, it will become clear that not all higher education
institutions and/or students are ready for fully online teaching and learning approaches. In the
Unisa context, we all have experienced the disruptions and difficulties that COVID-19 brought
with it, and how it changed and is still changing, the way we deliver courses, do assignments,
write exams etc. We all have experienced issues with the new Moodle Learning Management
System. As a research-driven course, our focus is to learn what formal research has reported
about the successes and failures of e-learning, how the theory and delivery of online courses
have changed over the years, and how it is constantly changing. What worked 5 or 10 years ago
may not be relevant anymore. E-learning handbooks get outdated faster than updated, hence out
focus on the most recent and relevant research publications.
You will use the internet (mostly Google Scholar and other search tools), the discussion forum for
collaboration, email, and online library tools to complete various tasks. In this course, you will
probably spend more time online than in any other module. Combined, these assignment tasks
will form a portfolio of evidence that shows that you are comfortable and up to date with the latest
research in the field of e-learning.
To ensure that your research-driven outputs (in the form of tasks) are valid, there are specific
rules in place. These rules are contained in the document Rules.pdf which is available in the
Additional Resources folder. As a postgraduate student, we expect you to adhere to these rules.
They are not intended to make this module more difficult. On the contrary, they are easy to follow.
Make sure you read and understand the rules before you start your assignments. At times
it may feel that this course is more focused on how to source, interpret and report formal research
articles as opposed to what there is to learn. This is not the case. If you follow the rules, you will
learn a lot this year. Similarly, if you are going to leave assignment tasks for the week before the
due date, you will not do well in this course. Research takes time, and you are encouraged to
start early.
All tasks in this assignment, as well as the next assignments, are designed to upskill your research
skills and reporting step by step. Stated differently, the tasks build on one another. The last task
you will complete in this course is an extensive literature review of a specific e-learning or m-
learning topic. All the tasks are therefore designed to prepare you for this review.
Please note that this course does not make use of the myUnisa forums, but the INF4860 forum
available at http://osprey.unisa.ac.za/forums (known as the Osprey forums). If you have any
course-related queries, please make use of this forum. In using the forum, all students have
access to questions and solutions, thereby creating a collaborative community of inquiry. Register
with your myLife email address and any username/password of your choice.
All follow-up tutorial letters will be published on myUnisa in the Additional Resources folder.
Regards
Your Lecturer

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2 CALCULATION OF YEAR MARK AND FINAL MARK
• Year mark = 45% (Assignment 1 = 50% + Assignment 2 = 50%).
• Non-venue exam mark (= 55% (Assignment 3 = 100%)
• Final mark = 100% (Year mark = 45% + Portfolio mark = 55%)
You must obtain a final mark of 50% or more to pass this module.

3 VERY IMPORTANT!
a) Did you read the Rules.pdf document?
b) Provide your full references for each task as indicated. This makes it easier for the
markers to verify your sources while marking, thereby minimising possible mistakes
on our side.
c) It appears all assignments submitted online are now automatically reviewed by
Turnitin, but we will keep you updated. Do not take screenshots of your work before
you submit the document to "fool" Turnitin.
d) For any 5% that your similarity score is over 20%, 10% will be subtracted from your
final mark. The marker will consider the impact your reference list has on the similarity
score (it normally pushes the score slightly up).
e) The purposes of Assignment 1 are to ease you into the research skills required in all
research (the methodology), further assignments and tasks, and to introduce you to a
basic understanding of e- and m-learning concepts and systems.

4 ASSIGNMENT 1 TASKS

Due date: 16 May 2024 Total: 90 marks

Unique number: 546487 Year mark contribution: 50%

Please note: Plagiarism is a serious crime and can result in a disciplinary hearing and a possibility
of expulsion from the University. You should not copy and paste text directly from any source as
your answer. Nor should you make use of online or any other tool that rewrites text on your behalf,
or paraphrases (just change a word here and there in a sentence but keep the structure intact).

Assignment 1: Critical Discourse on the Uses of e- and m-Learning Systems

TASK 1. [20 marks]

Explore and critically discuss the various application areas of e- and m-learning systems,
highlighting their impact on education, training, and professional development. Provide examples
from recent peer-reviewed studies to support your arguments.

TASK 2 [20 marks]

Analyze the usability of e- and m-learning systems, considering user experience and
accessibility. Discuss the key factors that contribute to effective usability and how they enhance
the overall learning experience. Provide real-world examples to illustrate your points.

TASK 3 [25 marks]

Delve into the foundational concepts of e- and m-learning systems, demonstrating a deep
understanding of their purpose and significance in the educational landscape. Discuss how these
systems have evolved over time and their role in shaping modern educational practices.

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TASK 4 [25 marks]

Investigate the different philosophical views surrounding terminologies and knowledge
representation in e- and m-learning systems. Compare and contrast these views, highlighting their
implications for designing effective learning environments. Use relevant scholarly literature to
support your arguments.

[90 marks]

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