The development and evaluation of a college-bases course on networks and networking technology

Abstract

The work presented in this dissertation involves the development and evaluation of a module on Networks and Networking Technology for students following an MCAST course within the Institute of Information and Communications Technology. Before designing and developing the resources, an analysis was conducted during which the course and desired enhancements were discussed with the institute principal and course tutors. The conclusions derived from the analysis are discussed in the work presented. The development phase of this dissertation consisted of the design of the course material which includes PowerPoint presentations, worksheets, interactive animations, a video production, a course website, assessment papers, which are all included in the Appendix. These resources were developed on the basis of the research done in the literature review and also in close collaboration with the course tutors and the institute authorities. A qualitative evaluation of these resources was conducted soon after the course had finished through interviews and observations, with a view to suggesting further improvements for the next course update, all included in the Evaluation chapter. The main findings of this dissertation are how lessons are enhanced by using constructivist practices such as discovery learning, collaborative learning, participating in discussions, project-based learning and also the importance of using authentic learning tasks in conjunction with well prepared resources. Another finding of this dissertation is to show how to design and develop good resources for post-secondary classrooms in order to promote a constructivist approach during the delivery of the course.