Accounting Education and Educational Technology

webquest

2010-11-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

Mengapa kita apriori pada “sekolah”?

2009-07-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Definisi sekolah dalam tulisan singkat adalah institusi kependidikan yang punya bangunan fisik serta sarana prasana yang lazim ada dalam pranata persekolahan secara umum. Definisi ini penting untuk membedakan sekolah biasa dengan sekolah virtual yang mulai dilirik oleh orang tua jaman sekarang. Dari pengamatan saya, ada beberapa hal yang membuat preference orang tua terhadap sekolah biasa mulai luntur:

1. Tragedi penembakan murid di sekolah
2. Tragedi robohnya bangunan sekolah karena lemahnya struktur bangunan
3. Kondisi anak yang tidak memungkinkan untuk mengenyam pendidikan lewat jalur sekolah biasa
4. Kondisi orang tua yang kurang memungkinkan untuk menyekolahkan anak di sekolah biasa
5. Pelecehan terhadap anak di sekolah

Bagaimana dengan Anda? Apakah Anda termasuk golongan yang enggan berurusan dengan institusi bernama ‘sekolah’?

diary-november 2007 (BALADA KURSI)

2009-07-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Sudah 4 hari ini ak tinggal di rumah mertua. Barangkali ini adalah rekor terlamaku tinggal bersama mertua dalam rangka menemani suami, mencoba menjadi ibu rumah tangga yang setia. Perasaan bersalahku ’meninggalkan’ suamiku tuk melanjutkan studi S2 ku ke Australia telah mengalahkan kejengahan dan kengerian tinggal dalam satu atap bersama orang tua suami atau mertua. Terkadang keterpaksaan justru membawa berkah, berkah bahwa aku harus trimo, pasrah dalam perasaan tidak nyaman. Sebenarnya bukan sikap mertua yang arogan atau apa..sungguh mereka sangat baik dan malah berusaha memperlakukanku dengan sangat ’istimewa’. Tapi tetap saja, siapapun kalau dihadapkan pada 2 pilihan: tinggal di rumah mertua atau rumah sendiri, pasti akan memilih opsi kedua. Tetapi sekali lagi, keterpaksaan karena belum sanggup membangun pondasi rumah sendiri (tahun 2007 memang belum punya rumah -red) dan karena harus menemani, mengabdi, melayani suami, telah mengalahkan ego-ku yang ’anti ndompleng mertua’.

Nah, sekarang yang sedang berkecamuk di dalam hatiku adalah keinginan tuk membelikan mertua satu set kursi tamu baru yang ’layak’ tuk ukuran umum. Kursi tamu yang sekarang sedang kududuki tuk mengetik bait-bait kata hati ini sudah uzur termakan usia. Dengan warna yang tidak jelas entah hitam, coklat, atau abu-abu, dan model yang sudah tidak bisa teridentifikasi oleh orang awam yang tidak tahu barang2 antik, kupikir sudah saatnya kursi tamu tua ini segera ’dimuseumkan’, kosa kata yang lebih sopan untuk ’menyingkirkan’ dan membuang kursi ini. Harapannya, kala tamunya suamiku atau tamunya mertuaku berkunjung ke rumah ini, mereka bisa duduk dengan lebih nyaman, tanpa perlu ’tersakiti’ oleh kursi lapuk.
Kemarin, aku berhasil mengajak mas melihat-lihat pilihan kursi di tempat pembuatan kursi. Sebenarnya aku tidak terlalu pilih-pilih. Berhenti di satu sentra pembuatan kursi dari kayu jati, pandanganku sudah terpaku pada foto sampel model kursi yang ada di pasaran. Sedetik sebelum suamiku menghentikanku, aku sebenarnya sudah akan bilang ’oke, saya pilih ini tolong dibuatkan’ pada si tukang kursi. Mas selalu saja punya pikiran yang lebih rumit. Mas bilang: ”nanti dulu dik, kita cari yang lain saja..siapa tahu ada yang lebih bagus dan lebih murah”. Hhmm, aku menyanggupi saja...mungkin mas benar.
Tapi hari ini...mas malah sekolah dan berencana tuk pulang sampe sore menjelang maghrib karena ada rapat OSIS di sekolah. Sebagai pembina osis dan seabreg kewajiban di sekolah, waktu suamiku tuk menemaniku jalan2 termasuk tuk menemaniku membeli kursi tamu amat sempit bahkan bisa dibilang tidak ada. Akhirnya kembali angan-anganku melihat kursi baru di ruang tamu ini terkatung-katung. Ohh..kursi..kursi...kapankah kursi tua ini berganti generasi.......

30 november 2007

Pagi hari sekitar jam 6 aku mengantar mas berangkat sekolah sampai depan pintu. Ibu mertuaku duduk di teras..leyeh-leyeh setelah capek memasak. Dan mas ku dengan bahasa madura medoknya tiba2 mengatakan sesuatu kepada ibu. Aku tidak begitu paham tapi sepertinya kata2 itu mengandung 2 unsur: aku dan kursi. Kupikirkan barang beberapa detik percakapan singkat mas dan ibu....dan akhirnya aku mulai mencernanya. Yaaa....mas menyuruh ibu untuk segera merealisasikan keinginannku beli kursi dengan dalih aku menjadi lemas seharian kemarin karena tidak segera dituruti tuk beli kursi. Aih...alasan macam mana masku ini..kok aku yang dijadikan kambing hitam. Padahal badanku lemas seharian kemarin karena memang beberapa hari ini agak kurang enak badan..bukan karena kepikiran kursi hingga depresi. Dan benar saja...setelah mas berangkat ibu langsung menyiapkan diri untuk segera pergi cari kursi bersamaku. Sebeelll bukan main....padahal aku ingin cari kursi dengan suamiku saja, bukan dengan ibu mertua. Aku bukannya rasis dengan tidak mau ditemani siapapun other than my husband..tapi kenyataannya memang demikian, dalam waktu dekat ini aku ingin tetap lengket dengan mas..hehe..lebih nyaman rasanya kalau dengan suami. Alasan lain adalah kekuranganku untuk menjalin komunikasi dengan keluarga mas karena aku tidak bisa bahasa madura. Sementara semua orang di daerah sini bahasa pertamanya adalah bahasa madura. Bahasa indonesia juga amat sangat sedikit yang menguasai. Jadi mungkin bahasa isyarat saja yang selama ini manjur tuk dipakai. Tidak habis pikir sebenarnya, kampung ini masih dalam cengkeraman negara kesatuan republik indonesia. Tapi kok kulturnya berbeda 180 derajat. Bahasa indonesia sebagai bahasa pemersatu bangsa terbukti belum punya gigi disini. Kenapa? Prediksiku karena mereka kurang peduli dengan jalur pendidikan formal, tamatan SD sudah sangat lumayan di sini. Anehnya, meski sudah tamat SD ternyata bahasa indonesia mereka masih minim juga....kutelurusi ternyata penyebabnya adalah di sekolahpun guru mereka ’terpaksa’ menggunakan bahasa madura sebagai bahasa pengantar agar pelajaran lebih mudah dipahami. Waduh, kalau fenomena ini terus berlanjut, kapan bahasa indonesia menyebar ke pelosok2 desa?

Kembali ke balada kursi, akhirnya aku menyanggupi ajakan ibu mencari kursi walau dengan perasaan dongkol setengah mati, bukan pada mertuaku...tapi pada mas-ku yang tega ’mengumpankan’ aku. Sampai di sentra pembuatan kursi, kamipun segera pilah-pilih model kursi. Aku sebenarnya pasrah saja dengan selera ibu, lha kan ini kursi buat rumah mertua, bukan untuk rumahku sendiri, jadi ya terserah selera yang punya rumah saja kan. Tapi ternyata ibu-pun tidak kalah pasrah-nya dengan aku,...sehingga kata ’deal’ malah tidak segera terwujud. Capek dengan ketidakpastian, akhirnya aku membuat keputusan. Aku pilih kursi yang sudah siap kirim daripada harus pesan sekitar seminggu dulu sampai jadinya. Meski kursi jadi lebih mahal daripada yang harus pesan dulu, aku memutuskan tetap ambil itu karena aku tidak mau mengulur-ulur waktu dan tidak mau ’diumpankan’ mas-ku untuk kedua kalinya. Alhamdulillah, akhirnya kursi dengan sofa warna merah dan ukiran kayu jati minimalis telah berhasil kuboyong ke rumah mertua. Sepertinya lebih enak beli perabot tuk rumah sendiri daripada tuk rumah orang lain...jalur birokrasinya lebih pendek tak bertele-tele...hehe...

What is Web 2.0 ?

2008-11-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

The internet at FE UM

2008-11-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

The Economics Faculty of the State University of Malang, Indonesia, has put an emphasis on the development of the internet on campus. This faculty provided an open and free internet access program to students in September 2007. It is expected that students may be willing and able to benefit of the internet facilities in faculty.

Yet, as Schofield (2006) notes, it is unwise to assume that internet access on campus will promptly result in substantial student internet use. Given the fact that more and more university students have access to the internet on campus, studies suggest that the level of student internet use on campus is nonetheless often relatively low. For example, Luambano and Nawae (2004) report that, even though students of the University of Dar es Salaam have access to the internet at various access points such as campus libraries and faculty computer laboratories, a significant number of students (31.3%) stated that they prefer to use internet cafes to access the internet. This is an interesting finding in light of the fact that the students’ university had a relatively large number of computers connected to the internet spreading at many access points around the campus. Another study also indicates that the internet access in school is employed by very few students. A large scale study of youth appropriation to new media in 9 European countries found that the preferred location for internet use was the home (67%) rather than the school (26%) (Mediappro, 2006). Consistent with this, Ajegbomogun’s (2007) survey study on internet use in a Nigerian university found that public cyber-café has been chosen by most respondents (58%) as the main point of access to the internet. This finding showed that respondents prefer to access the internet from a place where they could get maximum satisfaction in terms of adequate services. This is due to the fact that the computers provided in the university is not sufficient for use because of long delays (Ajegbomogun, 2007).

In addition, when internet use does occur on campus, there are at least some indications that it often does not realize its full educational potential (Arievitch, 2007; Schofield, 2006). During direct observations of college students’ use of the Internet in a library and in campus computer labs, Jones (2002) found that the majority of students’ time was not spent using the library resources online. Almost every student that was observed checked his or her email and used instant messaging while in the computer labs. Those students who were using the computer lab to do academic-related work made use of commercial search engines rather than university and library Web sites (p. 13). Luambano and Nawae’s (2004) study showed that many respondents were using the web mainly for e-mail than for gathering academic materials. Results from observation, focus group discussion, interviews and examination of statistics at respective access points even showed that their use of email was mainly for non-academic purposes. The findings also revealed that some students used the internet to view pornography, an obvious misuse of the internet in an academic environment. Therefore, it is evident that some students were not using the internet for academic purposes.

From the evidences aforementioned, it would be useful to examine whether the internet access in the economics faculty of the state university of Malang have been used extensively and effectively by the faculty's students.
Do economics students use the internet facilities provided by the faculty in an appropriate manner?

Another educational theory

2008-11-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

This theory reminds me...always..to my thesis. Although I am still far away from finishing my thesis,I believed that this theory need to be understood first before I start continuing another part of my writing.
Thus, the following piece is my understanding of the theory and particularly its principle of contradiction

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The history of Activity Theory can be traced back from the work of Soviet Russian cultural-historical psychologist: L. S. Vigotsky, A. N. Leont’ev, and A. R. Luria, in the 1920s and 1930s (Engeström, Miettinen, & Punamaki, 1999). The theory has been developed far beyond the original background and has been extended into a more general multidisciplinary approach (Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006; Kuutti, Engeström, & Keith, 2006) . A number of names have promoted and developed the Activity Theory approach such as Bonnie Nardi, Kari Kuutti, Yjro Engeström, and Victor Kaptelinin.

Nardi asserts that Activity Theory focuses on “understanding everyday practice in the real world” and that “ Activity theory is a powerful and clarifying descriptive tool rather than a strongly predictive theory” (Nardi, 1996a, p. 7). Kuutti (1996) broadly describes Activity Theory as “a philosophical and cross-disciplinary framework for studying different forms of human practices as development process, with both individual and social level interlinked at the same time” (p. 25). Kuutti (1996) contrasts Activity Theory with the traditional psychological theories as a solution approach that enlarges the basic unit of analysis from individual as a separate entity to include a minimal meaningful context which is called an activity. An activity system is composed of a subject and an object as well as the dynamic relations among them. These relations between subject and object are not direct; rather, they are mediated by tools/instruments. A subject is an individual or aggregate individuals engaged in an activity. An object motivates the activity by giving purpose and direction, while tools indicate the artifacts that mediate and transform the object into an outcome (Pendergast & Kapitze, 2004). This system, originating on Leontiev’s hierarchical structure of human activity, is represented by figure 1.

Figure 1. Mediated relationship at the individual level (Kuutti, 1996, p. 28)

The structure of activity represented in figure 1, however, can not deal with the relations between an individual and his or her environment in an activity (Kuutti, 1996). In other words, there is a need for a new model that is able to analyse more complex interaction and relationship (Engeström et al., 1999). Engeström (1987) therefore introduced an extended model of activity system which includes rules, community, and division of labor. The rules are explicit and implicit norms, conventions and social relations within a community, while division of labor is the explicit and implicit organization of a community as related to the transformation process of the object into the outcome (Kuutti, 1996, p. 28). Figure 2 portays a generic activity system as conceptualized by Engeström (1987).

Figure 2. The structure of human activity (Engeström, 1987)

In this systematic model, the relationship betweeen subject and object is mediated by instruments/tools, while the relationship between subject and community is mediated by rules, and the relationship between object and community is mediated by division of labor (Kuutti, 1996, pp. 27-28). Accordingly, mediation is the key construct in activity system. Tools/instrument, rules, community, and division of labor all contribute to shape the nature of external behavior and also the mental functioning of individuals (Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006).

Activity systems are characterized by internal tensions and contradictions, another important concept introduced by Engeström (1987; Engeström et al., 1999). Tensions and contradiction may exist within and among the different elements of the system, when there is a conflict between individual actions and the total activity system (Engeström, 1987). Although such unsmooth process in activity systems may be regarded negatively by participants who always wish to see the system running well (Brown & Cole, 2002), however, “the internal tensions and contradictions of such a system are the motive force of change and development” (Engeström et al., 1999, p. 11). This implies the importance of identifying and analysing tensions/contradictions emerge in a system in order to provide opportunities for a better system. For the present study, the concept of contradictions/tensions outlined above are dominant.

Engeström’s activity system model (figure 2) and the notion of contradictions/tensions are the most well known and widely used in many research study which include technology (Issroff & Scanlon, 2002; Rogers, 2008). These include Pendergast & Kapitze’s (2004) study of reviewing the educational and technical performance of the Virtual Schooling Service in Queensland, Australia, Lim and Hang’s (2003) research study documenting the integration of ICT in Singapore schools, and Romeo and Walker’s (2002) investigation toward the implementation of ICTE (Information and Communication Technology in Education) in one primary school. It is apparent from those study, by conceptualizing Activity Theory in the research findings, the researchers may obtain a rich insight into the systems, figure out the problems of the systems, and therefore, enabling the researchers to suggest appropriate solution or

Accounting lecture

2008-10-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

2008-10-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy

2008-09-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

Pengalaman hamil yang pertama ini sungguh luar biasa.
Tanggal 31 Agustus 2008 pesawat Singapore Airlines yang menerbangkanku dari Surabaya-Singapore-Melboure, mendarat di Tullamarine Airport Melbourne. Yup, impianku untuk segera menuntaskan thesisku dalam waktu 3 bulan ini sampai Desember 2008 tetap membara. Aku bisa dan harus bisa..begitu tekadku saat itu. Aku tidak tahu jika ternyata Allah menghendaki hal lain terjadi dalam kehidupanku setelah itu.

Beranjak ke bulan September 2008, mulai terjadi perubahan2 drastis di tubuhku.
Seminggu pertama belum sadar kalau hamil, masih nekad nerjang badai demi belanja ke mall, masih sempat ngejar train di Dandenong..puf..andaikan saat itu tahu kalau sudah hamil, pasti semua tindakan2 gila yang bisa membahayakan babyku tidak akan pernah kulakukan.

Ketika rasa mual mulai menyerang bahkan disertai muntah2 hebat sepanjang hari, baru aku mulai berpikir, hmmm....ada apa gerangan dengan tubuhku? Sudah hampir 2 minggu memang menstruasiku belum datang juga. Kukira telat biasa, meski aku tidak pernah telat mens. Siklus menstruasiku sangat teratur tiap bulan. Kalau tidak tepat antar tanggal yang sama, biasanya datangnya lebih cepat 2 atau 3 hari. Tapi bulan September 2008 ini lain. Mungkin bawaan stress thesis, begitu pikirku. Namun, tetangga2 kost dengan gencarnya menyarankan agar aku segera membeli pregnancy test,melihat kondisiku yang makin hari makin menunjukkan gejala orang hamil pada umumnya. Akhirnya dengan diantar teman, aku membeli pregnancy test di Priceline pharmacy, toko obat di bilangan Clayton shopping center, pusat perbelanjaan terdekan dengan Monash University. Sampai di rumah langsung kutest urine-ku.

Terbelalak mataku, melihat indikator warna merah test pack yang menyeruak cepat ke atas, menggoreskan 2 garis pink kemerahan di alat tersebut. Subhanallah...Aku betul2 hamil ya? Yang membuatku heran, kenapa cepat sekali 2 garis pink ini muncul, Less than 5 second dari saat ujung test pack kutetesi urine. Padahal ketika di Indonesia, aku musti nunggu bermenit2 untuk melihat hasilnya.
Masih belum yakin, 2 hari kemudian kutest lagi urineku.
Persis dengan test pertama, 2 garis pink dengan cepatnya menghiasi pregnancy testku. Alhamdulillah, aku sepertinya betul2 hamil. Kehamilan yang kutunggu selama 3 tahun. Bulan September ini persis 3 tahun ulang tahun pernikahanku. Agar lebih yakin, aku membuat appoinment dengan Dr. Wendy Pakes, dokter langgananku di Monash. Test ketiga di ruang dokter Wendy semakin membuatku yakin. "Diana....congratulation...you're pregnant now, you are arranging to get pregnant, aren't you?"
Kujawab: ya dokter, saya memang sangat menginginkan bayi ini. Thanks GOD, semua doaku kau kabulkan. Segera kukabari suamiku, Mas,...doa kita terkabul.

Hari2 berikutnya kulalui dengan sangat berat. Ya Allah, ternyata begini ini rasanya hamil. Teringat ibuku, yang mengandungku, melahirkanku dan membesarkanku dan akhirnya harus menelan kegetiran karena seringkali kubantah perintahnya. Aku menyesal!! Kehamilan ini semakin membuatku sayank, tunduk, pada ibuku. Tidak mudah ternyata mengandung.
Sudah tiga minggu ini aku total menyepi di kamar, bukan karena tidak ingin bertemu orang2, tapi karena tubuhku betul2 rapuh. Rasa mual dan muntah sepanjang hari kurasakan. Kata teman2 dan dokter: "harus dipaksa makan, diana..."
Kataku:" bagaimana mungkin aku bisa makan, sementara mual dan muntahku tidak hilang2". Hidungkupun menjadi makin sensitif, bau2 apapun langsung terdeteksi dan merangsang otakku untuk segera muntah.

Tiap selesai sholat maghrib, bukan reda justru tambah parah. Tubuhku menggigil, semacam demam mungkin, tapi tidak begitu panas. Punggungku sakiiit sekali.
Sebenarnya hal yang makin membuatku stress berat adalah karena aku tidak mampu membuka lembaran2 thesisku, apalagi mencoba berfikir untuk menyelesaikannya. Memikirkan tubuhku saja rasanya tidak sanggup, apalagi menyalakan laptop dan memaksa otak untuk belajar seperti hari2 biasanya.
Akhirnya, tiap malam aku menelpon suami, menangis tersedu-sedu mencurahkan semua rasa sesak di hatiku. Suami sepertinya tidak tahan lagi mendengar semua keluh kesahku. AKhirnya, dengan modal ijin sebulan tidak masuk kerja dari Kepala Sekolah tempat suami mengajar, suami ke Melbourne untuk menjagaku. Alhamdulillah, yup, I truly need someone who take care of me during my first trisemester of my pregnancy. Meski cuma sebulan, tapi semoga kehadiran suami bisa meredakan sakitku. ........
(to be continued...)

Virtual Schools

2008-06-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

EXPLORING THE BENEFITS OF VIRTUAL SCHOOLS

Abstract
This paper presents a discussion of virtual schools, including a review of characteristics and major issues surrounding the existence of virtual schools. While the phenomenon of virtual school will continue to grow, there are still controversies regarding the benefits of virtual school. In an effort to understand the benefits of virtual school, the discussion is focused on the perspectives of three main stakeholders: students, parents and society. This paper might be useful for anyone considering virtual schools, as well as business entering the virtual schools hardware/software market.

Virtual schools: definition and characteristics
The terms: ‘virtual schools’, ‘online learning’, and ‘distance learning’ are often used interchangeably. Differences in meaning are sometimes blurred. To have a common understanding of what virtual school is, the definition of virtual school need to be clearly presented.
Clark (2001) defines a virtual school as “ an educational organization that offers K-12 courses through Internet or Web-based methods” (p. 1). According to Clark, virtual school is a form of distance education, in which the students are normally in a different location from the instructor (2001). Meanwhile, Watson (2007) describe that
Virtual school is an online learning program in which students enroll and earn credit toward academic advancement (or graduation) based on successful completion of the course (or other designated learning opportunities) provided by the school (p. 32).

A more definite definition offered by Barker, Wendel and Richmond (1999), who characterized virtual school as
One that offers the mandated provincial instructional program to students through electronic means (i.e., computer-mediated and on-line via the internet), and that it is characterized by a structured learning environment under the direct supervision of a teacher, web-based delivery to home or in a setting other than that of the teacher, and contains instruction that may be synchronous or asynchronous (p. 5).

The classic approach for schooling is a class-based approach, whereby students and teachers conduct the teaching and learning process at the same place and in the same time. This approach usually requires attendance, group instruction, assignment and testing (Barker et al., 1999). The class-based institution is often called a conventional school or traditional school or brick-and-mortar school.
To accommodate the range of students’ needs, a distance education approach was established. The underlying idea behind this approach is the geographic separation of teachers and students which distinguishes it from class-based learning. Commonly, there are two recognizable modes of learning within distance education: correspondence and online-based. While correspondence is based on print and postal-based materials, Watson, Winograd, and Kalmon (2004, cited in Smith, Clark, & Blomeyer, 2005) see online learning as “education in which instruction and content are delivered primarily via the internet” (p. 95).
Over the last few years, the transition from correspondence mode to online mode has been apparent, which in turn has very significant advantages for reducing the amount of time used to contact students and to maximize the active involvement of students in their course. The link between online learning and virtual schools is clearly explained by Smith et al. as follows: “Online learning occurs through a virtual school that offer online instruction, not merely instructional resources or content” (2005, p. 4). Seen in this light, virtual schools act as the educational institution for online learning.
Synchronous and asynchronous communication is usually used as a mode of instruction in virtual schools (Barker et al., 1999; Russell, 2004). Synchronous communication such as online chat and video conferencing requires learner and teachers to be connected at the same time, whereas asynchronous communication such as in online discussion forums and websites can take place without the need to be online at the same time as others in order to communicate and collaborate with them.
To understand the variation in models of virtual schools, Russell (2006b) classifies virtual schools into two main models: out-of-school model and in-school model. The out-of-school model represents a learning process that is conducted entirely virtually, such as the Florida Virtual School in the USA. The second model, however, is more likely to be blended; virtual learning combines with some face to face components. In this case, students studying at home, but for certain activities such as sport, social activities, and practical classes, students are required to meet at school (Russell, 2006b).
Above all, the key characteristics of virtual schools that might be generally accepted are: First, virtual school is a form of distance education which is, as Mittleman (2001, cited in Russell, 2006a) said, “breaking the barrier of time and place” (p. 329). Second, the internet is used to deliver a significant or all portion of instruction to virtual schools’ students that would normally be delivered in face-to-face classrooms. Third, as Clark (2001) states, the scope of virtual schools is from Kindergarten to year 12, which makes virtual schools different from virtual universities. Virtual learning environments at university have been implemented and approved in almost all university programs worldwide. However, the use of this mode at the primary and secondary education level is less well known.
Several critical issues are emerging related to the social skills and academic performance of students, role of parents, and economic opportunity of virtual schooling. Although these issues are not mutually exclusive, for the purpose of this paper, the issues have been grouped into three categories; 1) students, 2) parents, and 3) society. From the perspective of these three stakeholders, the benefits of virtual schools are likely to be captured easily. Each stakeholder is discussed below.

STUDENTS ISSUES
Support for virtual schools is provided by many educators, who highlight numerous benefits of virtual schools. The benefits highlighted in various studies include flexibility, individualized attention and scaffolding, increased access and a safe, comfortable learning environment.
1. Flexibility
In a case study focusing on the perception of students participated in a virtual school, Litke (1998) found that student participants benefit from the time flexibility and freedom offered by virtual school programs. Barker et al. (1999) justify that the flexibility in virtual school is not only limited to time flexibility, but also mode of instruction flexibility. This may include the use of asynchronous and/or synchronous communication and interactivity with learning materials and with others.
2. Individualized attention and scaffolding
Students participated in Litke’s study (1998) also identified some major strengths of online program such as more individual attention from teachers, a higher degree of satisfaction, and better relation with teachers and other students. They also identified the benefits of the program as involving parents in their studies, and working collaboratively with their peers.
Moreover, because of various ICT employed in online environment (Barker et al., 1999), teachers are able to create and manipulate course materials more efficiently. Timely feedback through discussion forum, email, and virtual tutoring is another advantage of being virtual students. Such scaffolding enables students to build on their existing knowledge or to develop new learning strategies without distracting by some bad feeling such as ashamed to ask something or not confidence to collaborate and communicate with each other. The concept of a scaffolded learning, whereby students are given extensive support during the early stages of their learning, which is gradually reduced to facilitate independent learning, links to the constructive alignment principle (Biggs, 1996).
3. Increased access and a safe, comfortable learning environment
The most frequent argument focus on the value of virtual school is that it increases opportunity for all students. First, students from very rural area who can not commute to conventional school everyday will obtain benefit from studying at home with the assistance of virtual school teachers. It is the way to overcome geographic boundaries (Russell, 2006b) which often disturbing the continuation of someone’s learning.
Second, virtual school is also an appropriate option for sick and disabled students and students with special learning needs. Since the number of special needs students are raising over the time, there must be certain way to accommodate these students’ learning. Seen in this light, the internet-based learning environment “can be considered as an accommodation or modification of instruction to meet the needs of special needs students” (Cavanaugh, 2004, p. 84). Students with speech difficulties, for example, participating in virtual schools may remove major obstacles to communication by being able to write responses to online class discussions. For students who are wheelchair bound, online environment may reduce the problem of transportation from their homes to conventional school (Waterhouse, 2005, p. 11). In short, these students can access learning resources posted on the virtual school website from any place and any time they can access the internet, and at any pace convenient to them. According to Russell (2006b), several virtual schools in the UK such as Notschool.net and the Liverpool Virtual School are specifically designed to serve disadvantaged school-age students. While Notschool.net aims to engage students who are previously not suited to normal class environments, the Liverpool Virtual School intends to give learning access for students in deprived areas.
Third, owing to dissatisfaction with the conventional school environment, many students may turn to virtual school. Students who are victims of bullying at school, students who learn at a faster pace, or students who struggle in adapting to a normal class schedule, may find virtual schools a good fit. To address each student's particular learning needs, virtual school customizes the school program. Florida Virtual School students, for example, can choose the total time they will complete courses, varying from a regular 36-week school year to a reduced or even extended time depending on student needs (NACOL, 2006, p. 6)
Apart from the above benefits, The North American Council for Online Learning and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2006, pp. 5-7) cited many advantages of virtual schools in relation to preparing students to master 21st century skills as follows:
• Enhancing global awareness. Students in online environment are used to making connections to expanded networks of people, in which the demand for the ability to understand other cultures and adapt to individuals from diverse background continue to grow, leading to enhanced awareness of the global nature of communities in the 21st century. The online Chinese Language course offered by the Michigan Virtual High School (MVHS) is one example of this. This online course focuses on enhancing basic communication skills and cross-cultural, global awareness and understanding, and combines self-study and virtual meeting modules.
• Promoting independent learning. In the 21st century, students need to be independent about their study. Virtual school is a unique educational institution in its ability to empower students in making flexible, individual choices based on their own interest. Students are also required to be effective in managing their time and responsibilities.
• Developing ICT literacy. Virtual schools students are well equipped with the ability to use appropriate information and communication technologies as part of their everyday learning. This skill is really necessary in order to succeed in the 21st century where the expansion of ICT is astonishing.
• Developing problem solving skills. Problem solving is an important soft skill which has to be mastered by students in order to be successful in their real world. Virtual school is appropriate to enhance this skill as it concentrates mostly on competency-based learning models and often requires collaboration and sharing ideas.

Apparently, all these advantages of virtual schools are the main attraction for students to prefer participating in virtual schools rather than in a conventional equivalent. In spite of these potentials, there are nonetheless some concerns related to virtual school limitations that should be recognized.

Academic performance
Many people question the effectiveness of online learning in enhancing the academic performance of learners. According to Smith et al. (2005), the academic performance of learners in online courses is influenced by several factors: 1) program effectiveness; 2) socioeconomic status of participants; 3) school climate; 4) parental involvement); teacher qualifications; and 6) learner characteristics, including motivation (p. 54). These factors complement each other and build the quality of online learning within virtual schools. An indicator of the success of virtual schools in terms of the academic performance of students is a comparison of the Advanced Placement (AP) exam data from three full-time virtual school programs; Apex Learning, Florida Virtual School, and Virtual High School, against the national average of all students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exam. This comparison shows that students of virtual schools post better passing rates than those of traditional school programs on such key tests as Advanced Placement exams (Smith et al., 2005)

Figure 2. A comparison of Advanced Placement Exam Pass Rates (Smith et al., 2005, p. 15)

In contrast, in the study by Ferdig, DiPietro, and Papanastasiou (2005, cited in Smith et al., 2005), which compared learner outcomes for online and conventional education, no significant differences were reported concerning the academic performance of face-to-face versus online learning scores. Nonetheless, when the final course grades and assessments were analyzed by content area, online students performed better than their counterparts in conventional schools. The improved academic performance of online learners may be a result of having the ability to take remedial classes in an online environment which they had taken in conventional school. Cavanaugh et al. (2005, cited in Smith et al., 2005) added that the capability of the online program to provide immediate feedback allowing students to better understand the concept and therefore increasing student academic performance.
However, the measure of learning should not be limited to the results on achievement tests. As Moore (1973, cited in Smith et al., 2005) said, “the essential measures to learner success … include a learner’s ability to demonstrate process-oriented skills, evidence of a collaborative spirit, and a willingness to dialogue, share, and create in a cooperative manner” (p. 64).

Socialization
Another issue often raised as a concern about students’ participation in full-time virtual school is lack of socialization. It has been argued that virtual school will isolate students from interaction with the real world (Revenaugh, 2005). While some students attend face-to-face lessons in classrooms, those in virtual schools only sit in virtual classrooms, communicate and collaborate with peers in virtual environments.
To address this concern, high-quality virtual schools arrange some field trips, students club, science class, extracurricular activities, and other social activities among families living near one another (Revenaugh, 2005; J. F. Watson, 2007). According to Watson (2007), Connection Academy schools usually organize such activities on a monthly basis for students within their region to visit some points of interest, while Florida Virtual school provides a science, latin, and newspaper club for students to accommodate the need of socialization during their study (J. F. Watson, 2007). Proponents of virtual school also say that social skills can also be developed through school projects that require collaboration via technology which may effectively prepare students for the 21st century workplace (J. F. Watson, 2007). A recent article in Journal Times tries to show how socialization issue is not really a big deal for 16 year-old girl, Caroll Karns.

“It just kind of appealed to us”, Karns said. Going to class online doesn’t mean she doesn’t get to socialize with her classmates. Before the school year started, she went to a meeting in Beloit with other students. She was elected class president for next year through e-mail voting. They even held their own prom in Hartland a few weeks ago, where Karns met some of her classmates in person for the first time (Thoreson, 23 May 2008).

The fact that virtual school does provide certain activities to filling the gap of socialization can not fully overcome some doubt in this issue. The intensity of social activities offered by virtual school is not equal to that of conventional school. Russell (2005) uses the term ‘distancing effect’ to demonstrate how separating learners and teachers may reduce the empathy between human beings. Although I believe students at secondary level may not be troubled by this issue, younger students at kindergarten and primary level, however, need to interact with other people on a personal level. Playgroup/kindergarten and primary school may serve as the more appropriate environment for them, where children learn about early stage communication, playing, sharing, and reacting to other students’ behavior through games, group interaction, and other learning activities.

PARENTS ISSUES

Virtual schools benefit parents in many reasons:
1. Improving parents-children relationships
While most students spent most of their time in conventional schools with the assistance of teachers, students participate in virtual school will stay at home to study from virtual school’s course site. As students at the age of kindergarten to year 12 may not have motivation and self-discipline to study on their own, parents ideally will take the responsibility of educating their children, which would normally be put on conventional school, by spending more of their time to assist and supervise children learn. As a result, the relationship between parents and children may improve through frequent interaction (Jamieson-Proctor, Burnett, Finger, & Watson, 2006).
However, not all parents are equally equipped to take on such a key role in their children's education because they still need to go to work in order to earn an income (Russell, 2006b). Although one might argue that the virtual school programs are there to provide adequate learning support, the responsibility of the parent to supervise the children's learning is central because adult learners and younger learners are different in nature. This difference should be taken into account.
An indicator of how parents’ role is ranging from less-supportive to very-supportive in virtual school context is provided by Litke (1998). In his study, Litke found three patterns of parents role emerged from students’ perception of their parents: absentee parents, parents as supporters, and participatory parents. The first pattern, absentee parents, was indicated by less than one third of the students in the study. All involved a single-parent family situation where the parent worked outside the home. As a result, the students were often at home alone and were responsible for their own learning. The second pattern, however, parents were involved when children were experiencing difficulties. Parents also ensured that children learn on the right track by asking questions regarding their progress, occasionally speaking with teachers, and providing tutorial assistance. This pattern is indicated by almost one half of the participants in the study, making this the largest group. The third pattern, participatory parents, just like the first pattern, was indicated by less than one third of the participants. In this group, parents were involved in many aspects of the program including frequent tutoring, editing, checking assignments, supervision, and even working on the computer. In this case, parents were influential in children learning.

2. Reducing cost
Due to the fact that the cost for buildings, facilities and equipment can be reduced by using internet to deliver instruction, virtual school has the potential to be financially cheaper than conventional school. This is the fact that likely has appealed many parents to choose virtual school for their children’s schooling.
In the USA, most virtual schools are funded by state funding and course registration fees. These two resources remain the primary funding option for virtual schools (Watson, 2005). With fees set as approximately $300/semester (Clark, 2001), it is cheaper than many other conventional schools.

SOCIETY ISSUES
Perhaps the most influential effect of the growth of virtual school on society is the increasing economic opportunity for those trying to invest their time and resources in online learning. Russel (2006b) make an analogy for this economic opportunity by stating that virtual school is about the same with conventional school in terms of providing employment for teachers, administrators, and related services. Since virtual schools use technology and network to deliver instruction, innovative businessmen worldwide are able to participate effectively in the global market of hardware, software as well as online network to deliver teaching and learning (Smith et al., 2005). For this purpose, a range of technology-based and web-based businesses offer online courses or ICT solutions (Russell, 2006b). A number of course management system companies such as Blackboard and eCollege also contribute to develop and manage online learning software application and support services for virtual schools.
Accordingly, administrator and teacher with expertise in online learning (Russell, 2006c) and who have been critical of conventional education (Russell, 2006b) may also benefit from the existence of virtual schools. Although most virtual schools recruit regular school teachers to deliver instruction (Clark, 2001), those who have sufficient knowledge and experience with virtual schooling will be preferable.

DISCUSSION
From the description above, it is clear that virtual school benefits students, parents, and society, who, for many reasons, prefer to not choose conventional school for educating children. I believe that virtual school and conventional school are viable alternatives, and that each family must decide for themselves what is best. However, we need to notice that many students would find it hard to learn independently through the internet and spend too much time on the computer. Many parents would also much prefer to send their children to conventional school because they can not afford to have one parent stay at home to give children full support for their learning. Other people may even question “whether or not the whole idea of learning without teacher and student being in the same room is socially desirable or morally acceptable” (Roblyer, 2006, p. 4). Virtual school is a new approach to educational system. In this regard, I agree with Russell’s statement that “radical changes to an educational system that has been widely accepted for many years are unlikely to be welcome by many” (Russell, 2006b). In fact, conflict between the need of virtual school and the ignorance of such schooling from government does exist. Virtual schools have not got accreditation in many countries. However, in 2006, Michigan has become a pioneer among states in USA to require students to have some online experience prior to graduating high school (Ferdig, 2007). It is an indication of political effort to conduct an ongoing review of virtual school policy (Ferdig, 2007).
For those who have involved in virtual schooling system, the learning design and the implementation of virtual school need to be conducted carefully. Technology is just the medium to obtain certain goals. Whether it is a regular classroom or a virtual school, the learning design combined with the motivated students, the talented teachers, and the supportive parents are much more critical to achieve learning objectives.
Moreover, drawing upon the whole discussion in this paper, I identify some gaps in the implementation of virtual schooling. A gap may be seen as an area in which the potential of virtual school has not been fully realized. It is the space between the ideal condition and the real implementation. Once these gaps can be reduced, the potential of virtual school can be attained. I try to illustrate some of the gaps in the figure 3 as follows:

CONCLUSION
Whilst it has been suggested throughout this paper that virtual school offers potential benefit for students, parents and society, its growth has created mixed reaction; pro and contra. Despite these reactions, I believe that the courses and program offered by virtual schools seem to be far more conducive for certain groups. On the other hand, conventional school will always have a place in the society, especially in less developed country where technology is considered to be a sophisticated item, as the major educational institution. Therefore, we need to view virtual schools as a matter of education choice. Let families and society decide what schooling option they prefer to have. Any effort to create innovative education system, by putting ‘meaningful learning’ as the core objective, needs to be supported and criticized for its development if virtual school is to be effective. This paper has captured the benefits of virtual schooling, which perhaps is one of the keys to understand and develop virtual school.

References:

Barker, K., Wendel, T., & Richmond, M. (1999). Linking the literature: School effectiveness and virtual schools. Retrieved 26 May 2008, from http://www.futured.com/pdf/Virtual.pdf.
Biggs, J. (1996). Enhancing Teaching through Constructive Alignment. Higher Education, 32(3), 347-364.
Cavanaugh, T. W. (2004). Distance learning as a form of accomodation. In C. Cavanaugh (Ed.), Development and management of virtual schools. Hershey: Information Science Publishing.
Clark, T. (2001). Virtual schools: Trends and Issues, A study of virtual schools in the united states.
Clark, T. (2003). Virtual and distance education in American schools. In M. G. Moore & W. G. Anderson (Eds.), Handbook of distance education (pp. 673-699). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Clark, T. (2007). Virtual and distance education in North America Schools. In M. G. Moore (Ed.), Handbook of distance education (pp. 473-487). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ferdig, R. E. (2007). When acceptable becomes unacceptable: The growth of virtual schools is forcing districs to reconsiders their AUPs, whose restrictions on new technologies can stunt online teaching and learning. THE journal (Technological Horizons in Education), 34(12).
Jamieson-Proctor, R. M., Burnett, P. C., Finger, G., & Watson, G. (2006). ICT integration and teachers' confidence in using ICT for teaching and learning in Quensland state schools. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 22(4), 511-530.
Learning, T. N. A. C. f. O., & Skills, T. P. f. s. C. (2006). Virtual schools and 21st century skills. Retrieved 15 May 2008, from http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/tech/Keeping_Pace2.pdf.
Litke, D. (1998). Virtual schooling at the middle grades: A case study. Journal of Distance Education.
NACOL. (2006). Virtual schools and 21st century skills. Retrieved 15 May 2008, from http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/tech/Keeping_Pace2.pdf.
Revenaugh, M. (2005). K-8 virtual schools: A glimps into the future. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 60-64.
Roblyer, M. D. (2006). Virtually Successful: Defeating the Dropout Problem Through Online School Programs. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(1), 31.
Russell, G. (2004). Virtual schools: A critical view. In C. Cavanaugh (Ed.), Development and management of virtual schools: Issues and trends. Hershey: Information Science Publishing.
Russell, G.. 2005. The distancing question in online education. Innovate 1 (4). http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=13 (accessed March 5, 2008). The article is reprinted here with permission of the publisher, The Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University
Russell, G. (2006a). Globalisation, responsibility and virtual schools. Australian Journal of Education, 50(2), 140-154.
Russell, G. (2006b). Online and virtual schooling in Europe. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning. Retrieved 14 May 2008, from http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2006/Glenn_Russell.htm.
Russell, G. (2006c). Virtual schools: Reflection on key issues. In J. Weiss, J. Nolan, J. Hunsinger & P. Trifonas (Eds.), The international handbook of virtual learning environments (Vol. I). Netherland: Springer.
Russell, G., & Holkner, B. (2000). Virtual schools. Futures, 32(9-10), 887-897.
Smith, R., Clark, T., & Blomeyer, R. L. (2005). A synthesis of new research on K-12 online learning. Retrieved 15 May 2008, from http://www.ncrel.org/tech/synthesis/synthesis.pdf.
Thoreson, B. (2008). At her laptop, she’s ready for school. The Journal times. Friday 23 May 2008. Retrieved 25 may 2008 from http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/05/23/local_news/doc4837757fea177725113620.txt
Waterhouse, S. (2005). The learning power of e-learning: The essential guide for teaching in the digital age. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Watson, J. (2005). Keeping pace with K-12 online learning: A review of state-level policy and practice. Retrieved 15 May 2008, from http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/tech/Keeping_Pace2.pdf

Watson, J. F. (2007). A national primer on K-12 online learning. Retrieve 15 May 2008, from http://www.nacol.org/docs/national_report.pdf.

Video: Social Media in Plain English

2008-05-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

A frantic week

2008-05-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

This week is truly inspiring for me. I have to face multiple challenges during my study. Do learners need to be headache and pain to finish their degree? where is the paradigm of learning by fun take place? i bet "learning by fun" is only realized in kindergarten or primary level of education. For postgraduate student like me, never dream about fun, play, and cheerful day.

the frantic week comes while i was just struggling to finish 6000words assignment that i have to hand in next week. 6 thousand words in just one week? even it seems not possible for me to be finished, but i keep trying. The terrible news from Postgraduate officer come afterwards. "Diana, why haven;t you submit your thesis proposal? if you don;t submit by the end of this week, you are not considering to take thesis next semester, due to the limited number of supervisor we have?"

i must say...Oh my God...how can the officer call me and warn me in just one day before the entry of proposal closed? didn't the officer realize that i'm in a hurry to finish another assignment? pls, everyone.....don't push me too much..i can't stand any longer.......

Blanket, jacket..

2008-05-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

OMG..i forgot that these items (blanket, jacket) are still here. The blanket, hmm,,two thick blankets actually, are laying nicely in my bed, and the jacket is hanging inside the cupboard.
Why should i bother? simply because they are not mine, they belong to Faculty of education Monash University Australia. Yup, i have studied here at Monash University for more than one year, and i keep those stuffs in my own bedroom up to now. The faculty where i study at, lend me those stuffs until i leave the campus for good.
I have to say "how gracious the Education faculty is"!!, Education faculty really concern about student services include any support to make International student, like me, settle in Australia.
the most common concern is about inconsistent weather in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, that could distract students' attention from their study. To minimize this problem, faculty of education provide support such as borrowing household items---for free--could you believe it? this is the rule:

"International students can borrow household items - free - while studying in the Faculty e.g warm jackets, sheets, towels, blankets, cooking pots, plates etc."
"Return items when you leave Monash for good"

how can i stop saying 'thanks' thanks' thanks' ??? even i have already had such items, but i thought that it was not bad idea if i tried to use the faculty's facilities. At the same time, it is really fun to know that the university we are studying at, is very aware of students condition. In fact, i appreciate of what the faculty has provided support for me as international students. Lucky of me and other international students to study in such faculty, once in a lifetime.
i should remind my self to not forget returning the blankets and the jacket, right after i graduate from Monash uni.....

Net-power in the classroom

2008-04-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Net-power in the classroom:
Learning benefits, problems, and strategies

Diana Tien Irafahmi

Introduction
The continued use of internet in teaching and learning holds implications regarding the potential as well as the problems of the use of the internet in education. I had little understanding about this, until I myself experienced the regular access to using the internet and found that the internet is really advantageous for both students and teachers. On the other hand, I also believe that there are problems facing educators in creating an ideal process of teaching and learning with integrating internet. Therefore, this paper mainly explores the benefits and the problems arising from going online for educational purposes that are discussed in the relevant literature. It is significant to consider these issues as we need to find out the strategies based on the strengths and weaknesses that have been encountered and to use these accordingly.

Since education and the internet apply to a wide range of contexts, I will not discuss distance education, internet pornography, WebQuest, blog and wikis, or virtual classrooms in particular; rather my purpose here is to concentrate mostly on the internet as a vast source of information that is potentially used as an instructional medium in a real classroom, creating a collaborative learning culture, and revolutionizing classroom culture. Instead of choosing an entirely virtual learning focus, I choose a blended learning focus for this paper based on two understandings: Firstly, education should be perceived as “a deeply social practice that requires time and at least some face-to-face interaction between teacher and students”, therefore combining the internet within classroom activities is one of among many right options to enhance learning objectives (Snyder & Beavis, 2004, p. xv). Secondly, because learning is social activity and students learn from each other, the effective use of internet should be implemented in pedagogical circumstances which promote collaborative and active participation from students and their peers. The rest of this paper is followed by the possible strategy that might be effective to maximize the potential of internet use in educational context.

Internet as a vast source of information, instructional medium

“Give a student an answer and you satisfy him for a day; teach him to find out for himself and he is satisfied for his whole life” (Grey, 2001, p. 1)

When the US Department of Defense started their networking project in 1969, the initial purpose of this project was basically to link together scientific and academic researchers in the US in order to share information around military and scientific projects during the cold war (Shelly, Cashman, Gunter, & Gunter, 2006, p. 75). Today, four decades later, the network called internet or simply NET, has become a giant global network with millions of users worldwide that influence all sectors of life including education. In Australia, the proportion of internet access for educational purpose is consistent with the level of educational qualification. The higher level of education, the more use of internet. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the data that by the end of 2006, people with postgraduate level degrees have the highest proportion (92%) of internet access ((ABS), 2006, p. 50). This phenomenon can be understood as the potential of the internet to provide educators access to a great purposeful source of information coming from a wide variety of sources such as publications (journal, databases, newspaper), formal and informal organizations (school, libraries, governments, companies, mailing lists, blogs), individual with the same interest (teachers, researchers, experts, etc), and also digital multimedia (audio, video, graphics, text, interactive media).

Considering my own background, I have experienced three different statuses; as an accounting student, a junior accounting teacher and later as an education student. I have encountered a shift from being stuck in an old paradigm of teaching and learning to the revolutionary accessibility of information. I spent my sixteen years of study in my country, a developing country where I had limited access to the internet and I relied too much on my teachers, as masters of each subject, and the books they supplied, to give the whole idea about the information I should get. But this is not the case when I moved to Australia, where I have free, quick and easy internet access during my postgraduate degree, to browse and find journals, library catalogues, and academic databases. I can reach any resources beyond the classroom. Perhaps, this is the reason why the internet has long been argued to expand the scope of the classroom.

Since the internet is obviously vital as a source of information, educators quickly recognized the tremendous potential of the internet to revolutionize the classroom (Shelly et al., 2006). The old paradigm of classrooms, where students sit, listen, memorize, and are asked to be quiet, is very easy to master. This practice of transmitting information is simple and will not take too much energy to deliver. Now, a teacher is no longer the only source of knowledge, though the teacher is the facilitator of teaching and learning (Heinich, Molenda, Russel, & Smaldino, 2002). Teachers should encourage students to learn by doing rather than by memorizing. In this process, the role of teacher and the way he/she delivers the material will determine the result of the learning process.

This brings implications regarding the pedagogy and the instructional strategies in which the internet takes a role as instructional medium in teaching and learning. Being used as instructional medium, the internet could transform the way teachers instruct, how and what students learn, and could alter the organization and structure of schooling itself (Finger, Russell, Jamieson-Proctor, & Russell, 2007, p. 8). In relation to this, Kopel and Dudley (2003) in their descriptive article, illustrate how the use of internet-based exercises in the classroom not only helps accounting students developing their competencies while learning to use information resources provided by internet, but also increases their awareness of current business issues and events.

Meanwhile, a survey study on internet uses in accounting education by Baker and White (1999) described the purpose for using the internet in education and the learning benefits of such internet use. The results indicate that the internet is mostly used to familiarize learners with the internet, locate current materials to promote in-class discussion, and help with the completion of research projects (p. 259). Educators also benefit from being able to research any topic from databases and the World Wide Web.

Collaborative learning, amazing connections

In collaborative learning, teachers and students engaged in a discussion or project, learn to recognize a problem, criticize the problem, search for relevant information, and solve problems together (Borthick & Jones, 2000, p. 181). In collaborative learning, students are highly involved to participate actively in learning process and build positive collaboration with their peers (Neo, 2003). The learning theory underpin this practice is social-constructivism which emphasizes the active interaction amongst learners to construct new concepts and ideas (Neo, 2003).

In fact, the internet does not only provide access to many links of sources that make connections between ideas, it also allows teachers and students to communicate with other peers all over the world. Having students communicate with students beyond the classroom is a great way to get them to better understand the differences or the similarities in points of view for certain topics. Websites like ePals, Global SchoolNet, Oz-Teachernet, and iEARN are some examples of collaborative learning community that are available on the internet. These sites provide connections to students, teachers, and school institutions worldwide to do research, projects and gather information over the internet. As Russell (12/03/08, chat room notes) argues, the process of communicating with people around the world without isolated by geographical distance is known as collaborative ‘online’ learning.

Yet, the internet is not only ready for making connection to other people beyond classroom, it is also available to use as a tool to actively engage students in a collaborative work inside classroom. Kopel and Dudley’s paper (Kopel & Dudley, 2003) has given useful guide for teachers to use internet as an instructional medium where students work collaboratively in groups to achieve learning objectives. For example, in financial accounting course, teacher may ask students to work in groups. Each group has to obtain annual reports from different firms. The Public Register’s Annual Report Service (PRARS) (http://www.prars.com) enable students to obtain current annual reports, either printed or electronic. Each group must prepare a report about the company and the country. Each group member works on different topic, such as the income statement, the balance sheet, the environment disclosure, etc. After combining their reports, each group will make a presentation to the whole class. The class maybe asked to criticize or to add new ideas regarding the report or presentation. This activity will help students to develop research skills, evaluate different source of information, and enhance students’ business perspectives (Kopel & Dudley, 2003, pp. 299-300).

The effect of collaborative learning on students’ outcomes in this respect is supported by Cabrera, Nora, Crissman, and Terenzini (2002), who studied the impact of collaborative learning on students’ development and diversity. By using a large sample (2050 second-year students at 23 institutions), the results show that exposure to collaborative learning practices influenced positively the students’ attitudes to be more accepting and tolerant of others and become active learners in the educational process.

In summary, the internet needs to be seen as a source of information which potentially used to expand the scope of classroom and to become an instructional medium. Moreover, the internet is also appropriate to create collaborative learning culture.

Problems of using internet

Despite the clear benefits for students’ learning that have developed with internet use, there are inevitably problems associated with this medium. Two main groups of problems that I would like to capture are technical skills and personal skills.
Technical skills involve the basic ability to save, edit, copy, send e-mail, and navigate through internet (use search engine to find required information). The basic skill of operating a computer and the internet is essential if we want to be successful and confident learners. Indeed, many teachers find work more stressful in an ICT-aided learning classroom than in a more conventional classroom. This is due to the fact that often students are more competent in using the internet than teachers. Further, since the range of information provided by the internet is far more complex and unsystematic than what we want to find, students often get lost while navigating the internet. Therefore, we do need to select which information is worthwhile and which is not. Hence, learning how to use the internet, how to find useful information, and understanding search strategies for our studies is crucial. Generally, we can learn this skill through the internet as well. The website of the “internet for education” (http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/) for example, provides a wide range of knowledge for learners, directing them to important educational websites, and helping them to develop effective search skills. Another option might be to use library training to get the ability to locate materials through the internet. Once acquired, these skills can help make the Internet an effective tool for supporting our academic work.

Personal skills include information-handling skills to cope with the information we receive. Research conducted by Burton and Chadwick (Burton & Chadwick, 2000) which investigate the students’ strategy to evaluate internet sources, revealed an interesting finding. More than fifty percent (63%) of students preferred to choose material that is merely easy to use and easy to find, both from internet or library. I think, despite the value of being easy to use and easy to find, the more logical criterion might be to choose material in internet based on ‘relevancy’. Not everything posted on the internet is entirely true. Students who do not have an understanding of the relevancy concept might search the internet that is used for entertainment purposes rather than educational purposes. The abundance of unexpected references therefore, will accompany their academic research. And this is dangerous; as Brabazon (2002, p. 94) warns us, “the internet is not a library” which organizes “the knowledge into preservable categories”. We need to be critical thinkers and readers who know how to evaluate information and how to avoid choosing materials that are “data rich and information poor” (Grey, 2001, p. 86)
Strategies for maximizing the use of the internet in classroom teaching and learning
The internet has brought potential particularly to be the instructional medium that promotes collaborative learning. Yet, it also comprises several problems accompanying the potential. In this regard, I may suggest not blaming internet for numerous problems that have been encountered in the use of internet. Considering the situation of the role of windows in a house might provide the analogy for the internet. Every house has windows. We need to open these windows in order to get fresh circulation of air. Yet, flies and dust are certainly coming inside through window. However, instead of closing windows all the time to not let flies and dust approach our house, the logical action might be to find out a proper way to exclude them without losing the chance to get fresh air.

A similar action might be taken for the internet use. It is important for teachers and students as well as institution to concern about the problems and to look for strategies that could be well suited for the use of internet. I point out some strategies as follows:
Firstly, above all, the personal belief of institution, teachers, and students about the potential of using internet as instructional medium will significantly influence the use of particular technology, that is the internet (Sugar, 2002 cited in Chen, 2007). Further, as Chen (2007)reminds us, the personal belief about transforming teaching and learning for future education will significantly control the attitude to be constructivism oriented. Being constructivist means to be able to deal with any change including technological change, to be able to shift the paradigm from teacher-centered, individual and passive learning toward student-centered, collaborative and active learning.

Secondly, the teachers’ accomplishment to enhance a better understanding of such material for students really depends on how they deliver the instructional design. The internet is a ready use media for this purpose. Teachers need to be creative in developing appropriate tasks, classroom discussion, and collaborative assignments, which create an interactive environment where students solve problems together with their peers. Moreover, to be confident users of ICT, teachers need to educate themselves about ICT.

Thirdly, considering that anybody can post anything including untruthful information on the internet, the skill of evaluating the material published on the internet is significant. Grey (2001) points out clearly that information-handling skill should be taught integrally to all subject areas by for example, building the steps into every task which students undertake (p. 89).

As a final thought, in terms of institution support, school needs to invest both in the form of financial and policy for the success of implementing educational technology (Chen, 2007). In regard to this point, Gulbahar (2007) demonstrates the technology planning process that was carried out in a school in Turkey. The planning process aims to successfully integrate technology into the curriculum.

Conclusion
The paper explores the learning benefits and problems for the use of the internet in education. The successes and difficulties revealed by some researcher are used to identify a few negative with the positives associated with the internet use. Using the internet to enhance teaching and learning is not a simple task. This needs a huge commitment from both teacher, and student as the main participants in education. The school institution however, plays a key role in establishing the practice of integrating technology into teaching and learning by giving opportunities for teachers to develop further skills, accelerating the upgrading process of technology, reducing in-flexibility to adapt to the change, and creating good circumstances for today’s and future schools.

References:
(ABS), Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006). "Pattern of internet access in Australia" Cat. No. 8146. 0 . 5 5 . 0 0 1.
Baker, R. E., & White, C. E. (1999). Internet uses in accounting education: survey results. Journal of Accounting Education, 17(2-3), 255-266.
Borthick, A. F., & Jones, D. R. (2000). The motivation for collaborative discovery learning online and its application in an information systems assurance course. Issues in Accounting Education, 15(2), 181-205.
Brabazon, T. (2002). Digital hemlock: Internet education and the poisoning of teaching. Sydney: UNSW Press.
Burton, T. V., & Chadwick, S. A. (2000). Investigating the practices of student researchers: Patterns of use and criteria for use of internet and library sources. Computer and Composition, 17, 309-328.
Cabrera, A. F., Nora, A., Crissman, J. L., & Terenzini, P. T., et al. (2002). Collaborative learning: Its impact on students' development and diversity. Journal of college student development, 43(1), 20-34.
Chen, Y.-L. (2007). Modeling the determinants of Internet use. Computers & Education, doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2007.06.007.
Finger, G., Russell, G., Jamieson-Proctor, R. M., & Russell, N. (2007). Transforning learning with ICT: Making it happen. Malaysia: Pearson Education Australia.
Grey, D. (2001). The internet in school (2nd ed.). New York: Continuum.
Gulbahar, Y. (2007). Technology planning: A roadmap to successful technology integration in schools. Computers & Education, 49(4), 943-956.
Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russel, J. D., & Smaldino, S. E. (2002). Instructional media and technologies for learning. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Kopel, R. R., & Dudley, L. W. (2003). A beginner's guide to internet-enhanced financial accounting courses. Advances in Accounting Education, 5, 289-303.
Neo, K. (2003). Using multimedia in a constructivist learning environment in the Malaysian classroom. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19(3), 293-310.
Shelly, G. B., Cashman, T. J., Gunter, G. A., & Gunter, R. E. (2006). Teachers discovering computers: Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom (4th ed.). Boston: Thomson Course.
Snyder, I., & Beavis, C. (2004). Doing literacy online: Teaching, learning and playing in an electronic world. New Jersey: Hampton Press, Inc.
Sugar, W. (2002). Applying human-centered design to technology integration: Three alternative technology perspectives. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 19(1), 12-17.

Education Today and Tomorrow

2008-03-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

the world has changed dramatically. teachers are no longer the master of information,learners have a freedom to alocate, choose, and evaluate what information is useful and what is useless. technology has taken a major role within this process. technology provides learners access of information in such a way that technically, sometimes learner can't cope with it.

Hmm..what's goin on auditor?

2008-03-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

2008-03-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Beautiful helmet...in memorial...

2008-03-21T03:32:00.000-07:00

mmmhh..nearly a month the helmet was gone . my husband did. neither angry nor regret for careless action he've done, i just need that helmet back, if i could, turn back the history, i'd rather keep that stuff away from anyone .
huff..no way to run...it just happened...

National Innovative Teacher Competition 2008

2008-03-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

National Innovative Teacher Competition 2008.

National Innovative Teacher Competition 2008 adalah penghargaan bagi Bapak/Ibu Guru yang telah berhasil menyampaikan bahan ajar kepada siswa secara kreatif dan inovatif berbasis teknologi informasi dan komunikasi (TIK) / multimedia dan dengan metode yang tepat.

Bukti keberhasilan ditunjukkan melalui laporan penelitian tindakan kelas (PTK) yang membuktikan keunggulan dan kelemahan metode kreatif dan inovatif berbasis TIK / multimedia tersebut.

SYARAT PESERTA

1. Guru (SD/MI, SMP/MTs atau SMA/MA/SMK), baik sekolah negeri maupun swasta di seluruh daerah di Indonesia
2. Warga negara Indonesia (WNI) dan bukan anggota panitia/penyelenggara kompetisi
3. Belum pernah menjadi juara / pemenang pada kompetisi sebelumnya
4. Tiap peserta hanya diperkenankan mengirim 1 (satu) buah proposal / hasil karya
5. Peserta tidak dipungut biaya apapun selama proses penjurian / kompetisi berlangsung

CARA PENGIRIMAN PROPOSAL

1. Kirimkan 2 (dua) buah CD-ROM yang masing-masing berisi:
* a. Folder "proposal" dengan isi:
* Kartu identitas guru yang masih aktif yang di-scanned
* Surat Rekomendasi dari Sekolah (format bebas) yang di-scanned
* Dokumen proposal / laporan dengan berupa .doc atau .rtf sesuai template format
* b. Foder "materi" dengan isi:
* Materi/program berbasis TIK / multimedia yang digunakan untuk proses belajar-mengajar di kelas
* Pedoman/petunjuk penggunaan materi/program (apabila ada)
* Dokumen lainnya yang diperlukan atau terkait (apabila ada)
2. Template format proposal / laporan dapat di-download di sini
3. 2 (dua) buah CD-ROM tersebut di atas, dikirimkan langsung via pos tercatat ke:

Panitia National Innovative Teacher Competition 2008
Agranet Multicitra Siberkom (up: Tina Arvianh)
Aldevco Octagon Building Lt.5
Jl. Warung Jati Barat Raya No.75
Jakarta 12740

CD-ROM ditunggu paling lambat tanggal 6 April 2008 (cap pos).

HADIAH DAN PENGHARGAAN

- 1st Best Teacher :
Notebook ZYREX Cruiser NFL762 (senilai Rp 9.000.000,-)
(Core 2 Duo, 1GB, 120 GB HDD, DVDRW, Camera, 14”, Vista Home Premium)

- 2nd Best Teacher :
Notebook ZYREX Cruiser NFT600 (senilai Rp 7.750.000,-)
(Dual Core, 1GB, 80 GB HDD, DVDRW, Camera, 12”, Vista Starter)

- 3rd Best Teacher :
Notebook ZYREX Cruiser NFL650 (senilai Rp 6.750.000,-)
(Dual Core, 1GB, 80 GB HDD, DVDRW, Camera, 14”, Vista Starter)

- 4th & 5th Best Teacher :
KODAK EasyShare Z812 IS (senilai Rp 3.500.000,-)
(32 MB, 12x optical zoom, 8.2 MPixel, SD/MMC Slot, Video, 32MB Internal Memory)

- 6th s/d 10th Teacher :
KODAK EasyShare V803 (senilai Rp 2.000.000,-)
(32 MB, 12x optical zoom, 6.1 MPixel, SD/MMC Slot, Video)

(Seluruh pengirim proposal akan mendapatkan sertifikat keikutsertaan. Sedangkan semi-finalis akan mendapatkan workshop pengayaaan materi dan wawasan dari para pakar dan praktisi yang berkompeten di bidangnya, selama 3 hari secara cuma-cuma di Jogja. Adapun pemenang 1 s/d 3 berkesempatan mendapatkan peluang untuk mengikuti Microsoft Regional / Worldwide Innovative Teacher Competition di luar negeri)

ASPEK PENILAIAN

1. Implementasi materi pembelajaran berbasis multimedia (teknologi informasi dan komunikasi) secara nyata di kelas
2. Kadar manfaat materi untuk peningkatan hasil belajar siswa dapat diungkapkan dengan jelas dan terukur
3. Kreatifitas, orisinalitas, serta akan lebih baik jika mampu bersifat edutaintment (education - entertaintment)
4. Kesesuaian dengan KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan)
5. Kemampuan penyampaian / presentasi proposal dan/atau materi pembelajaran yang fokus pada sasaran dan mudah dipahami

Keputusan juri adalah mutlak dan tidak dapat diganggu-gugat. Tidak diadakan surat-menyurat atau korespondensi dalam bentuk apapun dengan panitia atau dewan juri terkait dengan proses seleksi/penilaian hasil karya/proposal peserta.

Seluruh transportasi dan akomodasi bagi para semifinalis dan finalis untuk ke, dari dan selama di Jogja / Jakarta dalam rangka penjurian, ditanggung sepenuhnya oleh panitia.

TANGGAL PENTING (tentative)

• 6 April 2008 : Batas akhir pengiriman proposal dan materi
• 15 April 2008 : Pengumuman 30 Semi Finalis (melalui situs, e-mail dan telepon)
• 26 – 28 April 2008 : Workshop Semi Finalis di Jogja
• 29 April 2008 : Perbaikan Proposal Semi Finalis dan Penjurian di Jogja
• 30 April 2008 : Pengumuman 10 Finalis (face-to-face)
• 1 Mei 2008 : Penjurian Finalis di depan Panelis Dewan Juri (Jogja atau Jakarta)
• 2 Mei 2008 : Seminar Umum dan Pengumuman Pemenang (Jogja atau Jakarta)

http://www.detikinet.com/index.php/detik.read/tahun/2008/bulan/03/tgl/08/time/102059/idnews/904979/idkanal/349

Learning theories

2008-03-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

Understanding many kinds of learning and instructional theories could be burdening. For those who want to get quick reference of these theories, here is a link that could simplify our curiosity. visit http://tip.psychology.org/

Excitement and disillusion

2008-03-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

EXCITEMENT AND DISILLUSION: CLARIFYING THE VALUE OF LOGO PROGRAMMING OVER THREE DECADES

Two major themes – that children can learn to use computers in a masterful way, and that learning to use computers can change the way they learn everything else – have shaped my research agenda on computers and education (Papert, 1980, p. 8)

Reading the above sentence even without starting the main chapter of Seymour Papert’s book, Mindstorms: Children, computer, and powerful Ideas (1980), I became increasingly aware of his radical perspectives in shaping the future of children, computers and education. Despite the fact that at first I was not really sure what he meant by saying that statement, I do realize that his inspired idea has changed more and more people to think critically how children learn and how important social interaction is for children’s learning.

In this influential book, Papert presented a constructivist theory of learning and showed how LOGO, a turtle computer programming language specifically designed for children and dedicated to education that he and his colleagues at MIT Institute created, could enhance the thinking skills of children and construct a new kind of learning environment that could give free contact between children and computers (Papert, 1980). In relation to this, Papert explicitly interprets the phrase “computer-aided instruction” as the process when “computer is being used to program the child”, and he strongly disagrees with that phrase and offers a new vision, “the child should programs the computer” so that the child becomes the one who gives instructions to the computer by using his/her own idea, creativity and imagination (Papert, 1980, p. 5). His vision is completely different from the common perception of people regarding the relation amongst computers and users. We always consider the use of computer as a smart tool that can help us do a better job, however it seems that Papert has moved one or even more steps ahead than others. He stated that “the focus is not on the machine but on the mind” and the process of learning (p. 9).

In short, at this level, I and maybe many educators in the 1980s are really excited about Logo and Papert as the spokesperson of this programming language. After its introduction in the early 1980s, Logo has been used around the world, particularly advanced countries such as USA, Britain, Australia, and Canada. Teachers and students seemed to be attracted by the spirit of Logo. Despite the excitement of its potential, it seems that Papert and Logo could not prove the value of Logo in real practice. Therefore some researchers particularly from the Bank Street College of Education had attempted to test its value, with the shock finding: insignificant result of the use of LOGO in classroom (Pea, Kurland & Hawkins, 1987). This result brings more and more attention to the debate between supporters and opponents of Logo. This essay attempts to comment on the extensive debate amongst them regarding Papert’s ideas about the value of teaching Logo programming to children in schools.

It is argued that Papert’s dream - through Logo…children can learn to use computers in a masterful way, and that learning to use computers can change the way they learn everything else.. - has not happened. It is not the purpose of this essay to have a final say to prove that the above argument is true. Rather, it is my goal to discuss:

□ The theoretical foundation behind the use of Logo

□ The key values of Logo programming as it has been claimed

□ The research studies on Logo programming, which will be presented from two major angles: for and against Logo’s transformative value for learning.

By the end of this paper, it is expected to give a brief overview of Logo for evaluating its value and give recommendations for the future of its development.

Children, computer, and programming

In 1960s, Papert and colleagues decided to create a project aimed to help children learn new things in new ways. This effort was embodied in the form of language programming called Logo. Its theoretical foundation is constructivism, which was firstly introduced by Jean Piaget. Constructivism focuses on two main ideas: knowledge is actively built by the mind of the learner not simply transmitted from teacher to student, and learners are likely to make new ideas when they are actively engaged in making something (Kafai & Resnick, 1996, p. 1).

But why does Papert think that programming is the best way for children to learn new things in new ways? Should children learn to program? There is a considerable debate regarding learning to program a computer, which revolves around choosing which is more significant: Learning how to use a computer or learning how to program a computer? For someone who is not involved in day-to-day programming activity and just using computer as a tool to help work such as typing and presenting, learning to program a computer might not be the main focus. They prefer to buy ready-made programs for certain applications desired. However, I would argue that learning to program a computer is essential for children.

Children in many ways are different from adults (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2003). Children tend to be enjoy learning by watching, by listening, and especially by doing and by making. By doing these things, children get benefit from experiencing the real world of what is being learned. The real world here is translated by Papert and team in the form of Microworld, a tiny world, in which children could engage themselves, a small world where they could have free contact with the computer and build their own imaginary by means of programming. Even though I believe that learning by doing does not merely belong to computer programming activity, because of the impact that computers have on society, children should have more contact with computers, not only how to use them but also how to program them. Regarding this matter, Louca and Zacharia (2007, p. 6) have given careful explanations of the importance of programming: first, children can run a program in a computer whose results can be traced back to identify its error by testing or debugging, allowing children to experience more ‘tangible objects’. Second, the code of programming is a better representation of ideas in science, and easier for children to learn than the use of, for instance, mathematical equations. And third, while inputting codes, the idea of causal relationships between the phenomenon and its mechanisms can be more easily understood.

In addition, Papert argues that computer programming is as powerful a communication tool as learning to read or write. He emphasizes the use of computer to ‘learn about everything else’ including mathematics, language, games, simulations, digital movies, robots, and many other aspects.

If you can use technology to make things you can make a lot more interesting things. And you can learn a lot more by making them. …We are entering a digital world where knowing about digital technology is as important as reading and writing. So learning about computers is essential for our students’ futures BUT the most important purpose is using them NOW to learn about everything else. (Papert 1999 cited in Stager, 2003).

What really impressed me is how Papert used modern technology (computers with Logo programming) to make possible interesting learning environments for children. This approach is quite revolutionary, since he started to do his project when there were only 200.000 personal computers in the world (Schulley cited in Papert, 1993, p. vi).

What happens when children learn Logo??

Papert makes several claims regarding the value of Logo programming to children. I tried to research some articles in order to get the complete description of how Logo is perceived by its supporters as well as its opponents. Most of them talked about the importance of Logo for children to develop active learning, problem solving, thinking skills, and engaged learning. But, what did Papert really mean about these issues?

Papert posits two central themes: that children can learn to use computers in a masterful way, and that learning to use computers can change the way they learn everything else.

1. Children can learn to use computers in a masterful way

I think, Papert has implied in this statement that in the future, children can learn to use computer without being dominated by computers. And Logo is served to be a means for children to take control of computers (Anderson, 2005). While using Logo, they construct their own knowledge actively, engaged in meaningful activity, not just transferred of knowledge by teacher to students. Also, children use computers as tools to learn important concepts like troubleshooting, feedback, thinking skills and more, all in context. As a result, they become aware of how things work and how they are made (Gillespie & Beisser, 2001). In short, the idea that learning to program computers leads to a development of other mental skills, such as thinking skills and problem solving, is the suggestion that Papert argued in his book “Mindstorms” (1980). But, is there any positive change in the thinking skills and problem solving of children in Logo environment as it has been claimed?

There are several rationales for assuming that Logo programming might facilitate thinking skills and problem solving. First, Logo environment gives more opportunity to think compared to other activities, which encourage a great deal of practice to solve programming problems, especially debugging for finding errors and recursion. Second, ‘the turtle’, described by Papert (1980) as ‘an object to think’ that can be used to draw beautiful patterns on the screen, makes Logo programming highly motivating and even young kids are able to use it for simple task with little preparation. This is because Logo language consists of commands that are easy to understand and also with simple interface compared to other programming languages (Hammond, 1984). Third, “the design of Logo as a language of words can facilitate breaking large problems down into smaller, more manageable ones” (Friendly, 1988, p. 5).

We now return to evidence for cognitive effects of Logo programming. Clements and Battista (1990) studied the effects of Logo programming on children’s conceptualizations of angle and polygon. This study is done in an attempt to investigate the claim that in Logo programming children can learn mathematics on certain kinds of intuitive thinking and promote problem solving. The participants in this study were 12 fourth graders from a single classroom in a middle-class school system. The authors designed a Logo treatment that focused on turtle graphics programming as an environment for geometric problem solving. The goal was to investigate changes in children's mathematical knowledge that resulted from such experiences. The findings of this study indicate that the Logo environment enriched children's geometric conceptualizations and the sophistication of their geometric thinking. To illustrate the increasing level of their conceptualizations, I mentioned here the responses of two logo children on the three interviews:

Interviewer : what is an angle?

SC : (Interview 1) Like diagonal stuff.

(Interview 2) It's like a slanted line.

(Interview 3) Two lines that meet.

LG : (Interview 1) Like a line tilted. The edge of something.

(Interview 2) Like two lines coming to a point.

(Interview 3) Two segments or lines coming to a point.

In the first and second interviews, the children seem to use the word “like” which might means “uncertain” or “an indication of reliance on visual prototypes” (Clements & Battista, 1990, p. 363). But then after 40 sessions of Logo treatment, they can conceptualize an angle in a better expression and an in-depth comprehension. Another important finding from this study is that children also gained an ability to correctly represent problems involving rotation and applied sophisticated strategies to the solution of such problems. Thus, Logo explorations may facilitate the growth of certain problem-solving skills.

The similar findings also revealed from other studies by Clement (1986; 1984) which investigated the effect of Logo environment on young children cognition. I have presented these in the table below.

Table 1. The research studies supporting the value of Logo programming

	The Logo’s Proponent
Title	The Effects Of Logo On Children's Conceptualizations Of Angle And Polygons (1990)
Participant	6 students per treatment (logo + non Logo) 12 fourth graders from single classroom
Duration	40 minutes sessions per week for 40 weeks
Area of study	Conceptualization, problem solving
Procedures	Children worked in pairs under the guidance of an experience teacher and at least one researcher.
Findings	The Logo environment enriched children's geometric conceptualizations and the sophistication of their geometric thinking

Title	Effects of computer programming on young children’s cognition (1984)
Participant	9 students per treatment (logo + CAI) mean age: 6-year-old children
Duration	12 weeks, 40 minutes sessions a week
Area of study	assess receptive vocabulary, impulsivity/reflectivity, and divergent-thinking abilities
Procedures	2-3 children worked in a group supervised by one of the researchers Pretest-posttest
Findings	The Logo programming group scored significantly higher The similar findings also revealed from other Clement’s study (1986) which investigated the effects of Logo environment on cognition and creativity

Despite evidence about the benefits of Logo programming, and although Logo programming seems to involve a great deal of problem solving, many studies have been skeptic. For example, in 1984, Pea and Kurland from Bank Street College (Pea, Kurland, & Hawkins, 1987) examined the development of planning skills of children in two Logo classrooms and one control group classroom, aged between 8 to 12 year olds. Results indicated that the Logo programming experiences had no significant effects on planning performances, as I presented in the table below.

Table 2. The research study 0pposing the value of Logo programming

	The Logo’s Opponent
Title	Logo programming and the development of planning skills
Participant	Children in upper-middle class school
Duration	2 years
Area of study	Cognitive, planning skills
Procedures	The classroom teacher supervised the Logo activity 1^st year : child-centered 2^nd year: teacher took a more directive role
Findings	The students who had spent a year programming did not differ on their processes of planning from same-age controls who had not learned the program.

In addition, Pea and his colleagues at Bank Street College continues to list all Papert’s claim for Logo programming and try to counter the claims by giving the empirical evidence that analyze the effect of computer programming in the classroom context. This can be found in a book ‘Mirrors and Minds: Pattern of experience in educational computing (Pea & Sheingold, 1987). In many part of this book, they argued against Papert’s statement: that computer programming is a model of learning “that takes place without deliberate and organized teaching” (Papert, 1980, p. 8). Hawkins (1987), for example, documented the experienced of three teachers who implemented Logo in their classroom. The study revealed that students had difficulty understanding the concept or logic underlying some of the Logo commands. The role of teachers here was really dominant to help students understand the concept. In my opinion, I strongly believe that the Logo environment can not run smoothly only by the existence of computers and students. Teachers are needed to serve as facilitators in helping students to construct meaning of the Logo activity. This view is confirmed with the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory coined by Vygotsky: “what children can do with the assistance of others is even more indicative of their mental development than what they can do alone” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 85 cited in Bransford et al., 2003). This point indicates the role of a more capable person to assist students. It could be teachers, parents, or even their peers.

Apparently, the differences in results between the Logo’s supporter and opponent above came from different procedures they employed. The Clement studies have been conducted in a nurture environment that involved very few students. A pair of children was supervised by a teacher and at least one researcher. Whereas, the Pea studies were implemented in a realistic classroom setting in which many children were supervised by a teacher. I agree with Becker’s statement (Becker, 1987) that “of all educational treatments, none has the potential for greater success than providing each child (or a pair of children) with the intellectual support and expertise of an adult professional” (p. 16). Therefore, the differences in findings are logically possible in those studies.

2. Learning to use computers can change the way children learn everything else.

I think this expression is associated with the problem of transfer: how to make knowledge and skills (logical, reasoning, problem solving) learned in the Logo environment available to transfer in some other context. If we presume that learning to program is a cognitively demanding activity that helps children develop good habits of learning, then these habits should make them more creative and effective problem solvers in different areas other than computer programming. But, what has research shown about this?

An important beginning point for research on this issue is with a 1993 study by Nancy Nelson Knupfer, who investigated the effects of student ability grouping on transfer of geometry knowledge after students used the Logo environment for a semester. In this study, Knupfer chose two classes of sixth grade students with mixed ability. Students were grouped into three clusters: low-ability, average and high-ability, according to their current ability level based on previous mathematics achievement. Then the students were paired with students of the same or different ability to form homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. Since the researcher wanted to create a normal class setting, she chose a teacher who originally had taught both classes to supervise the Logo activities. The results show that Logo exercises can help low-ability students from heterogeneous grouping learn particular geometry concepts. Yet, the researcher was uncertain whether the significant progress came from “the thought process” or from “the visual aspect of the logo exercise that promotes transfer of geometry skills” (Knupfer, 1993, p. 366).

The more convincing study is reported by Clement and Nastasi (1999) who conducted a series of empirical studies during 1985-1992 investigating effects of Logo environment on specific metacognitive process. The findings concluded that children working in the Logo environment demonstrated greater development of metacognitive processing and scored significantly higher on transfer measures of this processing. The evidence of this study supports the researchers’ hypothesis that “Logo programming environments, properly designed, beneficially affects students’ metacognition” (p. 5), and thus they transfer what they have learned to noncomputer tasks (mathematical problems especially geometry).

Yet, in many cases, the studies by Mayer in 1988 and Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt in 1996, for instance, found no significant differences on transfer of knowledge to other areas between students who had been taught Logo and those who had not (Bransford et al., 2003). Similarly, Gregg (1978 cited in Mayer, Dyck, & Vilberg, 1986, p. 606) found that children faced great difficulty in learning to program and in transferring what they had learned.

In my view, it is not clear whether Logo could transfer knowledge to other areas apart from mathematics. The study by Knupfer and Clement above emphasize mathematical knowledge, which is the fundamental idea behind the design of Logo itself. Therefore, the ability of children to transfer what they have learned to mathematical problem is not surprising. On the other hand, the failed finding of transfer to other studies is criticized by Klahr and Carver (1988 cited in Bransford et al., 2003, p. 43) as lacking rigor to assess the degree to which Logo was learned in the first place. It was found that students often had not learned enough about Logo to provide a basis for transfer. As we have noticed, “without an adequate level of initial learning, transfer can not be expected” (Bransford et al., 2003, p. 41).

I should mention here several factors that influence transfer of knowledge (Bransford et al., 2003): (a) social opportunities, (b) problem representation, and (c) metacognitive strategy. The first factor, social opportunities, is related with children’s interaction: the more children working with their peers, the more motivated they are to use their knowledge to help others create new things. The second and third factors are closely associated with the role of teachers to help students transfer their knowledge by showing children how to abstract problem representation from the concrete examples, helping them to see the transfer implications of the information they have learned, and helping them become aware of themselves as learners. Once children have the ability to aware of their learning performance, they become competent to transfer their learning to new settings and events (Bransford et al., 2003). Again, seen in this light, teachers’ role is critical to promote transfer of knowledge.

Conclusion

Fundamentally, I agree with Papert’s vision. I think Papert’s idea is still relevant up to now and even forever, because combining play, fun, thinking, experimenting, and technology all in one together is such a brilliant idea and that is how future education could be. But maybe educators need to explore more on practical level. It is easier for Papert to make the argument and to shape the future learning environment than it is for a practicing classroom teacher. The questions are: through Logo, (1) can children learn to use computer in a masterful way?, (2) can children change the way they learn everything else?

I will argue by saying YES, it COULD (with certain condition and certain treatment for certain children). But I think such questions above are less important to be discussed anymore, because we may develop thinking and problem solving while learning anything. Logo is certainly not the only way. Even a simple activity, for instance, cooking or playing monopoly game could promote thinking skills and problem solving as well. As long as we learn on the right track and using the right method, thinking skill and problem solving can be developed. But still, I think, Logo is a great way to get kids started in technology. They do learning and they learn how to be logical in thinking, but they feel fun while using Logo (even though when the codes are getting complicated, they may become frustrated). It serves nicely as a basic introduction to programming for children, with easy interface and easy command. In fact, programming is really good exercise for our brain too.

Further, I might say here that I do believe that Logo is valuable for learning, but I do not believe that Logo itself can change the learning culture without any excellent collaboration amongst teachers, students, and community. Moreover, I think today’s concern has shifted to Logo and robotic, or to the pedagogical approach to the teaching of computer programming. Therefore, probably the more logical questions are such as: How should Logo be implemented in school? How to enhance thinking skill and problem solving by using Logo programming language? What strategies should be delivered to ensure that kids would get meaningful learning? How do students use, for example, code and debugging tools in various programming languages? What aspects of kids’ work develop more in a Logo environment? - might be useful to be discussed.

Finally, It is appropriate to allow Papert’s statement in his second edition of Mindstorm (1993, p. xiv) to let us know, that even Papert himself try to clarify his claims by saying:

“I am not sure whether it was my bug or theirs that led academic critics to rush into experiments to prove me wrong in predicting that “doing logo” or “working with computer” would cause change in how children think…What I was saying, and still say, is something slightly more subtle: I see Logo as a means that can, in principle, be used by educators to support the development of new ways of thinking and learning. However, Logo does not in itself produce good learning anymore than paint produces good art”.

List of references:

Anderson, N. (2005). 'Mindstorms' and 'mindtools' aren't happening: Digital streaming of students via socio-economic disadvantage. E-Learning, 2(2), 144-152.

Becker, H. J. (1987). The Importance of a Methodology That Maximizes Falsifiability: Its Applicability to Research about Logo. Educational Researcher, 16(5), 11-16.

Bransford, J., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2003). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (expanded edition). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Clements, D. H. (1986). Effects of Logo and CAI Environments on Cognition and Creativity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(4), 309-318.

Clements, D. H., & Battista, M. T. (1990). The effect of Logo on children's conceptualizations of Angle and Polygon. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 21(5), 356-471.

Clements, D. H., & Gullo, D. F. (1984). Effects of computer programming on young children's cognition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76(6), 1051-1058.

Clements, D. H., & Nastasi, B. K. (1999). Metacognition, learning, and educational computer environments. Information technology in childhood education annual, 1, 5-38.

Friendly, M. (1988). Advanced Logo: A language for learning. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlabaum Associates.

Gillespie, C. W., & Beisser, S. (2001). Developmentally appropriate LOGO computer programming with young children. Information technology in childhood education annual (Annual 2001), 229.

Hammond, R. (1984). Logo and your child: A new way of learning. England: Viking.

Hawkins, J. (1987). The interpretation of Logo in practice. In R. D. Pea & K. Sheingold (Eds.), Mirrors of minds: Pattern of experience in educational computing. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Kafai, Y., & Resnick, M. (1996). Constructionism in practice: Designing, thinking, and learning in a digital world. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Ertbaum Associates.

Knupfer, N. N. (1993). Logo and transfer of geometry knowledge: Evaluating the effects of student ability grouping. School science and mathematics, 93(7), 360-368.

Louca, L. T., & Zacharia, Z. C. (2007). The use of computer-based programming environments as computer modelling tools in early science education: The cases of textual and graphical program languages. International journal of science education, 1-37.

Mayer, R. E., Dyck, J. L., & Vilberg, W. (1986). Learning to program and learning to think: What's the connection. Communications of the ACM, 29(7), 605-610.

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computer, and powerful ideas. New York: Basic Books, Inc.

Papert, S. (1993). Mindstorms: Children, computer, and powerful ideas. : (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books, Inc.

Pea, R.D., Sheingold, K. (1987). Mirror of minds: Patterns of experience in educational computing. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Pea, R. D., Kurland, D. M., & Hawkins, J. (1987). Logo and the development of thinking skills. In R. D. Pea & K. Sheingold (Eds.), Mirrors of minds: Pattern of experience in educational computing. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Stager, G. S. (2003). The feeling of wonderful ideas: implications for the future of teaching and learning. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 3.1 and 3.3 working groups conference on International federation for information processing: ICT and the teacher of the future

The Future of Education

2008-03-04T15:58:00.001-08:00

thinking about the future of education ...has brought me to the link where we can find many educational expert arguing their imagination of future education. most of their opinion is slightly not different than the previous opinion from educationists like Papert (Logo's spokesperson) 3 decades ago. have a look at what they've said.
i personally agree that the increasing use of internet has affected a whole sector of life including education and society. the implication of that trend to educational and social perspectives are:

□ Allowing students and teachers to access the material beyond the classroom. This opportunity to access material is essential since teacher can’t provide a set of comprehensive body of knowledge to students inside the class.

□ Education is no longer fixed at classroom prototype; rather it evolves into more abstract place and audience. Therefore, education is provided online or virtual in which learner and teacher are separated by place and time.

□ People will get cheaper and easier access of information

Information is getting expensive if we try to find it in a form of hard copy material.

□ People will achieve a more flexible way of communicating to others without destructing by time and place. Changing idea, giving comments to others idea, adding extra features and info are much more possible than before.

Tuhan itu Ada

2008-03-03T23:49:00.000-08:00

Sejenak bersama atheis

Beberapa teman seprofesi pengepak coklat2 cristmast yang berdiri di samping kanan kiriku bertanya hal-hal yang cukup mencengangkan. Bukan pertanyaan level tinggi yang menuntut jawaban ilmiah memang, tapi justru pertanyaan sederhana yang menuntut kedalaman dan kesadaran hati untuk menjawabnya. ” mengapa kamu percaya kalau Tuhan itu ada?”. pertanyaan yang sangat tidak kuantisipasi sebelumnya. Aku terbiasa menjawab pertanyaan yang berbau ilmu duniawi dan sejenisnya, bukan ilmu yang tidak katon seperti yang mereka tanyakan. Mmmhh...kenapa mereka menanyakan hal itu? Tidak heran memang jika mereka cukup antusias tuk mengorek ke-Tuhan-anku.

Aku adalah perempuan muslim, memakai jilbab, sebuah pemandangan yang agak aneh di Australia, negeri yang dipimpin oleh perdana menteri baru Kevin Rudd. Sedangkan teman2ku itu berasal dari Cina, tidak punya agama, dan tidak percaya adanya Tuhan alias atheis. Belum sempat membuka mulut tuk menjawab, meluncur pertanyaan kedua: ”jika kamu yakin Tuhan itu ada dan keyakinanmu itu akan menolongmu di dunia, cobalah minta pada Tuhan-mu untuk memberimu uang. Apakah Dia akan memberimu uang sekarang?”. reflek kujawab: ”Tentu saja tidak begitu, kita harus berusaha untuk mendapatkan sesuatu yang kita inginkan”. Mereka melanjutkan dengan pertanyaan berikutnya: ”kalau begitu, berarti kamu yang percaya Tuhan dan kami yang tidak percaya Tuhan mengalami proses yang sama, berusaha sendiri. Tuhanmu tidak membantumu, lalu mengapa kamu masih percaya adanya Tuhan?”. lututku terasa lemas, aku tidak siap menjawab pertanyaan yang sangat menusuk seperti itu. Aku tidak siap memberikan penjelasan yang mampu diterima akal mereka.

Kucoba jawab dengan balasan pertanyaan: lalu siapa yang menciptakan manusia, bagaimana kita tiba-tiba bisa lahir, muncul di dunia? Lalu siapa yang mematikan manusia kalau bukan atas campur tangan Tuhan?

Mereka menjawab: tentu saja terciptanya manusia adalah proses alamiah dari bertemunya sel sperma dan sel telur yang akhirnya mengalami pembuahan dan terjadilah manusia. Kemudian manusia menjalani siklus hidupnya, dan akhirnya mati jika memang sudah tidak bisa survive lagi di dunia. Tidak ada kehidupan setelah kematian. Semua proses itu adalah murni proses alam.

Akhirnya aku hanya bisa menghela nafas, merasa tidak sanggup memberikan jawaban yang bisa memuaskan akal mereka, aku menutup pembicaraan religi itu dengan jawaban diplomatis: i respect your disbelief to the existence of God, so please respect my own belief as well (saya menghargai ketidakpercayaanmu terhadap eksistensi TUhan, jadi tolong hargai juga keyakinan saya bahwa Tuhan itu ada).

Sebulan kemudian, aku kembali ke Indonesia tuk bertemu suami tercinta. Dalam obrolan ringan dengan suami, terbersit keinginan untuk mendiskusikan kegundahanku terhadap pertanyaan teman-temanku yang atheis di Australia tadi. Mendapat sedikit pencerahan dari suami, akhirnya aku sadar , masalah pelik ini ujungnya adalah iman ketauhidan, percaya bahwa ada dan hanya ada satu zat yang maha tinggi maha agung maha segala-galanya yang menciptakan, mengatur, dan kemudian menghancurkan jagat alam semesta ini yaitu Allah SWT. Dalam buku La Tahzan yang khusus dibelikan suami sebagai kado pernikahan kami, akupun mendapat beribu pencerahan lanjutan. Disebutkan bahwa dalam Mahdzab Dzawil’Ahat, al-’Aqqad menyerang paham atheis yang telah menyebar di penjuru dunia; fitrah yang lurus akan menerima agama islam. Sedangkan orang-orang yang cacat pikirannya, orang-orang yang memiliki cara pandang pendek dan mengkultuskan akal akan dengan mudah melakukan kekafiran.

Atheisme adalah paham yang menyimpang dari fitrah nalar manusia. Sejak runtuhnya cengkeraman komunisme Uni-Soviet, genderang atheis terbesar dipegang oleh Cina dan turunannya. Atheisme merupakan dosa paling besar yang dikenal sejarah. Oleh sebab itulah Allah berfirman :

(apakah ada keragu-raguan terhadap Allah) (Q.S. Ibrahim:10)

Ayat ini jelas merupakan representasi dari menjamurnya orang yang tidak percaya eksistensi Allah. Bahkan, Ibnu Taimiyyah pernah mengatakan,”tidak ada yang mengingkari Allah secara terang-terangan, kecuali Fir’aun. Padahal di dalam hatinya, dia mengakui keberadaan Allah. Oleh sebab itulah Musa mengatakan:

(Musa menjawab: ”sesungguhnya kamu telah mengetahui, bahwa tiada yang menurunkan mukjizat-mukjizat itu, kecuali Rabb yang memelihara langit dan bumi sebagai bukti-bukti yang nyata: dan sesungguhnya aku mengira kamu, hai Firaun seorang yang akan binasa.) (Q.S. Al-Isra:102)

Namun pada detik-detik terakhir kehidupannya Firaun meneriakkan apa yang selama ini terpendam di dalam hatinya:

(saya percaya bahwa tiada Rabb melainkan Rabb yang dipercayai oleh Bani Israel, dan saya termasuk orang-orang yang berserah diri (kepada Allah))

(Q.S. Yunus:90)

Sungguh beruntung kita dilahirkan dalam keluarga Islam, mendapat bimbingan ajaran agama sejak kecil sampai akhir hayat, tidak seperti teman-teman asal Cina saya yang sama sekali buta agama, dibutakan oleh hawa nafsu duniawi dan keyakinan yang menyalahi fitrah: tidak ada Tuhan, kehidupan ini adalah materi. Sehingga tepat sekali apa yang dikatakan Dr. ’Aidh Al-Qarni: atheisme adalah sebuah hari tanpa hari esok, bumi tanpa langit, kerja tanpa akhir, dan usaha tanpa hasil..sungguh mereka diliputi kegundahan dan kehampaan sepanjang hidupnya.

(Mereka mempunyai hati, tapi tidak dipergunakannya untuk memahami ayat-ayat Allah dan mereka mempunyai mata tapi tidak dipergunakannya untuk melihat tanda-tanda kekuasaan Allah dan mereka memiliki telinga tapi tidak dipergunakannya untuk mendengar ayat-ayat Allah) (Q.S. Al-A’raf:179)

Great Ideas for teaching accounting

2008-03-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

Hi..for those who want to experience other colleagues' delivering method of teaching accounting...........here is a good link to share....

'money changer' for young learner

2008-03-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE FOR LEARNING MONEY CHANGER

by Diana Tien Irafahmi (School of Education, Monash University)

Objectives:

Students will learn other countries’ currency

Students will be able to learn monetary exchange rates between two countries

Students will understand that monetary exchange rates fluctuate constantly

Students will be able to convert money in any currency by using available exchange rates

Students will be able to choose which money changer offers better rates to convert money

Grades: 5-8

This software application is attempted to encourage students with the experience of converting money into other currencies. For someone who never deals with other currencies, converting money is an unusual experience that might be confusing. Therefore, I design a prototype of software application that is easy to understand as well as to make the users feel fun.

Using Macromedia flash MX professional 2004, I develop The Simpson’s scenario for use in learning money changer. I assume that the Simpson is currently living in Indonesia and they want to travel overseas (Australia). Hence, they will deal with the experience of converting money.

This software is designed with easy-to-understand interface, to make a 5- 8 grade students comfortable with foreign currency and aware of how to convert money to other currencies. I emphasize on using relevant feedback to encourage the users and using simple button to navigate the user around the application.

For this application, we need computer with internet access to connect the users to see the current exchange rates both from international currency converter online and also from banks’ websites. This activity could provide the users ‘a real experience’ of converting money. Also, the information gathered from the links will allow the users to select the best rate amongst many rates offered by moneychanger

There are a series of talk to direct the user to the idea of this learning. The user is expected to see the additional explanation (for example map and currency), but the user is allowed to navigate the application directly to the next frame (see for example frame 3 and 4). The final goal of this application is that the users will be able to see the exchange rates as the basis determination for selecting moneychanger and thus, they are able to convert money into other currency.

let's get started to try this application by firstly contacting me (dianairafahmi@yahoo.co.id) then i'll send u the application.........have fun:>....

Teaching Accounting With a Monopoly Board

2008-03-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

Teaching Accounting With a Monopoly Board
Board Walk and Park Place Were Never Like This!
By: W. Albrecht

October 4, 1999 -- Everyone knows how to play Monopoly, but has anyone ever considered its advantages as a simulation game in the classroom to teach financial accounting? Motivating today's student to learn our profession often involves more than book learning. Getting students involved in a game goes a long way to entertaining them -- while intentionally reinforcing academics.

The Need for Different Methods
In 1993, I became increasingly aware that many accounting educators, practitioners and students agreed that accounting education was excessively procedure and knowledge-oriented. New instructional approaches were called upon to actively engage students, not only to learn accounting, but to provide the know-how to transfer their learning to the real world's complex financial decisions.

I also was searching for instructional methods that would improve my own teaching effectiveness. Not much learning takes place in the traditional lecture method (so frequently used in accounting courses). Discussion-based classes do better, but the best learning takes place when students must make their own decisions after analyzing and evaluating unique situations.

It became apparent that using a simulation game could be one part of a solution. A simulation game imitates some part of reality, yet is a contest. Simulation games offer the following advantages:

Motivate many students to participate to a greater degree than they would in a lecture or discussion class.
Increase the ability to recall factual knowledge and improve problem-solving skills.
Offer students participating in simulation games experience greater attitudinal change than those engaging in more traditional learning environments.
Offer the potential for students to attribute greater value to accounting information in the decision-making process.
Give students, through the "wheeling and dealing" simulations, intensive practice in verbal and written communication.
Require flexibility in thinking as students adapt to a dynamic environment.
Benefit students with varying skills and experience because participants can play at their own level.

In fleshing out this idea, I came across an article in Issues in Accounting Education by Robert Kneckel, describing how he had students play Monopoly and then prepare an Income Statement and Balance Sheet at the conclusion of the game. I was intrigued by the thought of using the game, but felt that two modifications might improve the instructional effectiveness of its use.

First, I reasoned that it would be better for students to prepare financial statements at regular intervals during the game -- feedback from earlier assignments could be incorporated by a student into new assignments. Also, working in the accounting environment during the game would give students an opportunity to apply accrual accounting. And, since the purpose of the game is to drive everyone else into bankruptcy, the financial statements would pretty much look the same. In addition, Kneckel's approach gave students no opportunity to use the accounting information to make decisions.

Playing the Game
I incorporated Monopoly basics to create a simulation game called "Real Money." In Real Money, students are assigned to games so that there are four tokens per game. Students play 13 turns (one year or accounting period) of Monopoly, writing down everything that happens to them during the game.

At the conclusion of the first year, the students each prepare a set of financial statements for their token, with adjusting entries for income tax (a percentage of net income), interest, depreciation on houses and hotels, and accrued salary for progress around the board. The financial statements are submitted for grading, and I assume the role of public auditor.

After grading the first year financial statements, I transcribe them into a spreadsheet and upload it to the course Web page, http://www.profalbrecht.com/classes/acct321/realmoney/. Students then must view and analyze the four sets of financial statements for each game. Each student is allocated an imaginary $100 per game for investment. Essentially, students must wager on whom they think will eventually win each game.

In a typical game, about two-thirds of the properties have been acquired by the end of the first year, but there are no monopolies. The investment patterns show wide-spread diversification. If a token is perceived to have a slight advantage based on total property acquired, then an average investment or wager will be $30-35. Those tokens perceived to be behind will have averaged $15-20 of investment support.

After I collect each student's investments or bets, the class is instructed to play a second year of Monopoly and submit financial statements. After grading the financial statement for all tokens in each game, I publish them again on the course Web page.

Again, students receive $100 of investment per game. In a typical game, most of the properties have been acquired, and some monopolies have been created as a result of trades. Average investments or bets range from about $50 for tokens with the greatest perceived advantage in properties and houses, to $10 for tokens with the least future earnings capabilities.

Next, students play a third year of Monopoly, submit financial statements and engage in another round of betting with an additional $100 per game. There are two patterns of game results reflected in the financials. In some games, there are two or three competing tokens with monopolies, and investments in houses and hotels. Financial distress in the losing companies is very evident. In other games, all tokens are still very close. In the games with two or three leading companies' tokens, amounts run an average of $40 to $90. In the games with equal earning tokens, amounts average about $25.

The fourth and final year of Monopoly is played, and students submit financial statements for grading. A winner for each game is declared based on a highest retained earnings. The wagers for each year are tallied and winnings are presented to each student that invested on the winning token.

What They Learn
Students learn to evaluate income statements for the quality of reported earnings. They base their estimates of investment value on the chance of future success instead of documented past success. Also, if certain teams are slow to capitalize on early advantages, investors turn from them in later bidding rounds. The accounting portion contains all the advantages listed by Knechel. In addition, students get to repeat the end of period accounting cycle, and hopefully, correct any errors that may have occurred during their first attempt.

This simulation class can be used in financial accounting courses at many levels. It could effectively be used as a review in Intermediate Accounting or to supplement an introductory course. It can also be used in MBA classes. I generally do not force MBA students to prepare journal entries, allowing them the option of analyzing the effects of transactions through use of a detailed balance sheet equation. Financial statements are then prepared from this analysis.

Accounting - Glossary 1

2008-03-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

Accounting – Glossary

Vietnamese Thai Chinese Indonesian Japanese

Account

So ke toan

บัญชี

帐户/賬戶

Akun

会計、口座

A gathering of all of the transactions about a particular thing in a business. For example, the bank account has all of the cash transactions recorded in it.

Accounting

He thong ke toan

การบัญชี

会计学/會計學

Akuntansi

会計学

A system of recording transactions so that interested parties can make better decisions.

Accounting Equation

Cong thuc ke toan

สมการบัญชี

会计等式/ 會計等式

Persamaan akuntansi

会計学式

The accounting equation is represented by this formula:

Assets = Liabilities + Proprietorship

It shows the relationship between what the business owns (assets) and how they have been paid for.

Accrued Expenses

Phi ton tich luy

ค่าใช้จ่ายค้างจ่าย

增长花费/ 增長花費

Beban Yg masih Harus dibayar

生じた費用

This is an expense that has been incurred (ie we have already received the benefit) but has not yet been paid.

Accrued Revenue

hu nhap tich luy

รายได้ค้างรับ

应计收入/ 應計收入

Pendapatan yg masih akan diterima

生じた収益

This is revenue that has been earned (ie we have already provided the goods or service) but has not yet been receive

Assets

Tai san

สินทรัพย์

资产/資產

Aktiva

資産

This is an item which is owned by the business. It is something which has future economic benefit – it will help the business to earn revenue in the future.

Balance Sheet

Ban ke toan

บัญชีงบดุล

资产负债表/資產負債表

Neraca Saldo

貸借対照表

This is an accounting report which represents the accounting equation – it lists all of the assets on one side and the liabilities and capital on the other. Today it should be called the Statement of Financial Position.

Bank Overdraft

Su rut qua tien gui

เงินเบิกเกินบัญช ีธนาคาร

银行透支/ 銀行透支

Utang pada bank

当座貸し越し

This is when we have taken more money from the bank than we have in the account. When this happens the bank overdraft is listed in the balance sheet as a current liability.

Bank Reconciliation Statement

Ban so sanh tai khoan

งบเปรียบเทียบ ยอดเงินฝากของธนาคาร

银行调节表/ 銀行調節表

Laporan Rekonsiliasi Bank

銀行一致貸借表

An accounting report which shows the relationship between the bank balance according to the business records and the bank balance according to the bank’s records. These two figures are usually different due to unpresented cheques, deposits not yet credited and amounts charged by the bank directly against the account.

Break Even

Khi tien thu nhap bang tien hao phi

การเท่าทุน

收支相抵/ 收支相抵

Titik Impas

損益なし

The point at which total revenue exactly equals total expenses. The breakeven point in units can be calculated by dividing the fixed costs by the contribution margin per unit.

Budget

Ngan sach

ทำงบประมาณ

预算/預算

Anggaran

Neraca Keuangan

予算

A plan which estimates the figures in a financial report for the coming accounting period.

Capital

Tien von

เงินทุน

资本/資本

Modal, kapital

資本金

Capital is the initial investment made to start a business. It is listed in the proprietorship section of the balance sheet.

Cheque

an phieu

ใบสั่งจ่ายเช็ค

支票/支票

Cek

小切手

A way of paying your bills – a cheque is an order to your bank to take some money out of your account and give it to another person.

Cheque Butt

Cuoi ngan phieu

หางเช็ค

支票票根/ 支票票根

Bukti cek

小切手残片

When you write a cheque you should also record the details for yourself – how much the cheque was for and who you gave it to. You record these details on the cheque butt – an extra piece of paper which stays in the cheque book after the cheque is torn out.

Company

Cong ty

บริษัทจำกัด

公司/公司

Perusahaan

会社

A legal entity that is registered with the Australian Securities Commission (ASC) to run a business. A company has limited liability – if you sue a company you can not claim the assets of the owners.

Contribution Margin

So tien bao chung

กำไรต่อสินค้าหนึ่งชิ้น

贡献差益/ 貢獻差益

Margin Kontribusi

貢献差益

The contribution margin is calculated using this formula:

Contribution Margin = Selling Price – Variable Costs

It should be calculated per item to be used in breakeven analysis.