Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (Honours)

Faculty

Faculty of Computing, Health and Science

First Supervisor

Dr Shirley Bode

Abstract

The role of the teacher has changed over time such that teachers are asked to augment their own specialist knowledge with skills from other domains, for example information technology. This study has examined the perceptions and experiences of teachers and speech pathologists involved in the production of an instructive Interactive Multimedia (IMM) product to deliver Professional Development (PD). The individuals involved in this project were teachers from the High Valley Language School (HVLS) -a specialised primary school. The study used a social action research methodology, which allowed the researcher to build theories from emergent data. The data collection process consisted of observations, journals, meeting minutes, and interviews. The data was analysed primarily using a qualitative perspective. Qualitative research methods allow phenomena to be studied in greater depth. The study outlined the need to understand what factors determined the feasibility of such IMM projects, and what attributes form the baseline of skills needed to achieve success. This study also outlined existing research and development methodologies that can assist in unfamiliar project domains. The results of the study show that while the team members were not trained in informatim1 technology development, they were relatively well equipped to adapt to large tasks and the creation of Educational Interactive Multimedia. The team members displayed how the use of existing skills and problem solving techniques from their domain can be used to solve problems that crossover into the information technology domain.

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