BIBLIOGRAPHY JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA, April 2011. The eForum ...
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA, April 2011. The eForum Participation of Faculty and
Students of the College of Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South
La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Adviser: Anna Liza B. Wakat, MDevcom
ABSTRACT
This study determined the awareness and participation of the faculty and students of
DMMMSU-SLUC in examining their extent of involvement and in assessing the forum’s needs
for the faculty and students in the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC using the
quantitative and qualitative methods—set of questionnaire checklist, interview and observation
methods. Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions: 1.) What is the level of
awareness of the faculty and students of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC on the
existing eForum in the university?; 2.) What is the extent of participation of faculty and students
on the existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC?; 3.) What is the level of needs of CS faculty and
students on eForum in the university in terms of a.) Assignments, b.) Projects/term papers, c.)
Community/university issues, d.) Others; and, 4.) What are the security and control measures
implemented by the administrator and how are these achieved?
Results show that the faculty members are “Highly Aware” while the students are only
“Moderately Aware” of the existence of eForum in the university website. In general; however,
the respondents are “Moderately Aware” about the eForum’s presence. Likewise, the
respondents “Moderately Need” the eForum for assignments and term projects and “Highly
Need” the forum on university/community issues.
Therefore, to further enhance the awareness and participation in the university’s eForum,
teachers may initiate the use of the forum as an extension for classroom discussions. Proper
motivation for students particularly in the social and web- learning activity may be given
attention.
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INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The emergence of the World Wide Web resulted to the creation of a social
web-based group that tackles specific issues and concerns or certain interests of
individuals. It is a way to communicate and share their common interests in
addressing specific issues using the internet. It is called eForum where members
can verbalize their thoughts in a public discourse. What differentiates eForum
from eGroup is the scope of audience. eGroup is limited only within a particular
online group, while eForum is shared to non- members who are registered as well;
thus making the forum public.
Thus, eForum, for this matter, makes an online public discourse more than
just an interpersonal experience but a social bond.
As an online social community, it is a practical way to enable people to
share their information, knowledge and experiences with each other. Once a
person joined a particular eForum, members share, revise and discuss their ideas
in written form via the forum site.
In the web or Internet there is a social web-based group that tackles on
specific issues of communities. It is a group of people with common interests who
use the Internet (web sites, email, instant messaging, etc) to communicate, work
together and pursue their interests over time; hence, called an eForum or
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electronic forum. Online communities are about people needing an easier and
more accessible way to get together.
In DMMMSU where the institution adheres to technological and mobile
learning, its mandate focuses on a vision, “to develop man in his totality, with a
critical mind and appropriate technology to adapt to his environment and
contribute to the balanced growth and progress of the society it serves”. Its
students are not just confined with classroom teaching but are exposed to
computers. Nowadays, computers and the internet have become integral
components of education. Students’ lives are filled with a large variety of
technologies which are integrated in their courses.
However, the installation of DMMMSU- SLUC website proves futile as
the whole DMMMSU- SLUC community seemed unaware of the importance of
eForum. It has been established since 2009 but most of its contents are neither
updated nor modified. The existing problem on administration’s failure to revise
and improve its site becomes an existing communication dilemma.
The site has an eForum option for any members to post their queries,
statements and other concerns about the university and its virtual community. No
new posts or comments have been written in the eForum category. With effective
information dissemination, especially from teachers to the students, of requiring
them to access the university’s eForum for scholastic benefit it may lead to a mass
cognizance of the site.
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It is in this context that the researcher realizes the importance of online
forums in the university where its core mission is “to integrate technology in
education”. This is to further innovate and upgrade its classroom instruction and
communication through the use of technological advancement—a step already
taken by other competing academes.
In DMMMSU- SLUC, to achieve its aim of technological advancement as
reflected in its Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives (VMGO), such eForum in
the campus website is aimed at enhancing education.
The mission and philosophical base of DMMMSU presuppose that the
institution use its resources to carry out its functions of informing and defining its
goals of sustaining quality and excellent education to its constituents.
The purpose of conceptualizing electronic forum in DMMMSU- SLUC
should have been for learning to be enhanced. With the slight scope of awareness
through the forum’s members, however; it establishes a lapse in an effort to
welcome students’ effective and positive involvement in the social learning
process. In a progressive institution where traditional strategies of teaching are no
longer pushed to keep paced with innovation, eForum is an option. Unfortunately,
awareness appears desperate for the students to rightfully discern and understand
the importance of establishing an eForum category in the university website.
With this in mind, the researcher sought the need to have a study on
eForum as a good venue to upgrade the manner of instructions in the university.
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The general purpose of this study is to enhance and assess the eForum
participation of faculty and students of the College of Sciences in Don Mariano
Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union.
This background—putting emphasis on the faculty’s and students’
awareness and participation on eForum, in a broad sense, were the bases for the
conduct of the study and the strategy for the attainment of the research’s
objectives.
Statement of the Problem
This research study determined the awareness and participation of the
faculty and students of DMMMSU-SLUC in examining their extent of
involvement and in assessing the forum’s needs for the faculty and students in the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC using the quantitative and qualitative
methods—set of questionnaire, interview checklist and observation methods.
Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions:
1. What is the level of awareness of the faculty and students of the College
of Sciences in DMMMSU-SLUC on the existing eForum in the university
website?
2. What is the extent of participation of faculty and students on the
existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC?
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3. What is the level of needs of CS faculty and students on eForum in the
university in terms of:
a.) Assignments
b.) Projects/Term papers
c.) Community/University issues
d.) Others
4. What are the security and control measures implemented by the
administrators; and how are these achieved?
Objectives of the Study
This arduous study aimed to assess the awareness and participation of the
faculty and students of DMMMSU- SLUC in determining the eForum’s needs for
the faculty and students in the College of Sciences, DMMMSU- SLUC.
Specifically, this research study sought to:
1. Find out the level of awareness of the faculty and students of the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU-SLUC on the existing eForum in the
university website;
2. Determine the extent of participation of faculty and students on the
existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC;
3. Be aware of the level of needs of CS faculty and students on eForum in
the university in terms of:
a.) Assignments
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b.) Projects/Term papers
c.) Community/University issues
d.) Others
4. Identify the security and control measures implemented by the
administrators.
Significance of the Study
The integration of online forums in the university website—for social
participation and as an aid for instruction—should enhance the youth’s over- all
cause for progress and development.
The researcher wishes to make the study worthy to the following:
Development communicators/planners. Results of the study can hopefully
provide necessary inputs and insights to development communicators, planners
and policy- makers in the formulation and conceptualization of communication
strategies, plans and programs that will bring about upgrade in the conventional
classroom teaching and harmony in the academe. Likewise, it is believed that
through the use of eForums, it will enhance opportunities in designing
development programs from non- traditional instructions that are suited to the
dynamic generation of students in the university.
School administrators. The result of this study will guide the
administrators to translate the educational philosophy, vision, mission and
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objectives into action, thus providing provisions for the production of adequate
supplementary tools that are useful in enhancing, enriching and upgrading the
present scenario of our educational system.
Teachers. The result of this investigation would give a clearer view as to
what has been done, what is it to do and what can still be done in the preparation
of teaching plans along technological advancement. Hopefully, the teachers may
grow to be more cognizant of the needs to cope up with technology resulting to a
transformation that will affect the achievement of their desired personal, social
and educational goals.
Students. They are the immediate beneficiaries of a much- improved
eForum. It is expected that the students of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU-
SLUC, will become more fully aware of their potentials, of what they can do, and
of their ability of involving themselves in their community through online forums.
DMMMSU- SLUC. The knowledge derived from this study may provide
baseline information to the university for use in the planning, construction ,
enhancement and improvement of curriculum materials for productive and
efficient advancement of the its teachers and student’s education and skills.
Moreover, DMMMSU- SLUC may become aware of its responsibilities to
provide a strong foundation for development and nurturing of quality and
excellent education among its constituents.
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Researcher. This study enriches the researcher’s knowledge and skills in
development communication as he assesses a channel of communication—
eForum—to result positive change to the students and the DMMMSU- SLUC
community.
Future researchers. Finally, education, civic, business, cultural and interest
groups will be provided research- based information for the conception of online
discussions as agent of social participation for development of instruction among
the students. The end result of this study is useful as a basis on how future
researchers go about innovations on eForum.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study investigated the awareness and participation of the faculty and
students of DMMMSU-SLUC in examining the extent of their involvement and
assessing the forum’s needs for the faculty and students in the College of Sciences
in DMMMSU- SLUC. The students referred to in this study are those students
who are taking up courses such as Biology, Mathematics and Psychology.
Likewise, the faculty referred to in this study is the teachers who are teaching
subjects in the same college.
A representative sample of the College of Sciences students and faculty
from the three departments (Behavioral Sciences, Biology, and Mathematics)
were taken as respondents. The researcher made the College of Sciences as his
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research base because of his being a faculty of the said college. Likewise, some
teachers in this college use the internet to supplement their lessons in class.
The study is limited to the awareness and participation of the College of
Sciences students in DMMMSU- SLUC that is correlated to the development of
communication among the constituents of the university. The study operated
within the bounds of its objectives.
Conceptual Framework
These days, society and eForums in the web infuse attitudes of
participation and involvement. The ultimate goal of eForums in this regard is the
positive influence of student behavior of becoming social persons. Most of the
students are reserved, contained and timid about their reactions of many social
issues around them. Through eForums, they can assess their responsibilities in
interaction. In the process of societal participation, the youth develops a rational
and voluntary force within himself that bring about action or non- action as the
case may be.
In one of the research papers involving online forums (Anonymous, n.d),
it presents the results of research with the first year students on a Computer
Concepts course at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand in 2003. These
students have no previous experience with discussion forums. The course
emphasizes the use of computers and Information Systems in a business scenario.
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The course has a large practical component of 60% covering applications, the
internet and the operating system. The course uses discussion forums and bulk
email as the main means of learning support in addition to telephone and mail.
Support is provided both by the lecturer and students via forum based peer
support. Participation in the forums is an integral part of the assessment. At least
three messages were expected to be posted weekly to the forum. No other rewards
were offered to students for participation. However, as one of the referees
suggested, perceived rewards may also be contribution factor to higher level of
participation.
There is an area for informal social interaction amongst students. An
initial message was posted to each topic which explains what the purpose of the
topic is and how to participate in the discussion.
The benefits of online discussions may create an enthusiasm for their
incorporation into courses and no doubt help contribute to an increase in their use.
However, incorporation of online discussions into courses most often requires of
instructors that they assess students’ contribution to this discussion. In many
cases, such assessment can represent an onerous task particularly when class sizes
are large and individual discussion contributions are numerous (Jerome, 2000).
Participation is the key element for improving community life. By
encouraging the youth to engage in social activities and to share meaningfully in
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the societal development, some significant improvements in their knowledge,
attitudes and skills for development are attained
The rationale for student involvement in the process of assessing
participation in an online discussion relates to a need to divert some of the
responsibilities of this onerous task away from the instructor and towards the
student. More importantly, however, the rationale derives from the premise that
students can improve their performance in online discussion forums by reflecting
on, analyzing and being critical of how they participate. This process can serve a
dual purpose of assessment on one hand, as well as a means of directing
participation and thinking on the other.
In the paper, (Jerome, 2000) the author illustrates how students can be
involved in assessing their participation in and contribution to their community
through online discussions that are part of university-based courses. The analysis
is designed to provide students with an opportunity to retroactively focus attention
on the types, quantity and quality of participation and contributions in politics and
community development of an online discussion.
The student’s attempt at retroactively focusing on her participation meant
that she had to evaluate her strengths and weaknesses in a discussion context.
Thus, if we want the students to improve their future participation in the society
then we need to specifically require of them that they consider the implications of
their behaviors and participations in the online forums—or eForums.
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In seeking to develop an understanding of how students approach learning,
Laurillard (1993) identified the conversational framework for academic learning -
where the teaching and learning process is an interaction between teacher and
student. Learning is mediated by the educator who persuades students to make
sense of various phenomena using the accepted concepts and ways of thinking
characteristic of their discipline. Teaching that incorporates discussion reflects the
interactive character of the learning process. Drawn from Bandura's (1971) social
learning theory, as well as the work of Vygotsky, Piaget, Dewey and Pask. For
Vygotsky (1978), social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development
of cognition - students learn from each other's scholarship, skills and experiences
through discussion and interaction - which is complementary to Bandura's social
learning theory.
The significance of social learning is also a key component of situated
learning theory - where learning is an act of participation within communities of
practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Pask (1975) emphasizes the link between the
descriptive and operational aspects of understanding. The fundamental idea of
Pask's conversation theory (1975) is that learning occurs through conversations
about a subject, which serve to clarify and formulate understanding.
The last lest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is very true among the
youth today wherein they—most especially the students—turn to the internet
when they feel like the real world deprives them to participate in social
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movements. They satisfy their needs for self- realization by embracing the reality
and facts rather than denying the truth. The youth today, especially the students,
use the internet as a powerful tool to express themselves amidst political and
community issues.
The media and technology must forge partnership in development to reach
the greater mass of people in today’s generation. The problem with the students’
non- participation or absence in the community scene is the lack of innovation
and creativity from the media sectors to reach the audience (Frialde, 2000).
Another theory supports the engagement of the youth in online forums and
discussions over the internet. Uses and gratifications theory has provided a
framework for examining the satisfaction of needs and interests through different
forms of communications media. Uses and gratifications theory has been
employed in studies of different forms of social communications because of the
goal-directed nature of communications behavior (Rubin & Rubin, 1985).
Thus, the youth—the students—make contributions to society and national
development through the web. The problem therefore is not so much of bringing
the youth into the national stream as much as recognizing and building their
participation in community development. The conceptual framework is illustrated
on the following:
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Students, Faculty &
Administrator
Status of
Awareness
eForum in CS
eForum
Participation
DMMMSU- SLUC
Needs
Security
Socia
CS DMMMSU- SLUC
Figure 1. The illustration shows the variables necessary in the conduct of the
study. The independent variables—students, faculty and
administrators, forum, and CS DMMMSU-SLUC—interrelate with the
dependent variables (awareness, needs, participation and security).
These inputs would yield an output which is determined by the
assessment of the status of eForum in the campus.
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Definition of Terms
In order to understand the study better, the following terms are
operationally defined as they were used in the study:
Assessment. This refers to the evaluation to be carried out by the
researcher on the existing eForum’s participation of students and faculty in
DMMMSU- SLUC.
Development. Development is a cooperative effort of many different
groups. It is a complex process, though. A country must concurrently pay
attention to social, economic, political, cultural and environmental issues to
ensure that development is sustainable and beneficial to all.
eForum. It is an online public discourse which is part of the DMMMSU-
SLUC website where it is believed to be a new learning venue for students as an
aid for classroom instructions in the university.
Faculty. They consist of the instructors and professors teaching in the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC.
Involvement. It is the commitment to encouraging and motivating the
students and faculty in DMMMSU- SLUC to exercise their academic freedom
through the use of the eForum. This allows the forum’s members to put into effect
their thoughts and experiences about questions on university, social and other
issues available to them.
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Online discussion. It is a relatively new form of communication,
facilitated usually by computer networks. It may also refer to synchronous
conferencing via non-Internet connected networks.
Participation. It refers to a kind of involvement and interaction that occurs
among the members (students and faculty) in the electronic forum when one or
more student—along with his teachers—takes part in effecting exchange of ideas
and thoughts with each other.
Social participation. It basically refers to making sure every student and
faculty have the same opportunities to learn, to work, to be involved with their
community and to speak out about things that are important to them.
Students. This involves the students enrolled in the three courses—
Biology, Mathematics and Behavioral Sciences—of the College of Sciences in
DMMMSU- SLUC.
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Importance of eForum
Larkin-Hein (2001) reports ongoing research designed to address the role
of student understanding of a certain subject using an online discussion group
format. The findings are as follows: (1) Online discussions provide an additional
learning and teaching vehicle. (2) Online discussions facilitate the acquisition of
higher-order thinking skills. (3) Students became more adept at transferring and
applying information learned in class to novel situations. (4) Further study is
needed to investigate how personal learning styles affect online discussion. So, it
only tells that, the use of online discussion groups offers a relatively new avenue
through which the learner can take an active role in the learning process.”
However, how computer-mediated discussion affects the students’ learning is
unclear. Over ten years ago, in the “Virtual Classroom” project: “whether students
do take a more active part in the learning process and take advantage of the
potential for more interaction with professor and the other students, despite the
absence of nonverbal cues to facilitate this interaction.”
Challenges and Demands of eForum
Thomas’ (2002) study of online discussion assumed that the nature of
computer-mediated communication impacts on students’ learning. Survey, case
study and content analysis methods were used in data analysis. This study found
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that online discussion forums promote high levels of cognitive engagement and
critical thinking. However, the virtual learning space of an online forum does not
promote the coherent and interactive dialogue necessary for conversational modes
of learning. To overcome the incoherence, the role of moderator and facilitator of
discussion is important in the online discussion forum.
A large survey was conducted at SUNY Albany in Spring 1999. There are
3,800 students enrolled in 264 courses through SLN (SUNY Learning Network)
who responded to a post-course survey. The findings show that three factors
(consistency in course design, contact with course instructors, and active
discussion) significantly influence the success of online courses. The researcher
also found that interaction with instructors, interaction with peers, and the value
placed on participation in course discussions are the factors most significantly
related to student perceptions of learning. These findings support the importance
of interaction for online teaching and learning. However, none of the prior studies
provide or test a casual model of the determinants of perceived learning from
online discussions (Swan et al, 2000).
eForums’ Roles and Functions in Development
Frago (2006), whose areas of interest include civil society and media
policy, made a study about analyzing the various roles and functions that the
media play in Philippine politics and society. Frago’s study revealed that as
individuals and society grow, the media finds a way to disseminate and report the
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truth to the discerning public. There comes the interactive medium—like the
internet—to remain a bastion of freedom. More so, with the advent of
information and communication technologies, the general public becomes
participative. In this context, the students become aware of their fair share in
communication and development. In eForums, for example, the students use the
medium to share their sentiments and analyze societal situations while they asses
what they could do to resolve conflicts in their communities/societies.
The people’s responses may vary depending on how they perceive events
as presented in media. If political events are reported in televisions, newspapers,
radio and internet, these affairs become sensationalized. As a result, the people
tend to be aware; thus, involving themselves by commenting and forming their
opinions as citizens of the country. The people—especially the youth—are aware
that all the events that are happening today will become memoirs of history. By
making themselves concerned, they are building history with people (Frago,
2006).
Awareness of Student’s Involvement in eForums
Boado (2000) said, “The simple truth is that we are entering a strong new
world in which rapid change will bring about radical implications for education
and learning; hence, we see and observe students who engage in what we call
‘self- directed learning and participation’.
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What Boado expressed was that education is influenced not only by the
teachers and the kind of academic structure but also by the resources. With these
changes, they are buttressing the students’ connection to the “real world” outside
school.
Dacayanan (2001) discussed in his research about a study of learning
delivery. The students perceive that the school is just another “restrictive rule-
laden environment” governed by adult authority figures.
eForum’s Significant Impact to the Society as a Whole
Human communication has been interpreted in terms of both cultural and
social processes. As a cultural process, communication involves learning and
using language conventions that have shared or agreed-upon interpretations. As
social process, communication becomes the principal way in which human beings
experience meaningful interactions. Through such interactions, people learn to
play roles, understand social norms, recognize and apply social sanctions and
evaluate each other’s actions according to systems of shared values and beliefs.
Since students come from different cultural background and beliefs, they
comprise the bulk of ideas. eForum is seen to be a good ground for these ideas as
they flow out of the students’ minds. In this case, the students tend to participate
in the world of reality, although it may seem virtual (Anonymous, n.d)
Thus, corollary to this study, with the introduction of eForums, students
assume leaderships and authority in which they are not controlled by superiors
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
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(Manansala, 1994). It serves as their medium to voice out their concerns without
fear of being evaluated and graded. Students enrolled in regular classes are afraid
to recite or be involved with classroom discussions because they see teachers as
authorities who might reject their answers in spite of their confidence. With those
apprehensions, they see that the media, like eforums, function as virtual classroom
where they could discuss their litany about the government, society and people
(Manansala, 1994).
eForums are deemed important in which students construct their
knowledge by socially sharing ideas through ongoing communication with group
members. In a two-way communication process, members of learning community
initiate, share, interpret, negotiate, and modify ideas through successive and
progressive dialogue (Chen and Caropreso, 2004).
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
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METHODOLOGY
Locale of the Study
The research survey was conducted within the vicinity of the College of
Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union
Campus, Agoo, La Union.
However, it must be emphasized that there are three campuses of
DMMMSU. The main campus—North La Union Campus—is located in
Bacnotan; and the other campus—Mid- La Union Campus—is situated in San
Fernando City, La Union.
The research study in concentrated at the South La Union Campus in
Agoo, La Union where there are three colleges (College of Sciences, College of
Education and College of Computer Science) and three institutes: (Institute of
Community Health and Allied Medical Services, Institute of Fisheries and
Institute of Agriculture).
Therefore, in scope, it was not only limited in the South La Union Campus
but also in the College of Sciences. The proximity of the population to the
researcher was also taken into consideration.
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Research Participants
The study involved 41 faculty members and 212 student- respondents
from the College of Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-
South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union.
Slovin’s formula, given as n= N / (1 + Ne2) where N is the population size,
n is the sample size and e is the margin of error, was used to get the sample size.
A proportionate sampling technique was used to estimate the sampling size for
each department.
The population of was divided fairly, using the proportionate sampling
technique, among the student- respondents of the three departments: Biology,
Mathematics and Behavioral Sciences. Among the 212 respondents, 101 were
from the Department of Psychology, 58 were from the Mathematics Department
and 53 were from the Department of Biology.
Since the faculty members in the campus are ‘global teachers’—meaning,
they handle classes in other departments or even institutes/colleges as well, the 41
faculty members were included as respondents regardless of their home
department in the College of Sciences. The respondents were divided as follows:
three Chairmen of the three departments, 27 assistant and associate professors and
11 instructors. They teach minor and major subjects in social and political
sciences, computing sciences, medical sciences, behavioral sciences and
languages and arts.
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The researcher had chosen the students because of their exposure to
research—as one of core functions in the university. These students have adequate
time to surf the internet because most of their classes require extensive researches.
The teachers are; likewise, another respondents because of their roles, functions
and mandates to fulfill of giving quality education through the use of the
technological innovations.
Research Design
The study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative
methodologies to describe the students of the College of Science of the Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University South La Union Campus particularly
on their awareness, needs and participation on the campus’ eForum.
The descriptive design has the characteristics of eliciting the needed data
for the study. These data served as a point of testing the relationships between the
studied variables. It is concerned with receiving evidences and existing condition
and current situations, thus enabling the researcher to answer his research
problem.
Research Methods
The recording of informative interview and floating of survey-
questionnaires were the main tools in gathering the data which were used in the
study to acquire direct and immediate response from the respondents.
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The questionnaire contained items in which the respondents rated
responses from among those presented and supplied the necessary information to
specific questions.
The questions and items in the questionnaire were examined as to their
relevance to the main problem, for their simplicity, clarity or ease of
understanding them.
The interviews resembled casual conversations, pursuing the interests of
both the researcher and the respondents in turn. This technique was to find out
what students, instructors and website administrator think and how their views
compare with each other about eForums.
Likewise, an observation method was used. This method was
supplemented by the documentation of the eForums category in the university
website. The researcher analyzed the data through observation of the eForum
conversations which have bearing with the needed data in the study. In this kind
of method, the researcher was concerned with the direct description of the subject
of the study and the best way to achieve this objective was to visit the eForum
page.
The primary sources of this study were from the questionnaire results from
the respondents of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC, Agoo, La
Union. Likewise, the documented eForum page in the university website will be
gathered to supplement the results of the survey.
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The secondary sources substantiating the study were taken from books,
journals, magazines, newspapers, theses and related studies and articles and on-
line sources.
The study proceeded from a body of concepts and theories embodied in
the theoretical and conceptual framework, through a quantitative and qualitative
method on the awareness and perception on eForum as a venue for social
participation among the respondents of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU-
SLUC, Agoo, La Union.
Data Collection, Analysis and Interpretation
The researcher tallied, classified and presented the data gathered in a
tabular form. Different variables in the study used the following statistical tools:
Frequency count, percentage and weighted mean which determines the level of
awareness and needs of respondents on eForum as an interactive medium for
social participation. Computations for the correlations of awareness, participation
and needs of the students in eForum were administered by a duly expert
statistician.
The assessment of the level of awareness on forum by the students and
faculty in the College of Sciences at DMMMSU- SLUC was done using the scale:
Not Aware (1.00- 2.33), Moderately Aware (2.34- 3.66), and Highly Aware (3.67-
5.00). For the appraisal of students and faculty regarding the needs for eForum,
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the scale used is as follows: Not Needed (1.00- 2.33), Moderately Needed (2.34-
3.66), and Highly Needed (3.67- 5.00).
After gathering the data necessary for the study, the researcher recorded,
analyzed objectively, compared and contrasted rationally all the answers form the
questionnaires and interviews.
In the process of bringing order, structure and meaning to the mass of
collected data, a qualitative analysis was administered. The researcher’s objective
judgment and observation became part of the research instrument. Likewise, he
attempted to understand the study from the perspective of the research
participants and the answers respondents gave to their experiences in the eForum.
This allowed the researcher to qualify the respondents’ understanding during the
research process through further probing questions.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents, analyzes and interprets the results obtained in this
study. Data are presented in the order in which they appear in the statement of the
problem. In the presentation of data, frequencies, percentages, weighted means,
means and tests of relationships were used.
Level of Awareness on the eForum by the
Faculty and Students of DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 1 presents the level of awareness on the eForum by the faculty and
students of DMMMSU- SLUC.
The difference between the awareness of faculty and students also
apparently reveals a warm welcome of innovation from the teachers. This could
be a manifestation that they, too, are willing to learn more about latest
discoveries, new trends and new ideas which could be applied to their teaching
strategies. Teachers, in particular, are highly aware of new technologies to aide in
the teaching- learning process as an affirmation of the seminar conducted to them
about the use of the website’s content as may be one of their tools in teaching.
As could be gleaned in Table 1, the respondents described their awareness on the
existing eForum in the university as “Moderately Aware” with a weighted mean
of 3.24.
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The student- respondents were moderately aware (3.22) of the existence of
eForum in the university website. Their awareness is not only affected by the lack
of information- dissemination on the part of the university authorities but also by
the differences between the students who are basically young and adventurous as
compared with the faculty members who are obviously older than them. More
often than not, the task of effecting change in instruction process is left solely in
the hands of teachers, because they are regarded as authorities.
Comparing the awareness of the two sets of respondents, it is revealed
however, that the weighted mean of 3.22 by the students is lower than the 3.51
rating of the faculty. This means that the faculty members are “Highly Aware” of
the existence of eForum in the university website. The high awareness shown for
the electronic forum validates the reports of teachers that some of them were
invited to attend a seminar for the introduction of the said forum in the university.
Table 1. Level of Awareness on the eForum by the Faculty and Students of
DMMMSU-SLUC
CATEGORY
WEIGHTED MEAN VERBAL DESCRIPTION
Faculty
3.51
Highly Aware
Students
3.22
Moderately Aware
Entire Group
3.24
Moderately Aware
Legend:
1.00 - 2.33
Not Aware
2.34 - 3.66
Moderately aware
3.67 - 5.00
Highly aware
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The finding may substantiate that of the study of Boado (2000) who
pointed out that “we are entering a strong new world in which rapid change will
bring about radical implications for education and learning.” To probe, this
utilization of the eForum in the university may no longer require a lengthy
dissemination of awareness because the result already indicated that the faculty
and students are moderately aware of the foregoing phenomenon. Hence, teachers
and students as well are abreast with the changes that will bring new light to a
more advanced education.
Generally therefore, the respondents are fairly aware of their fair share in
communication and development.
It was observed that the awareness shown by the faculty and students on
the forum tells that indeed the respondents are likewise aware that wisdom must
be cultured and applied in reality; or in this case, virtual reality.
In DMMMSU- SLUC, for example, its stakeholders are already
moderately aware that the university already allows them to participate and to
mingle in the community through the eForum. Thus, given the obvious
circumstance, the university must take this to the next level of improving the
website, taking into consideration the stakeholders’ suggestions and comments to
better enhance their involvement in the eForum.
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Participation in the eForum by the Faculty
and Students of DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 2 shows the participation in the eForum by the Faculty and students
of DMMMSU- SLUC.
The finding in Table 2 reveals that the majority of the respondents did not
participate in the online forum put by the university in the website. There is a
minimal percentage of only 17.07 from the faculty and 30.43 from the students
who involved themselves in the electronic forum—such a negligible percentage,
as compared to the 13.44 and 53.36 percent from the faculty and students who did
not participate.
The strong manifestation for the non- participation to eForum shows that
the respondents may still be particularly naïve of the technology being introduced
and presented to them. This is supported by some of the students’ answers when
asked about their uncertainty on the use of eForum.
Table 2. Participation in the eForum by the Faculty and Students of DMMMSU-
SLUC
PARTICIPATION FACULTY STUDENTS TOTAL
%
%
%
Participated
17.07 30.43 33.20
Did not participate 13.44 53.36 66.80
__________________________________________________________________
n
=
41
212
253
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Many said that with the fast evolution of technology, they were already
weighed down that “we no longer know what to do with them”. It is safe to
assume, therefore, that they were still highly traditional in nature despite the
influences of the western world. They may not agree that this innovation could be
one of the solutions to fill the gaps in the communication and interaction of
students and teachers for the thirst of education.
Through such virtual interactions, people learn to play roles, understand
social norms, recognize and apply social sanctions and evaluate each other’s
actions according to systems of shared values and beliefs. Since most of students
in the university come from different cultural and social background, they share
different shapes of baskets of ideas. eForum is seen to be a good ground for these
ideas as they flow out of the students’ minds. In this case, the students tend to
participate in the world of reality, although it may seem virtual.
With these foregoing discussions, the result could be interpreted as a
failure on the part of the university to strengthen their goal of using the website as
a means of communication to its community. The awareness reflected in Table 1
clearly shows that since many are not aware of the presence of eForum, then
many are also not participating. Thus, the university must exert more effort to
advertise and encourage the use of eForum. However, improvement of the content
and face of the website value may be the first task to undertake to appeal to the
interests of the students and faculty.
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Frequency of Participation of Faculty and Students
in the DMMMSU-SLUC
A mapping up of table 3 reveals the four frequencies of participation on
the eForum by the faculty and students. The following were greatly apparent in
the order of rank for the Faculty: Monthly (42.86), Others (42.86), Weekly
(14.28) and Daily (0.00); 2.) Students: Weekly (35.06), Monthly (31.17), Others
(20.78) and Daily (12.99).
It can then be generally stated that despite the participation of these
diminutive percentage of faculty and students, they hardly ever or infrequently
post and share messages in the eForum.
“Others” referred to in the items were those answers of faculty and
students not in the list of choices. Some students categorically answered that they
only “sometimes” participate in the discussions. Three teachers agreed that they
post messages in the forum when there are interesting topics in the university and
community only.
Statistically comparing the respondents of the two sets of respondents
through the test, it was found out that there is no significant difference between
the two groups. Impliedly, both of them do not participate in the eForum—such a
huge gap of fraction against those who participate.
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Table 3. Frequency of Participation of faculty and Students in the DMMMSU-
SLUC eForum
PARTICIPATION
FACULTY STUDENTS
%
%
Everyday
0.00
12.99
Weekly
14.28
35.06
Monthly
42.86
31.17
Others
42.86
20.78
_________________________________________________________________
n
=
7
77
As proven through the researcher’s observation of the site, most of the
posts were not updated. There are even some questions which only have few
responses; and if there are any, the dates of replies are noticeably behind the time
frame.
Having said and observed these results, it may imply that the respondents
have little interest in the eForum. Obviously, if they are enthusiastic about the
website, they would find time to visit and post messages in the eForum. This
suggests fun activities in the website and in the eForum so that students would
have reasons to open the university website and participate in the events
conceptualized.
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Reasons in Participating and Not Participating of Faculty
and Students in the University eForum
Table 4 presents the reasons in the participation and non-participation of
faculty and students in the university eForum.
The foremost of the reasons of students’ non- participation in the eForum
is because they are not members of the site. This was ranked first with a
percentage of 44.4. The high rating given to this item could be attributed to the
reason that most of the teacher- respondents are also not members of the site,
obtaining a weighted mean of 26.47 percent.
This validates Jerome’s (2000) assumption that students can be involved
in assessing their participation in and contribution to their community through
online discussions that are part of university-based courses. Thus, being a member
to the forum in the university is the first step gearing towards community
involvement.
Time constraint is the primary reason that limits the faculty not to
participate in eForum. With a percentage of 35.3, it may be inferred that the
teacher- respondents assumed that joining in the forum may be waste of time.
They may perhaps tend to rely more on proven and standardized ways of doing
things—like giving discussions and assigning projects and home works , the usual
mode—rather than experiment with a new method since the degree of success is
greater with the former.
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Table 4. Faculty and Students’ Reasons in Participating and Not Participating in
the DMMSU-SLUC eForum
REASONS
FACULTY STUDENTS
%
%
Participation
Required
14.28
32.47
Graded
28.58
29.87
Interesting Topic
57.14
37.66
Non- participation
Not Interesting Topics/Activities
5.88
11.85
Time Constraints
35.3
11.85
Accessibility
8.82
9.63
Economic Constraints
5.88
1.48
Lack of Knowledge with computers
17.65
8.90
Not Required
0.00
11.85
Not a Member
26.47
44.44
__________________________________________________________________
n
=
34
135
Furthermore, teaching in a state university like DMMMSU demands its
faculty to devote more time in the accustomed paper reports for instruction,
research, extension and production.
On the other hand, the teacher- respondents are a mixture of young and
adult teachers in terms of age and experience. This finding reveals their busy
lifestyle, especially for adult/married teachers who would better attend to the
needs of their families than engage themselves in a new technology.
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Thomas mentioned however, the time of the teachers to engage in eForum
is indispensable in establishing their roles as moderators and facilitators of the
discussion.
Other items given importance on the non- participation of the student-
respondents are the not interesting topics/activities posted in the forum and time
constraints which both obtained of 11.85 percent.
Rubin & Rubin (1985) pointed out that the engagement of the youth in
online discussions over the internet is a realization of the Uses and Gratification
theory which explains the satisfaction of interest because of fun and goal- directed
nature of the modes of communication.
Results also show that the student- respondents did not participate in the
eForum due to lack of access to the internet with 9.63 percent as compared to the
faculty’s 8.82 percent problem in accessibility. It only implies that students do not
have means to visit the website maybe because of their lack of access and busy
schedule and lack of financial means despite the university’s and the college’s
determination to give students better access to the internet. As a matter of fact, the
university library provides free internet access to limited students and the MIS
office offers internet rentals at a minimal cost—on top of the college’s free wifi
service. To date, there are more than 20 units of installed computers for the almost
5, 000 students enrolled in the campus.
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DMMMSU, as an educational institution, is a factor to student
involvement. It helps the students become active by giving them access to the
community and allowing them to be social humans. It acts not as a limiting factor
in their social participation, because technology is a trend that an institution must
utilize to keep their education mobile. eForums are good example of trend in
technology- based education for students.
Lack of knowledge with computers is also manifested in the non-
participation of respondents in the electronic forum of DMMMSU- SLUC. This
item was rated 8.90 percent by student- respondents and 17.65 percent by the
teacher- respondents.
As earlier pointed out, this result confirms that despite the influence of
western cultures, the Philippines has remained by and large a conservative society
in which many still do not embrace the products of technology. In the university,
this could be attributed to the teachers’—mostly are adults—slight incompetence
in the new technology. Although the students have become very permissive
especially towards technology, the role played by teachers to welcome such
change and innovation in the teaching- learning process is encouraged. This
conflicting attitudes and lifestyle between the faculty and students contribute
largely to the diminished participation of the respondents in the eForum.
According to Frialde (2000), people should be taught to transcend their
cultural conditioning and become world citizens. It is incumbent therefore, that
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the faculty and students of the university feel the need to have grip on eForum as
this innovation may shape the educational system of the generation.
Result also shows that the student- respondents did not participate in the
eForum because they were not required to do so. This has a percentage of 11.85.
Likewise, this item is related with the students’ non- membership in the site. It
implies that since participating in the eForum was not a requirement; students did
not register to be members of the site. This could be attributed to the fact that
teachers do not perceive this item as a consideration in their non- participation in
the forum. For the faculty, this item obtained a weighted mean of zero percent.
Perhaps, since most teachers were not members of the site, then it is empirical to
assume that students did not involve themselves, too. These results from the
faculty and students can be said to be linearly related with one another.
This further establishes the study made by Jerome (200) about the
rationale for student involvement in the process of assessing participation in an
online discussion, because participation relates to a need to divert some of the
responsibilities of this onerous task away from the instructor and towards the
student. More importantly, however, this derives from the premise that students
can improve their performance in online discussion forums by reflecting on,
analyzing and being critical of how they participate and not just view solely their
involvement as a requirement. eForum serves a dual purpose of assessment on
one hand, as well as a means of directing participation and thinking on the other.
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Conversely, there are still nominal percentage of students and faculty who
participated in the eForum. It could be inferred from this result that there were
only insignificant number of students and faculty who use the forum in the
university.
The eForum might have been important in asserting the students’ social
and academic proficiency to construct their knowledge by socially sharing ideas
through ongoing communication with other members. According to Chen and
Caropreso (2004), in a two-way communication process, members of learning
community initiate, share, interpret, negotiate, and modify ideas through
successive and progressive dialogue.
Required. It can be gleaned from the table that both the faculty and
students do not perceive the participation in eForum as a requirement. Obtaining a
low percentage of 14.28 percent from the faculty and 32.47 percent from the
students, this implies the absence of agreement between the teachers and students
to form a compromise that involving themselves in the online discussion is an
extension of their classroom discussions.
According to Laurillard (1993), the teaching and learning process is an
interaction between teacher and student. Learning is mediated by the teacher who
persuades students to make sense of existing resources in technology using the
accepted concepts and ways of thinking characteristic of their discipline.
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Teaching that incorporates discussion reflects the interactive character of the
learning process.
Graded. The table reveals that among the teacher- respondents, there are
only two or 28.58 percent who said that they join in eForum because it is a graded
task assigned to their students. Likewise, there are only 23 or 29.87 percent of
students who participate in such forum because they feel threatened that this may
have a bearing in their grades.
From the view point of one author (n.d), participation in electronic forums
is an integral part of evaluation in a teaching- learning process. Rewards or grades
should not be bribed to students for participation. However, the author affirmed
that perceived rewards may also be a contributing factor to a higher level of
participation.
Interesting topics. This item which ranked first in the reasons of the
respondents’ participation, with 57.14 percent (faculty) and 37.66 percent
(students), proves the findings of Jerome (2000) that students’ enthusiasm for the
incorporation into courses and topics contributes to an increase in eForum.
Based on the observation on the eForum, there were some topics that
interest the students. One of which was a post on a Humanities 101 class where
students were asked about their concept of art—symbols of beauty that make
them understand and love their world better. The posting of the topic was very
timely for the crowning of Maria Venus Raj as the Miss Universe 2010 4th runner
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up when most of the Filipinos were still at the height of elation. Many replies
were generated from the students that proved their enthusiasm on the question.
Another topic that collected many replies from the students was a post of a
DMMMSU- SLUC graduate who asked about “how could the DMMMSU
community make the site more productive”. Many students answered the question
honestly and politely about their suggestions to the university administration on
the improvement of the website. Results on these two posts established Jerome’s
findings about drawing the participants’ attention through interesting topics on the
eForum.
The following example shows topic that is not necessarily an academic-
related matter but is of relevance to the university:
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Plate 1. Print screen images of the a non- academic post and comments in the
eForum of the DMMMSU-SLUC website (March 2011, DMMMSU-
SLUC)
It can then be generally stated that posting interesting topics in eForum is
an important social and motivating factor that each teacher must consider to
encourage students to participate.
Thus, corollary to this study, Manansala (1994) mentioned that with the
introduction of eForums, students assume leaderships and authority in which they
are not controlled by superiors. This makes attending to online forum exciting and
fun. Students enrolled in regular classes are afraid to recite or be involved with
classroom discussions because they see teachers as authorities who might reject
their answers in spite of their confidence. With those apprehensions, they see that
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the media, like eForums, function as virtual classroom where they could discuss
their litany about the government, society and people.
Needs for eForum by the CS Faculty
and Students in DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 5 reflects the needs for eForum by the CS faculty and students in
DMMMSU- SLUC.
As reflected in the findings in Table 5, the respondents perceived the use
of eForum for university/community issues (3.71) like the post on how to improve
and make use of the university website for the whole DMMMSU community
(please refer to Plate 1) and others (3.93) as both “Highly Needed”. Items
included in ‘others’ are: a.) Contents of the eForum should be updated regularly,
b.) The use of the eForum should be encouraged to students/faculty, c.) The
website administrator must monitor the eForum frequently, d.) eForum have to
make students become socially participative, e.) Virtual discussions must desire to
make learning effective, f.) There is a need to improve our eForum site, and g.)
There is a need to improve our library internet policies.
Those abovementioned items were already integrated in as ‘others’ and
were no longer listed in the table, for the purpose of having a sound and accurate
interpretations of variables. This is also due to the only four items stated in this
study’s problem for the level of needs.
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Table 5. Level of Needs on the eForum by the Faculty and Students of
DMMMSU- SLUC
NEEDS
RATING
VERBAL DESCRIPTION
Assignments
3.46
Moderately Needed
Term Papers/Projects
3.48
Moderately Needed
University/Community Issues
3.71
Highly Needed
Others
3.93
Highly Needed
eg.
a. Contents of the eForum be updated regularly
b. The use of the forum should be encouraged to students
c. The website administrator must monitor the site frequently.
Legend:
1.00 - 2.33
Not Needed
2.34 - 3.66
Moderately Needed
3.67 - 5.00
Highly Needed
As shown in the table, there is a high need for eForum on issues
concerning the university and the community. This has a weighted mean of 3.71
percent. Significantly, it can be articulated that eForum is desired to provide
relevancy to the proliferating issues around the student’s and teacher’s
environment, where they must keep abreast of contemporary events.
The introduction of the forum in the university website encourages a
student to culture his wisdom in his university and community, but in a medium
where students can control their own phasing. The respondents may have already
understood by now that they are no longer just the receiving end of information,
but are the sentinels and actors for development in his society.
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Therefore, this goes to say that the ultimate goal of eForums in this finding
is the positive influence of a member’s behavior of becoming social persons.
Most students are reserved, contained and timid about their reactions of many
social issues around them. Through eForums, they can assess their responsibilities
in interaction. In the process of societal participation, the youth develops a
rational and voluntary force within himself that bring about action or non- action
as the case may be.
Results also show that there is a moderate need of eForum for long- term
tasks like term papers/projects, with 3.48 percent. The respondents are well aware
that ingenuity and innovation using technology in posting and submitting paper
projects can truly effect a change in the learning method. Most college students
are known to devote more of their time facing the computers than books.
Consequently, it is safe to assume that students may learn and understand better
the topics and may answer some questions easily—because resources can just be
googled—if the teacher has made use of that opportunity to exploit the electronic
forum as a learning device for students.
This is in consonance with the study of Larkin-Hein (2001) on
understanding the role of students in understanding in subjects using the online
discussion format. The findings are as follows: (1) Online discussions provide an
additional learning and teaching vehicle. (2) Online discussions facilitate the
acquisition of higher-order thinking skills. (3) Students became more adept at
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transferring and applying information learned in class to novel situations. (4)
Further study is needed to investigate how personal learning styles affect online
discussion. This only tells that, the use of eForum offers a relatively new avenue
through which the learner can take an active role in the learning process. Students
can think rationally better about topics on their term papers or projects using the
electronic discussion.
Likewise, it is reflected in the table that eForum is “Moderately Needed”
for short- term tasks like assignments, obtaining a weighted mean of 3.46 percent.
An internet contains a library of books. Hence, when a student faced a
computer, the possibility of finding his resources is almost very feasible. Answers
for assignments can just be a Yahoo- click away to precision.
This may be supported by Thomas’ (2002) study on computer-mediated
communication impacts on students’ learning. Results of his study found that
online forums promote high levels of cognitive engagement and critical thinking,
despite the fact that the virtual space may not be conducive in promoting coherent
and interactive dialogue necessary for conversational modes of learning.
Vygotsky (1978) also mentioned that social interaction plays a
fundamental role in the development of cognition - students learn from each
other's scholarship, skills and experiences through discussion and interaction. This
can make learning in eForum fun, interactive and easy for students
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Improvements of the eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 6 shows the improvements of the eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC.
The respondents, as reflected in Table 6, are of belief that in order for
them to be familiar with and patronize the eForum, there is a strong need to
improve it. This was rated the highest by the faculty and students with 9.49
percent and 59.30 percent, respectively. Results show that the eForum itself must
invite students and teachers to actively partake and be members of the site.
This is in consonance with the realization of Rubin & Rubin (1985) who
employed the Uses and Gratification Theory in establishing the engagement of the
young in online discussions over the internet. This implies that students’ and
faculty’s participation provide a good framework for examining the satisfaction of
their needs and interests through different forms of communications media.
Table 6. Needs for Improvement of the eForum by the Faculty and the Students of
DMMMSU- SLUC
NEEDS
FACULTY STUDENTS
%
%
Positive Results
9.49
59.30
Lay out
37.5
25.33
Topics
8.33
29.33
Frequency of Updates
0.00
41.33
Access
54.17
10.67
Others
0.00
7.33
Negation
6.71
24.50
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Of all the five considerations in the improvement of eForum, the need to
improve the frequency of updates from their teachers ranked first with 41.33
percent among the student- respondents. Obviously, this item got 0.00 percent
from the teacher- respondents. It only shows that if teachers do not post, comment
or update the forum, students would also not bother their time carrying out
academic activities and responsibilities in their eForum.
With regards to improvement on topics, this obtained 29.33 percent by the
student- respondents and 8.33 percent by the faculty- respondents. As earlier
pointed out, interesting and sensible topics may draw students and teachers
participation as these topics are relevant to their experiences, skills, attitudes and
dispositions.
The improvement on topics got a low percentage from the faculty as
opposed with the relatively high percentage obtained from the students.
Accordingly, this has been the result because it all boils down to teaching
strategies—validating the saying, learning is fun only when teaching is. Topics
posted in forum must be innovative and candy- wrapped with fun, so that the
students would be interested to play a part in the discussions.
According to Jerome (2000), the benefits of online discussions may create
an enthusiasm for the relevant, immediate and practical issues and topics posted
in the discussion.
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The following illustration shows the lay-out of the eForum of the
DMMMSU- SLUC website:
Plate 2. Print screen images of the website and eForum’s lay-out in the
DMMMSU-SLUC website (March 2011, DMMMSU-SLUC)
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As could be gleaned from the table, the result about the need for
improvement on the eForum’s lay- out—with 25.33 percent (students)—proves
the basic concept of advertising. The study of advertising is that when someone is
selling something, one must sell himself first. Same is true in eForum, a change in
its physical appearance is maybe all that is needed to attract students for them to
participate.
Improvement on the access was ranked first by the teacher- respondents
with 54.17 percent, while it was ranked fourth by the student- respondents with
10.67 percent. The high regard given to this item by the teachers could be
attributed to either of two reasons: the teachers are aware that navigating the
website and the eForum is complicated on their age or that they find it taxing to
connect to the internet given the fact that the wifi connection in the college is very
slow.
Ranked fourth among the student- respondents, this implies that access is
just a matter of adventure as far as their computer skills and age are concerned.
The respondents least preferred to improve on other things as shown in the
table—with 0.00 percent by the faculty- respondents and 7.33 percent by the
student- respondents.
A mapping out of the table reveals that eleven (11) students suggested
improvements on the “administrators”, “moderators” and “over- all website”
among many others.
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Generally therefore, the respondents give particular importance on the
need to improve the eForum in the website. As obviously shown in the table, it is
a shared response for the improvement; after all, the eForum is for the whole
SLUC community.
Jerome (2001) made mentioned that the benefits of online discussions may
create an enthusiasm for their incorporation into courses and no doubt help
contribute to an increase in their use. Thus, it is incumbent that suggestions be
counted for the betterment of the site and the forum.
Security and Control Measures on eForum
Maintaining the security and privacy of such electronic forum is difficult
simply because a forum is defined as “any dialogue or conversation done in
public”. The threat triumphs when pertinent ideas, discussions and arguments are
known to public.
Classroom discussions have always become a routine job for faculty over
the years. Although topics and lectures can be updated, revised and innovated, the
process of teaching is still a routine.
As education becomes dynamic, an eForum is introduced to reach wider
students whose preference in things change relentlessly. As the forum is exposed
to many users and risks, security becomes a fundamental requirement.
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In an interview with Ms. Christianne Lynette Cabanban on January 21,
2011, one of the administrators of the DMMMSU- SLUC website, she said that a
trust in an electronic system is a prerequisite for user acceptance. This strengthens
the common belief that one has to take into account that people only use a system
if they trust it. Likewise, all new electronic systems add new threats so
participating in eForum is a matter of reliance.
However, she said that there are still things to improve on the site; one of
which is the implementation of IT policies and regulations. Since the website
started as a simple assignment to a US Peace Corps volunteer in DMMMSU, the
site has not been monitored nor updated regularly. The US Peace Corps volunteer
has already left DMMMSU in 2010 and the task to maintain and redevelop the
site is yet to be accomplished in the next years. When asked about the security
measures for the website’s eForum, Ms. Cabanban said that the students need to
register to enable them to participate in the discussions posted in the site,
especially in the eForum. She also mentioned about warning, punishing and
perhaps blocking a person from the site whenever the use of the site has been
abused like posting vulgar and obscene languages that may displeased the
viewing public. Although, there are no written policies yet about this, the
administrator assured that she checks and monitors the site regularly and tries to
regulate and remove unwanted posts and comments.
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Plate 3. Print screen image of the eForum’s registration page in the DMMMSU-
SLUC website (March 2011, DMMMSU-SLUC)
She also provided the researcher a copy of a paper about the security in
online discussion and learning that she personally implements because the
university has yet to publish and implement its own IT security policies.
It can also be noted that sometime in December 2010, the SLUC website
can no longer be opened in the net. The new administrator informed that the
domain has already expired and that the researcher and the whole SLUC
community just have to wait for the renewal of subscription for the domain. The
site is now enduring its operation but some of the information and details already
posted have been deleted.
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As previously mentioned, a risk analysis needs to be part of the site and
the eForum.
With regards to membership to the site, one has to register to the website
to be able to participate in forum and enroll themselves in the subjects posted by
the faculty- in- charge. Usually, once a teacher posts assignments and essay
questions in the “online subject”, an email message is sent to the electronically
registered students’ email addresses. From there, the student can already post
his/her comment via the internet.
One threat foreseen by Ms. Cabanban is the unauthorized use of digital
content. This is very risky especially because students can just copy answers of
their fellow classmates already posted in the website.
According to Weippl (2003), there are basically two different groups of
people who might use digital content in ways not intended by the person: (1)
People with legitimate access (2) People who access the content without
authorization.
Users who have legitimate access to the content may copy or modify it
without permission and hand it to friends or make it available on the Internet.
Addressing this threat is very difficult. One option that Ms. Cabanban suggested
is to submit only the content in formats that make illegal reuse more difficult; for
instance, PDF files cannot be modified easily compared to PowerPoint.
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Furthermore, the website administrator pointed out that she is innovating
and coming up with ways to protect the content of the eForum against
unauthorized modifications. To maintain the integrity of content and the writer’s
identity, trust is of paramount importance. Students must be able to rely on the
accuracy of the content. Particularly in humanities subjects and the social
sciences, comprehensive discussions are an essential component of the lecture.
Students—armed with ideas, opinions and knowledge—ready for the lengthy
interaction are very important to keep them involved in the process. However, all
contributions are stored electronically and may be retrieved a long time after the
course.
The implementation of security mechanisms and a policy that clearly
states what will be stored for how long can reduce this risk for students. A good
approach is to openly state how long a discussion will be archived (including
backups) and which measures will be taken to delete the content. In some cases,
chats that are not stored or the use of pseudonyms can be helpful to ensure free
discussions.
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Based on the foregoing results and discussions, here is an improved
paradigm of the study that supports the theories, concepts and findings of this
investigation:
Figure 2. Relationship of the Factors Supporting the Participation of the CS
Faculty and Students in the eForum of DMMMSU- SLUC
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SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary of the study in terms of its significant
findings, the conclusions that were derived from these findings and the
recommendations forwarded based on the conclusions.
Summary
The study aimed to assess the eForum participation of faculty and students
of the College of Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-
South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union. Specifically, it sought answers to the
following: 1) What is the level of awareness of the students and faculty of the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU-SLUC on the existing eForum in the
university website?; 2) What is the extent of participation of students and faculty
on the existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC?; 3) What is the level of needs of
CS students and faculty for eForum in the university in terms of: (a) Assignments,
(b) Projects/Term papers, (c) Community/University issues and (d) Others?; and
4) What is the validity of the security and learning- control measures implemented
by the administrators; and how are these achieved?
To gather needed information of this study, a validated questionnaire was
utilized and upon retrieval of the questionnaires from the respondents, data were
summarized, tabulated and analyzed using both descriptive and quantitative
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statistics. Likewise, documentation and observation of the website’s eForum was
accomplished to validate the statistical findings.
Significant findings. After a thorough analysis of all data gathered for the
study, the following salient results were yielded:
1. Comparing the awareness of the faculty and students, it is revealed that
the weighted mean of 3.22 by the students is lower than the 3.51 rating of the
faculty. This means that the faculty members are “Highly Aware” while the
students are only “Moderately Aware” of the existence of eForum in the
university website. In general; however, the entire group—both the faculty and
students are “Moderately Aware” about the eForum’s presence.
2. In the order of rank on the reasons of the group’s non- participation
based on their weighted means, the following items were manifested by the
respondents: non- members, time constraints, uninteresting topics/activities, lack
of compute knowledge and skills, accessibility, not required and economic
constraints. All seven (7) items/reasons were subsequently obtained from the 66.8
percent of the respondents who claimed to be not participating in eForum.
3.) In the entire group’s participation on eForum, a weighted mean of 33.2
was divided into the following reasons for the respondents’ participation:
required, graded and interesting topics. It could also be noted that most of the
respondents only participate in the eForum on a monthly and “depending-on-
mood” bases.
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4.) The entire group of respondents “Moderately Need” the eForum for
assignments and term projects and “Highly Need” the forum for
university/community issues and some other fun reasons.
5.) Faculty and students registered slight difference in their awareness,
participation and needs for eForum.
6.) Participating in eForum is a matter of reliance. The website
administrator pointed out that she is still currently working her way of innovating
and coming up with ways to protect the content of the eForum against
unauthorized modifications. To maintain the integrity of content and the writer’s
identity, trust is of paramount importance.
Conclusions
In the light of the aforementioned findings, it is concluded that:
1. The faculty members are varied and more aware than the students about
the presence of the forum. The students’ participation is dependent on the
faculty’s initiative to introduce and maintain the forum for the SLUC community
2. The seven reasons identified by respondents in relation to the awareness
and participation: non- members, time constraints, uninteresting topics/activities,
lack of compute knowledge and skills, accessibility, not required and economic
constraints were all greatly manifested by the student- respondents.
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3. The respondents’ needs on eForum were more focused on community
and university issues and on “feel- good” and “fun” posts than for assignments
and term projects.
4. There is a need to still enhance the website and the eForum for security
and privacy purposes; although, eForum is defined as any conversation done in
public—eForum, for this matter
Recommendations
The following are highly recommended based on the study’s findings and
conclusions:
1. Faculty members and students of the college and the campus as well
may undergo refresh training course about the use and navigation of most of the
website’s utilizable activities, particularly the eForum. Likewise, the students
must be given a seminar or symposium about the importance of the forum in their
education.
2. Due to the dearth of teachers’ and students’ participation, a well-
designed interface in terms of lay- out, topics, and newness and frequency of
updates may be explored in the development and restructuring of the website.
3. Since the eForum may be viewed as an aid for instruction, access to the
site within the campus should not be jeopardized. Access to wifi signals in the
different colleges may be restricted but not banned to students. Moreover, more
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computer units may be added to the library for the students’ free access to the
internet.
4. To enhance the awareness and participation in the university’s eForum,
teachers may initiate the use of the forum as an extension for their classroom
discussions. Proper motivation for students to engage in the social and web-
learning activity may be given attention.
5. The website administrator should monitor and moderate the eForum
frequently, especially against impolite and vulgar post and comments.
6. There is a need for the university to draft and implement its own IT
policies to maintain the website’s security, specifically in the eForum where cases
of intellectual rights may be at risks.
7. The policy on registration may be improved to regulate and tighten the
security of the website against unscrupulous people.
Having presented all the needed features and facets of this research, the
concepts of development communication has been realized that communication
should always aid for development. Teaching has always been viewed as a
traditional and an unexciting profession before the introduction of technology.
Such development in academe about the use of electronic forum speaks of
disseminating the results of technology in an interesting manner to reach every
student; thus effecting positive change to people—to use the technology as a
source of wisdom.
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LA TORRE, A. 2001. The Web Philippines, Politics and Technology: E- Revolt.
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MURPHY, E. Assessing Students’ Contributions to Online Asynchronous
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OXFORD. 2010. What is eForum and How Does it Work?
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ROJO, A. 1995. Participation in Scholarly Electronic Forums.
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TADEM, T AND MORADA, N. (Eds). 2006. Philippine Politics and
Governance: Challenges to Democratization and Development. Quezon
City: University of the Philippines.
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. Online Discussions. http://www.
services.unimelb.edu.au/asu/
VYGOTSKY, L.S. 1985. Cultural, Communication and Cognition: Vygotskian
Perspective. USA: Cambridge University Press
WU, D AND HILT, S. 2003. Online Discussion and Perceived Learning. USA:
New Jersey Institute of Technology.
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Appendix A
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University
South La Union Campus
Agoo, la Union
January 3, 2011
DR. JULIE N. MAZON
Dean, College of Sciences
DMMMSU- SLUC
Agoo, La Union
Dear Dr. Mazon
Greetings of peace and longevity!
I have the honor to request permission from your good office to float my
questionnaire to the students and faculty in your college, relative to my study
entitled, “ASSESSMENT OF THE eFORUM PARTICIPATION OF FACULTY
AND STUDENTS OF CS DMMMSU- SLUC” as a partial requirement to
complete my Masters in Development Communication at Benguet State
University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Attached is a copy of my questionnaire for the purpose.
Thank you for your kind consideration to this request.
Very truly yours
(SGD.) JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA
Researcher
APPROVED:
(SGD.) JULIE N. MAZON, EdD
Dean, College of Sciences
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Appendix B
Benguet State University
OPEN UNIVERSITY
La Trinidad, Benguet
January 3, 2011
Dear Respondent,
The undersigned is a BSU- OUS student presently conducting his study
entitled, “Assessment of the eForum Participation of Faculty and Students of CS
DMMMSU-SLUC” as a partial requirement for the degree, Masters in
Development Communication. Attached here is the questionnaire he had prepared
to gather needed data for this study.
In view of this, he is therefore requesting you, as one of the chosen
respondents of the study, to accomplish the questionnaire. Rest assured that all
your answers will be treated with utmost confidentiality.
Thank you for your cooperation and sharing your time on the endeavor.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA
Researcher
NOTED:
(SGD.) ANNA LIZA B. WAKAT, MDEVCOM
Adviser
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Appendix C
A Questionnaire in Assessing the eForum Participation of the Faculty and
Students of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC
_____
A. PERSONAL DATA
Name (optional): ___________________________________________________
Faculty: ___ Student: ___
Age: _____ Sex: _____
PART I. Extent of Awareness
Direction:
Please read each item carefully. Use the rating scale below and
check in the appropriate column what you feel describes the level
of your awareness. There will be no right or wrong answers.
1. Are you aware of the existing eForum in the DMMMSU- SLUC website?
___ YES
___ NO
If YES, please proceed with the following table.
If NO, please proceed to PART II.
5
High Level of Awareness
3
Moderate Level of Awareness
1
No Awareness
eForum Awareness
1 3 5
1. The eForum is for the DMMMSU community.
2. The eForum provides up-to-date issues about the university.
3. The eForum is open for public discussions among members.
4. The students and faculty could become members of the eforum
5. Any member could post questions and comments on the eForum.
6. I am aware on how to use the eForum.
7. The eForum may be an interesting attempt to innovate instruction.
8. An eForum is used by some as an aid for classroom discussion.
9. Access to the eForum is free.
DMMMSU- SLUC’s Internet Awareness
10. The library could be used for internet access to join the forum.
11. The MIS office is offering an internet access at a minimal cost.
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PART II. Extent of Needs
Direction:
Please read each item carefully. Use the rating scale below and
check in the appropriate column what you feel describes the level
of your needs. There will be no right or wrong answer.
5
Highly Needed
3
Moderately Needed
1
Not Needed
Needs
1 3 5
1. Contents of the eForum should be updated regularly.
2. The use of the eForum should be encouraged to students/faculty.
3. The website administrator must monitor the eForum frequently.
4. eForum have to make students become socially participative.
5. Virtual discussions must desire to make learning effective.
6. There is a need of eForum for short- term tasks like assignments.
7. There is a need of eForum for long- term tasks like term papers.
8. There is a need of eForum about issues concerning the university.
9. There is a need of eForum about issues in our community.
10. There is a need to improve our eForum site.
11. There is a need to improve our library internet policies.
III. Do you participate in the eForum of the DMMMSU- SLUC website?
___ Yes (If yes, how often?) ___ Everyday ___ Weekly
___ Monthly ___ Others, specify: _______________
(If yes, why?)
___ Required ___ Graded
___ Interesting topics
___ Others, specify: _____________________________
___ No (If no, why?)
___ Not interesting topics/activities
___ Time constraints
___ Accessibility
___ Economic constraints
___ lack of knowledge with computers
___ Not required
___ Not a member
___ Others, specify: ______________________
IV. Is there a need to improve the eForum in the university website?
___ Yes ___ No
(If yes, in terms of) ___ Lay- out ___ Topics ___ Access
___ Frequency of updates
___ Others, specify: ______________
VI. Please write your overall comments and remarks about the eForum in the
DMMMSU- SLUC website.
__________________________________________________________________
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Appendix D
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University
South La Union Campus
COLLEGE OF SCIENCES
Agoo, La Union
STATISTICS LABORATORY
C E R T I F I C A T I O N
This is to certify that JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA, a bona fide student of
the Master in Development Communication of the Open University of Benguet
State University, have contracted the services of the Statistics Laboratory for the
Statistical Analyses of the data pertinent to his research entitled Assessment of the
eForum Participation of the Faculty and Students of the College of Sciences in
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo,
La Union.
The Statistical Analyses was conducted using the software Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (version 17.0), to wit:
• Cronbach’s Alpha
• Weighted Mean
This certifies further that in terms of Statistical Analyses, the said thesis
now merits recommendation for Final Oral Examination.
This certification is issued to Mr. Jarata this 21st day of February 2011 for
all legal intents and purposes.
(sgd.)
RAQUEL D. QUIAMBAO, Ed. D.
In-Charge
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step. All we need is the courage to take that first
step.”
At his very young age, he has already journeyed thousands of miles both
in the domestic and international realms. But the more important thing behind this
is the fact that this person has not been afraid to take that first step.
This person who has traversed the various paths of life traces his
educational origins to a small but esteemed institution—Agoo Kiddie Special
School—where he belonged to the first batch of graduates. It was within the
portals of this school where he spent the basic and developmental stages of his life
– his elementary and high school years. He has finished both his elementary and
secondary education in AKSS with flying colors.
To continue his academic pursuits, he went to Saint Louis University in
Baguio City where he took up and finished Bachelor of Arts in Communications
inasmuch as he finds this area—particularly in journalism—as his field of
inclination. He unfastened such wonderful inclination to his craft that had tossed
him to the editorial board of White and Blue, the Official Student Publication of
SLU. From the initial stint, he has widened his writing horizons, publishing one of
his feature articles in the Youngblood section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on
October 17, 2008.
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To pursue his academic endeavors, he enrolled in the Open University
System of Benguet State University where he is taking up Masters in
Development Communication.
A product of the best educational systems, he has imbibed the best that his
schools could offer.
His first taste of the teaching profession was spent in Thailand where he
worked as teacher, instructor and language skills development facilitator for pre-
elementary, elementary and high school students in Rajabhat Maha Sarakham
University Demonstration School. He was also an editor and instructional
material developer in OHM Modern Education Inc. also in Thailand.
He then came back to the Philippines and served as a call center agent for
Aegis People Support Inc., Baguio City.
At 24, Jesus Rafael B. Jarata is now an instructor at the College of
Sciences at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University – South La Union
Campus, Agoo, La Union. He also serves as the editor of the CS Journal, the
Official Faculty Journal of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC. Finally,
satisfaction came when he passed the Civil Service Professional Examination,
with a general rating of 80.22%, last October 2010.
Being a scion of a socially- committed and academically- inclined parents, (his
father, Leonardo M. Jarata is a retired professor and his mother, Dolores B. Jarata is a
public school teacher) it is natural for him to love his second passion and certainly his
family’s dedication—teaching.
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA, April 2011. The eForum Participation of Faculty and
Students of the College of Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South
La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Adviser: Anna Liza B. Wakat, MDevcom
ABSTRACT
This study determined the awareness and participation of the faculty and students of
DMMMSU-SLUC in examining their extent of involvement and in assessing the forum’s needs
for the faculty and students in the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC using the
quantitative and qualitative methods—set of questionnaire checklist, interview and observation
methods. Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions: 1.) What is the level of
awareness of the faculty and students of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC on the
existing eForum in the university?; 2.) What is the extent of participation of faculty and students
on the existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC?; 3.) What is the level of needs of CS faculty and
students on eForum in the university in terms of a.) Assignments, b.) Projects/term papers, c.)
Community/university issues, d.) Others; and, 4.) What are the security and control measures
implemented by the administrator and how are these achieved?
Results show that the faculty members are “Highly Aware” while the students are only
“Moderately Aware” of the existence of eForum in the university website. In general; however,
the respondents are “Moderately Aware” about the eForum’s presence. Likewise, the
respondents “Moderately Need” the eForum for assignments and term projects and “Highly
Need” the forum on university/community issues.
Therefore, to further enhance the awareness and participation in the university’s eForum,
teachers may initiate the use of the forum as an extension for classroom discussions. Proper
motivation for students particularly in the social and web- learning activity may be given
attention.
ii
1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The emergence of the World Wide Web resulted to the creation of a social
web-based group that tackles specific issues and concerns or certain interests of
individuals. It is a way to communicate and share their common interests in
addressing specific issues using the internet. It is called eForum where members
can verbalize their thoughts in a public discourse. What differentiates eForum
from eGroup is the scope of audience. eGroup is limited only within a particular
online group, while eForum is shared to non- members who are registered as well;
thus making the forum public.
Thus, eForum, for this matter, makes an online public discourse more than
just an interpersonal experience but a social bond.
As an online social community, it is a practical way to enable people to
share their information, knowledge and experiences with each other. Once a
person joined a particular eForum, members share, revise and discuss their ideas
in written form via the forum site.
In the web or Internet there is a social web-based group that tackles on
specific issues of communities. It is a group of people with common interests who
use the Internet (web sites, email, instant messaging, etc) to communicate, work
together and pursue their interests over time; hence, called an eForum or
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electronic forum. Online communities are about people needing an easier and
more accessible way to get together.
In DMMMSU where the institution adheres to technological and mobile
learning, its mandate focuses on a vision, “to develop man in his totality, with a
critical mind and appropriate technology to adapt to his environment and
contribute to the balanced growth and progress of the society it serves”. Its
students are not just confined with classroom teaching but are exposed to
computers. Nowadays, computers and the internet have become integral
components of education. Students’ lives are filled with a large variety of
technologies which are integrated in their courses.
However, the installation of DMMMSU- SLUC website proves futile as
the whole DMMMSU- SLUC community seemed unaware of the importance of
eForum. It has been established since 2009 but most of its contents are neither
updated nor modified. The existing problem on administration’s failure to revise
and improve its site becomes an existing communication dilemma.
The site has an eForum option for any members to post their queries,
statements and other concerns about the university and its virtual community. No
new posts or comments have been written in the eForum category. With effective
information dissemination, especially from teachers to the students, of requiring
them to access the university’s eForum for scholastic benefit it may lead to a mass
cognizance of the site.
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It is in this context that the researcher realizes the importance of online
forums in the university where its core mission is “to integrate technology in
education”. This is to further innovate and upgrade its classroom instruction and
communication through the use of technological advancement—a step already
taken by other competing academes.
In DMMMSU- SLUC, to achieve its aim of technological advancement as
reflected in its Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives (VMGO), such eForum in
the campus website is aimed at enhancing education.
The mission and philosophical base of DMMMSU presuppose that the
institution use its resources to carry out its functions of informing and defining its
goals of sustaining quality and excellent education to its constituents.
The purpose of conceptualizing electronic forum in DMMMSU- SLUC
should have been for learning to be enhanced. With the slight scope of awareness
through the forum’s members, however; it establishes a lapse in an effort to
welcome students’ effective and positive involvement in the social learning
process. In a progressive institution where traditional strategies of teaching are no
longer pushed to keep paced with innovation, eForum is an option. Unfortunately,
awareness appears desperate for the students to rightfully discern and understand
the importance of establishing an eForum category in the university website.
With this in mind, the researcher sought the need to have a study on
eForum as a good venue to upgrade the manner of instructions in the university.
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The general purpose of this study is to enhance and assess the eForum
participation of faculty and students of the College of Sciences in Don Mariano
Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union.
This background—putting emphasis on the faculty’s and students’
awareness and participation on eForum, in a broad sense, were the bases for the
conduct of the study and the strategy for the attainment of the research’s
objectives.
Statement of the Problem
This research study determined the awareness and participation of the
faculty and students of DMMMSU-SLUC in examining their extent of
involvement and in assessing the forum’s needs for the faculty and students in the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC using the quantitative and qualitative
methods—set of questionnaire, interview checklist and observation methods.
Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions:
1. What is the level of awareness of the faculty and students of the College
of Sciences in DMMMSU-SLUC on the existing eForum in the university
website?
2. What is the extent of participation of faculty and students on the
existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC?
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3. What is the level of needs of CS faculty and students on eForum in the
university in terms of:
a.) Assignments
b.) Projects/Term papers
c.) Community/University issues
d.) Others
4. What are the security and control measures implemented by the
administrators; and how are these achieved?
Objectives of the Study
This arduous study aimed to assess the awareness and participation of the
faculty and students of DMMMSU- SLUC in determining the eForum’s needs for
the faculty and students in the College of Sciences, DMMMSU- SLUC.
Specifically, this research study sought to:
1. Find out the level of awareness of the faculty and students of the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU-SLUC on the existing eForum in the
university website;
2. Determine the extent of participation of faculty and students on the
existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC;
3. Be aware of the level of needs of CS faculty and students on eForum in
the university in terms of:
a.) Assignments
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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b.) Projects/Term papers
c.) Community/University issues
d.) Others
4. Identify the security and control measures implemented by the
administrators.
Significance of the Study
The integration of online forums in the university website—for social
participation and as an aid for instruction—should enhance the youth’s over- all
cause for progress and development.
The researcher wishes to make the study worthy to the following:
Development communicators/planners. Results of the study can hopefully
provide necessary inputs and insights to development communicators, planners
and policy- makers in the formulation and conceptualization of communication
strategies, plans and programs that will bring about upgrade in the conventional
classroom teaching and harmony in the academe. Likewise, it is believed that
through the use of eForums, it will enhance opportunities in designing
development programs from non- traditional instructions that are suited to the
dynamic generation of students in the university.
School administrators. The result of this study will guide the
administrators to translate the educational philosophy, vision, mission and
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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objectives into action, thus providing provisions for the production of adequate
supplementary tools that are useful in enhancing, enriching and upgrading the
present scenario of our educational system.
Teachers. The result of this investigation would give a clearer view as to
what has been done, what is it to do and what can still be done in the preparation
of teaching plans along technological advancement. Hopefully, the teachers may
grow to be more cognizant of the needs to cope up with technology resulting to a
transformation that will affect the achievement of their desired personal, social
and educational goals.
Students. They are the immediate beneficiaries of a much- improved
eForum. It is expected that the students of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU-
SLUC, will become more fully aware of their potentials, of what they can do, and
of their ability of involving themselves in their community through online forums.
DMMMSU- SLUC. The knowledge derived from this study may provide
baseline information to the university for use in the planning, construction ,
enhancement and improvement of curriculum materials for productive and
efficient advancement of the its teachers and student’s education and skills.
Moreover, DMMMSU- SLUC may become aware of its responsibilities to
provide a strong foundation for development and nurturing of quality and
excellent education among its constituents.
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Researcher. This study enriches the researcher’s knowledge and skills in
development communication as he assesses a channel of communication—
eForum—to result positive change to the students and the DMMMSU- SLUC
community.
Future researchers. Finally, education, civic, business, cultural and interest
groups will be provided research- based information for the conception of online
discussions as agent of social participation for development of instruction among
the students. The end result of this study is useful as a basis on how future
researchers go about innovations on eForum.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study investigated the awareness and participation of the faculty and
students of DMMMSU-SLUC in examining the extent of their involvement and
assessing the forum’s needs for the faculty and students in the College of Sciences
in DMMMSU- SLUC. The students referred to in this study are those students
who are taking up courses such as Biology, Mathematics and Psychology.
Likewise, the faculty referred to in this study is the teachers who are teaching
subjects in the same college.
A representative sample of the College of Sciences students and faculty
from the three departments (Behavioral Sciences, Biology, and Mathematics)
were taken as respondents. The researcher made the College of Sciences as his
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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research base because of his being a faculty of the said college. Likewise, some
teachers in this college use the internet to supplement their lessons in class.
The study is limited to the awareness and participation of the College of
Sciences students in DMMMSU- SLUC that is correlated to the development of
communication among the constituents of the university. The study operated
within the bounds of its objectives.
Conceptual Framework
These days, society and eForums in the web infuse attitudes of
participation and involvement. The ultimate goal of eForums in this regard is the
positive influence of student behavior of becoming social persons. Most of the
students are reserved, contained and timid about their reactions of many social
issues around them. Through eForums, they can assess their responsibilities in
interaction. In the process of societal participation, the youth develops a rational
and voluntary force within himself that bring about action or non- action as the
case may be.
In one of the research papers involving online forums (Anonymous, n.d),
it presents the results of research with the first year students on a Computer
Concepts course at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand in 2003. These
students have no previous experience with discussion forums. The course
emphasizes the use of computers and Information Systems in a business scenario.
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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The course has a large practical component of 60% covering applications, the
internet and the operating system. The course uses discussion forums and bulk
email as the main means of learning support in addition to telephone and mail.
Support is provided both by the lecturer and students via forum based peer
support. Participation in the forums is an integral part of the assessment. At least
three messages were expected to be posted weekly to the forum. No other rewards
were offered to students for participation. However, as one of the referees
suggested, perceived rewards may also be contribution factor to higher level of
participation.
There is an area for informal social interaction amongst students. An
initial message was posted to each topic which explains what the purpose of the
topic is and how to participate in the discussion.
The benefits of online discussions may create an enthusiasm for their
incorporation into courses and no doubt help contribute to an increase in their use.
However, incorporation of online discussions into courses most often requires of
instructors that they assess students’ contribution to this discussion. In many
cases, such assessment can represent an onerous task particularly when class sizes
are large and individual discussion contributions are numerous (Jerome, 2000).
Participation is the key element for improving community life. By
encouraging the youth to engage in social activities and to share meaningfully in
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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the societal development, some significant improvements in their knowledge,
attitudes and skills for development are attained
The rationale for student involvement in the process of assessing
participation in an online discussion relates to a need to divert some of the
responsibilities of this onerous task away from the instructor and towards the
student. More importantly, however, the rationale derives from the premise that
students can improve their performance in online discussion forums by reflecting
on, analyzing and being critical of how they participate. This process can serve a
dual purpose of assessment on one hand, as well as a means of directing
participation and thinking on the other.
In the paper, (Jerome, 2000) the author illustrates how students can be
involved in assessing their participation in and contribution to their community
through online discussions that are part of university-based courses. The analysis
is designed to provide students with an opportunity to retroactively focus attention
on the types, quantity and quality of participation and contributions in politics and
community development of an online discussion.
The student’s attempt at retroactively focusing on her participation meant
that she had to evaluate her strengths and weaknesses in a discussion context.
Thus, if we want the students to improve their future participation in the society
then we need to specifically require of them that they consider the implications of
their behaviors and participations in the online forums—or eForums.
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In seeking to develop an understanding of how students approach learning,
Laurillard (1993) identified the conversational framework for academic learning -
where the teaching and learning process is an interaction between teacher and
student. Learning is mediated by the educator who persuades students to make
sense of various phenomena using the accepted concepts and ways of thinking
characteristic of their discipline. Teaching that incorporates discussion reflects the
interactive character of the learning process. Drawn from Bandura's (1971) social
learning theory, as well as the work of Vygotsky, Piaget, Dewey and Pask. For
Vygotsky (1978), social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development
of cognition - students learn from each other's scholarship, skills and experiences
through discussion and interaction - which is complementary to Bandura's social
learning theory.
The significance of social learning is also a key component of situated
learning theory - where learning is an act of participation within communities of
practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Pask (1975) emphasizes the link between the
descriptive and operational aspects of understanding. The fundamental idea of
Pask's conversation theory (1975) is that learning occurs through conversations
about a subject, which serve to clarify and formulate understanding.
The last lest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is very true among the
youth today wherein they—most especially the students—turn to the internet
when they feel like the real world deprives them to participate in social
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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movements. They satisfy their needs for self- realization by embracing the reality
and facts rather than denying the truth. The youth today, especially the students,
use the internet as a powerful tool to express themselves amidst political and
community issues.
The media and technology must forge partnership in development to reach
the greater mass of people in today’s generation. The problem with the students’
non- participation or absence in the community scene is the lack of innovation
and creativity from the media sectors to reach the audience (Frialde, 2000).
Another theory supports the engagement of the youth in online forums and
discussions over the internet. Uses and gratifications theory has provided a
framework for examining the satisfaction of needs and interests through different
forms of communications media. Uses and gratifications theory has been
employed in studies of different forms of social communications because of the
goal-directed nature of communications behavior (Rubin & Rubin, 1985).
Thus, the youth—the students—make contributions to society and national
development through the web. The problem therefore is not so much of bringing
the youth into the national stream as much as recognizing and building their
participation in community development. The conceptual framework is illustrated
on the following:
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Students, Faculty &
Administrator
Status of
Awareness
eForum in CS
eForum
Participation
DMMMSU- SLUC
Needs
Security
Socia
CS DMMMSU- SLUC
Figure 1. The illustration shows the variables necessary in the conduct of the
study. The independent variables—students, faculty and
administrators, forum, and CS DMMMSU-SLUC—interrelate with the
dependent variables (awareness, needs, participation and security).
These inputs would yield an output which is determined by the
assessment of the status of eForum in the campus.
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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Definition of Terms
In order to understand the study better, the following terms are
operationally defined as they were used in the study:
Assessment. This refers to the evaluation to be carried out by the
researcher on the existing eForum’s participation of students and faculty in
DMMMSU- SLUC.
Development. Development is a cooperative effort of many different
groups. It is a complex process, though. A country must concurrently pay
attention to social, economic, political, cultural and environmental issues to
ensure that development is sustainable and beneficial to all.
eForum. It is an online public discourse which is part of the DMMMSU-
SLUC website where it is believed to be a new learning venue for students as an
aid for classroom instructions in the university.
Faculty. They consist of the instructors and professors teaching in the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC.
Involvement. It is the commitment to encouraging and motivating the
students and faculty in DMMMSU- SLUC to exercise their academic freedom
through the use of the eForum. This allows the forum’s members to put into effect
their thoughts and experiences about questions on university, social and other
issues available to them.
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Online discussion. It is a relatively new form of communication,
facilitated usually by computer networks. It may also refer to synchronous
conferencing via non-Internet connected networks.
Participation. It refers to a kind of involvement and interaction that occurs
among the members (students and faculty) in the electronic forum when one or
more student—along with his teachers—takes part in effecting exchange of ideas
and thoughts with each other.
Social participation. It basically refers to making sure every student and
faculty have the same opportunities to learn, to work, to be involved with their
community and to speak out about things that are important to them.
Students. This involves the students enrolled in the three courses—
Biology, Mathematics and Behavioral Sciences—of the College of Sciences in
DMMMSU- SLUC.
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Importance of eForum
Larkin-Hein (2001) reports ongoing research designed to address the role
of student understanding of a certain subject using an online discussion group
format. The findings are as follows: (1) Online discussions provide an additional
learning and teaching vehicle. (2) Online discussions facilitate the acquisition of
higher-order thinking skills. (3) Students became more adept at transferring and
applying information learned in class to novel situations. (4) Further study is
needed to investigate how personal learning styles affect online discussion. So, it
only tells that, the use of online discussion groups offers a relatively new avenue
through which the learner can take an active role in the learning process.”
However, how computer-mediated discussion affects the students’ learning is
unclear. Over ten years ago, in the “Virtual Classroom” project: “whether students
do take a more active part in the learning process and take advantage of the
potential for more interaction with professor and the other students, despite the
absence of nonverbal cues to facilitate this interaction.”
Challenges and Demands of eForum
Thomas’ (2002) study of online discussion assumed that the nature of
computer-mediated communication impacts on students’ learning. Survey, case
study and content analysis methods were used in data analysis. This study found
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that online discussion forums promote high levels of cognitive engagement and
critical thinking. However, the virtual learning space of an online forum does not
promote the coherent and interactive dialogue necessary for conversational modes
of learning. To overcome the incoherence, the role of moderator and facilitator of
discussion is important in the online discussion forum.
A large survey was conducted at SUNY Albany in Spring 1999. There are
3,800 students enrolled in 264 courses through SLN (SUNY Learning Network)
who responded to a post-course survey. The findings show that three factors
(consistency in course design, contact with course instructors, and active
discussion) significantly influence the success of online courses. The researcher
also found that interaction with instructors, interaction with peers, and the value
placed on participation in course discussions are the factors most significantly
related to student perceptions of learning. These findings support the importance
of interaction for online teaching and learning. However, none of the prior studies
provide or test a casual model of the determinants of perceived learning from
online discussions (Swan et al, 2000).
eForums’ Roles and Functions in Development
Frago (2006), whose areas of interest include civil society and media
policy, made a study about analyzing the various roles and functions that the
media play in Philippine politics and society. Frago’s study revealed that as
individuals and society grow, the media finds a way to disseminate and report the
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/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
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truth to the discerning public. There comes the interactive medium—like the
internet—to remain a bastion of freedom. More so, with the advent of
information and communication technologies, the general public becomes
participative. In this context, the students become aware of their fair share in
communication and development. In eForums, for example, the students use the
medium to share their sentiments and analyze societal situations while they asses
what they could do to resolve conflicts in their communities/societies.
The people’s responses may vary depending on how they perceive events
as presented in media. If political events are reported in televisions, newspapers,
radio and internet, these affairs become sensationalized. As a result, the people
tend to be aware; thus, involving themselves by commenting and forming their
opinions as citizens of the country. The people—especially the youth—are aware
that all the events that are happening today will become memoirs of history. By
making themselves concerned, they are building history with people (Frago,
2006).
Awareness of Student’s Involvement in eForums
Boado (2000) said, “The simple truth is that we are entering a strong new
world in which rapid change will bring about radical implications for education
and learning; hence, we see and observe students who engage in what we call
‘self- directed learning and participation’.
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What Boado expressed was that education is influenced not only by the
teachers and the kind of academic structure but also by the resources. With these
changes, they are buttressing the students’ connection to the “real world” outside
school.
Dacayanan (2001) discussed in his research about a study of learning
delivery. The students perceive that the school is just another “restrictive rule-
laden environment” governed by adult authority figures.
eForum’s Significant Impact to the Society as a Whole
Human communication has been interpreted in terms of both cultural and
social processes. As a cultural process, communication involves learning and
using language conventions that have shared or agreed-upon interpretations. As
social process, communication becomes the principal way in which human beings
experience meaningful interactions. Through such interactions, people learn to
play roles, understand social norms, recognize and apply social sanctions and
evaluate each other’s actions according to systems of shared values and beliefs.
Since students come from different cultural background and beliefs, they
comprise the bulk of ideas. eForum is seen to be a good ground for these ideas as
they flow out of the students’ minds. In this case, the students tend to participate
in the world of reality, although it may seem virtual (Anonymous, n.d)
Thus, corollary to this study, with the introduction of eForums, students
assume leaderships and authority in which they are not controlled by superiors
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(Manansala, 1994). It serves as their medium to voice out their concerns without
fear of being evaluated and graded. Students enrolled in regular classes are afraid
to recite or be involved with classroom discussions because they see teachers as
authorities who might reject their answers in spite of their confidence. With those
apprehensions, they see that the media, like eforums, function as virtual classroom
where they could discuss their litany about the government, society and people
(Manansala, 1994).
eForums are deemed important in which students construct their
knowledge by socially sharing ideas through ongoing communication with group
members. In a two-way communication process, members of learning community
initiate, share, interpret, negotiate, and modify ideas through successive and
progressive dialogue (Chen and Caropreso, 2004).
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METHODOLOGY
Locale of the Study
The research survey was conducted within the vicinity of the College of
Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union
Campus, Agoo, La Union.
However, it must be emphasized that there are three campuses of
DMMMSU. The main campus—North La Union Campus—is located in
Bacnotan; and the other campus—Mid- La Union Campus—is situated in San
Fernando City, La Union.
The research study in concentrated at the South La Union Campus in
Agoo, La Union where there are three colleges (College of Sciences, College of
Education and College of Computer Science) and three institutes: (Institute of
Community Health and Allied Medical Services, Institute of Fisheries and
Institute of Agriculture).
Therefore, in scope, it was not only limited in the South La Union Campus
but also in the College of Sciences. The proximity of the population to the
researcher was also taken into consideration.
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Research Participants
The study involved 41 faculty members and 212 student- respondents
from the College of Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-
South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union.
Slovin’s formula, given as n= N / (1 + Ne2) where N is the population size,
n is the sample size and e is the margin of error, was used to get the sample size.
A proportionate sampling technique was used to estimate the sampling size for
each department.
The population of was divided fairly, using the proportionate sampling
technique, among the student- respondents of the three departments: Biology,
Mathematics and Behavioral Sciences. Among the 212 respondents, 101 were
from the Department of Psychology, 58 were from the Mathematics Department
and 53 were from the Department of Biology.
Since the faculty members in the campus are ‘global teachers’—meaning,
they handle classes in other departments or even institutes/colleges as well, the 41
faculty members were included as respondents regardless of their home
department in the College of Sciences. The respondents were divided as follows:
three Chairmen of the three departments, 27 assistant and associate professors and
11 instructors. They teach minor and major subjects in social and political
sciences, computing sciences, medical sciences, behavioral sciences and
languages and arts.
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The researcher had chosen the students because of their exposure to
research—as one of core functions in the university. These students have adequate
time to surf the internet because most of their classes require extensive researches.
The teachers are; likewise, another respondents because of their roles, functions
and mandates to fulfill of giving quality education through the use of the
technological innovations.
Research Design
The study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative
methodologies to describe the students of the College of Science of the Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University South La Union Campus particularly
on their awareness, needs and participation on the campus’ eForum.
The descriptive design has the characteristics of eliciting the needed data
for the study. These data served as a point of testing the relationships between the
studied variables. It is concerned with receiving evidences and existing condition
and current situations, thus enabling the researcher to answer his research
problem.
Research Methods
The recording of informative interview and floating of survey-
questionnaires were the main tools in gathering the data which were used in the
study to acquire direct and immediate response from the respondents.
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The questionnaire contained items in which the respondents rated
responses from among those presented and supplied the necessary information to
specific questions.
The questions and items in the questionnaire were examined as to their
relevance to the main problem, for their simplicity, clarity or ease of
understanding them.
The interviews resembled casual conversations, pursuing the interests of
both the researcher and the respondents in turn. This technique was to find out
what students, instructors and website administrator think and how their views
compare with each other about eForums.
Likewise, an observation method was used. This method was
supplemented by the documentation of the eForums category in the university
website. The researcher analyzed the data through observation of the eForum
conversations which have bearing with the needed data in the study. In this kind
of method, the researcher was concerned with the direct description of the subject
of the study and the best way to achieve this objective was to visit the eForum
page.
The primary sources of this study were from the questionnaire results from
the respondents of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC, Agoo, La
Union. Likewise, the documented eForum page in the university website will be
gathered to supplement the results of the survey.
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The secondary sources substantiating the study were taken from books,
journals, magazines, newspapers, theses and related studies and articles and on-
line sources.
The study proceeded from a body of concepts and theories embodied in
the theoretical and conceptual framework, through a quantitative and qualitative
method on the awareness and perception on eForum as a venue for social
participation among the respondents of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU-
SLUC, Agoo, La Union.
Data Collection, Analysis and Interpretation
The researcher tallied, classified and presented the data gathered in a
tabular form. Different variables in the study used the following statistical tools:
Frequency count, percentage and weighted mean which determines the level of
awareness and needs of respondents on eForum as an interactive medium for
social participation. Computations for the correlations of awareness, participation
and needs of the students in eForum were administered by a duly expert
statistician.
The assessment of the level of awareness on forum by the students and
faculty in the College of Sciences at DMMMSU- SLUC was done using the scale:
Not Aware (1.00- 2.33), Moderately Aware (2.34- 3.66), and Highly Aware (3.67-
5.00). For the appraisal of students and faculty regarding the needs for eForum,
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the scale used is as follows: Not Needed (1.00- 2.33), Moderately Needed (2.34-
3.66), and Highly Needed (3.67- 5.00).
After gathering the data necessary for the study, the researcher recorded,
analyzed objectively, compared and contrasted rationally all the answers form the
questionnaires and interviews.
In the process of bringing order, structure and meaning to the mass of
collected data, a qualitative analysis was administered. The researcher’s objective
judgment and observation became part of the research instrument. Likewise, he
attempted to understand the study from the perspective of the research
participants and the answers respondents gave to their experiences in the eForum.
This allowed the researcher to qualify the respondents’ understanding during the
research process through further probing questions.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents, analyzes and interprets the results obtained in this
study. Data are presented in the order in which they appear in the statement of the
problem. In the presentation of data, frequencies, percentages, weighted means,
means and tests of relationships were used.
Level of Awareness on the eForum by the
Faculty and Students of DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 1 presents the level of awareness on the eForum by the faculty and
students of DMMMSU- SLUC.
The difference between the awareness of faculty and students also
apparently reveals a warm welcome of innovation from the teachers. This could
be a manifestation that they, too, are willing to learn more about latest
discoveries, new trends and new ideas which could be applied to their teaching
strategies. Teachers, in particular, are highly aware of new technologies to aide in
the teaching- learning process as an affirmation of the seminar conducted to them
about the use of the website’s content as may be one of their tools in teaching.
As could be gleaned in Table 1, the respondents described their awareness on the
existing eForum in the university as “Moderately Aware” with a weighted mean
of 3.24.
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The student- respondents were moderately aware (3.22) of the existence of
eForum in the university website. Their awareness is not only affected by the lack
of information- dissemination on the part of the university authorities but also by
the differences between the students who are basically young and adventurous as
compared with the faculty members who are obviously older than them. More
often than not, the task of effecting change in instruction process is left solely in
the hands of teachers, because they are regarded as authorities.
Comparing the awareness of the two sets of respondents, it is revealed
however, that the weighted mean of 3.22 by the students is lower than the 3.51
rating of the faculty. This means that the faculty members are “Highly Aware” of
the existence of eForum in the university website. The high awareness shown for
the electronic forum validates the reports of teachers that some of them were
invited to attend a seminar for the introduction of the said forum in the university.
Table 1. Level of Awareness on the eForum by the Faculty and Students of
DMMMSU-SLUC
CATEGORY
WEIGHTED MEAN VERBAL DESCRIPTION
Faculty
3.51
Highly Aware
Students
3.22
Moderately Aware
Entire Group
3.24
Moderately Aware
Legend:
1.00 - 2.33
Not Aware
2.34 - 3.66
Moderately aware
3.67 - 5.00
Highly aware
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The finding may substantiate that of the study of Boado (2000) who
pointed out that “we are entering a strong new world in which rapid change will
bring about radical implications for education and learning.” To probe, this
utilization of the eForum in the university may no longer require a lengthy
dissemination of awareness because the result already indicated that the faculty
and students are moderately aware of the foregoing phenomenon. Hence, teachers
and students as well are abreast with the changes that will bring new light to a
more advanced education.
Generally therefore, the respondents are fairly aware of their fair share in
communication and development.
It was observed that the awareness shown by the faculty and students on
the forum tells that indeed the respondents are likewise aware that wisdom must
be cultured and applied in reality; or in this case, virtual reality.
In DMMMSU- SLUC, for example, its stakeholders are already
moderately aware that the university already allows them to participate and to
mingle in the community through the eForum. Thus, given the obvious
circumstance, the university must take this to the next level of improving the
website, taking into consideration the stakeholders’ suggestions and comments to
better enhance their involvement in the eForum.
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Participation in the eForum by the Faculty
and Students of DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 2 shows the participation in the eForum by the Faculty and students
of DMMMSU- SLUC.
The finding in Table 2 reveals that the majority of the respondents did not
participate in the online forum put by the university in the website. There is a
minimal percentage of only 17.07 from the faculty and 30.43 from the students
who involved themselves in the electronic forum—such a negligible percentage,
as compared to the 13.44 and 53.36 percent from the faculty and students who did
not participate.
The strong manifestation for the non- participation to eForum shows that
the respondents may still be particularly naïve of the technology being introduced
and presented to them. This is supported by some of the students’ answers when
asked about their uncertainty on the use of eForum.
Table 2. Participation in the eForum by the Faculty and Students of DMMMSU-
SLUC
PARTICIPATION FACULTY STUDENTS TOTAL
%
%
%
Participated
17.07 30.43 33.20
Did not participate 13.44 53.36 66.80
__________________________________________________________________
n
=
41
212
253
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Many said that with the fast evolution of technology, they were already
weighed down that “we no longer know what to do with them”. It is safe to
assume, therefore, that they were still highly traditional in nature despite the
influences of the western world. They may not agree that this innovation could be
one of the solutions to fill the gaps in the communication and interaction of
students and teachers for the thirst of education.
Through such virtual interactions, people learn to play roles, understand
social norms, recognize and apply social sanctions and evaluate each other’s
actions according to systems of shared values and beliefs. Since most of students
in the university come from different cultural and social background, they share
different shapes of baskets of ideas. eForum is seen to be a good ground for these
ideas as they flow out of the students’ minds. In this case, the students tend to
participate in the world of reality, although it may seem virtual.
With these foregoing discussions, the result could be interpreted as a
failure on the part of the university to strengthen their goal of using the website as
a means of communication to its community. The awareness reflected in Table 1
clearly shows that since many are not aware of the presence of eForum, then
many are also not participating. Thus, the university must exert more effort to
advertise and encourage the use of eForum. However, improvement of the content
and face of the website value may be the first task to undertake to appeal to the
interests of the students and faculty.
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Frequency of Participation of Faculty and Students
in the DMMMSU-SLUC
A mapping up of table 3 reveals the four frequencies of participation on
the eForum by the faculty and students. The following were greatly apparent in
the order of rank for the Faculty: Monthly (42.86), Others (42.86), Weekly
(14.28) and Daily (0.00); 2.) Students: Weekly (35.06), Monthly (31.17), Others
(20.78) and Daily (12.99).
It can then be generally stated that despite the participation of these
diminutive percentage of faculty and students, they hardly ever or infrequently
post and share messages in the eForum.
“Others” referred to in the items were those answers of faculty and
students not in the list of choices. Some students categorically answered that they
only “sometimes” participate in the discussions. Three teachers agreed that they
post messages in the forum when there are interesting topics in the university and
community only.
Statistically comparing the respondents of the two sets of respondents
through the test, it was found out that there is no significant difference between
the two groups. Impliedly, both of them do not participate in the eForum—such a
huge gap of fraction against those who participate.
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Table 3. Frequency of Participation of faculty and Students in the DMMMSU-
SLUC eForum
PARTICIPATION
FACULTY STUDENTS
%
%
Everyday
0.00
12.99
Weekly
14.28
35.06
Monthly
42.86
31.17
Others
42.86
20.78
_________________________________________________________________
n
=
7
77
As proven through the researcher’s observation of the site, most of the
posts were not updated. There are even some questions which only have few
responses; and if there are any, the dates of replies are noticeably behind the time
frame.
Having said and observed these results, it may imply that the respondents
have little interest in the eForum. Obviously, if they are enthusiastic about the
website, they would find time to visit and post messages in the eForum. This
suggests fun activities in the website and in the eForum so that students would
have reasons to open the university website and participate in the events
conceptualized.
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Reasons in Participating and Not Participating of Faculty
and Students in the University eForum
Table 4 presents the reasons in the participation and non-participation of
faculty and students in the university eForum.
The foremost of the reasons of students’ non- participation in the eForum
is because they are not members of the site. This was ranked first with a
percentage of 44.4. The high rating given to this item could be attributed to the
reason that most of the teacher- respondents are also not members of the site,
obtaining a weighted mean of 26.47 percent.
This validates Jerome’s (2000) assumption that students can be involved
in assessing their participation in and contribution to their community through
online discussions that are part of university-based courses. Thus, being a member
to the forum in the university is the first step gearing towards community
involvement.
Time constraint is the primary reason that limits the faculty not to
participate in eForum. With a percentage of 35.3, it may be inferred that the
teacher- respondents assumed that joining in the forum may be waste of time.
They may perhaps tend to rely more on proven and standardized ways of doing
things—like giving discussions and assigning projects and home works , the usual
mode—rather than experiment with a new method since the degree of success is
greater with the former.
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Table 4. Faculty and Students’ Reasons in Participating and Not Participating in
the DMMSU-SLUC eForum
REASONS
FACULTY STUDENTS
%
%
Participation
Required
14.28
32.47
Graded
28.58
29.87
Interesting Topic
57.14
37.66
Non- participation
Not Interesting Topics/Activities
5.88
11.85
Time Constraints
35.3
11.85
Accessibility
8.82
9.63
Economic Constraints
5.88
1.48
Lack of Knowledge with computers
17.65
8.90
Not Required
0.00
11.85
Not a Member
26.47
44.44
__________________________________________________________________
n
=
34
135
Furthermore, teaching in a state university like DMMMSU demands its
faculty to devote more time in the accustomed paper reports for instruction,
research, extension and production.
On the other hand, the teacher- respondents are a mixture of young and
adult teachers in terms of age and experience. This finding reveals their busy
lifestyle, especially for adult/married teachers who would better attend to the
needs of their families than engage themselves in a new technology.
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Thomas mentioned however, the time of the teachers to engage in eForum
is indispensable in establishing their roles as moderators and facilitators of the
discussion.
Other items given importance on the non- participation of the student-
respondents are the not interesting topics/activities posted in the forum and time
constraints which both obtained of 11.85 percent.
Rubin & Rubin (1985) pointed out that the engagement of the youth in
online discussions over the internet is a realization of the Uses and Gratification
theory which explains the satisfaction of interest because of fun and goal- directed
nature of the modes of communication.
Results also show that the student- respondents did not participate in the
eForum due to lack of access to the internet with 9.63 percent as compared to the
faculty’s 8.82 percent problem in accessibility. It only implies that students do not
have means to visit the website maybe because of their lack of access and busy
schedule and lack of financial means despite the university’s and the college’s
determination to give students better access to the internet. As a matter of fact, the
university library provides free internet access to limited students and the MIS
office offers internet rentals at a minimal cost—on top of the college’s free wifi
service. To date, there are more than 20 units of installed computers for the almost
5, 000 students enrolled in the campus.
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DMMMSU, as an educational institution, is a factor to student
involvement. It helps the students become active by giving them access to the
community and allowing them to be social humans. It acts not as a limiting factor
in their social participation, because technology is a trend that an institution must
utilize to keep their education mobile. eForums are good example of trend in
technology- based education for students.
Lack of knowledge with computers is also manifested in the non-
participation of respondents in the electronic forum of DMMMSU- SLUC. This
item was rated 8.90 percent by student- respondents and 17.65 percent by the
teacher- respondents.
As earlier pointed out, this result confirms that despite the influence of
western cultures, the Philippines has remained by and large a conservative society
in which many still do not embrace the products of technology. In the university,
this could be attributed to the teachers’—mostly are adults—slight incompetence
in the new technology. Although the students have become very permissive
especially towards technology, the role played by teachers to welcome such
change and innovation in the teaching- learning process is encouraged. This
conflicting attitudes and lifestyle between the faculty and students contribute
largely to the diminished participation of the respondents in the eForum.
According to Frialde (2000), people should be taught to transcend their
cultural conditioning and become world citizens. It is incumbent therefore, that
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the faculty and students of the university feel the need to have grip on eForum as
this innovation may shape the educational system of the generation.
Result also shows that the student- respondents did not participate in the
eForum because they were not required to do so. This has a percentage of 11.85.
Likewise, this item is related with the students’ non- membership in the site. It
implies that since participating in the eForum was not a requirement; students did
not register to be members of the site. This could be attributed to the fact that
teachers do not perceive this item as a consideration in their non- participation in
the forum. For the faculty, this item obtained a weighted mean of zero percent.
Perhaps, since most teachers were not members of the site, then it is empirical to
assume that students did not involve themselves, too. These results from the
faculty and students can be said to be linearly related with one another.
This further establishes the study made by Jerome (200) about the
rationale for student involvement in the process of assessing participation in an
online discussion, because participation relates to a need to divert some of the
responsibilities of this onerous task away from the instructor and towards the
student. More importantly, however, this derives from the premise that students
can improve their performance in online discussion forums by reflecting on,
analyzing and being critical of how they participate and not just view solely their
involvement as a requirement. eForum serves a dual purpose of assessment on
one hand, as well as a means of directing participation and thinking on the other.
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Conversely, there are still nominal percentage of students and faculty who
participated in the eForum. It could be inferred from this result that there were
only insignificant number of students and faculty who use the forum in the
university.
The eForum might have been important in asserting the students’ social
and academic proficiency to construct their knowledge by socially sharing ideas
through ongoing communication with other members. According to Chen and
Caropreso (2004), in a two-way communication process, members of learning
community initiate, share, interpret, negotiate, and modify ideas through
successive and progressive dialogue.
Required. It can be gleaned from the table that both the faculty and
students do not perceive the participation in eForum as a requirement. Obtaining a
low percentage of 14.28 percent from the faculty and 32.47 percent from the
students, this implies the absence of agreement between the teachers and students
to form a compromise that involving themselves in the online discussion is an
extension of their classroom discussions.
According to Laurillard (1993), the teaching and learning process is an
interaction between teacher and student. Learning is mediated by the teacher who
persuades students to make sense of existing resources in technology using the
accepted concepts and ways of thinking characteristic of their discipline.
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Teaching that incorporates discussion reflects the interactive character of the
learning process.
Graded. The table reveals that among the teacher- respondents, there are
only two or 28.58 percent who said that they join in eForum because it is a graded
task assigned to their students. Likewise, there are only 23 or 29.87 percent of
students who participate in such forum because they feel threatened that this may
have a bearing in their grades.
From the view point of one author (n.d), participation in electronic forums
is an integral part of evaluation in a teaching- learning process. Rewards or grades
should not be bribed to students for participation. However, the author affirmed
that perceived rewards may also be a contributing factor to a higher level of
participation.
Interesting topics. This item which ranked first in the reasons of the
respondents’ participation, with 57.14 percent (faculty) and 37.66 percent
(students), proves the findings of Jerome (2000) that students’ enthusiasm for the
incorporation into courses and topics contributes to an increase in eForum.
Based on the observation on the eForum, there were some topics that
interest the students. One of which was a post on a Humanities 101 class where
students were asked about their concept of art—symbols of beauty that make
them understand and love their world better. The posting of the topic was very
timely for the crowning of Maria Venus Raj as the Miss Universe 2010 4th runner
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up when most of the Filipinos were still at the height of elation. Many replies
were generated from the students that proved their enthusiasm on the question.
Another topic that collected many replies from the students was a post of a
DMMMSU- SLUC graduate who asked about “how could the DMMMSU
community make the site more productive”. Many students answered the question
honestly and politely about their suggestions to the university administration on
the improvement of the website. Results on these two posts established Jerome’s
findings about drawing the participants’ attention through interesting topics on the
eForum.
The following example shows topic that is not necessarily an academic-
related matter but is of relevance to the university:
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Plate 1. Print screen images of the a non- academic post and comments in the
eForum of the DMMMSU-SLUC website (March 2011, DMMMSU-
SLUC)
It can then be generally stated that posting interesting topics in eForum is
an important social and motivating factor that each teacher must consider to
encourage students to participate.
Thus, corollary to this study, Manansala (1994) mentioned that with the
introduction of eForums, students assume leaderships and authority in which they
are not controlled by superiors. This makes attending to online forum exciting and
fun. Students enrolled in regular classes are afraid to recite or be involved with
classroom discussions because they see teachers as authorities who might reject
their answers in spite of their confidence. With those apprehensions, they see that
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the media, like eForums, function as virtual classroom where they could discuss
their litany about the government, society and people.
Needs for eForum by the CS Faculty
and Students in DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 5 reflects the needs for eForum by the CS faculty and students in
DMMMSU- SLUC.
As reflected in the findings in Table 5, the respondents perceived the use
of eForum for university/community issues (3.71) like the post on how to improve
and make use of the university website for the whole DMMMSU community
(please refer to Plate 1) and others (3.93) as both “Highly Needed”. Items
included in ‘others’ are: a.) Contents of the eForum should be updated regularly,
b.) The use of the eForum should be encouraged to students/faculty, c.) The
website administrator must monitor the eForum frequently, d.) eForum have to
make students become socially participative, e.) Virtual discussions must desire to
make learning effective, f.) There is a need to improve our eForum site, and g.)
There is a need to improve our library internet policies.
Those abovementioned items were already integrated in as ‘others’ and
were no longer listed in the table, for the purpose of having a sound and accurate
interpretations of variables. This is also due to the only four items stated in this
study’s problem for the level of needs.
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Table 5. Level of Needs on the eForum by the Faculty and Students of
DMMMSU- SLUC
NEEDS
RATING
VERBAL DESCRIPTION
Assignments
3.46
Moderately Needed
Term Papers/Projects
3.48
Moderately Needed
University/Community Issues
3.71
Highly Needed
Others
3.93
Highly Needed
eg.
a. Contents of the eForum be updated regularly
b. The use of the forum should be encouraged to students
c. The website administrator must monitor the site frequently.
Legend:
1.00 - 2.33
Not Needed
2.34 - 3.66
Moderately Needed
3.67 - 5.00
Highly Needed
As shown in the table, there is a high need for eForum on issues
concerning the university and the community. This has a weighted mean of 3.71
percent. Significantly, it can be articulated that eForum is desired to provide
relevancy to the proliferating issues around the student’s and teacher’s
environment, where they must keep abreast of contemporary events.
The introduction of the forum in the university website encourages a
student to culture his wisdom in his university and community, but in a medium
where students can control their own phasing. The respondents may have already
understood by now that they are no longer just the receiving end of information,
but are the sentinels and actors for development in his society.
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Therefore, this goes to say that the ultimate goal of eForums in this finding
is the positive influence of a member’s behavior of becoming social persons.
Most students are reserved, contained and timid about their reactions of many
social issues around them. Through eForums, they can assess their responsibilities
in interaction. In the process of societal participation, the youth develops a
rational and voluntary force within himself that bring about action or non- action
as the case may be.
Results also show that there is a moderate need of eForum for long- term
tasks like term papers/projects, with 3.48 percent. The respondents are well aware
that ingenuity and innovation using technology in posting and submitting paper
projects can truly effect a change in the learning method. Most college students
are known to devote more of their time facing the computers than books.
Consequently, it is safe to assume that students may learn and understand better
the topics and may answer some questions easily—because resources can just be
googled—if the teacher has made use of that opportunity to exploit the electronic
forum as a learning device for students.
This is in consonance with the study of Larkin-Hein (2001) on
understanding the role of students in understanding in subjects using the online
discussion format. The findings are as follows: (1) Online discussions provide an
additional learning and teaching vehicle. (2) Online discussions facilitate the
acquisition of higher-order thinking skills. (3) Students became more adept at
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transferring and applying information learned in class to novel situations. (4)
Further study is needed to investigate how personal learning styles affect online
discussion. This only tells that, the use of eForum offers a relatively new avenue
through which the learner can take an active role in the learning process. Students
can think rationally better about topics on their term papers or projects using the
electronic discussion.
Likewise, it is reflected in the table that eForum is “Moderately Needed”
for short- term tasks like assignments, obtaining a weighted mean of 3.46 percent.
An internet contains a library of books. Hence, when a student faced a
computer, the possibility of finding his resources is almost very feasible. Answers
for assignments can just be a Yahoo- click away to precision.
This may be supported by Thomas’ (2002) study on computer-mediated
communication impacts on students’ learning. Results of his study found that
online forums promote high levels of cognitive engagement and critical thinking,
despite the fact that the virtual space may not be conducive in promoting coherent
and interactive dialogue necessary for conversational modes of learning.
Vygotsky (1978) also mentioned that social interaction plays a
fundamental role in the development of cognition - students learn from each
other's scholarship, skills and experiences through discussion and interaction. This
can make learning in eForum fun, interactive and easy for students
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Improvements of the eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC
Table 6 shows the improvements of the eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC.
The respondents, as reflected in Table 6, are of belief that in order for
them to be familiar with and patronize the eForum, there is a strong need to
improve it. This was rated the highest by the faculty and students with 9.49
percent and 59.30 percent, respectively. Results show that the eForum itself must
invite students and teachers to actively partake and be members of the site.
This is in consonance with the realization of Rubin & Rubin (1985) who
employed the Uses and Gratification Theory in establishing the engagement of the
young in online discussions over the internet. This implies that students’ and
faculty’s participation provide a good framework for examining the satisfaction of
their needs and interests through different forms of communications media.
Table 6. Needs for Improvement of the eForum by the Faculty and the Students of
DMMMSU- SLUC
NEEDS
FACULTY STUDENTS
%
%
Positive Results
9.49
59.30
Lay out
37.5
25.33
Topics
8.33
29.33
Frequency of Updates
0.00
41.33
Access
54.17
10.67
Others
0.00
7.33
Negation
6.71
24.50
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Of all the five considerations in the improvement of eForum, the need to
improve the frequency of updates from their teachers ranked first with 41.33
percent among the student- respondents. Obviously, this item got 0.00 percent
from the teacher- respondents. It only shows that if teachers do not post, comment
or update the forum, students would also not bother their time carrying out
academic activities and responsibilities in their eForum.
With regards to improvement on topics, this obtained 29.33 percent by the
student- respondents and 8.33 percent by the faculty- respondents. As earlier
pointed out, interesting and sensible topics may draw students and teachers
participation as these topics are relevant to their experiences, skills, attitudes and
dispositions.
The improvement on topics got a low percentage from the faculty as
opposed with the relatively high percentage obtained from the students.
Accordingly, this has been the result because it all boils down to teaching
strategies—validating the saying, learning is fun only when teaching is. Topics
posted in forum must be innovative and candy- wrapped with fun, so that the
students would be interested to play a part in the discussions.
According to Jerome (2000), the benefits of online discussions may create
an enthusiasm for the relevant, immediate and practical issues and topics posted
in the discussion.
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The following illustration shows the lay-out of the eForum of the
DMMMSU- SLUC website:
Plate 2. Print screen images of the website and eForum’s lay-out in the
DMMMSU-SLUC website (March 2011, DMMMSU-SLUC)
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As could be gleaned from the table, the result about the need for
improvement on the eForum’s lay- out—with 25.33 percent (students)—proves
the basic concept of advertising. The study of advertising is that when someone is
selling something, one must sell himself first. Same is true in eForum, a change in
its physical appearance is maybe all that is needed to attract students for them to
participate.
Improvement on the access was ranked first by the teacher- respondents
with 54.17 percent, while it was ranked fourth by the student- respondents with
10.67 percent. The high regard given to this item by the teachers could be
attributed to either of two reasons: the teachers are aware that navigating the
website and the eForum is complicated on their age or that they find it taxing to
connect to the internet given the fact that the wifi connection in the college is very
slow.
Ranked fourth among the student- respondents, this implies that access is
just a matter of adventure as far as their computer skills and age are concerned.
The respondents least preferred to improve on other things as shown in the
table—with 0.00 percent by the faculty- respondents and 7.33 percent by the
student- respondents.
A mapping out of the table reveals that eleven (11) students suggested
improvements on the “administrators”, “moderators” and “over- all website”
among many others.
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Generally therefore, the respondents give particular importance on the
need to improve the eForum in the website. As obviously shown in the table, it is
a shared response for the improvement; after all, the eForum is for the whole
SLUC community.
Jerome (2001) made mentioned that the benefits of online discussions may
create an enthusiasm for their incorporation into courses and no doubt help
contribute to an increase in their use. Thus, it is incumbent that suggestions be
counted for the betterment of the site and the forum.
Security and Control Measures on eForum
Maintaining the security and privacy of such electronic forum is difficult
simply because a forum is defined as “any dialogue or conversation done in
public”. The threat triumphs when pertinent ideas, discussions and arguments are
known to public.
Classroom discussions have always become a routine job for faculty over
the years. Although topics and lectures can be updated, revised and innovated, the
process of teaching is still a routine.
As education becomes dynamic, an eForum is introduced to reach wider
students whose preference in things change relentlessly. As the forum is exposed
to many users and risks, security becomes a fundamental requirement.
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In an interview with Ms. Christianne Lynette Cabanban on January 21,
2011, one of the administrators of the DMMMSU- SLUC website, she said that a
trust in an electronic system is a prerequisite for user acceptance. This strengthens
the common belief that one has to take into account that people only use a system
if they trust it. Likewise, all new electronic systems add new threats so
participating in eForum is a matter of reliance.
However, she said that there are still things to improve on the site; one of
which is the implementation of IT policies and regulations. Since the website
started as a simple assignment to a US Peace Corps volunteer in DMMMSU, the
site has not been monitored nor updated regularly. The US Peace Corps volunteer
has already left DMMMSU in 2010 and the task to maintain and redevelop the
site is yet to be accomplished in the next years. When asked about the security
measures for the website’s eForum, Ms. Cabanban said that the students need to
register to enable them to participate in the discussions posted in the site,
especially in the eForum. She also mentioned about warning, punishing and
perhaps blocking a person from the site whenever the use of the site has been
abused like posting vulgar and obscene languages that may displeased the
viewing public. Although, there are no written policies yet about this, the
administrator assured that she checks and monitors the site regularly and tries to
regulate and remove unwanted posts and comments.
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Plate 3. Print screen image of the eForum’s registration page in the DMMMSU-
SLUC website (March 2011, DMMMSU-SLUC)
She also provided the researcher a copy of a paper about the security in
online discussion and learning that she personally implements because the
university has yet to publish and implement its own IT security policies.
It can also be noted that sometime in December 2010, the SLUC website
can no longer be opened in the net. The new administrator informed that the
domain has already expired and that the researcher and the whole SLUC
community just have to wait for the renewal of subscription for the domain. The
site is now enduring its operation but some of the information and details already
posted have been deleted.
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As previously mentioned, a risk analysis needs to be part of the site and
the eForum.
With regards to membership to the site, one has to register to the website
to be able to participate in forum and enroll themselves in the subjects posted by
the faculty- in- charge. Usually, once a teacher posts assignments and essay
questions in the “online subject”, an email message is sent to the electronically
registered students’ email addresses. From there, the student can already post
his/her comment via the internet.
One threat foreseen by Ms. Cabanban is the unauthorized use of digital
content. This is very risky especially because students can just copy answers of
their fellow classmates already posted in the website.
According to Weippl (2003), there are basically two different groups of
people who might use digital content in ways not intended by the person: (1)
People with legitimate access (2) People who access the content without
authorization.
Users who have legitimate access to the content may copy or modify it
without permission and hand it to friends or make it available on the Internet.
Addressing this threat is very difficult. One option that Ms. Cabanban suggested
is to submit only the content in formats that make illegal reuse more difficult; for
instance, PDF files cannot be modified easily compared to PowerPoint.
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Furthermore, the website administrator pointed out that she is innovating
and coming up with ways to protect the content of the eForum against
unauthorized modifications. To maintain the integrity of content and the writer’s
identity, trust is of paramount importance. Students must be able to rely on the
accuracy of the content. Particularly in humanities subjects and the social
sciences, comprehensive discussions are an essential component of the lecture.
Students—armed with ideas, opinions and knowledge—ready for the lengthy
interaction are very important to keep them involved in the process. However, all
contributions are stored electronically and may be retrieved a long time after the
course.
The implementation of security mechanisms and a policy that clearly
states what will be stored for how long can reduce this risk for students. A good
approach is to openly state how long a discussion will be archived (including
backups) and which measures will be taken to delete the content. In some cases,
chats that are not stored or the use of pseudonyms can be helpful to ensure free
discussions.
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Based on the foregoing results and discussions, here is an improved
paradigm of the study that supports the theories, concepts and findings of this
investigation:
Figure 2. Relationship of the Factors Supporting the Participation of the CS
Faculty and Students in the eForum of DMMMSU- SLUC
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SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary of the study in terms of its significant
findings, the conclusions that were derived from these findings and the
recommendations forwarded based on the conclusions.
Summary
The study aimed to assess the eForum participation of faculty and students
of the College of Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-
South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union. Specifically, it sought answers to the
following: 1) What is the level of awareness of the students and faculty of the
College of Sciences in DMMMSU-SLUC on the existing eForum in the
university website?; 2) What is the extent of participation of students and faculty
on the existing eForum in DMMMSU- SLUC?; 3) What is the level of needs of
CS students and faculty for eForum in the university in terms of: (a) Assignments,
(b) Projects/Term papers, (c) Community/University issues and (d) Others?; and
4) What is the validity of the security and learning- control measures implemented
by the administrators; and how are these achieved?
To gather needed information of this study, a validated questionnaire was
utilized and upon retrieval of the questionnaires from the respondents, data were
summarized, tabulated and analyzed using both descriptive and quantitative
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statistics. Likewise, documentation and observation of the website’s eForum was
accomplished to validate the statistical findings.
Significant findings. After a thorough analysis of all data gathered for the
study, the following salient results were yielded:
1. Comparing the awareness of the faculty and students, it is revealed that
the weighted mean of 3.22 by the students is lower than the 3.51 rating of the
faculty. This means that the faculty members are “Highly Aware” while the
students are only “Moderately Aware” of the existence of eForum in the
university website. In general; however, the entire group—both the faculty and
students are “Moderately Aware” about the eForum’s presence.
2. In the order of rank on the reasons of the group’s non- participation
based on their weighted means, the following items were manifested by the
respondents: non- members, time constraints, uninteresting topics/activities, lack
of compute knowledge and skills, accessibility, not required and economic
constraints. All seven (7) items/reasons were subsequently obtained from the 66.8
percent of the respondents who claimed to be not participating in eForum.
3.) In the entire group’s participation on eForum, a weighted mean of 33.2
was divided into the following reasons for the respondents’ participation:
required, graded and interesting topics. It could also be noted that most of the
respondents only participate in the eForum on a monthly and “depending-on-
mood” bases.
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4.) The entire group of respondents “Moderately Need” the eForum for
assignments and term projects and “Highly Need” the forum for
university/community issues and some other fun reasons.
5.) Faculty and students registered slight difference in their awareness,
participation and needs for eForum.
6.) Participating in eForum is a matter of reliance. The website
administrator pointed out that she is still currently working her way of innovating
and coming up with ways to protect the content of the eForum against
unauthorized modifications. To maintain the integrity of content and the writer’s
identity, trust is of paramount importance.
Conclusions
In the light of the aforementioned findings, it is concluded that:
1. The faculty members are varied and more aware than the students about
the presence of the forum. The students’ participation is dependent on the
faculty’s initiative to introduce and maintain the forum for the SLUC community
2. The seven reasons identified by respondents in relation to the awareness
and participation: non- members, time constraints, uninteresting topics/activities,
lack of compute knowledge and skills, accessibility, not required and economic
constraints were all greatly manifested by the student- respondents.
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3. The respondents’ needs on eForum were more focused on community
and university issues and on “feel- good” and “fun” posts than for assignments
and term projects.
4. There is a need to still enhance the website and the eForum for security
and privacy purposes; although, eForum is defined as any conversation done in
public—eForum, for this matter
Recommendations
The following are highly recommended based on the study’s findings and
conclusions:
1. Faculty members and students of the college and the campus as well
may undergo refresh training course about the use and navigation of most of the
website’s utilizable activities, particularly the eForum. Likewise, the students
must be given a seminar or symposium about the importance of the forum in their
education.
2. Due to the dearth of teachers’ and students’ participation, a well-
designed interface in terms of lay- out, topics, and newness and frequency of
updates may be explored in the development and restructuring of the website.
3. Since the eForum may be viewed as an aid for instruction, access to the
site within the campus should not be jeopardized. Access to wifi signals in the
different colleges may be restricted but not banned to students. Moreover, more
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computer units may be added to the library for the students’ free access to the
internet.
4. To enhance the awareness and participation in the university’s eForum,
teachers may initiate the use of the forum as an extension for their classroom
discussions. Proper motivation for students to engage in the social and web-
learning activity may be given attention.
5. The website administrator should monitor and moderate the eForum
frequently, especially against impolite and vulgar post and comments.
6. There is a need for the university to draft and implement its own IT
policies to maintain the website’s security, specifically in the eForum where cases
of intellectual rights may be at risks.
7. The policy on registration may be improved to regulate and tighten the
security of the website against unscrupulous people.
Having presented all the needed features and facets of this research, the
concepts of development communication has been realized that communication
should always aid for development. Teaching has always been viewed as a
traditional and an unexciting profession before the introduction of technology.
Such development in academe about the use of electronic forum speaks of
disseminating the results of technology in an interesting manner to reach every
student; thus effecting positive change to people—to use the technology as a
source of wisdom.
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Appendix A
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University
South La Union Campus
Agoo, la Union
January 3, 2011
DR. JULIE N. MAZON
Dean, College of Sciences
DMMMSU- SLUC
Agoo, La Union
Dear Dr. Mazon
Greetings of peace and longevity!
I have the honor to request permission from your good office to float my
questionnaire to the students and faculty in your college, relative to my study
entitled, “ASSESSMENT OF THE eFORUM PARTICIPATION OF FACULTY
AND STUDENTS OF CS DMMMSU- SLUC” as a partial requirement to
complete my Masters in Development Communication at Benguet State
University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Attached is a copy of my questionnaire for the purpose.
Thank you for your kind consideration to this request.
Very truly yours
(SGD.) JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA
Researcher
APPROVED:
(SGD.) JULIE N. MAZON, EdD
Dean, College of Sciences
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Appendix B
Benguet State University
OPEN UNIVERSITY
La Trinidad, Benguet
January 3, 2011
Dear Respondent,
The undersigned is a BSU- OUS student presently conducting his study
entitled, “Assessment of the eForum Participation of Faculty and Students of CS
DMMMSU-SLUC” as a partial requirement for the degree, Masters in
Development Communication. Attached here is the questionnaire he had prepared
to gather needed data for this study.
In view of this, he is therefore requesting you, as one of the chosen
respondents of the study, to accomplish the questionnaire. Rest assured that all
your answers will be treated with utmost confidentiality.
Thank you for your cooperation and sharing your time on the endeavor.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA
Researcher
NOTED:
(SGD.) ANNA LIZA B. WAKAT, MDEVCOM
Adviser
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
67
Appendix C
A Questionnaire in Assessing the eForum Participation of the Faculty and
Students of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC
_____
A. PERSONAL DATA
Name (optional): ___________________________________________________
Faculty: ___ Student: ___
Age: _____ Sex: _____
PART I. Extent of Awareness
Direction:
Please read each item carefully. Use the rating scale below and
check in the appropriate column what you feel describes the level
of your awareness. There will be no right or wrong answers.
1. Are you aware of the existing eForum in the DMMMSU- SLUC website?
___ YES
___ NO
If YES, please proceed with the following table.
If NO, please proceed to PART II.
5
High Level of Awareness
3
Moderate Level of Awareness
1
No Awareness
eForum Awareness
1 3 5
1. The eForum is for the DMMMSU community.
2. The eForum provides up-to-date issues about the university.
3. The eForum is open for public discussions among members.
4. The students and faculty could become members of the eforum
5. Any member could post questions and comments on the eForum.
6. I am aware on how to use the eForum.
7. The eForum may be an interesting attempt to innovate instruction.
8. An eForum is used by some as an aid for classroom discussion.
9. Access to the eForum is free.
DMMMSU- SLUC’s Internet Awareness
10. The library could be used for internet access to join the forum.
11. The MIS office is offering an internet access at a minimal cost.
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
68
PART II. Extent of Needs
Direction:
Please read each item carefully. Use the rating scale below and
check in the appropriate column what you feel describes the level
of your needs. There will be no right or wrong answer.
5
Highly Needed
3
Moderately Needed
1
Not Needed
Needs
1 3 5
1. Contents of the eForum should be updated regularly.
2. The use of the eForum should be encouraged to students/faculty.
3. The website administrator must monitor the eForum frequently.
4. eForum have to make students become socially participative.
5. Virtual discussions must desire to make learning effective.
6. There is a need of eForum for short- term tasks like assignments.
7. There is a need of eForum for long- term tasks like term papers.
8. There is a need of eForum about issues concerning the university.
9. There is a need of eForum about issues in our community.
10. There is a need to improve our eForum site.
11. There is a need to improve our library internet policies.
III. Do you participate in the eForum of the DMMMSU- SLUC website?
___ Yes (If yes, how often?) ___ Everyday ___ Weekly
___ Monthly ___ Others, specify: _______________
(If yes, why?)
___ Required ___ Graded
___ Interesting topics
___ Others, specify: _____________________________
___ No (If no, why?)
___ Not interesting topics/activities
___ Time constraints
___ Accessibility
___ Economic constraints
___ lack of knowledge with computers
___ Not required
___ Not a member
___ Others, specify: ______________________
IV. Is there a need to improve the eForum in the university website?
___ Yes ___ No
(If yes, in terms of) ___ Lay- out ___ Topics ___ Access
___ Frequency of updates
___ Others, specify: ______________
VI. Please write your overall comments and remarks about the eForum in the
DMMMSU- SLUC website.
__________________________________________________________________
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
69
Appendix D
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University
South La Union Campus
COLLEGE OF SCIENCES
Agoo, La Union
STATISTICS LABORATORY
C E R T I F I C A T I O N
This is to certify that JESUS RAFAEL B. JARATA, a bona fide student of
the Master in Development Communication of the Open University of Benguet
State University, have contracted the services of the Statistics Laboratory for the
Statistical Analyses of the data pertinent to his research entitled Assessment of the
eForum Participation of the Faculty and Students of the College of Sciences in
Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo,
La Union.
The Statistical Analyses was conducted using the software Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (version 17.0), to wit:
• Cronbach’s Alpha
• Weighted Mean
This certifies further that in terms of Statistical Analyses, the said thesis
now merits recommendation for Final Oral Examination.
This certification is issued to Mr. Jarata this 21st day of February 2011 for
all legal intents and purposes.
(sgd.)
RAQUEL D. QUIAMBAO, Ed. D.
In-Charge
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
70
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step. All we need is the courage to take that first
step.”
At his very young age, he has already journeyed thousands of miles both
in the domestic and international realms. But the more important thing behind this
is the fact that this person has not been afraid to take that first step.
This person who has traversed the various paths of life traces his
educational origins to a small but esteemed institution—Agoo Kiddie Special
School—where he belonged to the first batch of graduates. It was within the
portals of this school where he spent the basic and developmental stages of his life
– his elementary and high school years. He has finished both his elementary and
secondary education in AKSS with flying colors.
To continue his academic pursuits, he went to Saint Louis University in
Baguio City where he took up and finished Bachelor of Arts in Communications
inasmuch as he finds this area—particularly in journalism—as his field of
inclination. He unfastened such wonderful inclination to his craft that had tossed
him to the editorial board of White and Blue, the Official Student Publication of
SLU. From the initial stint, he has widened his writing horizons, publishing one of
his feature articles in the Youngblood section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on
October 17, 2008.
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
71
To pursue his academic endeavors, he enrolled in the Open University
System of Benguet State University where he is taking up Masters in
Development Communication.
A product of the best educational systems, he has imbibed the best that his
schools could offer.
His first taste of the teaching profession was spent in Thailand where he
worked as teacher, instructor and language skills development facilitator for pre-
elementary, elementary and high school students in Rajabhat Maha Sarakham
University Demonstration School. He was also an editor and instructional
material developer in OHM Modern Education Inc. also in Thailand.
He then came back to the Philippines and served as a call center agent for
Aegis People Support Inc., Baguio City.
At 24, Jesus Rafael B. Jarata is now an instructor at the College of
Sciences at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University – South La Union
Campus, Agoo, La Union. He also serves as the editor of the CS Journal, the
Official Faculty Journal of the College of Sciences in DMMMSU- SLUC. Finally,
satisfaction came when he passed the Civil Service Professional Examination,
with a general rating of 80.22%, last October 2010.
Being a scion of a socially- committed and academically- inclined parents, (his
father, Leonardo M. Jarata is a retired professor and his mother, Dolores B. Jarata is a
public school teacher) it is natural for him to love his second passion and certainly his
family’s dedication—teaching.
The Eforum Participation Of Faculty And Students Of The College Of Sciences In Don
Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- South La Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
/ Jesus Rafael B. Jarata, April 2011
Document Outline
- The eForum Participation of Faculty andStudents of the College of Sciences in Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University- SouthLa Union Campus, Agoo, La Union
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- ABSTRACT
- INTRODUCTION
- REVIEW OF LITERATURE
- METHODOLOGY
- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
- SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- LITERATURE CITED
- APPENDICES