Browsing by Author "Gamage, A.W.M."

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An Online Course to improve Academic Writing Skills of Undergraduates.
(International Conference on the Humanities (ICH), 2017 Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2017) Gamage, A.W.M.
The rapid development of technology has dramatically affected the entire world. Since technology has influenced education, numerous scholars focus on integrating technology; Learning Management Systems, Virtual Learning Environments with education. Existing literature suggests that activities done in an online classroom reduce stress and it motivates the students to participate attentively and actively in learning (Jung & Kim, 2004) and also the online learning environment has a significant effect on the academic improvement of students (Hewagamage: 2012). Therefore, the online medium has already become an essential part of education. Thus, this study explores how undergraduates from different proficiency levels use an online learning environment to improve their academic writing skills. The online platform Edmodo was used as the method of delivery in this study. Four major areas related to academic writing; academic vocabulary, tense shift, linking words and paraphrasing were chosen and an online course was designed with four modules including extra materials and activities. Five third year students who represent different proficiency levels took part in this academic writing course. Analysis of this study indicated that students had a positive perception towards their learning environment. They engaged with all the activities given and completed the course successfully. Although a major improvement was shown in the areas of academic vocabulary, tense shift and linking words, the same level of improvement was not visible in the area of paraphrasing. Another significant finding was that although they were comfortable with the teacher and the online environment, the lack of peer interaction was clearly visible. Therefore, it can be concluded that a well-structured course and a friendly online environment were helpful for academic writing.
The Staff Perception on the Effect of Virtual Learning Environment in Distance Education
(Faculty of Computing and Technology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Gamage, A.W.M.
Technology has removed the distance barriers and has given lot of opportunities for education through human computer interaction. Today, the impact of technology has dramatically changed the distant education system and many educational institutions are looking for different methods to expand their existing practices in regard to technology in order to bring student centered environment (Florida Virtual School, 2006). In order to respond to learner’s requirements and overcome the geographical challenges of students who have spread over Sri Lanka, most of the Sri Lankan universities have introduced the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) systems for distance learners. The aim of this research paper is to investigate how the usage of VLE contributes the attainment of the academic improvement of distance learners. Thus, this research paper explores how the ways VLEs are developed and how the ways the teachers make use of it affect the learners’ performance and whether teachers are satisfied with the performances of distance learners. For this qualitative study, two Sri Lankan government universities from western province are selected. The sample of study consists of 10 staff members from both universities where VLE is used for teaching distance learners. The research has used both semi-structured and structured interviews in order to collect data. The data is collected both via primary and secondary sources. The interviews were used as the primary source while websites and records of relevant institutions were used for secondary sources. The collected data is analyzed by considering the staffs’ perspective on the contribution of VLE in distance education. The results of the research brings out various aspects regarding staffs’ perceptions on contribution; effectiveness, usefulness and convenience of Virtual Learning Environment especially it shows that VLE has a significant effect on pass rate of all subjects when it comes to the distance education.