International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science (IJMECS)

ISSN: 2075-0161 (Print)

ISSN: 2075-017X (Online)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs

Website: https://www.mecs-press.org/ijmecs

Published By: MECS Press

Frequency: 6 issues per year

Number(s) Available: 130

(IJMECS) in Google Scholar Citations / h5-index

IJMECS is committed to bridge the theory and practice of modern education and computer science. From innovative ideas to specific algorithms and full system implementations, IJMECS publishes original, peer-reviewed, and high quality articles in the areas of modern education and computer science. IJMECS is a well-indexed scholarly journal and is indispensable reading and references for people working at the cutting edge of computer science, modern education and applications.

 

IJMECS has been abstracted or indexed by several world class databases: Scopus, SCImago, Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic Search, CrossRef, Baidu Wenku, IndexCopernicus, IET Inspec, EBSCO, JournalSeek, ULRICH's Periodicals Directory, WorldCat, Scirus, Academic Journals Database, Stanford University Libraries, Cornell University Library, UniSA Library, CNKI Scholar, ProQuest, J-Gate, ZDB, BASE, OhioLINK, iThenticate, Open Access Articles, Open Science Directory, National Science Library of Chinese Academy of Sciences, The HKU Scholars Hub, etc..

Latest Issue
Most Viewed
Most Downloaded

IJMECS Vol. 16, No. 3, Jun. 2024

REGULAR PAPERS

Development of Collaborative Learning and Programming (CLP): A Learning Model on Object Oriented Programming Course

By Efan Efan Krismadinata Krismadinata Cherifa Boudia Muhammad Giatman Mukhlidi Muskhir Hasan Maksum

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.03.01, Pub. Date: 8 Jun. 2024

There appears to be a tendency for the strategies and methods that have been offered in OOP course learning to affect the improvement of individual skills only. There is a significant need for learning strategies which are relevant and able of improving collaborative working skills. The purpose of this study is to develop a Collaborative Learning and Programming model suitable for Object-Oriented Programming courses and assess its validity, practicality, and effectiveness. The implementation of the CLP model was conducted using the ADDIE development procedure by involving 7 experts, 35 experimental class students, 23 control class students and 4 lecturers of the Object-Oriented Programming course. The survey results showed that the CLP model was valid, practical, and effective in achieving these goals. The validity test results were verified based on experts' assessment, indicating that the aspects contained in the CLP model were valid with an Aiken's value V =0.89. The practicality test results indicated that the model was highly practical with the practicality value of 89.95% from students and 89.67% from lecturers. Finally, using the CLP model demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing the abstraction and complexity of OOP courses and improving student collaboration, particularly in programming tasks. The significance of conducting this survey is that it provides evidence for the effectiveness of the CLP model in achieving its intended goals and can inform the development of future OOP courses and programming tasks. The survey was conducted well, as it used both expert assessment and student and lecturer feedback to assess the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of the CLP model.

[...] Read more.
Predictive Model for Academic Training Course Recommendations Based on Machine Learning Algorithms

By Karanrat Thammarak Witwisit Kesornsit Yaowarat Sirisathitkul

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.03.02, Pub. Date: 8 Jun. 2024

Given the significance of online education, a recommendation system provides a good opportunity to advise the most suitable courses according to their interest and preferences. This study proposes an academic training course recommendation that applies machine learning algorithms to provide the most appropriate 21st century learning based on individual preferences.  To address the issue of imbalanced classification, the eight development skills are grouped into three skill categories during the preprocessing stage. In the classification step, several machine learning algorithms, including Decision Tree, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and Backpropagation Neural Network, are used to create a predictive model, which is then compared to the results of Logistic Regression. These machine learning algorithms predict the skill group based on the teacher preference data, which results in the suggestion of training courses that are customized to the teacher's profile. According to the experimental results, all machine learning algorithms showed superior prediction performance than Logistic Regression. The Backpropagation Neural Network exhibits high precision, reaching up to 78%, and demonstrates the best performance for the testing data. This research demonstrates that machine learning algorithms significantly improve the accuracy and efficiency of the training course recommendation. On this basis, this training course recommendation system will be advantageous to both the teachers looking for up- and reskilling training courses for 21st century learning. Additionally, it will be appropriate for training course designers to establish training courses that develop 21st-century learning in accordance with participants’ interests and professional development.

[...] Read more.
Data Clustering by Chaotic Oscillatory Neural Networks with Dipole Synaptic Connections

By Roman Peleshchak Vasyl Lytvyn Ivan Peleshchak Dmytro Dudyk Dmytro Uhryn

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.03.03, Pub. Date: 8 Jun. 2024

This article introduces a novel approach to data clustering based on the oscillatory chaotic neural network with dipole synaptic connections. The conducted research affirms that the proposed model effectively facilitates the formation of clusters of objects with similar properties due to the use of a slowly decreasing function of the dipole synaptic strength. The studies demonstrate that the degree of neuron synchronization in networks with dipole synaptic connections surpasses that in networks with Gaussian synaptic connections. The findings also indicate an increase in the interval of the resolution range in the model featuring dipole neurons, underscoring the effectiveness of the proposed method.

[...] Read more.
Malayalam Question Answering System Based on a Deep Learning Hybrid Model of CNN and Bi-LSTM Approach

By Bibin P A Babu Anto P

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.03.04, Pub. Date: 8 Jun. 2024

The Question-Answering (QA) approach represents one of the most significant Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks that depends on language input. In terms of morphology & adhesive structure, Malayalam is a resource-constrained indigenous language of India. These linguistic features make QA in Malayalam particularly difficult. This study uses a subset of 5 tasks from the Facebook bAbI dataset to present a subset of five assignments from the Facebook bAbI dataset; this study presents a Malayalam Question Answering Solution that utilizes a Deep Learning (DL) hybrid framework combining CNN and Bi-LSTM Methods. We believe this is the initial time a hybrid-based deep learning framework has been used for the Malayalam question-answering technology. In the first iteration of the method, high-level semantic characteristics are extracted utilizing a Convolutional Neural Network (The Bi-LSTM tier then extracts the contextual feature representation of the text using the feature extraction result. Finally, use the softmax activation function to predict correct answers for corresponding questions. The proposed model is both functional and systemized in terms of classification accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores. The simulation results show that the proposed hybrid CNN and Bi-LSTM model outperform the existing models in terms of classification with more than 91 % accuracy for all five tasks.

[...] Read more.
Automatic Real-Time Adaptation of Training Session Difficulty Using Rules and Reinforcement Learning in the AI-VT ITS

By Daniel Soto Forero Simha Ackermann Marie Laure Betbeder Julien Henriet

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.03.05, Pub. Date: 8 Jun. 2024

Some of the most common and typical issues in the field of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) are (i) the correct identification of learners’ difficulties in the learning process, (ii) the adaptation of content or presentation of the system according to the difficulties encountered, and (iii) the ability to adapt without initial data (cold-start). In some cases, the system tolerates modifications after the realization and assessment of competences. Other systems require complicated real-time adaptation since only a limited number of data can be captured. In that case, it must be analyzed properly and with a certain precision in order to obtain the appropriate adaptations. Generally, for the adaptation step, the ITS gathers common learners together and adapts their training similarly. Another type of adaptation is more personalized, but requires acquired or estimated information about each learner (previous grades, probability of success, etc.). Some of these parameters may be difficult to obtain, and others are imprecise and can lead to misleading adaptations. The adaptation using machine learning requires prior training with a lot of data. This article presents a model for the real time automatic adaptation of a predetermined session inside an ITS called AI-VT. This adaptation process is part of a case-based reasoning global model. The characteristics of the model proposed in this paper (i) require a limited number of data in order to generate a personalized adaptation, (ii) do not require training, (iii) are based on the correlation to complexity levels, and (iv) are able to adapt even at the cold-start stage. The proposed model is presented with two different configurations, deterministic and stochastic. The model has been tested with a database of 1000 learners, corresponding to different knowledge levels in three different scenarios. The results show the dynamic adaptation of the proposed model in both versions, with the adaptations obtained helping the system to evolve more rapidly and identify learner weaknesses in the different levels of complexity as well as the generation of pertinent recommendations in specific cases for each learner capacity.

[...] Read more.
Modeling Interaction in the Educational Process is a Tool for Improving its Effectiveness

By Nataliya Mutovkina Zhongfeng Pan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.03.06, Pub. Date: 8 Jun. 2024

In the context of growing and widespread demand for higher professional education, an important aspect is the quality of the educational process and the effectiveness of its results. The educational process is a complex socio-economic phenomenon involving at least two parties – the teacher and the students. It is these subjects of the process that are the key elements and interact, as a result of which there is an increase in the amount of information that is transformed into a competency-based form. It is the acquisition by students of the competencies they need in their professional activities that is the goal of the educational process. As a result of the study, it was found that it is possible to optimize the educational process and fill it with the necessary educational elements through fuzzy modeling of the transmission and perception of educational information. The article proposes a model of fuzzy interaction between a teacher and a student group. The model is designed to determine the possibilities of optimizing the educational process and the optimal combination of educational elements. Educational elements include teaching materials, communication tools, and digital technologies. With the help of these elements and the pedagogical strategy, the transfer of educational information to students is carried out. The same means and motivation are used for the perception of educational information. It is important to find the optimal combination of educational elements and tools that contribute to the effective transfer and assimilation of educational information. Improving the effectiveness of interaction between teachers and students affects the quality of education. The quality of the educational process determines the level of students' training, the success of graduates' professional activities, and the professional self-realization of teachers. The interaction model makes it possible to improve the quality of the educational process. This is confirmed by the results of its application at Tver State Technical University.

[...] Read more.
Overview of Deaf Education in Morocco

By Abdelaziz Arssi Otmane Omari

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.03.07, Pub. Date: 8 Jun. 2024

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Deaf Education in Morocco documenting its historical evolution and systematically assessing current instructional methodologies. With a focus on learning and teaching environments, the study aims to offer a wide understanding of the educational opportunities, teaching methods, and teacher training programs within Moroccan schools serving the Deaf community. The research questions guide the inquiry addressing historical paths, the influence of teaching methods, and common challenges. By identifying challenges and evaluating practices, the research makes methodological and theoretical contributions to the fields of special education and Deaf education in Morocco. This foundational resource, which is lacking in Moroccan research, serves as a basis for future investigations into instructional approaches. The study navigates through Morocco’s educational history from colonial impact to post-independence reforms emphasizing challenges like pedagogical strategies, infrastructure limitations, and social integration issues. The findings confirm the importance of shifting negative attitudes, fostering inclusivity, and reassessing policies to enhance the educational journey for Deaf learners in Morocco.

[...] Read more.
Predicting College Students’ Placements Based on Academic Performance Using Machine Learning Approaches

By Mukesh Kumar Nidhi Walia Sushil Bansal Girish Kumar Korhan Cengiz

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.06.01, Pub. Date: 8 Dec. 2023

Predicting College placements based on academic performance is critical to supporting educational institutions and students in making informed decisions about future career paths. The present research investigates the use of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to predict college students' placements using academic performance data. The study makes use of a dataset that includes a variety of academic markers, such as grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities, obtained from a varied sample of college students. To create predictive models, the study analyses numerous ML algorithms, including Logistic Regression, Gaussian Naive Bayes, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and K-Nearest Neighbour. The predictive models are evaluated using performance criteria such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. The most effective machine learning method for forecasting students' placements based on academic achievement is identified through a comparative study. The findings show that Random Forest approaches have the potential to effectively forecast college student placements. The findings show that academic factors such as grades and test scores have a considerable impact on prediction accuracy. The findings of this study could be beneficial to educational institutions, students, and career counsellors.

[...] Read more.
LLMs Performance on Vietnamese High School Biology Examination

By Xuan-Quy Dao Ngoc-Bich Le

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.06.02, Pub. Date: 8 Dec. 2023

Large Language Models (LLMs) have received significant attention due to their potential to transform the field of education and assessment through the provision of automated responses to a diverse range of inquiries. The objective of this research is to examine the efficacy of three LLMs - ChatGPT, BingChat, and Bard - in relation to their performance on the Vietnamese High School Biology Examination dataset. This dataset consists of a wide range of biology questions that vary in difficulty and context. By conducting a thorough analysis, we are able to reveal the merits and drawbacks of each LLM, thereby providing valuable insights for their successful incorporation into educational platforms. This study examines the proficiency of LLMs in various levels of questioning, namely Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, and High Application. The findings of the study reveal complex and subtle patterns in performance. The versatility of ChatGPT is evident as it showcases potential across multiple levels. Nevertheless, it encounters difficulties in maintaining consistency and effectively addressing complex application queries. BingChat and Bard demonstrate strong performance in tasks related to factual recall, comprehension, and interpretation, indicating their effectiveness in facilitating fundamental learning. Additional investigation encompasses educational environments. The analysis indicates that the utilization of BingChat and Bard has the potential to augment factual and comprehension learning experiences. However, it is crucial to acknowledge the indispensable significance of human expertise in tackling complex application inquiries. The research conducted emphasizes the importance of adopting a well-rounded approach to the integration of LLMs, taking into account their capabilities while also recognizing their limitations. The refinement of LLM capabilities and the resolution of challenges in addressing advanced application scenarios can be achieved through collaboration among educators, developers, and AI researchers.

[...] Read more.
Project-Based Learning with Gallery Walk: The Association with the Learning Motivation and Achievement

By Zamree Che-aron Wannisa Matcha

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.05.01, Pub. Date: 8 Oct. 2023

With the rapid and constant changes in computer and information technology, the content and learning methods in Computer Science related courses need to be continuously adapted and consistently aligned with the latest developments in the field. This paper proposes a learning approach called the Gallery-walk integrated Project-Based Learning (G-PBL) which can develop students’ lifelong learning skills that are extremely crucial for Computer Science students. The G-PBL was designed by incorporating the advantages of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and gallery walk learning strategy. In contrast to traditional PBL where students may present their project work to instructors only, students have to present their project work to their classmates as part of the G-PBL approach. All students are required to evaluate their peers’ project work and then give feedback and suggestions. For the research experiments, the G-PBL was implemented as an instructional approach in two Computer Science related courses. This study focuses on exploring the differences in knowledge gain, learning motivation, and perceived usefulness when learning by using the teacher-centered and G-PBL approach. Moreover, the impact of gender differences on learning outcomes is also investigated. The results reveal that using the G-PBL approach helps students to gain more knowledge significantly, for both male and female students. In terms of motivation, female students are more favorable toward the G-PBL approach. On the contrary, male students prefer learning via a teacher-centered approach. Regarding the perceived usefulness, female students strongly view the G-PBL as a highly effective learning approach, whereas male students are more prone to concur that the teacher-centered approach is a more effective learning method.

[...] Read more.
House Price Prediction using a Machine Learning Model: A Survey of Literature

By Nor Hamizah Zulkifley Shuzlina Abdul Rahman Nor Hasbiah Ubaidullah Ismail Ibrahim

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2020.06.04, Pub. Date: 8 Dec. 2020

Data mining is now commonly applied in the real estate market. Data mining's ability to extract relevant knowledge from raw data makes it very useful to predict house prices, key housing attributes, and many more. Research has stated that the fluctuations in house prices are often a concern for house owners and the real estate market. A survey of literature is carried out to analyze the relevant attributes and the most efficient models to forecast the house prices. The findings of this analysis verified the use of the Artificial Neural Network, Support Vector Regression and XGBoost as the most efficient models compared to others. Moreover, our findings also suggest that locational attributes and structural attributes are prominent factors in predicting house prices. This study will be of tremendous benefit, especially to housing developers and researchers, to ascertain the most significant attributes to determine house prices and to acknowledge the best machine learning model to be used to conduct a study in this field.

[...] Read more.
Analyzing Students’ Performance Using Fuzzy Logic and Hierarchical Linear Regression

By Dao Thi Thanh Loan Nguyen Duy Tho Nguyen Huu Nghia Vu Dinh Chien Tran Anh Tuan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2024.01.01, Pub. Date: 8 Feb. 2024

Due to the COVID-19 situation, all activities, including education, were shifted to online platforms. Consequently, instructors encountered increased challenges in evaluating students. In traditional assessment methods, instructors often face ambiguous cases when evaluating students’ competencies. Recent research has focused on the effectiveness of fuzzy logic in assessing students’ competencies, considering the presence of uncertain factors or multiple variables. Additionally, demographic characteristics, which can potentially influence students’ performance, are not typically utilized as inputs in the fuzzy logic method. Therefore, analyzing students’ performance by incorporating these factors is crucial in suggesting adjustments to teaching and learning strategies. In this study, we employ a combination of fuzzy logic and hierarchical linear regression to analyze students’ performance. The experiment involved 318 students from various programs and showed that the hybrid approach assessed students’ performance with greater nuance and adaptability when compared to a traditional method. Moreover, the findings in this study revealed the following: 1) There are differences in students’ performance between traditional and fuzzy evaluation methods; 2) The learning method is an impact on students’ fuzzy grades; 3) Students studying online do not perform better than those studying onsite. These findings suggest that instructors and educators should explore effective strategies being fair and suitable in assessment and learning.

[...] Read more.
Teachers’ Use of Technology and Constructivism

By Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani Lai-Mei Leong Hairul Nizam Ismail

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2013.04.07, Pub. Date: 8 Apr. 2013

Technology has changed the way we teach and the way we learn. Many learning theories can be used to apply and integrate this technology more effectively. There is a close relationship between technology and constructivism, the implementation of each one benefiting the other. Constructivism states that learning takes place in contexts, while technology refers to the designs and environments that engage learners. Recent efforts to integrate technology in the classroom have been within the context of a constructivist framework. The purpose of this paper is to examine the definition of constructivism, incorporating technology into the classroom, successful technology integration into the classroom, factors contributing to teachers’ use of technology, role of technology in a constructivist classroom, teacher’s use of learning theories to enable more effective use of technology, learning with technology: constructivist perspective, and constructivism as a framework for educational technology. This paper explains whether technology by itself can make the education process more effective or if technology needs an appropriate instructional theory to indicate its positive effect on the learner.

[...] Read more.
A Match or Mismatch Between Learning Styles of the Learners and Teaching Styles of the Teachers

By Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2012.11.05, Pub. Date: 8 Nov. 2012

It is important to study learning styles because recent studies have shown that a match between teaching and learning styles helps to motivate students´ process of learning. That is why teachers should identify their own teaching styles as well as their learning styles to obtain better results in the classroom. The aim is to have a balanced teaching style and to adapt activities to meet students´ style and to involve teachers in this type of research to assure the results found in this research study. Over 100 students complete a questionnaire to determine if their learning styles are auditory, visual, or kinesthetic. Discovering these learning styles will allow the students to determine their own personal strengths and weaknesses and learn from them. Teachers can incorporate learning styles into their classroom by identifying the learning styles of each of their students, matching teaching styles to learning styles for difficult tasks, strengthening weaker learning styles. The purpose of this study is to explain learning styles, teaching styles match or mismatch between learning and teaching styles, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles among Iranian learners, and pedagogical implications for the EFL/ESL classroom. A review of the literature along with analysis of the data will determine how learning styles match the teaching styles.

[...] Read more.
OCR for Printed Bangla Characters Using Neural Network

By Asif Isthiaq Najoa Asreen Saif

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2020.02.03, Pub. Date: 8 Apr. 2020

Optical Character recognition is a buzzword in the field of computing. Artificial neural networks are being used to recognize characters for a long time. ANN has the ability to learn and model non-linear and complex relationships, which is really important because in real life, many of the relationships between inputs and outputs are non-linear as well as complex. Research in the field of OCR with Bangla language is not as vast as the English language. So, there is a scope of research in this area. It can be used to search and scan hundreds of Bangla documents within seconds and can easily manipulate the data. It is developed for various purpose like for vision impaired person where OCR software can help turn books, magazines and other printed documents into accessible files that they can listen. The limitation of traditional OCR are sufficient dataset is not available, all different font of characters are not available and there are lots of complex and similar shape characters for which accuracy not good. In our research, we first tried to make a dataset large enough so that we can train our neural network as they require big data to train. We built our own dataset of 2,97,898 Bangla single character images of different fonts . Then for implementing neural network we used Scikit-learn’s multi-layer perceptron classifier and we also implemented our own multi-layer feed forward back propagation neural network using a machine learning framework named Tensorflow. We have also built a GUI application to demonstrate the recognition of Bangla single character images.

[...] Read more.
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Motivation and Intention of University Students in Hanoi, Vietnam

By Do Thi Minh Hue Tran Phuong Thao Pham Canh Toan Hoang Dinh Luong Phan Thi Hao Do Thi Huyen Nguyen Thi Hoa

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2022.02.01, Pub. Date: 8 Apr. 2022

Entrepreneurship is the key driver of economic progress in many countries; thus, many countries have introduced policies to promote a more entrepreneurial environment. This study assesses the impact of factors affecting entrepreneurial intention of university students. The data was collected through a survey of 341 students at 09 leading universities in Hanoi, Vietnam and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SPSS and Amos software. The research results show that entrepreneurial skills, entrepreneurial environment and subjective norms either directly or indirectly affect business motivation and entrepreneurial intention of university students. Thus, it is suggested that university and other educational institutions should provide more activities and taught courses that help students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for entrepreneurship.

[...] Read more.
The Significant Role of Multimedia in Motivating EFL Learners’ Interest in English Language Learning

By Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2012.04.08, Pub. Date: 8 Apr. 2012

The use of multimedia in teaching and learning leads to higher learning. Multimedia refers to any computer-mediated software or interactive application that integrates text, color, graphical images, animation, audio sound, and full motion video in a single application. Multimedia learning systems offer a potentially venue for improving student understanding about language. Teachers try to find the most effective way to create a better foreign language teaching and learning environment through multimedia technologies. In this paper, the researcher defines multimedia, elaborates the rationale for using multimedia, identifies multimedia learning, mentions principles of multimedia, explains theoretical basis of multimedia English teaching, reviews roles of teachers and learners in multimedia environment, discusses the relationship between multimedia and learning, and states the strength of multimedia English teaching. The review of literature shows that teachers need to make full use of multimedia to create an authentic language teaching and learning environment where students can easily acquire a language naturally and effectively.

[...] Read more.
Predicting College Students’ Placements Based on Academic Performance Using Machine Learning Approaches

By Mukesh Kumar Nidhi Walia Sushil Bansal Girish Kumar Korhan Cengiz

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.06.01, Pub. Date: 8 Dec. 2023

Predicting College placements based on academic performance is critical to supporting educational institutions and students in making informed decisions about future career paths. The present research investigates the use of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to predict college students' placements using academic performance data. The study makes use of a dataset that includes a variety of academic markers, such as grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities, obtained from a varied sample of college students. To create predictive models, the study analyses numerous ML algorithms, including Logistic Regression, Gaussian Naive Bayes, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and K-Nearest Neighbour. The predictive models are evaluated using performance criteria such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. The most effective machine learning method for forecasting students' placements based on academic achievement is identified through a comparative study. The findings show that Random Forest approaches have the potential to effectively forecast college student placements. The findings show that academic factors such as grades and test scores have a considerable impact on prediction accuracy. The findings of this study could be beneficial to educational institutions, students, and career counsellors.

[...] Read more.
Project-Based Learning with Gallery Walk: The Association with the Learning Motivation and Achievement

By Zamree Che-aron Wannisa Matcha

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.05.01, Pub. Date: 8 Oct. 2023

With the rapid and constant changes in computer and information technology, the content and learning methods in Computer Science related courses need to be continuously adapted and consistently aligned with the latest developments in the field. This paper proposes a learning approach called the Gallery-walk integrated Project-Based Learning (G-PBL) which can develop students’ lifelong learning skills that are extremely crucial for Computer Science students. The G-PBL was designed by incorporating the advantages of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and gallery walk learning strategy. In contrast to traditional PBL where students may present their project work to instructors only, students have to present their project work to their classmates as part of the G-PBL approach. All students are required to evaluate their peers’ project work and then give feedback and suggestions. For the research experiments, the G-PBL was implemented as an instructional approach in two Computer Science related courses. This study focuses on exploring the differences in knowledge gain, learning motivation, and perceived usefulness when learning by using the teacher-centered and G-PBL approach. Moreover, the impact of gender differences on learning outcomes is also investigated. The results reveal that using the G-PBL approach helps students to gain more knowledge significantly, for both male and female students. In terms of motivation, female students are more favorable toward the G-PBL approach. On the contrary, male students prefer learning via a teacher-centered approach. Regarding the perceived usefulness, female students strongly view the G-PBL as a highly effective learning approach, whereas male students are more prone to concur that the teacher-centered approach is a more effective learning method.

[...] Read more.
Analysis of Student’s Academic Performance based on their Time Spent on Extra-Curricular Activities using Machine Learning Techniques

By Neeta Sharma Shanmuganathan Appukutti Umang Garg Jayati Mukherjee Sneha Mishra

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.01.04, Pub. Date: 8 Feb. 2023

The foundational tenet of any nation's prosperity, character, and progress is education. Thus, a lot of emphasis is laid on quality of education and education delivery system in India with current financial year (2022-23) education budget outlay of Rs. 1,04,277.72 crores. This research contributes in analyzing how students perform in academics depending upon the time spent on their extracurricular activities with the help of three Machine Learning prediction algorithms namely Decision Tree, Random Forest and KNN. Additionally, in order to comprehend the underlying causes of the shortcomings in each machine learning technique, comparisons of the prediction outcomes obtained by these various techniques are made. On our dataset, the Decision Tree outscored all other algorithms, achieving F1 84 and an accuracy of 85%. The research, which is at an introductory level, is meant to open the door for more complexes, specialised, and in-depth studies in the area of predicting the performance in academics.

[...] Read more.
House Price Prediction using a Machine Learning Model: A Survey of Literature

By Nor Hamizah Zulkifley Shuzlina Abdul Rahman Nor Hasbiah Ubaidullah Ismail Ibrahim

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2020.06.04, Pub. Date: 8 Dec. 2020

Data mining is now commonly applied in the real estate market. Data mining's ability to extract relevant knowledge from raw data makes it very useful to predict house prices, key housing attributes, and many more. Research has stated that the fluctuations in house prices are often a concern for house owners and the real estate market. A survey of literature is carried out to analyze the relevant attributes and the most efficient models to forecast the house prices. The findings of this analysis verified the use of the Artificial Neural Network, Support Vector Regression and XGBoost as the most efficient models compared to others. Moreover, our findings also suggest that locational attributes and structural attributes are prominent factors in predicting house prices. This study will be of tremendous benefit, especially to housing developers and researchers, to ascertain the most significant attributes to determine house prices and to acknowledge the best machine learning model to be used to conduct a study in this field.

[...] Read more.
Comparison of Simple Additive Weighting Method and Weighted Performance Indicator Method for Lecturer Performance Assessment

By Terttiaavini Yusuf Hartono Ermatita Dian Palupi Rini

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.02.01, Pub. Date: 8 Apr. 2023

The development of methods for assessing lecturers' performance is needed to motivate lecturers to achieve institutional targets. Currently, lecturers are required to be able to adapt to the rapid development of technology. Lecturer performance assessment must be done periodically. Competence is measured as a basis for planning resource development activities. The method that is often used for assessing lecturer performance is the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method. However, the SAW method has drawbacks, namely 1) the process of determining criteria is only carried out by the leadership (subjective); 2) The SAW method can only be applied to multi-criteria data ; 3) Data ranking problems. Based on this deficiency, a new method was built, namely, the Weighted Performance Indicator (WPI) method using respondents’ opinion to determine the criteria. This study aims to compare the performance of the two methods. Testing criteria using SPPS application dan WPI method, while testing methods utilized the SAW method and the WPI method. The results of the criterion test show the Percentage of Similarity of data validity = 96.7 % witht the minimum percentage limit (MPL) = 40%. While the results of the SAW method and WPI method testing resulted in the highest score in the 13th alternative, namely SAW score (v13) = 793.76 and WP score (WP13) = 0.928, and the lowest value in the 30th alternative, SAW score (v30) = 18.60 and WP score (WP30) = 0.140. the ranking positions in these two methods show similarities. However, for other alternatives, the rating value can be different. 
The WPI method is a scientific development in the field of decision support systems that can be applied to other performance assessments, such other human resources, system performance assesment etc. 
The results of this study prove that the WPI method can be used as a performance assessment method with different characteristics from the SAW method.

[...] Read more.
Optimised MLP Neural Network Model for Optimum Prognostic Learning of out of School Children Trend in Africa: Implication for Guidance and Counselling

By Edith Edimo Joseph Joseph Isabona Odaro Osayande Ikechi Irisi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.01.01, Pub. Date: 8 Feb. 2023

One crucial and intricate problem in the education sector that must be dealt with is children who initially enrolled in schools but later dropped out before finishing mandatory primary education. These children are generally referred to as out-of-school children. To contribute to the discuss, this paper presents the development of a robust Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) based Neural Network Model (NN) for optimal prognostic learning of out-of-school children trends in Africa. First, the Bayesian optimization algorithm has been engaged to determine the best MLP hyperparameters and their specific training values. Secondly, MLP-tuned hyperparameters were employed for optimal prognostic learning of different out-of-school children data trends in Africa. Thirdly, to assess the proposed MLP-NN model's prognostic performance, two error metrics were utilized, which are the Correlation coefficient (R) and Normalized root means square error (NRMSE). Among other things, a higher R and lower NRMSE values indicate a better MLP-NN precision performance. The all-inclusive results of the developed MLP-NN model indicate a satisfactory prediction capacity, attaining low NRMSE values between 0.017 - 0.310 during training and 0.034 - 0.233 during testing, respectively. In terms of correlation fits, the out-of-school children's data and the ones obtained with the developed MLP-NN model recorded high correlation precision training/testing performance values of 0.9968/0.9974, 0.9801/0.9373, 0.9977/0.9948 and 0.9957/0.9970, respectively. Thus, the MLP-NN model has made it possible to reliably predict the different patterns and trends rate of out-of-school children in Africa. One of the implications for counselling, among others, is that if every African government is seriously committed to funding education at the foundation level, there would be a reduction in the number of out-of-school children as observed in the out-of-school children data.

[...] Read more.
A Systematic Review of 3D Metaphoric Information Visualization

By A.S.K. Wijayawardena Ruvan Abeysekera M.W.P Maduranga

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.01.06, Pub. Date: 8 Feb. 2023

Today, large volumes of complex data are collected in many application domains such as health, finance and business. However, using traditional data visualization techniques, it is challenging to visualize abstract information to gain valuable insights into complex multidimensional datasets. One major challenge is the higher cognitive load in interpreting information. In this context, 3D metaphor-based information visualization has become a key research area in helping to gain useful insight into abstract data. Therefore, it has become critical to investigate the evolution of 3D metaphors with HCI techniques to minimize the cognitive load on the human brain. However, there are only a few recent reviews can be found for 3D metaphor-based data visualization. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of multidimensional data visualization by investigating the evolution of 3D metaphoric data visualization and interaction techniques to minimize the cognitive load on the human brain. Complying with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines this paper performs a systematic review of 3D metaphor-based data visualizations. This paper contributes to advancing the present state of knowledge in 3D metaphoric data visualization by critically analyzing the evolution of interactive 3D metaphors for information visualization. Further, this review identifies six main 3D metaphor categories and ten cognitive load minimizing techniques used in modern data visualization. In addition, this paper contributes three taxonomies by synthesizing the literature with a critical review of the strengths and weaknesses of metaphors. Finally, the paper discusses potential exploration paths for future research improvements.

[...] Read more.
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Motivation and Intention of University Students in Hanoi, Vietnam

By Do Thi Minh Hue Tran Phuong Thao Pham Canh Toan Hoang Dinh Luong Phan Thi Hao Do Thi Huyen Nguyen Thi Hoa

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2022.02.01, Pub. Date: 8 Apr. 2022

Entrepreneurship is the key driver of economic progress in many countries; thus, many countries have introduced policies to promote a more entrepreneurial environment. This study assesses the impact of factors affecting entrepreneurial intention of university students. The data was collected through a survey of 341 students at 09 leading universities in Hanoi, Vietnam and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SPSS and Amos software. The research results show that entrepreneurial skills, entrepreneurial environment and subjective norms either directly or indirectly affect business motivation and entrepreneurial intention of university students. Thus, it is suggested that university and other educational institutions should provide more activities and taught courses that help students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for entrepreneurship.

[...] Read more.
Adoption of Blended Learning in Ghanaian Senior High Schools: A Case Study in a Less Endowed School

By Ebenezer Eghan Najim Ussiph ObedAppiah

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.05.06, Pub. Date: 8 Oct. 2023

During COVID-19 pandemic, most tertiary institutions in Ghana were compelled to continue delivering of lectures online using internet technologies as was in the case of other countries. Senior high schools in Ghana were, however, not asked to do same, currently, the setting of most literature on blended or online learning in Ghana is focused on tertiary education. This paper situates the blended learning model in a less endowed senior high school to unearth the prospect of its implementation. The research provides an alternative to the traditional face-to-face learning, which is faced with the challenge of inadequate infrastructure, high number of students to class ratio, less compatibility with 21st learning skills and long-life learning in Ghana.
A customed Moodle application as web application tool, hosted students online in both synchronous and asynchronous interactions. Purposive quota sampling size technique was used to select an appreciable sample size to fully go through the traditional face-face model for a term and then study through the blended learning model for another term. Students’ examination performances for both were analyzed with a paired t test statistical model. Interviews with participants were conducted to ascertain their evaluation of the blended learning model and questionnaires were also administered to discover the institutional, technological, and human resource readiness for blended learning in senior high schools. The analysis of the data gathered, proved that blended learning in senior high schools has high prospect and is better alternative to face-to-face learning in Ghana.

 

[...] Read more.
An Empirical Research on the Effectiveness online and Offline Classes of English Language Learning based on Student’s Perception in Telangana Schools

By K. Kashinath R. L. N. Raju

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2023.02.04, Pub. Date: 8 Apr. 2023

Learning practices commenced to shift from face-to-face offline class learning to online classes with technological networks specifically on sudden COVID-19 crises. . This sort of variation in their learning method sparks question about students' perception of the new learning system. The objective of the study was to compare English language learning, between online classes and Offline-classes and it explicates different students' perceptions of such learning practices regarding the benefits, improvements, and drawbacks of online and offline modes. The research approach of study, proceeds with a quantitative study, using statistical analysis through questionnaire distribution. The participants of the study were the school students, obtained from Government and private schools in Telangana. The quality of the study stands outstanding in addressing the effectiveness of blended learning both online and offline learning and aids to study nature of the approach if integration of learning modes including face-to face and online learning incorporated and the consideration to improvise qualities learning experiences of students. With those aspects, the research is significant to prove the preference of students to elucidate that offline classroom learning is more preferable than online English learning. The value of the research is recognised that it aids the educators, leadership authorities and researchers to understand parameters leading to efficient learning practices, enhanced collaborative student performance outcomes assisting to select the appropriate technologies in case of any pandemic crisis and to inhibit collaborative learning in and out of classroom.  The most general obstacles faced by students in online English learning are materials insufficiency, lack of communicative skills training, lacking reading activities participation, absence of interaction, the inability of queries or doubts clarification, and exercise exposure are addressed by the analysis outcomes. The comparative perception outcomes explicated that Offline English language learning stands out as more efficient than the online learning method. 

[...] Read more.