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Scalable Beta Testing Online Personnel Development

 Ebony Weber & Clinton Elliott 


Abstract:

This beta test was conducted as part of the activities carried out by a multi-state planning project to develop guidelines for implementation of large-scale online staff development programs. The beta test was designed to evaluate the features of an online staff development model and to provide participants in the planning project a common experience in understanding online staff development. Fifty-one educators, in several professional roles, from nine states participated in a series of focus groups and surveys to develop recommendations on implementation. The beta testing model reported in this paper was designed to provide a basis for refining the modules and serving as an experience for planning participants as a way to achieve a common understanding of this type of online staff development. In this context, the beta test was central to the process that led to the ultimate decisions on recommendations for implementation of large-scale online staff development.

Keywords: Evaluation, Field Testing, Beta Testing, Staff development, Professional development, In-service, Online instruction, e-learning,  Implementation, Scalability.

Professional on-line development in support of online teaching

 Marion Roberts, Laurie Delgado & Dianna Butler†

Abstract:

This paper reports on a pilot study at the University of South Australia. The study explored the experiences of academics undertaking a professional development (PD) program delivered partly online. University teaching staff are in a unique position to experience and understand the consequences of learning online as part of their PD requirements and this study generated insights into how this experience is fed back into professional practice. In addition, this study reports on the motivations of academic staff interested in eLearning as a delivery method and their beliefs about its place in the higher education system. Through examining the stories of staff experiences of online PD, a number of issues are highlighted that could inform development of future online PD courses, particularly those aimed at supporting development of staff competency in online teaching. In particular, issues of access, support for interactivity, and sharing of best practice are raised.

Keywords: eLearning, professional development, staff experiences, professional practice, distance education, higher education.

Education from afar: the impact of goal orientation, motivational beliefs and strategies

 Norman Klein & Don Barnes

Abstract:

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate course satisfaction, goal orientations, and motivational beliefs and strategies of students enrolled in print and online independent study courses. Completion rates for online high school courses have been approximately twice that for print high school courses for several of the last fiscal years. One of the first steps in understanding why was to develop student characteristic profiles for those enrolled.

A total of 160 university and high school students enrolled in print and online versions of the same independent study courses were surveyed. Factor and discriminant analyses were conducted to evaluate the survey data collected and develop prediction equations for those enrolling in online versus print-based courses. The analysis was somewhat successful in predicting group membership for university and high school course enrolments based on three factor scores. The discriminant function analysis at the high school level approached significant differences between groups for the third factor, which consisted of several self-handicapping items. Many institutions are beginning to offer entire degree or high school diploma programs online; the implications of examining these topics extend worldwide due to these trends.

Keywords: Distance education, goal orientation, motivation, self-efficacy, course satisfaction, retention, mastery goals, performance goals.

Cyber security management in light of crises “Covid-19” Pandemic

Barah Mohammed Alanzi & Tareq Yousef Bishtawi 

Abstract:

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is having a massive impact globally with a rapid spread across the globe. Which made the World Health Organization declare it a pandemic. COVID-19 has prompted countries to adopt  new  behaviors  such as social distancing, remote work and the closure    of some important businesses and sectors. At the same time, the White Berets  are  doing  their  best to absorb the epidemic. However, while white hats protect people, black hats are taking advantage of the situation, leading to the spread of a cybersecurity pandemic. Organizations have had to adapt to the demand for remote work quickly and at scale. Many have been forced to renovate their physical offices and policies set up in a panic to enable employees to work from home without the necessary training or well-made arrangements. Most of these companies and organizations have no plans on the ground to facilitate this radical and sudden change within a short period. In fact, only 38% of companies have a cyberse- curity policy. By moving to an online environment, organizations and companies around the world have implemented a “work from home” (WFH) business model that increases attack vectors and risks to internal data. It is noteworthy that WFH has become the new normal for people all over the world. In most scenarios, this refers to requiring employees to use their personal devices and home networks,  which are often inherently insecure and lack the required security standards. [1] The pandemic has created a formidable challenge for companies around the world. The IT they have long relied on—data centers, clouds, departmental servers, and the digital devices their remote em- ployees use to stay connected to each other and to company data—is becoming more important. Overnight, the demands placed on digital infrastructure skyrocketed. [3]. The paper presents cybersecurity attacks during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a lot of information has been collected from the World Health Organization (WHO), trusted organizations, news sources, official government reports and avail- able research articles. The paper then categorizes cybersecurity attacks and threats in the COVID-19 period and provides recommendations and countermeasures for each type. This paper discusses cybersecurity attacks and their countermeasures and reports on ongoing cybersecurity attacks and threats in this time period. Moreover, it is also a step towards analyzing the efficiency of the state’s infrastructure as well as the social behavior of hackers and criminals at the time of the pandemic. [2]

Keywords: Biometrics, Two-Factor authentication, Multi-Factor authentication, Dual-Factor authentication, Security, Usability.

A survey of Data security and Cryptographic Techniques in IoT Devices

Hussam N. Fakhouri

Abstract:

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the tangible objects (or groups of such objects) that are equipped with sensors, processing power, software, and other technologies that connect to and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. IoT idea is to connect or provide access to anything to the Internet. The Internet of Things environment not only enables Human-to-Machine communication, but it also enables Machine-to-Machine connectivity. Because everything is going to connect to the Internet and generate data. As a result, the amount of data generated by these devices is fast increasing. This data contains a large volume, a high velocity, and a wide range of variety. The security of this data is a critical issue. However, IoT devices have limitations such as limited power and poor processing speed, and classic encryption techniques can’t be used in IOT. As a result, researchers have developed lightweight encryption techniques and algorithms for IoT devices in order to provide safe communication and data transmission over the IoT connections. In addition, For safeguarding data transmitted over the Internet, cryptography techniques are utilized. Cryptography encrypts data with a key to create ciphertext that is unreadable to the average user. This paper gives investigates the recently developed  lightweight cryptographic algorithms utilized in IoT devices.

Keywords: Cryptography, Data Security IOT, Internet of Things, Device security, Netwrok

Use of Greek mobile phone assistance at 2004 Olympic Games (The Inlet Project)

Tammy Hughes, Troy Bell & Kristi Zimmerman

Abstract:

The INLET project (Lingua) will demonstrate techniques for promoting immediately contextualized introductory Greek language at the Olympic Games in 2004. This paper will review implications for language learning motivation as well as more general underlying principles for ubiquitous just-in-time knowledge approaches involving SMS messaging including an SMS searchable database.

Keywords: Greek, Olympic games, language support, motivation, ubiquitous, just-in-time, SMS