V.

Review of Related Studies

V.I. Local Studies

The education sphere in the Philippines has been beleaguered with the same issues and
difficulties particularly on its logistics from the deficiency of instructional resources, facilities and
even schools to underpaid but overworked teachers. Nevertheless, Filipino culture still places a high
value on education; in fact, it is generally viewed as the great equalizer of opportunities.

E-learning or electronic learning is the use of ICT to mediate asynchronous as well as

synchronous learning and teaching activities]. In the Philippines, the concept of e-learning is relatively
new due to the lack of infrastructure and high cost of internet access. Public education specially suffers
from shortages or lack of computers and internet access Filipino culture places a high value on
education. For the majority of Filipinos, the only best thing for a child to acquire and secure a
better future is through education. Because a good education has become increasingly hard to
attain nowadays, there is increased demand for new and more convenient ways to obtain a post
secondary school degree. Even the government has tried to change the formal school system
by introducing new methods in learning. TESDA started with the identification of highly in-demand
skills and then designed a Competency Based method patterned after the Australian government’s
Competency-Based Training, (CBT). This application combined self-learning approach and formal
classroom instruction.

International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering Vol. 2, No. 4, October, 2007 50
CHED reported a total enrollment of about 2.5 million tertiary students in 2006 while TESDA has
about 0.5 million school-based enrollment and another 0.7 million non-school based enrollees
that includes (training centers operated by TESDA), community-based (training centers financed
by the local government) and enterprise-based (corporate sectors) for a total of about 3.8 million in
enrollment. The prime advocates that spearhead the drive to incorporate e-Learning technologies
into the Philippines school system are educators from prominent universities like the University of the
Philippines which has established in 1995 the UP Open University (UPOU), as an alternative to
traditional classroom. It has started offering fully accredited classes in 2001. The University of
Sto. Tomas (UST) have added in their curriculum an e-learning course that provides learning materials
on-line named as e-LeAP (e-Learning Access Program). Moreover, Ateneo de Manila
University, the Dela Salle University and other major universities offer some form of online
courses. Many of these academic institutions use prepackaged programs brought from suppliers,
although some schools are now creating their own programs using a variety of software options. Some
schools, under the TESDA use Moodle, which is an open-sourced Course Management
System (CMS) to help educators create on-line learning communities in carrying out their technical
and vocational programs. On-line degrees however are still fighting an uphill battle to be
recognized as legitimate equivalents to traditional degrees. There are only a few number of students
use these services. Consider the culture of the Filipinos preference for a face to face interaction
as learning process and are used to classroom training.
 V.II Foreign Studies

Taking as motto Heraclitus’s adage “The only constant force in the universe is change”, people
should use their utmost ability, adaptation, to cope with this change. If some years ago computers were
the concomitant of science-fiction movies like Star Trek, but in reality, computers were rather primitive
and scarce. They were used only for basic operations, and there were few people who could use them.
Regarding the Internet, it was a means of communication mainly for scientists, who wanted to exchange
and share information with one another. We can say that this situation has known a “boom”, an
incredible development and expansion in the last twenty years. Today, this technology has become
available to a lot of people, and there is almost no school that doesn’t have computers and Internet
connection. One can easily find on the Internet whatever reading material he/she needs, being able to
access, read, buy or download all this knowledge. Younger generation that have grown up together with
this technology, find it more easily to use it than their parents.
The educational system has traditionally been conservative, the introduction of computers
signifies a great deal of work for teachers and produces a brusque change in relations between pupils
and teachers and perhaps for this reason many teachers are doubtful about the introduction of
computers in th classroom. Many teachers feel threatened by the change in their role and the need to
develop a new mind set in which the teacher is not the main source of information so that treatment of
teachers’ attitudes becomes a key factor 103 in in-service training. With many of the innovative projects
proposed teachers have begun with great enthusiasm only to become disillusioned once the project is in
motion.
Teachers give positive responses to those items which are socially acceptable such as the
advantages of ICT over traditional methods their motivating effect or the non complexity of use even
though their answers are at variance with their personal beliefs about teaching which are reflected in
questions apparently not related to the use of computers. For example, many of them believe “the use
of computers presents advantages compared to traditional methods” (this has to be the socially
acceptable answer since we have seen that the majority of teachers have no experience of using
computers in the classroom, definitely a reaction based on hearsay rather than evidence).
In secondary education, many teachers believe that the use of computers motivates students
only as an initial novelty, and as they become used to them, motivation diminishes. They claim that ICT
helps them control the problems of discipline in the classroom, due to the fact that students feel more
motivated to work with a new instrument, and are therefore more settled; but at the same time it is
more difficult to get them to concentrate on the language tasks, since they tend to open applications
dedicated to games and leisure such as playing computer games, checking their emails or chatting. The
overall feeling is that the use of ICT has not improved the performance of the students in learning
English.
Normalization has been achieved at an administrative level, but the main problem is that the
use of ICT has not been normalized in the teaching of foreign languages, above all because the teachers
do not have the training necessary to be able to integrate it into their classes. The literature on attitudes
is abundant in sociolinguistics but scarcer in the specific area of teachers’ attitudes towards learning and
teaching. In recent years, however, there have been an ever increasing number of studies into the
possible reasons for the lack of impact of ICT in improving educational results, the different aspects
which could be influential such as self efficiency of teacher’s own computer skills or the part emotions
play in accepting computers as well as numerous studies on the problems facing the introduction and
use of computers in the classroom especially from the point of view of differing expectations and
attitudes between students and teachers. Finally several studies have emerged which establish teachers
attitudes as the probable basic cause of the wide distance between expectations and results.
 Attitudes are notoriously difficult to define and pin down. As claimed attitudes are characterized
by an embarrassing degree of ambiguity and confusion which are difficult to pinpoint as they cannot be
directly observed but rather need to be inferred through beliefs conduct and feelings expressed. In
other words “attitudes are hypothetical constructs. Their existence cannot be seen or measured directly,
we are only aware of people’s attitudes through their behavior”.
In foreign language learning there are many specific features to which experts that develop
educational content and e-learning modalities must adhere. E-learning is facilitated by the use of digital
tools and content. Typically, it involves some form of interactivity, which may include online interaction
between the learners and their teacher or peers. The selection of proper multimedia technologies in
foreign language learning is very important issue. It should be possible to achieve the necessary quality
of teaching materials for mastering reading skills, listening comprehension, writing and communication
skills.

VI. Review of Related Literature

Long before the internet was launched, distance courses were being offered to provide students
with education on particular subjects or skills. In the 1840′s Isaac Pitman taught his pupils shorthand via
correspondence. This form of symbolic writing was designed to improve writing speed and was popular
amongst secretaries, journalists, and other individuals who did a great deal of note taking or writing.
Pitman, who was a qualified teacher, was sent completed assignments by mail and he would then send
his students more work to be finished using the same system.

In 1924, the first testing machine was invented. This device allowed students to test themselves.
Then, in 1954, BF Skinner, a Harvard Professor, invented the “teaching machine”, which enabled schools
to administer programmed instruction to their students. It wasn’t until 1960 however that the first
computer based training program was introduced to the world. This computer-based training program
(or CBT program) was known as PLATO-Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations. It was
originally designed for students attending the University of Illinois, but ended up being used in schools
throughout the area.

The first online learning systems were really only set up to deliver information to students but as
we entered the 70s online learning started to become more interactive. In Britain, the Open University
was keen to take advantage of e-learning. Their system of education has always been primarily focused
on learning at a distance. In the past, course materials were delivered by post and correspondence with
tutors was via mail. With the internet, the Open University began to offer a wider range of interactive
educational experiences as well as faster correspondence with students via email etc.

In the past ten years, online course management systems have replaced other alternative
means to deliver class contents such as live satellite or closed circuit television (Falvo & Johnson, 2007).
The introduction of learning management systems, along with increased computer use in the home and
in business has brought an increasing number of students and teachers to the online learning
environment (Falvo & Johnson, 2007). Both technology as a whole and learning management systems
specifically have had rapid transformations over the past 15 years. Initially introduced in the 1990s,
course management systems have evolved over time into the current incarnation of learning
management systems. Often times these words are still used interchangeably, but they have significant
differences. Course management systems have a much more narrow focus of delivery and contents of
courses. In contrast learning management systems allow for increased focus on the learning needs of
the student and needs of the e-learning instructor regarding tasks (Iqual & Qureshi, 2011). Originally
these were created as simple web pages and generic content libraries, which included early innovators
such as Stanford Online Web Page in a Box, and Top class in the
1990s.
In 1997, Indiana University developed the On course Project, developing the concept of the
template-based course management system that would become the foundation for many later learning
management systems including WebCT and Blackboard. Commercial software company Blackboard has
come to dominate the learning management system market in the United States, however as of 2009
there has been large amounts of growth in the usage of open source learning management systems in
higher education institutions in the US, with the leading open source product being Moodle (Rooji,
2011). In contrast, the European market is not dominated by the few big players in the American
market. Most of the learning management systems in Europe are sold by small commercial vendors or
are developed by the institutions themselves (Falvo & Johnson, 2007). Learning management system
implementation is varied throughout higher education.

VII. Synthesis

We choose to conduct a study and create a system for E-learning because we believe that e-
learning systems can improve the education environment in our county specifically the Highschool or
Junior level, this is an important research topic. The experiences and concerns of institutions, faculty,
and students are one of the most important issues regarding this topic. First, the selection process and
implementation of a course e-learning system is a basis for consideration. Next, integrating the e-
learning system into theoretical approaches commonly used in face to face courses presents challenges.
Lastly, managing the conflicting needs and expectations regarding the experience in the learning
management system is another element of this significant issue.