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Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 13
THE USAGE OF WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK FOR EARLY DETECTION
METHOD OF CORROSION ON BURIED STEEL GAS PIPELINE
Mohd Saiful Abdul Rahman, Mazeyanti Mohd Ariffin
Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia
[email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Early detection on any abnormality on the pipeline such as leakage is essential for efficient
pipeline monitoring. As to date, wireless sensors have been widely used to gather
information in monitoring reliability of the pipelines. The commonly used sensors are
temperature and pressure sensors. One of the issues related to pipeline monitoring is the
reactive rather than proactive maintenance approach to leakage and abnormality. The
objective of this research is to develop a method for early detection of corrosion, in which
the buried pipeline is exposed to changing temperatures and gas flow pressures. This will
ensure that maintenance works can be made in time to prevent pipeline burst, as well as to
minimize operational cost.
Keywords: Early detection; wireless sensors; corrosion; buried pipeline.
1. Introduction
Oil, gas and water are the key natural resources to the life and source of economy for most
countries in the world (Bonny B.N. Umeadi, K.G. Jones, 2008). These natural resources
are transported from its original plants or storage through extended pipelines which
spreads throughout the countries. In some countries, pipelines also used to supply gas
directly to users. These pipelines serve as the backbone between producers and consumers.
Maintaining pipelines is essential to sustain economic growth, political stability and also
safety. Delays in detecting leakage on pipeline may lead to more serious matters such as
fire and fatality (Richard Kluth, Jerry Worsley, 2008).
Wireless technologies have evolved so rapidly nowadays and widely used in many
applications and services. This is mainly because it can remotely place and uses its own
power source such as battery to power itself. There are number of technologies to monitor
and protect pipelines. Most of these are designed specifically for detecting and locating
pipeline leakages. These technologies allow a remote facility to detect and to report the
positions of any leakage as shown in figure 1. Most of these solutions rely on the
availability of a network to transfer the information and report leakages (I. Jawhar, N.
Mohamed, and K. Shuaib, 2008). Pipeline monitoring systems have been using wireless
devices as part of the system communication and information transfer.
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 14
Figure 1: Common Oil and Gas Pipeline Monitoring Setup
(E. Odusina, J. Akingbola, and D. Mannel, 2008) stated that one of the industries that have
taken the advantage of wireless sensors is oil and gas industry. Monitoring of pipeline is
very crucial because of its valuable resources as well as for safety precautions leakages.
Wireless sensors have been widely used to monitor the health and the condition of the
pipeline. Continuous monitoring of pipelines is necessary to ensure the safety operation of
pipelines transmission as shown by (Yumei Wen, Ping Li, Jin Yang, Zhangmin Zhou,
2004). However, several issues and problems have been discussed related to the usage of
wireless sensors in pipeline monitoring system. One of the issues is to detect leakage or
abnormality of the pipeline as early as possible particularly in gas pipeline.
It is very important to detect the signs of pipeline defects as early as possible to avoid
serious problems such as endangering the environment, and if the pipeline is near
populated area, it can be a disaster. Structural defects on gas pipeline may caused by
several factors such as corrosion. Several factors have been identified that lead to the event
of buried pipeline corrosion such as pipe coatings, soil conditions, changing of
temperature, stresses, pipe pressure and cyclic loading effects.
The objective of this research is to develop a method for early detection of corrosion, in
which the buried pipeline is exposed to changing temperatures and gas flow pressures so
that prompt actions can be taken to prevent incidents or fatality.
A pipeline monitoring and inspection system has several tasks to be performed for natural
gas pipelines environment to ensure the integrity of the pipeline as shown by (Yuanwei
Jin, Ali Eydgahi, 2008). These include measuring pipe wall thickness, measuring velocity
and flow of gas, detecting gas contamination in pipeline and also determining structural
defects on pipe. Gas pipelines are commonly placed in hazardous environmental such as
deserts, underwater and buried deep (Daniele Inaudi, Riccardo Belli, 2008).
These conditions can cause deterioration or even damage due to corrosion, erosion and
fatigue. Major problem is to detect corrosion cracks as shown in figure 2.
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 15
Figure 2: Corrosion Cracks That Result a Leakage
The main focus in this research is on early detection of corrosion on pipeline concentrating
on a) changing of temperature of pipeline and b) pressure of gas flow in the pipeline.
2. Related Works
The problem of corrosion cracks has been long affected gas pipeline and has been widely
discussed in recent years especially for oil and gas industry. Many researchers have been
motivated to look into from different perspectives.
Data and results on the application of long gage-length fiber-optic sensors for monitoring
pipeline corrosion, including internal wall thinning and external stress corrosion crack
(SCC) growth were presented by (R.C. Tennyson, W.D. Morison, T. Cherpillod, 2005).
Furthermore, the authors included complete mathematical model in the experiment to
monitor internal pipeline wall corrosion rate. The model shown in the publication can be
useful to this research due to the relation of pressure and temperature used in that model
although the context of the model is for fiber-optic sensing.
(R.K. Ginzel, W.W. Kanters, 2002) have shown types of defects known in pipeline
industry and the suitable methods for assessment of the defects were presented. Types of
corrosion and cracks also been discussed in the publications. However, there was no
detailed discussion on how to prevent and calculate the defects.
The failure analysis of an 18-inch diameter electric resistance-welded gas pipeline was
discussed. Mechanical and operating parameters of the pipe used were also included in the
publication to show the detailed characteristic of the pipeline. Schematic views and photos
during examination of ruptured pipe were shown to depict the level of failure occurs
during the incident in (F. Hassan, J. Iqbal, F. Ahmed, 2006). However, the analysis was
made after the incident of pipe ruptured.
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 16
The internal corrosion direct assessment (ICDA) was been implemented in the 24 inch
diameter of main gas transmission pipeline by (Ahmad Taufik, Nathanel Nainggolan,
2006). The corrosion rate prediction associated with carbon dioxide and water was done
using simulation. The simulation utilized by using NORSOK and de Waard model. The
corrosion rate model in the simulation also included temperature and pressure parameter
that can be relevant to this research.
A theory has been developed for the effect of pressure on the rates of corrosion reactions
in high sub-critical and supercritical temperatures aqueous system by (Digby D.
Macdonald, 2003). The theory is compared with experimental data for corrosion of carbon
steel in the water at 481 °C and at pressures ranging from 170 bar (2500psi) to 238 bar
(3500psi). Although, parameters of temperature and pressure were included in the model,
the equation emphasized more on the chemical reaction of the corrosion process.
Norwegian operators and authorities used NORSOK model for prediction of CO2
corrosion. The model is based on the experiments done at the Institute for Energy
Technology in Norway, (Stein Olsen, 2003). All experiments perform at various
temperature, pressures and pH values. Steels of different types have been tested in the
experiments and concluded that the predicted corrosion rates are conservative with respect
to the most steel type. The limitation of this model is that it is based on experimental data
for temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius. All predicted corrosion rates for temperatures
below 20 degrees Celsius are set equal to the predicted corrosion rate at 20 degrees
Celsius. All experiments for lower temperatures show, however, a steady decrease of the
corrosion rate with reduced temperature.
The idea proposed in this research is to take advantage of all the related research
mentioned and use all relevant and important information in order to fulfill the given
objective.
3. Methodology
System modeling and simulation are the two methods that will be used to simulate
solution to the abovementioned problem. Mathematical model based on NORSOK method
[13] for CO2 corrosion rate computation will be the basis for the development of the
system model.
3.1.System Model
Figure 3, shows the schematic view of the corrosion for the experimental setup to calculate
corrosion rate in the presence of temperature and pressure parameters. Assuming that a
steel pipe with diameter d, already in corroded state C. Various value of temperatures and
pressures will be performed in the experiment and each rate of corrosion will be noted. If
values of corrosion rate are constantly changing with different values of temperature and
pressure, then the hypotheses of the effect by temperature and pressure to the pipeline
corrosion rate will be proven.
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 17
Figure 3: Schematic view of Corrosion Rate Calculation with the Presence of
Temperature and Pressure parameters
3.2. Mathematical Model
For the effect of temperatures and pressure in determining the corrosion rate, one has to
understand related models that have include temperatures and pressure as parameters. The
most suitable model used is based on NORSOK method [13]. This is a model used to find
corrosion rate for carbon steel containing CO 2 at different temperatures, PHs, fugacity
and pipeline wall shear stress.
4. Discussions
This is only the preliminary stage of the research. Several values of temperatures and
pressures will be tested in the simulation on the corrosion rate. Limitation of the model in
this research is on the section of the tested pipeline, where corrosion is already happened
and the simulation made is to observe the changing of the corrosion rate.
5. Conclusion
In conclusion, the research on the effects of temperature and pressure on the corrosion rate
of buried gas pipeline is still ongoing on the modeling phase. Future works will be on
improving the model so that by observing the corrosion rate values, the pattern for
structural defects caused by corrosion can be predicted.
6. References
Ahmad Taufik & Nathanel Nainggolan (2006). Gas Flow Modelling and Simulation To
Predict Corrosion Attack On Pipeline, In Proceeding of INDOPIPE 2006
Conference & Exhibition, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia, 30 May-1
June 2006
Bonny B.N. Umeadi & K.G. Jones (2008). The Development of An Intelligent Sensor For
The Monitoring of Pipeline System Integrity, nanomindidc.com ,Oil and Gas 2008
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 18
Daniele Inaudi & Riccardo Belli (2008). Detection and Localization of Micro-Leakages
Using Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing, In proceeding of The 7th International
Pipeline Conference, Calgary, Canada,October 2008
Digby D. Macdonald (2003). Effect of pressure on the rate of corrosion of metals in high
sub-critical and supercritical aqueous systems, Journal of Supercritical Fluids,
Volume 30, pp. 375–382, September 2003
E. Odusina, J. Akingbola, and D. Mannel (2008). Software-Based Pipeline Leak
Detection. Advanced Chemical Engineering Design CHE 4273Department of
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Oklahoma, May 2,
2008
F. Hassan, J. Iqbal & F. Ahmed (2006). Stress corrosion failure of high-pressure gas
pipeline, Journal of Engineering Failure Analysis, Volume 14, pp. 801-809,
November 2006
I. Jawhar, N. Mohamed, & K. Shuaib (2008). Reliability Challenges and Enhancement
Approaches for Pipeline Sensor and Actor Networks. In proceeding of The
International Conference on Wireless Networks (ICWN 2008), Las Vegas, Nevada,
USA, July 2008
Richard Kluth & Jerry Worsley (2008). Digital Pipeline Leak Detection Using Fiber-optic
Distributed Sensing (DTS). Westwick-Farrow Publishing, What‘s New in Process
Technology, April 2008
R.C. Tennyson, W.D. Morison & T. Cherpillod (2005). Monitoring Pipeline Integrity
Using Fiber Optic Sensors, In proceeding of Corrosion 2005 Conference, Warsaw,
Poland, June 2005
R.K. Ginzel & W.W. Kanters (2002). Pipeline Corrosion and Cracking and The
Associated Calibration Considerations for Same Side Sizing Applications , e-
Journal of Nondestructive Testing, e-Journal of Nondestructive Testing, Vol. 7,
No. 7 , July 2002
Stein Olsen (2003). CO2 Corrosion Prediction By use of the NORSOK M-506 Model -
Guideline and Limitations, In Proceeding of NACE Corrosion 2003 Conference,
San Diego, CA, March 2003
Yuanwei Jin & Ali Eydgahi (2008). Monitoring of Distributed Pipeline Systems by
Wireless Sensor Networks. In proceeding of The 2008 IAJC-IJME International
Conference, 2008
Yumei Wen, Ping Li, Jin Yang & Zhangmin Zhou (2004). Adaptive Leak Detection and
Location in Underground Buried Pipelines, International Journal 0f Information
Acquisition, vol.1, no.3, pp269-277, 2004
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 19
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF E-LEARNING ISLAMIC STUDIES FOR FORM
FOUR STUDENTS
Hasmiza Othman, Seyed Ahmad Rahimi & Nazirah Mat Sin
Multimedia University, Cyberjaya
[email protected], [email protected],
Abstract
Despite the effort by Ministry of Education to promote ICT in education in Malaysia,
Islamic education syllabus is way far behind the intended plan in terms of its ICT usage in
learning and teaching. It was believed that Islamic Studies faced the risk of being
misleading or misunderstood if the lessons were taught through self-accessing method
with minimal intervention from teachers; a method that e-learning is popular for.
Embracing on Dick and Carey instructional model as the theoretical framework, this paper
explored the form 4 Islamic Studies syllabus ―The steps and procedures of Hajj and
Umrah‖ and created an e-learning version of it. In this study, the contents from the
Islamic Studies textbook of the National Secondary School in Malaysia were revised and
studied using the Dick and Carey systematic approach beginning from identifying the
instructional goal and moving the way up to formative and summative evaluation
processes. The interview sessions were then conducted to see whether the instruction
could be misleading and misunderstood as what it was perceived before. The goal of the
instructions being developed in this study was to validate (or vindicate) those beliefs and
observe the extent of truth the beliefs hold. Findings from this study are discussed and
reported in the paper.
Keywords: e-learning, multimedia, Malaysian education
Introduction
Despite the effort by Ministry of Education to promote ICT in education in Malaysia,
Islamic education syllabus is way far behind the intended plan in terms of its ICT usage in
learning and teaching. Problems have been identified by Hamzah, Ismail, and Embi (2009)
ranging from the teachers, students and the facilities as well as the syllabus itself.
The concerns raised by the teachers in adapting ICT technology in the classroom are
circling around the issues of how to make use of ICT as part of the pedagogy due to the
nature of the syllabus itself, that is, the Islamic Studies is different from any science
subjects because it is non-experimental and no input-output formula that can be tested
(Hamzah et al, 2009).
It was also reported that the subject needed a ‗creative and attractive‘ teaching approach
that can engage the students‘ interests in the subject. Hamzah et al (2009) acknowledged
that students were more attracted to use the computer because it was ―more informative
and had lots of pictures‖; a contradiction to the normal teaching style which was
monotonous and static. However, by just putting any teaching materials in slides and
project them on the classroom wall does not signify e-learning because that does not help
the learner extract the learning (Blass & Davis, 2003).
The initial work in producing a textbook CD-ROMs for English and Mathematics took
place back in 2003 by the Malaysian Ministry of Education. The work progressed in 2004
until 2005, producing CD-ROM textbooks for Bahasa Malaysia and English.
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 20
However, there was limited work being carried out for other non-core subjects, including
Islamic Studies subject. Hamzah et al. (2009) reported that the reasons for this were
because the nature of the subject itself and the concept of ‗self-accessing learning‘ in e-
learning which was believed unsuitable for a subject like Islamic Studies.
Islamic Studies is a subject that is non-experimental, no input-output formula and cannot
be tested and analyzed, thus, signifying the difference between this subject and science
subjects. (Hamzah, et al. 2009). This has been the main basis for the underdevelopment of
Islamic Studies into e-learning.
However, Islamic Studies has broad sub-topics that can be thought out and considered to
be e-learning. This research is intended to act as ‗the tool‘ to bridge the gap between the
Islamic Studies subject and e-learning and subsequently serve as a guideline for future
development of e-learning instruction for Islamic Studies.
Research Questions
This research is intended to find answers for these questions:
a. Is it true that e-learning is not suitable for Islamic Studies subject?
b. What is the criterion the Islamic Studies must have in order to be e-learning?
Theoretical Framework
The framework used for this study is based on the Dick and Carey theory and, the
Systematic Instructional Design Model (D&C Model), also from Dick and Carey. The
D&C Model consists of interlinked instructional ‗disciplines‘ that help the instructional
designer to learn, understand, analyze and improve the practice of these disciplines. The
term ‗disciplines‘ defined by Peter Senge (1990) as quoted in Dick and Carey‘s textbook
means - ―referring to the theories and technique that must be studied and mastered and put
into practice.‖ There are ten interconnected disciplines that represent the theories,
procedures and techniques engaged by the instructional designer to design, develop and
evaluate instructions, and finally revise them (Figure 1).
Figure 1 : Dick and Carey Instructional System Design
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 21
One of the advantages of D&C Model is that the model works well as a blueprint to
instructional design regardless of the form of the intended instruction. The intended
delivery format of the Islamic Studies subject in this study is e-learning; a computer-based
delivery format and the topic Unit 2 – ‗The steps and procedures of Hajj and Umrah‘ is a
procedural topic that includes steps and procedural learning objects.
The model is advantageous in the sense that it focuses on what learners are to know or be
able to do at the end of the lesson, which without this, the succeeding planning and
implementation can be confusing and unsystematic.
From the Dick and Carey‘s theoretical perspectives - it bases on the understanding of the
connection between the stimulus (instructional materials) and the reaction it produces in a
learner. The theory talks about the process of identifying the sub-skills of the learners that
they must have, and the intended outcome (behavior) that must be learned. The theory
focuses on the choice of the stimulus and strategy for each sub-skill‘s development. The
theory also recommends a procedural methodology of instructional development based on
a reductionist model of ‗breaking instruction down into smaller components‘.
The learning, according to Dick and Carey theory, will be demonstrated in the form of the
ability of the learners to master a set of predictable behavior identified in earlier stage,
which in this case, are the concept, steps and procedures of performing the hajj and
umrah.
The E-learning Instructions
The application was developed using Adobe Flash Professional CS4 and iLife08
Garageband for Mac. The storyboarding was carried out after the completion of the
analyses and design. After creating the storyboard, the scripts were prepared and finally
the audio recording.
Figure 2 : Sample of E-learning screen
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 22
The choice of vocabulary of the instructions was adopted and adapted from the textbook
that was written in Arabic characters known as 'Jawi'. In these e-learning instructions, the
text used standard Roman characters.
Students could navigate the instructions in more than one ways. At the bottom of every
screen page, students could navigate the instruction by clicking on the Back/Next button.
They could also click on the topic list in the left pane. The instructions were designed in
such a way to give the best quality of interface to the users.
The instructions were also developed in dual languages. The instructions‘ content was
maintained in Bahasa Malaysia; similar to the textbook, but as for the navigation menu,
button captions, and other operational instructions; they were presented in English.
The instructions were also furnished with pictures of people in ihram, a picture of Kaabah
and animated transitions to give the maximum value.
Evaluation, Results and Findings
There are 3 types of evaluations involved in this project – the entry behavior test,
formative evaluation and summative evaluation tests. All the evaluation steps and
procedures were adapted from the Dick and Carey (2005). Three students were selected
for the one-to-one evaluation, eight for formative small-group evaluations, and thirty for
the summative field test. However, for entry behavior test, Dick and Carey did not specify
the size of the group for the test. Hence, the author decided to follow the small group
model of eight students used in formative evaluation. According to Dick and Carey, any
number of students fewer than eight would not be presentative to the target population and
the data collected would not be sufficient enough for any conclusive recommendations.
Entry Behavior Test - The first test i.e. the entry behavior test was intended to observe the
mastery level of prerequisite skills that the students must have already mastered before
beginning instructions. Dick and Carey (2005) defined the entry behavior as ―the ability to
have skills in order to learn the new skills included in the instruction.‖
The entry behavior elements shown in Table 1 were derived from the sub-skills analysis in
the instructional goal analysis phase. This test was carried out before the development of
the instructions began.
Table 1: Entry Behavior Elements
Entry Behavior
1.Students must be able to read al Quran
1.Students must know the technique to search the al Quran content
1.Students must have the basic skill for operating a computer
1.Students must know how to operate the al Quran compact disc
• Students must know the concept of halal, haram and mahram
1.Students must know the definition and concept of ihram
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 23
Eight students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Puchong Utama 1 participated in the
test. The students were asked to respond to six rubric questions (Figure 3) regarding their
prior knowledge in Islamic Studies and their mastery level of computer skills.
Figure 3 : Rubric used to access students‘ entry behavior skills.
The result of this test revealed that all students have high level of computer literacy. The
students also demonstrated their skill in reading al Quran with little to no errors. When
asked to find a verse in the al Quran book, two students could not complete the task
successfully. However, when asked to find a verse using a digital al Quran, all students
demonstrated their ability to explore the application and subsequently find the verse with
minimal effort.
The majority of the students indicated they understood the concept of halal, haram and
mahram very well. One of the students however, indicated that the term 'mahram' was a
new term and could not explain the concept.
Ultimately, a mixed response was recorded for the last entry behavior question - the
understanding of the term ihram. There was only one student who could explain the term
in a complete definition and able to demonstrate the techniques successfully with no help
or guide from the author at all. Three students managed to demonstrate the technique
successfully but could not explain the concept. One student could explain it briefly but
was unable to demonstrate the technique. Another three students could neither explain nor
demonstrate the technique of ihram at all.
Formative Evaluation Test - The formative one-to-one evaluation was to discover any
obvious errors and mistakes in the instruction, whereas the formative small-group
evaluation tried to identify any remaining problems after changes were made to the
instruction following the one-to-one evaluation. Eleven students from Sekolah Menengah
Kebangsaan Desa Tun Hussein Onn participated in the test (three for one-to-one and eight
for small-group).
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 24
The instructions criteria were divided into three specific aspects i.e. message, links and
procedures. In message, the evaluations covered aspects such as the vocabulary level,
sentence complexity, message complexity, introductions, elaborations, conclusions and
transitions. In link aspect, the evaluations covered the contexts, examples, analogies,
illustrations, demonstrations, reviews and summaries. And, in procedures - sequence,
transition, pace and variation (Dick and Carey, 2005).
In formative evaluation, we found that:
1. All students agreed that the vocabulary and the use of standard Roman characters in
instructions were accepted as suitable for the students. Students also indicated that the
standard Roman characters were more convenient than Jawi. When asked about personal
preference, students unanimously voted for instructions in standard Roman characters to
Jawi.
2. It was proven during the evaluation that the navigation was working well as intended
when there was no student seeking for assistance on how to use the application although
they used it for the first time.
3. Students agreed with the idea of maintaining the navigation menu, button captions and
other operational instructions in English. When asked, they affirmed that it was the
standard that they were familiar with. They explained that the familiarization with English
operational instructions came from the experience in using Internet, web browsing or
games. When asked if they wanted it to be presented in Bahasa Malaysia, all of them
agreed that it would be 'sound funny', 'awkward' and 'not necessary'.
Summative Evaluation Test - Thirty students participated in the session that was assisted
by the Islamic Studies teacher Ustazah Roslahiah, one technician and one supervising
teacher, Cikgu Nazmi. There were sixteen desktop computers available for the test; each
accommodated two students and one reserved for the teacher. The session was led by
Ustazah Roslahiah who demonstrated the instructions through the projected image on the
white screen. The session was conducted in a synchronous manner due to the fact that only
the computer reserved for the teacher had the loud speakers. The summative field test
was intended to discover the effectiveness of the instructions. In the session the author
distributed a set of questionnaire (a posttest questionnaire) on learner‘s attitude and the
assessment questionnaire and finally followed with an in-depth debriefing session with the
group.
The findings are as follows:
1. Students said that learning through interactive instructions like what they had just
experienced was easy. They said that learning with interactive instructions like this one
gave them more control over the lesson. The students also agreed that they could use this
application at home and learned it individually. However, when asked about the needs for
the teacher to be present during the session, mixed responses were conveyed by the
students. An equal number of students responded 'they do not need teachers to be present'
while the other half was on the opposite side of the idea. Those students who said "no
teachers needed to be present" claimed that the topic was 'too easy'. Others added that the
background narration in the instructions was the 'teacher' itself and that would be
sufficient for learning. On the other hand, students who said teachers should be present
during the session questioned the consequences they might face should there be any
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 25
confusions or difficulties during the session. They said they might need the teachers to
help them with the lesson and answer their questions during the lesson.
2. When asked about the learning pace, more than half of the students said that they felt
they had to 'keep up' with the teacher's pace during the session. They said the distractions
happened when they had to keep looking at the projected screen to keep abreast with the
narration. Alternatively, had the loud speakers attached to their computer, they said they
would be more confident with the session.
3. According to one student, he would like to see more topics from Islamic Studies to be
developed as e-learning because 'the content does not change'. When asked to elaborate, he
continued saying that the facts and contents in Islamic Studies "were referred to sources
like al Quran" - the main source of knowledge that did not and would not change for all
time. For that, he said these e-learning instructions would be useful for a long time.
4. When asked about the improvement of the instructions for the future, majority of the
students recommended for more content in the instructions. They highlighted that learning
with computers like e-learning was fun, easy and engaging. For that, they could learn more
with the same amount of time spent reading the textbook or attending the class.
5. At the end of the session, Ustazah Roslahiah highlighted some factual correction in
the instructions. The correct number of tawaf was actually five and not four. According to
her, the correction was first discovered in 2004 after being referred to Tabung Haji (Hajj
Board of Malaysia) by the Islamic Studies panel teachers. However, the correction was yet
to be carried out because of the high cost for textbook reprinting.
6. Before the session ended, we also noted that too little effort spent on choosing the
graphics has brought down the aesthetic value of the instructions. Not enough references
were also a contributing factor to the quality of the instructions. A new approach of notes
presentation using keywords were not widely accepted by the students who were used to
lengthy words notes presented in traditional classrooms. Students also concerned about the
relationship with teachers and perceived e-learning as a distant part in teachers-students
relationship.
Performance Context
The study was conducted with thirty students in the same session with the summative
evaluation. The objective for this study was to measure the acquired Islamic Studies
knowledge through the use of interactive e-learning instruction. Students were given 10-
item questionnaire. The questionnaire was structured to measure the level of
understanding of each student after they had used the instructions (Neo, Neo, & Xiao-
Lian, 2007). The questionnaire also had open-ended comments section to seek feedback
on the success of the instructions in assisting the students achieving the learning
objectives. Results showed that majority scored high marks between 8 to 10 points (87%)
(full mark = 10 points) in the assessment, indicating very favorable and positive
performance rate from the students in this learning environment.
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 26
Conclusion
The study is looking at the perception surrounding the e-learning instructions that was
perceived by teachers (as reported by Hamzah et al., (2009)) as having the risk to be
misleading because of the nature of the topic itself; it does not have an input-output
formula that can be tested like Mathematics and Science subjects.
As a conclusion we can say that:
1. Islamic Studies subject can be developed into e-learning. The key feature for the
development was the type of information contained in the instruction. The topic 2 - Rukun
Haji dan Umrah (The steps and procedures in hajj and umrah) contained a ‗procedural‘
information object. According to the Reusable Information Object Strategy guidelines
produced by Cisco System, a procedural information object is the type of information that
is "sequential set of steps to be followed by one individual to accomplish a task ". By
using a systematic instructional design model by Dick and Carey, the Islamic Studies
subject has been successfully revisited, restudied and finally remodeled into e-learning.
2. The students' success rate in acquiring the knowledge from the e-learning instructions
depicts the effectiveness of the instructions in delivering the information. The success of
transferring the knowledge through this type of pedagogy validates the Islamic Studies is
in fact suitable for e-learning, with a condition the information bears the required criterion
of information object, i.e. procedural.
3. One of the advantages of e-learning demonstrated during the summative evaluation
session was when Ustazah Roslahiah highlighted the factual correction in the instructions.
The fact that e-learning instructions could make such corrections immediately at a
comparatively minimal cost has given another advantage point to the instructions.
4. Despite the weaknesses as noted during the closure of the session, the learning
objectives were successfully achieved through these e-learning instructions when there
were only two out of thirty students scored below 8 points. The weaknesses recorded from
the evaluation showed the inclination towards the product quality and not the achievement
of the knowledge acquisition.
Recommendations
Throughout the process of designing, developing and producing the e-learning instructions
in this project, a few highlights have been discovered and recorded along the way during
the construction of the instructions and worth considerations for future instructional
design, especially for Islamic Studies subject. Hopefully, this study will provide a path for
further research on the subject for education excellence in Malaysia.
In particular, it is found that:
• The results of the entry behavior test showed that the students' computer skill level is
acceptable. The students are also skillful in using the digital al Quran as well as reading.
The students also have sound understanding of the halal, haram and mahram concepts.
However, the students have little to none knowledge about the definition and concept of
ihram. In view with the fact that the ihram is one of the essential parts of hajj and umrah,
Proceedings of Regional Conference on Knowledge Integration in ICT 2010 27
it is recommended that the ihram concept and definition to be included in the syllabus in
the future.
• The Dick and Carey Model have proved its efficiency for being a template model for the
development of the instructions. The approach allows interchangeability of activities
around the disciplines in a controlled and systematic ways, progressing forward with a
caution of possibility to go on backward whenever necessary. However, for entry behavior
test, the model did not specifically mention the number of sample that must be used in the
evaluation process. It was the author's own initiative to use eight number of students for
this test based on the statement in the textbook that says "any number of learners fewer
than eight would not be presentative to the target population and the data collected would
not be sufficient enough for any conclusive recommendations". The author perceived the
statement as practical in every small-group test although the statement was actually meant
for formative evaluation.
• E-learning is fun and engaging - The majority of the students said during the discussion
that learning through computers is fun. Although the instructions developed the whole
topic 2, students found that the topic was "too short" and expected more. They made it
clear that they could "learn more" with a fun and attractive e-learning instructions like
they had just experienced. With this finding, it is an opportunity for future research to
further discover the "fun and engaging" attributes of e-learning in bestowing the capability
of knowledge empowerment and the retention of skills taught and eventually juxtapose the
advantage of e-learning versus the traditional pedagogy.
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