Title of the Study

Names of Researchers (First Name M.I. Surname,…)

Email addresses,…

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

Abstract

Paragraph is single-spaced. This is a very short summary of your study: aim of the study,
instrument/s used in collecting data, important findings or conclusions, and one
recommendation.

Keywords: digitally networked learning,… (Mention your variables here.)

Background of the Study

In this great information age, the internet has dramatically altered the way people

acquire and construct knowledge. With easily accessible online sources, individuals are

getting dependent on internet technologies in seeking for information. Students are growing

and learning with digital technology and internet connection.

...

Statement of the Problem

This research study attempted to gauge the readiness for digital networked learning

(DNL) of the local colleges and universities (LCUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR) as

perceived by the employees including the academic heads, faculty members, and

administrative personnel. The readiness, categorized as individual readiness and

institutional readiness, was also correlated with the individual and institutional profiles,
respectively. Based on the results, a program for virtually connected communities

(VCCs) was proposed for the LCUs.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:

1. What is the individual profile of the employees of the LCUs in NCR in terms of:

a. age;

b. internet skills;

c. self-development methods; and

d. interest in electronic technology?

2. What is the institutional profile of the LCUs in NCR in terms of:

a. availability of computer units;

b. computer laboratory condition;

...

Hypothesis

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance:

H0 : 1
There is no significant relationship between the respondents’ individual profile

and their individual readiness for DNL.

H0 : 2 There is no significant relationship between the LCUs’ institutional profile and

their institutional readiness for DNL.

Significance of the Study

In this digital age, higher education institutions (HEIs) shall always be updated

with the developments in technology and its implications to learning and teaching process

to provide the students with relevant and meaningful learning experiences...

...Thus, the results of this study will be beneficial to the LCUs, specifically for the

following groups:

Local College and University Administrators. They will be updated with the

recent trends in the learners’ fast changing world and be enlightened on the need of

higher education institutions for administrative support in implementing instructional

innovations that help students keep up with the demands of the digital age and prepare

them for their future work environment.

Faculty Members. They will become aware of the new developments in

...

Scope and Limitations

This study was focused on the level of readiness for digital networked learning of

local colleges and universities in the National Capital Region. The researcher grouped the

institutions based on the four (4) districts of Metro Manila. The LCUs from two of these

districts were the institutional participants of the study. Two (2) were located at the Capital

District while three were under the Eastern Manila District which was randomly selected

from the remaining three (3) districts.

...
Review of Literature and Studies

[Include here your variables as your themes/topics…this portion is optional. You may

proceed to the conceptual framework]

Digital networked learning. ... Social networks, which probably started

with Classmates.com, have become great tools in “connecting and reconnecting friends

and friends of friends” in the web. Classmates.com, which was designed to “reconnect

people with their long-lost friends from high school and college”, was followed by other

networks like sixdegrees.com and the product review site epinions.com. Popular sites for

networking that followed were Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook. They are designed to

expand people’s network of friends, find a mate, or explore other groups of the same

interest. Similarly, Meetup connects people who want to start or join a book club, gaming

group, or dining-out group while LinkedIn is a business network which links individuals

to their colleagues, business partners and potential business contacts (Frauenfelder,

2007).

...

The need for networked learning. ...Similarly, in the research conducted by

Eynon (2010) on the role of schools in supporting the “digital natives” or the net generation

composed of the young people, the experience of a wide range of learners on new

technologies and the learning on these experiences were explored. The survey involved

young respondents with the age range of 8 to 19 years old. They were interviewed about

the “use and non-use of technologies, their attitudes and skills, the quality of access to

technology, family, peer, school and work contexts, and demographic and socio-economic
variables.” The different online activities were grouped according to the identified five

general informal categories of Internet use: (1) communicating; (2) information seeking;

(3) entertainment; (4) participating; and (5) creativity. Communicating included online

chatting, using a social networking site, and sending and receiving emails.

...

Synthesis. The nature and processes of digital networked learning have evolved

from infrastructure to the processes of learning. With its development, the need of higher

education institutions to adopt DNL emerges based on rapid changes in technology, the

developments in internet services, the increase in use of networking tools for business

and other industries, the shortfall of educational institutions to take advantage of the third

millennium’s skills as part of their curricula, and the gap between the learning practices

and skills developed by learners outside and within educational institutions. Hence,

university and college administrators should take considerably the future trends and

needs of higher learning institutions with regard to networked learning and the integration

of internet technology in their curricula.

The works of Foster, J., Bowskill, N., Lally V., & McConnell, D. (1999) and

Chapnik (2000) presented some indicators of readiness for networked learning including

the two categories – individual and institutional readiness, which were adopted in this

study. From Chapnik’s model which included eight (8) categories namely, psychological

readiness, sociological readiness, environmental readiness, human resources readiness,

financial readiness, technological readiness, equipment readiness, and content readiness, the

researcher deduced five (5) dimensions. These are on respondents’ concept of DNL,

attitudes towards the use of digital networking tools, digital networking literacy,
technology infrastructure, and administrative support. There was no direct measure on

the content or pedagogical aspect because the researcher thinks that this side shall be

investigated separately and more comprehensively. This shall be started after having

prepared the employees who shall constitute the basic networked learning community of

the institution. Moreover, the financial aspect was included in the administrative support

which shall be a vital component in any academic program or endeavor in institutions

particularly of higher learning.

The assessment model of e-Learning Readiness Survey designed by Aydin and Tasci

(2005) served as guide for the researcher in identifying the expected value that will determine

if the local colleges and universities are ready or not for digital networked learning. The said

readiness survey considered an institution as ready when the weighted mean was at least

3.40. However, the researcher set the basis for determining the university as ready for DNL

when the resulting weighted mean is 3.50 or higher considering the verbal interpretations of

“Agree” and “Strongly Agree” for the intervals of 3.50 – 4.49 and 4.50 – 5.00, respectively.

The details of the scale are presented on page 80 under the Methodology of the study.

Furthermore, Aydin and Tasci (2005) explored the demographic characteristics of the

participants to determine if these have an impact on the level of readiness. The researcher

dropped the variable gender to avoid comparing the two sexes and instead of education, the

internet skills were considered since DNL involves the use of online sources.

Similar to the study of Weedon, Jorna and Broumley (2004), this study

involved only the heads and staff of the institution as respondents who indicated their

perception on the readiness for DNL of their respective LCUs. The researcher included

data from the interviews conducted with the IT/ICT heads to complement the
respondents’ answers to the researcher-made questionnaire, the tool for gathering the data

needed in the study.

Conceptual Framework

This study entitled, “Digital Networked Learning of the LCUs towards

Developing a Program for Virtually Connected Communities,” can be summarized in

Figure 1.

The study attempted to determine the level of readiness for digital networked learning

(DNL) of the local higher education institutions in Metro Manila as perceived by the

respondents who are the employees of these institutions. This readiness, which was

categorized as individual readiness and institutional readiness, was measured in terms of

concept of DNL, attitudes towards the use of digital networking tools, digital networking
literacy, technology infrastructure, and administrative support. The respondents’

perception on these readiness dimensions was on individual and institutional levels.

This research also described the respondents in terms of their individual profile –

age, length of service in the LCU, computer experience, internet skills, self-development

methods, and interest in electronic technology. Similarly, it determined the

institutional profile in terms of number of computers, computer laboratory condition,

internet connection, number of ICT experts, computer technology integration, and budget

allocation for ICT.

The double-headed arrows connecting the individual profile and the individual

readiness, and the institutional profile and the institutional readiness, respectively, denote

the possible existence of significant relationship between each pair of these variables.

The extent of this connection guided the researcher in further understanding and

expounding the level of readiness for DNL of the institutions. In addition, the individual

and institutional readiness, which are linked by an arrow, were compared to find out if

there is a significant difference between the two results showing the extent of readiness

for DNL of the LCUs. This helped in further determining if one of the two shall be given

more attention in preparing these local higher education institutions for DNL.

Based on the level of readiness for DNL of the abovementioned higher education

institutions, a program for virtually connected communities of the LCUs was proposed by

the researcher. Moreover, considering the relationship among the variables, specific

conditions or activities in addition to the general procedures were included in the program.

Definition of Terms
 The following terms and phrases are defined operationally for clarity and ease in

understanding this study:

Academic heads are the college deans, department chairs or program

coordinators of the LCUs involved in the study.

Administrative personnel refer to the non-teaching group which is composed of

non-academic officials, their support staff, and the office employees assisting the

academic heads.

...

Technology infrastructure refers to the interconnection of devices including

hardware and software, sources, and processes that are needed to make the technology

relating to digital networking function well.

Virtually connected communities are the groups or networks composed of each

LCU’s faculty members, administrative personnel, and academic heads who are linked

through the internet for the purpose of learning.

 51

Methodology

Research Design

Generally, this study employed the descriptive research design in which,

according to Mitchell and Jolley (2001), the researcher describes the characteristics of a

particular group, the relationship among variables, predicts how people will behave, and

analyzes and interprets existing situations through a representative sample. It described

the respondents in terms of their age, length of service in the local college or university,

computer experience, internet skills, self-development methods, and interest in electronic

technology...

In addition, the research included in its design the correlational or associational

research to investigate the statistical association between the variables of the study – the

individual profile and the individual readiness for DNL, and institutional profile and the

institutional readiness for DNL... (ECS and McREL, 2004; Fraenkel and Wallen, 2010).

...

Research Locale

This study was conducted in the local colleges and universities (LCUs) in the

National Capital Region (NCR) which were established by their respective local

government units (LGUs) to provide an alternative way for high school graduates

particularly those who are financially disadvantaged to pursue college degrees (Dayrit,

2005)...

The researcher grouped the LCUs in the NCR using the four (4) districts of Metro

Manila, namely: (1) The Capital District; (2) Eastern Manila District; (3) CAMANAVA
District; and (4) Southern Manila District (Short, 2001-2009). From these districts, two

(2) were selected ...

Appendices A and B present the map of NCR and some important details on the

abovementioned local universities, respectively.

Sample and Sampling Technique Used

To gather the data needed for the investigation, the samples were selected from

the population composed of the local colleges and universities in the NCR, through

cluster random sampling. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (2010), through this

sampling method, the researcher selects the “groups or clusters of subjects rather than the

individuals”. These LCUs are clustered based on the four districts of Metro Manila.

Two districts were included – first, the Capital District where PLM belongs to and

second, which was randomly chosen from ...

From the two districts with their respective LCUs mentioned above, all the full

time employees represented by the academic heads, faculty members, and administrative

personnel were considered as respondents of the study...

Instrumentation

In collecting data from the LCUs, the subject and informant instruments (Fraenkel

and Wallen, 2010) were used in the forms of researcher-made questionnaire and

interview, respectively. The items in the questionnaire and the guide questions for the

interviews were derived from the review of the related, literature and studies, inputs

from the educators/experts, and the researcher’s instructional and digital network

experiences.

The researcher-made questionnaire (Appendix C) was divided into three (3) parts,

with the third part further subdivided into two (2). The first part asked for data on the
individual profile of the respondents while the second, only intended for IT/ICT heads,

requested for the institutional profile of each LCU.

The third part deals with the readiness for digital networked learning (DNL) of the

local college or university. The first sub-part, A, measures the individual readiness for

DNL through a set of criteria with five components of five items each...

Procedure

After seeking for help from the experts in the validation of the survey

questionnaire (see Appendix E for the request letters and certifications), the researcher

submitted the validated instrument to the Chairperson of the Oral Defense, for approval.

With the latter’s consent (Appendix F) to proceed with data collection, the researcher

sought the approval of the Presidents of the concerned local universities to conduct the

research study in their respective higher education institutions through a letter to the

University President...

Statistical Analysis

The researcher employed quantitative analysis to determine the individual profile of

the respondents and the institutional profile of their respective LCUs. Specifically, the

frequency count, percentage, and weighted mean were used to answer problems 1 and 2.

In answering problems 3 and 4, which attempted to find out the individual and

institutional readiness for digital networked learning of the LCUs, respectively, the

researcher made use of the weighted mean.

To find out if there is a significant relationship between the individual profile and

the individual readiness for DNL of the LCUs, the Pearson Product Moment Correlation

Coefficient (Pearson’s r) was used...

 Results and Discussion

Through the data gathered from the local universities involved, the following

specific questions were answered:

Problem 1: What is the individual profile of the employees of the LCUs in NCR in terms

of

a. age;

b. internet skills;

c. self-development methods; and

d. interest in electronic technology?

Tables 1 to 7 present the individual profile of the local university employees in

the National Capital Region.

a. Age

Table 1

Age Distribution of the LCU Employees

Age Frequency Percentage

Below 20 3 1%

20 - 29 100 22%

30 - 39 183 40%

40 - 49 99 22%

50 - 59 57 13%

60 & above 10 2%

TOTAL 452 100%

 Table 1 presents the age frequency-percentage distribution of the employees in

the local colleges and universities as represented by the five (5) university-participants.

The total frequency of 183 or 40% shows that most of the respondents were still in their

thirties. Thus, they had at least twenty (20) years more to serve their respective

institutions. This is followed by the age intervals of 20-29 and 40-49 with 100 and 99 as

frequencies, respectively. Only ten (10) out of the total of 452 or 2%...

b. Internet skills

Table 2

LCU Employees’ Internet Skills

Descriptive
Employees’ Internet Skills Weighted Mean
Rating

1. Looking for information (Internet browsing) 4.11 Very Good

3.56 Very Good

2. Downloading/ uploading music or videos
3.94 Very Good
3. Communicating online
2.70 Good
4. On-line gaming
3.29 Good
5. Blogging or posting comments/ thoughts
3.21 Good
6. Other internet skill/s

Overall Weighted Mean 3.55 Very Good

Legend:
Scale Verbal Interpretation Scale Verbal Interpretation
4.50 – 5.00 Excellent 1.50 – 2.49 Poor
3.50 – 4.49 Very Good 1.00 – 1.49 Very Poor
2.50 – 3.49 Good

...
 Table 2 presents the level of internet skills of the respondents. Although most of

them have lacked in-service training on computer skills, the general average of 3.55

indicates that they were very good in terms of basic internet skills. Nevertheless, the general

average which is near the lower limit in the scale further shows that they still need some

improvement.

Specifically, they were very good in looking for information or internet browsing,

communicating online, and downloading or uploading music or videos, as shown by the

averages of 4.11, 3.94, and 3.56, respectively. The averages of 3.29 and 2.70 reveal that

they were good in blogging or posting comments/thoughts on websites and in on-line

gaming ...
Problem 5: Is there a significant relationship between the respondents’ individual

profile and their individual readiness for DNL?

Tables 24 to 30 show the relationship between the respondents’ individual profile

and their individual readiness for digital networked learning.

Generally, at 0.05 level of significance, there is no significant relationship

between the respondents’ individual profile in terms of age and their individual readiness

for DNL as revealed by the computed r-value of -0.816 at p-value of 0.092 in Table 24.

Thus, the individual readiness of an employee of the local universities cannot be

associated with his/her age. He/she can be ready or not regardless of the age bracket

where he/she belongs to.

 However, there is a significant relationship between the respondents’ age and

their individual readiness for DNL in terms of digital networking literacy and technology

infrastructure as shown by the computed r-values of -0.888 and -0.926 with p-values of

0.044 and 0.024, respectively, at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore, the null hypothesis

that there is no significant relationship between the respondents’ individual profile and

their individual readiness for DNL is rejected when it comes to digital networking

literacy and technology infrastructure.

Table 24

Relationship Between the Respondents’ Individual Profile in Terms of Age and Their
Individual Readiness for Digital Networked Learning (DNL), with α=0.05
Age and
Individual p-
Readiness for r Description Decision Interpretation
DNL in terms of value
Moderate
concept of DNL -0.642 negative 0.242 Accept H0 Not Significant
correlation
attitudes towards
the use of High
digital -0.765 negative 0.132 Accept H0 Not Significant
networking correlation
tools
digital High
Significant
networking -0.888 negative 0.044 Reject H0
Correlation
literacy correlation
Very High
technology Significant
-0.926 negative 0.024 Reject H0
infrastructure Correlation
correlation
Moderate
administrative
-0.472 negative 0.423 Accept H0 Not Significant
support
correlation
Institutional High
Not
Readiness -0.816 negative 0.092 Accept H0
Significant
(Overall) correlation

Overall correlation/
difference – optional,
depending on the study
The negative r-values further indicate that the older the employee, the lower the level of

his/her individual readiness for DNL as to digital networking literacy and technology

infrastructure. It follows that the younger the respondent, the higher the level of

individual readiness. Thus, it can be considered that the younger employees are already

equipped with necessary skills in using the internet to connect with others and they have

access to technology infrastructure appropriate for digital networking. This concurs with

the result of the study of Simon (2009) wherein age has a significant relationship with the

usage of the internet. The older the teacher is, the less comfortable he or she in using the

internet. Moreover, based on Munro’s (2008) description of the different groups of

people in today’s workforce, Generation Y are ready for DNL since they are in a “we”

generation, technically savvy, wired and multitasking while the Baby Boomers lack

technology skills...

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Summary

The research study was conducted to [statement of the problem]...

Through the foregoing methodology, the specific research questions have been

answered with the following summary of findings:

1. Individual Profile of the Employees of the Local Colleges and Universities

 Majority or forty percent (40%) of the employee-respondents from the local

colleges and universities (LCUs) were still in their thirties (30-39).

 Forty-four percent (44%) of the employee-respondents had been working as LCU

employees for only five (5) years or less...

2. LCUs’ Institutional Profile

 The LCUs involved in this study had a total number of available computer units

of 1,176, and a mean of 235.2.

 As to the LCUs’ computer laboratories, the overall average of 3.24 indicated that

they were generally...

...
5. Relationship between the Respondents’ Individual Profile and Their Individual

Readiness for DNL, with α=0.05

 Generally, there is no significant relationship between the respondents’ individual

profile in terms of age and their individual readiness for DNL since the overall

computed r-value was -0.816, with p-value of 0.092 but there is a significant

relationship between the respondents’ age and their individual readiness for

DNL in terms of digital networking literacy and technology infrastructure as

shown by the computed r-values of -0.888 and -0.926 with p-values of 0.044 and

0.024, respectively.

 In terms of the relationship between the respondents’ individual profile in terms

of length of service in the LCU and their individual readiness for DNL, the

overall computed r-value of -0.536 at p-value of 0.352 indicates that these two

variables are not significantly related.

 There is no significant relationship between the respondents’ individual...

Conclusions

The following conclusions are drawn based on the findings of the study:
 1. Having grown up with computer and online technologies, the LCU employees

belonging in the younger group tend to consider themselves as individually ready

for DNL particularly in terms of networking competencies and awareness of

available internet facilities.

2. Constraints in facilities, financial and human resources would not be barriers for

the LCUs in attaining...

3...
Recommendations

Based on the preceding findings and conclusions, the following

recommendations are presented:

1. For the LCU administrators, as educational leaders in the digital age, it is

recommended that they provide assistance to faculty members and employees

particularly in terms of expert training and adequate facilities that include additional

computer units and better internet connection.

2. For human resource development personnel, a long-term training on digital literacy

and...

... [Groups mentioned in the Significance of the Study may be tackled here...Include
also the specific output (summary/description only; details of the output shall be put in

the appendices), if there is any...]

 REFERENCES

Davis, A. P. and McGrail, E. (2009) The joy of blogging. Educational Leadership. 66 (6).

74-77

Dohn, N. B. (2010) Teaching with wikis and blogs: Potentials and pitfalls. [Abstract]

University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark. Retrieved from:

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/organisations/netlc/past/nlc2010/abstracts/

PDFs/Dohn.pdf.

Earl, L., Katz, S., Elgie, S., Jaafar, S. B., & Foster, L. (2006). How networked learning

communities work. Toronto: Aporia Consulting Ltd. Retrieved from:

http://www.aporia.ca.

Fraenkel, J. R. & Wallen, N. E. (2008) How to design and evaluate research in

education. Seventh Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Shank, P. & Carliner, S. (2008). The e-learning handbook: Past promises, present

challenges. San Francisco, California: Pfeiffer, An Imprint of Wiley.

 Appendix A

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Respondent:
The researcher is presently working on a … which aims to determine how ready the local
colleges and universities are ...
In connection with this, may I ask for a few minutes of your time to answer this questionnaire
which will solicit some information on your individual and institutional profile and your
perception on the abovementioned readiness. Rest assured that your answers will be kept
confidential.
Thank you very much.

_______________________
Researcher
Name (optional) _______________________________________________________________

Directions: Kindly supply all the needed information by checking the appropriate box or column.
I. Individual Profile
A. Age:__________

B. Length of Service in the Local College/University

□ 5 years & below □ 6-10 □ 11-15 □ 16-20 □ 21-25 □ 26 & above
C. Internet Skills
Rate yourself in terms of the following skills in Excellen Very
t Good Good Poor
using the internet: 4 3 2 1
1. Looking for information (Internet browsing)
2. Downloading/ uploading music or videos
3. Communicating online
4. On-line gaming
5. Blogging or posting comments/ thoughts
6. Other internet skill/s (Please specify.)
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
 CURRICULUM VITAE

First Name Middle Name Surname

Address___________________
Email: __________@yahoo.com
Mobile No.: 0917-________

Academic Preparation:

Work Experience:

Trainings/Seminars:

Special Skills:

Personal Background: