Web-based distance instructional partnership for maritime technology of Pacific Rim countries

The prime purpose of this study was to identify and determine the attitudes and intentions of the faculty members in the field of marine technology education in Taiwan and Australia regarding adopting Web-based distance education. A secondary purpose was to develop guidelines for a program in preparation for implementing Web-based distance education for faculty members in Taiwan. Five groups in the field of marine technology composed the research population for this study. They are the faculty members in Taiwan in nine vocational high schools, two junior colleges, the National Kaohsiung Institute Marine Technology (NKIMT), and the National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) and the faculty members in Australia in the Australian Maritime College (AMC). The survey instrument was developed through the literature review, with reference to studies done before, the researcher\u27s course study, and expert validations of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was comprised of six independent variables. They were (a) instructors\u27 perspectives on educational technology, (b) attitudes regarding Web-based distance education, (c) perceptions of Web-based international education, (d) skills with computers, the Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW), and Web Course Management (WCM) tools related to design, development, and delivery of Web-based courses, (e) technology training programs for faculty members to develop Web-based courses, and (f) demographic information. Data were analyzed using three statistical tests and the level of significance was set at .05. One-way ANOVA was used to detect the existence of differences in perceptions of Web-based education, both domestically and internationally, among the five groups. Pearson\u27s correlation was employed to investigate if significant correlations existed among these variables. A two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine if consistent results existed among these groups. When conducting a training program, the consistencies and the individual group differences need to be considered. The results of the study indicated that the faculty members in the field of marine technology showed intentions and interests in taking advantages of Web technology to deliver courses. Certain variables were related and there was no inconsistency existing among the groups