This study intended to develop a framework for designing a Learning Management System for supporting thesis projects. A model named ‘Explanatory Design Theory’ was followed as a methodology to identify the component of the proposed framework. The following four steps were followed: 1.) Identification of kernel theories, 2) Analysis of kernel theories and identification of meta-requirements, 3) Formulation of design components based on meta-requirements, 4)Formulation of testable hypotheses. Developing the designing explanatory design theory was a four-step process; each step was crucial and decisive. The first step involved identifying kernel theories related to thesis supervision. These were Zone of Proximal Development, Scaffolding, and Self-regulation. Secondly, meta-requirements were determined based on kernel theories, and it was discovered that enhancing the student-supervisor interaction and supporting students’ self-regulation processes were key meta-requirements, based on which the components of FLMSTP were identified at the third step and labelled as Initiation, Planning, Implementation, and Completion. The final step was the setting of hypotheses formulated to refine kernel theories and evaluate the accuracy of meta-requirements and the usefulness of the components. 

In Sri Lankan public universities about 41000 undergraduate projects are conducted every year, and on average, the total man-hours spent on the thesis projects is about 1.2 million. Although the universities widely use information technology to support teaching and learning, a specific system supporting undergraduate thesis projects is lacking and literature documents many problems related to these projects. Hence, the present research endeavour was commenced in a Sri Lankan university to develop a framework to guide the design process of a Learning Management System (LMS) that can be used to address those problems and support Undergraduate Thesis Projects (UTP). The following three research questions guided the study: 1) What are the problems of UTP? 2) Which learning theories and pedagogical concepts should be considered when designing an LMS to support the UTP? 3) What are the requirements and components of an LMS which would support the UTP? The Soft Design Science Research Methodology was applied to answer three research questions, and the main findings are as follows: 1) Six main problems areas were identified based on a specific case, 2) These problems were related to unsatisfied requirements of student student-supervisor interaction, scaffolding, and self-regulation processes 3) These requirements further analysed using related learning theories and specific problems were condensed into a general problem.  The general problem is the lack of a learning environment that supports the theoretical foundation (pedagogical implications) and practical facilitation (Information and Communication Technology tools), which could support the student-supervisor interaction, scaffolding, and self-regulation processes, 4) The general problem was analysed, comparing the theoretical foundations and pedagogical implications and a framework was suggested as a general solution for designing an LMS with four basic modules. These modules include software subcomponents that can be used to enhance student-supervisor interaction, peer collaboration, students’ self-regulation skills, and students’ motivation, 5) The general solution was evaluated, and it was shown that supervisors accepted the proposed components as parts of an LMS that supports UTP. The findings show that this framework offers features and components that enhance the quality and importance of thesis projects. 

Our education community of learners, teachers, leaders, managers, providers, researchers, policymakers, together with the business community and other stakeholders, are all, and without any exception, here and elsewhere, in a dire learning-teaching, managing, and decision-making situation with the crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic. This abstract provides a brief from the Reaching Out ALL (ROA) initiative which maps the extent to which the needs and implications of Distance Education and Digital solutions may, with and without success, address COVID-19 impacts on education, locally, institutionally, nationally, and globally. COVID-19’s divide is of great concern for the successful and effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and SDGs No.4, Quality Education, in particular. Educational actions reaching down the everyday learning-teaching contexts and conditions locally, nationally, and globally cannot be treated in the total absence and isolation of the direct voices and concerns, i.e., from those actual beneficiaries, partners, and targeted audience of our educational sector, from primary/basic up to the higher/university levels. This is the uniqueness of this present and ongoing global online survey. Its very purpose is in gathering the most updated and relevant empirical information and data on the impact of COVID-19 on education with a view to mapping the urgent and pressing needs for distance education and digital solutions. Can COVID-19 create new possibilities to mitigate the Divide in education, or does it just the contrary? Let us get from the direct voices. Mapping the improvements and/or shortcomings both prior to, and during COVID-19, on the access and quality of education offered, will assist the educational community in their choice of the most effective distance education and digital solutions The ROA initiative, which is introduced above, is based upon the collection, analysis and interpretation of data and information from an ongoing 3–5-minute Global Online Survey (GOS) on COVID-19 Impacts on Education. GOS was first launched in January 2021 worldwide, and will end by the end of April 2021 in several languages, namely English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Arabic, Tigrinya, Bulgarian, and many other languages. The GOS survey is carried out by Stockholm University, Sweden, and its international partners. Distance education and digital solutions alone, can neither be of quality nor be effective, if the direct voices of the education community (learners, teachers, managers, researchers’ policymakers, providers, and parents, and so on) are neither heard and nor put into implementation. The COVID-19 Global Online Survey is an important, if not, a most vital initiative to reach this goal making education equally accessible, inclusive with quality, and sustainable through empirical evidence for relevant and appropriate informed decision-making and implementation.

One of the main issues in undergraduate thesis supervision is a lack of understanding about the pedagogical assumptions underpinning the supervision process. In this paper, the concepts of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding are applied in developing a theoretical framework to understand the nature of the interactions that are expected between student, supervisor, research context and peers. Both designed-in and contingent scaffolding are applied in order to frame a personalized learning environment with a flexible structure that supports the interactions, based on individual zones of proximal development. A case study was conducted including students’ and supervisors’ views in several undergraduate degree programs within a Sri Lankan national university, and the findings were compared with the theoretical framework. The empirical data suggest that both students and supervisors tend to encounter problems if the thesis supervision process has not adequately designed to support the characteristics of constructivist learning.

Conducting research and writing a thesis about it is regarded as a distinctive pedagogy (learning through inquiry) within higher education which brings new challenges to all parties involved. To complete a thesis, students should select a problem, make a systematic plan, implement the plan and, finally, write a report of the process and findings. Students do have a supervisor to guide and support them, but it is the student who plays the key role in the whole research process. The present study is a qualitative, explorative case study to understand the challenges related to research projects within undergraduate management degree programmes in a Sri Lankan national University. Data have been collected using interviews and focus group discussions in six-degree programmes, with around 40 participants in total. The study focuses on identifying problematic areas and creating a general picture of why students’ research projects are not progressing favourably. Six main challenges were identified: student motivation, student-supervisor relationships, skills and knowledge, students’ workload, the structure of the research project course, and resources and ICT tools. These problematic areas are complex and multidimensional. Therefore, further studies are required to truly understand the complex interrelatedness of these areas.

ICT and development implementations in developing regions depend on many factors. This paper summarises experiences of efforts made by twenty individuals when implementing small-scale ICT development projects in their organizations located in seven developing countries. The main focus of these projects was the use of ICT in educational settings. Challenges encountered and the contributing factors for implementation success of the projects are systematically investigated using interviews and follow up surveys. Results show that the typical limitations of technology and infrastructure were the key obstacles. The commitment of individual project managers in the role of “change agents” and organizational support were the strengths behind the success of the projects. Based on the outcome of this study, professional development of the change agents is a key factor for the success of projects. IT and infrastructure limitations contributed to the failure of the majority of the ICT related projects.

University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) has become a vital component in emerging economies. As universities gradually become the center of society's knowledge production system, their role in innovation becomes more diverse. Education systems and industries are significantly different between developed countries and developing countries. This implies that the research should be conducted to identify the local UIC and innovation ecosystem in order to address the real problem domain. The aim of this study is to investigate which factors will affect UIC to work as a source of ICT Innovation in Sri Lanka. An explorative case study method was used. Interviews were conducted with key informants at major ICT businesses and Universities in Sri Lanka. Results suggest that many of the collaborations are formed on the basis of personal relationships, and there is no IT-based support system for systematic collaboration. Increased collaboration might help Universities to produce Innovative highly employable graduates.

Thesis supervision is one of the most complex and problematic pedagogical methods(Connell, 1985). Hansson and others discuss this complexity and show that the core activities of supervision require (an estimated) four to five times more effort per individual student than the payment/time allocated (Hansson, Larsson, & Wettergren, 2009). These authors also discuss the nature of thesis supervision and argue that a large part of the process is dependent on communication. Communication is time-consuming and hence may be one of the reasons for this problematic state of affairs; maintaining the quality of communication is a challenge. The Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) faced this challenge when several theses were reviewed by the Swedish Authority of Higher Education (Bider & Jalali, 2016). The DSV initiated a project to implement an ICT-supported system for the thesis supervision process in 2011 in order to address the issue of quality. Sci-Pro, the thesis supervision support system, was launched in 2011 and has grown into a mature system during the last six years. There is a lack of comprehensive studies of ICT support systems; the aim of the current study is to conduct a literature review of the published articles about the DSV thesis supervision system to explore how ICT can support the thesis supervision process. The results of this study therefore offer benefits to individuals who intend to develop or use ICT support for the thesis process.

While game accessibility has improved significantly the last few years, there are still barriers for equal participation and multiplayer issues have been less researched. Game balance is here about making the game fair in a player versus player competitive game. One difficult design task is to balance the game to be fair regardless of visual or hearing capabilities, with clearly different requirements. This paper explores a tentative design method for enabling inclusive competitive game-play without individual adaptations of game rules that could spoil the game. The method involved applying a unified design method to design an unbalanced game, then modifying visual feedback as a hypothetical balanced design, and testing the game with totally 52 people with and without visual or hearing disabilities in three workshops. Game balance was evaluated based on score differences and less structured qualitative data, and a redesign of the game was made. Conclusions are a tentative method for balancing a multiplayer, competitive game without changing game rules and how the method can be applied.

For the development of sustainable ICT services, participation of the local communities is crucial. A meaningful involvement requires awareness and understanding of the various possibilities of the ICTs. In this paper, the processes of awareness raising among underprivileged population in the Sri Lankan tea estate district of Nuwara Eliya are examined, drawing on the findings from an empirical study conducted at two telecentres. A specific participatory methodology, where co-inspirational sessions and brainstorming constituted main activities of co-creation of knowledge was applied. Our empirical data confirms that the participatory methods can trigger curiosity and engagement among participants. Ideas and suggestions that emerged during brainstorming demonstrate relevance, realism as well as they are a proof of real needs and requirements of a population that lives under difficult conditions in remote locations. Participatory methods can initiate community engagement for a longstanding, sustainable transformation of the TCs, in collaboration with ICT developers, and TC staff.