In this article, we describe the construction and operation of a low-cost experimental system to demonstrate the fundamental concepts of solar photovoltaic cells. The major goal of this project is to provide students with basic instrumentation and methodologies to learn fundamental concepts of solar photovoltaic cell and its application. The system runs under the Windows operating system and is composed of an Arduino UNO ATmega328p data acquisition board as well as current and voltage sensing elements. A software written under the open-source programming language platform was used to program the microcontroller while the sun path simulation software was used for tracking the sun. The site location coordinates were determined by using a Google maps application. The experiments were performed throughout the day and the current and voltage data were automatically captured and graphically presented in an excel spreadsheet. It was found that the fill factor and power conversion efficiency o.....

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Flood disaster that occurred in the Kuala Krai district has caused property damage and important data loss in government premises such as schools, rural clinics, and so on. Service record book is among the important documents that were also destroyed. This book is important because all information related to service management will be recorded in the book. A prototype of teacher service record book was built to help solve the problem of such information loss. Meanwhile, usability evaluation was conducted on the system to identify whether it meets user needs. Usability evaluation on the prototype was carried out using four attributes, namely efficiency, effectiveness, ease of learning, and security...

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Conventional classroom teaching and learning of programming tends to be didactic, which is usually tends to be monotonous and less interesting. In learning programming – a subject that is deemed extremely challenging to master – such a situation can have a serious repercussion in that students can easily become unmotivated and demoralized to learn. As such, students need to use relevant learning tools that can stimulate and motivate them to learn such a course. Of late, many researchers have started using online game-based learning (GBL) tools to improve students’ motivation and performance. Invariably, most of the studies mainly focused on GBL tools to move avatars. As such, this study focuses on programming as the activities in such a game. In this study, the researchers used the prototyping model to develop an online GBL application called Prog-GBL by integrating the elements of mastery learning approach and ARCS model to help motivate students in learning programming. The eva.....

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Of late, a number of studies have been carried out to infuse the concept of Computational Thinking into programming courses, given that such a concept and programming are closely intertwined. Admittedly, most instructors find teaching programming to be very challenging, especially to novice students. Currently, the dominant teaching approaches used to teach computer programming mainly involve lectures, discussions, and lab practical sessions. Nevertheless, the use of such approaches has been heavily criticized for their ineffectiveness in developing skillful students because of the minimal interaction between students and teachers, especially in large classes. Coupled with the lack of proper teaching aids, the problem is further aggravated, putting the students in a dire situation. Against this backdrop, the authors carried out a study to examine the prevailing problems in the current teaching technique used by programming instructors in teaching programming to novice students, to dete.....

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The purpose of this research is to propose a new approach for evaluating the quality of the exam questions. Exam results were obtained from students taking the statistics and probability course in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). The number of exam questions is set by 10 questions with 30 items that have varying degrees of difficulty. A total of 214 students' results have been extracted from the iCGPA system. “Multidimensional Item Response Analysis (MIRA)” was applied for the 1PL (Rasch), 2PL and 3PL models to evaluate the quality of the exam questions. The models were estimated using MH-RM algorithm in the R package. Model fitting comparison is based on the log-likelihood, SE, AIC and BIC statistics. The statistic and Zh statistic were calculated to identify the item misfit and person misfit. Through model fittings, all three models give the value of all acceptable and almost identical statistic. 5 items are considered as misfit by the 1PL model. For the 2PL and 3PL models, 5 it.....

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This study aims to verify green practice constructs using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A total of 100 secondary school students were selected as a study sample using a simple random sampling technique. The green practice constructs consisted of five major subconstructs, paper resource management practices, electricity-saving practices, water-saving practices, recycling, and eco-friendly product consumption. The constructs included 37 items and used a five-point Likert scale. The data obtained were processed through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to ascertain the structure of the green practice determinants. Then, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to find the measurement model for each construct using AMOS software. The results showed that the measurement model fit the data obtained which the value of the fit indices of CMIN/DF, TLI, CFI, IFI, NFI and RMSEA were used to produce the appropriate model. As a result, a total of 17 items were retained, consisting o.....

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Problems in learning 3D geometry are related to students’ spatial abilities that require them to create mental images representatives of the objects. Studies had shown that 3D software should be incorporated into teaching in order to assist students in visualizing. However, students often exhibit difficulties when using it as they are not familiar with tools and could not remember steps in completing a task. The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of a learning strategy which uses video tutorial screencast SketchUp Make (VTS-SUM) for topic plan and elevation, in mathematics for upper secondary school in Malaysia. The videos were designed using ADDIE Model which integrated screencast technique with a 3D software (SketchUp Make). A total of 30 low achiever students from one secondary school were involved in this study. They watched the video tutorials and performed hands-on activities using the software to complete the tasks. This paper includes a report of a usability test w.....

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Kajian   ini   bertujuan   untuk   menganalisis   pengaruh   faktor   pemboleh   ubah makroekonomi (kemeruapan kadar pertukaran asing, pulangan kadar  pertukaran asing dan kadar  inflasi) dan faktor harga minyak mentah dunia terhadap pulangan pasaran saham bagi sembilan sektor  terpilih di Malaysia. Kajian ini juga mengkaji pengaruh faktor luar jangkaan iaitu krisis ekonomi  dunia pada tahun 2008, terhadap pulangan pasaran saham di Malaysia. Dengan mengadaptasi Kaedah  Kuasa Dua Terkecil (KKDT) dalam pembentukan model penganggaran, data siri masa berfrekuensi bulanan  bermula September 2003 hingga November 2016 telah digunakan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa  harga minyak mentah dunia memberi pengaruh yang berbeza merentasi sektor dan regim krisis dunia  yang dibentuk. Misalnya, pada regim sebelum krisis ekonomi dunia, harga minyak mentah dunia  memberikan pengaruh positif dan siginfikan terhadap sektor Perindustrian (   = .090,  ..

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The main purpose of this study is to develop a teaching framework for pre-service mathematics teachers. Specifically, this study validates the items that measure the constructs of  the Teaching Framework for Pre-service Mathematics Teachers (TF@Maths) and examines whether  mathematics content knowledge (MCK), mathematical pedagogical knowledge (MPK), general pedagogical  knowledge (GPK), classroom management skills (CMS), and mathematical disposition (MDP)  significantly relate to quality mathematics teacher (QMT). This study employed a quantitative  approach to look at the constructs of a quality mathematics teacher from the perspective of the  pre-service teachers. Data were collected using a questionnaire from a sample of 400 students which  were randomly selected from three Public Universities (PUs) and seven Institutes of Teacher  Education (ITEs). Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was applied to analyse the data. The results  reveal an acceptable fit of the T.....

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Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan tahap kefahaman dan salah konsep pelajar prauniversiti Zon Timur dalam topik Keelektrikan dan Kemagnetan (EM). Kajian ini menggunakan reka  bentuk kuantitatif iaitu kaedah tinjauan. Kajian dimulakan dengan mengadaptasi instrumen Conceptual  Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) dengan terjemahan CSEM dari bahasa Inggeris ke bahasa  Melayu diikuti dengan proses kesahan dan kebolehpercayaan. Instrumen yang telah diadaptasi ini  dikenali sebagai Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism in Malay version (CSEMy)  mengandungi 32 soalan berbentuk aneka pilihan dengan lima pilihan jawapan yang disediakan mengikut  format peperiksaan awam peringkat prauniversiti di Malaysia. CSEMy ditadbir ke atas 267 responden  menggunakan teknik pensampelan rawak kluster. Data dianalisis menggunakan statistik deskriptif dan  inferens iaitu nilai purata, sisihan piawai dan Ujian-t sampel bebas. Bagi penentuan salah konsep,  setiap jawapan dini.....

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