Higher Education during the Pandemic: The Predictive Factors of Learning Effectiveness in COVID-19 Online Learning

The global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak forced a shift from face-to-face education to online learning in higher education settings around the world. From the outset, COVID-19 online learning (CoOL) has differed from conventional online learning due to the limited time that students, instructors, and institutions had to adapt to the online learning platform. Such a rapid transition of learning modes may have affected learning effectiveness, which is yet to be investigated. Thus, identifying the predictive factors of learning effectiveness is crucial for the improvement of CoOL. In this study, we assess the significance of university support, student–student dialogue, instructor–student dialogue, and course design for learning effectiveness, measured by perceived learning outcomes, student initiative, and satisfaction. A total of 409 university students completed our survey. Our findings indicated that student–student dialogue and course design were predictive factors of perceived learning outcomes whereas instructor–student dialogue was a determinant of student initiative. University support had no significant relationship with either perceived learning outcomes or student initiative. In terms of learning effectiveness, both perceived learning outcomes and student initiative determined student satisfaction. The results identified that student–student dialogue, course design, and instructor–student dialogue were the key predictive factors of CoOL learning effectiveness, which may determine the ultimate success of CoOL.

Factors for Sustainable Online Learning in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected educational institutions and instructors in an unprecedented way. The majority of educational establishments were forced to take their courses online within a very short period of time, and both instructors and students had to learn to navigate the digital array of courses without much training. Our study examined factors that affect students’ attitude toward online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is different from other online learning studies where online courses are mostly a method of choice, with suitable support from institutions and expectation from instructors and students, rather than a contingency. Under this specific environment, we utilized an online survey to collect students’ feedback from eleven universities across Hong Kong. Using partial least squares for analysis on the 400 valid samples we received, we found that peer interactions and course design have the most salient impact on students’ attitude, whereas interactions with instructors has no effect at all on students’ attitude. Furthermore, we also provide suggestions on using the existing technologies purchased during COVID-19 for a more sustainable learning environment going forward.

National reality of 2020 vegetable production and consumption, in COVID-19 times

In the present complex socioeconomical and sanitary context, with the aim of having updated information on the national reality of vegetable production and consumption, of the Argentinian population's preferences and consumption habits of vegetables as well as the changes produced in their diet due to the global COVID-19 pandemics, a national survey, titled "Trends in the consumption of vegetables in Argentina in Coronavirus times" was carried out obtaining 1694 responses. The Argentinian population has had a great inclination to start growing, urban family gardens in this new context;it has clear consumption preferences, it values the benefits of consuming vegetables for health reasons and considers it has an adequate proportion of vegetables in its diet. However, the survey shows that real consumption is much lower than that recommended by national and international entities arises from the survey. Therefore, there is a great asymmetry between what the population believes it consumes and what it actually eats. This fact implies intensifying actions towards raising greater awareness of these differences and promoting adequate consumption of quantity, quality and diversity of vegetables to improve well-being, reduce the risk of developing illnesses and benefit the population's life quality by various organizations and institutions.