Joint position statement on biontech vaccination in adolescents with allergic diseases

This Statement was prepared to encourage Hong Kong adolescents aged 12-17 years old to receive BioNTech vaccine and recommend when to refer them for vaccine allergy evaluation. Importantly, the personal and societal benefits of BioNTech vaccination outweigh the risk of non-severe adverse vaccine reactions. BioNTech is currently contraindicated only in individuals with history of anaphylaxis to this vaccine or its components (e.g., polyethylene glycol [PEG]) by appropriate allergy testing. Subjects with history of immediate and severe allergic reactions to PEG-containing drugs or vaccines or immediate allergic reaction to the first dose of BioNTech warrant paediatric allergy referral to evaluate their fitness to receive this vaccine. Allergy to unrelated drugs, food, insect venoms as well as asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema are not contraindications for BioNTech. Patients with a history of severe allergic reactions after foods, unrelated drugs or vaccines can receive BioNTech with a longer observation of 30 minutes post-vaccination.

An Assessment Framework for Online Active Learning Performance

Under the influence of COVID-19, online learning has become the primary way for students to continue their education. At all stages of online learning, active learning is a useful strategy promoting optimal understanding. However, there is a lack of relevant research on how to evaluate students’ active learning performance. This paper presents an online active learning assessment framework based on the learning pyramid and learning dimension theory. After the division of course modules according to the learning pyramid theory, the active learning assessment is performed from five dimensions: (1) positive attitudes and perceptions about learning;(2) acquiring and integrating knowledge;(3) extending and refining knowledge;(4) using knowledge meaningfully, and (5) productive habits of mind. By identifying patterns from each online course module’s weblog data, instructors can assess students’ active learning conveniently from the beginning to the end of the online course. This study helps instructors understand learners’ learning situations and adopt corresponding strategies to adjust teaching activities to ensure high-quality teaching activities. Simultaneously, learners can also actively change their learning status according to active learning assessment to improve the learning effect. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

A bibliometric review on latent topics and trends of the empirical MOOC literature (2008–2019)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become a popular learning mode in recent years, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019, which had resulted in a significant increase in associated research. This paper presents a bibliometric review of 1078 peer-reviewed MOOC studies between 2008 and 2019. These papers are extracted from three influential databases, the Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). The MOOC literature analysis with a bibliometric approach identified the research trends, journals, countries/regions, and institutions with high H-index, scientific collaborations, research topics, topic distributions of the prolific countries/regions and institutions, and annual topic distributions, after which the representative research and research implications were discussed. This review gives researchers a deep and comprehensive understanding of current MOOC research and identifies potential research topics and collaborative partners, which supports MOOC-related future research. © 2021, Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.