Do cognitive, affective and social needs influence mobile learning adoption in emergency remote teaching?

Transitioning to mobile learning or M-Learning in medical education has been challenging due to its subscription to the clinical-based method of knowledge transfer. This shift was accelerated despite the challenges of COVID-19 in what research refers to as Emergency Remote Teaching or ERT. While this modality supported learning continuity, it was evident that online classes have become avenues for students to socially engage with others to meet various psychological needs to buffer pandemic stress. We hypothesized that cognitive, affective, and social needs positively influence learners' attitude towards M-Learning, which leads to its adoption. Given that peers highly influence medical professionals, we further hypothesized that the beliefs of others or social norms have a positive influence on the behavioral intention to use M-Learning. We added psychological needs as influencing factors to Theory of Reasoned Action constructs to develop a structural model, deployed an online survey, and analyzed 219 responses from healthcare students in the Philippines using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling or PLS-SEM. We confirm that cognitive, affective, and social needs are psychological factors that influence students' attitude towards mobile learning. While attitude can lead to the behavioral intention to adopt mobile learning, social norms do not exhibit a positive influence at a significant level. We discuss our results from the perspective of a developing economy during a pandemic and provide the implications of its findings to theory, academe, and technology. © The Author(s).

Learning Affordances of a Facebook Community of Older Adults: A Netnographic Investigation during COVID-19

Current research in social media is heavily anchored on young individuals due to its wide acceptance in this social cluster. However, the trajectory of literature points to increased use of social media among older adults and a heightened interest in its community feature, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Facebook communities are online avenues that can portray the everyday lives of older adults in the absence of social participation during a pandemic. To compensate for this absence, older adults have joined, mingled, and interacted with various online communities to engage in learning opportunities. Using netnography, we analyzed 378 Facebook posts in a private community of older adults during the early months of the pandemic. We found that the learning affordances of a Facebook community include informal learning, knowledge dissemination, and information validation. The result of this study is helpful to various aged care stakeholders, including geriatric care, technology providers, and the academe. © ICCE 2022.All rights reserved.

Health Anxiety, Information Anxiety, and Internet Self-Efficacy on Cyberchondria among Filipino Young Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The mobility restrictions due to COVID-19 lockdown impositions have forced people to stay at home in lieu of face-to-face activities. In effect, it has increased people's exposure to the Internet and its perils, brought by excessive information from different media that may lead to the development of health-related anxiety. This phenomenon is known as cyberchondria, where people may have experienced extreme anxiety about their physical health because of repeated internet searches concerning their medical conditions. This paper investigates the possible relationship between health anxiety, information anxiety, and computer self-efficacy toward cyberchondria. Data from a cross-sectional method using online surveys among fresh graduates aged 21-24 in several Philippine higher education institutions were analyzed. The results of the structural model test reveal that both health anxiety and information anxiety may contribute to cyberchondria. The study discusses the implication of the results and offers fruitful research directions for further studies. © ICCE 2022.All rights reserved.

I Work to Learn: The Lived Experiences of Working Students in Online Learning during COVID-19

COVID-19 resulted in a broader gap in economic and educational inequalities. The abrupt shift to online learning forced educational stakeholders in developing economies to revisit policies, strategies, and pedagogics to sustain education despite contemporary challenges. For some students, COVID-19 and online learning ushers in an unexpected opportunity: to continue pursuing their university degrees while maintaining their job. In this phenomenological inquiry, we approached working university students in the Philippines to explore their lived experiences during COVID-19 in their roles as students and workers. Guided by the Self-determination Theory, our analysis revealed three prominent themes that motivate this specific group of learners: learn asynchronously, acquire support and engage socially.

Do Boredom, Escapism, Apathy, and Information Overload lead to Zoom Fatigue?

Unprecedented challenges in higher education due to COVID-19 emphasized the vital role of videoconferencing technologies to sustain education in emergencies. The colossal challenge of balancing learning and the psychological impact of the pandemic has caused exhaustion in the use of videoconferencing platforms in what researchers termed as Zoom Fatigue. In this study, we draw from the literature the behavioral constructs of boredom, escapism, apathy, and information overload and empirically test whether these factors can lead to Zoom Fatigue. Using a structural model and a validated scale, we analyzed 215 responses from university students using PLS-SEM. We confirm that boredom, escapism, and information overload lead to Zoom Fatigue. On the contrary, apathy among students is not a significant determinant We discuss the results and implications of our study and conclude by recommending possible avenues for future investigations.

Understanding Usage Continuance of Webinars among Professionals in the New Normal

The sudden transformation of the educational landscape due to COVID-19 highlighted the need to embrace technology to sustain continuous professional learning. Wider Internet use, availability of technology platforms, and restrictions brought about by the pandemic have led to the proliferation of webinars. While generally effective in delivering its promises, research has not fully grasped the determinants that can sustain its continued use. Using a quantitative inquiry using PLS-SEM, we approached 181 working professionals to capture their perceptions on the usage continuance of webinars during COVID-19. We found that information quality and utilitarianism directly determine satisfaction. The study further confirms that satisfaction and social influence are variables that determine the usage continuance of webinars among professionals.

Human Factors in the Adoption of M-Learning by COVID-19 Frontline Learners

Mobile Learning is crucial to the continuity of healthcare education during COVID-19. Despite its penchant for the traditional delivery of course content through classroom and clinical settings, M-Learning proved to be a viable solution in a pandemic due to social isolation, community restrictions, and safety concerns. We invited 219 frontline learners from 3 universities, active healthcare professionals who are currently enrolled, to test a structural model based on the Theory of Reason Action. We positioned the human factors of cognitive, social, and affective needs as determinants of attitude in the behavioral intention to adopt M-Learning. We further hypothesize that social norms positively influence the behavioral intention to adopt M-Learning among healthcare frontliners. We applied PLS-SEM to analyze the survey data and revealed that human factors positively influence attitude, leading to the behavioral intention to adopt M-Learning. Social norms and their influence on the behavioral intention to adopt this technology are not supported. We discuss the implications of our study, acknowledge its limitations while mapping out directions for future works to understand M-Learning adoption further. © 2021 29th International Conference on Computers in Education Conference, ICCE 2021 - Proceedings. All rights reserved

Loneliness, boredom and information anxiety on problematic use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 is a global health concern with emerging economies expected to endure lasting effects. Massive information in social media while beneficial for some is perceived to have caused unnecessary anxiety for others. Although research on technological factors and their relationships to social media adoption is well documented, limited studies explored the psychology behind problematic use of social media especially during a health crisis. Analyzing survey responses from 257 participants, we tested the influence of loneliness, boredom and information anxiety on the problematic use of social media during the COVID-19 health crisis. Structural regression analysis supported prior literature that boredom and anxiety positively influence the escalation of problematic social media use. Although previous findings support the influence of loneliness on problematic social media use, this cannot be supported within the context of this study. We conclude this paper by discussing the implications of our study to informal education while highlighting the limitations of the study to provide directions for future scholarly endeavors. Copyright © 2020 Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.

Peer influence, risk propensity and fear of missing out in sharing misinformation on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

Widespread misinformation on social media is high, and this is made worse during a public health crisis. While literature on technological solutions to combat misinformation abounds, limited studies have investigated the psychology behind why misinformation is in rapid diffusion in this digital platform. Using a sample of 209 students, we tested the relationships of peer influence, risk propensity and fear of missing out on the behavioral intention to share misinformation on Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of the results supported prior literature that peer influence and fear of missing out has a positive influence on the behavioral intention to share misinformation on social media. While risk propensity has a positive influence on sharing misinformation, this cannot be supported at a significant level. We conclude this paper by discussing the implications of our study to academic policies on formal and informal disaster education while highlighting the limitations of the study to provide directions for future scholarly endeavors. © ICCE 2020 - 28th International Conference on Computers in Education, Proceedings. All rights reserved.