DIGITALISATION IN TRANSFORMING STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE: INSTRUCTOR PRESENCE AND LEARNER INTERACTION IN ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

The outbreak of Covid-19 is one of history's most devastating and life-changing catastrophes, necessitating the protracted closure of schools and higher education institutions due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. One of the issues that required significant consideration was ensuring that the effectiveness of the interactions of a physical face-to-face class between student to educator and student-to-student was able to be replicated in an online class for a better learning experience. This study demonstrates the value of perceived instructor presence and learner interaction in enhancing student engagement in a virtual classroom using the Microsoft Teams interactive platform. This study proposes a research model based on Dewey's constructivism and Bandura's social cognitive theories to investigate the nexus of relationships that exist between digital tool interactivity, instructor presence, learner interaction, student engagement, student learning experience and graduate competences. Data from 252 valid respondents of a questionnaire were analysed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling. The results revealed that tool interactivity had a substantial positive effect on instructor presence and learner interaction in online classrooms, hence enhancing student engagement, learning experience, and graduate competences. The findings of this study offer the stakeholders of a higher education institution with a set of considerations for devising strategies for digitalisation transformation in which will enrich teaching and learning online. © School of Engineering, Taylor's University.

Implications of COVID-19 pandemic for energy-use and energy saving household electrical appliances consumption behaviour in Malaysia

This study examined the impact of movement control order (MCO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Household Electrical Appliance Consumption Levels [HEACL] across Malaysia before, during and after the MCO, and the likelihood of the pandemic quickening household conduct towards use of energy saving appliances based on a self-reported household survey. The consumption patterns were evaluated based on hours and frequency of use of 29 household electrical appliances. Energy consumption behaviour and energy efficient star label [EESL] appliances questions were also included in the survey to provide insights into energy-efficient behaviour. The survey attracted 1482 responses from 1500 households approached across geographic regions in Malaysia. The findings show significant changes in HEACL across the three periods, viz., (i) before MCO, (ii) during MCO, and (iii) after MCO. There was a significant increase in HEACL during and after the MCO. Also, the low-income group showed the highest shift in appreciating EESL devices over the MCO, while changes in their appreciation was not significant among the medium- and high-income groups. The results imply that energy-wasting habits proved hard to shift across middle- and high-income households. The findings presented herein are unique, which focused on Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide insights for Malaysian policymakers when developing future action plans to stimulate a fall in energy consumption and a shift from conventional to EESL devices over the long-term. © 2021 The Authors

Business continuity plan in the higher education industry: University students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of academic continuity plans during COVID-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most disruptive, life-changing events that had brought the world to a perpetual standstill in 2020. Schools and institutions of higher education were impacted badly, resulting from the lockdowns and movement restrictions imposed by the governments of numerous countries. Students and faculty found themselves in virtual classrooms, with many caught unaware of what they needed to do, having to learn new things at lightning speed and feeling a sense of despair. While many online learners had frustrations and concerns regarding their online learning experience, there were those who had a good learning experience. The students’ observations and perceptions of the difficulties and opportunities they encountered in their online learning experience were assessed through grounded theory using textual thematic qualitative analysis of their reflective feedback. The findings reveal that most students had a good online learning experience and found that the academic continuity plans implemented by the universities were effective. The concerns that some students had with online learning were related to technological drawbacks such as poor internet connections, and personal concerns about academic ability and time management skills, among others. This study concludes by offering insights and recommendations to institutions, faculty, and students on how best to conduct online learning and teaching for all. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.