ABSTRACT
The pandemic forced many education providers to pivot rapidly their models of education to increased online provision, raising concerns that this may accentuate effects of digital poverty on education. Digital footprints created by learning analytics systems contain a wealth of information about student engagement. Combining these data with student demographics can provide significant insights into the behaviours of different groups. Here we present a comparison of students' data from disadvantaged versus non-disadvantaged backgrounds on four different engagement measures. Our results showed some indications of effects of disadvantage on student engagement in a UK university, but with differential effects for asynchronously versus synchronously delivered digital material. Pre-pandemic, students from disadvantaged backgrounds attended more live teaching, watched more pre-recorded lectures, and checked out more library books than students from non-disadvantaged backgrounds. Peri-pandemic, where teaching was almost entirely online, these differences either disappeared (attendance and library book checkouts), or even reversed such that disadvantaged students viewed significantly fewer pre-recorded lectures. These findings have important implications for future research on student engagement and for institutions wishing to provide equitable opportunities to their students, both peri- and post-pandemic.
ABSTRACT
In this work, forms of asynchronous interaction developed by university students during the Covid-19 pandemic are identified. Through a case study, the structure of participation and the discursive mechanisms used by four groups of students were analyzed;the groups discussed different educational topics over six weeks. Due to the process of adaptation to the virtual training modality, the groups presented various difficulties in maintaining constant and productive conversations in the forums;however, a slight improvement can be seen after the third week of work when the students begin to internalize the new modality. © GKAEdiciones, authors.
ABSTRACT
It is widely believed that digitally-driven changes are not welcomed amongst academic staff in higher education. However, when in March 2020, the University of Nottingham went online in response to the UK government's COVID-19 lockdown, a different picture started to emerge. This contribution reflects on the initial steps taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency measures, including the support required to implement these steps and ensuing staff feedback. It also reflects on the process of moving forward from a state of emergency to a more thought-through digital pedagogical approach. In this scenario, the ultimate goal of this reflection is to argue that, as a consequence of the educational turbulence caused by COVID-19, the portrait of academics prone to resisting digitally-driven changes needs to be replaced by one that emphasises the significance of making the pedagogical values of these changes meaningful to the staff who eventually implement them. [For the complete volume, "Languages at Work, Competent Multilinguals and the Pedagogical Challenges of COVID-19," see ED612070.]
ABSTRACT
"Social Europe Days" is a collaborative four-day international seminar held yearly near Brussels, Belgium, by a network of ten European universities from eight different countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seminar had to be offered virtually and redesigned. The final design included synchronous and asynchronous activities, informal and formal interactions, and a focus on empathy for the existential problems faced by participating students and faculty during the pandemic. This article describes the design challenges, the design choices and decisions that led to the virtual seminar design, and reflections based on lead faculty notes, member checking, and student evaluations.
ABSTRACT
In this research paper we focus on the problems concerning inmates' access to education through Second Chance Schools operating within penitentiaries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A specially encrypted platform has been created through open-source software that can provide distance learning and does not allow access to any part of the internet other than the learning process.
ABSTRACT
This paper presents an autoethnographic account of how a drummer found meaningfulness through engagement in asynchronous, collaborative music making with friends in a period of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The author learned how to record drum kit in his garage using a rudimentary studio setup, and how to edit the recordings in a basic digital audio workstation. Using Boyce-Tillman's (2011) framework of Spirituality, the author details how, through activity in the domains of Materials, Construction, Values, and Expression, he was able to achieve liminal, Spiritual experience that provided focus, meaning, and purpose in a challenging and unsettling time. The author argues that students could benefit if arts educators recognize and value music making and learning as more holistic, Spiritual experiences.
ABSTRACT
This exploratory study examines how a team of three seventh grade teachers from a rural/suburban middle school in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States adapted the WATERS curriculum for asynchronous online delivery. The study shows that many hurdles can be mitigated with intentional planning, dedicated resources, and professional development. Students who engaged with the WATERS curriculum made statistically significant gains in their watershed content knowledge. This study highlights both the barriers to transitioning instruction online and the resources that support this transition. The study also illuminates factors that decision-makers must consider as they craft policies related to continuing education remotely during times of crisis and school closures.
ABSTRACT
This descriptive study determined the level of expectations, experiences, and satisfaction of the graduate students with distance online learning environment in Occidental Mindoro State College Graduate School during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted from January 2021 until August 2021 at OMSC Labangan Campus, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. A total of 58 respondents selected through a simple random sampling technique participated in the study. The questionnaire was the main instrument used in gathering data for the study. Data gathered were analyzed using frequency and percentage, weighted mean, Pearson-r moment correlation, and Regression analysis. It was found that the level of expectation, the extent of the learning experience, and the level of satisfaction with the online learning environment of the graduate school are very high. There is a high positive correlation between expectations, experience, and satisfaction. Experience has a high positive correlation with satisfaction. None of the indicators of expectation influenced satisfaction. The social and cognitive presence influence the satisfaction of the graduate students with the distance online learning environment of the OMSC Graduate School. It was suggested to improve internet connectivity, use asynchronous and modular delivery modes of instruction, give feedback and return students' output, and the faculty must keep up their good work to improve the distance online learning environment. It was concluded that graduate student's expectation and experience greatly influence their level of satisfaction with the online distance learning environment. Concrete actions are needed to improve and optimize the processes in the distance learning environment to enhance students' experiences and increase satisfaction.
ABSTRACT
Education, science, and technology disciplines at all levels have never been more important, more exciting, or more crucial for its broader impacts on human society. The need for advanced technical skills is increasingly pressing to address climate change, combat COVID and other diseases, enhance the infrastructural built environment, grow food sources to feed an expanding planetary population, make new scientific discoveries, and interface synergistically with the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Teachers/instructors/mentors/professors need to be proficient in the best ways to convey knowledge and motivate the next generations of productive and engaged citizens of an increasingly diverse planet on which its human inhabitants must learn to confront and surmount increasingly difficult challenges to survival and prosperity. Students need to be focused on honing their learning skills and adapting to an ever-evolving global economy demanding always higher levels of technical proficiency. Students also need to be free to pursue any and all areas of interest without interference from cultural, political, ideological, or faith-imposed limitations. Policymakers need to provide the financial and human resources to fuel the engine of education, and they must create the maximum possible latitude for both those who teach and those who learn to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to their limits. This book contributes to addressing these needs and to suggesting potential solutions from multiple global perspectives. Adaptability of instructional methods, relevance of instructional content to students' lived experiences, and sensitivity to the mental and physical demands imposed on students must be hallmarks of education. The book is divided into three sections related to studies on education, science, and technology. Each section includes three chapters. The chapter's contributors are from the following countries: the United States, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Malaysia. This diversity brings an international perspective to the book.
ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions around the world have closed, affecting more than 60% of students and causing massive disruption to the education system. Taiwan is no exception. For this sudden and dramatic change, teachers, students, and parents all confront significant challenges. In order to make specific suggestions for improvement, the study aims to explore the current state of e-learning in Taiwan and to understand the difficulties faced by teachers, parents, and students. The study conducted in-depth interviews with 20 teachers, 12 parents, and 24 students. The research results show that in New Taipei City, there are barely any online courses for grades 1 and 2, blended learning is mainly for grades 3 and 4, and synchronous e-learning is designed for grades 5 and 6. The main challenges in adopting e-learning in primary schools include, as follows: (i) Teachers, parents, and students are unfamiliar with the user interface of the e-learning platform, (ii) Insufficient hardware and software equipment at home, (iii) Teachers cannot take care of special students, (iv) Communication between teachers and parents is not smooth, (v) Difficulty in assessing learning progress online, and (vi) Students are easily distracted from their studies. Based on the above research results, the researchers put forward specific suggestions for future online teaching practices.
ABSTRACT
Technological tools are means by which online teaching could encourage the engagement of students, especially elementary students. The present research studies how elementary teachers develop their use of technological tools in their asynchronous and synchronous online teaching, specifically when this online teaching occurs during emergency education. The research was conducted in the academic year 2019/2020. We interviewed two elementary teachers, where one of them taught asynchronous lessons more than synchronous, while the second taught synchronous lessons more than asynchronous. We analyzed the data using two frameworks: one for interaction type and one for engagement type. The research results indicated that different interaction types influenced teachers' decisions to use technological tools. In addition, what concerned the teachers' use of tools at the beginning was the cognitive engagement, but they advanced towards focusing on behavioral and the affective engagement.
ABSTRACT
In 2020, video conferencing went from a novelty to a necessity, and its usage skyrocketed due to shelter-in-place throughout the world. However, there is a scarcity of academic research on the psychological effects and mechanisms of video conferencing, and scholars need tools to understand this drastically scaled usage. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand EFL teachers' expectations and needs for video conferencing tools. Five hundred seventy-eight English as a foreign language education teachers who live in Turkey participated in this study. Mixed-methods research was used to analyze the survey results. The findings of this study can be used to guide the selection of appropriate videoconferencing systems for educational purposes. They also provide information on how to investigate teaching methods and pedagogies for online education. This study also includes a series of suggestions for how to improve videoconferencing tools.
ABSTRACT
Although international school systems and resources can differ from those in the UK, it is always useful to have an informed worldview of practice in primary science. The COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably changed the ways in which pupils around the world have access to knowledge. Furthermore, it has changed the ways in which teachers globally deliver their lessons, especially those who teach natural sciences. Recently, online distance learning strategies to teach the concept of density in physics to 10- to 11 year-olds using filmed experiments were investigated at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki.
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) globally accelerated distance learning. Students who wish to create new businesses pursue collaborative learning in a cross-cultural environment. However, the research on the effect of collaborative learning on such courses is scant. This study investigated the changes in students' entrepreneurial competencies and cross-cultural knowledge, skills, and abilities before and after participating in an online global career course and the differences between students from three Canadian universities and a Japanese university in collaborative online international learning (COIL). Survey data were collected from June to August 2021, before and after the course, from 33 participants. The questionnaire survey was based on the five main categories of knowledge, problem-solving skills, communication skills, cross-cultural understanding and teamwork skills, and confidence and motivation. The results revealed statistically significant differences in all the categories before and after the course. Considering the effect sizes, all five categories except for confidence and motivation improved following the course, showing that both the individual and the collaborative learning in the course design worked well in the COIL approach. Although most of the students lacked a business background, they could understand the basic frameworks for business planning through self-study in the asynchronous sessions and considered the tasks and solutions in the synchronous collaboration stage. Furthermore, the students from the Canadian universities performed well in all five categories and the students from the Japanese university performed well in four categories. Considering the budget and accessibility, students' learning outcomes in COIL have a positive effect on their understanding of global careers.
ABSTRACT
Expectations of online masters students commencing their studies has been under-researched, as have the challenges of transition from undergraduates learning on-campus to postgraduate online students. The study described here investigates student expectations of this transition, development of resources for academic skills teaching, and student evaluation of interventions supporting them to join the academic community as masters. The methods were a series of action research cycles with a total of 38 students participating from 5 annual cohorts of Master of Research students, with the taught component entirely online. A student cohort (12 students) surveyed for initial course evaluation led to resources being developed for the course induction. Group interviews with the following cohorts evaluated new resource development after each course iteration, leading to further online seminars and skills resources development. In addition, further synchronous and non-synchronous activities with teacher presence were employed to improve student enculturation in the academic community. Recorded online interviews in virtual classrooms preceded transcription and thematic analysis, showing that student expectations of masters study and the skills required to join the academic community in all cohorts needed management. Students expected a continuation of undergraduate studies, "but harder." Development of an optional online academic skills course, allied to student activities embedded in specialist content with increased teacher and social presence, was praised by the last student cohort interviewed. The online skills course is available to other online courses within this Graduate School. This model may be transferable to other institutions, particularly in light of increased online COVID-19 teaching.
ABSTRACT
One of the main challenges for educators during the pandemic has been successfully transitioning to online teaching, in some cases without adequate training. This article will address these issues and suggest effective practices for teaching Spanish online, especially in emergency remote teaching situations. Given these circumstances, instructors should conduct self-assessments through self-reflections and portfolios. In order to carry out these activities, universities should invest in professional development on teaching synchronous and asynchronously, the advantages and challenges of both types of sessions, and the role of the instructor in an online setting. Finally, suggestions for instructors are offered to improve effective online instruction.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, patient portals and their message platforms allowed remote access to health care. Utilization patterns in patient messaging during the COVID-19 crisis have not been studied thoroughly. In this work, we propose characterizing patients and their use of asynchronous virtual care for COVID-19 via a retrospective analysis of patient portal messages. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to perform a retrospective analysis of portal messages to probe asynchronous patient responses to the COVID-19 crisis. METHODS: We collected over 2 million patient-generated messages (PGMs) at Mayo Clinic during February 1 to August 31, 2020. We analyzed descriptive statistics on PGMs related to COVID-19 and incorporated patients' sociodemographic factors into the analysis. We analyzed the PGMs on COVID-19 in terms of COVID-19-related care (eg, COVID-19 symptom self-assessment and COVID-19 tests and results) and other health issues (eg, appointment cancellation, anxiety, and depression). RESULTS: The majority of PGMs on COVID-19 pertained to COVID-19 symptom self-assessment (42.50%) and COVID-19 tests and results (30.84%). The PGMs related to COVID-19 symptom self-assessment and COVID-19 test results had dynamic patterns and peaks similar to the newly confirmed cases in the United States and in Minnesota. The trend of PGMs related to COVID-19 care plans paralleled trends in newly hospitalized cases and deaths. After an initial peak in March, the PGMs on issues such as appointment cancellations and anxiety regarding COVID-19 displayed a declining trend. The majority of message senders were 30-64 years old, married, female, White, or urban residents. This majority was an even higher proportion among patients who sent portal messages on COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients increased portal messaging utilization to address health care issues about COVID-19 (in particular, symptom self-assessment and tests and results). Trends in message usage closely followed national trends in new cases and hospitalizations. There is a wide disparity for minority and rural populations in the use of PGMs for addressing the COVID-19 crisis.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine preservice music educators' (PMEs) perceptions of a semester-long fieldwork experience first delivered in person and then asynchronously online. Using the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, I analyzed the PMEs' perceptions of their teaching presence in both fieldwork experiences. Participants cited benefits and challenges with lesson plan organization, in-person and asynchronous instruction, and building consensus about effective teaching. Notably, the asynchronous fieldwork provided a non-reactive environment where the script and delivery of content took precedent over a rehearsal mindset, which was more responsive and occurred during the in-person fieldwork. Based on these findings, music teacher educators might consider asynchronous fieldwork when in-person fieldwork is unavailable or as a stepping stone to prepare PMEs for in-person fieldwork experiences.
ABSTRACT
The importance of making online and distance education successful has been dramatically prioritized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Student retention is a key performance indicator in online higher education. Evidence suggests that within online distance education the key to retaining students is to encourage an engaging and supportive online community. Online asynchronous forums are one method that has been employed to promote such engagement. This study investigated the relationship between online forum activity and student retention amongst 21 tutor groups on an Open University Level 1 module. It found that the volume of tutor group forum activity had a significant association with student retention (p<0.05 two-tailed, Pearson r=0.53), with student contributions having a greater impact on retention (p<0.01 two-tailed, Pearson r=0.628) than tutor contributions. Although tutor contributions did not appear to impact student retention directly the number of tutor and student posts were highly correlated (p<0.001, two tailed, Pearson r=0.86). Results indicate that asynchronous forums can be an effective tool in promoting student retention in an online distance learning environment. Important factors that impact on student retention within the educational medium of asynchronous forums are evidenced. The implications of these findings for educators are discussed. [Note: The page range (103-118) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range for this article is p103-117.]
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the adaptation of a multi-disciplinary project-based learning (PBL) model for study-abroad engineering program to an offshore, online delivery model due to Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions that prevented the students from travelling to the host country. The main aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of switching our existing model to an online, offshore delivery environment, where the accessibility to a physical space was interrupted. We asked learners to provide specific feedback in their reports and presentations regarding the online environment and working in a virtual team, and analysed this feedback by dividing it into themes around communication, teamwork and technical content. Overall, the project outcomes were similar to previous years in which instruction was in a face-to-face classroom environment. Overall feedback from the learners was positive. The majority (9 of 11) learners felt that although completing the project online brought extra difficulties, that the experience was valuable and would be beneficial for their future. Although learners had sufficient tools to carry out effective communication and coordinate their project contributions, limitations in the technology (for example difficulty in showing 3D details of objects and mechanisms using a laptop web-cam), or cultural habits (reticence in ‘bothering’ others when unsure what they are doing) meant that this communication was not always as efficient or effective as it could have been. Including a fully online multidisciplinary project can be said to provide learners with experience in an environment that is becoming more important in the workplace. To make the most of this learning opportunity, it is important that we make every effort to give the learners a positive overall experience so that they carry this impression with them into future endeavours. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.