Learning and happiness during Covid-19 school closure in urban Malaysia.

COVID-19 school closure has disrupted education systems globally raising concerns over learning time loss. At the same time, social isolation at home has seen a decline in happiness level among young learners. Understanding the link between cognitive effort and emotional wellbeing is important for post-pandemic learning recovery interventions particularly if there is a feedback loop from happiness to learning. In this context, we use primary survey data collected during the first school closure in urban Malaysia to study the complex association between learning loss and student happiness. Machine learning methods are used to accommodate the multi-dimensional and interaction effects between the covariates that influence this association. Empirically, we find that the most important covariates are student gender, social economic status (SES) proxied by the number of books ownership, time spent on play and religious activity. Based on the results, we develop a conceptual framework of learning continuity by formalizing the importance of investment in emotional wellbeing.

Factors that negatively influence students' transition from the traditional classroom to emergency remote education (ERT)

Universities worldwide had to adopt Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This abrupt change forced students used to face-to-face classes to adapt to a new reality. However, this transition is different for each student because of personal realities. For example, the student's generation, emotional state, and some factors (e.g., tech skills, technological infrastructure, place of study, and perspectives regarding this change) may influence the feelings of optimism and awareness of learning. This work describes a quantitative study conducted before the first ERT academic semester starts with 1011 undergraduate students measuring those factors through questionnaires. In addition, to test whether the measuring factors are consistent with our understanding, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the statistical reliability analyses were performed. From the results, we identified differences between the participants' age generations. The mean scores for the Z generation were lower than other generations concerning the measuring factors and feelings. Plus, it was found that students' emotional states negatively influence their feelings about ERT. Also, the measuring factors influence optimism and awareness of learning. Therefore, we suggest that institutions around the globe should offer innovative distance learning strategies to train the students for this paradigm shift, identify the students' needs for the Internet and devices, and provide psychologists to aid the student's emotional state. Thus, helping a better and faster transition and adaptation of students to the change of educational methodology to improve students' experience in distance education.

Have we failed them? Online learning self-efficacy of physiotherapy students during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: The use of online learning systems during COVID-19 pandemic created concerns about students' ability to successfully navigate the online learning environment. This study aims to capture the experience and changes in self-efficacy of physiotherapy students in Jordan. METHODS: A mixed methods online survey was used. Physiotherapy entry-level students in public universities completed the online learning self-efficacy (OLSE) and the academic self-efficacy (ASE) scales. A free-entry text box was used to document the factors that augmented or reduced the perceived level of self-efficacy. RESULTS: A statistically significant decrease in OLSE (t = 6.043, p < 0.001) and in ASE (t = 3.960, p < 0.001) was identified. Four main qualitative themes were identified, namely: availability of time, resources and learning skills; social and psychological stress; educators' skills and access; and accepting the need for a change. CONCLUSION: Contrary to expectations, the findings indicated a decrease in self-efficacy. This has implications in light of the new direction to formalise online learning in Jordanian higher education institutes post COVID-19 pandemic. Training educators as well as students on best online learning practices could increase students' perceived efficacy.

The Effect of a Wordless, Animated, Social Media Video Intervention on COVID-19 Prevention: Online Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Innovative approaches to the dissemination of evidence-based COVID-19 health messages are urgently needed to counter social media misinformation about the pandemic. To this end, we designed a short, wordless, animated global health communication video (the CoVideo), which was rapidly distributed through social media channels to an international audience. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to (1) establish the CoVideo's effectiveness in improving COVID-19 prevention knowledge, and (2) establish the CoVideo's effectiveness in increasing behavioral intent toward COVID-19 prevention. METHODS: In May and June 2020, we enrolled 15,163 online participants from the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. We randomized participants to (1) the CoVideo arm, (2) an attention placebo control (APC) arm, and (3) a do-nothing arm, and presented 18 knowledge questions about preventive COVID-19 behaviors, which was our first primary endpoint. To measure behavioral intent, our second primary endpoint, we randomized participants in each arm to five list experiments. RESULTS: Globally, the video intervention was viewed 1.2 million times within the first 10 days of its release and more than 15 million times within the first 4 months. Knowledge in the CoVideo arm was significantly higher (mean 16.95, 95% CI 16.91-16.99) than in the do-nothing (mean 16.86, 95% CI 16.83-16.90; P<.001) arm. We observed high baseline levels of behavioral intent to perform many of the preventive behaviors featured in the video intervention. We were only able to detect a statistically significant impact of the CoVideo on one of the five preventive behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Despite high baseline levels, the intervention was effective at boosting knowledge of COVID-19 prevention. We were only able to capture a measurable change in behavioral intent toward one of the five COVID-19 preventive behaviors examined in this study. The global reach of this health communication intervention and the high voluntary engagement of trial participants highlight several innovative features that could inform the design and dissemination of public health messages. Short, wordless, animated videos, distributed by health authorities via social media, may be an effective pathway for rapid global health communication during health crises. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00021582; https://tinyurl.com/6r4zkbbn. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/s13063-020-04942-7.