ABSTRACT
Coronavirus brought the entire world to a grinding halt, and it has still not recovered from the vandalization caused. Along with the dramatic loss of lives worldwide, the situation also proved to be disruptive in every sector of the economy. Education system also faced immense turbulence. It has impacted the younger children the most as the effectiveness of online classes is highly doubtful among them. Even the teachers are not able to deliver classes to their best ability. Keeping in mind the present circumstances and the return to state of normalcy, ‘The ELF Tribe' is designed as an educational tool for both teachers and students. There is substantial evidence in science to prove that kids learn better with hands-on experience but nothing can replace a good teacher. This application assists them in non-teaching tasks which, when blended with traditional schooling, has the potential to redefine meaningful schooling. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has accelerated the shift away from the traditional classroom to online learning around the globe. Despite its advantages, students could not easily adapt to the challenges of transition overnight. To remedy academic difficulties that arise with online education, this paper introduces an assistive 3D educational tool for slow learners in elementary school, mainly for Arabic, English, and Math subjects. The proposed tool can be fully integrated with remedial programs to help students who could not adapt to distance learning during the pandemic, slow learners, or even students who cannot attain school. This tool automatically adapts to students' weaknesses and classifies students based on academic performance rather than age. Furthermore, it provides an easy-to-use interface for teachers to customize it using their own content and game scenarios. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
With the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, new technologies were used as methods to continue teaching and learning activities. This scenario brought forth the need to develop online tools for teaching. Therefore, this research aimed to develop a digital platform linking the knowledge about the central nervous system (CNS) anatomy from feline, equine, and sheep models. The platform was produced from the analysis of a collection of mesoscopic slides made from the sequenced cross-section of the CNS of a feline, an equine, and a sheep. All sections were analysed and stained using the Paul-Wiegert modified technique. The platform was organized in four modules: (1) Neuroanatomy of the Central Nervous System; (2) Neuroanatomy of Feline; (3) Neuroanatomy of Equine; and (4) Neuroanatomy of sheep. For each module, an explanatory document in PDF was developed, as well as video lectures and a descriptive atlas identifying the structures present in the encephalon and in the cervical part of the spinal cord. Even though there are numerous online platforms that allow the study of veterinary anatomy of different species and organs, the veterinary neuroanatomy platform presented here is the first platform that conjointly addresses the CNS anatomy of felines, equines, and sheep. Future research applying this platform as an aid to the study of neuroanatomy by students, teachers, and veterinary professionals should validate its use as a complementary tool for teaching and learning animal neuroanatomy.
ABSTRACT
Due to the recent education disruption, engineering-related module classes have to rapidly and effectively move online because of unpredictable changes. For design-related technical modules, not much literature focused on how students and tutors can adopt the latest technologies in a relatively short span. This paper is an effort to find students' experiences and preferences around various interactive educational tools used in online synchronous teaching, such as interactive live zoom lectures, slide annotations, breakout rooms, recorded videos, and many more, which have been used at the University of Glasgow, Singapore, for the module known as Design and Manufacture 1, during the 2021 COVID-19 crisis and beyond. From this work, we were able to find how an online synchronous learning approach affects design engineering students' learning experience. To understand students' perception of online learning tools to be effective in enhancing their learning during a sudden change in the arrangement of physical classes to online classes due to the pandemic situation. Survey results were collected using google forms at the end of the trimester, which was offered to 65 students enrolled in the module based on the student experience. The response rate is around 70%. The survey result showed that students engaged very well with the technologies and took little time to adjust to online learning. Students found learning very comfortable using the latest online teaching tools during their online learning journey in the design engineering module. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The Virtual Snap World is a project that aims to facilitate the teaching of electronics through educational tools. It finds opportunities in the Minecraft video game to connect and promote interest in science and engineering in new generations. This new setting eases the hybrid environment performance which means it provides the face-to-face or virtual system. This presents a solution to the problem the COVID-19 pandemic has created so as to focus on prevention measurements for contagion and the impediment to create events. This project allows having learning spaces considering people's health now that it can be developed from anywhere in the world. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
High school learners in low-income countries are negatively impacted by the SARS Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, university lecturers of mathematics will have to offer remedial classes to bridge the gap. Since they cannot create practice problems at scale for each student's needs, there is a need for computational tools to do so. There are no existing and published formalisations of mathematical problems that abide by the South African curriculum to allow the automatic generation of problems. We aim to address this gap by formalising exam problems written by grade 12 South African learners in the period 2008–2020. We evaluate the problem types by demonstrating 65% coverage of the 74 matric rewrite problems from the years 2011–2018. The presented problem formalisations allow the generation of maths problems to be used for student-led remedial practice. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Experimentation as a teaching technique allows the understanding and relationship of concepts as well as the acquisition of problem-solving skills. Computational chemistry is a tool for studying chemical phenomena through computational experiments. The use of simulation in chemistry and biochemistry education is evolving the teaching techniques and developing computational skills. Teaching chemistry and biology through simulations and structural analysis is mainly limited to graduate students. However, we are moving toward a future where computational skills, including programming and simulation, will no longer be optional. In the present research, we use a pharmaceutical example for computational modeling and molecular docking to study and design drugs. Physicochemical characterization of the drug Remdesivir was carried out to demonstrate that the acquisition and learning of theoretical concepts are more practical when performing computational experiments. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus brought the entire world to a grinding halt, and it has still not recovered from the vandalization caused. Along with the dramatic loss of lives worldwide, the situation also proved to be disruptive in every sector of the economy. Education system also faced immense turbulence. It has impacted the younger children the most as the effectiveness of online classes is highly doubtful among them. Even the teachers are not able to deliver classes to their best ability. Keeping in mind the present circumstances and the return to state of normalcy, ‘The ELF Tribe’ is designed as an educational tool for both teachers and students. There is substantial evidence in science to prove that kids learn better with hands-on experience but nothing can replace a good teacher. This application assists them in non-teaching tasks which, when blended with traditional schooling, has the potential to redefine meaningful schooling. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to assess how did Moroccan higher education students behave during the transition from face-to-face education to a complete remote education triggered by Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, we could accordingly deduce even a first conclusion if they are ready and accept education 4.0. For that purpose, a survey is carried out for 1030 students from different Moroccan universities. Results show that students are not satisfactory of remote learning mainly because of the lack of connection means and the interaction with teachers and classmates. However, students and teachers surveyed are convinced of the utility of digital educational tools and are ready to use them. Thus, we can conclude of their readiness for education 4.0 revolution that will accompany the Bachelor reform. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
A special type of coronavirus responsible for respiratory illness was first discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and shortly is spreading in the world. Even few vaccines have been developed, actually their effects are not completely studies during few years over a large population, and it is possible that this pandemic to be seasonal in the future, in a similar manner like the flu. An educational tool will be useful for students and research to learn the model of spreading the disease, especially for biomedical engineering students that have knowledge both about the infectious diseases and mathematical modelling. An educational tool for recurrent waves of COVID-19 disease is proposed. The tool uses two general types of models: a compartment one that can be translated in a system of ordinary differential diseases (ODE) and neural network ones. The asymptomatic compartment and quarantine along with possibility of re-infection is taken into account in both models. The lockdown is simulated using few types of continuous function instead on constant transmission rate of disease. A graphic user interface (GUI) is constructed in order to offer to user an intuitive manner to user learn the COVID-19 models. The tool offers the possibility to choose the parameters of models and suggestion for equilibrium stability to the disease-free and endemic equilibrium and calculation of basic reproduction number. A predefined set with collected data for few countries was downloaded from site that maintains the evidence of cases in the world, but also new collected data by user can be loaded into tool to test the models. © 2021, National Defence University - Carol I Printing House. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of using Google Classroom as an educational tool during pandemic of Covid-19. This research is a meta-analysis study based on the search for several articles from newspapers and conferences that fit within the search string and the research protocol. From the selection and extraction of articles that fit within the research protocol, the accepted articles were classified considering the criteria of effectiveness, limitations and challenges and the solutions adopted by the educational stakeholders during the pandemic. Among the results found, we can highlight that the Google Classroom tool has good usability, the mobile application facilitates communication and interaction between hyperlinks. Among the limitations of the use of the tool during the pandemic, the internet quota or connection quality, or the impossibility of downloading large files, stand out. The solutions presented were to reduce the size of files and the good preparation of students and teachers in using this tool. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Universities must develop disciplinary skills during the COVID-19 era due to virtual classes, even in laboratory practices. In this experiment, disciplinary skills during COVID-19 era are developed through Project-Based Learning (PjBL), which is a classroom approach to give students knowledge and skills, through projects focused on real world challenges and problems. The purpose of this study was to design PjBL using Internet of Things (IoT) to have quantitative evaluation, learning experience perception, course contents assimilation, perception of improvement in soft skills and critical thinking. The project consisted in the measurement and analysis of vehicle variables for an engine embedded in IoT with idle speed conditions. The vehicle variables to be measured and analyzed are: carbon oxide and dioxide gas emissions, gas emission temperature, engine bay temperature and humidity, engine RPM, oil temperature, engine inertial forces, engine block temperature, and accelerator pedal position. The results prove that PjBLs with IoT in a hybrid context improve the students' learning experiences in a similar way to the face-to-face context. The score grade before and during COVID-19 exhibited 1.59% of increment;the learning experience perception showed that the students preferred the hybrid (42.86%) model (remote and real) in similar percentage in comparison with the face-to-face (53.06%), the virtual model (remote) was not fully accepted (4.08%). The 81.6% of the students preferred to implement projects based on IoT for future courses or prototypes. © 2021 ACM.
ABSTRACT
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the education system, there has been a consistent effort by schools to make it as effective as it was before. Many schools in India had to adapt to the online mode of education for the first time. Due to lack of experience and insufficient training, it became very challenging for teachers and students to learn and follow the new protocols. Many schools primarily adopted video conferencing platforms like Google meet, Zoom, etc., for the synchronous mode of education and tools like WhatsApp to enable asynchronous mode of education. Although these platforms are the immediate measures to respond to the pandemic situation, many teachers complain that they do not enable certain teaching-learning practices that are crucial. In our study, we aim to understand the dynamics of student-teacher participation in the online school context. We conducted contextual inquiries with fourteen secondary school teachers, eight students and three parents from tier-1 and tier-2 cities of India. We report teachers' difficulties in preparing digital content and making the class engaging. Similarly, we outline the challenges related to students' attention and collaboration. Finally, we provide design directions for building future systems for online schooling. © 2021 ACM.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the attitudes and challenges faced by STEM teachers during the implementation of online teaching in the midst of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. The approach involved collection and extraction of relevant data from two survey questionnaires. A sample size of 98 STEM teachers was recorded for the surveys. Responses were obtained from 98 STEM teachers working in different schools in Albania. The survey was comprised of two parts, namely teachers' preparedness for online teaching and teachers' pedagogical approaches in the online teaching. The results of the study revealed a general positive tendency towards the online learning and the integration of technological advances into young learner online classes. The results showed that although most teachers enjoyed the online teaching experience, they were unable to actively engage the young learners in the online classes. Moreover, teachers experienced issues with regard to classroom management and the design and management of online assessment tasks. The findings of this study encourage researchers to carry out further research on the utilisation of technological tools to increase young learners' active participation in STEM classes in the online platform. Finally, this study discusses pedagogical implications that emphasise the need for teachers' continuous professional development to benefit from technological advances and utilise them efficiently in online teaching. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Critical Thinking, is a complex construct that involves mental processes such as identifying, evaluating and analyzing problems, interpreting information, synthesizing evidence and reporting conclusions. In Peru, national assessments show that high school students score low on Critical Thinking items [1], which continues when they start university. This study aims to analyze the activities that form part of the Design Thinking methodology as potential enhancer of Critical Thinking in students starting university studies. 180 first year students of different careers, who were taking a course in which Design Thinking methodology is used, participated in the study. Critical Thinking was assessed at the end of the course by analyzing student's competencies through their final piece of class work. The results show that Design Thinking methods cover diverse activities that comply with the elements of Critical Thinking. These results provide promising evidence that Critical Thinking may support the development of further innovative thinking and that teachers can foster these competencies using Design Thinking in their classrooms. The present research was conducted in an emergency remote education context due to the Covid-19 pandemic. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Most chemical engineering core classes are best taught when students are exposed to a face-to-face learning/teaching environment. With the arrival of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the whole education system and the setting were disrupted at Hampton University (HU). Traditional in-person face-to-face classes were forced to move to remote instructions to maintain a healthy and safe campus environment and minimize the spread of COVID-19 on campus and in the community. As an instructor teaching core courses and unit operations laboratory in the Department of Chemical Engineering, it was challenging to move completely virtual and deliver instructions remotely without affecting students' learning outcomes. However, with the appropriate modern technologies and adapting to the students' change and needs, online teaching can be done efficiently and can still have efficient learning outcomes. Various activities were introduced to make the online/virtual class environment engaging in developing technical and professional skills and inducing learning for students. Using the latest educational tools and online resources, formative assessments were conducted throughout the course in an effort to improve student learning and instructor teaching. In addition to that, innovative ways of technology were also used to evaluate student learning and understanding of the material for grading and reporting purposes. Many of the modern educational tools, including Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Kahoot, linoit, surveys, polls, and chemical engineering processes' simulations and videos were introduced to make the synchronous sessions interactive. Likert-like surveys conducted were analyses to gauge the effectiveness of incorporation of technology during remote learning. This paper describes the innovative use of technologies to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Chemical Engineering Classes. It will also explain the strategies to assess the mode of delivery efficacy and how to change the course of teaching to adapt to the students' changing needs. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
ABSTRACT
Education in the United States (US) has come a long way over the past few decades. Now, learning institutions are combining traditional educational tools with newer technology such as virtual reality (VR) as well as augmented learning spaces. In light of the recent COVID-19 global pandemic, internet-assisted virtual classrooms are often preferred over traditional teaching - this reduces in-person contact while delivering lessons on time in a safe space. The construction industry has adopted virtual reality (VR) in safety training, design, and field management, and to coordinate installations as it helps in visualizing decisions. Despite the benefits, it has found limited application in construction management (CM) education. This study introduces CM undergraduates to a virtual jobsite and investigates the efficacy of VR as a knowledge transfer pedagogy. Using data and construction documents from an ongoing project, we deploy state of the art technology to convert them into a virtual space using TwinMotion, which in turn is viewed by students with the help of Oculus Rift headsets in a controlled environment. This research propels the learner into an immersive environment to learn about building systems through VR instead of using two-dimensional construction drawings. The subjects' understanding of the materials is gauged using an online pre- post quiz. With a design-based research approach, we assess the impact of VR tools on construction student knowledge, how students respond to this hybrid model of instruction, and whether it holds any value compared to other traditional methods of instruction. Incorporating such educational tools and practices can increase the prevalence of more focused educational knowledge transfer while protecting the students' health by reducing personal contact at the same time. We plan to further investigate VR across several course iterations and are optimistic that these immersive tools will help to better train young construction professionals before they join the industry. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
ABSTRACT
Hands-on experiments in laboratories are fundamental educational tools for technical sciences. However, laboratories are expensive and not always accessible to students: lockdown and in-person meeting restrictions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, distant location of teachers and students, facilities used for higher-priority purposes. Moreover, creating specific experimental setups for teaching only can be costly. In that context, digitalizing laboratory setups provides an attractive teaching alternative for remote e-learning. Digital twins are not meant to replace real-world experiments but should enable flexible teaching and effective learning at a lower cost. They complement physical setups and can be virtual extensions, allowing for larger and more complex study cases. e-learning is now popular and many educational institutions provide open-access videos of entire courses. However, the digitalization of practical exercises for engineering is yet limited. The e-learning effort presented in this paper aims to establish a series of digital twins of experimental setups for teaching building physics, energy in buildings and indoor environment. The development of the two first digital twins is detailed here. They are designed for teaching operation and balancing hydronic heating systems. Their numerical models and graphical user interfaces are created with the LabVIEW programming environment. © 2021 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the significance of adopting a technological-approach for advancing the future of education, underscoring the need to bring transformational changes in teaching methods by making them more technology-centric. In this context, Digital game-based learning (DGBL) is an efficacious educational tool to improve the quality of education in future classrooms. According to extant academic literature, digital video games entail myriad benefits, such as enhancing students' learning motivation and boosting their involvement in the learning mechanism. In spite of the constructive characteristics of DGBL, digital games' utilization in formal education remains very limited. Additionally, the uptake for meaningfully embedding these games into everyday classroom practice or the curriculum at large has failed to meet expectations. Given the immense contribution of teachers towards the educational framework, their views on the potential accomplishments of digital games will inevitably affect decisions concerning how, when, and the purposes for which they would be coalesced with the learning process. Consequently, game designers and developers have taken commendable measures to encourage teachers to adopt game-centric learning in formal education. This paper conducted a systematic study of scientific literature using Grounded Theory to shed light on the various techniques utilized to shape teachers' acceptance for digital games and their implementation across formal settings. The study's findings suggest that it is possible to positively change teachers' attitudes towards DGBL by engaging them in game design, provided that it is done in a cost and time-effective manner. © The Authors, 2021. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
The use of teaching based and supported on technology and its assumptions are back on the agenda due to COVID-19. As it is commonly known, teachers have been exploring Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) tools, but due to the pandemic context some have also been trying to explore less traditional formats, namely Role-Playing Games (RPG). Boosting the use and (re)creation of technological and digital media made us, educators, reflect upon the need to rethink and shift the learning and teaching processes towards a more hypersensory and gamified approach, which would foster a more sustainable development of the pupil and the tackling of the so-called 21st century skills within the virtual or blended classroom. This paper aims at analyzing the state of the art regarding the use of Educational Digital Games (EDG) on teaching and learning processes, the potential of educational digital Role-Playing Games (EDRPG) as tools for supporting teaching and learning in primary contexts, including the Schoolers & Scholars platform. Preliminary findings suggest that RPG stimulate the development of creativity, logical reasoning, problem solving, cooperation, and interdisciplinarity in primary contexts. © The Authors, 2021. All Rights Reserved.