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Background: Social media is a ubiquitous phenomenon that serves as a tool for communication, collaboration, and creativity. In the long term, it has an indispensable place in the field of education. The research paper discusses the use of certain social networking sites where learning management systems are extensively and consistently used in the teaching and learning process at universities. The rapid transition to online platforms had a tremendous impact on the educational process, exposing and promoting the effectiveness of heutagogy. The circumstances made it necessary to emphasize the value of self-directed learning and the capacity to identify educational requirements and strategies for reaching study objectives. This kind of research corresponds to the increased need to develop desired self-study skills in students. Objectives: The goal of the paper is to demonstrate how undergraduate students perceive the trends in acceptance and the degree of appropriateness of social media for academic purposes. Methods: Research on social media use in education was inspired by a review of the literature. The purpose of the questionnaire is to track awareness, use, general satisfaction, communication, testing, and revision. The set of social media examined in the survey (years 2021 and 2022) was modified to reflect the social media landscape at the time. This study compares the findings of four different studies. The outcomes are displayed in graphs. Results: Two areas are analyzed: social media as a means of communication in the process of education and social media as a tool enabling students' revision and testing of study materials. The first two studies, which were conducted in 2014 and 2019, are based on the same set of examined social media and fit the comparison, enabling to define the trend in students' perceived satisfaction with social media for study purposes. The third and fourth studies discussed in this paper were run during the winter semesters of 2021 and 2022. Conclusions: The most significant differences between 2021 and 2022 can be seen in Instagram, Twitch, and other platforms, where a substantial drop in satisfaction in the communication field can be seen. The biggest difference in revision and testing is found in Facebook, Twitch, and Teams, which are abandoning online teaching and learning after the COVID-19 event. Social media use for studying has significantly decreased, with noteworthy decreases in Wiki, Facebook, and video calls.
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Individuals attempting to study remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown will find that blended learning is a helpful solution and results in a significant increase in learning engagement. The best benefits for teachers and students are obtained by maximizing the advantages of each teaching method and by combining the advantages of online and face-to-face instruction. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the flex model of blended learning in teaching the mathematics subtopic of coordinates in the plane through the improvement of students' academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes. A quasi-experiment was conducted to compare the academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes of 46 students in the control class who used traditional methods to those of 44 students in the experimental group who used the blended learning model. The pre-and post-test results, observations, and student opinion survey were used to compile data, which were then analyzed quantitatively (with SPSS) and qualitatively. The study confirmed that blended learning positively impacts students' academic achievement in the experimental class compared with the control class (Sig (2-tailed) = 0.001 and SMD = 0.6717), as demonstrated by the outcomes of the independent t-test analysis of the two groups in the post-test phase. In addition, observations and student opinion survey results also indicated that blended learning increased student interactions with teachers and improved students' academic achievement, self-study abilities and learning attitudes. Due to time constraints, not all the students who participated in the experiment could make progress. On the other hand, the study's relatively small sample size gave the impression that the results were only partially representative of the population. As a result, additional studies focusing on improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning within different blended learning models, broadening the scope of research on the influence of blended learning in other subjects, or increasing the sample size can all be considered.
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This study examines how the gender of students and their level of education (undergraduate or postgraduate students) influence affective learning outcomes in a mixed environment. The research model is based on four key indicators: satisfaction, perception of experience (perceived usefulness, ease of use, and perceived behavioral control), perception of benefits (general learning effectiveness, knowledge sharing and increasing, study skills improvement, and sense of progress), and academic performance. Moderating factors, including gender and education level, were used to define the distinctions in the measured results. The study was conducted in the fall semester of 2021. The target samples were students of undergraduate and postgraduate levels studying during the semester in the blended environment. A total of 513 students from Peter the Great Polytechnic University took part in the research. The online questionnaire was conducted to define the affective learning outcomes of students in the blended environment and the influence of affective outcome factors on academic performance. The Likert-type five-point scale was used to determine all the variables. For our statistical analysis, we used SPSS 24.0 and SmartPLS 3.0 programs. Two tests were implemented to determine the differences between gender and education level in relation to students’ affective learning outcomes. Finally, our study revealed how distinctive aspects of affective learning outcomes impact academic learning outcomes in a blended format using linear regression analysis. According to the results obtained, the results between males and females were similar and academic performance results were mostly predicted by satisfaction level. A difference was revealed between undergraduate students’ results and postgraduate students’ results. Perceived benefit has a greater effect on academic performance for postgraduate students, while satisfaction level has a greater effect on academic performance results for undergraduate students than for postgraduate students.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed many aspects of people’s lives, including all forms of education. Online studies and distance learning have become a reality across the globe. This study offers a detailed review of the effectiveness of “traditional” virtual class activities (online lectures with recordings, video conferencing, and virtual lab demonstrations) as well as openly-accessed educational resources (digital libraries, collections of the digitized films and videos, free-license software tools, hands-on lab tutorials, and project-development environments and infrastructures) that could be effectively used by instructors and students to enrich STEM educational activities. The case studies overview the necessity of improving students’ self-study skills, online tutoring, faculty training, new partnerships between academic institutions and high-tech companies, the role of multimedia platforms, and financial-support opportunities. The challenges of unresolved issues (remote internship, constraints of old-style professional certification examinations and learning-outcome assessments, and violations of students’ privacy in Cloud and social-media communications) are addressed.
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The paper deals with utilization of selected social media where learning management system plays a comprehensive and stable role in the teaching/learning process in the university setting. The goal of the paper is to show the acceptance and a level of appropriateness of social media for study purposes perceived by students. Results from three consecutive studies form the backbone of the presented paper showing the trends in the acceptance of social media and satisfaction with them. Two areas are analysed: social media as a means of communication in the process of education and social media as a tool enabling students’ revision and testing of study materials. This kind of research corresponds to the increased need to develop desired self-study skills in students, especially in the context of Covid19 experience. The first studies, which were conducted in 2014 and 2019, are based on the identical set of examined social media and fit the comparison enabling to define the trend in students’ satisfaction with social media for study purposes. The third study discussed in this paper was run during winter semester of 2021. The set of examined social media in the questionnaire was adapted to reflect the current social media scene. Experience with the abrupt shift to online platforms caused by global crisis has significantly affected the process of education exposing and endorsing the power of heutagogy. The situation prompted the need to emphasize the importance of autonomous education and ability to define educational needs and ways of achieving study goals. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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The Covid-19 pandemic led to significant changes in higher education institutions, with a rapid pivot from on-campus to online teaching and learning. The move to predominantly online teaching resulted in a very different learning experience for many campus-based students, offering new opportunities and challenges. This Directions article is co-written by a student-staff partnership team and shares advice on how to thrive when studying online. The approaches developed to support online and blended learning during the pandemic are likely to be long-lasting, and so the top tips identified in this article have relevance to and beyond possible future disruptions to the higher education learning experience. We discuss four elements to support a successful and meaningful online learning experience: 1) Carefully managing time and balancing different tasks;2) Staying motivated and rewarding yourself on completion of tasks;3) Engaging and participating with online learning materials and classes, related to the effective use of online tools to study and stay in touch with peers and staff;4) Engaging in professional development opportunities and seeking help and support when needed. Following the advice in this article will enable you to approach your studies with confidence, leading to a positive and meaningful learning experience. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Geography in Higher Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education across the world as campuses closed to restrict the spread of the virus. UK universities swiftly migrated to online delivery. The experiences of students and staff during this transition can inform our return to campus and our ability to deal with future disruption. This study draws on Moore's theory of transactional distance to understand factors influencing student study skills engagement and participation in online learning during this period. We surveyed students (n = 178) in a computing school at a UK university. A partial least squares (PLS) analysis was used to explore the influence of transactional distance (between students/teachers and between students/students), access to e-learning capital, and perceived usefulness on two measures: study skills engagement and participation in online collaborative activity. Results show that transactional distance influences participation, and e-learning capital influences study skills engagement. Our findings suggest that if universities continue with aspects of online learning for previously on-campus students they should provide access to infrastructure and training on utilising the online ecosystem to avoid disadvantaging students. Further investment in students' e-learning capital, such as signposting and adapting existing resources, is also necessary to support this key influence in study skills engagement.
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Mental health issues related to academic stress are experienced amongst undergraduates from different disciplines, with key factors being workload, study skills, resource access and socioeconomic conditions. The status of mental health and well-being of engineering students, globally, has become of increasing concern, but is relatively poorly researched. This paper presents the findings of a faculty initiative at a research-intensive institution in South Africa to determine engineering students' experience of academic stress. Drawing on a holistic educational model, quantitative and qualitative survey results are presented. Key systemic factors are the volume, intensity and distribution of workload, as well as the experience of 'information overload' during the Covid-19 pandemic. On the affective front, students provide detailed accounts of the negative emotional impact, which, in turn, contributes to loss of productivity and confidence. The cohort-comparison analysis reveals clear trends across years of study, as well as problem-versus emotion-focused coping strategies. This faculty case study on engineering student experience of academic-related stresses hopes to demonstrate the synergistic relationship between the systemic, affective and, ultimately, cognitive educational support domains for which engineering faculties are responsible. Suggestions are included for ways in which to facilitate improved mental health in our engineering students. © 2021 IEEE.
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PURPOSE: Assess the impact of learner-specific interventions on third-year medical students to cope with quarantine distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a nested cross-sectional and mixed-methods study in a sample of 81 third-year medical students. Two face-to-face interventions were designed and conducted to offer tools to improve study habits, time management, and prioritizing skills. A nine-item structured questionnaire was administered. Descriptive statistics was performed for the quantitative section and thematic analysis for the qualitative section. RESULTS: Of the study population, 74.1% (60/81) completed the online questionnaire, 65.4% were female, and the mean age of the sample was 21.4±1.2 years old. Overall, ~50% of participants affirmed that the workshops were useful to improve time management, organize tasks and adapt to the new study modality imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 60% of the students found the application of the provided tools during the interventions (SMART and COMPASS) useful to determine personal values and set a proper mindset for coping with distance learning. Further, 93.3% of the respondents applied the SMART strategy learned to set goals at least once during the confinement time. These findings were also seen in the thematic analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, most of the students found the workshops useful and were able to practice what they had learned during this pandemic lockdown. Medical schools and higher education institutions should evaluate the possibility of formally including study habit preparation for undergraduates' students in order to provide resilience and successful academic adaptation during an ever-changing world.