The Impact of Disadvantage on Higher Education Engagement during Different Delivery Modes: A Pre- versus Peri-Pandemic Comparison of Learning Analytics Data

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.

Preservice Music Educators' Perceptions of Online Synchronous Fieldwork: A Case Study

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine preservice music educators' perceptions of teaching voice lessons to elementary and secondary students during an online synchronous fieldwork experience. I used Garrison et al.'s Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework to analyze the participants' perceptions of cognitive presence (i.e., triggering events, exploration, integration, and resolution), social presence (i.e., emotional expression, open communication, and group cohesion), and teaching presence (i.e., structure and design of the fieldwork experience). During initial lessons, participants cited mostly triggering events and exploration, which occurred alongside indicators of social presence. Participants cited technological challenges associated with online synchronous learning (i.e., teaching presence) may have hindered instances of integration and resolution. Music teacher educators may consider using the CoI framework to structure collaborative and supportive online synchronous fieldwork experiences.

An impact of content delivery, equity, support and self-efficacy on student's learning during the COVID-19.

Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the colleges and universities across the world have shifted to online classes in place of face-to-face classes. In the wake of this outbreak, the present study focuses on analyzing the impact of sudden shift to online classes, on the undergraduate and postgraduate student's overall learning. The PLS-SEM results concluded that the content delivery has been the most significant construct to impact both self-efficacy and overall learning. The self-efficacy partially mediates the support and equity relationship with the overall learning. The student with greater self-efficacy will have better overall learning from this e-synchronous teaching methodology. However, content delivery has a stronger role in impacting the overall learning even if there is absence of self-efficacy, thus concluding no mediation.

The implementation of chatbot-mediated immediacy for synchronous communication in an online chemistry course.

Low student engagement and motivation in online classes are well-known issues many universities face, especially with distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online environment makes it even harder for teachers to connect with their students through traditional verbal and nonverbal behaviours, further decreasing engagement. Yet, addressing such problems with 24/7 synchronous communication is overly demanding for faculty. This paper details an automated Question-Answering chatbot system trained in synchronous communication and instructor immediacy techniques to determine its suitability and effectiveness in attending to students undergoing an online Chemistry course. The chatbot is part of a new wave of affective focused chatbots that can benefit students' learning process by connecting with them on a relatively more humanlike level. As part of the pilot study in the development of this chatbot, qualitative interviews and self-report data capturing student-chatbot interactions, experiences and opinions have been collected from 12 students in a Singaporean university. Thematic analysis was then employed to consolidate these findings. The results support the chatbot's ability to display several communication immediacy techniques well, on top of responding to students at any time of the day. Having a private conversation with the chatbot also meant that the students could fully focus their attention and ask more questions to aid their learning. Improvements were suggested, in relation to the chatbot's word detection and accuracy, accompanied by a framework to develop communication immediacy mechanics in future chatbots. Our findings support the potential of this chatbot, once modified, to be used in a similar online setting. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10639-023-11602-1.

Teaching Writing in Emergency Distance Education: The Case of Primary School Teachers

This is a case study examining the writing teaching processes of primary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifty-four primary school teachers who conduct their writing teaching practices by distance education took part in the study. The data were gathered through a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher under the guidance of an expert. The interviews were conducted via video chat programs. After having the participant's consent, the interviews were recorded. In the analysis of the transcribed texts, descriptive and content analysis methods were used. The results were divided into five groups after the data analysis, and these are: first writing experiences, situations originating from the teacher, situations originating from the student, situations originating from the student's parents, and recommendations. The results revealed that sufficient significance was not given to the writing tasks during the pandemic, and these efforts were postponed to the next semester when it was expected that face-to-face education would begin. In the process, the study revealed that student motivation was poor, there were issues in the management of the classroom environment, and writings of students could not be provided with the necessary feedback and corrections. Besides, what stands out that for teaching writing, parent support is required, and parents do not pay desired attention to the writing. However, primary school teachers have provided some suggestions for more effective writing teaching.

Emergency Remote Delivery--Rapid Resilience at a Trade School in the Utility Industry

This case describes the move to emergency remote delivery of classroom instruction at Northwest Lineman College (NLC), a private trade school focusing on educating the utility industry workforce. In particular, this case will describe the artifacts developed and critical design decisions the ad-hoc project team made to continue educating students in the Electrical Lineworker Programs at four locations across the USA at the start of the coronavirus crisis.

Designing "Virtual Social Europe Days" -- An International Collaborative Seminar across Closed Borders

"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.

Learning in Second-Chance Schools during COVID-19 Case Study: Legal Framework and Distance Learning Platforms in Greek Prisons

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.

Determining the Perceptions of Preservice Mathematics Teachers towards Mathematics Education through Visual Metaphors in the COVID-19 Process

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, has led to a number of changes in education as well as in many other fields . The most important change experienced was that education transformed into online platforms. Education on online platforms has led to several effects on students, and as a result, significant changes have been observed in students' perceptions of mathematics education. The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of pre-service mathematics teachers, who started university during the COVID-19 pandemic and took courses with synchronous distance education, through visual metaphors. The phenomenology method was used in the study. The sample of the study consisted of 31 first-year mathematics teachers who had never taken a face-to-face course at a university before. In sample selection, purposive sampling method was used. A metaphorical perception form was used to collect data. The participants were asked to make a drawing for the mathematics education they received through synchronous distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explain the drawing. The findings were analyzed using content analysis method. Thus, codes were identified and then categories were established by bringing similar codes together. The findings showed that metaphors were grouped under the categories of education process and emotions. It was found both in the drawings and the explanations that the participants had a negative perception of distance mathematics education during the pandemic process. In addition, it was revealed that the participants were afraid to ask questions because they had not met their friends and teachers before, and therefore the lessons were inefficient. In line with these results, suggestions were presented to improve the efficiency of distance mathematics education.

Digital Competences of Vocational Instructors with Synchronous Online Learning in Next Normal Education

This research study was conducted with the following objectives: to develop, evaluate and, investigate the vocational instructors' satisfaction with the online instructional management developed using the synchronous online learning with 2,233 vocational instructors from the Office of the Vocational Education Commission, Ministry of Education, from five regions of Thailand, namely the Central, the Northern, the Northeastern, the Southern, and the Eastern Regions and Bangkok. The research findings revealed that the vocational instructors' digital competence consisted of the following abilities: (1) analysis of course content, (2) application of video conference systems, (3) management of online classes, (4) management of online learning resources, (5) management of online learning activities, (6) development of tests, (7) development of instructional media, (8) development of instructional videos, (9) arrangement of active-learning activities, and (10) online evaluation and assessment of instruction. The vocational instructors' digital competence in online instructional management after the synchronous online learning was found to be significantly higher than before the learning, at the p-value rate of 0.01. "Overall," 93.19% of the vocational instructors were reported to pass the evaluation of online instructional management. The vocational instructors were found to be satisfied with their own digital competence in online instructional management at the highest level.

Exploring the Attitudes of Instructors toward Microsoft Teams Using the Technology Acceptance Model

The research and data aim to (a) examine instructors' evaluation of Microsoft Teams as reflected in their teaching at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) and (b) identify significant correlation between three determinants of the Technology Acceptance Model: perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and attitudes towards use (ATU). The researchers used a self-report survey answered by 230 instructors from multiple departments at the College of Basic Education. Several statistical tools examined mean differences. The research found that the instructors at PAAET highly rate Microsoft Teams. Perceived usefulness directly affected attitudes towards use while perceived ease of use (PEOU) indirectly affected attitudes towards use.

Studies on Education, Science, and Technology 2021

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.

Implementation of E-Learning in New Taipei City during COVID-19

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.

Elementary Teachers' Development in Using Technological Tools to Engage Students in Online Learning

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.

The Affordances of Video Conferencing Tools in Synchronous Online Sessions in the Turkish EFL Context

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.

Teaching about Density with a Filmed Experiment

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.

"I Did Not Sign Up for This": Student Experiences of the Rapid Shift from In-Person to Emergency Virtual Remote Learning during the COVID Pandemic

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to explore students' experiences of the emergency virtual remote teaching, which was implemented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: 439 students enrolled at a community college in Canada responded to a survey that had Likert-scale and open-ended questions. Anderson's model for online learning was used as an analytic lens to gain insight on student experiences. Descriptive statistics were used to make meaning of the data. Thematic analysis was done on student responses to open-ended questions. Results: Findings were organized according to Anderson's six factors in online teaching, namely: (a) Independent Study, (b) Peer, Family, & Professional Support, (c) Structured Learning Resources, (d) Community of Inquiry, (e) Communication, and (f) Paced, Collaborative Learning. The study revealed both challenges and opportunities that students experienced during their transition to emergency virtual remote learning. Conclusions: The invitation to students to share what worked--and what didn't--yielded a wealth of specific suggestions for engaging students, promoting accountability, and supporting collaborative learning. Implication for Practice: This study looked past anticipated pressure points to reveal critical teaching factors that challenge--or enable--students as they transition to emergency virtual remote teaching. Post-secondary instructors would be well served to consider how they promote self-efficacy, provide access to supports, fashion an online learning environment, develop community, communicate expectations, and encourage collaboration.

Collaborative Online International Learning Classes to Enhance Co-Creation in Canada and Japan

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.

Language Teachers' Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Emergency Remote Teaching

This study investigates university-level German instructors' perceived advantages and disadvantages of synchronous emergency remote teaching during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic at five universities across the United States. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered by means of an electronic questionnaire from 16 instructors of beginning German regarding their experiences with live remote instruction in 2020. Survey questions centered on the five goal areas of the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and online instructional practices. Findings indicate that the language instructors from the sample perceived emergency remote instruction--switching to teaching live online--to be overall more detrimental than advantageous to their students' language learning over the course of the quarantine and subsequent two pandemic semesters. However, the emergency switch to online instruction also afforded these instructors the opportunity to recognize some advantages to online instruction. The emergency nature of the switch to remote teaching revealed principles of resilience and the need for online language pedagogy in professional development. This study has implications for language teachers, administrators, language program directors, and state and district supervisors.

Learning Anatomy & Physiology Virtually: Student Performance during COVID-19

Delivering Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) labs online became necessary in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For four semesters (Summer 2020 through Summer 2021), our A&P1 and A&P2 labs were instructed in a virtual format. Each lab session included a one-hour synchronous session led by teaching assistants followed by at-home lab activities performed independently by students. Formative lab practice assignments were provided, and summative lab assessments were conducted weekly. Student performance in these online A&P1 labs was similar to performance during in-person labs, although more students failed or withdrew from the combined A&P1 lecture and lab course in the online environment compared to in-person. A&P2 performance data were very similar online versus in-person for both the A&P2 lab and the combined A&P2 lecture and lab course. Overall, our experience supports the conclusion that course modality is not the central factor in determining student success.