Dr.'s Eye: The Design and Evaluation of a Video Conferencing System to Support Doctor Appointments in Home Settings

The spread of COVID-19 has encouraged the practice of using video conferencing for family doctor appointments. Existing applications and off-the-shelf devices face challenges in dealing with capturing the correct view of patients' bodies and supporting ease of use. We created Dr.'s Eye, a video conferencing prototype to support varying types of body exams in home settings. With our prototype, we conducted a study with participants using mock appointments to understand the simultaneous use of the camera and display and to get insights into the issues that might arise in real doctor appointments. Results show the benefits of providing more flexibility with a decoupled camera and display, and privacy protection by limiting the camera view. Yet, challenges remain in maneuvering two devices, presenting feedback for the camera view, coordinating camera work between the participant and the examiner, and reluctance towards showing private body regions. This inspires future research on how to design a video system for doctor appointments. © 2023 ACM.

School Personnel Perceptions of Video Conference Individualized Education Program Meetings

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools in the U.S. pivoted to provide services to students using technology to mitigate the need for face-to-face interactions. In addition to providing instruction using distance technology, it was necessary for schools to conduct much of their other business in a way that limited face-to-face interactions, including Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings for students who receive special education services. This study sought to better understand the extent to which school personnel believe they will continue to use a video conference format for IEP meetings, even without the existence of school policy restricting face-to-face events. Additionally, barriers and facilitators related to video conference IEP meetings were explored. A survey was completed by school professionals (n = 292) that included responses to Likert-scale items related to video conference IEP meetings as well as open-ended qualitative items to better understand respondent perceptions. Results suggest school personnel generally believe that video conference IEP meetings can be beneficial and should be offered as an option to IEP teams. In addition, qualitative data related to barriers and facilitators have been provided. Implications for school personnel and future research have also been described.

Impact of VR Application in an Academic Context

Traditional learning has faced major changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the necessity for innovative education methods. Virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to change teaching and learning paradigms by providing a gamified, immersive, and engaging education. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of virtual reality in academic context by using a VR software instrument (called EduAssistant). The system's features such as virtual amphitheater, search by voice recognition, whiteboard, and a video conference system have fostered a sense of connection and community interaction. The study involved 117 students for VR experience, out of which 97 watched a pre-recorded video and 20 students used the VR headset, and an additional 20 students for traditional learning. The students who used the VR headset achieved a significantly higher mean quiz score of 8.31 compared to 7.55 for the traditional learning group with a two-tailed p-value of 0.0468. Over 80% of the total number of participants were satisfied (4 or 5 out of 5) with the experience and the confidence level when searching through voice recognition was over 90%. The study demonstrates that virtual reality is an excellent approach for changing conventional education. The research results, based on samples, simulations, and surveys, revealed a positive impact of VR and its gamification methods on the students' cognitive performance, engagement, and learning experience. Immersion provided by a virtual assistant tool helped to promote active and deep learning. Experiments based on EduAssistant features suggest that virtual reality is also an effective strategy for future research related to students with disabilities. © 2023 by the authors.

Impact of VR Application in an Academic Context

Traditional learning has faced major changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the necessity for innovative education methods. Virtual reality (VR) technology has the potential to change teaching and learning paradigms by providing a gamified, immersive, and engaging education. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of virtual reality in academic context by using a VR software instrument (called EduAssistant). The system's features such as virtual amphitheater, search by voice recognition, whiteboard, and a video conference system have fostered a sense of connection and community interaction. The study involved 117 students for VR experience, out of which 97 watched a pre-recorded video and 20 students used the VR headset, and an additional 20 students for traditional learning. The students who used the VR headset achieved a significantly higher mean quiz score of 8.31 compared to 7.55 for the traditional learning group with a two-tailed p-value of 0.0468. Over 80% of the total number of participants were satisfied (4 or 5 out of 5) with the experience and the confidence level when searching through voice recognition was over 90%. The study demonstrates that virtual reality is an excellent approach for changing conventional education. The research results, based on samples, simulations, and surveys, revealed a positive impact of VR and its gamification methods on the students' cognitive performance, engagement, and learning experience. Immersion provided by a virtual assistant tool helped to promote active and deep learning. Experiments based on EduAssistant features suggest that virtual reality is also an effective strategy for future research related to students with disabilities.

VRobotator: A Virtual Robot Facilitator of Small Group Discussions for K-12

The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the importance of efficient and accommodating online educational experiences. In this contribution, we present a novel system for the facilitation of small group online discussions using an avatar during video conferencing. The avatar was programmed with group facilitation best practices, whereas the content for the activities was prepared by the classes' teachers. Groups of tenth grade students interacted with the system, where we compared activities facilitated by the avatar with activities without facilitation. Our results show that students reported the activity with the avatar to be significantly more efficient, more understandable and inducing more participation compared to activities without avatar facilitation. Students also spoke significantly more with avatar facilitation. This system shows promise in future online educational activities as a facilitator of discussions with K-12 students. © 2022 ACM.

Trends in the Development of Online Platforms for Distance Learning

The article examines modern trends in the use of online} platforms in distance learning. The prerequisites for the transition to distance education in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic are outlined. Features of the most popular online learning platforms, such as Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Moodle, are reviewed. A comparison of services and services offered to users of educational platforms was carried out. The performance indicators of the Zoom Video Communications company were considered. Prospects for the development of platforms for distance learning in the future are outlined. © 2022 IEEE.

Effects of Digital Avatar on Perceived Social Presence and Co-presence in Business Meetings Between the Managers and Their Co-workers

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, more people in the workforce, especially in the IT industry, started working from home. This brought a set of issues and challenges for both workers and companies across the globe such as losing touch with other co-workers. This could potentially result in decrease of the performance and innovation. This paper investigates effects of using digital avatar robots in virtual meeting environment, specifically, focusing on the perception of social presence and co-presence between workers and their managers. Our experiment results showed that majority of participants felt an improvement in social presence, co-presence and overall virtual meeting experience while using digital avatar for their meetings, especially to those who has a meeting with less familiar persons or persons from the higher corporate hierarchy. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Current Status of Radiology Education Online: a Comprehensive Update.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate various online resources available for radiology education. An online search was conducted using PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD) and Google Scholar for publications discussing the applications of online learning in radiology. The search strategy employed a combination of the following terms: radiology, web-based conferencing, radiology education seminars, radiology education online, radiology education programs, online lectures, radiology residency, radiology degree, Radiology-Integrated Training Initiative (R-ITI) e-learning platform, UTAUT, Moodle, active image-based learning, Video conference platforms (VCPs), education, undergraduate, medical students, teaching, virtual learning, blended learning, e-learning, COVID-19, pandemic, OER, open education resources, online learning, course assets, accessibility, 5G Internet, game-based learning, radiology competition, and virtual world. The literature published was reviewed and consolidated. Data from the literature shows that radiology education online and radiology education seminars are undergoing a revolution due to advancements in computers, online software, and 5G Internet speed. The pace of this development has accelerated even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic and thus forced distance online education. Various technologies are available and are being implemented by residency programs across the world to improve radiology education, making it more interactive and safer in this pandemic. Online learning has become an integral part of education in radiology, with new facets being added to it.

Cloud computing security for e-learning during COVID-19 pandemic

The demand for e-learning services increased during the developments of the COVID-19 virus and its rapid spread, and the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) that social distancing should be required. The rapid transition to the e-learning environment quickly led to the neglect of some security aspects, which led to an increase in cyber attacks targeting computer accounts, which is one of the most important pillars of e-learning. In these papers, the attacks that target the cloud computer used in the most important e-learning have been studied and classified according to the victim using an inductive methodology based on global statistics related to cyber attacks and recent research. And suggest appropriate solutions to avoid its occurrence in the near future and raise the level of protection for those computer clouds. © 2022 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

Subjective Quality Assessment of One-to-One Video-Telephony Services

Video-telephony applications have been widely used in people's daily life, such as online conferences, online education, and socialization. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the business volume of video-telephony services has generally increased rapidly. This leads to a growing need for video-telephony service quality assessment and monitoring. This paper presents the subjective tests conducted in 'Computational model used as a QoE/QoS monitor to assess video-telephony services' (G.CMVTQS) project, which is under study in ITU-T SG12 Q.15. Two types of subjective tests are designed. Audiovisual material subjective test focuses on the quality of multimedia streams, while conversational subjective test focuses on the quality of interaction experience. These tests simulate real-life situations in video-telephony with different types of user terminals (PCs, TVs and mobile phones), environments (office, home, restaurant and outdoor), audio/video parameters (resolution, frame rate, bit rate and codec) and network impairments (packet loss, delay, jitter, bandwidth, synchronization). The final subjective database built collaboratively by five laboratories in different countries will be analyzed in the near future and provide more insights to develop new QoE/QoS monitor models for video-telephony. © 2022 IEEE.

Video conferencing in the e-learning context: explaining learning outcome with the technology acceptance model.

This study uses the technology acceptance model (TAM) to help explain how the use of technology influences learning outcomes emanating from engagement with the Zoom video conference platform. To this end, structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among the TAM variables in reference to Zoom taught during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following a cross-sectional research design, data were collected using Davis's TAM (1989) scales including perceived ease of use (PEoU), perceived usefulness (PU), behavioral intentions, and attitude from 321 South Korean university students attending their 10th week of English as a foreign language (EFL) conversational English classes. Results revealed that seven of the ten proposed hypotheses were confirmed, with path coefficients having small to large effect sizes. Most notably, PEoU with Zoom strongly affected PU and actual use. In addition, PU with Zoom predicted intentions to use Zoom in the future; however, it failed to influence perceived learning outcomes. While PU predicted future use, it did not influence actual use regarding how well students reported their current performance in their video conference course. PEoU with video conference tools was an influential antecedent to usefulness, attitude, and perceived learning outcome. Lastly, two notable instances of mediation through PU occurred. In consideration of findings, students and instructors should be well trained on the use and functionality of video conference software before its implementation in video conference classrooms.

Learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed education worldwide. Learning that is usually done offline has turned into online learning to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The purpose of writing this article is to describe the latest and updated learning conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. What kind of learning was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, was the learning effective, how was the learning outcome, and the challenges faced. The systematic literature review is used to find answers to this article's purpose by synthesizing 53 articles selected according to the criteria. The synthesis results found that online learning was carried out using video conference as a substitute for face-to-face meetings, discussions, exams, and learning feedback using supporting applications. The internet was the direct support. Most of the learning shows significant results. Learning outcomes cannot be concluded whether it is good or not. There are many challenges during learning. It indicates that the world of education is not fully ready to transform from offline learning to online learning. A standard platform for online learning and rules of learning is required to minimize negative impacts and pay attention to the socio-emotional aspect. © 2022, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

Converting an Undergrad-Lab to an Interactive E-Learning Experience That Enables Student Teamwork

This Innovative Practice Work in Progress Paper presents a comprehensive approach to convert an undergrad hands-on electronics lab to an e-learning experience. Special care was taken to make the format interactive as well as to encourage teamwork between students. The conversion was made to conform with the social distancing measures implemented as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of relying on pre-recorded lessons, the lab was offered through live video sessions. Multiple cameras were used to make it easy for students to follow the instructor performing the experiment. Students worked together in teams they had chosen at the beginning of the semester throughout the entire course, giving team members the opportunity to get to know each other or strengthen existing bonds. During the live sessions, the teams were repeatedly sent to breakout rooms to discuss and vote on questions related to the execution of the experiments and the measurement results. The votes, which were carried out using the Moodle learning management system (LMS), were then discussed in the plenary, and the course of the experiment was adjusted accordingly. Using data of student participation from the LMS and the results of a detailed survey, the success of the implemented measures can be proven empirically. 88.2% of students found that the interactive elements helped them to stay concentrated during the live sessions. 79.6% agreed that the breakout rooms improved cooperation within their team and 72.8% plan to stay in touch with their team members.

PRELIMINARY EVALUATION IMMERSIVE TEACHING APPLICATION IN DISTANCE LEARNING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This study describes the design of a Virtual Reality (VR) application for distance learning purposes from the lecturer’s perspective during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research illustrated that virtual reality could be applied to the learning process in the classroom. Researchers used to make applications that can be used with the video conference platform, commonly used during a pandemic, to make it easier to reach students. The evaluation involved 18 faculty members in the Faculty of Computer Science to check the usefulness of each virtual reality function in two different scenarios, namely the teaching scenarios using controllers and hand tracking. The results showed significantly better results in virtual reality scenes where the controller was used for teaching scenarios. © 2022 ICIC International. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of the Learning Effects of Face-to-Face Versus Online Formats of a Clinical Reasoning Lecture.

Objective This study investigated the different learning effects achieved through a clinical reasoning lecture that was simultaneously conducted via two formats: one format involved in-person face-to-face instruction, whereas the other provided remotely conducted online instruction. The lecture was based on a case presentation held at a participating university in 2015. Methods We compared the learning outcomes between the abovementioned formats based on participants' responses. Data were obtained using questionnaires distributed to eligible lecture attendees, including medical students and physicians who had graduated during the preceding 10 years. The questions were about the following aspects: the time duration of the lecture, degree of satisfaction with the online system (online attendees), and degree of satisfaction with the lecture content. The participants then completed a five-question mini-test related to the disease from the presented lecture case to assess their overall degree of understanding. Results Online participants gave significantly higher scores for images in the online system (degrees of satisfaction: online 72.7 ± 18.0 vs. in-person 55.6 ± 24.9), audio in the online system (66.1 ± 20.5 vs. 57.5 ± 25.8), the usefulness of multiple venues (82.1 ± 19.3 vs. 60.5 ± 25.0), intention to attend the next lecture (82.3 ± 19.0 vs. 65.8 ± 21.4), and overall meaningfulness of the lecture in the online interactive format (83.6 ± 16.3 vs. 72.6 ± 19.6) compared with the in-person group. However, similar mini-test scores were documented between the two groups (4.2 ± 0.7 for the in-person group and 4.3 ± 0.7 for the online group; no significant differences were noted). Conclusions The results show similar learning effects, degrees of satisfaction, and degrees of comprehension between online and in-person lecture attendees. Our findings demonstrate that the online format is a suitable pedagogical intervention in the study context. Continued implementation and further studies are thus warranted to gain deeper insights into the topic.

Awareness of security and privacy settings in video conferencing apps among faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has forced many schools and universities worldwide, including Saudi Arabia, to move from traditional face-to-face learning to online learning. Most online learning activities involve the use of video conferencing apps to facilitate synchronous learning sessions. While some faculty members were not accustomed to using video conferencing apps, they had no other choice than to jump on board regardless of their readiness, one of which involved security and privacy awareness. On the other hand, video conferencing apps users face a number of security and privacy threats and vulnerabilities, many of which rely on human factors to be exploited. In this study, we used survey data from 307 faculty members at 43 Saudi Arabian universities to determine the level of awareness among Saudi Arabian faculty regarding security and privacy settings of video conferencing apps and to investigate the factors associated with it. We analyzed the data using the Knowledge-Attitudes-Behaviors (KAB) model and the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. We found that the average awareness score of video conferencing apps' security and privacy settings falls into the "Poor" category, which is not surprising considering that many faculty members only started using this new technology on a daily basis because of the pandemic. Further analysis showed that perceived security, familiarity with the app, and digital literacy of faculty members are significantly associated with higher awareness. Privacy concerns are significantly associated with higher awareness only among STEM faculty members, while attitudes toward ICT for teaching and research are negatively associated with such awareness among senior faculty members with more than 10 years of experience. This study lays the foundation for future research and user education on the security and privacy settings of video conferencing applications.

Experience in the Development and Use of an Information System for Remote Written Tests Conducting

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of conducting various exams remotely has become much more relevant. In cases of written examinations in the form of tests, numerous e-learning systems can be used. If the answers are no longer representable in the form of tests, other ways must be used. It is also important to solve the problem of monitoring the student in the process of passing the exam. This paper describes an experience for development and use of information system for conducting remote written tests. © 2022 IEEE.

THE ROLE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION IN TELEWORK MANAGEMENT DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS

Among the changes brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, many affect the management of organisations. This is the case of the sudden implementation of teleworking policies, which, together with social distancing measures and periods of confinement, became widespread in the worst period of the pandemic. This research studies the role of internal communication in the management of telework during the Covid-19 crisis through document review and expert interviews. The results indicate that internal communication is a very important element for these policies and that during the pandemic its relevance in keeping employees aligned with the interests of the brands has been highlighted. To execute these policies, organisations have developed new channels, enhanced team cohesion and fostered empathy from leaders and the separation of work and personal life. Communication with employees is the cornerstone of these telework policies, which require the implementation of strategies and tools to facilitate the well-being and happiness of remote workforces. This paper also incorporates recommendations for internal communication management in relation to the new organisational needs arising during this period.

Analysis of Behavioral and Information Security Awareness among Users of Zoom Application in COVID-19 Era

Behavior in using inappropriate technology and low level of individual awareness causes a high risk of cybercrime. This study aims to see the behavior and awareness of information security among users of the Zoom application, especially in the COVID-19 era in Indonesia. The measurement scales used in this study were RBS (Risky Behavior Scale), CBS (Conservative Behavior Scale), EOS (Exposure Offence Scale), and RPS (Risk Perception Scale). This research used an online questionnaire to collect data with 400 respondents. Data analysis techniques used the Independent Sample T-Test, Mann Whitney, One Way Anova, Krusskal Wallis, Tukey, Pairwise Comparison, and Spearman Rank, which were processed using the SPSS program. The results showed significant differences between demographics on behavior and information security awareness. Daily Internet usage time influenced behavior and awareness of information security. Security behavior and awareness of information security are essential to determine the risks due to behavior and lack of awareness of information security. The most important findings in this study can be used as a reference in designing information security training. Further studies are expected to add other variables such as psychography, geography, or other users of different video conferencing applications such as Google Meet, Microsoft Team, and Webex. © 2022 WITPress. All rights reserved.