The effect of motor learning-based telerehabilitation on quality of life of children with cerebral palsy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During the pandemic, the access of children with cerebral palsy (CP) to rehabilitation services was adversely affected due to the significant risk of infection. AIMS: We assessed whether the effect of a motor learning-based treatment provided via a telerehabilitation method on the quality of life of children with cerebral palsy during the COVID-19 period was equivalent to face-to-face treatment. METHODS: Distance exercises were explained by a physiotherapist to the patients in the telerehabilitation group, and motor learning-based treatment was applied by their families; the physiotherapist followed the sessions with video conferencing. Motor learning-based treatment was offered to the face-to-face group by a physiotherapist in the clinic. RESULTS: In the comparison between the groups, there was a significant difference in the parameters of play activities, pain-hurt, fatigue, eating activities, and speech communication activities after treatment (p<0.05). However, in the test performed by considering the nonhomogeneous parameters before the treatment, no time-dependent difference was found in the repeated measurements before and after the treatment in all parameters (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Motor learning-based treatment provided using the telerehabilitation method has a positive effect on the quality of life of children with CP, but the results are similar to face-to-face treatment.

Distance Learning in Dance Sport during the Covid-19 Outbreak

This investigation was conducted during the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown period as a cause of closure of schools and higher education institutions. Learning dances, in which physical contact dominates, became extremely demanding and challenging at that time. The basic aim of this study was to analyse some metric characteristics of newly - constructed test for assessing the level of performance of samba and rumba steps learned in distance learning condition. The second aim was to determine differences by gender on the level of acquired skills in both samba and rumba. The sample of subjects consisted of 24 female and 15 male kinesiology students (aged 21-24). Three independent experts evaluated the performance of dances according to criteria described in newly-constructed tests. According to results obtained from the K-S test, the newly-constructed test showed satisfactory characteristics of sensitivity. Satisfactory values of Cronbach's alpha were determined (.95), and the overall variability of experts according to factorial analysis were explained 90%, showing thus good characteristics of objectivity and homogeneity. High correlation (.81) was established between evaluating samba and rumba dances on newly - constructed tests scale from 0 to 10, and evaluating samba and rumba on the Likert scale, commonly used in PE classes, presenting satisfactory validity of tests intended for evaluation of the level of performance of samba and rumba dances in distance learning conditions. According to the results of the T-test, significant differences in gender and performance of dance structures were obtained in the favour of female students. In conclusion, students can properly learn dances using the experimental distance learning method, and their dance skills can be correctly evaluated by the use of the newly-constructed tests.

Motor Coordination and Its Importance in Practicing Performance Movement

The training of good motor coordination optimizes the motor skills, and these, over time, lead to the improvement of the motor skills specific to the practiced movement. The purpose of this study was to assess the capacity and speed of learning coordinated movements in the context of working in an online system. At the same time, we set out to evaluate the level of motor coordination achieved through training using the eLearning platform Hudl and the Teaching Games for Understanding approach. Thus, three groups of students were analyzed whose motor histories were different. The analysis of the three tested groups was performed in the first year of study and in the third year of study. The training programs have been adjusted/modified according to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, which has determined their application in the online system as well. The results of this study confirm that by assisting learning through computer programs, in the online system, these workouts can be effective. At the same time, the study shows us that, in addition to the natural evolution from childhood and adolescence, an advanced form of motor coordination appears, which is installed through the action of learning. © 2023 by the authors.

Procedural Motor Learning in Long COVID

Background: Early in the Covid pandemic, reports started to emerge of patients with lingering symptoms following recovery from acute infection, so called Long Covid (Miners, 2020;Nath, 2020;Troyer, 2020). Despite the high prevalence of neurological symptoms like brain fog and memory dysfunction (Davis, 2020), most research has relied on surveys or clinical tools typically used to assess declarative memory (Alemanno, 2021;Mendez 2021;Taquet, 2021). To our knowledge, no studies have examined Long Covid patients' ability to learn and consolidate a procedural motor skill. Method(s): We addressed this question in a group of 108 patients with Long Covid and 108 age-and sex-matched controls. Participants performed a well-characterized motor sequence typing task alternating 10-second practice with 10-second rest for 36 trials over 12 minutes (Bonstrup, 2020;Bonstrup, 2019;Buch, 2021). The following day, performance was tested to evaluate overnight consolidation. The behavioral endpoint measure was correct sequence typing speed (Buch, 2021) . Data were fitted to a 3-parameter model (initial performance, maximum performance, learning rate). Simple reaction times (RT) were measured twice: at the beginning and the end of the experimental session. Result(s): On average, patients had experienced 50 weeks of symptoms at time of testing. Long Covid patients' typing speed was slower than healthy controls at the beginning of the session (p=0.00075). While learning rates were comparable across groups (p=0.142), at the end of training Long Covid patients had not reached the same performance level as controls (p=0.046). Overnight consolidation was not statistically different between groups (p=0.58). Fourteen patients were hospitalized during their acute infection;they did not perform differently to patients who were not hospitalized. There were no sex differences when comparing healthy, long covid or combined groups. Pre-task RT was slower in Long Covid patients than in healthy controls (Covid 373+/-131ms, controls 317+/-43ms) but did not predict initial or final typing speed, nor learning rate in either group. Post-task RT was also faster in both groups, marginally more so in patients (Covid 353+/-117ms, controls 314+/-51ms). Conclusion(s): Long Covid patients exhibited slower starting performance. While they learned the skill at about the same pace, they failed to reach the same typing speed as healthy controls by the end of the task. Reaction times, here used as a measure of attention, did not exhibit a direct link with learning metrics.

Evaluation Of Online Education From The Perspective Of Teachers During The Covid-19 Pandemic Process.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the online education applied in Turkey during the Covid-19 Pandemic from the perspective of the teachers. The research, which was designed in the descriptive survey model, was carried out on a total of 734 teachers. The conclusions reached based on the analysis of the data collected by the research questionnaire are as follows: According to most of the teachers participating in the research, the Covid-19 Pandemic process is a lost period in education in general. According to half of the participating teachers, the ineffectiveness of online education during the pandemic is due to the extraordinary conditions in this process. According to the teachers, online education is ineffective in psychomotor and social learning;It is partially effective in affective and cognitive learning. According to the teachers, the fact that students do not have enough selflearning, self-control and willpower characteristics are important factors in the ineffectiveness of online education during the pandemic process. In the same regard, the fact that teachers do not have enough cognitive skills with online pedagogy are other factors. According to teachers, the most important reason for the ineffectiveness of online education during the pandemic process is internet access problems. This was followed by the inadequacy of the existing teaching programs for distance education, the unpreparedness of the family and the inadequacies in the EBA system. In the research, it has been evaluated that Turkey is not yet fully ready for virtual and digital education ecosystems such as online education, both in terms of extraordinary conditions and adaptation to the Information Age. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Bu araştırmanın amacı, Covid-19 Pandemi sürecinde Türkiye'de uygulanan çevrimiçi eğitimi öğretmen perspektifinden analiz etmektir. Betimsel tarama modeli niteliğinde araştırma, toplam 734 öğretmen üzerinde yürütülmüştür. Araştırma anketle toplanan verilerin analizlere dayalı ulaşılan sonuçlar şunlardır: Araştırmaya katılan öğretmenlerin çoğuna göre Covid-19 Pandemi süreci, genel anlamda eğitimde kayıp dönemdir. Katılımcı öğretmenlerin yarısına göre, pandemi sürecinde uygulanan çevrimiçi eğitimin etkisiz kalması, bu süreçteki olağanüstü koşullara bağlıdır. Öğretmenlere göre, çevrimiçi eğitim psikomotor ve sosyal öğrenmelerde etkisiz olup;duyuşsal ve bilişsel öğrenmelerde kısmen etkilidir. Öğretmenlere göre, pandemi sürecinde çevrimiçi eğitimin etkisiz kalmasında, öğrencilerin kendi kendine öğrenme, özkontrol ve irade özelliklerine yeterince sahip olmamaları önemli etkenlerdir. Aynı konuda öğretmenlerin de çevrimiçi pedagojisi ile bilişsel becerilere yeterince sahip olmamaları da diğer etkenlerdir. Öğretmenlere göre, pandemi sürecindeki çevrimiçi eğitimin etkisiz kalmasının en önemli nedeni, internete erişim sorunlarıdır. Bunu, sırayla mevcut öğretim programlarının uzaktan eğitime uygun olmaması, ailenin buna hazır olmaması ve EBA sistemindeki yetersizlikler izlemiştir. Araştırmada, bütün bunların sonunda Türkiye'nin gerek olağanüstü koşullar ve gerekse Bilgi Çağı'na uyumu noktasında, çevrimiçi eğitim gibi sanal ve dijital eğitim ekosistemleri için henüz tam olarak hazır olmadığı değerlendirilmiştir. (Turkish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Firat University Journal of Social Sciences / Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of Firat University, Social Sciences Institute 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.)

Virtual Reality as a Context for Adaptation

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated interest in virtual reality (VR) for education, entertainment, telerehabilitation, and skills training. As the frequency and duration of VR engagement increases—the number of people in the United States using VR at least once per month is forecasted to exceed 95 million—it is critical to understand how VR engagement influences brain and behavior. Here, we evaluate neurophysiological effects of sensory conflicts induced by VR engagement and posit an intriguing hypothesis: the brain processes VR as a unique “context” leading to the formation and maintenance of independent sensorimotor representations. We discuss known VR-induced sensorimotor adaptations to illustrate how VR might manifest as a context for learning and how technological and human factors might mediate the context-dependency of sensorimotor representations learned in VR. Copyright © 2021 Yarossi, Mangalam, Naufel and Tunik.

YouTube as a complementary learning tool in times of COVID-19: Self-reports from sports science students.

OBJECTIVES: This study reports on sports science students' educational experience in times of the COVID-19 pandemic and explores their interactions with online technologies, exclusively for learning purposes. METHODS: A total of 181 Tunisian final-year sports science students were surveyed using, a custom-designed questionnaire, following the end of the academic year 2020/2021. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for triangulation and validation of the findings. FINDINGS: Participants reported that COVID-19-induced educational disruptions had detrimental effects on their learning experiences. Even though they deemed emergency remote teaching to be less effective than classroom-based teaching, participants recognized the role technology had played in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on their graduation year. They reported using a wide range of online technologies to complement remote curriculum delivery. Ranking second after Google Meet, with a marked difference from the rest of the list, YouTube seemed to be sports science students' best "learning companion" in times of COVID-19. YouTube helped them better understand instructional content delivered remotely and compensate for the missed opportunities for knowledge and motor skill acquisition. CONCLUSIONS: It is very likely that curriculum-based YouTube videos can smoothen emergency implementation of flipped classrooms during future crises that may force teachers and students into home confinement once again, but further empirical research is needed in this area.

Static and Dynamic Balance Indices among Kindergarten Children: A Short-Term Intervention Program during COVID-19 Lockdowns.

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak had a negative impact on kindergarten activities. These young children, who had been compelled to stay home during lockdowns, suffered a lack of movement and loss of mobility, resulting in deteriorated physical motor skills. Lack of sufficient motor experience in early childhood can impair children's motor and cognitive development. Balance skills are fundamental to all other motor abilities, from the most basic movements to the most complex motor skills. The purpose of this study was to implement a short-term physical activity program, which may have a direct effect on children's fundamental balance ability. Ninety-six kindergarten children (45 boys and 51 girls), aged 4-6 years, participated in the study. Data were analyzed using three-way ANOVA and interaction analyses. The results suggest that short, focused, and dedicated balance training programs have a beneficial influence on the static balance of preschoolers and can mitigate some of the negative physical outcomes of lockdowns. In conclusion, this study indicates that a short-term physical training program had a positive effect on the motor abilities of preschoolers after COVID-19-related lockdowns. More research is needed in order to fully understand the complete impact of the worldwide health crisis and the best ways in which to address it.

Study on the Implementation of Theoretical Notions in the Online PE Lesson during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Objective: The aim of this research is to analyse the use of the practical component within the online PE lesson during the Covid-19 pandemic. Design: A number of 400 PE teachers from 9 counties of Romania were interviewed in connection with the online PE lesson during the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, the proposed questionnaire contains two parts: one in which demographic data is requested and one containing 14 items requesting the specialized opinion regarding the online PE lesson. The likert scale was used in order to construct 5 answer options for each of the 14 items. Results: Teachers who said they approach these elements "Very Much" or "A lot" are below 3.6%. Those who answered that they approach them "Enough" are still quite few when it comes to learning/strengthening motor skills specific to sports games (8%), but their number increases when it comes to speed (17.3%) and endurance (22.8%). One may also notice that the sum of the percentages "A Little" + "Not at all" of the teachers who answered that they approach these three elements is over 71%. (77.6% speed, 71.5% endurance, 97.3% motor skills specific to sports games). Conclusion: Teachers' answers indicate the fact that, in the online PE lesson, motor skills are developed, with an increased emphasis on strength, dexterity and flexibility. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of BRAIN: Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence & Neuroscience is the property of Lumen Publishing House 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.)

Crowdsourcing in Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience.

Behavioral research in cognitive and human systems neuroscience has been largely carried out in-person in laboratory settings. Underpowering and lack of reproducibility due to small sample sizes have weakened conclusions of these investigations. In other disciplines, such as neuroeconomics and social sciences, crowdsourcing has been extensively utilized as a data collection tool, and a means to increase sample sizes. Recent methodological advances allow scientists, for the first time, to test online more complex cognitive, perceptual, and motor tasks. Here we review the nascent literature on the use of online crowdsourcing in cognitive and human systems neuroscience. These investigations take advantage of the ability to reliably track the activity of a participant's computer keyboard, mouse, and eye gaze in the context of large-scale studies online that involve diverse research participant pools. Crowdsourcing allows for testing the generalizability of behavioral hypotheses in real-life environments that are less accessible to lab-designed investigations. Crowdsourcing is further useful when in-laboratory studies are limited, for example during the current COVID-19 pandemic. We also discuss current limitations of crowdsourcing research, and suggest pathways to address them. We conclude that online crowdsourcing is likely to widen the scope and strengthen conclusions of cognitive and human systems neuroscience investigations.

Distance Motor Learning during the COVID-19 Induced Confinement: Video Feedback with a Pedagogical Activity Improves the Snatch Technique in Young Athletes.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate which of two strategies, Video Feedback with Pedagogical Activity (VF-PA) or Video Feedback (VF), would be more beneficial for the remote error correction of the snatch weightlifting technique during the confinement period. Thirty-five school aged children with at least three months of weightlifting experience were randomized to one of three training conditions: VF-PA, VF or the Control group (CONT). Subjects underwent test sessions one week before (T0) and one day after (T1) a six-session training period and a retention test session a week later (T2). During each test session, the Kinovea version 0.8.15 software measured the kinematic parameters of the snatch performance. Following distance learning sessions (T1), the VF-PA improved various kinematic parameters (i.e., barbell horizontal displacements, maximum height, looping and symmetry) compared with T0 (p < 0.5; Cohen's d = 0.58-1.1). Most of these improvements were maintained during the retention test (T2) (p<0.01, Cohen's d = 1.2-1.3) when compared withT0. However, the VF group improved only twoparameters (i.e., barbell symmetry and horizontal displacement) at T1 (p < 0.05; Cohen's d = 0.9), which were not maintained at T2. Better horizontal displacement and looping values were registered during the retention test in the VF-PA group compared with theCONT group (p < 0.05, Cohen's d = 1.49-1.52). The present findings suggest combining video feedback with pedagogical activity during the pandemic induced online coaching or physical education to improve movement learning in school aged children.

Does learning a skill with the expectation of teaching it impair the skill's execution under psychological pressure if the skill is learned with analogy instructions?

OBJECTIVE: Having learners practice a motor skill with the expectation of teaching it (versus an expectation of being tested on it) has been revealed to enhance skill learning. However, this improvement in skill performance is lost when the skill must be performed under psychological pressure due to 'choking under pressure.' The present study will investigate whether this choking effect is caused by an accrual of declarative knowledge during skill practice and could be prevented if a technique (analogy instructions) to minimize the accrual of declarative knowledge during practice is employed. DESIGN: We will use a 2 (Expectation: teach/test) x 2 (Instruction: analogy/explicit) x 2 (Posttest: high-pressure/low-pressure) mixed-factor design, with repeated measures on the last factor. METHODS: A minimum of 148 participants will be quasi-randomly assigned (based on sex) to one of four groups. Participants in the teach/analogy and teach/explicit groups will practice golf putting with the expectation of teaching putting to another participant, and analogy instructions or explicit instructions, respectively. Participants in the test/analogy and test/explicit groups will practice golf putting with the expectation of being tested on their putting, and analogy instructions or explicit instructions, respectively. The next day all participants will complete low- and high-pressure putting posttests, with their putting accuracy serving as the dependent variable.