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This study was carried out with the aim of determining the opinions and digital literacy status of the students who are preparing for the music talent exams of the universities during the COVID-19 process. The research is in the survey model, which is one of the quantitative research methods and is limited to 300 students who took the music department and department aptitude exams of 21 different universities. The type of high school from which the relevant students graduated, the universities they applied to for special talent exams, their previous undergraduate education, their status of researching distance education opportunities, and digital literacy levels of the universities they applied for special talent exams were included in the scope of the study. Within the scope of the problem situation of the research, the effects of the duration of the pandemic on the ear training, instrument training, voice training, and psychological state of the students were investigated. According to the data obtained from the interview form applied to the students, the pandemic process gave the students extra time for ear training, instrument training, and voice training, but this extra time could not be properly evaluated because there was no educator guidance. It was concluded that students felt inadequate about digital literacy.
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For decades, educators and policy makers have called for reform in higher education, yet now the urgency is palpable. The COVID-19 pandemic and heightened attention to systemic racism have highlighted the fact that outdated teaching practices can stunt student learning and trust of science, maintain systemic biases, and prevent equitable education. Promoting change to outdated teaching practices requires fundamental shifts at each level of a university--among faculty, departments, and the institution as a whole. The Departmental and Leadership Teams for Action (DeLTA) project at the University of Georgia pursues transformative shifts in policies and practices related to undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. This article provides examples of how DeLTA applies various change perspectives to shift thinking, practices, and policies related to evaluating teaching.
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Mobile learning has become a critical aspect of online learning in the post-pandemic era. As a result, practitioners and policymakers have paid increasing attention to mobile learning acceptance among various stakeholders. However, there is a vacuity of literature on mobile learning acceptance in developing countries, particularly in the African context. This study sought to examine the determinants of mobile learning acceptance among undergraduates in higher educational institutions using a structural equation modelling approach. Data were collected through a web survey distributed to 415 undergraduate students in Namibia. The majority of the UTAUT relationships were confirmed, although some were not supported. The results revealed a strong positive relationship between performance expectancy and hedonic motivation. Hence, hedonic motivation mediates the relationship between performance expectancy and behavioural intention to use mobile learning in Namibia. The results of this study may help to inform mobile learning implementation efforts, particularly in the post-pandemic period.
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Institutions of higher learning were rapidly made to change from in-person to fully online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This change posed an inherent problem in successfully engaging students in learning in a remote learning environment. Thus, the study aims to enhance students' problem-solving skills through self-directed learning in a Smart Learning Environment. A cohort of first year undergraduate students (n=147) in a private university were given the task to solve a programming problem in a fully online course, in a team. These students had never been in a formal online course nor met their course mates face-to-face due to the pandemic. Various digital tools, including Zoom, Edmodo, and others, were used in this learning environment. A Likert-scale survey and open-ended questions were used to obtain data on the attitude and perception of the students towards the self-directed learning environment. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the data to reduce the factors to several constructs, such as self-management, self-monitoring, motivation and teamwork. In completing the task, students took more control of their learning, self-monitored themselves and remained committed and motivated to reach their learning outcomes and goals. There were encouraging and positive evidence that students were able to be effectively engaged in a smart learning environment and were more independent but not isolated learners.
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The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of Information Literacy Competencies (ILC) in curtailing infodemic within a sample of undergraduate students of library and information science. The researcher used quantitative research approach using questionnaires to collect data on both levels of ILC and infodemic. The results revealed that students highly practice ILC;however, the levels of infodemic were reported in moderate level. The findings provide a contradicting situation as such educated students who highly practice ILC should be able to distinguish between true and incorrect information related to COVID-19;however this was not seen, as despite our students highly practices ILC, they still have moderate levels of believing and circulating misinformation on the virus. The findings provide insight to governments to develop information literacy programs focuses on social media use from an early age.
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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 reaction rate and rate law are chemical kinetics concepts that undergraduate students have difficulty understanding and applying in real life. A further challenge is the overall reaction rate of consecutive reactions. Herein we present a creative teaching practice using the analogy-based approach to exploit the similarities between the chemical kinetics of consecutive reactions involved in ethanol oxidation and the model employed to describe the COVID-19 outbreak. Students conducted the mathematical modeling using open online software. Fitting the epidemic data from four different countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to the SIR model and comparing the results with the model of ethanol oxidation brought students insight into the effects of kinetic parameters and triggered a discussion on conceptual kinetic fundamentals. This teaching approach sets up an environment where students can build knowledge that accounts for their pandemic experience, fostering mathematical and computational skills along with data analysis and interpretation that promotes a deeper understanding of the phenomena implicated in the kinetics of consecutive reactions. Mathematical modeling activities are here to stay and will continue gaining relevance in undergraduate kinetics courses, even without the lockdown, therefore the development of these kinds of learning strategies is of high significance worldwide.
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Our study evaluated the medical student's attitude toward online medical training implementation during COVID-19 lockdown in a single university. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to the undergraduate students at the Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania. Following a cross-sectional design, the study was carried out from May 20th to August 20th 2020. We studied the differences between the responses of Medicine students (Medicine) and other specializations (OtherS), respectively between three groups according to the year of the study (freshman - Fr first year, sophomores - So intermediate years, and seniors - Se last year of study). The Medicine students' attitude towards online professional education was significantly different than OherS (students with other specialties than Medicine) concerning 6 out of 11 questions (P-values < 0.018). Similar, significant differences were observed on 7/11 questions when comparing Fr, So, Se (P-values < 0.015), but only 4/7 differences were similar to Medicine vs. OtherS. The participants agreed that online education helped continue the academic year in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, but the medical skills development has suffered. Our study showed that students' needs, as well as their perceptions, are different both between specializations (Medicine vs. OtherS) as well as years of study (Fr, So, and Se).
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This paper presents results of a student survey carried out among Civil and Construction Engineering undergraduate students within the School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment at Western Sydney University. The survey investigated the learning experience of students and the effectiveness of new educational processes implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed to examine the perceptions of students on online teaching modes. The survey results indicated some positive features of online teaching such as flexibility, comfortable educational environments and efficient time utilisation. However, students also found many challenges such as network instability, distractions, lack of engagement and mental stress. The identified areas of improvement were closely related to these challenges. The survey results highlighted that most students were satisfied with the teaching strategies and assessment methods. Improved and effective teaching methodologies for students to achieve better learning outcomes are proposed and discussed.
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This study aims to see the effectiveness of using motion diagram-based module to improve students’ conceptual understanding of 1D Kinematics. We have integrated module in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research was an experimental research with one group pretest-posttest design. The research was conducted on 36 first year Physics undergraduate students. The research instrument consisted of 14 reasoned multiple choice questions. Data analysis was performed using paired sample t-test, N-gain, and d-effect size. The results showed that t = -47.81 [df = 35;sig.(2-tailed) = 0.000] so it can be concluded that students’ understanding of concepts is significantly different. The results of N-gain = 0.543 indicate that the increase is in the upper medium category and the d-effect size = 2.189 indicates that the influence of learning has a strong effect on increasing students’ conceptual understanding. The results of this study indicate that the use of motion diagram-based module can improve students’ conceptual understanding of 1D Kinematics. The students’ conceptual understanding that increased the most significantly was related to compare the velocity of two objects moving in opposite directions. But, many students still have difficulty in determining the instantaneous velocity from the x-t table.
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By taking as a reference the results obtained with a questionnaire used during the class period among undergraduate students at the Quevedo State Technical University (UTEQ) of Ecuador in the period Covid-19. The instrument consists of 35 questions classified into six factors: student-content interaction, student-teacher relationship, use of SGA platform and other digital tools, evaluation of online education, technological resources and evaluation of online education. The results obtained show that the proposed theoretical model is acceptable, which was confirmed by estimating it using the maximum likelihood method, establishing that the factors that predominantly affect student satisfaction in online education are: student-content interaction, student-teacher relationship and technological resources. El mes de marzo del 2020 se convirtió en un mes que América Latina no podrá olvidar debido a la suspensión de clases presenciales que ocurrió en casi todo el mundo como consecuencia directa de la cuarentena a resguardar por el COVID 19, donde el pánico colectivo, el estrés generado por el confinamiento y el rol de las instituciones educativas frente al uso de herramientas tecnológicas para crear ambientes de aprendizaje virtual improvisados, nos lleva a replantearnos el modo y la forma en que se educa en tiempos de crisis.
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lectures and exercises at the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Zagreb University of Applied Sciences were switched from face-to-face (F2F) to synchronous online. This seemingly emergency measure has been going on for four semesters and has brought many challenges but also provided an opportunity to evaluate the present state and define guidelines for further steps. The paper develops criteria for the effectiveness of education in terms of quality and tempo of acquired knowledge. The obtained values of the defined criteria for online education were analyzed and compared with the results for F2F mode of education. In addition, efficiency of learning was examined via defined key performance indicators. Finally, a proposal for the preparation of targeted presentation methods and types of educational content is given in order to achieve greater student motivation and better exam results. © 2022 Croatian Society MIPRO.
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Background Online learning has been shown to have a significant effect on education in the 21st century, and it has become indispensable in nursing education because of the requirement to connect theoretical courses with hospital-based practice. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education has shifted abruptly away from traditional face-to-face instruction and towards distance learning. This study explores the experience of online education during COVID-19 from the perspectives of nursing educators, graduate students, and undergraduate students in two universities in the occupied Palestinian territory Method A qualitative study adopting focus group interviews as a data collection method was conducted from September to October, 2020, in two Palestinian universities : Birzeit University in Ramallah city and Arab American University in Jenin city. A homogeneous purposeful sampling strategy was adopted to recruit participants. The data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis. Ethical approval for the research was obtained from the ethics committees of both universities. Findings Seven focus groups were conducted. Of these, four focus groups involved undergraduate students (n=30), one involved postgraduate students (n=9), and two involved nursing educators (n=14). The nursing educators and students reported that they faced several challenges when they were required to switch to online learning. The participants perceived online education to be inefficient, particularly for clinical courses, because they perceived difficulties in providing nursing students with the necessary skills in practice. In addition, they reported that a lack of resources harmed the students’ ability to receive a high-quality health nursing education. Some undergraduate students mentioned that when they abruptly switched to online education, certain essential resources such as the internet, library, books, smartphones, laptops, and a quiet environment were unavailable. Furthermore, nursing educators and students perceived the lack of face-to-face interaction imposed by the abrupt shift to online education as a substantial challenge. Nursing educators reported that they encountered difficulties with student evaluation. They recognised that online examinations are not as valid as those held on campus as they believed that grades had been inflated as a result of students utilising alternative online resources to answer exam questions. Finally, home environments were viewed as a barrier, adding to the difficulty of transitioning from the university to the home environment. Interpretation Continuous training of educators is imperative for increasing the use of communication and technology in nursing education. There is a need for updated policies to avoid the perceived negative consequences of online learing and to maximise its benefits. The findings suggest some solutions to overcome these challenges. For example, preparing the nursing educators and students to use technology could relieve the magnitude of the problems that arise when a sudden switch to online education occurs. Funding None.
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This paper reports on Data Analytics Research (DAR), a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in which undergraduate students conduct data analysis research on open realworld problems for industry, university, and community clients. We describe how DAR, offered by the Mathematical Sciences Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), is an essential part of an early low-barrier pipeline into data analytics studies and careers for diverse students. Students first take a foundational course, typically Introduction to Data Mathematics, that teaches linear algebra, data analytics, and R programming simultaneously using a project-based learning (PBL) approach. Then in DAR, students work in teams on open applied data analytics research problems provided by the clients. We describe the DAR organization which is inspired in part by agile software development practices. Students meet for coaching sessions with instructors multiple times a week and present to clients frequently. In a fully remote format during the pandemic, the students continued to be highly successful and engaged in COVID-19 research producing significant results as indicated by deployed online applications, refereed papers, and conference presentations. Formal evaluation shows that the pipeline of the single on-ramp course followed by DAR addressing real-world problems with societal benefits is highly effective at developing students' data analytics skills, advancing creative problem solvers who can work both independently and in teams, and attracting students to further studies and careers in data science.
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The global COVID-19 pandemic has forced many educators to move their courses to the online environment with little time to adjust. It especially affected undergraduate biology laboratory courses that rely on on-campus facilities to provide students with meaningful laboratory-type experiences. Here we describe a multisession, at-home, and hands-on laboratory activity that utilizes yogurt culturing to explore microbiology concepts. We also summarize the findings of 219 undergraduate students who successfully performed this lab remotely. In small virtual groups, students learned how to make yogurt at home, formulate a testable hypothesis, run an experiment on conditions necessary for yogurt fermentation, analyze experimental results, and present their results to peers in an oral scientific talk. Practical considerations include the use of low-cost and accessible materials, low-tech yet effective quantification approaches, and online note-taking and data management tools to coordinate group work and provide informal and formal assessment.
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Purpose>This study aims to examine live streaming experiences of business students’ at the tertiary education level, and how the use of this interactive platform satisfies their affective, cognitive, social and hedonic needs in learning. Likewise, it explored the influence of live streaming class on the learning outcome needed in achieving self-directed learning.Design/methodology/approach>Drawing on the uses and gratifications theory, a conceptual framework was developed to discover the impact of interactive live streaming platform in meeting learners’ needs required for self-directed learning. A survey was conducted with a sample of 402 business undergraduate students from 5 universities. Data was analyzed with covariance-based structural equation modeling.Findings>This study confirmed that learners’ gratifications gained from live streaming encouraged them to collaborate with the instructors in meeting the learning outcomes. The findings also supported that the interactive nature of live streaming offers the opportunity for students to learn independently. Thus, it sheds new light on how a live streaming learning environment can be further developed in promoting self-directed learning.Originality/value>This study offers a novel understanding of live stream class adoption by examining learners’ needs from a uses and gratification perspective. It also contributed new insight to the existing literature on live streaming technology use in education to promote self-directed learning.
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Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, most of the universities across United States limited the amount of in person instruction. This brought a challenging situation in animal sciences courses that required laboratory sessions and hands-on experiences. There is not a real solution to replace the in-person labs, however several approaches can be implemented to overcome some of the challenges for laboratory sessions. Some of the on-line approaches implemented in an introductory class of Animal Sciences during the semester of spring and fall 2020 were live (synchronous) laboratory sessions (live interactions with animals, pre-recorded sessions of the laboratory session, and 360-degree videos of tours to the farms). The main objective of the present report is to assess the usefulness and feedback of these approaches to teach laboratory sessions to an undergraduate introductory animal science course. The official (Blue) university student responses in the course were used to determine the perception and feedback to these approaches. A total of 123 responses were recorded (Spring: 42/96, Fall: 81/174). Overall, no significant differences were observed in terms of the student perception. Overall, the responses were positive toward the laboratory sessions even in an online environment. During the spring semester 40/42 (95%), whereas in 72/81 (88%) strongly agree/mildly agree that labs help them to learn respectively. In terms of the videos used in class and labs, during the spring semester 35/41 (85%) and 68/81 (83%) strongly agree/mildly agree that labs help them to learn. In summary, the new reality due to COVID pandemic is very challenging for Animal Science courses that have laboratory sessions that involves hands-on experiences. Despite this, in conclusion some approaches can be implemented to still provide meaningful experiences to undergraduate students to support their learning and engagement in the introductory animal science course.
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Purpose>Teaching and learning are being transformed by digital technology, where the present generation of students, termed millennials, are more adept with the increasingly digitalised world we live in. Following this, lecturers and institutions are adapting and adopting a blended learning model across disciplines, which now commands an entire domain of research and application. However, questions remain about how ready students are for a blended learning model of instruction. The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ readiness for blended learning in a leading Malaysian private higher education institution.Design/methodology/approach>This study used a non-experimental quantitative research design. Data were gathered from a sample of 274 pre-university and undergraduate students using the blended learning readiness engagement questionnaire. Data was analysed using WINSTEPS Rasch model measurement software to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) scores, (logit) value of the item and (logit) value of a person was used to examine students’ readiness for a blended learning model of instruction and specifically assess their readiness based on gender, age, ethnicity and field of study.Findings>Findings indicate that students were ready for blended learning. Further analysis indicated there were differences in students’ readiness for blended learning based on gender, age, ethnicity and field of study.Originality/value>This study provides insight into students’ readiness towards blended learning in a leading Malaysian private higher education institution, discusses implications for blended learning practices and offers recommendations for future research.
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Interpretive theory of translation allows us to consider translation as a tool for studying the process of understanding. The study of the mechanisms of perception and understanding of the text in the process of English-Ukrainian translation permits to clarify the specifics of decoding information about COVID-19 in the pandemic of 2020. The article explains the basic models of understanding popular science text about COVID-19 in the process of English-Ukrainian translation. The material was a popular science text in English about COVID-19, as well as draft and final versions of the translation of answers to 5 questions obtained during a psycholinguistic experiment from 50 respondents. The methodological basis of the study is formed by psycholinguistic experiment (as the main method), quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis, comparative analysis, contextual analysis. The theoretical basis of the article consists of the works of Zimnjaja, Peshkova, Novikov, Avakjan. The comparison of draft and final versions of translations helped the authors to determine the features of understanding the content at different stages of translation, as well as the influence of subjective factors on this process: 1) subjects used two main models -- expanding meaning and narrowing meaning;2) about 30% of the subjects demonstrate the action of the mechanisms of meaning formation at the first stage;3) the strategy of attribution or conjecture is fixed at the second stage in the subject area of 'precautionary measures';4) the main difficulties of translation are connected with ignorance of terms of subject areas 'symptoms of COVID-19' and 'neurological complications'.
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Technology has enabled the higher education ecosystem to tailor to the students who have diverse needs and to engage with them remotely, especially when face-to-face interaction is not possible. This research contributes knowledge in forced remote learning during the unprecedented global pandemic situation of Covid-19. Using a cross-sectional quantitative method, a total of 480 respondents among undergraduate students from five private universities in Malaysia participated in this study. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling and results indicated that online feedback, online future relevance, online interaction, online teaching effectiveness, and personal well-being were statistically significant in influencing students’ satisfaction. Moreover, online learning satisfaction directly predicted 68.3% of the students’ continuous usage intention while their usage intention was heightened with higher levels of proficiency in online learning. Students’ satisfaction was found to be a significant mediator between all the factors towards usage intention except online assessment, online support, and personal well-being. This study provides the higher education institutions with insights to continuously improve their online delivery strategies and bridge the gap with their students during the pandemic crisis.