Indirect and Direct Pedagogical Interaction of Teacher with Students in the Conditions of Electronic Learning and Their Performance of the Roles of "E-Teacher" and "E-Student"

The article presents the theoretical and empirical results of the study of the phenomenon "pedagogical interaction in e-learning". The direct pedagogical interaction of the e-teacher with e-students during e-learning was considered as mutual influence in the conditions of synchronous learning, and the indirect one - as mutual influence in the conditions of asynchronous learning. The pedagogical experiment was aimed at clarifying the attitude of various participants of the educational process, who perform the roles of e-teachers, e-students, e-teachers of elementary school, to direct and indirect pedagogical interaction during e-learning, which was organized both during the period of the spread of COVID-19 (1st period), and during the introduction of martial law on the territory of Ukraine as a result of Russian invasion (II period). According to the results of the pedagogical experiment, during the spread of COVID-19, e-students in asynchronous learning conditions felt psychological discomfort due to the lack of direct pedagogical interaction with the teacher. Also, the students had a slowdown in the pace of study material, a loss of motivation to study was observed. They constantly felt the desire to postpone the study of the educational material for later. During the introduction of martial law on the territory of Ukraine, e-students preferred synchronous learning. The presence of direct pedagogical interaction with others ('electronic teacher' and 'electronic students') had a positive effect on the psychological state of students, helped to maintain the pace of learning, learn new educational material faster and more efficiently, experience positive emotions, a sense of security, etc.

Learning and teaching sustainable business in the digital era: a connectivism theory approach.

Higher education institutions may adopt various approaches to the pedagogic principles and methods used in teaching sustainable development in business and marketing courses. These methods can include the utilisation of digital technologies and online communication to facilitate distance learning and fast access to relevant information. Changes towards the digitalisation of the learning environment especially gained popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the post-pandemic period, digitalisation continues to facilitate the learning and teaching processes. However, the implementation of digital technologies, besides technological expertise, requires appropriate theoretical frameworks for understanding how learning is developed. This study explores connectivism theory applied to the pedagogic practices of knowledge dissemination concerning sustainable development in the fields of business and marketing. Connectivism embraces knowledge as a network where the learner, with the help of digital technologies, develops mental connections between pieces of information during interaction with various information sources. This qualitative research empirically explores the principles of connectivism embedded in the learning and teaching of a university course conducted online. The research findings indicate that connectivism may be a suitable conceptual framework that motivates learners to develop knowledge through digital enablers, discussions and social networking and to make connections to sustainability concepts. The principles of connectivism may help instructors to develop a learning environment where learners add understandings to their previous knowledge on sustainability through online interactions and by accessing digital knowledge sources. This study makes several interdisciplinary contributions by deepening the insights into digital pedagogic methods and approaches for the facilitation of learning, which may be of interest to academic and other pedagogic practitioners.

Students' online learning experiences and the impact of the digital divide on students' access to online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic at a university in the southwestern part of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way of learning in higher education institutions (HEIs). Most HEIs shifted the way of learning from traditional learning to online learning. However, the crisis had raised a critical question regarding the impact of the digital divide on students learning. Access to technology such as computers, the Internet, and having enough digital skills become more important than ever to ensure that all students have equal learning opportunities. This dissertation aimed to investigate students' online learning experiences, the impact of the digital divide on their access to online courses, and the challenges and obstacles students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic in the College of Education at a public university in southwest the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The qualitative case study method was used for this dissertation. Data was collected through semi-structured online interviews with 12 undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Education at a public university in the southwest the KSA. Findings revealed that participants showed positive online learning experiences because of the advantages of online learning, such as flexibility and convenience. On the other hand, participants also shared negative experiences due to the challenges and obstacles that negatively impacted their online learning experiences, such as the lack of interaction, inappropriate online courses design, online teaching methods, time management, psychological and social symptoms, and accessibility issues. The findings could help instructional designers, instructors, and higher education administrations understand students' online learning experiences during COVID-19 and help promote and improve students' online learning experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Effect of e-Learning Strategies on Learners' Academic Engagement

Given the significant impact and the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, higher education institutions planned and invested significantly on education technologies. Schools around the globe are shifting to online learning to slow the spread of the disease and gradually becoming a way of life between teacher and student engagement. An important question is whether this eLearning technologies are effective in engaging learners in teaching and learning practices. This paper investigates factors that may influence eLearning strategies on learner's academic engagements using findings from empirical based research. The study reviewed the learning theories which includes behaviourism, constructivism, cognitivism and connectivism. The theories of connectivism suitably fits into the goal of the study. To achieve the objective, the study adopted quantitative research, specifically, a survey was administered to a sample of 70 students to test the model developed by this study empirically. The findings indicated that learners' overall eLearning engagements was moderate. Also, the result indicates that the network teachers have a moderate positive relationship with the student's eLearning engagements while network learning and network students have a weak positive relationship with student engagements with ICTs. The eLearning model was developed for higher education institutions and postulated to be a crucial skill set for the 21st century learner. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Teaching digital competences: a rural teaching perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges, where ICT has become a basic need for humanity, in this context the capacities of teachers to face changes were questioned. It has a mixed pre-experimental methodology, 49 teachers participated and a questionnaire, rubric and Pre-Test/Post Test were applied, with values of 0.890;0.91, Cronbach's 0.97. The findings showed that the dimensions, communication, content creation, were very high, while the security and problem-solving dimension turned out to be good. The research obtained significant results for the development of digital skills of teachers in Piura. © GKA Ediciones, authors.

Virtual Notebooks: Collaboration & Connection During Covid-19 and Beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many instructors to find new ways to achieve learning outcomes and connect to students within a hybrid or online teaching landscape. However, some of the creative ways instructors connected with students can now be used both in online classes and as we adapt back into full-time in-person instruction. Virtual notebooks were a tool used by this writing team to help structure online and in-person courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as facilitate collaboration and reflection. Grounded in a connectivist pedagogy, virtual notebooks are interactive, "live” resources that allow instructors and students to collaborate in real time, link to outside resources easily, and store information in a central location. Three vignettes (two undergraduate courses, one graduate course) provide specific applications and recommendations for virtual notebook use in recreation and leisure courses. A companion website is also provided to assist with logistical concerns, linked here: https://bit.ly/VirtualNotebooks. © 2023 National Recreation and Park Association.

Shifting From Onsite to Online Summative Assessment at the University of South Africa

The discourse around online summative assessment has become one of the major issues in open distance learning (ODL) worldwide. There is a lack of major research in online summative assessment in environmental education (EE) module for the bachelor of education (B.Ed.) students in ODL. The purpose of this study was to explore online summative assessment of EE module for the B.Ed. students at the University of South Africa (UNISA) during COVID-19. This study employed a qualitative approach, purposive sampling, and an interpretive paradigm. Data were ethically collected using participant observation and documentation. It was thematically analysed. Online summative assessment policies were in place before the outbreak of COVID-19, but policies were not implemented. The university quickly transitioned from face-to-face to online summative assessment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and lecturers were trained. Challenges included non-training of students for online summative assessment, corrupt answer books, lack of prompt response from ICT specialist, and connectivity problems.

Everyone loves a good story: Learning design in massive open online courses for language learning

These couple of years have witnessed an increase in interest in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). As the COVID-19 situation amply showed us, MOOCs promptly became a practical way to secure continuity of education for students in lockdown. Educational institutions chose the MOOC format to swiftly adapt to the "new normal” and deliver their courses online without incurring too many unbudgeted expenses. However, the quality of teaching practices and learning design in MOOCs' Digital Learning Environments (DLEs) varies considerably. Also, while the interest in the MOOC format has increased, the emergent body of specific research on MOOCs for language learning or Language MOOCs (LMOOCs) is unfortunately still limited. By choosing a connectivist approach to understand teaching and learning dynamics in DLEs, this article will elaborate on the importance of learning design and Digital Story Telling (DST) to create sustainable DLEs in MOOCs for Language Learning. The main research question investigates whether and how the development of a comprehensive and interconnected narrative structure based on DST can enhance the participants' learning experience in LMOOCs and facilitate language learning leading to better participant retention and higher completion rates. To illustrate and support the logic threads of the argumentation, the article introduces a mixed-methods or multi-modal study of three international LMOOCs in Norwegian for beginners (NfB) developed for the international e-learning platform FutureLearn (FL). The findings discussed in the article seem to corroborate the initial hypothesis that including a comprehensive narrative structure based on DST and inspired by principles of Connectivism can lead to the development of higher-quality DLEs in MOOCs, specifically in LMOOCs. Copyright © 2022 De Caro-Barek.

Social Networks to Rescue COVID-19 Education: Learners' Awareness of Social Networks in Aiding Education

Governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). This has culminated in the largest school disruption in recent history. This study explored learners’ awareness of using smart educational systems (social networks) to support remote learning (e-learning). The study examined three constructs: Motivation, Active role, and Interaction, based on the theory of Connectivism. These constructs contributed to the development of a survey used to gather perspectives on social networks in education from a group of Business Studies learners in a South African high school. Data was collected from a sample of Business Studies learners (n=133) just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show there was an awareness of the use of social networks in education among learners. Therefore, social networks had the potential to support distance education during the pandemic. © 2022 by the authors.

More education, less mortality: The role of the employer in a more highly educated nursing workforce

There is a problem in the United States regarding the percentage of bachelor-prepared nurses in the workforce. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the role of the employer in a more educated nursing workforce through the lens of connectivism. A mixed methods study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2021. Chief nursing officers (n = 89) from hospitals and long-term care facilities across one southeastern state were surveyed regarding the percentage of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)-prepared registered nurses (RNs) in their facilities. Fisher's exact test (r x 2) was conducted to determine if there was a significant association between the reported percentage of BSN-prepared RNs and the plans, policies, and promotions of the employer, as well as the location and type of facility. Findings suggest that the employer does play a role in the education level of nurses. There was a significant association between the reported percentage of BSN-prepared RNs and the presence of plans and goals for the facility suggesting that the employers' plans and goals increase the percentage of BSN-prepared RNs in a facility. There was also a significant association between the reported percentage of BSN-prepared RNs and the type of facility suggesting that there are more BSN-prepared RNs in the hospital setting than in the long-term care setting. An additional significant association was found related to magnet status suggesting that maintaining or pursuing magnet status does increase the percentage of BSN-prepared RNs in a facility. Four main themes evolved during the coding of the qualitative data. The four main themes were: 1) the need for more nurses, 2) the need for more resources, 3) the need for partnerships, and 4) the ramifications of the pandemic. The implications for practice included raising awareness regarding the need for more BSN-prepared RNs, developing goals related to this initiative, and forming partnerships with key stakeholders. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Key factors for the success of connectivism in the e-learning modality in the context of Covid-19

The pandemic because of Covid-19 brought with it the need to analyze educational practices in order to carry out transformation processes, which allow us to understand how to face the new educational scenarios. The objective of this research is to analyze the key factors that allow achieving significant learning in the e-learning modality. The study was conducted with 219 male high school students in the Arequipa region of Peru. The educational problem in different contexts because of the pandemic, is going through a series of adaptation, and evaluation processes, to minimize the negative impacts on learning achievements. For these reasons, it is important to analyze the factors that are involved in the current educational model, in such a way that new methodologies and strategies can be implemented that allow the provision of a comprehensive and quality education. The results of the study will allow to maintain a policy of constant evaluation of educational practices in the e-learning modality to determine the factors that favor connectivist education and specify the factors that are weakening the success of the system;this continuous evaluative exercise will make it possible to propose and determine practices and methodologies in order to maximize learning levels.

Connectivism Learning Theory to Enhance Higher Education in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic

The global pandemic of the COVID-19 has posed a significant challenge to educational organizations. necessitating obligatory changes in practically education. In a short period of time, educational organizations have been compelled to adapt to distance learning approaches and platforms. The primary goal of this research is to examine to present Connectivism Theory as an effective motivated theory to help the higher education learners to learn more successfully. Connectivism Learning Theory offers the best learning environment by establishing an explicit connection between social interaction and knowledge sharing. A review of literature has been done. The findings of the literature review highlight the fundamental theoretical assumptions that underpin their evolution. It also illustrates that connectivism learning theory improve higher education student's engagement in the learning process. The researchers conclude that connectivism learning theory has the potential to disclose new insights into the use of the social network in education leading to successful outcomes.

THE DESIGN STUDIO AS A NETWORK – APPLICATION of CONNECTIVISM in the PLANNING of AN ONLINE LEARNING SPACE

The design studio is the core element in the design curriculum where students gain key knowledge and skills. When the traditional classroom course had to be transferred to an online modality enforced by covid-19 pandemics, re-conceptualization of the structure and contents was required in order to ensure the quality of the teaching and students’ satisfaction. Based on the premise that the contents should not be simply adapted to an online version, but an entirely new learning experience should be created, the redesign of the class was inspired by the principles of connectivism (Siemens, 2005). Connectivism as an alternative learning theory recognizes the societal shifts and the inevitable impact of technology on the learning processes. This new framework for understanding learning, states that knowledge is derived externally of the individual through a process of connecting nodes and patterns recognition. These abilities are considered especially important to prepare design students for the challenges of the profession within the context of the fourth industrial revolution. The paper explores the potential of connectivism as a holistic approach to the planning of the contents of an online design studio. It describes the process of designing the course structure and discusses the challenges encountered in the creation of a connectivist learning environment. The advantages of the networked design studio were verified in a survey on the perceptions of the students in regard to their satisfaction and the effectiveness of their knowledge acquisition. © PDE 2021.

Facebook as an integrated online learning support application during the COVID19 pandemic: Thai university students' experiences and perspectives.

While a number of studies in the literature have explored the potentials of using Facebook in classroom teaching, there is a scarcity of studies that investigate its use as an online learning support application, especially when classes have to be moved to online and remote teaching due to health emergencies like the COVID19 pandemic. This article explores the use of a closed-class Facebook group (FBG) as a learning support application from the perspectives and experiences of 33 university English language students in Thailand. A self-report survey questionnaire and a semi-structured individual interview were conducted to get the data for the study. Drawing on the concept of connectivism, findings revealed that although students faced some issues like internet connectivity, lesson concentration difficulty, and lack of support from the family, they still held positive perceptions in moving to online class on Facebook during the pandemic. They believed that Facebook provided them with an easy way to connect with their classmates, who can support them in their remote language learning. Thus, Facebook is not only perceived as a social network by the students, but also as a learning platform where they can easily retrieve academic sources and share them with their classmates for intellectual discussion. This article argues that given the right online pedagogical strategy, Facebook can be used as an alternative to an established learning management system, especially when a university does not have one.

Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Distance Learning Framework to Expedite Medical Education during COVID-19 pandemic: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced medical schools to suspend on-campus live-sessions and shift to distance-learning (DL). This precipitous shift presented medical educators with a challenge, 'to create a "simulacrum" of the learning environment that students experience in classroom, in DL'. This requires the design of an adaptable and versatile DL-framework bearing in mind the theoretical underpinnings associated with DL. Additionally, effectiveness of such a DL-framework in content-delivery followed by its evaluation at the user-level, and in cognitive development needs to be pursued such that medical educators can be convinced to effectively adopt the framework in a competency-based medical programme. Main: In this study, we define a DL-framework that provides a 'simulacrum' of classroom experience. The framework's blueprint was designed amalgamating principles of: Garrison's community inquiry, Siemens' connectivism and Harasim's online-collaborative-learning; and improved using Anderson's DL-model. Effectiveness of the DL-framework in course delivery was demonstrated using the exemplar of fundamentals in epidemiology and biostatistics (FEB) course during COVID-19 lockdown. Virtual live-sessions integrated in the framework employed a blended-approach informed by instructional-design strategies of Gagne and Peyton. The efficiency of the framework was evaluated using first 2 levels of Kirkpatrick's framework. Of 60 students, 51 (85%) responded to the survey assessing perception towards DL (Kirkpatrick's Level 1). The survey-items, validated using exploratory factor analysis, were classified into 4-categories: computer expertise; DL-flexibility; DL-usefulness; and DL-satisfaction. The overall perception for the 4 categories, highlighted respondents' overall satisfaction with the framework. Scores for specific survey-items attested that the framework promoted collaborative-learning and student-autonomy. For, Kirkpatrick's Level 2 that is, cognitive-development, performance in FEB's summative-assessment of students experiencing DL was compared with students taught using traditional methods. Similar, mean-scores for both groups indicated that shift to DL didn't have an adverse effect on students' learning. Conclusion: In conclusion, we present here the design, implementation and evaluation of a DL-framework, which is an efficient pedagogical approach, pertinent for medical schools to adopt (elaborated using Bourdieu's Theory of Practice) to address students' learning trajectories during unprecedented times such as that during the COVID-19 pandemia.

Online interprofessional simulation for undergraduate health professional students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report describes the Obstetric and Neonatal Simulation (ONE-Sim) workshop run in a remote learning format for medical and midwifery students in an interprofessional setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the observation of students as participants in the online learning of using Personal Protective Equipment and simulation-based learning of perinatal emergency management. This was followed by their mutual interaction and reflections. This paper aims to understand the role of synchronous remote learning through simulation and its impact on interprofessional interactions. We describe the experience of medical and midwifery students with the ONE-Sim workshop, facilitated by medical (obstetric and neonatal) and midwifery educators. Formal thematic analysis will be performed as part of the ongoing study; however, initial direct observation demonstrated that students reacted positively to the online ONE-Sim workshop and engaged well with facilitators and peers. Students mutually interacted amongst themselves, shared their previous experiences, knowledge of roles as medical and midwifery practitioners and how they see themselves in those roles in a perinatal emergency setting. The initial observations demonstrate that interprofessional education delivered in an e-learning format can be useful and meaningful, and may be utilized across a number of specialties.