Reflection and Action Steps on Relationship-Rich Education

<p class="3">In Saudi Arabia, gender-segregation is a known issue within higher education that often deprives female tutors from providing online learning and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). As well, students may not be getting the benefit of their experience and teaching. The purpose of this study is to develop an Avatar tool to represent a female tutor in a MOOC course with the aim of alleviating the issues of a gender-segregated society in online learning. This project will undertake and analyse a case study concerning the experience of females teaching a MOOC course on “Rwaq” the first Saudi Arabian platform, which was launched in September 2013. The literature on gender-segregation and education technology is reviewed. As an example, gender-segregated in higher education and online learning in Saudi Arabia, Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), Avatar technology in higher education, and finally the adoption of an Avatar tool in MOOCs platforms in SA are examined. One of the objectives of the study is to develop a social interaction environment with learners in online learning within MOOCs. The ultimate objective of this study is to examine if this Avatar tool could alleviate issues of gender-segregation for female lecturers in online learning courses within MOOCs in higher education in Saudi Arabia.</p>

The rapid transition to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges for teachers, students, and higher education institutions, impacting students' learning and engagement in the learning process. Based on Self-Determination Theory, this paper employs a collective case study research methodology to examine teachers' strategies for supporting students' learning and engagement in virtual learning environments during emergency remote teaching in the pandemic era, with the goal of offering guidelines to assist teachers in fostering student learning and engagement in these virtual settings. The inductive thematic analysis of eight semi-structured interviews with teachers from Spain, Oman, Nigeria and Cambodia revealed some challenges faced by teachers in engaging their students in virtual environments and some teaching and support strategies that teachers adopted to enhance students’ engagement in virtual classrooms. The study synthesised a set of strategies for teachers in higher education to support students’ engagement and learning in online environments. Teachers’ autonomy, structure and involvement support strategies had a behavioural, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement on students’ learning process. The paper discussed limitations and future research endeavours in online teaching and learning and students’ engagement.

The rapid transition to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges for teachers, students, and higher education institutions, impacting students' learning and engagement in the learning process. Based on Self-Determination Theory, this paper employs a collective case study research methodology to examine teachers' strategies for supporting students' learning and engagement in virtual learning environments during emergency remote teaching in the pandemic era, with the goal of offering guidelines to assist teachers in fostering student learning and engagement in these virtual settings. The inductive thematic analysis of eight semi-structured interviews with teachers from Spain, Oman, Nigeria and Cambodia revealed some challenges faced by teachers in engaging their students in virtual environments and some teaching and support strategies that teachers adopted to enhance students’ engagement in virtual classrooms. The study synthesised a set of strategies for teachers in higher education to support students’ engagement and learning in online environments. Teachers’ autonomy, structure and involvement support strategies had a behavioural, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement on students’ learning process. The paper discussed limitations and future research endeavours in online teaching and learning and students’ engagement.

Online learning has transformed schooling, becoming available and flexible to various learners. Despite this, high dropout rates and inconsistent performance also come with it. In this study, we investigate the student attainment and retention patterns in online learning environments through a large dataset that includes module presentations, students’ demographic information, assessment records, and the data of the students’ interaction in Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The most influential drivers of student attainment and retention are exposed with statistical analysis and predictive measures (age, previous educational attainment, assessment marks and frequency of interaction with the VLE). The comparison of trends in different module presentations is also made and different patterns of student studies and engagement are shown. These analyses reveal strong predictors of dropout risk and under-attainment. Furthermore, an additional predictive module is developed to predict student’s chances of pass success in the exam. Additionally, this integration may add value to the study as a first warning and a target intervention framework. Findings contribute to the improvement of students’ retention and academic attainment in online learning environments. Investigation and solution of the multiple reasons for dropout and attainment variation can be used by teachers and officials to create an evidence-based intervention to have an effective and supportive online education environment.

Research Objectives and Problems: The focus of this research is the virtual learning environment, which is a priority in developing new learning strategies. The aim is to analyze the process to describe policies related to changes in learning environments. The research objectives include examining theoretical approaches to modeling virtual learning environments and highlighting the signs of change in virtual teaching/learning environments from various perspectives. The research focuses on how virtual teaching and learning environment modeling is contextualized within the evolving Lithuanian education policy. This study explores questions regarding the perception of changes in learning environments and the key trends shaping virtual learning within the framework of new education policies. Research Methods: This study employs a combination of literature analysis and semi-structured focus group interviews to gather insights from teachers, education experts, and policymakers. The findings offer a deeper understanding of the virtual teaching and learning environment modeling process and its implications for educational policy and practice. Structure of the Article: The paper is structured into five main sections: an introduction, a literature review, a methodology description, an analysis of the main findings, and a discussion and conclusions section. A list of references is provided at the end. Research Findings and Their Impact on Educational Sciences: This research explores the modeling of virtual teaching and learning environments and its implementation within educational contexts. As schools navigate a rapidly evolving world, understanding and shaping virtual learning environments is crucial. The study aims to analyze the process of modeling virtual teaching and learning environments, particularly in terms of the inclusive and operationalizing context of open learning spaces, content elements, and learning styles. Through a reflexive approach, the paper investigates how modern schools are transitioning toward more organized teaching and learning services and identifies new directions in skill development, knowledge acquisition, learner networking, and value creation. The virtual teaching and learning environment is presented as a central vision for learner-centered education, promoting personalized learning, diverse learning styles, and trust-based learning cultures. Conclusions and Recommendations: Lifelong learning emerged as a central theme across all concept maps. This cluster was not only deemed pivotal for the future of learning but also served as a unifying element for other clusters. According to experts, the anticipated shifts in learning strategies and approaches are closely tied to the notion that skills and competencies will increasingly be acquired through lifelong learning.

The landscape of English language education is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by rapid technological advancement and the evolving demands of our increasingly connected global society. As we stand at the intersection of traditional pedagogical wisdom and digital innovation, educators, administrators, and policymakers face the complex challenge of harnessing technology's potential while preserving the fundamentally human elements that make language learning meaningful and effective. This book emerges from the recognition that digital transformation in higher education English teaching requires more than simply adopting new technologies—it demands a comprehensive reimagining of how we approach language instruction, community building, and student engagement in the digital age. The COVID-19 pandemic served as an unexpected catalyst, accelerating the adoption of virtual learning environments and revealing both the immense possibilities and significant challenges inherent in technology-enhanced language education. Digital Transformation in Higher Education English Teaching: Technology Integration and Virtual Learning Environments offers a systematic exploration of how educational institutions can navigate this transformation successfully. Drawing from extensive research and practical experience, this work provides frameworks for understanding the theoretical foundations of technology-enhanced learning, practical strategies for implementing digital tools and pedagogical approaches, and forward-looking perspectives on emerging technologies and future trends. The book is structured to serve multiple audiences within the educational community. For academic leaders and administrators, it provides strategic frameworks for institutional planning and digital transformation initiatives. For language educators, it offers practical guidance on integrating technology into teaching practice while maintaining pedagogical excellence. For educational technology specialists, it presents comprehensive analysis of platforms, tools, and infrastructure requirements. For researchers and graduate students, it provides theoretical foundations and emerging research directions in the field. Throughout these pages, we maintain a critical perspective that recognizes technology as a powerful tool that must serve educational goals rather than drive them. We emphasize the importance of maintaining human connection, cultural understanding, and communicative competence as central goals of language education, even as we embrace the transformative potential of digital technologies.

The Internet has made online learning possible, and many educators and researchers are interested in online learning courses to enhance and improve the student learning outcomes while battling the shortage in resources, facilities and equipment particularly in higher education institution. Online learning has become popular because of its potential for providing more flexible access to content and instruction at any time, from any place. It is imperative that the researchers consider, and examine the efficacy of online learning in educating students. For this study, the researchers reviewed literature through meta-analysis as the method of research concerning the use of ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation) framework for designing and developing instructional materials that can provide wider access to quality higher education. This framework can be used to list generic processes that instructional designers and training developers use (Morrison et al., 2010). It represents a descriptive guideline for building effective training and performance support tools in five phases, as follows: 1.) Analysis, 2.) Design, 3.) Development, 4.) Implementation, and 5.) Evaluation. The researchers collected papers relating to online learning courses efficacy studies to provide a synthesis of scientifically rigorous knowledge in online learning courses, the researchers searched on ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), ProQuest databases, PubMed, Crossref, Scribd EBSCO, and Scopus. The researchers also conducted a manual search using Google Scholar. Based on the analysis, three main themes developed: 1.) comparison of online learning and traditional face-to-face setting, 2.) identification of important factors of online learning delivery, and 3.) factors of institutional adoption of online learning. Based on the results obtained 50 articles. The researchers examine each paper and found 30 articles that met the efficacy of online learning courses through having well-planned, well-designed courses and programs for higher education institution. Also, it highlights the importance of instructional design and the active role of institutions play in providing support structures for educators and students. Identification of different processes and activities in designing and developing an Online Learning Courses for Higher Education Institution will be the second phase of this study for which the researchers will consider using the theoretical aspect of the ADDIE framework.

The rise of online education has highlighted the crucial need to comprehend student participation in virtual learning environments. With the evolution of online learning platforms, understanding the impact of technological components, especially interactive avatars, on student engagement has become imperative. This study aims to investigate the influence of avatars on student participation in virtual classrooms. Specifically, it seeks to understand the impact of avatars on student interactions, engagement, and involvement within online learning environments. Three primary research questions guide the inquiry: the impact of avatars on student participation, the extent of technology-mediated interaction's effect on engagement, and the nuanced ways in which avatars contribute to or hinder student involvement. The study conducts a comprehensive review of existing literature, delving into the design, integration, and influence of avatars in virtual learning environments. It critically assesses technological advancements, focusing on interactive avatars, and their implications for student engagement. The methodology involves an in-depth analysis of scholarly works, educational platforms, and user experiences to gather valuable insights. The study uncovers the multifaceted impact of avatars in virtual classrooms. Interactive avatars significantly enhance student engagement and participation, fostering interactions between students and teachers as well as among peers. The customization and interactivity of avatars create a more immersive learning experience, positively influencing student involvement. Future research endeavours could explore the integration of avatars with emerging technologies like augmented reality and artificial intelligence, enhancing the depth and scope of virtual classroom interactions. Continued research in this area is essential for refining virtual learning environments and ensuring optimal student participation in the digital educational landscape.

In this paper, we show how a single web resource can engage a wide student audience with plant science. Developed by the University of Leeds, UK, the Plant Science TREE (Tool for Research Engaged Education (www.tree.leeds.ac.uk)) is an online teaching tool giving access to online research lectures, downloadable lecture slides, practicals, movies and other material on topical plant science to support lecturers in their teaching. The Plant Science TREE complements the annual Gatsby Plant Science Summer School, which has already succeeded in engaging undergraduates with plant science (Levesley et al., 2012). Both initiatives were instigated to address the decline in student numbers in plant science (Sundberg, 2004; Stagg et al., 2009; Jones, 2010; Drea, 2011) at a time when there is concern that future demand for plant scientists will not be met (The Royal Society, 2009). The causes of this decline are unproven but may be the result of a combination of factors including, greater preference by students for animal and medically-based degrees, disengagement from plant science at school, and narrowing of plant-based undergraduate curricula. Where the summer school aims, by face-to-face contact, to inspire relatively small numbers of high-achieving students to consider plant science as a career option, the Plant Science TREE aims to reach a much larger, more diverse global audience through the use of web technologies. By creating, sharing and bringing together engaging plant science educational resources in a one-stop, easy to use repository, we aim to leverage quality research led resources, reduce the workloads of individual educators through a reduction in duplicated effort, broaden the learning opportunities for students and importantly engage students in plant science and research in general, especially in areas where expertise is becoming limited. The swift advancement of web technologies has provided opportunities for learners to access enormous quantities of external information on virtually any topic. Several studies suggest that digital technology, when used together with traditional teaching methods, such as in a blended learning approach, can enhance lectures, increase student interest and knowledge in science (O'Day, 2007; Greenfield, 2009) and even lead to accelerated learning (Lovett et al., 2008). Increasingly, educators have an essential role in guiding students in their use of online resources, ensuring that the information they receive is accurate and relevant, as well as to inspire students by teaching topics de novo. However, the selection and validation of the vast array of resources and their integration into undergraduate curricula can be time-consuming. Furthermore, the number of current research-informed academic resources addressing certain disciplines for example aspects of plant physiology, weed science, entomology, aspects of pathology and soil science is limited, even though these have been identified as vulnerable niche skills (The Royal Society, 2009; Food Research Partnership Skills Sub-Group, 2010; Horticulture Matters, 2013). Unless more students are attracted to acquire knowledge and skills in these topics, there is a risk that valuable knowledge will be lost as academics retire. A recent survey of over 300 UK plant scientists identifies education and training as the single most important risk to the UK's ability to address global challenges such as food security and climate change (UK Plant Science Federation, 2014). The UK plant science research community already contributes to various education and outreach programmes aimed to inspire interest in plant science, including those organized by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (Gatsby Plant Science Programme, 2014), The UK Plant Science Federation (2014) and its member organizations and other institutional efforts. Consequently, we were able to seek support and contributions from research academics who were already good communicators of plant science to their own students. Research academics who are passionate about their teaching, were invited to champion a plant science discipline, encourage their colleagues to participate and lead subject specific meetings that covered plant development, lifecycles, reproduction, plant structure, cells, genes and proteins, signalling, metabolism, evolution, abiotic environment and biotic interactions. Academics shared and reviewed their lecture slides, selected essential content and built a structure for their respective subjects. The innovative hierarchical TREE structure was thus created and forms an easy to use browsable framework for digital content with the advantage of the structure defining important areas in modern plant science. Modern web technologies, such as open source mind mapping software, were employed in the construction of the TREE to provide a smooth and extensive browsing experience which help the user find relevant content quickly and may even lead to a serendipitous find. The TREE supports a wealth of research-led educational resources from over 90 contributors to date; resources may be freely downloaded and have been licensed for educational use. A key feature of this teaching tool is that it highlights current plant science research. Where a lecture slide is derived from a research paper it is linked to the original source for reference. Uniquely, the TREE holds a collection of 42 online research lectures that were delivered at the annual Gatsby Plant Science Summer Schools between 2006 and 2013 and were successful in engaging undergraduates in plant science (Levesley et al., 2012). The lectures cover a broad range of cutting-edge plant science research that address globally relevant applied initiatives as well as curiosity-driven research. They are pitched at a level to engage undergraduates early in their degree studies, highlighting many of the unanswered questions and providing insight into how discoveries are made and science is carried out. They have been edited into an interactive format for online delivery that shows the speaker, their slides and the capacity to search or select any part of a lecture through slide thumbnails and search facility. A number of good quality digital resources are provided elsewhere by various publishers (e.g. Teaching Tools in Plant Biology from the journal The Plant Cell and instructor resources supporting text books e.g. Plant Biology from Garland Science (Smith et al., 2009). It is our experience (Levesley et al., 2007) that academics also value the opportunity to build their own lectures from individual digital assets rather than pre-packaged learning materials and they value the availability of specific slides, images, films, journal figures, etc. from trusted sources that they can incorporate into their teaching. The intuitive TREE browsing structure allows exactly that and aims to simplify the adaptation and re-use of peer selected plant science educational resources. Current content is by no means exhaustive but forms the foundation for key areas in plant science and an online ‘upload’ facility allows users to contribute their teaching materials to the repository so that it may continue to grow. Feedback from academics highlighted the value they placed in keeping current with developments in plant science (Levesley et al., 2007). In response, we developed the ‘Plant News’ with RSS feed and search facility, which links to news articles, research articles, podcasts and videos of current developments and breakthroughs in plant science from leading journals and the media. The Plant News searchable database forms part of the Plant Science TREE and aims to facilitate the use of plant news stories in teaching. Here we describe the creation, technical aspects and evaluation of impact of the Plant Science TREE on learning and teaching practices and on student engagement. Through web statistics, user registration data and online surveys we evidence the audience reach and profile as well as patterns of use and preferences of both educators and learners. We present a case study involving academics and undergraduates from four UK universities that focuses on the use of online research lectures as a learning tool and discuss the value of these as a means to engage students in plant science and research in general. The Plant Science TREE digital repository system consists of an application built in PHP 5.3 (The PHP Group) running on an Apache 2.2 web server (The Apache Software Foundation) on a Redhat Linux server. Data is stored in a MySQL 5.5 cluster (Oracle Corp.). The system accommodates delivery of a variety of educational resources (online lectures, lecture slides, videos, images, documents, web links) and supports most file formats. An innovative hierarchical TREE structure, based on mind mapping open source software, forms an integral feature of the TREE and provides a browsable framework for content. The system is scalable and consists of a user interface and an administrator side. The administrator side has been designed to accommodate content upload, editing of content metadata and of the TREE structure. The system accommodates an upload facility that allows users to deposit and therefore contribute resources to the TREE, all uploaded content is verified by a project administrator before going live. The Plant Science TREE requires registration and login for full access to all resources, however, open access resources may be viewed without registration. The research lectures, available through the Plant Science TREE, were filmed at the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School. Each filmed lecture is cut into short clips, each representing a single slide and edited into an interactive online lecture using Articulate Studio (09 and 13; Articulate Global Inc., New York, NY, USA), that shows the speaker, their slides and the capacity to search for or select any part of a lecture using slide thumbnails or search facility. The research online lectures may be viewed on a desktop or laptop through an Adobe Flash Player enabled web browser and more recent research lectures (from 2013) have been published to multiple formats so learners can view these on their desktops, laptops, iPads, and android mobile devices. Publishers and authors of digital resources to be held within the Plant Science TREE repository were approached and permission sought to license for educational use. Content was licensed through Copyright Clearance Centre RightsLink, or through a bespoke licensing agreement drawn up by the University of Leeds. Permission from the copyright holders was also sought to display all lecture slides used in the online research lectures. The author and copyright holder is acknowledged in the supporting information associated with each downloadable digital resource. The Plant Science TREE ‘terms and conditions of use’, drawn up by the University of Leeds, require all users to attribute the author and copyright holder on every use of the digital resource. Users are free to download and re-use materials for educational non-commercial purposes, resources may be downloaded to their own institution's virtual learning environment or re-used in their lectures or other teaching activities, but they are not openly available for redistribution. The TREE now supports an online upload facility where users may contribute and share their content under a Creative Commons license (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)). This approach has been adopted to reduce costs, but does mean that future content is restricted to materials authored and owned by the contributor. Many contributors and publishers prefer their materials to be restricted to ‘registered users’ only, hence, although materials are free to download and use for educational purposes, all users must first register with the Plant Science TREE and access the materials by logging into the site, where usage can be monitored. The impact of the Plant Science TREE on learning and teaching practices was evaluated based on measurable indicators of impact as defined by Jisc (formerly known as Joint Information Systems Committee, JISC) (Jisc, 2012); these include frequency and patterns of use of a resource; the extent to which it is useful, recommended or linked to; and audience reach. The following methods were employed to gather data for the impact study: At the time of evaluation the TREE supported 1121 registered users from 320 educational or research institutes world-wide. The TREE and Plant News received over 1600 unique site visits per month (57 500 hits per month) from 37 countries, during the evaluation period June 2012–May 2013. The Plant News accounted for 75% of visits from unique sites per month. The profile of registered users is shown in Fig. 1(a) and comprises 34% higher education academics, ranging from Heads of Departments to associate professors and lecturers, and 29% undergraduates, including students recommended the resource by their university lecturer as well as those who heard the lectures live at the Gatsby Plant Science Summer Schools. The remaining 32% comprise a wide-ranging group of professions including researchers, school-teachers and technicians, as well as those involved in the media and other communication and outreach activities. Web statistics revealed that the summer school online research lectures received over 3000 viewings during the 12 month evaluation period, which accounted for 81% of all downloads during that period (Fig. 1b). The lecture slides and images were also popular and accounted for 12% of downloads (452 per year). An online survey was sent to all registered users to evaluate their use and preferences for the resource. Ninety-seven responses (9% survey response rate) were received from educators, learners, researchers and those working in outreach from 15 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia. Of the 39 educators who responded to the question, 85% had downloaded resources. Educators mostly downloaded lecture slides and images followed by online research lectures, whereas learners and researchers mostly viewed the online research lectures. It is worth noting that the user and student survey response rates (of 9% and 8%, respectively) fall within the range expected for an external email prompted survey, for example a recent study found that online surveys generate a response rate of 5% and email delivered 9.3% response rates (ServiceTick, 2012). Regarding user preferences, 95% of 59 respondents rated the research lectures and lecture slides/images as very valuable or valuable. From the 29 replies from educators, the most valued resources were the lecture slides/images, movies and animations and the online research lectures, with > 85% of educators rating all of these as very valuable or valuable. Seventy-six percent of educators found the Plant News valuable. Unsurprisingly, the most valued resources amongst undergraduate students were the online research lectures. Of the 22 student respondents, 95% found them valuable and 86% stated that they had viewed an online lecture to learn about a subject and to enhance their personal understanding. Educators valued the quality of the TREE with all 28 respondents to this question either strongly agreeing (61%) or agreeing (39%) that the resources were of a high standard. Ninety-six percent found the unique TREE browsing structure valuable with users agreeing that the browsing function was a clear, quick and easy way to find relevant content and identify areas of interest. Eighty-nine percent of educators agreed that the resources enhanced their teaching. Educators who responded to this question (31 replies) reported that they mainly (81%) used the resources to develop or plan a new course, lecture or tutorial, which is supported by web statistics showing that usage peaks at the start of each UK academic term. Other uses include to enhance personal understanding (32%), enhance teaching (32%), or to keep current in developments in plant science (29%). Our user survey captured narratives of the value of embedding materials, for example many educators stated that they had used the slides and movies in their lectures to explain a concept or as examples of current research; others had provided access to selected online for their students to their own others used the slides to provide and structure for their own teaching and others their students to the site for the from both learners and educators about the online lectures, we a case study to evaluate the of the online lectures as a learning students from four UK who had already been to or more online research lectures by their university lecturer as part of their Information were to in an online Each academic their students to online lectures as information for diverse topics and academic linked the online research lecture to a The case study involved undergraduate students from to on a range of programmes of study and diverse Information students survey response rate) responded to our survey, but statistics through the University of virtual learning environment suggest that a of students viewed the online research lectures when to so by their university these statistics that more than a of the students from undergraduate programmes of study viewed recommended online research lecture and between and viewed a recommended a may not to the it does a to find more Information shows how lectures are can and the lecturer and view the slides They can also select of the lecture to view We were to the experience of the lecture online the experience of the lecture live at the summer school and so the of students were Information when undergraduate students an online lecture at 86% rated it good or very good with who it live (Fig. that students very well to research lectures in of the resource the quality of the lecture and its engaging the to the lecture in their own time and and so as to time to or and learn at their own the unique interactive the to to any slide using a slide or search facility and the lecture (Fig. and the that they the on rather than only, as in a the that there was no with the and that they were to they found it more time than a lecture and to their responses to specific are shown in Fig. were that an online research lecture is a good way of learning about a subject Of 37 were of the that the online research lectures were valuable in them an understanding of their lecture percent that the online lectures were valuable in them an understanding of the subject and it their data suggest that the online research lectures are an learning of this of 37 students reported that a single online lecture was to plant science more and for of the it was to research more (Fig. the students it was valuable for the lecture to be delivered by a research in the and who the research. percent of students stated that the lectures them to new about plant science and of students also stated that the online lecture their understanding of how research is carried out. students reported that they to more plant science online research lectures and to of students to these even they were not to their of students stated that they be in a research the online research A good measurable of a impact is the extent to which it is recommended (Jisc, 2012). The that the TREE is recommended is supported by our registration data where of a of registered who provided information on where they had heard of the TREE, stated that it had been recommended to them by a or their lecturer Furthermore, of the 59 who responded to the TREE user survey had either already recommended it to a or were to so Fig. were amongst educators of which of a of had already recommended the TREE to colleagues and a were to academic the TREE is a resource that provides a trusted source of current and relevant plant science research in to the academic The research lectures available are a and a in the of a career in plant Of the 37 undergraduate who responded to the online student survey, stated that they the online research lecture they had viewed to The Plant News is also recommended with 81% of registered who responded to this question on the TREE user survey, that they had already recommended the Plant News to colleagues or were to The upload facility provides opportunity to engage the community and the impact of this resource. Our data show how web technologies can be used by a community of academics to engage undergraduate students with plant science. We have a of of this resource to the UK research involving them in its and an easy to use that is already used and recommended by educators and learners. We have the facility to upload new content so that the resource can be up to The TREE an audience of educators, learners and researchers from over 320 research and educational institutes world-wide. is the most important usage of a web resource and at 1600 unique per the TREE well in with other sites higher education educational resources for example Jisc such as digital unique per project unique per unique per month) (Jisc, but not received visits than sites educational resources for a wide range of such as the University of visits per month its in 2013) of Furthermore, for 75% of unique the Plant News was key in users to the The TREE was developed for use by the higher education and has this with of registered users academics and It be that the TREE was developed to provide resources for educators only, based on the that educators have a reach and greater impact than students used these resources for However, it that resources, especially the online research lectures, to learners and access to these areas were up to registered students. Our evidence from both educators and students shows that embedding online research materials from the TREE in undergraduate teaching the learning experience of students. users the high quality of the TREE content and the browsing structure was well with many that it was easy to topics, find resources and the that it for serendipitous educators stated that a single quality trusted site had them time in for resources in the availability of online educational resources to the will to and the TREE is to this role for plant science to other The that the vast of survey respondents had either already recommended the TREE to colleagues or were to so (Fig. provides evidence to support the view that the TREE has been adopted by the plant science academics to consider embedding open educational resources within their learning and teaching practices has been elsewhere to be a 2013). in the of digital resources, use within higher education is and digital an to educators and students 2009). Our are and we that engaging the higher education plant science community in its has provided a of that was essential for a and trusted repository of peer selected content with wide amongst The most popular of resource within the TREE is the Gatsby Plant Science Summer online research lectures by research who are passionate about their subject and who have delivered the lecture at a level to and engage undergraduates (Fig. Our case study shows when placed within the of a lecture and as supporting the online research lectures are an learning tool that students their lecture course, their subject and their students are of the that an online research lecture is a good way of learning about a that such as and can be through plant science research our show that undergraduates as to an online lecture as it live (Fig. which have delivery of lectures with delivery support our and have reported either no in the academic of students et al., 2011) or have even reported in amongst students who to lectures with lecture et al., 2009). Furthermore, online lectures the advantage of the student to of the lecture to but not the opportunity to with the lecturer and A was that a single online research lecture was to plant science and research more for a of students (Fig. Our also that students to more online research lectures even they are not to their The online research lectures students from a wide range of and and show when many students can be in that not part of their their Furthermore, students value the of and the opportunity to the speaker, which is not present in all sources of online lectures (e.g. the online lectures to other which an for of this valuable resource. An important attribute of the TREE resources is their for global audience reach. and students summer school lectures between and at the Gatsby Plant Science Summer Schools that accommodate students each (Levesley et al., 2012). editing for online delivery these lectures were viewed online through the TREE between and 2013 by a wide representing a audience with the and of the educational repository that the materials from who are passionate about they are and to share 2009). This is our experience and is by the important role by the research lectures in engaging students in plant science at the Gatsby Plant Science Summer (Levesley et al., and by this where we have shown that this and of the summer school can be to a student audience through the use of web technologies. Other studies also support the use of to enhance student the use of podcasts and mobile led to in and a study where students the content online and to to use of their time with the instructor led to accelerated learning (Lovett et al., 2008). The examples a range of for educators to use the TREE resources in their teaching which free up time to understanding of the or to cover have and open up of using in to engage students through quality online research Our show that students a high value on the opportunity to research about their research. through the TREE, students have the opportunity to by of who about the research on into on an to and use on science and the of global to but a Through these and other research undergraduates are supported to not the of but also the and the of that In we present a web resource that is at engaging both educators and learners with plant science. such it is an educational tool for wide and application and may also be a for other The authors are to and for to generate the TREE and to and for engaging their colleagues and leading at TREE content The authors and for to the for to the TREE structure and and for part in the case study and for The authors are to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation for and all contributors at are not for the content or of any supporting information by the than be to the New employed to gather data for the Plant Science TREE impact study information from a case study to the impact of online research lectures as a learning tool and as a means to engage students into plant science or research in The is not for the content or of any supporting information by the than be to the author for the

Academic self-concept mediates the effect of online learning engagement on deep learning in online courses for Chinese nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Containerization: Practical infrastructure and accessibility efficiency for the Virtual Learning Environment 
 Context and motivation:
 Containers are transforming modern application infrastructure, providing advantages for accessibility and allow many instances of existing legacy applications to be run at the same time on the latest operating systems. This can implement an ideal virtual learning environment which offers a dynamic learning space where instructors upload activities and resources to enhance learning. The goal is to provide a structured learning environment suited to both the student and the instructor, where materials are easily accessed, and that many files can be transferred at one time. The system should cope with the demands of many students occupying the same virtual learning space, providing each student with individual learning experiences. There are challenges when instructors attempt to adapt the learning environment to meet the learning objectives. Technology barriers to the education provider, primarily in the form of high cost of technology infrastructure requirements need to be overcome before widespread adoption of a virtual learning environment is seen. The potential to overcome these barriers through the application of containerisation provides the motivation behind this presentation (Katz & Council of Independent, 2016; Puvaneswary & Siew Hwa, 2019).
 
 What will be demonstrated in this presentation?
 The use of containers provides the ability to supply many instances of the same application running on a single machine. Each instance is isolated, along with any associated dependencies, allowing efficient utilisation of system resources, such as processing and memory. The presentation will demonstrate how many instances of the same application can be activated and the resource advantages gained. The presentation will show a system that has been used to provide a complex structured virtual learning environment to level 7 students and discuss how the system was utilised to provide a positive, individualised learning experience to the students. Security and confidentiality is maintained within each containerized instance. The presentation will show how the system can be configured to be self-healing, respond to scheduling, and to automatically restart single instances as required.
 
 The implications for future practice
 The presentation will show how the advantages of containerization can be integrated at many levels of the virtual learning environment, providing many separate and individual instances of the same application. The number of instances can be easily adjusted as required, and resources are automatically allocated, reducing support overhead and cost of infrastructure. The implications are that each instance can provide a unique experience to each student, whilst reducing the workload of the instructor, and minimizing the cost to the education provider.
 
 
 References
 Katz, P. M., & Council of Independent, C. (2016). High-Tech or High-Touch? Online Learning and Independent Higher Education. Innovations in Teaching and Learning. Research Brief 5: Council of Independent Colleges. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED569215&site=eds-live
 Puvaneswary, M., & Siew Hwa, Y. (2019). Navigating the Shortcomings of Virtual Learning Environments Via Social Media. International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IJVPLE), 9(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJVPLE.2019070101
 

This article will present the process and the curricular and pedagogical lessons learned from adding a 3D virtual learning environment to an online course in a distance and hybrid education master’s degree program. Based on student surveys, course evaluations, and faculty interviews, the author will summarize attitudes and expectations from the varied stakeholders and offer practical recommendations on the design and delivery of an effective virtual world learning environment in an online course. The author is involved in developing 3D virtual learning environments and integrating their use in graduate level counseling courses in traditional, blended, and online master’s programs. In the fall of 2007, the author began the process of incorporating the virtual world Second Life into an online counseling skills and techniques course in the Human Services Counseling Program at Regent University. The course objectives consisted of teaching graduate level students expertise such as clinical counseling skills and techniques. One of the critical competencies, the student’s ability to demonstrate the basic counseling skills needed to be an effective counselor including attending, listening, empathy, warmth, and respect, was very difficult to teach and evaluate from a distance. In the past, program instructors have taught online and blended courses with the asynchronous learning environment Blackboard and the synchronous technologies, Skype and Instant Messenger. With the use of new learning environments, such as 3D virtual learning environments, the author hoped to provide the instructors and students with an environment more conducive to developing effective counseling skills. The author implemented the virtual learning environment – a simulated counseling facility and tested the virtual counseling facility’s use as an innovative learning environment for simulation of student counseling sessions. This article will discuss the author’s personal experiences as well as the empirical research collected during this case study. Given the potential for significant growth in the use of virtual learning objects, this article should provide useful information for instructors and administrators considering virtual environments as a means of teaching practical skills at a distance in online programs.

Seven teaching and learning tools, including course handouts, threaded discussion forums, and written assignments enhance learning in online courses by enabling students to deepen their understanding of course material and reduce anxiety about the online setting and their performance in the class. These tools have been used in 24 community college sections of Lifespan Development Psychology online with 720 students ranging from 18 to 62 years of age. Student response has been favorable, as expressed in student journals, online discussion, informal email messages, and course evaluations. Additional assignments, handouts, and discussion forums are suggested to make a complete course template. The potential problems of cheating on exams and the lack of in-person contact are discussed. (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Enhancing Student Learning in Online Courses 1 Enhancing Student Learning in Online Courses Marjorie E. Hofstad Everett Community College Presented at 111th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association at Toronto, Ontario, Canada. August 2003. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) CI This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organizaiion originating it. CI Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY 1 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) BEST COPY AVAILABLE C:) hC\I e) Enhancing Student Learning in Online Courses 2 Abstract Seven teaching and learning tools, including course handouts, threaded discussion forums, and written assigmnents enhance learning in online courses by enabling students to deepen their understanding of course material and reduce anxiety about the online setting and their performance in the class. These tools have been used in 24 community college sections of Lifespan Developmental Psychology online with 720 students ranging from 18 to 62 years of age. Student response has been favorable, as expressed in student journals, online discussion, informal email messages, and course evaluations. Additional assignments, handouts, and discussion forums are suggested to make a complete course template. The potential problems of cheating on exams and the lack of in-person contactSeven teaching and learning tools, including course handouts, threaded discussion forums, and written assigmnents enhance learning in online courses by enabling students to deepen their understanding of course material and reduce anxiety about the online setting and their performance in the class. These tools have been used in 24 community college sections of Lifespan Developmental Psychology online with 720 students ranging from 18 to 62 years of age. Student response has been favorable, as expressed in student journals, online discussion, informal email messages, and course evaluations. Additional assignments, handouts, and discussion forums are suggested to make a complete course template. The potential problems of cheating on exams and the lack of in-person contact

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to design and validate an evaluation instrument for a didactic strategy based on gamification, specifically adapted to e-learning contexts in higher education. It addresses the ongoing challenge of enhancing student motivation, engagement, and retention in virtual learning environments. Background: With the sustained growth of online education, higher education institutions need to develop and evaluate coherent pedagogical strategies that promote active learning. Although gamification has shown the potential to increase student participation, there is a lack of validated instruments to measure its effectiveness. This study responds to that need by proposing a validated framework for evaluating a gamified instructional model. Methodology: A non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional design with a mixed-methods approach was used. The Delphi method was applied, involving 33 experts who evaluated the validity and reliability of the proposed strategy. Content validity was assessed using the Content Validity Coefficient (CVC), and reliability was confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha. Contribution: This study provides an empirically validated instrument for implementing and evaluating gamification-based strategies in e-learning environments. It offers a structured and reliable tool for enhancing instructional planning and student engagement in virtual settings. Findings: Experts showed high levels of agreement regarding the structure, clarity, and pedagogical coherence of the strategy’s components. The instrument demonstrated strong reliability and validity, confirming its suitability for evaluating gamified instructional models. The proposed framework is expected to inform future research and serve as a practical guide for educators integrating gamification into online learning. Recommendations for Practitioners: Educators and instructional designers should consider integrating gamification elements such as narratives, levels, and rewards to enhance student motivation and participation in e-learning environments. Recommendation for Researchers: Future research should explore the long-term effects of gamification on academic performance and assess its adaptability across different disciplines and educational levels. Impact on Society: The validated gamification strategy can improve online education accessibility and effectiveness, reduce dropout rates, and foster more engaging and interactive learning experiences. Future Research: Further studies should investigate how different game mechanics influence student engagement and learning outcomes in diverse cultural and academic settings.

In the present era, where online learning has taken the spotlight in higher education, especially in engineering education, student engagement remains a critical determinant of academic success. Online engagement models that structure strategies to captivate and sustain students’ involvement in virtual learning environments play a vital role in addressing the unique challenges of remote education. This comprehensive review examines the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to revolutionise these models in the context of engineering education. The study identifies how AI tools, such as adaptive learning systems and intelligent tutoring systems, can enhance personalisation, provide real-time feedback, and create interactive learning experiences by analysing literature from leading academic databases over the last decade. The review also discusses the broader implications of AI integration, considering both opportunities and challenges for educators and institutions. Limitations and future research directions are identified, including the need for cross-cultural validations, longitudinal studies, and the extension of these findings to other fields of education. This research adds to the expanding corpus of literature on student engagement, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of AI and online student engagement by guiding engineering educators in creating a more effective, inclusive, and adaptive virtual learning environment.