The rapid advancement of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 demands that vocational high school graduates possess not only technical expertise but also higher-order thinking skills, particularly critical thinking. However, many learning practices in vocational education remain limited to procedural instruction with minimal emphasis on cognitive development. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Flipped Project-Based Learning (FPjBL) model integrated with mockup and Augmented Reality (AR) media in enhancing vocational students’ critical thinking skills compared to conventional learning approaches. This study uses a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design, namely pretest-posttest control group design. The research sample was grade X and XI students from six state vocational high schools in the Solo Raya area, consisting of 216 students divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group used the FPjBL model with mockup and AR media, while the control group used conventional learning. Data were collected through critical thinking ability tests and learning motivation questionnaires. Data analysis used ANCOVA and multiple linear regression. The results showed that the experimental group experienced a significant increase in critical thinking skills compared to the control group (F (1,213) = 104.192, p <.001, partial η² = .329). The analysis and explanation indicators showed the greatest increase. Linear regression shows that learning motivation, media perception, and student activity significantly affect critical thinking skills (R²=.613). These results confirm that integrating Integration Media Mockup and Augmented Reality with FPjBL effectively strengthens students’ critical thinking and can be adopted in vocational education curricula to better prepare learners for the complex challenges of Industry 4.0.

In recent years, medieval-themed video games have emerged as increasingly relevant educational tools, for history teaching, recognised for their ability to foster historical understanding, digital literacy, and critical thinking across a variety of learning environments. This systematic review investigates how these games are incorporated into educational practice and interrogates the narratives they construct about the medieval past. These aims are grounded in prior research on game-based learning and on the cultural analysis of medievalist representations. Guided by the PRISMA protocol, fourteen peer-reviewed studies published in the last ten years were identified, selected, and analysed to provide a structured and critical overview of current research in this area. The findings reveal a strong predominance of commercial titles particularly strategy and role-playing games that reproduce Eurocentric, militarised, and masculinised representations of the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, several studies report innovative pedagogical strategies that embed these digital resources within intentional didactic frameworks, aligning them with curricular objectives and supporting immersive experiences, enquiry-based learning, and the development of disciplinary historical competences. Such practices highlight the capacity of video games to operate as complex cultural artefacts, rather than mere motivational tools. Despite this potential, significant shortcomings remain. These include a lack of sustained critical engagement with symbolic and ideological representations, the scarce incorporation of gender-sensitive or intersectional perspectives, and the limited connection between explicit educational aims and the cultural content of the games. Addressing these gaps requires stronger pedagogical models that connect the analysis of digital representations with the development of historical thinking, digital literacy, and critical reflection. Overall, this study underscores both the opportunities and limitations of medieval-themed video games as didactic resources. It stresses the importance of inclusive, reflexive, and gender-aware approaches that challenge dominant historical imaginaries and contribute to the formation of culturally literate, critical, and democratically engaged citizens.

Teaching complex electrical and electronic principles to Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology (BSIT) students presents a significant pedagogical challenge due to the abstract nature of the concepts. Traditional static methods often fail to provide the visualization required for technical mastery. This study aimed to bridge this gap by designing, developing, and evaluating an "Interactive Edu-Video App" for the course Electricity & Electronics Principles at North Eastern Mindanao State University, Philippines. The study utilized a Research and Development (R&D) approach grounded in the ADDIE model, combined with a quasi-experimental design (non-equivalent control group). The participants included 76 BSIT students and 16 experts (instructors and industry practitioners). Data were analyzed using weighted means for validity and t-tests for learning effectiveness. The development phase produced a mobile application integrating interactive hotspots and quizzes based on Cognitive Load Theory. Expert validation rated the app as "Very Satisfactory" (M=3.61) in terms of accessibility and engagement. Experimental results revealed that while baseline knowledge was comparable (p=0.146), the experimental group using the app achieved significantly higher posttest scores (M=25.45) compared to the control group (M=17.39), with a significant learning gain (t=18.781, p<0.001). The findings confirm that interactive video is not merely a supplementary tool but a superior pedagogical strategy for technical education. The study contributes a validated, scalable mobile learning model that enhances conceptual mastery in TVET, offering a practical solution for resource-constrained industrial technology programs.

As the popularity and accessibility of artificial intelligence (AI) in learning continue to rise, online education has increasingly incorporated AI. It is imperative to investigate how AI in the scholarly community supports the learning of autonomous students. This scoping review investigated articles that employed AI in discussion forums. The objective of this study is to develop a summary that denotes the effective integration of AI in discussion forums, thereby characterizing the overall learning experience. In accordance with the search, appraisal, synthesis, and analysis (SALSA) framework, the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram was employed to design the article screening and selection process. Scopus was utilized for the literature search, resulting in the identification of twelve articles that met the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The extracted articles covered the following six applications: intelligent tutoring systems, AI-assisted apps, chatbots, automatic formative assessment, AI teaching assistants, and AI-assisted lifelong learning assistants. Three types of man-machine partnerships related to the activities are discussed: student-AI partnerships, student-AI-student partnerships, and student-AI-teacher partnerships, the latter being the most commonly observed. The generated content was frequently processed through teacher adjustments and checks. Components of community of inquiry theory were adapted as indicators. Cognitive presence was observed to be more predominant than social presence, with a particular emphasis on individual learning achievements. Three distinct perspectives regarding the role of AI in learning were identified. The first perspective posited that AI functioned as a virtual teacher, supplementing the teaching functions of human teachers and delivering information to students. In the second perspective, AI facilitated students in collecting information by enabling interactions with messages or peers. In the third perspective, the significance of the automatic evaluation function, which assessed learning activities and provided feedback to enhance the system while simultaneously implementing immediate changes in the learning process, was acknowledged. Regarding the role of communication, teachers clearly intended for students to acquire knowledge through it. Despite the focus on assisting individual learners, each article encompassed references from a wide range of fields and exhibited substantial diversity overall. Consequently, the domain of discussion forums with AI was depicted through the complex interplay between technology, pedagogy, and the learning environment. This context is known as entangled pedagogies, which emphasize understanding the interconnections among these elements and their reciprocal influences. In summary, AI was predominantly utilized in the form of chatbots and GenAI in discussion forums. Emerging AI roles included virtual teachers, peer/message matching, and automated evaluation. Aggregated information was presented in a manner that supported student learning. AI also served as a conduit between students and teachers.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies are increasingly integrated into education across diverse contexts, from primary schools to higher education and vocational training. The collection associated with this editorial provides insights from eleven recent studies on VR/AR-enhanced learning, including systematic reviews, experimental designs, and case studies in resource-constrained environments. The articles in the collection have been organized into three key clusters of research: (1) reviews and taxonomies that attempt to structure the rapidly evolving field, (2) empirical studies in higher education testing immersive and collaborative platforms, and (3) practice-oriented case studies that apply AR in trades and indigenous communities. While the findings of the articles highlight significant potential for motivation, collaboration, and inclusivity, issues such as methodological fragmentation, small sample sizes, and cost barriers remain persistent challenges in conducting VR/AR experiments. We argue that future work must move beyond isolated case studies toward integrated curricula, inclusive frameworks, and cost-effective solutions to ensure that VR and AR become sustainable, reliable tools in education.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is having a significant impact on contemporary lives, especially in learning and instruction design. The exploration of AI literacy in teacher education is an essential foundation for the redesign of instructional approaches to enhance pre-service teachers’ AI literacy. This study aimed to develop the scale of AI literacy by employing exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to develop the items and validate a self-assessment AI literacy scale for pre-service teachers for practical implementation for teacher development courses in undergraduate curricula. In this study, AI literacy, synthesized from relevant studies and drawing on experts in educational technology, includes four constructs: 1) recognition, 2) fundamental comprehension, 3) pedagogy, and 4) ethical use of AI, offering a comprehensive and versatile instrument for the measurement of AI literacy in teaching professional development. The instrument’s reliability and construct validity were confirmed using statistical analyses of data collected from 1,673 undergraduate pre-service students studying teaching and education at Thai universities, including both public and private universities. The findings indicated that the four constructs proposed had a good fit and showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.94). The average variance extracted, and composite reliability (CR) values met the criteria for validity. In the EFA, the items were reduced from 42 items to 39 items, which had a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin of 0.993 and a significant test of sphericity (p-value < .0001). The CFA results revealed a chi-Square value of 480 (p < 0.001), an RMSEA of 0.035, an SRMR of 0.022, a comparative fit index (CFI) of 0.974, and a GFI of 0.974. Thus, the AI literacy scale for pre-service teachers developed in this study is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing pre-service teachers’ AI literacy. Although it was not yet implemented in classroom settings, the established validity and reliability of the scale provide a foundation for future research and practical applications in teacher education.

This paper addresses the growing importance of digital competence for higher education professors due to the increasing technology integration in this sector. Existing frameworks, such as the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educator (DigCompEdu), present limitations for higher education, particularly regarding the use of online and blended learning approaches, immersive technologies, and artificial intelligence. Such limitations motivated the development and validation of the e-DigCompEdu, an extended framework specifically designed for this context. The validation process employed a Delphi panel with international experts in distance education, initially involving 29 participants. The selection of specialists was based on their publication records across 40 high-impact distance education journals, involving the analysis of 25,980 authors. The experts evaluated the extended version of the DigCompEdu, with 12 new competencies, specifically considering three aspects: title and description, related activities, and proficiency levels. Experts were asked to rate the competence adequacy on a five-point scale and to offer qualitative feedback. Results showed overall improved adequacy scores, from the first to the second round, as well as an increasing positive evaluation of the competences relevancy. Although some competences experienced a slight reduction in mean scores, they showed decreased variance, demonstrating greater expert consensus. Ultimately, all 12 new competences were enhanced by expert contributions (qualitative) and subsequently validated (quantitative). The validated e-DigCompEdu framework effectively addresses the digital competence requirements from professors in the online education setting. It provides a robust resource for guiding professional development and informing institutional policies regarding the digital transformation of higher education practices.

The adoption of digital learning systems is closely related to user engagement and system relevance. This quantitative research aims to explore the factors influencing students' switching intention from traditional Learning Management Systems (LMS) to a gamified LMS platform, using the Push-Pull-Mooring (PPM) framework. A conceptual model was developed to examine how negative experiences with previous systems (push factors), the appeal of a new gamified platform (pull factors), and personal constraints (mooring factors) influence switching behavior. The gamified LMS, named Learning Nova, was designed based on six types of goal orientation, enabling personalization according to students’ motivational profiles. Data were collected through a two-stage process: an initial classification using a modified AGQ-R questionnaire, followed by a large-scale survey involving 1,054 university students from various institutions across Indonesia who interacted with the prototype. The findings confirmed the significant influence of both push and pull effects on switching intention. While mooring factors did not moderate these effects, they had a direct impact on students’ decisions to switch. These insights offer practical implications for educational institutions and system developers seeking to enhance LMS adoption through motivation-aligned, gamified experiences.

This paper presents the design of a personalized learning agent powered by the Agentic RAG technique. The agent can interpret learners’ queries and autonomously decide which tools should be used to generate the most suitable response. When the learner shares an Open Educational Resource (OER) they wish to learn from, the agent first breaks the content into smaller, manageable chunks. These chunks are then indexed sequentially to preserve the natural flow of the text. At the same time, chunks are also converted into vector embeddings that allow semantic retrieval. Depending on the learner’s request, different tools are selected by the agent. For example, when the learner requests learning aids like summaries, quizzes, or flashcards, the agent invokes the corresponding tool. This tool passes the sequentially indexed chunks to a small language model to generate the output. For context-specific queries, another specialized tool that relies on vector indexing and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), is invoked. Visual question answering is handled by a separate tool that leverages multimodal RAG using a multimodal small language model. This agentic setup improves the accuracy and relevance of responses generated by the agent. To test its agentic behaviour, we probed our agent with a diverse set of questions drawn from four different OERs. We thoroughly examined each response and tracked the tools that got invoked autonomously. We also compared the similarity of summaries produced by our agent against those generated by ChatGPT (GPT-4o) using BERT Score as the evaluation metric. Our findings indicate that the agent consistently selected the appropriate tools and the summaries generated by our agent showed close semantic similarity to those produced by GPT-4o, suggesting that the proposed approach can provide performance reasonably close to a state-of-the-art model. The agent being lightweight resides on learner’s local machine and avoid dependence on cloud-based AI ensuring the privacy of learner’s data. It is affordable as it entirely relies on open source frameworks and small models. As the agent provides personalized support to learners by answering their context-based queries and providing on-demand learning aids, it improves their engagement with the educational content. This research shows that designing agentic AI tools using open-source software to address diverse learning needs is technically and economically feasible as well as educationally valuable.

Digital competence is increasingly being recognised as a crucial factor in transforming education in the technological era. Various studies have been conducted to identify and develop digital competence improvement programs for teachers. However, there has been a lack of comprehensive synthesis regarding their impact, particularly for special education teachers. This problem is important to explore, given that special education teachers face unique pedagogical challenges when serving students with disabilities. This systematic review aims to address this gap by exploring the implementation of digital competence programs for teachers in special education settings. In particular, this study analysed the characteristics of related publications, the effectiveness of training programs, the training materials expected by teachers, and the instruments used to assess digital competence. This study followed PRISMA guidelines, and a comprehensive search was conducted of the Scopus, ScienceDirect, and ERIC databases. This review synthesised 17 studies from 127 screened articles published between 2014 and 2024. The Inclusion and exclusion criteria were based on language, document type, publication year, research type, and full-text availability. The results indicated that while the interest in teacher digital competence is growing, research specifically targeting special education contexts remains limited. Most program initiatives adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, focusing on general digital tools rather than assistive or adaptive technologies suited to learners with disabilities. Training materials tend to emphasise technical rather than pedagogical and accessibility-related aspects. These findings indicate that there is a misalignment between the content of teacher training and the realities of inclusive digital classrooms. The results of this study provide valuable insights for developing digital competence development programs tailored to the needs of special education teachers. This research contributes to digital learning practice by providing a framework for designing practical digital training customised to special education contexts. It advances the scope of virtual and digital learning by highlighting the specific needs and conditions required for inclusive digital education to thrive.