Asynchronous Distance Learning Research Articles

How to design effective educational videos for teaching evidence-based medicine to undergraduate learners – systematic review with complementing qualitative research to develop a practicable guide

ABSTRACT Background eLearning can be an effective tool to achieve learning objectives. It facilitates asynchronous distance learning, increasing flexibility for learners and instructors. In this context, the high educational value of videos provides an invaluable primary component for longitudinal digital curricula, especially for maintaining knowledge on otherwise rarely taught subjects. Although literature concerning eLearning evaluation exists, research comprehensively describing how to design effective educational videos is lacking. In particular, studies on the requirements and design goals of educational videos need to be complemented by qualitative research using grounded theory methodology. Methods Due to the paucity of randomized controlled trials in this area, there is an urgent need to generate recommendations based on a broader fundament than a literature search alone. Thus, the authors have employed grounded theory as a guiding framework, augmented by Mayring’s qualitative content analysis and commonly used standards. An adaptive approach was conducted based on a literature search and qualitative semi-structured interviews. Drawing on these results, the authors elaborated a guide for creating effective educational videos. Results The authors identified 40 effective or presumedly effective factors fostering the success of video-based eLearning in teaching evidence-based medicine, providing a ready-to-use checklist. The information collected via the interviews supported and enriched much of the advice found in the literature. Discussion To the authors’ knowledge, this type of comprehensive guide for video-based eLearning needs has not previously been published. The interviews considerably contributed to the results. Due to the grounded theory-based approach, in particular, consensus was achieved without the presence of a formal expert panel. Although the guide was created with a focus on teaching evidence-based medicine, due to the general study selection process and research approach, the recommendations are applicable to a wide range of subjects in medical education where the teaching aim is to impart conceptual knowledge.

Comparison of the Curricula of the Bachelor´s Degree in Teaching at Austrian University Colleges of Teacher Education

The Bachelor's Degree in Teaching Qualification is a study to obtain a teaching qualification in secondary vocational education. It is a Bachelor of Education (abbrev. BEd) has a length of four semesters. At all four university colleges, where this degree can be acquired, it is organized as part-time study on Fridays and Saturdays. It also includes asynchronous distance learning. The students of these study teach already in parallel at a given vocational high school or college as lecturers, they have a completed university degree of 240 to 300 ECTS credits.
 The BEd can be acquired at the University Colleges of Teacher Education Upper Austria, of Styria, of Vienna and of Tyrol. These University Colleges are part of alliances, “Verbünde”, according to Austrian law, where two or more University Colleges are combined (geographically) to teach the same curriculum. Here the curricula of these BEd studies will be compared. The goals of the studies, the qualifications achieved by completing the studies, and the Study Entry and Orientation phase will be looked at. The differences are in the courses for the STEOP, the Pedagogical-Practical Studies PPS and the length and content of the Bachelor thesis.

Collaboration and Ethics in Distance Learning Design

Ethical education practices require that all students have access to quality learning resources, necessary learning supports, diverse learning strategies, and deep learning opportunities. When it comes to learning strategies and opportunities, collaborative learning practices foster deep learning through socio-cultural interactions, asserting that individual learning is limited compared to what can be learned as a community. Education systems have an ethical obligation to ensure that what is advocated for in curricula can be achieved and will be supported. Although K–12 curricula are typically rooted in collaborative approaches, many asynchronous secondary online learning courses continue to be associated with individual learning approaches. This research used insights gleaned from 35 survey responses and 18 semi-structured interviews with secondary asynchronous distance learning teachers to analyze how collaborative learning is actualized and examine barriers to its implementation. Collaborative online learning opportunities were increasingly prevalent when communities outside of the school were leveraged for experiential learning and when students were paced as a cohort. The data indicated that an increase in collaborative learning was not likely to occur unless the learning ecosystem valued online learning as equitably as face-to-face learning in terms of investment in research-based pedagogy, student support, teacher support, and teaching and learning resources. Until such time, distance learning students will be disadvantaged concerning building collaborative competence that can lead to deeper learning opportunities.

Blended learning for teacher training: benefits, challenges, and recommendations

This study examines how blended learning (BL) was used for teacher training and retraining during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a systematic analysis of 27 scientific sources from the Scopus database. BL is a flexible and personalized mode of learning that combines face-to-face, synchronous, and asynchronous distance learning methods, as well as various ICT tools and pedagogical technologies. The study identifies the main approaches, benefits, and challenges of BL implementation in teacher education. It reveals that BL can enhance teachers’ access to resources, communication, interaction, collaboration, reflection, and creativity. However, it also requires reliable technology, technical support, and adequate training for both teachers and students.

The Effectiveness of Using H5P for Undergraduate Students in the Asynchronous Distance Learning Environment

As the COVID-19 pandemic caused many schools to go online, asynchronous distant learning has become popular. One of the main challenges of asynchronous distance learning is keeping students engaged and motivated, as they do not have the same engagement with their peers and teachers as in traditional face-to-face learning environments. HTML 5 package (H5P) is an interactive learning tool that has the potential to fill this need due to its numerous immediate interactive features, such as interactive videos, pop quizzes, and games during media playback. This study investigates the effectiveness of using H5P and Moodle in asynchronous distance learning environments for undergraduate students. The data collection methods included pre-and post-surveys for Moodle and H5P and the questions related to the student perspectives towards H5P features. The technology acceptance model (TAM) is employed to find student satisfaction. The results of this study suggest that both the H5P and Moodle could be valuable tools for making E-learning more effective. The interactive and engaging nature of H5P can provide students with a more enjoyable and effective learning experience, helping to keep them motivated and engaged throughout their studies.

A question-answer generation system for an asynchronous distance learning platform.

Distance learning frees the learning process from spatial constraints. Each mode of distance learning, including synchronous and asynchronous learning, has disadvantages. In synchronous learning, students have network bandwidth and noise concerns, but in asynchronous learning, they have fewer opportunities for engagement, such as asking questions. The difficulties associated with asynchronous learning make it difficult for teachers to determine whether students comprehend the course material. Motivated students will consistently participate in a course and prepare for classroom activities if teachers ask questions and communicate with them during class. As an aid to distance education, we want to automatically generate a sequence of questions based on asynchronous learning content. In this study, we will also generate multiple-choice questions for students to answer and teachers to easily correct. The asynchronous distance teaching-question generation (ADT-QG) model, which includes Sentences-BERT (SBERT) in the model architecture to generate questions from sentences with a higher degree of similarity, is proposed in this work. With the Wiki corpus generation option, it is anticipated that the Transfer Text-to-Text Transformer (T5) model will generate more fluent questions and be more aligned with the instructional topic. The results indicate that the questions created by the ADT-QG model suggested in this work have good fluency and clarity indicators, showing that the questions generated by the ADT-QG model are of a certain quality and relevant to the curriculum.

Специфика обучения говорению на иностранном языке студентов в неязыковом вузе в условиях дистанционного формата

The paper aims to identify the approaches that positively affect the development of skills of such a productive type of speech activity as speaking in educational situations of communication in English in groups of students of non-linguistic programmes of study. The paper examines the factors and conditions of teaching foreign language speaking at a non-linguistic university; determines the level of attention to the development of this type of speech activity in university curricula; presents the main difficulties faced by students of non-linguistic faculties in the process of communicative foreign language practice. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author proposes ways to teach foreign language speaking to students in a more effective manner based on the shortcomings and problems of the existing approaches to foreign language education at non-linguistic universities. As a result of the research, the insufficient emphasis of Russian university curricula on teaching foreign language speaking at a non-linguistic university has been revealed, which is accounted for by the preservation of the markers of the traditional didactic paradigm, i.e. instructivism, despite the transition to constructivism declared in regulatory and strategic documents. The analysis of the existing pedagogical practice shows that the scientific-methodological experience accumulated by Russian didactics concerns mostly asynchronous distance learning forms, while online lessons are not sufficiently developed. In addition, the existing studies in the field of online learning demonstrate a return to the instructional teaching paradigm. The paper also presents and analyses the effective techniques and technologies of distance teaching of foreign language speaking at a non-linguistic university.

A Real-time Engagement Assessment for Learner in Asynchronous Distance Learning

Early notice of a learner’s disengagement during learning is an essential signal for an educator to either change the pedagogy or give personal support. Hence, assessing learner’s engagement is important to avoid dropout. However, assessing learner’s engagement in distance learning is a challenge due to the learner-educator interaction limit. To address the challenge, in this paper we proposed a real-time automatic engagement estimation system to assess learner’s engagement from facial landmarks and body pose during his/her learning activity in asynchronous distance learning, where there is no direct interaction between learner and educator. A web-based application has been developed as an early stage implementation in a real education setting. The prototype has been successfully recognizing learner’s engagement in three-level: Very Engaged, Normal Engaged, and Not Engaged.

PROBLEMS OF MEDICAL EDUCATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL LEARNING MODEL IN TRAINING FUTURE PHYSICIANS IN SPECIALTY "INTERNAL DISEASES" DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND FULL-SCALE WAR IN UKRAINE

The COVID-19 pandemic, and later a full-scale war in Ukraine brutally disrupted the well-established traditional medical training not only for university students, but for postgraduates as well. The new limitations of physical presence have accelerated the development of teaching and learning in an online environment that includes both asynchronous and synchronous methods of distance education and the introduction of new techniques to provide new knowledge and foster special skills. Today, following the path of improvement, in which the principle of imitation is the leading one and can cause physical and intellectual stress is not necessary, instead searching for new, more effective methods of educational and cognitive activity of students, which shape the needs of society is becoming a priority. Distance learning methods have passed through a number of technological stages, which, in the end, enable to obtain proper medical education even under the conditions of distancing. Today, asynchronous learning is based mainly on the use of Internet technologies. Independent work during asynchronous learning becomes a starting point, an organizing principle, and a central, leading form of student’s training. Therefore, it is asynchronous distance learning that creates the most effective pedagogical conditions to foster self-education and self-learning abilities and skills in medical interns. The unpredictability of the current predicament causes a rapid and forced transition from the traditional (analogue) method of learning and teaching to a more digital-advanced model, even in conditions where the use of digital tools was not so widespread. The implementation of the digital model should act as a new "stepping stone" for the success of evidence-based medical education in the future. At the same time, this ongoing crisis has serious consequences on medical training, including their psychological well-being and the impact on their academic trajectory. The urgency and the need to adapt to new circumstances were so-called a springboard for introducing innovation into medical education.

Perceptions of a – level physics students and teachers on the effectiveness of online physics teaching and learning

Compelling evidence why physics should be effectively taught at secondary school level, include its use in the universe to find solutions to daily life challenges. Physics education prepares secondary school graduates to proceed with the study and application of science to explore the universe, as well as being productive members of diverse socio – economic sectors of any nation. Understanding Physics and developing skills that allow students to be responsible citizens in promoting sustainable development depends on how physics education is taught. While interaction between classmates, and students and teachers is important, but with the advent of the COVID – 19 outbreak the learn from home policy which many countries adopted, suspended face – to – face learning, giving way to physics online learning as a combination of synchronous and asynchronous distance learning. This study sought to explore A – Level physics learners' and teachers’ perceptions on the effectiveness of online physics teaching and learning. Semi – structured interviews with purposive sampled A – Level physics learners (PLs) and physics teachers (PTs) were used to collect data. Findings from the study show that if online physics learning is to be successfully, then it should be implemented blended with face – to – face learning. However, ways to support those learners disadvantaged financially to afford data to remain internet connected, should be put into place so that every learners benefits. The study has shown that not all physics concepts can be taught effectively through online strategy, therefore physics syllabi should clearly spell out areas which can be taught online and those which are mandatory to be taught face – to – face.

Elementary School Teachers Received Training on Using Google Forms for Assessing Students' Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic

As a result of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, traditional classroom instruction has had to be replaced by online, asynchronous distance learning. The evaluation of students' progress is one area that has room for improvement. Teachers can use a wide variety of programs to administer online learning evaluations. The Google form is frequently utilized as an online evaluation tool. There have been many successful online assessments conducted using Google Forms, including blind evaluation exercises, assessments of lecturer effectiveness, and assessments of alternative pedagogical approaches. Training is conducted via the online meeting tool Zoom, and participants are given assignments to complete as part of the process. Elementary school educators are the target audience for this workshop. There were 10 educators from SDN Tegalrejo in the Dringu District of the Probolinggo Regency who participated in this training. There are three phases to this training: pre-training, training, and post-training evaluation and adjustment. The training's outcomes, beginning with the identity page and continuing through question entry, answer key entry, and scoring, are generally consistent with the training's tutorials. The majority of those polled (95%) found the training to be beneficial. The majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the training provided was beneficial and appropriate for their needs during their time spent learning online.

Development of New Distance Learning Platform to Create and Deliver Learning Content for Deaf Students

With the increasing transformation of using distance learning platforms in educational institutions, deaf student instructors in schools and universities have no specialized platform for remotely delivering learning content for deaf students with sign language translation videos. This study suggests a new asynchronous distance learning platform for deaf students with particular capabilities to assist deaf student instructors in developing and delivering educational materials over distance. Nineteen educational technology experts, seven instructors for deaf students, and sixteen undergraduate deaf students participated in this study to assess the proposed platform. Qualitative methods were used to collect data using online questionnaires. According to the findings, the suggested platform is suitable for distance learning when creating and delivering educational materials with sign language translation videos for deaf students. Deaf students could easily access and study the courses remotely with the help of the proposed platform.

E-Learning at the Tertiary Level in and After Pandemic

The article deals with new challengers in higher education system in terms of reality caused by coronavirus COVID-19. Some positive experience in English distance teaching and learning (at the basis of Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Ukraine) is described as it is significant in pandemic and may become useful for post pandemic society to improve educational processes. The purpose of the paper is to share positive ideas for English e-learning organization at the tertiary level in pandemic in order to use e-learning gains in further educational practice, highlight and solve its problems. General theoretical methods (analysis and synthesis) as well as empirical (observation and discussion) helped to find out advantages and identify disadvantages of the issue under study. The study has reached the following conclusions: asynchronous distance learning is effective for highly motivated students; synchronous forms demonstrate ability for developing all kinds of language skills. Advantages of distance teaching and learning there are: opportunity to display necessary didactic material on screen, to play audio recording or video materials for students in better quality. We have identified these problems: necessity of strong students’ motivation, connected with self-organization and the ability to work independently; sometimes insufficient technical skills of academic staff; academic dishonesty, which leads to meaninglessness of testing.

Google Classroom Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesian Elementary Schools: Teachers’ Perceptions and Motivation

Google Classroom seems to be one of the most trending platforms used in secondary and tertiary levels but it has been observed to be rarely applied in elementary schools, and therefore the research about it is also still limited. This study was intended to give an insight of how effective this e-learning platform is utilized in supplementing the Elementary school teachers’ instructional programs by investigating their perceptions and motivation. Via the quantitative method of a questionnaire survey, the research participants presented their perceptions and self-efficacy motivation on asynchronous distance learning with Google Classroom. The data revealed that the majority of these researched teachers have positive perceptions and high level of motivation towards this learning web/app (the average mean scores of around 4). However, a few teachers still doubted that Google Classroom can boost students’ learning motivation. The findings indicate that Google Classroom is effective to enhance the teaching learning process in primary education and the teachers’ high self-efficacy in running this technology product will support a quality learning in the cutting-edge technology era.

Distance learning in science and mathematics - Advantages and disadvantages based on pre-service teachers’ experience

The rapid transition to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred without an in-depth examination of its characteristics and implications on science and mathematics teaching and learning. Pre-service science and mathematics teachers completed a questionnaire designed to reveal their preferences of synchronous and asynchronous distance learning compared to frontal learning. Findings indicate a clear preference for frontal learning while synchronous learning was least preferred. The main disadvantages of synchronous learning noted were understanding the content, technical problems, interacting with the lecturer, and means of illustration. Preferences were also examined with respect to mother tongue, year of college, and discipline grade-point average.

Structuring from scratch a legal interoperability laboratory

The article describes the creation of an innovative legal interoperability laboratory from scratch at the National School of Public Administration and Local Government in Athens. Its scope and objectives are critically analyzed and its modules described. The problem-based learning method has been applied to a synchronous and asynchronous distance learning educational environment. In particular, in the context of the laboratory, the use of LEOS (Legislation Editing Open Software), a legal informatics tool that has been developed as a European Union ISA2 solution, is highlighted. Moreover, the relation of the laboratory to existing open interoperability courses and the wider European Interoperability Framework are presented along with the tool being assessed for potential use as an authoring tool by the Hellenic public administration. Both the laboratory and the course have been thoroughly evaluated and the results of this evaluation are presented and discussed, in view of plans for the design of additional related interoperability courses and laboratories.

Дистанційні технології в організації асинхронного навчання студентів: виклики, проблеми, рішення

Abstract. New computer technologies, which became the cause of the information revolution in education in the second half of the 20th century, gave impetus to the rapid development of distance learning methods and the formation of the concept of open education. Distance learning at the turn of the second and third millennia became a global phenomenon and significantly changed the structure of education systems in many countries of the world. In the conditions of the information society, during the avalanche-like growth of the amount of knowledge accumulated by mankind, the intensity of updating theoretical provisions, practical information, and experimental results, necessary for use in various spheres of human activity, increases. The objective necessity of development and improvement of knowledge transmission mechanisms, which provide the possibility of continuous training of a large number of people throughout their lives in accordance with the needs of the individual and society, is becoming urgent. The problem of the introduction of remote technologies into the educational process became particularly widespread during the coronavirus pandemic. However, asynchronous distance learning itself became especially relevant with the beginning of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, which led to the restriction of education seekers in access to the Internet, damage to telecommunication networks, lack of electricity supply, mass migration of refugees, the destruction of educational institutions, the involvement of education seekers in the ranks of the territorial defense etc. There was a need to organize the educational process and present educational materials, conduct control measures considering all the circumstances of today. Thus, Sumy State University, with the support of the distance learning MIX platform, organized distance learning for students of physical and technical specialties in synchronous and asynchronous distance format. The work highlights the peculiarities of providing educational services to students with limited access to educational materials (work in an asynchronous format). The article focuses on the issues of training organization, which consider the student's work in an asynchronous format. Explanations are provided for some special aspects of the organization of such training. An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the chosen form of work was made. The article highlights further directions of work on improvement and optimization of relevant educational materials and forms of their presentation to extend learning in today's difficult conditions. Key words: distance learning, synchronous and asynchronous learning format, MIX distance learning platform, and remote access, mathematical and physical disciplines.

The Feasibility of a Pediatric Distance Learning Curriculum for Emergency Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Improving Pediatric Acute Care Through Simulation Collaboration

IntroductionTo develop and evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a longitudinal pediatric distance learning curriculum for general emergency nurses, facilitated by nurse educators, with central support through the Improving Acute Care Through Simulation collaborative. MethodsKern’s 6-step curriculum development framework was used with pediatric status epilepticus aimed at maintaining physical distancing, resulting in a 12-week curriculum bookended by 1-hour telesimulations, with weekly 30-minute online asynchronous distance learning. Recruited nurse educators recruited a minimum of 2 local nurses. Nurse educators facilitated the intervention, completed implementation surveys, and engaged with other educators with the Improving Pediatric Acute Care through Simulation project coordinator. Feasibility data included nurse educator project engagement and curriculum engagement by nurses with each activity. Efficacy data were collected through satisfaction surveys, pre-post knowledge surveys, and pre-post telesimulation performance checklists. ResultsThirteen of 17 pediatric nurse educators recruited staff to complete both telesimulations, and 38 of 110 enrolled nurses completed pre-post knowledge surveys. Knowledge scores improved from a median of 70 of 100 (interquartile range: 66-78) to 88 (interquartile range: 79-94) (P = .018), and telesimulation performance improved from a median of 60 of 100 (interquartile range: 45-60) to 100 (interquartile range: 85-100) (P = .016). Feedback included a shortened intervention and including physician participants. DiscussionA longitudinal pediatric distance learning curriculum for emergency nurses collaboratively developed and implemented by nurse educators and Improving Pediatric Acute Care through Simulation was feasible for nurse educators to implement, led to modest engagement in all activities by nurses, and resulted in improvement in nurses’ knowledge and skills. Future directions include shortening intervention time and broadening interprofessional scope.

Experimental investigation of the factors that affect the magnitude of the centripetal force exerted on a rotating body in a flipped classroom

Teaching of centripetal force in secondary education is a challenging task because of its central role in the circular and rotational motion. The specific equipment needed for experiments that explore the physical law which governs the centripetal force is usually limited in schools. The experiment presented in this paper, is based on a device which was made from scratch. It has been used in a flipped classroom to engage students in an inquiry-based experimental process. In the synchronous and asynchronous distance learning sessions students worked on the experimental data of circular motion and the uncertainties of them. They made predictions for the dependence of centripetal force on mass, angular velocity and radius of rotation and they got familiar with the scientific methodology. According to their responses to a short questionnaire posed, most of them had a positive attitude towards the teaching module applied.

Perceived Barriers in the Sudden Transition to Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Distance Learning of Radiologic Technology Student

This study identified the effect of the perceived barriers in the sudden transition to online distance learning on the academic performance of radiologic technology students. Four barriers were identified and used: digital literacy, support barriers, institutional barriers, and educational impact. A causal-comparative study was utilized to determine the effect of the perceived barriers on students' academic performance. Resuts revealed that support and institutional barriers significantly impact students' academic performance. On the other hand, digital literacy and educational impact have no significant effect. This finding of the study indicates that students must have easy access to the available support. This is critical not only for technical assistance but also for institutional support.