E-learning Course Research Articles

A study on faculty perspective towards alternative teaching practices (E-Learning — Blackboard) during COVID 19

Background/Objectives: The novel coronavirus causing COVID 19 has emerged at the end of 2019 as a threat to the health and wellbeing of millions of people within a few weeks of its outbreak. Globally, many institutions replace traditional teaching with online mode. A sudden transition of teaching has its merits and demerits. Keeping this in view, the present study is focused to assess the perception of the faculty Alternative teaching practices (ELearning– Blackboard) concerning COVID 19. Methods: A semi-structured survey questionnaire was used for data collection. The analysis was based on 42 faculties who had been working in selected colleges at Jizan province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics are used to analyze the data.Findings: The findings of the study related to the faculty perspective were grouped into four categories. In the first category of analyzing perception of faculties towards the E-learning platform, it was found that all the faculties were using university platforms for E-learning. Due to a lack of previous experience nearly half of them experienced technical difficulties. In the second category, the perception of faculties about E-learning course delivery. It was mentioned that the student’s response was found less in the online class. It was further noted that online teaching was least effective for laboratory-based and clinical based courses. The third category emphasized E-learning difficulties experienced by faculties. The fourth category was the faculties’ perception of effective teaching mode. Majority of them disagreed to the statement that “Classroom teaching could be completely replaced by online teaching mode”.Novelty: While E-learning is on its pace in the field of education in the present generation. It may be a supplement for regular classroom teaching rather than a complete replacement, particularly practical oriented subjects. Keywords: COVID 19; E-Learning; traditional teaching; alternative teaching practices

INTEGRATING SEMANTIC SEARCH IN E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES: THE ELSE SYSTEM

The integration of semantic web methodologies and e-learning technologies is a challenge that has attracted a lot of attention for a decade. Given this, the purpose of this paper is the definition of a new e-learning semantic web methodology for the development of courses for health professionals in both distance and residential learning modes. ELSE is an ontology-based system which allows the construction of customized e-learning courses according to the needs and learning preferences of the user. It integrates semantic search methodologies and e-learning technologies. The underlying methodology relies on a reference domain ontology and teaching multimedial interactive modules, referred to as Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs), which are annotated according to the concepts of the ontology. The user can specify his/her training needs by selecting a set of concepts from the ontology, and the SemSim semantic search engine allows the identification of the set of RLOs that satisfy the user request at best, in efficient way. SemSim is a semantic similarity method which has been extensively experimented with and shows a higher correlation with human judgment with respect to the most relevant similarity methods defined in the literature. The set of RLOs is successively reorganized according to the learning preferences of the user. ELSE has been developed within a project of the CME (Continuing Medical Education) program - ECM for Italian participants - whose goal is the introduction of new methodologies and tools to keep updated health professionals and, in particular, medical specialists, in order to ensure effectiveness, safety, and efficiency of the national health service. ELSE has been tested and validated in the domain of osteoporosis, and the overall judgment about the system is very positive, both in terms of usability and effectiveness of customization. The system has been developed in cooperation with the ECM provider SPES S.c.p.A., accredited by the Italian Ministry of Health.

ENHANCING IN LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM USING MACHINE LEARNING

Learning management systems (LMS ) make sure students choose from a wide variety of courses at their convenience. But it is practiced common for all the students, so there's a need to customize the platform according to their learning ability and need. This customization is done by analyzing their user behavior and academic data in the learning environment. Teaching techniques are customized based on user abilities. We collect data after each session, using Machine Learning we are analysing and categorising students based on their ability to provide personalized learning content the purpose of this study is to understand how student behave in the online learning environment and predict students grades, researches grades. Researchers are interested in understanding if there is any association between students’ interactivities and their final grades. This is used to analyse how the behaviour patterns in the interaction of each particular student with the contents and services in a learning management system (LMS) could be used to predict student motivation and if this student motivation could be used to predict the successful completion of an e-learning course. This elearning scenario offers a particularly valuable opportunity to achieve the goal of analysing motivational factors in e-learning courses.

A DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE IMPROVES DIAGNOSTIC ABILITIES AND SELF EFFICACY FOR ORAL MUCOSAL LESIONS

Objective: Evaluate the effect of an e-learning course on accuracy and self-efficacy for oral mucosal lesion management. Study Design: The sample of this quasi-experimental study (pre-and post-test) was composed of participants enrolled in a e-learning course on oral medicine held in the Moodle platform. Before and after the completion of the course (self-instructional, 60 hours), 1878 participants answered a test based on 30 clinical cases of oral mucosal lesions. The questions were: (1) to classify of the lesion nature (benign, potentially malignant, or malignant), (2) to form a clinical impression, and (3) to decide whether or not to refer the case to a specialist. Results: After the course, an increase of 16.8% and 14.7%, respectively, on classification and clinical impression was found (P

The development and evaluation of an evidence-based suicide prevention strategy in Flanders (Belgium)

Abstract Background Suicide rates in Belgium have been consistently high, with a current prevalence of 15.1 suicides per 100.000 inhabitants, which is 1.5 times higher than the European average. In Flanders (northern part of Belgium) more than 10.000 suicide attempts are being registered every year and studies show that 13 % of the population reports a lifetime history of suicidal thoughts. Since 2006 an extensive Suicide Prevention Strategy has been implemented in Flanders, aiming to decrease the Flemish suicide rate by 20% by 2020 (baseline year 2000). Methods The Suicide Prevention Strategy has been developed by a team of experts, involving multiple stakeholders and the lay public. The 'Flemish Centre of Expertise in Suicide Prevention' (VLESP) was launched by the government to coordinate and monitor the prevention campaigns, tools and interventions included in the strategy, and to study their effectiveness. Results The Suicide Prevention Strategy includes five key strategies namely: 1) mental health promotion, 2) providing helplines and online help, 3) educating health professionals and community facilitators, 4) developing programs targeting high risk groups, 5) developing and implementing targeted suicide prevention guidelines for health professionals and other key gatekeepers. A range of innovative suicide prevention tools and interventions, such as an e-learning course for health professionals, smartphone applications and group therapies for suicidal individuals, have been developed and positively evaluated. In 2017 (in comparison with the year 2000) suicide rates in men decreased with 27% and suicide rates in women with 26%. For suicide attempts, a decrease of 19% was noted. Conclusions Suicide prevention is a public health priority in Flanders. A combination of evidence-based tools and interventions have been developed and assessed in the past years, resulting in a decrease in suicide rates.

Gamification to Enhance Motivation and Engagement in Blended eLearning for Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Delivery of blended-mode eLearning programs is challenging due to a range of factors, including motivational and engagement issues. This is more challenging in the context of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), which aims to develop competencies to empower learner to find gainful employment. This study proposes an operational model and gamification design to develop blended eLearning programs, which embed motivational and engagement designs as an effective means of achieving learner success in the TVET context. The motivational design uses a motivational framework with the factors of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The engagement design includes behavioural, emotional, and cognitive aspects for enhancing learning. Accordingly, appropriate game dynamics, mechanics, and components are used to gamify a blended eLearning course. This gamification design and operational model could be used as a tool to gamify and deliver the competency-based educational programs, using the blended eLearning approach. The study proposes fifteen game dynamics, relevant mechanics, and appropriate game components. The design utilises structural and content gamification in a sample online course, deploying an open-source learning management system. Furthermore, the study suggests embedding game components at the implementation stage of providing learning opportunities, to motivate and engage learners, thereby achieving the acquisition of expected competencies. The gamified course will be delivered to a selected group of learners in the TVET context to assess the feasibility and viability of this approach in anticipation of the future work.

Gamified E-learning in medical terminology: the TERMInator tool

BackgroundProficiency in medical terminology is an essential competence of physicians which ensures reliable and unambiguous communication in everyday clinical practice. The attendance of a course on medical terminology is mandatory for human and dental medicine students in Germany. Students’ prerequisites when entering the course are diverse and the key learning objectives are achieved to a varying degree.MethodsA new learning space, the “TERMInator”, was developed at the University Medicine Greifswald to meet the medical students’ individual learning needs better. The interactive e-learning course serves as a supplement to the seminars, lectures and tutorials to rehearse and practically apply the course contents at an individual pace. It uses gamification elements and is supplied via the learning platform Moodle. The TERMInator was pilot implemented in two consecutive winter terms (2018/19, 2019/20) and comprehensively evaluated based on the general course evaluations and an anonymous questionnaire covering aspects of content, layout and user friendliness of the TERMInator and questions concerning the students’ learning preferences.ResultsThe TERMInator was rated very positively overall, which was also fed back to the lecturers during the classes. Students appreciate the new e-learning tool greatly and stress that the TERMInator should be further expanded. The handling of the TERMInator was considered to be very easy and, therefore, almost no training time was needed. The tasks were easy to understand and considered a good supplement to the seminar contents. The extent and quality of the images were seen rather critically. The students’ learning strategies differ. Although e-learning options were generally rated as very important, student tutorials were considered by far the most important.ConclusionsMedical terminology classes are characterised by heterogeneous learning groups and a high workload within a short time, which can lead to major challenges for the teaching staff. Complementary gamified e-learning tools are promising in view of the students’ different knowledge levels and changing learning behaviour.Trial registrationNot applicable.

Language teaching in the 21st century consist only of elearning?

The paper deals with the design of own e-learning courses for both German for specific purposes and general German, with their didactic benefits and practical examples of e-learning courses created in the Moodle 2.5 version based on modular structure. The second part of the paper describes the purpose and specific outcomes of the Mahara E-Portfolio and vocational experience with the Mediasite system.

E-learning pharmacovigilance course from UMC well received

E-learning pharmacovigilance course from UMC well received

E-Learning Development for Special Education Postgraduate Students

The specific purpose of this study is to report the process of developing e-learning course on motion-building and mobility for students’ learning at the postgraduate of special education study program. This research was conducted to measure the e-learning capability on motion-building and mobility courses, which were applied through expert validation tests by using instruments in conducting assessments. Whereas the test users are the postgraduate students of special education study program by using the instrument in conducting assessment. The blended learning model of motion-building and mobility courses is designed and packaged offline in online textbooks of motion-building for blind children and motion therapy of cerebral palsy children. Based on the process of assessing the feasibility of the product’s validity and practicality, the product validity test results from the validator on all assessment items get a good result in score 3.6. The assessment results to test the practicality of users toward the product obtain a good result in score 3.4. Based on those results, it can be concluded that the implementation of e-learning on movement and mobility course for learning in post-graduate of special education study program worthiness is proven.

Digital literacy and e-learning experiences among the pre-service teachers data.

The data show different issues connected with the digital literacy of pre-service teachers. The data were collected in 2019 among 450 teachers of pedagogical studies in Poland. The research was conducted in the biggest Polish university that trains educational staff, the Pedagogical University of Cracow. The data describe issues related to the self-evaluation of digital literacy in using text editors, spreadsheets, and presentation and graphic software. They also describe experiences with e-learning: participation in obligatory online classes, searching for information on the Internet, participation in paid and free e-learning courses, and participation in informal study groups.

Typology of Main Errors of Novice Technical Translators (English/Russian)

Introduction. Erratology is a new section of linguistics related to the study of different mistakes. Erratology in the sphere of translation is of particular practical interest since translation errors have a particularly strong effect on areas not even related to linguistics.Methodology and sources. The author analyzed the results of the final test task and developed a typology of the main mistakes of novice technical translators. The classification was not based on a single principle; instead, a comprehensive approach was used. The final classification includes the following types: speech errors, semantic errors, incoherent sentences, terminological errors (incorrect terms and non-unified use of terms), omissions, grammatical errors, misprints, punctuation errors. Since 2014, the author has been conducting e-learning courses on the theory and practice of technical translation for novice and experienced translators who want to improve their skills. Most of the course students were already engaged in translations or planned to start translation activities. For 4 years, 60 people completed most of their homework and the final test task (translation of a technical, medical or legal text (2500 characters with spaces)). The results of the final test task were analyzed and the main types of errors of novice technical translators were identified.Results and discussion. The resulting distribution of the error types is the following: speech errors – 47; semantic errors – 19; incorrect terms – 13; not unified use of terms – 13; omissions – 11; grammatical errors – 7; not unified expression of obligation – 7; misprints – 5; incoherent sentences – 4. The domination of speech errors is caused by a low level of philological literacy of modern Russian society as well as by the removal of proofreaders and editors from the publication process due to cost reduction. Semantic errors are caused by an insufficient level of knowledge in a particular field of knowledge. Other errors are stipulated because of a lack of self-control skills.Conclusion. As a result of the analysis of the test works of novice translators, a practical typology of translation errors was developed. As can be seen from the analyzed examples, all the errors of novice translators can be described using the rule of three “I": inattention, ignorance, inexperience.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE "FUNDAMENTALS OF THE METHODOLOGY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTRONIC COURSE IN THE FIELD OF MEDICAL EDUCATION" AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF DISTANCE LEARNING DUE TO THE WORLD PANDEMIC COVID-19

The article presents the structure of the e-learning course "Fundamentals of the methodology of the development of the electronic course in the field of medical education", which was developed to improve the skills of teachers of higher medical education in the introduction of distance learning due to COVID-19 pandemic in the world.

Perceptions of the students’ learning and evaluation process in an e-learning course in Food Preservation Technology: a study case in a Food Consumption MSc

Food Preservation Technology is a main module within a course integrated in a Master of Science program in Food Consumption at Universidade Aberta, Portugal. The pedagogical model adopted at Universidade Aberta encourages open practices such as teamwork and participation at the forums for learning exchange. E-learning and b-learning tools are increasingly used in the actual global world, providing the students with a great opportunity to study from distance and submit their digital works or assignments for evaluation. However, in this case the distinctive evaluation of each student and classification with the respective grade may seem to be a significant problem for the teachers. During this module for each assignment topic, every student chose a different subject related to their professional or academic interests. This gives the student a chance to improve scientific knowledge within each topic and to further explore the proposed subject. Herein we have analysed how the different assignments that students completed within this module can reflect students’ commitment to study and actively seek for their own knowledge. Besides, the following points were also taken into consideration: (1) the difficulties that a teacher might have when evaluating students’ submitted assignments; (2) the tools that the teacher has to differentiate the quality of different assignments; as well as (3) the description of how grades can be differentiated between the students. The assignments were both teamwork and individual work that resulted from previous learning activities. In this paper, we have thus tried to understand the main limitations that students have to overcome while working on the evaluation assignments. The analytical data retrieved from the assignment’s forums reveal that only a very small part of information exchanged has a constructive nature and adds value to the work to be done. From the analysed data of the works presented by the students, it is evident that they did not use an accurate bibliographical state-of-the-art list. We also debate the teamwork evaluation process within the e-learning system and its relationship with the contemporary state-of-the-art of each discussed theme, namely Drying and water activity control, Chemical preservation, Curing, Pickling, Smoking, Fermentation, Modified atmosphere, High pressure processing, Ohmic heating, Irradiation, Membrane processing, Pulsed electric fields, and Microwave processing.

Development of e-Learning Courses for Subjects about ‘Learn and Learning’ with Moodle-based for Prospective Teacher in Indonesia

Online learning is the key to the implementation of learning in the Covid 19 pandemic and the New Normal era. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the e-learning course on subjects ‘Learn and Learning’ with Moodle-based for prospective teachers in Indonesia. This research was conducted using the Berg and Gail development method. The development instruments were validated by experts, and further product development was carried out in an integrated and simultaneous manner by the Higher Education Research Consortium Team (KRUPT) from Padang State University, Malang State University, Jakarta State University, Medan State University and Surabaya State University. This product is declared valid by the Expert, both in content, design and IT. Tests were limited during the Covid 19 pandemic and data collection was carried out online. Data collected in the form of an online questionnaire to student respondents (n = 40). Based on respondent questionnaire data, this product was declared to be very suitable for online learning, reaching 3.967 which indicated the highly acceptance level. Based on this research, it was concluded that e-learning products for subjects with learning and learning subjects could be widely used in the Educational Personnel Education Institution in Indonesia.

The Use of e-Learning Course during the COVID-19: A Systems Thinking Approach

In the era of theInternet, most educators have been supported by powerful tools ranging from e-books and e-learning sites to cloud services, and students’ learning environment has been a mix between traditional study (in class) and e-learning through some kind of online learning platform. Due to the uncertainty of the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, all colleges and universities have to shutter their physical campuses and move their courses to remote and online formats hastily. This prompted many to wonder if all of the faculty are ready and qualified to teach online courses and/or if all of the students are ready to learn in the comprehensive online environment. If not, what ultimate impact will be to our higher education during this national emergency virus pandemic since there is no choice but depend on where they sit currently, not to mention the negative reviews and concerns regarding the online education. To make this transfer seamlessly and conflict mitigation, this paper applied systems thinking for an e-Learning course and proposed a flexible grading method for an e-learning environment, which will enhance students’ grades by allowing students to control their own study paces and the amount of efforts spent in the course, which can bring a successful online learning experience.

Gaining insight into the implementation of an e-learning smoking cessation course in Latin American countries

Continuous medical education focused on health problems emerging in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is scarce. Although tobacco consumption is increasing in LMICs, there is a lack of tobacco cessation training programs in these countries. To promote smoking cessation interventions in Bolivia, Guatemala and Paraguay, we adapted an e-learning program developed in Catalonia (Spain). This process evaluation study reports on reach, dose and satisfaction of participants with the course, as well as the contextual factors of its application. We conducted a multiple method evaluation, which included a survey and several focus groups, each one specific to the same type of healthcare professional (nurses, doctors, other professionals). Two hundred and ninety-two participants registered into the online course. The motivation for undertaking the course was different between doctors and nurses. The main sources of difficulty in enrolling and finishing the course were the technical problems experienced when accessing the platform, and lack of acquaintance with computers and the Internet in general. Our results show that implementing e-learning education in hospitals from LMICs is feasible, especially when there are similarities between participating countries and the country in which the original program was developed. However, several elements such as strong organizational commitment, technical support and resources and adequate communication channels should be provided to facilitate enrollment and training completion. Efforts to improve Internet access should be made to avoid jeopardizing students' motivation to enroll and complete online training.

Using an e-course in teaching Russian to beginners (using the example of Chinese students)

In this article we are talking about particularities of usage of different e-learning courses in teaching Chinese students of the first term Russian as a foreign language. The author describes in detail the difficulties faced by Chinese students in the process of learning Russian as a foreign language, and also gives a brief description of experience of Russian authors of various courses of the Russian language, designed for Chinese students. The author also provides a comparative description of e-courses for foreign students, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of these courses. The main electronic courses analyzed by the author were: Success+, Learn Russian, Russian for Everyone, Education in Russian, Paints, 3 ears, Interactive author's courses of the Pushkin Institute and A modern electronic textbook "Golden Ring 1. Russian language course Interactive author's courses of the Pushkin Institute was considered by the author to be the most suitable course for teaching Chinese students in the first year of Russian language training, since it presents the most complete and well-structured learning system, including texts, audio and video materials, as well as numerous diverse tasks aimed at improving the effectiveness of the process of mastering the Russian language. As a result, the author emphasizes that in the process of using e-courses in teaching Chinese students Russian, the main emphasis should be placed on the development of the secondary language personality of the student, as well as on the formation of a number of necessary competencies of Chinese students of the first term.

HYBRID CLOUD-ORIENTED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR IT STUDENT PROJECT TEAMWORK

The article proposes a technology for the development and implementation of a hybrid cloud-oriented learning environment for the electronic support of interdisciplinary projects in the educational process of future IT specialists. To organize such a project, a model of hybrid cloud-oriented learning environment was designed. The components of such an environment are as follows: competence, communication and technology. Based on the developed model, a MS Teams-based cloud environment for project teamwork was created. It integrated all the necessary services for the implementation of an interdisciplinary project. The technological component regulates the content, methods and forms of training during the project implementation. According to the content of the interdisciplinary project, methods and forms of training, both traditional and cloud-oriented, were selected. This environment provided interaction between teachers of different disciplines and teams of students. The software component consists of tools for communication, project management and placement of the teaching resources included in MS Teams and complemented by additional tools that integrate with it, for example, professional tools and tools for presenting the results of work. Teachers could additionally integrate necessary e-learning courses and tools. Data analysis of experimental studies demonstrated that MS Teams-based cloud-oriented environment, which ensures execution of tasks on communication, organization of teaching process, project management and makes it possible to integrate additional tools for arranging an interdisciplinary project, namely, professional, educational and the like, – is an effective environment for the development of the digital, professional and personal competences of the future IT specialist. Moreover, interdisciplinary projects contribute to the development of integral competence of future IT specialists. An experimental study conducted on the basis of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences involved 3rd year students of the specialty 122 – “Computer Science”.

Framework for e-Learning Materials Optimization

Creating educational materials (activities, e-books etc.) in each e-learning course can be divided into 2 main parts. The first can be defined as a compilation of ideas and information that we want to pass on to the student. This section of building e-learning materials process is very abstract and correct selection of what we want to teach the students is highly delicate and depends on teacher’s skills and didactic principles. The second phase is also important but it can be formalized. Main aim of this paper is to define and confirms a set of formal rules compiled into framework which can be used as a tool for building e-learning materials. We assume that the rules presented in this paper can be used for each e-learning platform. To confirm validity of defined rules we integrated these rules into module on LMS Moodle and part of this paper is proposed experiment carried out on the same platform