E-learning Course Research Articles

Distance Education for Supporting “Day One Competences” in Meat Inspection: An E-Learning Platform for the Compulsory Practical Training of Veterinarians

Obtaining a Veterinary Surgeon degree relies on the acquisition of “Day One Competences” (DOCs), among which professional skills related to meat inspection are acquired during visits to abattoirs. In 2020, lockdown measures due to COVID-19 pandemic limited on-site practical training. The present study describes the creation of an e-learning course on bovine and swine slaughtering as an alternative tool for compulsory DOCs achievement within the course “Inspection and control of food of animal origin” during the fourth year of the Veterinary Medicine degree program (Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pisa). Academics and external professionals took part on the planning and development of the learning material. Video pills, consisting of shooting of the slaughtering coupled with trainers’ descriptive explanations, were produced. The perceived effectiveness of course contents, trainers’ communication skills and technical quality were assessed with a questionnaire. The developed e-learning platform consisted of four main sections (Introduction, Swine slaughtering, Bovine slaughtering and Additional topics), integrated by multiple-choice questions for the student’s self-assessment. According to students’ assessment, the platform, of high technical quality, effectively condensed contents on meat inspection. Despite the unique and irreplaceable role of practical training in the achievement of the professional skills included in the veterinary curriculum, the e-learning course may concur in providing DOCs and is in line with the adoption of a modern teaching model where e-learning resources engage students in deeper learning approaches.

Pedagogical Technologies for Competent Training of Teachers in Ukrainian Professional Education

In recent decades, technological advances have revolutionized all areas of society, including the teaching resources and methodologies used in education. The relevance of pedagogical technologies in vocational education cannot be overemphasized, since technologies are constantly changing in today's environment, thus creating new challenges for modern education in globalization. The research aims are to establish patterns for promoting the implementation of pedagogical technologies in educational institutions for providing quality competent training of specialists in professional education. Research methods: comparative analysis; survey; systematization, generalization. As a result of the survey was established that pedagogical technologies positively influence the provision of competent training of specialists in Ukrainian professional education (89.7%), a smaller number of students (7.5%) were not sure about the quality of competent training of specialists in Ukrainian professional education with modern pedagogical technologies. It was determined that the students of educational institutions are most familiar with such pedagogical technologies as mobile learning (100%), e-learning (98%), independent learning (90%), virtual classroom (85%), and massive open online courses (MOOC) (71%). The study found that teachers need to improve digital competency from technologies such as Gamification and Next Generation Digital Learning Environment (NGDLE). Based on statistical data, it was found that the need for competent specialists in vocational education in the labor market is increasing every year, while those willing to study at vocational education institutions are decreasing every year. According to the negative trends, it has been determined that vocational education institutions should improve the educational process to increase the number of future competent specialists for the labor market.

DESIGNING A CLASSROOM LEARNING IN A UNIVERSITY USING THE ELECTRONIC LEARNING COURSE

The coronavirus pandemic that has taken over the whole world has changed the vector of education from the traditional form of its organization to distance and hybrid, thus actualizing the demand for e-learning content. At the same time, the importance of introducing electronic content into the educational process at all levels of educational organizations is determined by the legislative practice of our country, which regulates the need to create a digital educational environment in educational institutions. An e-learning course is one of the examples of the introduction of e-learning content into the educational practice of universities. The research is focused on the substantiating the possibilities of an e-learning course as a new format for designing the educational process at a university in the context of the digital revolution, which is the problem of our study. The purpose of the research is to reveal the experience of designing the educational process in a university in elective disciplines in Physical culture and sports using an electronic training course. This goal was achieved through the use of such research methods as the bibliographic method, generalization, description, visual presentation of data. The results of the research are the following 1) the concept of an e-learning course has been disclosed and its functions identified; 2) the elements of the e-learning course have been described; 3) a draft e-learning course on discipline B1.O.19 "Elective disciplines in Physical culture and sports" has been presented; 4) features of e-learning courses have been revealed. Key conclusions: 1) an electronic training course is a media product containing information material within the framework of the curriculum of disciplines, designed to implement the didactic capabilities of information and communication technologies and support the educational process; the electronic training course performs managerial, stimulating, optimizing and communicative functions; 2) the main elements of the electronic training course are information-content, control-communicative, correctional-generalizing blocks; 3) the project of an electronic training course in the discipline B1.O.19 "Elective disciplines in Physical culture and sports" includes general information about the course, content, availability of hyperlinks to the material; 4) features of e-learning courses are: openness, multimedia, modularity, mobility, flexibility, the ability to build an individual educational trajectory for each student.

Evaluating e-learning systems success in the new normal

The goal of this study is to develop and verify a model for successful e-Learning based on the experiences of students in the "new normal". From Jordanian universities, 550 students who have taken any e-Learning course were randomly selected. Data were collected via a survey questionnaire, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the proposed study model. The findings indicate that contactless learning and high-quality e-learning systems have a beneficial impact on student satisfaction. In addition, e-Learning cognitive involvement was found to solidify e-Learning satisfaction. Furthermore, the results show a positive and significant impact of e-Learning cognitive involvement and e-Learning satisfaction on e-Learning achievement. Also, e-Learning system quality positively affects e-Learning cognitive involvement, besides a direct impact of contactless learning quality on e-Learning cognitive involvement.

Designing an interactive online study skills course: A systemic design-based approach

Developing interactive eLearning courses is perhaps one of the most challenging tasks for instructional designers and developers. Nonetheless, the rich literature on instructional systems design provides a plethora of theoretically sound approaches and models for designing interactive online courses. Due to the complexity and diversity of eLearning environments, instructional designers need to document their design processes and share their experiences so that new theoretical knowledge and applications continue to be generated. This study used a design-based approach to document the cyclical and reiterative process of designing and developing the study skills course. The study applied the ADDIE instructional design model as a sub-system model to design, develop, deliver, and evaluate the online study skills course. The qualitative data were collected using document analyses, focus groups, and structured interviews with policymakers, SMEs, and instructors at SQU to define the gap in the practices of the design and development of SPOCs. In addition, a need assessment survey was used to collect quantitative data from the Instructional and Learning Technology (ILT) department at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). The researchers used the instruments associated with each phase of the ADDIE model during the design and development of the intervention (the Study Skills course). The SMEs, instructional designers, developers, and e-learning specialists used a continuous feedback loop and formative evaluation to review each phase. The course evaluation sheet and the overall course grade indicated that the students had a positive online course experience. In addition, new contextual factors were identified and added to the design principles checklist that can be adapted and adopted in other learning environments.

A PRECEDE-PROCEED Approach in the Advocacy for Computer-based Education on Correct Medical Certification of Cause of Death among Physician-Learners.

Mortality data is a critical input to public health decision-making and planning. Yet, about 36% of underlying causes of death reported by physicians in 2018 are considered garbage codes, not useful in analyzing public health and mortality (PSA, 2018). We used the PRECEDE-PROCEED approach to develop, implement, and report an advocacy and education Project to improve training on medical certification of cause of death (MCCOD) among senior medical students and interns. An MCCOD Instructional Design and eLearning course was introduced and validated in 33 medical education institutions. Lessons enhanced these education materials and are proposed for nationwide adoption. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Project fast-tracked the training of physician-learners on the correct cause of death reporting and certification. Awareness of correct MCCOD and its personal and public health value reached at least 4000 learners, over a hundred medical faculty, and all deans of medical colleges in the Philippines. The PRECEDE-PROCEED Model provided a clear and practicable framework for the advocacy and education efforts to train senior medical students and interns on MCCOD. It can similarly guide other medical education innovations by defining predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors then considering these factors for intervention strategies, implementation, process evaluation, outcome evaluations, and impact evaluations.

Learning and practicing more value-reflective, problem-setting health technology assessment: experiences and lessons from the VALIDATE project.

To conduct a formative evaluation of applying the VALIDATE approach in practice by (i) assessing how students appreciated the e-learning course, (ii) exploring how, for what purposes and with what outcomes the acquired VALIDATE competences subsequently were used in internships in different institutional contexts, and how this was shaped by these contexts, and (iii) what this shows on real-world use of VALIDATE. Comparative discussion of experiences of applying the VALIDATE approach via a semistructured survey and oral feedback from e-course students; final reports on internships in health technology assessment (HTA) practice, followed by semistructured interviews with interns and supervisors to complement and interpret results. All students considered the VALIDATE approach an enlightening and important addition to current HTA knowledge, especially regarding understanding the relation between empirical analysis and normative inquiry, identifying policy relevant questions and using the method of reconstructing interpretive frames for scoping. The latter appeared intellectually challenging and requiring some prior HTA knowledge. The use the VALIDATE approach in practice shows that interns productively redefined the HTA problem, based on appreciation of different stakeholders' definition of the issue; they experienced constraints from retrieving all relevant perspectives from existing literature as well as from institutional rules and routines. Some challenges in applying the VALIDATE approach deserve attention for its future use: currently used research approaches often assume a problem as "given"; and the data needed on different perspectives is often not reported in scientific literature. Finally, data gathering on and evaluation of value dimensions was experienced as challenging.

COVID-19: Distance learning to empower educators and health assistants in rural areas.

BACKGROUND:Educators and health assistants can act as key players in controlling the pandemic. In general, they are respected by the community, especially in rural areas, and can help guide and raise the population's awareness of preventive measures. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the results in knowledge progress of an e-learning course offered to educators and health assistants by a public university and to analyze the profile and satisfaction of the participants.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A single group pre- and post-test design based on a questionnaire, interventional, study was conducted in the period from April 20th to June 20th. All participants of the course answered sociodemographic and satisfaction questionnaire and a pre- and post-test. Data were descriptively arranged and regarding the distribution and comparison of means and frequency, paired t-test for group comparisons. P < 0.05 was statistically significant. Data were collected from the Moodle® teaching platform, without identifying the participants.RESULTS:A total of 674 participants were enrolled in the five groups, and 583 concluded the course (86.5%). The reasons for those who did not access the entire course (n = 47) were: Lack of time, difficulty in accessing the internet, and lack of experience with distance learning courses. On the evaluation of the course platform, from the tutors in general and the degree of satisfaction in several questions, participants marked maximum grades. The comparison between pre- and post-proficiency scores showed increased proficiency of the enrolled groups (P < 0.0001).CONCLUSIONS:The course contributed to the training of health assistants and educators, preparing them to act in a participatory way in the prevention and control of the pandemic. The course was well evaluated and there was a progression of knowledge by the participants.

Identification of Key Performance Indicators through E-Learning Critical Success Factors for an Online Course of English for Football

The main goal of this study was to identify Key Performance Indicators (KPI) through e-learning Critical Success Factors (CSF) for an online course of English for Football in Iran. To this end, the researchers prioritized the e-learning CSFs proposed in the literature from an emic perspective exclusively for the online course of English for Football as a case study. The expert participants in this study were certified football coaching instructors from Iran Football Federation who took an open-ended questionnaire and wrote their statements of success for each CSF and rated them on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) ratio scale through pairwise comparisons. Based on the collected statements of success, the researchers identified KPIs for an e-learning course of English for football. This study resulted in 24 KPIs in line with the CSFs in the literature and the statements of success proposed by the participants of this study. The results of AHP on the CSFs showed that respectively: course, instructor’s characteristics, learner’s characteristics, learning environment, instructional design, support, level of collaboration, knowledge management and technology knowledge were the important CSFs. Finally, the researchers arrived at KPIs based on each ranked CSFs and statements of success. This study could have implications for the ESP curriculum developers and online course organizers to strengthen their course structure by identifying, prioritizing and setting down CSFs and KPIs.

Представления преподавателей вузов о высшем образовании: психосемантический подход

The digitalization processes in higher education are a stable global trend. Digital competencies are very relevant for specialists in all subject areas; this is a demand of the modern digital economy and labor market. The digitalization of education is a complex multidimensional process that is estimated differently by university instructors. The purpose of the empirical study: to reveal the peculiarities of the ideas about higher education of university instructors who do not use and do use e-learning courses in their professional activities. The research is a pilot study, the findings are preliminary and will be tested on larger samples. Group semantic spaces for both categories of respondents were constructed by the method of semantic differential using factor analysis. (1) In both categories, there is a factor that reflects the most attractive qualities of higher education, but the set of these qualities is different. Both categories of respondents are characterized by a factor reflecting the problems and shortcomings of higher education, but they put different meanings into it. (2) For instructors who do not use e-courses, most socially accessible and technically equipped approaches, such as distance learning, e-courses, massive open online courses, are subjectively unattractive. Blended learning is more in line with their ideas about quality of higher education, but the most subjectively attractive are the project method and traditional face-to-face learning. (3) Instructors using e-courses are characterized by the recognition of the problematic nature of distance learning, e-courses, massive open online courses, but at the same time of their social accessibility, combined with convenience for instructor and subjective attractiveness. Blended learning is less problematic, socially inaccessible, but subjectively also very attractive. The project method is a promising approach that has few drawbacks, but is also socially inaccessible and less convenient for the instructor. (4) For instructors who do not use e-courses, traditional face-to-face education is the least technically equipped, having problems and shortcomings, but subjectively very attractive. For instructors using e-courses, this approach, on the contrary, has few problems, is convenient for the instructors and is socially accessible, but subjectively it does not arouse interest and does not correspond to their ideas about the quality of higher education.

Student Behavior Modeling for an E-Learning System Offering Personalized Learning Experiences

With the advent of computing and communication technologies, it has become possible for a learner to expand his or her knowledge irrespective of the place and time. Web-based learning promotes active and independent learning. Large scale e-learning platforms revolutionized the concept of studying and it also paved the way for innovative and effective teaching-learning process. This digital learning improves the quality of teaching and also promotes educational equity. However, the challenges in e-learning platforms include dissimilarities in learner’s ability and needs, lack of student motivation towards learning activities and provision for adaptive learning environment. The quality of learning can be enhanced by analyzing the online learner’s behavioral characteristics and their application of intelligent instructional strategy. It is not possible to identify the difficulties faced during the process through evaluation after the completion of e-learning course. It is thus essential for an e-learning system to include component offering adaptive control of learning and maintain user’s interest level. In this research work, a framework is proposed to analyze the behavior of online learners and motivate the students towards the learning process accordingly so as to increase the rate of learner’s objective attainment. Catering to the demands of e-learner, an intelligent model is presented in this study for e-learning system that apply supervised machine learning algorithm. An adaptive e-learning system suits every category of learner, improves the learner’s performance and paves way for offering personalized learning experiences.

Applying NoSQL Data Adapter with the Learning Paths mechanism for better knowledge transfer in the age of distance learning

Database technology applies to many engineering problems. Hence it is the subject of study at many university majors. Since teaching practical usage of theory at a distance is difficult or even impossible, we present novel mechanisms that significantly enrich e-learning platform functionalities in individualized learning of databases installed on the teacher-managed server. The crucial component of our proposal, Data Adapter, allows for interactive querying and manipulating of the NoSQL databases through an e-learning platform. The Adapter is complemented by the Learning Paths component, which enables teachers the creation of individualized didactic paths for students with special educational needs. The e-learning platform load tests confirm that new activities do not substantially affect the comfort of students’ work. Its impact on learning effectiveness was verified by rating the competence test for the group of 104 course participants. Half of them were the participants of the e-learning NoSQL course and used the developed mechanisms, while the remaining, control, group was taught with the conventional methods. The research shows that the proposal successfully improves teaching modern NoSQL languages. The scores improvement in the e-learning group of students compared to results in the control group is noticeable, and observed differences are statistically significant.

“Flavours in Ead” an Innovative Concept and Approach for an Intuitive and Effective E-learning Course

E-learning has changed significantly since the pandemic. In the early months of 2020, our whole educational framework suffered from several side effects that needed to be corrected to ensure an effective and alternative way of teaching. Therefore, new methods and methodologies needed to be outlined to address the students’ learning needs. Regarding Higher Education, students and teachers were used to a more traditional way of teaching, yet strategies had to be implemented to maintain teaching in a higher level of performance. Thus, a methodology called “Flavours in EaD” was developed. This strategy comprised several actions and steps on how to build a robust, intuitive, and flexible E-learning course in the COVID-19 Pandemic time. What will be presented and analysed in this work as a way of disseminating the research and methodological process related to the “Flavours in Ead” strategy is based on the thought process involving the preparation, verification, development and implementation phase.

The ArchéA online Course on the themes of Urban Design. A teaching/learning educational path

Within the Archea research, an e-learning course was planned and implemented on the specific topics of investigation, or the Urban Design of the European medium-sized city. In general, the term e-learning (in Italian apprendimento a distanza) means the use of multimedia technologies and the Internet to support the learning of users who cannot always be physically present in the place where the teacher is located (classroom). The term means both an electronic course and lessons delivered via videoconference, or a mixed set of tools. In general, the common characteristics of e-learning are: a) the distance of the users (in an environment that can also be hybrid or blended, or with a combination of e-learning and traditional classroom lessons); b) electronic support; c) dissemination on the net.

Playful Metaphors for Narrative-Driven E-Learning

A team of e-learning specialists was assigned the mission to design and develop seven short e-learning modules for young learners on popular topics with a prime focus on social-emotional learning. However, these courses had to be produced on a limited budget, hosted in a Moodle platform, and be delivered for free in asynchronous only mode. Hence, a playful method of meaningful storyfication was applied in e-learning to captivate attention and spark interest. In each module, a fictional story or metaphorical challenge with playful elements was introduced where learners were invited to assist the story’s protagonists or become the heroes themselves by engaging with content. As the role of teachers is vital for the adoption of technology-based solutions in education, a mixed method evaluation was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the method. Forty-two educators reviewed the courses, answered a questionnaire and participated in interviews. Results indicated that participants highly appreciated the narrative aspects, visual, and auditory elements rendering the e-learning courses effective for the target audience. This article can assist educators, distance education designers and developers to adopt a playful mindset and learn how to integrate practically storytelling elements into their classroom-based and online teaching.

Exploring students digital activities and performances through their activities logged in learning management system using educational data mining approach

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relationship between the students’ digital activities and their academic performance through two stages. In the first stage, students’ digital activities were studied and clustered based on the attributes of their activity log of learning management system (LMS) data set. In the second stage, the significance of the relationship between these profiles and the associated academic performance was tested statistically.Design/methodology/approachThe LMS delivers E-learning courses and keeps track of the students’ activities. Investigating these students’ digital activities became a real challenge. The diversity of students’ involvement in the learning process was proven through the LMS which characterize students’ specific profiles. The Educational Data Mining (EDM) approach was used to discover students’ learning profiles and associated academic performances, where the activity log file exemplified their activities hosted in the LMS. The sample study data is from an undergraduate e-course hosted on the platform of Blackboard LMS offered at a Saudi University during the first semester of the 2019–2020 academic year. The chosen undergraduate course had 25 sections, and the students attending came from science, technology, engineering and math background.FindingsResults show three clusters based on the digital activities of the students. The correlation test shows the statistical significance and proves the effect of the student’s profile on his academic performance. The data analysis shows that students with different profiles can still get similar academic performance using LMS.Originality/valueThis empirical study emphasizes the importance of the EDM approach using clustering techniques which can help the instructor understand how students use the provided LMS content to learn and then can deliver them the best educational experience.

Improving Healthcare Worker Resilience and Well-Being During COVID-19 Using a Self-Directed E-Learning Intervention.

Introduction: High rates of burnout, depression, anxiety, and insomnia in healthcare workers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported globally.Methods: Responding to the crisis, the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) developed an e-learning course to support healthcare worker well-being and resilience. A self-paced, asynchronous learning model was used as the training intervention. Each module included practical, skill-building activities. An outcome evaluation was conducted to determine if completing the course improved healthcare worker knowledge of and confidence in the learning outcomes of the course, their use of resilience-building behaviours, their resilience, and their well-being. A secondary objective was to explore if there were any associations between behaviours, resilience, and well-being. Participants completed pre- and post-course questionnaires to measure knowledge of and confidence in the learning outcomes, y, frequency of self-reported resilience-building behaviours, and levels of resilience (CD-RISC) and well-being (WHO-5). Results were analysed in STATA using paired T-tests, univariate and multivariate linear regression models.Results: Participants (n = 474; 77.6% female; 55.7% primary care) exhibited significant increases in knowledge, confidence, resilience-building behaviour, resilience, and well-being scores. Statistically significant improvements in the frequency of resilience-building behaviours led to significant improvements in resilience (0.25 points; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.43) and well-being (0.21 points; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.36). Increasing changes in well-being scores had a positive effect on change in resilience scores (β = 0.20; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.29), and vice versa (β = 0.28; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.41).Conclusion: A healthcare worker e-learning course can build knowledge and skills that may prompt changes in resilience-building behaviours and improvements in well-being and resilience scores. The findings suggest that e-learning courses may improve more than competency-based outcomes alone but further research is warranted to further explore these relationships.

Fighting COVID-19 Contagion among University Students of Healthcare Professions: An Italian Cross-Sectional Study.

During the pandemic, most governments around the world temporarily closed educational institutions to contain the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of an e-learning course on COVID-19 transmission for healthcare university students, in order to advance the preparedness of healthcare university students against contracting COVID-19 within the general university population. The e-learning course was run using a free web service for education. Access to the course was limited to participants enrolled in degree courses related to healthcare professions within the Italian university system. A specific and validated questionnaire was administered at two different times (pre-test and post-test). A paired sample t-test was then used to evaluate their knowledge on COVID-19. Furthermore, a questionnaire measuring their satisfaction was distributed. Data were analyzed from a qualitative point of view. The course was made available from March to July 2020. Over 25,000 students from different Italian universities and various backgrounds participated in the course. The analysis of final test scores revealed that approximately 97% of participants acquired new knowledge and skills on COVID-19, with a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05). Therefore, it is possible to state that most students enrolled in degrees relating to healthcare at Italian universities are adequately trained with respect to COVID-19 knowledge. Furthermore, students declared a high satisfaction rate both with the course content, and with the management of the telematic platform used.

Extension of the content, functionality and usability of the online FSK‐Web model repository

In December 2016 EFSA and BfR stepped into a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) to work jointly on the development, improvement and dissemination of global food safety tools. As outlined in the Specific Agreement #7 of this FPA one specific objective was to work towards the development of a fully operational online model repository that includes features to create, upload, download and execute models with user-defined inputs for the predefined model parameters. The user interface of the so-called FSK-Web model repository had to be designed such, that it is user-friendly and usable on various end-user devices and web browser software. The developed “FSK-Web 1.0” platform now even contains additional services, e.g. to link models with EFSA’s Knowledge Junction (KJ) or to join up to four models in a graphical user-interface (GUI) online. Detailed manuals, video tutorials and an online e-learning course were developed to support the use of the FSK-Web repository. A repository disclaimer and a model curation policy were drafted and will be released after being agreed with EFSA. The project created three key outcomes: (1) an operational curated web-based food safety model repository, and a significant number of executable QMRA models in FSKX format relevant for risk assessment; (2) improved usability and annotation of the various services offered by the FSK-Web model repository including manuals and online resources explaining the functionality and use of all aspects of the model repository; (3) provision of the possibility to link different FSKX models to create new combined models, including the option to combine models programmed in different scripting languages (also execution of combined R / Python models supported).

Fire Protection as Part of an E-learning Course on Security Issues at the Faculty of Education of the Charles University

Fire Protection as Part of an E-learning Course on Security Issues at the Faculty of Education of the Charles University