Issues In Distance Education Research Articles

ORGANIZATION OF DISTANCE LEARNING IN THE UKRAINIAN PRACTICE OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

This paper presents the issues of distance education, basic research on inclusive education and the current need for teacher training. The sudden «jump» from full-time distance learning has created a «collapse» in terms of inclusion. That is why our study considered: difficulties formation of inclusion and non-compliance and opportunities for all participants in the educational process; narrow orientation subjects and the lack of real practice for working with children with disabilities in the proposed training program for teachers; mismatch legal requirements and opportunities for schools to provide socialization and getting proper education of children with disabilities.During the collection and analysis of information, we used remote research methods, which included survey using Google forms; online meetings and interviews with teachers and teacher assistants; online discussions on the specifics of the proposed content and its adaptation to the needs of the inclusive class and for children with disabilities.According to the results of our research, we found some contradictions between the requirements for the creation of an inclusive educational space, the forms offered for distance learning, and the opportunities of participants in the learning process. It is possible to design and develop specialized courses for teachers working with children with disabilities.

Distance Teacher Training in Periods of Emergency (COVID-19 Pandemic)

The closing of schools at the beginning of spring 2020 in Greece highlighted the need for school distance education to make up for lost teaching time and to maintain learners’ contact with the educational process and other members of the school community. However, the teachers needed support in this urgent situation since they did not have previous experience with school distance education. The Laboratory for Advanced Teaching Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Distance Education (E-Learning Lab) of the University of Crete attempted to contribute with its own means to the support of these teachers. Within this framework, fast-paced, distance seminars were designed and implemented to support teachers on pedagogical issues of distance education. A total of 20 distance training seminars were conducted from 19 March to 29 April 2020, in which more than 40 000 teachers of primary and secondary education in Greece participated. The overall presentation and assessment of the training actions showed not only the enormous interest of the teaching community but also the need for such training actions. The paper proposes that particular emphasis should be placed on the principles and the methodology of school distance education, synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, and the design of lesson plans based on pedagogical approaches compatible with distance learning.

THE STATES OF DISTANCE TRAINING IN THE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION SYSTEM

Today's education faces modern challenges in the context of profound methodological and content changes in the world. Global realities have a fundamental impact on education processes, research and projected outcomes. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and thanks to the development of information technologies, the learning process of higher education is currently organized in a hybrid manner, with combination of face-to-face and distance learning modalities. We were somewhat prepared for it, because yet in 2010, the Government of Armenia had adopted a decision to approve the procedure for distance learning of Higher, Postgraduate and Vocational education specialties (Government of the RA – Hayastani Hanrapetutyun karavarutyan voroshumy. 2010). 
 In order to understand the current issues of distance education and aiming to help to improve the process in the context of hybrid education, we conducted research and explored the process of organization of distance learning from different perspectives, tested its effectiveness and identified various problems at Khachatur Abovian Armenian State Pedagogical University?

THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT TOPICAL ASPECTS OF THE DISTANCE LEARNING SYSTEM IN AZERBAIJAN

The present paper aims to review distance learning. There is noted that with the development of modern technologies, the channels for transmitting information and knowledge are also expanding. The rapid development of telecommunications creates ample opportunities for knowledge acquisition and greatly facilitates this process. In such conditions, distance education has a wider scope of application. Distance learning allows anyone, even in the most remote part of the world, regardless of income level, to take courses at the most prestigious universities. The article touches upon the current issues of distance education in Azerbaijan in modern times. Trying to answer this question: What current trends are observed in distance education and what forms of it are used in Azerbaijan? The author notes that distance learning, which began to be applied during the pandemic, has created a negative public opinion about education to some extent: «If remote, then poor quality». Currently the most serious problem is to change the opinion formed in society. Today, distance education should be perceived as inevitable step in terms of solving the crisis emanating from the pandemic. This is also a non-alternative approach from the standpoint of ensuring the sustainability of education. As a result, it is concluded that education definitely needs to change. This is primarily due to the development of new technologies, globalization and digitalization. That is, education should be digitalized, distance education should be provided. The use of distance learning should not become a subject for discussion. We need to think about the quality of distance education.

Teaching the block of private law disciplines in the master's degree: new challenges in the conditions of the reform of legal education and distance learning

The article is devoted to the theoretical-applied analysis of the key aspects of the application of the latest methods of teaching the block of private law disciplines in the master's degree in the conditions of the reform of legal education and distance learning in Ukraine. The authors of the article emphasize the need to combine three main components when teaching private law disciplines: 1) characteristics of modern civil legislation; 2) studying the doctrine of civil law; 3) practices of its application. It is pointed out the need to apply the positive experience of the leading EU countries when teaching sectoral legal disciplines; the need for an in-depth analysis of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights; characteristics of civil law institutions in the context of comparative jurisprudence. It is pointed out that classes should be fundamentally problem-based with systematic analysis and analysis of scientific publications. Emphasis is placed on the unique importance of involving students in scientific circles of a civic orientation, participation in conferences and other events of a scientific and practical nature. The prospects of strengthening the practical component during the training of future lawyers through the involvement of practicing lawyers in the educational process were analyzed in detail; changing approaches to the internship process and student practice; reforming the activity of legal clinics with the aim of forming professional competences of the future lawyer in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education". Investigating the issues of distance education in obtaining a legal education, the authors emphasize the relevance of measures taken in the educational process during air raids in wartime conditions and state the perspective of the mixed form of education as a format for the training of future lawyers, which allows to adapt to various unstable and ambiguous conditions, including in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine.

Teaching and Student Attitudes in an Online Psychiatric Nursing Course

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic process, practice-oriented areas such as nursing education were more concerned. It becomes essential to evaluate whether online teaching methods are as applicable, acceptable, and effective as in-class teaching for a psychiatric nursing course and to assess students’ attitudes toward distance education. This study aimed to evaluate the teaching methods practiced in distance education in a psychiatric nursing course and students’ attitudes toward distance education. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted among final-year nursing students at a Turkish university using online survey (n:144). It has been concluded that students use mobile devices more and have internet problems in distance education. The student’s total score on the Distance Education Attitudes Scale (DEAS) was 52.78 ± 18.61 (moderate). The attitude scores toward distance education were evaluated as negative and below the medium level in all dimensions. The difference between the students’ internet access issues in distance education, their ability to use technology in distance education and their evaluation of the distance education system, and the score of the DEAS and its sub-dimensions scores were significant (p < .05). Among the teaching methods adopted in distance education, the methods that the students evaluated as the most effective were the presentation of psychiatric case examples from movies (85.4%), lectures (83.3%), and psychiatric animations that summarized the subject (81.3%). The use of visual and auditory methods together in distance education improves the effectiveness of the course.

Detection of Students’ Problems in Distance Education Using Topic Modeling and Machine Learning

Following the rapid spread of COVID-19 to all the world, most countries decided to temporarily close their educational institutions. Consequently, distance education opportunities have been created for education continuity. The abrupt change presented educational challenges and issues. The aim of this study is to investigate the content of Twitter posts to detect the arising topics regarding the challenges of distance education. We focus on students in Saudi Arabia to identify the problems they faced in their distance education experience. We developed a workflow that integrates unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques in two phases. An unsupervised topic modeling algorithm was applied on a subset of tweets to detect underlying latent themes related to distance education issues. Then, a multi-class supervised machine learning classification technique was carried out in two levels to classify the tweets under discussion to categories and further to sub-categories. We found that 76,737 tweets revealed five underlying themes: educational issues, social issues, technological issues, health issues, and attitude and ethical issues. This study presents an automated methodology that identifies underlying themes in Twitter content with a minimum human involvement. The results of this work suggest that the proposed model could be utilized for collecting and analyzing social media data to provide insights into students’ educational experience.

Shaping open, distance and e-learning in post school education and training: A call for a revised agenda

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the attention of distance education issues to the fore in a way not seen before. All forms of educational provision and sectors were affected by the pandemic. The aim of this conceptual leading article is to highlight three pertinent issues that need to be taken into account in Open, Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) to ensure the relevance of the Post School Education and Training (PSET) sector in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and beyond. Based on a review of the literature, the article highlights three pillars of successful use of technology to enhance quality in PSET, especially in the wake of the worldwide transition to remote teaching and learning. The revised agenda comprises the questioning of previously held beliefs about learning and teaching; the responsiveness of curricula and ensuring the quality of ODeL offerings. It argues that unless traditional beliefs about teaching and learning are questioned and curricula are streamlined to align with the demands of the knowledge society, the value of PSET may be trivialised in a context that is so rapidly changing. It also argues that sound quality assurance mechanisms should be put in place to ensure sufficient depth in student learning experiences, rigour in assessment processes and confidence in graduates by employers and society at large. Using the theory of Connectivism as a lens, the authors provide a framework with some recommendations for sound ODeL teaching and learning practices that are relevant for the demands of the 4IR and beyond. The framework focuses on five pillars, which are foregrounding a student-centred approach; embracing appropriate technologies to support teaching and learning; strengthening the capacity to support success; ensuring appropriate assessment processes and regular curriculum revision and renewal.

Trends and issues of distance education of adults in Japan

This paper examines the present situation of the development of distance education in Japan, particularly concerning adults. In Japan, the term “lifelong learning” has become widely used and is central to educational policies that actively address critical subjects occuring in a wide range of education in a rapidly changing society. Japan's higher education system is suffering from a steady decline in the number of high school graduates as a result of declining birth rates. One way to tackle this problem is to attract new demographic groups of students, such as adults and international students. Besides, the growing number of older adults has led to an increased demand for educational programs. On the other hand, there are numerous issues to be addressed in order to promote adult education in Japan. The COVID–19 pandemic revealed problems in the education system, showing serious gaps both in the principles of organizing lifelong learning and in the implementation of educational programs in this aspect. While online distance education is a strategic instrument that Japanese institutions may adopt to achieve a competitive advantage, it is under- represented in comparison to its global counterparts. In this article, the factors that influenced the development of distance education in Japan, as well as the reasons that hindered its spread have been considered. The authors have analyzed the features of adult education within the Japanese lifelong education system. Also, we examined the organizations providing distance education (including online) in Japan and the measures taken by the government to further develop distance education for adults amid the pandemic.

Distance Teacher Training during the first COVID Pandemic by the University of Crete | ΕLearningLab

The closing of schools at the beginning of spring 2020, because of the Corona Virus pandemic, featured the need for School Distance Education (SDE). Nevertheless, teachers did not have previous experience in SDE and as a result, they were in need of support in this urgent situation. The Laboratory for Advanced Teaching Technologies for Lifelong Learning and Distance Education (e-Learning Lab) of the University of Crete, attempted to contribute with its own means to the support of teachers who struggled to respond to the challenges of distance teaching resulting from the suspension of schools. Within the above framework, fast track distance seminars were designed and implemented, aiming at the support of teachers on pedagogical issues of Distance Education. During the period from 19 March to 29 April 2020, 20 distance training seminars were conducted, in which more than 40,000 teachers of primary and secondary education from around Greece participated. The overall presentation and assessment of the training actions showed not only the enormous interest of the teaching community but also the need for such training actions with particular emphasis on the principles and the methodology of SDE, on synchronous and asynchronous learning environment as well as the designing or planning of teaching scenarios based on the pedagogical approaches compatible with Distance Learning.

University entrance exam anxiety of adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: Cognitive flexibility and self-regulation

IntroductionAfter the first case of Covid-19 was emerged in Turkey on March 11, 2020, schools were closed distance education began. On March 21, curfew was declared for people who under the age of 20. Subsequently, the date of the nationwide university exam was changed twice.ObjectivesThis study has two aims. The first goal was to investigate the factors that affect the test anxiety of individuals who will enter the university exam during the Covid-19 outbreak. The second aim was to investigate whether the test anxiety levels of the participants vary according to the level of cognitive flexibility and self-regulation.MethodsThe study consists of 420 (284 women, 131 men and 5 others). The age range of the participants was between 18 and 21, with the mean of 18.33. Exam Anxiety Scale, Adolescent Self-Regulation Skills Scale and Cognitive Flexibility Scale were used to collect data.ResultsThe findings indicated that women’s level of test anxiety was higher than men. Those who do have concentration issues in distance education have high level of test anxiety. Test anxiety was higher for students whose household income decreased because of the pandemic. MANOVA results revealed that individuals with low test anxiety have higher ‘self-regulation successful’ scores and lower ‘self-regulation unsuccessful’ scores. Moreover, it was yielded that people with low test anxiety have higher level of cognitive flexibility.ConclusionsProtective factors such as cognitive flexibility and self-regulation play an important role in individuals’ management of test anxiety.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Development of distance education in Chinese higher education in perspectives of accessibility, quality and equity under COVID-19

PurposeThis paper aimed to explore the development of distance education (DE) in Chinese higher education as well as the three significant themes: accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE and the performance of these three themes in Chinese DE.Design/methodology/approachDocument analysis was used as the major research method in this study to examine the development and challenges in terms of accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE. In this study, national-level official policy documents and reports from the Chinese government were collected and analyzed. Also, scientific articles from CNKI were analyzed to find out the evolution of the Frontier topics on Chinese DE in accessibility, quality and equity.FindingsThere are three major findings. First, the Chinese government has shown its positive attitude toward DE in higher education. Second, compared with the other two themes: quality and equity; the number of articles in the accessibility of DE was lower than the other two themes and the problems of accessing online courses were insufficiently caused by two reasons due to lack of basic ICT literacy and poor Internet infrastructure. Third, there was a gap between Chinese policies and research articles mainly because of the unbalanced development of accessibility in policy management and research articles.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this paper has summarized the development of the DE in Chinese higher education, it was clear that accessibility, quality and equity were three critical issues in DE. However, there are still other essential factors that contribute to the development of DE that requires further investigation, such as learner satisfaction, different features of learning platforms and instructional strategy.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper can be used to identify the attitude toward the DE of the Chinese government. Besides, the accessibility could be a research and practical focus for Chinese DE in the future.Originality/valueThis study showed some significant policies released by the Chinese government toward DE in higher education and revealed the achievements, trends and challenges in the accessibility, quality and equity of Chinese DE.

Digital Citizenship and Distance Education

This chapter describes the role of digital citizenship, particularly as it relates to school librarianship in online learning environments. It discusses the need for digital citizenship, its curriculum and standards, its place in school librarianship program preparation, distance education issues, learning resources, and implementation for the school community. Emerging issues are also noted.

Informational and Communication Technologies Used in the Doctors of Philosophy Preparation in the Conditions of Distance Education

The paper is dedicated to issues of distance education of applicants for scientific degrees — graduate students and doctoral students. In particular, the aim of the article is to determine the negative characteristics of distance education in higher education, while learning the information and communication technologies, including the postgraduate education, for formulating a comprehensive view of this format of education. Significant characteristics (peculiarities) of the distance education are outlined by author. They are: individualization of the educational process, indirect interaction of participants, and specialization of the environment. Essential advantages (objective need to optimize individual qualities and learning skills; more comfortable learning conditions than in the classroom; saving personal resources) and disadvantages (destruction of social relations; development of deep introverted qualities of the individual; gradual exclusion of the person from socialization; inability and / or unwillingness of individual tutors to adapt their professional skills to new conditions; inadequate level of technical support of the teaching staff, and in some places — students) of distance education are determined by the researcher on the basis of using of content-analysis of pieces for the content of features, mentioned above. The author's reasoning about the list of advantages and disadvantages of distance education is supported and expanded by the in-depth analysis of empirical sources, including scientific researches within the object of research. The advantages and disadvantages of distance postgraduate education according to the criterion of their nature are classified and three basic groups of advantages and disadvantages of the distance education are suggested. It is concluded that the reverse side of the "medal" in the form of distance education contains negative phenomena and processes of technical-technological, psychological and social-communicative nature. It is emphasized, that the consequences of psychological and social-communicative nature can be irreversible and lead to the complete destruction of an individual and the loss of social relations. It is indicated that the best option for further development of educational processes is the rational use of distance learning technologies as a supplement to traditional education.

НА ДОПОМОГУ ПРАКТИКАМ — VІ МІЖНАРОДНИЙ КОНГРЕС ЗІ СПЕЦІАЛЬНОЇ ПЕДАГОГІКИ ТА ПСИХОЛОГІЇ «ОСОБЛИВІ ДІТИ»: ОСВІТА І СОЦІАЛІЗАЦІЯ»

Стисло окреслено основні напрями в освіті осіб з особливими потребами, щоб привернути увагу освітян і науковців до тих проблем, які виникають і потребують вирішення, перспектив, які вбачаються у майбутньому. Наголошено, що серед основних напрямів залучення осіб з особливими потребами до загальноосвітнього простору України є організація інклюзивного навчання. У загальному баченні, інклюзивна парадигма передбачає надання підтримки особам з особливими потребами, яка може впроваджуватися у різних формах підтримки: технічна (забезпечення відповідного обладнання, завдяки чому людина з обмеженими можливостями здатна жити більш незалежним життям), психолого-педагогічна (освітні послуги, психологічна допомога, підтримка, та ін.), соціальна (соціальна адаптація осіб з особливими потребами у тому оточенні, в якому вони перебувають та ін.), науково-методична (розроблення наукового, навчально-методичного забезпечення освіти осіб з особливими потребами на основі законодавчих нормативно-правових актів) тощо.&#x0D; Окреслено основні проблеми, які виникли в умовах онлайн-навчання. У професійній спільноті приділяється увага питанням дистанційної освіти дітей з особливими освітніми потребами, зокрема, питанню організації онлайн-навчання дітей з особливими потребами.&#x0D; На розв’язання цих питань й були спрямовані практичні заходи Інституту спеціальної педагогіки і психології імені Миколи Ярмаченка НАПН України для педагогів, психологів, батьків. Зокрема, окреслено ключові рекомендації та перелік ресурсів щодо організації онлайн-навчання дітей з особливими потребами різних нозологій.

From distance education to "smartphone education": digital education and the role of educational libraries in its development

The article considers the development of information technologies in education and, in particular, in its part such as distance education. The focus is on the use of distance learning technologies in the most critical period of human existence, namely in the period of quarantine in connection with the global pandemic on the coronavirus COVID-19. The main problems of the application of distance education are considered, when it is necessary to teach remotely all students, starting from beginners and ending with those who always want to learn. There is an urgent need to create new methods that would simplify the work of teachers in conducting distance learning, improve online teacher-student communication. There are also requirements for the executive authorities to address the issues of decent equipping of general secondary education institutions with computers, increasing the ICT competence of teachers, as well as the creation of a comprehensive Internet space. The issue of improving the information education of teachers in order to overcome pedagogical and psychological difficulties in conducting comprehensive distance education is covered. There is an increase in the role of educational libraries in the dissemination of distance education, as well as in the direction of helping users to remotely receive information that would meet their needs, in particular, highlighted the activities of the V. O. Sukhomlinskyі SSPL of Ukraine. The results of partial monitoring of dissertation research in the specialties 13.00.02 "Theory and methods of teaching (computer science)" and 13.00.10 "Information and communication technologies in education" concerning the issues of distance education for the period 1991—2019 are analyzed. Statistical data on the share of dissertations, the problem of which is the use of ICT in education, protected in research institutions and free educational institutions, in order to identify research activity on the outlined topic. .

Resource Sharing among Polytechnic Libraries in Ghana

The paper presents a synthesis on resource sharing among polytechnic libraries in Ghana. It explores how resource sharing would provide opportunities for the consolidation of strengths and minimize weakness among the polytechnic libraries. The main objective of resource sharing is to maximise the availability of materials and services and to minimize expenses and duplication. The paper further exposed some of the factors which make resource sharing imperative among the polytechnic libraries. These concerns include the proliferation of knowledge on the World Wide Web, issues of distance education, open access and instruction service. It also highlighted some of the resources that could be shared among the polytechnic libraries which include personnel, electronic service, tools, professional activities, policies, etc. Finally techniques that would foster resource sharing activities among the polytechnic libraries were discussed and these include communication, increase in the use of information communication technology, resource mobilisation and capacity building on the part of librarians.&#x0D; Keywords: Co-operation; Information sharing; Consortia formation; Academic libraries networking.

Distance Education: Exploring Trends and Issues in the Global Context

With the end goal of informing school management practices, this paper presents a comprehensive review of literature and studies on the trends and issues of Distance Education (DE) in the global context. Due to the development of communication technologies, the change in the modes of Distance Education is very abrupt. Internationalization, cost-effectiveness, access, infrastructure, and quality are some of the trends being faced by our contemporary education system. However, the literature and research findings also revealed that there are some emerging issues in the field such as dropout rates, assessment of students, student concerns, cost-effectiveness, issues related to technology use, and infrastructure. Keywords: Distance Education, trends, issues, e-learning, education, Open University DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-4-15 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

Особливості застосування математичних моделей тестів в умовах дистанційного контролю

The paper explores one of the current issues of distance education - the quality of computer tests in terms of ensuring objective control of knowledge. This issue is especially important in today's pandemic and temporary quarantine. The main attention is paid to a statistical analysis of test quality based on test results using CTT and IRT methods. Using modern statistical methods, the authors analyzed the results of testing prepared and conducted during the quarantine period. As an object of study, a test on “Integration of functions of one variable” was chosen, which students completely mastered remotely. The tests were created on the basis of the MOODLE platform at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, by proffessors of the Department of Mathematical Analysis and Probability Theory. Data processing is carried out using a system for test analysis, created by the authors in the programming environment R. The system allows you to process tests in different areas: pedagogy, psychology, sociology, etc., different in structure; use both CTT and IRT apparatus; work with large data sets; to analyze not only test questions, but also respondents; more accurately differentiate respondents. Based on the study, the possibility of conducting electronic testing remotely was confirmed. The technology used in the study can be used to create and analyze the tasks of external evaluation, conducting session control during quarantine. The use of the methods studied in the work for the analysis of test tasks will increase the competence of high school teachers to conduct electronic remote testing.

Persuading student involvement via peripheral services offered

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of peripheral services offered by distance education (DE) institutes on student involvement in DE and, examine whether this impact is mediated by student experience quality. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research approach based on cross-sectional survey design was used where data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Sample consisted of 400 undergraduates of the Open University of Sri Lanka, drawn using simple random sampling technique. Collected data were analyzed using the structural equation model. Findings Data analysis revealed that there is a significant direct impact of peripheral services offered by DE institutes on student involvement in the Sri Lankan context. Furthermore, it is validated that this impact is mediated by student experience quality. Research limitations/implications Focus of the study is only on the impact of contextual elements rather than personal or demographic factors of students which can have an important impact on their experience quality as well as involvement. Practical implications Findings are useful in designing and redesigning service offering and policy development by DE institutes to make their services more appealing. Originality/value Even though previous studies have identified student dropout and lower academic excellence as issues in DE, how service offering can be used to overcome them via student involvement has not received considerable attention. Hence, the tested conceptual model developed on multiple theories is a novel contribution to the existing knowledge base.