Online Educational Technology Research Articles

The role of a teacher in modern music education: can a student learn music with the help of modernized online educational technologies without teachers?

Music education is aimed at the development of musical abilities, emotionality during the performance of musical compositions, and all-round development. The aim of the article is to determine the possibilities of schoolchildren obtaining musical knowledge with the help of modernized online technologies, as well as to determine the importance of a teacher in modern music education. The indicators were determined by a questionnaire, the data collection for which was done using a Likert scale. Initially, the paper identified approaches to teaching students prior to the study. The results showed that more emphasis was placed on the use of book-based theoretical materials (46%), which allowed only 21% of students to achieve a high level of knowledge. The use of information technology was common among 9% of students, which allowed 76% of students to achieve high results, which is based on acquiring knowledge in a shorter time. The authors concluded that it is necessary to provide improved stages of learning, which will expand the use of modernized technology. Work on the theoretical basics of piano playing can be implemented with the Vivace app; Flow app helps one to work on sound features; Functional Ear Trainer app is about developing rhythm and hearing; and Chordana Play app helps one to work on a piece of music. After training, by calculating the coefficient of effectiveness, it was found that students in group #1 (0.791), who mastered the skills of playing the piano according to the developed training stages and without a teacher, showed the quality of acquired knowledge lower than students in group #2 (0.853), who were trained under the direct influence of a teacher. The data obtained confirm the high quality of learning in the groups, as the educational process was built with the correct distribution of workload and providing opportunities for the development of musical skills. It is established that the students of group 1 to a greater extent developed independence (29%), and group 2 was good at the accuracy of musical tasks' sequence (28%). The practical significance of the work is based on the possibility of transforming the music learning system with the help of modern technology. Prospects for the study can be based on a comparison of the quality of teaching the piano and vocal training, excluding the participation of a teacher in the learning process.

TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED ONLINE LEARNING FOR LOW ACHIEVERS IN INTRODUCTORY PROGRAMMING: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Technology-enhanced online learning (tel) has been widely utilized in facilitating teaching and learning in higher academic institutions. although exhaustive studies have been done in investigating the usage and effectiveness of tel in programming education, there is still insufficiency of studies being done in utilization of tel in introductory programming specifically for low achievers who often faced with learning difficulties such as lack of motivation and interests, lack of problem-solving skills and logical thinking and the technical issues in the technologies used. therefore, this study investigates the trends of tel in introductory programming in terms of its pedagogical approach in addressing the difficulties faced by the low achievers and the online technologies needed to facilitate their learning through a systematic literature review study between the year 2017 till 2021. by adopting kitchenham’s methodology, a total of 20 papers have been selected from various journals and databases and we found that the trends of tel for low achievers in introductory programming comprised of six main online educational technologies, which are the web-based learning, mobile learning, multimedia learning, gamification, block-based programming and virtual reality or robot simulations. the findings from this review can be used for future research in utilizing tel in the field of programming education, especially for low achievers.

The two-step cluster analysis of pre-COVID-19 experience and cybersecurity concerns about online education for academic staff in Saudi universities

The purpose of this research is to learn about the attitudes of the academic staff of the medical, business, humanities, and science and engineering disciplines concerning online education during the COVID-19 pandemic at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia. While research in online education focuses on learning experiences such as facilities, learning materials, and learning interests, several elements of online education in this research were investigated, including advantages, features, and cybersecurity. The research data were gathered through a survey containing three demographic items, four items on perceptions of online education, and seven questions on perceptions of cybersecurity. Responses obtained from 238 academic staff were used for statistical analysis. After the routine descriptive analysis analyses, the response data were subjected to unsupervised k-means centroid cluster analysis. Two clusters of academic staff differing in teaching disciplines, and pre-COVID experience in online education were identified. Cluster 1 had medical and business and humanities academic staff, predominated by those without pre-COVID experience in online education, and perceived online education and cybersecurity at neutral to a slightly low level. Cluster 2 consisted of science and engineering discipline academic staff predominated by those with pre-COVID online education experience and perceived online education and cybersecurity in the range of neutral to slightly high levels. The result of this study shows that academic staff in the medical, business, and humanities disciplines have less expertise with online education software and a low level of awareness about online education security. On the other hand, academic staff of science and engineering disciplines fields has more expertise with online educational technologies and a better level of understanding of online education security.

Webcam-based eye tracking to detect mind wandering and comprehension errors.

Recent advances in computer vision have opened the door for scalable eye tracking using only a webcam. Such solutions are particularly useful for online educational technologies, in which a goal is to respond adaptively to students' ongoing experiences. We used WebGazer, a webcam-based eye-tracker, to automatically detect covert cognitive states during an online reading-comprehension task related to task-unrelated thought and comprehension. We present data from two studies using different populations: (1) a relatively homogenous sample of university students (N = 105), and (2) a more diverse sample from Prolific (N = 173, with < 20% White participants). Across both studies, the webcam-based eye-tracker provided sufficiently accurate and precise gaze measurements to predict both task-unrelated thought and reading comprehension from a single calibration. We also present initial evidence of predictive validity, including a positive correlation between predicted rates of task-unrelated thought and comprehension scores. Finally, we present slicing analyses to determine how performance changed under certain conditions (lighting, glasses, etc.) and generalizability of the results across the two datasets (e.g., training on the data Study 1 and testing on data from Study 2, and vice versa). We conclude by discussing results in the context of remote research and learning technologies.

Student Perceptions of Online Education and Digital Technologies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

We designed a bibliometric review combined with a systematic review of relevant research on student perceptions of online education, which was conducted from March 2020 until September 2022 (focused on emergency remote teaching). By exploring the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases, we selected 154 articles addressing mostly positive/negative as well as neutral student perceptions. The methodology followed the Khan five-step approach and included a PRISMA flowchart integrating keywords for selecting the relevant quantitative data for the analysis. Evidence was brought forward identifying the advantages of online education based on efficiency-related factors, contributing to the supportive attitudes of the learners (digital technology application, self-directed learning and flexibility). Our analysis revealed that the pursued research field is still insufficiently explored. Universities must prepare more consciously for embedding current technological challenges to cope with unforeseen situations, such as an immediate switch from the classic face-to-face teaching to online based on digital technology education. The greatest challenge for the universities in the digital society is given by the just-in-time, flexible adaptation to the unplanned situations. Therefore, universities must always be prepared to make the switch from offline to online and vice versa—at the same time, guaranteeing the quality of teaching processes and student satisfaction. Future trends in education reveal the role of digitalization of the educational sector in integrating innovative technologies in the educational curriculum and calls for a new pedagogical approach that is centred on learners’ self-directed learning, collaborative learning and the cognitive and social presence of students and teachers. The most important contributions of the paper reside in an in-depth analysis of student perceptions of online education processes and their perceived advantages and disadvantages related to online learning experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. These advantages were analysed against efficiency-related factors, and, among them, the “application of technologies” is considered relevant for a niche investigation of the technology acceptance model (TAM).

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ ОНЛАЙН-ПЛАТФОРМ И ЦИФРОВЫХ ТЕХНОЛОГИЙ В СИСТЕМЕ ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РК

The article "The use of online platforms and digital technologies in the system of higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan" considers the topical issue of using online platforms and digital technologies in the educational process in Kazakhstan. This paper provides an overview of existing national and international projects aimed at developing online education in Kazakhstan. Also shown are the results of a study on students' perception of the possibilities of online education and the level of their readiness to use digital technologies in the educational process, the advantages and disadvantages of online education and digital technologies are considered, recommendations for improving the quality of education when using these technologies in higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The purpose of this article is to study the use of online platforms and digital technologies in the higher education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To achieve the purpose, an analysis of scientific publications was carried out, a review of world research, also conducted a survey and interviews among students, teachers and ICT experts of Baishev University and Aktobe Regional University named after K. Zhubanov. The results of the study show that the use of online platforms and digital technologies in higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan has great potential to improve the quality of education and expand the accessibility of education. However, to use these technologies effectively, barriers must be removed and problems that may limit their effectiveness must be addressed. In general, the article presents scientific findings that can help improve the use of online platforms and digital technologies in higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

A survey on big data-enabled innovative online education systems during the COVID-19 pandemic

With the spread of COVID-19 around the world, the education industry faces enormous challenges. Some colleges and universities have launched online teaching. Comprehensive online teaching and student health checkups help students complete the set teaching content and return to school as soon as possible. With the development of big data, combined with the epidemic risk we are facing, the rational use of big data and the internet for innovative online education has become a mainstream teaching method. Colleges and universities are not yet familiar with the development prospects and future of online education. Through the research of this paper, we can understand the combination of online education and the development of big data and promote its application in colleges and universities. Not only have innovative online education platforms such as MOOC and DingTalk been widely used, but innovative online education methods such as virtual classrooms also have been created. Based on the current epidemic background, this paper analyzes the development of online education, introduces the impact of the combination of online education and big data, and introduces innovative online education technologies and their effects. It helps online education under the influence of the new coronavirus epidemic, operating big data technology to analyze the current prospects and development of online education, showing the combination of big data technology and online education through the analysis of big data technology, and ending with more expectations on other aspects of the use of big data, which affects the online education industry as well as other industries. Finally, we summarize the combination of big data and innovative online education since the emergence of COVID-19 and introduce the concepts and methods of combining online education and big data technology in detail. The online education platform also makes a reasonable introduction. The thesis can be used to understand the problems and challenges faced by innovative online education in the context of the new coronavirus epidemic and look forward to the future on this basis.

Preservice teachers’ TPACK learning trajectories in an online educational technology course

This mixed-methods study analyzed Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) learning trajectories of preservice teachers enrolled in an online seven-week long educational technology course. Timeline analysis was used to identify and interpret emerged patterns of learning trajectories. The study suggests that continuous growth of the group mean TPACK could be attributed to the inclusion of immersion - theory - analysis - digital content development cycles, focus on high-impact teaching strategies, and a choice of interactive online platform. Level of participation, support from the instructors, and confidence in using technology for teaching and learning moderated the course influence leading to several distinct patterns in individual TPACK learning trajectories.

The synchronous group virtual simulation experience: Associate degree nursing students' perceptions

The use of virtual simulations exponentially increased as nursing schools experienced an urgent need to integrate online educational technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative descriptive study was conducted to explore associate degree nursing students’ perceptions about the comprehensive Synchronous Group Virtual Simulation educational strategy. This strategy was developed based on the National League for Nursing Jeffries Simulation Theory (JST) and the Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM, including structured synchronous prebriefing and debriefing stages. Content analysis revealed 12 recurrent themes, from which 10 positive themes strongly correlated with concepts of the JST. Our findings support the effectiveness of a high-quality synchronous virtual simulation—guided by an empirically supported simulation theoretical framework and evidence-based simulation best practice standards—can be realistic, experiential, interactive, collaborative, learner-centered, and promote simulation participant outcomes.

Defining a next-generation ecosystem for online learning: from changing the platform to shifting the paradigm

While disruptive and disconnecting, the events of the last two years have also created a rich opportunity to change how we think about what we do and the contexts we work in. This conceptual paper explores the development of a more complex realisation of the ecological view of online learning and educational technologies as a new paradigm to reconnect people with technology in the organisational context. Drawing on a range of disciplines and practices, a 'next-generation' ecosystem establishes the social and organisational domains as critical additions to the technological and pedagogical domains. Also explored are the ways in which third space practitioners are pivotal in the design and delivery of such an ecosystem, and examples of the ecosystem development in practice. By considering and designing a wide range of experiences and practice domains, the 'next-generation ecosystem' concept may provide a way to meaningfully reconnect people with educational technology.

DISTANCE ONLINE LEARNING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AS AN URGENT PROBLEM

The purpose of this study is to search, identify, analyze and determine the main characteristics of promising innovative online technologies for teaching foreign languages. The object of study are textbooks, study guides and educational complexes intended for remote online learning of various foreign languages with different contingents of students. The subject of the research is both positive and negative experience of domestic and foreign methodologists regarding the optimization of techniques and methods of foreign languages distance online learning. In the process of studying this problem, such methods of collecting and analyzing empirical information were used: a natural experiment, modeling, a method of qualitative characterization of the educational material, psychological-pedagogical and structural methods, as well as a method of functional-pragmatic analysis and a descriptive method. In the course of the conducted research, the following conclusions were made. The general “online technology and digitization” of the educational process is, firstly, an adaptive reaction of modern society, in which human life and health have become a priority, to emerging security threats; secondly, it is the result of finding ways to reduce material and time costs related to the acquisition of knowledge through the use of the latest technical developments in the field of informatization and communication. A significant role in technological updating is assigned to the adaptation of universal innovations to the methodical traditions of each country, where the spheres of online language education have expanded dramatically. The importance of improving the qualifications of teachers and students, training them in effective ways of working with the latest online educational technologies is growing. These scientific and methodological directions of work are promising in the theoretical and practical plane.

HOW TO EMPOWER ONLINE TEACHING: 12 PRINCIPLES FOR HIGHER AND POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION

The global pandemic COVID-19, which began in 2020, has brought about new challenges to Ukraine’s higher and postgraduate education institutions. Despite the previous experience of providing online education courses, one of the main challenges to these institutions now remains to perform effective online teaching, which requires a proper theoretical and instructional basis. The study aims to outline efficient online teaching principles and best practices of how online teaching can provide effective interaction in the virtual online classroom with the aid of online learning management systems, online educational technologies, and digital learning tools. The article suggests a framework of twelve principles of effective online teaching determined for higher and postgraduate education that is deployed at five levels grouped according to specific online teaching issues (Level 0. Lecturer readiness, Level 1. Course planning, Level 2. Students’ facilitation, Level 3. Course content dissemination, and Level 4. Course feedback). Each identified principle at every level is covered with examples of specific teaching methods and best practices of how it is used to enhance the effectiveness of online teaching in higher and postgraduate education. To perform most effectively in an online education context, every lecturer should use each level from the developed framework and each principle from the level. However, even a partial application of certain principles will increase the efficiency of the online teaching process. The suggested five-level framework of twelve principles will be helpful for lecturers, professors, and other academic staff of universities and institutes of higher and postgraduate education when providing online and distance education.

Learning Interest in Stie Semarang Accounting Students During Covid 19 Pandemic

This study aims to determine whether online learning, Educational Technology carried out by lecturers at STIE can increase student interest in learning about effective subjects. The population in this study were accounting students at the Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi Semarang, 126 Students, and 40 samples were obtained using a purposive sampling technique. The method used in this research is multiple regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that online learning has no significant effect on learning interest. Meanwhile, education technology has a significant effect on interest in learning. The value of the determinant coefficient obtained is 0.336, meaning that 33.6% of learning interest is influenced by online learning and educational technology. For future research, it is recommended to add other independent variables such as online learning methods, information technology and online learning media to complement this research further because there are other independent variables outside of this study that might affect interest in learning. Students are expected to maintain good learning. Hopefully, educational technology can be improved because these variables are the most influential and significant on learning interest.

Working conditions and health status of elderly teaching staff (a review)

This article reviews literature data on the working conditions, labor organization, health and psycho-emotional status, performance, and age composition of teaching staff. Population ageing is a global trend, primarily associated with increased life expectancy and decreased fertility rates. The reviewed publications note a steady increase in the number of elderly people employed in educational institutions of various levels. According to hygienic assessments, the working conditions of teaching staff can be distinguished as potentially harmful. High working, mental, emotional, and voice loads were found to be the key factors affecting teachers’ health, performance, and professional longevity. The accelerating pace of life, growing volumes of circulating information, spreading digitalization and robotization, adoption of online educational technologies – all these phenomena impose an additional psychological burden on teachers, elderly people in particular, becoming a source of distress and neuroticism. At the same time, the involvement of elderly people in intellectually stimulating professional activities and the respective adequate payment were shown to have a positive effect on the preservation of their cognitive functions and overall quality of life. These findings determine the relevance of investigating the occupational hygiene of elderly teaching staff in order to develop measures aimed at preserving their health, quality of life, and professional longevity.

Distance learning technology in training competent master of dentistry under extreme conditions by evaluation of foreign students

The object of research: Masters of Dentistry professional training in Bogomolets National Medical University (Kyiv, Ukraine) with the distance learning technology&#x0D; Investigated problem: Educational process in extreme condition as pandemics and wars, possible ways to solve the problem how students and teachers cope with both challenges in Ukraine on the way of preparing competent doctor from the point of view of foreign students.&#x0D; The main scientific results: Preliminary data of medical university students from foreign countries - future masters in dentistry of the Bogomolets Medical University (Kyiv, Ukraine) survey, conducted in term April-November 2022 about their perceptions of online learning and teaching in extreme conditions as they experienced during lockdown in terms of COVID -19 outbreak and continuing russian`s aggressive war in Ukraine. Our findings from survey concern questions of student`s general view on online educational technology as well peculiarities of approaches in teaching we can use for acceptable in such extreme conditions educational outcome. We start discussion about some useful methodological approaches for distance education technology in extreme conditions.&#x0D; The area of practical use of the research results: Sharing with educational community our experience and features about distant learning in extreme conditions of dental students.

Facilitation Strategies in Online Group Work from the Perspective of Community of Inquiry

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in disruptions in a number of aspects of our lives, including in language education. Teaching and learning are now done remotely using various online learning platforms and educational technologies. While one of the foci in 21st-century skills is collaboration, how to design and manage group work in online courses remains a challenge for language educators. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, which consists of teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence, has been widely employed in designing an effective online course. Thus, through online questionnaires and interviews, this descriptive qualitative research explored the experiences of seven university lecturers from two private universities in Jogjakarta to know how teaching presence was realized in coping with online group work. The results show how the participants have implemented a variety of facilitation strategies to maintain student engagement through different modes of communication, learning models, progress monitoring, and peer feedback. This research is also expected to shed a light on the challenges and strategies taken by lecturers to ensure that collaboration occurs in their classes.

Virtual Finger-Point Reading Behaviors: A Case Study of Mouse Cursor Movements on a Website

Web analytics has changed significantly in recent years. As part of the big data revolution, frequent low-level user actions, such as mouse movements and clicks, are often used in modern web analytics. Various studies show that when a user moves or clicks the mouse, the position of the mouse cursor is relatively close to the position of the eye gaze on the screen. Accordingly, mouse cursor positions can indicate user attention and interest in specific areas of web pages. This study focuses on mouse movement directions and speeds rather than on mouse cursor positions. A statistical analysis of mouse movements on an online learning website, which was selected for this study, sheds light on several interesting patterns. For example, most mouse movements in the examined usage data are either approximately horizontal or approximately vertical, and horizontal mouse movements are more frequent than vertical mouse movements. Besides, horizontal movements to the left are not equivalent to horizontal movements to the right, in terms of moving time and speed. As this study shows, these statistical findings are related to Pointer Assisted Reading (PAR), a reading behavior consisting of moving the mouse cursor (also known as the mouse pointer) along sentences, marking the reading position, similarly to finger-pointing when reading a book. Associating mouse movements with text reading may potentially highlight content that most users tend to skip, and therefore, might not interest the website's audience, as well as content that many readers read more than once or slowly, suggesting a lack of clarity or ambiguity. As discussed in this paper, this could be useful in locating issues in the textual content of websites and especially in online learning and educational technology applications.

Who engaged in the team-based assessment? Leveraging EdTech for a self and intra-team peer-assessment solution to free-riding

A STEM-based faculty in an Australian university leveraged online educational technology to help address student and academic concerns associated with team-based assessment. When engagement and contribution of all team members cannot be assured, team-based assessment can become an unfair and inaccurate measure of student competency. This case study explores the design and capacity of an online self and intra-team peer-assessment of teamwork strategy to measure student engagement and enable peers to hold each other accountable during team-based assessments. Analysis of student interactions across 39 subjects that implemented the strategy in 2020, revealed that an average of 94.4% of students completed the self and intra-team peer-assessment task when designed as part of a summative team-based assessment. The analysis also revealed that an average of 10.3% of students were held accountable by their peers, receiving feedback indicating their teamwork skills and behaviours were below the required minimum standard. Furthermore, the strategy was successfully implemented in cohorts ranging from seven to over 700 students, demonstrating scalability. Thus, this online self and intra-team peer-assessment strategy provided teaching teams with evidence of student engagement in a team-based assessment while also enabling students to hold each other accountable for contributing to the team task. Lastly, as the online strategy pairs with any discipline-specific team-based assessment, it provided the faculty with a method that could be used consistently across its schools to support management and engagement in team-based assessments.

Building bridges to advance the Community of Inquiry framework for online learning

The COVID-19 pandemic forced institutions of higher education around the world to quickly transition to forms of distance education, including synchronous and asynchronous online learning. Often lacking conceptual, empirical, and practical understanding of online pedagogy, many institutions have met this endeavor with mixed success. It seems inevitable that online learning will continue to play a key role in all sectors of education and, accordingly, that online pedagogy deserves a more mainstream focus. To help build a joint understanding of foundational knowledge between the online learning, educational technology, and educational psychology communities, in this article, we summarize the most frequently cited conceptual model that shapes research and practice in the field of higher education online learning: the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. We describe the original CoI model and its foundational components (i.e., cognitive, social, and teaching presence) and highlight opportunities for improvement of the model by incorporating the educational psychology and learning sciences research base to inform: (1) conceptualizations of the social dimensions of collaborative learning and (2) understanding of learner contributions to online collaborative education including self-, co-, and shared regulation of learning. We propose that a new, more comprehensive conceptualization of the regulation of collaborative online learning be integrated into the existing CoI framework and that a new “presence” be referenced going forward—“Learning Presence.” Through this work, we strive to develop a more nuanced, generative, and informed vision of the future of online learning informed by relevant contemporary conceptualizations in educational psychology.

Factors Determining Academics’ Behavioral Intention and Usage Behavior towards Online Teaching Technologies during Covid-19: An Extension of the UTAUT

Faced with lockdowns and social isolation because of COVID-19, alternative teaching methods such as online teaching allow academics and lecturers to teach students. Hence, the study aimed to investigate academics’ intention and behavioral patterns in adopting online educational technologies in Malaysia via the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology (UTAUT) with an additional academics’ ethical considerations. The data were collected randomly from a sample of 321 academics from five Malaysian research universities using a questionnaire. For model and hypothesis testing, partial least squares (PLS) regression was utilized. The findings revealed that (1) ease of use, social influence, and ethical considerations all influenced behavioral intention significantly; and (2) facilitating conditions had positive relationships with usage behavior. The present results are consistent with the original UTAUT model and ethical considerations as an additional factor. The study findings serve as a beneficial guide for universities and educational planners who are programming online teaching technologies for use in universities.