Online Learning Technologies Research Articles

The Military Families Learning Network: A Model for Extension-Based Virtual Learning Communities

This article provides an overview of Extension's Military Families Learning Network. The network is an example of Extension's commitment to building virtual learning networks in the support of targeted professional and lay audiences. The network uses well-established and emergent pedagogical approaches focusing on adult-centered learning while employing state-of-the-art online learning technologies. We present a four-dimensional model of learning activities to illustrate how the network offers different options for and approaches to adult-centered learning and training. The Military Families Learning Network can serve as a model for broader adoption of such entities across the Extension community.

A Technology Acceptance Framework Inside the Indonesian Online Learning Platform

The user’s acceptance of the technology is one of the big moves towards progress in online network technology. It is, therefore, essential to recognize the factors which influence the success of technology acceptance. This research attempts to establish the value of online learning technologies. Within this analysis, the acceptance factors of OLP technologies are evaluated using an updated UTAUT2 model. This work is a quantitative analysis with an interview method in which respondents would have used the technologies of the OLP. The anticipated outcome of this research is the most critical factor in embracing the OLP technology, which will then be used by the technical providers of the OLP to make strategic decisions for further growth.

University Students’ Perspectives on Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Implementation Amidst COVID-19

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been implemented in universities around the world since decades ago. With COVID-19 pandemic, its implementation has been accelerated globally at an unprecedented speed and haste. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate the university students’ perspectives on ODL amidst COVID-19. By using the convenient sampling method, a total of 608 diploma and degree students throughout Malaysia have participated and shared their feedback on ODL implementation. The collected data covered their general feedback and what they enjoyed the most about ODL. Moreover, their recommendations on ODL implementation were analyzed by categorising the responses into different themes. The demographic data was summarized using descriptive analysis. A comparison between the diploma and the degree students’ perspectives is also discussed in the paper. The findings show that most students have positive perceptions on ODL implementation, where positive feedback and fun factors are highlighted by the respondents. Some students indicated that ODL should not be continued in the future semester, due to problems such as poor internet connection, budget constraints and time management issues. Recommendations on improvements for better ODL implementations in the near future are also provided. This study contributes to more effective ODL management by presenting the learners’ perspectives
 
 Keywords: Open and Distance Learning (ODL), Online Learning Platforms, Technology, Teaching and Learning, University Students

Online Learning Acceptance Model during Covid-19: An Integrated Conceptual Model

Because of Covid-19, many countries shutdown schools in order to prevent spreading the virus in their communities. Therefore, schools have opted to use online learning technologies that support distance learning for students. As consequences, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research encourages higher education institutes to adopt blended learning in their programs. However, different students react in different ways to online learning. Some students were able to make productive use of online learning strategies more than others. A conceptual model based on 15 variables was constructed based on UTAUT2, TAM, and other models to investigate and to study the factors that affect students’ acceptance of online learning. 29 hypotheses were investigated to study the relationships among the variables that affect online learning acceptance and online learning community building in Al-Ahliyya Amman University. The collected responses were analyzed using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. SPSS and AMOS were used to analyze the data.

Online learning technologies as a modern direction of learning in communities

This article discusses the implementation of technologies of online learning in the mode of massive open online courses, namely, online classes, which are considered as a platform for distance learning and interactive communication between students and teacher. These technologies allow to provide the choice of content, rate, forms of work for students, to increase level of individualization and personification of education, to facilitate learning irrespective of place and time of being, to decrease subjectiveness of evaluation of learning results, to make the learning process more accessible. Theoretical foundations of connectivism are considered as a learning theory implementing the learning process on the basis of online information technologies. This approach changes the role of the teacher, who, acting as a tutor, regulates the pace and volume of students’ work, organizes the exchange of information, thereby creating a community. This article determines the reasons and features of creation of communities of teachers and students during studying in massive open online course. In the frames of this study, network community is considered as a group of students and teachers participating in interactive communication by means of network tools, social networks and messengers. This communication format allows to solve the problems of formation not only of subject but also of meta-subject results of learning, namely, communicative properties of students. The features of construction of communicative activity in these communities are exemplified by the course titled Preparing students for USE in mathematics (profile level), implemented in Volgograd State Socio-Pedagogical University on Miroznai platform. Examples of classes are discussed, each being devoted to solution to one of the task types presented in ESU in mathematics of profile level. Analysis of execution of tests proposed in the course demonstrates that the results of the considered students are somewhat higher than those of students studying in isolation.

Online Learning is Going Viral during COVID-19 Lockdown, What Lessons do We Take to Guide the Future of Physiotherapy Education? A Cross-Sectional Survey from Teachers'?? Perspectives

Background: Online learning, also referred to as e-learning, is education that takes place over the internet and is the newest and most popular form of distance education today. The long lockdown for the COVID-19 has closed educational institutions and ushered in online learning as a crisis-management tool to continue learning. The global sector of online learning and educational technology is facing the biggest opportunity-and biggest test-of its existence. Electronic medical education has already been widely integrated in developed countries since it has educational value and is broadening the scope of educational programs through multiple educational goals. To date physiotherapy education in India seems to have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution. The adoption of technology is still a new experience for many of us; and teachers all over are struggling to make online learning work. This study aimed to analyze the experience of physiotherapy teachers towards online learning during COVID-19 lockdown. Overall purpose of the present study was to better equip the education sector; and bridge the gap between potential effectiveness and successful implementation of technology in physiotherapy education. Method: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted during COVID-19 lockdown period (April to May 2020). All physiotherapy teachers affiliated to academic institutions from various universities across India were invited to participate in an online survey. Teachers who undertook online teaching as a part of curriculum for undergraduate or postgraduate students during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were recruited. It was an online survey administered using self-reported questionnaire. The questionnaire sought to obtain information which includes teacher’s profile details relevant to online learning; methods employed by the teachers in online learning; as well as teacher’s perspectives of this process. Results and conclusion: A total number of 111 responses were received from 11 universities across the country. This representative sample consisted of both undergraduate and post graduate teachers and with varied number of teaching experience. Remote learning is still a new experience and teachers all over are findings ways to make online learning work. The rapid adjustment has been challenging to quickly migrate all of its in-person courses virtually. The use of educational software programs has increased; however, teachers need to be trained in their effective use. It seems that educational technology mastery is an important neglected competency in faculties. There have been changes and new introductions of e-learning tools. However, it is not paralleled by the education of medical educators regarding digital literacy and e-learning tools. As e-learning continues to be widely integrated in the training of future practitioners, well- designed scientific studies are required to know which technological tools work the best and thus to support evidence based education.

Students’ Perception towards Learning Platforms – A Comparative Analysis of Online and Offline Learning

The purpose of this study is to find out college students perception towards the learning platforms and their priorities with regard to online learning as well as offline learning. Rapid developments in education technology have provided many new options of learning to students and thus made this research important to determine their preferences for the same. Moreover due to covid-19, the students have fresh experience of online learning which would make the comparison more relevant. The study makes comparison of online education and traditional way of education from the point of view of Post - Graduate students from M.COM, MBA, MA (economics), M.SC, and M.TECH respectively. To know their perception and preference, online questionnaire was constructed via Google form and data was collected from 100 respondents. 10 variables based on 5 point likert scale have been used to analyze the perception. These variables include Convenience, Flexibility, Teacher – student interaction, accessibility in terms of time and cost, Freedom in learning, Doubt clarity, Learning experience, Content analysis, Adaptability and performance evaluation. This preliminary analysis of students' perception will determine whether there are statistically significant differences between online learning and offline learning, and preference for online learning technology between gender groups and between post graduate students from different educational qualifications and family income, along with investigating the reasons for their preference.

U.S. Children "Learning Online" during COVID-19 without the Internet or a Computer: Visualizing the Gradient by Race/Ethnicity and Parental Educational Attainment.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions to education in the United States, with a large proportion of schooling moving to online formats, which has the potential to exacerbate existing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in learning. The authors visualize access to online learning technologies using data from the Household Pulse Survey from the early fall 2020 school period (August 19 to October 26). The authors find that 10.1 percent of children participating in online learning nationally did not have adequate access to the Internet and a computer. Rates of inadequate access varied nearly 20-fold across the gradient of parental race/ethnicity and education, from 1.9 percent for children of Asian parents with graduate degrees to 35.5 percent among children of Black parents with less than a high school education. These findings indicate alarming gaps in potential learning among U.S. children. Renewed investments in equitable access to distance-learning resources will be necessary to prevent widening racial/ethnic and class learning disparities.

Prospects of using innovations in post-pandemic higher education

The prerequisites of this study were the practices of using innovative educational methods and technologies in higher education during the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their potential prospects for using already in the post-pandemic period. The purpose of the study was to assess the prospects and give innovative forecasts used in the framework of distance learning in post-pandemic higher education. To achieve this goal, such methods were used: analysis, inductive-deductive method, comparison method, as well as experimental and forecasting methods. The main result of the study is the conclusion that the prospects for using innovations of the pandemic period in post-pandemic higher education take place mainly in organizing the educational process in a hybrid (or a mixed) format, which involves the simultaneous use of traditional and innovative teaching methods and technologies. At the same time, among the innovative educational technologies that emerged during the pandemic and promising in the post-pandemic period, the following aspects were identified: remote lectures; remote seminars using online whiteboards, online video conferences, virtual and augmented reality technologies; interactive online learning technologies; remote technologies for organizing the educational process. Traditional educational technologies, in turn, included the following: personal consultations with a teacher; personal communication with a supervisor on student research papers; interactive practical classes, as well as a number of other technologies that are built on direct communication between students within a group or on communication between students and a teacher.

Exploring Architecture Students' Acceptance of Online Learning of Technology Courses Through TAM during COVID-19

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, online learning has become the only method of higher education learning worldwide. Online learning is efficiently performed when there is a perception of the end-user acceptance process. The part played by online learning in higher education globally has been examined in several research studies; however, the literature did not sufficiently consider the attitudes of architecture students toward technology-based courses (software teaching), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, this study focuses on accepting online learning of technology-based courses among architecture students at the University of Bahrain. This research's objective was to offer a group of factors, based on popular theories, that should be considered when planning online learning for technology-based architectural courses. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used to study the acceptance of online learning of technology courses among architecture students, suitable for achieving the research aims. A total of 121 students participated in the study. The results indicated that students' perceived ease of use and usefulness of online learning for technical courses leads to a higher attitude towards using, which leads to higher behavioural intention, significantly impacting online learning technology courses' actual usage. The outcomes will enhance the understanding of architecture students' acceptance of online learning during Covid -19 and help in its continuing implementation after Covid -19 pandemic.

An Evaluation of Online Proctoring Tools

COVID’19 is hastening the adoption of online learning and teaching worldwide, and across all levels of education. While many of the typical learning and teaching transactions such as lecturing and communicating are easily handled by contemporary online learning technologies, others, such as assessment of learning outcomes with closed book examinations are fraught with challenges. Among other issues to do with students and teachers, these challenges have to do with the ability of teachers and educational organizations to ensure academic integrity in the absence of a live proctor when an examination is being taken remotely and from a private location. A number of online proctoring tools are appearing on the market that portend to offer solutions to some of the major challenges. But for the moment, they too remain untried and tested on any large scale. This includes the cost of the service and their technical requirements. This paper reports on one of the first attempts to properly evaluate a selection of these tools and offer recommendations for educational institutions. This investigation, which was carried out at the University of the South Pacific, comprised a four-phased approach, starting with desk research that was followed with pilot testing by a group of experts as well as students. The elimination of a tool in every phase was based on the ‘survival of the fittest’ approach with each phase building upon the milestones and deliverables from the previous phase. This paper presents the results of this investigation and discusses its key findings.

Pemanfaatan Teknologi Media Pembelajaran di Masa Pandemi Covid-19

In everyday life we are used to dealing with technology, but it is different today. Since the covid-19 virus came to the world, especially the Indonesian state, Indonesian education has been carried out differently. During this pandemic, education was carried out by utilizing learning platforms that actually existed but were rarely used, but for now of course it is a new thing for some education circles because they are not familiar with technology in education. There are so many platforms that can be used for online learning that can be used by all educational institutions including children in elementary schools, namely there is a google classroom which is a form of e-learning that uses WebCT, YouTube, WAG, Edmodo, Zoom, Googlemeet and there are many other supporting applications. This study aims to determine the use of online learning technology during the Covid-19 pandemic using the Google classroom, YouTube, WAG, Edmodo, Zoom, and Googlemeet platforms. And the results of research using the interview method, literature and literature study show that technology has many roles and benefits in the world of education, especially when learning in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. By conducting interviews with teachers and students, it can be concluded that the learning media technology that is mostly used by elementary schools is WAG and also google classroom.Keywords: covid-19, platform google classroom, online learning, WAG.

University Students’ Self-efficacy in Online Learning due to COVID-19

The pandemic COVID 19 shocked the world; it changes everybody's life, especially in education and online learning becomes a new culture. Hence, this study will identify the correlation between learners' motivation, computer anxiety, and social support with self-efficacy on online learning technology due to COVID 19 pandemic. Besides, to determine if there are any gender and age differences in their perception of online learning technology. 166 students in a university were using online learning for the first time participated in this study. The correlation analysis and chi-square are used to answer the objective of the study. The result indicated that online learning technology experience, learners' attitudes, learners' motivation, computer anxiety, and social support correlate with self-efficacy on online learning technology. Furthermore, the finding revealed that male and female respondents and different ages have similar opinions on the factors that contribute to online learning technology.

Context-and-Social-Aware Online Beam Selection for mmWave Vehicular Communications

Millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands are expected to be an important choice for future vehicular communication to support Gbps links for reliable data transfer in high-rate applications. The recent online learning technologies addressed the problem of fast beam tracking by exploiting user location information and mining received data in mmWave vehicular systems to adapt to the vehicle's environmental situation. However, the fairness and efficiency over mmWave beams are difficult to maintain on the move, especially for high-density traffic, since the number of available beams is quite limited by hardware and cost for current antenna arrays. Fortunately, the social structure of preferences between the neighboring smart cars and their passengers can be leveraged to improve the beam coverage efficiency by performing the broadcast transmission via a single beam. In this article, we propose a double-layer online learning algorithm, namely, context- and social-aware machine learning (CSML), that is based on the context and social preference information of vehicles and passengers, to realize fast beam access with broadcast coverage in mmWave communication systems. Based on the multiarmed bandit model, CSML embodies the selection of appropriate beams in the first layer and steers the broadcast angle along these beams in the second layer by aggregating the received data. Furthermore, CSML needs to adjust the timing of exploration and exploitation based on the social information, i.e., the probability of vehicles meeting with each other that have the same preference. Finally, we perform an extensive evaluation using realistic traffic patterns and show that CSML increases the efficiency of mmWave base stations by using social data and can achieve near-optimal system performance.

Expertise and resources for interpreter training online

Abstract The development of online interactive resources for interpreter training has been at the centre of the agenda in terms of pedagogical assistance and cooperation both for the European Institutions and for their partner universities. Modern videoconferencing systems and online learning technologies provide an excellent alternative to face-to-face classes, offering solutions to the problem of trainers’ availability and engaging learners in synchronous and asynchronous task-oriented activities. In this context, the European Parliament-funded ERITON project was launched in 2014 with the aim of facilitating the dissemination of best practices and enhancing collaboration between EU and non-EU partner universities in the field of conference interpreter training. Forming the strategic core of this project was the use of innovative training methodologies, such as virtual classes and virtual mock-conferences. This paper presents the pedagogical framework of the VCs and discusses the results of an online survey conducted from 2015 to 2017 among students who actively participated in the virtual classes held within the ERITON project. The aim of the survey was to obtain anonymous feedback on the technical set-up of the VCs and on the helpfulness of this format in terms of skill acquisition and progress. The results show that the new medium was well-received and appreciated by respondents, especially since it gave them the possibility to interact in ways and with people that would otherwise be impossible.

Perceptions and experiences of students on the use of interactive online learning technologies in Mauritius

<p>With the advent of e-learning, advocates use the term interactivity instead of interaction among students, and between the teacher and the students. Many universities use Moodle for online teaching and learning. This paper explores the perceptions and experiences of students in three Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Mauritius. A mixed-methods approach was used, with an online survey questionnaire administered to 600 students and focus group discussions were conducted with 15 students from these institutions. It was found that 68.4% of respondents used WhatsApp compared to only 23.6% of them who used the e-learning platform, Moodle. There were no associations between the use or frequency of using WhatsApp or Facebook and the types of HEI to which the students belonged. Students preferred WhatsApp due to its facility for knowledge sharing and construction, its interactivity, its usability, respect for privacy and instant communication. From the findings, it is recommended that HEIs bring a shift in their approaches to teaching and learning from cognitivism to socio-constructivism, connectivism and heutagogy.</p>

Education Of Life Proficiency In History Learning

<p>The twenty-first century continues to experience a breakdown in the foundations of society which causes new and worrisome things. The emergence of a pandemic in this century has a consequence that has caused various problems, especially in the field of education. The development of community needs for education services, especially at the senior high school level (SMA) is not following the improvement of the quality of human resources with life skills. This happens because educational services have not been able to carry out face-to-face learning completely. The implementation of distance learning (PJJ), the use of online learning technology, re-orientation of the curriculum, and improving the skills of educators are policies that are taken to overcome these problems. This study uses a literature review method that aims to critically examine ideas, findings, and knowledge of life skills education to analyze and solve educational problems during the Pademi era, especially in history learning.</p>

Digital technologies as a means of improving the quality of additional professional education during and after the pandemic

The COVID-19 coronavirus Pandemic has affected existing education systems around the world. In connection with the transition to distance education, it is important to assess the main opportunities, prospects and problems. Describes the current trend in creating a digital educational environment. The introduction of the latest information technologies helps to manage a number of disadvantages of the traditional way of learning. Disadvantages and difficulties in online learning and information (distance) educational technologies are also considered, as well as their positive aspects. The main task is to identify this form of education as a means of obtaining quality education in the field of additional professional education, to assist in solving the problems of teachers of secondary vocational education that arise in the process of transition to training using information (distance) educational technologies. The current directions and topics of advanced training courses are offered, implemented using the Moodle e-learning system, used on the basis of the Educational and instructional center for railway transportation. Also represented are organizations that cooperate with the Federal state educational institution Educational and instructional center for railway transportation in the process of preparing new training programs and electronic educational content. New programs are being developed and new directions for further professional education are being considered.

Challenges and benefits of integrating online learning in higher education in a pandemicof COVID-19

Objective — to assess peculiarities of distant learning integration in higher educational institutions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methods. More than 50 literature sources were included to the study. 20 of them were chosen for detailed investigation. Data of use of online educational methods in departments of phthisiology and pulmonology of Kharkiv National Medical University and Bukovinian State Medical University were used.Results and discussion. To provide the asynchronous part of distance learning, the Department of Phthisiology and Pulmonology of Kharkiv National Medical University created distance courses on the Moodle platform. The courses were built in accordance with the topic plans of the department. Study materials on the topic were presented in various formats: files, web pages, videos, links to Internet resources, etc., test tasks were developed for each topic. In addition, lecture presentations with text accompaniment were added to online resources.At the Department of Phthisiology and Pulmonology of Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU), training sessions have been started online in accordance with the orders of the BSMU: «On the introduction of quarantine at the University» No. 129-Adm. of 03/12/2020 and «On the approval of instructions for teachers for conducting training sessions online using the videoconferencing service» No. 130-Adm. from 12.03.2020. Final modular controls and state exams were provided in online distance learning. Chernivtsi region was in the red zone of quarantine measures until September 21. Thus, the educational process at the BSMU was carried out exclusively in a distance form using the videoconference service. The Google Hangouts Meet service — https://meet.google.com — was selected for online training sessions. To schedule online training sessions using the Google Hangouts Meet video conferencing service, the Google Calendar service — https://calendar.google.com — was used.Conclusions. Despite a number of problems in the implementation of online learning technologies, such as insufficient technical provision, imperfect knowledge of the methodology of modern digital skills by participants in the educational process, the need for a quick change in approaches to continuous teaching in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a powerful impetus in the development and implementation of information-communication technologies in education, which in the future may have positive consequences for improving the quality of education, increasing student motivation and their satisfaction with the educational process.

DeepLMS: a deep learning predictive model for supporting online learning in the Covid-19 era

Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has imposed a complete shut-down of face-to-face teaching to universities and schools, forcing a crash course for online learning plans and technology for students and faculty. In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, video conferencing platforms (e.g., Zoom, WebEx, MS Teams) and learning management systems (LMSs), like Moodle, Blackboard and Google Classroom, are being adopted and heavily used as online learning environments (OLEs). However, as such media solely provide the platform for e-interaction, effective methods that can be used to predict the learner’s behavior in the OLEs, which should be available as supportive tools to educators and metacognitive triggers to learners. Here we show, for the first time, that Deep Learning techniques can be used to handle LMS users’ interaction data and form a novel predictive model, namely DeepLMS, that can forecast the quality of interaction (QoI) with LMS. Using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, DeepLMS results in average testing Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) <0.009, and average correlation coefficient between ground truth and predicted QoI values rge 0.97(p<0.05), when tested on QoI data from one database pre- and two ones during-Covid-19 pandemic. DeepLMS personalized QoI forecasting scaffolds user’s online learning engagement and provides educators with an evaluation path, additionally to the content-related assessment, enriching the overall view on the learners’ motivation and participation in the learning process.