Teaching Platform Research Articles

Virtual Gathering Platforms in Academic Teaching: Potential and Applications

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid shift towards online learning where educators and students had to quickly adapt to new digital formats. However, the core aspects of community building and social interaction that are essential to traditional classrooms became challenging to maintain. To address this issue, we were interested in testing Virtual Gathering Platforms (VGPs) Topia and WorkAdventure to see how effectively they could be adapted to various academic teaching and learning settings. These examples of Extended Realities (XR), adopted from the 2D metaverse, aim to improve communication and interactivity in a fun and engaging way, allowing users to create immersive worlds for socialising, and collaborating. Using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), Technological Self-Efficacy (TSE) and distributed scaffolding frameworks as a guide, we created adaptable templates of both platforms that not only introduced users to how they work, but also included features flexible enough to suit various academic disciplines and promote social engagement and collaborative learning. We then implemented a case study and invited university educators teaching international courses to adapt the templates and assess them within their own learning settings. In addition, it was important for us to use the on-boarding sessions as a focal point. Here, we introduced the templates through multiple resources and offered one-to-one support to develop their use within chosen learning scenarios which ranged from an icebreaker activity to an online student resource centre. Observations then documented the adapted templates being used with students in these settings, and feedback regarding user perceptions of the platforms and the support strategies used was gathered. The study reveals the complex interplay between user experiences, support strategies, and educational frameworks, emphasising the need for adaptable and collaborative approaches to optimise these platforms in higher education.

Evaluating the Impact of AI-Personalized Learning Systems in Higher Education; Examining how They Affect Academic Performance across Different Age Groups at Kumasi Technical University

Revolutionizing education by introducing innovative methods to enhance student experiences has birthed Artificial Intelligence (AI). This article provided an in-depth overview of AI's educative and transformative influence, particularly concentrating on learning outcomes for students of all ages at Kumasi Technical University. AI amalgamation in education has enabled modified learning experiences tailored towards each learner's unique needs. The purpose of this study sought to investigate the effects of AI-personalized learning systems on academic performance across different age groups in higher education institution. The researcher employed a quantitative research design, using a face-content verified structured questionnaire to collect data from respondents, with expert consultation. Forty-five students from Kumasi Technical University's engineering and procurement departments were selected using the convenience sampling technique. The findings provided valuable insights into the use of AI-driven personalized learning platforms in higher education. The data revealed higher adoption rates among undergraduates compared to postgraduates, and a greater likelihood of use among men than women, highlighting gender disparities and potential areas for targeted support. The predominant use of AI tools by younger students demonstrated their comfort with emerging technology, while the low participation of older students suggested potential adoption barriers. Statistical analyses (Pearson correlation; (r (43) = 0.166, p = 0.265) and linear regression; (R^2 of 0.03), (F (1, 45) = 1.25, p = 0.265) indicated that age did not significantly correlate with academic success in the context of AI use, despite extensive integration of AI learning systems in academic courses. Contrary to expectations that younger students' engagement with AI tailored learning systems would positively impact their academic performance compared to those over thirty, no significant correlation between age and academic achievement was found. These findings underscore the need for further research into other factors that may influence the effectiveness of AI learning systems.

Personalized Video-Based Educational Platform to Improve Stroke Knowledge: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Stroke knowledge is critical to treatment adherence and poststroke outcomes. Here, we aimed to quantify the impact of a personalized video-based educational platform to test the hypothesis that it improves patient satisfaction and stroke knowledge. In a single-center pilot randomized trial, all patients with stroke and caregivers received standard stroke education during the hospitalization, but half were randomized to receive access to MyStroke, a personalized educational platform that provided brief videos about their stroke, risk factors, medications, and poststroke lifestyle. Satisfaction, stroke knowledge, and quality of life were assessed 7, 30, and 90 days after discharge. A total of 120 subjects (96 patients and 24 caregivers) were randomized to standard education (n=59) or MyStroke. At 90 days post-stroke, those who received MyStroke were more likely to be satisfied with the stroke education the received (90% versus 73%, P=0.05) and more likely to correctly identify their stroke cause (67% versus 32%, P=0.003). However, MyStroke was not associated with a difference in self-reported quality of life (EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale: 80 versus 75, P=0.06) or general stroke knowledge (total Stroke Patient Education Retention: 5 versus 5, P=0.47). With respect to secondary end points, MyStroke increased risk factor awareness 7 and 30 days poststroke, but this difference was not significant at 90 days. The MyStroke personalized video-based education platform improved patient and caregiver satisfaction while improving some aspects of personalized stroke knowledge without improving general stroke knowledge. A multicenter trial is needed to confirm these results, clarify generalizability, and target clinically relevant metrics such as stroke recurrence or adherence. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT05118503.

Beyond #MeToo in Iran: change through informal feminist educational leadership

ABSTRACT Women’s bodies in Iran have historically been used as a medium to operationalise social control and power. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, this social control has tightened, manifesting within a misogynistic regime and patriarchal society where lack of legal protection and the culture of shame and silence suppress conversations on sexual harassment, with lack of sexuality education exacerbating the situation. In this context, those involved in the #MeToo movement stepped into an educational vacuum, providing crucial informal leadership around sexuality education, adding to, and building up to, other movements for women in Iran. In this paper, we discuss how informal leaders have used social media platforms such as Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to help raise awareness of sexual harassment in Iran, help women find solidarity rather than shame, and create an educational platform for sexuality education. #MeToo was an important stepping stone for #feminism that is continuing to date.

Data Privacy in Social Media: Awareness and Comfortability of Mathematical Computing Course Session I 2023/2024 Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Polytechnic’s Students

The increasing integration of social media into daily lives of individuals has raised significant concerns about data privacy. As users actively engage with various platforms, the extent to which they are aware of the privacy implications and their comfort levels with the use of personal data become vital issues. This study aimed to identify social media platforms that are often used by students, their level of awareness towards social media data privacy policy and their comfortability towards data privacy by social media companies. The respondents in this study comprises of 106 male and female students. The data are analyzed descriptively by mean, frequency and percentage. The level of awareness towards social media data privacy policy is high with average mean score 3.94, WhatsApp is the often-surfed social media platform by score of 89.62% and most students were highly comfortable with how educational social media platform used their data with mean 3.85. This study proposes the necessity of a diverse approach involving education, user empowerment, and technological advancements to enhance data privacy awareness and comfort levels among students in the realm of social media and prepare to a more secure and responsible online environment for the next generation users

Expanding the Plasmonic Color Palette: Enhancing Nanotechnology Education through a User-Friendly Teaching Platform

Expanding the Plasmonic Color Palette: Enhancing Nanotechnology Education through a User-Friendly Teaching Platform

Exploring the impact of the metaverse on English language teaching: Perspectives of students from the University of Boyacá

This study investigates the impact of the metaverse on English language teaching, focusing on the perspectives of students from the University of Boyacá. The use of the metaverse was compared with the Moodle platform in a virtual educational environment. A mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. The sample consisted of 30 university students enrolled in English courses, randomly assigned to two groups: one using the metaverse and the other using Moodle. Students’ grades on different activities and assessments throughout the course were collected, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore students’ perceptions of the educational platforms. Results revealed that while students recognize the potential of the metaverse to enhance interactivity and learning experience, they also identified technical and accessibility challenges. Although no significant differences in grades were found between the groups, less variability in grades was observed in the metaverse group. The mixed design allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of the metaverse on English language teaching, while providing a variety of student perspectives on their experience with educational technology. This research contributes to understanding the role of the metaverse in English language teaching and highlights key areas for future research and developments in the field of virtual education.

Sanggar Seni Matoh Mime as A Non-Formal Education Forum: Increasing Creativity and Developing Community Potential

This study addresses the challenges educational institutions face in fostering students' interest and skills, particularly in the field of pantomime. A major hurdle is the lack of structured extracurricular activities dedicated to this performance art. This research examines the innovative training techniques employed by Sanggar Seni Matoh Mime as a model of non-formal education aimed at enhancing creativity and developing community potential. The study's objective is to analyze the role of Sanggar Seni Matoh Mime as a non-formal educational platform, focusing on how its pantomime programs contribute to creativity and community development. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach, the findings demonstrate that Sanggar Seni Matoh Mime effectively enhances children's creativity and achievements in pantomime. Since 2019, the Sanggar has provided free pantomime training at Bojonegoro Regency's square, with 32 participants, including one kindergarten student, 28 elementary school students, and three junior high school students. Notably, eight participants won at the Bojonegoro Regency level of the National Student Art Competition Festival. These results highlight the significant contribution of Sanggar Seni Matoh Mime to fostering creativity and artistic potential in the community through non-formal education. In conclusion, this research provides new insights into non-formal education methods and their impact, while encouraging further investigation into the broader effects of non-formal education on community development.

Description and Utilization of an Educational Platform for Clean Production in Mechanical Engineering

This study introduces a novel educational mentoring platform that emphasises clean manufacturing techniques and is intended to support engineering education and mentorship. The mentoring platform provides practical, project-based learning opportunities in an educational environment. The platform's foundation lies in a mentoring approach through conducting sessions and defined projects. This paper will outline the primary components of a new educational mentoring platform and highlight some of its most important use cases. The mentoring platform enables the creation of programs like the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Program, which is showcased in this paper, equipping students with the knowledge to enhance sustainability in mechanical engineering and foster cleaner production startups. The paper briefly overviews the Novel Educational Methodology (NEM) integrated into an e-learning platform for personalized and adaptive learning materials and courses. The combined use of e-learning and mentoring platforms represents a comprehensive educational system, enhancing developmental outcomes while promoting and achieving clean production practices. Both platforms, e-learning and mentoring, are highly adaptable, facilitating the creation of diverse online course materials and mentoring programs across various scientific disciplines.

Reconfigurable and versatile augmented reality optical setup for tangible experimentations

HOBIT, which stands for "Hybrid Optical Bench for Innovative Teaching and learning" is an educational platform that leverages the combination of numerical simulation and physical manipulation to facilitate learning of complex phenomena and motivate users about wave optics in practical work. HOBIT operates in real time and is self-adaptive, providing realistic displays of optical phenomena with virtual augmentations designed to facilitate their understanding. HOBIT makes it quick and easy to build any reconfigurable optical experiment. Students can manipulate optical components and observe the changes induced on detectors and displays. We detail the technology, the simulation model and the initial teaching aids. Current and future enhancements should meet the needs of students at different levels, from high school to higher education degrees.

The Reach and Community Perspective of BT Radio Programs as Supplemental Teaching and Learning Platforms

The Reach and Community Perspective of BT Radio Programs as Supplemental Teaching and Learning Platforms

LEAN SIX SIGMA APPROACH FOR SIMULTANEOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OF COURSES IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The purpose of this study is to assess whether Lean Six Sigma can improve the quality of teaching-learning processes in higher educational institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The integration of e-learning technologies with lean six sigma (LSS). DMAIC stands for five phases of sig sigma project: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control was applied to implement quality assurance in the teaching-learning process. Action research was adopted in 30 courses of a particular engineering programme. The methodology was applied as a course improvement tool, and the challenges encountered during the implementation were also studied. The LSS DMAIC methodology could successfully improve the quality of various courses simultaneously through online mode during the Covid-19 pandemic. The adopted methodology could assist in effectively responding during the present stage of uncertainty and provide stakeholders with guidelines to deal with the post-pandemic era. In terms of practical implications, this study discusses a new approach to improving the quality of the teaching-learning process in higher educational institutions. The LSS DMAIC is applied with the help of online educational and social media platforms for the simultaneous improvement of courses in a particular engineering programme.

The Application of Multi-View Collaborative Filtering Model for Education Platform

The Application of Multi-View Collaborative Filtering Model for Education Platform

Implementing the CLT Approach in Online Instruction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities and Challenges Encountered by Thai EFL University Lecturers

As a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak, Thai EFL teachers have been assigned to change their teaching platform from traditional face-to-face to online classes during lockdown periods. In light of this change, the study attempts to explore the teachers’ views and their implementation of the CLT approach in online education in consideration of the fact that the approach was claimed to be the preferred approach in classroom-based instruction. Accordingly, three research instruments; namely, questionnaire, individual interview, and focus group discussion were applied to elicit information and access the teachers’ viewpoints and their in-depth online teaching experiences. Thai EFL teachers perceived that communicative-based online teaching increased classroom interaction, encouraged student engagement, and promoted student’s self-directed learning. However, a number of challenges, including the lack of student attention and discipline, large class size, and technology difficulties, were revealed as the perceived barriers to implementing the CLT approach in the Thai EFL online classroom context. Overall, this study is assumed to shed light on Thai EFL teacher’s communicative-oriented online teaching practices and contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field of online English language teaching in Thai higher education.

COVID-19 Educational Side Effects: Pre-service EFL Teachers' Use of Digital Education Tools

Recent research has revealed the complexities of incorporating technology tools into lessons, despite the creation of several platforms and applications for education (Wen & Hua, 2020). The radical shift from traditional to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic compelled teachers and students to develop technical skills to adapt to this new reality. This study explores the impact of this phenomenon on the perspectives of Pre-Service (PS) English language teachers (students in a teacher-training program), regarding the use of technology to support their own English language learning (ELL) process. To achieve this, an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach was employed. A questionnaire consisting of seven Likert scale statements and six open-ended questions was administered to 32 PS teachers from the English Language B.A program at a major public university in Southeast Mexico. Subsequently, eight participants were interviewed. The results indicated that despite most participants having prior knowledge of technological tools and educational platforms before the pandemic, they did not utilize them to support their ELL. However, the findings also revealed a positive response from participants towards continuing to use digital platforms due to perceived benefits experienced during Emergency Remote Teaching. These findings provide additional evidence concerning English learning and teaching and how classes can be more effective and significant using platforms and applications if classrooms are well equipped.

Leveraging TikTok as an educational platform: Insights from Ministries of the Republic of Indonesia

TikTok has become an increasingly popular medium for education, with even governmental institutions utilizing this platform to disseminate educational content. This includes the Republic of Indonesia ministries, with eight ministries having already established TikTok accounts for educational purposes. This study aims to describe how ministries of the Republic of Indonesia are utilizing TikTok for educational purposes, specifically examining the content of messages, language use, video format, and interactions. The research method used is descriptive, by observing the social media content of ministries in the year 2022. The results show there are three types of educational content delivered by these ministries: knowledge and skill enhancement videos, program and event education videos, and minister's activities highlight videos. The messages are conveyed in a colloquial language that can be understood by the younger generation. The videos are in a vertical format, with some being serious, and presenting educational content, while others follow current trends. The administrator strives to interact with the audience by responding to messages in the comments section.

Design of microcomputer principle virtual experiment teaching platform and study on teaching mode

In view of the characteristics of "Microcomputer Principle and Interface Technology" experiment course, such as complex abstraction, easy damage of experimental instruments and poor reuse, this paper proposes to use virtual simulation technology to digitize the microcomputer principle experiment circuit and experiment process, so that students can complete the relevant experiment content on the virtual experiment platform. The virtual experiment platform provides students with an efficient, flexible, open and free experiment environment, enhances students' interest in experiment, improves experiment efficiency and experiment quality, and is of great help to improving students' independent innovation practice ability.

AI’s Role in Enhancing Cross Cultural Competence and Leadership through Online Education Programs

Cross-cultural competence (CCC) is essential for any future leader. The paper analyzes and discusses the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to narrow the divide existing in online degree programs, a pivotal element in fostering leadership excellence and capabilities while ensuring universal access to technology. The study's methodology primarily involves an in-depth literature review of existing research and theories on AI, online education, and cross-cultural competence. It discusses the strengths and weaknesses of current online educational platforms and recommends introducing AI precision education to bridge the shortcomings of different platforms. The paper reveals some critical insights: CCC is essential for students and future leaders to function in a globalized, increasingly interconnected world; however, there has been a gap between students' assumed CCC and their actual CCC. The paper identifies shortcomings in their CCC curriculum and suggests improvement methods by analyzing the world's top ten STEM universities. The paper finds that AI's ability to accommodate cultural and cognitive differences promotes an inclusive educational environment and addresses broader digital access and equity issues. It concludes with a strong argument for integrating AI in online cross-cultural education to prepare future leaders with the skills necessary to thrive in a globalized, increasingly interconnected world.

Exploring Digital Learning Opportunities and Challenges in Higher Education Institutes: Stakeholder Analysis on the Use of Social Media for Effective Sustainability of Learning–Teaching–Assessment in a University Setting in Qatar

The use of social media (SM) platforms in higher education has seen significant growth since the global pandemic disrupted traditional learning methods and forced stakeholders to explore alternatives. This trend is expected to continue with the rise of newer digital learning platforms, tools, programs and pedagogies, particularly within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the evolution towards Education 4.0 and Education 5.0. Despite a significant level of research into SM’s role in informal learning, there has been limited exploration of its integration into pedagogical practices, particularly regarding assessment challenges and innovations in university settings. Additionally, there is scarce research on mobile applications in academics, hindering the effective integration of SM platforms into curricula. This study addresses these gaps by examining stakeholder perceptions of using SM for educational purposes in a university setting in Qatar. Following a comprehensive and comparative literature review and analysis, a thematic analysis of interviews with 20 stakeholders revealed that SM platforms go beyond communication, serving as tools to enhance professional identity, reputation, research profiles, knowledge dissemination, and social practices, but they lack methodologies to integrate effective learning, either independently or in formal learning/teaching/assessment settings. This study proposes a framework to optimize the use of SM platforms, with a particular focus on sustainability, for lifelong learning and knowledge-based societies leading to more sustainable and prosperous economies. The findings encourage the reconsideration of digital assessment and the expansion pedagogical practices in alignment with modern social learning through an expansive array of SM tools and platforms.

International summer schools as a platform of inclusive education for doctoral students

International summer schools as a platform of inclusive education for doctoral students