Virtual Course Research Articles

The Acceptance of Learning Management Systems and Video Conferencing Technologies: Lessons Learned from COVID-19

During the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, higher education institutions (HEIs) have shifted from traditional and blended learning approaches to a fully virtual course delivery. This research investigates the students’ perceptions on remote learning through asynchronous learning management systems (LMS) and via synchronous video conferencing technologies like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Zoom, among others. The data was gathered from a sample of 501 higher education students in a Southern European context. A survey questionnaire included measures that investigated the participants’ acceptance of interactive technology to better understand their utilitarian motivations to use them. The findings suggest that the research participants accessed asynchronous content and interacted with online users, including with their course instructor, in real time. While there are a number of theoretical or opinion papers on the impact of COVID-19 on higher education services, currently, there are still a few empirical papers that shed light on the factors that are having an effect on the students’ attitudes and intentions to utilize remote learning technologies. This contribution underlines the importance of maintaining ongoing, interactive engagement with students, and of providing them with appropriate facilitating conditions, to continue improving their learning journey.

Responsive Web-based Breast Imaging Core Curriculum for International Radiology Residents with Self-Assessment: A Pilot Study

Lack of uniformity in radiology resident education is partially attributable to variable access to subspecialty education. Web-based courses improve standardization, but with growing emphasis on competency based education, more evaluation of their effectiveness is needed. We created a responsive web-based breast imaging curriculum for radiology residents including self-assessment and a satisfaction survey. Two global academic institutions collaboratively developed a breast imaging curriculum to address radiology residents' educational needs. This virtual course comprised 11 video lectures, nine didactic (with attached pre-test and post-test assessments) and two case review sessions. In April 2020, this optional curriculum was made available to all 56 radiology residents in one residency program cluster in Singapore, to be accessed alongside the breast imaging rotation as a supplement. A voluntary anonymous satisfaction survey was provided upon completion. A total of 39 of the 56 radiology residents (70%) completed the course. For the average score of nine lectures (maximum score 5), there was a significant increase in mean pre and post - test scores (mean=2.2, SD=0.7), p < 0.001. The proportion of residents with improvement between the pre-test score and the post-test score ranged from 74% to 100% (mean, 84%). Thirty three of the 39 participants (85%) completed the satisfaction survey, and all agreed or strongly agreed that the curriculum increased their knowledge of breast imaging. This web based breast imaging curriculum supplement was viewed positively by participating residents and improved their self-assessed knowledge. Curriculum access could be expanded to improve global radiology education.

A virtual course in perinatal mental health for healthcare professionals.

Screening and treatment of perinatal mental health problems remain inadequate with one of the barrier being non-availability of trained health professionals. Virtual courses have been an important medium to enhance the knowledge and capacity of health professionals. A virtual certificate course in perinatal mental health was developed to train health professionals to identify and treat perinatal mental health disorders. Of the 41 participants, 90.2 % fulfilled the attendance criterion and 75.6 % of them secured the certification. Encouraging feedback (9.54/10) indicated that virtual courses could help enhance competency in health professionals to identify and treat perinatal mental health disorders.

Determine the E-Learning Competencies Gap of Business Students in the North Central Polytechnic, Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the e-learning competencies gap of business students in the North Central Polytechnic, Nigeria. To direct the study, two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient measure of internal consistency was used to test the reliability value of the instrument. The results of the reliability test were 0.90, 0.91. The population of the study comprised 753 students of 2019/2020 HND business students in the North Central, Polytechnics. The study adopted complete enumeration method. A structured questionnaire was developed by the researcher and validated by three experts. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The t- test was used to test the two null hypotheses. The data analysis revealed that business students in North Central, Polytechnics have competencies gap in e-learning internet and e-learning computer competencies to. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the federal government should provide the institutions with internet facilities so as to strengthen the internet competencies needed for e-learning. It was also recommended that and the accreditation teams of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) should revise the syllabus of the Polytechnics to include virtual courses that will be internet-based through a well-established Learning Management System (LMS) tools such as Moodle and Blackboard . Keywords: E-learning, Internet, Computer, Competencies, Polytechnic DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-23-04 Publication date: August 31 st 2021

Estrategia de evaluación de la calidad de los cursos virtuales

In higher education there is a growth in the offer of virtual courses and with this arises the need to ensure the quality of these academic processes. This project aims to sensitize the university community in the culture of quality in virtual education. For this, different strategies for evaluating the quality of the courses were reviewed. A sample of courses was taken, information was collected from graduates, teachers, and students, and those responsible for the aforementioned instances were interviewed. Finally, an own instrument was designed and evaluated for the observation of the courses was designed and evaluated with the intention of providing an alternative for the evaluation of courses in the search for quality. Keywords: Virtual education; virtual courses; quality of virtual education; ICT.

Emergency Remote Online Course Experience From Students Perspective: A Case Study

The Coronavirus has changed the world in many ways, including education. The epidemic outbreak led to the conversion of courses in many schools and universities from traditional face-to-face classrooms to virtual courses. This situation is a major challenge in a country like Kenya, where IT facilities remain basic. Not all students have the advantage of technological conditions or a supportive family environment. This qualitative case study design is aimed to explore how students portrayed their participation in remote online courses. This study focuses on the experiences of six Standard Eight students in one of the elementary schools in Kisii, Kenya, with ages between 13-15 years old, to cope with multilevel challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. The data were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews with each participant after permissions were acquired from the students’ parents or guardians. The findings of the study show six emergent themes and sub-themes. The themes that emerged from the interviews are 1) Course descriptions; 2) learning experience; 3) Delivery methods; 4) Materials; 5) Interactions; 6) Challenges.

Knowledge in Images and Sounds: Informative, Narrative and Aesthetic Analysis of the Video for MOOC

The virtual courses developed by higher education institutions incorporate the video format as one of the most used resources in the delivery of their online training offer. Within the different types of audiovisual productions found in MOOCs, the introductory or presentation video of the courses has become an illustrative piece of the new edu-communicative context of distance education, when articulating, in the same work, informative, didactic, and advertising content. The objective of this research work is to study the triple communicative nature of this innovative format following a specific methodology of audiovisual textual analysis. For this, 420 videos of this type of promotional video, belonging to 105 universities and educational centres that have developed MOOC courses for the Miríadax platform, are analysed. After checking the results of the formal characteristics, content structures, discursive techniques, and audiovisual language components of the videos, it is concluded that they are mostly pieces linked to the staging style of the classroom, but that, by enriching the visual appearance of a master lesson with audiovisual resources, take advantage of the narrative, aesthetic, and creative potential of audiovisual and advertising communication to capture the attention of the student-spectator, inform about the characteristics of the courses, offer valuable educational content, and generate an image of the brand for the institution responsible for producing the course.

Outcomes of a Climate Change Workshop at the 2020 African Conference on Emergency Medicine.

A changing climate will have demonstrable effects on health and healthcare systems, with specific and disproportionate effects on communities in Africa. Emergency care systems and providers have an opportunity to be at the forefront of efforts to combat the worst health effects from climate change. The 2020 African Conference on Emergency Medicine, under the auspices of the African Federation for Emergency Medicine, convened its first ever workshop on the topic of climate change and human health. Structured as a full day virtual course, the didactic sections were available for both live and asynchronous learning with more than 100 participants enrolled in the course. The workshop introduced the topic of the health effects of climate as they relate to emergency care in Africa and provided a forum to discuss ideas regarding the way forward. Lectures and focused discussions addressed three broad themes related to: health impacts, health care delivery, and advocacy. To our knowledge, this is the first workshop for health professionals to cover topics specific to emergency care, climate change, and health in Africa. The results of this workshop will help to guide future efforts aimed at advancing emergency care approaches in Africa with regard to medical education, research, and policy.African relevance•Climate-related extreme weather events are adversely affecting health and health care delivery in African countries.•African organisations, cities, and nations have taken positive steps to adapt and build climate resilience.•There are opportunities for emergency care professionals and scholars to continue to expand, and lead, climate and health education, research, and policy initiatives on the continent.

Sustained Use of Virtual Meeting Platforms for Classes in the Post-Coronavirus Era: The Mediating Effects of Technology Readiness and Social Presence

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions were forced to turn to online classes that are either recorded or taught live on virtual meeting platforms. Students could, therefore, attend classes from virtually any location using their mobile devices and Internet access. Despite the prolonged pandemic, little attention has been paid to whether offering courses on a virtual meeting platform is sustainable. This study, therefore, explores the antecedents of students’ intentions regarding the sustained use of virtual meeting platforms for academic courses. We investigated the relationship between technology readiness (TR) and perceived social presence (SP) within a virtual communication setting with course satisfaction and sustained use intention. Data were collected via a survey from 525 college students in South Korea who had attended classes using a virtual meeting platform. Serial mediation analysis revealed a pathway in which SP and course satisfaction in series fully mediate the positive relationship between technology readiness and sustainability. This study discusses the implications in relation to the sustainability of virtual technology-based courses as a replacement of live classroom-based courses from a user perspective. Further research is needed to understand users’ negative experiences of attending courses on virtual meeting platforms.

COVID-19 and the Digitalisation of Cardiovascular Training and Education-A Review of Guiding Themes for Equitable and Effective Post-graduate Telelearning.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact leading to novel adaptations in post-graduate medical education for cardiovascular and general internal medicine. Whilst the results of initial community COVID-19 vaccination are awaited, continuation of multimodality teaching and training that incorporates telelearning will have enduring benefit to post-graduate education and will place educational establishments in good stead to nimbly respond in future pandemic-related public health emergencies. With the rise in innovative virtual learning solutions, medical educators will have to leverage technology to develop electronic educational materials and virtual courses that facilitate adult learning. Technology-enabled virtual learning is thus a timely progression of hybrid classroom initiatives that are already adopted to varying degrees, with a need for faculty to serve as subject matter experts, to host and moderate online discussions, and to provide feedback and overall mentorship. As an extension from existing efforts, simulation-based teaching (SBT) and learning and the use of mixed reality technology should also form a greater core in the cardiovascular medicine curriculum. We highlight five foundational themes for building a successful e-learning model in cardiovascular and general post-graduate medical training: (1) digital solutions and associated infrastructure; (2) equity in access; (3) participant engagement; (4) diversity and inclusion; and (5) patient confidentiality and governance framework. With digitalisation impacting our everyday lives and now how we teach and train in medicine, these five guiding principles provide a cognitive scaffold for careful consideration of the required ecosystem in which cardiovascular and general post-graduate medical education can effectively operate. With due consideration of various e-learning options and associated infrastructure needs; and adoption of strategies for participant engagement under sound and just governance, virtual training in medicine can be effective, inclusive and equitable through the COVID-19 era and beyond.

Abstract 40: Pathology Training for Cancer Diagnosis in Africa: Perspectives from Two Virtual Courses

Abstract Purpose: The burden of cancer continues to grow in Africa, yet there are too few trained pathologists to manage the rising number of cancer cases. The shortage of resources in African countries, as well as the travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitate innovative means of training and supporting pathologists across the continent. In response to requests for training in cancer pathology, two virtual training courses were organized: one conducted in English for participants in Nigeria and another conducted in French for participants across several countries in Francophone Africa. Each course had weekly 90-minute sessions covering essential topics in cancer pathology led by global experts. Methods: Two research questions were investigated for both courses: 1) did the participants improve their knowledge of the topics covered during the course? and 2) did the course participants appreciate the virtual training format? Results: The Nigeria course enrolled 85 participants from 26 Nigerian states, while the Francophone Africa course enrolled 425 participants from 18 African countries. On the post course survey, 95.8% of Nigeria course respondents and 96.1% of Francophone Africa respondents reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the course's virtual format. In the pre-post technical assessment, participants increased their scores on average by 3.4% (p&amp;gt;0.05) in the Nigeria course and by 13.1% (p&amp;lt;0.001) in the Francophone Africa course. Conclusion: Virtual training is a promising tool to improve cancer diagnosis in Africa, as the experience of the two courses illustrates participants appreciate the virtual format. However, continued training and mentorship are required to reinforce new skills and enable the participants to appropriately apply their new knowledge to their daily practice. Citation Format: Daniel Seymour, MPA, Katy Graef, PhD, Yawale Iliyasu, MD, Mohenou Isidore Jean-Marie Diomande, MD, Samuel Jaquet, MD, Melissa Kelly, PhD, Ryan Soles, Dan Milner, MD, MSc, MBA. Pathology Training for Cancer Diagnosis in Africa: Perspectives from Two Virtual Courses [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 9th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Global Cancer Research and Control: Looking Back and Charting a Path Forward; 2021 Mar 10-11. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2021;30(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 40.

Teachers' Perception of Pedagogical Support Strategies in the Context of the Health Emergency in Educational Institutions of Lima

The present research had as a main objective to determine the teachers’ perception about the predominant dimension on the strategies of distance pedagogical accompaniment in the context of the health emergency in educational institutions of the Ugel 05 SJL. The research´s approach is quantitative and descriptive non-experimental design. The population was comprised of 245 teachers belonging to II.EE of jurisdiction UGEL 05 of the district of San Juan de Lurigancho, both at the primary and secondary levels, from which a sample of 100 teachers was obtained through a non-probabilistic and intentional sampling. The study´s results determined that the teachers' perception of pedagogical support strategies in the context of the health emergency in SJL educational institutions is regular and the predominant dimension is Pedagogical Counseling, which is perceived by teachers as Regular with 78%. Similarly, the predominant indicators of the dimensions Pedagogical Counseling, Inter-learning Groups, Collegiate Group Meeting, and Virtual Courses and Tutorials are Reflection of Pedagogical Practice, Dialogue at the opening, Record of reflections and Teacher training workshops, respectively.

A proposed model for a comprehensive virtual subinternship in vascular surgery

ObjectiveIn the present study, we sought to understand the challenges, advantages, and applications of a vascular surgery virtual subinternship (VSI) curriculum. MethodsOur institution hosted 25 students for two 4-week VSI rotations, one in July 2020 and one in August 2020. The students participated in a curriculum centered around the use of Zoom and telephone interactions with residents and faculty. The curriculum included selected readings, surgical videos, group didactics, and one-on-one mentorship. Anonymous pre- and postrotation self-assessments were used to ascertain the students' achievement of the learning objectives and the utility of the educational tools implemented during the rotation. The faculty and resident mentors were also surveyed to assess their experience. ResultsWith the exception of knot-tying techniques (P = .67), the students reported significant improvement in their understanding of vascular surgery concepts after the virtual elective (P < .05). The highest ranked components of the course were interpersonal, including interaction with faculty, mentorship, and learning the program culture. The lowest ranked components of the course were simulation training and research opportunities. The rating of the utility of aspects of the course were consistent with the ranking of the components, with faculty interaction receiving the highest average rating. The ideal amount of time for daily virtual interaction reported by the students ranged from 3 to 6 hours (median, 4 hours). Overall, most of the mentors were satisfied with the virtual course. However, they reported limited ability to assess the students' personality and fit for the program. The time spent per week by the mentors on the virtual vascular surgery rotation ranged from 2 to 7 hours (median, 4 hours). Of the 17 mentors completing the surveys, 14 reported that having a virtual student was a significant addition to their existing workload. ConclusionsOverall, our student and mentor feedback was positive. Several challenges inherent to the virtual environment still require refinement. However, the goals of a VSI are distinct and should be explored by training programs. With changes to healthcare in the United States on the horizon and the constraints resulting from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic, implementing a virtual away rotation could be an acceptable platform in our adaptations of our recruitment strategies.

THE EFFECT OF EXPERIENTIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH VIRTUAL LEARNING ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SUCCESS

The purpose of this study is to better understand the effect of undergraduate engineering student engagement with an experiential learning opportunity on academic success in a virtual format. Students in a second year Civil Engineering Materials course that was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic were given the option to shift a portion of the final exam weight onto an experiential project. The project consisted of the construction and loading of a small bridge, introducing an experiential component to the virtual course. As a reflective question onthe final exam, students were asked to record a brief video testimony related to their motivations and any perceived benefits for participating or not participating in theproject. Of the students who participated in the bridge project, 58% were characterized as having thorough or above average knowledge and understanding of the graduate attribute indicators, relative to 33% of students who did not participate. Engagement with the bridge project through experiential learning therefore aligned with strengthened understanding of the graduate attributes, within the restrictions of the remote environment. In planning for future online courses, this study shows a method of engaging students with an experiential activity virtually, its positive effect on academic achievement, and other associated benefits.

Advancing interprofessional education in communication.

The objective of this training project is to develop and host Interprofessional Communication courses to improve interdisciplinary communication in oncology care. The initial national course was held in a virtual format and included pre- and post-course participant data. The curriculum was developed with support from the National Cancer Institute. A virtual two-day course was held to equip nurses, social workers, and chaplains with vital communication skills in oncology practice, so that they could return to their home institutions and teach communication skills to other healthcare professionals, with the intention of making improved communication a quality improvement goal. Fifty-two participants were selected through an application process to attend the virtual course in two-person interprofessional teams (e.g., nurse and chaplain, or social worker and nurse). The Interprofessional Communication Curriculum was based on the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care's eight domains of quality palliative care. The six online modules developed by the investigators were presented in lectures, supplemented by discussion groups, role plays, and other methods of experiential learning. Pre- and post-course results identified areas of communication, which are a priority for improvement by oncology clinicians. Participant goals identified specific strategies to be implemented by participants in their settings. The need for communication training was clearly demonstrated across professions in this national training course. Participants were able to apply course content to their goals for quality improvement in cancer settings.

Chinese Universities: Problems, COVID-19 &amp; Efforts

It is necessary to know the state of the Chinese universities. In this paper the general objective was determine the situation of Chinese universities: Problems, COVID-19 &amp; efforts. Methodology, in this research, 31 documents have been selected, carried out in the period 2016 - 2021; including: scientific articles, review articles and information from websites of recognized organizations. The keywords used in the searches were: Chinese universities and COVID-19. Results, China has approximately 2,845 universities, which are gradually improving their infrastructure and academic level. The percentage of women has increased (UIS.UNESCO, 2021). A close collaboration between the university and the industry was presented as they refer (Hou, Hong &amp; Shi, 2021). Employers consider the University of Hong Kong to have the best graduates (SICAS, 2018). Difficulty deciding what to investigate. The situation in Chinese universities is stabilizing, after COVID-19 was presented, continuing with virtual courses and the intensive use of ICTs. In addition, the progressive opening of these institutions, monitoring the health of students and teachers. Conclusions, Chinese universities are ranking better in world rankings such as the QS World University Rankings. They are overcoming the limitations imposed by COVID-19. The number of graduates, researchers and patents is considerable and competes with the great powers of Europe, Asia and North America. In addition, some of its universities are achieving international recognition and have students from various parts of the world.

DISTANCE BE DAMNED: THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL PRESENCE IN A PANDEMIC CONSTRAINED ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT COVID-19 forced marketing education online, physically separating faculty from their students complicating communication, and generally disrupting the social process of learning. COVID-19 changed education in unprecedented ways, leaving many marketing educators teaching courses online for the first time. The change in modality motivated our research to understand a students’ perspective of what practices have and have not worked in this pandemic-constrained learning environment. Using a phronetic, iterative approach, we analyze 110 student reflections from 3 different marketing courses that transitioned online in the lock-down. The qualitative exploration of this rapid transition from the classroom to online course delivery reveals the use of synchronous video-conference platforms enables student-centered practices that can increase social presence and enhance students’ motivation, engagement, and perceived learning. We develop a conceptual continuum between transactional distance and social presence where these important student-centered dimensions can be influenced by faculty practices. Based on our results we develop a pathway to successful learning. Actionable propositions are offered to aid faculty in increasing social presence in the online delivery of marketing education. This study provides student insights and faculty guidance to design virtual course offerings that demonstrate motivating and engaging to students despite physical separation between faculty and students.

Evaluating a mobile-based short virtual course on family planning for frontline health workers in India

One of the ways to address the critical gap of trained human resources in health is to train frontline workers (FLW) on health prevention and health promotion. The FLW play an important role in community mobilization, outreach activities, and service delivery at the last mile. In rural India, the number of internet and smartphone users is rapidly increasing, presenting an opportunity to reach and virtually train FLW. The current evidence base shows progress towards creating and using mobile-based training, but significant work is needed to improve the quality of mobile-based training programs. This study showcases Project Samvad’s experience in creating and rolling out a virtual training course for FLW, highlighting the feasibility of virtual training at scale and the quality of engagement of the participants with the course content. The method for this descriptive study is divided into two broad categories: (i) course development, promotion, and rollout processes, and (ii) course evaluation. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to collect and analyze data. We found that the overall average course completion rate was 82% (992 out of 1211 registrants). The average increase in the endline question accuracy was around 15 percentage points from the baseline. We conclude that mobile-based virtual training of FLW is feasible and program managers and policymakers should consider creating hyperlocal course content, ensure participation of partners at various stages of development and rollout of the course and use a peer-to-peer and community-led system to support the learners.

Social capital: A positive outcome of a COVID-19-induced dental course.

In 2020, the World Health Organisation recommended closure of universities due to COVID-19.1 Virtual learning platforms were adapted for didactic dental education.2 Although virtual learning is an effective alternative,3 creating a virtual course where cognitive development is underpinned by preclinical learning is challenging. However, could remote learning improve social capital through shared values and understanding between individuals engaged in remote learning context? This study describes the integration of educational technologies applied in a preclinical course (orthodontics) and examines mechanisms influencing social capital.

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