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Postulating that academic papers can positively impact the actual teaching practices of science teachers, this study analysed the process of understanding and utilising academic papers by science teachers to teach scientific creativity in their schools. The 45--hour graduate course of three science teachers was explored to identify the difficulties teachers encountered in trying to understand academic papers and to discover how to solve these difficulties. Second, which aspects should be considered when developing teaching materials for scientific creativity to be used in schools were analysed. A transformation model of an academic paper was proposed to understand this process, and the results were organised accordingly. According to this model, it was emphasized to translate academic papers from a general and abstract state to a local and concrete state. Therefore, the role of science educators as knowledge translators was discussed for more practical and effective use of academic papers in school. This study is expected to contribute to research-based teaching by linking academic research with teaching practice.

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, and educational institutions have had to modify most of their activities (face-to-face activities were suspended). This situation forced academic institutions to modify the evaluation format of students. The use of proctoring systems quickly became widespread, although some controversies arose. The two main discussions regarding these systems are the integrity of the assessment and the capacity of the students to adapt to this new assessment method, without changes in theirs scores. To elucidate two controversies, we have analyzed the preferences and the scores obtained from a trial of 660 scores from 332 students of the third grade of Veterinary Medicine. The experiment involved three modalities of exam: an online format from home using the Respondus Lockdown Browser system (Modality 1), online in person using the Respondus Lockdown Browser system with the supervision of a teacher (Modality 2), or paper format in person with the supervision of a teacher (Modality 3). The results obtained showed that the students preferred Modality 1 (online at home with Respondus Lockdown Browser system). No statistical differences between the scores obtained by students were found between the three modalities analyzed. The proctoring system is a good method to adjudicate exams in higher education institutions, and the scores of students are similar to those obtained through traditional evaluation and control systems.

Science subjects at pre-tertiary and tertiary education levels are important for socio-economic and industrial development of any country; however, they are difficult for students to construct their concepts. In Tanzania, insufficient or lack of practical experiments are major challenges for science subjects due to insufficient or lack of laboratories, apparatus, expertise or reagents. Thus, this research assesses the effectiveness of paper-based against virtual laboratory experiences towards improvement of real (hands-on) chemistry practical in Tanzanian secondary schools focusing in Dodoma region. Chemistry virtual laboratory was developed and being deployed at Dodoma Secondary School for students who were never done practical sessions before to avoid biasness towards the study. The students were divided into three groups, namely paper-based and real laboratory as control groups (CG) and virtual laboratory as the experiment group (EG). Each group was further divided into two groups for the rest approaches forming six (6) groups. For EG, students were taught based on instructional approach which was enriched by computer animations in the computer laboratory. Results indicate that students who firstly attended virtual laboratory performed better in real laboratory than those who firstly attended real laboratory. Furthermore, the best progressive learning and performance for real experiments appears when the virtual laboratory preceded paper-based practical experiments. Thus, virtual laboratory is a very useful tool for learning chemistry practical not only to schools without laboratories but also to those with laboratories; and it should be considered by all the pre-tertiary schools in Tanzania and other schools in similar situations.

This article focuses on the dilemmas science educators face when having to introduce Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to science student teachers in a predominantly paper-based distance learning environment. It draws on the premise that science education is bound by the Nature of Science (NOS), and by the Nature of Scientific Inquiry (NOSI). Furthermore, science educators' own PCK, and the limitations of a predominantly paper-based distance education (DE) model of delivery are challenges that they have to face when introducing PCK and authentic inquiry-based learning experiences. It deprives them and their students from optimal engagement in a science-oriented community of practice, and leaves little opportunity to establish flourishing communities of inquiry. This study carried out a contextual analysis of the tutorial material to assess the PCK that the student teachers had been exposed to. This comprised the ideas of a community of inquiry, a community of science, the conceptualization of PCK, scientific inquiry, and the 5E Instructional Model of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. The analysis confirmed that the lecturers had a good understanding of NOS, NOSI and science process skills, but found it difficult to design interventions to optimize the PCK development of students through communities of inquiry. Paper-based tutorials are ideal to share theory, policies and practices, but fail to monitor the engagement of learners in communities of inquiry. The article concludes with a number of suggestions to address the apparent lack of impact power of the paper-based mode of delivery, specifically in relation to inquiry-based teaching and learning (IBTL).

The majority of chemical experiments conducted during educational programs are carried out in laboratories because they require instructors with special skills, in addition to large, expensive instruments. Recently, there has been an increasing demand for chemical experiments that can be carried out anywhere. Herein, we propose a novel type of paper-based analytical device (PAD) for enabling quantitative analysis without the requirement for a micropipette, since the PAD features a large sample loading zone and a waste zone, enabling accurate volume control of a liquid sample. We initially employed a micropipette to evaluate the PAD and demonstrate the quantitative analysis of ascorbic acid (AA) and pH using different loading volumes. Finally, we determined the AA concentrations and pH values of commercially available beverages using disposable plastic droppers, and the obtained results were in good agreement with those obtained through conventional methods. This PAD format can therefore be used as a novel educational tool for conducting certain chemical analyses in remote learning environments.

The purpose of the study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a distant-professional development model that supported the implementation of genre-based strategy instruction for procedural writing on second grade teachers' fidelity of implementation and students' writing quality. Participants were 84 s graders and four teachers who were randomly assigned to condition. Teachers completed an online workshop module prior to instruction, a survey on their instruction and confidence to teach writing, received coaching feedback during implementation, and were interviewed at pretest and posttest. Students wrote in response to two procedural topics at pretest and posttest, at maintenance, completed transfer tasks in science and in persuasion, were interviewed at posttest, completed a confidence scale, and standardized measures. Results showed that treatment teachers positively evaluated the PD and its components, taught with high fidelity, and positively commented on the instructional approach. Treatment students wrote papers of better quality at posttest and maintenance tasks, while there were no statistically significant differences at the transfer tasks, on students' confidence, and on standardized measures. Implications for professional development, practice, and research are further discussed.

Most educators' inability to provide learning contents that suit different learning styles has caused a lot of problems in terms of performance. Thus, to cater to students' preferences in terms of access to learning contents, the distance learning regulatory body in Nigeria emphasized that course materials should be developed in mixed-media formats. This study was carried out to compare the effects of printed, video, and Moodle-based courseware on educational technology students' achievement, retention, and satisfaction in a distance learning course. A quasi-experimental design was employed for the study involving 108 participants from three experimental groups. The learning content and instruments, subjected to validation and reliability tests, where values of 0.78 and 0.86 were obtained using the Pearson product moment correlation and Cronbach's alpha for achievement and satisfaction inventory, respectively, were administered within a four-week period. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings indicated that the printed, video, and Moodle-based courseware formats improved students' achievement with mean gain scores of 47.92, 40.89, and 43.03, respectively. A significant difference was observed in the achievement (F [subscript (2,104)] = 8.67, p < 0.05), retention (F [subscript (2,104)] = 29.406, p < 0.05), and satisfaction scores (F [subscript (2,104)] = 5.662, p < 0.05) of the three groups. Open and distance learning administrators in Nigeria are recommended to produce and deploy printed, video, and Moodle-based formats of courseware to meet different students' learning preferences.

The switch to online learning required a creative solution to allow for the experiential learning outcomes of the program to be satisfied when access to physical spaces and equipment was restricted. This paper describes a collaborative process between technical and support staff as well as research and teaching faculty that led to the creation of meaningful experiential learning opportunities for over one thousand stakeholders. The implemented solutions included the development of hardware and software, the creation of documentation and training procedures for teaching assistants and designing a support system for the students. [Articles in this journal were presented at the University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching.]

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the Arab World are still in their infancy. Many Arab countries are now starting to launch their MOOC platforms; however, there are only a few who have actually implemented such systems. This paper will explore online learning, in particular the rise of MOOCs around the world and their impact on the Arab World. The purpose of this paper is to give a true picture of the development of the first MOOC platforms in the Arab World. It will analyse in detail the concept, definitions, background, and types of MOOCs (xMOOCs and cMOOCs), as well as the main MOOCs platform in the Western and Arab worlds, and a timeline of the development of MOOCs. It will then observe the status of MOOCs in the developed world, opportunities in the Middle East, and the influence of Western MOOCs on the Arab world, from many perspectives, e.g. educational, religious, cultural and social.

The learning management system (LMS) is a crucial component of the e-learning transformation which is becoming more urgent amid the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The issue of adopting LMS is even more decisive in developing countries, where lots of efforts have been put out to broaden educational opportunities. However, there has not yet been any comprehensive analysis of how LMS-related issues are examined in these countries. To address this gap, this study uses the bibliometric method to construct an overview of research on this topic. The results unveil the distribution of the literature, prominent actors, and dominant themes in the literature of LMS in developing countries. In summary, the topic is a robustly potential research matter. Future researchers can use this study as a starter when investigating relevant subjects.

The current study investigated the open and distance learning vision of higher education institutions in Turkey and revealed several implications for leadership. Considering the potential overlap between vision and mission statements, both of the statements used by 82 units within higher education institutions were qualitatively investigated through content analysis. The findings first revealed that the vision statements of the units cover all system levels from technology to the broader socioeconomic context. Improving quality is the most underlined statement, followed by becoming a leading institution and enabling equity and access. On the other hand, it was observed that there is an overlap between their vision and mission statements, and many of the academic units use similar statements. Based on these findings, several implications were reported for effective leadership in open and distance learning. Although this study encompassed only the context of a specific country, it provided implications for leadership in various contexts.

With the rapidly increasing entrance examinations for the School of Continuing education of CUGB, there is an urgent need of the examination papers that have the parallel testing ability for the same academic program. Based on the analysis of parallel factors and the comparison of the manual generated mode and the computer generated mode, the most time-consuming and experience-consuming steps are found. By providing supports to those steps automatically, a semi-auto computer generated testing paper system was designed and developed for reducing the workload of the experienced faculties to generate testing papers. The papers were generated based on a gradually constructed item-bank. The system offered multiple templates of the testing paper structure plan for assisting semi-auto paper generated procedure and guaranteeing the parallel of the generated papers. In order to construct an item-bank in a short time, an easy-to-use authoring tool with powerful functions was designed and developed. The system supported the spring entrance examination of SCECUGB in 2010 successfully. Faculties gave positive feedback toward the system. (Contains 8 figures and 4 tables.)

Fragmented connectivity in South Africa is the dominant barrier for digitising initiatives. New insights surfaced when a university-based nursing programme introduced tablets within a supportive network learning environment. A qualitative, explorative design investigated adult nurses' experiences of the realities when moving from paper-based learning towards using tablets within a blended learning environment. Purposive sampling was applied. 45 (N) participants were included, each receiving a preloaded tablet (15 running on iOS, 15 on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and 15 on Windows® 8 operating systems), being WiFi-dependent, integrated into a supportive learning network. Participants completed eleven compulsory Internet-based activities. Three reflective focus groups with 18 (n) participants concluded the project. Through self-empowerment and supportive environment, students adopted seamlessly, overcame network and resource-related challenges. Valuable lessons were learned within the digital divide, integrate tablets into distance learning from a resilient and pragmatic approach.

The pandemic has disrupted students' lives, learning, and well-being worldwide and exacerbated existing disparities in education. Countries have unevenly followed policy recommendations to ensure education by non-governmental agencies, and in some cases, political and economic ideology has directly influenced the decisions taken, Spain being a case in point. The instructions and regulations published in April 2020 in Spain are analysed and compared in order to regulate the end of the school year, its evaluation, and the start of the new year, given the situation of suspension of classes during and the confinement of the Spanish population decreed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 20 documents published by the Autonomous Communities of Spain are subjected to critical discourse analysis. Their approaches and the aspects they highlight or ignore are examined to identify the different models of education that each region defends in times of crisis. There are significant differences between conservative and progressive regions, the latter being more inclined to implement the recommendations of non-governmental organisations.

The demands of current instructional realities for moving to completely online formats have led to dramatic changes in the ways that centers for teaching and learning serve their communities. Pedagogical programs have been adapted, invented, and reimagined for online modalities. In this article, we share an approach borrowed from marketing--segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP)--and describe three cases showing the application of STP in our center's work with instructors. This approach has helped us clarify and target our pedagogical priorities, allowing us to make appropriate trade-offs to produce more focused educational development programming that better meets our audience's needs, constraints, and contexts.

The seventh issue of the "Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning" (IJELL--formerly "Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects"--IJELLO) special series includes a selection of best papers presented at the 10th Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Technological Era. The Chais conference 2015 was held at The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel, on February 10-11, 2015, and was organized by its Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies. This preface presents the mission and activities of the Research Center for Innovation in Learning Technologies at the Open University of Israel. It describes the objectives and themes of the Chais conference 2015, explains the special series synergies with IJELL and the Informing Science Institute, chronicles the topics that have been published in the series, and introduces the papers included in this special selection.

The Covid-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the use of constructivism in learning. As schools and learning institutions around the world were forced to transition to online classrooms, teachers had to find new ways to reach their students and engage them in an educational environment. This study was conducted to synthesize the various researches about the impact of a pandemic on the constructivism theory of learning. This paper used the general principle of constructivism to conduct the synthesis review. The findings indicated that there was disruption in student engagement but collaboration among students was maintained. Also, the process of lesson contextualization was interrupted as classes were moved to online platforms. Teachers have used various tools to check the integrity of the students’ outputs and literature suggest that outputs have been upright and reliable. The support of the parents to the learning of the students was perceived to be enhanced. Hence, the constructivism approach was taken to a new level and was truly reshaped by the pandemic.

This paper is based on a study that examined authorship and collaborative research among scholars in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions with a focus on prospects for Africa. The study involved intensive documentary desk review of conference book of abstracts and conference proceedings to examine authorship and collaborative research. The study reviewed a total of 10 conference books of abstracts and proceedings organized or hosted by universities including ODL institutions in Africa. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise some thematic areas of interest. It is revealed in this paper that authorship in terms of co-authorship is high in some conferences but low in others in relation to collaborative research. Furthermore, authorship between two scholars was higher compared to three or more authors in collaborative research. This implies that co-authorship is trending in relation to collaborative research thus raising collaboration prospects for Africa. It is therefore recommended that ODL scholars should be encouraged to do more co-author publications from collaborative research in order to promote teamwork and comparative studies in knowledge production for socio-economic development relevant for Africa and beyond.

The study develops and presents a concept of Virtual Internationalization (VI) in higher education, which refers to internationalization implemented using information and communications technology (ICT). VI is contextualized with the inclusiveness of international experiences and with external challenges to internationalization (posed, for example, by the COVID-19 pandemic). Conceived as an institution-spanning concept, VI is developed from the ACE-CIGE model of Comprehensive Internationalization. It is inferred from actual practice based on a content analysis of conference abstracts from relevant fields, employing coding and computer-assisted text analysis (CATA). Based on the findings, the VI concept includes "strategies and articulated institutional commitment" as a transversal category and "online and distance education" (ODE) as an additional category in contrast to the concept of Comprehensive Internationalization. This research furthermore considers two dimensions of VI: one that is directly internationalization-related and the other concerned with broader aims of the combination of the virtual and the international. It concludes with a perspective on a "new normal" of hybrid internationalization in higher education.

Due to the recent developments in the delivery of teaching-learning processes when COVID-19 hit the world with a health crisis and pandemic, it is crucial to look into the quality of courses delivered via online means or through distance education modality. This paper examines implementation and application of quality assurance (QA) landscape in Distance Education (DE). A documentary review using bibliographic inquiry is used as a methodology approach to gather relevant information to address the study questions. Previous studies on QA in DE are examined and arranged into themes using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that most of the literature on QA in DE in Africa and Asia based on the reviewed Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions are basically dealing with frameworks, outcomes and performance, instructional design, student services and challenges as well as parity in terms of quality with the traditional institutions. Therefore, this paper concludes that more studies are needed for QA in DE to match the post-COVID-19 trends on improving QA. This implies that there is a need to expand research on QA in DE to include areas of artificial intelligence.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, many countries have taken measures such as controlling the flow of people, logistics and reducing crowds. Educational institutions have shifted from traditional face-to-face teaching to online teaching. In order to understand the fatigue caused by long-term online teaching and its influence on teaching quality, this paper puts forward the concept of "student fatigue" according to the learning characteristics of students in our education system, and applies statistical principles to compile the student Fatigue Scale-18. In the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, 1236 times of 319 college students in grade 2021 were tested for fatigue, and the average incidence of fatigue was 64.97%. The incidence of fatigue in boys is higher than that in girls. There was a slight difference in the incidence of fatigue in different seasons, but no statistical significance was there. The effect of fatigue on online teaching is empirically analyzed. The degree of fatigue is negatively correlated with test scores. Students with better learning foundations are less affected by fatigue, while girls' scores are less affected by fatigue. This paper analyzes the common causes of students' fatigue, combined with the current research status of students' fatigue at home and abroad, and puts forward that college education should pay attention to students' fatigue, regularly or irregularly monitor students' fatigue, so that the incidence of fatigue is controlled below 30%. The analysis revealed that the degree of fatigue and gender significantly influenced academic performance. A negative correlation was found between fatigue degree and academic performance, indicating that more severe fatigue led to poorer academic results. Boys were more affected by fatigue than girls. The relationship between academic performance and seasons showed no significant impact. Try to avoid severe fatigue. In order to reduce the impact of fatigue on students' study and health, preventive measures should be taken. It provides theoretical and empirical basis for preventing students' fatigue, improving teaching quality and ensuring students' health.

The Professional Project Administrator Program (PPA) is an employment-focused online program offered in partnership with Indigenous communities in Western Canada. Based on the findings from the research conducted after the program completion, we discuss two key components that contributed to a meaningful learning experience and to the success of the program: wrap-around support and cultural learning. Through métissage, an arts-based approach to knowledge sharing, we present Natoonikew Aansaamb (searching together), where we have woven together different voices and stories that offer a glimpse of the learning experience. Greater inquiry and engagement with diverse Indigenous perspectives is the way for educators to design, implement, and assess learning for all students with intention and in a good way. [Articles in this journal were presented at the University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching.]

In 2005 the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE) was successful in obtaining a grant from National Centre of Science, Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR) to undertake the Computing Studies Teachers Network Rural and Regional Focus Project. The project had five components: (1) Computer Education Group (CEG) Rural and Regional Projects; (2) National Portal; (3) Exploration of New Technologies; (4) National Computing Studies Survey; and (5) National Summit. The goals of the Summit were: (1) increased awareness and understanding of how to ensure equity of learning outcomes for students of computing studies regardless of school or location; and (2) the publication of a discussion paper and recommendations for the future in relation to the issues around the use of technologies and appropriate pedagogies to deliver quality computing studies program to all students, particularly in rural and regional Australia. The goals were achieved by scoping the existing territory in relation to open/distance learning, sharing existing teacher exemplary practice, exploring relevant online delivery systems and appropriate pedagogies to support open/distance learning, showcasing possibilities for the future and, identifying and sharing resources. An integral part of the program was the opportunity for participants in small groups and at the plenary session to discuss issues raised by speakers and to share ideas and possible actions. An underlying current of the Summit was a concern for falling student participation rates in computing studies and how this may be addressed. This paper presents a summary of the major issues and possible actions that emerged during the Summit. They are grouped under the broad areas of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Curriculum Delivery, Resources, Teacher Professional Learning, Links to Industry and Tertiary Sector, and The Technology.

In this paper, I examine the provenance of distance education or "teledidactics" in Australia. I take as my case studies the New South Wales Correspondence School and the School of the Air and suggest that their emergence was underpinned by a desire on the part of educational and broadcasting bureaucrats to increase the equity of school provision by addressing the problem of educating remote populations. I argue that this problem was ultimately solved by drawing on elements of the medial ecology (as theorised by Friedrich Kittler) that emerged circa 1900 and that the machines associated with this ecology underpinned the realisation of educating such populations. (Contains 1 figure and 14 notes.)

This article explores the transition in course delivery from a paper-based format to blended learning, and highlights the role of the virtual learning environment (VLE) in this process. Professional practice in postgraduate programmes in particular is investigated during this transition stage at the University of Dundee (UoD) in Scotland, and the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien (UASTW) in Austria. In this transition, UoD is developing and implementing a "Master's Framework" supported by the VLE, "MyDundee", which is built on the Blackboard e-learning platform. Similarly, UASTW is exploiting the Campus Information System (CIS) based on the open-source e-learning platform Moodle. Although the methods used to promote and practise e-learning differ at the two universities, their common aim is to support students' and professionals' learning when face-to-face contact time between students and tutors is significantly reduced. The use of collaborative and peer-assessed tools like e-portfolios, newsletters, discussion forums, Wikis and group puzzles are used as means of satisfying a delivery model which reflects socially constructivist principles of learning. (Contains 7 figures.)

This paper presents the results of a study evaluating student perceptions of online assignment submission. 47 students submitted assignments and received feedback via features within the Virtual Learning Environment Blackboard[TM]. The students then completed questionnaires comparing their experience of online submission and feedback with traditional methods. Results indicated that 88% of students reported a time saving and many reported financial benefits using online submission. 93% of students preferred having their feedback available online rather than printed and handed to them. Overall, students preferred online assignment management to postal or physical hand-in. The main disadvantage of electronic submission appeared to be student distrust of the receipt system. The use of online assignment submission and management is recommended for use in Higher Education establishments where students may be remote. It is most suitable for assignments that do not require inclusion of many images.

The present paper attempts to answer the following research questions: (1) What are students' attitudes towards distance education during COVID-19? (2) What are students' feelings and opinions towards online education? (3) What are the impacts of distance learning on students' development of their PCK skills? And (4) What is students' academic achievement in taught online science education courses? To collect data, a total sample of 117 students enrolled in undergraduate program for science teaching at the elementary level, was used. Data was collected over three semesters, during the academic years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. The data collection tools used are: a. a questionnaire administered to students enrolled in their 2nd through the 6th semesters, at the Faculty of Education, Lebanese University, at the end of science education courses, b. students' grades in formative and summative assessments in science education courses, c. students' drawing themselves as remote learners, and d. a post-interview of a purposeful sample. Data analysis was done using interim analysis in the form of post-zoom class conferences and data validation using member check at the end of courses. Findings showed that students at the beginning of the state successive and long lockdowns were happy to learn remotely. But as time passes, they were dissatisfied with online learning, 38% of students missed the campus life and 16% lacked the interaction with their teachers and classmates. In addition, students' academic performance decreased significantly and many were concerned about the little expertise to deal with students in real classes. For 57% of students, distance learning was difficult than classroom, and 70.5% admitted that home environment was not suitable for participating in online lectures due to distractions by their families. Quality teaching and the need for evaluation the online teaching/learning process at the level of the Faculty of Education and the Lebanese University is an urgent need. [This paper was presented at ICSES Conference, Antalya, Turkey, 10-13 November 2022.]

The use of technology and need for connection across distance permeates all education environments; nowhere is this more important than in Canada's Northwest Territories. Broadband and telecommunications issues within the Northwest Territories are complex due to its vast geographical area and community dispersion, making connectivity and accessibility inconsistent. Due to these conditions, the North relies on a variety of broadband solutions to improve Internet speeds and access to education at a distance. This paper analyzes the impacts that broadband capacity and Internet access have on remote education by examining geographic information system data, which offers a framework that connects spatial and temporal data to analyse accessibility of remote education. Characteristics such as spatial location of communities, infrastructure (road systems),and the overlay of various broadband options will illustrate constraints and (dis)connectivity in various regions and inform readers about the complexity of remote connections. Analysis of current upload and download speeds from various regions and their impact on access to education supports geospatial data and analysis that the digital divide in remote regions of Canada has increased and is widening. Improving equitable access to postsecondary education will require a greater reliance on technology-enabled practices to improve learning opportunities. [This paper was presented at the virtual symposium: Rethinking Online Education in the Knowledge Society with Emerging Technology jointly hosted by the Chongqing Open University, China, Athabasca University, Canada, and Beijing Normal University, China.]

Provides abstracts of nine research papers presented at the 2001 Agricultural Communication in Education annual conference. Includes papers on food safety, critical thinking, distance education, information technologies, agricultural news sources, and genetically engineered foods. (JOW)

To prevent the disruption of education and training activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, distance education was started, and applied courses were continued with online methods. The aim of this study was to do in-depth examination of the experiences of pre-service teachers regarding the online Teaching Practicum course they took during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, the phenomenological design was adopted in the study. The study group consisted of 15 pre-service teachers determined with maximum variation sampling and three different focus group interviews were conducted. Content analysis was used to reveal the experiences of the preservice teachers. The views of the participants were grouped under three themes: (1) benefits of online teaching practicum, (2) limitations of online teaching practicum, and (3) ways to deal with difficulties. [Paper presented at the International Conference on Lifelong Education and Leadership for ALL (7th, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Aug 24-26, 2021).]

Describes the simultaneous development of paper-based and digitized versions of a textbook and related instructional material used in an undergraduate, independent study, distance education course at Athabasca University (Canada). Used break-even analysis as an initial evaluation measure to determine cost-effectiveness, and discusses the next phase of analysis. (Author/LRW)

The availability of new educational technologies is expanding rapidly, decreasing costs but increasing obsolescence. Technologies increase flexible response to student needs. Growth in nursing distance education programs is increasing competition. Technology may help alleviate teacher shortages. Distance education issues include educational quality, cost, intellectual property, copyright, and student financial aid. (SK)

Describes the Third Wave as an "information bomb... exploding in our midst, showering us with a shrapnel of images and drastically changing the way each of us perceives and acts upon our private world." Begins with a description of A. Toffler's Third Wave as an attempt to partially explain what is happening in higher education, especially distance education, today. (SC)

There are almost 90 million forced migrants around the world, many of whom could benefit from online higher education, and yet there is evidence that displaced people face challenges in online learning environments. This paper reports on a study in the context of a UK university's master'slevel distance learning program that offers Sanctuary Scholarships to forced migrants. The study's aims were: (1) to identify practical ways in which higher education institutions can support displaced learners to engage in online learning, and (2) to add to our theoretical understanding of refugees' and asylum seekers' engagement in online degree programs. The methodology included a theoretical and an empirical component. In the theoretical analysis, the indicators from Redmond et al.'s (2018) Online Engagement Framework were mapped onto capability lists drawn from the literature on the Capability Approach, generating a set of proposed underpinning capabilities for online engagement. The empirical analysis, which was carried out in parallel, was based on semistructured interviews with ten online Sanctuary Scholars. Thematic analysis of the empirical data showed how the research participants had enacted behavioral, emotional, cognitive, social, and collaborative engagement and revealed some of the ways in which engagement fueled further engagement, alongside the mediating role of personal agency. When combined with the theoretical analysis, the findings enabled the creation of a capabilitarian online engagement model. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for institutional policies and practices around learning design and delivery to support online engagement among displaced learners, and potentially also among other underrepresented students.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started to be seen around the world at the beginning of 2020 and affected all the countries of the world in a short time, has severely affected all social systems, health being in the first place, and forced change. In this period, transformations that can be called reforms took place in education. The effect of distance education in formal education necessitated changes in teacher training processes, as well. This study aimed to evaluate the action plan designed to minimize the adverse effects of teaching practices, an essential pillar of the teacher training system. The participants of the study intended as action research, are mentor teachers and student teachers taking part in teaching practices in the 2020-2021 Academic Year. At the end of the research, three themes were reached from the views of the participants: the effects of the action on professional life, the obstacles encountered and suggestions for improvement. In light of the data obtained, it is suggested that teaching practices should be supported with tasks suitable for distance education, innovative technological material development should be given importance among these tasks, and student teachers should go through the teaching processes in which they can prepare these materials. [Paper presented at the International Congress on Curriculum and Instruction (8th, Burdur, Turkey, March 25-27, 2021).]

This article aims to examine the themes produced by students in the research paper projects of the Pedagogy course, in Distance Education modality. This research is qualitative, of documentary character. The results of the analysis indicate that students prefer to frequent themes from academic literature (ludic). It was also noticed the insufficiency or absence of the theoretical framework in the projects. The methodology used by the students was, primarily, those of bibliographic and documentary nature. Regarding the sources, it was found difficulties in defining the search websites. During the writing of the project, students used non-scientific websites, such as blogs, portals and / or news reports. The analysis of the writing of the works evidenced difficulties of the students in relation to writing texts. It concludes the importance of the professor advisor, since the very beginning of the elaboration of research projects, once it is up to the professors to instrumentalize the students for the construction of cohesive and consistent theoretical and methodological references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The academic success of first-year students' learning in science faculties is by no means assured, especially in an Open Distance Learning setting with its limited number of face-to-face encounters between students and lecturers or tutors. Therefore, such encounters should be highly efficient in view of the considerable amount of knowledge transfer to students. The University of South Africa (Unisa) makes provision for contact sessions of 15 hours per semester for selected modules in an attempt to elevate the pedagogical efficiency of these sessions by focusing on the threshold concepts as an innovative way of learning. This paper shows that tutorials adopting the threshold concepts approach have the potential to make students academically more successful. The focus of this study is an introductory information systems module that teaches the Python programming language. Our statistical analysis demonstrated that the year marks and final exam scores of the participating students were frequently higher than those of the students in the control group.

In line with the philosophy of inclusion and various legislative instruments which encourage 'education for all', ODL institutions have made provision for sign language interpreters (SLIs) to facilitate participation for deaf students. Although, some studies have examined issues of virtual learning and the ODL programme; a paucity of studies assessing virtual sign language interpretation (VSLI) in remote educational activities is evident. Therefore, a research study was instituted to probe into perceived enablers and or constraints of providing VSLI during the Covid-19 lockdown in Nigeria. Based on the Job Demand Resources Model, two research questions were raised and answered in this paper. This study adopted the qualitative research design and seven SLIs who had participated in virtual teaching and learning activities during the lockdown were purposively selected to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection, and the data collected were coded and analysed thematically through using an iterative process. Government policies and the empathetic nature of SLIs were found to be enablers of VSLI, while four themes, namely epileptic power supply; internet connectivity; lack of institutional support and the comprehensibility of deaf students who attended remote lectures were found to serve as barriers to effective and efficient VSLI. Based on the findings, appropriate recommendations were made.

Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) is on the rise to cater to non-traditional students. However, the surge in master's and doctoral students opting for ODeL raises concerns about the quality and timely completion of degrees. Existing literature on student attrition in higher education indicates that both student-related factors and institutional variables significantly impact completion rates. Factors such as students' sense of connection or isolation, as well as institutional aspects like supervisor responsiveness to feedback and feedforward, contribute to student persistence. To address this early attrition and extended stays in postgraduate studies, a community of practice (CoP), comprising lecturers and master's and doctoral students was formed. The CoP employed the Social Learning Theory (SLT) approach to initiate collaborative partnerships designed to promote a research culture and explore alternative approaches to curb master's and doctoral late completion and attrition. This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore the experiences, perceptions and insights of master's and doctoral candidates regarding the implementation of innovative multimodal Open Distance e-Learning supervision practices. Grounded in SLT, the exploratory case study employed an open-ended questionnaire to gather data from the students participating in the support programme. The findings revealed the positive impact of innovative practices on candidates' academic development and overall research experience. The findings further demonstrated that virtual communication tools have significantly enhanced collaboration between candidates and supervisors, breaking down geographical barriers and facilitating real-time feedback and guidance. The innovative multimodal OdeL supervision practices gave master's and doctoral candidates flexibility and increased their learning engagement.

Increasingly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having an impact on distance-based higher education, where it is revealing multiple ethical issues. However, to date, there has been limited research addressing the perspectives of key stakeholders about these developments. The study presented in this paper sought to address this gap by investigating the perspectives of three key groups of stakeholders in distance-based higher education: students, teachers, and institutions. Empirical data collected in two workshops and a survey helped identify what concerns these stakeholders had about the ethics of AI in distance-based higher education. A theoretical framework for the ethics of AI in education was used to analyse that data and helped identify what was missing. In this exploratory study, there was no attempt to prioritise issues as more, or less, important. Instead, the value of the study reported in this paper derives from: (1) the breadth and detail of the issues that have been identified; and (2) their categorisation in a unifying framework. Together these provide a foundation for future research and may also usefully inform future institutional implementation and practice.

International student exchange is integral to internationalization at higher education institutions and global human resource development in Japan. However, border closures and restrictions on physical mobility since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to adopt virtual mobility models to deliver international exchange programs. This study explores students' experiences of taking virtual exchange programs and their pedagogical implications for future virtual exchange programs. In this paper, we present one case of virtual student mobility implemented at one national university in Japan. Analysis of multiple data sets, including student surveys (n=789), reflection papers (n=420), and interviews with a program administrator and a faculty member, revealed that this type of virtual student mobility program has strong merits in promoting internationalization activities. Students were satisfied with the diverse interdisciplinary academic content, flexibility in taking the course, and opportunity to engage with the host university faculty members and international students. Many have expressed their interest in studying at the host university in person.

The shift to online assessment during the pandemic has generated debates on academic integrity, also highlighting good practice in supporting students and staff. Academic integrity is commitment to six fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage and academic misconduct refers to practices that are not in keeping with these values and this commitment. There seem to be two dominant threads in such debates in higher education: one involves promoting creative design of authentic assessment and guidelines to students about institutional expectations concerning academic offences such as plagiarism and collusion; the other provides technological and practical safeguards to protect academic integrity. In this paper, we report on the outcomes of a project that evaluated in 2020 the pivot to online assessment at the University of London, UK. Our focus is academic integrity in distance learning environments by exploring the key themes of student and staff perceptions, and related pedagogical issues. We propose a set of measures that can enhance students' perception of academic integrity and institutional approaches to mitigate against academic offences. [This paper was presented at the ICDE Virtual Global Conference Week 2021: Upskilling and upscaling for quality Open, Flexible and Distance Learning (OFDL) during the week of 25-29 October 2021.]

The "distance" in "distance learning", however it is defined, normally refers to a gap between a learner and their teacher(s), typically in a formal context. In this paper I take a slightly different view. The paper begins with an argument that teaching is fundamentally a technological process. It is, though, a vastly complex, massively distributed technology in which the most important parts are enacted idiosyncratically by vast numbers of people, both present and distant in time and space, who not only use technologies but also participate creatively in their enactment. Through the techniques we use we are co-participants in not just technologies but the learning of ourselves and others, and hence in the collective intelligence of those around us and, ultimately, that of our species. We are all teachers. There is therefore not one distance between learner and teacher in any act of deliberate learning--but many. I go on to speculate on alternative ways of understanding distance in terms of the physical, temporal, structural, agency, social, emotional, cognitive, cultural, pedagogical, and technological gaps that may exist between learners and their many teachers. And I conclude with some broad suggestions about ways to reduce these many distances.

Mathematics anxiety can be defined as negative feelings towards mathematics and mathematical operations in general. Math anxiety is seen in many students, and even in parents. In fact, parents' own anxiety regarding mathematics may lead to their children experiencing angst over the subject as well. This can be a problem considering parents are considered one of the basic components of education and have important responsibilities to guide the education process of their children. Mathematical literacy is one of the research topics that have come into prominence in recent years due to PISA. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the parents' mathematical literacy self-efficacy and mathematics anxieties. Additionally, through examining the participation of parents in mathematic teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hoped to better understand their views and methodologies. All participants in this study are parents themselves. The study is designed with an explanatory sequential design among mixed method research designs. The grade in which the students are educated does not make any difference in the self-efficacy and anxiety perceptions of the parents regarding their mathematics literacy. Also, the parents' mathematical literacy self-efficacy and anxiety levels were high. [Paper presented at International Congress of Educational Research (13th, Hatay, Turkey, Sep 3-6, 2020).]

This paper reports on a phenomenographic study investigating former grade 12 STEM students' conceptions of online learning during COVID-19 pandemic. Purposive sampling was employed in selecting participants who were enrolled in a private school in Laguna, Philippines that formally implemented a fully online learning setup for SY 2020-2021. By using semi-structured interviews, results conveyed an outcome space comprised of nine (9) core categories of description: (1) online learning marred with unfavorable sentiments; (2) online learning plagued by technical barriers; (3) online learning accentuated the use of online tools; (4) online learning provided aberrational learning experiences; (5) online learning hampered by the learning environment; (6) online learning adversely affected students' wellbeing; (7) online learning reaffirmed the importance of social interactions; (8) online learning exhibited unsatisfactory perceptions to teaching; and (9) online learning exhibited dissatisfaction towards institutional support. Within each core category, a variety of subcategories fulfilled the anatomy of experience and describing the complexity of the relation between STEM students and online learning during COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of all core categories of description revealed a generally unfavorable and unenthusiastic view of online learning during COVID-19 Pandemic, with 'online learning provided aberrational learning experiences' as the most prominent core category of description, emphasizing how the deviation from the normal setup adversely affected their learning experiences. Findings revealed in this study can be beneficial in formulating future policy changes and bases of interventions to improve the conduct of online learning and provide a more effective pandemic response in the educational system. [This manuscript was presented in the ASAA Conference 2022, last July 6-8, 2022.]

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of using Web 2.0 tools in accordance with the 5E learning model on the academic success and views of students in teaching the Pressure unit to eighth-grade students in distance education. A total of 41 students, 21 of whom are in the experiment group and 20 of them are in the control group, studying in the eighth grade in a state secondary school in Sakarya, Turkey were included. The activities created with Web 2.0 tools in accordance with the 5E learning model were applied to the experimental group, and the activities in the science lesson curriculum were applied to the control group through distance education. Explanatory sequential mixed method design was used. The quantitative data of the research were collected by the Pressure Unit Achievement Test. The achievement test was applied to the both groups before and after the process. Qualitative data were collected with a structured interview form with all of the students in the experimental group at the end of the process. The quantitative data were analyzed with t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Descriptive analysis was used for qualitative data. Based on the results, it was determined that the academic achievement of the experimental group students increased by showing a significant difference compared to the control group students. It was seen that the experimental group students' opinions about the activities created with web 2.0 tools are generally positive. In line with the results obtained as a result of the study, it is recommended that Web 2.0 tools are frequently used by teachers in the science course, and at the same time, researchers are recommended to study the effects of other learning models on success or other variables in different subjects and grade levels. [This paper was presented as an oral presentation at 3rd International Eurasian Educational Research Congress (EJER 2021) held in Aksaray (Turkey) on July 7-10, 2021.]

Purpose: Distance learners are expected to actively participate in online learning settings to improve their cognitive level and promote more meaningful learning. However, without specific teaching skills and competencies from the instructors together with belief and capability of the distance learners themselves, their engagement in online learning would not be achieved. Limited studies have examined the extent of self-efficacy in encouraging student engagement in learning, especially within online learning settings. Thus, this study examined self-efficacy as a moderator to test its influence on the relationship between online teaching competencies and student engagement. Methodology: This quantitative research was conducted using the purposive sampling technique. This study involved 321 distance learners from a Malaysian public university. The questionnaire was created using SurveyMonkey, and the measurement items were adopted from past research with acceptable reliability. This study utilised partial least squares (PLS) 3.0 to test the hypothesis via correlation and path analysis. Findings: Contrary to expectations, the findings contributed to the literature that online teaching competencies and self-efficacy were not significantly related to student engagement. The association between online teaching competencies and student engagement was shown to be moderated by self-efficacy. This finding is aligned with Bandura's (2001) social cognitive theory which states that personal factors such as self-regulation, self-efficacy, and interest are impacted in the distance education context. Significance: The results of this study can benefit online course instructors in Malaysian distance educational institutions to develop courses that enhance online learners' self-efficacy. Online teaching competencies employed by online distance learners can be the primary objective when developing faculty development programmes that aim to coach online instructors to be competent in online teaching. Moreover, institutions are encouraged to introduce other online learning platforms to facilitate training of its practitioners in order to accelerate successful online teaching and learning experiences. [This paper was previously presented at the International Conference of Interdisciplinary, Social Science, Business, Technology and Education (ISBTEC 2019) on 13th July 2019 in Penang, Malaysia.]

This study evaluated pen and paper examinations development with a view to improving examination validity in open and distance education. The study specifically examined the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of pen on paper examinations in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). The study employed the survey research design with a view to reaching a large number of respondents. In all, a total of 122 lecturers formed the respondents used for the study. A self-structured questionnaire was constructed and validated for data collection. Three research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical tool. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to answer the research questions while inferential statistics (t-test and ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at .05 level. The results show that valid procedures of item development and generation are always followed in setting pen and paper examinations in NOUN. Despite this, counsellors need to work on students and staff regularly on the rubrics of examinations to ensure both student and institutional success. The study, therefore, recommended appropriate procedures using Bloom’s taxonomy for test development. Résumé : Cette étude a évalué le développement des examens au stylo et au papier en vue d'améliorer la validité de l'examen dans l'enseignement ouvert et à distance. L'étude a spécifiquement examiné la pertinence, la signification et l'utilité des examens au stylo et au papier de l'Université nationale ouverte du Nigeria (NOUN). L'étude a utilisé la conception de la recherche de l'enquête en vue d'atteindre un grand nombre de répondants. Au total, 122 professeurs ont formé le nombre de répondants utilisés pour l'étude. Un questionnaire auto structuré a été construit et validé pour la collecte de données. Trois questions de recherche et deux hypothèses ont été formulées pour guider l'étude. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide de l'outil statistique SPSS. Des statistiques descriptives (écart moyen et standard) ont été utilisées pour répondre aux questions de recherche, tandis que des statistiques inférentielles (t-test et ANOVA) ont été utilisées pour tester les hypothèses au niveau de 0,05. Les résultats montrent que les procédures valides de développement et de génération d'objets sont toujours suivies dans la mise en place d'examens au stylo et au papier à NOUN. Malgré cela, les conseillers doivent travailler régulièrement sur les rubriques des examens sur les étudiants et le personnel afin d'assurer la réussite des étudiants et de l’institution. L'étude a donc recommandé des procédures appropriées utilisant la taxonomie de Bloom pour le développement des tests.