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Background: This study aimed to investigate the intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting faculty engagement in virtual learning environments at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) in Shiraz, Iran. Methods: In this comparative study, 112 eligible faculty members at SUMS were enrolled in 2018-2019 academic year. The sample was surveyed by a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 28 items, including 17 questions on intrinsic factors (familiarity with e-learning, faculty attitudes and human resources) and 11 on extrinsic factors (financial resources, inherent barriers, infrastructural factors and institutional support). The reliability of the research instrument, as measured by internal consistency and Cronbach’s alpha, stood at 0.92. It was measured at 0.87 and 0.92 for extrinsic and intrinsic factors respectively. The CVR and CVI values were found to be 0.6 and 0.8 respectively. One-sample t-test was applied to compare the mean scores of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors with the hypothetical mean, and to determine the ranking of the factors. Results: In order of their impact, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors included inadequate financial resources (P=0.566) lack of familiarity with electronic learning (p

Background Mobile devices, specifically smartphones and tablets, are aimed to change learning and teaching methods innovatively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mobile learning applications on high-level cognitive skills. Methods This quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and a control group was performed among all female students of the 10th grade of math-physics branch of district 10 of Tehran (n = 30) during 2016 - 2017. The participants were selected using the convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The research tools were Heppner-Peterson Problem Solving Inventory (1982) and Cassidy-Long Problem Solving Style Inventory (1996). Learning content (statistical lesson) were presented via a mobile application named “GeoGebra” during eight 1-hour sessions, while the control group participated in a lecture-based classroom. Before starting the course, a pre-test was performed in both groups, and after passing eight 1-hour sessions, a post-test was carried out in both groups. The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance in SPSS version 20. Results The results showed a significant difference between the groups in terms of problem solving abilities (F = 29.77, P < 0.001) and problem solving style (F = 25.72, P < 0.001), in favor of the experimental group, reflected the positive effect of the intervention on the experimental group. Conclusions Considering that mobile learning applications have a positive effect on students' high-level cognitive skills, teachers are recommended to use this method in their classrooms.

Introduction: The aim of this research was a path to survey about virtual education and parameters and viewpoints of students and faculty members and authorities as target for possibilities assessment of applying this kind of education in faculty of educational science and psychology Marvdasht Open University in 2012.Material and Methods: The method used is descriptive and survey. The instrument for data collection compromised 2 questionnaires of Davudi Memghani. Students include 2 groups: post graduation and under graduation that are seniors and faculty members and authority of university. For sampling 37 teachers and authorities and 366 students was chosen. Survey data were analyzed through implementing two descriptive (Frequency and percentage) and deductive method (Chi Square).Results: The results indicated: high level of academic board members & authorities as expert has claimed that there are the possibilities of implementing virtual education in the faculty of educational science and psychology. Both of two groups have tended for using virtual education especially students (in high level). Academic board members & authorities have believed hard and software infrastructures has vital role for implementing virtual education.Conclusion: Today is the age of information in the Tafler s point of view of. Virtual learning is the important role in the improvement and development of organizations. After the resolution of cultural obstacle and accepted this technology by people, it is appear other infrastructure and equipment in the organizational and national level have an effective role in the system.

Planning to design and perform a sustainable and effective E-learning educational system needs a correct understanding of the impact of information and communication technology on the higher education market as well as knowledge about the learning-teaching processes. Considering previous experiences and studies, various E-learning models have been presented. These models opt to define suitable frameworks for challenges that learners face when using technology in education in order to provide an effective E-learning experience. The presented models for E-learning are beneficial tools for evaluating existing experiences and factors that influence its effectiveness. These factors are used in planning the development of E-learning at universities. Therefore, in this article various E-learning models have been assessed.

The learning at anytime and anywhere approach has been actualized by the development of wireless technologies and mobile learning. Mobile learning as the model of e-Learning represents the acquisition of knowledge, skill, and attitude using mobile technology. The aim of this article is to review the perspectives and theories of mobile learning. Initially, we will define mobile learning, it's place in the distance learning system, and the chances and challenges based on this learning. Then, we will study the mobile learning perspectives including: technology, mobility, individualism, ubiquitous learning and e-Learning along with theories of mobile learning including: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, activity theory, problem- based learning, collaborative, conversational, lifelong… at the end we will discuss future views on mobile learning. In order for mobile learning to be effective, its perspectives and theories need to be explored. If these theories and perspectives are used intelligently we can reach optimal learning solutions required for the 21st century.

Considering the current scientific improvement in the field of rehabilitation and the fact that this field is a combination of theoretical and clinical sciences, the need for modern approaches in academic education is felt more than before. Blended learning is an educational program based on the simultaneous use of several educational methods, which ultimately saves time and money as well as improves the clinical performance. In this method electronic learning is simultaneously used for completing academic lessons, accompanied by additional workshops to create a more effective clinical experience. This review article was carried out by searching websites and using public and professional medical search engines such as Google, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus. Keywords related to electronic learning were searched and related articles were extracted and assessed. It seems that needs assessment should be done for different rehabilitation fields (physiotherapy, work therapy, speech therapy, etc.). Also, after considering the cost of the project and the additional workshops, contextualization should be done to meet the needs of the Iranian population. We suggest this type of learning be implemented in order to update the information and the skills of healthcare workers.

Electronic learning is used for presenting a more flexible method of learning with greater opportunities for learners. It is considered as a tool for facilitating the learners' progress and activities, and creating effective learning environments. However, these factors can only be enhanced and their quality assured when they are evaluated. Without evaluating electronic learning programs and their related factors, this type of learning cannot be considered desirable and its quality cannot be enhanced. However, the evaluation and quality assurance of electronic learning should be done based on a scientific framework and a coherent model in order to have sufficient affectivity. The importance-performance analysis model is a suitable model in this regard. In this model, each component is evaluated in two dimensions of importance and performance. This descriptive-analytic article aims to study quality assurance and evaluation in electronic learning in higher education through the existing literature. Considering the role and importance of electronic learning in increasing the performance quality of higher education, programmers, managers, and all related experts in universities and higher education centers should evaluate research and educational sectors and identify their strengths and weaknesses in order to improve and develop higher education centers in Iran.

Background: Currently modern information technology has affected all aspects of people’s lives and education is not an exception. Teachers have always been one of the main elements of the learning process. Teachers should be prepared for any type of educational planning and its necessary foundations and conditions. In order to apply electronic learning in the teaching-learning process, teachers should be mentally prepared and should have the necessary attitude, knowledge, skills, and accessibility. We aimed to assess the preparedness of high school teachers of west Islam Abad in using electronic learning. In this regard, we studied various aspects such as their level of knowledge and skills in working with electronic learning environments, their belief in working with such environments, the amount of use and applicability of these environments in the teaching-learning environment during 2008-2009, and their accessibility to electronic learning environments.Material & Methods: 173 teachers were randomly selected using the systemic random sampling method. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire. Its validity was confirmed by a group of researchers in the field of educational technology. Its reliability was acceptable using Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, as well as K2, Kendall's tau (τ) coefficient, t, and one-way analysis of variance tests.Results: Although the participating teachers had high access to computers and the internet and believed in their effect, they rarely used this technology in practice. There was no difference between the teachers’ educational level, sex, and age in using electronic learning.Conclusion: Although the participants believed that electronic learning is more effective than the traditional method, they rarely used this technology. This could be related to the managers’ attitude towards teachers because managers do not pay much attention to using electronic learning resources. We suggest giving higher credibility to electronic learning at schools and organizing in-service training courses for teachers regarding electronic learning.

This study aims to investigate how effective interactive conditions can be met regarding education, learning, and web-based evaluation in medicine. Considering the two intellectual paradigms of situational learning and structuralism, the transfer of knowledge as learning, is less discussed. From the viewpoints of these psychological approaches, learning is considered as the creation of meaning in a cultural basis for the better understanding of the surround ding world which will lead to uncertainty. This learning occurs when teaching and learning activities happen in an interactive process between the participants in the learning environment and its set of instruments and facilities. In this article, electronic spaces such as multimedia and research-based interactive internet environments have been considered as the most effective learning environments based on the two mentioned approaches. Challenging environments involve and engage students in the learning activities. Other aspects of such electronic environments, especially the interactive web and research-based environment, are problem ownership, commitment and taking responsibility, and the relationship between goals and students' interest, and providing a suitable structure. Moreover, paying attention to complex learning environments, the role of social dialogues, considering a single subject from various viewpoints, and understanding the process of creating meaning are other features of a structural research-based electronic educational environment.

Background: Although nearly one decade has passed since the initial introduction of electronic learning in Iran, suitable guidelines and strategies for this educational method need to be established for active centers in this regard. Therefore, the present study aims to determine major stategies (strategic approach) and minor stategies used at the virtual university of Olume Hadis, as one of the active centers in this regard.Material & Methods: This study was a descriptive-survey study consisting of eight experts in the mentioned organization. By benefitting from a three-stage framework in strategic planning literature, the internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors of this institute were identified using the IFE and EFE tools and analyzed using a questionnaire. Then, ased on the obtained results from this stage and by using the IEFE among the three types of major strategies, the maintenance strategy was seleced. Finally, seven main strategies were written for this institute using the SWOT tool and evaluated and prioritized using the QSMP method.Results: Between three types of major strategies, the hold and maintenance strategies and Market Penetration and Development of Products chosen foe E-college. These strategies are written below based on their priority:• Introducing and propagating the universities capabilities (in order to attract audience)• Improving service quality (Educational, research, and technical) accompanied by reduction in expenses• Identifying and attracting new financial sources• Providing a foundation for creating and activating scientific associations related to electronic learning• Providing the scientific and executive staff of the faculty and training them• The qualitative and quantitative expansion of the universities representatives and their activities• Creating applied and inter-diciplinary courses with an emphasis on higher education.Conclusion: Using the maintenance strategy, followed by the market penetration and product development strategies, especially market penetration, that is more attractive for application according to the results of strategy prioritization (strategies 1, 2, 3, and 4), shows that electronic learning should be propagated in the society and implemented in the society's culture.

The ever growing development of information technology has led to dynamic changes in teaching and learning. With the emergence of modern technologies, educational centers are incorporating electronic learning in their systems. Electronic learning per se is not considered as a separate educational system. The selection of electronic learning tools should reflect educational techniques, not the type of education. Therefore, people engaged in electronic learning should associate technological developments with psychological and educational research. Designing suitable plans for electronic learning should be based on theoretical methods. A theoretical foundation is necessary for the qualitative development of educational methods. The present review aims to analyze different schools of thought on learning and how these theories are applied in designing effective and efficient electronic lessons. Data were collected using books and valid websites and electronic resources. In order to design electronic learning programs, we should pay attention to those theories that focus and emphasize on the activeness of the learner, feedback, interpersonal differences, real activities and exercises, multi-dimensional viewpoints, learner's control over learning, learner guidance, and advance organizer

Information and communication technology has changes life to a great extent in many different aspects. Accordingly, the traditional methods of teaching have also evolved and physical presence in the classroom is not as necessary as before. In the past, education benefitted solely from the presence of teachers, and books were the main source of information. Currently, with the emergence of new tools, methods, and learning environments, modern modes of education are forming. Of these methods is electronic learning in which the fundamental role of the teacher is usually neglected, and it is commonly assumed that in this method the teacher is not as important as the traditional education system. However, the learning quantity and quality and the effective and efficient use of different equipment depends on the teacher's amount of activity, attitude, and skills. This descriptive-analytic study presents a set of guidelines and techniques to enhance the teacher's efficiency and effectiveness and the learning quality of the students in electronic learning. The subjects covered in this study are as follows: Holmberg’s distance learning theory, methods for increasing the student-teacher relationship, encouraging students to cooperate, pursuing students to learn actively, presenting quick feedback, emphasizing on work time, realizing the expectations of educational course, and respecting different learning styles and skills.

Introduction: This study evaluates the nature of electronic learning based on the mutual experience of the students and learners at virtual universities. The main research question was how Iranian students experience electronic learning. In other words, we aimed to understand the meaning of the electronic learning phenomenon and define its different aspects in order for users to comprehend. Materials and Methods: This study is a qualitative study with a phenomenological method. Seven students from virtual universities were selected using the Snowball method and semi-structured and in-depth interviews were done. Then, the content of the interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Results: The study findings were presented based on the main research question in three categories: 1) Interaction, with two sub-categories of classmates and teachers. 2) Management and learning style. 3) Challenges and problems, with three sub-categories of culture, employment and weaknesses, and shortcomings.Conclusion: The results of this study show that lack of social presence and weak interaction between the students and teachers or their classmates, was one of the challenges the participants in this study faced. In the interaction categories the problems students faced was: feelings of mental insecurity, the teachers' irresponsibility due to the lack of visual or physical communication, lack of correct understanding of people and situations, exam anxiety resulting from not knowing the teacher's attitude and behavior, teachers' apathy towards questioning in classes with simultaneous communication, and feelings of loneliness. On the other hand, in electronic learning the students' role is more active. We also found cultural problems resulting from not accepting this method of learning in the country because of the students' sense of prejudice and inferiority, the weakness of technical infrastructures and management, and not benefiting from skilled teachers in virtual education.

Introduction: Microaneurysms (MAs) are one of the types of retinal lesions. MAs are one of the early signs of diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is one of the leading causes of vision loss. The presence of MA on the surface of the retina can severely affect the eye. Detection of MAs in a large number of images generated by screening images, is a very time consuming, cost – effective, and erroneous process. Therefore it is better to use a modern computer method for the detection of MAs. The aim of this study is to compare the different comparison types of automatic images of the retina in patients suffering from diabetes in order to quickly and accurately categorize and diagnose red colored pathology of the retina (microaneurysms), and the diagnosing diabetic retinopathy (DR) in primary stages. Materials and Methods: In this study, the region-based MAs diagnostic method was used for differentiating between these pathologies from other regions, and we also used classifiers such as decision trees, support vector machine and Bayesian networks. Therefore, the extracted data from Bayesian networks, must be trained electronically and prepare themselves for diagnosis and detection in the next stages. Results: In the methods, the sensitivity and the features of the categorization method of the mashin bordare poshtiban was 97.5% and 99.9% the …. Shabakiye method, 96.3% and 99.5%, and the decision tree categorization method, 100% and 98. Conclusion: After comparing the mentioned results, the best diagnosis method was the application of the C4.5 categorizer, and this method is based on decision making trees. This method was completely automatic with the help of a computer and analyzes and diagnosis the images without the interference of the physician. Compared to the clinical diagnosis methods it is more accurate.

This article is about learning in the virtual space or electronic learning groups which work in the network. Learning in these groups and societies suggest forms of learning that are innately collaborative . In this type of learning, the participants share their understanding of the subject with each other and cooperate with each other and support and help each other in related and goal-oriented processes which motivate them. They challenge higher cognitive and emotional skills. This can occur online in a laboratory, in a play ground, or in a class. collaborative learning is done in various forms. One of these forms is computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). Many theories are influential in our understanding of CSCL. These theories are socio-cultural theories, constructivism theory, self regulated learning, situation based cognition, cognitive apprenticeship, problem based learning, and flexibility learning. collaborative tools consist of: Email, computer networks, white board, discussion boards, chat, audio conferences, video conferences, instant messages, etc. computer supported systems are mostly categorized according to time and place tables (simultaneous versus non-simultaneous, face to face versus long distance). Simultaneous tools support simultaneous interaction between group members. Non-simultaneous tools support individual work that help group processes. The ever increasing use of such devices confirm their role in formal, informal and nonformal education. The attractiveness of these tools has lead to the increase of their users and this provides a special opportunity for those in the field of education. This study aims to define collaborative learning and electronic learning societies, and introduce the theories supporting this type of learning and electronic learning tools and their roles in formal and informal education.

Currently, e-Learning is an important concept in higher education and the wide range of universities thus created indicate the world-wide demand and need for learning. With electronic learning, the possibility for "learning without time and place limitations" is provided for students. The present review article is an analysis on the criteria for the quality and effectiveness of electronic learning in higher education based on suitable key words, books, electronic resources and reputed scientific sites. According to these principles features such active learning, learner-centered, interaction, considering individual differences, flexibility, feedback, and evaluation with the help of information and communication technology capabilities, are among the criteria for qualitative and effective learning.