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This study aims to reveal the general trend by examining the publications made between 2007 and 2023 related to eTwinning under various themes. Meta-synthesis method, a qualitative research design, was employed in this study. It is aimed to reveal the big picture for eTwining. eTwining is a newer education platform. A few study is seen and no review article is published in the literature. The results are presented as frequency and percentages. The review revealed that the highest number of studies was carried out in 2021, and qualitative research was the most preferred method. In addition, the studies were primarily performed with teachers and students, and the most used data collection tool was the interview. Teacher opinions and language education were the most common subjects in publications. Based on these results, it was suggested to employ quantitative and mixed methods and include different sample groups in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether the use of AI-Pengtalk, an AI-based Conversational English programme, provided by a broadcasting company (EBS) that specializes in public education can significantly improve conversational English skills and bridge the English language proficiency gap associated with parental socioeconomic status. Over the course of four weeks from April 27 to May 22 in 2020, 108 fourth-grade classes in 54 elementary schools voluntarily participated in this experiment. Two classes in each school were designated as a treatment group and a control group. For the treatment group, a tablet installed with a pilot version of AI-Pengtalk was provided and students were encouraged to make use of the programme. Two sets of surveys and English tests were placed pre and post hoc. After 4 weeks, test scores, log files, and survey responses of participants were analysed. A series of DID analyses demonstrate that the use of AI-Pengtalk improves the treatment group's self-evaluation of their English abilities, confidence in using English, preference on English itself, and amount of time spent on studying English during the pilot experimental period compared to the control group. When other variables were controlled, the use of AI-Pengtalk also helped the treatment group achieve higher test scores. This study implicates that the use of smart English education like AI-Pengtalk may especially be able to better compensate for academic setbacks caused by low parental SES or, in the case of English learning, the reluctance to converse in English with other students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative, pedagogically informed instructional design is instrumental in increasing student engagement and improving learning outcomes in online learning environments. Interactive learning resources provide students with the opportunity to engage with content in a more personalised manner. H5P (HTML 5 Package) is a collaborative platform that allows developers to create interactive content and has been regularly used in education settings. Some evidence suggests using interactive H5P resources in online education courses could lead to greater student engagement. However, to date, there has been little investigation into whether H5P resources can improve student learning outcomes. The current study aimed to assess whether using interactive H5P resources improved assessed learning outcomes in an online undergraduate psychology course. A randomized cross-over design was utilized to test whether students exposed to H5P interactive videos had improved assessment results when compared to a control group. This study found no meaningful differences in assessment scores between students exposed to H5P versus those that were not. There was low overall engagement with the interactive content. However, students who did engage with the resources reported a positive experience and indicated a preference for more interactive elements in future courses. Future research should extend on the instructional design obstacles identified in this study, for example, by examining whether improved accessibility and education on the benefits of interactive resources would increase engagement and grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) can be considered an important tool for professionals to reskill and upskill as well as a cost-efficient way to stay relevant. However, evidence-based research is still needed to identify why specific categories of people, especially professionals, take paid MOOCs. The paper aims to analyze the factors that influence IT working Professionals to adopt paid MOOCs using the UTAUT 2 model. Based on a survey conducted on 250 respondents, the study uses multiple regression to understand the significance of factors affecting the intention to adopt paid MOOCs. A multigroup analysis was also done to understand the differences among different age groups and genders. The results establish that social influence, facilitating conditions, brand credibility and price value are significant in the adoption of MOOCs. Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and curiosity were found to be insignificant. Based on the research findings, the implication of the study and future scope for research have been suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-learning is a method that meets the time and distance needs of postgraduate medical education. The general workload of postgraduates and disasters such as the Covid-19 pandemic create a need for e-learning. Therefore, in recent years, e-learning has drawn the attention of researchers because of its potential as a practical instructional approach in PGME. Systematic review method was employed in this study aiming to examine the e-learning applications in PGME through a summary of several recent studies that meet predetermined criteria regarding e-learning for postgraduate medical education. The PICOS (population, intervention, comparison, outcome, study design) framework was used to decide on inclusion and exclusion criteria. On reporting the results of the study, The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used. The review examines the differences between the identified studies in terms of research methods, data collection tools, study duration, sample size, and data analysis method. In addition, it compares the learning technology used, the format of e-learning delivery, types of e-learning, e-learning delivery features, learning content, content type, knowledge type, and learning outcome components of the studies. 57 studies that matched the desired quality indicators were identified from 10 databases. The majority of the studies worked on knowledge, attitude, and satisfaction. The studies were based on various methodologies and were carried out in a wide range of subject areas. There is a need to conduct more studies to compare different methods, tools, and pedagogical approaches in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyberloafing can be defined as using technological devices for extracurricular activities during the lesson. The misuse of technological tools and facilities in educational environments causes many learning problems. One of the most important behaviors that cause this problem is cyberloafing. The explorative and main aim of the current study is to examine the reasons behind the cyberloafing behaviors of those who learn Turkish as a foreign language in terms of various variables and explore the phenomenological point of view of participants. The research was carried out in accordance with the convergent parallel mixed method design. The "Cyberloafing Behaviors Scale" was employed to collect quantitative data from a total of 207 students learning Turkish in 5 different TÖMER (Teaching Turkish Center); in the process of qualitative data collection, open-ended questions formed by the researcher were used. For examining mean differences in terms of categorical variables t-test and separate ANOVAs were run. In ANOVAs, in order to minimize the possibility of error that may occur in the ANOVA test, type I error was controlled with Bonferroni correction. To determine predictors of cyberloafing behaviors of the study group multiple regression analysis was utilized. According to the findings of the current study, there was no significant difference between gender and time spent on social media and cyberloafing behavior; in the real-time updating dimension, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the B1 level and B2 and C1 levels. Having devices such as laptops stands out as the variable that predicts cyberloafing the most. It was also observed that cyberloafing behavior decreased as speaking skill increased. When the qualitative data was examined, the students stated that they were cyberloafing due to reasons such as messaging, sharing photos and videos because of boring lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of online interaction competencies is an important learning objective. The present study explored the relationships between the first-language heterogeneity of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) groups and the development of students' online interaction self-efficacy via a pretest–posttest design in the context of a nine-week CSCL course. The research participants were 1525 freshmen receiving distance education who were randomly assigned to 343 CSCL groups. Independent of their own language status, students in CSCL groups featuring first-language heterogeneity exhibited lower precourse–postcourse gains in online interaction self-efficacy than students in groups without heterogeneity. Consistent with a theoretically derived moderation model, the relationships between first-language heterogeneity and self-efficacy gains were moderated by the amount of time that the groups spent on task-related communication during the initial collaboration phase (i.e., the relationships were significant when little time was spent on it but not when a great deal of time was spent on it). In contrast, the amount of time that groups spent on communication related to getting to know each other was ineffective as a significant moderator. Follow-up analyses indicated that time spent getting to know each other in first-language heterogeneous CSCL groups seems to have had the paradoxical effect of increasing rather than decreasing perceptions of heterogeneity among group members. Apparently, this effect impaired online interaction self-efficacy gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the interaction between cognition and emotion in blended collaborative learning. The participants (n = 30) of this study were undergraduate students enrolled in a 16-week course on information technology teaching. These students were divided into six groups of five people each. The behavior modes of the participants were analyzed using a heuristic mining algorithm and inductive miner algorithm. Compared with the groups with low task scores, the high-scoring groups exhibited more reflection phases and cycles in the interaction process and thus more frequent self-evaluation and regulation behavior for forethought and performance. Moreover, the frequency of emotion events unrelated with cognition was higher for the high-scoring groups than for the low-scoring groups. On the basis of the research results, this paper presents suggestions for developing online and offline blended courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on educational institutions, schools had to close and switch to online education. Training in-service teachers to incorporate and utilize technology as part of Internet-based instructions was a challenge and pressing necessity. TPACK is an essential framework for comprehending how teachers employ technology in teaching. Despite the significance of adaptive learning environments in recent years, research has not addressed how to use these environments to improve the TPACK of in-service teachers, particularly during crises. Consequently, our objective was to design an adaptive learning environment that provides in-service math, science, and English teachers with substantial and continuing support for each TPACK component. A total of 173 in-service teachers were divided into two groups: an experimental group of 83 who used adaptive learning and a control group of 90 who used Zoom techniques. TPACK questionnaires were administered before and after the experiment. The experimental group improved TPACK more than the control group. All teachers believed that adaptive learning training helped them to build technology-integrated lesson plans. This study provides ideas and practices for developing an adaptive learning environment for the in-service teachers' TPACK development. The challenges to adaptive learning environments have been highlighted, identifying the potential for future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamification is mainly used to increase user engagement and motivation, hence increasing the user base and user activity. Defined by applying game elements to non-gaming contexts, gamification is mostly integrated with software applications in order to provide a gameful experience for users. Education has been one of the areas where gamification studies have focused a lot during the last decade. Young students with the age range of 7–12 years old (K-6) require different teaching methods to use their full potential. However, the methods and principles presented in studies on gamification and its application in education are not dedicated to K-6 students. Furthermore, the evolution of video games has brought new opportunities to develop new gamification elements and principles. In this research, the easter egg element has been implemented as a gamification element. Easter eggs can trigger children's curiosity by encouraging them to find all the Easter eggs, promising special rewards and perks. Additionally, a gamified approach is proposed for implementing a gamified software application for K-6 students. Based on the proposed approach, Science Island is implemented as an online gamified web application for K-6 students. In order to assess the proposed approach, a group of 47 sixth-grade students was selected to use the application for an observation period of 2 months. Feedbacks from students showed that more than 82% of the students agreed with the effectiveness of gamification in their educational performance. Additionally, the results from the data analysis revealed that students' learning performance was improved significantly after applying gamification elements; showing an increase of 0.63 in average quiz score from the second month compared to the first month. Furthermore, the user activity rate at the end of the observation period showed increased motivation among students for using the software application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we founded an Online Laboratory School (OLS) under the roof of a university in Turkey to support students from public schools that were not technologically prepared for an online education and to provide an opportunity for our pre-service teachers (PSTs) to continue their internship by teaching online. The purpose of this research, consisting of two studies, was to examine experiences of 43 PSTs (first-, third- and fourth-years) during the OLS period of 8 weeks and how the OLS affected their mathematics teaching anxiety during Fall 2020. In the first study, we administered a survey to inquire into PSTs' views on their experiences at the OLS, and in the second study we examined their mathematics teaching anxiety before and after the OLS experience using another survey. One main result was that the OLS experience served as an effective introduction to the profession for first-year PSTs and fourth- and third-year PSTs reported learning in-depth about online teaching in terms of the planning, teaching, and reflecting cycle. Another main result was that PSTs had mathematics teaching anxiety from "a little" to "a moderate amount" before the OLS and their teaching anxiety did not significantly change during the OLS period of 8 weeks. PSTs experienced highest mathematics teaching anxiety when they were observed and evaluated by supervisors during their teaching. The implications of these findings are discussed for teacher education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, many higher education programs had to switch to synchronous online teaching. Teachers suddenly faced pressing unaddressed challenges, such as how to better transfer their "presence" from the traditional classroom to the online space in a way that keeps students engaged. This paper explores new venues for increasing the quality of synchronous online learning. We propose the notion of broad on-slide presence, pillared on an increased instructor expressiveness and an elevated instructor slide-content interaction. We conducted four studies to investigate the benefits of delivering lectures in this format, using a mixed methods research approach. We combined survey methodology with transversal design and structural equation modelling with qualitative methodology using discourse analysis of teacher interviews. Results revealed a significant increase in perceived knowledge gain and attentional engagement, and an improved and more personal student experience. At the same time, the instructor's broader on-slide presence also resulted in an increased teacher satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blended synchronous classroom fosters equitable and balanced educational development; however, challenges persist, including low motivation and suboptimal effects on the deep learning of remote students. This study employs a student-centered learning approach and incorporates the process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) strategy into the blended synchronous science classroom. In this study, 182 fourth-grade students from four primary classes in south China were allocated using a quasi-experimental approach; among these four classes, one class from the urban area (proximal end) and one from the remote area (remote end) were paired, forming two matched classes, which constituted experimental group and control group. The experimental group took POGIL instruction, while the control group took traditional synchronous classroom instruction. The results indicated that students in classes using the POGIL intervention scored significantly higher than those in non-POGIL classes and that the POGIL instructional intervention not only facilitated the learning of science knowledge of the remote students but also promoted proximal students’ learning of science knowledge. In terms of deep learning, remote students in the POGIL class demonstrated significantly higher abilities in problem-solving, collaboration, communication, autonomous learning, self-efficacy, and perseverance in learning. Students expressed satisfaction with this instructional strategy. This paper discusses the effectiveness of applying the POGIL instructional strategy in teaching and technology support in the blended synchronous science classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a large variety of methodologies, contexts and perspectives have been used to examine educational application of technology, there is a paucity of instruments that are designed to comprehensively evaluate the use of technology in education. This paper presents a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of an instrument that incorporates eight key dimensions: learning, affective, behavioral, technology, design, pedagogy, presence/community, and institutional environment. These dimensions were derived from rigorous systematic literature review and field specialist validation processes. The model was then refined and empirically confirmed in this study by 1,352 participants undertaking a Coursera open online course. The results of applying the instrument, as well as qualitative feedback from participants, are shared to illustrate its breadth and utility. The final 28 item "Comprehensive Evaluation of Use of Technology in Education" instrument is provided in full to support consistent, holistic and robust evaluation and comparison of technology use across educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past decade, Virtual reality (VR)-enhanced education has been adopted as a pedagogically new learning approach to smooth the learning progress. With the rise of VR-enhanced activities, investigating the effect of personality types of EFL learners on their writing performance to use VR-based instruction for learning may be a crucial factor influencing their achievement. This study was an attempt to research the impact of VR- enhanced classes on paragraph writing of extrovert and introvert English foreign language (EFL) Learners. To achieve the purpose of the study, first, the Preliminary English Test (PET) was administered for ensuring the homogeneity of the sample. Once the homogeneity was established, a total of 52 EFL intermediate students were selected and placed into two comparative and two control groups, with 13 participants in each group. Four groups took part in the study, with two groups undergoing treatment with the non-VR teaching approach of paragraph writing and two groups undergoing treatment of VR-enhanced education. Among these four groups, two consisted of introverts and two extroverts that were identified through Eysenck Personality Inventory. The two comparative groups received 12 sessions of VR-enhanced education in online classes (instead of drawing pictures and sharing them within their group, they watched the process activities in the VR environment.), but the control group received learning writing paragraphs through using instructor's instructional materials. After 6-weeks of treatment sessions, all participants of the study took the post-test. According to the results, the VR-enhanced education was more effective than the non-VR teaching approach in developing paragraph writing of both introverts and extroverts. Moreover, the results of the research showed no significant differences between the performance of the introverts and extroverts, meaning that both had the same performance. The results of this study may pave the way for teachers to use VR-based technology in online and traditional classes without worrying about how learners with different personality traits respond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As students transition into tertiary blended learning environments, their digital literacy in terms of technical capabilities have potential to impact on their access to digital resources. The first foundational year of STEM degrees includes compulsory courses across a broad range of scientific areas, each of which incorporates online technology in a discipline-specific manner. Given the diversity of online resources that STEM students need to access across their first-year coursework, this study applies learning analytical methods to determine whether students' perceived level of digital literacy has an effect on their navigation of learning management systems (LMS) and overall academic performance. The frequency and nature of LMS interactivity were examined across four first-year STEM courses offered in the same semester at a single institution, using a K-means cluster analysis to group student responses. It was observed that high achieving students accessed LMS resources more frequently than mid or low-achieving students across all four STEM courses. Students' perceived level of digital literacy was collected via survey (n = 282), and students were sorted high (n = 106) and low-level (n = 176) of perceived digital literacy—HDL and LDL, respectively. HDL students were not consistently found in the high-achieving academic group and did not perform better in their overall grade when compared to LDL students. LDL students were observed to perform better in specific online assessment tasks, which may be attributed to their increased frequency of LMS interactivity. These findings highlight the delicate balance between students' perceived level of digital literacy, motivation for engaging with online learning environments, and academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an urgent need for professional development (PD) experiences to support teacher learning across hybrid and digital contexts. This study investigates teachers' experiences in a Virtual Pivot, a PD workshop designed to support computational thinking integration into disciplinary teaching. Participants were 151 middle and high school content area teachers, including 49 teachers who participated in previous face-to-face workshops. Virtual Pivot employed research-based design principles for virtual teacher PD, including asynchronous and synchronous engagement, explicit instruction in technological tools and scaffolds for teacher collaboration. Data sources included pre-PD surveys (n = 151), post-PD surveys (n = 119), interviews (n = 57) and six-month follow-up surveys (n = 105). Findings describe elements of Virtual Pivot which supported teacher learning and engagement (virtual community of practice, PD structure, during-PD support, pre-PD support and badges). We conclude by discussing this study's theoretical, methodological and practical contributions for designing and investigating virtual computational thinking PD experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative activities are a method used in higher education to develop the higher-order skills that students need to succeed in today's workforce. However, instructors have continued to make the integration of online collaborative activities a low priority. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of personal attitude on instructor intent to integrate collaborative activities. The principal results determined that participant behavioral beliefs determining personal attitude had a negative influence on instructor intent. The primary areas of influence were lack of real value, the increased difficulty with managing the activity, instructor challenges, and online student expectations. Major conclusions include providing instructors with expertise in instructional design and the tools needed to assess group performance, integrating a method for peer assessment, and implementing student contracts may have a positive impact on personal attitude. Future research should explore whether these strategies alter the intent to integrate online collaborative activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion boards can provide a glimpse into the regular and substantive interaction required in online courses. Advances in technology and an increased interest in learning analytics now provides researchers with billions of data points about instructor and student interaction within a learning management system (LMS). This study used LMS data to explore the frequency of interaction between instructors and students in discussion boards in online courses at one institution. Overall, 415 courses were analyzed spanning two semesters. Results from the study found that the average number of posts by an instructor was 32.9. The average instructor interaction was 1.49 instructor posts per student. 23% of courses had no instructor posts. Student posts averaged 470 per course and the average posts per student was 19.9. Based on the discussion board activity, the most discussion interaction occurred during the first two weeks of the semester. Results also suggested that there is no relationship between student satisfaction and the number of total posts in a course. The paper concludes with implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online learning has given access to education for diverse populations including students with disabilities. In our university, the ratio of students with disabilities is substantially higher in the online programmes than face-to-face. Online learning provides high accessibility though it can result in a lonely experience. Accordingly, this study aimed to appraise the first-hand experience and understanding of loneliness in online students with disabilities (OSWD), and to discuss possible solutions. Thematic analysis on semi-structured interviews attended by nine OSWD identified: 'Self-paced study can reduce stigma but cause loneliness (Theme 1)', 'Loneliness and social difficulties relate to misunderstanding of disability (Theme 2)', and 'Activities, events and staff for informal socialisation are needed (Theme 3)'. As the demand for online learning is further expanded due to the current global pandemic, our findings will be helpful for online learning institutions worldwide to establish effective strategies to reduce loneliness in OSWD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exist numerous resources online to gain the desired level of knowledge on any topic. However, this complicates the process of selecting the most appropriate resources. Every learner differs in terms of their learning speed, proficiency, and preferred mode of learning. This paper develops an adaptive learning management system to tackle this challenge. It creates a customized course for every student based on their level of knowledge, preferred mode of learning and continuously updates the course based on their learning speed. The material is filtered from a knowledge base that is dynamically updated using web scraping and ranked using feedback from students on the relevance and quality of each material. The model is tested in two phases: the content generation algorithm and the learnability of the system as a whole. The evaluation is done both quantitatively and qualitatively and validated with statistical analysis. Real-time testing of the system shows state-of-the-art performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the difficult educational condition caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the design and development of mobile phone apps and technologies for teaching and learning are being more considered. Moreover, technology-based infrastructure for the use of distance education is developing rapidly. In this paper, an Android application called Triangular App (TriApp) was designed for teaching multiplication to preschool children. This application uses the Triple Multiplication method in which three numbers (including two numbers, and the product of multiplication of these two numbers) are considered as a group. By repeating and memorizing this group, if any of the numbers are not displayed, the child can guess the missed number. With TriApp, in addition to multiplication, children can also learn division. There is a test and competition section in which the child receives points by giving the correct answers, which increases the children's desire to learn. To evaluate the effectiveness of the TriApp, two preschool children groups were examined in 10 days. The former learned multiplication using TriApp and the later learned it using the multiplication table (repeated additions). The results showed that during test, 100% of the children that used the TriApp could answer asked multiplications correctly and only 40-70% of the children who were trained through multiplication table could answer asked multiplications correctly. Also, the children were satisfied 94% with the application, whereas, they were satisfied only 60% with the multiplication table. This mobile application was developed using Java programming language, Eclipse IDE, and SQLite database., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2022.)