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The use of online social networks (OSNs) has increasingly attracted attention from scholars’ in different disciplines. Recently, student behaviors in online social networks have been extensively examined. However, limited efforts have been made to evaluate and systematically review the current research status to provide insights into previous study findings. Accordingly, this study conducted a systematic literature review on student behavior and OSNs to explicate to what extent students behave on these platforms. This study reviewed 104 studies to discuss the research focus and examine trends along with the important theories and research methods utilized. Moreover, the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model was utilized to classify the factors that influence student behavior. This study’s results demonstrate that the number of studies that address student behaviors on OSNs have recently increased. Moreover, the identified studies focused on five research streams, including academic purpose, cyber victimization, addiction, personality issues, and knowledge sharing behaviors. Most of these studies focused on the use and effect of OSNs on student academic performance. Most importantly, the proposed study framework provides a theoretical basis for further research in this context.

This research aims to explore and investigate potential factors influencing students’ academic achievements and satisfaction with using online learning platforms. This study was constructed based on Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) and Bloom’s Taxonomy Theory (BTT). This study was conducted on 243 students using online learning platforms in higher education. This research utilized a quantitative research method. The model of this research illustrates eleven factors on using online learning platforms to improve students’ academic achievements and satisfaction. The findings showed that the students’ background, experience, collaborations, interactions, and autonomy positively affected students’ satisfaction. Moreover, effects of the students’ application, remembering, understanding, analyzing, and satisfaction was positively aligned with students’ academic achievements. Consequently, the empirical findings present a strong support to the integrative association between TDT and BTT theories in relation to using online learning platforms to improve students’ academic achievements and satisfaction, which could help decision makers in universities and higher education and colleges to plan, evaluate, and implement online learning platforms in their institutions.

Virtual reality can be defined as “near reality” where virtual is near and reality is experience by humans. The aim of this research is to explore the benefits of VR technology in education that can engage the learning process using Virtual Reality (VR) in the classroom. Thus, the research objectives are to seek for student design and development of application, convenient, facileness and gratification of VR application in learning process. Using quantitative method, data from questionnaires and evaluations of existing Virtual Reality applications were analyzed in descriptive way to assess the viability of mobile Virtual Reality as a medium for improving learning. The developing process of an VR mobile based application is defined explicitly, and the final graphical student interface of the application is demonstrated to show overall look of the final product that is developed for this project. This includes three types of testing in this project which are performance testing, user acceptance testing and usability testing. Based on the 40 respondents results, it can be concluded that virtual reality application is a good application that can enhance and also engage students learning process in science subject as the mean value for perceived of convenient items was 3.67, followed by 3.66 for perceived of facileness items and finally mean value for perceived of gratification items was 3.61. To conclude, virtual reality application is an effective application for students’ science learning process in school especially in the 21st century teaching and learning.

The aim of this research was to reduce the dissimilarities in the literature regarding the use of social media platforms (SMPs) for training and its impact on students’ satisfaction and academic performance in higher education institutions. The main method of data collection for Communication Theory (CT) was a questionnaire survey. This research hypothesizes that CT applied to social media platforms for learning will affect online communication, motives to communicate, communication self-efficacy and attitude towards usethat in turn improve students’ satisfaction and students’ academic performance. The data collection questionnaire was conducted with 309 students familiar with social media platforms. Quantitative structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the results. A significant relationship was found between online communication, motives to communicate, communication self-efficacy and attitude towards usefeatures with TC for utilizing social media platforms for academic purposes that positively affected satisfaction and academic performance. Therefore, the study indicates that TC theory to use social media improve the collaborative learning of students and enable them to efficiently share knowledge, information, and discussions. We recommend that students utilize social media platforms in pursuit of their educational goals. Educators should also be persuaded to incorporate social media platforms into their classes at higher education institutions.

Web-based learning settings are more convenient than face-to-face learning settings, whereas they present additional opportunities for education that occurs in various environments. However, many educational institutions specially in the third world countries are not prepared for the challenges involved in offering quality Web-based courses. This research aimed to identify Web based courses effects on students' satisfaction and learning autonomy based on Moore’s transactional distance theory (TDT) through web-based courses. Therefore, this study seeks to develop a model to measure students’ background, students’ experience, students’ learning autonomy, students’ dialogue with their instructor, and students’ satisfaction. A quantitative approach was implemented in this study. Whereas a questionnaire was the major data collection tool, thus it was distributed amongst 377 learners. Furthermore, the obtained data was examined using AMOS-SEM. More specifically, SEM was applied for the independent variables which were dependent in a subsequent dependent correlation. The results showed that students’ background, students’ experience, students’ learning autonomy, and students’ dialogue there were positive and significant relationship with students’ satisfaction. Additionally, the students had a feeling of satisfaction. Therefore, the results proposed a guideline for instructors of institutions of higher learning in Palestine to design and create web-based courses that would increase students’ autonomy and satisfaction in the Web-based learning settings.

Background: E-learning is increasingly becoming a preference in higher education institutions worldwide; this is intended to assist educational institutions in achieving objectives to meet the proportion of individuals with their educational opportunities. Nevertheless, instructors and students frequently have concerns with their capacity to succeed in E-learning environments. Objectives: This study aimed to presents common eLearning challenges in regard to e-learning courses structure and its relations to various factors, for instance; students’ autonomy, prior knowledge and experience, students- students dialogue, and students- instructor dialogue, and proposes solutions to these challenges based on the transactional distance theory. Moreover, this study presents evidence from Malaysian higher institutions based on theoretical models for e-learning course structure and its relations to the factors mentioned above. Methods: Data have been collected from 680 university learners all over Malaysia. Data were then examined using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling employing Smart PLS 3.0 software. Results and conclusion: Research findings indicated that e-learning course structure was affected by all dimensions of overall path analysis findings: student autonomy, students background, student-instructor dialogue, and student-student dialogue. However, the e-learning course structure showed insignificant with students’ prior experience. Implications: Implications for universities are discussed accordingly. Such findings provide vital support to the integrative association among collaborative control (CC) and transactional distance theory (TDT) regarding e-learning environments experience, which might support universities administrators in the higher education industry to implement, plan and evaluate online learning platforms applications in their institutions.

The purpose of the study is to examines the dominant design and learning strategy used by various MOOCs platforms to foster students’ Self Directed Learning. Method used in the study was based on the search of relevant literature through online database such as IEEE Explore, ProQuest, ScienceDirect and ResearchGate. The keywords in the search for the relevant literature include MOOCs and learning strategy, MOOCs and design strategy, MOOCs and Self Directed Learnig. The result of the meta-analysis revealed that the most frequently used learning strtegies by the various MOOCs platforms are the social construcvist and peer-to-peer approach to learning. These two strategies are found to be related to cMOOCs and xMOOCs. Similarly, of all the designs the dominant design strategy use by MOOCs providers is cMOOC and partially the blended or hybrid MOOCs. The study revealed the dominant learning strategies employed by MOOCs platforms. This may help other MOOCs designers to give emphasis to the use of best learning strategies and perhaps improve on the existing ones. The findings may also have implication to students willling to acquire knowledge through MOOCs to choose the appropriate instruction strategy that will Foster SDL.