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Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities shifted to fully online learning. This study contributes to the existing online learning literature by examining the connection between course success, student engagement, and levels of computer and computer-mediated communication anxiety. The research delves into understanding the impact of anxiety on course engagement and the relationship between engagement and overall course success. Regression analyses were used to test hypotheses, revealing an interaction between computer anxiety and computer-mediated communication anxiety. The study underscores the importance of student engagement with course materials, particularly for assignments that require higher-order thinking. In contrast, objective quizzes and tests that do not require higher-order thinking were unaffected by engagement. The findings emphasize the collective responsibility of professors, advisors, and universities to improve student engagement. Recommendations include structuring courses to address anxiety, employing gamification techniques for technical classes, and fostering connections through discussion boards in online courses. Increasing engagement emerges as a pivotal strategy for academic success.

This paper investigates how lecturers’ connectedness with students affected their experience of online teaching during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK and Switzerland. We examined how this connectedness predicted lecturers’ self-efficacy in online teaching. This was in addition to other social context variables (connectedness with colleagues and perceived support from the university) and their previous experience with digital tools. The shift to online teaching in the lockdown period abruptly removed any in-person contact between lecturers and their students. Lecturers’ self-efficacy in online teaching is crucial to student motivation, achievement, and the lecturer's own teaching experience. Likewise, lecturers’ connectedness with students and colleagues has been identified as a key factor in learning. Consequently, this study explored how different forms of connectedness predicted lecturers’ self-efficacy in the new teaching environment. A total of 252 lecturers from UK and Swiss universities completed an online survey about their teaching experiences before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. Multiple regressions were used to predict lecturers’ online teaching self-efficacy. The results revealed that connectedness with students was a significant and positive predictor of online teaching self-efficacy. However, connectedness with colleagues and perceived support from the university did not. The perception that digital tools enhanced teaching prior to the lockdown was a significant predictor only for the UK lecturers, but not for the Swiss ones. These findings point towards lecturers’ connectedness with their students being a pathway to success in online teaching.

The current digital transformation agenda connects beliefs/attitudes to behaviour/practice. Both of these elements are well established and continue to evolve. This paper conceptualizes the effects of digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on understanding the effects of causal factors (COVID-19 and digital transformation, on teachers' beliefs and practices. In the context of this conceptual paper, we delineate this to university education but argue that it is conceptually applicable to any educational setting. Our exploration of the phenomenon has yielded the conclusion that beliefs/attitudes are fluid, are formed cyclically, and that teachers' associated behaviour/practices are located along a continuum and are influenced by both technological and personal factors. We believe our arguments are valid because when COVID-19 fades as an "event", the world will have evolved new norms that include newer practices, inevitably informed by technological and personal factors. We provide a basis for understanding the effects of digitally transformed environments and how one might respond to such eventualities. We suggest a theoretical model that outlines the moderating constructs inherent in any digitally transformed environment. The theoretical model provides a hook for research into the beliefs-practice nexus and as a basis for supporting teachers in digitally transformed environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was built on two strands of earlier research on the community of inquiry framework (CoI). The first strand was Biglan's seminal work on disciplinary epistemological structures and how these structures impact digital technology-enabled higher education teaching. In the other strand, some rare studies suggested that emotional issues are important to understanding higher education teaching. Nevertheless, research that links these two strands is even rarer. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the relationship between digital technology-enabled teaching in higher educational settings, the presences of the community of inquiry framework (CoI), and disciplinary epistemological structures. Survey responses from 143 teachers were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis (SEM) and reflexive thematic analysis. Emotional presence was found to be a possible fourth element in the CoI. Disciplinary differences (coded as pure vs. applied sciences) were found to have an effect on the CoI, and that effect was particularly evident through the mediation of emotional presence. The differentiating factor was teachers’ views on the role of teaching. When guiding digital design, the recommendation is to consider such disciplinary differences specifically.

In response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, instructors began using online learning platforms to offer live remote instruction (e.g., Zoom), which allow students to view themselves in real‐time (i.e., self‐view). The present research examined whether having students keep their cameras on, relative to cameras off, during a live online lecture would increase anxiety and reduce learning. In both Experiment 1a (small group setting) and Experiment 1b (large group setting), students in the camera‐on condition did not report greater state anxiety, nor was anxiety associated with lower performance on an immediate multiple‐choice exam. Experiment 2 specifically examined the effect of self‐view and if appearance anxiety (rather than state anxiety) might mediate the relationship between camera use and test performance. Results indicate that participants viewing themselves reported significantly higher appearance anxiety, and that higher appearance anxiety was related to decreased learning. These findings suggest that viewing oneself may uniquely contribute to heightened appearance anxiety and may reduce memory for content when learning synchronously online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a prominent impact of social contexts on teachers' professional development in remote classroom teaching. To explore how the change has altered human-environment relationships in university language classes, this qualitative case study investigated three teachers' progressive reflection on their use of affordances for teaching Chinese as a second language (L2) during COVID-19. Under the framework of human ecological language pedagogy, three themes of emergency remote teaching emerged from monthly semi-structured interviews about the three teachers’ reflective practice in remote classrooms: computer-dominant teaching conditions, flexible classroom interaction, and rational social empathy in L2 education. The findings suggest the importance of a growth mindset for L2 teachers to leverage their teaching abilities and environmental resources for continuing professional development during COVID-19 and post-pandemic periods.

Co-viewing video lectures, where students watch lectures simultaneously with one or more remote peers and engage in interpersonal communication on learning tasks online, is becoming increasingly popular. However, there is a dearth of studies examining students' behavioral and cognitive patterns during the co-viewing process. This study employed eye-tracking and screen recording methods to examine undergraduate students' learning processes in co-viewing video lectures. It specifically focused on how students used video lectures and engaged in discussions to complete a design task. Lag sequential analysis of learning behaviors revealed that, compared to low-performers, high-performers were more engaged in behavioral sequences involving clarifying learning tasks. Furthermore, epistemic network analysis of conversations revealed that high-performers demonstrated stronger connections between deep-level knowledge and a high level of uptake in design skills. In contrast, low-performers exhibited more connections between superficial-level knowledge and a low level of uptake in these skills. The findings suggest that in co-viewing video lectures, it's crucial to engage students in clarifying behavioral sequences. Furthermore, the co-occurrence of deep-level knowledge, design skills, and a high level of uptake in shared ideas significantly enhances learning. Our research on learning processes suggests important strategies for students during co-viewing of video lectures: teachers are encouraged to design effective interactive activities and create suitable support interventions to enhance student learning performance in video lectures. • High-performers were more engaged in clarifying behavioral sequences. • Low-performers adjusted their artifacts by viewing their peers' artifacts. • High-performers demonstrated strong connections between deep-level knowledge and high levels of uptake. • Low-performers demonstrated strong connections between superficial-level knowledge and low levels of uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flipped learning is a popular pedagogy, and its benefits, challenges and implementations have recently been discussed widely. This study presents the implementation of a new ‘supported’ flipped learning model for teaching foundation-year mathematics, built on mathematics anxiety principles. Effective flipped learning requires a good course structure, and therefore the purpose of this study is to explore student perspectives and experiences of the structure of the supported flipped learning model. Interviews were carried out with students who took a foundation mathematics module between 2016 and 2021 (n = 34), including cohorts who experienced it in blended forms and entirely online. One overarching theme of structure and online working encapsulates six themes forming the discussion: ‘timing is important’; ‘structure of materials’; ‘online enables access’; ‘distractions online and at home’; ‘finding online difficult’; and ‘better than traditional teaching methods’. The results show that students from a range of disciplines, including non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses, are positive about the supported flipped learning model for studying mathematics, believing it superior to traditional teaching methods. The structure of this model gives students a sense of progression while providing a safety net for students with lower levels of self-regulation who often find flipped environments challenging. The structure of lessons, the materials used, and delivery infrastructure are crucial to success. The new model presented here advances current use of flipped learning for mathematics, and potentially other subjects, in higher education. The structure has also been shown to be appropriate for rapid transition to online learning.

This paper shows the results of an experiment applied to 170 students from two Chilean universities who solve a task about reading a graph of an affine function in an online assessment environment where the parameters (coefficients of the graphed affine function) are randomly defined from an ad-hoc algorithm, with automatic correction and automatic feedback. We distinguish two versions: one of them with integer coefficients and the other one with decimal coefficients in the affine function. We observed that the nature of the coefficients impacts the mathematical work used by the students, where we again focus on two of them: by direct estimation from the graph or by calculating the equation of the line. On the other hand, feedback oriented towards the “estimation” strategy influences the mathematical work used by the students, even though a non-negligible group persists in the “calculating” strategy, which is partly explained by the perception of each of the strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research and practice centred around students and academics working together to co-create in the higher level sector has increased, co-creation in assessment remains relatively rare in a higher education context. It is acknowledged in the literature that deeper comprehension of content can be realised when students author their own questions and solutions, rather than just answering teacher-designed questions. However, to date, studies measuring the impact of students co-creating assessment instruments on academic performance are limited. Situated within a constructivist learning paradigm, this study examines the effect on academic performance of students creating their own multiple-choice questions using an on-line peer-learning environment. We use a novel experimental approach, designed to overcome many of the acknowledged limitations of prior studies, to quantitatively measure the effectiveness of the co-creation assignment on student learning. We find that co-creation has a statistically significant impact on their academic performance in relevant topic in the end-of-semester exam. [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]

In massive open online course (MOOC) discussion board, students' learning experience, reflecting implicit cognitive and affective states, is related to their learning outcomes and course's completion rates. The majority of researches about learning experience identification in MOOCs depend on post-hoc questionnaires, which may encounter issues such as personal biases, hazy memories, or time constraints, and distribution difficulty in MOOCs. Moreover, learning experience is influenced by students' interactions during learning but their relationship has not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to address these issues. Firstly, it proposed an artificial intelligence-based text analysis approach for automatically identifying patterns of learning experiences from the large-scale students' posts in MOOC discussion board. It had performance advantage in terms of accuracy when compared with the other competing approaches. Secondly, this study defined students' interactive roles from both social relations and interaction behaviors in MOOC discussion board, and analyzed learning experiences corresponding to the different interactive roles. For students with high participation and low influence in interactions, flow and boredom were prone to happen, while for students with low participation and high influence in interactions, anxiety and apathy were easy to generate. Finally, this study revealed the effect of learning experience on learning achievement with respect to interactive role. For students with high participation characteristics, their learning achievements were less affected by learning experience, while for students less active in interaction, flow was related with good learning achievements. In summary, this study had significant methodological implications for automated learning experience identification. Moreover, this study revealed importance of interactive role in describing the interplay between learning experience and learning achievement, and provided suggestions for the improvement of MOOCs. • Patterns of learning experiences were automatically identified by AI technique. • Learning experiences corresponding to interactive roles were thoroughly explored. • Effects of learning experience on achievements about interactive roles were revealed. • The findings can provide practical implications for improvement of MOOCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time management is crucial for college students' academic success and learning of computer programming. Yet the changes of time management behaviors and their associations with learning outcomes are underexplored in online learning of programming. To address the gap, this study employed an intensive longitudinal approach to examine undergraduates' time management behaviors in an online programming problem system. Specifically, we analyzed weekly indicators of academic procrastination and spaced practice derived from programming traces. We applied dynamic structural equation modeling to examine the changes in these behaviors over time and their correlations with weekly quiz performance. Academic procrastination and self-selected spaced practice showed a significant upward trend over time, while incentivized spaced practice exhibited a significant downward trend. Moreover, students with prior programming experience showed a greater growth rate in spacing behaviors. At both within- and between-person levels, procrastination predicted quiz performance significantly and negatively, while self-selected spaced practice predicted quiz performance significantly and positively. In contrast, incentivized spaced practice predicted quiz performance positively at the within-person level but negatively at the between-person level. Additionally, quiz performance in the current week predicted subsequent time management behaviors significantly. These findings contribute to the understanding of procrastination and spaced practice in online programming learning and have implications for the design of scaffolding on time management. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the significance of combining intensive longitudinal approaches and action logs in examining the temporality of learning in online environments. • Intensive longitudinal methods were used to analyze action logs in online programming learning. • Academic procrastination and self-selected spaced practice increased across weeks. • Incentivized spaced practice generally decreased across weeks. • Incentivized spaced practice predicted quiz scores positively within-person but negatively between-person. • Quiz scores in the current week predicted procrastination and two spacing behaviors in the next week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with learning disabilities meet difficulties in cognitive abilities that are likely to affect their learning, especially online learning. Online learning usually lacks efficient face-to-face monitoring and leads to poor learning outcomes; in this case, students' self-regulated learning in an online environment matter. However, Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) status remains unclear for those with learning disabilities and how their working memory and processing speed affect self-regulated learning. A total of 147 undergraduate students were recruited from three public and four private universities in Taiwan to join this study, and they completed a self-reported questionnaire and several psychological measures. Our results revealed significant differences in SRL features between typically developing Chinese undergraduates and those with learning disabilities in an online environment. Compared to the students with learning disabilities, typically developing students outperformed in metacognitive skills, time management, environmental structuring, and persistence. Help-seeking was comparable between both groups. Working memory significantly contributed to SRL in all students, whereas processing speed only significantly influenced SRL in students with learning disabilities. The findings of this study have important implications for educators, researchers, and instructional designers aiming to optimize online learning experiences and support, especially from the perspective of SRL, for all students, particularly those with learning disabilities. • Cognitive deficits and online SRL of learning disabilities are unexplored in Chinese. • Students learning disabilities underperformed in all features of online SRL. • Working memory significantly contributed to SRL in two groups of students. • Processing speed significantly influenced SRL in students with learning disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital Design is a laboratory course, and the educator must focus on the students' need to know why they study the theory and mainly on the transition from knowledge-based learning to competency-based learning. This study consists of five surveys that were conducted during 2017–2021. First, we evaluated students' learning outcomes in order to define possible learning problems. According to the literature, gamification can have a positive impact on students' motivation and learning outcomes. Therefore, we used ready-made digital games in order to evaluate students' satisfaction and willingness toward their integration in the educational process. This process was repeated in the next academic year. The feedback we received from the previous surveys has helped us to adapt to the new approaches of teaching due to the current pandemic caused by COVID-19. We proposed an online holistic environment based on Keller's (1987) ARCS model and Malone's (1981) motivational model, which was applied in distance learning. Each student participated in a student-centered learning experience. He took an active role and was self-manager of his learning process. He was given the opportunity to develop capabilities and strategies through practice and engagement in higher-order cognitive activities, acquire self-learning skills, learn how to solve problems, and participate in teamwork. This study's innovation is that students experienced a combination of learning approaches: (a) a virtual lab consisting of simulation-based activities, which allowed students to access new laboratory experiences, (b) a project-based digital game without a processor, which developed their motivation, creativity, and hands-on ability, as opposed to the other relevant studies that use ready-made games, and (c) asynchronous videos as feedback, which ensured the educator's emotional support and social presence. Finally, this study developed research to evaluate the effectiveness of this online holistic environment and used a questionnaire, which was created based on Keller's Instructional Materials Motivation Survey tool. The results showed that its integration in distance learning is probable to motivate students to learn and affect positively their attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. [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]

Existing Predictive Learning Analytics (PLA) systems utilising machine learning models show they can improve teacher practice and, at the same time, student outcomes. The accuracy, and related errors, of these systems can negatively influence their adoption. However, little effort has been made to investigate the errors made by the underlying models. This study focused on errors of models predicting students at risk of not submitting their assignments. We analysed two groups of error when the model was confident about the prediction: (a) students predicted to submit their assignment, yet they did not (False Negative; FN), and (b) students predicted not to submit their assignment yet they did (False Positive; FP). We followed the principles of thematic analysis to analyse interview data from 27 students whose predictions presented FN or FP errors. Findings revealed the significance of unexpected events occurring during studies that can affect students' behaviour and cannot be foreseen and accounted for in PLA, such as changes in family and work responsibilities, unexpected health issues and computer problems. Interview data helped identify new data sources, which could be integrated into predictions to mitigate some of the errors, such as study loan application information. Some other sources, e.g. capturing student knowledge at the start of the course, would require changes in the learning design of courses. Our insights showcase the importance of complimenting AI-based systems with human intelligence. In our case, these were both the interviewed students providing insights, as well potential users of these systems, e.g. teachers, who are aware of contextual factors, invisible to ML algorithms. We discuss the implications for improving predictions, learning design and teacher training in using PLA in their practice.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which students’ course perceptions (i.e., perceptions of empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring) and cost beliefs predict their effort and grades in an online course. We surveyed 1,446 students in an online geography course. Students completed closed- and open-ended items and we used structural equation modeling and qualitative coding to analyze the data. Students’ course perceptions predicted their course effort, which then predicted their final course grade. The quantitative findings demonstrated that students’ situational interest and perceptions of instructor caring were statistically significant predictors of their effort and achievement. The qualitative findings indicated that students’ perceptions of the usefulness of the course content and their interest affected their effort, as did the amount of time that they had available for course activities. The findings were moderated by students’ perceptions of course ease. Students reported decreased effort when they believed that they could succeed and the course was easy, and when they believed it was going to take a lot of time and the course was difficult. This study highlights the importance of designing courses that (a) interest students in the course activities, (b) foster perceptions of caring between the instructor and students, (c) are at an appropriate level of difficulty, and (d) provide a reasonable workload with considerations for students with time constraints. Researchers may use the findings to develop interventions and strategies that instructors can use to encourage students to put forth more effort in online courses.

Global educational systems had not anticipated that one day, overnight, they would have to move their traditional teaching to online learning. This move was disruptive and highlighted the need for future educational systems designed to bridge the gap between face-to-face (f2f) and online learning with minimal disruption. We present statistical evidence that learners in flipped f2f classes did not experience disruption when moved fully online. On the contrary, we found that our two measures of disruption, student satisfaction with learning and student engagement, improved when the flipped classes were moved fully online. This we attribute to the focus on student learning using computer-based materials that is part of flipped learning. While there are classes unsuitable for flipping, the pandemic has demonstrated that all classes can be taught online. This suggests that a greater emphasis on using computers for learning in traditional f2f classes will make them less vulnerable to future natural or man-made disasters that may force an unexpected transition to online learnin [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the application of flipped and blended learning techniques to a Final Year Computer Science course in a UK University. All student interactions with the course are recorded in the institution’s Virtual Learning Environment and a number of metrics of engagement are identified and assessed as potential indicators of success. A statistical analysis of these metrics revealed that although attendance remains a significant indicator of student success in this scenario, consistency of engagement is a more accurate guide. Results show that students with a longest average gap between engagements of 12 days or fewer are likely to achieve the highest grade, while measuring the number of days on which material was accessed or measuring the total time spent engaging with the material are less reliable measures.

Digital Design is a laboratory course, and the educator must focus on the students’ need to know why they study the theory and mainly on the transition from knowledge-based learning to competency-based learning. This study consists of five surveys that were conducted during 2017–2021. First, we evaluated students’ learning outcomes in order to define possible learning problems. According to the literature, gamification can have a positive impact on students’ motivation and learning outcomes. Therefore, we used ready-made digital games in order to evaluate students’ satisfaction and willingness toward their integration in the educational process. This process was repeated in the next academic year. The feedback we received from the previous surveys has helped us to adapt to the new approaches of teaching due to the current pandemic caused by COVID-19. We proposed an online holistic environment based on Keller’s (1987) ARCS model and Malone’s (1981) motivational model, which was applied in distance learning. Each student participated in a student-centered learning experience. He took an active role and was self-manager of his learning process. He was given the opportunity to develop capabilities and strategies through practice and engagement in higher-order cognitive activities, acquire self-learning skills, learn how to solve problems, and participate in teamwork. This study’s innovation is that students experienced a combination of learning approaches: (a) a virtual lab consisting of simulation-based activities, which allowed students to access new laboratory experiences, (b) a project-based digital game without a processor, which developed their motivation, creativity, and hands-on ability, as opposed to the other relevant studies that use ready-made games, and (c) asynchronous videos as feedback, which ensured the educator’s emotional support and social presence. Finally, this study developed research to evaluate the effectiveness of this online holistic environment and used a questionnaire, which was created based on Keller’s Instructional Materials Motivation Survey tool. The results showed that its integration in distance learning is probable to motivate students to learn and affect positively their attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

This paper describes the application of flipped and blended learning techniques to a Final Year Computer Science course in a UK University. All student interactions with the course are recorded in the institution's Virtual Learning Environment and a number of metrics of engagement are identified and assessed as potential indicators of success. A statistical analysis of these metrics revealed that although attendance remains a significant indicator of student success in this scenario, consistency of engagement is a more accurate guide. Results show that students with a longest average gap between engagements of 12 days or fewer are likely to achieve the highest grade, while measuring the number of days on which material was accessed or measuring the total time spent engaging with the material are less reliable measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research conducted in in-person classrooms has demonstrated that helping behavior—requesting and giving help in academic settings—plays an important role in learning. However, little is known about peer-to-peer help-giving in online learning environments, and online students may find it difficult to receive the help they need to succeed. Specifically, we have little knowledge of the factors contributing to productive helping behavior in online spaces, as well as how these factors may support students' online learning experiences. Thus, the aim of the present study was to understand the conditions underlying effective peer help-giving in online college course discussion forums. To this end, we surveyed 88 college students about what they found helpful or unhelpful in examples of replies to requests for help posted to an online statistics college course discussion forum. A qualitative analysis of participants' written responses using a grounded theory approach yielded a model for assessing the helpfulness of peer help-giving replies within the discussion forum context. We learned that online help-giving replies could take the form of direct help—such as being elaborated, accurate, relevant, and/or understandable to the help-seeker—or indirect help—such as being encouraging, resource providing, calling to the community, and/or being concise. Our emergent online-specific model of academic help-giving contributes to existing theory by illustrating how peer help-giving replies can be structured to promote social, cognitive, and teaching presence in online communities of inquiry. Ultimately, these findings could inform practices that improve online learning opportunities for students. • Qualitative analysis of students' perceptions of help-giving in online settings. • We propose a model describing what students find helpful in online discussions. • Online help-giving can take the form of both direct help and indirect help. • Online settings present unique advantages and challenges for help-giving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of the internet in education has been greatly encouraged by the COVID-19 epidemic. Studying students' internet-specific epistemic beliefs (ISEB) and possible correlates would benefit online teaching and learning. However, little research has been conducted in this field. Therefore, we investigated the current status of ISEB among college students and considered the impact of self-regulated learning (SRL) and e-academic dishonesty (e-AD) on ISEB. A survey research method and convenience sampling were employed. A total of 538 Chinese college students completed the self-reported questionnaire. Our results indicate that although no significant differences were found in ISEB in terms of gender and academic major, students with different backgrounds also differed in e-AD experience and SRL. Three dimensions of ISEB were negatively correlated with SRL, while one had a significant positive correlation. In addition, the latter dimension of ISEB was negatively correlated with e-AD. Finally, SRL and e-AD jointly significantly predicted students' different ISEB, with explanatory power ranging from 14% to 36%. Study techniques of SRL were common predictors that could negatively predict the certainty, simplicity, and source of ISEB and positively predict justification. Based on the results, specific methods for schools, teachers and librarians to enhance students' ISEB are provided. • Male students are more likely to engage in e-AD than female students. • Liberal arts students have a better planned learning and few experience on specific type of e-AD than science students. • Senior students have more e-AD experience than sophomore and junior students. • Justification of internet-specific epistemic beliefs is negatively related all kinds of e-AD. • Study techniques is the common predictor on students' internet-specific epistemic beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining students' learning engagement was a challenge in emergency online education during the pandemic. In this study, we investigated the predictors (social interaction) and outcomes (self-directed study) of engagement in online learning during the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic. First-year Japanese university students (N = 1167) enrolled in online classes during 2020 and 2021 responded to a questionnaire measuring perceived opportunities for social interaction during online classes, engagement with online learning, and extracurricular self-directed study time. Multi-group path analysis revealed that social interaction during online classes exhibited a positive indirect effect on self-directed study time through emotional and behavioral engagement with online learning. The positive indirect effect was significant in both the first and second years of the pandemic. The results suggest that increasing the number of opportunities for social interaction during online classes may exhibit spillover effects on learning outside the online classroom. • Engagement with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was investigated. • Interaction in online classes had a positive effect on self-directed study time. • Emotional and behavioral engagement with online learning mediated the effect. • The effect was significant both in the first and second years of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the current study was to investigate the effects of affective pedagogical agent (PA) and student-generated explanation on learners' affective processing, visual attention, and learning outcomes during a video lesson. In a 2 (affective pedagogical agent: positive PA vs. neutral PA) × 2 (generative learning strategy: self-explanation vs. re-study) between-subjects design, participants watched an animation on synaptic transmission from a multimedia lesson that was either delivered by a positive PA or a neutral PA. After watching the video, students either generated a verbal explanation or rewatched the video. All students' eye movements were tracked during learning and then took learning outcome tests. The results showed that: (a) students who learned with a positive PA paid more attention to relevant elements of the materials and performed better on learning outcomes than those who learned with a neutral PA; (b) self-explanation facilitated visual processing and learning outcomes; and (c) positive PA accompanying self-explanation increased intrinsic motivation and resulted in best learning performance. The findings support the use of a positive PA to design multimedia learning environments and the use of self-explanation strategy to engage students in generative processing activities. Moreover, students benefit most from positive PA and then generating an oral explanation, which demonstrates the importance of combining instructional design features and learners-generated learning activity in computer-based learning environments. • We tested the effects of pairing affective pedagogical agent (PA) with self-explanation in a video lesson. • Positive PA facilitated visual processing and learning outcomes. • Self-explanation activity helped learners focus on relevant elements and improve learning performance. • Students generated high-quality explanations in the positive PA condition. • Students benefited most from aligning positive PA with self-generated oral explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has been widely used in online teaching in higher education over the past twenty years. Its goal is to support students' professional development while fostering their critical thinking. In this paper, we thematically analyze how the framework authors' interpretations of critical thinking translate into the construct of cognitive presence—operationalized in the Practical inquiry model—and its commonly used coding scheme(s). We show that the framework suffers from having become a "pragmatic" tool, thus compromising the intended dimension of fostering critical thinking. Furthermore, we draw attention to the "acting" role of coding schemes, which may have consequences for research and teaching practice. In a first step, we examine the theoretical assumptions based on Lipman's and Garrison and Archer's ideas about the target category of critical thinking incorporated in the CoI framework. Although the framework is informed by a community of inquiry in Lipman's sense, we show that the chief characteristic of critical thinking associated with facilitating good judgment is not sufficiently addressed. Critical thinking is conceptualized more as confirmation of knowledge structures and problem-solving thinking within the Practical Inquiry model. In a second step, we systematically analyze cognitive presence coding schemes as research tools for capturing critical thinking. We trace a narrowing view of critical thinking within the CoI framework and regarding the coding schemes that measure cognitive presence. Consequently, we raise awareness of the risks in educational research arising from the complexity-reducing modeling and operationalizing of multifaceted educational concerns, such as critical thinking in a community of inquiry. • The construct of critical thinking in the CoI framework is complex and changing. • Critical thinking is mainly understood as knowledge development and confirmation. • Cognitive presence coding schemes capture either varying or no aspects of critical thinking. • Simplification through modeling and operationalization can lead to a loss of key ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Role assignment and group size are important design considerations for conducting effective asynchronous online discussion (AOD). While these two design considerations have been investigated separately in literature, few studies have examined their combined effects in AOD. To address this research gap, this study conducted a two-level factorial experiment to determine the main effect and interaction of role assignment and group size on AOD participation, learning experience, and learning achievement. A total of 112 participants from an undergraduate blended course were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions: role-based small-group (n = 27), role-based medium-group (n = 30), role-free small-group (n = 27), and role-free medium-group (n = 28). The ANOVA results showed that the simple role structure of initiator, supporter, and arguer increased the overall participation and peer interaction in AOD, while the group size of three members led to slightly better learning achievement. No significant interaction effects or role-specific effects were identified, indicating that students can benefit from role-based AOD regardless of group size and role script. The study results can inform the design and implementation of effective AOD. • Role assignment promotes participation and peer interaction in online discussion. • Small discussion group is superior to medium group in terms of learning outcomes. • Students benefit from role-based discussion regardless of group size & role script. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions around the world were challenged to shift from traditional to distance teaching processes. This was not an easy task as educational institutions had to face many technology and human related challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach that helps teachers to use remote conference tools (RCT) for a particular course more efficiently. The approach enables both teachers and students to be more effective in online education in general and during pandemics. The proposed approach leans on the Kano model and specifically focuses on evaluation of RCT features (RCTF) from students' and teachers' perspectives. Such evaluation enables development of recommendations for effective RCTF use. The approach was tested in three different case studies: Case 1 (computer and information science – software development; 39 students, 2 teachers), Case 2 (criminal justice and security – introduction to information systems; 130 students, 2 teachers), Case 3 (applied kinesiology – statistics; 44 students, 2 teachers). In all three cases, the results clearly demonstrated the benefits of the proposed approach and showed that the use of RCTF should be adapted to the specifics of each course where lectures and tutorials need to be considered separately. • A novel approach to help use remote conference tools in a more efficient way. • The effectiveness of the approach was confirmed in three case studies. • Use of remote conference tool features should be adapted to each course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the popularity of various video-centric asynchronous online courses, there is a trend of self-regulated online learning. Teaching presence is very important in such courses, and has a positive effect on learners' perceived learning. However, the association between teaching presence and perceived learning could be moderated by other factors, and little is known about how individual factors moderate the association. From the social cognitive perspective of self-regulated learning, the study examined the moderating effects of self-efficacy to complete an online course and online vigilance, which reflects individuals' permanent cognitive orientation to online-related stimuli and the disposition to be preoccupied with them constantly, on the relationship, and whether these moderating effects were moderated by inhibitory control. A cross-sectional design was adopted. Results found self-efficacy to complete an online course could significantly promote the positive association between teaching presence and perceived learning, and the moderating effect would be stronger with higher inhibitory control; online vigilance generally could not influence the relationship between teaching presence and perceived learning, except when inhibitory control was very high, in which case online vigilance could prominently intensify the relationship. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the association between teaching presence and perceived learning. Practical implications for educators to train students to be better self-regulated learners in asynchronous online courses, as well as teachers to improve course quality are also discussed. • Individual factors moderate the teaching presence - perceived learning association. • Self-efficacy intensifies the teaching presence - perceived learning relationship. • Inhibitory control amplifies the positive moderating role of self-efficacy. • The moderating role of online vigilance relies on inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have democratized access to higher education, but low entry and exit barriers make dropout rates in these courses much higher than in traditional in-person courses. Previous research has explored the main factors driving student dropout and proposed predictive models to identify students at risk. However, it is still unclear what type of interventions should be implemented to effectively reduce the dropout rate in MOOCs. We use findings from the literature to propose a theoretical framework to guide the design of interventions to reduce dropout in MOOCs. We design four interventions and implement them using A/B testing and natural experiment approaches in courses of the MITx MicroMasters® Program in Supply Chain Management (a MOOC-based program). Our findings reveal that ad hoc interventions communicated via email are not effective in reducing dropout, but interventions that modify course contents to make them more approachable for students show a positive impact on dropout reduction. By proposing a theoretical framework and uncovering the design features that can help to create effective interventions for dropout reduction, we provide a foundation for further research in the area of dropout interventions. This paper offers guidance to MOOC designers and instructors on how to improve student engagement and increase completion rates. • Dropout rate in Massive Open Online Courses is much higher than in traditional in-person courses. • Dropout interventions can be designed using institutional factors as levers to influence personal factors. • Implementing interventions using A/B testing and natural experiment approaches reveal their effectiveness. • Ad hoc interventions communicated via email are not effective in reducing dropout. • Interventions that modify course contents to make them more attainable for students are effective in reducing dropout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open learning is now facing a complex higher education ecosystem that involves a variety of heterogeneous information systems and comprises decentralized stakeholders, such as universities, professors, students, and software vendors. Authentic, non-repudiable, and fast available data sharing among open learning information systems and stakeholders is a key issue that remains unresolved. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a consortium blockchain extended architecture featuring integration and cross-chain functions to provide a unified and trusted data-sharing infrastructure for open learning. The overall architecture consists of three elements: a blockchain-integrated open learning scenario schema; a blockchain-integrated open learning application model; and a pragmatic blockchain integration framework. The proposed blockchain integration framework is implemented based on Hyperledger Fabric 1.4. A trusted open-learning behavior and achievement management application is developed as a proof-of-concept which integrates two educational institutions' four productional learning systems into a blockchain network and has stably run over six months. A suite of experiments is designed and executed to verify our blockchain system's viability and scalability. The test result shows the implementation of the blockchain system is competent for the production environment and outperforms related works investigated. However, it does have limitations and optimization potential, which will be studied in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing trend of learning analytics dashboards (LADs) being used to provide feedback to learners. However, there is little empirical evidence about the influence of their design features on learners' cognitive and affective outcomes, especially in high-anxiety courses such as statistics. To address this gap, this study employed a two-group experimental design applied to an authentic setting to assess the influence of task-value scaffolding in a LAD on learners' anxiety, motivation, and learning performance in an online statistics course. This semester-long experiment was implemented in two instances of the course offering (Fall/2019 and Spring/2020) and involved a total of 146 students. The results showed that task-value scaffolding had a negative impact on learners' computation anxiety and attitudes towards statistics in comparison to the control group. On the other hand, the treatment had no significant influence on other aspects of statistics anxiety, motivation, and learning outcomes. Taken jointly, these results suggest that the use of task-value scaffolding embedded in LADs can have detrimental effects on learners. More experimental studies are necessary to understand the positive and negative effects of LADs with motivational scaffolding. • Task-value scaffolding intervention increased computation anxiety. • Task-value scaffolding intervention increased worth anxiety. • Task-value scaffolding intervention did not influence learners' motivation. • Task-value scaffolding intervention did not influence learning performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines instructor strategies for designing and participating in online discussions and how these strategies influence their students' participation and course performance in university introductory online mathematics courses. The study leveraged data and text mining techniques to examine five years of online discussion data automatically collected by a Learning Management System from 72 introductory online mathematics courses involving over 2800 instructors and students who collectively contributed over 22,000 posts. A classification and regression tree (CART) analysis of instructor strategies revealed four instructor participation variables (open-ended discussion, grading, discussion setting, elaborated feedback) that impacted student course performance and nine that did not. Further, students in courses where instructors used open-ended discussion prompts and graded posts had higher average final course grades. An examination of how instructor discussion strategies influenced student participation found that subgroups of students with lower average final course grades tended to engage in less online speaking and listening, while also contributing more posts categorized as social interactions and fewer related to course content. Students in subgroups with higher average final course grades tended to engage in more online listening and contributed more posts coded as higher in knowledge construction. • Examines how instructors' strategies for designing online discussions influenced students' participation and performance. • Leveraged data mining techniques to examine student and instructor online discussion data collected by an LMS. • Data was drawn from 72 introductory online mathematical courses involving over 2800 instructors and students. • Students in courses where instructors used open-ended discussion prompts and graded posts had higher average final grades. • Students with lower final grades engaged in less online speaking/listening and contributed fewer related to course content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative discussions should engage all students, not just a few who dominate ("leaders") while others participate as "followers" (Zhu, 2006). Cunningham (1991) noted that collaborating learners bring, discuss and debate multiple perspectives to develop their own position while acknowledging others' views. Higher levels of knowledge construction emerged when posts stimulated frequent reply by multiple participants (Aviv, Erlich, Ravid, & Geva, 2003) and were strongly content- and task-oriented (Rovai, 2007). So, to help students more actively and productively engage in knowledge-constructing discussions, an instructor needs to detect students' posts that do not stimulate replies, identify content those posts introduce, and guide students to revise posts to encourage peers' responses. However, such monitoring would be very time- and energy-consuming, especially in large-enrolment courses (Hura, 2010). To set a stage for developing a classifier to automate these tasks, we proposed 10 rhetorical moves characteristic of the interactive mode of Chi and Wylie's ICAP framework (2014) and categorized fine-grained content in discussion posts using these moves. We then identified attributes of posts that triggered a greater number of responses. Rhetorical moves of "asking questions," "requesting justification," "building-on," "giving a reason" and "making a claim" triggered more peer responses. Posts with moves of "disagreeing," "comparing" and "making claims" predicted students' achievement on a test and an argumentative writing task. We propose analytics for learners and instructors about forming and revising posts to promote constructive discussions and subsequent achievements. • Providing both frequent and on topic posts is important to advance knowledge construction in online discussions. • We partitioned students' posts into idea units and developed a 10-category coding scheme inspired by the ICAP framework. • Asking questions, requesting justification and building-on trigger more peer responses that contribute to the discussion. • Disagreeing, comparing and making claims predict students' achievement on argumentative writing task and achievement test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain more insight into the issue of high dropout rate in MOOC learning, this study aims at exploring the factors underlying the continuance intention to learn in the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) setting. By modifying and extending the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM), the authors propose a research model that includes cognitive and affective variables, captures reflections of the past and expectations for the future and takes into account both intrinsic and extrinsic motives in the model construction to explain learners' intention to persist in learning a MOOC. The proposed model was tested with data from Chinese university students. The results show that the proposed model can explain 48% of continuance intention. The new variables (attitude and curiosity) added to the ECM were all found to be significant in explaining continuance intention. This study deepens our understanding of the development of learners' continuance intention in the MOOC setting in the following aspects: (a) although the personal trait, curiosity, was found to predict subsequent continuance intention, attitude played a considerably dominant role. In addition to respecting individual differences, practitioners can devise appropriate interventions to change attitudes and influence learners' retention in MOOCs; (b) the strong link between confirmation and both satisfaction and attitude suggests that MOOC instructors or designers must be prudent in advertising the courses to avoid exaggerating their benefits and the system's affordances. • The proposed model has explained 48% of the variance in continuance intention. • Attitude is primarily determined by learners' perception of confirmation. • Attitude is a dominant factor influencing learners' continuance intention. • Confirmation plays a major role in forming learners' satisfaction with MOOC learning. • Curiosity is positively associated with learners' continuance intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of the burgeoning use of online learning in higher education, and more recently the online flipped classroom, this study sets out to evaluate the efficacy of the online flipped classroom. To this end, a campus-based course in applied physics for master and doctoral students was transformed into an online flipped course. We analyse how this transformation and student participation in specific asynchronous and synchronous learning activities affect performance for the online flipped format. Results reveal that, while there was no statistically significant difference in average performance between the campus-based and online flipped format, the online flipped format led to a significantly larger spread - a polarization - in performance. Further, drawing on transactional distance theory, we attribute this polarization to a higher oscillation in transactional distance for the online flipped format. This link between transactional distance and performance constitutes the main theoretical contribution of this paper. Our findings speak to the importance of analysing shifts in transactional distance across learning activities to better understand their potential to bolster student learning. Future research would do well to focus on how students experience such shifts in transactional distance, and online instructors need to consider how to scaffold students during these shifts. • We evaluate the efficacy of the online flipped classroom. • The online flipped classroom led to an oscillation in transactional distance. • The average student performance did not differ. • The oscillation in transactional distance led to a polarization in performance. • Implications for research and teaching are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]