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This research overview investigates the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, focusing on challenges encountered during the shift to online learning. Drawing insights from studies in New Zealand, Oman, Malaysia, and Germany, the overview explores diverse experiences of educators and students. The abrupt transition to online learning revealed significant challenges, as indicated by various studies. Opportunities for positive changes in education systems are emphasized, advocating for a reimagining of education through innovative practices. This literature review identifies practical and effective strategies for online education, including fostering a sense of community, providing personalized support and feedback, accommodating divers e-learner needs, and considering the learning environment and cognition. Insights from various studies underscore the importance of these practices in overcoming challenges and improving online education quality.

Whether by choice or pushed online by Covid, higher education is increasingly happening in digital spaces with digital tools forming a critical part of learning and teaching contexts. While reviews suggest such tools positively influence student engagement, research tends to be generic and more is needed to understand how and why specific tools can influence student engagement, learning, and success. Relationships are a key influence on student engagement and online students often feel disconnected and isolated; tools which increase interaction and communication with staff and among students are therefore important. This qualitative study examined how two specific tools, Discord and Teams, work in conjunction with an LMS to benefit student engagement and learning. Nineteen students were interviewed, and the data thematically analysed. Findings show the tools facilitated communication, helped build relationships and communities, encouraged help-seeking within the course and, with Discord, with the wider disciplinary community. These usages led to improved belonging, wellbeing, engagement, and learning. The perceived norms of the digital spaces were an important influence on student tool usage. A key contribution of this research is defining a new tool categorisation, Learning Commons Communication Tools (LCCT), which better describes the informal and organic spaces created by such tools.

Since most schools and learners had no choice but to learn online during the pandemic, online learning became the mainstream learning mode rather than a substitute for traditional face-to-face learning. Given this enormous change in online learning, we conducted a systematic review of 191 of the most recent online learning studies published during the COVID-19 era. The systematic review results indicated that the themes regarding "courses and instructors" became popular during the pandemic, whereas most online learning research has focused on "learners" pre-COVID-19. Notably, the research topics "course and instructors" and "course technology" received more attention than prior to COVID-19. We found that "engagement" remained the most common research theme even after the pandemic. New research topics included parents, technology acceptance or adoption of online learning, and learners' and instructors' perceptions of online learning.

Adaptive help-seeking as a learning strategy can influence learners' learning outcomes. Learners in online learning environments need more self-regulation and especially more help-seeking strategies. A systematic review was conducted to explore help-seeking strategies in online learning environments. A search on help-seeking strategies in online environments in Educational Research Information Center (ERIC) and PsycInfo yielded 36 peer-reviewed articles that met the inclusion criteria for this study. Karabenick and Knapp's categories of help-seeking (formal help-seeking, informal help-seeking, instrumental activities, lowering performance aspirations, and altering goals) were used to review the strategies employed by students in online learning. The results show that there is an extreme lack of research on learners' psychological decision-making process when they lower performance aspirations or alter their goals. Moreover, most studies focus on the learners' formal and informal help-seeking behaviors in online settings. Since much research has been limited to small case studies that are not always generalizable, future studies are encouraged to include more instructional contexts and personal variables like gender, age, educational background, and mastery of computer skills. To avoid biases that may occur in self-reporting studies, recommendations are made for future studies that use more subjective methods to trace their actual help-seeking behaviors.

This invited article provides a comprehensive overview of the history and development of distance learning in Aotearoa New Zealand's school sector over the past century. It begins with a discussion of creating a common language to describe distance learning. The article then transitions to its main focus on the history of distance learning--tracing the evolution from The Correspondence School's establishment in 1922 to serve rural students, through technological advancements that include radio, television, and online learning. Key milestones are highlighted, such as the formation of early e-learning clusters, the Virtual Learning Network, and urban-based "school loops". The transformation of The Correspondence School into Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu and its adoption of digital technologies are discussed. The article also covers government initiatives, consultations, and legislative changes aimed at supporting and regulating distance learning, including the short-lived concept of Communities of Online Learning. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on distance learning is addressed. Throughout, the article emphasises ongoing challenges of sustainability, equity, and quality in distance education, as well as continuing efforts to adapt to technological changes and meet diverse student needs in Aotearoa New Zealand's education system.

Since seamless learning (SL) is still a rather unknown concept in higher education many educators classify it under the same categories as mobile, blended, online or hybrid learning. The purpose of this study is firstly to clarify the historical evolvement of the seamless learning concept over the past decades and, to position the seamless learning concept as it is understood today. Secondly, to find the most important concepts which can be proposed for a useful seamless learning experience design framework to assist educators with their course design. Considering this context, the research question for this study is formulated as follows: "Which concepts constitute a seamless learning experience design framework for students in higher education?" To answer this question, an inductive qualitative research analysis was conducted by collecting data from educators from countries on five continents on their views on this topic. Following a thematic coding approach of the combined dataset, five emerging themes crystallised, and are presented as part of a proposed Seamless Learning Experience Design (SLED) framework. They include core, positive, practical, human and design concepts -- including sub-themes. The framework contributes to quality assurance processes in e-learning practices by providing a guide for developing seamless learning experiences for students.

The Community of Inquiry framework (Garrison et al., 2000, 2010) is well researched within the higher education field but is only beginning to be studied within a K-12 context. In this study, all high school online learners and teachers were sent a survey to ask about their online learning and teaching experiences, framed around Garrison et al.'s framework. In total, 209 nine students and 53 teachers responded to online surveys, while 43 students and 21 teachers also participated in interviews. Findings showed that while the cognitive, teaching, and social presence elements of the Community of Inquiry framework were relevant to this level, fewer students reported experiencing these elements than teachers reported facilitating them. While the Community of Inquiry framework appears promising for high school online learning courses, further research is needed to investigate what is happening and why.

Generalised moves to online and more flexible delivery modes of teaching have challenged the perceptions and expectations of university educators worldwide. Congruence around educator role expectations, held by both the educator and their students, therefore is central to educator wellbeing, and by default, student success in a changing university environment. Metaphorical analysis is a way to understand perceptions, expectations, and the realities of university teaching. Extending the work of Saban et al. (2007), this mixed methods study of metaphors of university educators from student and educator perspectives found that while educators and students were aligned in conceptualizing teachers, there were increasing expectations on educators to demonstrate higher levels of humanistic personal qualities while at the same time being experts, accredited teachers, and engaging content creators. Educators however saw themselves as something different to how students see them, pointing to a vulnerability for educator wellbeing. The implications suggest more institutional support is needed for the 'being and doing' of teaching and to find better ways to align the expectations of students, universities, and educators. For early career educators, recognising the tension between the reality and aspiration of being a teacher, will go some way towards maintaining educator wellbeing.

The purpose of this study is to identify and characterize the state of social construction of learning in virtual communities within online learning environments and to identify the advances and research challenges of social learning. The method was a systematic mapping to analyze the evidence published on the topic in 2015-2020. We automatically searched the Scopus and Web of Science databases, applying inclusion and exclusion criteria to obtain the maximum relevant information. The pre-designed search strategy resulted in 187 articles. The main research topic addressed in most of these is learning as a social construction in training contexts, primarily virtual communities. In higher education, the United States is the country with the most active researchers on this topic. In addition, the most significant findings show that in a virtual learning community, social and cognitive interactions with teaching presence are crucial for students to build knowledge and achieve a higher level of learning. This study describes challenges related to the various methodologies, geographical scope, and types of social construction learning in virtual learning communities. This research is intended to be of value to teachers, decision-makers, designers of research and researchers interested in the social construction of learning in online learning environments.

Assessment is a central feature of teaching and learning. It is both complex and challenging in ordinary times, and these aspects are magnified in an online learning environment. Given its central role, it is crucial that its design and purpose is rigorous and robust. This paper presents justification for using interactive oral assessment as an online, innovative, authentic assessment approach that prepares students for professional life, combats plagiarism and promotes academic integrity. It shares findings through four brief case study examples of using interactive oral assessments in computing, education, French literature, and aviation. This study also demonstrates the value of a Community of Practice in developing expertise, confidence, and resources to support the effective application of interactive oral assessment.

This article conceptualises how disruptions to conventional teaching models may lead to innovative practice. We have identified a gap in current knowledge around how innovations in higher education teaching and learning are initiated in times of crises. Disruptive Innovation Theory and Roger's Diffusion of Innovation Theory are used as lenses to understand how academics' epistemic positioning impacts the implementation of educational innovations, and how such innovations fundamentally change practice. We use COVID-19 restrictions as an illustrative example to deconstruct the catalysts for academics' experimentation with new digital tools, new ways to connect with their students, and novel means of facilitating collaborative learning strategies in the online space. This study makes a distinctive and original contribution by revealing three characteristics of disruptive tools, practices, and mindsets in Initial Teacher Education that differ from the typical efficiencies in other markets.

Middle East studies, and in particular the study of the politics of the Middle East stands at a crossroads pedagogically a decade after the Arab Spring. This study observed an experimental pre- or partial Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) engagement between Political Science students in New Zealand and the Sultanate of Oman to investigate whether COIL-based approaches, couched in decolonizing pedagogical theory and new digital communication technologies, could offer a useful tool for instructors and students in the field to begin to address enduring western (un)conscious paradigms of "The Middle East."

Purpose: Microteaching is a teacher training method based on microclasses (groups of four or five students) and microlessons lasting no more than 5-20 min. Since it was first explored in the late 20th century in experiments at Stanford University, microteaching has evolved at the interdisciplinary level. The purpose of this paper is to examine the networks found via an analytical bibliometric study of the scientific output related with microteaching in teacher training, through a study and examination of the Web of Science database. Design/methodology/approach: This research was conducted with the VOSviewer tool for content analysis through data mining and scientific network structure mapping by means of the normalisation technique. This technique is based on the association strength indicator, which is interpreted as a measurement of the similarity of the units of analysis. Findings: Two hundred and nine articles were thus obtained from the Web of Science database. The networks generated and the connections among the various items, co-authorship and co-citation are presented in the results, which clearly indicates that there are significant authors and institutions in the field of microteaching. The largest cluster is made up of institutions such as Australian Catholic University. The most often-cited document is by Rich and Hannafin. Allen (1968), who defines microteaching as a technique based on microclasses and microlessons, is the author most often cited and has the largest number of connections. Research limitations/implications: This research's limitations concern either aspects that lie beyond the study's possibilities or goals that have proved unattainable. The second perspective, which focuses on skill transfer, contains a lower percentage of documents and therefore has a weaker central documentary structure. Lastly, the authors have also had to bear in mind the fact that the scientific output hinges upon a highly specific realm, the appearance and/or liberalisation of digital technologies and access to those technologies in the late 20th century. Originality/value: This research shows that microteaching is a promising area of research that opens up vast possibilities in higher education teacher training for application in the realm of technologies. This paper could lead to several lines of future research, such as access to and the universal design of learning from the standpoint of different communication and pedagogical models based on microteaching.

The increasing use of digital devices by young children, has led to calls for earlier teaching for information literacy. However, some research indicates reluctance to do this, due to perceived limitations of young children and notions about what is and is not 'appropriate' for them learn. This study examines this proposition, through analysis of 6 and 7 year olds' application of 'Technoliteracy' capabilities during a unit of learning about Matariki (the Maori new year). It used an updated and expanded revision of Durrant and Green's (2000) "l(IT)eracy" capability model, to understand how the students applied 'Technoliteracy' capabilities to online research and production of an information artefact for an identified audience. Although results were mixed, data was found of students' productive engagement of 'Technoliteracy' capabilities aligned with Durrant and Green's dimensions, suggesting that with developmentally-appropriate curriculum and pedagogy they were capable of integrating these for "meaning making," "judging meaning quality," and "meaning sharing and communication." Given increasingly ubiquitous access to devices from a young age, results indicate that serious consideration should be given to teaching basic 'Technoliteracy' capabilities in early years classrooms.

Background: In science education asynchronous online interactions have increased dramatically during the recent pandemic and some of these practices will stay. One of the characteristics in asynchronous exchanges is the spacing and sequencing of online interaction. It means that dialogue partners do not necessarily receive immediate feedback as is the case in a face-to-face exchange. This article presents student produced stories in science education as part of asynchronous activities. When we communicate experiences with the world through stories, we also convey embodied information. The question arises what role the body may play in such exchanges. Purpose: The article explores the role embodiment plays in science education when communication takes place asynchronously, specifically when students are tasked to share their science explorations with others. Sample: Three examples (primary, secondary and tertiary science education) are presented. Data were ethnographically collected that include fieldnotes, videos (including video observations), photos, interviews, student and teacher prepared materials. Design and methods: Using a storytelling method, the article presents how the materiality of the online asynchronous environment affords embodiment. Storytelling as a method was chosen to give participants a voice. Results: Embodiment played an important role in all three examples. It helped students to share how they conducted experiments for others to follow or share their experiences or impressions about scientists' work. Embodiment expressed students' emotions associated with the topics that were presented. Embodiment personalized the students' productions and was a deliberate choice for sharing information about inquiring about star constellations, e-mobility or the nature of scientists' practices. Discussion: In asynchronous online dialogue students can reflectively share through their stories how they perceive and inhabit the world. Embodiment plays an important part of meaning making and as exemplified here, allows to show and share understanding.

In recent years, the emerging trend of mobile learning (hereinafter "m-learning") has obtained increasing attention from educators and higher popularity among students worldwide. Partly due to its short history, there seems to be a lack of comprehensive and in-depth understanding on the distinctiveness of m-learning. It is maintained in this paper that m-learning should be described and researched in three intertwined aspects: the mobility of devices, learners and materials. The multi-faceted mobility may help achieve highly portable and genuinely personal learning, which distinguishes m-learning from other forms of technology-enhanced education. This paper also reports an empirical study on m-learning for academic English. With a total of 60 participants (and six in the pilot study) over three progressive phases, the data obtained from mixed methods of automatic logging, questionnaire and interview were used to assess multidimensional learner engagement in the self-directed process of m-learning. The triangulated data can reflect and highlight some known features of m-learning, and they may also imply learners' expectations towards m-learning. Based on the literature review and data analysis, this paper aims to contribute to the (re)conceptualisation of "m-learning" and also provide some technical and pedagogical implications on future and further development of m-learning.

This paper proposes a distance-based doctoral supervisory model to support students in the process of navigating self, agency, and emotions over their doctoral journey. The model emerged through our examination of the lived experiences of three Chinese female doctoral students who, though enrolled as internal students in our New Zealand university, were prevented by the pandemic from returning from their Spring Festival sojourn to China, and continued their study by distance. We employed narrative analysis to deeply engage with their stories shared in diaries and one-on-one interviews, alongside social media interactions. These revealed a strong commitment to study emanating from answerability toward their research projects, already underway, and agentive actions to maintain peer-to-peer academic and emotional support, enabling resilience and reflexivity about personal values and needs. Learning from this experience, we emphasize in our model the need to nurture important bonds between students, their peers and their supervisors in online environments.

Calls for enhancing the digital interface for teaching and learning within tertiary institutions have played out in one School of Education, with variable results. Online learning tasks were added in 2018 to regular classes to provide more flexibility for student engagement. A team of lecturers developed a questionnaire for students to be completed after the first semester pilot. Data and findings indicated that one-third of students identified online learning as an enhancement to their learning. A second survey was conducted one year later to assess changes made and analyse the longer-term impacts. During the COVID-19 lockdown, fully online pedagogy was required; anecdotal observation indicated an improvement in satisfaction and engagement, but perhaps only because online was the only way possible to complete assessments. The conclusion contains recommendations and a cautionary tale, when introducing online learning across existing courses.

The exponential growth in the use of digital technologies and the availability of mobile software applications (apps) has been well documented over the past decade. Literature on the integration of mobile technology into higher education reveals an increasing focus on how mobile devices are used within the classroom environment, both physical and online, rather than on how mobile applications may be used for either teaching or the research process. Our study surveyed staff and higher degree research students at a New Zealand university using an online questionnaire to gain insight into the use of mobile apps for tertiary teaching and research, seeking information, particularly on which apps were used for which tasks and what obstacles hindered their use. The online survey used 29 questions and ran in 2016/2017. 269 participants completed the survey, nearly 20% of the potential sample. We found that mobile apps were used by academics and students for both teaching and research, primarily in the form of document and data storage and exchange, and communication. Very little app use was recorded for in-class activities (teaching) or in-field activities (research). Apps use resulted from personal motivation rather than institutional planning. Both students and academics reported that institutional support and flexibility would likely provide motivation and lead to increased app use for both research and teaching.

Pedagogy in vocational education is challenged by the increasing availability of mixed reality (MR) technologies. Wearable technologies such as the Microsoft HoloLens are being embedded in nursing education programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia and explored in other subject areas such as construction, architecture, and engineering. Empirical research undertaken with staff and students in a nursing programme reinforces and expands on previous research findings about enhanced student motivation, learning and organisational change implications, highlighted in the 2020 special issue of "Research in Learning Technology" that provided a 'state of the art' review of mobile mixed reality (MMR) in education as at 2019. This new research also identifies a number of technical or design constraints that need to be overcome to optimise MR for vocational and higher education use. Importantly, it highlights the need for significant improvement in integration of MR platforms into the learner journey so that use of the technology is not confined to professional users and early adopter student cohorts. Finally, the authors note the portability that MR headsets offer with the potential to deliver training across multiple campus and work-based learning environments to a consistent standard.

With the increased adoption of online learning (even greater as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic), online asynchronous discussions have become a mainstay of many online learning platforms. As teachers struggle to communicate and connect with students due to the forced transition online, we can better appreciate the differences between traditional nonverbal communication in a face-to-face environment and that of online nonverbal communication. Because digital literacy underpins the whole online learning experience, and because nonverbal communication (NVC) cues such as body language and paralanguage are not visible in asynchronous text-based online learning, this paper presents the relationship (if any) between electronic nonverbal communication (eNVC) and teaching/social presences and digital literacy, as well as its role in student motivation and engagement. A correlational study was conducted using surveys to gather data from 88 Level 5 Business Area students. The data was analysed using a Pearson's correlation analysis. The study has found that there is a correlation between eNVC and the social/teaching presence and digital literacy in the asynchronous online discussions, and that eNVC is related to teaching and social presences, but not to digital literacy.

Engaging and motivating learners to successfully complete their studies are crucial elements for the success of distance educators around the world. The researchers' AIM newsletter, which is formatted in accordance with motivational learning theory, has been delivered to first-year learners in economics at Open Polytechnic of New Zealand from 2010 to 2022. AIM is an acronym for Academic content, Information for the course, and Motivation--three critical elements that are required to meet the challenges of effective online course facilitation. This paper uses Keller's IMMS to evaluate the learner's perspective of the AIM newsletter. Results show that learners consider AIM newsletter attracts the learner's attention and provides relevant links between theory and current world examples, linking the learner's own experiences, increasing their confidence in the course, and providing overall satisfaction with the learning experience. In essence, AIM newsletter provides an effective and efficient method of delivering and motivating learners throughout their studies.

Assessment is critical in postsecondary education, as it is at all levels. Assessments are classified into four types: diagnostic, summative, evaluative, and formative. Recent trends in assessment have migrated away from summative to formative evaluations. Formative evaluations help students develop expertise and concentrate their schedules, ease student anxiety, instill a feeling of ownership in students as they go, and confirm the module's subject notion. Online formative assessment (OFA) emerged as a result of the convergence of formative and computer-assisted assessment research. Bibliometric analyses provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of a study topic across a particular time period. We used a PRISMA-compliant bibliometric method. The Scopus database was searched for BibTex-formatted publication data. In total, 898 studies were analyzed. According to the results, "Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education" and "Computers & Education" are the most influential sources. RWTH Aachen University and Universitat Oberta De Catalunya are the most effective institutions. The red cluster includes terms associated with higher education and evaluation. The word "e-assessment, e-learning, assessment, moodle" appears in the green cluster. This group is quite influential yet has a low centrality. The highest percentage is 79.2 for "online assessment". The subject is comprised of three components: "distance learning", "accessibility", and "assessment design". The most important topics were "e-assessment", "higher education", and "online learning". According to the country participation network, the USA and UK were the two main centers.

Prior to the March, 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand I was invited to offer professional development on ways that the writing of poetry could be facilitated in a Rotorua primary school. In March/April of that year, I engaged around 18 teachers (including the school principal) in four, twohour PD sessions using Zoom. A year on, in May 2021, I conducted a small-scale case study with teachers who had participated in all four of these sessions to find out what they had taken away from this PD. In part for my own instruction, I was interested in what "stuck" and what they saw as working in their classrooms. This article offers a brief overview of the shape of the PD that was offered and teachers' views on its impact one year on.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the complete closure of many university campuses and a rapid shift to complete online delivery of university teaching. Understanding the student experience of online learning under these conditions is important to inform improvements and adaptations to continued online delivery of university services. The aim of this study was to examine students' experience of online learning, studying, and assessment during the pandemic and investigate the association between these perceptions and measures of psychological health. A cohort of 391 undergraduate students completed measures of stress, anxiety and psychological wellbeing at the beginning and end of a semester during which a shift to complete remote delivery of university teaching occurred due to COVID-19 restrictions. Students also rated how stressful or difficult they found five aspects of online learning, study and assessment which was used to calculate a composite score. T-tests were used to compare stress, anxiety and psychological wellbeing scores from the beginning and end of the semester. Regression models were used to examine the relationship between online learning composite score and psychological health measures. Unexpectedly, stress and psychological wellbeing improved over the semester during which the university campus closed, and all teaching and assessments were online. Students with higher stress scores and lower psychological wellbeing scores at the beginning of the semester were more likely to experience difficulty and stress with online teaching.

Internet access and the availability of digital devices in classrooms have been growing exponentially. This has led to the development of subscription-based online platforms for mathematics learning, available for purchase by schools and individuals. Currently, research in mathematics education tends to focus on the benefits to teaching and learning of digital technologies, while less attention is given to the use of commercial applications in mathematics, and to the rationale of schools in choosing these resources, or to consideration of how they might fundamentally change the shape of mathematics education in our schools. This paper reports on a survey sent to mathematics leaders of all schools in Aotearoa New Zealand, attaining a 24% response rate. Schools appeared to provide a great variety of learning experiences in mathematics, including the use of online programs. Many different online programs were utilised by schools, and the majority of these operate for business profit within state-funded school systems. The theoretical construct of 'figured worlds' was used to understand the school leaders' rationales for using the programs. Leaders gave contrasting and conflicting reasons for their choices: discourses of neoliberalism, reform teaching, traditionalism and Ed-tech were all evident in their responses. The survey results suggest that in this era of market competition, schools face pressure to provide mathematics programmes that are simultaneously traditional, modern, high-tech and balanced.

This paper discusses the findings of a research study that gathered and analyzed recruitment and retention strategies employed by 50 teacher education programs (TEPs) in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia to increase the number of Indigenous teachers. It discusses several recruitment and retention strategies that were found to be successful in this regard, highlighting the importance of facilitating access, eliminating financial barriers, and offering Indigenous-centric programs.

One impact of the global pandemic of 2020 was a rapid shift in the delivery of work-integrated learning (WIL) to remote activity among WIL practitioners, students and educators alike. Along with professional practice research in higher degrees, WIL practice, including placements and non-placements, responded actively and sometimes reactively to the challenges of sudden transition to online environments. What strategies - pivots and pirouettes - did WIL practitioners use to weather the storm of Covid-19? What does this tell us about the nature of WIL? This paper captures the seemingly overnight response to shifting work-based learning to online and other spaces. With change came the opportunity to reflect on the varying areas of WIL: from the practical processes of ensuring students are cared for to pivoting to the learning opportunities it presented in building digital literacies and adapting to the global future of work. This study is a Trans-Tasman collaboration of four WIL practitioners exploring their responsiveness to disruption in WIL contexts. We present collective autoethnographic responses to such themes as disruption, becoming resilient, pivoting to change, changing perceptions of WIL and the legacies of the pandemic. These themes apply to learners and educators alike, and our words embody the experiences of both groups. Our responses to phenomena highlighted this need for resilience and agility. Methodologically, the researchers' micro-narrative responses to key themes structure themselves into a macro-narrative that demonstrates the lived experiences of the researchers as educators in the WIL space and explores implications for ongoing and future practice.

Background/purpose: The current study aims to analyze the thematic structures and trends of scientific publications that examine the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and education, while presenting a roadmap for future research on this topic. Materials/methods: The data were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) bibliographic database by identifying the publications that examine the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and education, then were analyzed using bibliometric methodology and content analysis. VOSviewer, GraphPad softwares, and visualization maps were used to analyze the data and to present the findings. Results: The results of the study show that publications examining the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and education focused on "online education" and "teacher education," while the countries that contributed the most to publications on this issue were USA, United Kingdom, Canada, and Spain. It was determined that most publications preferred the "theoretical model" and the majority of the research data were obtained through "scale/interview forms." Furthermore, the findings of this study revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the editorial/refereeing processes of the articles submitted to academic journals were carried out very quickly and the articles were published unusually quickly. Conclusion: This study indicated that the majority of scientific studies on COVID-19 are focused on the field of health, and that there is limited edition research on COVID-19-related education. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the current study is the first research article in the international literature to examine the thematic structures and trends of scientific publications on the relationship between solely education and COVID-19 through bibliometric and content analysis; and contributes to the knowledge base on COVID-19-related education by mapping the existing knowledge.

The current world crisis of COVID-19 has enforced international lockdowns in educational institutions, necessitating that these institutions quickly transition to online learning. In mathematics education studies, where collaborative problem-solving is considered a necessary pedagogical approach, lecturers have had challenges incorporating collaborative problem-solving in an authentic manner. There are now also complex living and learning contexts in which the students have to undertake their learning processes. This paper examines students' experiences of the rapid transition to online learning and their perceptions of the advantages and barriers that ensued. A small comparative case study was used to explore the complexity of the situation, within rich, authentic settings. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used. The participants found that personal circumstances related to having children and partners at home while they studied, and aspects such as not interacting directly with other students to clarify and mediate their thinking, led to major initial frustrations with collaborating. While some of these continued throughout lockdown they did adjust and recognize that the advantages, such as a mix of formal and informal digital pedagogical media, gave them greater flexibility and led to deeper reflective thinking. We contend that some elements related to the adaptions made should become permanent features of face-to-face learning.

Educational transitions are widely recognised as being key points that can influence a student's later success. Transitions are not limited to the beginning of a period of study; they can occur at any stage. The adjustments that come with transitioning can be unsettling and isolating. These feelings can be compounded by the nature of the studies and the distance from the place of study. This paper reflects on the importance of recognising that the transition from being a student within a cohort to being an independent thesis student can be quite isolating for many students, especially those who are studying at a distance. In an attempt to provide extra support and to minimise the effect of isolation, team supervision was trialled for two groups of distance supervised Doctor of Business Administration students based in China. The model incorporated peer groups and research communities for students with similar research topics. Overall, the pilot was successful in supporting the students' transition, but identified the need for flexibility to manage students who progress at different rates.

An academic's adoption of online learning during the 2020 lockdown required new levels of engagement with the learning management system (LMS). In this position piece, we suggest that academics are pivotal to online course development, and they should determine alternative means of instruction and assessment during any transition to online learning. We present two models of an academic's interactions with the LMS and propose that the academic's engagement with the LMS, and their willingness to be in partnership with experts in e-learning, should remain central to their university's strategic development. The 2020 lockdown presented both challenges and opportunities to academics regarding their engagement with the LMS and online teaching--we suggest that the role of the academic is critical for successful implementation of the post-pandemic online ambitions of New Zealand universities.

Seamless learning has a significance that has been increasing in recent years, and an increasing number of studies on the subject in the literature draws attention. This study aimed to examine the research on seamless learning between 1996 and 2020 with the bibliometric analysis method. The Scopus database was used in the collection of the data. After various screening processes, a total of 389 publications were included in the analysis. Descriptive analysis and bibliometric analysis were used in the analysis of the data. The distribution of publications by years, types of publications, sources, and languages were analyzed in the research. Additionally, visual maps were created with analyses of co-author, cocitation, and co-word. At the end of the study, it was seen that there has been an increase in the number of publications from the past to the present, articles and papers were predominant, and that most of the studies were carried out in English. As a result of bibliometric analysis, it was concluded that the most efficient countries in seamless learning were the United Kingdom, the United States, and Singapore. Also, it has been determined that the National Institute of Education, Center for International Education and Exchange, and Kyushu University institutions are dominant. The most frequently mentioned authors cited in studies in many different fields are M. Sharples, L.-H. Wong, and H. Ogata. According to the co-word analysis, the keywords seamless learning, mobile learning, ubiquitous learning, and mobile-assisted language learning stand out in the field of seamless learning.

Digital citizenship education (DCE) is a concept that looks to develop learners as competent, critical, and active participants in digitally connected societies. "The New Zealand Curriculum" ("NZC") conveys a vision of DCE across subject disciplines, yet digital citizenship is scarcely defined in teaching content or learning objectives. This article reviews existing conceptions of DCE and their position in curricula, before using a postdigital lens to develop a novel conception, "speculative DCE." This conception is rooted in the need to examine knowledge, issues, and speculative visions of the future through and beyond different subject disciplines. "NZC" and accompanying documents are assessed for their applicability to accommodate different conceptions of DCE. Analysis suggests that the emphasis on a future-focused approach, combined with curriculum integration, has scope for unpacking sociotechnical relations, developing transdisciplinarity, and enacting speculative DCE.

As schools collaborate with other educational and cultural institutions, students, families, and teachers benefit from expanded learning experiences. In 2020, digital technology learning was added to the New Zealand school curriculum so that every student, beginning at five years of age, would develop an understanding of computational thinking and digital devices. This was a new curriculum area and many teachers still needed to learn about it themselves in order to teach it. As part of their support for teachers, the New Zealand Ministry of Education provided a range of professional learning opportunities. One of these was an equity fund for students from low socio-economic communities to help them learn and engage with a range of digital technologies. This articles examines a program by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) and its five partner museums and galleries provided engaging and learning experiences for students and to support teachers in understanding the specifics of the curriculum.

Online strategies designed to enable practical learning were in use prior to the pandemic. Nevertheless, in response to the rapid shift to online delivery during lockdowns, face-to-face practical learning was often postponed and replaced with traditional transmissive and theory-focused modes. This paper reports undergraduate and postgraduate university students' online learning experiences in New Zealand, where some practical learning approaches were evident particularly in the fields of teacher education, health or medicine, and sciences. Using multiple methods, data stemmed from a national survey followed by individual interviews and focus groups. Findings affirm that practical learning is possible in hybrid contexts, and is no less real than learning on campus. In-home or community-based activities, virtual simulations, online practice, and video-based learning all offer engaging opportunities for practical learning.

This research investigated how the bug tracker database of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Moodle is developed as an application of crowd work. The bug tracker is used by software developers, who write and maintain Moodle's code, but also by a wider public world of ordinary Moodle users who can report bugs. Despite many studies of the phenomenon of open source bug fixing and software building, much remains to be answered. Specifically, we sought to analyse the implications of this massively distributed collaborative development process for education and educational technology. The research examined the ways educators interface and contribute to the development of the VLE Moodle at the granular level of bug fixing as an example of a global crowdsourced activity. In this study, twenty community participants were interviewed, from fringe members, to key actors, including lead developers from the Open University, Moodle HQ and Moodle founder Martin Dougiamas. We uncovered rich stories of practices of community members. We found that projects are complex interplays of many actors assuming different roles and identities, and that brokers, or "kindly souls", play a key role in activities such as filing reports on behalf of others, or inducting new members.

Mixed reality (XR) environments combining real-to-virtual immersive experiences provide unprecedented potential for reframing educational pedagogy and practice. XR environments provide scaffolded learning points accommodating individual needs, while enhancing sensorial and embodied experiences. XR environments can facilitate self-determined (heutagogical) experience-based learning and esthetic visualization of wicked problems, making complex knowledge more accessible. Here we report on a study exploring the design of mobile learning with education outside the classroom (EOTC), heutagogy, and free-choice learning to enhance marine ecological literacy, based on a bring your own device (BYOD) XR intervention at a marine educational center in Aotearoa New Zealand. Findings indicate that XR affordances can enhance the understanding of complex marine conservation science, facilitating ecological literacy knowledge, attitudes and behavior change. Implications include pedagogical rethinking of EOTC with self-determined mobile learning; haptic, sensorial and embodied XR design considerations for environmental education; and epistemological speculation on learning phenomena in real-to-virtual immersive environments.

An appreciative inquiry approach oriented eight semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers from Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Italy, Spain, Canada, Bangladesh and India to identify their intrinsic and extrinsic strengths and understand how they were able to translate them into practice during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Commitment and determination, collegial support and solidarity were some of the common driving forces identified, despite the differences in teachers' backgrounds, education systems, policies and cultures. Our research sheds light on opportunity solving in times of crisis as well as on the way education systems worldwide can renew themselves to ensure innovative and inclusive quality education.

Objectives: Communication skills are crucial for effective software development teams, but those skills are difficult to teach. The goal of our project is to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching face-to-face communication skills using AVW-Space, a platform for video-based learning that provides personalized nudges to support student's engagement during video watching. Participants: The participants in our study are second-year software engineering students. The study was conducted over three years, with students enrolled in a semester-long project course. Study Method: We performed a quasi-experimental study over three years to teach face-to-face communication using AVW-Space, a video-based learning platform. We present the instance of AVW-Space we developed to teach face-to-face communication. Participants watched and commented on 10 videos and later commented on the recording of their own team meeting. In 2020, the participants (n = 50) did not receive nudges, and we use the data collected that year as control. In 2021 (n = 49) and 2022 (n = 48), nudges were provided adaptively to encourage students to write more and higher-quality comments. Findings: The findings from the study show the effectiveness of nudges. We found significant differences in engagement when nudges were provided. Furthermore, there is a causal effect of nudges on the interaction time, the total number of comments written, and the number of high-quality comments, as well as on learning. Finally, participants exposed to nudges reported higher perceived learning. Conclusions: Our research shows the effect of nudges on student engagement and learning while using the instance of AVW-Space for teaching face-to-face communication skills. Future work will explore other soft skills, as well as providing explanations for the decisions made by AVW-Space.

The worldwide disruption of higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic has been studied from the viewpoints of institutions and teachers, with some attention to students' health and learning challenges. Attempts to theorise the diverse and conflicting challenges faced by students learning online during the pandemic have been limited. It is helpful to analyse students' experiences as part of an activity system in order to unravel the system's elements and determine contradictions that occur. This study adopted a mixed methods approach to investigate students' online learning experiences at all eight New Zealand universities during the pandemic. Data obtained via a large-scale online survey, followed by focus groups and individual interviews, is presented in light of an Activity Theory framework. Findings show that students' key challenges were associated with new tools and technologies, lack of interaction and social connection, lack of routine and space, and clashing commitments due to multiple roles and responsibilities. Contradictions can be a driving force for change and development in teaching and learning contexts. We conclude with recommendations for tertiary institutions, teachers, learning designers and students to inform future learning and teaching plans.

The future of tertiary education grapples with the opportunities, affordances, and limitations of online teaching and learning (T&L), and educators' valuable insights and experiences can shape and enhance the tertiary sector. The current study provided tertiary educators with an opportunity to anonymously share their online T&L experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and needs in the wake of COVID-19. This dialogue was initiated to promote openness, identify common challenges, and enable tailored resources unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. Our sample comprises 245 educators from 16 tertiary institutions using an online questionnaire to capture their opinions and comments. Although most participants described themselves as confident educators when teaching in a face-to-face environment, they reported comparatively low teacher self-efficacy when teaching online and held mixed attitudes toward online T&L. Educators also reported having poorer wellbeing during the shift to online T&L, and were uneasy about the sub-par quality of learning experiences for their students. In particular, there were broad concerns around the (limited) ability to build meaningful relationships with learners when teaching online, and expressed worry about the potential limitations of online T&L for their respective disciplines. Such concerns may worsen unless tertiary institutions and senior management (1) provide educators with agency, autonomy, and flexibility over "how" to teach students in their respective courses and qualifications; (2) equip educators with high-quality online T&L resources, training, and professional development, and (3) ensure that educators' workload is accurate if there are changes to online T&L delivery modes. We include recommendations so that educators can be empowered and support their students.

A key role of universities is the credentialing of student learning by awarding degrees and diplomas. This requires universities to have confidence in the integrity of their assessment processes and in turn, external stakeholders to have the same confidence. This study investigates the following research question: 'Has COVID-19 had an impact on the assessment and invigilation of accounting courses in Australia and New Zealand and, if so, how?' This is a critical issue for accounting faculty in many countries as COVID-19 has forced a shift in the way assessments are administered -- from face to face to online. The study involved a survey of accounting faculty in Australia and New Zealand and found changes occurred to how students were assessed because of COVID-19 and a variety of institutional responses to this. The paper makes recommendations for accounting educators, universities, and the professional accounting bodies.

The widespread growth of online education at higher education institutions necessitates institutional support for the development, implementation, and sustenance of online education. Faculty who teach online are at the forefront of implementation and play a critical role in online student success. In this scoping review, 13 online education quality frameworks were analyzed for the types of support needed by higher education faculty who teach online. The results are discussed in the context of implications for ensuring quality online education at higher education institutions.

Human nutrition is a growing field with an increasing job market and high demand for university study, yet graduates report feeling underprepared for and unaware of potential job opportunities. This scoping review aimed to identify employment initiatives used in undergraduate programs to support an evidence-based approach to the development of future initiatives for human nutrition courses. The scoping review following PRISMA-ScR criteria was initially conducted in October 2018 and updated in April 2020. Search terms were selected to identify studies that reported on employability or work-readiness embedded within the course curriculum for undergraduate students. Fourteen papers met the eligibility criteria. Papers included were from Australia (9), United Kingdom (2), United States (1), New Zealand (1) and Germany (1). Papers described initiatives fitting broad categories of placements, project-based industry collaboration, practice-based eLearning, mentoring and building graduate attributes. Placements were the most common type of initiative and project-based industry collaboration demonstrated the highest levels of student and employer satisfaction. The success of initiatives was often attributed to incorporating diverse approaches to real-world, problem-solving skills. Mentoring and eLearning were used to promote employability soft skills, while industry-based placements provided students with practical experience. Placement in specific workplace settings should be representative of the diverse job options for nutrition graduates. Human nutrition degrees should consider incorporating strategies that develop soft skills and project-based skills while exposing students to diverse workplace settings within industry.

The New Zealand Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 4) programme was designed and developed when a Level 4 early childhood education qualification became mandatory for all educators working with children and families in the New Zealand early childhood education home-based sector. This occurred at a time when Open Polytechnic was undergoing a transformational change programme to ensure ongoing innovation in open distant flexible learning (ODFL). This paper provides insight into the design and development of a fully online, Level 4, early childhood education and care programme. Several "stories" focus on pedagogy that empowers learners in an online flexible distance learning environment, innovative teamwork, and initial feedback from stakeholders. The pedagogy underpinning the development of the programme is informed by the integration of sociocultural and constructivist theories with information communication technology (ICT), as specified by "The Pedagogic Model of Integrating Constructivist and Sociocultural Learning Principles with Information Communication Technology," key educational design principles, and the assessment approach. In the first phase, work focused on designing at a programme level; work in the second phase developed the three courses that met qualification specifications set by the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF). The desired pedagogy and innovative teamwork resulted in very positive initial feedback from stakeholders. The paper recommends that feedback from stakeholders be formally collected in the new year.

Universities globally have continued to strategically increase work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students to enhance graduate employability. However, meeting the needs of the increasing number of placements in industry settings places challenges on employers and academic programme coordinators. This paper examines an innovative teaching and learning initiative demonstrating non-placement WIL practice on-campus and online through an exercise prescription clinic (EPC). The benefits provided by these opportunities have not only been for student learning, but for clients, in particular those impacted by neurological and/or muscular skeletal problems. The development of the on-campus EPC has focused on key elements of good practice in WIL highlighted by Agnew, Pill and Orrell (2017). The recent Covid-19 pandemic and the related government restrictions have resulted in the on-campus EPC being flipped online, requiring adaptability and flexibility of both students and clients. This paper reinforces the importance of developing WIL experiences that enhance the learning outcomes for both the student and the client. It also highlights the transferability of authentic industry non-placement WIL clinical experiences for future health professionals to both on-campus and online settings, which enable students the opportunity to engage with a range of clients in a safe environment, enhancing both personal and professional learning outcomes.