Learning Technology for Education Challenges

The integration of game design elements into formative assessments, known as Gamified Formative Assessment (GFA), is a promising approach to enhance student engagement and motivation in web programming courses. However, the tangible impact of GFA on learning outcomes remains to be fully explored. This action research study investigates the effects of GFA on learning outcomes in a web programming course, using two specific GFA tools, QRdice and Quizizz, and contrasting their effectiveness with traditional non-gamified formative assessments (NGFA). The study involved 42 ICT Diploma students and employed a mixed-methods approach, with both quantitative and qualitative data derived from assessment scores, surveys, and interviews. The data analysis, conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data, revealed no significant improvement in learning outcomes due to GFA. However, both the survey and interview data indicated a positive influence of GFA on students’ perceptions and experiences. This study offers valuable insights for educators and researchers aiming to effectively incorporate GFA in web programming courses.

The primary objective of this paper was to find out how completing a task in the metaverse using VR technology, as opposed to doing it in the real world, affects students. In addition, they wanted to find out if there were any differences between the genders. For this purpose, a two group experiment with pre- and post study questionnaires was conducted with 33 students from the University of Innsbruck and the Management Center Innsbruck. The participants were divided into two groups and had 15 min to solve a Sudoku puzzle with VR glasses or a tablet. To measure the experience, several questionnaires were filled out. These were used to record the workload, which was calculated using the standardized NASA TLX score developed by Hart S. (1986). The dimensions of “Mental Demand”, “Physical Demand”, “Temporal Demand”, “Performance”, “Effort”, and “Frustration” were assessed simultaneously. Subsequently, the results were differentiated between the two environments. It was found that the workload in both groups did not differ significantly. In the subscales, we can find a different situation. Particularly striking is the difference that emerged in physical exertion. With a significance of p < 0.001, this was much higher in virtual reality than in the real world. When looking at the genders separately, it became apparent that the males showed lower exertion than their female colleagues in almost all categories. This applies to four out of six dimensions in the tablet group, and in the other group, it applies to all categories.

This study discusses the preparation and implementation process of changing the Philosophy of Life from a physical to an online program at Fu Jen Catholic University. The biggest difficulty in changing the course from physical to online was not the technical aspect, but the historical tradition of the course, and the meanings that the instructor wanted to convey in the course. This study will illustrate how we have rethought the brief history of the development of this course when we have our preparation process, and how we have done so through the theories of sociology of education and social semiotics, so that ultimately we have been able to apply these theoretical underpinnings in the planning and design of the online course, and have been able to translate the traditional spirit of the course into our teaching and learning.

The purpose of this study is to present a bibliometric analysis of publications on the use of educational digital games in mathematics education. Towards this aim, articles published in the Web of Science (WoS) database were examined. In the study, a search was conducted in the WoS database using the keywords “digital game” or “educational digital games” or “educational game” or “game based learning” and “mathematic” or “math” or “mathematics”, resulting in 247 documents. Subsequently, filtering was applied to include only articles categorized under “Education & Educational Research” and “article” in the WoS categories according to PRISMA flowchart, limiting the results to 97 articles. Data obtained from the WoS database were analyzed using the bibliometrix package, which is a web interface in the RStudio program called biblioshiny. The analysis included production graph of journal articles by year, most relevant journals in the field, leading researchers, scientific productivity of countries, most frequently used keywords by researchers, countries of responsible authors, articles by journals, citation network according to journals, international collaboration between countries, and articles receiving the most citations within WoS. The findings of the analysis are presented in the results section under the respective headings outlined above.

This work aims to strengthen the administrative processes that virtual education organizations perform around the knowledge that is generated in virtual learning environments. In education, it is pertinent to apply knowledge management models that encourage continuous academic and research production, as well as to guarantee the means for knowledge and ideas to flow among teachers, students and other actors in the training process mediated by ICTs; in the way that a knowledge management model is proposed that incorporates these elements together with the characteristics of learning analysis (learning analytics) which, in this case, have the purpose of anticipating the efficiency and quality of the educational process to inform decision-making and improve the methodologies of the educational organization. The verification of the proposed model is carried out from a graphical analysis of the attendance variable, which allows us to conclude that it is necessary to define in detail the different metrics and knowledge indicators that are extracted from the virtual platforms, in order to measure the behavior of the system with the implemented model.

Sport action evaluation is a crucial segment in sports teaching. With the advancement of human pose estimation, the extraction of human body coordinates from images has become increasingly feasible. This paper proposes a sport action evaluation approach based on human pose estimation for comprehensive quantitative action evaluation. Firstly, key postures and features are designated by professional coaches from the standard action video according to sport action characteristics. Then, key postures and features are extracted based on human pose estimation technology to obtain actual features values from the test action video. Finally, a comprehensive action evaluation approach is be constructed with the use of Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE), which outputs an overall score to achieve quantitative evaluation. To verify the effectiveness of the approach, this paper established a dataset comprising 100 golf swing videos labeled with the hitting distances and conducted quantitative experiments on the dataset. The results show a positive correlation between the scores of the golf swing action and the actual hitting distance, which has the practical significance of the evaluation outcomes. The proposed approach in this paper could be applied to sport action evaluation which emphasize action standardization, offering a novel perspective for sport teaching.

This research investigates the impact of a Task-Based Virtual Learning Environment (TBVLE) implemented on electronic devices, specifically utilizing the Moodle-based platform SPeCTRUM developed by the Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. The study focuses on Thai as a Foreign Language (TFL) learners and employs a Task-Based learning approach aimed at refining speaking and listening abilities, along with enhancing cultural competence. The objectives of this study are threefold: 1) To develop a Task-Based Virtual Learning Environment on electronic devices for TFL learners targeting speaking, listening abilities, and cultural competence, 2) To scrutinize the effects of the Task-Based Virtual Learning Environment on electronic devices on TFL learners’ speaking, listening abilities, and cultural competence, and 3) To assess the satisfaction levels of students following their exposure to the Task-Based Virtual Learning Environment on electronic devices. Participants in this study are students from the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics enrolled in a Thai language communication class. The research seeks to contribute to the advancement of pedagogical strategies in teaching Thai as a foreign language, specifically through the utilization of the SPeCTRUM platform, thereby enhancing students’ listening, speaking abilities, and cultural competence.

In the contemporary business environment, novice engineers are required to possess a broad range of competencies extending beyond traditional academic knowledge. Soft skills, including collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity (collectively referred to as the 4Cs), are particularly crucial. Conventional pedagogical approaches in engineering education have been deemed insufficient to meet the evolving demands of the industry. As a result, student engineers often lack proficiency in these soft skills, leading to concerns about their future career prospects. In response to these challenges, Agile methodologies, specifically Scrum, have emerged as innovative educational frameworks offering potential solutions. This study aims to investigate the impact of Agile Scrum processes on the development of soft skills among student engineers, with a focus on the 4Cs. To achieve this objective, a pre-post su0rvey method was employed. Students were assessed on their skills at two distinct times, one before and one after their enrollment in an e-course, developed according to the Agile Scrum principles and delivered via Moodle to a cohort of 26 student engineers. An analysis of survey data demonstrates a positive correlation between Agile Scrum processes and the enhancement of soft skills among student engineers, providing empirical support for engineering education.

This study focuses on the relationship between culture and technology acceptance in higher education among students from the MENA region, at times when technological integration in higher education institutions is inevitable, and where investigating the impact of cultural dynamics becomes important. We look into the diverse MENA region’s local cultural frameworks, understanding their influence on the acceptance of technology and the quality of distance higher education as perceived by students. We used triangulation, combining qualitative exploratory case studies, surveys, and bibliographic analysis. Through an empirical study approach, we investigate the impact of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, that of Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Collectivism vs Individuality, on higher education students’ perceptions of technology use. It questions how different occupational cultures from the MENA region could shape perceptions of technology, affecting its adoption and quality. This study shows how educators could be more culturally sensitive when designing distance learning courses, and could also facilitate cross-cultural collaboration to bridge the gap between cultural diversity and technology integration in distance learning courses. The main objective of this study is to identify, from diverse MENA region students’ remote focus group experiences, elements that could highlight the impact of cultural dimensions on the acceptance of technology in higher education. Investigating the MENA region aims to fill the gap in the theory related to the issue of technology adoption in distance learning. It has the ambition to contribute to the growing body of evidence concerning the moderating impact of culture on technology acceptance and quality of education.

Online education is experiencing a surge in technical advancement and adoption in the post-COVID world. Many universities are implementing digitally mediated courses. Art education is catching up with this development’s pace; however, transitioning from in-person to online courses is fraught with complications. This paper proposes using open-source platforms to share knowledge about visual art education methodologies. We propose a framework for educators to quantitatively express the phenomenology of digitally mediated art education to improve knowledge transmission in online academic settings. We suggest using data visualizations and existing social platforms to structure, record, and share data about educational patterns to reach the defined objectives (Google Sheets and Observable Notebooks). When individual instructors have defined, recorded, and shared their findings on a relevant question, other instructors can follow, improve, and modulate their pattern, enhancing the scope of the original question and creating communities around enhancing pedagogical practices.

This paper introduces a novel middleware framework designed to enhance interoperability and manage access rights within diverse educational ecosystems. Our approach leverages a hierarchically structured role and authorization management system to facilitate seamless integration across various educational platforms and content providers. By focusing on the central administration of authorizations, the framework ensures coherent educational journeys for users, enabling user-specific enrollments in educational programs, sovereign data management, and flexible adaptation to dynamic educational needs. We discuss the conceptual underpinnings of our system, including rights-as-a-graph and contextual hierarchy-based rights, and detail its practical applications through case studies. These include facilitating distributive education programs, ensuring data sovereignty for learning analytics, and supporting self-sovereign access model configurations. Our system addresses the critical need for a flexible, context-dependent rights management solution that can adapt to the evolving landscape of educational technologies and standards. Through a detailed examination of related works and by providing practical application scenarios, this paper contributes to the field of educational technology by offering a scalable, interoperable solution designed to support lifelong learning in an ever-changing world.

The Technical University of Ethiopia (TVTI), in a synergistic endeavor with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), is at the forefront of an innovative eLearning initiative, revolutionizing technical education through the adept integration of open-source tools. Central to this transformation is Moodle, an open-source learning management system, which, alongside OBS Studio and OpenShot Video Editor, forms the cornerstone of this forward-thinking project. This abstract details the trajectory and achievements of the “Capacity Enhancement Project for Vocational Education and Training Managers and Instructors in Ethiopia.’’ It emphasizes the strategic employment of Moodle as a platform for course management and content delivery and as an active participant in the development environment, fostering a collaborative and interactive learning space, including server reconfiguration for better performance. The complementary use of OBS Studio and OpenShot Video Editor has enriched the educational content, offering an immersive and engaging learning experience. The narrative highlights the project's significant milestones, its collaborative nature with KOICA, and the impactful educational transformation. It underscores the scalability of this open-source model and its potential adaptability in similar educational infrastructures across developing nations. As the project concludes, its story will exemplify the transformative impact of open-source technologies, heralding a new era of inclusive and quality-driven education and setting new benchmarks for future educational initiatives in Ethiopia and other developing countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a swift transition from traditional classrooms to fully online learning, prompting the education system to prioritize the maintenance and enhancement of education quality, particularly at the elementary level. In ensuring students’ ability to self-regulate their learning, it is crucial for them to develop independence and responsibility in acquiring new knowledge, as this will impact their educational progress in higher levels. This study proposes the application of process mining, specifically using the web-based system called GoSRL to map students’ SRL behaviors to activities within the Moodle online learning platform. While typically employed in business process analytics, process mining can also be utilized for learning analytics, as indicated by recent research. Adopting the Process Mining Project Methodology (PM²), this research investigates and carries out online SRL process model discovery by employing various processes, such as data processing, mining, analysis, and evaluation. Through extraction of records from the Moodle event log, encompassing the online activities of the students, SRL process models are generated. The final outcome of this project is a web-based system design that equips teachers with insights into students’ online SRL, thereby facilitating a better understanding of their learning processes and enabling improvements in the quality of teaching and learning systems.

The phenomenon of compassion fatigue was not only encountered by healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was also experienced by students and teachers during online learning. Compassion fatigue refers to the physical, emotional, and psychological effects of helping others, which, if in excess, can result in burnout. Recent studies have indicated that online learning efficacy, in tandem with social and emotional learning, may mitigate the impact of compassion fatigue. Additionally, since pre-service teachers will be the future of education, it is essential for them to understand the underlying causes of compassion fatigue so that they can be better prepared for future situations. Anchoring on the social cognitive theory and motivation, data collected includes perceptions of social and emotional learning, online learning efficacy, optimism, pessimism, and resilience among pre-service teachers. Using a quantitative approach, a total of 356 pre-service teachers in Taiwan who studied online during the COVID-19 pandemic were surveyed. According to the findings, pre-service teachers experienced moderate to slight compassion fatigue throughout their online learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the findings also revealed moderate to high levels of social and emotional learning. Moreover, regression result shows that compassion fatigue is negatively related to pre-service teachers’ resilience, while positively related to pessimism and online learning efficacy. The findings suggest that, contrary to expectations, higher levels of online learning efficacy were associated with increased compassion fatigue. As a consequence, it emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of the factors contributing to compassion fatigue in online learning environment, encouraging educators and institutions to explore strategies that balance engagement without compromising well-being.

Cybersecurity education often demands practical experience, particularly in analyzing cyber threats. To address this challenge, lab sessions or simulations are essential for students to understand threats, conduct analysis, devise counteractive measure and reporting the threats. This research examines 30 students’ perceptions of their knowledge in cyber threat analysis using the Security Operation Centre (SOC). Employing a mixed-methods approach, this paper will explore SOC (Security Operations Center) utilization among undergraduate cybersecurity students. Students’ perceived knowledge was evaluated through survey questions regarding their SOC experience, supplemented by interviews to gain in-depth insights into their perceptions. The findings indicate a noticeable enhancement in students’ understanding of cyber threat analysis. These results have implications for higher learning institutions and educators, suggesting avenues for improving student knowledge in cybersecurity. For future research, it is recommended to conduct student assessments to validate and examine the alignment between students’ perceptions and their assessment grades.

A radical transformation in workplace education practices may imply a shift in the culture of learning. This is the challenge that a French public training organization undertook to tackle from its headquarters on a national level. The shift in practice that the organization has been experimenting relies on the use of Study Circles as a model of Adult Cooperative Learning, sometimes referred to as Learning Circles. Deployment of the model for workplace learning and professional training banks on the potential that this format holds to introduce changes in public services by enhancing the agency of public service actors, enabling them to modify structurally stratified perceptions and practices. After setting up a series of eight Learning Circles, the organization set out to study their effects using a compatible participatory approach. Action Research was chosen. This paper reports on the outcomes of the study the Action Research team undertook during a year-long cycle that ended in January 2023.

The Test of Competencies (TECO) is a questionnaire created on the basis of Progress Test, in order to give a technological response for evaluating competences in big populations of students. It is used to evaluate learning progress of university students, in order to allow the improvement of skills acquisition. The aim of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the TECO in students of the Bachelor’s degree in Occupational therapy at Sapienza University of Rome. The sample was recruited between October 2019 to December 2022. To be included in the study, the participants had to be enrolled in the bachelor’s degree course of Occupational Therapy at the “Sapienza” University of Rome and had not to be outside the prescribed time for completion of exams. The test was administered digitally to 340 students. The internal consistency for the TECO score evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha was excellent (α = 0.90). Regarding the discriminant validity, the Area Under the Curve (AUC) showed a value of 0.95 (95% CI 0.92–0.97) for the first year of the course (Fig. 1), 0.92 (95% CI 0.89–0.95) for the second year of the course and 0.81 (95% CI 0.76–0.87) for the third year of the course indicating a moderate capability to discriminate the score of year. This study had a great impact for students, researchers and academics, giving a new assessment method to evaluate learning progress of university students and improve quality of education.

The popularity of online courses has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of nursing courses, traditional face-to-face instruction has been found to be most effective. Nurses are often taught face-to-face to obtain hands-on experience and direct interaction with instructors and peers. Furthermore, in-person instruction provides a supportive environment for students to ask questions, receive immediate feedback, and establish meaningful connections. This study aims to examine whether online instructors’ immediacy and presence during COVID-19 affect nursing students’ learning motivation, cognitive learning, and affective learning. Data were collected from 206 nursing students who studied online between September 2020 and February 2022. Descriptive statistics revealed that students viewed their instructors as moderately immediate and highly present in the classroom. This resulted in fair levels of affective learning, average cognitive learning, and moderate learning motivation. In addition, the results of the regression analysis also indicate that online instructors’ immediacy and presence are closely associated with students’ learning motivation and affective learning. However, correlational analysis shows that there exists a nuanced relationship between online instructors’ immediacy and presence negatively affecting students’ affective learning. Overall, the study revealed that online instruction needs to be further developed and integrated with social and emotional aspects. Addressing the social and emotional aspects of online instruction can provide students with the support and guidance they need to succeed in an online learning environment.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges, schools in the Philippines continue to operate using a variety of learning approaches. Similar to other countries, the Philippines also utilizes online learning as a means of keeping students engaged in their studies. However, research has indicated that there are various issues related to online learning effectiveness as well as the emergence of teacher fatigue resulting in burnout. Thus, it is vital to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of Filipino teachers who conducted online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 181 volunteer Filipino teachers who taught online during COVID-19 were surveyed. Using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model as a framework, the data collected includes teacher fatigue, social-emotional learning, and online teaching engagement and facilitation. Statistical analysis using independent samples t-tests shows that there were significant gender differences in self-awareness, relationship skills, online teaching engagement, and facilitation with male teachers scoring significantly higher. Interestingly, teacher fatigue is positively correlated with social-emotional learning and online teaching engagement, which perhaps demonstrates the interconnectedness of teachers’ well-being and online teaching engagement. Lastly, structural equation modelling using Hayes Process Macro indicates that social-emotional learning significantly mediates the relationship between online teaching engagement and teacher fatigue. Consequently, the findings challenge traditional assumptions, particularly those regarding teacher fatigue’s positive association with social-emotional learning and online teaching engagement. In light of this unexpected finding, fostering collaborative networks and communities of practice could facilitate knowledge sharing and resource mobilization among teachers within an online teaching environment.

Online learning has brought about significant changes in the education since the COVID-19 pandemic. The cognitive processes involved in online learning have been debated for decades. Although many of the issues regarding instructional designs have been addressed, post pandemic challenges require us to take a more practical approach to prepare students with 21st-century skills. However, discussions on constructing an instructional design through online learning, particularly those related to active learning from a neuroscience perspective are still lacking. A systematic literature review to synthesise empirical data on using or implementing neuroscience educational approaches in online learning is needed. This paper attempts to identify the trends in the neuroscience education in online learning to research sampling trends and the focus of the field of study. The study utilised the Science Direct, Scopus, Pro Quest, and ERIC databases based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), of 27 original articles published between 2014 and 2023. The findings reveal that the United States is be the dominant country in conducting neuroscience education approaches through online learning and related studies were mostly performed in 2023. The research samples were also more focused on higher education institutions (HEIs) with an emphasis on teaching and learning activities.

This research aimed to create a task-based e-learning courseware designed to enhance the writing skills of pre-service teachers aspiring to become leaders. Through purposive sampling, ten teachers specializing in the Thai language or other subjects, affiliated with either the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation, were carefully selected. Additionally, teachers instructing in the Bachelor of Education program in Thai, with a minimum of three years of teaching experience, were included in the study. Furthermore, ten fourth-year pre-service teachers from the Division of Thai, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, who successfully completed a teaching observation, participated in a teaching experiment in schools, and enrolled in the Writing for Academic and Professional Communication course (course code 2191104) during the first semester of the academic year 2023, were chosen through purposive sampling. Similarly, an additional group of twenty fourth-year pre-service teachers from the same division and faculty were selected through purposive sampling. These participants had successfully completed a teaching observation, engaged in a teaching experiment in schools, and were enrolled in the Writing for Academic and Professional Communication course (course code 2191104) during the first semester of the academic year 2023. The study revealed that the task-based e-learning courseware is structured into three distinct phases: preparing tasks, practicing tasks, and post-practicing tasks. Evaluation of the developed courseware demonstrated an efficiency score of 86.67/85.13, exceeding the established 80/80 benchmark. Furthermore, the research findings indicated a significant improvement in the writing skills for leadership among pre-service teachers after engaging with the courseware. This improvement was statistically significant at the 0.05 level when compared to their skills before the learning process.

In this paper, a goal-setting oriented adaptive learning paths recommendation system is designed and implemented, aiming to provide learners with targeted and effective preparation for their career entry/reorientation based on competences taxonomies. This system combines the principles of the classic recommendation system by utilizing a hybrid method that integrates content-based and knowledge-based recommendations. Complementary to the hybrid method, the SMART goal-setting approach is applied, assisting learners in setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound learning objectives. The primary hypothesis explored in this work is to what extent the combination of competence-based course recommendations and goal-setting offers learners a goal-setting oriented learning path optimizing their educational journey. A mixed-methods approach was utilized, grounding system development in key theories and taxonomies. Ultimately, both quantitative and qualitative user testing were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and usability of the prototype and to discuss the hypothesis of the research.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is rapidly evolving, yet it still faces challenges in comprehending deep meanings and emotions, handling diverse languages and subtle linguistic nuances. Literary text translation remains particularly tough for machine translation, with limited research focusing on Thai-Chinese translation. This study investigates the Thai biographical essay ‘ ,’ (Mother Nao Hua) comparing quantitative and qualitative aspects of translations by Google Translate, Baidu Translate, and ChatGPT. The goal is to explore the difficulties faced in Thai-Chinese machine translation and how to issue clearer commands for literary translations. Quantitative analysis shows ChatGPT’s translation as the best, followed by Google and Baidu Translate. Modified instructions improved ChatGPT’s translation quality. Qualitative analysis reveals reasons for translation quality variance and machine translation’s literary text issues. It finds challenges in Thai to Chinese translation, suggesting ChatGPT instruction refinement can improve quality. The study proposes three future research directions.

This study delves into the impact of collaborative writing using Google Docs and Google Gemini on the critical writing skills of 35 Grade 11 students enrolled in a mandatory Thai Language course at a Demonstration School in Bangkok. Participants underwent a structured writing process within small groups, received training on the platforms, and were closely monitored to ensure the integrity of the collaborative process. The study strictly adhered to ethical principles throughout. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the findings suggest promising results, indicating significant improvements in overall critical writing skills. Thematic content analysis of qualitative responses reveals six common themes regarding participants’ opinions on Google Gemini and collaborative online writing. These themes highlight Google Gemini’s proficiency in assisting with word arrangement, information retrieval, collaboration, and enhancing critical writing. The tool’s role in diversifying perspectives and improving the completeness of critical writing is also emphasized. The study provides valuable insights into the multifaceted contributions of Google Gemini to critical writing enhancement.

The aim of this research is to investigate the faculty’s current digital capabilities and openness to using AI for enhancing feedback standardisation across academic disciplines. The research assesses the faculty’s digital literacy, behaviours, and initial perceptions of generative AI. Questionnaires were employed at different stages: before and after an informative presentation on the proposed AI methodology. Findings suggest that while there is a general openness to integrating AI in educational feedback, complexities related to digital literacy, technology adoption, and perceptions of AI must be carefully navigated.

This study contributes to understanding the preconditions for successful AI adoption in education, pointing towards the need for enhanced digital literacy and supportive frameworks that facilitate technological innovation while respecting the unique contributions of human educators. Future research will focus on developing strategies to bridge the digital capability gap and fully realise the potential of generative AI in standardising student feedback, thus aligning pedagogical practices with the evolving digital landscape in higher education.