scholarly journals Employing the EPEC Hierarchy of Conditions (Version II) To Evaluate the Effectiveness of Using Synchronous Technologies with Multi-Location Student Cohorts in the Tertiary Education Setting

Author(s):  
Michelle Jean Eady ◽  
Stuart Woodcock ◽  
Ashley Sisco

<p class="3">As e-learning maintains its popularity worldwide, and university enrolments continue to rise, online tertiary level coursework is increasingly being designed for groups of distributed learners, as opposed to individual students. Many institutions struggle with incorporating all facets of online learning and teaching capabilities with the range and variety of software tools available to them. This study used the EPEC Hierarchy of Conditions (ease of use, psychologically safe environment, e-learning self-efficacy, and competence) for E-Learning/E-Teaching Competence (Version II) to investigate the effectiveness of an online synchronous platform to train pre-service teachers studying in groups at multiple distance locations called satellite campuses. The study included 58 pre-service teachers: 14 who were online using individual computers and 44 joining online, sitting physically together in groups, at various locations. Students completed a survey at the conclusion of the coursework and data were analyzed using a mixed methods approach.</p><p class="3">This study’s findings support the EPEC model applied in this context, which holds that success with e-learning and e-teaching is dependent on four preconditions: 1) ease of use, 2) psychologically safe environment, 3) e-learning self-efficacy, and 4) competency. However, the results also suggest two other factors that impact the success of the online learning experience when working with various sized groups. The study demonstrates that the effectiveness of a multi-location group model may not be dependent only on the EPEC preconditions but also the effectiveness of the instructor support present and the appropriateness of the tool being implemented. This has led to the revised EPEC Hierarchy of Conditions for E-Learning/E-Teaching Competence (Version III).</p>

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rola Alhabshneh ◽  
Anas Alibrahim ◽  
Tahani Abu-Alteen ◽  
Wiam Hamadah ◽  
Yousef Khader

BACKGROUND The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major public health challenge for many countries around the world. The global lockdown of educational institutions is going to cause major disruption to students’ learning and cancellation of their yearly assessments. Dental students are particularly at risk, due to the possibility of aerosols produced in many dental procedures that were suggested as a way of transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Shifting to online learning is needed in this era. OBJECTIVE This article aims to review the online learning experience, the effectiveness of tele-dentistry and the importance of implementing dental virtual simulation in preclinical and clinical courses during pandemics. Some suggestions are also provided to widen communication and creativity in the education system. The limitations of online learning and suggested solutions are also discussed. METHODS Two independent investigators conducted an electronic comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE for articles published between 2000 and 2020, using the following search terms: “online education”; “Tele-dentistry”; “Education during pandemics”; “Virtual dentistry”; “COVID-19 reshaping education”; and “Dental E-learning.” Studies were selected and classified as included or excluded based on the title and abstract of the articles by the 2 researchers, working independently. Articles included were published in English, related to dentistry and online education. Articles excluded were not published in English or related to conventional education. It was not possible to analyze included articles, therefore we decided to do narrative review only. Authors’ points of view and suggestions were also added to shed light on the online learning experience and understand its quality and effectiveness during pandemics. RESULTS : from 150 articles reviewed, only 30 articles were found to qualify for inclusion. All included articles discussed online education based on experience of authors and provided some suggestions so that online learning experience becomes more effective. All included articles found that online education is a useful tool to be invested at times of pandemics and that it needs to be empowered and improved by schools and universities. CONCLUSIONS Being successful in riding the wave will take dental learning and teaching into a new era. In the future, every dean and faculty member will understand that online education is not only a potential source for new revenue. Instead, online education will be recognized as an essential core to every educational plan for institutional resilience and academic continuity. CLINICALTRIAL None


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rola Alhabshneh Sr ◽  
Anas Alibrahim ◽  
Anas Alibrahim ◽  
Tahani Alteen ◽  
Wiam Hamadah ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Background: The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major public health challenge for many countries around the world. The global lockdown of educational institutions is going to cause major disruption to students’ learning and cancellation of their yearly assessments. Dental students are particularly at risk, due to the possibility of aerosols produced in many dental procedures that were suggested as a way of transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Shifting to online learning is needed in this era. OBJECTIVE This article aims to review the online learning experience, the effectiveness of tele-dentistry and the importance of implementing dental virtual simulation in preclinical and clinical courses during pandemics. Some suggestions are also provided to widen communication and creativity in the education system. The limitations of online learning and suggested solutions are also discussed. METHODS Two independent investigators conducted an electronic comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE for articles published between 2000 and 2020, using the following search terms: “online education”; “Tele-dentistry”; “Education during pandemics”; “Virtual dentistry”; “COVID-19 reshaping education”; and “Dental E-learning.” Studies were selected and classified as included or excluded based on the title and abstract of the articles by the 2 researchers, working independently. Articles included were published in English, related to dentistry and online education. Articles excluded were not published in English or related to conventional education. It was not possible to analyze included articles, therefore we decided to do narrative review only. Authors’ points of view and suggestions were also added to shed light on the online learning experience and understand its quality and effectiveness during pandemics. RESULTS from 150 articles reviewed, only 30 articles were found to qualify for inclusion. All included articles discussed online education based on experience of authors and provided some suggestions so that online learning experience becomes more effective. All included articles found that online education is a useful tool to be invested at times of pandemics and that it needs to be empowered and improved by schools and universities. CONCLUSIONS Being successful in riding the wave will take dental learning and teaching into a new era. In the future, every dean and faculty member will understand that online education is not only a potential source for new revenue. Instead, online education will be recognized as an essential core to every educational plan for institutional resilience and academic continuity.


Author(s):  
Ashley Sisco ◽  
Stuart Woodcock ◽  
Michelle Eady

This article examines pre-service teacher perspectives of teaching with an online synchronous (live-time) platform as a part of their training. Fifty-three students who participated in a blended learning (including both face-to-face and online lectures) course were assessed in a teaching simulation through an online presentation, and participated in questionnaires and interviews about their experiences as e-learners using the platform. The EPEC hierarchy of conditions (Ease of use, Psychologically safe environment, e-learning/e-teaching Efficacy, and e-learning Competence) for e-learning competency, developed based on an analysis of pre-service teachers’ experience as e-learners in this same study, was used as a framework to assess teacher perspectives as e-teachers using this technology. Qualitative interview data were collected about students’ experiences using the platform, and analyzed via thematic content analysis. The findings showed that students generally favoured the online e-teaching synchronous platform over in-person presentations, and the quality of online presentations was considered at least as good as in person.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 5537-5542

As to promote and develop STEM education in Malaysia, various approaches have been taken, including improving the curriculum of secondary school by enhancing the contents of the Technology subjects. In this paper, we are concentrating on the issues raised in learning and teaching the computer science subject specifically in supporting the students to understand the syllabus. We propose an interactive online learning application (Code Pocket) using Waterfall model to assist students in learning the subject and enables teachers to monitor the performance of the students. Code Pocket is a web-based application which acts as e-learning platform that consists of many modules such as notes, quiz and reporting. A dashboard menu panel is provided to enable easy navigation. This application provides alternative learning and teaching mechanisms by providing flexible learning environment that promotes online and mobile learning which can be accessed at anytime and anywhere. With interactive features, the learning experience will be better and interesting.


Author(s):  
Stuart Woodcock ◽  
Ashley Sisco ◽  
Michelle Eady

This study examined the effectiveness of an online synchronous platform used for training preservice teachers. A blended learning approach was implemented. Fifty-three students participated in the course. Qualitative interview data and quantitative survey data were collected about students’ experiences using the platform, and analyzed via thematic content analysis and statistical analysis, respectively. The findings show that e-learning synchronous technology is an effective learning tool in enhancing preservice teachers’ e-learning competency in subject matter and information communication technology skills. However, preservice teachers’ competency to learn and implement e-learning for students is dependent on four hierarchal conditions (a) ease of use, (b) psychologically safe environment, (c) e-learning self-efficacy, and, (d) competency. Implications from the findings and future research recommendations are also presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlina Mohamad ◽  

E-learning applications or online learning is a very broad topic. This article discusses best practices in designing online learning to provide the best learning experience to students. Recently too many e-learning applications have been produced to help the learning process to be easily accessible anytime and anywhere. Students are so excited because access to learning materials is no longer limited to printed materials. The results of studies on the effectiveness of online learning show inconsistent findings. This is because most of the applications developed do not emphasize effective design. If applications are developed without considering the design principles of an effective e-learning application, it is impossible to provide a meaningful learning experience to students. So, these best practices have been gathered through analytical documents from books, journal articles and successful e-learning developers to help designers and developers of e-learning applications to produce effective applications. There are three main things that need to be emphasized in the design of e-learning applications, namely interface design, content design and interaction design. In interface design, among the things that are evaluated is how to produce an interface that can use the cognitive load effectively. Meanwhile, for content design, what is the appropriate learning and teaching theory to be applied so that the learning experience becomes something meaningful. For interaction design, it is important for the behavior of an application to be predictable and usable. Good interaction design shows features such as easy to use, efficient, safe, easy to learn and easy to remember how to use it. In this article, best practices for designing according to these three aspects will be discussed. Although these best practices are still not comprehensive, they can help learning application developers, teachers, instructors, lecturers, or trainers to be able to provide online learning materials and design e-learning interesting applications effectively.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Wilson Adjei Budu ◽  
Mu Yinping ◽  
Kingsford Kissi Mireku

Abstract The objective of the study aimed at assessing the relationship that exists between antecedents of behavioral intentions, and how they impact on the usage of E-learning systems in tertiary institutions in Ghana. Empirical data for the study was obtained through a survey from 237 respondents made up of; governing council members, school management members, faculty members, ICT department staff and students from five tertiary education institutions in Ghana. The study developed an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by incorporating an external variable, self-efficacy. The hypothesized model was examined using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLSSEM) technique using Smart PLS version 12 software. The paper argues that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and self-efficacy influenced individual’s behavioral intentions to utilize E-learning systems. However, the findings confirm that, through the mediating role of individuals’ behavioral intention to use, self-efficacy is the most influential factor that affects individual’s behavioral intentions to utilize E-learning systems in Ghana’s tertiary education institutions, relative to perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This result implies that self-efficacy is the main behavioral intention factor in determining E-learning system utilization, in Ghana’s tertiary education context. This study satisfies or fills an E-learning utilization literature shortfall by the extension of the Technological Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate antecedents of behavioral intentions and their impact on E-learning systems usage among tertiary education institutions. Also, the study demonstrates the importance of behavioral intention-to-use as playing a full mediating role between self-efficacy and E-learning system usage.


Author(s):  
Azwar Rahmat ◽  
Abdul Wahab Syakhrani ◽  
Erwinsyah Satria

This paper discusses online learning in the digital era by reviewing various international publications. This study is interesting given the growth of schools offering online education. This trend continues to develop, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, which caused all social activities to stop. For that reason, we are interested in discussing online learning strategies, enriching the learning experience. Our analytical process involves coding, evaluation, and in-depth interpretation to obtain valid and reliable findings. We conducted data searches with the help of electronic searches on the Google Scholar app, ERIC publications, and Academic Microsoft between 2015 and publication in 2021. As a result, online educational activities have won a place in the hearts of students and teachers, which occur automatically through website technology. More specifically, this is called "e-learning." This is a promising distance learning that has become a trend for students and scientists and has become a way for people to get information about their needs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 8053
Author(s):  
Maram Meccawy ◽  
Zilal Meccawy ◽  
Aisha Alsobhi

(1) This study demonstrates how a Saudi university has responded to the COVID-19 lockdown in order to examine the success factors and highlight any challenges. The main purpose was to determine the perceptions of students and faculty towards emergency online distance learning from a teaching and learning perspective; (2) A cross-faculty study was conducted: two different self-administered questionnaires were developed for students and faculty, respectively. In addition, data was collected from official reports; (3) The results show that students had a more positive perception of e-Learning despite the difficulties that they may have faced, while faculty results leaned slightly towards a negative perception. However, there was not a definite positive or negative perception, depending on the aspect of teaching that was being evaluated. The study also indicated that faculty and students’ gender had no significant effect on their perceptions. Overall results showed that the university performed well in accordance with three of the five pillars of online learning quality framework in terms of student satisfaction, access and scalability. On the other, improvements are needed to achieve better results for faculty satisfaction and learning effectiveness; (4) The findings present a number of suggestions for increasing satisfaction to improve the online learning experience post COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Monira I. Aldhahi ◽  
Abdulfattah S. Alqahtani ◽  
Baian A. Baattaiah ◽  
Huda I. Al-Mohammed

AbstractThe overarching objective of this study was to assess learning satisfaction among students and to determine whether online-learning self-efficacy was associated with online learning satisfaction during the emergency transition to remote learning. This cross-sectional study involved a survey distributed to 22 Saudi Arabian universities. The survey used in this study consisted of an online learning self-efficacy (OLSE) questionnaire and an electronic learning (e-learning) satisfaction questionnaire. A total of 1,226 respondents voluntarily participated in and completed the survey. Students in medical fields made up 289 (23.6%). A Kruskal–Wallis H test and a chi-square test were used to compare the student’s satisfaction based on the educational variables. Spearman’s correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association between self-efficacy and satisfaction. The findings revealed degrees of satisfaction ranging between high satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The majority of students (51%) expressed high satisfaction, and 599 students (49%) reported experiencing a low level of satisfaction with e-learning. A comparison of groups with low and high satisfaction scores revealed a significant difference in the OLSE. High satisfaction was positively correlated with the OLSE domains: time management, technology, and learning. The OLSE regression analysis model significantly predicted satisfaction. It showed that the model, corrected for education level and grade point average of the students, significantly predicted e-learning satisfaction (F = 8.04, R2 = 0.59, p = .004). The study concluded that students’ satisfaction with the e-learning experience is influenced by e-learning self-efficacy. The study’s findings lead to the practical implications and identify the need to improve the remote learning, time management and technology self-efficacy to enhance students’ satisfaction.


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