Considerations associated with synchronous and asynchronous video use in online learning

Purpose A substantial amount of the heavy lifting associated with getting face-to-face courses online as part of the emergency remote teaching response to the global COVID-19 pandemic has fallen, at times rather awkwardly at the feet of teachers and trainers. Teachers and trainers have had to become both learning designers, and online tutors overnight. In many instances what we have seen as part of this pivoting to online learning is the perpetuation of existing classroom based pedagogical approaches. This has, in most instances equated to the delivery of live lectures via video-conferencing software (such as Zoom and Skype), or previously recorded classroom-based lectures being reused. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the affordances of synchronous and asynchronous lecture video use in online learning based on the view that whilst pre-recorded videos are customary and can add added value to the online learning environment, they should be used based pedagogical pertinence, rather than through convenience or simply to save time. Findings The pedagogical nuances of online learning and student engagement must be broadly considered, so that the formation of conditions in which learning is most likely is at the forefront. Originality/value This is a viewpoint paper. Much of the paper is based on the views of the author – supported by references/research.

From Brick to Click Classrooms: A Paradigm Shift During the Pandemic—Identifying Factors Influencing Service Quality and Learners’ Satisfaction in Click Classrooms

The most crucial determinant of success in any service environment is the perception of the customers about the service quality or the product quality as it derives satisfaction and loyalty. Considering this imperative, the present review focuses on the service quality of online teaching, which has become a new normal during the pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in a paradigm shift of imparting education from brick to click classrooms. Hence, this article reviews the literature on the factors influencing service quality of click classrooms and mentions the parameters that lead to learners’ satisfaction. The systematic review helps in understanding how the research in this field has progressed. It is evident from this review that creating an interactive learning environment, giving prompt feedbacks, providing rich digital resources and course content, competent and skilled faculty members and continuous student support play a crucial role in enhancing the service quality of click classrooms leveraging learners’ satisfaction. The findings of this study support the educational institutions towards developing a sound and sustainable online learning environment by comprehending the students’ expectations about the service quality of an online learning environment. The study aims to propel future research works towards improving the service quality of click classrooms and enriching learners’ experience to impart quality education for all the stakeholders.

Influence of psychological safety and social presence on knowledge sharing behavior in higher education online learning environment

Purpose The absence of physical interactions in online learning environment brings psychological influences on learning participants in interacting and sharing knowledge with others, such as ignorance of other member’s presence and insecurity to share something in online environment. The purpose of this research was to examine the knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) by online learning community members in terms of their psychological safety (PS) and social presence (SP) perceptions. In addition, this research also identified the influence of PS to promote SP and the mediation impact of SP in the relationships between PS and KSB. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered through self-administered questionnaire distributed to 133 online class members at a university in Indonesia where online learning has created a new learning experience. To represent key behavioral attributes, 12 items were used to represent PS, SP and KSB. The relationships among the variables were analyzed using the structural equation modelling method. Findings The result showed that PS positively influenced SP and KSB. SP also brought a positive impact on promoting KSB and fully mediated the relationship between PS and KSB. Research limitations/implications The result may not have fully captured the reflection of the influencing factors of KSB, as this research focused only on two psychological factors, namely, PS and SP. The research may be further enriched by including additional factors and expanding the data collection to include more online learning institutions. Practical implications The results implied the importance of PS and SP perception to promoting KSB in online learning environments. The results highlighted an important message to universities and schools to be more concerned on students’ feeling safe personally and students’ awareness of others’ presence to maximize knowledge sharing activities in online class environment. Originality/value This paper revealed the importance of PS and SP to promote KSB in the higher education online learning community. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study to link PS and SP to KSB and identify the importance of the mediation effect of SP on the relationship between PS and KSB specifically in higher education online learning environment.

The effectiveness of cooperative learning in an online learning environment through a comparison of group and individual marks

Cooperative learning is a learning approach where students are placed into groups to work towards a common goal. Prominent learning theories state that students learn best when they construct their own knowledge in an active learning environment where they can socially interact and collaborate to reach a desired outcome. Cooperative learning provides such a learning environment and has the benefit of creating an active learning community where students can develop transferable skills. Online learning has grown steadily over the past few years, but even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic where tertiary institutions’ only option was to continue with their academic programmes remotely through online learning platforms. With online learning becoming a prominent feature, calls are made to educators to examine teamwork and cooperation and how this can be facilitated in an online setting. In the online learning environment it is important to promote collaborative engagement to counteract feelings of isolation and encourage deep learning to occur. In the second accounting module of a fully online degree, students are exposed to a case study, with a group assignment as well as an individual assignment component. The aim of this study is to determine whether group work can be effective by comparing group marks to individual marks. The study further elicits the perceptions of the online students to determine their views regarding group work, the process that they followed to collaborate, as well as their perceptions regarding skills developed using the case study approach. A mixed-methods approach was followed, using the group and individual marks and combining those with the survey analysis and qualitative data analysis from a questionnaire. It was found that the average mark for the group assignment is higher than for the individual assignment and that the individual assignment shows a greater spread of marks. For male students who prefer to work within a group, their group mark is higher than their individual mark, showing that they did receive the benefit from working within a group. Students agreed that group work is a valuable skill that will be needed in their future careers and that the group work enabled them to learn from their group members. Working in a group requires a lot of time and effort, but students will elicit the strategies required to gain the necessary knowledge and solve the problem posed to them. Students mentioned several other skills that they perceived were developed through their exposure to the group work; skills such as communicating well, listening with intent, negotiating a point of view, researching alternatives and solving a problem were all enhanced through their participation in their groups. The results suggest that group work can be effectively achieved and managed in an online setting, albeit with special care around the logistical and technological challenges that can be experienced. Cooperative learning in the form of group work is not always welcomed by all students, but it will enable them to navigate their future careers where teamwork will be a prominent feature.

Investigation of Higher Education Student Perceptions of Social Presence and Motivations in Online Learning Environments

This chapter determines the social presence perceptions and motivation levels of higher education students participating in the online learning environment and reveals the possible causes that affect these variables. According to the findings obtained from the study in which the explanatory design was used among the mixed research methods, it was concluded that the social presence perceptions of the participants were lower compared to their motivation. Besides, it was found out that there is a positive relationship between social presence and motivation variables. According to the qualitative findings, the majority of the participants stated that they were not satisfied with distance education, encountered technical and hardware problems, and the online learning environment was not effective enough in the context of communication and interaction. The research results contribute to the literature in terms of the effectiveness of online learning environments.

Developing Student Self-Assessment Competences in the Online Learning Environment Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Didactic self-assessment represents students' ability to make value judgments on their own academic performances obtained as a result of the instructive-educational process. Developing self-assessment competences in the virtual environment represents a major challenge, given that teachers' regulatory intervention to ensure the objectivity of the process is very limited. The aim of the present study conducted on a sample of 139 students from the University of Oradea, Romania was to identify how the implementation of an interactive teaching approach may contribute to the formation of student self-assessment competences as objectively as possible. The results obtained showed that most students tend to underestimate themselves in exams due to a lack of confidence in their own abilities due to insufficient preparation for the subjects studied. However, the use of specific strategies for the development of self-assessment competences can lead to their improvement but only if they are implemented constantly and to as many study subjects as possible.

Use of Humor in Instructional Multimedia for Asynchronous Online Learning

Since the students themselves are responsible for their learning in the asynchronous online learning process, there needs to be a power attracting them to the online learning environment. Humor, which has an educational power, can be evaluated in this perspective. Instructional multimedia is one of the most essential components in the asynchronous online learning process because it enables students to continue their studies individually. The chapter aims at suggesting a way for designing instructional multimedia using humorous elements for asynchronous online learning. Attention, recall, feedback, and humor breaks can be listed as advantages of integrating humorous elements in instructional multimedia. For this purpose, humorous elements can be easily added to instructional multimedia for asynchronous online learning. This chapter also focuses on the question of how to integrate humorous elements into instructional multimedia and offers various recommendations for future studies within this context.

Authentic Project-Based Learning in Times of Crisis

The shift to an online learning environment during the Covid-19 outbreak has not been conducive enough for either active learning or fair assessment procedures that yield valid results. Accordingly, this research paper aims to investigate the extent to which Authentic Project-Based Learning engages students and hence provides a valid assessment of students’ genuine performance and proficiency during online learning in EFL communication and Intensive English courses. Using a mixed-methods design, the researchers employed the self-completion questionnaires and focus group interviews to collect their data from their 100-purposively –selected participants. The findings showed promising results in terms of engaging students in the learning process, curbing online cheating, and ensuring reliable and valid assessments of students’ performance. These results are significant in providing a pedagogical approach to be adopted by EFL educators during and after the pandemic.