The influence of learning presence and self-directed learning competency of nursing students on learning satisfaction in major subjects for online distance learning

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the influence of learning presence and self-directed learning ability on nursing students’ learning satisfaction according to the online learning method.Methods: The participants of this study were 167 nursing students attending three universities in different cities. The data were collected from July 16 to July 23, 2021, via an online self-reported questionnaire. Using SPSS WIN 27.0, data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and a multiple regression analysis.Results: The most effective online learning method experienced by nursing students was asynchronous online learning according to 58.2% of the respondents, while 30.3% of the respondents answered synchronous online learning. The main merit of asynchronous online learning was that it was possible to listen repeatedly (61.7%) to lectures, and the top advantage of synchronous online learning was that the location of the class was free (53.3%). In asynchronous online learning, the factors that significantly affected nursing students’ learning satisfaction were cognitive presence (β=.60, p<.001) and emotional presence (β=.25, p<.001). These variables accounted for 56% of their learning satisfaction (F=54.12, p<.001). Similarly, cognitive presence (β=.64, p<.001) and emotional presence (β=.21, p=.001) in synchronous online learning, were the factors cited for significantly affecting learning satisfaction. The explanatory power was 62% (F=69.19, p<.001).Conclusions: In conclusion, it was found that cognitive and social presence from the learning presence factors in both asynchronous and synchronous online learning influence and enhance nursing students’ learning satisfaction. Therefore, these results provide important data for future online class design in nursing education.

Synchronous online learning during movement control order in higher education institutions: a systematic review

Background: Higher education institutions (HEI) are not spared from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The closure of campuses because of the movement control order (MCO) to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 has forced HEIs to adopt online learning, especially synchronous online learning (SOL). Although teaching and learning can be continued via SOL, retaining students’ interest and sustaining their engagement have not been sufficiently explored. This study presents a systematic review of the research pertaining to SOL associated with students’ interest and engagement in HEIs during the MCO environment. Methods: Five major online databases, i.e., EBSCOhost, Science Direct, Emerald, Scopus and Springer were searched to collect relevant papers published between 1st January 2010 to 15th June 2021 including conference proceedings, peer-reviewed papers and dissertations. Papers written in the English language, based in full-fledged universities, and with these five keywords: (i) synchronous online learning, (ii) engagement, (iii) interest, (iv) MCO/Covid-19 and (v) HEI, were included. Papers focussing on synchronous and asynchronous online learning in schools and colleges were excluded. Each paper was reviewed by two reviewers in order to confirm the eligibility based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: We found 31 papers of which six papers were related to SOL, engagement and interest in HEIs in the MCO environment. Our review presents three major findings: (i) limited research has been conducted on SOL associated with students’ engagement and interest, (ii) studies related to the context of HEIs in the MCO environment are limited, and (iii) the understanding of the new phenomena through qualitative research is insufficient. We highlight the SOL alignment with students’ engagement, interest, style preference, learner interaction effectiveness, behavior and academic performance. Conclusions: We believe that the findings of this study are timely and require attention from the research community.

Towards Using Unsupervised Learning for Comparing Traditional and Synchronous Online Learning in Assessing Students’ Academic Performance

Understanding students’ learning processes and education-related phenomena by extracting knowledge from educational data sets represents a continuous interest in the educational data mining domain. Due to an accelerated expansion of online learning and digitalisation in education, there is a growing interest in understanding the impact of online learning on the academic performance of students. In this study, we comparatively investigate traditional and synchronous online learning methods to assess students’ performance through the use of deep autoencoders. Experiments performed on real data sets collected in both online and traditional learning environments showed that autoencoders are able to detect hidden patterns in academic data sets unsupervised; these patterns are valuable for the prediction of students’ performance. The obtained results emphasized that, for the considered case studies, traditional evaluations are a little more accurate than online evaluations. Still, after applying a one-tailed paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test, no statistically significant difference between the traditional and online evaluations was observed.

Synchronous online learning during movement control order in higher education institutions: a systematic review

Background: Higher education institutions (HEI) are not spared from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The closure of campuses because of the movement control order (MCO) to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 has forced HEIs to adopt online learning, especially synchronous online learning (SOL). Although teaching and learning can be continued via SOL, retaining students’ interest and sustaining their engagement have not been sufficiently explored. This study presents a systematic review of the research pertaining to SOL associated with students’ interest and engagement in HEIs during the MCO environment. Methods: Five major online databases, i.e., EBSCOhost, Science Direct, Emerald, Scopus and Springer were searched to collect relevant papers published between 1st January 2010 to 15th June 2021 including conference proceedings, peer-reviewed papers and dissertations. Papers written in the English language, based in full-fledged universities, and with these five keywords: (i) synchronous online learning, (ii) engagement, (iii) interest, (iv) MCO/Covid-19 and (v) HEI, were included. Papers focussing on synchronous and asynchronous online learning in schools and colleges were excluded. Each paper was reviewed by two reviewers in order to confirm the eligibility based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: We found 31 papers of which six papers were related to SOL, engagement and interest in HEIs in the MCO environment. Our review presents three major findings: (i) limited research has been conducted on SOL associated with students’ engagement and interest, (ii) studies related to the context of HEIs in the MCO environment are limited, and (iii) the understanding of the new phenomena through qualitative research is insufficient. We highlight the SOL alignment with students’ engagement, interest, style preference, learner interaction effectiveness, behavior and academic performance. Conclusions: We believe that the findings of this study are timely and require attention from the research community.

Synchronous Online Learning through Microsoft Teams at Tertiary Level: Academic English Course

As for a recent learning platform as synchronous online learning through Microsoft Teams (MS Teams) in Academic English course based on particular three learning domains, very few previous studies were conducted and explored in Thailand and Asia. Due to the unending epidemic of COVID-19, the pedagogy in EFL context at every level of educational institutes has to be shifted to an online approach that has never been implemented in Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna Tak (RMUTL Tak), Thailand. The current study has mainly addressed the research gap by determining underlying cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects in synchronous online learning. Therefore, this paper aimed to investigate perceptions and difficulties of synchronous learning in Academic English course through MS Teams. Academic English skills are not only acquired during the early years of Thai educational system but also at tertiary level. RMUTL Tak has currently provided an Academic English course as a mandatory subject that every undergraduate student has to pass this course before graduation. Promoting synchronous learning to Academic English course allows students have greater learning motivation. In the study, two hundred and fifty four undergraduate students studied in three faculties comprising Business Administration and Liberal Arts, Engineering, and Sciences and Agricultural Technology at RMUTL Tak. They were all enrolling in an Academic English course in the first semester, academic year 2020. Additionally, an online questionnaire including twenty one items and one open-ended question was employed in the study. All obtained data was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed that most of the participants have positively perceived synchronous learning as their fruitful online platform. Nonetheless, it was found that poor internet signal was considered as a dominant factor preventing them from learning online. Received: 8 March 2021 / Accepted: 2 August 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021

A Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Synchronous Online Learning on Cognitive and Affective Educational Outcomes

Synchronous online learning (SOL) provides an opportunity for instructors to connect in real-time with their students though separated by geographical distance. This meta-analysis examines the overall effect of SOL on cognitive and affective educational outcomes, while using asynchronous online learning or face-to-face learning as control groups. The effects are also examined for several moderating methodological, pedagogical, and demographical factors. Following a systematic identification and screening procedure, we identified 19 publications with 27 independent effect sizes published between 2000 and 2019. Overall, there was a statistically significant small effect in favor of synchronous online learning versus asynchronous online learning for cognitive outcomes. However, the other models were not statistically significant in this meta-analysis. The effect size data were normally distributed and significantly moderated by course duration, instructional method, student equivalence, learner level, and discipline. Implications for educational practice and research are included.