Examining the Use of Robots as Teacher Assistants in UAE Classrooms: Teacher and Student Perspectives

Aim/Purpose: This study sought to understand the views of both teachers and students on the usage of humanoid robots as teaching assistants in a specifically Arab context. Background: Social robots have in recent times penetrated the educational space. Although prevalent in Asia and some Western regions, the uptake, perception and acceptance of educational robots in the Arab or Emirati region is not known. Methodology: A total of 20 children and 5 teachers were randomly selected to comprise the sample for this study, which was a qualitative exploration executed using focus groups after an NAO robot (pronounced now) was deployed in their school for a day of revision sessions. Contribution: Where other papers on this topic have largely been based in other countries, this paper, to our knowledge, is the first to examine the potential for the integration of educational robots in the Arab context. Findings: The students were generally appreciative of the incorporation of humanoid robots as co-teachers, whereas the teachers were more circumspect, expressing some concerns and noting a desire to better streamline the process of bringing robots to the classroom. Recommendations for Practitioners: We found that the malleability of the robot’s voice played a pivotal role in the acceptability of the robot, and that generally students did well in smaller groups with the robot; teachers expressed concern that the children would become easily distracted should too many children be privy to one robot. Recommendation for Researchers: Our results provide valuable recommendations for researchers in the area. We believe, there needs to be continued efforts in devising suitable methodological assessment tools to evaluate student and teacher attitudes in the classroom particularly in the Arab world. We also advise researchers to focus on providing adaptive behavior in the context of educational robots. There are different distinct areas that need further clarifications and study based on our review. Impact on Society: On a wider scale, the findings of this paper have a huge implication for the educational technology as the integration of robotics in education is one of the emerging trends in the area, particularly in the UAE. This study allows to answer questions related to attitudes and perceptions of both teachers and students toward educational robots in the UAE. Future Research: Possible avenues of research in the area include focusing on the adaptive and natural behavior of robots in disciplines other than Mathematics as a means of successfully integrating robots in the classroom.

TaBAT: Design and Experimentation of a Learning Analysis Dashboard for Teachers and Learners

Aim/Purpose: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have adopted online education as an alternative to face-to-face courses. This has increased awareness of the importance of analyzing learning data left by students to improve and evaluate the learning process. This article presents a new tool, named TaBAT, created to work with different LMSs in the form of dashboards accessible online and allowing teachers to monitor the progress of their learners and at the same time allow learners to visualize their learning process. Background: TaBAT is designed based on the results of our previous research on factors that can influence the success of online learners, where we proposed and statistically validated a model for assessing the success of online learners called e-LSAM (e-Learner Success Assessment Model). Methodology: Two studies are presented in this article. The first one is conducted on a group of students from two classes (each composed of two groups) of a higher institute in Morocco, who participated in courses organized in blended learning on the Moodle platform. For each class, one of the two groups had access to the experiment to use the TaBAT tool (exposed group) to analyze the learning traces, while the second group did not have access to the dashboard (control group). The second study aimed to understand the impact of the usage of the TaBAT tool on the two exposed groups. Contribution: The purpose of this article is to present a new analysis tool as well as to test this tool and to evaluate its impact on self-regulation and the prediction of academic success and, finally, to see how these students evaluate this tool. Findings: The results of the TaBAT usage demonstrate the effectiveness of the success algorithm, based on our theoretical model e-LSAM. The results also prove that this tool was able to increase the performance of the students of both groups exposed. The general evaluations of the participants also confirmed these results. Impact on Society: The article proposes a tool for institutions to facilitate the monitoring and control of students’ learning process. The tool provides visual information for teachers to study and react to in the educational context and gives students visualizations to promote their self-reflection and increase their performance and academic success. Future Research: Generalize the use of the TaBAT tool, incorporating both private and public institutions, in order to confirm the results obtained in this article and at the same time improve the self-regulation and academic success of learners.

Student Participation in Computing Studies to Understand Engagement and Grade Outcome

Aim/Purpose: This paper focuses on understanding undergraduate computing student-learning behaviour through reviewing their online activity in a university online learning management system (LMS), along with their grade outcome, across three subjects. A specific focus is on the activity of students who failed the computing subjects. Background: Between 2008 and 2020 there has been a multiplicative growth and adoption of Learning Analytics (LA) by education institutions across many countries. Insights gained through LA can result in actionable implementations at higher institutions for the benefit of students, including refinement of curriculum and assessment regimes, teacher reflection, and more targeted course offerings. Methodology: To understand student activity, this study utilised a quantitative approach to analyse LMS activity and grade outcome data drawn from three undergraduate computing subjects. Data analysis focused on presenting counts and averages to show an understanding of student activity. Contribution: This paper contributes a practical approach towards LA use in higher education, demonstrating how a review of student activity can impact the learning design of the computing subjects. In addition, this study has provided a focus on poor performing students so that future offerings of the computing subjects can support students who are at risk of failure. Findings: The study found that: • Collecting data relating to student activity and analysing the activity is an important indicator of engagement, with cross referencing the data to grade outcome providing information to support modification to the learning design of the computing subjects. • The computing subjects in this study all had the majority of the as-sessment marks awarded at the later part of the study period. • Students that fail subjects are active within the LMS for the period of the subject even when they submit no assessments • Assessment weight and the time of delivery could influence the out-comes Recommendations for Practitioners: The collection and analysis of student activity in the LMS can enable learning designers and practitioners to better reflect the subject design and delivery to provide more informed ways of delivering the learning material. Recommendation for Researchers: Collecting LA requires a thought-out process, designed well in advance of the teaching period. This study provides useful insight that can impact other researchers in the collection of assessment related analytics. Impact on Society: The cost of education is expensive to those that undertake it. Failing, although expected, potentially can be reduced by examining how education is designed, delivered, and assessed. The study has shown how information on how students are engaging has the potential to impact their outcomes. Future Research: Further work is needed to investigate whether intervention may assist the poor performing students to improve their grade outcomes relative to activity levels, subsequently impacting their retention.

Senior High School Students’ Readiness and Motivation to Learn English Using Synchronous Video Conferences

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed at exploring students’ online-learning exposures involving their readiness and motivation to learn English using synchronous video conferences, as well as investigating the possible relationship between the readiness and motivation. To fulfill these objectives, three research questions were formed: (1) What is students’ readiness to learn English using synchronous video conferences? (2) What is students’ motivation to learn English using synchronous video conferences? (3) Is there any correlation between students’ readiness and their motivation to learn English using synchronous video conferences? Background: Due to the urgency of Covid-19 pandemic in the educational field, the Indonesian Minister of Education requested that all schooling activities must be conducted online as announced in the Learning from Home Policy starting on March 24, 2020. In this case, students are forced to struggle with the unfamiliar and challenging learning situations that their readiness and motivation to learn are worth questioning. Methodology: The participants in this descriptive research, combining both a survey and correlation study, were 116 Indonesian high schoolers. They came from two different private schools as the particular adaptive curriculum has been reshaped and implemented in each school during this pandemic. In order to collect the data of students’ readiness and motivation while they were learning English using synchronous video conferences, an online Likert-Scale questionnaire was distributed to all participants. Furthermore, a semi-structured interview was conducted to dig deeper into students’ online-learning exposures. Contribution: The results of this study can become reference to create the effective and successful online learning environment. This study offers fresh and genuine insights coming from students on how ready and motivated they were within the unfamiliar learning situations. Besides, the obstacles faced by students are also presented. Three pillars were used to construct the questionnaire and to analyze the findings: 1) Four Online Readiness Factors, 2) ARCS Model of Motivation, and 3) the Community of Inquiry (CoI) Framework. Hence, the findings of this research can also expand educators’ and researchers’ knowledge whether the readiness and motivation can be improved through the three frameworks. Findings: This study shows how students’ readiness and motivation are influenced by unfamiliar situations of synchronous online learning. Firstly, students are already confident with their technical skills and their familiarity with the use of technology. However, their readiness in terms of self-discipline is the lowest. Secondly, students’ motivation cannot be consistently high because of two drawbacks that demotivated them within their online learning. Furthermore, this study also found that there is significant positive correlation between readiness and motivation. Hence, the readiness and motivation factors cannot be simply ignored within the online learning progress. Recommendations for Practitioners: As our findings reveal, Teacher Presence is important as it enhances Cognitive Presence and supports students to experience Social Presence. Therefore, the roles of teachers that cover designing and providing meaningful learning activities, acting as a model to engage students in online discussion, employing effective strategies to deliver direct instruction and managing class, should be completely fulfilled. Instead of consistently sustaining the teacher-centered style, teachers may sharpen their technical skills along with their pedagogical knowledge. Online learning can be effective as teachers could design and implement the student-centered learning style in synchronous virtual meetings. Recommendation for Researchers: Learning from Home is a new policy that was published because of the Covid-19 pandemic urgency. The learning process happening in a synchronous virtual environment is new for both Indonesian teachers and students. Accordingly, more researchers in this topic involving a wider level of students coming from rural and urban areas are still needed. Impact on Society: By showing how students’ readiness and motivation are influenced in the online learning process, this study offers a reference that students can have better opportunities of an effective and successful online-learning environment. This study also discusses the obstacles mostly faced by students. Following the frameworks used, this study also gives an opportunity for educators to expand their knowledge to take part in solving any problems related to the investigated issues. Future Research: As technology must still be developing and online learning is possibly sustained closely after the pandemic, its development must be continuing. As the idea of online learning through synchronous meetings is new, issues related to this learning situation can still be investigated so that Indonesian teachers can gradually create more effective and successful online learning.

Online Learning Management in the Era of Covid-19 Pandemic at Junior High Schools in Indonesia

Aim/Purpose: The purposes of this research are to analyze online learning management activities conducted by the principals of junior high schools in Indonesia in facing COVID-19 as well as to discuss their perspective and expectations towards online learning activities when facing COVID-19 and after COVID-19 has passed. Background: Due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture instructed that teaching and learning activities for all levels of education in Indonesia must be carried out online from home. There have been comprehensive reports about the various forms of online learning, its effects on students, the challenges, the learning transition from offline to online, and teachers’ views on this new approach. Very few, if any, focus on how principals act upon the transition during this COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this research focuses on how principals overcome various problems that arise in the implementation of online learning activities. Methodology: As many as 309 principals of junior high school from twelve districts in Indonesia were asked to give their responses to a set of questionnaires. The reliability of the questionnaire was analyzed using Cronbach’s Alpha with the help of SmartPLS 3.0 software. The percentage was mainly used in the descriptive analysis. To obtain the influence among variables, the statistical inferential analysis was used. Contribution: Although the sample size of this research is limited, the results may contribute to the existing theory and practice related to the implementation of online learning in Indonesia. The findings of this research could be a guide for principals to manage online learning in the future. Findings: The data analysis showed that the constructs of organizing and monitoring-evaluation were found to play an important role as a mediator between the variables of planning with implementation of principal management in online learning. Path analysis demonstrated that the implementation variable was significantly influenced by the variables of planning, organizing and monitoring-evaluation, with a contribution value of 78.20%. Thus, it indicated that the planning, organizing and monitoring-evaluation variables contributed directly or indirectly to the implementation of principal management in online learning. Generally, the online learning management activities conducted by the principals of junior high schools in Indonesia have been carried out well, especially in the Implementing aspect. However, the aspects of Planning, as well as Monitoring and Evaluation, still need to be improved. Recommendations for Practitioners: The government is recommended to provide adequate online learning supporting facilities as well as to facilitate teachers to increase insight and knowledge in terms of technology use, especially in designing, implementing, and providing assessments of online learning. So far, the government has provided some facilities and conveniences to principals and teachers. However, some information and ICT related trainings from the government during the COVID-19 pandemic is not widely known by the principals and the teachers. Socialization about these is needed. Recommendation for Researchers: This work offers a theoretical understanding of the problems faced by school principals in facing COVID-19. Further research on how principals and teachers manage online learning activities needs to be carried out to solve various problems which might arise during the process of implementation. Impact on Society: This research suggests that the principals in Indonesia have good online learning management. However, to reach the stated learning objectives efficiently and effectively, the principals need to collaborate with the teachers as the main facilitators of the teaching and learning process. Cooperation with parents is also highly recommended. Future Research: Further research should focus on how the application of online learning can improve students’ achievement through good management and collaboration with teachers, other administration staff at schools, and parents.

Teacher-Student Interaction in Distance Learning in Emergency Situations

Aim/Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine which of the types of teacher-student interactions found in previous studies by Kang (2009) and Kang and Im (2013) during distance learning in routine situations, were also found in times of emergency, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether these interactions differed between students with regard to the extent and nature of each type of interaction. Background: Teacher-student interactions during learning in general and particularly in distance learning has an impact on students’ satisfaction, motivation, and ability to contend with learning assignments. As learning in times of emergency poses additional, unique challenges, teacher-student interactions may be affected as well. Methodology: The participants in the study were 591 undergraduate students from different departments in a teaching college, who answered an opinion survey after completing a semester of distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative textual content analysis was performed on students’ answers to open-ended questions about the nature of their interaction with their teachers. The students’ answers were divided and analyzed according to the answers they gave on a separate questionnaire on self-regulation in learning. Contribution: The findings of this study can offer a theoretical contribution to understanding the different types of teacher-student interactions in distance learning in emergency situations, their frequency, and how they are connected to students’ self-regulation. From the practical perspective, the study highlights the importance of this interaction, especially in times of emergency, and offers practical insights for teachers in academia and in general. Findings: The study’s findings reflect students’ critical need for interaction with their teachers in emergency distance learning. The students reported different types of interaction with their teachers during the COVID-19 period. The most common form of interaction was instructional communication (Q&A), which mainly took place via email, though students would have preferred WhatsApp. The least common form of interaction was social intimacy. Students with a high level of self-regulation were more likely to report on interaction with the teacher, and to take more responsibility for whether or not interaction occurred. Recommendations for Practitioners: Considering the findings of this study, colleges and universities should invest in training and encouraging teachers to engage in different types of interaction with their students. It is important for teachers to be aware of the need for these types of interaction. Encouraging teacher-student interaction in teachers’ training colleges (where this study was carried out) is also important, as it may affect the teaching methods used by the students when they become teachers in the future and, consequently, influence the entire education system. Recommendation for Researchers: Research of teacher-student interaction in distance learning should take into account the unique characteristics and challenges posed by this type of learn-ing in times of emergency, as found in this study. Additional technological and pedagogic tools should be developed to improve teacher-student interaction so that it meets the students’ expectations during routine and emergency times alike. Impact on Society: Studies have found that teacher-student interaction is one of the greatest contributors to students’ motivation and satisfaction and to their ability to cope with learning assignments. As distance learning has become widespread and inevitable in times of emergency or crisis, which may occur again in the future, improving interaction during distance learning in an emergency is very important. This may improve the learners’ ability to maintain their regular learning routine despite the emergency situation. Future Research: It is recommended to expand the research method and examine the data using in-depth interviews and questionnaires. It is also worth comparing the findings of this study with findings of similar studies among students in colleges and universities other than teachers’ training colleges, graduate students, and students of different ages.

Integrating Information Technology in Precollege Education in Kuwait: Teachers’ Perspectives on a Botched Initiative

Aim/Purpose: This study collects empirical evidence to investigate the extent to which high school teachers adopted the tablet computer in their instruction within the context of the Tablet Project in Kuwait and explores what drove their adoption behavior. Background: The role of information technology in education is prominent and takes different forms depending on the purpose of information technology adoption and the adopted information technology systems. To utilize emerging technology in education in Kuwait, the government launched an initiative to integrate the tablet computer into high school education during the 2015–2016 academic year. Three years later, some evidence doubting the project’s value had had been circulated, which motivated undertaking a thorough investigation to assess the project’s effectiveness, particularly from the teachers’ perspectives and its influential factors. Methodology: We adapted an expanded Technology Acceptance Model to assess the extent of high school teachers’ use of the system in their teaching practice and to examine the effects of teaching efficacy, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness on that use behavior. To test the research hypotheses, a data set was collected from 206 teachers and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Contribution: Our empirically derived results confirm the scanty information that was in circulation at the time of this study and that claimed that the Tablet Project was not progressing sufficiently or achieving its objectives. These results could guide future efforts aimed at effectively integrating information technology into high school education in Kuwait and at enhancing the ongoing online education necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also advise that effective integration of information technology into teaching and learning mandates a comprehensive redesign and digitization of the targeted educational system. Findings: Although teachers report minimal use of the system in teaching, teaching efficacy emerges as the strongest determinant of that use behavior, followed by perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The fitted model also has satisfactory explanatory power as it explains 43% of the variance in use behavior. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results of this study suggest that, in the public schools of Kuwait, teaching efficacy is a more important determinant of the use behavior of information technology in teaching than perceived ease of use or perceived usefulness. In addition, it is difficult to adopt information technology into teaching where there is inadequate awareness of the role of technology in e-learning, a lack of content modules fit for information technology-assisted teaching, poor Internet connections, a lack of technical support, and a lack of adequate professional and technical training. Recommendation for Researchers: This study offers significant empirical results from the Arabian milieu on the utility of the Technology Acceptance Model in elucidating public high school teachers’ adoption of the tablet computer in teaching practice. Our results also enhance the growing global body of knowledge on the integration of hedonic systems as well as their individual and contextual determinants in education, in general, and in teaching practice, in particular. Furthermore, teaching efficacy is an important determinant of teachers’ adoption of information technology in teaching. Impact on Society: Information technology augments traditional, face-to-face teaching and learning in societies by incorporating rich, online learning experiences and creating a motivating and efficient learning environment. Yet, the value of information technology-enabled education depends significantly on the successful integration of the systems into the educational process, and the results of this study could serve as a foundation for policies and plans aimed at successfully integrating information technology into the educational systems in Kuwait and similar societies. Future Research: The results and limitations of this study suggest several future research topics. Future research should explore the extent of students’ adoption of the tablet computer in learning activities and its important determinants to gain a better understanding of the Kuwaiti Tablet Project initiative. In addition, future research should employ other research methods (e.g., qualitative analysis), use samples from private schools’ teachers, and incorporate and test other possible determinants of teachers’ adoption of information technology in teaching to verify the validity and generalizability of the reported results.

A Comprehensive Rubric for Evaluating EduVR

Aim/Purpose: This article presents a comprehensive rubric for evaluating educational virtual reality experiences for mobile devices. The aim of this article is to systematically analyze research to address the quality of virtual reality experiences on mobile applications in order to extend the work of Lee and Cherner (2015) and their instructional application rubric. Background: Ratings in proprietary mobile application stores – The App Store and Google Play, etc. – are generic and do not provide meaningful evaluations of the virtual reality. This article utilizes research in the areas of virtual reality and education to present a comprehensive rubric for evaluating educational virtual reality for mobile applications, which continues to advance previously published, research-based rubrics. Methodology: The methodology uses a systematic process that spans multiple stages. The first stage was to locate pre-existing rubrics for virtual reality, followed by a review of literature focused on it. The third stage was to develop and vet a research-supported rubric for evaluating educational virtual reality. Contribution: The main contribution from this article is that it fills a gap in the literature by presenting a criterion-referenced, research-supported rubric for evaluating the quality of educational virtual reality for mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, and app-connected goggles). Findings: This paper’s findings include the domains, dimensions, and criterion-referenced Likert scale indicators in the form of rubric dimensions for evaluating educational virtual reality. The evaluative domains consist of (1) Positioning of the EduVR, (2) Avatar Level, (3) Virtual Environment, and (4) Virtual Experience. Recommendations for Practitioners: This rubric is a tool for instructional coaches, teacher educators, and instructional technologists to use when recommending virtual reality experiences for instructional purposes. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can use this tool to monitor the quality of educational virtual reality being developed for classroom use. They can also use this rubric to examine educational virtual reality experiences they would use in their studies and evaluate how those educational virtual reality experiences impact student learning, engagement, and collaboration. Impact on Society: We foresee this rubric being an aid in the development, selection, and purchase of educational virtual reality by educational institutions, educators, researchers, edtech developers, and edu-philanthropists, thus advancing the quality and expectations for educational virtual reality experiences. Future Research: Future researchers can further enhance the validity of this rubric by collecting large amounts of data from a diverse set of end users and stakeholders. Also, subsequent rubrics for evaluating augmented reality and extended reality comprise additional research avenues.

The Challenges of Online Teaching in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Public Universities in Karachi, Pakistan

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to examine the challenges faculty members face with online teaching practices in public universities in Karachi, Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty members’ pedagogical experiences were examined by following the approach of the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework presented by Davis in 1986 and 1989. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected educational activities and disrupted the traditional norms of education at colleges and universities in the world, and, as a result, teaching and learning have shifted to online. Accordingly, the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic has unexpectedly forced educators and educational leaders to analyze pedagogical measures to offer quality education to students and make changes to their curriculum and instruction. Methodology: This study used a mixed-method research design with closed-ended surveys and interviews. The researchers distributed online questionnaires and conducted phone call interviews, followed by simple random sampling approach to strengthen data collection and analysis. The research data were analyzed through descriptive statistical tests, including mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation, and thematic analysis. Contribution: By examining the challenges faculty members face with online teaching practices, this study contributes to the literature knowledge to advance the Practical-Knowledge gap (the lack of empirical studies in the context of practice and theoretical perspective) by knowing faculty members’ experiences and attitudes regarding online teaching in public universities in Karachi, Pakistan. The adopted framework of the technology acceptance model provides confirmation of reliability in the context of higher education institutions, which can help explore pedagogical challenges and practices of teachers who teach online in other provinces in Pakistan, cultures, and countries. This study provides suggestions to online teachers in Pakistan to sort out their challenges. Findings: The findings highlight a favorable attitude of faculty members’ usage of virtual platforms for teaching. Likewise, faculty members encountered several challenges that caused restrictions in accomplishing competent teaching and learning. Furthermore, faculty members lacked sound experience in conducting online classes and were not given adequate technical assistance or ICT infrastructure to cope with the technical challenges. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is recommended by this study that teachers should be given adequate professional development opportunities to develop technical and ICT infrastructure competencies to facilitate them to successfully teach online. Recommendation for Researchers: Another study should be conducted at the national level to reinforce the understanding and generalization of this study’s results. Furthermore, this study assessed public universities faculty members’ experiences through self-reported surveys and interviews. However, future researchers should employ other means and methods of examination such as private universities, public universities, primary schools, middle schools, secondary schools, and observations or focus group discussions to broaden the understanding of online teaching practices and challenges in Pakistan. Impact on Society: By examining faculty members’ experiences and challenges of teaching online, this study will help educators and educational leaders to raise the quality of online teaching in Pakistan by knowing the appropriate solutions and recommendations. Future Research: This study examined the adoption of three ICT indicators through pedagogical practices such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude to use. For future studies, researchers and practitioners should evaluate other indicators such as students’ learning outcomes.

Printable Table of Contents. JITE: Research, Volume 20, 2021

Table of Contents for JITE: Research, Volume 20, 2021