Proposing an M-Government Framework for the Ministry of Housing in Oman

In the dynamic world of technology, changes and transformations have emerged rapidly in recent years. Service providers such as government departments transformed their services from e-government to m-government for widespread customer reach. However, several issues existed that were obstructing the implementation of such a system by the Ministry of Housing in Oman, especially in rural areas. This study proposes a novel framework based on the fuzzy delphi and TOPSIS models to provide digital literacy and services. This framework considered the variables extracted from previous studies. Furthermore, a survey was conducted on 20 experts to determine the accepted variables. Thirty-five pre-service engineers evaluated the questionnaires using TOPSIS to determine the skills of pre-service engineers based on delphi criteria outcomes. The conceptual framework developed from the accepted results uses 11 different variables based on the TAM model. The study benefits the stakeholders in the area of m-government development.

The Use of Mobile Devices in University Distance Learning

Mobile devices, primarily cell phones, smartphones, and tablet PCs, have gradually been introduced into the university campus and online education over the past few decades. Does the use of mobile devices in distance learning motivate students and affect the learning process? These are important questions that were raised more than a decade ago, but they are still unanswered. This research aims to answer these vital questions. A total of 323 valid and unduplicated responses from online students at a Midwestern university in the U.S. were used to examine the structural model, using SmartPLS v. 3.3.2. This study shows that the use of mobile devices positively affects the students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn, which in turn positively affects the cognitive learning process variables (student-student dialogue, student-instructor dialogue, and metacognitive self-regulated learning processes). Furthermore, the learning process variables positively affect the perceived learning outcomes.

Implementation of a Multimodal Academic Literacy Resource at a South African University

As a lecturer at a higher education institution in South Africa, the author is conscious of an emphasis placed on multimodal resources as part of the globally experienced shift to teach remotely due to the COVID-19 epidemic. In this autoethnographic study, she critically reflects on her experience in planning and executing the implementation of a custom-made multimodal resource called WIReD. WIReD is an acronym for writing, information literacy and reading development. She situates academic literacy and WIReD within the theoretical framework of multiliteracies, and thereafter provides background in terms of the study context and gives a brief description of WIReD. The methodology section includes the data used, a brief discussion on validity, reliability, and the reflexive process. The data analysis led to two broad categories of implementation inhibitors, namely inadequate resources and collaboration. These hindrances highlight broader issues with regard to institutional management, lecturers, and the needs of students in the South African higher education context.

A Meta-Analysis of Facebook-Assisted Learning Outcomes and Their Gender Differences

Social media applications such as Facebook have received wide attention in their use in education. However, it is still hard to arrive at a conclusion regarding whether a Facebook-assisted approach is effective in education and whether there are any significant gender differences in the learning outcomes. Based on rigid inclusion criteria, this study included 21 peer-reviewed high-quality journal articles. Through a meta-analysis using Reviewer Manager 5.3, the authors concluded that a Facebook-assisted approach could obtain significantly higher learning outcomes than the non-Facebook-assisted one with a medium effect size (d = 0.42) and that females could achieve significantly better learning outcomes than males with a very small effect size (d = -0.21) in the Facebook-assisted education. Future research could examine the effect of educational use of other social media applications, as well as in sociological, psychological, or educational dimensions.

The Effects of Facebook Live-Stream Teaching on Improving Students' Dance Skills

The purpose of this study is to enhance the effect of dance skill learning, learning motivation, and physical activity class satisfaction. Moreover, the outcome of these quasi-experiments illustrate the effects of Facebook Live-stream teaching, co-regulated learning (CRL), and experience-based learning (ExBL) on improving students' learning performance. The experimental design in this study was a 2 (CRL vs. non-CRL) × 2 (ExBL vs. non-ExBL) factorial pretest/post-test design. Four classes of a course titled ‘Physical Education: Dance' at university level were chosen for this study in one semester. According to the analysis of results, conclusions of this study are that students who receive ExBL have significantly higher physical activity class satisfaction than students who do not receive ExBL. In addition, in the case of ExBL teaching, the concurrent implementation of CRL can improve students' dance skill learning more than ExBL alone.

Influencing Factors of Intention to Use Mobile Devices for Reading

This research studied the continuous use intention of mobile reading users. The current study used the stimulus-organism-response model as a basis to build a causal model of mobile readers' continuous intention to use it. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving 327 users to obtain the current research data. Structural equation modeling was used to empirically test the relationship amongst variables in the conceptual model. Results are as follows. Perceived pleasure, perceived service, immersion, and perceived sociality had a significant positive effect on intention for continuous use. Particularly, perceived pleasure had a significant positive effect on immersion and perceived service. Perceived usefulness and perceptual interest had significant positive effects on perceived pleasure. Perceived sociality had a regulating effect on the relationship between perceived pleasure and intention for continuous use. Lastly, perceived sociality had a regulating effect on the relationship between immersion and intention for continuous use.

Gamified E-Reading Experiences and Their Impact on Reading Comprehension and Attitude in EFL Classes

The use of computers and electronic devices for recreational reading and for reading in educational settings has gone up significantly in recent years. Whereas the digital revolution is rapidly changing the world, it is also changing education. This study examined the perceptions of secondary school EFL learners in Turkey of their e-reading experiences based on their gamified electronic reading practices in school and their influence on reading comprehension performance in an EFL class. The findings revealed that the implementation of e-book reading resulted in higher comprehension levels and more positive reading attitudes. Participant students showed a preference for printed books rather than electronic books for leisure due to the sense of ownership that the printed text storybooks offered. However, the results indicate that EFL learners' use of screen reading has the potential to improve students' attitudes towards reading in educational settings.

Development Trends and Analysis of Collaborative Learning in E-Learning Environments 1988-2019

This study applies the bibliometric method to review research in collaborative learning in e-learning and analyzes the trends of research on this topic. Using quantitative tools of science mapping, 8,575 papers in the Scopus database, prior to and including 2019, were reviewed, tracing back to 1988. Retrospective analysis uncovers continuing trends in research by way of topic-related sequence and geographic differences in sub-topics by space; moreover, further analysis is undertaken on the structure of knowledge bases. This reveals that the journals of highest impact include Computers in Human Behavior, Computers & Education, and Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, while the most impactful authors are Barolli, Caballé, Chen, Daradoumis, Dimitriadis, Li, Li, Sterbini, Temperini, Tsiatsos, and Xhafa. This paper concludes that the bibliometric method can target a broad range of research; topics related to applied science and emerging technologies are still to be studied. Research topics are cross-border, not limited to geographically close nations.

The Dark Side of Technology-Enabled Teaching

This study validates an instrument used to measure technostress creators, technostress support mechanisms, and their negative impact on students' satisfaction and performance. A research model is developed based on the stimulus, organism, and response model to analyse the mediating effect of technostress creators and understand how technostress inhibitors influence students' satisfaction and their performance. A group of 206 students from India pursuing higher education were selected as a sample to validate this model. Technostress creators act as a mediator between technostress inhibitors and students' satisfaction and their performance, while technostress inhibitors positively influence student satisfaction and performance indirectly. Insights from this study will enable higher education institutions to identify the students who are finding technology-based education problematic and help preserve their wellbeing by following supportive strategies to reduce stress and enhance the students' active participation in technology-based education.

Blended Learning in Teaching Technical Teacher Candidates With Various Types of Learning Styles

To compare the different impacts of the balance of face-to-face and online learning in blended learning, along with learning styles, an experiment was done using a 3x4 design consisting of three blended learning composition groups of 25% face-to-face and 75% online, an equal balance of face-to-face and online, and 75% face-to-face and 25% online. There were four learning style type groups of Diverger, Assimilator, Converger, and Accommodator. The population was student teachers in electrical engineering. Students of each style were randomly allocated to the three blended learning groups. It was found that both the blend of online and face-to-face learning and the types of learning styles affect competence outcomes significantly in some combinations.