The nature of adolescent learner interaction in a virtual high school setting

This study used survey data to measure the effect of learners' reported interactions with content, peers, and instructors on several course outcomes in two virtual high school courses that emphasized interactive learning. Surveys found that the large majority of students viewed all investigated types of interaction as educational and motivational. Students perceived learner–instructor and learner–content interactions to have significantly higher educational value (α < 0.01) than learner–learner interactions, and viewed learner–instructor interaction to be significantly more motivational (α < 0.01) than learner–content interaction. Furthermore, nine significant correlations were found involving the time students reported spending on human interaction and course outcomes. Seven of the significant correlations were related to the time students reported spending in human interaction and the more affective outcomes, such as course satisfaction and disposition towards the subject area. Outcomes also indicate that learner–learner interaction had higher correlations with course outcomes than learners' interactions with the content or their instructor. Students' perceived learning was not significantly correlated with any type of interaction, and only students' total reported time spent on learner–learner interaction and students' social learner–learner interaction were significantly correlated with their grade.     

Investigating the mediating role of online learning motivation in the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Bangladesh

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of online learning motivation (OLM) in the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Bangladesh by observing and comparing direct lectures (DL), instructor–learner interaction (ILI), learner–learner interaction (LLI), and internet self-efficacy (ISE) as predictors of OLM and online learning satisfaction (OLS). Data were collected from 442 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 35 universities in Bangladesh. To test the hypotheses, the PLS-SEM approach was applied using SmartPLS 3.0. The study shows a significant mediating role of OLM between the independent variables and learning satisfaction. In addition, DL, ILI, and ISE are shown to be significant predictors of student satisfaction. The findings have a number of valuable implications for education policy makers, universities, instructors, and students. Moreover, the study suggests some new research perspectives to overcome the limitations of this research and to gain precise knowledge on students' learning motivation and satisfaction regarding other online classes for different categories of students (e.g., high school and college, professional, and PhD).     

Social presence in relation to students' satisfaction and learning in the online environment: A meta-analysis

Social presence, the ability to perceive others in an online environment, has been shown to impact student motivation and participation, actual and perceived learning, course and instructor satisfaction, and retention in online courses; yet very few researchers have attempted to look across contexts, disciplinary areas, or measures of social presence. This meta-analysis allowed us to look across these variables of the primary studies and identify the pattern of student outcomes (e.g., perceived learning and satisfaction) in relation to social presence through scrutiny of differences between the studies. The results showed a moderately large positive average correlation between social presence and satisfaction (r = 0.56, k = 26) and social presence and perceived learning (r = 0.51, k = 26). Large variation among correlations (86.7% for satisfaction and 92.8% for perceived learning, respectively) also indicated systematic differences among these correlations due to online course settings. We found that (a) the strength of the relationship between social presence and satisfaction was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and scale used to measure social presence; and (b) the relationship between social presence and perceived learning was moderated by the course length, discipline area, and target audience of the course. Implications and future research are discussed.     

Factors impacting university students' online learning experiences during the COVID-19 epidemic

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic crisis, students from higher education institutions around the world are forced to participate in comprehensive online curriculums. In such a scenario, it is worth investigating how students perceived their learning outcomes and satisfaction based on this method of teaching and learning online. This study aims to explore the role of six factors, namely, system quality, course design, learner-learner interaction, learner-instructor interaction, learner-content interaction, and self-discipline, on university students' perceived learning outcomes and their effect on student satisfaction with online curricula during the COVID-19 epidemic. A structural equation modelling technique was used to assess survey questionnaires obtained from 457 validated students at a Public University in China. The results demonstrated that these determinants had a positive effect on satisfaction and learning outcomes, whereas learner-instructor interaction had no significant effect. Furthermore, the strongest determinant that affected not only students' satisfaction but also their learning outcomes was the learner-content interaction.     

Structural relationships among effective factors on e-learners’ motivation for skill transfer

This study investigates the structural relationships among the following factors: e-learners’ internal value, learning usefulness, learning environment, satisfaction, learner achievement, and motivation for skill transfer. To answer the research questions, the researchers administered online surveys to 584 students enrolled in two courses, Conflict Management and Negotiation and Communication Skills, at S Cyber University. According to the results of structural equation modeling, the structural relationships among e-learners’ internal value, learning usefulness, learning environment, learner satisfaction, learner achievement, and motivation for skill transfer were significant and showed positive influence. However, the relationships among learning usefulness, learning environment, learner satisfaction, and learner achievement and those of learning environment, learner satisfaction, and motivation for skill transfer were not significant. Overall, the findings suggest specific strategies to improve e-learners’ learning outcomes.     

Framework to improve e-learner satisfaction and further strengthen e-learning implementation

In this study, a framework has been designed to guide institutions to better improve learner satisfaction and further strengthen their e-learning implementation. Undergraduate participants (n = 600) completed an online survey of 132 items. This article will first report on the development and validation of an instrument that attempts to reveal factors that affect user satisfaction, and then a multiple regression analysis and a path analysis help further investigate which factors can significantly predict learner satisfaction. The factor analysis identified 14 different factors. These factors were further categorized by the researchers into 6 dimensions i.e. learner dimension, instructor’s dimension, course dimension, technology dimension, design dimension, and the environment dimension. The multiple regression analysis showed that e-learners satisfaction can mostly be predicted by learner interaction with others. Findings of this research will help institutions by providing them with psychometric properties that add pedagogical value to e-courses.     

Motivation in online learning: Testing a model of self-determination theory

As high attrition rates becomes a pressing issue of online learning and a major concern of online educators, it is important to investigate online learner motivation, including its antecedents and outcomes. Drawing on Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, this study proposed and tested a model for online learner motivation in two online certificate programs (N = 262). Results from structural equation modeling provided evidence for the mediating effect of need satisfaction between contextual support and motivation/self-determination; however, motivation/self-determination failed to predict learning outcomes. Additionally, this study supported SDT’s main theorizing that intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation are distinctive constructs, and found that the direct effect and indirect effects of contextual support exerted opposite impacts on learning outcomes. Implications for online learner support were discussed.     

What drives a successful e-Learning? An empirical investigation of the critical factors influencing learner satisfaction

E-learning is emerging as the new paradigm of modern education. Worldwide, the e-learning market has a growth rate of 35.6%, but failures exist. Little is known about why many users stop their online learning after their initial experience. Previous research done under different task environments has suggested a variety of factors affecting user satisfaction with e-Learning. This study developed an integrated model with six dimensions: learners, instructors, courses, technology, design, and environment. A survey was conducted to investigate the critical factors affecting learners’ satisfaction in e-Learning. The results revealed that learner computer anxiety, instructor attitude toward e-Learning, e-Learning course flexibility, e-Learning course quality, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and diversity in assessments are the critical factors affecting learners’ perceived satisfaction. The results show institutions how to improve learner satisfaction and further strengthen their e-Learning implementation.     

Student perceptions of collaborative learning,social presence and satisfaction in a blended learning environment: Relationships and critical factors

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of the students’ perceived levels of collaborative learning, social presence and overall satisfaction in a blended learning environment. This research studied the relationship of these three variables and identified critical factors related to them. The participants were 48 graduate students who took a blended-format course in health education and worked on a collaborative group project related to the development of a comprehensive HIV-AIDS prevention plan. Data was collected from the Student Perception Questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. The analysis of quantitative data indicated that student perceptions of collaborative learning have statistically positive relationships with perceptions of social presence and satisfaction. This means that students who perceived high levels of collaborative learning tended to be more satisfied with their distance course than those who perceived low levels of collaborative learning. Similarly, students with high perceptions of collaborative learning perceived high levels of social presence as well. Surprisingly, the relationship between social presence and overall satisfaction was positive but not statistically significant. Interview data revealed that (a) course structure, (b) emotional support, and (c) communication medium were critical factors associated with student perceptions of collaborative learning, social presence, and satisfaction. Explanations about findings and implications for instructional design are discussed in the conclusion.     

Locus of control,self-efficacy,and task value as predictors of learning outcome in an online university context

This study investigates the predictors of learner satisfaction, achievement and persistence in an online university located in South Korea. The specific predictors were learners' locus of control, self-efficacy, and task value, and the mediating effects of learner satisfaction and achievement were also tested. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the causation among the variables. The participants were 897 learners who enrolled in an online university in 2009 and a series of online surveys were administered. The results revealed that locus of control, self-efficacy, and task value were significant predictors of learner satisfaction, while self-efficacy and task value predicted achievement. Task value, satisfaction, and achievement were significant predictors for persistence. Lastly, learner satisfaction significantly mediated the predictors and persistence. The research findings increased our understanding of the learners and learning in an online university environment.     

Factors impacting students' online learning experience in a learner‐centred course

Technologies bring a new era of content presentation for online teaching and learning. With more instructors adopting new tools to design online teaching materials, students are often put into learning contexts with certain new design components. Assessing learner experience and outcome in these contexts is challenging because of the complexity involved, as social and individual factors and behavioural impacts of using the new components have to be considered. Few studies have been reported in the literature identifying behavioural factors of learners' online learning experience when they interact with the content. Factors that affect learners' online learning experience, especially the affect factors, are less understood. This study therefore proposed and tested a model that explains the relationships among the affect factors and outcome behaviours of participants' online learning experience, taking into account individual difference, and employing a comparison based on a difference in content presentation. The data were collected from a professional training course offered by a university in the United States. The results support the assumption that time spent in study affects learning outcome and other outcome related behaviours. Also, positive relations between perceived quality of content design and outcome behaviour were found, indicating the effects of sense of presence and feeling of enjoyment on performance of creative tasks. The study intends to foster a deeper understanding of motivation and behaviours of online learning under innovative content design.     

Investigating the relationships among instructional strategies and learning styles in online environments

This exploratory study tests the assertion that instructional strategies that match field-dependence status of students are most effective. The study conducted with 12 graduate students registered in a graduate level online course. An online version of the Psychological Differentiation Inventory was used to measure the field-dependence status of students. Students’ perceived learning outcomes, their effort and involvement, and level of interaction that they perceived in online course module were measured through an online questionnaire. Results suggested that matches between students’ learning styles and instructional strategies did not affect learner perception of their own learning outcomes, level of effort and involvement, and level of interactions in the course. Data also indicated that no single instructional strategy, among three instructional strategies tested, emerged as superior for high and low field-dependent online students.     

Instructor presence in instructional video: Effects on visual attention,recall, and perceived learning

In an effort to enhance instruction and reach more students, educators design engaging online learning experiences, often in the form of online videos. While many instructional videos feature a picture-inpicture view of instructor, it is not clear how instructor presence influences learners' visual attention and what it contributes to learning and affect. Given this knowledge gap, this study explored the impact of instructor presence on learning, visual attention, and perceived learning in mathematics instructional videos of varying content difficulty. Thirty-six participants each viewed two 10-min-long mathematics videos (easy and difficult topics), with instructor either present or absent. Findings suggest that instructor attracted considerable visual attention, particularly when learners viewed the video on an easy topic. Although no significant difference in learning transfer was found for either topic, participants' recall of information from the video was better for easy topic when instructor was present. Finally, instructor presence positively influenced participants' perceived learning and satisfaction for both topics and led to a lower level of self-reported mental effort for difficult topic.     

Sage,guide, both,or even more? An examination of instructor activity in online MBA courses

This study examined faculty characteristics and behaviors in 46 MBA courses conducted over a two-year period. We found that both formal instructor activities, referred to in the online learning literature as teaching presence, and informal instructor activities, known as immediacy behaviors, were positive predictors of student perceived learning and satisfaction with the educational delivery medium. We also found that instructor login intensity, the average amount of time spent per login session, was a negative predictor of perceived learning. Collectively, these findings suggest the need for instructors to structure and organize their courses beforehand so they can focus on efficient engagement with their students while the class is in session. Although teaching presence and instructor immediacy were significant predictors of delivery medium satisfaction, they explained only 6% of the variance. This finding should help instructors avoid taking unnecessary responsibility for students’ attitudes toward online learning. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for training of online instructors and the appropriate use of multilevel analytical tools in online learning and education research.     

Video lecture format, student technological efficacy, and social presence in online courses

Online platforms are frequently used as an alternative environment for individuals to meet and engage in a variety of activities, like attending courses online. We examined the effect of adding social presence cues in online video lectures and technological efficacy on college students’ perceived learning, class social presence, and perception that the videos aided learning. Participants rated their technological efficacy and completed an online class with video lectures that either included the video (image) of the instructor or not. The interaction between technological efficacy and video manipulation predicted lower ratings of perceived learning, social presence, and video usefulness, particularly for students with lower technological efficacy. A mediated-moderation analysis showed that, the interaction between person (efficacy) and media (instructor image in video vs. no image) predicted greater perceived learning through the mediators of perceived usefulness of videos, class interactivity, and felt comfort in the class.     

Online university students' satisfaction and persistence: Examining perceived level of presence, usefulness and ease of use as predictors in a structural model

Learners’ satisfaction and persistence are considered critical success factors in online universities where all of the teaching and learning activities are carried out online. This study aims to investigate the structural relationships among perceived level of presence, perceived usefulness and ease of use of the online learning tools, learner satisfaction and persistence in an online university located in South Korea. The specific predictors were teaching presence, social presence, cognitive presence, and perceived usefulness and ease of use. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to provide cause-and-effect inferences. The study participants were 709 learners who enrolled in a Korean online university in 2009 and responded to online surveys. The results indicated that teaching presence, cognitive presence, and perceived usefulness and ease of use were significant predictors of learner satisfaction, which was found to be a significant mediator of predictors and persistence. The findings provided substantial implications for designing and implementing teaching and learning strategies in online university environments.     

Sharing instructors experience of learning management system: A technology perspective of user satisfaction in distance learning course

The use of educational technology increased rapidly in higher education. Learning Management System (LMS) is the most popular educational technology system used in distance learning. There are only a few studies have been carried out to measure instructors satisfaction in distance learning courses, although instructors satisfaction is considered as very important for the course involvement and increasing the students interactions with the course content. Hence, this study proposed a detailed framework to measure instructors’ satisfaction of using LMS. The findings prove that perceived usefulness and service quality are taking the highest share on affecting the instructor satisfactions. This study limited to higher education’s instructors and used a questionnaire survey to collect the data. Hence, the LMS should be designed based on the needs of the instructors as well as the students, by adopting the latest technologies. In the contrary, building LMS without taking the instructors’ satisfaction into account will affect negatively the distance learning course outcomes.     

Examining student satisfaction with wholly online learning

Learner satisfaction has been shown to be positively correlated with quality of learning outcomes. An understanding of the factors that influence student satisfaction with online learning in a particular context can be used as an input to the appropriate design of learning environments, and for the provision of targeted support to students, with an aim to positively influence the student online learning experience. Following the mandatory inclusion of at least one wholly online unit of study in all undergraduate programs at Deakin University, a large 'experiences of learning online' (ELO) survey was undertaken to gauge students' perceptions of studying in the wholly online mode. A multivariate linear regression of all the questionnaire items was performed against an overall satisfaction item. Five items were found to significantly contribute to a model that explained approximately 70% of reported student satisfaction. Factors that were found to positively influence student satisfaction with studying a wholly online unit primarily related to how confident they felt about their ability to communicate and learn online, having a clear understanding of what was required to succeed in the unit and how well they thought they were performing in the unit. Other results are also reported.     

The impact of transactional distance dialogic interactions on student learning outcomes in online and blended environments

This study measured how student interactions (as captured by Transactional Distance dialogue (Moore, 1993)) in online and blended learning environments impacted student learning outcomes, as measured by student satisfaction and student grades. Dialogue was measured as student interactions with other students (student–student interaction), the technologies used (student–technology interaction), the instructors (student–teacher interaction), and the course contents (student–content interaction). In addition, moderating effects of media and modality of interactions and individual differences on student learning outcomes were also measured. Data was obtained from 342 online and blended students between 2010 and 2013. Findings indicate that student–content interaction had a larger effect on student learning outcomes than other forms of dialogue. Implications for educational policies that require teacher-presence (student–teacher) and student–student interactions in distance learning environments are also discussed.     

Explaining social presence and the quality of online learning with the SIPS model

The concept of Social Presence is often cited by researchers trying to understand the mechanisms governing beneficial learning climates and interpersonal connections among online learners. However, convoluted definitions and problematic measurements of social presence have made it difficult to understand how exactly social presence and related social variables come to be, hindering the investigation of reliable design recommendations. This study attempts to advance the SIPS (Sociability, Social Interaction, Social Presence, Social Space) model. It shows how these variables are related to each other and to relevant outcome variables like satisfaction. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess the predictive capabilities of the model regarding the outcome variables. Results support the notion that a sociable learning environment fosters social interaction, leading to social presence and the emergence of a sound social space, in turn explaining the quality of the learning experience. Social presence, when measured in a non-convoluted way, has no effect on satisfaction.