Can more interactivity improve learning achievement in an online course? Effects of college students' perception and actual use of a course-management system on their learning achievement

This study aims to investigate how interactivity influence learners' use of interactive functions in the course-management system (CMS) and their online learning performance. A two-tier mediation framework is proposed to examine the mediating effects of different actual-use records concerning the CMS's interactive functions. Data are collected from 381 undergraduate students who enrolled in a general-education asynchronous online course from three universities in Taiwan. The results indicate that the relationships among students' self-reported use of interactive functions, students' perceptions of the usefulness of interactive functions, and students' actual-use logs have some direct influences on students' online learning performance (online-discussion scores, exam scores, and group-project scores). In addition, students' actual-use logs (the number of times of log-ins to the online course, the number of times students read learning materials, and the number of postings on the discussion board) have a mediated effect on students' self-reported frequency of logging into the CMS, students' self-reported frequency of using the learner–instructor/learner–learner interactive functions, and online learning performance. The findings and implications could constitute a useful guide for educational practitioners and designers concerned with the effective integration of interactivity into future online courses.     

Factors of learner–instructor interaction which predict perceived learning outcomes in online learning environment

Interaction in the online learning environment has been regarded as one of the most critical elements that affect learning outcomes. This study examined what factors in learner–instructor interaction can predict the learner's outcomes in the online learning environment. Learners in K Online University participated by answering the survey, and data from 654 respondents were analysed for this study. Results showed that factors related to instructional interaction predicted perceived learning achievement and satisfaction better than factors related to social interaction. However, it was revealed that social interaction such as social intimacy could negatively affect perceived learning achievement and satisfaction. This study has value because it found factors under learner–instructor interaction which predict perceived learning achievement and satisfaction with empirical evidence.     

Motivational beliefs and perceptions of instructional quality: predicting satisfaction with online training*

Abstract Many would agree that learning on the Web – a highly autonomous learning environment – may be difficult for individuals who lack motivation and self‐regulated learning skills. Using a social cognitive view of academic motivation and self‐regulation, the objective of the present study was to investigate the relations between students' motivational beliefs, their perceptions of the learning environment and their satisfaction with a self‐paced, online course. Service academy undergraduates (n = 646) completed a questionnaire following online training. Pearson correlations indicate that task value, self‐efficacy and perceived instructional quality were significantly positively related to each other and to students' overall satisfaction with the self‐paced, online course. Additionally, results from a three‐step hierarchical regression reveal that task value, self‐efficacy and instructional quality were significant positive predictors of students' satisfaction; the final regression model accounted for approximately 54% of the variance in the outcome measure. These findings support and extend prior research in traditional classrooms and online education in university settings, indicating that military students' motivational beliefs about a learning task and their perceptions of instructional quality are related, in important ways, to their overall satisfaction with online instruction. Educational implications and suggestions for 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.     

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.     

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).     

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.     

Effects of online teaching presence on students' interactions and collaborative knowledge construction

This study analysed the instructors' teaching presence of three courses conducted by an instructor to explore the effects of the instructors' online teaching presence on students' interactions and collaborative knowledge constructions. Content analysis, social network analysis, and lag sequential analysis were used to explore the mechanism of teaching presence on students' interactions and collaborative knowledge construction. Results demonstrate that the design and organization, as well as facilitating discourse, can facilitate students' interaction, reduce the number of peripheral students, and facilitate students' collaborative knowledge construction, especially in the knowledge sharing, discovery, discussion, and application, whereas direct instruction has positive effects on teachers' centrality and negative effects on knowledge negotiation and testing. The result can give the instructors some guidance on online teaching practices.     

Exploring students' flow experiences in business simulation games

Business simulation games are a motivational and engaging tool for teaching business management. However, relatively little is known about what factors contribute to their success. This study explores the role of flow experienced while using business simulation games. Specifically, this research investigates the influence of challenge, skills, feedback, and goal clarity on students' flow experience. It also explores the impact of flow on generic skills development, perceived learning, and satisfaction. Based on a survey of 167 undergraduate students who used a classroom‐based business simulation game, the findings show that the challenge provided by the game, students' skills to meet the challenge, and instant feedback positively influenced students' flow. Conversely, goal clarity did not foster the optimal experience. Flow positively impacted generic skills development, perceived learning, and satisfaction.     

From deconstructive misalignment to constructive alignment: Exploring student uses of mobile technologies in university classrooms

Becoming increasingly ubiquitous for students are the various uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) within their wireless and networked learning environments. Many students use ICTs during lectures or tutorials for tasks unrelated to class learning activities, thus providing a potential misalignment with the intended learning outcomes. A sample of undergraduate and postgraduate psychology and business students were surveyed to determine their frequency of mobile ICT use in the classroom and the students' motivations and rationale for undertaking those activities unrelated to classroom learning. The survey contained quantitative items (categorical and Likert scale response items) and qualitative items requiring responses to open ended questions. Students indicated that using ICTs in ways misaligned with lesson learning outcomes, was related to the course content delivery mode, the promotion of passive or active learning, being domestic or international students, learner maturity, and the need for supporting course information. Understanding how and why students use mobile ICTs in classes can inform the redesign of classroom activities, to actively involve those technologies to assist in constructive alignment with the learning outcomes and enhance the student learning experience.     

Motivation factors and barriers to the continuous use of blended learning approach using Moodle: students' perceptions and individual differences

ABSTRACT

Practitioners of blended learning encounter challenges on how to cater students individual needs and to increase their motivational involvement with the system. Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate the motivation factors and barriers that influence students' decisions to continue using blended learning based on Moodle platform. The study proposes a research model to gain a better understanding of students' behavioural attitudes, motivations, and barriers to the continuous use of blended learning. In addition, a multi-group analysis was conducted to examine individual differences between students from three different universities in Palestine. The findings provide a comprehensive understanding of students' behaviours and the investigated factors of the proposed model were truly significant in forming students' perceptions and reflecting their decisions to continue using such learning approach. Features of blended learning system were found to be the most significant motivational antecedents in relation to influencing students' perceptions and involvements in the learning environment, while perceived behavioural control and subjective norms were found to be the primary factors driving students' continuous use. Finally, the findings shed light on the impact of individual differences on students' perceptions and usage behaviours and suggest that these differences could be leveraged to provide adaptive usage decisions.     

Increasing teacher candidates' ways of interaction and levels of learning through action research in a blended course

Within the scope of this research, efforts were exerted to increase teacher candidates' interaction ways through action research in a blended teaching profession course in higher education level. Teacher candidates participated in various blended learning activities during a semester-long course, and the problems related to learners' participation in blended learning activities and their interactions during learning process were solved via action decisions. Blended learning activities were developed according to Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model and the lessons learned from previous two pilot studies. In order to conduct the activities; face-to-face and synchronous virtual classroom sessions were combined with asynchronous from discussions and blog. At the beginning of the course, teacher candidates chosed activity sets according to learning style model and throughout a semester-long course, they participated in the activities. Throughout the action research process, the ways of interactions between students, students and instructor, and students and the content were examined as well as the levels of learning accomplished by students during the learning process. This study has revealed indicators pointing to an increase both in students’ interactions and levels of learning during the blended learning process.     

Using U‐Pace instruction to improve the academic performance of economically disadvantaged undergraduates

This study was undertaken to evaluate whether the student success associated with the U‐Pace instructional approach, which integrates mastery‐based learning with proactive instructor support in an online learning environment, would replicate for both economically disadvantaged students and students who are not economically disadvantaged. Undergraduates were enrolled in U‐Pace (intervention) or comparison sections of a gateway course at two universities with different learning management systems. Course content was held constant. At both universities, intervention students earned a significantly greater percentage of objectively determined final grades of A or B. This academic success was found for both economically disadvantaged intervention students and intervention students who were not economically disadvantaged. Improvement from the beginning to the end of the semester in intervention students' rate of mastering concepts was found at University 1, but not at University 2. The assessment of learning conducted at University 1, independent of final course grades, showed that intervention students scored significantly higher on the proctored cumulative exam than comparison students. Findings suggest that the U‐Pace instructional intervention holds promise for increasing the success of undergraduates regardless of economic status.     

Social presence in online discussions as a process predictor of academic performance

With the steady development of online education and online learning environments, possibilities to support social interactions between students have advanced significantly. This study examined the relationship between indicators of social presence and academic performance. Social presence is defined as students' ability to engage socially with an online learning community. The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that certain indicators of social presence were significant predictors of final grades in a master's level computer science online course. Moreover, the study also revealed that teaching presence moderated the association between social presence and academic performance, indicating that a course design that increased the level of meaningful interactions between students had a significant impact on the development of social presence, and thus could positively affect students' academic performance. This is especially important in situations when discussions are introduced to promote the development of learning outcomes assessed in courses. Another implication of our results is that indicators of social presence can be used for early detection of students at risk of failing a course. Findings inform research and practice in the emerging field of learning analytics by prompting the opportunities to offer actionable insights into the reasons why certain students are lagging behind.     

A concept map-embedded educational computer game for improving students' learning performance in natural science courses

Many recent studies have reported the benefits of educational computer games in promoting students' learning motivations. On the other hand, however, the effect of digital game-based learning in improving students' learning performance has been questioned. Several previous studies have reported that without properly integrating learning strategies into gaming scenarios, the effectiveness of educational computer games could be limited, or may be even worse than that of the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. In this study, a concept map-embedded gaming approach is proposed for developing educational computer games by integrating concept mapping as part of the gaming scenarios to help students organize what they have learned during the game-based learning process. Moreover, a role-playing game has been developed for an elementary school natural science course based on the proposed approach. From the experimental results, it is found that the concept map-embedded gaming approach can significantly improve the students' learning achievement and decrease their cognitive load. Moreover, the students who learned with the proposed approach revealed a significantly higher degree of perceived usefulness than those who learned with the conventional game-based learning approach.     

Effect of blended learning environment on transfer of learning: an experimental study

The main purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of the blended learning and face‐to‐face learning on students' academic achievements and transfer of learning. The first aim of the study is to analyse the students' academic achievements to determine the change of theoretical knowledge in terms of the instructional method applied in this study. However, students' performances during the learning process are not always a good indicator. Therefore, the second aim of the study is to examine transferring students' theoretical knowledge to their educational multimedia projects. For this purpose, 14 weeks of pre‐ and post‐test experimental study is designed. The study is administered through an educational technology course in which students learn how to develop educational multimedia materials. The participants are undergraduate pre‐service teachers; they are assigned randomly to the experimental and control group. While the experimental group has both online and classroom sessions, the control group has only face‐to‐face classroom sessions. Although there is no significant difference between the groups in terms of academic achievement, the students in the blended group are more successful in transferring their knowledge to their projects than the ones in the face‐to‐face group. In conclusion, the results show that the blended learning approach has a positive effect on the transfer of learning.     

Exploring feedback and student characteristics relevant for personalizing feedback strategies

Personalized tutoring feedback is a powerful method that expert human tutors apply when helping students to optimize their learning. Thus, research on tutoring feedback strategies tailoring feedback according to important factors of the learning process has been recognized as a promising issue in the field of computer-based adaptive educational technologies. Our paper seeks to contribute to this area of research by addressing the following aspects: First, to investigate how students' gender, prior knowledge, and motivational characteristics relate to learning outcomes (knowledge gain and changes in motivation). Second, to investigate the impact of these student characteristics on how tutoring feedback strategies varying in content (procedural vs. conceptual) and specificity (concise hints vs. elaborated explanations) of tutoring feedback messages affect students' learning and motivation. Third, to explore the influence of the feedback parameters and student characteristics on students' immediate post-feedback behaviour (skipping vs. trying to accomplish a task, and failing vs. succeeding in providing a correct answer). To address these issues, detailed log-file analyses of an experimental study have been conducted. In this study, 124 sixth and seventh graders have been exposed to various tutoring feedback strategies while working on multi-trial error correction tasks in the domain of fraction arithmetic. The web-based intelligent learning environment ActiveMath was used to present the fraction tasks and trace students' progress and activities. The results reveal that gender is an important factor for feedback efficiency: Male students achieve significantly lower knowledge gains than female students under all tutoring feedback conditions (particularly, under feedback strategies starting with a conceptual hint). Moreover, perceived competence declines from pre- to post-test significantly more for boys than for girls. Yet, the decline in perceived competence is not accompanied by a decline in intrinsic motivation, which, instead, increases significantly from pre- to post-test. With regard to the post-feedback behaviour, the results indicate that students skip further attempts more frequently after conceptual than after procedural feedback messages.     

Supporting middle school students' online reading of scientific resources: moving beyond cursory,fragmented, and opportunistic reading

The abundant scientific resources on the Web provide great opportunities for students to expand their science learning, yet easy access to information does not ensure learning. Prior research has found that middle school students tend to read Web‐based scientific resources in a shallow, superficial manner. A software tool was designed to support middle school students in reading online scientific resources through three key strategies: making explicit a skim–read–summarize structure for online reading, using prompts to guide students' reading and foster articulation of thinking, and connecting reading to learning purposes. This study examined the differences between regular and guided online reading performed by eight pairs of sixth graders in a science inquiry project. The students' online reading processes and conversations were captured by a screen‐recording programme. Analysis of 60 h of screen videos showed that the students' online reading in the regular condition was cursory, fragmented, and opportunistic, while the structured online reading was more deliberate, thorough, and purposeful. Overall, the results suggest that middle school students' online reading of scientific resources needs to be guided.     

Enhancing students’ knowledge building through utilising social interactions in an online learning environment

ABSTRACT

In the new “open world” of information, educational systems should involve students in constructing new knowledge of value to a community out of fragmentary information. The already proposed Knowledge Building (KB) approaches typically support only a few general-purpose activities due to the constraints of the utilised web-based environments. To organise and facilitate students’ KB during course activities, this study incorporated services provided by DoosMooc social learning environment into a knowledge transformation model. This approach is completely adapted to an educational context and allows time for iterations, helping students to both contribute to social KB processes and take collective responsibility for improving their understanding of authentic problems. The features provided by the introduced environment support and assess students’ KB activities and facilitate processes of creating, representing, organising, and reviewing different types of knowledge artefacts. The results of a semester-long experiment indicate that the approach and the corresponding instructional design thereof could successfully organise students’ KB activities and facilitate the required interactions. This study reports the impacts of parameters such as learner expertise and quality of shared knowledge on the planned KB processes, and investigates the relationships between students' KB activities and learning achievements.     

Critical success factors for on-line course resources

A multiple case study was used to evaluate hypotheses on the critical success factors for on-line course resources in a tertiary setting. The evolution of educational media and methods leading up to the usage of such resources are also briefly discussed. The findings show that in order for on-line course resources (such as discussion forums) to be used (as compared to implemented) successfully, the critical factors that need to be considered are: human factors pertaining to the instructors; the instructors' and students' technical competency; the instructors' and students' mindset (about learning); the level of collaboration intrinsic in the course; and the level of perceived IT infrastructure and technical support.The study shows that it is essential for all these factors to be considered in a holistic fashion; the inadequacy of even one of these factors would have an immensely detrimental affect on the overall success of the on-line resource. Any institution intending to invest in such resources or any instructor wishing to use such resources should deliberate these factors holistically.