The integration of modern technologies in special education has gained increasing popularity in improving the learning outcomes of students with intellectual disabilities. This study investigates educators' perceptions of adopting augmented reality (AR) to teach these students in Saudi Arabia. Grounded on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach, this study empirically examines a comprehensive model linking perceived enjoyment of AR use, its relative advantages, and job relevance of AR to perceived usefulness of AR, along with linking time availability for AR integration, technology self-efficacy, and access to technology to perceived ease of use using structural equation modeling (SEM). A structured questionnaire was developed for the study and administered to 200 special education teachers across various schools in Saudi Arabia. The study also explored the mediating role of perceived ease of use of AR in the impact of facilitating conditions on teachers' attitudes toward AR. It was also found that teachers' attitude toward AR use predicted behavioral intention and the actual use and implementation of AR as an intervention method for teaching.
As generative artificial intelligence becomes integrated into academic life, understanding what drives student adoption is essential for informed institutional policy. This study examines AI engagement among 672 students at a public midsize southern university, integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to evaluate eight constructs: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived trust, perceived risk, social influence, self-efficacy, anxiousness, and affection. Survey data show students frequently use AI for information retrieval and writing assistance, while specialized applications such as graphic and video generation remain underutilized. Regression analysis shows perceived usefulness, affection, and trust are the primary positive predictors of adoption, whereas anxiety and perceived risk are significant deterrents. Notably, affection, the emotional enjoyment of technology, emerged as one of the most consistent motivators across academic tasks, from research to creative ideation. These results suggest emotional and trust-based factors are as critical as functional utility in shaping student behavior. Universities should prioritize emotional comfort and ethical trust alongside technical training to foster responsible, confident AI integration..
The Environmental, Health, and Safety Management (EHSM) program at Northeastern State University (NSU) serves students on two campuses. Traditional students are typically present on the Tahlequah campus while the Broken Arrow satellite campus hosts more non-traditional students. The course delivery modes on the satellite campus have been shifted from evening, blended, VCM (Virtual Class Meeting), and online since 2014 due to students’ demand. This paper therefore evaluates whether these changes affect students’ learning performance. We calculated and plotted mean final exam scores and standard deviations for four courses with different delivery modes over an approximately ten-year period. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for each course to determine whether statistically significant differences exist. The final examination scores for each course do not show systematic trends, suggesting that delivery mode did not significantly affect students’ ability to learn and retain information. The study aims to provide helpful tips to colleagues and administrators who may try to build a flexible learning environment, especially for non-traditional students, without negatively affecting students’ learning experience. In addition, the author’s experience with various course delivery modes may help other colleagues and administrators respond to student demand, program growth, and/or better course scheduling.
Supervisor feedback is a crucial aspect of thesis writing, as it guides students through this process. A systemic model of written communication is used in this account to explain the diversity of practice in this area by identifying the commonalities and variables in thesis composition. The model gives supervisors a theoretical framework which not only offers insight into the process but has eminently practical application in infinitely diversified ways. Feedback is a key issue in thesis writing because it not only shapes the emerging thesis but in a sense ‘co-creates’ it. The research informing this paper was conducted within a critical realist orientation, showing written composition as being carried out in, and governed by, its social context, and revealing that contextual factors impact on the composing process as well as on the written text. The paper offers guidance on transformative supervisor-student communication, as it shows written communication as being shaped by its social context. As the context changes, so should communication practices, offering the potential for transformation.
Higher education institutions routinely make decisions about student support using incomplete and evolving information. Guided by organizational sensemaking theory, this qualitative study examined 173 CARE Team referrals involving 148 students at a private university. Findings indicate that institutional knowledge emerges through fragmented observations, evolving organizational interpretations, and sensemaking rather than the accumulation of objective information. The study extends organizational sensemaking by conceptualizing institutional knowledge construction as an organizational process and reconceptualizes CARE Teams as mechanisms for organizational knowledge integration.
