Digital badges have evolved as innovative ways of documenting learners' competencies and participation. They are also believed to steer learners' behaviour engagement. The primary aim of this study is to explore learners' perceptions of digital badges' value in MOOC courses on academic leadership. A mixed methods research design comprised of an online open-ended questionnaire for 62 participants and semi-structured interviews for seven participants was utilised to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The results showed that learners positively perceived digital badges as behaviour motivators, credentials and recognitions, and instructional tools. Moreover, different perceptions of digital badges among groups with different demographic features were shown. Other perceived factors such as badge issuers, visual design, and level of difficulty of the digital badges have influences on learners' perceptions. In addition, learners' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have a strong, positive relationship with the perceived value of digital badges, whereas amotivation has a very weak or no correlation with it.
This study explores the effectiveness of the Student Relationship Management system in supporting students at an Open Distance e-Learning institution, drawing on insights from formal interviews with contact centre consultants. Findings reveal that while the SRM system was intended to streamline communication and improve query resolution, its implementation has been marred by challenges such as misdirected calls, limited departmental collaboration, inadequate training of consultants, and the absence of Service Level Agreements. Consultants frequently encounter student frustration due to delays, poor routing, and a lack of back-office support. Despite these weaknesses, participants acknowledged SRM's potential to enhance efficiency when optimally utilised, supported by skilled staff, continuous training, and stronger integration with academic and administrative departments. The findings led to the formulation of the three-pillar framework for effective SRM integration, with recommendations that highlight the need to re-evaluate system design, strengthen cross-departmental collaboration, and prioritise the contact centre as a strategic component of institutional support.
With the increasing adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in higher education, this qualitative research aimed to explore students' perceptions and experiences of using GenAI in OER-enabled pedagogical practices. We collected qualitative data from multiple sources, including online surveys, individual interviews, reflection essays, and chat transcripts. Eighteen students from two graduate-level courses participated in this study. The research findings showed that students perceived the use of GenAI in OER-enabled pedagogy favourably and encountered both opportunities and challenges. Guided by the Five-Circle Framework, four themes emerged to address students' perceived opportunities, including 1) GenAI as a personal learning assistant to produce adaptive open knowledge, 2) GenAI as a co-creator of contextually diverse OERs, 3) OER-enabled participatory practices to increase AI acceptance and readiness, and 4) student agency to develop higher-order thinking skills. They also experienced some challenges and concerns, including 1) multifaceted inequality issues and barriers, 2) technical deficiencies and distrust of GenAI, 3) the lack of human elements and interactions, and 4) the limitations of adopted OERs. We concluded by discussing the implications of adopting GenAI to enhance the effectiveness of OER-enabled pedagogy from the macro, meso, and micro perspectives.
This study investigates factors affecting student behaviour in HyFlex learning environments during the post-crisis period following the COVID-19 pandemic. We employed a mixed-methods survey design and analysed data from 228 students across 18 undergraduate programmes through a 19-item questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and t-tests were conducted. Quantitative analysis revealed increased interaction between instructors and students (r = .282; p < .001), among students (r = .233; p < .001), with course content (r = .284; p < .001), and overall (r = .340; p < .001), which is correlated with higher attendance. As interaction increased, student achievement also increased (r = .275; p < .001). Interest showed a small correlation with attendance (r = .220, p < .001). Attendance in foundational (core) courses was significantly lower than in other courses (t((226)) = -5.786, p < .001; eta(2) = 0.129). In addition, students found face-to-face activities less necessary to pass a course (t((227)) = 4.283, p < .001; eta(2) = 0.075). Qualitatively, 110 open-ended responses were analysed via inductive content analysis (open -> axial -> selective coding), achieving 93% coder agreement. Qualitative themes emphasised that attendance, which relates to engagement, is affected not just by student- and course-related factors but also by institution-, instructor-, location-, and curriculum-related factors. These findings expand factors, providing a comprehensive framework for optimising HyFlex course design. The study adds to research on attendance, engagement, and interaction in HyFlex environments.
While numerous studies have examined the effects of instructors' online presence on student learning and satisfaction, fewer have explored how different types of instructor presence contribute to humanising online learning. This study investigates the perceptions of 1,226 pre-service teachers regarding their online learning experiences and the role of instructors in fostering learner independence. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a survey with a single open-ended question to provide complementary qualitative insights that contextualised the quantitative findings. The instruments were based on the Community of Inquiry framework, focusing on teaching and cognitive presence, with a redesigned instructor social presence component, alongside humanising elements supporting learner independence. The findings revealed that instructors' teaching and cognitive presence were significantly associated with humanising practices that supported learner independence, engagement, and meaningful participation in online learning. These results underscore the critical role of instructor presence in implementing humanising instructional strategies that enhance learner autonomy and the quality of online learning environments.
The integration of augmented reality (AR) in distance education holds promise but also poses challenges. This study explores graduate students' perceptions of AR using a qualitative phenomenological approach and semi-structured interviews with 48 participants who had both theoretical and practical AR experience. The findings reveal dual impacts across experiential learning, motivation, visualisation, and collaboration, alongside limitations related to technical constraints, economic accessibility, cognitive load, security, and psychological risks such as reduced imagination, dependency, and social isolation. Strengthened by recent theoretical perspectives such as experiential learning, digital well-being, and digital divide frameworks, the analysis provides a deeper explanation of why students perceive AR as both an opportunity and a threat. In addition to mapping strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, the study proposes actionable design principles for AR-based distance education, highlighting strategies for managing cognitive load, ensuring equitable access, and addressing ethical concerns. These insights provide a balanced view of AR's dual impact on distance education, offering valuable implications for educators, administrators, and researchers.
The learning events that students attend, whether face-to-face or remotely, are intrinsically linked to their level of engagement with their studies. Learning events are labelled on timetables as lectures, seminars or tutorials but students are rarely given definitions of what these terms mean or what pedagogic approaches to expect when they attend, it is assumed they will know. This assumption is an aspect of Higher Education's hidden curriculum which can limit opportunities for students to successfully match their expectations to their experiences. The closer this match, the greater the likelihood of ongoing engagement and success. This case study examined whether a series of sessions labelled as tutorials contained common characteristics and investigated the impact of providing a session with a clearly defined pedagogic approach. The findings showed a range of different pedagogic practices apparent within 'tutorial' sessions and students had concerns about what they would be expected to do when they attended. This lack of knowledge and understanding can result in a mismatch between student expectations and experiences so providing definitions of the pedagogic approaches used in sessions could reduce student anxiety, enabling them to feel positive about their ability to be actively involved in their learning.
This study investigates teacher educators' experiences of online professional development (OPD) using the critical incident technique, providing a nuanced understanding of its effectiveness, strengths and challenges. Data were collected through an online questionnaire with open-ended items designed to capture teacher educators' OPD experiences. The study also examines commonly used platforms, factors shaping the choice to use them (e.g. accessibility, interactivity, content quality), and demographic differences. While OPD is valued for its flexibility, convenience and ability to foster global engagement, challenges such as limited interaction and difficulties in delivering hands-on training persist. The findings emphasise the need for enhanced interactivity, structured content delivery, and tailored approaches to better meet the diverse needs of teacher educators. By addressing these areas for improvement, this study offers actionable insights to advance the design and implementation of OPD, ensuring its impact aligns with the evolving demands of teacher education in the digital era.
Studying through an ODeL (Open Distance e-Learning) institution presents both advantages and disadvantages, particularly for students in developing countries like South Africa. The study delves into the narratives of third-year Bachelor of Education undergraduate students at an ODeL university, focusing on their reflections regarding their academic journey, encountered challenges, and the factors contributing to overcoming those challenges. Students face challenges such as time management, loadshedding (scheduled power outages caused by electricity demand exceeding supply), lack of resources, challenging modules and personal factors. However, resilience plays a crucial role in overcoming these challenges. Students who encounter adversity can thrive by leveraging protective factors such as community support, access to resources, and strong social networks. Supportive relationships and community services are essential for students to navigate adversity and achieve their academic and personal goals.
With the ever-growing interest in the purposeful adoption of emerging digital tools in language classrooms, interactive learning environments are playing a more prominent role in educating the new generation of students. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, this study aimed to investigate how EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students' vocabulary knowledge and immediate learning experience can be developed through individually watching interactive videos as the weekly assignment and collaboratively creating interactive videos as the course project. To collect the quantitative data, we used a vocabulary test and to collect the qualitative data, we used semi-structured interviews and narrative reflections. The results demonstrated that the students in the experimental group outperformed the ones in the control group. The findings further showed that seven features of interactive videos, i.e. multimodal input contextualisation, optimal question format, adaptive learner-oriented instruction, interaction-rich learning space, integration of current educational technologies, self-made digital stories, and real-time games potentially facilitate students' vocabulary learning. The students' narrative reflections on the joint production of interactive videos further highlighted the role of learners' flow zone, movie-based learning situations, and peer learning. This study promises implications for technology-assisted interactive language instruction.
A longitudinal quantitative study was carried out at an online campus in the Anglophone Caribbean to investigate possible linkages between grade increase and coursework-only final assessments. Linear mixed-effects modelling of the relationship between the final mark and two fixed effects, assessment type and year, revealed a 9% advantage of assessment by coursework exclusively over assessment incorporating examinations. The modelling also revealed an unaccounted 1% annual rise in marks, amounting to a projected 15% increase over the 15 years from 2008 to 2023. The findings appear to favour grade inflation theory over grade improvement theory, raising questions about the growing prevalence of coursework-only final assessments.
Distance learning universities use online asynchronous forums to engage students in course content and build student academic communities. This research uses a mixed-methods approach to provide new empirical and qualitative evidence on the impact of online forum participation on student retention and academic performance on an undergraduate Economics course at a distance learning university. Using inferential logit regression models, we find forum participation has a positive impact on the pass/distinction boundary but not on the pass/fail-resit boundary. Moreover, this study provides evidence of a significant positive effect of forum participation on retention. Encouraging students to post is important because there is a positive 'forum effect' regardless of whether the student initiates the post. We also find that the marginal benefit of forum posting is diminishing, implying that 'nudging' a student to post even a few times can have a positive impact on their retention, with the first post being most critical. Qualitative evidence from student interviewees suggests that the nature of the forum activities and time aspects are important factors influencing student motivation to participate. Based on these findings we create an 'ideal recipe' for forum activities that is most likely to elicit student participation and thus aid student retention.
Assessment is a major driving force behind student learning, particularly in distance learning settings such as The Open University, UK (OU). This case report details an investigation into the experiences of OU tutors facilitating online drop-in Q&A tutorials, on an introductory interdisciplinary Environment module, where the tutorials had the specific purpose of supporting assessment. The content was determined solely by students' questions to clarify their understanding of module material and assessment tasks prior to submitting these, i.e. the tutorials were student-led rather than following an agenda decided in advance by the tutor. Rich qualitative data was captured from reflective logs completed by tutors at the end of each tutorial. Most tutors found the less formal nature of the sessions enjoyable and reported more active participation by students than in standard online OU tutorials, potentially leading to deeper learning facilitated by peer interaction and tutor guidance within a social learning environment. Tutor reflective logs and tutor feedback on effective strategies for running the tutorials were used to produce a guidance document of top-tips to aid tutors new to facilitating online drop-in tutorials that specifically support assessment.
The purpose of this study was to introduce a method of teaching chemistry through virtual reality headsets via online platforms and to further assess the participants' cognitive abilities and psychological states throughout the learning process. The experiment included 50 respondents. The respondents were divided beforehand into a control group and an experimental group. The former group was taught remotely through the Zoom app, while the latter was taught online through VR technology. The experimental group experienced lower levels of depression and anxiety than the control group, with p-values of 0.008 and 0.004 (p < 0.01), respectively. Memory and visuospatial skills improved significantly in the experimental group, with p-values of 0.038 (p < 0.05) and 0.01 (p < 0.01), respectively. Cognitive ability criteria such as concentration and abstract thinking were also higher in the experimental group after VR training, with p-values of 0.014 (p < 0.05) and 0.006 (p < 0.01), respectively. However, there was no statistically significant difference in academic performance between the groups throughout the experiment, with a p-value of 0.553.
The study identifies the mediating effects of online learning readiness (OLR) in the relation between course satisfaction and self-efficacy to learn online statistics. The sample comprised 121 students recruited from a large public university in a south-eastern state in the United States of America. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and correlational analysis were used to test the hypotheses. We found that self-efficacy to learn statistics is positively associated with both course satisfaction and online learning readiness in students. OLR has a significant positive association with course satisfaction. Our findings confirmed the mediational effect of OLR of students enrolled in online statistics courses in the relationships between self-efficacy to learn statistics and students' course satisfaction. This study suggests that self-efficacy to learn statistics contributes to higher course satisfaction in online statistics learning. We suggest that educational establishments should focus on developing policies to improve the online learning readiness of students and student self-efficacy, to enhance course satisfaction.
