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Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 April 2023) | Viewed by 24489

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ahmed Tlili

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Guest Editor

Smart Learning Institute, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100082, China
Interests: educational games; learning analytics; open education; educational psychology; artificial intelligence in education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Nian-Shing Chen

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Guest Editor

Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences and Program of Learning Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City 106, Taiwan
Interests: educational robot; online learning; game-based learning; technology-enhanced language learning

Prof. Dr. Fahriye Altınay

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Institute of Graduate Studies, Societal Research and Development Center, Faculty of Education, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
Interests: technology; management; quality; disability; online education; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Ramesh Chander Sharma

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Guest Editor

School of Global Affairs, Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi 110005, India
Interests: information technology; blockchain; artificial intelligence; open and distance education; teacher education; educational research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite the rapid increasing tendency towards adopting online learning worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted several weaknesses and gaps in this learning approach, such as social isolation (Sharma, 2021), lack of interactivity and immersion (Lee and Lee, 2019; Stefanovic and Klochkova, 2021), poor learning assessment methods (Jung and Shin, 2021; Zaidel, 2021) and difficult to provide online hands-on activities. In this context, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently launched an initiative calling for more research and debate on how knowledge and online education should be designed in a complex and uncertain world (Huang, Tlili et al., 2021).

Based on the literature related to education during COVID-19, several studies have pointed out that teachers have been extensively using synchronous and asynchronous technology for teaching without considering students as humans (Baum and McPherson, 2019; DeBrock, Scagnoli and Taghaboni-Dutta, 2020, Russ, 2021). Therefore, it is important that future online learning systems are human centered. In humanized online courses, positive instructor–student relationships are prioritized, where they serve “as the connective tissue between students, engagement, and rigor” (Pacansky-Brock et al., 2020, p. 2). Humanizing online learning fosters affective and cognitive support within students, leading to more opportunities of success for an online course (Pacansky-Brock et al., 2019). However, designing humanized online instruction is challenging, as it needs to consider several aspects, including validation theory, culturally responsive teaching, social presence, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Several research studies (Huang et al., 2020) further pointed out that in addition to humanizing future online learning, it should also be flexible where it provides learners with choices about where, when, and how learning occurs, by using a range of technologies to support the teaching and learning process. In this context, Open Educational practices (OEP) have started being applied to promote flexibility and engagement in online courses. However, this learning approach requires learners to be more self-regulated in terms of goal setting, self-monitoring and management, which can be challenging.

Finally, several studies pointed out that online learning systems should be smart to enhance both teaching and learning experiences, for instance, providing real-time dashboards for teachers and students about the learning progress, as well as early detection of at-risk students to provide the needed interventions accordingly. However, AI in education has several limitations including privacy, bias and accuracy of decisions (Saetra, 2021). Hudlicka (2016) stated that future AI-based educational systems should go beyond the common challenges to also cover affective privacy (i.e., the right to keep your thoughts and emotions to yourself), emotion induction (i.e., changing how someone feels) and virtual relationships where students enter a relationship with virtual agents.

Based on the context described above, this Special Issue aims to promote research and investigation on future online learning for education resilience by considering the above three main dimensions, namely, humanized, flexible and smart. It calls for research papers in, but not limited to, the following areas:

Design of humanized online instructions and systems;
Responsible AI in online education;
Multimodality learning analytics;
Individual differences in online education;
Flexible learning;
Precision education;
Cyber-physical integrated learning;
Open educational resources and practices;
Self-regulation skills in online learning;
Inclusive online systems and students with disabilities;
Trauma induced pedagogy of care in online learning;
Resilience and sustainability of online education.

Prof. Dr. Ahmed Tlili
Prof. Dr. Nian-Shing Chen
Prof. Dr. Fahriye Altınay
Prof. Dr. Ramesh Chander Sharma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

online learning
resilience
flexible learning
smart education
artificial intelligence
4th industrial revolution
sustainable development goals
e-learning, paradigm shift

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3577 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of the Information System Success Model and Theory of Planned Behavior on the Zoom Application Used by Elementary Education Teachers

by Halah Ahmed Alismail

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9558; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129558 - 14 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1425

Abstract

The study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Influence of Information System Success to understand how users respond to the technology used for teaching and learning. The study intends to look at the relationship between the Information System Success model and Theory of Planned Behavior variables on utilizing the Zoom application by elementary education teachers, as well as how teachers’ satisfaction and intention to use technology affect the usage of technology. The primary approach for gathering data involved distributing the Influence of Information System Success model and Theory of Planned Behavior theories questionnaire survey to teachers in elementary education. A total of 219 elementary school teachers in Saudi Arabia who prepared for their online classes participated in the survey for this research. According to the study’s findings, behavioral intentions for using Zoom for educational purposes and user satisfaction have a strong positive association. Additionally, there is a strong association between other variables and users’ intention to use and satisfaction with the product (i.e., perceived technology fit, educational system quality, information quality, attitude towards using Zoom in elementary education, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm). The findings also show that data points are favorably connected with the teachers’ satisfaction and intention for using the Zoom factors of the Information System Success model and Theory of Planned Behavior theories, despite the fact that there is no connection between both the attitudes towards utilizing Zoom and the behavioral intention to use Zoom for teaching elementary education students. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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21 pages, 966 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determinants of Economical High School Students’ Attitudes toward Mobile Devices Use

by Mihaela Moca and Alina Badulescu

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9331; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129331 - 9 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1324

Abstract

Due to recent considerable technology breakthroughs in the education sector, new tools have been developed to improve learning. Motivating students to use new devices for learning rather than just for amusement, however, is a difficulty. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the adoption of technological devices for course delivery, thereby highlighting the significance of mobile learning (m-learning) and allowing educators, students, and other stakeholders in the education sector to recognize its potential, advantages, drawbacks, and challenges. As m-learning has been an essential aspect of education for some time now, there is growing interest in assessing its long-term viability and usefulness across various educational domains, including economics. New technologies like computers, the internet, and related tools can help by bringing life to the classroom, gauging student progress, simulating economic activities and phenomena, and teaching vital skills needed for the economic world, like entrepreneurship. This study aims to explore the potential of incorporating new technologies in economic education, we study the tendency of the economical high school students towards using mobile devices for learning activities. A total of 407 participants were involved in research, the data from these respondents being collected with the help of a questionnaire survey. The original technology acceptance model (TAM) has been extended and the role of various external factors such as the subjective norm, learning autonomy, facilitating conditions or self-efficacy has been addressed. A list of hypotheses was proposed to validate the underlying model and provide guidance on how external factors affect attitudes towards using mobile devices. The empirical results indicated that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are significant predictors to explain the attitudes towards mobile devices use and m-learning and the analyzed external factors have a positive influence on them. In terms of methods used, we characterize the perception of students by structural equations modelling (SEM). This study identifies and analyzes the factors that influence students’ attitude and readiness towards mobile technology use in education, providing valuable insights into improving the adoption of new technologies and to evaluate the sustainability of m-learning in economic education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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18 pages, 4822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Scenarios of Artificial Intelligence and Wireframes Implementation in Engineering Education

by Daina Gudoniene, Evelina Staneviciene, Vytautas Buksnaitis and Nicola Daley

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6850; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086850 - 19 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3014

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies have become important components of the digital economy and affect core areas of our increasingly technologically networked lives. Specific AI technology can support diverse learners and how AI is used in particular in the context of Adult Education to provide a more inclusive and flexible learning environment. Artificial intelligence has been changing education for a long time now, and it is becoming more pervasive in our lives. The authors analyzed many advantages of using AI as an educational tool, such as increasing student engagement by improving grading accuracy by automatically scoring essays with machine learning algorithms. We present a case on how wireframes can be used in website design. Several existing tools have been examined, and their ability to generate interfaces from sketches has been explored. Creating wireframes, prototypes, design mock-ups, and layouts followed the web development process and is now a significant part of website development in engineering education. The paper aims to give the direct opportunity to observe examples of AI wireframes for engineering education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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16 pages, 3845 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Current Situation of the Research on the Influencing Factors of Online Learning Behavior and Suggestions for Teaching Improvement

by Zhigang Li and Yi Liu

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2119; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032119 - 22 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2377

Abstract

With the rapid development in online education and the recurrence of COVID-19 around the world, people have temporarily turned to online education. To identify influencing factors of online learning behavior and improve online education, this study used CiteSpace to visually analyze research on influencing factors of online learning behavior on WoS. It discusses the research status, hotspots, and trends. Then, through cluster analysis and literature interpretation, the paper summarizes the types of online learning behavior and the influencing factors of different online learning behaviors from positive and negative dimensions. The findings of this paper are as follows. (1) The number of studies on the influencing factors of online learning behavior has increased in the last decade, especially after the outbreak of COVID-19. The research countries and institutions in this field lack contact and cooperation. (2) Online learning behaviors mainly include online learning engagement behavior, continuous behavior, procrastination behavior, and truancy behavior. (3) Online learning engagement behavior is mainly affected by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, individual characteristic differences, and other factors. (4) Online learning continuous behavior is mainly affected by quality, perceived usefulness, learning self-efficacy, and other factors. (5) The influencing factors of online learning procrastination mainly include learning environment, individual characteristics, social support, and pressure. (6) The main influencing factors of online learning truancy behavior are social interaction, participation, and learner control. At the end of this paper, according to the action mode of the influencing factors of online learning behavior, some suggestions for teaching improvement are put forward from the two perspectives of promoting positive online learning behavior and avoiding negative online learning behavior, which can provide a reference for teachers and schools in the future when conducting online education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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14 pages, 540 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Course Characteristics and Self-Efficacy on Practical Training Course Satisfaction: Moderating Effect of the Perceived Usefulness of Wisdom Teaching

by Zhihua He, Shuhui Yang, Yong Liu, Liang Yin, Zhigang Li and Qunying Weng

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15660; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315660 - 24 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1313

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how course characteristics and self-efficacy affect the inter-professional comprehensive practical training course satisfaction and to explore the moderating effect of the perceived usefulness of wisdom teaching. We recruited 190 senior students from four majors who participated in the inter-professional comprehensive practical training course to participate in the questionnaire survey. We adopted the partial least squares (PLS) method to analyze the measurement model and structural model. The results show that, on the one hand, learning attitude is the direct antecedent that positively affects the inter-professional comprehensive practical training course satisfaction, and both course characteristics and self-efficacy indirectly affect course satisfaction through the learning attitude. On the other hand, the perceived usefulness of wisdom teaching significantly enhanced the relationship between learning attitude and course satisfaction. This paper provides an empirical basis to improve the satisfaction of the inter-professional comprehensive practical training course. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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19 pages, 640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Infosphere Is Reshaping: How the Internet of Things Leads Smart Campuses for Knowledge Management

by Munthir A. Alblaihed, Usama M. Ibrahem, Ahmed B. Altamimi, Hind R. Alqirnas and Magdy I. Salem

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13580; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013580 - 20 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1621

Abstract

This article gauges Saudi universities’ readiness to integrate the Internet of Things (IoT) in knowledge management (KM) and identifies the challenges relating to its use. A descriptive–analytical approach was used to discuss the concepts, development, and general structure that characterize the IoT and its related challenges and to find ways to address them. This study used a three-axis questionnaire, which was applied to 275 faculty members and information technology officials in Saudi universities. The results revealed that a strategy related to the development of infrastructure and the provision of equipment and applications to deal with and analyze big data is needed, besides the conviction of the faculty and specialists in its potential in developing the teaching and learning environment in universities and providing unique research by interlinking the network of laboratories and research and training laboratories. The results also revealed that its effects on the university learning environment are gender, rank, and experience agonistic. Finally, 12 main criteria and 44 sub-applications were reached to manage the smart campus’s information generated by the IoT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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19 pages, 2796 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Facial Recognition System to Detect Student Emotions and Cheating in Distance Learning

by Fezile Ozdamli, Aayat Aljarrah, Damla Karagozlu and Mustafa Ababneh

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13230; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013230 - 14 Oct 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5810

Abstract

Distance learning has spread nowadays on a large scale across the world, which has led to many challenges in education such as invigilation and learning coordination. These challenges have attracted the attention of many researchers aiming at providing high quality and credibility monitoring of students. Distance learning has offered an effective education alternative to traditional learning in higher education. The lecturers in universities face difficulties in understanding students’ emotions and abnormal behaviors during educational sessions and e-exams. The purpose of this study is to use computer vision algorithms and deep learning algorithms to develop a new system that supports lecturers in monitoring and managing students during online learning sessions and e-exams. To achieve the proposed objective, the system employs software methods, computer vision algorithms, and deep learning algorithms. Semi-structural interviews were also used as feedback to enhance the system. The findings showed that the system achieved high accuracy for student identification in real time, student follow-up during the online session, and cheating detection. Future work can focus on developing additional tools to assist students with special needs and speech recognition to improve the follow-up facial recognition system’s ability to detect cheating during e-exams in distance learning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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20 pages, 995 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Perception Scale for the 7E Model-Based Augmented Reality Enriched Computer Course (7EMAGBAÖ): Validity and Reliability Study

by Erinç Erçağ and Aykut Yasakcı

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12037; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912037 - 23 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1400

Abstract

Education, teaching, and learning topics, known to have gained an international dimension with technological developments, are still seen as the most discussed themes and subject to change. It is clear that in the 21st century, the increasing information density, the means of transfer, and the technological adaptation skills of the teacher and the learner are at the forefront, and more efforts are required to develop them. The integration of technologies in education and training is related to the necessity of preparing learners in the most suitable way for future work and lifelong learning within the information society. For this reason, for the COVID-19 pandemic process and thereafter, starting with known education models makes it necessary to enable the development of education, teaching, and learning under better conditions and situations by blending them with technological developments. Everyone has understood the ever-changing and developing universal digital world much better during this pandemic. The 7E model of the Constructivist Learning Theory (CLT), known as the student-centered model based on distance education, has been mandatory for the entire education community during the first global pandemic of the digital age. Augmented Reality (AR) is another web-based technological development that can work in harmony with the 7E model. In the 7E model, the teaching of the lessons was at the forefront since the learners learn by doing, experiencing, and applying, directly participating in the lesson, and sharing opinions. For the present study, a scale was developed to determine the perceptions of the learners about the 7E model-based AR-enriched computer lesson. Validity and reliability studies were also conducted on the data obtained from the developed scale. The scale, which was prepared using a five-point Likert scale, was applied to 400 students who fit the profile of the sample group. A statistical analysis of the results concluded that 26 low-factor loading items should be removed from the questionnaire, and the final version of the 28-item scale was a six-factor structure. The statistical analysis concluded that the scale was suitable for all criteria in terms of validity and reliability. Considering the values revealed in the study, it was concluded that the overall scale (α = 0.932) was highly reliable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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20 pages, 1373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Future Online Learning for Public Administration

by Ani Matei and Dragos Valentin Dinca

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11540; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811540 - 14 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1821

Abstract

In this article, we analyze the perspectives of professional training for public administration workers, starting from the insights gained from online courses run during the past two years in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In order to understand the nature, type, and magnitude of the changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic in the field of continuous professional training for public administration, we carried out a systematic bibliographic analysis, as well as questionnaire-based empirical research conducted among public institution employees in Romania. This article was conducted based on the hypothesis that the professional training activities over the past two years have been organized predominantly online, and we aim to analyze the sustainability of these new teaching systems/methods. The limitations of the study are due to the fact that each administrative system has structural particularities and its own legal framework regarding the professional training of public administration workers; for this reason, the proposed model may not be successfully applied in all countries. We provide a model of online professional training for public administration workers that includes sustainability criteria and is based on experience accumulated over the past two years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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12 pages, 393 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Analysis of the Learning Effects and Differences of College Students Using English Vocabulary APP

by Haiyan Guo and Zhigang Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9240; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159240 - 28 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1976

Abstract

With the gradual popularization of mobile learning, it has become a trend for college students to use learning applications (APPs) for learning, but the learning effect has always been a concern. Since college students have different learning purposes, strategies, skills, and habits, responses to these differences have been an urgent problem. This paper takes college students using an English vocabulary APP to study as the survey object. It sets up the influencing factors model of the English vocabulary learning effect based on UTAUT2. Then, we analyzed the factors influencing the learning effect of using an English vocabulary APP and studied its mechanism. The results show that on the one hand, the influence degree of influencing factors is habit, facilitation condition, price value, effort expectancy, and performance expectancy from high to low, and all the above factors have a significant positive impact on the learning effect of college students using English vocabulary APP. On the other hand, gender, grade, and major have a moderating effect on English vocabulary learning, and there are differences among different genders, grades, and majors. Finally, suggestions are put forward from the perspective of APP construction and students’ differences to enhance and improve the learning effect of English vocabulary. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future Online Learning for Education Resilience – Humanized, Flexible and Smart)

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