Journal of Computing in Higher Education最新文献

Although fully online learning is now the 'new normal' in many parts of the world, its implementation is often beset by challenges such as the lack of student self-regulation, and the sense of isolation. In this paper, we explored the use of chatbots to support student goal setting (Study 1) and social presence (Study 2) in online activities. In Study 1, participants in a fully online course were invited to complete a goal setting activity prior to attending class via a goal-setting chatbot. The chatbot engaged participants with five questions developed based on the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) goal setting framework. In Study 2, English-as-Foreign-Language participants in a fully online course were tasked to complete listening practices. The learning buddy chatbot was designed based on the social presence framework (interpersonal communication, open communication, cohesive communication) to guide students through listening exercises. In both Study 1 and 2, we evaluated participants' behavioral engagement by measuring their conversation records with the chatbots, as well as participants' perceived usefulness and ease of use of the chatbots. We also gathered in-depth interview data concerning the participants' perceptions of interacting with the chatbots. Overall, our findings found positive learner experiences with both chatbots with regard to the chatbots' perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. We also provided suggestions for instructors to apply chatbots in teaching and learning.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, blended learning became exceptionally widespread, especially in higher education. As a result, many college students became beginners in this learning method. To identify key factors that impact beginners' continuance intention in blended learning, this study surveyed 1845 first-year college students at a university in central China in the falls of 2020 and 2021 who used blended learning for the first time. Structural equation modeling was employed to verify a model that integrates intrinsic motivation and academic self-efficacy in the Expectation-Confirmation Model of Information System Continuance. The results show that performance expectancy, intrinsic motivation, and satisfaction significantly impact beginners' continuance intention in blended learning. Moreover, performance expectancy, intrinsic motivation, and confirmation significantly impact beginners' continuance intention through mediating variable satisfaction. Academic self-efficacy does not directly impact college students' continuance intention but indirectly impacts their continuance intention through intrinsic motivation. Finally, this study provides suggestions for educators to improve beginners' blended learning experience thus promoting their continuance intention in blended learning.

Flipped classroom (FC) is a "blended" instructional approach that requires students to complete pre-lecture individual learning tasks in preparation for participating in related in-lecture peer learning activities. One of the critical problems of FC has been students' lack of motivation to complete the assigned online pre-lecture tasks prior to attending the corresponding face-to-face lectures. Spherical video-based immersive virtual reality (SV-IVR), which can be produced without costly computing equipment and sophisticated technical expertise, is a technological tool with considerable potential for enhancing teaching and learning. This mixed-methods study was grounded in the instructional motivation theory of ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction). A total of 188 education students (i.e., pre-service teachers) who were generally knowledgeable about the pedagogical concept of FC evaluated the ARCS motivational affordances of SV-IVR in support of the pre-lecture stage of FC. These students were from teaching majors of (i) language education, (ii) social and humanities education, and (iii) mathematics and science education. The results indicated the participants across the 3 majors positively perceived SV-IVR as having desirable benefits on "A," "R," and "S," but not "C." This research provides new insights into adopting SV-IVR in FC, in particular, shedding light on leveraging this technological tool in pre-service teacher education.

During the covid-19 pandemic, schools at all levels were often closed and online distance instruction (ODI) was applied. The main objective of this research was to discover the main didactic features of online distance instruction; and based on the collected data to define didactic recommendations towards improving the quality of the process. Five hypotheses were set that evaluated students' opinions in the areas of teachers' support for learners within ODI, types of sources exploited within ODI, means used for practising and fixing new knowledge within ODI, assessment of learners' performance within ODI, and students' feedback on ODI. In total, 272 respondents from upper secondary and higher education institutions participated in the research. Each respondent described the process of online distance instruction in two courses they selected of 64: (1) in a course that they appreciated, liked, enjoyed, and considered efficient from the point of view of their learning; (2) in a course that caused them discomfort in learning, as it was conducted in a way that did not suit them, and their learning did not bring the expected learning outcomes. Data were collected via a questionnaire; Chí-square test, adjusted residuals, and t test for comparison of means were calculated. Before the research started, teachers were trained in online distance instruction. Therefore, we expected that they will be competent in designing online distance courses and the courses will follow didactic principles. The results discovered significant differences in the frequency of occurrence of observed features in courses that received positive feedback compared to those having negative evaluation. However, some exceptions were detected.

This study investigated the relations between students' self-reported perceptions of the blended learning environment, their observed online learning strategies, and their academic learning outcomes. The participants were 310 undergraduates enrolled in an introductory course on computer systems in an Australian metropolitan university. A Likert-scale questionnaire was used to examine students' perceptions. The digital traces recorded in a bespoke learning management system were used to detect students' observed online learning strategies. Using the data mining algorithms, including the Hidden Markov Model and an agglomerative hierarchical sequence clustering, four types of online learning strategies were found. The four strategies not only differed in the number of online learning sessions but also showed differences in the proportional distribution with regard to different online learning behaviors. A one-way ANOVA revealed that students adopting different online learning strategies differed significantly on their final course marks. Students who employed intensive theory application strategy achieved the highest whereas those used weak reading and weak theory application scored the lowest. The results of a cross-tabulation showed that the four types of observed online learning strategies were significantly associated with the better and poorer perceptions of the blended learning environment. Specially, amongst students who adopted the intensive theory application strategy, the proportion of students who self-reported better perceptions was significantly higher than those reporting poorer perceptions. In contrast, amongst students using the weak reading and weak theory application strategy, the proportion of students having poorer perceptions was significantly higher than those holding better perceptions.

Although e-Portfolio is acknowledged as one of the powerful pedagogical practices that enhance learning in higher education (HE), not much is known about the types of social media (SM) utilized as e-Portfolios and the benefits for students. This literature analysis, using directed content analysis, aims to explore the above vacuum. The research questions in this study are: (1) In what ways do the SM as e-Portfolios benefit students in HE? (2) To what extent are the benefits of SM as e-Portfolios comparable to those of conventional e-Portfolios? and (3) What are the drawbacks that practitioners and researchers need to be concerned with? Findings indicate that blogs are the most popular SM used as e-Portfolios to support learning, followed by social networking sites and collaborative projects. The study yields 13 advantages and 12 drawbacks when SM is manipulated as e-Portfolios. These findings conclude that the use of SM as e-Portfolios has a great potential in supporting students' learning and development by providing an environment for them to learn meaningfully from their experiences and engage in critical reflections and dialogues that allow them to gain new knowledge and valuable insights and thus, improve their skills. A pedagogical framework for the planning and implementation of SM as e-Portfolios is suggested based on the findings and aims of the papers that were reviewed.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12528-022-09344-z.