This study addresses critical gaps in English proficiency assessments, particularly for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, by focusing on the foundational aspect of needs analysis in designing a platform to assist EFL students in preparation for real English proficiency tests. The existing tests, such as TOEFL and IELTS, often fail to…

As generative AI tools are increasingly popular in today's teaching and learning process, challenges and opportunities occur at the same time. Self-directed learning has been regarded as a powerful learning ability that supports learners in informal learning contexts and its importance rises in salience when incorporating AI into learning. This…

Undergraduate enrollment in online courses has been trending upward over the past decade, despite declining enrollment overall. With the onset of COVID-19 during the Spring 2020 semester, more undergraduates were suddenly thrust into online courses. Although learning outcomes for face-to-face and online courses may not differ, some students may…

This scoping review summarizes studies on passive participation in collaborative online learning activities that used computer-mediated communication tools in school settings. A total of 42 articles spanning about 20 years were explored. ERIC and three main journal indexes from Web of Science were used to locate articles. For each year searched,…

This study aims to examine the dynamic decision-making of faculty who teach instructional design courses when they design authentic learning experiences in digital learning environments, with a special focus on how they engage in environmental analysis, dynamic decision-making, promotion of knowledge acquisition, as well as the challenges they…

One student success factor in higher education is students' readiness to learn. An increasing number of students are learning in multiple modalities and the boundaries between course modalities continue to blur. In this context, there is a need to reassess readiness for online learning in ways that can serve "all" 21st century learners.…

This study explores how online instructors use different instructional strategies to engage learners, and the active learning indicators that they look for among their students. Additionally, it examines how modality--synchronous versus asynchronous--and instructor learner-centeredness relate to instructional strategy choices. Using a mixed…

Online open-ended and closed-ended surveys were conducted in 2014-2016 among 191 students at a small, private university located in South Florida. Our main goals were to evaluate student perceptions of in-class and out-of-class assignments in hybrid courses, determine what students value most about these modes of learning, and recommend ways to…

Pedagogical training is considered an efficient tool to train university teachers to understand and foster active learning. In Finland, pedagogical training courses are organized periodically at universities, and university teachers participate voluntarily to improve pedagogical knowledge and skills for teaching in higher education settings. This…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, education systems policymakers realized the importance of being able to communicate using technology and to fulfill their academic obligations. As a consequence, a different approach to education followed: blended learning. A literature review revealed a lack of psychometric tools related to blended teaching readiness…

There is increasing interest in the application of game-based learning approaches to education. Educators across a wide range of contexts are using digital games such as educational escape rooms to promote learner motivation and support skills development. Whilst the literature describes multiple game-based learning theories that can underpin such…

Students enrolled in online courses tend to be less successful as measured by the rate of A's, B's, and C's than students enrolled in face-to-face courses. Yet little work has been done addressing whether these gaps vary depending on students' broader relationship with the university, including whether they are degree-seeking students and whether…

This research investigated the potential of learning analytics (LA) as a tool for identifying and evaluating K-12 student behaviors associated with active learning when using video learning objects within an online learning environment (OLE). The study focused on the application of LA for evaluating K-12 student engagement in videobased…

In higher education, motivational factors are considered one of "the strongest predictors of academic performance" (Honike et al., 2020, p. 1). A meta-analysis of face-to-face (f2f) courses (Richardson et al., 2012) supports these claims, finding a strong correlation between performance self-efficacy and academic performance (r = 0.59),…

Social presence is one key factor for successful learning in socio-constructivist learning environments, such as in online-courses based on the Community of Inquiry Framework. Teachers need easily interpretable and pedagogically relevant information to monitor social presence and to intervene if needed while a course is running. Social network…