Background: The rising importance of digital technologies in everyday communication has played a key role in processes of political polarization and rising mistrust and intolerance. We suggest this crisis could be productively conceptualized as a crisis in perspective-taking--the tendency and competency to actively consider others' mental and…

Background: Research in social cognition suggests that learning effectiveness in teacher-learner pairs may be influenced by how well their attention aligns with each other. However, we currently have limited understanding of how common distractions in real-world environments affect teacher-student interactions, specifically the synchronisation of…

Background: This study was motivated by the need to enhance Mandarin learning through embodied interactions and physical engagement methods. While most studies confirm the positive effects of touchscreen devices on learning, mixed findings suggest a need for more engaging methods. This research addresses these gaps by exploring the benefits of…

This study analysed the instructors' teaching presence of three courses conducted by an instructor to explore the effects of the instructors' online teaching presence on students' interactions and collaborative knowledge constructions. Content analysis, social network analysis, and lag sequential analysis were used to explore the mechanism of…

Background: Investigating emotion sequence patterns in the posts of discussion forums in massive open online courses (MOOCs) holds a vital role in shaping online interactions and impacting learning achievement. While the majority of research focuses on the relationship between emotions and interactions in MOOC forum discussions, research on…

Background: Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments are hypothesised to offer a learning environment that satisfies basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence, subsequently improving learning and motivational outcomes. However, the underlying mechanism of how basic psychological needs are fulfilled…

Background Study: Technology-supported learning environments, act as significant observational and enabling indicators for evaluating and encouraging the digital revolution of education, are of vital importance in current educational research. Keeping track of the dynamics of technology-supported learning environment research allows for the…

Background: Although human-robotic interaction is a rapidly burgeoning area of study within education, and social robots are being widely tested for use in schools, few studies have focused on early adolescent interactions with robots under actual classroom conditions. Objectives: We introduced an autonomous, social robot ('Pepper') into a…

Peer Instruction is an active learning method widely used in higher education, whereby students answer a series of questions twice, once before and once after peer discussion. There is an ongoing debate as to whether a collective feedback should be given after the students' initial answer, and if so, how the frequently observed group conformity…

Background: The global introduction of complex measures directed at the containment of the COVID-19 spread has spurred a massive shift to distance learning among educational institutions. As far as such a learning mode is rather forced and, probably, only a few establishments faced no difficulties with it, the matter of assuring teaching…

During the COVID-19 outbreak, students had to cope with succeeding in video-conferencing classes susceptible to technical problems like choppy audio, frozen screens and poor Internet connection, leading to interrupted delivery of facial expressions and eye-contact. For these reasons, agentic engagement during video-conferencing became critical for…

Background: The rise of intelligent chatbots powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning has ignited interest in their potential for revolutionising second language (L2) acquisition and foreign language learning (FLL). While their potential seems vast, understanding their actual impact on learning outcomes requires comprehensive…

Background: Stealth assessment is a learning analytics method, which leverages the collection and analysis of learners' interaction data to make real-time inferences about their learning. Employed in digital learning environments, stealth assessment helps researchers, educators, and teachers evaluate learners' competencies and customize the…

Online and blended learning (OBL) is valued, but it also offers challenges. Literature indicates that OBL can enhance access to education and increase flexibility for students. However, the reported dropout rates indicate that student participation in OBL programmes is a concern. Scientifically valid knowledge about how factors that help students…

Educational technology designs in developing countries mostly focus on making knowledge resources widely available, through MOOCs, repositories and computer-based tutoring. The use of digital media for cognitive augmentation, particularly interactive designs that help learners understand modelling topics in STEM, is underexplored. We report a…