Purpose: This study aims to examine the role of key network actors in relation to the discourse structure of a microblogging hashtag stream within a global agricultural educators' conference over two years. Prior work in online networks suggests that participation is dominated by highly active members, and in this study, the authors focus on…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore beginning teachers' diverse challenges and how these are related to self-directed professional learning through social media. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a content analysis of 2,445 "New Teacher" tagged posts shared in the r/Teachers subreddit. With 1,246 posts…

Purpose: Mentoring supports children, adolescents and young adults on their career paths and presents an important extracurricular educational format. The COVID-19 pandemic created a strong impetus for the deployment of virtual mentoring programs (VMPs), in which mentors and mentees communicate completely or predominantly through information and…

Purpose: The purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe how the affinity space concept has been used to frame learning via social media, and call for and discuss a refresh of the affinity space concept to accommodate changes in social media platforms and algorithms. Design/methodology/approach: Guided by a sociocultural perspective, this…

Purpose: Student in-class participation is a crucial aspect in the learning process, including in synchronous learning process. Several variables may hinder students from actively participating in synchronous learning including communication anxiety. As behavior, student in-class participation can be modeled using theory of planned behavior (TPB)…

Purpose: In the USA, 22-40% of youth who have been accepted to college do not enroll. Researchers call this phenomenon summer melt, which disproportionately affects students from disadvantaged backgrounds. A major challenge is providing enough mentorship with the limited number of available college counselors. The purpose of this study is to…

Purpose: Social networks (SNs) play a significant role as environments supporting teacher professional development. The purpose of this to analyze the motivation and participation roles that Spanish teachers have when participating in SNs for their professional development in three professional stages: preservice teachers, beginning teachers and…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the following questions--What are the types of discussion prompts in a fully online graduate course? What are the key characteristics of students' discussion initial posts and replies in a fully online graduate course? In what ways, if any, do discussion prompts influence the types of initial posts and…

Purpose: The rapid emergency remote teaching has moved informal learning programs online including makerspaces, which has created an opportunity for harnessing the benefits of virtual makerspaces. This study reports on findings from three club designers and facilitators' reflections on a fully virtual maker club offered in the summer of 2023. This…

Purpose: Many educators currently face challenges when trying to engage students in creative learning experiences online, where it can be particularly difficult to move beyond the transmissive approach typical of video lessons and webinars. The purpose of this paper is to present WeScratch, online workshops designed as welcoming, playful and…

Purpose: The internet and search engines dominate within people's information acquisition, especially among the younger generations. Given this trend, this study aims to explore if information and communication technology (ICT) practices, internet reliance and views of knowledge and knowing, i.e. epistemic beliefs, interact with each other.…

Purpose: Against the background of empirical research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), the purpose of this paper is to advocate implementing collaborative learning activities into online distance education courses to engage learners in interactive knowledge construction. This study uses empirical evidence to illustrate how…

Purpose: Social annotation (SA) is a genre of learning technology that enables the annotation of digital resources for information sharing, social interaction and knowledge production. This study aims to examine the perceived value of SA as contributing to learning in multiple undergraduate courses. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 59…

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many instructors to rapidly shift to online/distance teaching. With a narrow preparation window, many instructors are at a loss of strategies that are both effective in responding to the crisis and compatible with their professional practices. One urgent need in classrooms at all levels is to support…

Purpose: Teaching and learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic has forced university instructors to consider online alternatives to the classroom. It is possible to facilitate students' learning in the digital environment in similar ways to the traditional face-to-face classroom. The inclusion of e-guests in the digital learning space presents…