Virtual exchanges can be seen as a powerful tool in fostering digital-pedagogical, intercultural, and foreign language competences in teacher education. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, virtual exchanges in teacher education have gained increasing attention both in research and practice. Despite a growing number of publications and various…

Background: Video conferencing technology has moved online education into a new stage of real-time video interaction. However, shortcomings such as students' lack of concentration and substantive engagement during video conferencing greatly limit the improvement of online learning effectiveness. According to social presence theory and the…

This paper examines the invisible barrier that can challenge teachers when teaching online, called the fourth wall. Using a presence framework derived from the literature, we explored how experienced teachers manage the absence of visual cues and identify the pedagogical practices they adopted as a response. Data from semi-structured interviews…

The escalation in online learning post-COVID has created a pressing need to consider faculty-student interactions in a virtual environment. A sequential explanatory, mixed-method design was used to investigate university students' perceptions of faculty caring online following the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 46 undergraduate and graduate…

Online teaching and learning has become more prominent and prevalent with digital platforms becoming the only means of communication in lessons. The resulting limited teacher-student interactions can be an important contributing factor in the rise of ineffective learning. Therefore, it has become necessary to enhance these interactions during…

In recent years, higher learning institutions have been forced to integrate online learning into their curriculum. However, despite the increasing popularity of online learning, students' engagement and interaction within this environment remain a crucial aspect to explore. This study investigates how connected the students are during their online…

Purpose: The increasing number of online courses in higher education has provided students with convenience and flexibility. However, some adverse effects also come with online learning, including negatively affecting student beliefs in themselves and their perceptions of the instructor. Both are important factors for academic success. Grounded in…

In recent years, the world of education has become increasingly hybrid (online/on location) and flexible (synchronous/asynchronous), frequently referred to as HyFlex. One of the risks of these mixed environments is the distance between teacher and students that can make interaction, a crucial component of the teaching/learning process, more…

Online discussion forums are crucial educational tools that facilitate interaction between students and teachers. We created an online discussion forum, with the teacher serving as the moderator. 58 posts and 1,955 comments were collected. We analysed these data through Latent Dirichlet Allocation to determine word cooccurrence and extract key…

The reality of effective teaching in the online classroom involves being emotionally and cognitively present without the benefit of a physical presence. To be present in an online learning environment involves putting aside the false notion that an instructor can effectively hide behind a computer interface or that, at the very least, one is…

Purpose: This chapter explores the transformation of teacher education in India to enhance student-teacher interactions within virtual learning environments (VLEs). It aims to address the challenges and opportunities posed by the digital shift in education, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and emphasizes the need for pre-service…

As online education expands, cultivating a sense of belonging becomes increasingly complex, especially for students who may never set foot on a physical campus. In this article, we explore the nuanced nature of fostering a sense of belonging and mattering among distance learners on our own campus, Indiana University (IU) East. To address these…

The purpose of this study was to contextualize how the communication modes I used, and my presence shape the experiences of students within a single online course. I conducted a qualitative case study in which I collected data from three sources: in-depth qualitative interviews with nine former students of the online course GBA 300, fifteen…

The COVID-19 pandemic creates physical barriers and raises issues about online learning and course design. These must be overcome in order to continue teaching three English language support papers in a transnational education programme. This autoethnography explores online communication strategies and their effect on students' learning…

Institutions of higher education are interested in supporting the academic success of their students in the most effective ways possible. Increasingly, this means engaging students in a blend of both online and in-person learning activities as well as connecting students with supportive communities in both modalities. This research explores the…