This review aims to identify and systematically evaluate the use of virtual assessments of social exclusion in persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The authors screened articles for inclusion in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Ten peer-reviewed studies were…

Known as the master of horror with more than sixty novels, Stephen King's works have been translated into Turkish since 1970's and published mainly by "Altin Kitaplar" Publishing House. His works, frequently being among the best-sellers, have been retranslated into Turkish and reprinted countlessly with updated covers and labels such as…

It is a well-known fact that advice-giving practices may differ from culture to culture. While some societies such as British culture refrain from giving advice, others such as Turkish may prefer to give advice perceiving it as an indication of solidarity. Thus, precautions for preventing this nature of advice is taken by language itself in a…

The study aimed at investigating the effect of using WhatsApp-based learning activities on developing idiom knowledge among Saudi university English as a foreign language (EFL)students compared to conventional method. It also examined the students' perceptions towards the application of WhatsApp in idiom-learning. The rationale for conducting this…

In this brief article, Stephen Kotok discusses the impact of COVID-19 public-school districts across the U.S. and the shift overnight from in-person learning to remote learning in May 2020. Herein he argues that full-time remote learning is mostly devoid of genuine peer-to-peer interaction but acknowledges that it does introduce some supplemental…

Blended synchronous learning has the potential to increase students' co-presence and improve upon the flexibility and accessibility of course offerings if designed well. This method of instruction, however, has yet to realize that potential. This exploratory study used qualitative methods to iteratively design, assess, and refine the technological…

Prior analyses of face-to-face contacts in collaborations have focused on one substitute only. Instead, we analyse various potential substitutes for face-to-face contacts in collaborations. Based on 45 interviews with academics from five leading European universities of technology our findings show that face-to-face contacts are closely…

Chinese international students often face daunting challenges of building intercultural networks and receiving support from outgroup members. To facilitate their social integration, this study proposed a research model investigating the relationships of online and direct intergroup contact to social capital in intercultural networks (social…

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education at all levels worldwide. This personal account documents some of the details of the shift to remote teaching in a South African context and discusses some opportunities and challenges present in this shift. The focus is on those issues that specifically apply to developing countries and some of these…

Video is a rich medium that conveys more social cues than text. Use of video in an online discussion forum therefore has the potential to increase social presence in online learning environments. This experimental study compared a group using video for a portion of the required discussion posts to a group using only text in an online undergraduate…

The present study used a unique measure of self-perceived gender typicality to better examine the association of gender with cyber victimization and perpetration. Participants were 297 adolescent males and females recruited from independent schools in grade 8 (M[subscript age] = 13.8) and grade 10 (M[subscript age] = 15.8) who completed a…

Within the process of progressive digitization of materials and tools for teaching and distance learning of a subject of introduction to Microeconomics (quarterly, in year three of the Degree in Social Work), taught by the authors at the National University of Distance Education (UNED), a virtual assistant in the form of "chatbot," or…

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, on 18 March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the immediate closure of schools in England. (The closure was not absolute: schools would remain open for vulnerable children and the children of key workers. In practice, though, very few children have continued to attend.) In what follows, nine English…

The introduction of online-supported teaching and learning in education calls for a better understanding of how online support is experienced by South African students (many of whom encounter this technology for the very first time at university) and how their experiences of online support may influence their learning. The mixed-methods approach…

Research stresses the importance of social components in learning. The social contact with peers and tutors stimulates reflection and supports higher processes of learning necessary for the internalisation and application of new knowledge. However, merely proposing opportunities for interaction does not necessarily lead to fruitful discussion and…