Technology-based learning environments
Z. Karami
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In order to solve the problem of education in complex and unstructured domains, Spiro and his colleagues proposed the theory of cognitive flexibility, in which they advocated multiple forms of pedagogical models, analogies, multiple representations, and multiple information ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: In order to solve the problem of education in complex and unstructured domains, Spiro and his colleagues proposed the theory of cognitive flexibility, in which they advocated multiple forms of pedagogical models, analogies, multiple representations, and multiple information displays. Cognitive flexibility is the ability of humans to adapt to cognitive process strategies in order to cope with new and unexpected conditions in the environment, and can help learners gain a deep understanding of complex concepts. In cognitive flexibility, the transfer of information from one situation to another allows the learners to apply the constructed knowledge to solve current problems. Electronic and virtual learning environments have capabilities that can better enhance learners' cognitive flexibility. Multiplicity in content, activities, interaction, and active participation are among the criteria for cognitive flexibility that can be accessed through electronic and virtual learning environments. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide a framework for designing electronic and virtual learning environments based on the principles and criteria of cognitive flexibility.Methods: This study was qualitative research that was conducted in a Meta-Synthesis method. To collect data, keywords such as cognitive flexibility theory, electronic and virtual learning environments, cognitive flexibility, principles and criteria of cognitive flexibility, etc. were selected and articles, theses, and related texts were searched in reliable databases, from 1992 to 2020. Finally, 30 related sources were found. Among these sources, 25 of the most relevant texts related to the research questions were selected. After the detailed study of the texts, according to the research questions, the necessary information was extracted. Findings: The results of the findings in response to the first question of the research were to present the principles and criteria of the theory of cognitive flexibility, and in response to the second question of the research, based on the principles and criteria of the theory of cognitive flexibility, the necessary framework for the design of electronic and virtual learning environments was presented. In this framework, two parts of different forms of learning and different views about learning were proposed and in each part, content dimensions, pedagogical tools, human interactions, and evaluation and criteria related to each dimension were introduced. According to the criteria raised in the dimension of different forms of learning, it can be said that to increase the cognitive flexibility of learners in electronic learning environments, variety of content, variety of methods and activities, variety of interactions and variety of assessment tools were of particular importance. Also, according to the criteria raised in the dimension of different perspectives of learning, we can also conclude that to increase cognitive flexibility in electronic learning environments, the variety of examples, exercises, and examples, the variety of mutual relationships between the concepts, diversity in people's points of view, review, analysis and combination of diverse points of view, diversifying the points of view on the discussed topic were important. The diversity of methods and solutions in the process of problem-solving were highly important. These environments should be prepared in such a way that they could provide the context for the learner's involvement and activity so that the learner could have an active involvement in the learning process and build knowledge that would meet the needs of different situations and could be used to solve real problems.Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, the principles and criteria of cognitive flexibility were extracted and based on those principles and criteria, the necessary framework for designing electronic and virtual learning environments was presented, which can be a guide for planners, designers of electronic and virtual learning environments, teachers, and other educators to strengthen the cognitive flexibility of learners through the design of suitable electronic and virtual learning environments.
E-Lerning
S. Abdoli; M. Nili Ahmadabadi; H. Fardanesh; M. Asgari
Abstract
Background and Objectives:. Learning management systems are one of the most important platforms for virtual education, and usability is the most important feature that determines their quality. In the conducted research, various factors have been proposed as factors affecting the usability of learning ...
Read More
Background and Objectives:. Learning management systems are one of the most important platforms for virtual education, and usability is the most important feature that determines their quality. In the conducted research, various factors have been proposed as factors affecting the usability of learning management systems, but shortcomings in the field of usability of these systems and determining the factors affecting it in a comprehensive and practical guide map, based on which usability of learning management system can be evaluated and improved, is the challenge of various educational institutions in virtual education. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to extract the most important factors affecting usability and then present these factors in a comprehensive and practical framework.Methods: In this research, the qualitative method and meta-synthesis approach were used. Based on the stages of the meta-synthesis approach, after stating the research questions and purposes, the systematic review method was used to search for research reports in the field of usability of learning management systems, which were the statistical population of this research, and the sample - the documents available in Scopus and Web of Science databases - was selected through purposive sampling. Then, the quality of research resources was examined through individual appraisal and comparative appraisal; the findings from the research were classified, these findings were synthesized by the taxonomic analysis approach, and finally, to examine the validity of the findings, the audit trail, consensual validity, and expert peer review methods were used.Findings: The findings of this research included the usability factors of learning management systems and the presentation of these factors in a framework. In this framework, factors were categorized based on the responsible of each factor. Factors included navigation, visual design, learnability and memorability, efficiency, accessibility, errors correction, privacy and security, ease of use, ethical issues and compliance in the tasks of IT specialists and content, Instructor’s knowledge, and learning orientation in the task Instructors/instructional designers. Factors that both IT specialists and instructors/instructional designers were in charge of encompassed interactivity/interaction, assessment and feedback, help and documentation, usefulness, and satisfaction and enjoyment.Conclusion: Based on the findings, by considering usability factors in designing and evaluation of learning management systems, it is possible to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of these platforms in virtual education and ultimately the level of learners' satisfaction. The results of this research, while enriching the research literature in the field of usability of learning management systems, help these systems to be used efficiently, effectively and satisfactorily by learners and teachers. The results also help system developers, instructional designers, and evaluators to adopt a more effective approach to improving system usability by designing and evaluating learning management systems based on the framework presented in this research. The time-consuming nature of testing the usability of learning management systems used in Iranian universities based on the proposed framework was one of the limitations of this research, and other researchers can focus on doing this test in future research. It is also suggested that future research, in addition to the Scopus and Web of Science databases, which have been selected as the sources for research reports, consider the resources available in other databases, such as ERIC and Google Scholar. In addition, increasing the number of reviewers of research in the systematic review and the number of evaluators in the phase of evaluating the quality of resources and validating findings make the results more generalizable. Finally, applying quantitative research methods as well as heuristic evaluation of usability factors can complement this qualitative research.
