Electronic learning- virtual
N. Naderi; M.J. Mahdian; Z. Tanha
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Hybrid education as a new approach in educational systems is a combination of face-to-face and virtual education. This educational method tries to exploit the advantages of both types of education and minimize their disadvantages. In recent years, especially with the spread ...
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Background and Objectives: Hybrid education as a new approach in educational systems is a combination of face-to-face and virtual education. This educational method tries to exploit the advantages of both types of education and minimize their disadvantages. In recent years, especially with the spread of the Corona Virus and the need for social distancing, this training has become one of the popular and necessary methods in many educational institutions. On the other hand, the SWOT matrix is a strategic tool used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in an organization. In schools, this matrix can lead to improving the educational and management processes to formulate effective strategies to improve performance and productivity by identifying and analyzing internal and external factors. Using the SWOT matrix in schools can help administrators and teachers to identify the school's internal strengths and weaknesses and to examine external opportunities and threats. The current research was conducted with the aim of identifying the components and indicators of the hybrid education model (face-to-face and virtual) in the form of SWOT.Methods: This research was applied in terms of its purpose and in terms of approach, it was a type of mixed-methods study of exploratory type. The statistical population consisted of 36 experts and experts in the field of educational sciences and educational management of universities in Lorestan province, and to determine the sample size, 14 people were selected via the purposeful sampling method and using the theoretical saturation method. A semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. To calculate the validity of the quanitative part, Kendall's coefficient of agreement was used with a value of (0.759) and for the reliability of the qualitative part, the recoding method was used with a value of (0.92). According to the obtained results, the interview tool has adequate validity and reliability.Findings: According to the obtained results, taking into account internal organizational factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external organizational factors (opportunities and threats), the SWOT matrix after the end of the third stage of the Delphi method and establishing an agreement among the respondents of 38 codes or indicators for internal organizational factors (strengths of 19 codes and weaknesses of 19 codes) and 20 codes or indicators for external factors (opportunities 10 codes and threats 10 codes) were approved by experts and prepared for evaluation in the form of SWOT method. Also, in determining the strategic position of the combined education system, an offensive strategy and 14 strategies along with their priority and the interpretive structural model of combined education strategies were presented.Conclusion: Identifying the components and indicators of the hybrid education model (face-to-face and virtual) in the form of SWOT and using these results would make mutual relations in educational spaces more favorable and ultimately increase the quality of education.
e-learning
M. Ruhi; F. Mahmoodi; K. Taghpour
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was surevying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Corona virus outbreak in higher education from the perspective of students of the faculty of educational sciences and psychology.Methods: The present study was an applied one in ...
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Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was surevying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Corona virus outbreak in higher education from the perspective of students of the faculty of educational sciences and psychology.Methods: The present study was an applied one in terms of its purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of the nature of the research. The statistical population of the present study consisted of students of educational sciences and psychology of university of Tabriz; according to the statistics received from the university, therer were 882 students. The Krejcie and Morgan table was used to determine the statistical sample size, based on which 268 participants were included in the sample using the available sampling method. A 79-item researcher-made questionnaire was given to the participants to gather the required data. To this end, after studying the relevant sources and background and interviewing several professors and students, the questionnaire items were extracted and divided into four sections: strengths (S), weaknesses (W), and opportunities (O) and threats (T). The content and face validity of the questionnaire were confirmed drawing on the experts’ opinions, especially the supervisors and advisors. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. The reliability of each of the four components of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats was higher than 0.9, which was considered as an excellent level of reliability. To analyze the data, the proposed SWOT methods of Hossein, Adnan and Hossein (2014) were used.Findings: The results showed that considering the strengths, the item of informing higher education institutions of their virtual infrastructure deficiencies was ranked as the first with a percentage of normalized weight of 6.83; flexibility in training places with normalized weight percentage of 6.68 was put in the second place; the item related to facilitating access to the content with a percentage of normalized weight of 6.58 was in the third place. Considering the weaknesses, the impossibility of students’ access to the physical facilities of the university with a percentage of normalized weight of 5.35 was ranked as the first; the item of not being able to gain newer and different experiences that can only be acquired by attending universities was the second one with a normalized weight percentage of 5.29. third rank; moreover, lack of affective bonds among between the students and the instructirs was considered as the third item with a normalized weight percentage of 4.92. As regards the opportunities, the possibility of education for employees with a percentage of normalized weight of 5.71 was put in the first place; global learning opportunities for the new generation with a normalized weight percentage of 5.23 was ranked as the second item; the item related to creating integrated e-learning systems in the form of virtual learning environments with a percentage of normalized weight of 5.21 in was considered as the third item. With regard to the threats, the item of physical injuries (eye injury, backache, etc.) with a normalized weight percentage of 5.42 was ranked as the first one; The item related to the decrease of the relationship between the instructors and the students was the second one with a percentage of normalized weight of 5.26; and the item related to a decrease in the student-student interaction with a percentage of normalized weight of 5.21 was ranked as the third one. Finally, internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) factors were examined and strategies related to strengths-opportunities (SO), strengths-threats (ST), weaknesses-opportunities (WO) and weaknesses-threats (WT) were presented.Conclusion: According to the results, it is necessary to make the best use of the opportunities provided for e-learning and to develop e-learning infrastructure and expand the interactive learning environments to take advantage of the strengths and opportunities, in order to move education towards a growing and desired direction. In this regard, weaknesses and threats can be reduced by grouping students in accordance with the health protocols, utilizing project-based evaluations, as well as attracting financial resources to strengthen the required infrastructure.
e-learning
E. Jafari; K. Fathi Vajargah; M. Arefi; M. RezaeiZadeh
Abstract
Background and Objective:Although the fields of teaching and learning have changed very little compared to other categories more than two thousand years ago, today, with the help of information technology, it has undergone rapid changes. In recent years, virtual education has emerged as one of the most ...
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Background and Objective:Although the fields of teaching and learning have changed very little compared to other categories more than two thousand years ago, today, with the help of information technology, it has undergone rapid changes. In recent years, virtual education has emerged as one of the most important applications of new information and communication technologies in the world and extensive activities have begun in this direction. Virtual education has created a new paradigm and has enabled learning in any field, for any person, at any time and in any place. Among the various forms of e-learning, there has been a significant expansion of free online courses, MOOCs in recent years. The purpose of this study is to delineate the strengths, defects, opportunities and threats in MOOC-based curricula. This research is applied and used a qualitative method. Methods: The statistical population of the qualitative section includes experts who have been engaged in the process of providing educational services during MOOC-based educational courses. From among this population, 14 individuals have been chosen as the statistical sample through purposive sampling. The data have been gathered through semi-structured interviews. Findings: The findings show that the most significant strengths include: promotion of access to curricula, learner-orientation, the possibility of realization in learning society, enjoying high quality teaching and promotion of dynamism. Among the most important defects are the possibility of neglecting real situations in education, the possibility of lack of proper educational organization, the possibility of an increase in the financial burden of the curriculum, the possibility of exclusivity in curriculum development, the possibility of not being able to evaluate high order thinking skills, the possibility of taking teacher freedom away, the possibility of lack of organization in evaluation, the possibility of arising problems in precise verification of the evaluated person. The most significant opportunities are supporting the extension of educational justice, the possibility of investment, supporting up-to-date knowledge, extending international communication in higher education curriculum development, the possibility of revising university curricula, facilitating the promotion of evaluation methods efficiency and making the education more applicatory. The most prominent threats are disruption in university functions, making instructors’ professions questionable, lack of educational purposiveness, incompetency of curriculum objectives, opposition of values and superficiality of curriculum objectives, instrumental exploitation of MOOCs, incompatibility between content and the audience’s needs, evaluations becoming quantitative, disregarding the market requirements in the process of evaluation and doubtfulness and pessimism towards MOOCs. Conclusions: Based on the results of the present study, considering the contextual conditions and planning in the field of strengthening and its optimal preparation, as conditions affecting all the components and factors involved in the design of MOOCs in higher education; universities and higher education institutions should invest in the development of a culture that seeks to discover, invent, innovate, and create curricula based on MOOCs in order to establish a knowledge-based structure; expand the scope of MOOC-based curricula in academic settings through teamwork question and answer sessions between students and faculty, group discussions, and the formation of workshops and seminars in collaboration with other institutions and higher education centers.
