Electronic learning- virtual
E. Akbari; T. Yazdinejad; R. Nazari; M. Tatari
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Blended learning is a pivotal concept within the realm of education, possessing immense significance. The advent of the coronavirus pandemic has underscored the critical importance of this educational approach. Essentially, blended learning has emerged as a potent solution ...
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Background and Objectives: Blended learning is a pivotal concept within the realm of education, possessing immense significance. The advent of the coronavirus pandemic has underscored the critical importance of this educational approach. Essentially, blended learning has emerged as a potent solution to address challenges and elevate the educational process. This study aims to delve into teachers' perceptions of diverse educational models, with a particular emphasis on blended learning. The participants under scrutiny are teachers who have traversed both electronic and blended learning methods due to the exigencies of the recent COVID-19 crisis. The research seeks to elucidate their preferences, efficacy assessments, interactions, engagement levels in the educational process, as well as their insights into the advantages and distinct characteristics of varying learning environments (including face-to-face, blended, and virtual).Methods: The research society encompassed all teachers spanning different educational tiers who engaged in e-learning/SHAD during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among this pool, a total of 964 teachers voluntarily elected to partake in the study. The data collection phase spanned a three-month duration and was executed via an online questionnaire. The Cronbach's alpha method was used to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire with a value of more than 0.69. To check the construct validity, the questionnaire was administered to three university experts and three specialists from the Ministry of Education. After considering their feedback and necessary adjustments, the final questionnaire was formulated. The research team meticulously crafted the questionnaire, drawing insights from pertinent literature and analogous survey instruments. Subsequently, the survey instrument was digitized using Google Forms. Employing a meticulously designed 5-point Likert scale, the respondents were tasked with evaluating statements that ranged from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" concerning face-to-face, blended, and virtual learning modalities. Furthermore, the participants were prompted to evaluate their experiences with traditional in-person learning preceding the pandemic and their encounters with online learning during the pandemic. Notably, the teachers were also solicited to express their proclivities for a particular learning approach and to prognosticate the learning model that might optimally serve students in the post-pandemic era. The ensuing data was subjected to rigorous analysis employing the SPSS22 statistical software, with the benchmark for statistical significance set at P < 0.05.Findings: Teachers, upon contemplation, considered blended learning as a potent educational facilitator, extolling its distinctive attributes. They derived satisfaction from the enriched learning environment it furnished and accentuated its inherently interactive nature. Concurrently, educators also acknowledged the corollary augmentation in workload and financial outlays that come hand in hand with blended instruction. Pertaining to their preferences for learning methodologies, the conventional face-to-face training garnered the highest average rank value, standing at 2.37. This outcome denotes its unequivocal preference. Blended learning occupied the subsequent position with a score of 2.22, trailed by virtual training with a score of 1.41. In the context of assessing the efficacy of blended learning and gauging active participation in the pedagogical process, the t-values conspicuously fell below 1.96. Furthermore, the significance levels corresponding to these variables unequivocally fell below the 0.05 threshold.
Education technology - higher education
F. Bahrami; M. Nazarzadeh Zare
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Institutions usually bring the technologies they need from their surrounding environments into the organization. Therefore, a university as one of the important social institutions, under the influence of the electronic revolution and the emergence of new technologies in its ...
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Background and Objectives: Institutions usually bring the technologies they need from their surrounding environments into the organization. Therefore, a university as one of the important social institutions, under the influence of the electronic revolution and the emergence of new technologies in its surrounding environment, has moved towards the use of multimedia systems and electronic education; however, the use of electronic education, despite countless opportunities, has also brought major problems and challenges, some of which have been mentioned in previous studies, including the lack of face-to-face communication and interaction between the educator and the learner. Hence, the solution offered in e-learning to face this problem is the blended learning approach. Studies have shown that various factors such as educational, environmental, institutional, and organizational factors are effective in applying blended learning, and not paying attention to any of them can cause the failure of this type of teaching and learning. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of institutional factors on the use of blended learning by the faculty members of Malayer University.Methods: The present study was applied research in terms of purpose, cross-sectional in terms of time, and in terms of method of collecting the required data, it adopted a descriptive-correlation design using structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the present study included all the faculty members of Malayer University with the number of 153 people. Due to the limited size of the research community, all faculty members were tested, and finally, 140 faculty members participated in the study with a return rate of 92%. The tools of data collection were questionnaires of institutional factors and blended learning. For data analysis, descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean) and inferential (correlation test and path analysis) methods were used in SPSS version 22 and Smart PLS version 6 statistical software.Findings: The findings obtained from the statistical analysis of the data indicated a positive and significant impact of the normative factor with a path coefficient (0.151) on the use of blended learning by the faculty members, and the mimetic factor with a path coefficient (0.413) on the use of blended learning by faculty members, and the coercive factor with a path coefficient (0.362) had an impact on the use of blended learning by faculty members. Also, the measurement and fit indices of the model indicated its appropriateness.Conclusion: Overall, the study showed that institutional factors (normative factors, coercive factors, and mimetic factors) have a great impact on the use of blended learning by faculty members. Hence, considering the following suggestions can help to institutionalize the use of blended learning in the academic context, namely the establishment of regulations and internal laws regarding the use of blended learning in the teaching-learning process at universities, more culturalization in the use of blended learning in the teaching-learning process by faculty members, imitating successful universities and institutions in the field of implementing blended learning, training faculty members on how to apply blended learning in teaching, encouraging more faculty members to use blended learning, and finally considering more educational privileges for the use of blended learning in teaching by faculty members.
Educational Technology Psychology
F.Z. Naeemi Hoseyni; H. Zare; M. Hormozi; M.H. Kaveh; F. Shaghagi
Abstract
Maintaining students’ academic motivation and satisfaction influence their academic achievement. The main purpose of the study is to determine the effects of blended learning on students’ academic motivation and satisfaction. This is a quasi-experimental study and a total of 34 psychology ...
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Maintaining students’ academic motivation and satisfaction influence their academic achievement. The main purpose of the study is to determine the effects of blended learning on students’ academic motivation and satisfaction. This is a quasi-experimental study and a total of 34 psychology juniors at Tehran Payame-Noor University, who had enrolled in the "Psychopathology 1" course for the first time, were selected as the sample group. Eighteen students participated in the blended learning program and sixteen students participated in the lecture-based program. Classes were randomly divided into the intervention and control groups. Students’ motivation was measured by the short form of Mc Inerney and Sinclaire school motivation questionnaire (1372) and their satisfaction was determined by direct multiple choice questions after instructional programs. The same questions were used for both groups in pre-test and post-test stages. Statistical analysis was done by Mann-Whitney test, Wilcoxon test and t-test. It was shown that in comparison to lecture-based instruction, blended learning increased students’ academic motivation (p<0. 001) and satisfaction (p<0.001).
