Gamification
R. Tohand; M. Alinejad; B. Daneshmand
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The gamification approach is one of the newest and most attractive developments in recent years, which has been effective in various fields, including education. This approach attracted the attention of its audience by creating excitement and interaction. Gamification means ...
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Background and Objectives: The gamification approach is one of the newest and most attractive developments in recent years, which has been effective in various fields, including education. This approach attracted the attention of its audience by creating excitement and interaction. Gamification means the application of game elements and components in a non-game situation, which, according to an attractive and predetermined process, considers certain goals. The gamification approach with the effectiveness of the curriculum created a dynamic and interactive environment for the learners and improved their educational and learning status in a suitable context. This research was conducted with the aim of identifying the experiences of experts in connection with the application of the elements of the gamification approach in the higher education curriculum.Methods: This qualitative research was conducted using a phenomenological (descriptive) approach in the year 1401. In this study, a deep question was posed to experts to obtain their experiences, and if necessary, elements of the gamification approach were explained for the interviewees to express their experiences related to them. The participants included experts from across the country who were involved in education, research, the production of electronic content for higher education systems related to gamification. Based on targeted sampling and snowball technique, 18 participants were identified at the national level. The interviews, which lasted for one hour each, continued until theoretical saturation was reached. After conducting and recording the interviews, they were transcribed full. The transcriptions were then reviewed multiple times, comparing the text with the audio, and subsequently subjected to a coding and analysis system.Findings: Based on the experts' experiences, the elements of gamification approach that can be employed in higher education curriculum were as follows: Create excitement (presenting engaging content, using active teaching methods, behavioral cues, competitions and questionnaires, adventure and avoiding repetition), Create partnership and interaction (instructor with learners, utilizing virtual space, through content and among learners), Create competition (group competitions, time constraints, individual competitions, and lottery-based competitions), Create motivation (creative techniques, fostering intrinsic motivation, fostering extrinsic motivation, motivational statements), Provide feedback (appropriate feedback for effort, qualitative feedback, immediate feedback after the test), Scoring (opportunity for remediation, progress bar, irregular scoring, and role determination), Rewarding (giving rewards, types of incentives, designing certificates, and awarding them), Create challenge (by posing questions and using tools), Determining rules and regulations (setting multidimensional goals for the lesson and announcing them at the beginning of the term, drawing a roadmap by the teacher, and sweet penalty) and Leveling (leveling the content and progressing step by step from easy to difficult, from concrete to abstract, from known to unknown).Conclusion: The gamification approach has elements that, by implementing it in the curriculum of higher education, could lead to the attractiveness and dynamism of teaching and facilitate the learning process. Therefore, it is possible to use the experiences of the experts of the gamification approach in the educational process to change the class from a dry and boring teacher-centered atmosphere, go out and use the elements of the gamification approach to move towards inclusiveness and make the learning process attractive, enjoyable and lasting. This approach has paid special attention to the audience and their interests and considered the participation and interaction of learners to put learning in a happy, attractive, active and effective process.
Technology-based learning environments
E. Mirzaei; M. Alinejad; B. Daneshmand
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Electronic learning is one of the characteristics of educational courses in this century. In all training courses, especially in virtual learning environments, interaction can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the training process. Also, the careful and thoughtful ...
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Background and Objectives: Electronic learning is one of the characteristics of educational courses in this century. In all training courses, especially in virtual learning environments, interaction can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the training process. Also, the careful and thoughtful design of various interactions in the virtual learning environment develops existing capacities to strengthen electronic education programs and increases the quality of learning. Therefore, considering the importance of interactions in the virtual learning environment, the present research aimed to explain the elements of the higher education curriculum (goals, content, teaching-learning activities and evaluation methods) based on the types of educational interactions in the virtual learning environment and by providing solutions It helped the teachers to organize effective e-learning courses.Methods: This research was a descriptive and applied study. The statistical population of the research included the faculty members of Shahid Bahnar, Farhangian and Medical Sciences Universities of Kerman; according to Morgan's table, 297 people were selected as the statistical sample using quota sampling method. To collect research data, a researcher-made questionnaire tool was used, and its validity and reliability were determined as 0.86 and 0.92, respectively. To analyze the research data, one-sample t-test, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations were used, and SPSS23 and AMOS23 software were used. The measurement model was estimated using structural equation modeling.Findings: The results showed that some categories effectively would create and increase educational interactions in the curriculum elements based on the types of interactions in the virtual learning environment. The effective categories in the element of objectives included teachers' attention to educational interactions, paying attention to educational interactions at the ministry level, realism in objectives, and comprehensiveness of objectives. The effective categories in the content element included students' participation in the preparation of electronic content, ease of access to content, use of interactive content, polling of students, a compilation of course content in accordance with the latest scientific findings, preparation of interactive content by professors, Digital Library Update, and interactions between professors. The effective categories in the element of teaching-learning activities included participatory teaching methods, use of social networks, use of tools such as chat rooms, providing feedback, awareness of the need for interaction, encouraging students to seek information from various sources, sharing their previous experiences, networking among students and various information sources, sharing the latest scientific achievements in the field among fellow professors. The effective categories in the element of evaluation methods included process-oriented evaluation, assigning a part of the grade for individual or teamwork and class participation, evaluation of each student's individual work by her classmates, and critique of other students' opinions. Also, the results showed that the elements of the higher education curriculum based on the types of educational interactions in the virtual learning environment were related to each other. The results showed that the factor analysis model had a suitable fit for the design of the desired model and this model could be used in the higher education curriculum to create and increase various types of educational interactions in the virtual learning environment.Conclusion: In general, the results of this research indicated that the creation and increase of educational interactions in electronic education could improve the quality of education. Therefore, it is recommended that designers, faculty members, planners, managers and in general curators use the model proposed in the current research IN E-learning courses.
Educational Technology - Blended Learning
A. Ghofrani; F. Narenji thani; M. A. Shahhoseini; Kh. Abili; J. Pourkarimi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Blended learning approach uses a face-to-face learning environment with the capacities of an electronic environment. This approach has attracted the attention of researchers for more than 15 years due to the significant advantages it brings by compensating for the disadvantages ...
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Background and Objectives: Blended learning approach uses a face-to-face learning environment with the capacities of an electronic environment. This approach has attracted the attention of researchers for more than 15 years due to the significant advantages it brings by compensating for the disadvantages of both face-to-face and e-learning environments. However, today, after the spread of the epidemic of Covid-19 in the world, it has become a necessary choice not only for researchers but also for managers and business owners, including educational systems. Therefore, researchers worldwide are increasingly trying to provide the best ways to benefit from the advantages of face-to-face and e-learning approaches in the form of blended learning models for the educational system, including universities. Therefore, the current research was conducted to explain the dimensions and components of the model of the blended teaching-learning system in the university.Methods: The qualitative research method was grounded theory and of emergent type. The research field included 15 university instructors selected through purposeful sampling based on predetermined criteria. The selection criteria of experts included "member of e-learning association and more than five years of active presence in this field" and "authors of outstanding scientific works and operational experience in e-learning". In order to collect the findings, a semi-structured interview was used and continued until theoretical saturation. Then, the findings were analyzed using the content analysis method in three stages open, axial and selective coding. Finally, the validity of the research findings was evaluated using Lincoln and Guba's four criteria, including credibility, confirmability, transferability, and reliability; its reliability was checked by re-coding and two coders.Findings: The results of the analysis of the findings led to the identification of 219 key phrases, then in the form of 29 principal components including change management, support from senior management, strategic plan, action plan, attracting, developing, retaining, technical resources, financial and physical resources, information and knowledge resources, teaching strategies and scenario writing, interaction, educational package, evaluation of students, required beliefs and attitudes for stakeholders, required skills for stakeholders, required knowledge for stakeholders, common attitudes, shared values, common meanings and concepts, psychological support, process and pedagogical support, technical support , intra-university communication, extra-university communication, evaluation, monitoring, protection of intellectual property, respect for privacy were categorized and finally 11 factors including transformational leadership, planning, human capital management, resource provision, teaching-learning process management, required competencies stakeholders, culture-building regarding new approaches, support system for main and internal stakeholders, internal and external university communication, university assessment and quality assurance system, and ethical considerations were obtained in order to implement a blended approach in the university.Conclusion: The results of this research can be a practical guide for senior managers of universities and higher education institutions in order to implement the blended learning approach in the said institutions, especially first-level universities; in this way, they can keep themselves aligned with the latest changes, especially the new developments in the approaches of the teaching-learning system, and have an effective performance in the direction of educating students with the qualifications and competencies required for the society, and turn the threat of using the electronic environment into an opportunity to transform educational approaches and establish a blended learning system using the online environment.
e-learning
M. Abedini baltork; E. Salehi omran; N. Kolbadinezhad
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Massive open online courses as one of the latest educational technologies have caused fundamental and quality changes to educational processes at the level of different universities and it's expanding rapidly. Mooc entails an online learning environment that is considered as ...
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Background and Objectives: Massive open online courses as one of the latest educational technologies have caused fundamental and quality changes to educational processes at the level of different universities and it's expanding rapidly. Mooc entails an online learning environment that is considered as the latest revolution in online education and learning. These comprehensive learning courses have provided many people with access to knowledge that was not easy in the past. Mooc is a course aimed at highly interactive participation and open access via the Internet. Despite the importance of this issue, there is still no standard scale to measure Mooc-based Curriculum, so the current research was conducted with the aim of building and validating a curriculum scale based on Mooc in higher education.Methods: The research design is mixed method and the research method in the qualitative part is document review. In this regard, qualitative data was first collected and analyzed, then based on the qualitative results obtained, quantitative data was collected and analyzed and then the results of the quantitative part were used to better explain the qualitative findings. The statistical population also included Iranian and foreign sources in the field of virtual, electronic and Mooc education. In order to access texts and articles related to Persian and English keywords, curriculum, Mooc, virtual education, e-learning, online courses which are indexed in many internal electronic resources and electronic sources abroad were used to extract the latest sources related to the current research. Therefore, from 2000 to 2019, available and rich sources were studied in line with the current research and using the theme analysis method, 62 inclusive themes, 7 organizers and one comprehensive theme were discovered. The research method was quantitative, descriptive-survey and the statistical population consisted of 386 faculty members of University of Mazandaran. According to Morgan sampling table and based on relative stratified sampling, 181 people were selected as the sample. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire in the quantitative part, the content validity of which was 0.83 and the reliability was based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient and above 0.92. The research instrument was the Mooc curriculum scale with 7 subscales and 46 items on a five-point Likert scale.Findings: The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that Mooc-based curriculum includes managerial, technological, manpower issues, goal, content, teaching-learning strategies and evaluation. The values of TLI and CFI indices were at the desired level and higher than the cut-off point of 0.90. Therefore, the factor model had a good fit with the data.Conclusion: Since Mooc is a course that aims for a lot of interactive participation and free access through the Internet and is considered as a source for learning and training, it can be said that this method has many more attractions than the traditional methods. On the other hand, nowadays, the existence of numerous unreliable sources of information on the Internet has become a big challenge for people, and access to websites can help those who are looking for information, because its content is prepared by reputable institutions and it is easy to understand whether the source is reliable or not.
Educational Technology
Sh. Bakhshaliizade; K. Fathi Vajargah; M. Arefi; A.R. Kiamanesh
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Third Mellenium World is a world that is faced with rapid scientific, cultural, and technological change. Increasing access to education services at higher education levels has resulted in admission of students with personal differences to higher education institutes. The change ...
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Background and Objectives: Third Mellenium World is a world that is faced with rapid scientific, cultural, and technological change. Increasing access to education services at higher education levels has resulted in admission of students with personal differences to higher education institutes. The change in the higher education context is associated with a change in the roles and responsibilities of faculty members. Therefore, in order to fulfill their duties and take their responsibilities, it is necessary for faculty members to deploy their understanding, knowledge, and skills in different areas and improve them in accordance with the changes that occur in the society and deploy the teaching-learning approaches to take these differences into consideration. This study is aimed at identifying the qualifications required for becoming a faculty member at higher education institutes on the basis of their roles and responsibilities. Materials: This study is a Basic Qualitative research with a pragmatic and epistemological, interpretive / constructivist approach. First, the documents related to the teaching qualifications in higher education were collected. Then, in order to understand the views and experiences of the Iranian universities’ faculty members, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 14 faculty members were conducted. The documents were described in a qualitative Metasynthesis approach in terms of concepts and themes in a deductive manner within the research context and on the basis of a theoretical framework, and, then, they were analyzed along with the concepts and themes identified in the interviews in an interpretive (deductive and inductive) manner and in the last stage, the concepts and themes were inductively integrated and interpreted and line-by-line coding in MAXQDA 10 was used to analyze the documents and interviews. Findings: In this study, 349 semantic units (open codes), 32 categories and 9 themes (competencies) were extracted which are as follows: Competencies related to: futurology (futurism, risk-taking, entreprenuership), professional ethics ( no abuse of powere, observing students’ boundary, attending with readiness, assuming responsibility for educating the community and observing professionalism), personal competencies (personal identity, ethics and personal behavior, being up-to-date, problem-solving ability and thinking skills), interpersonal-social competencies (cultural identity, effective communication skills, role modeling, patnership and cooperation), organizational competencies (organizational identity, familiarity with objectives and missions of the organization, familiarity with roles including offering services competencies, research competenceies, education competencies, management competencies (self-management, leadership, occupational management, resource management, teaching-learning management, preparation and learning environment management, research management, education-research guidance, planning and organization), practical competencies ( the ability to connect science and practice, effectiveness), writing competencies (knowledge of language and academic writing), and competencies related to acceptability in the communities of practice (scientific community approval. Conclusion: Analysis of the findings showed differences between competencies identified among faculty members in Iran and outside Iran. 10 out of 14 interviewees pointed out abuse of others’ scientific abilities and abuse of power by some faculty members in their own professional condition which probably indicates the need to emphasize this principle in the Iranian higher education society whereas foreign documents mostly emphasized technology. Not mentioning this issue in the interviews by most professors may indicate that some faculty members in Iran are not still amiliar with this concept. The competencies identified in this research can be used to make informed decisions and to determine the required content for the development programs of the candidates intending to cooperate with the higher education institutes as faculty member.
E-Lerning
M. Farazkish; Gh. Montazer
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The current generation of academic learners is considered "digital natives" because of their ease of use and familiarity with networking technologies; However, there are ambiguities about the readiness of students to study in an e-learning environment. In particular, Iranian ...
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Background and Objectives: The current generation of academic learners is considered "digital natives" because of their ease of use and familiarity with networking technologies; However, there are ambiguities about the readiness of students to study in an e-learning environment. In particular, Iranian students' lack of motivation for e-learning, despite much infrastructure investment over the past two decades, has been a major challenge that has recently attracted the attention of higher education planners to e-learning readiness, especially from a perceptual perspective. This study investigated the perceptual readiness level of Iranian students for e-learning. Therefore, the current state of perceptual readiness of Iranian students to participate in the e-learning environment beyond the presumption of "existence" or "lack" of this preparation is such that their actual readiness is determined in a number of important universities. Methods: This research is philosophically placed in the positivism paradigm and the logic of deductive reasoning is used. Its macro-targeting is applied, and the survey research strategy is used to collect first-hand data using a questionnaire tool. The survey data were collected between April 2018 and February 2019. In addition, two complementary approaches have been used to formulate and weigh the indicators and criteria for assessing students' e-learning readiness: first, the use of indicators and criteria developed in previous research, and second, and the use of subject matter experts in the country. The use of data from other researches makes it possible to compare the results with the findings of other researchers, and the use of expert opinion causes the localization of indicators and criteria with the requirements and context of higher education in the country. The students' perceptual readiness was measured by the following four scales: Attitude, Perceived usefulness, Willingness and Perceived self-efficacy; Then, the weight of each scale and measure will be calculated. Finally, based on the rating results, the students' perceptual readiness at the number of comprehensive universities and specialized universities will be estimated. Findings: The average perceptual readiness of students for e-learning in 15 selected Iranian universities is 4.9 out of 10, which indicates the situation at the "average" level. Also, the findings show that about 35% of the students' readiness measures are below the "good" level, and the average of all readiness measures is at the "medium" level. Also, considering students' relative perceptual readiness for e-learning, especially in "perceived self-efficacy" and "attitudes" scales, the deans of universities should focus on the two main activities of "enhancing students' self-efficacy through e-learning" and "providing an appropriate e-learning environment”. Conclusion: Considering the decrease in the number of e-learning Iranian students, the results of this study show that one of the important reasons for the failure of e-learning systems in Iranian universities can be students' lack of perceptual readiness. At the same time, considering the lower than average level of students' readiness in the "willingness" and "perceived usefulness" scales, there is a need to focus on awareness and education of students in this regard. Besides, relying on students 'relative readiness to understand self-efficacy and attitude indicators, universities should put two main activities on their agenda: 1) further strengthening students' self-efficacy through e-learning, and 2) providing a suitable environment. For e-learning for students.
Emerging Technologies
F. Davari; M. Vahidi-Asl; P. Alikhani; M. RezaeiZadeh
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Oral presentation is a key competence for success in the diverse work environments that academics need. It is recommended as part of a higher education curriculum. The role of technology in improving oral presentation skills and especially facilitating feedback, is significant. ...
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Background and Objectives: Oral presentation is a key competence for success in the diverse work environments that academics need. It is recommended as part of a higher education curriculum. The role of technology in improving oral presentation skills and especially facilitating feedback, is significant. In particular, the combination of serious game and virtual reality is a new area of research that is a modern alternative to traditional skills training. The interactive digital environment, real-time feedback, the realism of the learning scenario, the direct experience, and the persistence of the knowledge gained are some of the virtual reality opportunities for skills training. It should not be overlooked that insufficient budget, negative attitude of users about their physical and psychological condition after experiencing virtual reality, and poor technological design of virtual reality environments are also among the limitations of this technology. However, recent meta-analyzes confirm the influence of virtual reality in learning environments. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to measure the impact of virtual reality on a serious game with the serious purpose of oral presentation training. Methods: We designed and developed an SG and conducted a quasi-experimental study with a post-test on 32 graduate students. The research question we sought to answer was “to what extent can VR impact the effectiveness of SGs in oral presentation training?” The authors also analyzed the cost-effectiveness of incorporating VR elements. The game focused on three key skills, eye contact, walking around while presenting, and time management. The experimental group played the game with the HTC Vive VR system and the control group played the same game with an HD display, a keyboard, and a mouse. In addition to that, we collected in-game data while players were playing the game. Mann-Whitney U test and Student's t-test were used to compare the two groups. Findings: Results revealed that VR elements did not have a significant impact on the demonstration of the players' eye contact skills but they increased players' tendency to walk around the virtual environment. Analysis of players’ performance regarding time management skills showed no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: It is concluded that even though playing the serious game with an HD display, a keyboard, and a mouse can be effective, turning the game into a VR experience would result in further improvement in the demonstration of some of the presentation key skills (walking around while presenting). However, creating a VR experience requires developers to spend more time and resources into developing the game. According to researchers, creating a VR SG for improving oral presentation skills allows for training to be done in the context that it occurs within. Moreover, the VR SG can be effectively used to overcome public presentation nerves. Also, due to the challenging economic situations outside the university and the need to benefit from communication skills and oral presentation, a serious game based on virtual reality can improve the indicators of oral presentation. Achieving this requires higher education attention to interactive technologies such as virtual reality.
Modern Educational Approaches
M. Baradaran; M. Taghibaygi; A.H. Alibaygi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Metacognition as an individual's knowledge about how to learn in agricultural higher education centers should be taken into consideration because the familiarity with metacognitive topics and its role in the process of teaching learning in agricultural higher education centers ...
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Background and Objectives: Metacognition as an individual's knowledge about how to learn in agricultural higher education centers should be taken into consideration because the familiarity with metacognitive topics and its role in the process of teaching learning in agricultural higher education centers is an attempt on the part of the educators to take an effective step so that they can play an influential role in the effectiveness of the country's agricultural higher education system. The education that is based on metacognition leads to lifelong learning in the learners in a way that cultivating such a trait in agricultural students leads to curiosity, responsibility, and the flourishing of creativity in them. In fact, by using the right methods of learning and studying (metacognition), agricultural learners and students can learn the material that is related to their field of study better and more easily. Methods: The present applied research was a kind of descriptive survey method. The statistical population of the study were the faculty members of Agriculture at Shahid Chamran University (N = 82) and the faculty members of Khuzestan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (N = 85) from which all the information was collected. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that in the first stage of its design, due to consultation with the research team and based on the theoretical foundations, the most important components of higher education and agriculture were identified. After determining these components, the criteria for each componentwere identified based on the theoretical foundations. The markers were identified during three Delphi stages through conducting interviews with 15 metacognitive experts. The method of selecting experts was in the form of snowballs. In the first stage, based on a review of the theoretical foundations and the viewpoints of the experts (in the form of open-ended questions and interviews), the indicators were identified for the main components related to metacognition. In the second stage of Delphi, a new questionnaire was prepared based on the Likert scale of five sections. After collecting the second stage questionnaires and analyzing the answers, the items with an average of 3.33 and above that were confirmed. The approved items were used to design the third stage questionnaire and to indicate the agreement or the disagreement of the experts. Having done the date analysis, those indicators with which 66% and above were finally approved. Findings: The results showed that the agricultural higher education system of Khuzestan province is in an unsuitable level in terms of all components of metacognition except educational planning and educational environment. Examination of the current situation of agricultural higher education based on the identified indicators showed that in the components of the curiculum, education management and inservice training courses, planning, evaluation, educational environment and teaching based on the amount of one-sample t-test, there is a significant difference between the real value and the assumed value. The course has two criteria of participation and justification that the value of the t-test showed that there is a significant difference between the two real and assumed values. The component of education management and in-service training courses has two criteria of empowerment and justification and the t- test shows a significant difference between the real and the assumed value. The evaluation component has two criteria of participation and performance that the value of the t-test showed that there is a significant difference between the two real and assumed values. The component of the educational environment also has two criteria of motivation, facilitation- interaction in a way that the value of the t-test in all these three criteria shows a significant difference between the amounts of the two real and assumed values. The teaching component has three criteria, namely before teaching, during teaching, and after teaching. The value of the t-test shows a significant difference between the two real and the assumed values. The results of the F-test show that there is a significant difference between at the level of 0.001 between the academic rank of the respondents at the level of 0.005 and between the field of study of the faculty members in terms of performing the tasks that are related to metacognition. Conclusion. In the components of the curriculum, education management and inservice training courses, educational evaluation, instructor or teaching duties, educational planning and learning environment, the current situation is not at an appropriate level. This means that the various indicators of metacognition are not properly observed in these components. Given the importance of these components in agricultural higher education in order to achieve its macro goals and vision, the system should be reviewed and revised based on the indicators that are of significance and priority. It is necessary for the policymakers and planners of agricultural higher education to consider the indicators related to the main components of the system which have been identified in this research in planning and designing the educational programs. The Policymakers and planners are advised to change the educational system in a way that the dominant atmosphere in the classrooms would be participatory and cooperative and the content of the books be adjusted in such a way that critical thinking as a strategy of deep learning can be facilitated.
Education technology - higher education
A.M. Ahmadvand; H. Nasiri; F. NasrollahiNia; A. Mahjoubian
Abstract
Background and Objective:Nowadays, information technology, has affected the production, distribution, and use of knowledge-based processes. Among other things, the Internet of Things as a network of objects connected to each other can bring new capacities in all fields. The aim of the present research ...
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Background and Objective:Nowadays, information technology, has affected the production, distribution, and use of knowledge-based processes. Among other things, the Internet of Things as a network of objects connected to each other can bring new capacities in all fields. The aim of the present research is to examine the opportunities and challenges that the Internet of Things can have in relation to the higher education system. The concept of connecting devices and objects to each other is a new development on the Internet; anything anywhere can connect to the Internet and be "smart". Connected devices can communicate with each other and share information, then this information can be processed and lead to making decisions. This concept is called the "Internet of Things (IOT)." The wide range of applications of IOT has enabled educational environments at all levels to benefit from it. In terms of the role of IoT in higher education, this domain includes energy storage, monitoring the health and safety of students, optimizing the physical envriornment of the campus and classrooms, as well as enabling students to attend remotely. The main point that seems to differentiate IOT from other past technologies is that older methods cover a limited range of areas of higher education. With the use of various IOT tools, all these tools and facilities can be made intelligent and use for educational, research and service providing purposes. The aim of this study is to investigate the role and function of the IOT in the processes of knowledge production, transmission and application in higher education system. Methods: For this purpose, the systematic approach and the Chelkland SSM method were used. By refer to several internal and external scientific information databases, 25 related articles were identified. Then, without any sampling, all of these articles were studied by the researchers and their contents are divided into four categories: the introduction of the internet of things, the role of the internet of things in educational functions, the opportunities of the internet of things for higher education and the challenges of the internet of things in higher education, and they were organized in the dimensions of the input, process and output of the higher education system. Findings: The findings of the research indicate that the internet of things, by providing advanced information services, provides a flexible and measurable system for academic community that can be used to personalize training and reinforcement of learning, better management of educational processes, and more effective logistic management etc. The use of the internet of things will also challenge higher education, which violation of privacy, security issues, and rising costs are some of these challenges. Conclusion: In the present study, an attempt was made to introduce IOT and its opportunities and challenges for higher education system by reviewing the related literature. IOT is a technology that covers a wide range of applications in the university, from classrooms to laboratories, colleges and parking lots, and more. Within the system, IOT can be used to support the higher education chain and facilitate communication between input, output, and the process, and facilitate monitoring, control, and management of the university's system. In other words, the IOT operates communication center for the university system. In the dimension of higher education and university process, the IOT can be effective in student interaction and participation, evaluation, mental and physical health, classroom management, satisfaction, attendance, time saving as well as faculty management, energy saving, information searching, improving security in the university environment, providing real learning, personal growth and development for both the university instructors and the students, and so on. Of course, as mentioned, the use of this technology has cetain challenges. These challenges include security and privacy risks, high costs, connection to the Internet, scalability, self-organization and acceptance, etce. But despite this, experts generally see the future of this technology as more practical and important than it is now.
E-Lerning
F. Rahmani; H. Ahmadi; E. Ghanbari; S.M. Khorasani Kiasari
Abstract
Background and Objective E-learning is a method of teaching that uses a combination of information and communication technology capabilities to facilitate and improve learning. The combination of these facilities provides opportunities for the learner to access the course and curriculum at any time, ...
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Background and Objective E-learning is a method of teaching that uses a combination of information and communication technology capabilities to facilitate and improve learning. The combination of these facilities provides opportunities for the learner to access the course and curriculum at any time, in accordance with their job and family commitments. The ability to access tools, the ability to choose the time and place of training, and the availability of different content formats in this environment put the learner in a position to make a variety of choices. In this environment, the learner can use different tools to communicate with classmates, teachers and other people at the same time and at the same time. Implementing quality and sustainable e-learning programs requires understanding the requirements for establishing and developing e-learning systems. Designing, setting up and maintaining e-learning environments requires a variety of knowledge and skills in the technical, educational and managerial fields. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and rank the effective factors in developing e- learning in higher education. In this study, the effective factors in developing e- learning in higher education were identified in terms of measuring factors of e-learning development including organizational, social, technical and human factors, based on previous studies and the opinion of experts. Methods: Statistical methods were used to test and confirm the research hypotheses and fuzzy AHP ranking method was used to rank the indicators. To this purpose two questionnaires were prepared. The first one is for evaluating the accuracy of the research hypotheses and the second one, a pairwise questionnaire, is for rating the indicators. The statistical population of the research is all students and professors of electronic unit of Islamic Azad University in academic year of 2016-2017. The statistical sample size was considered 384 individuals based on Cochran formula; and was selected through the random sampling method. The questionnaires were distributed among 384 individuals from which, 84 questionnaires were omitted due to different reasons such as wrong answers to the questions and the lack of enough time, and 300 questionnaires were accepted. Findings: A list of 8 indicators (student characteristics, teacher characteristics, content quality, structure management, training process, software infrastructure, hardware infrastructure, university image) is extracted based on technical, human, social, and organizational factors to evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning. The results showed that the introduced scale was a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating the effectiveness of e-learning. Conclusion: The results show that student characteristics are more important while software infrastructure is considered as the second influential factor in this regard. Also, the characteristics of the instructor, the quality of the content, the management of the structure, the infrastructure of the hardware, the teaching process and the image of the university were ranked third to eighth, respectively
Distance Learning
A. Mosavi; H. Kaviani
Abstract
Background and Objective:Higher education has faced many challenges and issues during the last two decades, among which we can mention the following: inability to produce theoretical knowledge and use of basic and theoretical knowledge produced in other countries. Of the world, the inapplicability of ...
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Background and Objective:Higher education has faced many challenges and issues during the last two decades, among which we can mention the following: inability to produce theoretical knowledge and use of basic and theoretical knowledge produced in other countries. Of the world, the inapplicability of university education, the lack of an inappropriate relationship between the university and other social sectors, neglecting research functions and services in universities, the problem of multiple decision centers and the existence of multiple trustees on the one hand, and the excalating growth of students and applicants to universities and institutions of higher education, the slight expansion of the higher education system regardless of the existing capacity and economic, social and cultural capacity of the community to accept university graduates, reduced financial resources and pressure from society For responsibility and accountability on the other hand; the higher education system needs to maintain and improve the quality of higher education to meet these challenges. To succeed in this, all the functions of higher education in general must be considered comprehensively. In this regard, one of the measures that higher education deliberates to answer its problems was technology-based education, including distance education and distance learning. Considering the contradiction in the findings of the studies conducted on the effectiveness of distance education methods, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of distance education in higher education. Methods: The research method is based on secondary analysis and meta-analysis. The statistical population consists of all quasi-experimental studies which have already been conducted on the effectiveness of various types of distance education in higher education in Iran. The whole census was used for sampling. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 79 studies were identified as the sample size.To collect the data, a researcher-made worksheet was employed in three sections: bibliographicaldata, methodological data, and findings. To analyze the data, the effect size index and the homogeneity test were performed using CMA-Version 2.0 statistical software. Findings:The research findings indicated that all of distance education methods in higher education of Iran were effective, but this effectiveness was moderate (ES =0.526, P <0.01); the area under the normal curve, the average implementation of distance education is 69% more effective than traditional methods. In addition, the meta-regression of the effect of year on the results of research showed that with an increase in the implementation of distance education methods, .07%was added to the effectiveness of these methods. In other words, the implementation of distance education methods in higher education will become more effective over time. Conclusion: Considering that the study of moderating variables was not one of the objectives of this study, it is recommended that in future research, the impact of these components on the results of the study be examined to determine the impact of these components to explain and control the results.
Education technology - higher education
A. Zamani; M. Pouratashi; S. Ghajarbeigi
Abstract
Background and Objective:One of the activities in the field of branding is brand management, which tries to create value for the brand with accurate and principled policy and timely planning, and then, in order to lead changes for striving to develop and improve it. The university brand succeeds when ...
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Background and Objective:One of the activities in the field of branding is brand management, which tries to create value for the brand with accurate and principled policy and timely planning, and then, in order to lead changes for striving to develop and improve it. The university brand succeeds when higher education administrators and policymakers in the higher education sector have an understanding of the intangible assets of the university and the higher education system and the university brand. In this regard, it is necessary to have strategic planning for brand management of the university, which means that first by defining the mission statement and vision of the university, the goals are well and accurately and clearly defined. Then, based on the evaluation of the internal and external environment of the university, it adopted strategies to achieve the desired university brand. And by using careful monitoring at each stage, the necessary feedback should be given to the university administrators regarding the extent to which the goal has been achieved. In other words, an accurate brand must be chosen for each university, and when it is managed in a comprehensive and integrated manner, it is a valuable asset. Brand identity of university and a positive image is an important part of what is now considered by many universities around the world. Therefore, this research aimed to study brand management in higher education and to study brand equity to attract scientific talent. Methods: The population of this study included all faculty members at public universities in Tehran and random sampling method was used for data collection. To collect data, a questionnaire was used whose validity and reliability were confirmed by professors’ views and calculating Cronbach's alpha. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used by SPSS; and structural equation modeling was used by LISREL. Findings: The results indicated that the university brand identity and brand equity affects attracting scientific talents and the highest path coefficient among the research variables is "brand identity" (0.88). Conclusion: Now that universities in our country are gradually moving towards competing with each other to attract scientific talents and attract the best people, they should try to increase their brand and mental image in the society and among the elites and develop the strategic university brand identity in prospective document of the university. As the credible identity of the university stems from its perceived success and credibility, which can include the overall brand of the university or its various sub-brands, such as the brand of campuses, faculties, associations and scientific groups, and sports teams. In fact the role of brand identity is effective in the marketing and success of the university as well as the public policy perspective of the university.
Electronic learning- virtual
Kh. Mirzaei; H. Saadi; S.H. Movahedmohamadi; R. Movahedi
Abstract
Background and Objectives:E-learning is the newest form of distance learning and is called an approach to curriculum planning in which, in addition to using inclusive methods, computer tools and the Internet are used. The first generation of e-learning, or web-based learning programs, focused on providing ...
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Background and Objectives:E-learning is the newest form of distance learning and is called an approach to curriculum planning in which, in addition to using inclusive methods, computer tools and the Internet are used. The first generation of e-learning, or web-based learning programs, focused on providing physical classes based on educational content and the Internet. Today, many universities and educational institutions around the world have stepped in to design and offer e-learning programs and courses to meet the growing demand for education. One of the desirable features that can play an important role in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of this type of training is the personalization of the learning environment according to the characteristics of learners. This adaptation is in order for the user to be able to benefit from the learning content and other services of the system according to their goals, knowledge and preferences, and the system, instead of treating everyone equally, treats everyone according to its own characteristics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective factors of e-learning adoption in agricultural higher education universities of Iran and to determine the most effective structures on the acceptance of this technology by the faculty members and graduate students. This research was performed to measure the acceptance using survey and the multivariate statistical technique of path analyses. Method and Materials: Statistical population of this research consisted of faculty members and postgraduate students in Iran’s higher agricultural education centers. Total Cronbach Alpha of the questionnaire, for the reliability of the 68 items of the questionnaire, was 88.5 % that is an acceptable figure which demonstrates the high reliability of the questionnaire. In total, 646 questionnaires were collected from 4 universities (Tehran University, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hormozgan University and Torbat Heydariyeh University). After multivariate statistical analysis ‘Path analysis’ and through calculating Beta Coefficients for different routes, the importance of each path was determined. Findings: The results showed that if members of the faculty and postgraduate students of higher education of agriculture in Iran get this reflection that the use of e-learning to carry out their educational activities is useful and reliable at higher agricultural education centers, even those people are not consistent with their subjective norms and have risks, they will continue to use e-learning. From the perspective of the respondents, e-learning is a safe and appropriate education. Therefore, possible risks in such training in virtual environments does not affect their attitude towards this type of training. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be said that if faculty members and graduate students of agricultural higher education in Iran come to the mentality that using e-learning to carry out their educational activities in agricultural higher education centers is "beneficial" as well as "reliable”, even if it is not compatible with their "mental norm" and has a "perceived risk", they will still use e-learning.
Mobile learning
M. Dehghani; S. Rahimi; O. Amrollah
Abstract
In M-learning, learning takes place in natural environments and educational messages are transmitted electronically. Hence, the purpose of this study was investigating the level of application and usefulness of mobile learning (devices and applications) among university students. It is a descriptive ...
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In M-learning, learning takes place in natural environments and educational messages are transmitted electronically. Hence, the purpose of this study was investigating the level of application and usefulness of mobile learning (devices and applications) among university students. It is a descriptive quantitative study. The population included graduate students of Educational Sciences, Mechanical Engineering and Architecture of University of Tehran; and Hygiene of Iran University. 268 students were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were gathered by a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire with 21 items. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and one sample t-test, Anova and Scheffe test. The results of data analysis showed that familiarity, application and utility of the tools and applications of mobile learning are slightly lower than the mean among students. Students’ familiarity and application of mobile learning were found to be significantly different. The greatest difference was found to be between students of educational sciences and architecture. No significant difference was found between the students considering the efficacy of mobile learning. It can be concluded that university students of different majors use mobile learning (devices and applications) differently based on their field of study.
Information literacy
A. Zahed Babelan; S. Rajabi
Abstract
The present study attempted to investigate the information literacy of students at Mohaghegh Ardabili University. The original pool for the study included 400 male and female students (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior). The selection was made based on multi-stage sampling in 2010. The study is ...
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The present study attempted to investigate the information literacy of students at Mohaghegh Ardabili University. The original pool for the study included 400 male and female students (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior). The selection was made based on multi-stage sampling in 2010. The study is a survey and the data have been collected based on 22 indices falling under five standards observed in "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" (ACRL, 2000) and a questionnaire constructed by the researcher. The findings demonstrated that the information of students stood above the average in terms of the five standards mentioned. The results obtained from a MANOVA test run showed a statistically significant difference between males and females regarding the variable in focus. The difference appeared to be statistically different among freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The difference, however, did not reach statistical difference among the students of Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Technology, and Engineering.
