Social work programs are preparing professionals to respond to natural disasters and global pandemics when they arise. However, literature on the learning experiences of students in the social work classroom with synchronous instruction during a natural disaster or global pandemic is limited, as is documentation of the experiences of social work…

There has been an increase in research regarding experiences within virtual education. However, little attention has been given to the middle level context. Through a theoretical lens grounded in stage-environment fit theory, this phenomenological case study describes the lived experiences of two middle level virtual learners as they engage in an…

Educational technology evolves constantly, in line with the innovative technologies we implement, but always catering for the improvement of teaching and learning. For this, Smart Learning Environments (SLE) emerge as an optimal alternative to traditional teaching as, through ergonomics, an inclusive outlook which is bound to enhance the…

Over the past decade we have seen a rise in the adoption and proliferation of social technologies, and along with these a move to build on the capacity to embrace new pedagogies and practices that can open our boundaries for both teaching and learning. How do we determine what we mean by space specifically in online environments and how can we…

The use of a virtual learning environment is increasingly gaining popularity with universities among students and instructors. VLEs is said to increase flexibility and promote independent learning. However, the pedagogical effects and the contribution of instructors in student's experience of cognitive active learning in these online classrooms is…

To date, few general chemistry laboratory studies have included affective measures despite calls for more research on aspects of this domain. This shortage of studies may be partially due to the scarcity of affective measures that have been designed for, or tested in, the college laboratory setting. To provide measures for use in this environment,…

Emotions are part of human life, and they are present on several occasions, like decision making and in social interactions. Computational identification of emotions in texts can be useful in many applications, especially in distance learning courses. This research introduces an animated pedagogic agent, integrated to a Moodle virtual learning…

The science learning environment is an important factor in students' attitudes toward their science experiences in school, as well as toward science courses. This study compares how learning in different laboratory environments (hands-on or virtual) influences these attitudes for middle school (7th grade) students. Participants were 143…

This paper examines the differences and challenges encountered when trying to create informal blended (virtual and hands-on) engineering design STEM activities. It contrasts the creation of STEM activities for formal and informal learning environments, stressing that the differences extend far beyond the length of the activity or depth of any…

Web2.0 platforms are allowed to implement worlds completely virtual through technological devices, where the user has the ability to be anywhere anytime and can do almost anything you can imagine. These worlds allow to rediscover the senses through the use of technology. The virtual space can be used to bring students and teachers to this space…

In recent years, the use of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) has risen exponentially throughout higher education in the UK. Whilst TEL is an umbrella term for a range of technologies, evidence suggests that in the UK, TEL is usually delivered via the medium of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) for the provision of lecture materials and…

Interactive learning tools are emerging as effective educational materials in the area of computer science and engineering. It is a research domain that is rapidly expanding because of its positive impacts on motivating and improving students' performance during the learning process. This paper introduces an interactive learning environment for…

Technology is causing our world to change quickly. As a result, there has been a push to teach 21st century skills. This shift has caused school districts to increase expectations of teachers to use digital technologies to help student learning. To prepare teachers for the instructional shift, schools have increased opportunities for professional…

This exploratory investigation examined the transformation of a traditional summer reading intervention (SRI) to synchronous virtual format in response to school closures due to COVID-19. Goals were to adapt and describe the adaptation of the in-person intervention to the virtual environment, examine program outcomes, and understand tutor and…

Over the last 15 years, the subject of feedback on assessment has come under considerable scrutiny in the literature, with a particular focus on the utility of feedback for subsequent assessment (i.e. feed-forward). Organisations such as the Higher Education Academy (HEA) have synthesised research on this topic into guidance for tutors through the…