In 2020, many organizations moved their formal training programs to an online learning context due to COVID-19. Informal learning, which refers to activities that are self-guided and occur independently outside of formal learning contexts has gained significant interest among researchers and practitioners in the past two decades as it has been…

This study explores the experience of Generation X women who play casual video games on mobile devices (e. g., smartphones and tablets), and draws connections to learning and literacy, particularly in the areas of New Literacies, the New Literacy Studies, and semiotic literacy. Data was gathered from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five…

Engagement with online media among learners is closely linked to language proficiency and cultural comprehension, offering a platform for enhancing English language skills. This has given rise to the field of online informal learning of English (OILE), with numerous studies exploring learners' habits in this domain and indicating positive impacts…

This study investigates whether demographics, L2 enjoyment, L2 anxiety, psychological well-being, or informal digital learning of English (IDLE) affect willingness to communicate in L2 (L2 WTC) at trait or state levels. Across two weeks, 16 Hong Kong EFL students completed pre-and post-trait-level surveys and generated 1,120 state-level responses…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe university students' motivations for using Facebook as an informal learning tool and explore the key barriers that may inhibit learning on the social media platform. Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach was adopted in this study. Participants were 82 university students who…

Despite the continued use of social media in educational contexts, there remains skepticism about whether platforms like Twitter can actually contribute to learning. In this paper, we argue that such skepticism is based on an overly narrow conception of learning that focuses on academic performance and disregards other manifestations. To advance…

Micro-credentialing is unique because it spans epistemological paradigms, theoretical frameworks, and research methodologies in every academic discipline. Micro-credentialing and related technologies promote formal, non-formal, and informal learning among global adult learners through public-domain Open Educational Resources (OER) and other online…

Informal digital learning of English (IDLE) is an increasingly important subfield of inquiry in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) for its concentration on the language learning practices of the digital native EFL students in out-of-class contexts. Attention in mainstream research of IDLE has been directed to (meta)cognition, learning…

Research suggests that students' personalized digital English language practices beyond the classroom can support subsequent in-school academic language development (Alm, 2021). The purpose of this study was to understand the out-of-school and in-school language experiences that bilingual Mexican students identified as supporting their English…

Minoritized communities, including Black and African American, Hispanic and Indigenous populations have remained historically underrepresented in STEM careers due to persistent challenges in the STEM pipeline. The STEM pipeline has struggled to retain minoritized students in their journeys to pursue STEM degrees and careers due to systemic racism,…

As individuals face the challenge of rapidly changing and increasingly diversified study and work environments, online higher education (OHE) has become a mainstream solution for pre-service teachers and working professionals. Both universities and students have had to navigate connected, collaborative and globally networked learning scenarios.…

This paper provides theoretical reflections and recommendations for implementing smart learning spaces in schools. Learning resource networks are enlarging students' opportunities for exploring alternative formal, non-formal and informal education, in physical and virtual learning spaces, inside and outside traditional classrooms. Smart Pedagogy…

Although the Education sector has pioneered the use of technology, the pace of technological change has outstripped the slower processes of theoretical development and critical reflection, so the field is highly fragmented and lacks a comprehensive evidence base to support future development. In this paper, we consider how the insights offered by…

Despite years of recruitment efforts, women remain significantly underrepresented throughout engineering. While research into precollege engineering education has expanded, it has primarily focused on formal learning settings, even though students spend significantly more time outside of the classroom. The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything,…

The purpose of this study was to reveal the views of shareholders on utilization of educational technologies in informal education institutions. A total of 10 people including 5 officers and 5 course attendees who were selected via convenience sampling which is one of purposeful sampling methods, participated in this study using qualitative…