This study considers the interaction between an e-learning system, the Blackboard system, and the students who use it in Saudi Arabia. While previous work exists, there is limited consideration of the assessment of the preferences of e-learning system usability variables based on students’ perspectives, especially in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. This paper attempts to fill the gap by investigating the relative importance of the design criteria developed for e-learning system usability evaluation from the students’ perspective in Saudi tertiary education. Based on reviewed literature, a set of usability principles was developed that have had an influence in the students’ learning process and use of the e-learning system. The list includes system navigation, system learnability, visual design, information quality, instructional assessment and system interactivity. An exploratory study was carried out to identify the most important usability design characteristics from a student’s perspective and then evaluate the overall usability of the current e-learning system, based on this subset. A quantitative approach was adopted to weigh usability design characteristics, based on 181 learners’ perceptions. The sample consists of undergraduates who are users of a web-based e-learning system in a university in Saudi Arabia. The research instrument was tested for construct validity and reliability. The analysed results have shown that information quality is the most important dimension followed by the navigation of the e-learning system. The study has also revealed that the system learnability and visual design came third and fourth in order of importance of e-learning system usability assessment. Finally, the least important design categories that influenced the e-learning system usability assessment were instructional assessment and system interactivity. The empirical results of this study may help to provide insights for designers and evaluators leading to a more effective approach to improve the usability and uptake of the e-learning system.

This article presents an empirical study on the perceptions of university students toward the development of the teaching practicum, using the CourseSites platform as a communication and support tool for their training. The opinions of the students were collected through a questionnaire. The sample consisted of 1500 students who were registered in the degrees of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education and Pedagogy (2008-2018). A descriptive, inferential and multi-level analysis was conducted, which confirmed that future teachers had activated their professional competences, as they had the chance to share their internship experiences with their faculty members and with their own classmates.

The article addresses the problem of gainful employment undertaken during full-time studies. It analyzes the importance of students’ motivations to work and the selected effects of combining studies and work. It refers to areas that have not yet been investigated by other researchers. The data used in the article come from the survey conducted by the author at the Faculty of Economics, at the University of Economics in Katowice through 2014-2017. The study revealed a strong relationship between the motivations to start work during studies and the following factors: the alignment of a chosen job to the field of study, the opportunity to develop new skills and competencies valued on the labor market, the willingness to continue working for the same employer after graduation, and an employer’s intention to employ a student after graduation. Another connection was identified between the character of the work performed by students and their readiness to change if given another opportunity. The relationship, albeit relatively weak, was also confirmed between the character of the work performed and difficulties experienced by students with combining work with studies and the ability to maintain a balance between time assigned to studying, work and leisure.

Despite its well-documented benefits for training a wide range of professionals, including teacher candidates in almost all content areas, the incorporation of service-learning into foreign language teacher education is relatively new, and most research only dealt with narrative accounts of non-work-related charitable activities. Consequently, this study sought to investigate the impact of the 20-hour peer-tutoring project on the teaching beliefs, community service attitudes, personal and professional development of 14 Turkish EFL teacher candidates. A comparison between their pre- and post-service metaphors revealed a conceptual shift not only in their teaching perspectives from the behaviorist to constructivist paradigm for knowledge acquisition, but also in their community partnership approaches from the unidirectional to reciprocal pattern of altruism towards their tutees. The classification of their written reflections into six types of significant learning demonstrated that despite a relatively greater focus on expressing their foundational knowledge and application practices, a more balanced distribution of learning gains was achieved between the two overarching spheres of academic learning and personal growth, when coursework engagement and multimodal reflections were co-implemented. They reported developing effective teacher dispositions, interpersonal skills and social responsibility, valued intrinsic rewards for their contributions to the youth well-being, and also appreciated the informal professional learning opportunities the peer-tutoring service offered, though without establishing their own learning agendas.

Young pupils engage with technology daily, however, the use that preschool teachers make of technologies and their level of digital expertise are largely unknown. The objective of this study was to determine how these teachers make use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and the frequency with which they use them, as well as to explore the sociodemographic and professional factors related to the different uses. 477 preschool teachers from Spain took part in a survey. The questionnaire, validated by experts, covered the use of ICT as a teaching-learning tool. Three different analyses were carried out, a principal component analysis and a descriptive analysis to determine the type and intensity of use and a multivariate analysis of variance to explore their relationships with sociodemographic and professional variables. The findings defined eight distinct uses of ICT, which seemed to be related to different factors. Teachers did not employ these technologies openly and consistently in their classrooms, but instead used them for occasional tasks that were administrative and bureaucratic in nature. They manifest a limited ICT use for assessment of pupil and for communication and exchange of ideas, information and materials. Instead, ICT were widely used to prepare classroom work (planning, classroom posters…) and as classroom support as a learning tool (routines, games, to record audios…). Among the studied variables, the more significant were teaching experience and type of centre. We discuss the need to advocate for continuous and comprehensive training on the educational potential of these digital resources.

The purpose of the research was to identify whether the English language e-classes that are automated and delivered through the Smart Sender platform influence the students’ attendance and procrastination rates, their motivation, time management skills, cognitive processing speed, and satisfaction. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods to monitor students’ attendance and procrastination rates, motivation and engagement, time management skills, thinking speed, and satisfaction. The questionnaire on learning motivation, engagement, and competence, the time management skills test, the mental speed test, and the course satisfaction questionnaire were used to collect data. The focus group discussion questionnaire was used to obtain verbal feedback for the participants. The Smart Sender platform proved effective as an instructional tool for teaching the English Language to students majoring in Philology, International Business, and Law. The automated delivery of the English language e-classes was effective in addressing the issues of dropouts and procrastination in distance learning through automation of the lesson delivery based on the ‘push’ factor. It increased students’ motivation, improves time management skills, and satisfaction. The quantitative findings showed that the students experienced a positive change in attendance, motivation and learning engagement, time management skills, and thinking speed due to the intervention. The students perceived the automated delivery-based approach to language teaching positively. They reported that the delivery approach content met the participants’ expectations and needs. Focus group discussion revealed that the intervention changed their learning behaviour and strategies which were considered the improvements of the quality learning outcomes.

The mastery of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is very important for teachers in order to achieve qualified learning. Analyzing the mastery of TPACK by teachers in Indonesia seems to be imperative to provide baseline data to Indonesian government. This study aimed to examine the mastery of TPACK, in particular among biology teachers in terms of their teacher certification status, educational level, and academic background. This research involved 68 biology teachers obtained through proportional random sampling in five districts of Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia. The data collection was conducted through a multiple-choice test consisting of 33 items. The results showed that although the teacher’s mastery of TPACK was categorized as fair (60.13), it does not meet the work performance standards as a good teacher in Indonesia which has a minimum score of 76.00. Using Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis Tests (p< 0.05), the evidence revealed that the mastery of TPACK among biology teachers is likely influenced by the academic background, educational level, and teacher certification status.

The changes brought about in higher education by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic require effective action. Teachers must be trained to work on university platforms. The study allows us to analyse the current educational problems, which are found in many countries, not only in Ecuador. The research aimed to determine the virtual andragogical competencies of Ecuadorian university education during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed research approach was used. A quantitative analysis was applied first, followed by a qualitative analysis. The sample selection was participatory and non-probabilistic. The sample consisted of 1003 active higher education teachers in Ecuador. A questionnaire of 106 questions divided into four variables was applied. A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. The analyses demonstrated the need to apply four integral competencies. First the teacher must "Know how to be", through continuous ICT training. After the teacher has been trained, he/she must "Know". This process involves mastering educational technology. After updating knowledge, they must "Know how to live together". Develop critical and constructive communication. Then "Know how to do" by applying an effective guiding methodology. Teacher training under the competency-based approach is seen as a viable alternative.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic impacted various lines in the international world, including Indonesia. Pandemic COVID-19 in Indonesia has also changed multiple performances in multiple sectors, one of which is education. The concept of learning from home changes lecturers' paradigm as educators in tertiary institutions applying online learning. This study aims to identify students' perceptions of the implementation of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses a qualitative research approach with the type of phenomenology. The subject of this study was 22 students in Indonesia who experienced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research instrument uses semi-structured interview guidelines. Students perceive online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic as (1) ineffective learning activities; (2) unpleasant learning activities; (3) limit self-actualization in education; (4) helping to become an independent person in learning; and (5) fun learning activities. Higher Education should create innovative and creative online learning strategies. Thus, students have a high enthusiasm for online learning.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic changed education conditions worldwide forcing all the parties involved to adapt to a new system. This study aimed to collect information related to the effects of teaching English online on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ achievement. Data were collected from EFL teachers and students enrolled in three different Ecuadorian Universities (Technical University of Ambato, Higher Polytechnic School of Chimborazo, and University of Cuenca) from five different levels: A1, A2, B1, B1+, and B2. This preliminary paper reports the results of 480 students regarding four major sections: pedagogical practice and assessment, learning outcomes, affective factors and perceptions of students about the advantages and disadvantages of online learning during the pandemic COVID-19; considering the Hierarchy of online learning needs of Justin Shewell. An online survey questionnaire with 17 questions and a 5-point Likert scale was applied. The Cronbach's Alpha test presented 0.84 and 0.73 level of reliability. The Kolmogorov Smirnov’s statistic and, the Kendall's Tau_b tests, and the Levene's test for homogeneity of variances were performed with the SPSS statistical program. The results made evident that online learning affects academic achievement in EFL students during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was confirmed after analyzing four main areas: pedagogical practices and assessment, learning outcomes, affective factors and students’ perceptions about the advantages and disadvantages of online learning. The importance of online learning was highlighted since it has been understood as a tool to face the emergency produced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research delved into the assessment of integrating Learning Management System as an aid in teaching. Data were collected from 26 students at Rizal Technological University-College of Education, Philippines, through pretest-posttest quasi-experimental and normative survey design of research. Data were statistically tested using the frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test for dependent and independent samples, and paired t-test. Results of the research indicate that the respondents have optimistic attitudes towards the integration of learning management system in teaching. The respondents performed poorly in the pretest examination but performed very satisfactorily in the posttest examination. Furthermore, the research found out that there is no significant difference between the performances of the experimental group and control group in pretest and posttest, moreover, there is a significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group and the pretest and posttest scores of the control group.

The onset of the Coronavirus disease COVID-19 crisis has forced pedagogical institutes to adopt online teaching/learning as an urgent strategy to cope with the pandemic. Utilizing the theories of social capital, knowledge sharing, and mobile learning constructs, this research aims to investigate the association among these constructs in one of the higher education institutes in the context of developing countries. Additionally, to improve our understanding of the mediation effect of mobile learning on this relationship, the author used the structural equation modeling technique to analyze the data from questionnaires administered to undergraduate students attending classes during the pandemic. Results revealed that the relationship between social capital factors and knowledge sharing is significantly positive. Results also showed that there is a partial mediation to back up the correlation of social capital factors and knowledge sharing.

Surveillance technology is more and more used in educational environments, which results in mass privacy violations of kids and, thus, the processing of huge amount of children’s data in the name of safety. Methodology used is doctrinal, since the focus of this research was given in the implementation of the legal doctrine of data protection law in the educational environments. More than that, the cases of Greece and France regarding the use of surveillance technologies in schools are carefully studied in this article. Privacy risks that both children and educators are exposed to are underlined. In these terms, this research paper focuses on the proper implementation of the European data protection framework and the role of Data Protection Authorities as control mechanisms, so that human rights risks from the perspective of privacy and data protection to be revealed, and the purposes of the use of such technologies to be evaluated. This study is limited in the legal examination of the European General Data Protection Regulation, and its implementation in the legal orders of Greece and France, and practice pertaining to the case studies of Greece and France respectively.

Online learning is an obligation in teaching and learning activities during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Game-based learning is a solution in improving student learning outcomes. This research aims to determine the level of acceptance of gamification in terms of Gamification quality (GQ), instructor characteristic (IC), and technology anxiety (TA). The target respondents were students taking information systems courses based on enterprises resources planning (ERP) Gamification. The sample used is a census. That is, the entire population is taken as a sample. A total of 93 students filled out the online questionnaire. Then, data analysis using Structural Equation Model - Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS). Student satisfaction (SS) and perceived ease of use (PEOUG) are the most influences. PEOUG is also the construct that has the most significant relationship impact, especially with the perceived usefulness (PUG). Meanwhile, two constructs do not significantly impact TA on PUG and PUG on Intention to use gamification (INTG). The obligation of students requires students to ignore the impact and function of gamification. The results of this research also show that technology acceptance model (TAM), the constructs IC, TA, and GQ have a positive effect on PEOUG. Then PUG and PEOUG can positively affect SS.

The article discusses the topical issue of a model of digital competencies for a future teacher. The analysis of the composition and structure of the most relevant models of digital competencies of a citizen and a modern teacher is carried out. In addition, the article reveals approaches to the formation of the content of digital competence, and provides the results of an empirical study, which consists in analyzing the results of a survey of practicing teachers and teacher-training students in order to identify the most demanded digital competencies of a future teacher. The article substantiates the authors’ content of the competence of a future teacher, a university student. The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical model of digital competence of a future teacher, taking into account the dynamic technologisation of the modern world and the peculiarities of Russian education, based on an analysis of approaches to determining the content of its digital competencies. According to the analysis of studies, the issue of teachers’ digital competence is not sufficiently disclosed. Numerous studies on digital competencies of a person, teacher, etc. do not fully solve the problem of assessing the digital competence of future teachers.

The delivery of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning to improve an individual’s competence and future career interests has become a critical scientific undertaking for teachers and researchers alike. A plethora of research has proposed various hands-on robotics activities built on constructivist theories, thereby facilitating the development of knowledge based on reality for scientific and non-scientific stakeholders. Robotics may become an essential focus point within technology provision, which is an essential underlying characteristic for the seminal development of computational thinking (CT). However, despite the potential benefit of CT in developing an individual’s problem-solving skills, strategies for improving this ability through hands-on robotics activities largely remain underexplored. This paper highlights the constructs drawn from hands-on robotics activities in a STEM workshop designed for pre-service teacher students. The qualitative research design involved eight participants to investigate the responses of pre-service teachers to a hands-on robotics activity intended to provide STEM material. The research findings emphasise the correlations between the CT principles and STEM learning phases and underscore the roles played by educational robotics to enhance previous literature on learning experience.

COVID-19 pandemic forces training for principals to be conducted online. This study aims to evaluate the context, input, process, response, study, behavior, and outcome to determine the effectiveness and make recommendations for training. The approach used in this study was a mixed method with a concurrent embedded design and a qualitative method as the main method. The subjects of this study were the principals, committees, and instructors. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and questionnaires and analyzed using Miles and Huberman's model, descriptive analysis, and a t-test. The results show that e-training is effective in context, input, and process. Response, learning, and attitude assessments prove that knowledge, skills, and attitude have improved. Participants will be able to implement the experience gained and impact school quality improvement. This study contributes to the combination of the two evaluation models proven to produce a complete result. The study for the e-training recommends needed assessment before the training, the activity before the training to acquire the skills in using the learning management system, and the monitoring and evaluation after the training.

Scientific literacy is a critical competency for people to take an essential role in science, technology, and social advancement. It is important to note that this competence is still a problem for most students worldwide. Therefore, this study analysed students' scientific literacy differences between a project-based learning flipped classroom (PjBL-FC) and a project-based learning (PjBL) class assisted by learning resources in wetlands environments. This quasi-experimental study used a non-equivalent control group design involving Class X Senior High School as the sample. The data were inferentially analysed by t-test. The results showed that the scientific literacy of students in the class that applied the PjBL-FC was better than those who applied only PjBL. Furthermore, all the indicators reach the high to very high category except the ability to propose a hypothesis, which is in the medium category. It was concluded that flipped classroom makes the PjBL take place more efficiently and effectively. Further studies can be carried out to determine how students use the learning materials, how teachers design the PjBL strategy in an online platform, their effect on scientific literacy, and how to combine PjBL with other approaches.

Under the influence of neo-liberalism and marketization, education is increasingly becoming more content-focused than character one. Ignoring the fact that money, science, and technology may take a person to the moon, these are ethical and moral values that take him/her to the even loftier heights of humanity. Recent COVID-19-driven focus on information and communication technology (ICT) and digital learning have further added to these woes by focusing more on human-machine interaction than human-human ones. Traditional models for inculcating these values through education which heavily rely on the physical presence of teachers do not seem to work in these circumstances. This demands a model for inculcating these values in learning management systems/ e-learning platforms. This study contributes in this regard by first identifying key players and factors, and then proposing a model for it. Using the Delphi model, it gathers opinions from 59 experts in two rounds. Academic institutions, society and online community members, teachers, and e-contents were identified as key factors and players. It suggests a holistic approach-based model through which all of them play their role and collaborate through an e-learning platform. That platform can be used to disseminate information, create awareness, monitor, and report the e-learners. It uses pull and push strategies to help the e-learners to develop those values.

‘Panic-gogy’ is a term that describes the educational situation during the pandemic due to the transformation phenomenon from face-to-face learning to distance learning. Various types of research are used to uncover the constraints of this phenomenon, but not many researchers use phenomenological studies with parents as participants. Therefore, we used a phenomenological study to describe parents’ views on the constraints, expectations, and approvals regarding the preparation of distance learning modules at the junior high school level (aged 13-15 years). Data collection was carried out using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using NVivo-12-assisted thematic analysis. The main findings are that most parents experience problems. Namely, children do not understand mathematics material, incomplete explanations of material from teachers, internet disturbances, and quota limitations, and children cannot learn mathematics optimally during the distance learning period. Most parents want face-to-face learning to be carried out immediately, teachers to provide detailed explanations, and use digital learning platforms. In addition, 85% of parents agree that mathematics teachers should develop distance learning modules. However, because the pandemic is still not over, this study recommends using blended learning to maintain the quality of mathematics learning.