Online learning predictors of mental health in third-level students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland

Objective COVID-19 forced third-level students to transition to online learning (OL). Many students encountered issues with OL, such as accessibility. However, the relationship between OL issues and mental health during this time remains poorly understood. Participants: Third-level students in Ireland (N = 268) completed an online questionnaire examining experiences with OL and mental health during COVID-19. Methods: OL social, lecturer, accessibility, individual skills, and environment issues, were entered into logistic regression analyses to examine whether these variables predicted mental health outcomes and/or preference to keep OL. Results: Students reporting more individual skills issues were more likely to attain a probable diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder, complex posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression (p < 0.0083); students who reported more environment issues were less likely to report preference to keep OL (p < 0.0005). Conclusions: Given individual skills issues associated with worse mental health, future research should examine improving student perceptions of their own OL skills.

Exploring the factors influencing academic learning performance using online learning systems

-Online learning has become vital and fundamental for learning success in higher education institutions to cope with various learning methodologies or crises such as COVID-19. Therefore, this study investigates factors influencing the academic learning performance among diploma and bachelor's degree students who utilize online e-learning systems in Jordan. Using a conceptual model developed from an extensive previous literature review, the study used a quantitative research methodology to collect data via survey questionnaires. Using PLS-SEM, the empirical analysis of 846 questionnaires collected from Jordanian students demonstrates that task-technology fit and students' satisfaction positively influence learning performance and contribute significantly to student academic success using online learning systems. While the quality of system, service, and information are critical determinants of task-technology fit, student interaction, and instructor interaction are critical determinants of student satisfaction. The study highlights the importance of user-friendly interfaces, effective communication channels, collaboration, and positive learning environments. The findings provide practical insights for universities, online learning system designers, administrators, and instructors to enhance student-learning outcomes. Additionally, system providers can use these findings to address essential successful tools and features needed to create effective and efficient online learning environments. This study highlights practical implications that support higher education institutions' efforts to enhance their online e-learning systems quality and improve student-learning outcomes while helping system providers address essential successful tools and features needed.

Exploring Factors Affecting Graduate Students' Satisfaction toward E-Learning in the Era of the COVID-19 Crisis

BACKGROUND

Shifting the educational system from a traditional to an online context during COVID-19 necessitated several considerations to assure students' satisfaction with e-learning.

AIM

This study aims to explore the factors influencing students' satisfaction with e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis. In particular, it tests multiple mediations, student factors, and system quality between students' satisfaction and each course evaluation and instructor's performance.

METHODOLOGY

In this cross-sectional study, 258 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in online courses at multiple Malaysian universities were recruited using non-probabilistic purposive sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire that assessed four factors that influenced students' satisfaction with e-learning during the COVID-19 crisis (i.e., instructor performance, course evaluation, student factors, and system quality) and analyzed using the partial least squares route structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

RESULTS

The results indicated that the four factors were significantly associated with students' satisfaction with e-learning during COVID-19. Student factors and system quality were the most factors predicting students' satisfaction with e-learning. Findings indicate statistically significant relationships between the instructor's performance, student factors, course evaluation, and system quality on students' satisfaction. Furthermore, the results depict that both course evaluation and system quality serially mediate the relationship between instructors' performance and students' satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

This study finds that improving and enhancing student factors and system quality is critical for students' satisfaction with e-learning. Furthermore, e-learning platforms should contain new advances of computer-mediated technologies that enable collaboration, which is a critical factor in the success of e-learning systems.

Measuring Learner Satisfaction of an Adaptive Learning System

Tertiary educational institutions have continually implemented various educational technologies to support student learning. An example is adaptive learning systems, within which learners take ownership of their learning experience and accelerate future learning. Despite the importance of considering learner satisfaction in the development of such systems given how it has been widely acknowledged as an indication of the success of e-learning systems, research in the area of adaptive learning technologies for education has concentrated more on tailoring instruction to implement personalised learning. A review of instruments measuring learner satisfaction of virtual learning environments found that the learner satisfaction questionnaire (LSQ) that was developed to measure learner satisfaction of e-learning systems, and preliminarily validated by means of exploratory factor analysis, was most suitable for adaptation. This study sought to adapt and validate the LSQ for the purpose of measuring learner satisfaction of an adaptive learning system developed in-house. A total of 121 tertiary students recruited via availability sampling took part in this study. Hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis was performed as part of the validation. Results presented the adapted LSQ as a 14-item instrument that can be readily deployed on a broad scale basis. The adapted LSQ also yielded valid and reliable satisfaction scores both at the subscale as well as the overall scale level. Practical implications are discussed, noting that such scores could inform the further development and refinement of AdLeS or similar systems, with the view of benefiting students.

Relationship between medical students' perceived instructor role and their approaches to using online learning technologies in a cloud-based virtual classroom

BACKGROUND

Students can take different approaches to using online learning technologies: deep and surface. It is important to understand the relationship between instructor role and student approaches to using online learning technologies in online learning settings supported by cloud computing techniques.

METHODS

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the relationships between medical students' perceptions of instructor role (instructor support, instructor-student interaction, and instructor innovation) and students' approaches to using online learning technologies in cloud-based virtual classrooms. A 25-item online questionnaire along with a sheet with basic demographic was administered to all medical students at Qilu Medical Schools of Shandong University China. Overall, 213 of 4000 medical students (5.34%) at the medical school participated in the survey.

RESULTS

The results showed high levels of medical students' perceived instructor support, instructor-student interaction and instructor innovation. Most students adopted the deep approaches to using online learning technologies. Instructor support, instructor-student interaction and innovation were positively related to students' deep approaches to using online learning technologies. Instructor support was negatively related to students' surface approaches to using online learning technologies.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between instructor role (instructor support, instructor-student interaction and instructor innovation) and students' approaches to using online learning technologies highlight the importance of instructor support and innovation in facilitating students' adoption of desirable approaches to learning from the application of technologies.

Constructing radical community: an ecological model for shifting from an EdD to a We-dD in online doctoral programs

Online learning is often associated with the alone together paradox that suggests that online students are constantly connected to one another yet feel more alone due to a lack of real social connection. While research has approached this issue from an environmental perspective, some scholars have recently suggested that aspects of online students' complex ecologies, beyond the online program, may also influence the degree students engage socially. This phenomenological study explores the experiences of 10 students enrolled in an online doctoral program in education. In-depth interviews were conducted to discuss how various ecological systems affect students' ability to socially connect in the online program, revealing students reporting feeling apart, but together, rather than alone together. This study encourages online doctoral programs and researchers to take an ecological approach, as opposed to an environmental one, in order to construct a more thorough understanding of the online doctoral student experience.

Factors in Evaluating Online Learning in Higher Education in the Era of a New Normal Derived from an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Based Survey in South Korea

Before COVID-19, online learning in higher education was more of a choice than a requirement. The majority of universities in South Korea are currently not utilizing an evaluation index tailored specifically to online courses and are instead using the traditional in-person class evaluation standards. The study, hence, examines the factors that could be used to evaluate the quality of online learning in higher education taking place due to the COVID-19 pandemic from the point of views of the main subjects of online education: e-learning system administrators, instructors, and students. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to determine the relative importance of factors in evaluating online learning. The conclusions derived from this research can be used as foundational material for evaluation factors of online learning in higher education.

The university students' self-regulated effort, flexibility and satisfaction in distance education

Distance education offers flexible learning opportunities in terms of time, place and learning speed to teachers and students through internet technologies. However, the learning opportunities provided in distance education environments require students to act more autonomously and take more responsibility for regulating their learning processes to achieve their learning goals. For this reason, it is crucial to reveal the relationships between flexibility, self-regulated effort and satisfaction factors to provide efficient and effective learning environments in distance education. Accordingly, within the scope of this study, it is aimed to investigate university students' perceptions of flexibility, self-regulated effort and satisfaction with the distance education process, and their views on distance education. Survey research was used as the research method in the study. The study sample consisted of 1760 university students studying at 28 different universities. Data were analysed using t-test, ANOVA, and regression methods. As a result of the study, male students were more satisfied with distance education than female students, and education faculty students had the highest level of satisfaction. In addition, self-regulated effort and flexibility variables were significant factors affecting students' satisfaction towards distance education. Furthermore, the advantages and problems of distance education and suggestions for future distance learning environments were presented in the light of students views. Finally, the study's implications and various recommendations for practitioners and researchers were discussed in detail.

Investigating the mediating role of online learning motivation in the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Bangladesh

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of online learning motivation (OLM) in the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Bangladesh by observing and comparing direct lectures (DL), instructor-learner interaction (ILI), learner-learner interaction (LLI), and internet self-efficacy (ISE) as predictors of OLM and online learning satisfaction (OLS). Data were collected from 442 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 35 universities in Bangladesh. To test the hypotheses, the PLS-SEM approach was applied using SmartPLS 3.0. The study shows a significant mediating role of OLM between the independent variables and learning satisfaction. In addition, DL, ILI, and ISE are shown to be significant predictors of student satisfaction. The findings have a number of valuable implications for education policy makers, universities, instructors, and students. Moreover, the study suggests some new research perspectives to overcome the limitations of this research and to gain precise knowledge on students' learning motivation and satisfaction regarding other online classes for different categories of students (e.g., high school and college, professional, and PhD).

Online learning for undergraduate health professional education during COVID-19: Jordanian medical students' attitudes and perceptions

Background

The popularity of online learning has increased tremendously in response to the needs of students amid outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. Few studies have concentrated on the learner's perspectives involved with the transition from traditional to online learning. The aim of this study was to assess students' attitudes towards online learning as well as the perceived preparedness and barriers.

Methods

A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational web-based survey design was used to recruit eligible participants from five Jordanian government universities. A Facebook-based campaign and snowball sampling approach were used to recruit potential survey participants.

Results

The results show that 1,210 medical college students decided to take part in this online survey. Students' attitudes and perceived preparedness for online learning were moderate, while perceived barriers were high. This study revealed a connection between students' attitudes toward online learning and their gender, major, living area, college level, and prior experience. The main obstacles to online learning were an unstable Internet connection, a lack of motivation, and a lack of instructions.

Conclusion

The majority of students had mixed feelings about online learning and were largely supportive of conventional classroom learning. Students were pessimistic about their chances of learning professional skills and core competencies online. More research is required to determine whether students are ready and able to make greater use of online education in order to access high-quality learning opportunities.

Evaluating online learning engagement of nursing students

BACKGROUND

Previous studies suggest that increased learning satisfaction may encourage learning engagement in an online learning environment.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the level of learning engagement and its relationship with students' perceived learning satisfaction in an online clinical nursing elective course.

DESIGN

A prospective interventional study.

SETTINGS

A nursing course was converted to an online format because of the coronavirus disease COVID pandemic.

PARTICIPANTS

Part-time post-registration nursing undergraduates enrolled in an elective online clinical course.

METHODS

Related teaching and learning strategies were deployed in the course using the Community of Inquiry framework. All students who completed the course were invited to complete an online survey that included a validated Online Student Engagement questionnaire (OSE). Pearson's correlations were used to determine the association between perceived learning satisfaction and learning engagement. A logistic regression model was used to explore the associations of gender, age, working experience and perceived learning satisfaction with higher learning engagement.

RESULTS

The questionnaires were completed by 56 of 68 students (82%). The Pearson's correlation coefficient between the mean perceived learning satisfaction and OSE scores was 0.75 (p < .001). Twenty-five students (45%) were identified as highly engaged, using a cut-off of ≥3.5 for the mean OSE score. The mean perceived learning satisfaction (SD) score differed significantly between highly engaged and not highly engaged students [4.02 (0.49) vs. 3.27 (0.62), p < .001]. The logistic regression model showed that a greater perceived learning satisfaction [adjusted odds ratio (OR): 17.2, 95% C.I.: 3.46-86.0, p = .001] was associated with an increased likelihood of higher learning engagement, and >1 year of working experience (adjusted OR: 0.11, 95% C.I.: 0.01-0.89, p = .0039) was associated with a decreased likelihood of higher learning engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings suggest that perceived learning satisfaction predicts learning engagement among nursing students in this online learning course.

How Do University Students' Perceptions of the Instructor's Role Influence Their Learning Outcomes and Satisfaction in Cloud-Based Virtual Classrooms During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

This study examined the relationships between the role of the instructor and university students’ learning outcomes in cloud-based classrooms during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The results of an online survey of 7,210 university students in mainland China revealed that the students’ perceived learning outcomes and learning satisfaction were positively related to instructor innovation and negatively related to instructor performance. Instructional support was positively related to the students’ perceived learning outcomes but not directly related to their learning satisfaction. The students’ academic self-efficacy mediated the influence of instructional support and instructor innovation on their perceived learning outcomes and learning satisfaction. The results contribute to knowledge of the role instructors play in facilitating students’ learning outcomes in higher education and suggest ways to improve the learning environment and learning outcomes, especially in cloud-based virtual classrooms.

How higher education students in Egypt perceived online learning engagement and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to examine the influence of academic self-efficacy, perceived usefulness of online learning systems, and teaching presence on student engagement (behavioural, emotional, and cognitive engagement) and student satisfaction with online learning. Data were collected from undergraduate students who experienced a fully online learning process during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Based on social cognitive theory, the relationships among the personal and environmental influences on student behaviour and outcomes were examined using structural equation modelling. The results indicated that academic self-efficacy had significant direct relationships with behavioural engagement and emotional engagement, while perceived usefulness significantly influenced emotional engagement and cognitive engagement. Furthermore, teaching presence significantly influenced all engagement dimensions. Student satisfaction was significantly and directly influenced by behavioural engagement and emotional engagement, but not by cognitive engagement. Finally, the mediation role of each engagement dimension is proven in this study. This study was conducted in Egypt; thus, it contributes to add an empirical evidence regarding online student engagement and satisfaction in the context of a developing country.

Online Teaching Experience during the COVID-19 in Pakistan: Pedagogy–Technology Balance and Student Engagement

This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of university teachers who participated in online teaching for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative method of data collection and inductive thematic analysis were used. The data were collected through a semistructured interview from 11 faculty members who teach in various universities in Pakistan. The analysis presented five themes of the online teaching experience: culture and gender-related issues, teaching effectiveness, challenges in online teaching, coping strategies, and faculty’s’ post-COVID-19 perceptions. The findings reflect that the faculty prioritized to focus on immediate online instructional matters in the wake of the pandemic with a lack of emphasis on global practices for online learning. Experienced and young faculty reported disparities in striking a balance between pedagogy and technology. Moreover, despite the limitations, the experience itself prepared the faculty for a blended learning approach and increased their awareness of global and future challenges. The implications were reported based on the findings.

Indicators of satisfaction in clickers-aided EFL class

How to identify whether students are satisfied with clickers-aided EFL class might be largely a mystery for most researchers since satisfaction is deeply hidden in human psychology which is subtle and intangible. This study, by using bivariate correlation analysis and structural equation modeling, survey scales claimed both valid and internally consistent, and data collected from randomly selected 227 participants, explored the indicators of satisfaction in clickers-aided EFL class, together with gender differences in the indicators. It was concluded that satisfaction was positively correlated with interaction, self-efficacy and self-regulation in clickers-aided EFL class without statistically significant gender differences. Furthermore, interaction, self-efficacy and self-regulation were mutually and significantly correlated. Although indicators of satisfaction might not be limited to these three factors, the findings should be helpful to future researchers who desire to determine whether users are satisfied with the polling technology. Then teachers could decide what teaching style and contents should be adopted. In order to satisfy users of clickers, future lecturing might be designed to promote peer interaction, self-efficacy and self-regulation.