Would It Be Better if Instructors Technically Adjust Their Image or Voice in Online Courses? Impact of the Way of Instructor Presence on Online Learning

Instructors' presence in instructional videos: A systematic review

The discussion about how to present instructors in instructional videos has become a hot topic in recent years. This systematic review explores how the instructors' presence affects affective, cognitive, and social aspects of learning in different conditions and with different video types. The review analyses 41 empirical studies indexed in Web of Science, ERIC, Scopus, and Education Source research databases from 2014 to 2022. The results indicated that (i) many instructor-present videos were in picture-in-picture format and included direct gaze as a social cue, (ii) learners had positive feelings for instructor-present videos, (iii) the on-screen instructor could not be beneficial for gathering positive learning outcomes, but social and attentional cues provided by the on-screen instructor could foster learning, and (iv) findings regarding the social aspect of learning were inconclusive. This study also emphasizes the need for further studies to clearly explore the role of the instructor in different learning conditions.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10639-022-11532-4.

Exploring the effects of achievement emotions on online learning outcomes: A systematic review

Recently, achievement emotions have attracted much scholarly attention since these emotions could play a pivotal role in online learning outcomes. Despite the importance of achievement emotions in online education, very few studies have been committed to a systematic review of their effects on online learning outcomes. This study aimed to systematically review studies examining the effects of achievement emotions on online learning outcomes in terms of motivation, performance, satisfaction, engagement, and achievement. According to the selection process of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) principles, a total of 23 publications were included in this review. It was concluded that positive achievement emotions, such as enjoyment, pride, and relaxation, could generally exert a positive effect on online learning motivation, performance, engagement, satisfaction, and achievement. It should be noted that excessive positive emotions might be detrimental to online learning outcomes. On the other hand, it has been difficult to determine the effects of negative achievement emotions on online learning outcomes because of disagreement on the effects of negative achievement emotions. In order to improve online learners' learning outcomes, instructors should implement interventions that help online learners control and regulate their achievement emotions. Teaching interventions, technological interventions, and treatment interventions could benefit online learners emotionally and academically. Future studies could examine the moderating roles of contextual factors and individual variables in the effects of achievement emotions on online learning outcomes.