bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vietnam Law on Property Haddling After Land Exception - Regulations and Some Recommendations
Authors: Phuong Nguyen Thanh
Published: July 2021

The article focuses on analyzing the regulations on property handling after coercion from the perspective of property rights in civil law. In which, clarifying cases where regulations on post-coercive property handling must be applied, and responsibilities of the organization in charge of enforcement; At the same time, find out the current situation of applying regulations on management and handling of assets after coercive land recovery in Vietnam. From there, the article proposes recommendations to improve Vietnam's law related to property handling after coercive land recovery.
The Impact of Social Networks on Science Students' Academic Performance in Ondo State Senior Secondary Schools, Nigeria
Authors: OLOJO Jethro Oludare
Published: July 2021

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of social network usage on science students’ academic achievements in Ondo State’s senior secondary schools. The study was also to find the extent to which students under investigation used the social network platforms and the frequencies of their visits. In order to achieve this, a structured questionnaire was designed and administered to students from the three senatorial districts that made up the state. A multistage; which involved simple random and purposive sampling approaches was used to select the sample for the study. 150 copies of the questionnaire were distributed; out of which, 148 (98.78%) copies were returned. For the study, four research questions and two research hypotheses were developed. The hypotheses were assessed using the student's - t statistic at 0.05 significant level; using SPSS version 20 while the research questions formulated were evaluated using frequency counts and percentages. The study revealed that Ondo State senior secondary school science students can efficiently use the social network platforms for academic activities with male students being more proficient than their female counterparts. The study also revealed that the usage of social networks has assisted students to improve their academic performance; irrespective of their classes. Besides, the study showed that Facebook was the most popular of all the social network platforms. To this end, the researcher recommended that teachers, parents, and guidance should monitor the activities of their wards on the social network sites so that they can use the platforms to benefit their lots. Teachers should also use the advantage of students’ exposure to social networking to change their teaching methods from traditional one to online teaching.
RF-Heartbeat: Robust and Contactless Heartbeat Monitoring Based on FMCW Radar
Authors: Pu Jian , Zhang Hao
Published: July 2021

Heartbeat is a significant vital sign. The past decade has witnessed wireless heartbeat monitoring becoming more and more feasible. As a contactless approach, it can relieve users from wearing sensors. The unique advantages of milimeter-wave frequency-modulated continous-wave (FMCW) radar over other wireless devices draw our attention. However, there are plenty of limitations in related work based on it. Tiny vibration caused by heartbeat could be easily interrupted by body movements (BMs) and so on. Range bin selection methods in existing work are not robust enough. The inter-beat interval (IBI) estimation need to be further improved. We propose RF-Heartbeat, a robust heartbeat monitoring system based on milimeter-wave FMCW radar. RF-Heartbeat has novel signal process modules, including BMs detection method, and optimal range bin selection method, for obtaining a relatively high-quality heartbeat signal. Then, a global optimization model based on a template matching algorithm is implemented for improving IBI estimation accuracy. In the heartbeat monitoring experiment for a total of 72 hours and 56 minutes involving 10 participants, under a time coverage of 91.2%, the median error of IBI was 12 ms. RF-Heartbeat achieves a higher performance than state-of-the-art heartbeat monitoring systems. It has strong robustness to different individuals in different postures and positions. Our work provides effective solutions to some obstacles in practical applications of contactless heartbeat monitoring. It enables accurate and long-term heartbeat monitoring, which has wide applications in clinical space and daily life.
A Qualitative Study of Time Overrun of Completed Road Projects Awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria
Authors: Ogbeide F. N. , Ehiorobo J. O. , Izinyon O. C. , Ilaboya I. R.
Published: July 2021

Time overrun of completed road projects awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria from its inception in 2000 up to 2015 was studied. Out of 3315 roads awarded, only 1081 roads representing 31.65 percent were completed within the review period. The qualitative study was carried out on randomly selected completed 162 road projects for analysis, and a conceptual model of time series was developed. In developing the regression model, both dependent and independent variables were subjected to normality tests assessed by skewness coefficient, kurtosis value, Jarque-Bera test, residual probability plot, heteroscedasticity test and the variance inflation factor. Also, with knowledge of total road projects awarded by the Commission, it is now possible to predict proportions of roads experiencing schedule overruns.
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN MUSICIANSHIP AND CORE COMPETENCIES IN PROFESSIONAL MUSIC TRAINING—THE TUT EXPERIENCE
Authors:   Tainan University of Technology (Taiwan), Tseng Hua Hui
Published: July 2021

After being asked to respond to the Arts Education Act of 2015 by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, concerning curricula and their impact on music education, what follows are some observations and reflections from the Tainan University of Technology (TUT), Taiwan, about its educators' experiences of teaching undergraduate music and music degrees. The idea put forward isthatskills/knowledge competency reflects an emergent sensibility in contemporary music cultures, and this represents an opportunity for music educators to reconfigure and strengthen their pedagogical approaches. By recognizing the legitimacy of new and varied forms of musicianship and acknowledging the ways in which course curricula continue to grow in their range of practices and necessary literacies, strategies can be developed to support broader, cohesive, inclusive, diverse, meaningful, and useful experiences for music students.
CULTURAL TRANSLATION BEYOND AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EXIT, A MEETING OF KNOWLEDGE
Authors:   Research group SIEP and PhD in education, Autonomous University of Madrid/ PhD candidate (Spain) // PhD in social sciences, National University of Entre Ríos/PhD candidate (Argentina)  // Atlántida technical school, University of Labor of Uruguay/ Teacher (Uruguay), Hernández Espino Ana
Published: July 2021

In a context of intercultural conflicts, of exclusive educational policies, it is necessary to create inclusive perspectives, enabling coexistence between different cultures. A Latin American educational framework rooted in neoliberal policies restricts creative gazes. Two doctoral researches carried out with a perspective of Popular Education, one in Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina and Uruguay and another on a specific experience in Uruguay show the potential of the emancipatory component. His socio-historical analyzes link the educational proposals with the historical evolution of their problems in relation to their contexts. Cultural translation is presented as one of the potentialities, where weighted popular knowledge is rescued by groups. Some socio-community referents have skills to know, understand and translate the demands. A training obtained from the analysis of the experience and knowledge of the groups stimulates decolonization processes.
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND CREATIVITY OF UNDERGRADUATES IN CHINA
Authors:   School of Primary Education, Shanghai Normal University Tianhua College (China), Hu Yanan , Han Xiaotian ,   School of Primary Education, Shanghai Normal University Tianhua College (China)
Published: July 2021

The purpose of the study aimed to: (a) determine to what extent undergraduates expect their college courses; (b) measure the degree to what extent what degree undergraduates engage in their college courses; (c) measure the degree to what extent undergraduate feel their capability of creativity; and (d) examine the degree to which student engagement and their creativity are associated. The study applied a non-experimental, correlational design and used survey responses from 431 randomly selected undergraduates to address the research questions. The findings are as follows. First, the majority of the students have high expectation on their courses and they put feedback as their first priority. Second, most of the Chinese students still attach great importance to their homework. However, the low percentage in reflection shows that the students still lack the habit of doing self-reflection. Third, Chinese undergraduates have fair creativity ability and the students scored their creativity on behavior highest and the creativity on knowledge system lowest. Fourth, student engagement has a positive relation to their creativity on knowledge system, creativity on behaviors, creativity on personalities and creativity on innovative thinking. Among which, the students’ enhanced engagement has a most direct impact on their creativity on behaviors.
FREE TIME AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM TWO HIGH SCHOOLS IN BOTOSANI COUNTY
Authors:   Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine (Romania), Albu Adriana , Vlada Mihaela ,   Vaslui Public Health Department (Romania), Nechita Adina ,   Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine (Romania), Dima Florin ,   Vaslui Public Health Department (Romania)
Published: July 2021

Introduction: it is necessary to assess the way students spend their free time in the final years of high school due to the poor results that have appeared recently in the baccalaureate exams. Methods: the study was carried out using a group of 202 students from the 11th and 12th grades from a National College (117 pupils) and a High School (85 pupils) from the city of Dorohoi, Botosani County. The young people filled in a questionnaire with questions about leisure activities and social relationships. The results were processed using Pearson's chi-squared test. Results and discussions: The time allocated daily for physical activity is mostly 15-30 minutes (23.76%) with significant differences between the two schools (p˂0.05). The time spent watching TV is mostly 0.5-1 hours (35.64%) with insignificant differences between grades (p>0.05). Most students (44.05%) do not sit at the computer, the calculated differences being statistically insignificant (p>0.05). When looking at social relationships we take into account friends, where in the majority of cases (32.4%) students have „one” true friend. This is a usual result because in this period of the adolescent's life the role the group of friends plays decreases, with significant differences between school years (p˂0.05). In their free time, they go out into town, mostly 2-3 evenings per week (28.71%), but there are also 31.68% negative answers. Parents are less concerned about school activity (“never” answers – 34.15%) with significant differences between grades (p˂0.01). Parents are also less concerned with the way their children spend their free time (“never” answers – 34.65%) with significant differences between school years (p˂0.05). Conclusions: there is a series of situations that guide us towards a modest concern for the future, both from students and their parents.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROCESSES USING AN E-DIARY IN STUDENTS’ INTERNSHIP
Authors:   Academy of Education, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas (Lithuania), Tandzegolskienė Ilona , Lapėnienė Asta ,   Academy of Education, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas (Lithuania)
Published: July 2021

The article/presentation analyses data from e-diary taken by 88 students from three groups of pedagogical programs who were studying in the following school years: 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. As part of the internship tasks, the diary had to be written regularly weekly (for a total of 20 or 22 weeks). According to the provided half-standardised e-diary form, every week, the research participants had to document the most significant/successful/problematic situation in their school internship and raise any questions. The database on an e-diary basis contains 1962 situations of internship pedagogical activity. The data presented in the article is general for the whole group of research participants. The data analysis is based on six stages: access to the data, data coding, finding topics, revision of the topics, a summary of the topics and preparation of the report. The article presents how the e-diary was designed and how the e-diary stimulates the metacognitive capacity to reflect upon thinking capacities. The thematic analysis of the entries in e-diary has been conducted according to the following three aspects: emotional, cognitive, and the change in internship activity. The thematic analysis's emotional aspect (which was revealed in the e-diary notes) has been reflected by the dynamics of satisfaction from the professional activity. The intellectual aspect has been revealed by the dynamics of changes in students' self-estimation, attitude towards learning, and the teaching profession. The diaries provided the opportunity to analyse the learning situations via descriptions in the e-diary and the participant's self-reflections on their gained internship experience.
EXPLORING SOUTH AFRICAN PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF LIGHT PHENOMENA
Authors:   Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Johannesburg (South Africa), Ramaila Sam
Published: July 2021

The wave and particle nature of light poses considerable instructional challenges to both teachers and learners in diverse educational settings. Developing a meaningful conceptual understanding of the wave and particle nature of light is a key requirement for demystifying the complex nature of various optical phenomena. The study adopted an exploratory descriptive survey design and involved purposively selected South African preservice Physical Sciences as participants. Preservice Physical Sciences teachers’ conceptual understanding of light phenomena was explored through the administration of the Light Phenomena Conceptual Assessment (LPCA) inventory. The key findings of the study revealed that preservice Physical Sciences teachers exhibited conceptual hurdles in relation to light phenomena such as reflection, refraction, total internal reflection and light scattering. The prevalence of these conceptual hurdles can partly be attributed to pervasive knowledge gaps manifested as a result of deficient instructional strategies adopted to demystify complex nature of light phenomena. Theoretical implications for initial teacher education are discussed.
A REVIEW OF PAPERS ABOUT BLOCK PROGRAMMING FROM THE WORKSHOP ON COMPUTING AT SCHOOL
Authors:   Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Estatística e Informática (DEINFO) (Brazil), Cysneiros Filho Gilberto Amado de Azevedo , da Silva Neiton Carvalho ,   Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Estatística e Informática (DEINFO) (Brazil), Morais Barbara Silva ,   Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Departamento de Estatística e Informática (DEINFO) (Brazil)
Published: July 2021

This paper describes a survey to identify how Block Programming is being used in Brazilian schools. The motivation of this research is to provide us with data and insights to support the research project on Block Programming and Computational Thinking in Schools whose goal is to investigate and create a proposal for how Block Programming can be inserted into the school curriculum. The relevance of this research is that the school should prepare the students for the skills (creativity, programming, problem solving, abstraction and innovation) demanded by the job market and for further education (e.g. university courses and qualification courses). In particular, in Brazil the curriculum of schools is governed by a normative document called the Common National Curricular Base (Base Nacional Comum Curricular - BNCC). The BNCC defines that the school curriculum should enable the student to have the following competencies: (1) knowledge; (2) scientific, critical, and creative thinking; (3) cultural repertoire; (4) communication; (5) digital culture; (6) work and life project; (7) argumentation; (8) self-knowledge and self-care; (9) empathy and cooperation; and (10) responsibility and citizenship. Some of these skills can be achieved by learning Block Programming aligned with Computational Thinking instruction. The importance of learning programming in school is justified by the increased use of technology in modern society and the need to be prepared to create and use technological solutions that involve programming and computing. The BNCC highlights that the skills developed by students should be organized by offering different curricular arrangements, according to the relevance to the local context and the possibilities of the education systems. This can be applied in a multidisciplinary way through block programming based on computational thinking in basic education. A literature review was conducted of papers published in the area of block programming at the Workshop on Informatics at School (WIE) between the years 2016 to 2019. The choice of this event is due to the fact that it has been standing out over the years as a forum for discussions where works in the area of digital technologies of information and communication (TDIC) in formal and non-formal spaces of education have been disseminated. During this period we identified papers that describe the use of several environments of Block Programming (e.g. Scratch) and several experiences and proposals of how to insert Block Programming in the students' education.
SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDENT TEACHERS’ AWARENESS OF THE INTERTWINESS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MULTICULTURAL SCHOOL SETTINGS
Authors:   Central University of Technology Free State (South Africa), Williams Titus , Alexander Gregory ,   Central University of Technology Free State (South Africa), Setlalentoa Wendy ,   Central University of Technology Free State (South Africa)
Published: July 2021

This qualitative study is an exploration of final year Social Science education students awareness of the intertwined nature of Social Science as a subject and the role of social justice in the classroom of a democratic South Africa. This study finds that South African Social Science teachers interpret or experience the teaching of Social Science in various ways. In the South African transitional justice environment, Social Science education had to take into account the legacies of the apartheid-era schooling system and the official history narrative that contributed to conflict in South Africa. Throughout the world, issues of social justice and equity are becoming a significant part of everyday discourse in education and some of these themes are part of the Social Science curriculum. Through a qualitative research methodology, data was gathered from Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions with three groups of five teacher education students in two of the groups and the third having ten participants from the same race, in their final year, specializing in Social Science teaching. The data obtained were categorised and analysed in terms of the student teacher’s awareness of the intertwined nature of Social Science and social justice education. The results of the study have revealed that participants had a penchant for the subject Social Science because it assisted them to have a better understanding of social justice and the unequal society they live in; an awareness of social ills, and the challenges of people. Participants identified social justice characteristics within Social Science and relate to some extent while they were teaching the subject, certain themes within the Social Science curriculum. Findings suggest that the subject Social Science provides a perspective as to why social injustice and inequality are so prevalent in South Africa and in some parts of the world. Social Science content in its current form and South African context, emanates from events and activities that took place in communities and in the broader society, thus the linkage to social justice education. This study recommends different approaches to infuse social justice considerations Social Science; one being an empathetic approach – introducing activities to assist learners in viewing an issue from someone else’s perspective, particularly when issues of prejudice or discrimination against a particular group arise, or if the issue is remote from learners’ lives.
COMPARISON OF THE FIRST YEAR LEARNING OUTCOMES OF DUAL AND NONDUAL STUDENTS IN THE LIGHT OF THE INPUT COMPETENCE SURVEY
Authors:   1GAMF Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, John von Neumann University, Kecskemét (Hungary), Pap-Szigeti Róbert , Török Erika ,   Bolyai János Secondary Grammar School, Kecskemét (Hungary)
Published: July 2021

The number of students taking part in, and the courses involved in dual education have multiplied since the dual education was introduced. At our university, in the last seven years, some hundreds of students have participated in the training based on the German model, implemented in cooperation with partner companies. Based on our assumptions at the beginning of the dual training and the experiences accumulated during the training we assume that in general, more motivated students, the ones who are eager to learn and meet the requirements chose this form of education. The double filter (university and company) makes it possible to choose the best students. The strong selection and the stricter education criteria set by the form of the training (the required progress according to the sample curriculum) results in the students’ achievements which are significantly better than the non-dual students’ results. Thanks to the input surveys regarding the dual and non-dual students which have been conducted since 2010 in our institutions, it is possible to measure the competence of dual and non-dual students at the beginning of the training, and we can also get information about the differences between the two groups and compare the achievements of dual students with the non-dual students. This examination gives a chance to examine how successful the training was for the dual students. The sample of our research consisted of the first year BSc full time students (n = 1,341). We applied the sample adjustment according to the points of the entrance tests when we analysed the achievements of the different training systems. In our presentation, we demonstrate the main areas of the competence survey, the results reached in those areas, the differences between the achievements in those areas, the impact of the input results on the success of learning (the impact of the differences on the results of the first year) in case of dual and non-dual students. We highlight those areas which significantly influence the study results regardless of training forms.
INITIAL AND IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TO IMPLEMENT PROJECT-BASED LEARNING (PBL)
Authors:   Department of Pedagogy, University of Jaén (Spain), Ortiz-Colón Ana María , Castellano-Almagro Rafael ,   Department of Psyhcopedagogy, College Saint Mary of the Chapel (Spain), Rodríguez-Moreno Javier ,   Department of Pedagogy, University of Jaén (Spain), Agreda Montoro Miriam ,   Department of Pedagogy, University of Jaén (Spain)
Published: July 2021

The continuous evolution of technology, the gradual abandonment of the industrial society and the increasingly standardised inclusion of emerging methodologies in the teaching and learning processes have a significant impact on the quality and way of life of the people involved in them, making it necessary to integrate them in detail into the education system itself through initial and ongoing teacher training. This paper reflects on the initial university training that new Secondary Education teachers receive on new methodologies, specifically Project Based Learning (PBL), as well as the ongoing training that current teachers at this educational stage receive for their integration and incorporation as valid methodological systems for their daily classroom practice. Thus, through an in-depth review of the scientific literature on the subject and our experience as active teachers in the “Master's Degree in Teaching Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Language Teaching” at the University of Jaen (Spain), we have addressed these issues, determining that the quality of the pedagogical training of new teachers does not correspond to the reality that they will later face in the classroom, In addition, the in-service training that in-service Secondary teachers receive depends on the intrinsic motivations of the teachers or the manifest resources and legal requirements at the time and not so much on the real needs that the students in the context may require.
INVESTIGATING THE USE ACTION LEARNING APPROACHES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION STUDIES: A CASE OF SKILLS CENTRE
Authors:   Central University of Technology Free State (South Africa), Mokhothu Khojane Geoffrey , Masoabi Charles S. ,   Central University of Technology Free State (South Africa), Makura Alfred H. ,   Central University of Technology Free State (South Africa)
Published: July 2021

Civil Engineering and Construction studies are the study fields that embraces practical and theory. While action learning approaches is encompassed with a myriad of teaching and learning methods to closed the deficits. The research aims to investigate the use of action learning approaches in Civil engineering and Construction studies. while the objective of the research is to assess the extent to which action learning approaches is employed in teaching practical and content knowledge in Civil Engineering and Construction studies. The research used a mixed-method approach comprising quantitative and qualitative methodology to collect data. Questionnaire and face to face semi-structured interview were used as the tools to gather data. Participants were all 10 lecturers and assistance lecturers, males and females from different culture, age and race. Findings of the research revealed that lecturers are using action learning approaches unaware. The research, suggests that all lecturer at the skills centres should be afforded opportunities to attend facilitations and assessor courses or Universities of Technology should develop a short education methodology for them of which it will equip their teaching and learning skills.
THE IMPORTANCE OF REFLECTION-BASED STRATEGIES IN TRAINING PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH MDVI CHILDREN
Authors:   Department of Special Education, Babes-Bolyai University (Romania), Hathazi Andrea , Serban Ioana-Letitia ,   Department of Special Education, Babes-Bolyai University (Romania)
Published: July 2021

This paper focuses on the professional development regarding communication abilities of the teachers and therapists working with children with multiple disabilities and a visual impairment (MDVI). Since the development of communication abilities is a complex process, it must be approached from a continuous, systemic and structured perspective. MDVI children acquire and develop communication skills based on various factors which depend on their specific features and usually they need a large amount of time to learn how to employ different systems of communication so they can express a need or a desire and have an impact on other people or on the environment. In this context, a team of 3 universities, 4 special schools for the blind and visual impaired, one NGO and one IT company have come together in an Erasmus+ European project called PrECIVIM (Promoting Effective Communication for Individuals with a Vision Impairment and Multiple Disabilities) to address the need of a professional training in communication abilities of the specialists working with MDVI children. As a result, a complex training program has been created, based on common experiences, reflective strategies, and different training components. Method: We have focused on a group of 21 professionals working with MDVI children. They were the beneficiaries of a four-part training programme conducted by three experienced trainers on a time frame of 6 months. The programme was delivered in multiple ways, each of them with great reflective value: training manual (individual study), onsite group training, online group supervision and written individual reflective logs. Results: The individual feedback of each participant has been processed and discussed revealing significant improvement in their intervention approach toward MDVI children, in their selection of communication methods or in their professional relationship with the MDVI child. The results of the training programme are presented in terms of the efficiency of the reflection-based strategies for the professional development of each participant. Conclusion: The training programme applied to this group of professionals has emphasized the need of mentors and partners who offer constructive feedback and who implement reflective strategies in the intervention process regarding communication with MDVI children. In this sense, the reflective logs should be considered a great resource in the intervention and therapeutic process of MDVI children.
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN OF KNOWLEDGE NUGGETS
Authors:   Management Communication & IT, MCI, Innsbruck (Austria), Ploder Christian , Ehrhardt Lisa , Gamper Laura , Hazy Christoph
Published: July 2021

Throughout their careers, all students experience the same set of learning routines within the same time frame and following the same pedagogical approach based on identical materials. In contrast, Knowledge Nuggets provide students with different opportunities to achieve specific learning outcomes through self-directed learning activities. An individual student's skill inventory could improve the full individualization of the Knowledge Nugget delivery at the start of each class. Knowledge Nuggets are considered learning materials organized within small, defined topics. This granularity makes the content easier to consume at an individual pace. Depending on their scope and size, these Knowledge Nuggets can vary. The level does not indicate the amount of content or the shared knowledge's difficulty but how the learning is prepared and conveyed. The simplest way (level 1) to share knowledge is only to provide text within a document. The next higher level 2 includes a slideshow explained in more detail by playing an audio podcast - so the combination of visual with audio should attend two senses in parallel. The slides contain images or diagrams in addition to keywords. Video tutorials are the most advanced ways to share knowledge. This type of tutoring allows instructors to visually illustrate content to minimize complexity by combining text, speech, images, and animation. With level 3 (video tutorials), it is possible to address more senses simultaneously. However, all three levels offer the same characteristics: practicality, reproducibility, and manageable time. These characteristics are of great relevance to be accepted as training methods in any educational program. The progressive redistribution of dimensions occurs in elaboration, the use of technology, and the cognitive load. The paper aims to determine why the different levels are essential for the overall picture and how the measurement of learning success can be measured.
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ STRUGGLES WITH ONLINE LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN
Authors:   Department of Health Psychology, University of Alicante (Spain), Chiner Esther , Gómez-Puerta Marcos ,   Department of Developmental Psychology and Teaching, University of Alicante (Spain), García-Vera Victoria E. ,   Department of Architecture and Building Technology, Technical University of Cartagena (Spain), Cardona-Moltó M. Cristina ,   Department of Health Psychology, University of Alicante (Spain)
Published: July 2021

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected most countries during the year 2020, the society had to adapt rapidly to new forms of working in which the Internet has been an essential tool. And so did the higher institutions around the world, which had to move from a face-to-face classroom environment to an online one. The change from traditional learning to online learning was so unexpected that neither the instructors nor the students may have been prepared for it and could have important consequences on students’ learning and academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to explore how university students had to struggle with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown attending to three aspects: (a) availability and use of electronic devices, (b) personal factors, and (c) teaching factors. A non-experimental study based on a survey design was conducted, in which a convenience sample of 496 undergraduate and graduate students from two different universities located in south eastern Spain participated. The majority of the participants (66.3%) had very little or no experience in online learning and 55% considered that their academic performance was being worse than in face-to-face classes. Findings showed that most of the students had the electronic devices required for online learning (e.g. laptops, earphones, webcams, smartphones), although they mainly used laptops and earphones. They did not have other devices at home such as desktop computers, printers and scanners. The personal factors that most affected their academic performance were family problems and/or responsibilities (46.6%), psychological or emotional problems (41.6%), an inappropriate study environment (41.2%), and a bad Internet connection (31.4%). With regard to teaching factors, students complained of excessive assignments (82.6%), lack of lesson explanations (78.6%), loss of concentration during synchronous classes (64.3%), having to learn through the computer screen (58.9%), and feeling of being abandoned (57.4%), among others. In sum, university students’ struggles with online learning were more related to teaching factors than to personal and material factors. Therefore, higher education institutions and faculty should be prepared to respond to student’s needs in different teaching scenarios, and more specifically in online environments, by adapting not only their teaching styles and resources but also the way they interact with students.
STUDENTS EXPERIENCES ON THE USE OF GOOGLE CLASSROOM: CASE STUDY OF A UNIVERSITY IN RWANDA
Authors:   Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Johannesburg (South Africa), Ogegbo Ayodele , Adegoke Oyebimpe ,   School of Education, Mount Kenya University (Rwanda)
Published: July 2021

Google is a popular Web 2.0 tools with many interesting facilities and applications. Like many other Web 2.0 tools, Google classroom has potential for teaching and learning due to its unique built-in functions that offer pedagogical, social and technological affordances. With this in mind, Google classroom as an open-source learning platform created in 2015 to simplify and enhance user collaboration, was considered a prominent technology tool used to enhance teaching and learning at a particular University in Rwanda. This study adopts a quantitative descriptive design to investigate university students' Google classroom experiences in Rwanda after participating in an online STEM education course. Data were collected using questionnaires sent to students via a Google form link. The collected data were analyzed using frequency and descriptive analysis. The study has generally confirmed that students have a positive cognitive, affective, and behavioural attitude towards Google classroom use. The study also revealed immediate feedback, accessibility, user-friendliness, collaboration, effective and efficient communication as positive experiences recognized by students using Google classroom in their online STEM education course. Nevertheless, students faced problems such as poor internet connection, lack of technology to access the classroom, insufficient time to submit tasks, lecturers inadequate and untimely response to students’ questions, isolated learning, poor knowledge about the user interface, inadequate skills on how to use the classroom. To further encourage the use of google classroom particularly as a learning management system in Rwandan universities and other universities across Africa, findings from this study recommends that education institutions provide students and lecturers with adequate training and platform on how to use the google classroom interface, improve ICT infrastructures, lecturers’ use of video chat or asynchronous mode to provide adequate and timely feedback to students within stipulated virtual office hours, ensure quality course content.
DIGITAL STORYTELLING AND LIFELONG LEARNING EDUCATION IN INFORMAL CONTEXTS: THE MEMEX PROJECT
Authors:   ECCOM (Italy), Falchetti Elisabetta , Migone Pascuala , Da Milano Cristina , Guida Maria Francesca
Published: July 2021

This contribution intends to present the design, methodology and first results of MEMEX, a 3-year project (2019-2022) funded by the European programme Horizon2020, aimed at promoting social cohesion through collaborative, heritage-related tools that provide inclusive access to tangible and intangible cultural heritage (CH) and, at the same time, facilitates encounters, discussions and interactions between communities at risk of social exclusion. Cultural participation is conceived as a way to engage communities in lifelong learning processes taking place in informal contexts, aiming at promoting social inclusion and cohesion. To achieve these goals, MEMEX uses innovative ICT tools that provide a new paradigm for interaction with heritage through Digital Storytelling (DS), weaving heritage-related memories and experiences of the participating communities with the physical places/objects that surround them. The project encompasses the ICT tools and the use of DS in the framework of Audience Development (AD), defined as a strategic and dynamic process enabling cultural organisations to place audiences at the centre of their action. The use of DS applied to CH is highly related to lifelong learning processes, since it provides knowledge, understanding, awareness, engagement and interest, enjoyment and creativity. The evaluation of a number of DS produced by migrant women participating in a MEMEX pilot project in Barcelona confirms the validity and soundness of the methodology and the power of DS to engage in cultural experiences.
DESIGN THINKING IN FUTURE TEACHERS TRAINING
Authors:   Department of Pedagogy, University of Jaén (Spain), Ortega-Tudela Juana M. , Diaz-Pareja Elena M. , Cámara-Estrella África M. , LLorent-Vaquero Mercedes
Published: July 2021

Innovation in education entails not only the incorporation of technological tools and applications, but also the implementation of methodologies that could break the inertia and incorporate processes of Divergent Thinking. Future teachers must be creative professionals capable of developing professional activities to improve and not only to replicate the social experience in order to create new learning experiences. In this way, the main aim of our work was to explore how the use of Design Thinking Methodology improves learning processes in a group of 75 college students of the Primary Education Degree. This group of students, divided into 21 smaller working groups, created different educational videos and multimedia design projects through Design Thinking methodology. They were also encouraged to use Social Networks (specifically Instagram) to present and publicize the progress they were making on their work, in order to obtain feedback from their classmates. All the projects developed were related to three thematic areas: Art for everyone; Attention to diversity and Making great neighborhoods. At the end of the creation process, we analysed the students’ perception of how the design thinking methodology helps them through their learning process. Based on an ad hoc questionnaire, the impact of the use of Design Thinking in the learning process and its influence on variables such as motivation, communication, creativity, among others, was studied. The results show that the use of this methodology had a positive impact on practically all the variables, facilitating and optimizing the learning process of future teachers.
THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE SCHOOL WORLD
Authors:   Department of Human, Philosophic and Education Sciences (DISUFF), University of Salerno (Italy), Tammaro Rosanna , D’Alessio Anna , Petolicchio Annamaria , Iannuzzo Anna
Published: July 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic is firstly a health crisis, but also a huge shock for the educational world (from primary school to university). The impact of COVID-19 on the school world has been very strong. Education has been hit hard with schools closing down internationally and students forced to stay home. The global lockdown of schools has caused a severe and probably unparalleled disruption in student learning. In this scenario, teaching has moved online, the school world has suddenly been forced to move towards the dimension of distance learning, in Italian DAD. A new acronym, DAD, which is used to identify a type of training and teaching that is implemented, precisely, remotely or where there is no sharing of a space and a physical interaction between teacher and students, but everything is mediated by the use of technological means and the internet. The article aims to describe to a teacher audience, the most important steps in online/distance learning, DAD, adopted during pandemic in Italian school system, with its implications for teachers and students. After a brief overview of the main theoretical frameworks, we will try to describe the current state, in our country, of this methodology, its characteristics, its objectives and the roles of the actors involved. This article is an exploratory case study that involved the use of an observational research technique. It sought, through "living the situation in first person", to critically consider the advantages and disadvantages of this new didactic approach, of this different way of studying/teaching and the future prospects in restarting lessons in a Covid world.
DISTRIBUTED INTERCULTURAL PROJECT-BASED LEARNING - A NOVEL APPROACH - EXPERIENCES FROM A QUADRILATERAL INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION
Authors:   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Westfälische Hochschule, Bocholt (Germany), Meyer Manfred , Nugroho Agung ,   Department of Business Administration, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia (Indonesia), Ochoa-Luna José ,   Department of Computer Science, Universidad Católica San Pablo, Arequipa (Peru), Stanley Colin ,   Faculty of Computing and Informatics, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek (Namibia), Winschiers-Theophilus Heike ,   Faculty of Computing and Informatics, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek (Namibia)
Published: July 2021

This paper describes a new concept and experiences of a distributed interdisciplinary learning programme for students across continents. The aim is to provide students with a truly Global Intercultural Project Experience (GIPE) by working together with peers from around the world, and solving real-life client’s problems. We have received seed-funding for four annual projects to engage students from Germany (Europe), Namibia (Africa), Indonesia (Asia), and Peru (Latin-America). In 2020, 30 students from four continents engaged in a one-semester distributed software development project for a Namibian client. Despite Covid-19 they successfully completed the project expressing deep appreciation for the learning opportunities overcoming challenges of working across wide-spread time zones, cultures, changing requirements, and various technical challenges. Considering the vast learning benefits, we suggest to incorporate such projects in all tertiary education curricula across the globe.
UPGRADING MOOC STUDENTS' ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN HUMANITIES-ORIENTED ONLINE COURSES: THE EXAMPLE OF THE MOOC BASED ON THE PROJECT “DETECT”
Authors:   Literary Theory and Cultural Studies, KU Leuven (Belgium), Baetens Jan , Pireddu Roberta , Truyen Frederik
Published: July 2021

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have become a grounded reality and a stable concept in the distance education panorama with worldwide universities continuously creating and offering every year broad selections of online courses. Nevertheless, despite the many developments in terms of individual and distance learning approaches, it is indetermined if MOOCs can deliver effective pedagogical methods and tools suitable for the implementation of online courses in the categories of art and humanities as well as in creating environments that give equal space to the two complementary layers of distance learning and distant teaching. Consequently, also the development of a valid, and captivating e-learning experience able to effectively reach out to students of different backgrounds, creating an impactful learning community represents a challenge. This issue acquires certain relevance particularly in relation to the much-debated question around the most effective pedagogical methodology to deliver humanities-oriented knowledge in a distant learning context. This paper provides an overview of the educational and pedagogical formulas adopted for the creation of a MOOC on European Crime Fiction, currently being developed in the framework of DETECt – Detecting Transcultural Identity in European Popular Crime Narratives (https://www.detect-project.eu/) a project funded by European’s Union Horizon 2020. The MOOC concept presented in the framework of this research concentrates on the development of mixed e-learning and e-teaching strategies, that leverages the application of pedagogical elements like social network and independent learning and combines them with users’ engagement methods. On the one hand, this research aims to challenge the debate related to the effectiveness of teaching and learning a humanities-oriented subject in a distance learning environment. On the other hand, intends to recreate a vibrant learning community capable of broadening the academic research carried out by the project enabling the collaboration between the MOOC public and the researchers and teachers.