Increasingly, numerous universities have identified benefits of flipped learning environments and have been encouraging instructors to adapt such methodologies in their respective classrooms, at a time when departments are facing significant budget constraints. This article proposes an instructional design framework utilized to strategically enhance traditional flipped methodologies in a first-year engineering course, by using low-cost technology aids and proven pedagogical techniques to enhance student learning. Implemented in a first-year engineering course, this modified flipped model demonstrated an improved student awareness of essential engineering concepts and improved academic performance through collaborative and active learning activities, including flipped learning methodologies, without the need for expensive, formal active learning spaces. These findings have been validated through two studies and have shown similar results confirming that student learning is improved by the implementation of multi-pedagogical strategies in-formed by the use of an instructional design in a traditional classroom setting.

The nexus between paid work and study is important. Developing opportunities to facilitate this link is a key part of good course design especially in postgraduate programs. Strong communities of practice can also assist with improving links between research and practice. The online study environment affords some challenges to achieving these goals. The current study proposes that offering formalised interaction points— synchronous or asynchronous— during online study, is critical to facilitating the link between work and study. Twenty-five graduates of a postgraduate program were interviewed to explore their experiences of an online program of study. Three key themes emerged and are described in this paper: engaging with study, building a new framework for my practice, and implementing changes to my practice. Online learning programs need to embed opportunities for interaction that are meaningful and allow for development of ideas and discussion, aiming to take learning beyond the program of study.

Immigrant students face a multitude of problems, among which are poor social adaptation and school integration. On the other hand, although digital narrations are widely used in education, they are rarely used for aiding students or for the resolution of complex problems. This study exploits the potential of digital narrations towards this end, by examining how the development and presentation of an autobiographical digital narration can assist immigrant students in overcoming their adaptation difficulties. For that matter, a female student presenting substantial problems was selected as the study’s subject. Data was collected from all the participating parties (subject, teacher, classmates) using a variety of tools, before, during, and after the intervention. It was found that through the digital narration she was able to externalize her thoughts and feelings and this, in turn, helped her in achieving a smoother integration in the school environment. In addition, the attitudes and perceptions of the other students for their foreign classmate were positively influenced. The intervention was short in duration and it did not require special settings. Hence, it can be easily applied and educators can consider using similar interventions. On the other hand, further research is recommended to establish the generalizability of the study’s findings.

The pilot research presented here explores the classroom use of Emerging Literacy in Mathematics (ELM) software, a research-based bilingual interactive multimedia instructional tool, and its potential to develop emerging numeracy skills. At the time of the study, a central theme of early mathematics curricula, Number Concept, was fully developed. It was broken down into five mathematical concepts including counting, comparing, adding, subtracting and decomposing. Each of these was further subdivided yielding 22 online activities, each building in a level of complexity and abstraction. In total, 234 grade one students from 12 classes participated in the two-group post-test study that lasted about seven weeks and for which students in the experimental group used ELM for about 30 minutes weekly. The results for the final sample of 186 students showed that ELM students scored higher on the standardized math test (Canadian Achievement Test, 2008) and reported less boredom and lower anxiety as measured on the Academic Emotions Questionnaire than their peers in the control group. This short duration pilot study of one ELM theme holds great promise for ELM’s continued development.

The paper describes the development of four learning modules that focus on technical details of how a person’s privacy might be compromised in real-world scenarios. The paper shows how students benefited from the addition of hands-on learning experiences of privacy and data protection to the existing information technology courses. These learning modules raised students’ awareness of potential breaches of privacy as a user as well as a developer. The demonstration of a privacy breach in action helped students to design, configure, and implement technical solutions to prevent privacy violations. The assessment results demonstrate the strength of the technical approach.

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether there is a difference between manual feedback and online feedback with regard to feedback quality, respondents’ percentage, reliability and the amount of verbal comments written by students. Background: The quality of teaching is an important component of academic work. There are various methods for testing the quality of teaching; one of these methods is through students’ feedback. Methodology: This study used a quantitative approach, including the quantification of qualitative verbal data collected through an open question in the questionnaire. A sample of 180 courses was randomly chosen, 90 courses were evaluated manually and 90 were evaluated online. The number of students ranges from 7 to 60 students per course. In total 4678 students participated in the study. Contribution: The findings show that there is almost an identical pattern of feedback of manual and online course teaching evaluation. These findings encourage a continued use of this evaluation method. Findings: No significant differences were found between manual feedback and online feedback in the students’ evaluation of the lecturer/course. The percentage of respondents was significantly higher in the manual feedback than in the online feedback. The number of qualitative comments was significantly greater in the online feedback than in the manual feedback. Impact on Society: The findings of this study refute the claims with regard to the unreliability of an online teaching evaluation. These findings reflect the advantages of using online feedback, such as cost savings, granting more time to students in order to provide feedback, and reducing disturbance during lectures. Future Research: The gender aspect was not taken into account in the study. Therefore, we recommend conducting a follow-up study that will examine gender differences in directions of- difference between male and female lecturers, and differences between male and female students in teaching evaluation.

Aim/Purpose: To examine the early perceptions (acceptability) and usability of EASEL (Education through Application-Supported Experiential Learning), a mobile platform that delivers reflection prompts and content before, during, and after an experiential learning activity. Background: Experiential learning is an active learning approach in which students learn by doing and by reflecting on the experience. This approach to teaching is often used in disciplines such as humanities, business, and medicine. Reflection before, during, and after an experience allows the student to analyze what they learn and why it is important, which is vital in helping them to understand the relevance of the experience. A just-in-time tool (EASEL) was needed to facilitate this. Methodology: To inform the development of a mobile application that facilitates real-time guided reflection and to determine the relevant feature set, we conducted a needs analysis with both students and faculty members. Data collected during this stage of the evaluation helped guide the creation of a prototype. The user experience of the prototype and interface interactions were evaluated during the usability phase of the evaluation study. Contribution: Both the needs analysis and usability assessment provided justification for continued development of EASEL as well as insight that guides current development. Findings: The interaction design of EASEL is understandable and usable. Both students and teachers value an application that facilitates real-time guided reflection. Recommendations for Practitioners: The use of a system such as EASEL can leverage time and location-based services to support students in field experiences. This technology aligns with evidence that guided reflection provides opportunities for metacognition. Recommendation for Researchers: Iterative prototyping, testing, and refinement can lead to a deliberate and effective app development process. Impact on Society: The EASEL platform leverages inherent functionality of mobile devices, such as GPS and persistent network connectivity, to adapt reflection tasks based on lo-cation or time. Students using EASEL will engage in guided reflection, which leads to metacognition and can help instructors scaffold learning Future Research: We will continue to advance the application through iterative testing and development. When ready, the application will be vetted in larger studies across varied disciplines and contexts.

Aim/Purpose: Improving public schools is a focus of federal legislation in the United States with much of the burden placed on principals. However, preparing principals for this task has proven elusive despite many changes in programming by institutions of higher learning. Emerging technologies that rely on augmented and virtual realities are posited to be powerful pedagogical tools for closing this gap. Background: This study investigated the effects of immersive simulation technologies on principals’ self-efficacy after treatment and the perceived significance of the design of the immersive simulation experience as an effective tool for adult learners. Methodology: The investigator employed a multiple-methods study that relied on a purposive sample of graduate students enrolled in educational leadership programs at two small universities in the southeastern United States. Participants completed a two-hour module of immersive simulation designed to facilitate transfer of knowledge to skills thereby increasing their self-efficacy. Contribution: This paper contributes to a small body of literature that examines the use of immersive simulation to prepare aspiring principals. Findings: The findings indicate moderate effect sizes in changes in self-efficacy, positive attitudes toward immersive simulation as a pedagogical tool, and significance in the design of immersive simulation modules. This suggests that immersive simulation, when properly designed, aids principals in taking action to improve schools. Recommendations for Practitioners: Educational leadership programs might consider the use of immersive simulations to enhance principals’ ability to meet the complex demands of leading in the 21st century. Impact on Society: Principals may be more adept at improving schools if preparation programs provided consistent opportunities to engage in immersive simulations. Future Research: Future research should be conducted with larger sample sizes and longitudinally to determine the effectiveness of this treatment.

Aim/Purpose: As smartphones proliferate, many different platforms begin to emerge. The challenge to developers as well as IS educators and students is how to learn the skills to design and develop apps to run on cross-platforms. Background: For developers, the purpose of this paper is to describe an alternative to the complex native app development. For IS educators and students, the paper provides a feasible way to learn and develop fully functional mobile apps without technical burdens. Methodology: The methods used in the development of browser-based apps is prototyping. Our proposed approach is browser-based, supports cross-platforms, uses open-source standards, and takes advantage of “write-once-and-run-anywhere” (WORA) concept. Contribution: The paper illustrates the application of the browser-based approach to create a series of browser apps without high learning curve. Findings: The results show the potentials for using browser app approach to teach as well as to create new apps. Recommendations for Practitioners : Our proposed browser app development approach and example would be useful to mobile app developers/IS educators and non-technical students because the source code as well as documentations in this project are available for downloading. Future Research: For further work, we discuss the use of hybrid development framework to enhance browser apps.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides a review of previously published work related to active learning in information systems (IS) courses. Background: There are a rising number of strategies in higher education that offer promise in regards to getting students’ attention and helping them learn, such as flipped classrooms and offering courses online. These learning strategies are part of the pedagogical technique known as active learning. Active learning is a strategy that became popular in the early 1990s and has proven itself as a valid tool for helping students to be engaged with learning. Methodology: This work follows a systematic method for identifying and coding previous research based on an aspect of interest. The authors identified and assessed research through a search of ABI/Inform scholarly journal abstracts and keywords, as well as additional research databases, using the search terms “active learning” and “information systems” from 2000 through June 2016. Contribution: This synthesis of active learning exercises provides guidance for information technology faculty looking to implement active learning strategies in their classroom by demonstrating how IS faculty might begin to introduce more active learning techniques in their teaching as well as by presenting a sample teaching agenda for a class that uses a mix of active and passive learning techniques to engage student learning. Findings: Twenty successful types of active learning exercises in IS courses are presented. Recommendations for Practitioners : This paper offers a “how to” resource of successful active learning strategies for IS faculty interested in implementing active learning in the classroom. Recommendation for Researchers: This work provides an example of a systematic literature review as a means to assess successful implementations of active learning in IS. Impact on Society: An updated definition of active learning is presented as well as a meaningful list of exercises that encourage active learning both inside and outside of the IS classroom. Future Research: In relation to future research, this study highlights a number of opportunities for IS faculty in regards to new active learning activities or trends to study further.

Aim/Purpose : To examine the use of a flipped classroom in the English Language subject in secondary classrooms in Hong Kong. Background: The research questions addressed were: (1) What are teachers’ perceptions towards the flipped classroom pedagogy? (2) How can teachers transfer their flipped classroom experiences to teaching other classes/subjects? (3) What are students’ perceptions towards the flipped classroom pedagogy? (4) How can students transfer their flipped classroom experiences to studying other subjects? (5) Will students have significant gain in the knowledge of the lesson topic trialled in this study? Methodology: A total of 57 students from two Secondary 2 classes in a Band 3 secondary school together with two teachers teaching these two classes were involved in this study. Both quantitative and quantitative data analyses were conducted. Contribution: Regarding whether the flipped classroom pedagogy can help students gain significantly in their knowledge of a lesson topic, only one class of students gained statistically significantly in the subject knowledge but not for another class. Findings: Students in general were positive about the flipped classroom. On the other hand, although the teachers considered that the flipped classroom pedagogy was creative, they thought it may only be useful for teaching English grammar. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teachers thought that flipping a classroom may only be useful for more motivated students, and the extra workload of finding or making suitable pre-lesson online videos is the main concern for teachers. Recommendations for Researchers: Both quantitative and qualitative analyses should be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a flipped classroom on students’ language learning. Impact on Society : Teachers and students can transfer their flipped classroom experiences in English Language to teaching and studying other subjects. Future Research: More classes should be involved and a longer period of time should be spent on trial teaching in which a flipped classroom can be implemented in different lesson topics, not only teaching grammar. Teachers also need to determine if students can use the target language item in a task.

Aim/Purpose: To identify positive and negative aspects for learning of interactive tablet technology learning activities that promote student engagement and learning. Background: Engaging students in mathematics classes is an on-going challenge for teachers. In 2008 we were offered the opportunity to run interactive activities with a class set of tablet PCs that had just been released on to the market. Since then, we have run these interactive activities continuously with mathematics classes for computing students, albeit with two changes in hardware. Methodology: In the interactive activities, students submit full worked solutions to various problem types (classified as table, text, open or multi-choice) which can then be displayed to the class anonymously, discussed and annotated by the teacher. We surveyed student and staff perceptions and monitored academic performance. Contribution: We have over 10 years of results, observations, and experience from 2008, when tablet technologies were new and expensive, to the current time, when modern tablets with styli are now affordable. Findings: There was a significant increase in higher grades although pass rates did not increase significantly. Over the ten year period of the study, perceptions of students and staff about how this technology impacted on student learning were consistently positive. The majority of students found all problem types useful for learning even those they rated “too hard” or “too easy”. Benefits included increased feedback, peer learning and engagement. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend using tablet learning activities to engage students and teachers and to contribute to learning. Impact on Society: This study shows how using tablet technologies for interactive classroom activities can enable and enhance known pedagogies of feedback, peer instruction, and student engagement for mathematics classes. Future Research: We recommend extending this study to include larger classes, and other technical subjects that use symbols and diagrams. In addition, we suggest considering control groups.

Aim/Purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the feasibility of automatic assessment of programming tasks and to compare manual assessment with automatic assessment in terms of the effect of the different assessment methods on the marks of the students. Background: Manual assessment of programs written by students can be tedious. The assistance of automatic assessment methods might possibly assist in reducing the assessment burden, but there may be drawbacks diminishing the benefits of applying automatic assessment. The paper reports on the experience of a lecturer trying to introduce automated grading. Students’ solutions to a practical Java programming test were assessed both manually and automatically and the lecturer tied the experience to the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Methodology: The participants were 226 first-year students registered for a Java programming course. Of the tests the participants submitted, 214 were assessed both manually and automatically. Various statistical methods were used to compare the manual assessment of student’s solutions with the automatic assessment of the same solutions. A detailed investigation of reasons for differences was also carried out. A further data collection method was the lecturer’s reflection on the feasibility of automatic assessment of programming tasks based on the UTAUT. Contribution: This study enhances the knowledge regarding benefits and drawbacks of automatic assessment of students’ programming tasks. The research contributes to the UTAUT by applying it in a context where it has hardly been used. Furthermore, the study is a confirmation of previous work stating that automatic assessment may be less reliable for students with lower marks, but more trustworthy for the high achieving students. Findings: An automatic assessment tool verifying functional correctness might be feasible for assessment of programs written during practical lab sessions but could be less useful for practical tests and exams where functional, conceptual and structural correctness should be evaluated. In addition, the researchers found that automatic assessment seemed to be more suitable for assessing high achieving students. Recommendations for Practitioners: This paper makes it clear that lecturers should know what assessment goals they want to achieve. The appropriate method of assessment should be chosen wisely. In addition, practitioners should be aware of the drawbacks of automatic assessment before choosing it. Recommendation for Researchers: This work serves as an example of how researchers can apply the UTAUT theory when conducting qualitative research in different contexts. Impact on Society: The study would be of interest to lecturers considering automated assessment. The two assessments used in the study are typical of the way grading takes place in practice and may help lecturers understand what could happen if they switch from manual to automatic assessment. Future Research: Investigate the feasibility of automatic assessment of students’ programming tasks in a practical lab environment while accounting for structural, functional and conceptual assessment goals.

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents the findings of an Activity-Oriented Teaching Strategy (AOTS) conducted for a postgraduate level Software Engineering (SE) course with the aim of imparting meaningful software development experience for the students. The research question is framed as whether the activity-oriented teaching strategy helps students to acquire practical knowledge of Software Engineering and thus bridge the gap between academia and software industry. Background: Software Engineering Education (SEE) in India is mainly focused on teaching theoretical concepts rather than emphasizing on practical knowledge in software development process. It has been noticed that many students of CS/IT background are struggling when they start their career in the software industry due to inadequate familiarity with the software development process. In the current context of SE education, there is a knowledge gap between the theory learned in the classroom and the actual requirement demanded by the software industry. Methodology: The methodology opted for in this study was action research since the teachers are trying to solve the practical problems and deficiencies encountered while teaching SE. There are four pedagogies in AOTS for fulfilling the requirements of the desired teaching strategy. They are flipped classroom, project role-play for developing project artifacts, teaching by example, and student seminars. The study was conducted among a set of Postgraduate students of the Software Engineering programme at Cochin University of Science and Technology, India. Contribution: AOTS can fulfil both academic and industrial requirements by actively engaging the students in the learning process and thus helping them develop their professional skills. Findings: AOTS can be molded as a promising teaching strategy for learning Software Engineering. It focuses on the essential skill sets demanded by the software industry such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and understanding of the software development processes. Impact on Society: Activity-oriented teaching strategies can fulfil both academic and industrial requirements by actively engaging the students in the SE learning process and thus helping them in developing their professional skills. Future Research: AOTS can be refined by adding/modifying pedagogies and including different features like an online evaluation system, virtual classroom etc.

Aim/Purpose: This study was aimed at enhancing students’ learning of software engineering methods. A collaboration between the Computer Science, Business Management, and Product Design programs was formed to work on actual projects with real clients. This interdisciplinary form of collaboration simulates the realities of a diverse Software Engineering team. Background: A collaborative approach implemented through projects has been the established pedagogy for introducing the Software Engineering course to undergraduate Computer Science students. The collaboration, however, is limited to collaboration among Computer Science students and their clients. This case study explored an enhancement to the collaborative approach to project development by integrating other related disciplines into the project development framework; hence, the Interdisciplinary Approach. Methodology: This study adopted the case method approach. An interdisciplinary service innovation activity was proposed to invite other disciplines in the learning process of the computer science students. The agile methodology Scrum was used as the software development approach during project development. Survey data were collected from the students to establish (a) their perception of the interdisciplinary approach to project development; (b) the factors that influenced success or failure of their team to deliver the project; and (c) the perceived skills or knowledge that they acquired from the interdisciplinary approach. Analysis of data followed a mixed method approach. Contribution: The study improved the current pedagogy for Software Engineering education by integrating other related disciplines into the software project development framework. Findings: Data collected showed that the students generally accepted the interdisciplinary approach to project development. Factors such as project relevance, teamwork, time and schedule, and administration support, among others, affect team performance towards project completion. In the case of the Computer Science students, results show that students have learned skills during the experience that, as literature reveal, can only be acquired or mastered in their future profession as software engineers. Recommendations for Practitioners: The active collaboration of the industry with the University and the involvement of the other related courses in teaching software engineering methods are critical to the development of the students, not only in learning the methodology but also as a working professional. Recommendation for Researchers: It is interesting to know and eventually understand the interactions between interdisciplinary team members in the conduct of Software Engineering practices while working on their projects. More specifically, what creative tensions arise and how do the interdisciplinary teams handle the discourse? Impact on Society: This study bridges the gap between how Software Engineering is taught in the university and how Software Engineering teams work in real life. Future Research: Future research is targeted at refining and elaborating the elements of the interdisciplinary framework presented in this paper towards an integrated course module for Software Engineering education.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides a general-purpose categorization scheme for assessing the utility of new and emerging three-dimensional interactive digital environments (3D-IDEs), along with specific pedagogic approaches that are known to work. It argues for the use of 3D-IDEs on the basis of their ludic appeal and ability to provide intrinsic motivation to the learner, and their openness that allows the learner to gain a more holistic understanding of a topic. Background: Researchers have investigated the affordances, benefits, and drawbacks of individual 3D-IDEs, such as virtual worlds, but teachers lack a general-purpose approach to assessing new 3D-IDEs as they appear and applying them to teaching practice. Methodology: The categorization scheme is based on the analysis, reflection, and comprehension of the research on limitations, challenges, and opportunities for teaching in virtual environments by Angel Rueda, Valdes Godines and Guzmán Flores; the scheme is discussed in terms of an experiment to trial virtual genetics labs in Second Life. Contribution: The paper describes a general-purpose approach to applying existing and new 3D virtual spaces to education, shows a worked example of the use of the categories, and describes six approaches to consider in applying these technologies. Findings: 3D-IDEs are categorized in terms of the way in which they interface with the user’s senses and their ability to provide ‘immersion’; two forms of immersion are examined: digital perceptual immersion – the generated sense of reality – and ludic narrative immersion – a less cognitive and more emotional engagement with the learning environment. Recommendations for Practitioners: Six specific forms of pedagogy appropriate for 3D-IDEs are examined and discussed, in terms of the affordances and technology required, as assessed by the categorization scheme. More broadly, the paper argues for a change in the assessment of new digital technologies from the technology’s features to its affordances and the pedagogies it can support. Recommendation for Researchers: The paper offers a practical approach to choosing and using 3D-IDEs for education, based upon previous work. The next step is to trial the scheme with teachers to ascertain its ease of use and effectiveness. Impact on Society: The paper argues strongly for a new approach to teaching, where the learner is encouraged to use 3D-IDEs in a ludic manner in order to generate internal motivation to learn, and to explore the topic according to their individual learning needs in addition to the teacher’s planned route through the learning material. Future Research: The categorization scheme is intended to be applied to new technologies as they are introduced. Future research is needed to assess its effectiveness and if necessary update the scheme.

Aim/Purpose: Bioengineering is a burgeoning interdisciplinary learning domain that could inspire the imaginations of elementary aged children but is not traditionally taught to this age group for reasons unrelated to student ability. This pilot study presents the BacToMars videogame and accompanying curricular intervention, designed to introduce children (aged 7-11) to foundational concepts of bioengineering and to the interdisciplinary nature of scientific endeavors. Background: This pilot study explores the bioengineering-related learning outcomes and attitudes of children after engaging with the BacToMars game and curriculum intervention. Methodology: This study drew on prior findings in game-based learning and applied them to a videogame designed to connect microbiology with Constructionist microworlds. An experimental comparison showed the learning and engagement affordances of integrating this videogame into a mixed-media bioengineering curriculum. Elementary-aged children (N = 17) participated in a 9-hour learning intervention, with one group of n = 8 children receiving the BacToMars videogame and the other group (n = 9) receiving traditional learning activities on the same content. Pre- and post-surveys and interview data were collected from both groups. Contribution: This paper contributes to education research on children’s ability to meaningfully engage with abstract concepts at the intersection of science and engineering through bioengineering education, and to design research on developing educational technology for introducing bioengineering content to elementary school children. Findings: Children in both groups showed improved knowledge and attitudes related to bioengineering. Children who used BacToMars showed slightly stronger performance on game-specific concepts, while children in the control condition showed slightly higher generalized knowledge of bioengineering concepts. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners should consider bioengineering as a domain for meaningful, interdisciplinary learning in elementary education.. Recommendation for Researchers: Design researchers should develop playful ways to introduce bioengineering concepts accurately and to engage children’s imaginations and problem-solving skills. Education researchers should further investigate developmentally appropriate ways to introduce bioengineering in elementary education. Impact on Society: BacToMars introduces a meaningful scenario to contextualize complex con-cepts at the intersection of science and engineering, and to engage children in real-world, interdisciplinary problem solving. Future Research: Future research should explore BacToMars and bioengineering curricula for elementary-aged children in larger samples, with longer intervention times.

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the variations in student participation patterns across different types of instructional activities, learning modes, and with different instructional guidance approaches. In the current study, different variables, modes of learning (guided versus unguided), and types of guidance (social versus cognitive) were manipulated in a series of microblogging-supported collaborative learning tasks to examine to what extent and in which aspects instructional guidance affects the effectiveness and student perception of microblogging-supported learning. Background: Despite the overwhelming agreement on the importance of instructional guidance in microblogging-supported learning environments, very few studies have been done to examine the specificity of guidance, such as how to structure and support microblogging activities, as well as what types of guidance are appropriate in what learning contexts. Methodology: This semester-long study utilized a case-study research design via a multi-dimensional approach in a hybrid classroom with both face-to-face and online environments. Tweets were collected from four types of activities and coded based on content within their contextual setting. Twenty-four college students participated in the study. Contribution: In response to the call to improve social media learning environments under-scored in contemporary education, the current case study took an initial step aiming at deepening the understanding of the role of instructional guidance in microblogging-supported learning environments. Findings: This study showcases that with instructor facilitation, students succeeded in being engaged in a highly participatory and interactive learning experience across a variety of tasks and activities. This study indicates that students’ perspectives of social media tools rely heavily on what instructors do with the tool and how the instructional activities are structured and supported. Instructors’ scaffolding and support is instrumental in keeping students on task and engaging students with meaningful events, thus ensuring the success of microblogging-based learning activities. Meanwhile, students’ perception of usefulness of instructional guidance is closely related to their own pre-perception and experience. Recommendations for Practitioners: When incorporating social media tools, it is important to examine learner’s prior knowledge and comfort level with these tools and tailor the design of instructional activities to their attributes. It is also vital to monitor student progress, adjust the type and amount of guidance and scaffolding provided as they progress, and eventually remove the scaffolding until students can demonstrate that they can perform the task successfully without assistance. Recommendation for Researchers: Due to many other potential factors in place that could potentially influence student learning, no conclusive remarks can be made regarding the superiority of either one type of guidance approach. Future researchers should continue to develop robust research methodologies to seek ways to better operationalize this variable and strive to understand its effect. Future Research: Future replication studies in other settings, with a larger sample size, and different populations will certainly provide further insights on the effects of instructional guidance in microblogging-based learning. Alternative coding methods may also shed light on differences in student interaction in terms of content diversity and depth of learning when analyzing the tweets. Advanced data collection techniques may be explored to ascertain the completeness of data collection.

Table of Contents of the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, Volume 17, 2018

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents a data mining approach for analyzing responses to advanced declarative programming questions. The goal of this research is to find a model that can explain the results obtained by students when they perform exams with Constructed Response questions and with equivalent Multiple-Choice Questions. Background: The assessment of acquired knowledge is a fundamental role in the teaching-learning process. It helps to identify the factors that can contribute to the teacher in the developing of pedagogical methods and evaluation tools and it also contributes to the self-regulation process of learning. However, better format of questions to assess declarative programming knowledge is still a subject of ongoing debate. While some research advocates the use of constructed responses, others emphasize the potential of multiple-choice questions. Methodology: A sensitivity analysis was applied to extract useful knowledge from the relevance of the characteristics (i.e., the input variables) used for the data mining process to compute the score. Contribution: Such knowledge helps the teachers to decide which format they must consider with respect to the objectives and expected students results. Findings: The results shown a set of factors that influence the discrepancy between answers in both formats. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teachers can make an informed decision about whether to choose multiple-choice questions or constructed-response taking into account the results of this study. Recommendation for Researchers: In this study a block of exams with CR questions is verified to complement the area of learning, returning greater performance in the evaluation of students and improving the teaching-learning process. Impact on Society: The results of this research confirm the findings of several other researchers that the use of ICT and the application of MCQ is an added value in the evaluation process. In most cases the student is more likely to succeed with MCQ, however if the teacher prefers to evaluate with CR other research approaches are needed. Future Research: Future research must include other question formats.

Aim/Purpose: This research aims to describe and demonstrate the results of an intervention through educational robotics to improve the computational thinking of student teachers. Background: Educational robotics has been increasing in school classrooms for the development of computational thinking and digital competence. However, there is a lack of research on how to prepare future teachers of Kindergarten and Elementary School in the didactic use of computational thinking, as part of their necessary digital teaching competence. Methodology: Following the Design-Based Research methodology, we designed an intervention with educational robots that includes unplugged, playing, making and remixing activities. Participating in this study were 114 Spanish university students of education. Contribution: This research helps to improve the initial training of student teachers, especially in the field of educational robotics. Findings: The student teachers consider themselves digital competent, especially in the dimensions related to social and multimedia aspects, and to a lesser extent in the technological dimension. The results obtained also confirm the effectiveness of the intervention through educational robotics in the development of computational thinking of these students, especially among male students. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teacher trainers could introduce robotics following these steps: (1) initiation and unplugged activities, (2) gamified activities of initiation to the programming and test of the robots, (3) initiation activities to Scratch, and (4) design and resolution of a challenge. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers could examine how interventions with educational robots helps to improve the computational thinking of student teachers, and thoroughly analyze gender-differences. Impact on Society: Computational thinking and robotics are one of the emerging educational trends. Despite the rise of this issue, there are still few investigations that systematize and collect evidence in this regard. This study allows to visualize an educational intervention that favors the development of the computational thinking of student teachers. Future Research: Researchers could evaluate not only the computational thinking of student teachers, but also their didactics, their ability to teach or create didactic activities to develop computational thinking in their future students.

Aim/Purpose: The current study examines the impact of an intervention program to train teachers to collaborate with their students while creating digital games. Background: Teachers seem unable to leverage the potential of ICT to present students with a rich learning environment. ICT integration is usually at a relatively simple and concrete level without changing the traditional teacher-student paradigm. Methodology: The study is both quantitative and qualitative. Participants were 63 active teachers studying in the M.Ed. program at a teacher education college. The teachers responded to a series of pre- and post-questionnaires and wrote a concluding reflection. Contribution: Teaching based on creating digital games, combined with teacher-class collaboration, is a viable and real alternative of constructivist teaching, adapted to different learners. Findings: The SEM path analysis showed that it was only after the intervention that the lower the teachers’ resistance to changing teaching patterns, the higher their intrinsic motivation to learn an innovative pedagogical-technological program and likewise the sense of mastery of 21st-century skills, resulting in a positive attitude towards classroom collaboration. The qualitative findings reveal eight categories dealing with two main themes: the first is professional development, including conceptual, behavioral and emotional change, and the second is the teachers’ perception of the learners. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teacher training should be ongoing in order to change teaching-learning processes and promote an active approach based on constructive principles, 21st-century skills and collaboration between teachers and students in a computer environment. Recommendation for Researchers: Future studies should start by sampling teachers and education professionals who have convenient access to technology in their teaching-learning environment. Impact on Society: Collaboration between teachers and students in creating learning games in a computer environment and teacher-class collaboration, in general, require very different training than that which exists today. Hence there should be some rethinking of teacher training. The proposed pedagogical model is one such idea in the right direction. Future Research: A larger study with a greater number of participants, including a control group, should be conducted.

Aim/Purpose: The study examined types of errors made by novice programmers in different Java concepts with students of different ability levels in programming as well as the perceived causes of such errors. Background: To improve code writing and debugging skills, efforts have been made to taxonomize programming errors and their causes. However, most of the studies employed omnibus approaches, i.e. without consideration of different programing concepts and ability levels of the trainee programmers. Such concepts and ability specific errors identification and classifications are needed to advance appropriate intervention strategy. Methodology: A sequential exploratory mixed method design was adopted. The sample was an intact class of 124 Computer Science and Engineering undergraduate students grouped into three achievement levels based on first semester performance in a Java programming course. The submitted codes in the course of second semester exercises were analyzed for possible errors, categorized and grouped across achievement level. The resulting data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as Pearson product correlation coefficient. Qualitative analyses through interviews and focused group discussion (FGD) were also employed to identify reasons for the committed errors. Contribution:The study provides a useful concept-based and achievement level specific error log for the teaching of Java programming for beginners. Findings: The results identified 598 errors with Missing symbols (33%) and Invalid symbols (12%) constituting the highest and least committed errors respec-tively. Method and Classes concept houses the highest number of errors (36%) followed by Other Object Concepts (34%), Decision Making (29%), and Looping (10%). Similar error types were found across ability levels. A significant relationship was found between missing symbols and each of Invalid symbols and Inappropriate Naming. Errors made in Methods and Classes were also found to significantly predict that of Other Object concepts. Recommendations for Practitioners: To promote better classroom practice in the teaching of Java programming, findings for the study suggests instructions to students should be based on achievement level. In addition to this, learning Java programming should be done with an unintelligent editor. Recommendations for Researchers: Research could examine logic or semantic errors among novice programmers as the errors analyzed in this study focus mainly on syntactic ones. Impact on Society: The digital age is code-driven, thus error analysis in programming instruction will enhance programming ability, which will ultimately transform novice programmers into experts, particularly in developing countries where most of the software in use is imported. Future Research: Researchers could look beyond novice or beginner programmers as codes written by intermediate or even advanced programmers are still not often completely error free.

Table of Contents of the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, Volume 18, 2019

Aim/Purpose: Although many computer science measures have been proposed, visualizing individual students’ capabilities is difficult, as those measures often rely on specific tools and methods or are not graded. To solve these problems, we propose a rubric for measuring and visualizing the effects of learning computer programming for elementary school students enrolled in computer science education (CSE), which is independent of the programming language being used. Background: In this research, we proposed a rubric based on existing CSE standards and criteria having a programming education-learning goal. We then applied this rubric to actual lessons to visualize the educational effects. Methodology: The proposed new rubric for teaching computer programming, based on existing standards and criteria, was applied to fourth- and sixth-grade students in Japan. We assessed which skills were cultivated through quizzes before and after the teaching. Contribution: This paper contributes on how to make and utilize a rubric for programming education in computer science. We evaluated and visualized the proposed rubric’s learning effects on children and found that our proposed rubrics are independent of any particular method or tool. Findings: The results of this survey are twofold: (1) we proposed a rubric of programming education in computer science, independent of the programming tools used and (2) we succeeded in visualizing students’ learning stages by applying the proposed rubric to programming education conducted in a Japanese elementary school. Recommendations for Practitioners: Evaluating educational effects in CSE is important. In particular, graded assessments of learner abilities can reveal individual characteristics. This research is useful for assessing CSE because it focuses specifically on programming education. Recommendation for Researchers: The rubric’s suggestions and quality improvements in CSE help learners assess their learning progress and will clarify the cultivated computer science skills. Impact on Society: This research evaluates CSE based on a rubric in the programming education field. Future Research: Future work is needed to improve the proposed rubric’s quality and relevance. Also, this rubric should be applied to many classes to increase the number of evaluations and analyses.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop an efficient methodology that can assist the evaluators in assessing a variable number of individuals that are working in groups and guarantee that the assessment is dependent on the group members’ performance and contribution to the work developed. Background: Collaborative work has been gaining more popularity in academic settings. However, group assessment needs to be performed according to each individual’s performance. The problem rests on the need to distinguish each member of the group in order to provide fair and unbiased assessments. Methodology: Design Science Research methodology supported the design of a framework able to provide the evaluator with the means to distinguish individuals in a workgroup and deliver fair results. Hevner’s DSR guidelines were fulfilled in order to describe WebAVALIA. To evaluate the framework, a quantitative study was performed and the first results are presented. Contribution: This paper provides a methodological solution regarding a fair evaluation of collaborative work through a tool that allows its users to perform their own assessment and peer assessment. These are made accordingly to the user’s perspectives on the performance of each group member throughout the work development. Findings: The first analysis of the results indicates that the developed method provides fairness in the assessment of group members, delivering a distinction amongst individuals. Therefore, each group member obtains a mark that corresponds to their specific contribution to the workgroup. Recommendations for Practitioners: For those who intend to apply this workgroup assessment method, it is relevant to raise student awareness about the methodology that is going to be used. That is, all the functionalities and steps in WebAVALIA have to be thoroughly explained before beginning of the project. Then, the evaluators have to decide about the students’ intermediate voting, namely if the evaluator chooses or not to publish student results throughout the project’s development. If there is the decision to display these intermediate results, the evaluator must try to encourage collaboration among workgroup members, instead of competition. Recommendation for Researchers: This study explores the design and development of an e-assessment tool – WebAVALIA. In order to assess its feasibility, its use in other institutions or contexts is recommended. The gathering of user opinions is suggested as well. It would then be interesting to compare the findings of this study with the results from other experimentations Impact on Society: Sometimes, people develop a rejection of collaborative work because they feel exploited due to the biased evaluation results. However, the group members assessment distinction, according to each one’s performance, may give each individual a sense of fairness and reward, leading to an openness/willingness towards collaborative work. Future Research: As future work, there are plans to implement the method in other group assessment contexts – such as sports and business environments, other higher education institutions, technical training students – in other cultures and countries. From this myriad of contexts, satisfaction results would be compared. Other future plans are to further explore the mathematical formulations and the respective WebAVALIA supporting algorithms.

Aim/Purpose: The current study was conducted to investigate the students’ perceived satisfaction with the use of a semantic-based online laboratory, which provides students with a search mechanism for laboratory resources, such as instruments and devices. Background: The increasing popularity of using online teaching labs, as an important element of experiential learning in STEM education, is because they represent a collection of integrated tools that allow students and teachers to interact and work collaboratively, whereas they provide an enriched learning content delivery mechanism. Moreover, several research studies have proposed various approaches for online teaching laboratories. However, there are hardly any studies that examine the student satisfaction provided by online laboratories based on students’ experiential learning. Methodology: To measure the effectiveness of the laboratory, we performed a case study in a Computer Fundamentals online course in which undergraduate students were able to manage devices and instruments remotely. Participants were a sample of 50 third semester students of Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology Administration who were divided in experimental and control groups (online laboratory vs. traditional manner). Given a laboratory assignment, students were able to carry out the management of devices and instruments through a LabView virtual environment and web services. The data of the experiment were collected through two questionnaires from both groups. The first is a system usability score (SUS) questionnaire concerning lab usability and the second one students’ cognitive load. Contribution: The results of the study showed a high correlation between usability and cognitive load-satisfaction of students who used the online teaching laboratory compared to the students who did not use it. Findings: On the one hand, the online laboratory provided students with an easy way to share and deploy instruments and devices, thus enhancing system usability. On the other hand, it offered important facilities which enabled students to customize the search for instruments and devices, which certainly had a positive impact on the relationship between cognitive load and satisfaction. Recommendations for Practitioners: In this work we propose an intuitive laboratory interface as well as easiness to use but challenging and capable of providing similar experiences to the traditional laboratory. Recommendation for Researchers: This study is one of the first to analyze the cognitive load-satisfaction relationship and compare it with usability scores. Impact on Society: Our analyses make an important contribution to the literature by suggesting a correlation analysis comparing the results of experimental and control groups that participated in this research work, in terms of usability and cognitive load-satisfaction. Future Research: Future work will also investigate other methodological aspects of instructional design with the aim to improve personalized learning and reinforce collaborative experiences, as well as to deal with problems related to laboratory access, such as authentication, scheduling, and interoperability.

Aim/Purpose: This study reports the outcome of how a first pilot semester introductory programming course was designed to provide tangible evidence in support of the concept of Student Ownership of Learning (SOL) and how the outcomes of this programming course facilitate effective student learning. Background: Many instructors want to create or redesign their courses to strengthen the relationship between teaching and learning; however, the researchers of this study believe that the concept of Student Ownership of Learning (SOL) connects to student engagement and achievement in the classroom setting. The researchers redesigned the introductory programming course to include valuable teaching methods to increase Student Ownership of Learning and constructive approaches such as making students design an authentic mobile app project as individuals, partners, or within teams. The high quality of students’ projects positioned them as consultants to the university IT department. Methodology: This paper employs a case study design to construct a qualitative research method as it relates to the phenomenon of the study’s goals and lived experiences of students in the redesigned introductory programming course. The redesigned course was marketed to students as a new course with detailed description and elements that were different from the traditional computer science introductory programming course requirement. The redesigned introductory programming course was offered in two sections: one section with 14 registered students and the other section with 15 registered students. One faculty member instructed both sections of the course. A total of 29 students signed up for the newly redesigned introductory programming course, more than in previous semesters, but two students dropped out within the first two weeks of the redesigned course making a total of 27 students. The redesigned coursework was divided into two parts of the semester. The first part of the semester detailed description and elements of the coursework including a redesigned approach with preparation for class, a quiz, and doing homework in class, which gives students control of decisions whenever possible; and working with each other, either with a partner or in a team. The second part of the semester focuses on students designing a non-trivial working mobile app and presenting their developing mobile app at a significant public competition at the end of the semester. Students developed significantly complex mobile apps and incorporated more complex functionality in their apps. Both Management Information System (MIS) major students and Computer Science major students were in the same course despite the fact that MIS students had never taken a programming course before; however, the Computer Science students had taken at least one course of programming. Contribution: This study provides a practical guide for faculty members in Information Technology programs and other faculty members in non-Computer Science programs to create or redesign an introductory course that increases student engagement and achievement in the classroom based on the concept of Student Ownership of Learning (SOL). This study also deepens the discussion in curriculum and instruction on the value to explore issues that departments or programs should consider when establishing coursework or academic programs. Findings: This study found two goals evidently in support to increase Student Ownership of Learning (SOL). The first goal (Increase their ownership of learning SOL) showed that students found value in the course contents and took control of their learning; therefore, the faculty no longer had to point out how important different programming concepts were. The students recognized their own learning gap and were excited when shown a programming concept that addressed the gap. For example, student comments were met with “boy, we can really use this in our app” instead of comments about how complex they were. The coursework produced a desired outcome for students as they would get the knowledge needed to make the best app that they could. The second goal (Develop a positive attitude toward the course) showed positive results as students developed a more positive attitude towards the course. Student actions in the classroom strongly reflected a positive attitude. Attendance was almost 100% during the semester even though no points for attendance were given. Further evidence of Student Ownership of Learning and self-identity was students’ extensive use of the terminology and concept of the course when talking to others, especially during the public competition. Students were also incorporating their learning into their identities. For example, teams became known by their app such as the Game team, the Recipe team, and the Parking team. One team even made team t-shirts. Another exciting reflection of the Student Ownership of Learning which occurred was the learning students did by themselves. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners can share best practices with faculty in different departments, programs, universities, and educational consultants to cultivate the best solution for Student Ownership of Learning based on student engagement and achievement in the classroom setting. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can explore different perspectives with scholars and practitioners in various disciplinary fields of study to create or redesign courses and programs to reflect Student Ownership of Learning (SOL). Impact on Society: Student Ownership of Learning is relevant for faculty and universities to incorporate in the creation or redesigning of coursework in academic programs. Readers can gain an understanding that student engagement and achievement are two important drivers of Student Ownership of Learning (SOL) in the classroom setting. Future Research: Practitioners and researchers could follow-up in the future with a study to provide more understanding and updated research information from different research samples and hypotheses on Student Ownership of Learning (SOL).

Aim/Purpose: Multi-threaded software design is considered to be difficult, especially to novice programmers. In this study, we explored how students cope with a task that its solution requires a multi-threaded architecture to achieve optimal runtime. Background: An efficient exploit of multicore processors architecture requires computer programs that use parallel programming techniques. However, parallel programming is difficult to understand and apply by novice programmers. Methodology: The students had to address a two-stage problem: (1) design an optimal runtime solution to a given problem with no additional instructions; and (2) provide an optimal runtime multi-threaded design to the same problem. Interviews were conducted with a representative group of students to understand the underlying causes of their provided designs. We used qualitative research methods to gain refined insights regarding the students’ decision making during the design process. To analyze the gained data, we used content analysis tools. Contribution: The case study presented in this paper will help the teacher to stress the merits and limitations of various parallel architectures and confront students with the consequences of their solutions via performances’ benchmark. Findings: Analysis of the student’s solutions to the first stage revealed that the majority of them did not provide a multi-threaded solution ignoring the optimal runtime requirement. At the second stage, seven various architectures were provided differing in the number of involved threads, the data structures used, and the synchronization mechanism employed. The majority of the solutions were sub-optimal and only a few students provided an optimal one. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend conducting class discussions that will follow a task similar to the one used in this study. Recommendation for Researchers: To be able to generalize the received results this research should be repeated with larger study participant groups from various academic institutions. Impact on Society: Understanding the difficulties of novice programmers may lead to quality software systems. Future Research: To be able to generalize the received results this research should be repeated with larger study participant groups from various academic institutions.

Aim/Purpose: In this paper, we present our experience in design and delivery of a graduate Information Systems Management (ISM) course in an online MBA program. Also presented are a detailed examination of the design and delivery of the online course, survey results of students’ perceptions and backgrounds, course evaluation results, best practices and lessons learned, and potential changes and future actions. Background: This graduate ISM course needs to not only cover a broad range of dynamic technology and business topics, but also strike a balance between the width and depth of the content. Effective course design and delivery are critical to improved teaching and learning, especially when the course is delivered online. Methodology: We provided a comprehensive review of the related literature to develop guidelines for the design and delivery of our ISM course; we collected survey data to evaluate the students’ backgrounds and their perceptions of the course; we used data analysis and content analysis methods to assess the course evaluation results. Contribution: A review of the related literature indicates that IS researchers and educators have not adequately studied online graduate education. Given the importance of the graduate ISM course in most MBA programs, and the lack of attention from the IS community, it is critical to address this gap in the research. We believe we have done so with this paper. Findings: The paper’s major findings are embedded in a detailed examination of the design and delivery of the online course, survey results of students’ perceptions and backgrounds, course evaluation results, best practices and lessons learned, and potential changes and future actions. Recommendations for Practitioners: Even though our experience may not be fully applicable to other institutions, we hope our IS colleagues can learn from the design and delivery of this online course, as well as our best practices and lessons learned to improve the teaching and learning effectiveness in IS online graduate education, in general. Furthermore, we provide instructors with an actionable framework onto which they can map their current course offering, and compare their current pedagogical offering to literature driven best practices for ISM courses, in particular. Recommendation for Researchers: It is our hope that the design and delivery of this online course, and our best practices and lessons learned can inspire our IS colleagues to search for innovative ways to improve the teaching and learning effectiveness in IS online graduate education. In addition, we distill a literature driven framework for ISM courses design and delivery that can help researchers frame their pedagogical research questions. Impact on Society: The online course in this study prepares students for more efficiently and effectively delivering IT systems in organizations. Many MBA students work for non-profits and other socially-focused organizations and are able to use the skills learned in the course for the betterment of society. Future Research: We will continue to monitor the impact of the changes on student learning effectiveness and attempt to identify additional innovative ways to improve the design and delivery of this online ISM course.

Aim/Purpose: Students tend to learn best when an array of learning styles is used by instructors. The purpose of this paper is to add, to introduce, and to apply the concepts of kinesthetic learning and learning structures to university and STEM education. Background: The study applies the concept of kinesthetic learning and a learning structure called Think-Pair-Share to an experiential exercise about Moore’s Law in an introductory MIS classroom. The paper details the exercise and each of its components. Methodology: Students in two classes were asked to complete a short survey about their conceptual understanding of the course material before and after the experiential exercise. Contribution: The paper details the benefits of kinesthetic learning and learning structures and discusses how to apply these concepts through an experiential exercise used in an introductory MIS course. Findings: Results indicate that the kinesthetic learning activity had a positive impact on student learning outcomes. Recommendations for Practitioners: University educators can use this example to structure several other learning activities that apply kinesthetic learning principles. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can use this paper to study more about how to incorporate kinesthetic learning into education, and about teaching technology concepts to undergraduate students through kinesthetic learning. Impact on Society: The results of this study may be extremely beneficial for the university and STEM community and overall academic business community. Future Research: Researchers should consider longitudinal studies and other ways to incorporate kinesthetic learning activities into education.

Table of Contents of the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, Volume 19, 2020

Aim/Purpose: One of the main objectives of higher education institutions is to provide a high-quality education to their students and reduce dropout rates. This can be achieved by predicting students’ academic achievement early using Educational Data Mining (EDM). This study aims to predict students’ final grades and identify honorary students at an early stage. Background: EDM research has emerged as an exciting research area, which can unfold valuable knowledge from educational databases for many purposes, such as identifying the dropouts and students who need special attention and discovering honorary students for allocating scholarships. Methodology: In this work, we have collected 300 undergraduate students’ records from three departments of a Computer and Information Science College at a university located in Saudi Arabia. We compared the performance of six data mining methods in predicting academic achievement. Those methods are C4.5, Simple CART, LADTree, Naïve Bayes, Bayes Net with ADTree, and Random Forest. Contribution: We tested the significance of correlation attribute predictors using four different methods. We found 9 out of 18 proposed features with a significant correlation for predicting students’ academic achievement after their 4th semester. Those features are student GPA during the first four semesters, the number of failed courses during the first four semesters, and the grades of three core courses, i.e., database fundamentals, programming language (1), and computer network fundamentals. Findings: The empirical results show the following: (i) the main features that can predict students’ academic achievement are the student GPA during the first four semesters, the number of failed courses during the first four semesters, and the grades of three core courses; (ii) Naïve Bayes classifier performed better than Tree-based Models in predicting students’ academic achievement in general, however, Random Forest outperformed Naïve Bayes in predicting honorary students; (iii) English language skills do not play an essential role in students’ success at the college of Computer and Information Sciences; and (iv) studying an orientation year does not contribute to students’ success. Recommendations for Practitioners: We would recommend instructors to consider using EDM in predicting students’ academic achievement and benefit from that in customizing students’ learning experience based on their different needs. Recommendation for Researchers: We would highly endorse that researchers apply more EDM studies across various universities and compare between them. For example, future research could investigate the effects of offering tutoring sessions for students who fail core courses in their first semesters, examine the role of language skills in social science programs, and examine the role of the orientation year in other programs. Impact on Society: The prediction of academic performance can help both teachers and students in many ways. It also enables the early discovery of honorary students. Thus, well-deserved opportunities can be offered; for example, scholarships, internships, and workshops. It can also help identify students who require special attention to take an appropriate intervention at the earliest stage possible. Moreover, instructors can be aware of each student’s capability and customize the teaching tasks based on students’ needs. Future Research: For future work, the experiment can be repeated with a larger dataset. It could also be extended with more distinctive attributes to reach more accurate results that are useful for improving the students’ learning outcomes. Moreover, experiments could be done using other data mining algorithms to get a broader approach and more valuable and accurate outputs.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop and evaluate a debiasing-based approach to assessing the learning materials in problem-based learning (PBL) environments. Background: Research in cognitive debiasing suggests nine debiasing strategies improve decision-making. Given the large number of decisions made in semester-long, problem-based learning projects, multiple tools and techniques help students make decisions. However, instructors may struggle to identify the specific tools or techniques that could be modified to best improve students’ decision-making in the project. Furthermore, a structured approach for identifying these modifications is lacking. Such an approach would match the debiasing strategies with the tools and techniques. Methodology: This debiasing framework for the PBL environment is developed through a study of debiasing literature and applied within an e-commerce course using the Model for Improvement, continuous improvement process, as an illustrative case to show its potential. In addition, a survey of the students, archival information, and participant observation provided feedback on the debiasing framework and its ability to assess the tools and techniques within the PBL environment. Contribution: This paper demonstrates how debiasing theory can be used within a continuous improvement process for PBL courses. By focusing on a cognitive debiasing-based approach, this debiasing framework helps instructors 1) identify what tools and techniques to change in an PBL environment, and 2) assess which tools and techniques failed to debias the students adequately, providing potential changes for future cycles. Findings: Using the debiasing framework in an e-commerce course with significant PBL elements provides evidence that this framework can be used within IS courses and more broadly. In this particular case, the change identified in a prior cycle proved effective and additional issues were identified for improvement. Recommendations for Practitioners: With the growing usage of semester-long PBL projects in business schools, instructors need to ensure that their design of the projects incorporates techniques that improve student learning and decision making. This approach provides a means for assessing the quality of that design. Recommendation for Researchers: This study uses debiasing theory to improve course techniques. Researchers interested in assessment, course improvement, and program improvement should incorporate debiasing theory within PBL environments or other types of decision-making scenarios. Impact on Society: Increased awareness of cognitive biases can help instructors, students, and professionals make better decisions and recommendations. By developing a framework for evaluating cognitive debiasing strategies, we help instructors improve projects that prepare students for complex and multifaceted real-world projects. Future Research: The approach could be applied to multiple contexts, within other courses, and more widely within information systems to extend this research. The framework might also be refined to make it more concise, integrated with assessment, or usable in more contexts.

Aim/Purpose: During the education of future engineers and experts in the field of computer science and information communication technology, the achievement of learning outcomes related to different levels of cognitive ability and knowledge dimensions can be a challenge. Background: Teachers need to design an appropriate set of activities for students and combine theory-based knowledge acquisition with practical training in technical skills. Including various activities for formative assessment during the course can positively affect students’ motivation for learning and ensure appropriate and timely feedback that will guide students in further learning. Methodology: The aim of the research presented in this paper is to propose an approach for course delivery in the field of software engineering and to determine whether the use of the approach increases student’s academic achievement. Using the proposed approach, the course Process Modeling for undergraduate students was redesigned and experimental study was conducted. Course results of the students (N=82) who took the new version of the course (experimental group) were compared to the results of the students from the control group (N=66). Contribution: An approach for a blended learning course in the field of software engineering was developed. This approach is based on the formative assessment activities that promote collaboration and the use of digital tools. Newly designed activities are used to encourage a greater level of acquired theoretical content and enhance the acquisition of subject-specific skills needed for practical tasks. Findings: The results showed that students who participated in the formative assessment activities achieved significantly better results. They had significantly higher scores in the main components of assessment compared to the students from the control group. In addition, students from the experimental group expressed positive views about the effectiveness of the used approach. Recommendations for Practitioners: The proposed approach has potential to increase students’ motivation and academic achievements so practitioners should consider to apply it in their own context. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers are encouraged to conduct additional studies to explore the effectiveness of the approach with different courses and participants as well as to provide further insights regarding its applicability and acceptance by students. Impact on Society: The paper provides an approach and an example of good practice that may be beneficial for the university teachers in the field of computer science, information-communication technology, and engineering. Future Research: In the future, face-to-face activities will be adapted for performance in an online environment. Future work will also include a research on the possibilities of personalization of activities in accordance with the students’ characteristics.

Aim/Purpose: This paper investigates the influence of university student multitasking on their learning success, defined as students’ learning satisfaction and performance. Background: Most research on student multitasking finds student multitasking problematic. However, this research is generally from 2010. Yet, today’s students are known to be digital natives and they have a different, more positive, relationship with mobile technologies. Based on the old findings, most instructors ban mobile technology use during instruction, and design their online courses without regard for the mobile technology use that happens regardless of their ban. This study investigates whether today’s instructors and learning management system interface designers should take into account multitasking with mobile technologies. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Data were collected from 117 students across two sections of an introductory Management Information Systems class taught by the first author. We took multiple approaches and steps to control for confounding factors and to increase the internal validity of the study. We used a control group as a comparison group, we used a pre-test, we controlled for selection bias, and we tested for demographic differences between groups. Contribution: With this paper, we explicated the relationship between multitasking and learning success. We defined learning success as learning performance and learning satisfaction. Contrary to the literature, we found that multitasking involving IT texting does not decrease students’ learning performance. An explanation of this change is the change in the student population, and the digital nativeness between 2010s and 2020 and beyond. Findings: Our study showed that multitasking involving IT texting does not decrease students’ performance in class compared to not multitasking. Secondly, our study showed that, overall, multitasking reduced the students’ learning satisfaction despite the literature suggesting otherwise. We found that attitude towards multitasking moderated the relationship between multitasking and learning satisfaction as follows. Individuals who had a positive attitude towards multitasking had high learning satisfaction with multitasking. However, individuals who had positive attitude toward multitasking did not necessarily have higher learning performance. Recommendations for Practitioners: We would recommend both instructors and the designers of learning management systems to take mobile multitasking into consideration while designing courses and course interfaces, rather than banning multitasking, and assuming that the students do not do it. Furthermore, we recommend including multitasking into relevant courses such as Management Information Systems courses to make students aware of their own multitasking behavior and their results. Recommendation for Researchers: We recommend that future studies investigate multitasking with different instruction methods, especially studies that make students aware of their multitasking behavior and its outcomes will be useful for next generations. Impact on Society: This paper investigates the role of mobile multitasking on learning performance. Since mobile technologies are ubiquitous and their use in multitasking is common, their use in multitasking affects societal performance. Future Research: Studies that replicate our research with larger and more diverse samples are needed. Future research could explore research-based experiential teaching methods, similar to this study.

Aim/Purpose: Business analytics is a cross-functional field that is important to implement for a college and has emerged as a critically important core component of the business curriculum. It is a difficult task due to scheduling concerns and limits to faculty and student resources. This paper describes the process of creating a central video repository to serve as a platform for just in time teaching and the impact on student learning outcomes. Background: Industry demand for employees with analytical knowledge, skills, and abilities requires additional analytical content throughout the college of business curriculum. This demand needs other content to be added to ensure that students have the prerequisite skills to complete assignments. Two pedagogical approaches to address this issue are Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and scaffolding, grounded in the Vygoskian concept of “Zone of Proximal Development. Methodology: This paper presents a case study that applies scaffolding and JiTT teaching to create a video repository to add business analytics instruction to a curriculum. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and Major Field Test (MFT) scores were analyzed to assess learning outcomes. Student and faculty comments were considered to inform the results of the review. Contribution: This paper demonstrates a practical application of scaffolding and JiTT theory by outlining the process of using a video library to provide valuable instructional resources that support meaningful learning, promote student academic achievement, and improve program flexibility. Findings: A centrally created library is a simple and inexpensive way to provide business analytics course content, augmenting standard content delivery. Assessment of learning scores showed an improvement, and a summary of lessons learned is provided to guide implications. Recommendations for Practitioners: Pedagogical implications of this research include the observation that producing a central library of instructor created videos and assignments can help address knowledge and skills gaps, augment the learning of business analytics content, and provide a valuable educational resource throughout the college of business curriculum. Recommendation for Researchers: This paper examines the use of scaffolding and JiTT theories. Additional examination of these theories may improve the understanding and limits of these concepts as higher education evolves due to the combination of market forces changing the execution of course delivery. Impact on Society: Universities are tasked with providing new and increasing skills to students while controlling the costs. A centrally created library of instructional videos provides a means of delivering meaningful content while controlling costs. Future Research: Future research may examine student success, including the immediate impact of videos and longitudinally using video repositories throughout the curriculum. Studies examining the approach across multiple institutions may help to evaluate the success of video repositories. Faculty acceptance of centrally created video libraries and assignments should be considered for the value of faculty recruiting and use in the classroom. The economic impact on both the university and students should be evaluated.

Table of Contents of the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, Volume 20, 2021

Aim/Purpose: This paper focuses on designing and implementing the rubric for objective JAVA programming assessments. An unsupervised learning approach was used to group learners based on their performance in the results obtained from the rubric, reflecting their learning ability. Background: Students' learning outcomes have been evaluated subjectively using a rubric for years. Subjective assessments are simple to construct yet inconsistent and biased to evaluate. Objective assessments are stable, reliable, and easy to conduct. However, they usually lack rubrics. Methodology: In this study, a Top-Down assessment approach is followed, i.e., a rubric focused on the learning outcome of the subject is designed, and the proficiency of learners is judged by their performance in conducting the task given. A JAVA rubric is proposed based on the learning outcomes like syntactical, logical, conceptual, and advanced JAVA skills. A JAVA objective quiz (with multiple correct options) is prepared based on the rubric criteria, comprising five questions per criterion. The examination was conducted for 209 students (100 from the MCA course and 109 from B.Tech. course). The suggested rubric was used to compute the results. K-means clustering was applied to the results to classify the students according to their learning preferences and abilities. Contribution: This work contributes to the field of rubric designing by creating an objective programming assessment and analyzing the learners’ performance using machine learning techniques. It also facilitates a reliable feedback approach offering various possibilities in student learning analytics. Findings: The designed rubric, partial scoring, and cluster analysis of the results help us to provide individual feedback and also, group the students based on their learning skills. Like on average, learners are good at remembering the syntax and concepts, mediocre in logical and critical thinking, and need more practice in code optimization and designing applications. Recommendations for Practitioners: The practical implications of this work include rubric designing for objective assessments and building an informative feedback process. Faculty can use this approach as an alternative assessment measure. They are the strong pillars of e-assessments and virtual learning platforms. Recommendation for Researchers: This research presents a novel approach to rubric-based objective assessments. Thus, it provides a fresh perspective to the researchers promising enough opportunities in the current era of digital education. Impact on Society: In order to accomplish the shared objective of reflective learning, the grading rubric and its accompanying analysis can be utilized by both instructors and students. As an instructional assessment tool, the rubric helps instructors to align their pedagogies with the students’ learning levels and assists students in updating their learning paths based on the informative topic-wise scores generated with the help of the rubric. Future Research: The designed rubric in this study can be extended to other programming languages and subjects. Further, an adaptable weighted rubric can be created to execute a flexible and reflective learning process. In addition, outcome-based learning can be achieved by measuring and analyzing student improvements after rubric evaluation.

Aim/Purpose: To encourage students’ engagement in peer assessments and provide students with better-quality feedback, this paper describes a technique for author-reviewer matching in peer assessment systems – a Balanced Allocation algorithm. Background: Peer assessment concerns evaluating the work of colleagues and providing feedback on their work. This process is widely applied as a learning method to involve students in the progress of their learning. However, as students have different ability levels, the efficacy of the peer feedback differs from case to case. Thus, peer assessment may not provide satisfactory results for students. In order to mitigate this issue, this paper explains and evaluates an algorithm that matches the author to a set of reviewers. The technique matches authors and reviewers based on how difficult the authors perceived the assignment to be, and the algorithm then matches the selected author to a group of reviewers who may meet the author’s needs in regard to the selected assignment. Methodology: This study used the Multiple Criteria Decision-Making methodology (MCDM) to determine a set of reviewers from among the many available options. The weighted sum method was used because the data that have been collected in user profiles are expressed in the same unit. This study produced an experimental result, examining the algorithm with a real collected dataset and mock-up dataset. In total, there were 240 students in the real dataset, and it contained self-assessment scores, peer scores, and instructor scores for the same assignment. The mock-up dataset created 1000 records for self-assessment scores. The algorithm was evaluated using focus group discussions with 29 programming students and interviews with seven programming instructors. Contribution: This paper contributes to the field in the following two ways. First, an algorithm using a MCDM methodology was proposed to match authors and reviewers in order to facilitate the peer assessment process. In addition, the algorithm used self-assessment as an initial data source to match users, rather than randomly creating reviewer – author pairs. Findings: The findings show the accurate results of the algorithm in matching three reviewers for each author. Furthermore, the algorithm was evaluated based on students’ and instructors’ perspectives. The results are very promising, as they depict a high level of satisfaction for the Balanced Allocation algorithm. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend instructors to consider using the Balanced Allocation algorithm to match students in peer assessments, and consequently to benefit from personalizing peer assessment based on students' needs. Recommendation for Researchers: Several MCDM methods could be expanded upon, such as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) if different attributes are collected, or the artificial neural network (ANN) if fuzzy data is available in the user profile. Each method is suitable for special cases depending on the data available for decision-making. Impact on Society: Suitable pairing in peer assessment would increase the credibility of the peer assessment process and encourage students’ engagement in peer assessments. Future Research: The Balanced Allocation algorithm could be applied using a single group, and a peer assessment with random matching with another group may also be conducted, followed by performing a t-test to determine the impact of matching on students’ performances in the peer assessment activity.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this research is to determine whether ESL teaching videos as a form of asynchronous online knowledge sharing can act as an aid to ESL learners internalizing knowledge in language acquisition. In this context, internalizing knowledge carries the meaning of being able to remember language, and purposefully and accurately use it context, including appropriacy of language, and aspects of correct pronunciation, intonation, stress patterns and connected speech, these being the elements of teaching and practice that are very often lacking in asynchronous, online, instructional video. Background: Knowledge Management is the field of study, and the practice, of discovering, capturing, sharing, and applying knowledge, typically with a view to translating individuals’ knowledge into organizational knowledge. In the field of education, it is the sharing of instructors’ knowledge for students to be able to learn and usefully apply that knowledge. In recent pandemic times, however, the mode of instruction has, of necessity, transitioned from face-to-face learning to an online environment, transforming the face of education as we know it. While this mode of instruction and knowledge sharing has many advantages for the online learner, in both synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, it presents certain challenges for language learners due to the absence of interaction and corrective feedback that needs to take place for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) to master language acquisition. Unlike other subjects where the learner has recourse to online resources to reinforce learning through referencing external information, such as facts, figures, or theories, to be successful in learning a second language, the ESL learner needs to be able to learn to process thought and speech in that language; essentially, they need to learn to think in another language, which takes time and practice. Methodology: The research employs a systematic literature review (SLR) to determine the scope and extent to which the subject is covered by existing research in this field, and the findings thereof. Contribution: Whilst inconclusive in relation to internalizing language through online, asynchronous instructional video, through its exploratory nature, the research contributes towards the body of knowledge in online learning through the drawing together of various studies in the field of learning through asynchronous video through improving video and instructional quality. Findings: The findings of the systematic literature review revealed that there is negligible research in this area, and while information exists on blended and flipped modes of online learning, and ways to improve the quality and delivery of instructional video generally, no prior research on the exclusive use of asynchronous videos as an aid to internalizing English as a second language were found. Recommendations for Practitioners: From this research, it is apparent that there is considerably more that practitioners can do to improve the quality of instructional videos that can help students engage with the learning, from which students stand a much better chance of internalizing the learning. Recommendation for Researchers: For researchers, the absence of existing research is an exciting opportunity to further explore this field. Impact on Society: Online learning is now globally endemic, but it poses specific challenges in the field of second language learning, so the development of instructional videos that can facilitate this represents a clear benefit to all ESL learners in society as a whole. Future Research: Clearly the absence of existing research into whether online asynchronous instructional videos can act as an aid to internalizing the acquisition of English as a second language would indicate that this very specific field is one that merits future research. Indeed, it is one that the author intends to exploit through primary data collection from the production of a series of asynchronous, online, instructional videos.

Aim/Purpose: This paper proposes a new approach to developing a deep learning-based prototyping wearable model which can assist blind and visually disabled people to recognize their environments and navigate through them. As a result, visually impaired people will be able to manage day-to-day activities and navigate through the world around them more easily. Background: In recent decades, the development of navigational devices has posed challenges for researchers to design smart guidance systems for visually impaired and blind individuals in navigating through known or unknown environments. Efforts need to be made to analyze the existing research from a historical perspective. Early studies of electronic travel aids should be integrated with the use of assistive technology-based artificial vision models for visually impaired persons. Methodology: This paper is an advancement of our previous research work, where we performed a sensor-based navigation system. In this research, the navigation of the visually disabled person is carried out with a vision-based 3D-designed wearable model and a vision-based smart stick. The wearable model used a neural network-based You Only Look Once (YOLO) algorithm to detect the course of the navigational path which is augmented by a GPS-based smart Stick. Over 100 images of each of the three classes, namely straight path, left path and right path, are being trained using supervised learning. The model accurately predicts a straight path with 79% mean average precision (mAP), the right path with 83% mAP, and the left path with 85% mAP. The average accuracy of the wearable model is 82.33% and that of the smart stick is 96.14% which combined gives an overall accuracy of 89.24%. Contribution: This research contributes to the design of a low-cost navigational standalone system that will be handy to use and help people to navigate safely in real-time scenarios. The challenging self-built dataset of various paths is generated and transfer learning is performed on the YOLO-v5 model after augmentation and manual annotation. To analyze and evaluate the model, various metrics, such as model losses, recall value, precision, and maP, are used. Findings: These were the main findings of the study: • To detect objects, the deep learning model uses a higher version of YOLO, i.e., a YOLOv5 detector, that may help those with visual im-pairments to improve their quality of navigational mobilities in known or unknown environments. • The developed standalone model has an option to be integrated into any other assistive applications like Electronic Travel Aids (ETAs) • It is the single neural network technology that allows the model to achieve high levels of detection accuracy of around 0.823 mAP with a custom dataset as compared to 0.895 with the COCO dataset. Due to its lightning-speed of 45 FPS object detection technology, it has become popular. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners can help the model’s efficiency by increasing the sample size and classes used in training the model. Recommendation for Researchers: To detect objects in an image or live cam, there are various algorithms, e.g., R-CNN, Retina Net, Single Shot Detector (SSD), YOLO. Researchers can choose to use the YOLO version owing to its superior performance. Moreover, one of the YOLO versions, YOLOv5, outperforms its other versions such as YOLOv3 and YOLOv4 in terms of speed and accuracy. Impact on Society: We discuss new low-cost technologies that enable visually impaired people to navigate effectively in indoor environments. Future Research: The future of deep learning could incorporate recurrent neural networks on a larger set of data with special AI-based processors to avoid latency.

Aim/Purpose: This research aims to describe layering of career-like experiences over existing curriculum to improve perceived educational value. Background: Feedback from students and regional businesses showed a clear need to increase student’s exposure to career-like software development projects. The initial goal was to develop an instructor-optional project that could be used in a single mid-level programming course; however, the pilot quickly morphed into a multi-year study examining the feasibility of agile projects in a variety of settings. Methodology: Over the course of four years, an agile project was honed through repeated Design Based Research (DBR) cycles of design, implementation, testing, communication, and reflective analysis. As is common with DBR, this study did not follow single methodology design; instead, analysis of data coupled with review of literature led to exploration and testing of a variety of methodologies. The review phase of each cycle included examination of best practices and methodologies as determined by analysis of oral and written comments, weekly journals, instructor feedback, and surveys. As a result of participant feedback, the original project was expanded to a second project, which was tested in another Software Engineering (SE) course. The project included review and testing of many academic and professional methodologies, such as Student Ownership of Learning, Flipped Classroom, active learning, waterfall, agile, Scrum, and Kanban. The study was homogenous and quasi-experimental as the population consisted solely of software engineering majors taking required courses; as based on validity of homogenous studies, class sizes were small, ranging from 8 to 20 students. Close interactions between respondents and the instructor provided interview-like settings and immersive data capture in a natural environment. Further, the iterative development practices of DBR cycles, along with the inclusion of participants as active and valued stakeholders, was seen to align well with software development practitioner practices broadly known as agile. Contribution: This study is among the first to examine layering a career-like software development project on top of a course through alteration of traditional delivery, agile development, and without supplanting existing material. Findings: In response to industry recommendations for additional career-like experiences, a standalone agile capstone-like project was designed that could be layered over an existing course. Pilot data reflected positive perceptions of the project, although students did not have enough time to develop a working prototype in addition to completing existing course materials. Participant feedback led to simultaneous development of a second, similar project. DBR examination of both projects resulted in a simplified design and the ability to develop a working prototype, if and only if the instructor was willing to make adjustments to delivery. After four years, a solution was developed that is both stable and flexible. The solution met the original charge in that it required course delivery, not course material, to be adjusted. It is critical to note that when a working prototype is desired, a portion of the lecture should be flipped allowing more time for guided instruction through project-focused active learning and study group requirements. The results support agile for standalone software development projects, as long as passive delivery methods are correspondingly reduced. Recommendations for Practitioners: Based on the findings, implementation of a career-like software development project can be well received as long as active learning components are also developed. Multiple cycles of DBR are recommended if future researchers wish to customize instructional delivery and develop complex software development projects. Programming instructors are recommended to explore hybrid delivery to support development of agile career-like experiences. Small class sizes allowed the researchers to maintain an interview-like setting throughout the study and future studies with larger classes are recommended to include additional subject matter experts such as graduate students as interaction with a subject matter expert was highly valued by students. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers are recommended to further examine career-like software development experiences that combine active learning with agile methods; more studies following agile and active learning are needed to address the challenges faced when complex software development is taught in academic settings. Further testing of standalone agile project development has now occurred in medium sized in person classes, online classes, independent studies, and creative works research settings; however, further research is needed. Future research should also examine the implementation of agile projects in larger class sizes. Increasing class size should be coupled with additional subject matter experts such as graduate students. Impact on Society: This study addresses professional recommendations for development of agile career-like experiences at the undergraduate level. This study provides empirical evidence of programming projects that can be layered over existing curriculum, with no additional cost to the students. Initial feedback from local businesses and graduates, regarding agile projects with active learning, has been positive. The area business that refused to hire our underprepared SE graduates has now hired several. Future Research: Future research should explore layering agile projects over a broader range of software development courses. Feedback from hiring professionals and former students has been positive. It is also recommended that DBR be used to develop career-like experiences for online programming courses.

Table of Contents of the Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, Volume 21, 2022

Aim/Purpose: This study seeks to present a learning model of discrete mathematics elements, elucidate the content of teaching, and validate the effectiveness of this learning in a digital education context. Background: Teaching discrete mathematics in the realm of digital education poses challenges, particularly in crafting the optimal model, content, tools, and methods tailored for aspiring computer science teachers. The study draws from both a comprehensive review of relevant literature and the synthesis of the authors’ pedagogical experiences. Methodology: The research utilized a system-activity approach and aligned with the State Educational Standard. It further integrated the theory of continuous education as its psychological and pedagogical foundation. Contribution: A unique model for instructing discrete mathematics elements to future computer science educators has been proposed. This model is underpinned by informative, technological, and personal competencies, intertwined with the mathematical bedrock of computer science. Findings: The study revealed the importance of holistic teaching of discrete mathematics elements for computer science teacher aspirants in line with the Informatics educational programs. An elective course, “Elements of Discrete Mathematics in Computer Science”, comprising three modules, was outlined. Practical examples spotlighting elements of mathematical logic and graph theory of discrete mathematics in programming and computer science were showcased. Recommendations for Practitioners: Future computer science educators should deeply integrate discrete mathematics elements in their teaching methodologies, especially when aligning with professional disciplines of the Informatics educational program. Recommendation for Researchers: Further exploration is recommended on the seamless integration of discrete mathematics elements in diverse computer science curricula, optimizing for varied learning outcomes and student profiles. Impact on Society: Enhancing the quality of teaching discrete mathematics to future computer science teachers can lead to better-educated professionals, driving advancements in the tech industry and contributing to societal progress. Future Research: There is scope to explore the wider applications of the discrete mathematics elements model in varied computer science sub-disciplines, and its adaptability across different educational frameworks.

Aim/Purpose: To explore the effectiveness of utilizing the design thinking approach in developing digital self-directed learning environment to enhance digital literacy skills in Thai higher education. Background: To foster digital literacy skills in higher education, Thai students require more than access to technology. Emphasizing digital self-directed learning and incorporating Design Thinking approach, can empower students to learn and develop their digital skills effectively. This study explores the impact of digital self-directed learning environment, developed using a design thinking approach, on enhancing digital literacy skills among higher education students in Thailand. Methodology: The research methodology involves developing a digital self-directed learning environment, collecting and analyzing data, and using statistical analysis to compare the outcomes between different groups. The sample includes 60 undergraduate students from the School of Industrial Education and Technology at King Mongkut Institute of Technology, divided into a control group (n=30) and an experimental group (n=30). Data analysis involves mean, standard deviation, and one-way MANOVA. Contribution: This research contributes to the evidence supporting the use of Design Thinking in developing digital self-directed learning environment, demonstrating its effectiveness in meeting learners’ needs and improving learning outcomes in higher education. Findings: Key findings include: 1) the digital media and self-directed learning activities plan developed through the design thinking approach received high-quality ratings from experts, with mean scores of 4.87 and 4.93, respectively; and 2) post-lesson comparisons of learning outcome and digital literacy assessment scores revealed that the group utilizing digital media with self-directed learning activities had significantly higher mean scores than the traditional learning group, with a significance level of 0.001. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners in higher education should use design thinking to develop digital self-directed learning environments that enhance digital literacy skills. This approach involves creating high-quality digital media and activities, promoting engagement and improved outcomes. Collaboration and stakeholder involvement are essential for effective implementation. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should continue to explore the effectiveness of design thinking approaches in the development of learning environments, as well as their influence on different educational aspects such as student engagement, satisfaction, and overall learning outcomes. Impact on Society: By enhancing digital literacy skills among higher education students, this study contributes to the development of a digitally skilled workforce, encourages lifelong learning, and aids individuals in effectively navigating the challenges of the digital era. Future Research: Future research could explore a broader range of student demographics and educational settings to validate the effectiveness of the Design Thinking approach in enhancing digital literacy. This could include integrating design thinking with alternative digital learning and teaching methods to further improve digital literacy.

Aim/Purpose: This study examines the use of the Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) platform by undergraduates of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, during the COVID-19 pandemic using the constructs of the UTAUT2 model. Five constructs of the UTAUT2 model were adopted to investigate the use of the ERT platform by undergraduates of the university. Background: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak disrupted academic activities in educational institutions, leading to an unprecedented school closure globally. In response to the pandemic, higher educational institutions adopted different initiatives aimed at ensuring the uninterrupted flow of their teaching and learning activities. However, there is little research on the use of ERT platforms by undergraduates in Nigerian universities. Methodology: The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 334 undergraduates at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, while a questionnaire was used to collect data from 271 students. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and regression analysis. Contribution: The study contributes to understanding ERT use in the educational institutions of Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country. Furthermore, the study adds to the existing body of knowledge on how the UTAUT2 Model could explain the use of information technologies in different settings. Findings: Findings revealed that there was a positive significant relationship between habit, hedonic motivation, price value, and social influence on the use of ERT platforms by undergraduates. Hedonic motivation strongly predicted the use of ERT platforms by most undergraduates. Recommendations for Practitioners: As a provisional intervention in times of emergencies, the user interface, navigation, customization, and other aesthetic features of ERT platforms should be more appealing and enjoyable to ensure their optimum utilization by students. Recommendation for Researchers: More qualitative research is required on users’ satisfaction, concerns, and support systems for ERT platforms in educational institutions. Future studies could consider the use of ERT by students in different countries and contexts such as students participating in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and the English for Speakers of other languages (ESOL) programs. Impact on Society: As society faces increased uncertainties of the next global pandemic, this article reiterates the crucial roles of information technology in enriching teaching and learning activities in educational institutions. Future Research: Future research should focus on how different technology theories and models could explain the use of ERT platforms at different educational institutions in other geographical settings and contexts.

Aim/Purpose: The study focused on learner sentiments and experiences after using the Moodle assessment module and trained a machine learning classifier for future sentiment predictions. Background: Learner assessment is one of the standard methods instructors use to measure students’ performance and ascertain successful teaching objectives. In pedagogical design, assessment planning is vital in lesson content planning to the extent that curriculum designers and instructors primarily think like assessors. Assessment aids students in redefining their understanding of a subject and serves as the basis for more profound research in that particular subject. Positive results from an evaluation also motivate learners and provide employment directions to the students. Assessment results guide not just the students but also the instructor. Methodology: A modified methodology was used for carrying out the study. The revised methodology is divided into two major parts: the text-processing phase and the classification model phase. The text-processing phase consists of stages including cleaning, tokenization, and stop words removal, while the classification model phase consists of dataset training using a sentiment analyser, a polarity classification model and a prediction validation model. The text-processing phase of the referenced methodology did not utilise tokenization and stop words. In addition, the classification model did not include a sentiment analyser. Contribution: The reviewed literature reveals two major omissions: sentiment responses on using the Moodle for online assessment, particularly in developing countries with unstable internet connectivity, have not been investigated, and variations of the k-fold cross-validation technique in detecting overfitting and developing a reliable classifier have been largely neglected. In this study we built a Sentiment Analyser for Learner Emotion Management using the Moodle for assessment with data collected from a Ghanaian tertiary institution and developed a classification model for future sentiment predictions by evaluating the 10-fold and the 5-fold techniques on prediction accuracy. Findings: After training and testing, the RF algorithm emerged as the best classifier using the 5-fold cross-validation technique with an accuracy of 64.9%. Recommendations for Practitioners: Instead of a closed-ended questionnaire for learner feedback assessment, the open-ended mechanism should be utilised since learners can freely express their emotions devoid of restrictions. Recommendation for Researchers: Feature selection for sentiment analysis does not always improve the overall accuracy for the classification model. The traditional machine learning algorithms should always be compared to either the ensemble or the deep learning algorithms Impact on Society: Understanding learners’ emotions without restriction is important in the educational process. The pedagogical implementation of lessons and assessment should focus on machine learning integration Future Research: To compare ensemble and deep learning algorithms

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to explore the value of utilizing non-immersive virtual reality (VR) to create virtual learning environments (VLEs) to support and prepare optometry students in their transition into preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. Background: Digital education is widely integrated into university curricula with the use of online simulators, immersive VR, and other digital technologies to support student learning. This study focuses on non-immersive VR as an accessible and low-friction means of accessing VLEs to reduce students’ learning burden. Methodology: Current optometry students were invited to explore 360° 3D panoramic virtual learning environments of preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. Students were recruited to participate in an online Qualtrics survey and individual semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed, and thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative data from students’ responses to identify key takeaways on the accessibility and impact of VLEs on students’ learning. Contribution: Non-immersive VR has utility in alleviating student stress and helping transition students into practicum. The VLEs have the means to supplement the curriculum to provide support to students entering the preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. Findings: Students engaged voluntarily with the novel VLEs and utilized the resources to help familiarize themselves with the preclinical and clinical teaching spaces. The open-access resource supported students in their preparation for practical learning and helped to reduce self-reported stress and build confidence prior to entering practical classes. Many of the students enjoyed the experience of navigating through the spaces, which helped to appease their curiosity and reduce the learning curve associated with entering new spaces. The VLEs did not replace attending practical spaces but rather were supportive learning resources that aided students due to limited face-to-face contact hours. For students with existing familiarity with the spaces, through their in-person attendance in pre-clinical and clinical teaching sessions prior to accessing the VLEs, the digital resources were not as beneficial compared to students who were still transitioning into practicum. Recommendations for Practitioners: Introductory digital resources like non-immersive VR are accessible platforms that help to orient and familiarize students with new environments. VLEs can potentially help to relieve student stress and reduce the learning load associated with entering practicum or new learning spaces. Recommendation for Researchers: More work needs to be done on how student preparation can translate to feeling less stressed and more confident in relation to transitioning from traditional learning environments to practical learning spaces. Impact on Society: A broader application of non-immersive VR can be implemented as an introductory learning preparation tool across different disciplines to alleviate student stress and maximize the limited time in practicum to allow focus on learning outcomes and practical skills. Future Research: Future studies should consider different cohorts to study, with a focus on objective measures of engagement with VLEs. The effect of VLEs on students’ cognitive load should be assessed and assessment of self-perceived stress can be evaluated with instruments such as Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale.

Aim/Purpose: This research explores the influence of organizational-level and individual-level creativity and innovation and the technology acceptance model toward the higher education creative environment that consists of research creativity and teaching creativity. Background: Creativity and innovation are essential pillars for higher education institutions (HEIs). The two terms are interconnected, where creativity is referring to finding better ideas to do the work, while innovation is referring to how to do and implement these creative ideas. Choosing the optimal creative process and the organizational support needed to develop it is an important goal in achieving a creative and inventive environment. For the success of the creative environment to ensure the improvement of higher education institutions, information technology as social networking sites plays a crucial part in the creative process within universities. However, assessing the creativity and innovation of Saudi higher education institutions has not been well recognized. Universities today serve as knowledge-based institutions because they are at the forefront of cutting-edge R&D and scientific innovations. Creating such a productive research environment in universities, however, necessitates a work culture that encourages employees to be more creative while also encouraging the creation of new ideas and innovations. Methodology: A survey instrument was utilized as a quantitative method for this research to gather data from the study sample on the influencing variables employed in the research framework. Respondent data were analyzed using a disjoint two-stage method using PLS-SEM path modelling. Contribution: The results of this research contribute to the theoretical and scientific literature by offering a model of creativity and innovation in higher education institutions. The model proposes an optimal blend of organizational, individual, and technology variables that contribute to the development of the Higher Education Creative Environment in HEIs via creativity in teaching and research and a culture of innovation. In another way, the proposed framework especially helps to comprehend the challenges regulating establishing teaching and research creativity in HEIs via the adoption of organizational, individual, and technology enablers identified as part of this study. Findings: According to the results, organizational factors such as organizational encouragement, freedom, and challenging work have a positive relationship with the higher education creative environment. However, realistic work pressure, a lack of organizational impediments, managerial encouragement, and work group support is insufficient to affect the creative environment in higher education in Saudi Arabia. Individual variables (creative thinking skills and expertise, for example) also have a positive impact on the higher education creative environment. In the higher education creative environment, however, the influence of intrinsic motivation is insignificant. Finally, technology factors such as social networking site adoption intention, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use have the potential to influence the higher education creative environment. Recommendations for Practitioners: On the practical front, the obvious recommendation of this research is that it enables top leadership in Saudi HEIs to rethink the norms of creativity and innovation in their institutions, thereby instilling a mindset guided by a flourishing culture of creativity in the HEI environment with a specific focus on creativity practices in research and teaching domains. Furthermore, to promote the environment’s creativity within Saudi Arabian HEIs, university leaders must consider the suggested Organizational, Individual, and Technology factors as key enablers of creativity and innovation, which will guide them in revisiting their strategic actions in terms of further augmenting the creative performance of their academic’s staff, thereby sustaining a culture of Higher Education Creative Environment (HECE). Recommendation for Researchers: This study addressed many organizational, individual, and technology variables that facilitate Saudi Arabian HECE accomplishment in the form of research and teaching creativity. Furthermore, fresh insights for Saudi public HEIs are revealed when the success aspects of the creative environment are considered. If academic leadership at Saudi HEIs is to encourage the creative environment in general and creativity in teaching and research, it would be suitable for them to highlight individual, organizational, and technology success elements. As a result, their HEIs will be able to produce more innovative research, products, and services that can support and meaningfully achieve national transformation initiatives, opening the path for a transition into a knowledge-based economy. Impact on Society: In fact, this research is based on a quantitative research method, and the findings were also significant especially considering the current global crises. It is clearly understood by this process that includes organizational, individual, and technology factors as key enablers of the creative performance of academic staff, thereby sustaining a culture of HECE. Future Research: While providing the research model, it is probable that this study overlooked any other crucial aspects influencing creativity and innovation. As a result, future research should look at additional variables that may impact HECE in Saudi Arabian HEIs. Furthermore, while this study focused on deriving HECE with a particular emphasis on research and teaching creativity as results, future research might look at deriving other creativity outcomes (e.g., entrepreneurial creativity) within the investigated HECE dimension.