Aim/Purpose: In this study, the researchers investigated whether the out-of-class learning approach could help the students to attain any valuable learning outcomes for cybersecurity learning and could enhance the perceived value of cybersecurity education among the students. Background: Cybersecurity learning poses challenges for its students to learn a complicated subject matter and the students may be intimidated by the challenging courses in cybersecurity programs. Therefore, it is essential for the faculty members to devise some mechanisms to promote cybersecurity learning to increase its student retention. The mechanism suggested by this study was the out-of-class learning approach. Methodology: The researchers in this study employed a content analysis and adopted a semiotic method to analyze qualitative data. The researchers also conducted crosstabulation analyses using chi-square tests to detect the significant differences in the emerging learning outcomes from the two different out-of-class learning activities investigated in this study. Contribution: This study addressed the difficulty of cybersecurity education and proposed a viable mechanism to promote the student learning in such a complicated subject matter. Findings: For cybersecurity education, the out-of-class learning approach is a viable pedagogical mechanism that could lead the students to several learning outcomes, including connecting them to the real-life scenarios related to the cybersecurity profession, guiding them to their career choices and development, stimulating their intellectual growth, creating their justification of learning, and raising their cybersecurity awareness. Recommendations for Practitioners: The instructors of any cybersecurity programs should incorporate some out-of-class learning activities into the courses in their programs, especially the introductory-level courses. Additionally, it is important to coordinate the out-of-class learning activities with the in-class lessons to enable the students to justify what they have learned in their classrooms and motivate them to learn more. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers could look beyond in-class learning and laboratory learning to investigate the impacts of out-of-class learning activities on cybersecurity education to help the students to attain better learning outcomes. Impact on Society: By promoting cybersecurity education, universities and colleges could attain a higher retention rate of the students in their cybersecurity programs. The higher retention rate of the students in cybersecurity programs would help to ease the critical shortage of cybersecurity talent. Future Research: Future research could explore the impacts of other out-of-class learning activities on cybersecurity learning; for example: job shadowing, attending cybersecurity conferences, internship, developing cybersecurity systems or tools for actual customers, working on cybersecurity research with faculty members. Additionally, future studies could investigate the effects of the out-of-class learning approach on promoting other academic programs that are characterized by intensely complex and technical nature, similar to cybersecurity programs.

Aim/Purpose: This paper reports on a case study project which had three goals; to develop a suite of original interactive digital skills e-tutorials to be embedded in undergraduate and postgraduate courses; to evaluate the students’ experience and engagement with the e-tutorials over one semester; and to explore their general attitudes towards online and blended learning. Background: Online and blended learning modes continue to grow in popularity in higher education, with the aim of streamlining and enhancing student learning, supporting collaboration and creativity, and equipping students with the skills they will require to work and live in an increasingly digitized world. This practice-based case study highlights factors which positively and negatively affect user engagement with digital learning objects and explores students’ perceptions of the role of online learning within their academic programs. Methodology: A suite of nine interactive e-tutorials, addressing essential digital literacy skills for university students, was developed through instructor and student peer collaboration using Articulate software, informed by best practice. The e-tutorials were embedded in the institutional Learning Management System for three undergraduate and postgraduate courses, in which digital literacy formed the core learning content, to complement classroom-based learning. Students in these courses were surveyed via SurveyMonkey about their specific experience of using the e-tutorials, as well as their general perceptions of digital literacy and online learning. Eighty-six students in total completed the questionnaire, which consisted of twenty-three closed- and open-ended questions. Contribution: Through highlighting both the positive and the challenging aspects of the students’ reported experience of online learning, this case study contributes useful insights to the body of literature on user engagement with digital learning objects in higher education, as well as students’ perceptions and experience of blended learning. Findings: The e-tutorials were perceived as valuable in reinforcing classroom learning, allowing respondents to revise concepts and materials covered in face-to-face classes, at their own pace and in their own time. Survey responses showed that the accessibility, ease-of-use, design and duration of the e-tutorials were deemed effective in terms of user engagement; however, several technological challenges were identified, such as browser incompatibility, uneven sound quality and general Internet connection issues, which disrupted their learning. Overall, students expressed enjoyment of the learning facilitated by the e-tutorials; however, rather than favoring online learning alone, they expressed a preference for a blended learning environment, with a combination of complementary learning approaches; survey respondents did not generally wish to forego face-to-face classes entirely. Recommendations for Practitioners: Instructors should seek to strategically embed interactive digital learning objects in their courses at defined points of need in a logical structure, e.g., to reinforce classroom-based learning, or to support specific skill development. Potential disruption to learning should be minimized by following best practice guidelines to ensure ease of access, a seamless user experience, and timely feedback, as well as providing adequate support for rapid resolution of technical glitches. Recommendation for Researchers: E-tutorials offer a useful means of exploring ways in which students acquire learning in the digital environment. A wider, collaborative exploration is needed to provide comparative studies which move beyond case studies. Impact on Society: Online learning mechanisms, such as e-tutorials, offer students different means of acquiring essential literacy skills and different ways to interact with content. E-tutorials constitute reusable learning objects, which can be accessed as just-in-time delivery modes, when students perceive they need to review particular skills or reinforce learning material. Future Research: This research is now expanding into different types of reusable learning objects. E-tutorials may be developed in multiple ways, and comparative research around e-tutorial models will deepen our understanding of how students interact with content in formal learning contexts. As the digital educational landscape continues to expand alongside traditional face-to-face and analogue learning modes, a key research focus will be student and instructor perceptions and experience of blended learning in different contexts.

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: This paper presents a study about changes in computer science and software engineering students’ perceptions of their soft skills during their progress through the Computer Science Soft Skills course. Background: Soft skills are often associated with a person’s social, emotional and cognitive capabilities. Soft skills are increasingly sought out and are well recognized by employers alongside standard qualifications. Therefore, high importance is attributed to soft skills in computer science and software engineering education. Methodology: Content analysis was applied to interpret, categorize and code statements from students’ course assignment answers. Data analysis was performed gradually at the three main stages of the course and by the two students’ study populations. Contribution: The paper highlights the variety of (a) soft skills that can be learnt in one course, both on the individual level and on the team level and (b) assignments that can be given to students to increase their awareness and motivation to practice and learn soft skills. Findings: Data analysis revealed the following: (a) five individual soft skills categories, with 95 skills, and five team-related soft skills categories, with 52 skills (in total, the students mentioned 147 soft skills); (b) course assignments and particularly team-based activities elicited student awareness of their individual soft skills, both as strengths and weaknesses; (c) students developed their reflection skills, particularly with respect to team-related soft skills; and (d) significant differences exist between the two groups of students in several categories. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is important to provide undergraduate students with opportunities to integrate soft skills during their training. Establishing a meaningful learning process, such as project-based learning, enables students to apply and develop soft skills when accompanied by reflective thought processes. Recommendation for Researchers: A similar course can be taught and be accompanied by similar analysis of students’ learning outcomes, to examine the influence of local culture on the characteristics of soft skills. Impact on Society: Increased awareness of soft skills in scientists and engineers’ undergraduate education. University graduates who will strengthen their variety of soft skills in their academic training process and will be more meaningful employees in the workplace and in society. Future Research: Our future research aims (a) to explore additional innovative ways to increase students’ learning processes, awareness and practices in relation to soft skills and (b) to research how students’ soft skills are developed during the entire undergraduate studies both on the individual level and the team level.

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: 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.

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to reveal the effect of the previous Internet-based education (IBE) experiences of the students’ readiness, attitude, and self-control / self-management variables towards the e-learning process, and also to determine their opinions. Background: The institutions have made efforts to ensure the continuity of education through their learning management systems and the necessity of addressing the e-learning process from the perspective of students once again showed itself as an undeniable fact. Accordingly, the necessity to consider holistically the variables of readiness, attitude, and self-control/self-management, which affect students’ adaptation to e-learning process, has once again emerged based on the relevant literature. Methodology: This research based on the simultaneous mixed method considering the previous IBE experiences of 75 Computer Education and Instructional Technology (CEIT) students taking part in the study in Turkey. The quantitative results of the study were analyzed based on the single-group pretest-posttest weak experimental design. Qualitative results were obtained through the structured interview form and set an example for the case study. Contribution: The results showed that regardless of students’ previous Internet-based education (IBE) experience, it is seen that increasing and continuous experience has a significant effect on the readiness, attitude and self-control / self-management variables towards the e-learning process. The main contribution of experimental results showed that IBE experience is effective on individuals’ perceptions of internet self-efficacy, and has an impact on the self-learning skills of individuals. In addition to this, the e-learning experience has an impact on individuals’ self-evaluation. It is also seen that the certificate presented to learners in the e-learning environment has a positive effect on students’ attitudes towards e-learning processes. Finally, the experiences of e-learning processes, the methods used to transfer the content in the learning environment, the motivation and feedback provided to the learner also support the significant difference obtained in terms of readiness, attitude and self-control / self-management. Findings: After the findings were analyzed holistically in depth, it has been observed that; if the contents offered to students in e-learning environments support their professional development, in this case, their attitudes, readiness (excluding the sub-dimension of learner control), and self-control/self-management skills for these environments differ significantly in the posttest. It is also among the results that students having previous IBE experience have not higher awareness levels on online communication self-efficacy, technology use self-efficacy, readiness for e-learning, e-learning predisposition, self-reinforcement, self-control management, although significantly found. The findings regarding the effectiveness of the experimental process are as follows: Although it is possible for the students having previous IBE experience to use these experiences within the course for their personal development, it has been seen that the observed differences regarding students’ readiness, attitude, and self-control/self-management towards e-learning processes arise from the experimental operation. Recommendations for Practitioners: It is recommended for the policy-makers and practitioners that while e-learning platforms were designing, using different methods for delivering the content is as important as making the interaction meaningful and sustainable. In addition to this, to develop a positive attitude it is recommended that individuals’ participation of an e-learning platform should be supported with a certificate. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should test the obtained results by a well-structured e-learning platform with their recorded activities on the platform (e.g. in which section was used mostly by a learner etc.). Hence, the impact of IBE experiences might be discussed in an up level framework. Impact on Society: Actually, this study is based on a mix design and the results were also meaningful especially considering the implacable global pandemic. It is clearly understood by this process that e-learning is very important. In line with this, to support the e-learning process (e.g. with the method while delivering the content, well-structured feedback, motivation strategies etc.) and make it sustainable, the increasing of individual’s readiness, attitude, and self-control through the IBE would be indispensable. Future Research: Future studies might focus on the longitudinal methods. It is worth to find out how the students experiences affect the sustainability of the course content, and what should the program developer make to improve their course content in line with the findings of longitudinal studies.

Aim/Purpose: This study seeks to understand the various ways information systems (IS) students experience introductory programming to inform IS educators on effective pedagogical approaches to teaching programming. Background: Many students who choose to major in information systems (IS), enter university with little or no experience of learning programming. Few studies have dealt with students’ learning to program in the business faculty, who do not necessarily have the computer science goal of programming. It has been shown that undergraduate IS students struggle with programming. Methodology: The qualitative approach was used in this study to determine students’ notions of learning to program and to determine their cognitive processes while learning to program in higher education. A cohort of 47 students, who were majoring in Information Systems within the Bachelor of Commerce degree programme were part of the study. Reflective journals were used to allow students to record their experiences and to study in-depth their insights and experiences of learning to program during the course. Using phenomenographic methods, categories of description that uniquely characterises the various ways IS students experience learning to program were determined. Contribution: This paper provides educators with empirical evidence on IS students’ experiences of learning to program, which play a crucial role in informing IS educators on how they can lend support and modify their pedagogical approach to teach programming to students who do not necessarily need to have the computer science goal of programming. This study contributes additional evidence that suggests more categories of description for IS students within a business degree. It provides valuable pedagogical insights for IS educators, thus contributing to the body of knowledge Findings: The findings of this study reveal six ways in which IS students’ experience the phenomenon, learning to program. These ways, referred to categories of description, formed an outcome space. Recommendations for Practitioners: Use the experiences of students identified in this study to determine approach to teaching and tasks or assessments assigned Recommendation for Researchers: Using phenomenographic methods researchers in IS or IT may determine pedagogical content knowledge in teaching specific aspects of IT or IS. Impact on Society: More business students would be able to program and improve their logical thinking and coding skills. Future Research: Implement the recommendations for practice and evaluate the students’ performance.

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: 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: The goal of the study was to examine the perceptions of senior academic staff who also serve as policymakers in Israeli colleges of education, regarding the integration of technology in teacher education, and the shift to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is little research on this issue and consequently, the aim of the present study is to fill this lacuna. Background: In Israel, senior academic staff in colleges of education play a particularly important role in formulating institutional policies and vision regarding the training of preservice teachers. They fulfil administrative functions, teach, and engage in research as part of their academic position. During the Covid-19, they led the shift to online learning. However, there is little research on their perceptions of technology integration in teacher education in general, and during the Covid-19, in particular. Methodology: This qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 senior academic staff from 13 academic colleges of education in Israel. Contribution: The study has practical implications for the implementation of technology in teacher education, suggesting the importance of establishing open discourse and collaboration between college stakeholders to enable enactment of a vision for equity-that allows programs to move swiftly from crisis-management to innovation and transformation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings: The findings obtained from content analysis of the interviews reveals a central concept: “On both sides of the divide”, and points of intersection in the perceptions of the senior academic staff. The central concept encompassed three themes: (1) centralization - between top-down and bottom-up policies, (2) between innovation and conservation, and (3) between crisis and growth. The findings indicate that in times of crisis, the polarity surrounding issues essential to the organisation’s operation is reduced, and a blend is formed to create a new reality in which the various dichotomies merge. Recommendations for Practitioners: The study has practical implications for the scope of discussions on the implementation of technology in teacher education (formulating a vision and policies, and their translation into practice), suggesting that such discussions should consider the perceptions of policymakers. Recommendation for Researchers: The findings reflect the challenges faced by senior academic staff at colleges of education that reflect the ongoing attempts to negotiate and reconcile different concerns. Impact on Society: The findings have implications for colleges of education that are responsible for pre-service teachers' teaching practices. Future Research: An enacted vision for equity-based educator preparation that allows programs to move swiftly from crisis-management to innovation and transformation. Future research might reveal a more complete picture by investigating a broader spectrum of stakeholders both in Israel and elsewhere. Hence, future research should examine the power relations between senior college staff and external bodies such as the Higher Education Council (which determines higher education policies in Israel).

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents a machine learning approach for analyzing Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs). The aim of this study is to find a model that can check whether a CLO is well written or not. Background: The use of machine learning algorithms has been, since many years, a prominent solution to predict learner performance in Outcome Based Education. However, the CLOs definition is still presenting a big handicap for faculties. There is a lack of supported tools and models that permit to predict whether a CLO is well written or not. Consequently, educators need an expert in quality and education to validate the outcomes of their courses. Methodology: A novel method named CLOCML (Course Learning Outcome Classification using Machine Learning) is proposed in this paper to develop predictive models for CLOs paraphrasing. A new dataset entitled CLOC (Course Learning Outcomes Classes) for that purpose has been collected and then undergone a pre-processing phase. We compared the performance of 4 models for predicting a CLO classification. Those models are Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest, Naive Bayes and XGBoost. Contribution: The application of CLOCML may help faculties to make well-defined CLOs and then correct CLOs' measures in order to improve the quality of education addressed to their students. Findings: The best classification model was SVM. It was able to detect the CLO class with an accuracy of 83%. Recommendations for Practitioners: We would recommend both faculties’ members and quality reviewers to make an informed decision about the nature of a given course outcome. Recommendation for Researchers: We would highly endorse that the researchers apply more machine learning models for CLOs of various disciplines and compare between them. We would also recommend that future studies investigate on the importance of the definition of CLOs and its impact on the credibility of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) values during accreditation process. Impact on Society: The findings of this study confirm the results of several other researchers who use machine learning in outcome-based education. The definition of right CLOs will help the student to get an idea about the performances that will be measured at the end of a course. Moreover, each faculty can take appropriate actions and suggest suitable recommendations after right performance measures in order to improve the quality of his course. Future Research: Future research can be improved by using a larger dataset. It could also be improved with deep learning models to reach more accurate results. Indeed, a strategy for checking CLOs overlaps could be integrated.

Aim/Purpose: The complexity of today’s organizational databases highlights the importance of hard technical skills as well as soft skills including teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. Therefore, when teaching students about databases it follows that using a team approach would be useful. Background: Team-based learning (TBL) has been developed and tested as an instructional strategy that leverages learning in small groups in order to achieve increased overall effectiveness. This research studies the impact of utilizing team-based learning strategies in an undergraduate Database Management course in order to determine if the methodology is effective for student learning related to database technology concepts in addition to student preparation for working in database teams. Methodology: In this study, a team-based learning strategy is implemented in an undergraduate Database Management course over the course of two semesters. Students were assessed both individually and in teams in order to see if students were able to effectively learn and apply course concepts on their own and in collaboration with their team. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed in order to determine if the team approach improved learning effectiveness and allowed for soft skills development. The results from this study are compared to previous semesters when team-based learning was not adopted. Additionally, student perceptions and feedback are captured. Contribution: This research contributes to the literature on database education and team-based learning and presents a team-based learning process for faculty looking to adopt this methodology in their database courses. This research contributes by showing how the collaborative assessment aspect of team-based learning can provide a solution for the conceptual and collaborative needs of database education. Findings: Findings related to student learning and perceptions are presented illustrating that team-based learning can lead to improvements in performance and provides a solution for the conceptual and collaborative needs of database education. Specifically, the findings do show that team scores were significantly higher than individual scores when completing class assessments. Student perceptions of both their team members and the team-based learning process were overall positive with a notable difference related to the perception of team preparedness based on gender. Recommendations for Practitioners: Educational implications highlight the challenges of team-based learning for assessment (e.g., gender differences in perceptions of team preparedness), as well as the benefits (e.g., development of soft skills including teamwork and communication). Recommendation for Researchers: This study provides research implications supporting the study of team assessment techniques for learning and engagement in the context of database education. Impact on Society: Faculty looking to develop student skills in relation to database concepts and application as well as in relation to teamwork and communication may find value in this approach, ultimately benefiting students, employers, and society. Future Research: Future research may examine the methodology from this study in different contexts as well as explore different strategies for group assignments, room layout, and the impact of an online environment.

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: The study aims to supplement existing knowledge of information systems by presenting empirical data on the factors influencing the intentions of doctoral students to learn through online platforms. Background: E-learning platforms have become popular among students and professionals over the past decade. However, the intentions of the doctoral students are not yet known. They are an important source of knowledge production in academics by way of teaching and research. Methodology: The researchers collected data from universities in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) using a survey method from doctoral students using a convenience sampling method. The model studied was the Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model (TRAM), an integration of the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Contribution: TRAM provides empirical evidence that it positively predicts behavioral intentions to learn from online platforms. Hence, the study validated the model among doctoral students from the perspective of a developing nation. Findings: The model variables predicted 49% of the variance in doctoral students’ intent. The TRAM model identified motivating constructs such as optimism and innovativeness as influencing TAM predictors. Finally, doctoral students have positive opinions about the usefulness and ease of use of online learning platforms. Recommendations for Practitioners: Academic leaders motivate scholars to use online platforms, and application developers to incorporate features that facilitate ease of use. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can explore the applicability of TRAM in other developing countries and examine the role of cultural and social factors in the intent to adopt online learning. Future Research: The influence of demographic variables on intentions can lead to additional insights.

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 paper describes a technologies education model for introducing Simulation Learning and Extended Reality (XR) solution creation skills and knowledge to students at the tertiary education level, which is broadly applicable to higher education-based contexts of teaching and learning. Background: This work is made possible via the model’s focus on advancing knowledge and understanding of a range of digital resources, and the processes and production skills to teach and produce playable educational digital content, including classroom practice and applications. Methodology: Through practice-based learning and technology as an enabler, to inform the development of this model, we proposed a mixed-mode project-based approach of study within a transdisciplinary course for Higher Education students from the first year through to the post-graduate level. Contribution: An argument is also presented for the utility of this model for upskilling Pre-service Teachers’ (PSTs) pedagogical content knowledge in Technologies, which is especially relevant to the Australian curriculum context and will be broadly applicable to various educative and non-Australian settings. Findings: Supported by practice-based research, work samples and digital projects of Simulation Learning and XR developed by the authors are demonstrated to ground the discussion in examples; the discussion that is based around some of the challenges and the technical considerations, and the scope of teaching digital solutions creation is provided. Recommendations for Practitioners: We provide a flexible technologies teaching and learning model for determining content for inclusion in a course designed to provide introductory Simulation Learning and XR solution creation skills and knowledge. Recommendation for Researchers: The goal was to provide key criteria and an outline that can be adapted by academic researchers and learning designers in various higher education-based contexts of teaching and inclusive learning design focused on XR. Impact on Society: We explore how educators work with entities in various settings and contexts with different priorities, and how we recognise expertise beyond the institutional interests, beyond discipline, and explore ‘what is possible’ through digital technologies for social good and inclusivity. Future Research: The next step for this research is to investigate and explore how XR and Simulation Learning could be utilised to accelerate student learning in STEM and HASS disciplines, to promote knowledge retention and a higher level of technology-enhanced learning engagement.

Aim/Purpose: The emergence of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has fostered the creation of co-located learning communities; however, there is limited research on the types of interactions unfolding in these spaces. Background: This study explores Peer 2 Peer University’s Learning Circles, a project that allows individuals to take MOOCs together at the library. I investigated the patterns that emerged from the interactions between facilitators, learners, course materials, and digital media in the pilot round of these Learning Circles. Methodology: This study employs an ethnography of hybrid spaces (online/offline participant observations, in-depth interviews, and artifact collection) of face-to-face study groups taking place at library branches in a Midwest metropolitan area. Data analysis employs the constant comparison method. Contribution: Interactions taking place in the Learning Circles increased individuals’ agency as learners and subverted the MOOC model through processes of technological appropriation. Findings: The findings reveal that interactions within Learning Circles created a dynamic negotiation of roles, produced tension points, enabled a distributed model of knowledge, and structured study routines. The pilot round of Learning Circles attracted diverse participants beyond the typical digitally literate MOOC student. Many of them had no previous experience taking online courses and, in some cases, no Internet connection at home. This paper argues that Learning Circles favored the appropriation of artifacts (technologies) and increased participants’ agency as learners in the Internet age. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners can use the Learning Circles model to benefit disenfranchised individuals by providing them with access to materials resources and a network of peers that can help increase their agency as learners. Recommendation for Researchers: This study suggests that it is fundamental to pay attention to learning initiatives that are unfolding outside the scope of traditional and formal education. Impact on Society: Open educational resources and public libraries are opening new pathways for learning beyond traditional higher education institutions. Future Research: Future research can explore how the learning circles are adapted in cultural contexts outside the United States.

Aim/Purpose: This study presents some activities that integrate computational thinking (CT) into mathematics lessons utilizing GeoGebra to promote constructionist learning. Background: CT activities in the Indonesian curriculum are dominated by worked examples with less plugged-mode activities that might hinder students from acquiring CT skills. Therefore, we developed mathematics and CT (math+CT) lessons to promote students’ constructionist key behaviors while learning. Methodology: The researchers utilized an educational design research (EDR) to guide the lesson’s development. The lesson featured 11 applets and 22 short questions developed in GeoGebra. To improve the lesson, it was sent to eight mathematics teachers and an expert in educational technology for feedback, and the lesson was improved accordingly. The improved lessons were then piloted with 17 students, during which the collaborating mathematics teachers taught the lessons. Data were collected through the students’ work on GeoGebra, screen recording when they approached the activities, and interviews. We used content analysis to analyze the qualitative data and presented descriptive statistics to quantitative data. Contribution: This study provided an example and insight into how CT can be enhanced in mathematics lessons in a constructionist manner. Findings: Students were active in learning mathematics and CT, especially when they were engaged in programming and debugging tasks. Recommendations for Practitioners: Educators are recommended to use familiar mathematics software such as GeoGebra to support students’ CT skills while learning mathematics. Additionally, our applets are better run on big-screen devices to optimize students’ CT programming and debugging skills. Moreover, it is recommended that students work collaboratively to benefit from peer feedback and discussion. Recommendation for Researchers: Collaboration with teachers will help researchers better understand the situation in the classroom and how the students will respond to the activities. Additionally, it is important to provide more time for students to get familiar with GeoGebra and start with fewer errors to debug. Future Research: Further research can explore more mathematics topics when integrating CT utilizing GeoGebra or other mathematics software or implement the lessons with a larger classroom size to provide a more generalizable result and deeper understanding.

Aim/Purpose: Despite playing a critical role in shaping the future, 70% of undergraduate engineers report low levels of motivation. Student disengagement and a lack of ownership of their learning are significant challenges in higher education, specifically engineering students in the computer science department. This study investigates the various causes of these problems among first-year undergraduate engineers. Background: Student disengagement has become a significant problem, especially in higher education, leading to reduced academic performance, lower graduation rates, and less satisfaction with learning. The study intends to develop approaches that encourage a more interesting and learner-motivated educational environment. Methodology: This research uses a mixed methods approach by combining quantitative data from a survey-based questionnaire with qualitative insights from focus groups to explore intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, instructional practices, and student perceptions of relevance and application of course content. The aim of this method is to make an all-inclusive exploration into undergraduate engineering students’ perspectives on factors contributing to this disengagement and the need for more ownership. Contribution: Inculcating passion for engineering among learners seems demanding, with numerous educational programs struggling with issues such as a lack of interest by students and no personal investment in learning. Understanding the causes is of paramount importance. The study gives suggestions to help teachers or institutions create a more engaged and ownership-based learning environment for engineering students. Findings: The findings revealed a tangled web influencing monotonous teaching styles, limited opportunities and applications, and a perceived gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world engineering problems. It emphasized the need to implement more active learning strategies that could increase autonomy and a stronger sense of purpose in their learning journey. It also highlights the potential use of technology in promoting student engagement and ownership. Further research is needed to explore optimal implementation strategies for online simulations, interactive learning platforms, and gamification elements in the engineering curriculum. Recommendations for Practitioners: It highlights the complex interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors and the need to re-look at instructional practice and emphasize faculty training to develop a more student-centered approach. It also stresses the need to look into the relevance and application of the course content. Recommendation for Researchers: More work needs to be done with a larger, more diverse sample population across multiple institutions and varied sociocultural and economic backgrounds. Impact on Society: Enhancing learners’ educational experience can result in creating a passionate and competent team of engineers who can face future obstacles fearlessly and reduce the production of half-baked graduates unprepared for the profession’s challenges. Future Research: Conduct long-term studies to assess the impact of active learning and technology use on student outcomes and career readiness. Investigate scaling up successful strategies across diverse engineering programs. See if promising practices work well everywhere.

Aim/Purpose: This review’s main objective was to examine the existing literature on the use of 3D printers in primary education, covering students aged six to twelve across general, special, and inclusive educational environments. Background: A review of the literature indicated a significant oversight – prior reviews insufficiently distinguish the application of 3D printing in primary education from its utilization at higher educational tiers or focused on particular subject areas and learning domains. Considering the distinct nature and critical role of primary education in developing young students’ cognitive abilities and skills, it is essential to concentrate on this specific educational stage. Methodology: The scoping review was selected as the preferred research method. The methodological robustness was augmented through the utilization of the backward snowballing technique. Consequently, a total of 50 papers were identified and subjected to thorough analysis. Contribution: This review has methodically compiled and analyzed the literature on 3D printing use among elementary students, offering a substantial addition to academic conversations. It consolidated and organized research on 3D printers’ educational uses, applying robust and credible criteria. Findings: Many studies featured small sample sizes and limited research on inclusive and special education. The analysis revealed 82 distinct research goals and 13 educational fields, with STEM being the predominant focus. Scholars showed considerable interest in how 3D printers influence skills like creativity and problem-solving, as well as emotions such as engagement and motivation. The majority of studies indicated positive outcomes, enhancing academic achievement, engagement, collaboration, creativity, interest, and motivation. Nonetheless, challenges were noted, highlighting the necessity for teacher training, the expense of equipment, technical difficulties, and the complexities of blending new methods with traditional curricula. Recommendations for Practitioners: To capitalize on the benefits that 3D printers bring, curriculum planners are urged to weave them into their programs, ensuring alignment with educational standards and skill development. The critical role educators play in the effective implementation of this technology necessitates targeted professional development programs to equip them with the expertise for successful integration. Moreover, 3D printing presents a unique opportunity to advance inclusive education for students with disabilities, offering tailored learning experiences and aiding in creating assistive technologies. In recognizing the disparities in access to 3D printing, educational leaders must address the financial and logistical barriers highlighted in the literature. Strategic initiatives are essential to democratize 3D printing access, ensuring all students benefit from this educational tool. Recommendation for Researchers: Comparative studies are critical to elucidate the specific advantages and limitations of 3D printing technology due to the scarcity of research contrasting it with other tools. The variability in reporting durations of interventions and research environments underscores the necessity for uniform methodologies and benchmarks. Because research has predominantly focused on STEM/STEAM education, expanding into different educational areas could provide a comprehensive understanding of 3D printing’s capabilities. The existence of neutral and negative findings signals an opportunity for further investigation. Exploring the factors that impede the successful integration of 3D printing will inform the creation of superior pedagogical approaches and technological refinements. Future Research: As the review confirmed the significant promise of 3D printing technology in enriching education, especially in the context of primary education, the imperative for continued research to refine its application in primary education settings is highlighted.

Aim/Purpose: The digital ecosystem has contributed to the acceleration of digital and mobile educational tools across institutions worldwide. The research displays educators’ perspectives on web applications on mobile devices that can be used to engage and challenge students while impacting their learning. Background: Explored are elements of technology in education and challenges and successes reported by instructors to shift learning from static to dynamic. Methodology: Insights for this study were gained through questionnaires and focus groups with university educators in the United Arab Emirates. Key questions addressed are (1) challenges/benefits, (2) types of mobile technology applications used by educators, and (3) strategies educators use to support student learning through apps. The research is assisted by focus groups and a sample of 42 completed questionnaires. Contribution: The work contributes to web/mobile strategic considerations in the classroom that can support student learning and outcomes. Findings: The results reported showcase apps that were successfully implemented in classrooms and provide a perspective for today’s learning environment that could be useful for instructors, course developers, or any educational institutions. Recommendations for Practitioners: Academics can integrate suggested tools and explore engagement and positive associations with tools and technologies. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can consider new learning applications, mobile devices, course design, learning strategies, and student engagement practices for future studies. Impact on Society: Digitization and global trends are changing how educators teach, and students learn; therefore, gaps need to be continually filled to keep up with the pace of ever-evolving digital technologies that can engage student learning. Future Research: Future research may focus on interactive approaches toward mobile devices in higher education learning and shorter learning activities to engage students.

Aim/Purpose: This exploratory qualitative case study examines the perceptions of high-school learners of English regarding a pedagogical intervention involving progressive reduction of captions (full, sentence-level, keyword captions, and no-captions) in enhancing language learning. Background: Recognizing the limitations of caption usage in fostering independent listening comprehension in non-captioned environments, this research builds upon and extends the foundational work of Vanderplank (2016), who highlighted the necessity of a comprehensive blend of tasks, strategies, focused viewing, and the need to actively engage language learners in watching captioned materials. Methodology: Using a qualitative research design, the participants were exposed to authentic video texts in a five-week listening course. Participants completed an entry survey, and upon interaction with each captioning type, they wrote individual reflections and participated in focus group sessions. This methodological approach allowed for an in-depth exploration of learners’ experiences across different captioning scenarios, providing a nuanced understanding of the pedagogical intervention’s impact on their perceived language development process. Contribution: By bridging the research-practice gap, our study offers valuable insights into designing pedagogical interventions that reduce caption dependence, thereby preparing language learners for success in real-world, caption-free listening scenarios. Findings: Our findings show that learners not only appreciate the varied captioning approaches for their role in supporting text comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, pronunciation, and on-task focus but also for facilitating the integration of new linguistic knowledge with existing background knowledge. Crucially, our study uncovers a positive reception towards the gradual shift from fully captioned to uncaptioned materials, highlighting a stepwise reduction of caption dependence as instrumental in boosting learners’ confidence and sense of achievement in mastering L2 listening skills. Recommendations for Practitioners: The implications of our findings are threefold: addressing input selection, task design orchestration, and reflective practices. We advocate for a deliberate selection of input that resonates with learners’ interests and contextual realities alongside task designs that progressively reduce caption reliance and encourage active learner engagement and collaborative learning opportunities. Furthermore, our study underscores the importance of reflective practices in enabling learners to articulate their learning preferences and strategies, thereby fostering a more personalized and effective language learning experience. Recommendation for Researchers: Listening comprehension is a complex process that can be clearly influenced by the input, the task, and/or the learner characteristics. Comparative studies may struggle to control and account for all these variables, making it challenging to attribute observed differences solely to caption reduction. Impact on Society: This research responds to the call for innovative teaching practices in language education. It sets the stage for future inquiries into the nuanced dynamics of caption usage in language learning, advocating for a more learner-centered and adaptive approach. Future Research: Longitudinal quantitative studies that measure comprehension as captions support is gradually reduced (full, partial, and keyword) are strongly needed. Other studies could examine a range of individual differences (working memory capacity, age, levels of engagement, and language background) when reducing caption support. Future research could also examine captions with students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

Forensic document forgery investigations have elevated the need for source identification for printed documents during the past few years. It is necessary to create a reliable and acceptable safety testing instrument to determine the credibility of printed materials. The proposed system in this study uses a neural network to detect the original printer used in forensic document forgery investigations. The study uses a deep neural network method, which relies on the quality, texture, and accuracy of images printed by various models of Canon and HP printers. The datasets were trained and tested to predict the accuracy using logical function, with the goal of creating a reliable and acceptable safety testing instrument for determining the credibility of printed materials. The technique classified the model with 95.1% accuracy. The proposed method for identifying the source of the printer is a non-destructive technique.

Currently, Android is a booming technology that has occupied the major parts of the market share. However, as Android is an open-source operating system there are possibilities of attacks on the users, there are various types of attacks but one of the most common attacks found was malware. Malware with machine learning (ML) techniques has proven as an impressive result and a useful method for malware detection. Here in this paper, we have focused on the analysis of malware attacks by collecting the dataset for the various types of malware and we trained the model with multiple ML and deep learning (DL) algorithms. We have gathered all the previous knowledge related to malware with its limitations. The machine learning algorithms were having various accuracy levels and the maximum accuracy observed is 99.68%. It also shows which type of algorithm is preferred depending on the dataset. The knowledge from this paper may also guide and act as a reference for future research related to malware detection. We intend to make use of Static Android Activity to analyse malware to mitigate security risks.

To assess a country's economic outlook and achieve higher economic growth, econometric models and prediction techniques are significant tools. Policymakers are always concerned with the correct future estimates of economic variables to take the right economic decisions, design better policies and effectively implement them. Therefore, there is a need to improve the predictive accuracy of the existing models and to use more sophisticated and superior algorithms for accurate forecasting. Deep learning models like recurrent neural networks are considered superior for forecasting as they provide better predictive results as compared to many of the econometric models. Against this backdrop, this paper presents the feasibility of using different deep-learning neural network architectures for trade forecasting. It predicts export trade using different recurrent neural architectures such as 'vanilla recurrent neural network (VRNN)', 'bi-directional long short-term memory network (Bi-LSTM)', 'bi-directional gated recurrent unit (Bi-GRU)' and a hybrid 'bi-directional LSTM and GRU neural network'. The performances of these models are evaluated and compared using different performance metrics such as Mean Square Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Root Mean Squared Logarithmic Error (RMSLE) and coefficient of determination <em>R</em>-squared (<em>R</em>²). The results validated the effective export prediction for India.

To better explore the application of unsupervised learning neural networks in psychological interventions for college students, this study investigates the relationships among latent psychological variables from the perspective of neural networks. Firstly, college students' psychological crisis and intervention systems are analysed, identifying several shortcomings in traditional psychological interventions, such as a lack of knowledge dissemination and imperfect management systems. Secondly, employing the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) approach, a structural equation model is constructed for unsupervised learning neural networks. Finally, this study further confirms the effectiveness of unsupervised learning neural networks in psychological interventions for college students. The results indicate that in psychological intervention for college students. Additionally, the weightings of the indicators at the criterion level are calculated to be 0.35, 0.27, 0.19, 0.11 and 0.1. Based on the results of HCI, an emergency response system for college students' psychological crises is established, and several intervention measures are proposed.

This article presents a case study that outlines the potential of DigiBot technology, an interactive automated response program, in mobile open learning (MOL) for business subjects. The study, which draws on a project implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrates the applications of DigiBots delivered via WhatsApp to over 650,000 learners. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the article reports on live event tracking, qualitative observations from facilitators and learning technologists, and a learner survey (<i>N</i> = 304,000). The research offers practical recommendations and proposes a model for scalable DigiBot learning. Findings reveal that in this case, DigiBot MOL had the potential to effectively address two key obstacles in open learning: accessibility and scalability. Leveraging mobile platforms such as WhatsApp mitigates accessibility restrictions, particularly in resource-constrained contexts, while tailored micro-learning enhances scalability.

In India, 70% of the Indian population is dependent on agriculture, yet agriculture generates only 13% of the country's gross domestic product. Several factors contribute to high levels of stress among farmers in India, such as increased input costs, draughts, and reduced revenues. The problem lies in the absence of an integrated farm advisory system. A farmer needs help to bridge this information gap, and they need it early in the crop's lifecycle to prevent it from being destroyed by pests or diseases. This research involves developing deep learning algorithms such as <i>ResNet18</i> and <i>DenseNet121</i> to help farmers diagnose crop diseases earlier and take corrective actions. By using deep learning techniques to detect these crop diseases with images farmers can scan or click with their smartphones, we can fill in the knowledge gap. To facilitate the use of the models by farmers, they are deployed in Android-based smartphones.

In order to improve recommendation coverage, a personalised recommendation method for English online learning resources based on improved collaborative filtering algorithm is studied to enhance the comprehensiveness of personalised recommendation for learning resources. Use matrix decomposition to decompose the user English online learning resource rating matrix. Cluster low dimensional English online learning resources by improving the K-means clustering algorithm. Based on the clustering results, calculate the backfill value of English online learning resources and backfill the information matrix of low dimensional English online learning resources. Using an improved collaborative filtering algorithm to calculate the predicted score of learning resources, personalised recommendation of English online learning resources for users based on the predicted score. Experimental results have shown that this method can effectively backfill English online learning resources, and the resource backfilling effect is excellent, and it has a high recommendation coverage rate.

The conventional methods for identifying English online course learning behaviours have the problems of low recognition accuracy and high time cost. Therefore, a multimodal data fusion-based method for identifying English online course learning behaviours is proposed. Firstly, the analytic hierarchy process is used for decision fusion of multimodal data of learning behaviour. Secondly, based on the fusion results of multimodal data, weight coefficients are set to minimise losses and extract learning behaviour features. Finally, based on the extracted learning behaviour characteristics, the optimal classification function is constructed to classify the learning behaviour of English online courses. Based on the transfer information of learning behaviour status, the identification of online course learning behaviour is completed. The experimental results show that the recognition accuracy of the proposed method is above 90%, and its recognition accuracy is and can shorten the recognition time of learning behaviour, with high practical application reliability.

This paper proposes a method for predicting college students' performance based on learning behaviour data mining. The method addresses the issue of limited sample size affecting prediction accuracy. It utilises the K-means clustering algorithm to mine learning behaviour data and employs a density-based approach to determine optimal clustering centres, which are then output as the results of the clustering process. These clustering results are used as input for an attention encoder-decoder model to extract features from the learning behaviour sequence, incorporating an attention mechanism, sequence feature generator, and decoder. The characteristics derived from the learning behaviour sequence are then used to establish a prediction model for college students' performance, employing support vector regression. Experimental results demonstrate that this method accurately predicts students' performance with a relative error of less than 4% by leveraging the results obtained from learning behaviour data mining.

The research goal is to solve the problems of low accuracy and long time existing in traditional teaching reform performance evaluation methods, a performance evaluation method of teaching reform based on hierarchical multi-task deep learning is proposed. Under the principle of constructing the evaluation index system, the evaluation indicator system should be constructed. The weight of the evaluation index is calculated through the analytic hierarchy process, and the calculation result of the evaluation weight is taken as the model input sample. A hierarchical multi-task deep learning model for teaching reform performance evaluation is built, and the final teaching reform performance score is obtained. Through relevant experiments, it is proved that compared with the experimental comparison method, this method has the advantages of high evaluation accuracy and short time, and can be further applied in relevant fields.

This paper analyses the adoption of learning analytics to predict at-risk students. A total of 233 research articles between 2004 and 2023 were collected from Scopus for this study. They were analysed in terms of the relevant types and sources of data, targets of prediction, learning analytics methods, and performance metrics. The results show that data related to students' academic performance, socio-demographics, and learning behaviours have been commonly collected. Most studies have addressed the identification of students who have a higher chance of poor academic performance or dropping out of their courses. Decision trees, random forests, and artificial neural networks are the most frequently used techniques for prediction, with ensemble methods gaining popularity in recent years. Classification accuracy, recall, sensitivity, and true positive rate are commonly used as performance metrics for evaluation. The results reveal the potential of learning analytics for informing timely and evidence-based support for at-risk students.

The surge of learner enrolment in massive open online courses (MOOCs) has led to a wealth of learner-generated data, such as online course reviews that document learner experience. To unveil learner experience with MOOCs, this research uses machine learning methods to extract prominent topics from MOOC reviews and assess the sentiments expressed by learners within them. Furthermore, this research investigates the cooccurrence of the topics using association rule mining. The findings reveal six central topics discussed in MOOC reviews, such as "instructor", "design", "material", "assignment", "platform", and "experience". Notably, most learners express positive sentiments in their reviews. The sentiment indicated in reviews of skill-seeking MOOCs is higher than that in reviews of knowledge-seeking MOOCs. Furthermore, the association rule mining identifies four meaningful association rules. The findings offer valuable insights for MOOC instructors to enhance course design and for platform operators to ensure the long-term viability and success of MOOC platforms.