Virtual Learning Environments

According to researches, motivation that initiates and sustains behaviour is one of the most significant components of learning in any environment. Accordingly, level of intrinsic motivation triggers and sustains the interest of the open and distance education students when it comes to learning on their own in e‐learning environments. Despite a comprehensive literature regarding the motivation of those learning in traditional learning environments, the number of studies addressing the motivation of open and distance education students in e‐learning environments is not sufficient. In this context, this study aims at determining the level of intrinsic motivation of open and distance education students. Thus, data were collected from 1,639 distance education students in 22 programmes, through Intrinsic Motivation in e‐Learning Questionnaire developed and validated to that end. Analyses carried out indicate that the level of intrinsic motivation of open and distance education students is high in e‐learning environments, but there is not a statistically significant difference by gender, programme structure (graduate/undergraduate), instruction type (distance–blended), and academic disciplines.

The COVID-19 pandemic disruption has provided opportunities for educators to rethink the effectiveness of technology-enhanced online or hybrid learning globally. This paper employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the acceptance of a Moodle-based plugin, namely JazzQuiz in a hybrid Computer Science course from a Sino-British English Medium Instruction (EMI) University in China. 246 undergraduate students joined an online survey to share their self-reported perceptions on the use of JazzQuiz for interactive learning from the online and face-to-face learning environments. The findings are corresponding to the existing technology acceptance literature and validated the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model under the Chinese higher education context. This paper contributes to the information system literature and educational technology literature by confirming the model validation and providing valuable practical implications for effective hybrid learning and teaching in computer science education.

Although extensive research has been carried out on virtual learning environments and the role of groups and communities in social networks, few studies exist which adequately cover the relationship between these two domains In this paper, the authors demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating these two environments by creating a novel prototype and conducting a preliminary pilot evaluation session. For the prototype system, a Facebook Group was utilised as a repository for learning content and the Open Wonderland platform was selected as a mixed reality intelligent environment for 3D virtual collaborative activities. Since tacit knowledge can be gained via collaborative group-based activities and discussions, a new Wonderland module was developed to integrate this platform with the Facebook group. Similarly, explicit knowledge can be learned directly via the prepared materials which are provided within the group repository. We hope to demonstrate that this approach can provide greater accessibility to the learning content since it can be accessed from both the 3D world and the 2D Facebook Group. In other words, this system can support both synchronous interaction as well as asynchronous data retrieval. Finally, the prototype system was evaluated by means of a two-hour task-based assessment and user-satisfaction questionnaire. We present the key findings from this pilot study (which were very encouraging), and propose further ideas for the future refinement of the concepts presented in this paper.

This article interrogates how a particular conception of creativity: 'wise humanising creativity' (WHC) is manifest within a virtual learning environment (VLE) with children and young people. It reports on the outcomes of C 2 Learn, a three-year European Commission funded project which introduced innovative digital gaming activities to foster co-creativity in the VLE between players. Theoretically the paper builds on previous work, which has conceptualised the potential for WHC within VLEs, as well as other educational contexts. Within C 2 Learn, arguments have been made for WHC as an antidote to overly-marketised, competitive notions of creativity, as well as for WHC supporting a view of childhood and youth as empowered—rather than 'at risk'—within digital environments. In particular, this paper focuses on outcomes of the project's final piloting in England, Greece and Austria across the primary and secondary age ranges. This research employed a bespoke co-creativity assessment methodology developed for the project. In order to document WHC, this methodology opted to evidence developments in lived experience via qualitative methods including teacher and student interviews, fieldnotes, video capture, observation and student self-assessment tools. The paper articulates how WHC manifests in C 2 Learn's unique VLE or C 2 Space, and its potential to develop more nuanced understandings of creativity across digital environments. It then goes on to consider WHC as a useful concept for changing how we create within VLEs, and the implications for educational futures debates and wider understanding of creativity in education as a less marketised and more ethically driven concept.

Acest capitol reprezintă viziunea noastră vis a vis de evenimente petrecute între anii 1985 și 2018, în legătură cu Informatizarea sistemului educațional preuniversitar. Această viziune este determinată de o istorie trăită alături de câteva dintre personalitățile care au muncit la acest proiect de țară. Prin urmare, există posibilitatea ca în acest document să nu se regăsească foarte mulți dintre cei care au contribuit la introducerea calculatorului în școala românească. Tuturor acestora le cerem scuze.

Am avut șansa de a fi 35 de ani în preajma unor oameni fabuloși, care au construit ceva pentru România, lucrând continuu la modernizarea școlii românești și să fim acceptați de ei, fie ca promotori de proiecte de informatizare, fie ca parteneri în varii proiecte. Informatizarea școlii românești, crearea unei mase critice de profesori și profesoare cu știință de carte nu a venit prin voia stelelor, ci prin ideile și munca neobosită a unor oameni care și-au dedicat întreaga carieră unui țel: România educată. Suntem ferm convinși că succesul Industriei IT din România se datorează dascălilor români din învățământul preuniversitar care au știut să se aplece, cu dăruire, formării viitorilor experți din informatica românească și mediului universitar care a știut să întrețină flacăra aprinsă în anii de gimnaziu sau de liceu. Am construit cu toții o industrie, poate singura, care se află într-un top mondial. România are toate calitățile pentru a deveni una dintre țările puternic informatizate ale lumii. Avem tradiție în acest sens și avem competențele necesare și suficiente pentru a face saltul direct către Societatea Informațională, „arzând” etapele parcurse de alte țări.

Editor și coordonator: Conf. Univ Dr. Marin Vlada
Referenți:
Acad. Prof. Dr. Mihail-Viorel Bădescu, Președinte, Divizia Istoria Științei, Comitetul Român de Istoria li Filosofia Științei și Tehnicii, Academia Română
Prof. Dr. Eufrosina Otălcan, Vicepreședinte, Divizia Istoria Științei, Comitetul Român de Istoria li Filosofia Științei și Tehnicii, Academia Română

Widespread introduction and use of Virtual Learning Environment Technologies (VLETs), has led to its use to support teaching and learning especially at the tertiary level. Early work on the use of Virtual Learning Environment Technologies to support teaching and learning has established the percentage of schools in Korea, Ireland, UK, Ireland and some other places as well. In the case of Ghana, it is unknown how many schools are using Virtual Learning Environment Technologies. This study therefore attempts at determining the percentage of tertiary schools using Virtual Learning Environment Technologies to support teaching and learning. The other supporting sub-objectives set for the study includes the determination of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) proficiency level of participants of the study, participant institutions and the use of technology to supports teaching and learning and finally participant institutions and the use of online management systems. Using the stratified probabilistic sampling, a sample of 45 was selected from the population of 140 accredited tertiary institutions. A total of 493 participants made up of students, lecturers and IT personnel were then selected randomly from the 45 Institutions. This constitutes 45 lecturers, 400 students from tertiary institutions and 48 IT support staff of tertiary institutions. The study found out that 39 percent of Ghanaian tertiary institutions use Virtual Learning Environment Technologies to support teaching and learning, whereas 58 percent was recorded for those institutions who do not use Virtual Learning Environment Technologies in teaching and learning. Again, ICT proficiency in tertiary institution was found to be 83 percent whiles 76 percent of the institutions uses technology to support teaching and learning in their schools. The paper makes a number of recommendations for the development and application of Virtual Learning Environment Technologies for tertiary institutions in Ghana was made since the study revealed its prospects. The prospects lied in the fact that most of the respondents were ICT proficient and that most of the respondent institutions uses ICT in teaching and learning in their institutions.

In this article, I would like summarize the book, entitled Essentials for Blended Learning: A Standards-Based Guide. This book has 204 pages. It was edited by Marjorie Vai and written by Jared Stein and Charles R. Graham. Jared Stein is the director of Knowledge Resources at Instructure. Charles R. Graham is a professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University. He also currently serves as the Associate Dean for the David O. McKay School of Education. This book was first published in New York in the United States of America in 1974 by Routledge. Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor and Francis Group, an informal business. The International Standard Book Number of this book is 978-0-415-63515-5 (hbk). The International Standard Book Number of the printed version of this book is 978-0-415-63516-2. The International Standard Book Number of the ebook version of this book is 978-0-203-07525-8.

Three-dimensional  Multi-User  Virtual  Environments  (MUVEs)  are  being  increasingly  used  in  many  areas,  and  they  are  becoming  more  and  more integrated with learning and teaching. MUVEs can be used in learning and teaching to facilitate student learning and collaboration. This study identified the effects of MUVEs on collaborative learning and social presence and investigated whether these effects varied by gender. The participants were sophomore students attending a programming language course. They used a MUVE for their group meetings as part of their collaborative work. They also held voice communication. A four-section questionnaire was administered to the students who attended the meetings, in which the researchers served as facilitators. Interviews were held with randomly selected students. In addition, the group project meetings were tape-recorded, and field notes were taken for each meeting. The results showed that the MUVE enabled the group members to exchange ideas in an authentic environment, and that the file-sharing platform used as a complement to the MUVE reinforced collaborative learning. As long as technical problems are prevented, effective collaborative learning can be achieved in these environments.

This paper, from a reflection about Digital Culture and the new learners, presents and discusses the use of Metaverses and Digital Games in Education, involving concepts such as flow state, experimentation and meaning to problematize the issue of learning. In this context, we propose the Immersive Learning - i-Learning, using Virtual Reality Experience and Real Virtuality Experiences, as one of the educational possibilities that can be afforded to the new learners, which are part of the Digital Culture.

A computer program has been created to simulate a ray diagram on a thin lens using the Python programming language. The program is a ray diagram simulation on a convex lens and a concave lens. The program is built using the canvas, create line, button and motion functions in the object-oriented programming language Python. The object being simulated is a convex and concave lens with a focal length of 10 cm and an object's height of 4 cm. The simulation results are in the form of an interface with the user using computer graphic media and interaction via a touch screen. The program can run on Android mobile phones. The results of ray diagrams on computers and Android cellular phones show that they are in accordance with theory, so that the program can be used as a virtual laboratory material.

The study examined the use of non-monetary incentives as a motivating tool to influence job performance and to indicate the different employee attitudes towards job performance and non-monetary incentives based on some demographical variables. The study used survey questionnaire to collect data from workers in the Justmoh Construction Limited. The data collected fromthe study was analysed using statistical techniques in SPSS 20.0. The study revealed that the non-monetary factors that motivate workers at Justmoh Construction Limited (JCL) were: recognition, training, participation in goal setting, interesting work, job security, open communication, promotion, good working condition, pension benefits and health insurance. The study revealed significant difference between gender and non-monetary factors ((rho=0.678, p<0.01) as well as employee level and non-monetary factors (rho=0.926, p<0, 01) that influence their job performance. The findings revealed recognition and training as the most important factors that influence job performance. The findings revealed pension benefits and health insurance as less important factors that influence job performance. The study recommends future planning and recruitment is strategized to incorporate non-monetary incentives.

COVID-19 has necessitated a rapid shift to teaching in virtual environments across the educational spectrum. In this respect, instructors previously unfamiliar, or under-familiar, with virtual teaching environments need to learn quickly and effectively how these environments work and how they can be used to successfully deliver courses, especially within health professions education contexts. These twelve tips provide insight on the practice of teaching in virtual environments, from course design, to student engagement, to assessment practices, to maximising the potential that technology can provide for both the instructor and the students. Moreover, these tips inform virtual pedagogical practices in the health professions for all levels of experience.