Alexa, Is This a Historical Record?

Digital transformation in government has brought an increase in the scale, variety, and complexity of records and greater levels of disorganised data. Current practices for selecting records for transfer to The National Archives (TNA) were developed to deal with paper records and are struggling to deal with this shift. This article examines the background to the problem and outlines a project that TNA undertook to research the feasibility of using commercially available artificial intelligence tools to aid selection. The project AI for Selection evaluated a range of commercial solutions varying from off-the-shelf products to cloud-hosted machine learning platforms, as well as a benchmarking tool developed in-house. Suitability of tools depended on several factors, including requirements and skills of transferring bodies as well as the tools’ usability and configurability. This article also explores questions around trust and explainability of decisions made when using AI for sensitive tasks such as selection.

E-learning: Introducing Computer Use in Mathematics Lessons in Primary Education

The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze the role that the use of the computer has in stimulating the logical thinking of young schoolchildren. Through this, the purpose of the activity of solving operations with natural numbers, is to develop logical thinking, properly combining intuitive elements with abstract ones. Solving arithmetic problems, we can activate young students in the formation of skills and abilities to analyze the given situation, to intuit and discover the way to get what is required in the mathematical problem. This paper aims to prove that, if both traditional methods and computer-based teaching methods are used in the instructive-educational process, then school performance will register a significant increase in terms of quantity and quality. This experimental study started from the premise that solving arithmetic problems with the help of computer, using e-learning platforms is an important activity in the mathematics lesson in primary school through which we stimulate young students’ logical thinking.

Body Image Disturbance in Female Adolescents Using Online Learning Platforms: A Concept Analysis

Aim To analyze the concept of body image disturbance in female adolescents using online learning platforms as a phenomenon of interest to nurse practitioners and other health care practitioners. Background With the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of online learning platforms as a primary mode of learning has increased exponentially among adolescents. While research is still lacking in this field, the literature on traditional social media suggests that these online learning platforms may negatively influence body image and emotional outcomes. Particularly vulnerable to these outcomes are female adolescents, whose construction of own body image is highly influenced by their self-perceived evaluation from their peers. While the concept of body image disturbance is well defined in adolescent eating disorders, it has not been characterized in the context of online learning platforms. Defining the concept of body image disturbance in this context is crucial for recognizing its occurrence and providing early intervention. Methods The Walker and Avant method of concept analysis was used to analyze the concept. Findings The defining attributes of body image disturbance among female adolescents using online learning platforms are: (1) Viewing a digitally distorted image of oneself and feeling displeasure with the perceived appearance; (2) Self-surveillance of one’s appearance; and (3) Upward comparison of one’s appearance with others and experiencing feelings of inadequacy. Conclusion As COVID-19 continues to disrupt the traditional school experience, nurse practitioners can use the presented scenarios, along with examples of questionnaires noted in this study, to recognize and delineate the occurrence of body image disturbance in female adolescents using online learning platforms. A standardized definition of the concept will enable nurse practitioners to recognize its occurrence and to provide interventions in a timely manner.

Online Learning Platforms and Covenant University Students’ Academic Performance in Practical Related Courses during COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examines the effectiveness of online learning platforms (Zoom and Moodle) and their effect on the academic performance of Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria, students studying practical-related courses during COVID-19. This study specifically seeks to determine students’ attitudes towards online learning platforms, investigate the effectiveness of these platforms on practical-related courses as well as ascertain the effect of Zoom and Moodle platforms on the students’ academic performance during the Pandemic. Data were gathered through a survey of 380 CU students through the purposive sampling technique to pick students offering practical related courses. Results show that due to the effectiveness of the platforms (Zoom and Moodle) and the positive communication between lecturers and students via these platforms, students would like to see online learning continually adopted after the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings further show that students had no difficulties using these platforms. Due to the sheer adaptability of the online learning platforms used during the pandemic, the usage of Zoom and Moodle had a favorable impact on student’s academic achievement in practical-related courses. The study concludes that distance learning is a future direction in teaching practical-related courses because of the flexible nature of the platforms. Thus, universities in this part of the world should invest more in online education platforms to maintain academic continuity, especially during times of emergency.

Fermatean Fuzzy DEMATEL and MMDE Algorithm for Modelling the Barriers of Implementing Education 4.0: Insights from the Philippines

Technological transitions in the education sector of developing economies are faced with a range of barriers, involving resource scarcity, socio-cultural concerns, and issues related to management and policy. The popularity of Industry 4.0 has prompted Education 4.0 (EDUC4), an approach to learning that involves transformation using advanced technologies. While a recent work reported a comprehensive list of barriers to EDUC4 implementation, particularly in developing economies, further analysis to identify those priority barriers remains a gap. Thus, this work addresses this gap by introducing a novel methodological extension of the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method following the integration of Fermatean fuzzy sets (FFS). The FFS, compared to other fuzzy environments, could capture higher levels of uncertainties that are associated when eliciting judgments necessary for the DEMATEL. Such integration is aided by the maximum mean de-entropy (MMDE) algorithm, which analytically determines the threshold value crucial for constructing the prominence-relation map of the DEMATEL. Following its application in evaluating the implementation of EDUC4 in Philippine universities, the critical barriers are the lack of training resources, costs, insufficiency of available technologies, skills gap of human resources, knowledge gap, and the complexity of the learning platforms. Among this set, barriers related to cost and lack of training resources are deemed the most prominent ones. The statistical test on the impact of addressing the two prominent barriers shows that addressing the barrier related to costs yields statistically more favorable results regarding the mitigation of other EDUC4 implementation barriers. Although these insights may contain idiosyncrasies, they can serve as starting points of discussion in other relevant developing economies. These methodological and practical contributions advance the development of analytical tools under uncertainty that can handle pressing problems such as the EDUC4 implementation.

Design of a Personalized Recommendation System for Learning Resources based on Collaborative Filtering

At present, personalized recommendation system has become an indispensable technology in the fields of e-commerce, social network and news recommendation. However, the development of personalized recommendation system in the field of education and teaching is relatively slow with lack of corresponding application.In the era of Internet Plus, many colleges have adopted online learning platforms amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. Overwhelmed with online learning tasks, many college students are overload by learning resources and unable to keep orientation in learning. It is difficult for them to access interested learning resources accurately and efficiently. Therefore, the personalized recommendation of learning resources has become a research hotspot. This paper focuses on how to develop an effective personalized recommendation system for teaching resources and improve the accuracy of recommendation. Based on the data on learning behaviors of the online learning platform of our university, the authors explored the classic cold start problem of the popular collaborative filtering algorithm, and improved the algorithm based on the data features of the platform. Specifically, the data on learning behaviors were extracted and screened by knowledge graph. The screened data were combined with the collaborative filtering algorithm to recommend learning resources. Experimental results show that the improved algorithm effectively solved the loss of orientation in learning, and the similarity and accuracy of recommended learning resources surpassed 90%. Our algorithm can fully satisfy the personalized needs of students, and provide a reference solution to the personalized education service of intelligent online learning platforms.

Is virtual classroom a window into future during COVID-19? A comparative study of undergraduate and postgraduate university students in India

Education in today’s epidemic time is possible only through virtual learning platforms. COVID-19 has changed the mode of learning and shown the power of learning in virtual mode. In this paper a self-designed questionnaire on virtual learning was developed to analyse the impact of virtual learning on undergraduate and postgraduate university students. The self-developed questionnaire containing 25 items is tested for validity and reliability. 25 items are further segregated into 5 factors using exploratory factor analysis. These five factors are: Virtual Learning Environment; Virtual Learning and Health Related Issues; Virtual Learning and Interpersonal Issues; Virtual Learning and Technological Issues; Virtual Learning Deliverables. To have the comparative study of undergraduate and postgraduate students for the use of virtual learning platforms, one-way ANOVA is implemented. One-way ANOVA is implemented for each factor and it was found that virtual learning effectiveness increases when students move from Under graduation (UG) to Post Graduation (PG) in India.

A Systematic Review of Gamification Within E-Learning

The focus of this study was to review and evaluate the effectiveness of gamification within e-learning platforms. The study deployed systematic literature review methodology to evaluate how effective gamification has been used within e-learning platforms. The study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Approach (PRISMA), starting with 366 articles, shifting to a final 34 articles for consideration. It was established that gamification positively influences and enhances learning within the e-learning platform. Therefore, the study recommends policy makers, designers, and implementers of e-learning platforms to consider incorporating gamification elements in order to increase user motivation and engagement for enhanced learning.

Gamification in Educational Contexts

Gamification as a tool or procedure to add entertaining and motivating elements to usually non-entertaining environments such as schools or workplaces is becoming more and more popular. E-learning platforms like Moodle provide tools and sets of functions to add elements of gamification. An important factor, especially for education, is technology: individual achievements and progress can be recorded, measured, tracked and visualized and, therefore, identified and honored through bonus points, awards or rankings. This is where gamification can add some challenge and excitement to learning.