Transnational Education and e-Learning during a Pandemic: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future

Higher education institutions are globally facing unprecedented disruptive trends, which have rapidly changed the landscape of global higher education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While transnational education (TNE) is increasingly becoming popular as a provision for internationally recognised education at the doorstep of students, the temporary shift from traditional classroom teaching and learning (T&L) to remote online T&L caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for all stakeholders to provide the similar student experience as previously. Regarding TNE programmes, the emergency replacement of traditional classrooms with virtual ones has also raised significant challenges of both equity and pedagogy. However, given the current crisis in higher education, TNE can be a cornerstone in rebuilding the post-COVID-19 international education system. This chapter explores the challenges faced by the TNE programmes based on a systematic literature review and information gathered informally from various stakeholders and discusses the opportunities and future impacts in teaching, learning, and student support as the post-COVID-19 educational landscape emerges. It also provides an insight into how a sustainable transnational learning community can be developed for the quality and sustainability of international higher education in this new decade.

Reimagining Engagement

This article explores how to successfully adapt simulations developed for traditional classrooms for synchronous platforms. Acknowledging the importance of the co-construction of knowledge and the impact of active learning in classrooms, this article explores instructional design approaches, logistical issues, and pedagogical considerations for translating successful in-person simulations to online synchronous learning environments. An example from a graduate level intercultural communication course is described as a platform for addressing lessons learned and sharing best practices. By reimagining five areas of adaptation, including materials, technology, grouping students, communication, and the role of the facilitator, faculty can examine critical junctures at the intersection of content knowledge, technology know-how, training pedagogy, and instructional design to conduct successful synchronous simulations.

Digital Differentiation in Gifted Education

Gifted students are a group who has unique needs. These unique needs require differentiation in their education. With the technological developments, it becomes necessary to use digital tools within or outside the classroom which can enhance the differentiation process. Digital differentiation emerges because of all these reasons that answer students' needs with the usage of technology. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce digital differentiation as a strategy used in gifted education. Digital differentiation can be carried out in traditional classrooms by preparing digital differentiation packages which includes three types of different content or in online environments by using learning management systems besides digital differentiation packages. In this chapter, strategies used in gifted education will be explained and then digital differentiation will be presented and the tools that can be used exemplified. Then how the digital differentiation can be carried out in both traditional classrooms and online environments will be clarified.

A Theoretical Analysis Method of Spatial Analytic Geometry and Mathematics under Digital Twins

In recent years, online education in China has made considerable achievements. But there are also some problems: the teaching quality of online education is unsatisfactory; students’ online learning effects are frustrating, and students’ autonomous learning ability is poor. Based on analysis, teachers’ literacy and Internet technology are important factors restricting the online teaching reform, and online teaching easily falls into the dilemma of “shallow learning.” Digital twins can effectively realize the intelligent interconnection and interaction of the physical world and the information world, optimize the remote teaching process, and provide high-quality remote learning experience for learners. Based on this, the technology is used to the teaching of space geometry to help students understand it and improve their performance. First, the principle and advantages of digital twins are expounded. Second, the platform system based on digital twins is constructed. Then, the corresponding digital model is drawn by using the drawing function of MATLAB software, and the system based on virtual reality (VR) is established. Finally, the students of four classes of the same major are selected as the research subjects to test the teaching effect of advanced mathematics on the digital platform. The results show that students’ scores in the traditional classrooms are form 2.5 to 5.5 and their average score is 4.049, while the scores of the students in the digital twin classrooms are between 5.5 and 9.5 and their average score goes up to 7.986. This shows that students’ performance in the digital twin classrooms is 97.2%, higher than that in the traditional classrooms. A fully digitized spatial geometric model is implemented by using digital twins, and it can help students understand the mathematical theory of spatial analytic geometry, and their learning effect is greatly improved. This study provides a new direction for the application of new technologies in mathematics teaching.

Use of gamification to enhance curiosity and engagement through feedback strategies

Curiosity is a significant educational component behind human learning and is vital for a learner to sustain motivation and engagement in both face-to-face and online learning environments. Positive feedback has the potential to support learning by enhancing competence, confidence, and curiosity. Informative feedback at the right time is the sought-after goal in traditional classrooms and is equally important for the learning design within a digital educational environment. Individual differences such as personality, gender, learning style, and curiosity trait can play a crucial role in how feedback is received and acquired knowledge is demonstrated in a different context by a learner. This paper proposes to exploit the benefits of positive feedback in a statistics game by establishing a connection between feedback and curiosity through the lens of the selfdetermination theory of motivation. It presents a work-in-progress psychological theory-based conceptual framework to foster curiosity by means of game-based learning and gamification approaches.

Blockchain and IoT Technology in Transformation of Education Sector

Technology has impacted every field of life, and Education sector is no exception. It has seen seismic changes off-late. The traditional classroom teaching-learning process involved teachers and students using the black-board approach. But, the past years have seen a change in dynamics of this process. Technology has crept in and has profoundly changed it for better. On one hand, when traditional classrooms had teachers, students and books as players, the current classroom has teachers, students, robots, e-books, laptops and books as the players. Today’s classrooms have enabled the teaching-learning process cross boundaries in the form of e-lectures and tutorials. Massive amount of Information is readily available for the process. Also, a shift from “Teacher-centric” to “Student Centric” can be seen in the current scenario. Several technologies have been key-players in revolutionizing the education sector, but the focus of this paper is concentrated in exploiting the applications of Blockchain and IoT in the sector and identifying the areas where they prove to be beneficial. An extensive literature survey shall be done to understand, and identify how these technologies are a solution to major educational problems. The teaching learning process needs to be understood with respect to various parameters: change in process, change in players, change in outcomes derived, and others. The associated challenges shall also be identified. A detailed analysis of these enables us to conclude that these technologies, can revolutionize the education sector for better in future, particularly Blockchain is young, but, owing to the benefits derived from it, further research and adoption shall for surely change the teaching-learning process.

The Influence of Learning Styles on Perception and Preference of Learning Spaces in the University Campus

Good academic performance will occur when learning spaces match or support individual preference and needs. This effect depends on environmental characteristics and individual attributes. Learning styles (LSs) have been used as a tool to capture the behavioral and psychological characteristics of learners in the process of learning activities, which provide instructions to address their learning needs. However, few have focused on the perceptual characteristics of learning space from the view of distinct learning styles. The research aims to identify which kinds of learning spaces in university campus have been preferred by students with different learning styles respectively and the spatial characteristics which have significant influence on the distinct evaluation results; the research consists of 178 college students’ LSs measurement conducted by the Index of Learning Styles questionnaire and their subjective assessment to five typical learning spaces obtained by 5-point Likert-type scale. Then, the key spatial influencing factors were identified by the focus group interviews; the results firstly ranked the learning spaces according to their satisfaction evaluation and restorative potential. The self-study rooms are rated highest, followed by professional classroom, traditional classroom, and multimedia classroom. Then, two dimensions of learning styles were proved as having considerable effects on perception. Specifically, there are significant differences between visual and verbal learners’ evaluations of multimedia classrooms and traditional classrooms, and between global and sequential learners’ evaluations of multimedia classrooms, informal learning spaces, and learning buildings. The other two dimensions including perceiving and remembering have no obvious impacts on learners’ perception of any learning spaces. At last, the important influence factors of perceptions of five typical learning spaces were identified, respectively, and their different effects on various groups were discussed. For example, the serious atmosphere in traditional classrooms was regarded as a motivation for sensing learners but a stress for intuitive learners. The studies emphasize the perceptual difference on learning space in terms of students’ unique learning styles and key points for each kind of learning space with regard to satisfaction of personalized needs. However, before it can be used by designers as tools, more research is needed.

The Enhancement of Face-To-Face Reading skill at the University of Tabuk Using Internet-Based Reading Activities

This study aimed to investigate how far internet-based reading activities can enhance learners’ reading skills in face-to-face learning experience at the faculty of education and arts, University of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, for the Academic Year 2021. This study also examined students' learning preferences, experiences, and participation in traditional and non-traditional classrooms as blended learning has come in vogue at the university due to Covid19 restrictions. This quantitative research consisted of 90 university EFL learners from the faculty of education and arts at Tabuk University. The study employed descriptive statistics to analyze learners’ responses. The findings showed that internet-based reading activities and peer moderated discussions could enhance learners’ reading skills in the face-to-face EFL classes at the university. Internet-based reading activities also led to greater language output in the other three language skills viz., speaking, listening and writing when these are undertaken in the physical mode. However, gaps exist in their application to student learning preferences and whether they match student preferences for reading activities. Limited literature is existed on following up internet-based reading activities with physical learning in traditional classrooms. A single overarching research question guided this study: How far can the innovative method of internet-based reading enhance learners’ reading in face-to-face learning environments. The results proved encouraging drills as the previously challenging reading drills were perceived as engaging by the learners after the brief intervention. However, whether the results are temporal or reliable can only be ascertained with larger samples and varied learning environments.