The present focused on understanding the satisfaction of the learners from the massive open online courses (MOOCs). The objective of the present study has been to analyse the factors affecting the ...satisfaction of the learners from the MOOCs. The structured questionnaire has been adapted from the existing studies on satisfaction of online teaching. The satisfaction from the MOOCs has been studied on four parameters i.e. course delivery, course assessment, and course support. The overall satisfaction has been measured by a five-point scale. It has been found that course assessment, course content and course delivery significantly affect the overall satisfaction level from the MOOCs. However, course support was not found to be insignificant in impacting the overall satisfaction. It has also been concluded course assessment mediates the relationship between course content and overall satisfaction. On the other hand, course support does not mediate the relationship between course delivery and overall satisfaction.
Dependence on technological concepts and applications to improve learning outcomes and learners’ performance has broad positive effects on deepening students’ understanding, especially in higher ...education and postgraduate studies. Digital storytelling (DST) is a high-value-added tool for achieving many learning goals. This study aims to explore students’ perceptions about the use of DST in strengthening the understanding of practical concepts among students on a master’s program in instructional technology at the Arab Open University in Oman. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather the required data. A total of 67 students participated in the study through a questionnaire, and a semi-structured personal interview format was used to gather qualitative data from ten of these participants. The results indicated that the students used DST for the purpose of learning and deep understanding of some practical concepts in an effective, fun, useful and constructive way in order to achieve targeted learning. The students’ most positive perception was of the technique when used in the following categories: information stability, application of concepts in a variety of contexts, and problem-solving skill development (M = 4.186, SD = 0.7371; M = 4.051, SD = 0.7558; and M = 4.023, SD = 0.7531 respectively). At the same time, the students’ perception was the least positive for DST in the analysis and discussion categories (M = 2.056, SD = 1.209). Most of the participants supported the idea that DST was a perfect and enjoyable tool for learning and deep understanding in their specialization. They also agreed that DST helped them to fix what they had learned and helped them to achieve broad interaction with the content and that it also contributed effectively to the application of the concepts in various learning contexts. DST developed students’ ability to solve any instructional problems but mainly contributed to raising the motivation toward learning.
Background: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have had an increasing trend globally during the last two decades. They are emerging as flexible and complementary tools in open education. ...Nevertheless, their development demands substantial resources, and challenges persist in effectively involving faculty. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing MOOCs development based on e-learning experts’ perspectives within the Iranian universities of medical sciences.Methods: This qualitative research was conducted in 2022 using the content analysis method. Purposeful sampling was used to select experts authorized in e-learning within Iranian medical sciences universities with at least two years of experience. Sampling continued until data saturation (n: 15). Data was collected using a semi-structured interview administered through online written approaches. Thematic analysis techniques were applied, involving the identification of codes. The data was analyzed at the level of open coding (items), axial coding (components), and selective coding (concepts) in a round-trip process.Results: Thematic analysis resulted in 28 codes, 12 themes, and 4 categories. Influential factors on MOOCs development and engagement included: 1) structural factors (rules/regulations, clarity, structure); 2) human resources (empowerment, support, attitude, motivation); 3) cultural factors (symbols, unity); and 4) political factors (equity, participation, and negotiation, profit).Conclusion: The development of successful MOOCs programs encompasses various factors, including cultural, human resource, political, and structural elements to empower and actively engage faculty members in MOOCs. Restructuring may be required regarding the multivariable changes to consider open, online education as a part of innovative educational pathways in universities.
Background:
Promoting ethics is one of the goals of education, but the free flow of communication and divulging unethical behaviors in e-learning make the urgent need to clarify ethical values. ...Therefore, the aim of this study was to prepare ethical codes to develop and deliver e-contents.
Methods:
A draft of e-content ethical codes was prepared based on the literature review. Then, it was further revised by e-learning, medical education, ethics, and e-content experts. Finally, the draft was finalized through a 2-round Delphi process among related experts all over the country.
Results:
The final document of e-content ethical codes, including introduction, definitions, and 7 ethical code statements, was devised.
Conclusion:
Considering the difference between e-content and other kinds of publications, this set of ethical codes can be used straightforwardly to assess ethical aspects of e-contents.
Background & Aims: Maintaining patient safety (PS) is one of professional and ethical duties of health care providers. Nurses, as the largest professional group in the health system, have a potential ...and significant power in influencing the health care quality. Their competency in PS is essential to ensure quality and safe care. Education plays a vital role in improving PS and providing high quality nursing care. Due to the prevalence of COVID-19 and the need to observe social distancing, it is not possible to hold face-to-face courses. Hence, e-learning is a valuable option during this pandemic. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of online PS education on the competence of nurses in intensive care units (ICUs). Materials & Methods: This is a single-group quasi-experimental study with a pre-test/post-test design that was conducted in 2020 in Tehran, Iran. Participants were 50 nurses working in the ICUs of Hazrate Rasoole Akram Hospital and Firoozgar Hospital affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences, who were by a proportional stratified sampling method. The content of the educational program was prepared using clinical guidelines and the literature which included materials about (1) PS and its different aspects (medication error, hemovigilance, pressure ulcer, fall, nosocomial infections, hand hygiene, surface and equipment disinfection, and waste management), (2) PS culture, (3) the effects of human factors and teamwork on error incidence, (4) importance of communication with patients before and after the occurrence of errors and giving appropriate feedback on errors, (5) root cause analysis of errors, (6) activity analysis after an adverse event, and (7) risk management. The program was prepared using Storyline version 3 software. Educational content was provided to participants on Telegram application. Before and three months after the intervention, data were collected using the Patient Safety Competency Self-evaluation (PSCSE) questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (paired t-test) in SPSS software, version 22. Results: The mean scores of PS knowledge (21.75±3.28), attitude (61.52±4.19) and skill (84.66±53.7) after the intervention were significantly higher compared to their pretest scores (P<0.001). The mean of total competency score (167.93±11.61) was also significantly higher after the intervention. Results showed that the educational program improved the nurses' competence by 17.86%. The education had the highest effect on PS knowledge, followed by PS skills and attitudes. Conclusion: Online education can increase PS knowledge, skills, and attitudes in ICU nurses and can ultimately promote their competence in PS. Nursing managers can use e-learning method to provide in-service training and retraining courses on familiarity with PS concepts, which can help manage medical errors caused by nurses. This learning method is recommended for nurses working in ICUs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This research investigates the effect of different levels of constructivist scaffolding within e-content on undergraduate students’ mastery of learning and their attitudes towards it. The research ...sample involves three experimental groups, each group having thirty (30) students. The first group (Group 1) studied e-content with simple constructivist scaffolding, the second group (Group 2) studied e-content with intermediate constructivist scaffolding, the third group (Group 3) studied e-content with intensive constructivist scaffolding. The results indicate that the third group of students, who studied design skills with intensive scaffolding, scored higher than the other two groups; they achieved 85% proficiency. Though the differences are not statistically significant, the students in the other two groups did not achieve the same proficiency percentage (85%). The results further reveal that the students in the first and third groups had more positive attitudes than the students in the second group.
Elaeis guineensis is a tropical oil crop and has the highest oil yield per unit area. Palm oil has high palmitic acid content and is also rich in vitamins, including vitamin E. We conducted ...genome-wide association studies in a diversity panel of 161 E. guineensis accessions to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked with vitamin E and validated candidate genes in these marker-associated intervals. Based on the SNPs reported in our previous research, 47 SNP markers were detected to be significantly associated with the variation of tocopherol and tocotrienol content at a cutoff P value of 6.3 × 10–7. A total of 656 candidate genes in the flanking regions of the 47 SNPs were identified, followed by pathway enrichment analysis. Of these candidate genes, EgHGGT (homogentisate geranylgeranyl transferase) involved in the biosynthesis of tocotrienols had a higher expression level in the mesocarp compared to other tissues. Expression of the EgHGGT gene was positively correlated with the variation in α-tocotrienol content. Induced overexpression of the gene in Arabidopsis caused a significant increase in vitamin E content and production of α-tocotrienols compared to wild Arabidopsis.
Technology has affected the development of the education process over time. COVID-19 pandemic has forced educational facilities to close. Consequently, transformation from face-to-face educational ...approach to the E-learning approach has pushed the world to enter a new state of learning. This situation has elicited doubts about the implementation and the difficulties related with this immediate action. In this paper, statistical analysis was used on the filled survey by the instructors and students at the Hashemite University (HU) to investigate the quality of the E-learning process. Various factors such as e-content, Virtual Classroom (VC) and Learning Management System (LMS), and Technology Infrastructure affect E-learning process. A contradiction between instructors’ and students’ opinions regarding the usage of the E-learning at HU exists. Therefore, a set of recommendations was made to overcome the shortage in the E-learning process and to reach a full satisfaction about the quality of its implementation in future.
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