Uses and gratifications of educational apps: A study during COVID-19 pandemic

Design of a micro-learning framework and mobile application using design-based research

Traditional learning techniques have evolved slowly and have yet to adapt the course content delivery to today's students' approaches to acquiring new knowledge. However, micro-learning has become popular in e-Learning environments as a course design technique due to short attention spans, demand for small chunks of information, and time constraints. Hence, it has been selected for creating reading mobile applications provided to the nature of its learning approach. In order to describe the multiple iterations of design, development, and evaluation of this general framework, a methodology named Design-Based Research (DBR) is implemented. First, the article presents the abstract framework components and a cloud-based software architecture that allows a modular approach to creating such applications. The pathway developed through adapting the iPAC framework, which involves personalization, authenticity, and collaboration, is part of the methodology used to design the app under pedagogical and technological considerations. The process demanded the following phases: analysis and exploration, design and construction, evaluation and reflection, redesign and reconstruction, and final critical reflections. Four applied instruments also validate the framework implementation: The iPAC Rubric, an aphorisms checklist, a pre and post-test, a focus group, and a usability test taken by 28 students in a private university in Colombia. Findings indicated that Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology emerged as an appropriate tool to encounter the needs behind reading applications design due to its sequence of operations yields results successively closer to adequate usability standards and smooth implementation. They also reveal the positive impact of new types of texts on students' motivation and awareness toward other reading strategies and micro-learning. This impact indeed proved the proposed framework's effectiveness for designing micro-learning applications.

Do an Organization’s Digital Transformation and Employees’ Digital Competence Catalyze the Use of Telepresence?

Rapid changes in the external environment are increasing interest in digital transformation. In particular, the recent breakout of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 has required certain companies to restrict physical exchanges among their members. As a result, companies must strive to maintain productivity and performance by supporting business exchange activities through online platforms. A metaverse technology that supports individuals’ exchange activities in a virtual space based on 3D technology has recently attracted attention from companies. However, as previous studies related to the metaverse have focused on strengthening personalized content and services, additional research is needed in order to understand the metaverse’s effects at the organizational level. This study aims to present the conditions for strengthening the motivation to use the metaverse from the perspective of organizations and members who have applied the metaverse in the workplace on a trial basis. In this study, an online questionnaire was conducted targeting workers of organizations with a history of using the metaverse for business, and the hypotheses were tested using 304 valid samples. As a result of the analysis, it was found that telepresence, a characteristic of the metaverse, influences the intention to continue using the metaverse through informativeness, interactivity, and enjoyment. In addition, the shared goal of the organization’s digital transformation moderated the influence relationship between telepresence and an individual’s motivations, and an individual’s digital competence moderated the influence relationship between motivation and the intention of continuous use. This study suggests a digital transformation strategy for an organization in terms of suggesting ways to strengthen the motivations for the use of the metaverse of employees in the organization.