How E-Learning Environmental Stimuli Influence Determinates of Learning Engagement in the Context of COVID-19? SOR Model Perspective

Exploring the determinants on continuance participation of college students toward blended learning: the stimulating role of course characteristics and instructor support

Background

Blended learning (BL) has become an important learning method in the high education with the rapid advancement of "Internet + Education," however, college students face notable challenges, such as high dropout rates, low participation and low persistence, which largely reduce the learning effect of BL. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply analyze the question: "What factors will influence college students' continuance behavior in blended learning (CBBL)?"

Methods

Based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework and social cognitive theory, this study constructs an integrated model of "Contextual facilitators-Individual characteristics-Continuance behavior," to examine the relationships among the blended course characteristics (BCC), instructor support (IST), individual attributes, such as learning motivation (LM), self-efficacy (SEF) and learning engagement (LET), and college students' CBBL. Colleting 466 College students who participated in BL through Chinese university MOOCs, the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Results

The empirical results indicating that, (1) this integrated model explains 62.85% of the variance in college students' CBBL, and LM, SEF, and LET emerge as the key determinants influencing college students' CBBL. (2) BCC positively affects LM and LET but has no significant on SEF, and it promotes college students' CBBL through LM and LET rather than SEF. (3) ITS exerts a significant influence on LM, SEF, and LET, with the most pronounced impact on LET. Moreover, ITS significantly facilitates college students' CBBL via LM, SEF, and LET.

Originality/value

This study theoretically contributes to literature on BL and extends the application scope of SOR framework. Also, it reveals the antecedents of college students' CBBL in the BL environment, which is crucial for guiding their continuance learning and promoting the sustainable development of BL education.

The COVID-19 pandemic and adolescents' and young adults' experiences at school: A systematic narrative review

The COVID-19 pandemic upended the lives of adolescents and young adults across the globe. In response to the pandemic onset, educational institutions were forced to pivot to online learning, a new teaching and learning format for most secondary and university students. This systematic narrative review summarizes findings from 168 publications spanning 56 countries on students' educational outcomes and school climate as well as the internal assets and contextual supports that promoted academic well-being during the pandemic. Our findings suggest that young people commonly reported declines in their academic-related outcomes and school-based relationships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Internal assets (e.g., intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy) and contextual supports (i.e., relationships with teachers, peers, and parents) promoted academic well-being during the pandemic. Next steps for research on young people's academic well-being during the pandemic are suggested.

The Influence of Social Support on the Job Involvement of Newly Hired Physical Education Teachers: A Study Based on SOR and COR Theories

This study, grounded in Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, explores how social support impacts job involvement among newly hired physical education (PE) teachers, with a focus on the mediating role of professional mission. A survey was conducted with 238 new PE teachers, using scales for social support, professional mission, and job involvement. The results indicate the following: (1) Social support and its dimensions significantly and positively influence job involvement among new PE teachers; (2) Professional mission positively impacts job involvement and serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between social support and job involvement; (3) Different types of social support have varying effects on job involvement, with support utilization having the largest impact, followed by objective support, and finally subjective support.

The effects of online game addiction on reduced academic achievement motivation among Chinese college students: the mediating role of learning engagement

Introduction

The present study aimed to examine the effects of online game addiction on reduced academic achievement motivation, and the mediating role of learning engagement among Chinese college students to investigate the relationships between the three variables.

Methods

The study used convenience sampling to recruit Chinese university students to participate voluntarily. A total of 443 valid questionnaires were collected through the Questionnaire Star application. The average age of the participants was 18.77 years old, with 157 males and 286 females. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS.

Results

(1) Chinese college students' online game addiction negatively affected their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement (the three dimensions of learning engagement); (2) behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement negatively affected their reduced academic achievement motivation; (3) learning engagement mediated the relationship between online game addiction and reduced academic achievement motivation.

The Relationship between Short Video Flow, Addiction, Serendipity, and Achievement Motivation among Chinese Vocational School Students: The Post-Epidemic Era Context

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, people have been spending more time in the online world because of restrictions on face-to-face communication due to epidemic prevention controls. This has also brought the issue of Internet addiction, including the overuse and negative effects of short videos, to the forefront of attention. Past research has found that Internet addiction has a negative impact on well-being. However, there is a special concept of positive emotion called "serendipity" (). Serendipity provides a small, fleeting but positive experience, yet it is often associated with negative perceptions from an outside perspective. However, the relationship between short video addiction and serendipity is not yet known. Based on this, a theoretical model was developed in the context of the I-PACE model. To understand the relationship between short video addiction and serendipity among college students, in this study, we conducted snowball sampling and distributed online questionnaires using the Wenjuanxing platform. The target population of the questionnaire distribution was vocational college students in China, of whom 985 valid study participants responded, yielding a valid return rate of 82.1%. Of the respondents, 410 (41.6%) were male and 575 (58.4%) were female. The results were as follows: a. short video flow had a positive relationship with serendipity, a negative relationship with achievement motivation, and a positive effect on short video addiction; b. short video addiction had a positive effect on serendipity and a negative effect on achievement motivation; and c. serendipity had a negative impact on achievement motivation. This shows that short video addiction, like other Internet addictions, can have a negative impact on students' learning.

The effect of teacher support on Chinese university students' sustainable online learning engagement and online academic persistence in the post-epidemic era

Since entering the post-epidemic era of COVID-19 at the end of 2021, schools have mostly adopted a combined online and offline teaching mode to effectively respond to the normalized epidemic, which has changed the traditional learning mode of students. Based on the study demand-resources (SD-R) model theory, this study developed a research model and proposed six research hypotheses to explore the relationship between Chinese university students' perceived teacher support (PTS), online academic self-efficacy (OAS-E), online academic emotions (OAE), sustainable online learning engagement (SOLE), and online academic persistence (OAP) in the post-epidemic era. In this study, 593 Chinese university students were invited to respond to a questionnaire survey using the convenience sampling method. The results of the study showed that: PTS had a positive effect on OAS-E and OAE; OAS-E had a positive effect on OAE; OAS-E and OAE had a positive effect on the students' SOLE; and SOLE had a positive effect on their OAP. Based on the analysis, it is recommended that teachers provide more support and resources to further enhance students' academic self-efficacy and academic emotions, and thus ensure students' SOLE and OAP.

Challenges and perceptions of e-learning for educational sustainability in the "new normality era"

Background

All universities were faced with the challenges of e-learning when they suddenly had to switch to distance learning in March 2020 due to COVID-19 regulations. Several challenges may arise when implementing e-learning, including an insufficient budget or problems with adoption. Nevertheless, the role of digitalization is to ensure the university's long-term sustainability. Indeed, the future of e-learning depends on future generations, which increasingly accept new technologies.

Objectives

This study aimed to analyze the factors that stimulate university students' acceptance of technology.

Methodology

The study population comprised Romanian university students who took online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire survey was employed to gather primary data. The surveys were distributed between January and February 2022. In particular, 1,875 questionnaires were received from students, who were the focus of this study (the results for teachers were presented in previous research). To process and interpret the data, the method of modeling with structural equations (SEM) was used. The data collected were processed using SPSS and AMOS.

Findings

The results indicate that external factors do not influence perceived usefulness. Accordingly, students consider that the perceived ease of use does not influence the behavior intention to use new technologies.

Conclusion

The results linked e-learning satisfaction to academic success and Romanian students who utilized e-learning during the pandemic. In addition, the results indicate that external factors do not influence perceived usefulness. Accordingly, students consider that the perceived ease of use does not influence the behavior intention to use new technologies. The results validated the basic variables of the TAM model.

Implications

The study presents a series of theoretical, practical, and societal implications that can guide universities in adopting sustainable development goals.

The relationship between vocational college students' liking of teachers and learning engagement: A moderated mediation model

To clarify the relationship between higher vocational students' liking of teachers and their learning engagement, based on the theory of social exchange, 1,279 vocational students in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta in China are used as the research objects. From the perspective of students and teachers, SPSS and AMOS are used to conduct a two-stage linear regression analysis. The results show that (1) students' liking of their teachers has a positive effect on learning engagement; (2) liking positively affects students' psychological empowerment; (3) liking of teachers indirectly influences learning engagement through psychological empowerment; (4) teacher's support positively moderates the indirect relationship between liking of teachers and learning engagement through psychological empowerment. This study attempts to provide practical guidance for college students to provide learning engagement.

Learning Stress, Involvement, Academic Concerns, and Mental Health among University Students during a Pandemic: Influence of Fear and Moderation of Self-Efficacy

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of students. An effective method that can enable students to cope with difficult times is to help them realize their inner potential. Following the stimulus-organism-response model, this study developed a theoretical framework that deepens our understanding of an environmental stimulus (fear of COVID-19) that is experienced by students; struggle within the organism (learning stress, learning involvement, and academic concerns); and the psychological response (psychological well-being). The findings clarified how the fear of COVID-19 affects the psychological well-being of university students and revealed the moderate role of academic self-efficacy in this process. Some systematic practical advice was provided to higher education institutions to develop effective interventions to protect the mental health of college students and establish strategies to promote their inner potential.

The association between peer relationship and learning engagement among adolescents: The chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and academic resilience

Previous studies have shown that peer relationship affects learning engagement. And learning engagement plays a vital role in promoting knowledge acquisition and production, enhancing adolescents' academic success. However, few studies have focused on the mechanism between peer relationship and learning engagement. As such, based on Social Cognitive Theory, this study attempts to explore how peer relationship of adolescents is linked to learning engagement through the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and academic resilience. The participants were 250 students who were selected via random sampling in a public middle school, in Eastern China, in June 2021. All the participants filled in the structured self-report questionnaires on peer relationship, self-efficacy, academic resilience, and learning engagement. The data were analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM) in SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 24.0. Results indicated that peer relationship was directly and positively associated with learning engagement. Results also indicated that peer relationship was indirectly and positively associated with learning engagement via self-efficacy and academic resilience, respectively, and sequentially. More importantly, it was found that the direct effect was much lower than the indirect effects of which self-efficacy was the greatest. It is suggested that appropriate interventions and support should be provided to facilitate adolescents' peer relationship, self-efficacy, and academic resilience, thus promoting their learning engagement and academic success.

The role of universities' sustainability, teachers' wellbeing, and attitudes toward e-learning during COVID-19

In recent years, universities worldwide have experienced rapid changes with an immense impact, which have been influenced by technological progress and the social trends of digitalization. Like all other revolutionary changes, digital transformation involves intense adjustment/readjustment. University sustainability must be the active concern of all higher education institutions. Thus, the present research aims to analyse teachers' acceptance of new technologies and the impact on their wellbeing and university sustainability. The main objective was to analyse the acceptance of technology in special the e-learning opportunities and the wellbeing of teacher in an emergent country like Romania. To achieve our goal, we created a questionnaire based on the literature, and with the help of the technology acceptance model, we tested our hypotheses. The results indicate several discontents on the part of teachers concerning adapting to new technologies and even a personal discomfort in adapting to these new technologies. Thus, we can note that wellbeing significantly influences job satisfaction and teachers' involvement in sustainable development.

Online learning performance and engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: Application of the dual-continua model of mental health

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an abrupt transition from face-to-face learning to online learning, which has also affected the mental health of college students. In this study, we examined the relationship between students' adjustment to online learning and their mental health by using the Dual-Continua Model. The model assumes that mental disorder and mental well-being are related yet distinct factors of mental health. For this purpose, 2,933 college students completed an online survey around the beginning of the Fall semester of 2020 (N = 1,724) and the Spring semester of 2021 (N = 1,209). We assessed participants' mental well-being, mental disorders, and academic distress by means of the online survey. In addition, we incorporated grades and log data accumulated in the Learning Management System (LMS) as objective learning indicators of academic achievement and engagement in online learning. Results revealed that two dimensions of mental health (i.e., mental well-being and mental disorder) were independently associated with all objective and subjective online learning indicators. Specifically, languishing (i.e., low levels of mental well-being) was negatively associated with student engagement derived from LMS log data and academic achievement and was positively associated with self-reported academic distress even after we controlled for the effects of mental disorder. In addition, mental disorder was negatively related to student engagement and academic achievement and was positively related to academic distress even after we controlled for the effects of mental well-being. These results remained notable even when we controlled for the effects of sociodemographic variables. Our findings imply that applying the Dual-Continua Model contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between college students' mental health and their adaptation to online learning. We suggest that it is imperative to implement university-wide interventions that promote mental well-being and alleviate psychological symptoms for students' successful adjustment to online learning.

Exploring the Impact of Individual and Social Antecedents on Teachers' Teaching Innovation: Perspective of Goal-Oriented Behavior and Social Identity

Many scholars have investigated education management. Scholars in the education field have made significant achievements in contributing to multiple educational reform policies, while other scholars discuss teacher-related issues from the perspective of organizational behavior. The teaching innovation of high school teachers plays a critical role in students' learning attitude and motivation, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers need to utilize more diversified teaching methods to enable students to carry out effective learning. In order to examine teachers' teaching innovation, this study explores teaching innovation intentions and performance from the perspective of individual and social factors in combination with goal-oriented behavior and social identity theory. This study conducts questionnaires with a sample of Chinese coastal high school teachers, and obtains a total of 475 responses. The research results show that innovation attitude, positive anticipated emotion, group norms and social identity positively affect teachers' teaching innovation intention; furthermore, teachers' teaching innovation intention also positively affects their teaching innovation performance. Based on the comprehensive research findings, this research proposes corresponding theoretical and practical implications.

Impact of Personality Traits and Information Privacy Concern on E-Learning Environment Adoption during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Empirical Investigation

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching and learning processes have experienced significant changes. Higher education institutions in Taiwan employed crisis intervention measures to instantly implement unified learning methods such as online teaching and learning. However, students had no time to prepare. Thus, the study explored the relationship between personality traits and the belief in conspiracy theory as antecedents of students’ concern for information privacy (CFIP) and the subsequent relationship between students’ CFIP and behavioral intention to report their personal information to e-learning service providers concerning the adoption of the e-learning environment. This cross-sectional study employed a questionnaire to accumulate data from university students in Taiwan. A total of 285 valid responses were used for the final analysis. The research framework was evaluated by structural equation modeling (SEM). The results suggest the proposed model explains about 66.4% of the variance of behavioral intention (R2 = 0.664). The findings support that four personality traits—agreeableness, openness to experiences, conscientiousness, and neuroticism—and belief in conspiracy theory significantly influenced students’ CFIP. However, concerning extraversion, an insignificant path coefficient was reported. CFIP mediates the relationship between belief in conspiracy theory and behavioral intention. E-learning service providers should consider these determinants in improving and endorsing principles concerning e-learning environment adoption.

The Impact of Scarcity on Consumers' Impulse Buying Based on the S-O-R Theory

Purpose

The global COVID-19 pandemic impacted the healthcare systems of every nation. The scarcity of medical protective equipment led to impulse buying at the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in China which resulted in stockpiling and the increase of prices by retailers and insufficiencies among frontline workers. This situation impacted epidemic control work and market order and is the context from which this paper identifies how the scarcity of medical protective equipment affected Chinese consumers’ impulse buying based on the theories of S-O-R model and bandwagon effect. The research provides insight into the mechanism of mediation (fear of missing out) and moderation (bandwagon) in the relationship between scarcity and impulse buying.

Design/Methodology/Approach

This study uses convenience sampling, surveying 488 Chinese consumers through an online questionnaire. Smart-PLS was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The empirical findings demonstrate that scarcity makes consumers fear missing the chance of getting protective medical equipment, leading ultimately to impulse buying. Besides, the scarcity effect on consumers’ impulse buying was found to depend on other consumers’ follow up behaviour in such emergency situations.

Research Limitations/Implications

The findings provide managerial and theoretical insight and a point of reference for businesses in the implementation of a scarcity strategy. The findings will also prove useful to the Chinese Risk Response Department as it continuously improves its responses to the risk of consumers’ impulse buying during a pandemic.

Originality/Value

This study consolidates and takes research forward in the areas of impulse buying and consumer behaviour, confirming the mediating effect of fear of missing out and the moderating effect of the bandwagon in the relationship between scarcity and impulse buying.

Availability and use of technology for e-learning: to what extent do these impact Bangladeshi university students? A cross-sectional study

Background: E-learning is making education globally and conveniently attainable with the deliverance of advanced technology. However, this mode of academia is still not commonly practiced locally. Thus, the study aimed to investigate technological availability, usability, and association to university students' perceived stress due to e-learning curriculum.

Methods: A cross-sectional study commenced among Bangladeshi university students enrolled in the e-learning curriculum. A total of 1162 university students were included. The main explanatory variables were related to the availability of technology and the use of technology. The outcome variable was perceived e-learning stress. In statistical analysis, p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant with a 95% confidence interval.

Results: In this study, lack of technological availability and usability were associated with higher level of perceived e-learning stress. Being female, living in rural areas, and outside of Dhaka division were found the associated factors in the lack of technological availability and usability.

Conclusions: A significant association between the availability and usability of technology with perceived e-learning stress was observed. Thus, measures should be taken to initialize e-learning adaptivity by increasing technological growth across the nation, considering educational preparedness for future catastrophes.

The sequential mediation model of students' willingness to continue online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study explored the factors influencing students' willingness to continue with the online learning system during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by adopting the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory. This study also incorporated e-learning readiness, performance, and satisfaction as mediators. The present study employed the purposive sampling method, whereby 2215 data of undergraduate students from a public university were gathered using an online survey and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) with Smart Partial Least Squares (SmartPLS). The results revealed that students' e-learning readiness, performance, and satisfaction positively influenced their willingness to continue online learning. Besides, students' e-learning readiness, performance, and satisfaction sequentially mediated the relationship between the online learning system quality and willingness to continue online learning. Significantly, this study provided new insights into the literature on students' willingness to continue online learning by providing empirical evidence on the factors that support their willingness to continue online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Role of Relatedness in the Motivation and Vitality of University Students in Online Classes During Social Distancing

As part of the social distancing measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19, many university courses were moved online. There is an assumption that online teaching limits opportunities for fostering interpersonal relationships and students' satisfaction of the basic need for relatedness - reflected by experiencing meaningful interpersonal connections and belonging - which are considered important prerequisites for student motivation and vitality. In educational settings, an important factor affecting students' relatedness satisfaction is the teachers' behavior. Although research suggests that relatedness satisfaction may be impaired in online education settings, to date no study has assessed how university lecturers' relatedness support might be associated with student relatedness satisfaction and therefore, student motivation and vitality. This study tested this mediating relationship using data collected during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also investigated whether the relations were moderated by a high affiliation motive which reflects a dispositional wish for positive and warm relationships. The possible importance of the communication channel selected by the lecturers (video chat yes/no) and the format of a class (lecture/seminar) were also investigated. In a sample of N = 337 students, we tested our hypotheses using structural equation model (SEM). Results confirmed mediation, but not moderation. The use of video chat (video call) seems to facilitate the provision of relatedness support but our data did not show that the format of a class was associated with relatedness. Our findings indicate that both teaching behavior and the technical format used to deliver lectures play important roles in student experiences with online classes. The results are discussed in light of other research conducted during the pandemic.

Emotional Intelligence and Academic Self-Efficacy in Relation to the Psychological Well-Being of University Students During COVID-19 in Venezuela

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational centers and universities in Venezuela have closed their physical plants and are migrating to emergency remote education to continue with academic programs. This empirical study aimed to analyze the predictive capacity of academic self-efficacy and emotional intelligence skills on each of the dimensions of psychological well-being. We employed a cross-sectional predictive design. The sample comprised 277 university students, of which 252 were female (91.00%). Their ages ranged from 18 to 45 years, with a mean of 20.35 (SD = 2.29). Non-probabilistic chance sampling was used. For data collection, we used an anonymous online form, contacted students by mail, and invited them to participate in the study. Questionnaires were available between 217 and 227 days of decreed quarantine in Venezuela. The results indicated average levels of academic self-efficacy (Me = 4; IQR = 2), emotional intelligence: clarity (Me = 27; IQR = 10), attention (Me = 25; IQR = 10) y repair (Me = 25; IQR = 12), and psychological well-being (Me = 35; IQR = 5). We found differences according to sex and age, specifically in emotional regulation (z = 3.73, p < 0.001, d = 0.438) and in bonds of psychological well-being (z = 2.51, p = 0.012, d = 0.276) favoring men (Me = 33, IQR = 9; Me = 8, IQR = 1), respectively. Regarding age, statistically significant differences were found in the group of students older than 21 years with higher perception of psychological well-being (z = 3.69, p < 0.001, d = 0.43) and in each of its dimensions. Emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy were found to be significant predictors of psychological well-being and its dimensions, specifically on control (R 2-Cox = 0.25, R 2-Nagelkerke = 0.34, 69.90% of total correct classification), links (R 2-Cox = 0.09, R 2-Nagelkerke = 0.12, 65.07% of total correct classification), projects (R 2-Cox = 0.32, R 2-Nagelkerke = 0.46, 78.40% of total correct classification), acceptance (R 2-Cox = 0.17, R 2-Nagelkerke = 0.23, 68.28% of total correct classification), and total well-being (R 2-Cox = 0.52, R 2-Nagelkerke = 0.71, 87.16% of total correct classification). It was concluded that emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy are protective psychological resources of psychological well-being that should be promoted at university to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on the mental health of young people.

Understanding the Impact of the Psychological Cognitive Process on Student Learning Satisfaction: Combination of the Social Cognitive Career Theory and SOR Model

In higher education, student learning satisfaction is a significant predictor of learning that indicates the commitment students have to their learning and future academic achievement. The study combines the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model to explore the psychological cognition and attitudes derived from students during their learning, discusses the pattern of student learning satisfaction enhancement from the aspect of process, and further understands the relationships among social support systems, interaction relationships, self-efficacy, generic skills, and learning satisfaction. In this study, 800 valid copies of questionnaires were collected from 12 universities through purposive sampling, and the structural model was analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that the relationships among all the constructs were positive and showed a significant effect; furthermore, the research results showed that self-efficacy and student generic skills had a significantly indirect effect in the model-specifically, a mediating effect. Finally, corresponding theoretical and practical implications were put forward based on the research results.

Interpreting Usability Factors Predicting Sustainable Adoption of Cloud-Based E-Learning Environment during COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic affected educational institutions in an unrivaled way around the globe and forced them to switch from conventional classroom learning mode to e-learning mode within a short time period. Neither instructors nor students had ample time to prepare. The purpose of the current study is to accomplish two objectives: to explore the functional relationship between attitudinal readiness (ATR), subjective well-being (SWB), and cloud-based e-learning adoption intention in Taiwan and examine the constancy of recommended proposed relationships among different students’ groups. The model was then empirically tested using data of 256 university students by structural equation modeling. The current study demonstrates that ATR is completely explained through four dimensions: peer reference, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived ubiquity. SWB is positively interpreted through four dimensions: online course quality, system quality, perceived service quality, and perceived closeness. Self-efficacy has a significant relationship with both attitudinal readiness and adoption intention of a cloud-based e-learning system. Finally, the invariance test explores substantial variance among students who intend to use the system and students who reject it. Therefore, researchers and practitioners regarding educational, technological innovation must consider this empirical evidence to develop and validate a sustainable cloud-based e-learning program in higher education.

An Innovative Approach for Online Neuroanatomy and Neurorrehabilitation Teaching Based on 3D Virtual Anatomical Models Using Leap Motion Controller During COVID-19 Pandemic

After the World Health Organization had declared a pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on March 11, 2020 many governments, including the Government of Spain, declared the state of alarm enforcing a quarantine that have left millions of students confined to their homes. This home confinement has affected students of all levels, including university students, and has forced faculties to adapt online teaching strategies. Thus, traditional classroom face-to-face teaching has suddenly been replaced by online classes. This has revealed particularly challenging for medical courses. For such purpose we have designed an online teaching proposal addressed to the Degree in Physiotherapy and the Double Degree in Nursing and Physiotherapy of the University of Jaén (Spain). The objective is to implement an online virtual teaching protocol through the use of Virtual Reality. For such a goal, the Leap Motion Controller (LMC) will be used to teach the neuroanatomy of the brain and spinal cord and to teach and practice neurorehabilitation exercises. Along with devices like the LMC students will be asked to use Health Sciences databases in order to achieve a significative learning of the course topics. The project is structured in two phases. First, students will learn neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the most relevant neurological conditions using LMC-based models. Then, they will learn to combine LMC games and conventional physiotherapy for neurorehabilitation purposes. The work of students will include the recording of videoreports demonstrating the acquisition of neuroanatomy concepts and simulating a clinical case. With this project we will assess the usability of LMC as an educative tool, the perception, satisfaction and self-regulated learning of physiotherapy students.

The Impact of Demographics, Life and Work Circumstances on College and University Instructors' Well-Being During Quaranteaching

In response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions around the world were forced into lockdown in order to contain the spread of the virus. To ensure continuous provision of education, most transitioned to emergency remote instruction. This has been particularly the case in higher education (HE) institutions. The circumstances of the pandemic have brought unprecedented psychological pressure on the population, in the case of educators and students exacerbated by the transition to a mode of instruction that was completely novel to the majority. The present study examines how college and university instructors dealt with teaching online in these unparalleled circumstances, with a focus on how factors connected with their daily lives and livelihoods influenced their well-being. Between April and September 2020, a comprehensive online survey was filled out by 804 HE instructors from 92 countries. We explore how sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, relationship status, living conditions, and length of professional experience non-trivially affect situational anxiety, work-life synergy, coping, and productivity. The results contribute to a better understanding of the impact of the pandemic and emergency remote instruction on college and university instructors’ well-being by explaining the mechanisms mediating the relationship between individual, contextual, and affective variables. It may provide helpful guidelines for college and university administrators as well as teachers themselves as to how help alleviate the adverse effects of the continuing pandemic and possible similar disruptions leading to school closures on coping and well-being.