The success of a learning environment can be measured in terms of improvement in learner performances as well as positive learner engagement in metacognitive traits. A large body of educational technology literature establishes a positive correlation between the application of learning technologies and learner performances. In addressing the other aspect of success, this chapter presents a stud...

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are part of the lifelong learning experience of people worldwide. Many of these learners participate fully. However, the high levels of dropout on most of these courses are a cause for concern. Previous studies have suggested that there are patterns of engagement within MOOCs that vary according to the pedagogy employed. The current paper builds on this work ...

We investigate the temporal dynamics of learners’ affective states (e.g., engagement, boredom, confusion, frustration, etc.) during video-based learning sessions in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in a 22-participant user study. We also show the feasibility of predicting learners’ moment-tomoment affective states via implicit photoplethysmography (PPG) sensing on unmodified smartphones.

Much has been written in the educational psychology literature about effective feedback and how to deliver it. However, it is equally important to understand how learners actively receive, engage with, and implement feedback. This article reports a systematic review of the research evidence pertaining to this issue. Through an analysis of 195 outputs published between 1985 and early 2014, we id...

We study the impact of question difficulty on learners’ engagement and learning using an experiment with an open online educational system for adaptive practice of geography. The experiment shows that easy questions are better for short term engagement, whereas difficult questions are better for long term engagement and learning. These results stress the necessity of careful formalization of go...

In the current digital environment, it is vital for learners to develop digital literacy skills. The UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (HE) requires graduates to demonstrate digital literacy. Employers consider these skills essential. With the high cost of HE in the UK, learners themselves also expect university courses to demonstrate relevance to the workplace. Nevertheless, s...

Adult learning theory suggests that meaningful engagement impacts learning. To evaluate the impact of resident-led interactive conferences on satisfaction, engagement and knowledge acquisition. A prospective study at a paediatric academic institution compared educational conferences in two formats. Control conferences were PowerPoint(®) lectures and intervention conferences included multimedia,...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many sectors including education, either secondary, primary, and higher education institutions (HEIs). Lecturers learners faced challenges to interact effectively since there is a new transition in teaching mode from physical class (F2F) online learning. In other words, learning becomes more difficult, particularly during the earlier year of for both parties d...

Despite their advantages, blended approaches have been met with mixed results by learners. There is a general view that learners who are known as Digital Natives or Millennials, are technologically savvy. Research, however, suggests rather that they possess poor levels of digital literacy and have demonstrated some degree of avoidance towards e-learning tools (Boyd, 2014; Chigeza and Halbert, 2...

This case study explores how strategy-based instruction (SBI), assisted by multimedia software, can be incorporated to teach beginning-level ESL learners metacognitive writing strategies. Two beginning-level adult learners participated in a 10-session SBI on planning and organizing strategies. The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) was implemented with the aid of graphic orga...