Article Notice – Emotional Presence in Online Learning

An article that scrolled across my electronic desk over the past few days.

Emotional Presence in Online Learning

• January 2022

• DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8701-0.ch017

• In book: Handbook of Research on Managing and Designing Online Courses in Synchronous and Asynchronous Environments

• Esra Telli
• Firat Sarsar
• Martha Cleveland-Innes

Abstract –This chapter presents a theoretical understanding of emotional presence in online learning. Research findings show that emotions have a crucial influence on successful online learning. The increasing rate of online courses, especially in higher education, makes us reconsider how necessary emotional presence is to participate in the learning process. Learning is not only a teaching or assessment process, but also a social and emotional process. It is therefore crucial to understand how students engage in online learning, and how lecturers and students perceive their emotional presence. This chapter also highlights the importance of emotions expressed by both students and lecturers in online learning.

Article Notice – Online-Sprachenlernen: Modi und Herausforderungen (Online language learning: modes and challenges)

The fourth of four articles that scrolled across my electronic desk over the past few days.

Online-Sprachenlernen: Modi und Herausforderungen
Online language learning: modes and challenges

• January 2023

• In book: Zeitgenössische und innovative Tendenzen in der Fremdsprachendidaktik
• Publisher: Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften

• In book: Contemporary and innovative trends in foreign language teaching
• Publisher: Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften

• Ahmet Tanir

Abstract – Pädagogen und Forscher haben kürzlich das Konzept “Online-Sprachenlernen (OSL)” übernommen, ein flexibles Lernmodell, das es Einzelpersonen ermöglicht, unabhängig von ihrem geografischen Ort oder ihrer Zeit eine Zweit- oder Fremdsprache durch digitale Technologien zu lernen oder lehren. Parallel zu den Fortschritten in den digitalen Technologien ist das Konzept des Fremdsprachenlehrens und -lernens in einen vielfältigen und weit verbreiteten Digitalisierungsprozess eingetreten, der viele Chancen und Herausforderungen mit sich bringt. Dieser außergewöhnliche Fortschritt erfordert jedoch eine Klärung der komplexen Natur der OSL-Literatur, um das Sprachenlernen zu verbessern und effektives Lernen zu fördern. Für diesen Zweck betrachtet dieses Buchkapitel zunächst die vorliegenden OSLImplementationen aus einer situativen Perspektive und treibt eine disziplinäre Agenda für zukünftige OSL-Untersuchungen fest. Erstens definiert es das OSL neu, greift seine pädagogischen und didaktischen Dimensionen neu auf und macht auf seine Herausforderungen aufmerksam. In diesem Zusammenhang kommt es zu dem Schluss, dass ein effektiver OSL-Prozess auf vier verschiedenen Modi (synchron, asynchron, hbyrid und bichron) erreicht werden kann. Dabei fasst es die Vor- und Nachteile von OSL-modi zusammen, die in Abhängigkeit von den Eigenschaften der eingesetzten digitalen Technologien gestaltet sind, und diskutiert mit der Unterstützung von den Ergebnissen früherer Studien. Zweitens befasst es sich mit den größten OSL-Herausforderungen unter zwei Überschriften, “das Engagement und die Bewertung” und bietet Lösungen dafür an. Diese beiden Konzepte spielen eine entscheidende Rolle für den Erfolg von OSL und sind noch zeitgemäß. Schließlich lenkt es die Aufmerksamkeit der Leser auf die Tatsache, dass mehr Forschung erforderlich ist, um effektive und effiziente OSL-Lernergebnisse in einer Zweit- oder Fremdsprache zu erzielen.

Educators and researchers have recently adopted the concept of online language learning (OSL), a flexible learning model that enables individuals to learn or teach a second or foreign language through digital technologies, regardless of geography or time. Parallel to the advances in digital technologies, the concept of foreign language teaching and learning has entered a diverse and widespread digitization process that brings with it many opportunities and challenges. However, this extraordinary advance requires clarification of the complex nature of the OSL literature in order to improve language learning and promote effective learning. To that end, this book chapter first considers existing OSL implementations from a situational perspective and sets a disciplinary agenda for future OSL investigations. First, it redefines the OSL, revisits its pedagogical and didactic dimensions, and draws attention to its challenges. In this context, it concludes that an effective OSL process can be achieved in four different modes (synchronous, asynchronous, hbyrid and bichronous). In doing so, it summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of OSL modes, which are designed depending on the properties of the digital technologies used, and discusses them with the support of the results of previous studies. Second, it addresses and offers solutions to the major OSL challenges under two headings, “Commitment and Evaluation”. These two concepts play a crucial role in the success of OSL and are still relevant today. Finally, it draws readers’ attention to the fact that more research is needed to achieve effective and efficient OSL learning outcomes in a second or foreign language.

Article Notice – The Perceived Effects of the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Focus on Educators’ Perceptions of the Negative Effects on Educator Stress and Student Well-Being

The third of four articles that scrolled across my electronic desk over the past few days.

The Perceived Effects of the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Focus on Educators’ Perceptions of the Negative Effects on Educator Stress and Student Well-Being

• January 2023

• DOI: 10.1080/2372966X.2022.2158367

• Catherine P. Bradshaw
• Joseph M. Kush
• Summer S. Braun
• Emily A. Kohler

Abstract – The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an urgent pivot to remote learning, causing many challenges for teachers and school administrators. The current study sought to better understand the extent to which the perceived negative impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. educators and their students varied as a function of staff role (teacher vs. administrator), school level (elementary vs. secondary school), and type of school setting (public vs. private), as reported through a national survey of educators conducted in June through July of 2020. Using data from 608 educators (n = 481 teachers and n = 127 administrators; 48% elementary; 85% public school), we examined educators’ perceptions of negative impacts on their personal lives, professional lives, and students’ lives; major challenges; and stress in various domains. Findings suggested an overall high level of concern across domains. Investigation of educator subgroup effects suggested elementary educators and administrators were most concerned about the negative impacts on students. Impact Statement Educators, including teachers and administrators alike, experienced significant negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their work-related stress concern about students, and their own well-being. Some subgroups, like elementary educators, those working in public schools, and teachers (compared to administrators), may require additional assistance in managing stress, and supporting students, both academically and with regard to their social–emotional needs.

Article Notice – Post-pandemic pedagogy: Emergency remote teaching impact on students with functional diversity

The second of four articles that scrolled across my electronic desk over the past few days.

Post-pandemic pedagogy: Emergency remote teaching impact on students with functional diversity

• January 2023
• Education and Information Technologies

• DOI: 10.1007/s10639-023-11582-2

• Spyridon Tzimiris
• Stefanos Nikiforos
• Katia Lida Kermanidis

Abstract – The Covid-19 outbreak caused transition from face-to-face teaching to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Due to the hastily and disorganized implementation of ERT considerable difficulties were caused for all the students. Aim of the present study was to investigate (i) parents’ views of students with functional diversity regarding ERT during the Covid-19 pandemic and (ii) how their children’s functional diversity affected participation in ERT. ERT proved to be an even greater challenge for those students, who faced various learning, psychological and technical problems that further hindered the learning process. In the current research, the views of 12 parents of students with functional diversity were collected with semi-structured interviews. A Modern Greek dataset of qualitative humanistic-linguistic data was created. A novel type of data analysis, combining qualitative descriptive analysis by hand and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based linguistic analysis was performed on the interview text. Results revealed (i) how those students responded to ERT, (ii) the way that their functional diversity affected their attendance on the online courses and (iii) how their parents evaluate the educational dimension of ERT along with any changes noticed in their children’s psychological and emotional state. Parents’ evaluations disclosed the overall negative impact of ERT on their children and presented their suggestions for meeting their children’s special needs in case of ERT appliance in the future. The current research is considered significant as it investigates ERT impact on K-12 students with functional diversity during the Covid-19 pandemic, based on authentic humanistic data. Our research contributes on (i) the creation of this kind of dataset, as this particular group of students is hard to come by and their collection constitutes a significant contribution and (ii) the two-fold way data analysis methodology, which is novel, combining linguistic and qualitative processes (semantic and sentiment analysis), providing important findings.

Article Notice – Calling for Changes in Pre-Service Teacher Education to Prepare for More Than Face-to-Face Teaching: Learning From the COVID-19 Pandemic

The first of four articles that scrolled across my electronic desk over the past few days.

Calling for Changes in Pre-Service Teacher Education to Prepare for More Than Face-to-Face Teaching: Learning From the COVID-19 Pandemic

• November 2022

• DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-5316-2.ch009

• In book: Research, Practice, and Innovations in Teacher Education During a Virtual Age

• Emily Lahr
• Stephanie Welch

Abstract – The transition to online learning for education during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed several ways in which teachers were not prepared to shift their practice into a virtual space. With the rise of hybrid and fully online learning environments emerging post-pandemic, it is evident that teacher preparation needs to more explicitly address preparing teachers for potential online instruction. This chapter will summarize the current history and research of online K-12 teaching and analyze teacher experiences during the pandemic in order to provide recommendations for teacher preparation in the future.