Project description:This study examined perspectives of distance education students on online learning based on their access gadgets (availability and functionality), online presentation or teaching methods, actual use of online learning coupled with its challenges. A quantitative approach and descriptive survey design were adopted for the study. A sample of 1061 was drawn from a study population of 44,134 distance learners across sixteen administrative regions and data collected using a questionnaire. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the hypotheses of the study, and descriptive statistics were deployed to analyse students perceived challenges. The study found a statistically significant relationship between the availability and functionality of online gadgets, availability of online gadgets and online presentation methods, functionality and online presentation methods and functionality and online learning usage. Thus, these factors are necessary for successful online learning. Four main perceived challenges identified were unreliable power/electricity and internet connectivity, lack of collaboration and motivation during online learning. Therefore, it was recommended that steps are taken to resolve the perceived challenges while adopting the blended approach comprising face-to-face and online learning. The blended learning approach would enable students to adjust better and appreciate its usefulness in distance education. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40561-022-00193-y.
Project description:ObjectiveDiabetes mellitus is a global epidemic disease. Long-time exposure of patients to hyperglycemia can lead to various type of chronic tissue damage. Early diagnosis of and screening for diabetes are crucial to population health.MethodsWe collected the national physical examination data in Xinjiang, China, in 2020 (a total of more than 4 million people). Three types of physical examination indices were analyzed: questionnaire, routine physical examination and laboratory values. Integrated learning, deep learning and logistic regression methods were used to establish a risk model for type-2 diabetes mellitus. In addition, to improve the convenience and flexibility of the model, a diabetes risk score card was established based on logistic regression to assess the risk of the population.ResultsAn XGBoost-based risk prediction model outperformed the other five risk assessment algorithms. The AUC of the model was 0.9122. Based on the feature importance ranking map, we found that hypertension, fasting blood glucose, age, coronary heart disease, ethnicity, parental diabetes mellitus, triglycerides, waist circumference, total cholesterol, and body mass index were the most important features of the risk prediction model for type-2 diabetes.ConclusionsThis study established a diabetes risk assessment model based on multiple ethnicities, a large sample and many indices, and classified the diabetes risk of the population, thus providing a new forecast tool for the screening of patients and providing information on diabetes prevention for healthy populations.
Project description:BackgroundAcademic success is among the most important criteria for determining students' competence. Hence, one of the concerns of education system researchers has always been investigating its associated factors. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the relationship between academic success, distance education learning environments, and its related factors among Shahroud University of Medical Sciences students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on 208 medical sciences students who completed at least two online and two in-person academic semesters. Participants were selected through the convenience sampling method and filled out three questionnaires, including the demographic information form, the Academic Success Inventory for College Students, and the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey. Finally, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential tests (t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression).ResultsIn this study, students reported moderate levels of academic success (107.81 ± 10.72). Moreover, they assessed their distance education learning environment as the positive points were more than the negative points (74.10 ± 14.89). Distance education learning environment (β = 0.233 and P < 0.001) and field satisfaction (β = 9.797 and P = 0.001) were also mentioned as factors related to students' academic success.ConclusionAccording to the present results, it is suggested to improve the learning environment of distance education and increase students' satisfaction to enhance their academic outcomes such as academic success.
Project description:The data presented in this article are based on provides a systematic and organized review of 219 studies regarding using of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in higher education from 2012 to 2017. Consequently, the extant, peer-reviewed literature relating to MOOCs was methodically assessed, as a means of formulating a classification for MOOC-focused scholarly literature. The publication journal, country of origin, researchers, release data, theoretical approach, models, methodology and study participants were all factors used to assess and categorise the MOOC. These data contribute to materials required by readers who are interested in different aspects related to the literature of using Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in higher education. Intention to use, interaction, engagement, motivations and satisfaction were five dynamics assessed in relation to the improvement of MOOCs. Students' academic performance can be influenced by MOOC which has the advantage of facilitating the learning process through offering materials and enabling the share of information.
Project description:This paper reports a study on the perceived usefulness of university students on open educational resources (OER) in relation to the switch of learning mode to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants involved two groups of students, one studying in a face-to-face mode and the other in a distance learning mode. They took part in a survey which was conducted in 2019 before the pandemic (with a total of 912 responses) and 2021 during the pandemic (with a total of 1,018 responses). The results show that both groups of students generally perceived OER to be more useful during the pandemic. The specific types of OER which were perceived as relatively more useful include open online courses and open access textbooks. Face-to-face students showed a higher level of perceived usefulness of OER for preparing tests and examinations, while distance learning students perceived OER as more useful for supplementing course materials. They both concerned about the limitations of OER, especially on accuracy and comprehensiveness. The findings suggest the importance of recognizing the diverse needs of the two groups of students and offering appropriate OER support for them.
Project description:Open and Distance Learning (ODL) students rely majorly on the use of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) tools for online facilitation and other activities supporting learning. With emphasis on ODL students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Oyo Sta te, Nigeria; Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) has being the major medium for online facilitation for the past 5 years. Therefore, this data article presents a survey dataset that was administered to LAUTECH ODL students with a view to assess their readiness to accept and use alternative social media platforms and emerging technologies for online facilitation. The data article also includes questionnaire instrument administered via google form, 900 responses received in spreadsheet formats, chats generated from the responses, the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) file, the descriptive and reliability statistics for all the variables. Authors believe that the dataset will guide policy makers on the choice of social media and emerging technologies to be adopted as a facilitation tool for ODL students. It will also reveal the challenges that could militate against the willingness to use these supplementary modes of learning from students' perspectives.
Project description:The research article "Realtime Online Courses Mutated amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Empirical Study in Hospitality Program" aims to explore the education evolution amid the pandemic [1]. Data were collected by recruiting 956 respondents; 926 responses were adopted after the valid screening through a cooperative survey company. A random sampling of targeted groups was required when outsourcing the data collection to the survey company Wenjuanxing, a platform with a majority population database providing functions equivalent to Amazon Mechanical Turk [2]. We asked the company to deliver the designed questionnaire to teachers and students in hospitality programs. The reliability and validity of all constructs showed that the questionnaire is proper for measurement [3]. Data analysis applied the structural equation model with Mplus to examine the CFA model and research hypothesis. Structural equation modeling was applied to conduct the hypotheses test and model fitness through the statistical tool Mplus. Results imply that the data is suitable for conducting replication studies.
Project description:Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) allow lecturers to overcome spatiotemporal boundaries and reach large numbers of participants. However, the completion rates of MOOCs are relatively low, a critical obstacle to their ultimate success. Existing literature suggests that strengthening student interaction has the potential to increase student commitment. The goal of this study is to develop a novel, market-based knowledge-sharing method that fosters student engagement and interaction in MOOCs, addressing the problem of low completion rates and demonstrating how MOOC engagement can lead to greater student success. The proposed method, "Knowledge Stock Exchange" (KSX), is derived from the concept of crowd-based intelligence mechanisms for incentive-compatible information aggregation. Using a popular MOOC as the focus of our empirical study, we show that the KSX method increases student interaction as well as MOOC completion rates. Moreover, we find that KSX participation has a significant positive effect on participants' exam grades.
Project description:Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a new phenomenon in education worldwide. In China, MOOCs have been widely used in medical courses. However, the effects of MOOCs on improving clinical skills are controversial. Therefore, we conducted the study to verify whether the application of MOOCs in medical courses can improve participants' clinical skills in China. A systematic literature search was carried out using the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI and Wanfang databases according to the predetermined criteria. The Hedges' g and its corresponding 95% confidence interval were selected to assess the effects of MOOCs on participants' clinical skills. Subgroup analyses, sensitivity analysis and publication bias test were performed in the study. A total of thirty-two records (thirty-two studies) with 3422 participants were identified in our study. There was a significant improvement in clinical skill scores of participants in the MOOC group compared with the control group. Subgroup analyses showed similar results in different student groups. Our study supported the notion that the MOOC-based teaching method appeared to be a more effective method than the conventional teaching technique for the improvement of participants’ clinical skills in China.