Educational models, configurations and practices - 02 - English

While the interest in use of Virtual Reality (VR) in higher education is rapidly growing (Makransky et al., 2019; Radianti et al., 2020) and potential benefits of the use of VR have been identified (Moreira et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2017), there is still a lack of information about the use of VR in higher education and continuous learning (Radianti et al., 2020). This study undertaken in the framework of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning approach explored the experience of MBA students in an online course in managerial accounting using VirBELA desktop Virtual Reality software, focusing on social presence and engagement perceived by the students. The qualitative study was conducted through interviews and participative observation, and all the data were analyzed using the framework of Activity Theory. Results showed that avatars and virtual spaces in VR as mediating artefacts helped to increase the social presence in the course during the class activities such as lectures or treasure hunt session. At the same time, students preferred usual web conference tools while undertaking a more complex activity of group work. The participants suggested strategies to follow to make the change management successful and to introduce VR into the online program.

While the coronavirus pandemic has been declared as a Public Health Emergency, educational ministries and institutions have unanimously opted for distance education as a solution to carry on teaching and learning worldwide. Flexible hybrid courses (HyFlex) are one of those innovative teaching devices that have emerged since the health crisis and aimed to achieve educational continuity and satisfy learners’ various needs. Based on a research model inspired by the different extensions of the technology acceptance model (TAM), we conducted a study with 249 students from the faculty of medicine and pharmacy affiliated with Mohammed First University in Oujda (Morocco) and who learned in a HyFlex environment during the 2020- 2021 fall semester. This research aimed to analyze the influence of perceptions of usefulness and ease of use of the HyFlex model and the facilitating conditions and individual characteristics, chiefly the availability of technological resources and the mastery of the computational tool on the behavioral intention of adopting this approach. The present study addressed students’ perceptions regarding the implementation of blended-learning and its dimensions. The results show that attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and availability of technological resources are the main factors favoring the acceptance of elearning by the surveyed students.

This pilot study investigated whether the success of students in a MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) assessment course was comparable regardless of their chosen mode of attendance in this “Triple Hybrid” (or “TriHy”) class. The three modes were face-to-face (F2F), synchronously online (SO), and asynchronously online (ASO). The study began in January of 2020, before the COVID 2019 pandemic reached the university. For ten weeks, the class was taught as originally designed. Due to the shutdown, for the remaining five weeks of the semester the formerly F2F group joined the SO group. Although the students’ success in the course did not differ, their perception of the factors that contributed to their success did. We can conclude that with considerable institutional support, substantial investment of time and commitment from the instructor, and meaningful choices from the students, the quality of instruction does not need to be compromised.