In synchronous learning, participants interact by viewing each other directly. Deactivation of the video camera and low student involvement can be interpreted variously, including learning seriousness or lack of it, physical presence in the virtual classroom, etc. We studied the connection between video camera use, class involvement and student…

This study aimed to systematically compile the activities and applications to be used by instructors to conduct synchronous virtual classrooms effectively. Using specific keywords in various databases we examined the literature to discover the activities and applications associated with effective synchronous virtual classrooms. A total of 70…

In an attempt to maintain social connection with a large lecture-style class, this teaching case describes how we used the Zoom Break-out Room function to run live discussion groups during fall 2020. Using a combination of Google Docs, Canvas, and Zoom one instructor and one TA describe how they managed to run discussions on contemporary tourism…

Blended synchronous learning (BSL) has become increasingly prominent in lifelong education due to its flexibility in enabling simultaneous onsite and online participation. However, enhancing the experience and satisfaction of adult learners in this context remains a challenge. This study primarily used structural equation modelling to examine the…

I explored the development of a 4-week online introduction to improv course, to verify the fit of the games and exercises used in this short course. I employed practitioner action research to develop an understanding of autistic learning needs. A socio-constructivist framework was used in the teaching, and focus groups were conducted after each…

Distance learning and online learning have become the new educational paradigm. Based on synchronicity, online learning environments can be classified into synchronous and asynchronous online learning. However, previous evidence demonstrating the effects of these two online learning modalities on students' academic achievement has been…

Institutions are increasingly supplementing their traditional class formats with hybrid approaches that mix in-person, remote synchronous, and remote asynchronous delivery methods. Even when the student population expects and appreciates more flexibility in scheduling, students still struggle with technology-enhanced instruction when course design…

This team of authors collaborated to transform a middle school-focused informal STEM learning experience to a virtual platform that engaged students in authentic STEM learning experiences while simultaneously promoting discourse.

One measure of the effectiveness of a blended synchronous classroom (BSC) is the quality of interpersonal interactions. However, qualifying the complex dynamics requires more than frequency analyses of verbal behaviours. This study used a multimodal discourse analysis framework to describe the dynamic coordination of interpersonal interactions in…

With the availability of remote instruction anywhere in the world, students from all over the globe are participating together in academic programs. The growth of synchronous online learning has occasioned the development of rules for appropriate online behavior (i.e., Netiquette). Netiquette rules are needed because some students have a tendency…

This study examined the antecedents and effects of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language learning boredom (FLLB) in synchronous online English courses. Using a mixed-methods design, it delved into first-year English major undergraduate students' first online learning experience. Surveys, short essays, and records of students' grade…

The United States is facing a high school dropout crisis. One of the early warning indicators of high school dropout is chronic absenteeism. This mixed-methods, post-hoc, hermeneutic, descriptive design study seeks to investigate the reported and self-reported attendance barriers for overage, under-credited (OU), at-risk, urban high school youth…

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn the attention of educators to the blended learning model. This study developed a remote blended game-based learning activity that integrates digital game--based learning (DGBL) and blended learning (including online synchronous and asynchronous learning). This method emphasizes that in the online synchronous…

Background: After the mandated closure and reopening of schools during and after the coronavirus pandemic, online synchronous teaching and learning has emerged as an opportunity to expand the reach of K-12 education, however, there is a lack of understanding about the characteristics of the successful learning experiences during that period that…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced educators to teach in an online environment. This was particularly challenging for those teaching courses that are intended to support bench science research. This practitioner article tells the story of how an instructor transformed their Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) using the Backwards Design…