Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences
Volume:12 Issue: 3, Sep 2021

This study aimed to draw the perspective of e-learning in Iran and the world. In other words, an attempt was made to explore the goals, strategies, obstacles, enablers, and innovations of e-learning in higher education systems of Iran and other countries across the world. A systematized literature review of domestic and international studies was performed using PRISMA guidelines for data collection. Original studies from Iranian databases (Magiran, IranDoc, Civilica, and Noormags) and international databases (ScienceDirect, Springer, Taylor & Francis, and Sage) were included. Three criteria were considered for selecting the sources: relevance to the topic, date of publication (2004-2019 for domestic, and 2005-2020 for international databases), and credibility of sources. Additionally, comparative data analysis was performed using open and axial coding in Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM). Forty one studies from Iranian databases and 22 from international databases were included. The Iranian research review demonstrated that the principal goals of e-learning were quality, cost reduction, and educational justice. Furthermore, it showed that the applied strategies included instructional design, needs assessment, suitable multimedia, and blended learning. Finally, it was revealed that the innovations were MOOCs. As for the international databases, the research review demonstrated that the principal goal of e-learning was innovation in providing instruction and learning at any time and location. The applied strategies included instructional design, evaluation of educational systems, and an interdisciplinary view of e-learning. Other research findings were also discussed. Domestic sources were divided into 20 subcategories with respect to the goals, obstacles, enablers, strategies, and innovations. Based on the same factors, international studies fell into 21 subcategories. Decision makers are recommended to consider these elements in their policies regarding e-learning in higher education. Additional discussions and suggestions are provided within the article.

Virtual microscopy is heavily reliant on the quality of computer equipment. The purpose of this study was to determine how students perceived computer upgrades in a histology classroom, and whether these upgrades had any effect on their performance in the administered tests.  This was a pretest-posttest experimental study. Census sampling was applied, and a structured researcher-made questionnaire with 5 items was distributed to 83 students (23 males, 60 females, 20-22 years old). The students took a histology course at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic. The outdated technical equipment used in the first semester was replaced with modern systems in the second semester in 2019. Moreover, students’ performances were compared in computer-aided tests. We compared the average test scores (percentage of correct answers) of the same group using the Wilcoxon test before and after the upgrades. To exclude other possible influences (e.g. better understanding of histology in 2nd semester and approaching histology exam), we also compared the test scores of students who had attended histology classes in the preceding year. In total, 75 completed questionnaires (90.4%) were returned, and the results showed that the majority of students (82.7%) noticed a difference when using the new computer equipment. They pointed to the overall comfort of viewing virtual slides using widescreen full HD monitors (n=64/75, 85.3%), better perception of details (n=59/75, 78.7%) and a lower incidence of technical difficulties (n=46/75, 61.3%). Moreover, an improvement was observed in students´ performance in tests (P=0.0002) following the upgrades. Investment in the modernization of didactic techniques should be considered as an integral part of any e-learning strategy in morphological fields such as histology.

Using virtual worlds with students and faculty in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) can provide exciting opportunities to develop innovative pedagogies. This work can begin in the ITE courses and filter into K-12 classrooms. Identifying the best practices is of the utmost importance in facilitating effective teaching and learning. The present case study seeks to highlight the elements that influence the successful integration of virtual worlds in learning environments. This case study was part of a more extensive participatory action research project (PAR). In that four-year project (2010-2014), data were gathered from over 1500 ITE students and six faculty at a regional university in Australia. The inductive analysis of the data gave rise to several case studies, one of which is presented in this paper. The data sets were obtained from virtual world interventions, surveys and interviews. It was found that virtual worlds can support teachers in developing innovative pedagogical approaches in classrooms. However, resistance from one or more elements in the learning ecosystem can hamper the integration of virtual worlds into the educational landscape. These elements range from learners to technology systems. The inductive analysis identified the variables that influence the adoption of virtual worlds and facilitate innovative pedagogies. This paper delineates various elements of a learning ecosystem and their importance in the adoption of a sustainable virtual world, regardless of the learning application used. A specific case study is discussed here, since it best demonstrates the value of a supportive learning ecosystem and the practical ways of utilizing its elements to support future integration of virtual worlds. Suggestions are also made for future implementations in any faculty across a university.

The modern world demands an effective educational approach to meet its requirements. In this study, the modern taxonomy of significant learning was applied to investigate the impact of personalized learning on achieving learning objectives.

The study utilized an experimental pretest-posttest control group design. Thirty undergraduate educational sciences students from Allameh Tabataba’i University participated in our study. They enrolled in the media education course in the spring semester of 2019-2020, and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The learning topic was “media message analysis,” and lesson objectives were defined based on the taxonomy of significant learning required for modern world. Personalized learning was implemented in an online environment for the experimental group. By choosing authentic assignments, we provided the students with learning paths based on their cognitive styles and gave them a sense of control over their own learning. Students in the control group received an online “one-size-fits-all” education. The engagement questionnaire was used to evaluate integration, human dimension, and categories of significant learning taxonomy; to measure students’ ability to control their learning, an online self-regulated learning questionnaire was employed. A researcher-made exam was designed to measure content mastery in fundamental knowledge and application categories. All three measurement tools were applied at baseline and two weeks after the intervention. The independent t-test was used to compare the two groups in each related category.

The results revealed that a personalized learning approach could lead to significant improvement in content mastery, cognitive, agentic, and emotional engagement, as well as self-regulated learning in the experimental group (P=0.007, 0.02, 0.048, 0.048, <0.001, respectively).

Teachers can help students achieve different categories of significant learning taxonomy through applying personalized learning to their courses. Therefore, implementing a personalized learning environment is recommended for higher education.

The present study aimed to identify teaching styles and determine their correlation with autonomous motivation among the faculty members of two universities in Tabriz, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 305 faculty members of humanities, basic sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medical sciences departments at Tabriz Universities. The samples were selected through stratified random sampling during the first semester of 2018-19. Research instruments included the Staffordshire Evaluation of Teaching Styles questionnaire, and the Autonomous Motivation for Teaching questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, MANOVA, and Friedman tests in SPSS v.23. All statistical tests were conducted at a significance level of 0.05. A significant difference was found among faculty members in the "all-round flexible and adaptable", "official formal curriculum", "straight facts, no nonsense", and "big conference" styles (p <0.05), but they were not significantly different in "sensitive student-centered", and "one-off" styles (P>0.05). There were positive correlations between external motivation on the one hand, and all-round flexible and adaptable, official formal curriculum, and one-off styles on the other (p <0.001), and negative correlations between external motivation and straight facts no nonsense style (P=0.001). Positive correlations were also found between internal motivation and student-centered (P=0.001), big conference (P=0.002), and one-off (P=0.003) styles, and between identified motivation and student-centered, straight facts no nonsense, and big conference styles (p <0.001). Besides, internal motivation was negatively correlated with all-round flexible and adaptable (p <0.001), and official formal curriculum (P=0.003) styles, and intrinsic motivation was positively correlated with student-centered (P=0.001) and big conference (p <0.001) styles. Correlations were established between teaching styles and autonomous motivation for teaching, so that productive styles, such as the “sensitive student-centered” teaching style, were mostly correlated with intrinsic motivation, and reproductive styles, such as the “big conference” teaching style, showed correlations with external types of motivation among faculty members.

This study sought to develop a personalized gamified e-learning system based on students' motivation and personality, and evaluate its efficacy with regard to their performance in mathematics. In this pretest-posttest experimental study, the participants included 117 students already familiar with e-learning systems. They took a mathematics course in January-February 2020, and were randomly assigned to five groups: Personalized Gamification (PG) based on motivation and personality (n=23), PG based on personality (n=23), PG based on motivation (n=23), non-personalized gamification (n=23), and control (n=25). Then the students’ scores and the time they spent on the learning management system (LMS) were compared before and after the personalization procedure. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. In this regard, independent-samples t-test was used to compare the mean scores at P<0.05 significance level. The personalized game-based learning system tailored to learners’ motivation and personality did significantly improve their scores and promoted their engagement in LMS, as compared to the pre-personalization phase (P<0.05). Moreover, the students’ mean scores increased compared to the non-personalized gamification (P<0.008). Furthermore, a comparison between the control and experimental groups indicated that factoring in both motivation and personality resulted in an improvement in both student grades and the time spent on LMS. However, when considering personality or motivation alone, the scores improved with no significant increase in user time on LMS (P>0.916 in both cases). PG has a significant positive effect on students’ scores compared to the non-gamified system, and it leads to a significant improvement in the learning time spent on LMS, compared to non-personalized gamified systems.

Social media platforms have influenced pedagogical practices, and given rise to new theoretical approaches that prioritize connected learning with the aim of improving the learning outcomes. Social media applications have raised the popularity of short videos which were originally created in accordance with micro-learning principles. The proliferation of social media and e-learning has led to the emergence of two overarching concepts: micro-learning and nano-learning. Nano-learning refers to the condensing of microcontent into small units that are controlled and delivered by learners to achieve a single learning objective. In this respect, the social media application TikTok can be a potential educational tool in future since it enables the delivery of small learning units in a short timespan (less than 60 seconds). Designing and delivering creative learning content using TikTok can benefit pedagogical methodologies based on nano-learning principles, thereby facilitating the creation of high-quality e-learning content.

In view of the highly contagious nature of SARS-CoV-2, slide reviews with multi-headed microscopes can no longer be a safe approach in pathology instruction. The outbreak has disrupted the routines of pathology education and interactive didactic conferences. The emerging challenge here is to develop practical laboratory sessions in virtual environments. This has given rise to multiple other challenges in the development of virtual pathology education, some of which are highlighted in this commentary. The main difficulties center around the integration of virtual learning technologies into a pathology curriculum and incorporation of digital pathology infrastructure into an educational platform. Maintaining the competency standards in virtual pathology education (VPE) during a pandemic may prove to be another significant challenge. The quality of virtual learning depends on several factors including infrastructure provisions, deployment of modern equipment, faculty knowledge and learner engagement. In response to the educational challenges in pandemic times, VPE has utilized some invaluable digital platforms that provide access to various virtual pathology cases and slide reviews. This commentary examined the impact of COVID-19 on pathology education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It also explored the potential solutions to overcome the present challenges and future implications for virtual pathology education and practice.