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Purpose: To continue to stay relevant in the era of Industry Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) alongside the unprecedented disruption of COVID-19, the importance of lifelong learning is indisputable though this concept has existed for decades. In this context, open and distance learning (ODL) institutions are urged to re-think and re-design their online learning support systems that inculcate self-regulated lifelong learning (SR3Ls) in their learners to be adaptable and resilient for the post-pandemic economy. The purpose of this paper is to develop a SR3Ls model, namely SR3Ls model by utilising the collective opinions of a panel of experts to determine the key domains and attributes. Design/methodology/approach: A 2-round Delphi consensus study was conducted with 39 experts from five countries. The mean, standard deviation (SD), inter-quartile range (IQR) and the ratio of experts assigned score of 4 or greater were used as the basis of consensus assessment with criteria set at mean = 3.0, SD = 1.5, IQR = 1, ratio on score 4 or greater at = 75%. The questionnaire consisted of 5-point Likert-type scale rating the importance level of each attribute combined with open-ended questions. Findings: This paper presented the findings of the first round of Delphi consensus study. For the first round, the experts were asked to evaluate 31 key attributes of SR3Ls model under five domains. The findings revealed that there were five key attributes to be eliminated from the list, while there were seven attributes identified as the key attributes with highest consensus. There were additional attributes suggested by the Delphi panel to be added in the second round of evaluation. Originality/value: This international consensus-based SR3Ls model serves as an important benchmark for ODL institutions across the regions in developing meaningful and relevant online learning support systems for their learners to adopt SR3Ls attributes in order to meet the dynamic market demands.

e-Learning is changing the way students learn in the classroom. However, one of the least emphasised aspect in e-learning design concerns with aesthetics. Recent research in multimedia aesthetics highlighted the need to understand interaction from a multidisciplinary perspective. Aesthetics research in e-learning usually focuses on exploring the effects of positive aesthetics design towards neutral designs and a gap in exploring the effects of negative aesthetics. In this study, two different designs were developed to reflect positive and negative aesthetics designs. The cognitive outcome of these designs was compared and evaluated based on a learning achievement to measure comprehension. Gender and academic achievement were also explored to investigate if these factors had an effect on aesthetics perception and learning achievement. Based on the outcome of 95 electronic engineering students from two different polytechnics in Malaysia, it was found that engineering students performed better in the negative design in comparison to the positive design. In addition, genders or academic achievement differences were found not to influence the outcome.

This study was designed as a preliminary study (N = 33) to explore the effects of gender and academic achievement (Cumulative Grade Point Average-CGPA) on polytechnic students' learning outcomes when exposed to Multimedia Learning Environments (MLE) designed to induce emotions. Three designs namely positive (PosD), neutral (NeuD) and negative (NegD) had similar contents and narrations but differed visually based on colors, images and font (size and style) in depicting the intended emotions. The learning outcomes evaluated are learning achievement, perceived intrinsic motivation and satisfaction. Overall, there was no significant difference between gender and CGPA when students were exposed to the emotionally designed MLE. However, male students were significantly more motivated and satisfied with the NegD design compared to the female students. A significant positive relationship was observed between intrinsic motivation and satisfaction and between gender and design. In addition, female students were found to prefer PosD design and male students, NegD design. Users of PosD and NegD design showed strong relationship between perceived intrinsic motivation and satisfaction. For learning achievement, high academic achievers performed better in the PosD design compared to other designs. No significant relationships were found between any of the variables for the NeuD design.

Design of instruction is an important feature in teacher education at fulfilling the needs of 4Cs ("critical thinker," "communicator," "collaborator," "creator") developing "a globally competitive learners". As Instructional design models (ID) need to move from adopting a standard approach to developing models that have an impact on learners profiles, creating a much better learning experience, skills and knowledge both in classroom and online. Traditional ID models will have to be re-modelled and re-designed to deliver instructions which are more learner-centered than process-centered. An Integral ASIE Instructional Design Model (Analyze, Strategize, Implement and Evaluate) is an online planning ID Model which serves as alternative to the existing traditional ID models which support experiential and collaborative learning for learners in gaining and re-producing information. It is interactive to the user, integrative in planning the content, prescriptive in the planning procedures and constructive in the organization of the components. Instructors/teachers plan their instruction in the planning mechanism known as Multiple Integration Worksheet (MIW) by interacting within and between components in the "Reflection Cycle" of the model and it allows sharing of information among teachers across nations. This unique features provides flexibility in customisation of items and guide instructors/ teachers in formulating & integrating the best possible designing practices giving opportunities for learners to explore their potential establishing a more participative, communicative and innovative learning environment. It is accessible at www.asiemodel.com.

Texts are a group of letters which are printed or displayed in a particular style and size. In the course of the fast speed of technological development everywhere and expanding use of computer based instruction such as online courses, students spend more time on a computer screen than printed media. Texts have been the main element to convey messages. It has also been a significant component for learning. The main goal of this research is to measure the effects of font type and spacing of on screen text and its readability in improving and boosting the learner's ability to read easily, recall information, and enhance their reading speed and comprehension from on screen text with different topics. The readability of text on screens is necessary to ensure effective engagement in order to enhance the level of students' readability. For this purpose two font types were selected, Times New Roman (serif) and Verdana (san serif) for the respondents. Verdana was designed only for computer screens display. Readability test on a computer screen was conducted on 30 postgraduate students. Overall, the results showed that there was a significant difference between the readability of serif and san serif font type of on-screen display. The research findings suggest Verdana font type as a better choice in displaying long text for on-screen display.

This study investigated the effect of flipped classroom on computer science students' engagement level among pre-university students. Computer science students were observed to be less engaged during the lecture of information system topic. Students fail to answer questions which need them to apply information system concepts into the real world situation. Hence, the flipped classroom approach is explored to solve the problem. With the increase in the usage of smart phones among students in higher learning institutions, cheaper prices of smart phones, mobile data plan and ready availability of instructional videos on the internet, the flipped classroom approach seems to be a perfect practice to be implemented. Therefore this research made use of the flipped classroom approach to gauge its efficacy on college students. Quasi experimental posttest only design was used in this research. Students were divided into two groups, namely a control group (didactic classroom) consisting of 41 students and an experimental group (flipped classroom) consisting of 43 students. These samples were chosen using purposive sampling. Students in the experimental group were required to watch a micro-lecture prior to coming to class and were involved in engaging activities in the classroom. After the intervention, both groups were measured in terms of their engagement level in class using a four-level Likert scale questionnaire which consisted of four engagement constructs namely behavioral, agentic, cognitive and emotional engagement constructs. Flipped classroom students' behavioral mean was 3.04, agentic mean was 3.06, cognitive mean was 3.16 and emotional mean 3.42. Findings showed that from the questionnaire, it was clear that the students in the experimental group (flipped classroom) were highly engaged. However, there was not much difference in terms of student engagement in the flipped classroom when compared to the didactic classroom.

This article discusses the users' acceptance of two performance management systems, namely Excel Spreadsheet System (ESS) and Key Performance Indicator Monitoring System (KPI-MS). Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is an index used in measuring an individual's, organization's or institution's performance. ESS is a system provide by Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and has been in used since year 2008. KPI-MS was developed later as a tool using PHP 5.2 and MySQL Community Server 5.0 databases with determination to replace ESS which has several shortcomings. The acceptance study of both management systems is in terms of its accuracy, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This study was done by using a survey questionnaire. The instrument of this study was developed and modified from Davis's Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A total of 19 participants from two of the campuses of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) participated in this study. This research instrument had been validated by three experts in the related field and scored reliability at Cronbach alpha value of 0.843. A comparison study was done to evaluate the accuracy of KPI-MS while descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the mean scores of KPI-MS and ESS rated by users. The findings showed that KPI-MS computed KPI marks accurately and the users also rated KPI-MS as more useful in monitoring KPI performance of their schools or centres compared to ESS. Besides, the users also indicated KPI-MS is more user-friendly. In conclusion, KPI-MS system is prefered by the users as an effective system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a study on the reading habit and attitude of the students in a Malaysian Polytechnic. A survey questionnaire adapted from Smith's (1991) Adult Survey of Reading Attitude (ASRA) and Pandian's (1997) Reading Habit questionnaire was used for this study. The questionnaire was distributed to 119 polytechnic students from Engineering and Business department in the selected Polytechnic. Results of the study revealed that; (i) the polytechnics students have low interest in reading; (ii) students do not enjoy reading as much as they enjoy doing other technology related activities. Finally, the paper will discuss the implications of the findings in terms of instructional material development within reading context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is defined as an ability to identify, understand, experience and express human emotions in a healthy productive way. The benefits of demonstrating high frequency of emotional intelligence in the workplace is vast especially in service based professions like teaching. Therefore this study aimed to explore the level of EI among lectures from a polytechnic in Malaysia and in the same time explore the influence of demographic profiles towards those levels. Demographic profiles such as gender, age group, occupational grade, working experience in the current job and prior working experience in the industry are selected. The Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Concise version) was distributed to all the academic departments and the total number of respondents were n=162. Findings show that the overall level of EI is average. The findings proved that the levels of emotional intelligence among the lecturers improved with age, teaching experience, grade and education where else gender and prior working were not contributing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]