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This study investigated a digital reform initiative, rated excellent by the government, of one higher education institution (HEI) in an Arab State in the Gulf. The focus of the study was to develop a digital typology, while exploring the leadership attributes that characterized the core leadership team, as they accomplished the migration towards a digital culture in one year, within a context where faculty members showed resistance against digitalization. The study was conducted immediately after the implementation of the initiative that took place over the course of one year, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the six key individuals in the leadership team who led this initiative. Data was analyzed using content-based analysis. Findings of the study were used to synthesize a 5D typology for digital leadership attributes: (1) Digital competence; (2) Digital culture; (3) Digital Differentiation; (4) Digital governance; and (5) Digital advocacy. The paper provides in depth discussion how these attributes supported the adaptive ability of a Higher Education Institution towards accepting digitalization.

Job satisfaction remains until this date a prominent factor that managers seek in their employees to ensure the organization's productivity and success. It has extensively drawn the attention of researchers in the educational field to inform policymakers and school leaders of its impact on teachers' motivation, commitment, stress, retention, and burnout levels. The aim of this study is twofold. First, it will investigate teachers' job satisfaction level in Lebanon, and second, it will look at their perceptions of their principals' self-efficacy levels. A total of 133 Teachers Job Satisfaction Questionnaires (TJSQ) were collected from 6 private and 6 public K-12 schools to measure teachers' perceptions about the factors that are mostly correlated with their job satisfaction levels. Despite that, overall means of intrinsic factors were higher than extrinsic factors, correlation analysis revealed that extrinsic factors (i.e., working conditions and professional development) were more associated with teachers' job fulfillment. Findings from this study support the literature indicating that when teachers' extrinsic needs are fulfilled in less developed countries, they will uplift their job satisfaction level. Further implications for research and practice are also discussed.

As the empirical literature in educational technology continues to grow, meta-analyses are increasingly being used to synthesise research to inform practice. However, not all meta-analyses are equal. To examine their evolution over the past 30 years, this study systematically analysed the quality of 52 meta-analyses (1988-2017) on educational technology. Methodological and reporting quality is defined here as the completeness of the descriptive and methodological reporting features of meta-analyses. The study employed the Meta-Analysis Methodological Reporting Quality Guide (MMRQG), an instrument designed to assess 22 areas of reporting quality in meta-analyses. Overall, MMRQG scores were negatively related to average effect size (i.e., the higher the quality, the lower the effect size). Owing to the presence of poor-quality syntheses, the contribution of educational technologies to learning has been overestimated, potentially misleading researchers and practitioners. Nine MMRQG items discriminated between higher and lower average effect sizes. A publication date analysis revealed that older reviews (1988-2009) scored significantly lower on the MMRQG than more recent reviews (2010-2017). Although the increase in quality bodes well for the educational technology literature, many recent meta-analyses still show only moderate levels of quality. Identifying and using only best evidence-based research is thus imperative to avoid bias.

Field experience, or practice teaching, or practicum has become a cornerstone of teacher education. It is a high-impact experience and a period of intense learning and growth if done professionally. While current research highlights the experiences of pre-service teachers as a catalyst for improving their perceptions, little is known about faculty supervisors' perceptions and the challenges they face during practicum courses. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore the experiences of the faculty supervisors (n=11) and pre-service teachers (n=69) throughout their time in the initial teacher program in the College of Education at Zayed University, a public university in the UAE, including any challenges they faced. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through surveys, individual interviews, and reflective journals. Results revealed that having a well-structured program, establishing strong collaboration and coordination with the partner schools, and ensuring direct contact with mentors are the factors that enhance the faculty supervisors' experience. Based on these findings, recommendations are made that focus on the areas of scheduling, logistics, requirements, and expectations of the program.

This systematic review builds upon the work of Abrami et al. (2006) and McGreal and Anderson (2007). It seeks to provide a synthesis and discussion of publicly available government policy documents with regard to e-learning in Canada. In total, 138 policy documents from Canadian provinces and territories and several federal agencies, dated from 2000 to 2010, were identified, retrieved and analyzed using prescriptive and emergent coding approaches with the purpose of uncovering and describing areas of commonality and inconsistency and, hence, determining where discussions about e-learning are lacking. The review confirmed that Canadian policy makers view technology as offering various potential benefits to learners, but also revealed a troubling lack of specific details, consistency and coordination in facilitating the development of e-learning to fulfill these optimistic expectations. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)

Blended learning (BL) is still in its infancy in the United Arab Emirates, but is gaining growing attention and acceptance. The particular university under investigation offers its nationally accredited graduate programs with a BL format that makes use of synchronous virtual classrooms, asynchronous self-study, and face-to-face sessions. The current qualitative research study investigates students' perceptions about their experience with the BL model within their relatively conservative cultural context. In addition, the project aimed at gauging their suggestions for course design considerations that would meet their needs as adult learners and enhance their learning experience. Twenty-one graduate students participated in the study, with findings indicating an overall positive perception about the BL experience with a strong positive impact on female empowerment. The most salient themes for successful instructional strategies indicated the importance of student-centered practices, particularly collaborative projects and student-led activities.

Meaningful learning is the fundamental process that underlies the acquisition of useful information and the construction of new knowledge. By creating meaningful relations, learners are able to organize the information in bigger and more organized chunks of information; an organization that reduces memory overload and increases processing capacity, ultimately improving the ability to remember information and solve problems. There are many strategies that can be used to help students achieve meaningful learning; three of these strategies, called generative learning strategies, are analogies, summaries, and answering questions. Analogies provide a bridge between what is known and what is less known, facilitate conceptual change, assist in conceptual change learning, facilitate understanding of abstract notions, provide visualization of the abstract, provoke students' interest, and may reveal misconceptions in areas already taught. Similarly, summarization has been found to enhance comprehension and recall of passage content and to contribute to comprehension of both content and text organization in second language learning. Oral and written questions stimulate thinking, improve retention of content material, and improve students' achievement. Engaging students in answering or generating thought-provoking questions helps them gain the knowledge and skills necessary for managing their learning, become more successful problem solvers, construct explanations that mediate meaningful learning, describe and relate what they are learning to existing knowledge, and change their alternative conceptions. In summary, generative learning strategies improve the cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes of schooling at all educational levels. Moreover, research has demonstrated that students can generate analogies. Consequently, understanding students' perceptions of the instructional value of generating analogies and summaries and answering questions, as well as their intention to use them in the classroom, are important to investigate because of the assumed link between intention and behavior. Educators who understand students' perceptions of teaching strategies and their readiness to use these strategies can adapt their teaching to take into account these perceptions and intentions. However, currently, there is very limited research that addresses students' perceptions and intentions, especially for students at the middle school level. This study investigates students' perceptions of the effectiveness and utility of generating analogies, summaries, and answering questions in a middle school science classroom and elucidates their intentions to use these strategies in science classrooms and in other subject areas. (Contains 4 tables.)

Abrami et al. (this issue) provide a review of e-learning in Canada from 2000 onwards by synthesizing information drawn from multiple sources, not only primary research. In total, there were 726 documents included in our review: 235 views expressed in the public printed media (an expression of general public opinion); 131 views from trade/practitioner perspectives; 88 views of policymakers contained in public policy documents; 120 sources of evidence contained in reviews of research; and 152 sources of evidence contained in primary empirical studies. It is the authors' understanding that this is the first review of its kind to be as inclusive of sources. This is both the review's greatest strength, allowing the authors to determine whether consensus existed among myriad sources, and potentially its greatest weakness, as both the time for such a comprehensive review and the cost meant the authors sacrificed a degree of depth for an increase in breadth. In this rejoinder to the commentaries, they explore several issues: (1) the nature and importance of systematic reviews; (2) answering questions about what works and why; and (3) what is e-learning and what are its impacts.

This review provides a rough sketch of the evidence, gaps and promising directions in e-learning from 2000 onwards, with a particular focus on Canada. The authors searched a wide range of sources and document types to ensure that we represented, comprehensively, the arguments surrounding e-learning. Overall, there were 2,042 entries in their database, of which they reviewed 1,146, including all the Canadian primary research and all scholarly reviews of the literature. In total, there were 726 documents included in the review: 235--general public opinion; 131--trade/practitioners' opinion; 88--policy documents; 120--reviews; and 152--primary empirical research. The Argument Catalogue codebook included the following eleven classes of variables: (1) Document Source; (2) Areas/Themes of e-learning; (3) Value/Impact; (4) Type of evidence; (5) Research design; (6) Area of applicability; (7) Pedagogical implementation factors; 8) A-priori attitudes; (9) Types of learners; (10) Context; and (11) Technology Factors. The authors examined the data from a number of perspectives, including their quality as evidence. In the primary research literature, they examined the kinds of research designs that were used. They found that over half of the studies conducted in Canada are qualitative in nature, while the rest are split in half between surveys and quantitative studies (correlational and experimental). When they looked at the nature of the research designs, they found that 51% are qualitative case studies and 15.8% are experimental or quasi-experimental studies. The findings of this review showed that studies that can increase the general understanding of "what works" in e-learning settings are underrepresented in the Canadian research literature. This article discusses the results of the research as well as implications for K-12 practitioners, post-secondary education, and policymakers.

In this opinion piece, the authors critically consider the transition to the ‘emergency model’ of distance education (DE), forced by the pandemic and associated restrictions to our daily life, paying special attention to its potential pitfalls. The authors argue in favour of more careful approach to DE design and implementation over the ‘one size fits all’ solution. The data from previous meta-analyses in the field of DE and technology integration in education are briefly summarized to provide research-based support for the following observations: (1) students’ academic achievements in DE are largely associated with the interactivity factor, which is also instrumental in preventing excessive drop-out rates; (2) the flexibility factor that largely predetermined the initial rise and rapid proliferation of DE should be maintained to avoid negative side-effects, including student’ dissatisfaction and drop-out; (3) pedagogical factors, imbedded in careful instructional design, outweigh technological affordances, especially since the latter require properly organized and managed infrastructure, adequate training for teachers an students, and sufficient time to be efficiently adopted in formal education to reveal its potential for successful teaching and learning; (4) vast variability of meta-analytical findings, even with the most favourable to DE average point estimates, do not only present educational system with pleasing promises, but also call for serious caution as the negative effect sizes are almost equally prevalent as the positive ones. In conclusion, the paper reminds educational practitioners and policy makers: what comes to life out of necessity does not necessarily present viable solutions in the long run.

This article has two interrelated purposes. The first is to explain how various forms of bias, if introduced during any stage of a meta-analysis, can provide the consumer with a misimpression of the state of a research literature. Five of the most important bias-producing aspects of a meta-analysis are presented and discussed. Second, armed with this information, we examine 15 meta-analyses of the literatures of distance education (DE), online learning (OL), and blended learning (BL), conducted from 2000 to 2014, with the intention of assessing potential sources of bias in each. All of these meta-analyses address the question: "How do students taking courses through DE, OL, and BL compare to students engaged in pure classroom instruction in terms of learning achievement outcomes?" We argue that questions asked by primary researchers must change to reflect issues that will drive improvements in designing and implementing DE, OL, and BL courses.

While various research studies have focused on antecedents and consequences of student satisfaction, few studies have done so in the Gulf region. The objective of the present study was therefore to design and empirically examine a model of student satisfaction in a private university in the Gulf region that operates in a high-technology-enabled environment. Based on a literature review and conducted focus groups, draft measures for the study constructs were developed. Data were collected from 217 students and an exploratory factor analysis identified 6 factors that potentially influenced satisfaction. After scale development, multiple regression analysis was used to test the research questions. It was found that the two genders displayed a difference in the factors influencing their satisfaction. For female students, only reputation (beta?=0.499, p?

Teachers around the world are using YouTube movies for different purposes. This mixed-methods study was a preliminary investigation of United Arab Emirates teachers' perceptions about YouTube's advantages in the classroom, current practices, and major challenges faced. Forty-five teachers completed an open-ended questionnaire. Results indicated that perceived advantages included supporting the learning process, increasing interest and efficiency, and enriching content. Moreover, findings revealed that the majority of participants were using videos for presentation purposes in teacher-led classrooms. Connectivity, technical issues, appropriateness of content, and administrative support were perceived as major challenges.

This systematic review draws from and builds upon the results of a meta-analysis of the achievement effects of three types of interaction treatments in distance education: student-student, student-teacher, and student-content (Bernard et al., "Review of Educational Research," 79(3), 1243-1289, 2009). This follow-up study considers two forms of student-student interaction treatments, "contextual interaction" and "designed interaction". Typical contextual interaction treatments contain the necessary conditions for student-student interaction to occur, but are not intentionally designed to create collaborative learning environments. By contrast, "designed interaction treatments" are intentionally implemented collaborative instructional conditions for increasing student learning. Our meta-analysis compared the effect of these two types of interaction treatments on student achievement outcomes. The results favored designed interaction treatments over contextual interaction treatments. Examples of designed interaction treatments and a discussion of study results and their potential implications for research and instruction in distance education and online learning are presented. (Contains 3 tables.)

In a recent meta-analysis of distance and online learning, Bernard et al. (2009) quantitatively verified the importance of three types of interaction: among students, between the instructor and students, and between students and course content. In this paper we explore these findings further, discuss methodological issues in research and suggest how these results may foster instructional improvement. We highlight several evidence-based approaches that may be useful in the next generation of distance and online learning. These include principles and applications stemming from the theories of self-regulation and multimedia learning, research-based motivational principles and collaborative learning principles. We also discuss the pedagogical challenges inherent in distance and online learning that need to be considered in instructional design and software development.

This study investigated the change in the relationship between pedagogy, computer-use and students' perceptions about course-effectiveness over time. Students from a Canadian university completed a questionnaire in two different years (2003 = 1,834 participants and 2007 = 1,866 participants). Of greatest interest were characteristics of technology that interact with pedagogy to achieve positive learning outcomes. A factor analysis revealed a three-factor solution: "course-structure," "active-learning," and "computer-use." Multiple regression analysis showed that the three variables are predictive of perceived course effectiveness, with "course-structure" being most predictive in both years. "Computer-use" was least predictive with the 2003 sample while it was second in predictive power with the 2007 sample, most likely reflecting increased technology integration in post-secondary education. When comparing use of various applications in "Arts" versus "Science" courses, results indicated higher computer technology use in 2007 for all applications with arts courses while only web-based computer applications increased in use with the science courses. Separate regression analyses were conducted for each type of program while comparing the two different study years with results indicating that "course-structure" is the most stable predictor. Findings reveal that while pedagogy seems to be of highest importance to students, the relationship between computer use and perceived course effectiveness is changing over time. Implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.

This research study employs a second-order meta-analysis procedure to summarize 40 years of research activity addressing the question, does computer technology use affect student achievement in formal face-to-face classrooms as compared to classrooms that do not use technology? A study-level meta-analytic validation was also conducted for purposes of comparison. An extensive literature search and a systematic review process resulted in the inclusion of 25 meta-analyses with minimal overlap in primary literature, encompassing 1,055 primary studies. The random effects mean effect size of 0.35 was significantly different from zero. The distribution was heterogeneous under the fixed effects model. To validate the second-order meta-analysis, 574 individual independent effect sizes were extracted from 13 out of the 25 meta-analyses. The mean effect size was 0.33 under the random effects model, and the distribution was heterogeneous. Insights about the state of the field, implications for technology use, and prospects for future research are discussed. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between computer technology's role and students' perceptions about course effectiveness. Students from two universities (one Canadian, n = 1465; one American, n = 831) completed a 71-item questionnaire addressing different aspects of their learning experience in a given course. Factor analysis revealed a 3-factor solution: "course-structure," "active-learning and time-on-task," and "computer-use." Regression analysis indicated that the 3 variables are predictive of perceived course effectiveness at both sites, with the presence of an interaction between location and "computer-use" and "course-structure" on students' perceptions about course effectiveness. Findings reveal that student perceptions directly reflect the 14 APA learner-centered principles on which the instrument was based. (Contains 5 tables.)

High quality professional development programs and opportunities for teachers are a vital aspect in improving early student achievement. This study adopts a professional development model which tested the difference in early literacy skills and performance of students (n=2028) in Grades 1-3 over a 12-week teacher training program (n=25). The data were analyzed using ANOVA and indicated an overall significant improvement in all tested skills except for phonological awareness, such as rhyming word tasks and reading nonsense words, where there was a significant decrease in performance. The results also indicated a significant difference between gendered scores, where girls outperformed boys in all tested areas except vocabulary knowledge, where there was no statistical difference for Grade 1 and Grade 3 students. Informed by the data, this paper recommends greater teacher preparation in the areas of reading aloud, shared reading, phonics, and basic questioning techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]