ArticlePDF Available

The Effects of Integrating Social Learning Environment with Online Learning

DOI:10.19173/irrodl.v18i1.2645
Authors:
Miroslava Raspopovic at Belgrade Metropolitan University
Miroslava Raspopovic
Svetlana Cvetanovic at Belgrade Metropolitan University
Svetlana Cvetanovic
Ivana Medan
Ivana Medan
Ivana Medan
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Danijela D. Ljubojević at Institute for Educational Research, Belgrade, Serbia
Danijela D. Ljubojević
Download full-text PDFDownload full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract and Figures

p class="3">The aim of this paper is to present the learning and teaching styles using the Social Learning Environment (SLE), which was developed based on the computer supported collaborative learning approach. To avoid burdening learners with multiple platforms and tools, SLE was designed and developed in order to integrate existing systems, institutional learning, management systems, and Facebook. With SLE, a learner is exposed to instructional learning material, problem-based, project-based, and social learning. This work focuses on presenting and analyzing effectiveness of implemented teaching and learning scenarios that are used by means of SLE. This study investigates the use of SLE as a learning environment and it examines student satisfaction and online activity while using it. The aim is to evaluate the overall effectiveness of integrating SLE with online learning and to determine how using SLE effects student learning. This analysis points out the advantages and disadvantages of using SLE in online learning and provides recommendations for future improvements.</p
Figures - uploaded by Miroslava Raspopovic
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Miroslava Raspopovic
Content may be subject to copyright.
SLE-Effects-2645-22813-1-
PB.pdf
Content uploaded by Miroslava Raspopovic
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Miroslava Raspopovic on Mar 26, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
58b945b945851591c5d812
47.pdf
Content uploaded by Miroslava Raspopovic
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Miroslava Raspopovic on Mar 03, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
... In order to maintain momentum during the entire course, students must be able to realise and evaluate their motivational reasons. Moreover, students who lack motivation will easily lose sight of their original goals, quickly become lost in the course material, and eventually drop out [34]. Al Shlowiy, Al-Hoorie and Alharbi [9] list some negative issues in relation to online education that were evaluated by students and teachers. ...
... Basically, all respondents expressed their worry that they could not teach the students efficiently and they did not have tools to make them more engaged, which is in line with Islam, Beer and Slack [10] when the classes were conducted online and the students even did not turn on their web cameras. All these issues can have very serious consequences, such as drop out of the students and their inability to take part in all classes [34]. ...
Potential pitfalls of online foreign language teaching from the perspective of the university teachers
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2023
In the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all universities had to conduct the courses online, including foreign language learning (FLL) classes. Pre-COVID-19 research into the possibilities of digital FLL seemed very optimistic and promising; however, when real life brought the challenges of online classes, the situation was different. This research focuses on the experience of university foreign language teachers from the Czech Republic and Iraq with their online foreign language classes during the past two years. It attempts to analyse their experience and brings together all major issues and concerns they were able to realise. The methodology is qualitative and the number of participants was 42 university teachers from two countries where guided semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. The results clearly show that despite the overoptimistic earlier research – the respondents in both countries were very dissatisfied with the way the classes were conducted for various reasons, such as the lack of adequate training, insufficient methodologies for FLL, the lack of motivation in students, dramatically increased screen time of both students and teachers, etc. The most important suggestions call for an adequate methodology for online foreign language learning and necessary professional training so that the instructors are able to keep pace with unprecedentedly fast development in information technology used in various forms of digital learning.
View
... The use of technology to enhance student-teacher and student-student interactions helps overcome the lack of social interaction in online learning. The use of collaborative (Raspopovic et al. 2017) and personal (Kompen et al. 2019) tools and methods in online learning environments has been shown to improve student interaction and learning [44,45]. ...
... The use of technology to enhance student-teacher and student-student interactions helps overcome the lack of social interaction in online learning. The use of collaborative (Raspopovic et al. 2017) and personal (Kompen et al. 2019) tools and methods in online learning environments has been shown to improve student interaction and learning [44,45]. ...
View
... One of the major advantages of online learning is that it enhances student participation in high-quality learning environments when on-site learning becomes difficult or impossible. Online learning gives the students, the option to attend classes from anywhere in the world, provided they have a computer and Internet connection [3]. The studies show that the online format of learning encourages and provides added confidence and freedom for the active participation of physically challenged students and teachers [3,4]. ...
... Online learning gives the students, the option to attend classes from anywhere in the world, provided they have a computer and Internet connection [3]. The studies show that the online format of learning encourages and provides added confidence and freedom for the active participation of physically challenged students and teachers [3,4]. Online learning environments must be effective enough to include comprehensive instructional environments, materials, and efficient teaching approaches. ...
View
... The primary advantage of online learning over the traditional method lies in the use of technology to aid learning. "The integration of e-learning technology into university education has been shown to provide a number of benefits in previous research Raspopovic et al. [2]." "Rashid et al. [3] have also highlighted the elements of the online courses that prospective students should consider while determining their personal preferences." ...
The Opportunities and Challenges of Learning Online During the Pandemic: Thai High School Students' Perspective
Article
  • Dec 2022
This paper investigates students' online learning experience during COVID-19, specifically aiming to identify points of improvement within the current distance-learning infrastructure in Thailand. The research consolidates students ’opinions toward online learning, their ease in adapting to the new learning environment, which depends not only on each student's learning style but also on their teachers as well as social and economic factors. Identifying the advantages and disadvantages of learning from home, the research presents students' needs and suggestions for improvement. As such, this work may guide future adjustments to online learning.
View
... Therefore, it made strong connectivity among learners, teachers and thus created the dynamic process of learning. English language teachers and learners used social media to disseminate the knowledge and information, announce the tasks and assignments, communicating to their peers for classroom projects in their target language, negotiating deadlines, etc. (Kara et al., 2020;Raspopovic, Cvetanovic, Medan, & Ljubojevic, 2017). Neier and Zayer (2015) investigated students' perceptions about using social media in foreign language learning process and their results showed students' inclination towards usage of social media. ...
Web-based English Language Learning: A Review from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
Since the internet network's establishment, the World Wide Web is considered as the most important tool used by billions of people across the world. It allows people to share the media, read, write, publish and interact with others via the internet. Since its advent, the World Wide Web has evolved from a read-only medium technological network to the collaborative one where learners are interlinked in various ways. Through its various stages of evolution, English language learning was transformed from simple to an interactive, collaborative, and learner-centered environment. This paper will present the conceptual review of the literature, in chronological order, on how English language learning has evolved over the past years, particularly from web 1.0 to web 3.0. It also aims to present the analysis of the evolution of the World Wide Web (www) technologies from a learner perspective; therefore, it will elucidate various web-based tools, technologies, trends, and applications used by learners in their education.
View
The Role and the Impact of Interactive Teaching Methods in Increasing Students' Interest for the Field They Study (Case Study Master of Scientific Marketing Faculty of Economics University of Tirana Year 2018-2019, 2019-2020)
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
Education in Albania was modernized and took the example of Western countries, applying Western texts because, during the Communist period, many fields of study were forbidden because they had a Western approach. This study aims to highlight the application of interactive teaching methods and the impact these methods have on increasing interest in the field of study. This was done through the questionnaire developed among 110 students of the Marketing Scientific Master Faculty of Economics at the University of Tirana. Of these, 60 students belong to the academic year 2018-2019 and 50 to the academic year 2019-2020. The analysis of the study is based on correlation, significance analysis, reliability analysis, regression, Anova test, and Mann-Whitney test. The study has resulted that women are the ones who prefer this study cycle the most; the average of the students who follow this study cycle is about segment 7.1-8. Finding yourself in a subject affects the willingness to attend an hour of lecture, and information about interactive teaching methods affects the willingness to attend an hour of class. Between students of two academic years, study hours are the same during the week.
View
Fostering twenty-first century digital skills by the means of educational platforms in the times of COVID-19
Article
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 influenced all aspects of school life. Teaching and learning moved only online, with different software solutions emerging for teachers to make the most of them. These educational platforms provided more than just a traditional teaching which is focused on the transmission and access to information. Their added value is in a student-centred approach which promotes diverse competencies as regarded to be 21st century skills. This study focused on promoting 21st century digital skills using educational platforms in the times of COVID-19 during school lockdowns. It examined teachers’ responses about the extent to which this promotion was attained during their online teaching using these technologies. A sample of 667 schoolteachers from Serbia was used and relevant data were collected using an online questionnaire. The analysis showed there were significant differences between these medians of promotion of digital skills for different groups of teachers favouring certain groups. These differences could be explained by the fact that teachers in those favoured groups were more experienced in using educational platforms and arranged teamwork within them more often. Additional analysis showed that experience and teamwork were related and that they jointly contributed to digital skills promotion. Suggestions for practice and research are included.
View
Online music learning based on digital multimedia for virtual reality
Article
In the era of multimedia digital education, virtual reality (VR) technologies have become extremely popular teaching tools. The research compares the learning outcomes of the VR students group using the VR4EDU virtual reality application with the learning outcomes of the control students group taking the traditional online music lessons. The sample consisted of 96 students from a Shandong Management University in China. The research is based on a quasi-experimental design. The scholars identified the statistically significant improvements in learning music supported by VR in the following areas: for Exercise 1, improvements were from M:30% to M:45%; for Exercise 2, improvements were from M:32% to M:54%; and for Exercise 3 improvements were from M:57% to M:83%. The research highlights technical features of the VR environment in music education that may help developers and designers to develop effective curricula for students. The spatial design reveals the potential of spatial learning, but further research is still required to analyze the role and advantages of spatial learning in detail. The present research underlines that more complex structures can be developed to teach students different aspects of musical genres.
View
Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Perceived Effect of Twitter Ban on Learning and Communication
Article
  • Dec 2022
This study investigated the perception of pre-service science teachers on the effect of the ban on Twitter- use in Nigeria in building learning communities, linkages, and accessing information. While the ban was predicated on allegations of hijack of the microblogging site for negative activities, there were outcries of its impact on learners who use the microblogging site to garner information and build professional learning communities. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 114 final year pre-service science education teachers from two Universities out of which only 84 were Twitter users. This number became the sample for the study. A 20-item modified Likert scale questionnaire tagged “Pre-service Science Teachers’ Perception of Effect of the Twitter ban on their community building” constructed by the researchers was used to collect data. The reliability of the instrument was found by Combach’s alpha reliability coefficient to be .75. Results show that eighty-four (73.7%) of pre-service science teachers utilize Twitter for learning while 76% express the view that the ban has an effect on building learning community but this perception was not gender-related. The subjects claim to have been disconnected from their professional communities and linkages due to the ban. Suggestions were made for a policy review.
View
Analysis of chemistry students’ critical thinking and its relationship to self-regulated learning in online learning
Conference Paper
  • Aug 2022
This study aims to analyze students’ critical thinking skills and examine the relationship with self-regulated learning (SRL) in online learning. The research sample was active chemistry students with a total of 85 people consisting of 3 age groups, namely freshmen (N = 30), sophomore (N = 33), and junior (N = 22). Critical thinking indicators analyzed are accuracy, making assumptions, developing hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and developing conclusions. Meanwhile, 5 SRL indicators are metacognitive skills, time-sharing, environmental management, persistence, and seeking help. The results showed that the average score of juniors’ critical thinking (X = 85.91; SD = 3.22) was higher than sophomore (X = 81.67; SD = 3.02) and freshmen (X = 57.97; SD = 14.68). The same trend is shown in SRL, where juniors have higher SRL scores on all indicators than sophomores and freshmen. The analysis of each SRL indicator shows the highest score on the metacognitive skills indicator, and the lowest score is the finding help indicator. Students with high SRL scores tend to have high critical thinking scores. The findings strongly suggest the need for designing learning scenarios that can improve the interaction between students and lecturers and interaction among students in the online learning process.
View
View
On the nature and development of social presence in online course discussions
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2005
“Social presence,” the degree to which participants in computer-mediated communication feel affectively connected one to another, has been shown to be an important factor in student satisfaction and success in online courses. This mixed methods study built on previous research to explore in greater depth the nature of social presence and how it develops in online course discussions. The study combined quantitative analyses of survey results from students enrolled in four online graduate courses, and qualitative comparisons of students with the highest and lowest perceptions of social presence. Quantitative results revealed significant correlations between perceived social presence and satisfaction with online discussions, and teased apart the respective influences of the perceived presence of instructors and peers. The findings indicate that the perceived presence of instructors may be a more influential factor in determining student satisfaction than the perceived presence of peers. Correlations with other course and learner characteristics suggest that course design may also significantly affect the development of social presence. Qualitative findings support the quantitative results. In addition, they provide evidence that students perceiving the highest social presence also projected themselves more into online discussions,and reveal meaningful differences in perceptions of the usefulness and purpose of online discussion between students perceiving high and low social presence.
View
Personalised and self regulated learning in the Web 2.0 era: International exemplars of innovative pedagogy using social software
Article
Full-text available
blockquote> Research findings in recent years provide compelling evidence of the importance of encouraging student control over the learning process as a whole. The socially based tools and technologies of the Web 2.0 movement are capable of supporting informal conversation, reflexive dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide raft of ideas and representations. Used appropriately, these tools can shift control to the learner, through promoting learner agency, autonomy and engagement in social networks that straddle multiple real and virtual learning spaces independent of physical, geographic, institutional and organisational boundaries. As argued in this article, however, in order for self-regulated learning to come to fruition, students need not only to be able to choose and personalise what tools and content are available, but also to have access to the necessary scaffolding to support their learning. Emerging practices with social computing technologies, a number of examples of which are showcased in this article, signal the need for pedagogies that are more personal, social and participatory. The authors conclude with a discussion of some of the key implications for practice, including an outline of the current challenges faced by tertiary educators. </p
View
Using Facebook in University Teaching: A Practical Case Study
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2013
This article describes a case study of the use of the social networking site Facebook as a means of interacting with students at the University of Malaga. Using Facebook has allowed teachers to interact more with students, moving away from traditional one- way communication towards a multi-way communication, with students taking on an active role. This experience has shown that using social networks can help to improve the set of competences reflected in dissertations written by students studying Economics or Business Studies. The experimental nature of this initiative has also made it possible to identify advantages of communicating through Facebook.
View
View
View
View
Considering Students’ Perspectives on Personal and Distributed Learning Environments in Course Design
Article
  • Jan 2010
This chapter presents the findings from an experimental postgraduate student-centered course using social media tools and services to support learning. The main aim of this research was to evaluate a course design that was heavily supported by social media. The main aspects of this course design were that students were granted the freedom to select social media tools and services and use them in a personalized way, construct personal and distributed learning spaces, and visualize their conceptual understanding of these environments and their activities. Students' perceptions of the social media they used was used to evaluate the overall course design. Their perception of the affordances of social media are presented by noting conceptual changes in how they represented the structure of their personal and distributed environments, and by how they rated their learning experience with social media. This chapter concludes with the most important aspects of course design that need to be taken into account in higher education learning environments seeking to integrate Web 2.0 tools.
View
Online Disclosure: An Empirical Examination of Undergraduate Facebook Profiles
Article
  • Jan 2008
This study advances our knowledge of students’ online self-disclosures by examining a random sample of students’ Facebook profiles at a large, public research University in the Northeast. A quantitative content analysis revealed that the vast majority of students had a Facebook account and very small proportions restricted access of their profile to University staff. Substantial proportions of students’ profiles contained contact information, course schedules, positive references to the University, and pictures of students’ consuming alcohol. Detailed implications for practice are discussed.
View
Exploring the views of students on the use of Facebook in university teaching and learning
Article
  • Jul 2014
Facebook use among students is almost ubiquitous; however, its use for formal academic purposes remains contested. Through an online survey monitoring student use of module Facebook pages and focus groups, this study explores students’ current academic uses of Facebook and their views on using Facebook within university modules. Students reported using Facebook for academic purposes, notably peer–peer communication around group work and assessment – a use not always conceptualised by students as learning. Focus groups revealed that students are not ready or equipped for the collaborative style of learning envisaged by the tutor and see Facebook as their personal domain, within which they will discuss academic topics where they see a strong relevance and purpose, notably in connection with assessment. Students use Facebook for their own mutually defined purposes and a change in student mind- and skill-sets is required to appropriate the collaborative learning benefits of Facebook in formal educational contexts.
View