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The outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic has changed education dramatically, with the sudden shift from face‐to‐face to emergency remote teaching. Online learning environments may facilitate data‐driven instructional process; yet, our understanding regarding data‐driven decisions is still limited. This quantitative study examined types of learners' data that higher education instructors have access to, are interested in, and decisions they would consider making upon exposure to, while comparing emergency remote teaching with traditional teaching. Data were collected via an online questionnaire distributed among higher education instructors during the first COVID‐19 outbreak (N = 195, affiliated with 108 different academic institutions in 35 countries). Instructors were requested to refer to a face‐to‐face course that was shifted under these emergency circumstances to online teaching. Findings indicated a broader access to learners' data while teaching the course face‐to‐face and a slightly greater interest in learners' data while teaching the course in an emergency remote teaching mode. These complimentary findings depict a situation in which instructors lack face‐to‐face cues about their students without accessing alternative sources of data. Moreover, when teaching online versus face‐to‐face, instructors showed more interest and higher intention to make decisions based on data about learners' collaborative learning and social and emotional support, which highlights instructors' interest in aspects of learning that are less visible during online teaching. What is already known about this topic Evidence regarding the vital role of the instructor in online courses. Online learning environments collect digital traces of learners. Learners' data may assist in the improvement of teaching by implementing data‐driven decision making. Evidence that the COVID‐19 pandemic revealed a major liability in preparation and training for online teaching. The understanding of instructors' perspectives regarding the process of data‐driven decisions, especially in times of ERT, is still limited. What this paper adds We highlight instructors' perceived access to, interest in, and willingness to make decisions based on learners' data. We take a within‐subject approach for determining instructors' perceptions of learners' data during ERT compared with face‐to‐face teaching. We bring evidence to instructors' lesser access to (despite learners' digital traces), and greater interest in, learners' data during ERT. We bring evidence to instructors' higher inclination towards making data‐driven decisions during ERT, due to lack of F2F evidence. We bring evidence to a strong correlation between instructors' interest in learners' data and willingness to make data‐driven decisions. Implications for practice and/or policy Instructors should be trained for socio‐emotional support for students in times of ERT. Higher education institutions should collect data on learners' socio‐emotional status in times of ERT. Policies of data collect...

Persistence has proven to be a great challenge in online learning environments. Gaming and interactivity have been suggested as essential features in reducing dropout and increasing persistence in online learning. Yet in interactive game-based learning environments, persistence in moving forward in the game may come at the expense of investing in each of the game’s levels. That is, the motivation to complete the game may have a deleterious effect on learning at specific levels and hence on learning from the game in general. Therefore, we have chosen to focus on microlevel persistence (i.e., persistence during each component of the learning process). We study microlevel persistence in the context of acquiring computational thinking—the thought process of solving problems through abstraction—which is a key component of the new literacies needed for tomorrow’s citizens. In this study, we analyze data collected from an online, game-based learning environment (CodeMonkey™). The data document the activity of first to sixth graders ( N = 2,040). Overall, we find that persistence is positively associated with difficulty and that the most determined learners were highly persistent across topics in achieving the best solution.

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Aim/PurposeTo study associations between elementary-, middle-and high-school students' perceptions of classroom environment and student-teacher relationship and their out-of-class communication practices via WhatsApp app. BackgroundCommunication between students and teachers is usually extended beyond the classroom's time and space. This communication, referred to as out-of-class communication (OCC), may impact students' academic, social, and emotional development. Today, OCC is facilitated via social media and instant messaging services, which may have impact on its nature. MethodologyMethodology was quantitative in nature. Data was collected using an online questionnaire (implemented on Google Forms, http://forms.google.com , during June-July 2016. Participants (n=300), from 5th-12th grades (11-18 years old), were recruited in schools in a few Arab villages in northern Israel, with the assistance of their teachers. ContributionThe present study expands the growing body of knowledge about studentteacher communication via online social networks, specifically regarding out-ofclass communication. We identify the unique aspects of WhatsApp-based outof-class communication, which shed light on student-teacher relationship at large. Findings from this study may assist educators (while in training and/or professional development programs) to reflect upon their own educational agenda and to check if and how they and their students can benefit from OCC.WhatsApp is the Message 74Findings Overall, we identify WhatsApp's important, unique role in promoting good student-teacher relationship and positive classroom environment. Recommendations for PractitionersThe findings regarding the unique contribution of WhatsApp to studentteacher out-of-class communication should be taken into consideration by policy makers while formulating policies for the use of online social networks in educational settings. Teachers should be aware of the important role this type of communication plays for their students and for their classroom. Both teachers and students should communicate respectfully, with teachers serving as role models for their students regarding proper digital behavior. Recommendations for ResearchersThis study should be replicated to more populations and to more communication platforms, in order to validate its findings.Impact on Society The associations between out-of-class communication via online social networks and student-teacher relationship have two main effects on society at large. First, promoting better student-teacher communication could improve learning and teaching. Second, if this communication is to be carried out properly, the students -who are the future citizens -will learn how to behave correctly in the digital age. Future ResearchIt is advised to explore the studied associations in other populations and regarding other communication platforms. Also, qualitative exploration is advisable, as it may shed more light on the unique aspects of WhatsApp-based studentteacher out-of-class communication.

Teacher-student relationships are vital for academic and social development of students, for teachers' professional and personal development, and for having a supportive learning environment. In the digital age, these relationships can extend beyond bricks and mortar and beyond school hours. Specifically, these relationships are extended today while teachers and students communicate via social networking sites (SNS). This paper characterizes differences between teachers (N=160) and students (N=587) who are willing to connect with their students/teachers via Facebook and those who do not wish to connect. The quantitative research reported here within is based on data collection of personal characteristics, attitudes towards Facebook, and perceptions of teacher-student relationship. Findings suggest differences in characteristics of the two groups (willing to connect vs. not willing to connect) within both populations (teachers and students). Also, in both populations, those who were willing to connect, compared to those who were not willing to connect, present more positive attitudes towards using Facebook for teaching/learning and are more opposed to a banning policy of student-teacher SNS-based communication. We also found that students who were willing to connect showed a greater degree of closeness with their teachers compared to those who were not willing to connect. This study may assist policymakers when setting up regulations regarding teacher-student communication via social networking sites.