This study examined the effectiveness of 3 online courses compared with the same 3 courses in a face‐to‐face (F2F) format, which had the same characteristics (e.g., the same instructor and final exam content and place). Effectiveness was examined by utilizing a wide range of variables, including 2 objective measures (N = 968): grades and completion rate; and 9 subjective measures (N = 360): 7 measures include instructional aspects (course structure, learning content, lessons watched, assignments, communication), engagement, and satisfaction. Findings indicate significant differences between online and F2F courses in most of the examined variables. Students in the online courses reported better understanding of the course structure, better communication with the course staff, watching the videos lessens more, and higher engagement and satisfaction. Students in the F2F courses reported better contribution of the learning content. Students' final grades were higher in the online courses, and no differences were found in the completion rate. The findings suggest that in many of the examined effectiveness aspects, online courses are as effective as, or more effective than, F2F courses. Interpretations of the findings are discussed.

This study examined students' engagement characteristics in online courses and their impact on academic achievements, trying to distinguish between course completers and noncompleters. Moreover, this research is intended to differentiate between those who pass the final exam and those who do not. Four online courses were examined with a similar pedagogical model (Nstudents = 646) using learning analytics methods. The results revealed significant differences between students who completed the courses and students who did not, in all 13 variables. Completers' learning activities were more than twice as high, except for writing in the forums. Course subject and ongoing task and assignment submissions predicted course completion, whereas, in addition to these variables, engagement with course materials and reading the forums predicted final exam success, as well. Thus, the prediction of success in final exam emphasized the significant importance of engagement in various activities in the online course.

In recent years there has been a proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs), which provide unprecedented opportunities for lifelong learning. Registrants approach these courses with a variety of motivations for participation. Characterizing the different types of participation in MOOCs is fundamental

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This study explores and characterizes learners' participation patterns in MOOC forums, as well as the factors that correlate with learners' participation. Educational data mining and learning analytics methods were used to retrieve and analyze the learners' interpersonal interaction data, which had accumulated in the Coursera log files. The content in the forums was categorized based on Henri's criteria and converted into quantitative values that could be compared and visualized. It was found that only 20% of the learners were collaborating in the forums throughout the entire course and were responsible for 50% of the total posts. A portion of them earned the name "Super Active." The analyses not only demonstrated the volume of activity and its pattern but also revealed the content of the discussions, which helped to highlight the needs and reasons for students' usage of the forums. The content analysis showed intensity in the "Cognitive" and "Discipline" categories. Thus, forum participants benefit from discussions not only socially but disciplinarily and cognitively as well. Furthermore, even though a strong significant correlation was found between the learners' completion status and their activity in the forums, a group of learners, who did not complete the course, was highly active.

Integrating mobile technology in schools has become a growing trend in recent years. Studies suggest that the use of tablets has potential contributions for learning. The current study explored the use of tablets for learning among 427 high school students, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The purpose was to assess students' perceptions toward the effectiveness of using tablets in learning and to examine a model in which perceived engagement mediates the effects of content usage types, and technological and social aspects on perceived learning. The findings indicate that overall, students reported moderate levels of positive attitudes toward tablet use in learning. In addition, it was found that the more students consumed information via tablets, perceived tablet software as easy to use, and communicated with other students through tablets, the higher their engagement was, which in turn led to more positive perceptions of learning. Moreover, a qualitative content analysis indicated that students perceived the technological aspects as the main advantage, and barrier, of using tablets for learning. The implications of the results, as well as the role of perceived engagement in enhancing learning outcomes, are discussed in the context of tablet use in learning.

Background:The global COVID-19 pandemic turned the adoption of on-line assessment in the institutions for higher education from possibility to necessity. Thus, in the end of Fall 20/21 semester Tel Aviv University (TAU)-the largest university in Israel-designed and implemented a scalable procedure for administering proctored remote examinations. This procedure is applicable to different kinds of examinations in diverse disciplines and to disparate degree levels.Objectives: This study aims to deepen the knowledge with respect to the design and adoption of remote proctoring at an institutional level Methods: First, based on lessons learned from the first semester of COVID-19, we describe the development and implementation of an institution-wide protocol for conducting on-line proctored assessment. We show the large-scale applicability of the protocol for administering examinations via Moodle with remote proctoring via Zoom.The accurately designed procedures that included careful consideration of all parties involved-academic staff members, students, administrative staff and proctorsenabled TAU to successfully assess the learning outcomes of its 25,000 students, while maintaining validity, compatibility and reliability of the assessment. Second, we report combined data from surveys of 4380 students and 188 faculty-members (18% and 12% response rate respectively), conducted at TAU following these examinations. Results and Conclusions:With over 90% of the students experiencing at least one, and 80% of faculty-members administering at least one proctored remote examination, these heterogeneous sources of data allow us to investigate a unique and complementary perspective of the process. Some of the significant findings consist of the over-all perception of the students' integrity by both groups surveyed; the discrepancy in the groups' perspectives of the adequate form of learning-assessmentwith the instructors preferring proctored examinations and the students-formativeassessment; and the influence of the pedagogical challenges on the perception of Smadar Patael and Julia Shamir contributed equally

Privacy is a sociocultural perception, depending on the dominant values of a society, sociocultural heritage, and contemporary technological developments. This article focuses on privacy perception among adolescents based on a European school survey (PRACTIS), and presents comparative results of an exploratory study conducted among over 1,428 adolescents in six countries. The results reveal that adolescents attribute high value to privacy and are prepared to actively oppose if an online corporation is challenging their personal interests. However, they tend to trade off privacy for other perceived benefits. Adolescents’ privacy perception and data protection are affected by cultural diversity, age, gender, and most of all their various social network sites activities and their attitudes toward importance of sharing and controlling personal information.