This study aims to understand the learning experiences and challenges of international students enrolled in Master's and PhD programs in various institutions who were forced to transition to online learning during the pandemic. In particular, the study explores the experiences and perceptions of seven non-native English-speaking international graduate students who came from six different countries and studied at different schools of education through phenomenological interviews. Analysis yields insight into these students’ online learning experiences and identifies factors which contributed to the mixed quality of these learning experiences. Overall, students tried to adapt to the “new normal,” while enduring learning and emotional challenges due to the harsh conditions of the pandemic in the United States and their home countries. Instructors’ readiness for online teaching as well as the extra support provided to help students cope with the sudden transition in the learning environment were particularly important factors affecting the students’ learning experiences. Our findings lead us to several recommendations for practice within graduate-level online learning environments and suggestions for further research, as well as broader considerations of what broader implications the case suggests for international education in light of digitalization.
Measurement of Fluorescence Correlation Function by Using Size and Concentration of Fluorescence ParticlesThe concentration and hydrodynamic radius of nano-sized fluorescence particles diffusing in solution were compared by using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), which can measure the variation of the correlation function of a fluorescence signal by size and number of particles. The used nano-sized fluorescence particles are Alex Fluor 647, quantum dots, and fluorescence beads, and three kinds of sample solutions with different concentrations were prepared by dilution to 1/10 and 1/100 with distilled water for each kind of particles. The effective focal volumes were calculated by using the known diffusion coefficient of Alexa Fluor 647 particles, and the diffusion time, number of particles in focal volume, and variation of concentration according to the dilution could be measured by the FCS system. Through this study, we determined that the concentrations of arbitrarily diluted sample solutions can be measured by a home-built FCS setup in the range of 0.1 nM ~ 10 nM and that the diffusion coefficient of the quantum dot was 27±1 µm 2 /s.
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