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This study explored the effects of online academic help-seeking (OAHS) and flipped learning (FL) on students' development of involvement, self-efficacy, and self-directed learning. A quasi-experiment was conducted to investigate whether students' involvement, self-efficacy, and self-directed learning increases over time with intervention by OAHS, FL, and their combination. Three classes of first-year university students in a one-semester course were chosen for this empirical research. The 102 students were divided into three groups. The first group (G1, which received online OAHS and FL), and the second group (G2, which received online FL only), were the experimental groups. The last group (G3), which received the traditional teaching method in a blended course, served as the control group. The results indicate that G1 students' involvement, self-efficacy, and self-directed learning all improved under the condition of simultaneously applying OAHS and FL. In addition, this study also reveals that the application of FL alone could be helpful in G2 students' development of their involvement, self-efficacy, and self-directed learning. However, G3 students, who learned with traditional teaching method in a blended learning environment, did not have better development in their involvement, self-efficacy, and self-directed learning. Finally, the authors further discuss the implications for teachers, scholars, and schools engaged in online education.

In the past decade, the developments of the Internet and educational technologies have facilitated innovative approaches to modern education. In addition, computers and related software are used in all professional fields of the workplace; therefore, students should acquire related essential abilities before they enter the workforce. Teachers should devote attention to designing and implementing appropriate online teaching methods and guiding their students to adopt suitable learning strategies to develop related abilities and improve their learning effectiveness. Thus, in this study, two innovative teaching methods, namely self-organized learning (SOL) and learners-as-designers (LaD), were integrated with educational technology and ubiquitous learning (u-learning) to develop students’ computing skills, academic motivation, and engagement in a blended course. A quasi-experiment was conducted to examine the effects of ubiquitous SOL and LaD. The experiment used a 2 (SOL vs. non-SOL) × 2 (LaD vs. non-LaD) factorial pretest–posttest design. First-year students from four classes who were taking a one-semester university course titled “Applied Information Technology: Data Processing” were the participants in the empirical study. The results revealed that students who received the ubiquitous LaD intervention exhibited significantly improved computing skills compared with those of students who did not receive the intervention. However, the ubiquitous SOL intervention did not enhance students’ computing skills, academic motivation, or engagement. The study results may be used as references for online educators when designing an online, cloud, or ubiquitous course for their students.

This study investigated, via quasi-experiments, the effects of problem-based learning with flipped classroom (FPBL) on the development of students' learning performance. In this study, 144 elementary school students were selected from six grade sections taking a course titled ‘Production of Ebook', and were assigned into the following three groups: FPBL group (n = 50), PBL group (n = 48), Control group (n = 46). The authors collected both quantitative and qualitative data, including interviews with students and teacher's journal. Based on the analysis in this study, it is found that the effect of FPBL on improving students' learning performance was significantly higher than other teaching methods investigated. This research provides an innovative design and illustration of PBL for teachers, educators, and schools which pay attention to enhancing students' learning performance.

This article describes the design and delivery of a compulsory course in packaged software at vocational schools in Taiwan. A course website was devised and deployed to supplement learning activities in the traditional classroom. A series of quasi-experiments was conducted with innovative instructional designs, that is, web-enabled problem-based learning (PBL), self-regulated learning (SRL), and their combinations. The impacts of these web-enabled pedagogies on students, instructors, and course design were evaluated. The effects of webenabled pedagogies were mostly positive, thus reinforcing the instructor's confidence for further application to the rest of his courses. The authors further discuss the implications for schools, scholars, and teachers who plan to implement, or are already engaged in, e-learning.

This study investigated, via quasi-experiments, the effects of student-centered project-based learning with initiation (SPBL with Initiation) on the development of students' computing skills. In this study, 96 elementary school students were selected from four class sections taking a course titled “Digital Storytelling” and were assigned to the following four groups: SPBL with Initiation group (G1, n = 20), SPBL group (G2, n = 31), PBL group (G3, n = 24), and Traditional group (G4, n = 21). Students had to design digital materials for digital storytelling. The researchers collected both quantitative and qualitative data, including conducting interviews with students and using teachers' journals. Based on the analysis in this study, the effect of SPBL with Initiation on students' computing skills was significantly higher than for those without or with other treatments. This research provides an innovative design and illustration of SPBL with Initiation for teachers, educators, and schools that are keen to enhance students' computing skills.

As Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure has rapidly become commonplace in most countries worldwide, the development of ICT-related competence is now considered to be a key goal in Taiwan’s curriculum. Nowadays, society expects undergraduates to develop essential computer abilities before entering the workplace. In addition to possessing computing skills, students are also required to have problem-solving ability and teamwork competency. To equip students to meet these expectations, the researchers integrated two teaching approaches, using content-based knowledge awareness (CoKA) and team learning (TL) to enhance students’ programming skills in an online computing course, and to reduce students’ anxiety and regulate cognitive load in the cloud classroom involved in this study. In this research, the authors conducted a quasi-experiment to examine the influences of CoKA and TL. Therefore, the design for the experiment was a 2 (CoKA vs. non-CoKA) × 2 (TL vs. non-TL) factorial pretest/posttest design. There were 184 participants, who were neither information nor computer majors, from four classes, enrolled in a required course titled ‘Programming Design’. The first class (G1) simultaneously received the online CoKA and TL intervention, the second class (G2) received only the online CoKA intervention, and the third class (G3) received only the online TL intervention; these served as the experimental groups, while the last class (G4), which received a traditional teaching approach, served as the control group. According to the results, students who received online TL had significant increase in their computing skills, and significant decrease in their level of anxiety and cognitive load. However, the expected effects of CoKA on developing students’ skills in designing mobile applications, reducing anxiety level and regulating cognitive load were not found. The design of integrating CoKA and TL in an online course could be a reference for educators when conducting online, flipped, or blended courses, particularly for those focusing on developing skills in computer programming.

The application and development of educational technologies has influenced current education practices. However, there are few studies discussing how to apply these technologies and devices with appropriate teaching methods to help students achieve satisfactory learning goals, especially for computing classes. Thus, the researchers reconsidered the course design of a computing course with practical teaching methods, activity-based learning (ABL) and meaningful learning (ML), in an online learning environment. The researchers investigated, via quasi-experiments, the effects of web-mediated ABL and ML on developing students’ learning effects, learning engagement, and academic motivation in this online computing course. A 2 (ABL vs. non-ABL) × 2 (ML vs. non-ML) design, as well as factorial pretest/posttest design, was employed in this experimental research. The selected course for experiment was titled “Applied Information Technology: Office Software,” one semester in length and a required course for the four involved classes of students at a comprehensive university. All students in this study came from non-computer departments. According to the results of this study, students who received web-mediated ML had a significant increase in their learning engagement. However, the expected effects of ABL on developing students’ skills in using PowerPoint and Word, learning engagement, and academic motivation were not found in this study. Possible explanations for this nonsignificant outcome are included in the paper. The researchers’ design of an online course integrating ABL and ML may be used by teachers and schools when conducting online, flipped, or blended courses for their students, particularly for those courses focused on developing students’ skills in using PowerPoint and Word.

Web-based learning is generally a solitary process without teachers' on-the-spot assistance. In this study, a quasi-experiment was conducted to explore the effects of various combinations of Web-Based Cognitive Apprenticeship (WBCA) and Time Management (TM) on the development of students' computing skills. Three class cohorts of 124 freshmen in a one-semester course titled ‘Applied Information Technology: Data Processing' were chosen for the empirical study. They were divided into three groups: two experimental groups (G1, n=42; G2, n=40) and one control group (G3, n=42). The goal of this research is to examine the effects of WBCA, TM, and their combination on undergraduates' learning, and further develop appropriate course design and online teaching methods for both teachers and schools. The results show that students who received WBCA and TM had higher grades than those without. The authors further discuss the implications of the findings and results for online teachers and scholars.

In this paper, the authors reviewed the empirical mobile technology (MT) studies, and those focused on adopting and designing MT for students’ learning, published in SSCI journals from 2003 to 2012. It is found that the number of articles has significantly increased, particularly after 2008. Among the 74 published papers, most of them were conducted in higher education, as well as on computing domain. Furthermore, the quantitative research method was used more in MT and e-learning research. The findings in this study may provide potential direction and help policymakers in governments and researchers in professional organizations to allocate the necessary resources and prepare for supporting future research and applications of MT.

More and more educational institutions are using educational technologies and online learning materials to help students achieve satisfactory learning effects. However, not all teachers are able to prepare and design digital learning materials for students. This research attempted to empirically demonstrate the effects of applying open educational resources (OERs) and a cloud classroom developed by Ming Chuan University, which comprises access to related software and online learning materials, to enhance students’ computer skills and also improve their scores on certification examinations. The researchers conducted an experiment that included 114 undergraduates from two class sections – the first section received OERs in a cloud classroom in addition to their traditional classroom instruction (OER group, n=61), and the other learned in the traditional classroom without OERs (non-OER group, n=53). The results show that students who received OERs had significantly higher grades than those without in the PowerPoint module; however, the difference is not statistically significant in the Excel module. The authors further discuss the implications and unexpected results in this paper.