Keyword: online learning

ABSTRACT: In increasingly multicultural and multilingual societies, foreign language learning has become essential not only for communication but also for social cohesion and professional advancement. Distance education has emerged as a flexible and accessible solution, particularly for adults seeking to enhance their linguistic and intercultural competencies. This study explores the views of foreign language teachers regarding the role of distance education in promoting multilingualism, with a specific focus on culturally diverse border regions. Conducted in the Regional Unit of Evros, Greece, the research adopts a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews with five language educators working in public and private education. Findings reveal that teachers recognize the potential of digital tools such as Massive Open Online Courses, machine translation applications (e.g., Google Translate, DeepL), and adaptive learning platforms to support multilingual learning, particularly when used as supplementary resources. However, concerns were raised about the lack of personalized feedback, limited interactivity, and the absence of culturally contextualized content on existing platforms. Teachers emphasized the importance of digital literacy, pedagogical training, and culturally inclusive design to ensure effective implementation. The study highlights the need for targeted support for educators in border regions and calls for more locally adapted digital resources that reflect linguistic diversity. These findings offer insights for policymakers and educational technology developers aiming to improve the quality and reach of multilingual education in remote or underserved areas.

ABSTRACT: It is important to observe the effectiveness of online learning (OL) as a resilient approach for the smooth functioning of the educational systems in the post-pandemic for resilience purposes. This paper defines resilience as learners’ capacity to cope with a crisis like COVID-19 and recover quickly from the challenges and prospects caused by the pandemic. Hence, this paper aims to find out the extent to which the use of OL in higher education institutions (HEIs) has served as a resilient means of accessing education in selected South and South East Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper uses a literature review method and adopts the integrative literature review approach. The reviewed literature was subjected to a content analysis method in order to provide the themes relevant to address the objectives of this paper. The results indicate that in the context of South and South East Asia, particularly in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, there are country-specific differences in adopting OL as a resilient approach in HEIs. For instance, in China, OL was a “forced innovation” during the pandemic. However, this paper concludes that nearly all South Asian nations took recourse to OL during the pandemic without a proper understanding of the pedagogical implications of OL. Hence, the recommendation is that OL cannot be fully utilized unless critical issues like learners’ engagement, investments, digital divides, infrastructure, and governmental and leadership support are properly addressed and assessed. Another recommendation is for policy guidance, especially in the South Asian developing countries in the post-pandemic contexts, to consider the best practices of OL as resilient strategies for sustainable education in HEIs.

ABSTRACT: Refugee integration into healthcare is a global challenge, with millions facing barriers in accessing healthcare services due to language, cultural differences, and limited health literacy. In response to these challenges, this study explores the experiences and recommendations contributed by individuals directly involved in the co-design and co-creation of a massive open online course (MOOC) and its effectiveness in addressing refugees’ integration into the European healthcare system. A bimodal research approach was employed, combining qualitative insights from individuals involved in the design and development of the MOOC and quantitative data from refugees and professionals engaged in the MOOC’s evaluation. Stakeholder discussions were conducted to explore experiences, challenges, and recommendations related to MOOC development. Additionally, a Computer System Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) was administered to evaluate the MOOC’s usability, quality, and interface. Stakeholder discussions emphasized the importance of collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and participatory design in MOOC development. Involving stakeholders and refugees in this participatory process ensured that the MOOC addressed real-world needs and experiences. Additionally, CSUQ results indicated high participant satisfaction with the MOOC, with digital users’ literacy level and educational background influencing their perceptions. In summary, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion on refugee healthcare integration and the role of digital education in this context.

ABSTRACT: Online collaborative conversation is one of the crucial approaches to promote students’ collaborative skills and cognitive development. Students’ social roles in collaborative learning have a key impact on the process of collaborative learning activities and the
development of students’ cognition. What are the differences in the cognitive structures and processes between rotated-role and fixedrole in students’ groups? This paper explored this question by empirical research. The results of epistemic network analysis showed that the rotated-role groups had more high-level cognition and more complex cognitive structure, while the fixed-role groups had more management activities. In the rotated-role groups, the leaders can better mobilize the atmosphere, organize, and coordinate the cognitive processes of the team, to contribute more to the collaborative conversations. The cognitive depth and efficiency of fixed-role groups significantly decreased over time. These imply that in online collaborative conversation activities, role-rotation can be used to promote higher-order cognitive development, and fixed role can be used to improve management efficiency. Teachers should encourage team leaders to take on more cognitive activity organization and coordination tasks in online collaborative conversation activities. In the later stages of online collaborative conversation activities, teachers should strengthen intervention and support for fixed social role groups.

ABSTRACT: In the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, it has become a new trend for people to use online learning communities for learning and communication. Previous studies had shown that trust was one of the important factors affecting knowledge sharing behavior in the online learning communities. However, related studies had not analyzed its mechanism from the micro level. Based on the knowledge sharing gain coefficient and multi-angle trust degree of the online learning communities, this paper constructed the corresponding public goods evolution game model and constructed the Holme–Kim theoretical network model according to the structural characteristics of the community user interaction network. The simulation experiment was carried out by using Matlab to analyze the influence of group trust value and individual trust value on group sharing behavior. From the micro level, this paper analyzed the evolution law of knowledge sharing behavior in the network under the influence of trust. The results showed that the degree of trust knowledge sharing played an important role in improving the behavior of group knowledge sharing. This study provided theoretical guidance for improving the level of knowledge sharing in the e-learning community and creating a good learning atmosphere.