Recent developments in Conversational Agents (CAs) have offered researchers new ways to develop personalized learning support for students that is accessible in various environments. Traditionally, CA learner experiences are accessible through home devices, including Alexa Echo and Google Nest, for tasks such as setting reminders, ordering…

Improving social presence has long been a goal for online instruction; with the shift to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus on improving social presence has only become more imperative. In asynchronous online courses, social interaction typically relies on discussion groups. Despite this, little research has been…

This study presents an ethnographic account of the learning design experiences of six Namibian teachers during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explores the emotions, perspectives and actions of these teachers and also reveals the influence of personal, institutional and national culture on their learning design…

The purpose of this autoethnography is to share my perspective of course design and delivery considerations based on my professional experience as an instructional designer for a virtual international exchange program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the impact of the global pandemic, the partner institutions decided to take advantage of…

Open distance e-learning (ODeL) is an essential form of e-learning for students in South Africa. It allows expanded access to higher education for students from rural or socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. One of the key features of ODeL is that students can complete coursework modules virtually, without the need to step onto a physical…

This article presents a collaborative maker project integrating the arts in a synchronous online environment. Based on the Thinkering, Making, Sharing, and Reflecting (TMSR) model, the four components of hands-on, minds-on, hearts-on, and social-on learning were integrated into an online collaborative maker project involving arts, music, and…

The COVID-19 pandemic forced teachers worldwide to shift to emergency remote teaching (i.e., virtual teaching). As teachers return to their classrooms for in-person teaching, there is a need to examine how remote teaching influences teachers' instruction. This study examined teachers' use of digital technologies and specific mathematics activities…

Existing research on facilitators in K-12 schools has focused on supplemental online programs where on-site personnel work with online students in a local brick-and-mortar school. While some insightful research exists focused on online facilitators at full-time cyber schools, additional research is needed to examine facilitators using synchronous…

Full-time K-12 online learners faced little impact when schools had to rapidly transition to remote learning in March 2020. Essentially, everyone found themselves in the same position that full-time K-12 online learners had been prior to the pandemic. It is the experiences of supplemental K-12 online learners, those students who normally have…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the largest education system disruption in history, resulting in many districts abruptly, and often ineptly, implementing remote learning to maintain the continuity of instruction. The majority of educational leaders were unprepared for working and delivering instruction in virtual environments. Research indicates that…

While the use of virtual manipulatives (VM) is rising in classrooms, there is still limited research. regarding teacher experiences with and perceptions of virtual manipulatives. Most of the research regarding teacher perceptions of VM has focused only on short-term uses following professional development sessions and none has highlighted the…

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the need for schools to strengthen their relationships with families in order to support remote learning. Framed with the theoretical lens of the traditional partnership model, this paper details the results of a survey completed by 56 Minnesota district level technology directors. The survey asked how school…

The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on schools was massive and unprecedented. Many schools were forced to close, and teachers were forced to deliver their instruction online with a very short notice. To assist K-12 teachers to teach remotely, a simple instructional design model, CAFE (Content, Activities, Facilitation, & Evaluation),…

Despite evidence concerning the widespread growth of K-12 blended teaching and the impact that emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the spread of K-12 online and blended teaching, we could find no systematic reviews focused on preparing K-12 teachers for blended teaching. Previous literature reviews, such as those from…

With the large increase in online instruction, including remote instruction with online materials during the COVID-19 pandemic, there also was an increase in the use of instructional materials that were made to be displayed online or were digitized for online use. However, teachers have not had access to guidance about how to select and evaluate…