مرجان معصومی فرد

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to identify MOOC ethical features of Courses & Online MOOC courses in higher education. Methods: This study was designed as embedded mixed model research to provide a better understanding of the research problem. Throughout this research, both the heuristic inquiry method and the questionnaire method were applied to obtain and analyze the data. At the primary stage, ethical features of Courses & Online MOOC courses were identified. The content analysis method was used for qualitative data, and for quantitative data, both weighted mean and Friedman test were used. The statistical population in the qualitative section of the study includes the electronic resources related to the research subject and, in the quantitative section, 60 distance education experts in the field of planning in virtual learning environments and virtual universities so that 36 of these experts were voluntarily selected as the study sample. Results: Content analysis results showed 4 dimensions and 16 criteria. The evaluation results of the experts also showed that interacting with the global network, the ease of online interactions with learners and other organizations, and the possibility of receiving electronic assignments or workbooks during the course, are regarded as the most important ethical characteristics of Courses online MOOC courses; security and privacy of individuals ought to be considered in their interactions, observance of the principles related to confidentiality with regards to the files or marks, with other participants through emails, chats, forums, etc.Conclusions: In these courses, the features of online courses and openness for enrollment are emphasized and predominant. Therefore, there is no need to get involved in new ethical features. Since the maximum current size of online classes is 60 students, various factors of these indicators such as learner agents, instructive organization, content, and teaching and learning environment ought to be accurately studied. Given that the capacity of learners may reach the limit of hundreds and thousands, the kind of considered ethics should be beyond the procedure implemented for online classes.

This study aimed to examine the effect of educational software on 3rd-grade elementary-school students’ mathematical problem-solving skill. This was a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, controlled study. The statistical population comprised all 3rd-grade elementary-school male students in District 4 of Karaj (Iran) in the academic year 2018-2019. A sample was selected via convenience sampling, and the participants were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (20 each). On pretest, two tests of “numerical analysis” and “attention and concentration” (Wechsler test) and a researcher-made problem-solving skill test were administered. Then, the experimental group received eight 40-minute sessions of software training, while the control group received the class’s routine education. Finally, both groups took the posttest. The data were analyzed via univariate analysis of covariance and independent samples t-test. After the experimental intervention, the two groups demonstrated a significant difference (p < 0.001) at three levels of “problem-solving speed”, “attention and concentration”, and “numerical analysis”. The two groups also showed a significant difference at the level of “problem-solving strategy identification” (p < 0.05). Accordingly, the role of educational media, and especially educational software, can be highlighted in promoting students’ learning and mathematical problem-solving skill.

According to the purpose of the research, this article analyzes educational systems based on open education: challenges and opportunities in the field of learning. This method of teaching and learning is one of the new educational methods used in open university. Due to the use of electronic tools, higher education is moving away from its traditional form and moving towards distance learning and education. This research was descriptive and qualitative method was used to collect information. In this research, the researcher introduces educational systems based on open education, and the search and collection of information was done by studying documents, libraries, and searching for various written and digital sources. It was analyzed by software. The obtained results show that this education started under the name of correspondence education in the first decade of 1700 AD and has passed through five generations until today. In addition to its advantages, open education has many challenges. These challenges were summarized in eight and 80 features. Undoubtedly, in order to achieve an open and favorable higher education system, one should try to examine the challenges in this field and then by removing the limitations and turning them into opportunities, he took a big step in the direction of the higher development of open education.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of philosophic mindedness training on the effectiveness of students’ virtual training components. The present study was a quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of this study includes all student’s master’s degree of curriculum in Payame Noor University, south Tehran branch in 1399-1400 academic year. The sample consisted of 32 students who were selected by goal-based random sampling method and randomly assigned into two experimental (n=16) and control (n=16) groups. After conducting pre-test on both groups, the experimental group received Smith's philosophical mentality dimensions (Comprehensiveness, Penetration, Flexibility) (1956) in six sessions of sixty minutes and within six consecutive weeks by e-learning method, but the control group received no intervention. The research tool was a 34-item researcher-made questionnaire. The content validity confirmed by judgment of experts and professors, and its reliability was calculated and at an acceptable level. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance (Ancova). The results showed that there is a significant difference between the two groups of experimental and control in the effect of philosophic mindedness training on the effectiveness of virtual training. Therefore, it can be concluded that by training and enhancing the dimensions of philosophic mindedness of students of the target community, it can be increased the effectiveness of virtual training courses.

The present research was done to conceptualize the open pedagogy in the thought of Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida and its progression in the distance education system. In terms of the type of research, the present research is theoretical, the statistical population includes all sources and documents related to open pedagogy, the educational perspective of Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida, and distance education, which contains all electronic and written books, articles, magazines, sites and reliable databases, theses, and doctoral theses. The statistical sample is all available sources and documents related to the subject. The method of data collection is the library and the researchers studied and analyzed all electronic and written books, articles, magazines, sites, and reliable databases, theses, and doctoral theses to the extent of sufficiency. To answer the research question, the collected information was classified, analyzed, and interpreted. Education experts’ opinions have been used to determine validity and reliability. Nine key categories were extracted from the collected information: 1. Aim, 2. Teacher, 3. Student, 4. Teaching method, 5. Content and topic, 6. Planning, 7. School, 8. Evaluation, and 9. Resources. The results of the research reveal that the concept of open pedagogy existed in most of the main subcategories, except for the two categories of planning and resources. Open pedagogy is the most suitable pedagogy for distance education.

Purpose: Since the prevalence of Covid-19 increased the use of e-learning and its dual importance in teaching methods, this study aimed to compare the effect of two teaching methods of brainstorming and group discussion by e-learning on learning level and interest in teamwork in social studies course. Methodology: This was an applied study in terms of purpose and semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design in terms of implementation method. The study population was the third-grade elementary school students in district 20 of Tehran in the academic year of 2020-2021. The sample size was 60 students in two classes with 30 ones who were selected by available sampling method. One of the classes was considered as a teaching group with brainstorming method in a random way and the other class was considered as a teaching group with group discussion method. The teacher-made test of learning level in the social studies course and the teamwork interest questionnaire (Evans & Jarvis, 1986) were used to collect the data. Findings: The results of paired t-test showed that both methods of teaching brainstorming and group discussion by e-learning enhanced the level of learning and interest in teamwork in social studies course (P <0.001). The results of univariate analysis of covariance showed that the group discussion teaching method in comparison with the brainstorming teaching method enhanced the learning level and interest in teamwork in the social studies course (P <0.001). Conclusion: The results showed the effectiveness of both methods and the greater impact of group discussion teaching method compared to the brainstorming teaching method in both variables of learning level and interest in teamwork. Therefore, the use of group discussion teaching method should be prioritized to improve academic performance in social studies course.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of conversational style education through multimedia on increasing communication skills of female students. The research method was quasi-experimental and the statistical population included female students in sixth grade of District 2 of school system in Tehran(Iran), of whom 60 were selected by cluster sampling and placed in two groups of control and experiment. Data collection tools included Attar's standard communication skills questionnaire (2007) whose face validity was confirmed by eleven teachers using Delphi technique and its reliability through Cronbach's alpha coefficient for subscales, emotion management, others perception and assertiveness. It was equal to 0.92, 0.89 and 0.88, respectively. Research data were analyzed using SPSS.22 software. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the control and experimental groups regarding students' communication skills at the level of 95%. Students' communication skills in conversational style through multimedia were better than students trained in the traditional way. The results of this study indicate the positive role of interactive teaching through multimedia in increasing the communication skills of primary school students, and this emphasizes that schools and educational institutions need more multimedia tools to deepen Learn and enhance learners' communication skills.

Virtual education will be an effective educational system in students' effective learning during the corona and post-corona outbreaks, So the research method is quantitative, applied and descriptive-survey. The study population was all teachers of exceptional schools in Guilan province with a population of 690 people who were selected as a sample using systematic random sampling method. Data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by consulting experts from exceptional education in Guilan province and some university professors. To evaluate the reliability, a pretest was performed and a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92 indicated the reliability of the questionnaire. Virtual education challenges were analyzed through R-type exploratory factor analysis technique. Findings showed that the four infrastructural-technical and economic challenges, content and evaluation, cultural-social and organizational-managerial challenges explained 64.93% of the total variance and the main effective challenges in education Virtual schools in exceptional schools of Guilan province are from the perspective of teachers. Given the importance of overcoming these challenges, more interaction with knowledge-based companies, upgrading a SHAD educational network, effective interaction with telecommunication networks to strengthen the speed and bandwidth of the Internet, design and operation of the system Counseling, experience sharing webinars, parent briefings, and student support charities are recommended.

The present study aims at identifying the appropriate approach to improve the quality of e-learning in Payame Noor University. The research is applied in terms of purpose, is descriptive in terms of nature, and is a mixed method in terms of implementation applying an interview and a survey. The research population consists of all professors and students in e-learning department of Payame Noor University studying in academic year of 2016-2017. The research samples, consisting of 327 students and 291 professors, were selected through stratified random sampling. For data collection, in the first stage, after reviewing the related literature and conducting a semi-structured interview with distance education professionals and experts, the quality indexes in e-learning were identified. Then, in the second stage, two researcher-made questionnaires, based on a 5-likert scale, were prepared and after verifying the content and construct validity and calculating the reliability through Cronbach's alpha formula above 0.70, they were distributed among students and professors. The results of study suggest that if we are to take steps to improve the quality of e-learning in PNU, in addition to paying attention to maintaining the current quality and keeping its improvement through two components of strategies, policies, and general objectives and technology infrastructures, which had the greatest impact on e-learning quality, we should also take action through these factors to increase the impact of other components. Also, in order to improve the quality of e-learning in PNU, strategies such as paying attention to the quality of interaction, preventing significant changes in management decisions at the university, and paying attention to the empowerment of all human factors were suggested.