LMS

COVID-19 pandemic has been a worldwide grave issue that unfavorably affected people’s life, including education. This study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ learning in Iran EFL context. A mixed method research design was employed in carrying out the study. The quantitative data were gathered through an online survey questionnaire from 139 students in Islamic Azad university (IAU) selected on convenience sampling method and six semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. The quantitative data analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) showed that the students were not involved in a continual online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also revealed that the pandemic unspeakably affected students’ learning in Iran. In addition, the qualitative data coded and analyzed thematically showed that the students had problems with the Internet and technological facilities, and they suggested that the IAU design and introduce a resourceful online platform which will be free for and accessible to poor Internet connection users because some of the students live in areas where the Internet speed is very slow. The finding of the study may help educational managers and higher education leaders to review and adopt policies for teaching and learning in emergency cases. It will also help lecturers to design a proper plan and improve their instruction in these cases.

The conditions of the corona virus forced online education with LMS (learning management system). The main purpose of this research is to investigate the desirability of the quality of electronic education of Payam Noor University from the students' point of view of ISFAHAN LMS. The current research is a survey. The research tool was the USELEARN questionnaire and the checklist of the National Learning Association website. The statistical population includes all students who were studying at the Bachelor's degree and Master's degree (LMS) in the 2023 at Payam Noor University through electronic education. The simple random sampling method was used. The sample size was 384 students.Benson et al.'s and Salmon's models have been used to evaluate the quality indicators and components of Payam Noor University's electronic education. The average values of the ratings showed that the indices of "Professor", Information Technology" and "University Support" had the highest average and the most importance, and the index of "Contextual Factors" had the least importance. Based on the ratio test, the factors "teacher ", "electronic interaction” and “Access to facilities” are desirable factors.”University support and support" has been evaluated as a low desirability. There is a significant difference between the evaluations of the desirability of the quality of e-learning indicators and gender.Multivariate regression analysis showed that among the independent variables entered into the equation, the variables of the “Electronic lesson score”, “The teacher's interest and friendly behavior toward all students”, “Inviting students to use electronic education”, “Evaluation of face-to-face training” and” Ease of use of electronic education system” have the greatest impact on evaluating the desirability of electronic education that could explain 73% of the variance of the changes related to the dependent variable. The variables have been able to explain 73% of the variance of changes related to the dependent variable.

While gamification has been extensively examined as an innovative teaching strategy, its potential to strengthen reading comprehension, critical thinking, and self-directed learning (SDL) in Islamic higher education has not been fully explored. Much of the existing research focuses primarily on its motivational impact, with less attention given to how gamified learning management system (LMS) environments can simultaneously support cognitive and metacognitive development. To address this gap, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of an LMS-based gamified reading comprehension course on undergraduate students’ learning outcomes at STAI Diponegoro Tulungagung, Indonesia. A quasi-experimental design was applied, involving 70 students who were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 35) and a control group (n = 35). Data were collected through pretest and posttest on reading comprehension and critical thinking, a structured SDL questionnaire based on Garrison’s (1997) framework (self-management, self-motivation, and self-monitoring), and follow-up interviews with six purposively selected students from the experimental group. Results indicated that students exposed to the gamified LMS course showed significantly higher gains in comprehension, critical thinking, and SDL than those in the control group. Qualitative findings further suggested that gamification fostered continuous engagement and sustained motivation, though certain challenges, including technological constraints and external distractions. Overall, the study underscores the promise of integrating gamification into LMS-based reading courses to support cognitive, affective, and metacognitive advancement in Islamic higher education.