Special Issue "E-learning, Digital Learning, and Digital Communication Used for Education Sustainability"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Waleed Mugahed Al-Rahmi
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Social Sciences & Humanities, School of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM, Skudai 81310, Johor, Malaysia
Interests: e-learning; digital learning; digital communication used for education sustainability; big data analytics; education 4.0; human–computer interaction and informatics; communication and media; educational technology and computing; multimedia in education; online learning and ict in education; students’ interaction in online learning environment; learning analytics and massive open online courses (MOOCs); e-learning; knowledge management; statistical data analysis (ibm spss, amos, nvivo and smartpls); computer in human behavior; computer and education
Dr. Qusay Al-Maatouk
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), school of technology, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
Interests: e-learning; digital learning; and digital communication used for education sustainability; human-computer interaction and informatics; communication and media; educational technology and computing; multimedia in education; online learning and ict in education; students’ interaction in online learning environment; learning analytics and massive open online courses (moocs); e-learning knowledge management; computer in human behavior; and computer & education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Education is constantly developing; there are more and more online technologies and platforms that facilitate the learning process, making it more effective, interactive, and interesting for students. At the same time, teachers and the administration of schools and universities should successfully implement e-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability, taking into account the labor market requirements, as well as the sustainable education principles. Education for sustainable development can be considered as education that encourages changes in knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors to enable a more sustainable society. Education should encourage the development of critical thinking, as well as such qualities that will enable one to predict the course of events in the future and make joint decisions. The latter requires new approaches to learning, the development of dynamic and environmentally friendly societies and economies, as well as the development of global citizenship. Highly effective educational management should be established, not only within a separate educational institution, but also in the whole educational system, at the state level. This Special Issue will consider the challenges of educational management in the context of education for sustainable development, while such challenges relate specifically to e-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability. Computerized information systems (academic information systems) have become omnipresent to the point of invisibility in the education system, such as e-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability. The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected the education system. Students, teachers, and managers have suddenly become confined to their homes. However, with varying degrees of success, classes have continued online. UNESCO asserts that education is one of the objectives for sustainable development and, at the same time, education is one of the most powerful tools that we have to fight for when it comes to sustainable development, the use of e-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability. Higher education institutions play a crucial role in the achievement of sustainability goals, not only to implement actions for solving the problems inside institutions, but also to ensure that the students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development beyond the educational context. You are invited to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue of “e-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability”. While countries across the world are working to implement the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development between 2015 and 2030, education is seen as crucial for achieving sustainable development goals and creating a more sustainable and fairer world. Sustainability education, often also referred to as education for sustainable development (ESD), is about acquiring the “e-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability” that empower learners to become “sustainability change-makers” (UNESCO 2017, p. 7). E-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability have been a main feature of education for decades, allowing more flexible, innovative, and student-driven teaching pedagogies and practices. There is, however, a gap in the use and integration of e-learning, digital learning, and digital communication used for education sustainability in particular, how knowledge of sustainability issues is constructed, disseminated, and shared through digital technologies, and how digital technologies can help to promote the learning of skills, values, attitudes, and needs for sustainable societies. Thus, original research, review articles, and case studies related to the above topics are welcome.

We welcome research and conceptual papers on the link between education and sustainability challenges and the innovative use of digital technologies in that field. In particular, we are interested in how digital technologies facilitate (i) sustainability knowledge that leads to transformative changes towards sustainable futures; (ii) transnational and interdisciplinary partnerships in sustainability education; and (iii) wider access and empowerment for disengaged and disadvantaged peoples and communities in different countries.

Dr. Waleed Mugahed Al-Rahmi
Dr. Qusay Al-Maatouk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • e-learning use for education sustainability
  • digital learning use for education sustainability
  • digital communication use for education sustainability

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Article
Evaluation of an Algorithm for Automatic Grading of Forum Messages in MOOC Discussion Forums
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9364; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169364 - 20 Aug 2021
Viewed by 269
Abstract
Discussion forums are a valuable source of information in educational platforms such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), as users can exchange opinions or even help other students in an asynchronous way, contributing to the sustainability of MOOCs even with low interaction from [...] Read more.
Discussion forums are a valuable source of information in educational platforms such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), as users can exchange opinions or even help other students in an asynchronous way, contributing to the sustainability of MOOCs even with low interaction from the instructor. Therefore, the use of the forum messages to get insights about students’ performance in a course is interesting. This article presents an automatic grading approach that can be used to assess learners through their interactions in the forum. The approach is based on the combination of three dimensions: (1) the quality of the content of the interactions, (2) the impact of the interactions, and (3) the user’s activity in the forum. The evaluation of the approach compares the assessment by experts with the automatic assessment obtaining a high accuracy of 0.8068 and Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) of 0.1799, which outperforms previous existing approaches. Future research work can try to improve the automatic grading by the training of the indicators of the approach depending on the MOOCs or the combination with text mining techniques. Full article
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Article
Exploring the Factors Affecting Mobile Learning for Sustainability in Higher Education
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7893; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147893 - 14 Jul 2021
Viewed by 617
Abstract
Mobile learning (M-learning) has become an important instructional technology component in higher education. The goal of this research is to determine how Malaysian university students use M-learning in higher education. The technology acceptance model (TAM) concept was used to construct a theoretical model [...] Read more.
Mobile learning (M-learning) has become an important instructional technology component in higher education. The goal of this research is to determine how Malaysian university students use M-learning in higher education. The technology acceptance model (TAM) concept was used to construct a theoretical model of M-learning acceptability. In theory, five independent criteria were discovered as contributing to the actual usage of M-learning for educational sustainability by influencing students’ attitudes towards M-learning and their intention to use it. A questionnaire survey based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as the primary data collection technique, with 200 students from UTHM University of Malaysia participating. The data were analyzed using SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-Amos). The results of the students’ attitudes towards using M-learning and their behavioral intentions to use M-learning show a beneficial impact on the actual use of M-learning as well as the long-term sustainability of M-learning in higher education. In addition, both male and female students were satisfied with perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, attitude towards use, task-technology fit, behavioral intention to use, perceived resources and actual use of mobile learning for educational sustainability. This study contributes to the validation of the extended TAM for M-learning by demonstrating that the predicted model predicts students’ attitudes towards using M-learning and their behavioral intentions in Malaysian higher education. Full article
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Article
Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) Acceptance: The Role of Task-Technology Fit (TTF) for Higher Education Sustainability
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7374; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137374 - 01 Jul 2021
Viewed by 519
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to narrow the gap in the literature on the adoption of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and the role of task-technology fit (TTF), which influences student satisfaction, academic performance, and the long-term viability (sustainability) of MOOCs [...] Read more.
The aim of the present study was to narrow the gap in the literature on the adoption of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and the role of task-technology fit (TTF), which influences student satisfaction, academic performance, and the long-term viability (sustainability) of MOOCs in higher education. While researchers have examined MOOC acceptance in a variety of contexts, the role of TTF as a mediating variable in evaluating education sustainability has not been explored using the technology acceptance model (TAM). As a result, the aim of this study was to create a new paradigm by combining two theories: TTF and TAM. Therefore, this study surveyed 277 university students from public universities using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to learn about their perceptions toward MOOCs as a method of achieving higher education sustainability. According to the findings, perceived ease of use had a positive impact on perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and social influence, which in turn had a positive impact on task-technology fit and MOOCs use as a method of sustainability in higher education. Task-technology fit also had a positive impact on MOOC use as a method of sustainability. Finally, the role of task-technology fit and MOOCs in educational sustainability had a positive effect on students satisfaction and academic performance. As a result, the use of MOOCs in learning processes should be encouraged in higher education institutions to ensure their long-term viability (sustainability). Full article
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Article
Information and Communications Technology Used in Higher Education: An Empirical Study on Digital Learning as Sustainability
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7074; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137074 - 23 Jun 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 441
Abstract
Teaching and learning are significantly influenced by information and communications technology (ICT). The goal of this study was to develop a new model and conduct confirmatory factor analysis to learn more about how students use ICT for digital learning as sustainability. The purpose [...] Read more.
Teaching and learning are significantly influenced by information and communications technology (ICT). The goal of this study was to develop a new model and conduct confirmatory factor analysis to learn more about how students use ICT for digital learning as sustainability. The purpose of this research project was to investigate computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, perceived enjoyment and acceptance of digital learning as sustainability at Saudi universities, based on students’ satisfaction with actual ICT usage for digital learning as sustainability. This research project made use of structural equation modelling with SEM-AMOS and an expanded variant of the technology acceptance model as the research model. A questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model and social cognitive theory was employed as the main data collection method and was distributed to 684 students from students at two universities. Students’ answers were categorized into seven categories and evaluated to determine how satisfied students were with ICT and how likely they were to continue using it for digital learning as sustainability. The findings revealed a connection between computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety and perceived enjoyment, factors which all played a significant role in perceived usefulness and ease of use. Perceived usefulness and ease of use also had an impact on students’ continued intention to use and satisfaction. This research-built model was effective in explaining students’ continued desire to use ICT and their satisfaction with it. Full article
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Article
E-Learning Acceptance: The Role of Task–Technology Fit as Sustainability in Higher Education
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6450; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116450 - 06 Jun 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 677
Abstract
The aim of this study was to fill the gap in the literature on e-learning acceptance and its role in the sustainability of learning and the role of task-technology fit (TTF), which influences student satisfaction and academic performance. While researchers have examined e-learning [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to fill the gap in the literature on e-learning acceptance and its role in the sustainability of learning and the role of task-technology fit (TTF), which influences student satisfaction and academic performance. While researchers have examined e-learning acceptance in a variety of contexts, the role of TTF as a mediating variable in measuring education sustainability has not been explored using the technology acceptance model (TAM). As a result, the goal of this study was to develop a new paradigm by combining two theories: TFF and the TAM. In total, 432 students and researchers from public universities participated in this study. We surveyed students using the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to learn about their expectations with regard to e-learning adoption. According to the findings, perceived ease of use has a positive impact on perceived enjoyment and usefulness, which in turn has a positive impact on task–technology fit and e-learning use in higher education, resulting in a positive impact on student satisfaction and academic performance as well as sustainability. Finally, the role of task-technology fit and e-learning usage in education sustainability had a positive effect on student satisfaction and learning performance. As a result, the use of e-learning in learning processes should be encouraged as a long-term strategy in higher education institutions. Full article
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