Examining the Impact of Learning Management Systems in Computer Programming Courses

The development of software and communication technologies in education has led the majority of universities worldwide to integrate the functions of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) into their learning environments. LMSs offers several features that encourage their use by universities and other educational institutions, such as unlimited access to course content, easy tracking of learners’ progress and performance, and reduced costs in terms of both money and time. Most existing LMS studies have been focused on experienced LMS users who are familiar with its functions, with little consideration given to new users. Furthermore, although previous researchers have identified various means of enhancing the effectiveness of LMS use, no consensus has yet been reached on which of these features most successfully improve the learning outcomes of new learners enrolled in programming courses. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the usability of particular LMS features and their impact on learning outcomes for freshman students enrolled in programming courses. Through the Virtual Programming Lab (VPL) and discussion forums, particular LMS features have been considered. For this study, a quantitative quasi-experimental design was employed, including experimental and control groups of new students enrolled in an introductory programming course that involved different LMS features. These features have been considered in the place of treatment in this experiment, in which the level of difference between participants in the two groups was compared. This study involved two main dependent variables: LMS features’ usability and learning achievement. For the first dependent variable, LMS usability, the participants completed a survey, based on the components of Shackel’s usability model (1991), to evaluate the effectiveness of the LMS features’ usability. Four constructs underpin this model: effectiveness, learnability, flexibility, a¬¬nd attitude. For the second dependent variable, learning achievement, the final grade was used to measure the impact of these two LMS features on learning achievement between the two groups. The results revealed significance differences related to LMS features’ usability and learning achievement between the experimental group and the control group. Participants in the experimental group reported greater LMS usability than did those in the control group, and overall course scores indicated improved learning performance in members of the experimental group who applied the VPL and discussion forms features of programming courses

Self- vs. External-Regulation Behavior ScaleTM in different psychological contexts:A validation study

The self- vs. external-regulation behavior theory, SR-ER Theory (2021) model has postulated the Self-Regulation /Non or De-Regulation/Dys-regulation (SR-NR-DR) continuum in the person and in their context. The model also generates a behavioral heuristic that allows us to predict and explain the variability of other dependent behavioral variables in a range of scenarios (clinical, educational, health and technology contexts). Consequently, the objective of this study was to validate the different scales prepared on the basis of the theory presented. A total of 469 students voluntarily completed at different times the five questionnaires presented, to give a total of 1,385 completed questionnaires. Using an ex post facto design, descriptive, correlational, confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA), reliability, and concurrent validity analyses were carried out. The scales were analyzed individually and as a whole. The results showed the acceptable structure of scale and consistent levels of reliability. The five levels generated by the SR-NR-DR (personal and contextual) combinatory heuristic that arises from the theoretical model determined significant differences in the levels of the variables analyzed for each psychological context. We discuss the theoretical implications and the implications for the assessment and improvement of the behaviors analyzed in function of the personal and contextual regulation levels evaluated

A qualitative qnalysis of implementing e-learning during the COVID-19 lockdown

The existing literature evidences the potential of the e-learning methodology, although some call it into question. Our study aimed to analyse the real scope of applying this methodology type to a lockdown situation like that caused by COVID-19. It could provide the scientific and educational community with useful novel information on e-learning and its real adequacy for schools in pre-university educational stages. This qualitative study was designed using questionnaires with open-ended questions for students and semistructured interviews for teachers, management board members, and families of students of Primary and Secondary Education. The scripts of data collection tools were made ad hoc. The thematic analysis was carried out in accordance with the study dimensions by relating the access and use of technological resources in classrooms, implementing the e-learning methodology during face-to-face teaching, and finally knowing the effects of its application during remote teaching in the lockdown situation. The results clearly show a need to adapt and adjust the implementation of this methodology by considering not only its specificities, but also a combination of e-learning and traditional teaching methodologies can help to introduce information and communication technologies (ICT) into classrooms. To conclude, including such a methodology in the educational context can be argued for, provided that specific training is received to allow the potential of both online and traditional teaching to be leveraged