THE IMPACT OF E-LEARNING ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND CREATIVITY

Research on the efficacy of ICT-based teaching methods in improving generic skills in addition to content skills among future workforce is increasing.  Accordingly, this study investigates the impact of e-learning on creativity and content knowledge of chemistry students at the Payame Noor University of Hamedan, Iran. The study used the pre-test/post-test experimental design with a control group. The statistical population of the study included was 100 pure chemistry students who were following two separate classes. Forty students were selected from this group who placed in the experimental group (n = 20) and the control group (n = 20). Two instruments were used for data collection; a specifically developed test on the Introduction to Chemistry course and the Abedi Inventory for assessing creativity. Results of data analysis using the independent t-test (aided by SPSS) demonstrated statistically significantly higher scores for the experimental group on measured variables, knowledge and creativity. Therefore, it is concluded that e-learning is effective for knowledge and creativity acquisitions among chemistry students and the greater e-learning opportunities should be provided for wider audiences

The Effect of Electronic Portfolio on Nursing Students’ Self-regulation in Physiology Course

Introduction: The use of electronic technologies in teaching-learning process has become the integral part of education. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of using electronic portfolio on self-regulation strategies of nursing students in the physiology course. Methods: This paper is a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all students of the nursing school of Malayer City in 2014-15 academic years. Thirty students were selected by means of convenient sampling method, and then randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. In order to measure self-regulated learning strategies, Pintrich and De Groot’s self-regulated learning strategies questionnaire whose validity and reliability was confirmed in previous studies was used. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t-test). Results: Findings showed the improvement of self-regulation in the experimental group who learned the physiology course through electronic portfolio, as opposed to the control group who received routine teachings (t=4.58, p=0.001). Conclusion: Given the findings of the present study and effectiveness of using electronic portfolio in improving students’ self-regulation in the physiology course, it is recommended to implement this electronic technology in medical education

Obstacles to Implementation of Mobile Learning in Universities of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Recent advances in information and communication technology and wireless technologies, have transformed e-learning into mobile learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate human, pedagogical, management and leadership, technological, economic and attitudinal factors as obstacles to implementation of mobile learning in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This study was an applied descriptive-survey. The study population included all faculty members (n=300) of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in 2015, of whom 130 were selected through random sampling and Morgan table. Data collection tool was a researcher-made obstacles to implementation of mobile learning in medical education questionnaire whose face validity was confirmed by ICT experts and its reliability was verified by Cronbach’s alpha which was 0.83. The collected data were analyzed using one sample t-test. Results: Findings showed that all of the six factors namely human (19.13±0.31) out of 25 points, pedagogical (15.86±0.20) and leadership and management (15.85±0.43) out of 20 points, technological (18.84±0.67) out of 25 points, economic (12.77±0.28) and attitudinal (12.51±0.46) out of 15 points were considered the obstacles to implementation of mobile learning in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (p=0.001). Conclusion: Results indicated that in order to establish mobile learning in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, the obstacles including human, pedagogical, management and leadership, technological, economic and attitudinal factors should be removed

The Effects of Social Networks on Nursing Students’ Academic Achievement and Retention in Learning English

Introduction: The use of modern virtual technologies in the process of teaching-learning is inevitable. One example is the use of virtual social networks in education. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social networking on nursing students’ academic achievement and retention in learning English. Methods: The pretest-posttest design with a control group was used in this quasi-experimental research. Research population consisted of all of the nursing students (n=70) of Malayer nursing school in 2015-16 academic years, 30 of whom were selected using convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups. Independent paired sample test was used to analyze the data. Results: Findings showed that the rates of academic achievement (t=5.14, p=0.001) and retention (t=4.36, p=0.001) of the students who learned English through social networks were higher than the rates of academic achievement (t=0.768, p=0.537) and retention (t=0.747, p= 0.817) of the students who learned the language with traditional methods. Conclusion: Due to the impact of virtual social networks on nursing students’ academic achievement and retention in learning English, it is recommended that this method should be used more in the teaching-learning process of medical education