Exploring the Phenomenon of Secondary Teachers Integrating the LMS Canvas in a Blended-Learning Course

Online learning has become fully ingrained within the educational environment and extensive LMS use in higher education settings is challenging secondary education institutions to keep pace with the growing trend to offer LMS resources to their teachers and students; however, schools that have chosen to implement an LMS face multiple challenges in motivating teachers and students to accept and integrate the new technology into their course curriculum. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate teachers’ experiences integrating the LMS Canvas within a blended-learning course in a rural high school district located in the Southeastern United States. The study integrated the theoretical frameworks of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and draws primarily from a postpositivism framework. The study sought to understand teachers’ motivational and attitude factors for integrating the LMS Canvas into their blended-learning course and involved: distributing a questionnaire for descriptive purposes, conducting individual and focus group interviews, and evaluating course materials. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using NVivo, and coding was utilized to develop an interpretation of the phenomenon. Based on data analysis, four themes developed: (1) motivation and attitude, (2) training and technology support, (3) teaching effectiveness, and (4) student benefits, which along with their related categories, supported the central research question and subsequent sub-research questions. In the final analysis process, in which the essence of the phenomenon is formulated, a central concept for why teachers use Canvas was reduced to adaptability

Meta-analysis of individual-patient data from EVAR-1, DREAM, OVER and ACE trials comparing outcomes of endovascular or open repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm over 5 years.

BACKGROUND: The erosion of the early mortality advantage of elective endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) compared with open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm remains without a satisfactory explanation. METHODS: An individual-patient data meta-analysis of four multicentre randomized trials of EVAR versus open repair was conducted to a prespecified analysis plan, reporting on mortality, aneurysm-related mortality and reintervention. RESULTS: The analysis included 2783 patients, with 14 245 person-years of follow-up (median 5·5 years). Early (0-6 months after randomization) mortality was lower in the EVAR groups (46 of 1393 versus 73 of 1390 deaths; pooled hazard ratio 0·61, 95 per cent c.i. 0·42 to 0·89; P = 0·010), primarily because 30-day operative mortality was lower in the EVAR groups (16 deaths versus 40 for open repair; pooled odds ratio 0·40, 95 per cent c.i. 0·22 to 0·74). Later (within 3 years) the survival curves converged, remaining converged to 8 years. Beyond 3 years, aneurysm-related mortality was significantly higher in the EVAR groups (19 deaths versus 3 for open repair; pooled hazard ratio 5·16, 1·49 to 17·89; P = 0·010). Patients with moderate renal dysfunction or previous coronary artery disease had no early survival advantage under EVAR. Those with peripheral artery disease had lower mortality under open repair (39 deaths versus 62 for EVAR; P = 0·022) in the period from 6 months to 4 years after randomization. CONCLUSION: The early survival advantage in the EVAR group, and its subsequent erosion, were confirmed. Over 5 years, patients of marginal fitness had no early survival advantage from EVAR compared with open repair. Aneurysm-related mortality and patients with low ankle : brachial pressure index contributed to the erosion of the early survival advantage for the EVAR group. Trial registration numbers: EVAR-1, ISRCTN55703451; DREAM (Dutch Randomized Endovascular Aneurysm Management), NCT00421330; ACE (Anévrysme de l'aorte abdominale, Chirurgie versus Endoprothèse), NCT00224718; OVER (Open Versus Endovascular Repair Trial for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms), NCT00094575