TY - JOUR
T1 - A Data-Driven Approach to Quantify and Measure Students’ Engagement in Synchronous Virtual Learning Environments
AU - Solé-Beteta, Xavier
AU - Navarro, Joan
AU - Gajšek, Brigita
AU - Guadagni, Alessandro
AU - Zaballos, Agustín
N1 - Funding Information:
This work has been partially funded by Programme Erasmus+, Knowledge Alliances, Application No 2020-1-PL01-KA226-HE-096456, HOTSUP: Olistic online Teaching SUPport.Authors would like to acknowledge Edmon Bosch and Artur Alcoverro for their commitment and support on this research. Also, the proof-reading assistance provided by Lisa Kinnear deserves our deepest gratitude.
Funding Information:
Funding: This work has been partially funded by Programme Erasmus+, Knowledge Alliances, Application No 2020-1-PL01-KA226-HE-096456, HOTSUP: Olistic online Teaching SUPport.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/5/1
Y1 - 2022/5/1
N2 - In face-to-face learning environments, instructors (sub)consciously measure student engagement to obtain immediate feedback regarding the training they are leading. This constant monitoring process enables instructors to dynamically adapt the training activities according to the perceived student reactions, which aims to keep them engaged in the learning process. However, when shifting from face-to-face to synchronous virtual learning environments (VLEs), assessing to what extent students are engaged to the training process during the lecture has become a challenging and arduous task. Typical indicators such as students’ faces, gestural poses, or even hearing their voice can be easily masked by the intrinsic nature of the virtual domain (e.g., cameras and microphones can be turned off). The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology and its associated model to measure student engagement in VLEs that can be obtained from the systematic analysis of more than 30 types of digital interactions and events during a synchronous lesson. To validate the feasibility of this approach, a software prototype has been implemented to measure student engagement in two different learning activities in a synchronous learning session: a masterclass and a hands-on session. The obtained results aim to help those instructors who feel that the connection with their students has weakened due to the virtuality of the learning environment.
AB - In face-to-face learning environments, instructors (sub)consciously measure student engagement to obtain immediate feedback regarding the training they are leading. This constant monitoring process enables instructors to dynamically adapt the training activities according to the perceived student reactions, which aims to keep them engaged in the learning process. However, when shifting from face-to-face to synchronous virtual learning environments (VLEs), assessing to what extent students are engaged to the training process during the lecture has become a challenging and arduous task. Typical indicators such as students’ faces, gestural poses, or even hearing their voice can be easily masked by the intrinsic nature of the virtual domain (e.g., cameras and microphones can be turned off). The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology and its associated model to measure student engagement in VLEs that can be obtained from the systematic analysis of more than 30 types of digital interactions and events during a synchronous lesson. To validate the feasibility of this approach, a software prototype has been implemented to measure student engagement in two different learning activities in a synchronous learning session: a masterclass and a hands-on session. The obtained results aim to help those instructors who feel that the connection with their students has weakened due to the virtuality of the learning environment.
KW - digital interactions
KW - student engagement
KW - virtual learning environments
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128784836&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/s22093294
DO - 10.3390/s22093294
M3 - Article
C2 - 35590984
AN - SCOPUS:85128784836
SN - 1424-8220
VL - 22
JO - Sensors (Switzerland)
JF - Sensors (Switzerland)
IS - 9
M1 - 3294
ER -