Educational chatbots (ECs) are chatbots designed for pedagogical purposes and are viewed as an Internet of Things (IoT) interface that could revolutionize teaching and learning. These chatbots are strategized to provide personalized learning through the concept of a virtual assistant that replicates humanized conversation. Nevertheless, in the education paradigm, ECs are still novel with challenges in facilitating, deploying, designing, and integrating it as an effective pedagogical tool across multiple fields, and one such area is project-based learning. Therefore, the present study investigates how integrating ECs to facilitate team-based projects for a design course could influence learning outcomes. Based on a mixed-method quasi-experimental approach, ECs were found to improve learning performance and teamwork with a practical impact. Moreover, it was found that ECs facilitated collaboration among team members that indirectly influenced their ability to perform as a team. Nevertheless, affective-motivational learning outcomes such as perception of learning, need for cognition, motivation, and creative self-efficacy were not influenced by ECs. Henceforth, this study aims to add to the current body of knowledge on the design and development of EC by introducing a new collective design strategy and its pedagogical and practical implications.

This study empirically investigates factors predicting students’ behavioral intentions towards the continuous use of mobile learning. Two baseline models namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with the addition of habit as an exogenous construct were used for this purpose. The data were collected from 171 engineering undergraduates and analyzed based on structural equation modeling. The results suggest (1) Behavioral intention was positively and significantly influenced by mobile learning self-efficacy, attitude, and perceived usefulness; (2) Attitude was positively and significantly influenced by subjective norm, perceived usefulness, and mobile learning self-efficacy; (3) Mobile learning self-efficacy was only influenced by perceived ease of use and (4) Habit of using WhatsApp did not influence perceived usefulness nor perceived ease of use but had a positive and significant relationship with mobile learning self-efficacy. Nonlinear relationships were also observed between (1) Behavioral intention with perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and subjective norm (2) Habit with perceived usefulness and mobile learning self-efficacy. The nonlinear findings indicate that the relationships between these constructs, which were previously reported as linear, are prone to saturation and warrants further investigation. Our findings also stipulate a practical reference for higher educational institutions targeting to practice mobile learning for engineering undergraduates.

Micro-credentials have gained much popularity in recent years, and their popularity has skyrocketed due to emergency remote teaching instigated by the pandemic. It has been defined as a platform that provides credentials based on validated competencies. Nevertheless, in Malaysian HEI, such a concept is still novel and identifying insights on the benefits, challenges, and application are still scarce. Similarly, it was observed that there is a lack of observation on how students’ digital learning identity and their perception of professional relevance are influenced by such platform. Henceforth, based on the adapted enriched virtual model approach, a micro-credentials course was implemented to complement the new “normal” classes for a pre-service teacher’s instructional design course. A mixed-method triangulation design was used to explore the qualitative findings operationalized by open-ended questions (N = 74) with data obtained from the Digital Learning Identity Survey (DLIS) and Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES) (N = 72). The findings indicated that respondents had an overall positive perception of the use of micro-credentials to complement and overcome online learning challenges mainly due to substandard internet connectivity; nevertheless, they are unaware of the value of such credentials in their future profession. Conversely, their new identity as digital learners and experiences with a blended approach of online learning, especially with micro-credentials, was successful in shaping their identity as aspiring educators that embrace technology for teaching and learning.

Previous studies revealed that many students cannot perform well when it comes to word problem-solving questions. There are various problem-solving strategies that can be applied to help students to overcome the problem. Visualisation techniques in learning have been used to help students enhance their conceptual understanding of the mathematical problem-solving and the use of bar model visualisation technique is one of the strategies. This study aims to investigate students’ achievement in mathematical problem-solving after applying the Bar Model and to explore students’ experiences while applying the technique. This study employed a pre-experimental design of the quantitative research. There were 32 participants of year three students. The instrument used in this research consists of questions of pre-test and post-test and a semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using SPSS 20.0 software and thematic analysis. The test results showed that there is a significant difference in participants’ mathematical problem-solving achievement. The analysis of semi-structured interview transcripts revealed that level of understanding and motivation influence students’ performance. Findings of this study showed that students perform better after the implementation of the Bar Model in mathematical problem-solving. This study can provide an alternative or guidance for teachers to improve students’ mathematical problem-solving skills.