Given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated radical changes to the teaching landscape, employing digital learning platforms in the professional training of teachers has become imperative. The instructional design competencies are among the most important competencies for today’s teachers. Therefore, it is necessary to test the effectiveness of digital learning platforms to provide teachers with the required competencies, both cognitive and practical, and to help them improve these competencies. Accordingly, in this study, we aimed to measure the effects of using the Google Classroom platform to develop instructional design competences and learning engagement among preservice teachers in Saudi Arabia. We used a quasi-experimental approach, with a one-group design (pre- and posttest) in this study, which included 61 female student teachers. Three measurement instruments were utilised, namely, the achievement test, the product evaluation card, and the learning engagement scale. The results of our study showed that using Google Classroom as a digital learning platform was effective in helping the preservice teachers acquire and develop their cognitive and practical competencies in instructional design. Our results further revealed high levels of learning engagement at cognitive, behavioural, and social levels among the preservice teachers who participated in learning instructional design through the Google Classroom platform. Our findings emphasise the need for greater investment in digital learning platforms to support preservice teachers’ professional training, as these students can benefit from the potential these platforms offer in developing their instructional design competencies.

The health, social, and economic challenges we have faced have contributed to the improvement of educational styles and learning environments. Globally, the reflections of COVID-19 have contributed to the re-perception of the future of education and the anticipation of new scenarios. This qualitative study aims to deeply examine and understand the repercussions of distance education—specifically K–12 education (kindergarten to twelfth grade) during the pandemic in Saudi Arabia—and, with the findings, build anticipated scenarios for future post-pandemic digital education. This study adopts an ethnographic approach to investigate the cultural perspectives of those whose education was and has been greatly affected by this transition. Qualitative large-scale data (comprising 36 observations, 387 individual interviews, and 177 focus groups) were collected for 7 months in 2021 from 600 participants, all of whom were connecting in various ways to the K–12 educational system and varied by gender, age, profession, and academic degree. The findings were categorized into four themes: (1) educational outcomes, (2) teaching landscape, (3) parental involvement, and (4) societal and life aspects. The findings are discussed in a style that presents the most crucial aspects that we must consider for anticipated scenarios of future post-pandemic education. Each presents critical implications for teachers, students, parents, researchers, and educational authorities.

This article investigates how avatars in the metaverse can be used for peer evaluation in a sustainable educational setting. The goal is to find the best alternative modes of assessment (one-to-many/many-to-one) to evaluate the design of a sustainable educational environment. The research also explores how learners’ avatars influence the development of tolerance and respect for others within the metaverse. The study involved 36 female graduates from King Faisal University’s College of Education. A quasi-experimental design with two experimental groups was employed to assess performance. Through a product quality card and applying a tolerance (IPTS) scale for data collection. The preliminary findings indicate that the avatars within the (one-to-many) group demonstrated better performance and showed an increase in tolerance values after the intervention, compared to their counterparts (many-to-one) as an alternative mode of assessment, in the development of a sustainable Edu-Metaverse environment. The research validated that avatars enhance positive attitudes and behaviors, thereby providing insights for developing more effective educational interventions and contributing to enhancing the user experience and implementation of sustainable educational initiatives through a metaverse.