Educational Text Mining is a rapidly growing field, thanks to the adoption of modern probabilistic and machine learning algorithms. The current study focuses on student e-assessment by means of open-ended questions that require free-text answers (i.e., student essays), whose analysis and evaluation are resource-demanding tasks for the instructor, even when supported by modern e-learning platforms. Topic modeling through the Latent Dirichlet Allocation algorithm is employed in an experimental setup, aiming to (a) extract meaningful topics from the body of pooled student answers (interpretable in the educational context of the course), (b) align the extracted topics with the ‘native’ internal structure of the body of texts, and (c) offer recommendations for the teacher in the form of alternative (meaningful) restructurings of the e-assessment units and consequently of the course content units. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the extracted topic models have yielded positive results regarding the first two aims, and as far as the third aim is concerned, the extracted topic models expilicitly suggest that the teacher should proceed with relevant restructurings of the course content. These recommendations are of practical use for the teacher, especially when the teacher seeks to restructure the content of the course towards either fewer or more internal units. In conclusion, topic modeling provides a spectrum of possibilities to the teacher who is interested in exploring ways to improve the structure and organization of a course.

Computer programming is a highly desirable and in-demand skill; accordingly, introductory-level courses are included in engineering and science curricula. The increasing student dropout rates, however, have prompted educational research on advanced digital teaching and learning tools, such as Virtual Reality (VR), to attract and motivate students. In the present empirical study, a VR application was designed, developed in Unity 3D, and pilot-evaluated. A desktop (semi-immersive) and a head-mounted display (fully immersive) version of the same application were compared in terms of (i) educational effectiveness with novice programmers (junior engineering students), (ii) usability, and (iii) the user experience they offer. The application was effective for novice programmers; however, the difference in learning gains between the two versions was not statistically significant. In terms of usability, the fully immersive version was rated higher than the Desktop version, the difference here being statistically significant. User experience with the fully immersive version received very high ratings. Findings corroborated existing evidence on the effectiveness of VR as an educational tool for novice programmers and revealed a strong educational potential even for complex programming concepts. The findings also suggest directions for future research on the affordances of VR in education, although more comprehensive and rigorous evaluation is needed.

The establishment of private universities in Greece sparked concerns in the academic community. For about a month, two images of private universities were juxtaposed. The media and government officials communicated an optimistic image emphasising the purported benefits to the county’s economy. Critics argued that establishing private universities would marginalise public universities, limit opportunities for students from lower-income backgrounds, undermine equality and social cohesion, and prioritise profits over social goals. At the macro level, students expressed their attitudes through protests, occupying faculty buildings, and abstaining from classes. However, the micro-level perspectives, i.e. the specifics of the understandings developed among students engaged with their studies, remained unknown. This study recorded the attitudes of a class of engineering students immediately after the announcement of the reforms, before they were exposed to the influence of the media and/or the reactions of student unions. A survey was conducted among students to explore their views on the establishment of private universities. Participants responded to 33 five-point Likert scale items and provided short written comments on six open-ended statements. Seventy-one per cent (71%) of the participants disagreed with establishing private universities, and 86% believed privatisation would deprive many individuals of university education. The participants did not anticipate private universities surpassing public universities in terms of quality (72%). Only 16% of the respondents agreed that private, non-state universities would contribute to the economy’s growth or reduce the brain drain (7%).