A sustainable educational design that derives from a user experience (UX) frame does not only represent the praxis of online class design(s), but also empowers students to take an active part in their educational journey. The purpose of the study is to promote user experience (UX) measurements for the design of online classes. An online survey based on the criteria of user experience, UX, derived from the literature is administered in two higher educational contexts in Saudi Arabia and the USA with 890 participants from both genders and diverse fields of study. User experience is identified within usability, educational context, and the emotional or hedonic aspects of the experience, which are measured from thirty-six items from the survey constituting the independent variables. Reframing of students’ perceptions into UX offers a sustainable model of technology design that ensures a student-centered model by filling the gap between theoretical use of students’ perceptions and the praxis of online class design. The findings reveal that a working educational model should be centered around human values in addition to usability. This model can be replicated in various educational online contexts, but it has to be an ongoing process accompanying online design where student satisfaction is the outcome from variable measurement.

Background: In a time of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, digital social support can prove helpful in buffering the stress and anxiety especially for students whose lives were being affected both socially and academically. The present study aims to explore the emotional and informational social support available to students during the online transformation of their education. It further investigates factors affecting anxiety and stress among students. Design and methods: An online survey was administered among 479 undergraduate students at a private university in Saudi Arabia from 2^nd March till 17^th June 2020. Descriptive analysis was used to report the findings of students’ self-reported data. Results: The results revealed that more than 70% of the students reported that they were satisfied with the informational and emotional support available to them via digital platforms. However, they felt less connected with the teachers and academic administration. Feeling sick (46%), being locked down at homes and isolation (43%) were major causes of stress and anxiety. 71% of the students reported their ability to keep themselves busy, however, only 55% of students mentioned that they did not feel lonely while confined to their homes. In these circumstances, the continuation of studies via online platforms helped students reduce stress and anxiety (52%). Conclusions: Although this online transformation was not planned, the university was able to provide adequate informational support to the students. However, students were dependent upon friends, family and relatives for emotional support. The results of the study point towards the need of training for teachers and academic administrative staff in order to better address students’ needs for social support during the crisis. The results also contribute to the body of data reporting the various effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students in a way to reach a sustainable framework for supporting students.

The purpose of this study is to validate the role of social media among peers in a virtual community of practice, VCoP, by applying the Delphi technique of data collection and analysis. The study adopts the Grounded Theory methodology to identify the theoretical frame that is developed from the data analysis. The research design identified the areas of social and professional support from Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs from the faculty members’ responses that were chosen by “purposive sampling” rather than random sampling The qualitative data collection took three months, wherein 26 faculty members interacting on WhatsApp during COVID-19 were identified as experts: one of the corner elements of the Delphi technique. The thematic analysis of the results indicated that fulfilling Maslow’s needs was an integral component of social media VCoP. However, unlike Maslow’s model, expressions of the need for safety, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization took turns as the most important need depending on changing context, gender, and individual preferences. The answer to the research questions, thus, becomes embedded in the research methodology that involves instructors’ perceptions as a validating element of the findings. The main recommendation is to replicate the study in various contexts to monitor faculty well-being to reach a sustainable educational environment.