{"title":"Can theory-driven learning analytics dashboard enhance human-AI collaboration in writing learning? Insights from an empirical experiment","authors":"Angxuan Chen , Jingjing Lian , Xinran Kuang , Jiyou Jia","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The integration of Generative AI (GenAI) into education has raised concerns about over-reliance and superficial learning, particularly in writing tasks in higher education. This study explores whether a theory-driven learning analytics dashboard (LAD) can enhance human-AI collaboration in the academic writing task by improving writing knowledge gains, fostering self-regulated learning (SRL) skills and shaping different human-AI dialogue characteristics. Grounded in Zimmerman's SRL framework, the LAD provided real-time feedback on learners' goal-setting, writing processes and reflection, while monitoring the quality of learner-AI interactions. A quasi-experiment was conducted involving 52 postgraduate students in a human-AI collaborative writing task. The students were divided into an experimental group (EG) that used the LAD and a control group (CG) that did not. Pre- and post- knowledge tests, questionnaires measuring SRL and cognitive load, and students' dialogue data with GenAI were collected and analyzed. Results showed that the EG achieved significantly higher writing knowledge gains and improved SRL skills, particularly in self-efficacy and cognitive strategies. However, the EG also reported increased test anxiety and cognitive load, possibly due to heightened metacognitive awareness. Epistemic Network Analysis revealed that the EG engaged in more reflective, evaluative interactions with GenAI, while the CG focused on more transactional and information-seeking exchanges. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on the educational use of GenAI and highlight the importance of designing interventions that complement GenAI tools, ensuring that technology enhances rather than undermines the learning process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101054"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Students' preferences for online learning formats – Results of a latent class analysis","authors":"Sabine Fischer, Karina Fisch, Caroline Hobelsberger, Simone Jung","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101053","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101053","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Considering students' preferences for learning formats is an important issue for institutions in higher education regarding high competition due to demographic changes. Using data from a student survey at Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) in Germany we conduct a latent class analysis to identify heterogenous preferences for learning formats. Our results show that the student population can best be described in four different segments that we classify as traditional learners, blended learners, synchronous online learners and hybrid learners. We offer a conceptual proposition that hypothesizes how the four classes might emerge naturally out of differing needs for personal interaction, temporal and spatial flexibility. We derive potential directions for lecturers and administrators who aim at catering to students' preferences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101053"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mackenzie L. Thomas, Seyma N. Yildirim-Erbasli, Shruthi Hariharan
{"title":"Exploring undergraduate students' perceptions of AI vs. human scoring and feedback","authors":"Mackenzie L. Thomas, Seyma N. Yildirim-Erbasli, Shruthi Hariharan","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101052","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101052","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in educational assessment offers scalable solutions to traditional grading challenges, yet concerns about reliability, fairness, and acceptance remain, particularly in subjective domains like writing. This study examines undergraduate students' perceptions of AI-generated scoring and feedback compared to human evaluators. Participants reviewed scores and feedback provided by either AI or a human and completed a survey measuring their perceptions before and after disclosure of the source. Analyses revealed that students often struggled to accurately identify the evaluator. Additionally, while perceptions of AI scoring and feedback were generally moderate, exposure to AI significantly reduced students' confidence in AI scoring. The source of the grading and identification accuracy significantly influenced students' perceptions. Human grading was associated with more positive perceptions, while incorrect identification—when not combined with human grading—also led to more positive perceptions. However, the interaction of human grading and incorrect identification resulted in more negative perceptions. Factors such as comfort with technology, familiarity with AI, and frequency of AI use were significant predictors of students' attitudes toward AI. These findings enhance our understanding of student attitudes toward AI in educational assessment and emphasize the importance of thoughtful implementation to support acceptance in educational contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101052"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145004629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of learning supports in digital game-based learning on learners with different levels of prior knowledge","authors":"Zhihui Cai , Caiyan Liu , Yajiao Yang , Bo Li","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With rapid advancements in digital technology and the booming gaming industry, digital game-based learning (DGBL) has become a crucial research area in education. Effective learning support in educational games could yield positive outcomes, while poorly designed learning support may hinder learner's flow and autonomy. Prior research has often focused on evaluating its effectiveness but overlooked its optimization based on design characteristics. This study conducted two experiments to explore how learning support design features impact learning outcomes by considering learners' characteristics. Study 1 examined the effects of learning support timing (pre-support vs. post-support) on learners with varying prior knowledge. Results revealed interactive effects between learning support timing and learners' prior knowledge on learning achievement, intrinsic cognitive load, and intrinsic motivation. Behaviorally, pre-support benefited novices while post-support benefited experts by improving learning performance and reducing frustration. Study 2 investigated the effects of the mode of support delivery (learner-controlled vs. system-controlled) on learners with different levels of prior knowledge. Findings indicated an interactive effect between the mode of support delivery and learners' prior knowledge on learning achievement. Behaviorally, system-controlled support helped novices by guiding their exploration, while experts benefited from learner-controlled support due to their competence in regulating their learning. Future research is encouraged to explore cognitive neural mechanisms to provide deeper insights into it.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101044"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144912508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Learning from an asynchronous video lecture: Note-taking helps, smartphone sounds harm","authors":"Markus H. Hefter","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101043","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101043","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research evidence reveals that note-taking is an effective strategy to learn from video lectures, but also that smartphone noises harm learning. Both these important findings originate from on-site settings, such as in the classroom or lab, however. We therefore decided to address still-open questions about note-taking’s potential beneficial effects and smartphone noises’ potential detrimental effects on learning in an authentic asynchronous online scenario. The present online field experiment involved 196 undergraduate psychology students (144 female; M<sub>age</sub> = 23.44 years) who learned from a prerecorded 12-min video lecture on the topic “Learning strategies.” Following a 2 × 2-factorial design, participants did or did not receive a note-taking request before the video lecture (Factor A: note-taking request) and did or did not experience smartphone noises during the video lecture (Factor B: smartphone noises). Participants were asked whether they had actually taken notes. Note-takers (<em>n</em> = 67) reported stronger learning engagement and scored higher on the posttest than the non-note-takers (<em>n</em> = 129). Learning engagement mediated the note-taking effect on learning outcomes. The smartphone noises reduced the learners’ compliance to fulfill the request to take notes. Furthermore, the smartphone noises were detrimental to the learning outcomes of non-note-takers. By contrast, note-takers with and without smartphone noises performed equally well in the posttest. Overall, these findings provide ecologically valid empirical support of two pieces of practical advice for students, namely: how beneficial it is to take notes and how detrimental it is to become distracted by smartphone noises when learning from an asynchronous video lecture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"67 ","pages":"Article 101043"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144866110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gamified self-regulated learning improves EFL Reading comprehension, motivation, self-regulation skills and process patterns: Quasi-experiment with process mining","authors":"Gulipari Maimaiti , Khe Foon Hew","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101042","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101042","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the effects of a flipped gamified self-regulated learning (SRL) approach in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom for first-year undergraduates. Using a quasi-experiment with process mining approach, 177 students were divided into two groups: a gamified experimental group (<em>N</em> = 91) and a non-gamified control group (<em>N</em> = 86). The findings revealed that the gamified SRL approach significantly improved English reading comprehension and motivation, as evidenced by enhanced intrinsic value and consistently higher voluntary task completion. Moreover, SRL skills were enhanced, as shown by survey results and high engagement with SRL strategies observed in the trace data. Process mining analyses using <em>First-Order Markov Models</em> further demonstrated that gamification fostered more dynamic SRL behaviors, including greater engagement with scaffolds and a stronger focus on evaluative learning strategies. These results highlight the potential of the gamified SRL approach to enhance students' SRL skills, motivation, and improve learning outcomes. This study offers actionable insights for designing effective interventions that integrate SRL scaffolds with motivational elements to support students' success in flipped learning environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"67 ","pages":"Article 101042"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144781016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The generation mechanism of teachers' anxiety toward digital human instructors in higher education: A mixed-methods perspective","authors":"Hao Dong , Yanxun Zhu , Jianglong Shen , Shengze Xue","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101041","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101041","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital Human Instructors (DHIs) are revolutionizing higher education by providing personalized and interactive learning experiences. However, the adoption of DHIs also brings about complex challenges related to teacher anxiety, particularly concerning professional security, ethics, and the broader implications of technology in education. Addressing the barriers to DHI adoption is crucial for safeguarding both educational quality and teacher well-being. This study aims to investigate these barriers by developing a theoretical model that integrates elements from Social Ecological Systems Theory, considering both micro-level individual factors (such as neuroticism and personal innovativeness) and meso-level social factors (such as negative word-of-mouth). Data were collected from 500 university teachers and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The PLS-SEM results revealed that neuroticism and negative word-of-mouth (WOM) have a significant positive impact on technology anxiety, while personal innovativeness has no significant direct effect. Moreover, perceived invasiveness plays a key mediating role in the relationships between neuroticism and technology anxiety, as well as between negative WOM and technology anxiety, whereas perceived authenticity does not exhibit a significant mediating effect. The fsQCA findings further revealed that technology anxiety does not stem from a single causal pathway. Instead, four configurations that include the presence and absence of certain conditions can lead to this desirable outcome. These findings not only contribute to the academic discourse on DHI adoption but also provide practical insights for educational managers seeking to mitigate teacher anxiety and enhance user protection in this dynamic educational environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"67 ","pages":"Article 101041"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144771391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Siyu Zhu , Jialin Li , Yuan Yao , Yi Guan , Xinhua Zhu
{"title":"What they provide and how: An intervention study on pre-service teachers' GenAI-assisted writing feedback","authors":"Siyu Zhu , Jialin Li , Yuan Yao , Yi Guan , Xinhua Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101040","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101040","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Providing effective writing feedback to students could promote students' writing development. However, offering high-quality feedback remains a significant challenge for pre-service teachers (PSTs). Recent advancements in GenAI technology may offer solutions to this issue. The study examines the influence of a short-term teaching intervention on the feedback levels and feedback types of PSTs' ChatGPT-assisted feedback on students' written compositions, utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed-method design with 30 PSTs. The quantitative results revealed significant improvements in both feedback levels (i.e., higher-level feedback issues including ideas and elaboration and style) and feedback types (e.g., explanations and general suggestions). Additionally, the findings highlighted specific strategies employed by PSTs when considering levels and types in combination. Subsequent interviews identified the underlying influential factors of these improvements, namely the improvements in ChatGPT usage skills (i.e., prompt engineering and source use) and a deeper understanding of the feedback process (i.e., introspection). By demonstrating how short-term teaching interventions can leverage PST's ability to use GenAI tools to provide writing feedback, this research advances the theoretical understanding of human-AI collaboration in the context of writing and provides pedagogical insights for teacher training programs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"67 ","pages":"Article 101040"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144892907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Min Zhuang , Siyu Long, Florence Martin, Daniela Castellanos-Reyes
{"title":"The affordances of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ethical considerations across the instruction cycle: A systematic review of AI in online higher education","authors":"Min Zhuang , Siyu Long, Florence Martin, Daniela Castellanos-Reyes","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101039","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101039","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances, discussions regarding its potential in education have attracted significant attention. This systematic review synthesizes AI affordances in online higher education, particularly identifying various ways AI is used throughout the online instruction cycle. We analyzed fifty-five studies focusing on publication trends, research methodology and quality, AI affordances during the design, facilitation, assessment and evaluation stages, and ethical considerations in this context. The findings revealed the applications of AI-empowered systems and Machine Learning (ML) models in various tasks such as establishing learning objectives in design, supporting cognition in facilitation, automatic grading in assessment, and measuring instruction quality in evaluation. We also discussed the trends regarding the limited incorporation of theoretical frameworks, a dominance of quantitative methods, a focus of big data, and a tendency towards personalization and adaptation. The ethical considerations were categorized for each research phase - data collection, analysis, and interpretation and usage, with an emphasis on validation approaches for AI generated outputs. These findings have implications on effectively integrating AI technologies by highlighting possibilities and competencies required for practitioners and inferring potential opportunities for researchers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"67 ","pages":"Article 101039"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144664742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lynette Pretorius , Huy-Hoang Huynh , Anak Agung Ayu Redi Pudyanti , Ziqi Li , Abdul Qawi Noori , Zhiheng Zhou
{"title":"Empowering international PhD students: Generative AI, Ubuntu, and the decolonisation of academic communication","authors":"Lynette Pretorius , Huy-Hoang Huynh , Anak Agung Ayu Redi Pudyanti , Ziqi Li , Abdul Qawi Noori , Zhiheng Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101038","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.iheduc.2025.101038","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Generative AI (GenAI) provides distinct affordances that contribute meaningfully to learning. However, there are also several challenges, most notably ethical considerations. While much of the current research on GenAI in academia focuses on technical capabilities or ethical concerns, few studies have examined how GenAI can be leveraged to promote equity and inclusivity, particularly in academic communication. In this study, we adopt the theoretical lens of Ubuntu, a Southern African philosophy that emphasises interconnectedness and community, to reconceptualise GenAI as a democratising force. Five international PhD students in Education and their PhD supervisor (all multilingual users of English) explored their experiences of using GenAI. We used a collaborative autoethnographic approach, incorporating reflective prompting, individual writing, group sharing and refining, and group-based writing. We demonstrate that GenAI reshaped power dynamics and challenged academic hierarchies by providing real-time language support and improving academic writing clarity. This empowered us to participate in academic discourse, disrupting traditional gatekeeping mechanisms. By automating routine tasks, GenAI also shifted our academic focus from technical skills to intellectual contributions, fostering inclusivity and equity. This study highlights the potential of GenAI in terms of knowledge creation and academic discourse, particularly for doctoral scholars navigating linguistic and cultural barriers. Academia is predominantly Anglophone-centric, marginalising non-English-speaking scholars by imposing additional barriers to participation and recognition, perpetuating inequities in knowledge creation and dissemination. We argue that embracing GenAI can help to decolonise these academic practices, thereby promoting epistemic justice and creating a more equitable scholarly environment for all.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48186,"journal":{"name":"Internet and Higher Education","volume":"67 ","pages":"Article 101038"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144664744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}