Web-based videoconferencing systems have become very popular means of online teaching during the educational shift from face-to-face to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students around the world have been attending online classes through different web-based videoconferencing platforms instead of face-to-face lectures and seminars. The current study aims to investigate University students’ intentions to continue use web-based videoconferencing systems for their learning, when social distancing render unnecessary and Universities re-open after the pandemic is over. This study is part of our wider investigation on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ experiences about different e-learning technologies and related pedagogies. The current study proposes a model based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Expectancy Confirmation Model (ECM) in order to explain and predict continuance intention to use videoconferencing systems in the post-COVID-19 era. Sixty-one students from a School of Education in a UK University completed an online survey. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the data. The model explains and predicts 53% of the total variance in continuance intention to use videoconferencing systems for learning online in terms of perceived usefulness, social influence, satisfaction and confirmation. Satisfaction and perceived usefulness were found to be the most significant predictors of continuance intention to use. Implications for the use of web-based videoconferencing systems for online teaching and learning in the post-COVID 19 landscape are discussed.

One of the major priorities of education systems nowadays is to promote Inquiry-Based Science Learning (IBSL). Research has shown that mobile learning can support and enhance inquiry-based science learning promoting learning achievement and motivation. However, engagement, as a consequence of motivation, in the context of mobile-assisted inquiry-based science learning, has not been adequately investigated. The current study implements a collaborative mobile-assisted inquiry-based science learning intervention in the context of secondary school science. The study is aiming at explaining and predicting student engagement in terms of the three motivational concepts of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of motivation: autonomy, competence and relatedness. Data collected for 80 secondary school students and analyzed with structural equation modeling. The proposed model explains about 63% of the variance in students' engagement in mobile-assisted inquiry-based science learning. Perceived autonomy was found to be the strongest predictor of engagement, followed by perceived relatedness. Based on the research findings, implications for practice and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.

The special track “Motivating students with Mobiles, Ubiquitous applications and the Internet of Things for STEM (MUMI4STEM)”, within the “EDUCON20I7 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference”, integrates two main areas of interest in STEM education: I) motivating students with mobile devices and 2) exploiting ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things. Following the growing interest of the educational and research community towards fostering STEM education, this special session aims at promoting the discussion about the motivational aspects of mobile learning and the benefits of ubiquitous applications and the Internet of Things (IoT), with special focus on supporting STEM education.

Mobile-based Assessment (MBA) is a relatively new delivery mode of assessment. MBA not only offers an alternative to web-based tests and quizzes that can be answered anytime and anywhere but it also introduces a new assessment paradigm offering adaptive, personalized, context-aware and ubiquitous assessment activities embedded in learning flow. However, for an effective use of MBA, instructional designers and educators need to be aware of its underpinning motivational dimensions and concepts. The current study proposes MBAMF, a Mobile-Based Assessment Motivational Framework based on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of Motivation. The framework aims to connect the basic SDT constructs with features offered by mobile-based assessment. For a preliminary evaluation of the model, a pilot study with 47 medical students in a near-patients clinical training environment was conducted. The study provides empirical evidence that fits into the proposed framework. Mobile-assisted assessment can effectively support the three basic psychological needs of SDT, namely perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness. The current work provides a foundation for further elaboration towards a more comprehensive motivational framework for mobile-based assessment. Implications are discussed.

Considering the declining enrolling in computing fields and the increasing demand in STEM disciplines, innovative methods should be employed to attract students in computing disciplines. MIT Scratch and App Inventor for Android visual programming environments are two such approaches. This is a comparative study to investigate any differences in the transition of students' motivation to learn programming using Scratch and App Inventor for Android in K-12 educational settings. Intrinsic goal orientation, task value, control of learning beliefs and self efficacy were found to be increased using these two entry-level learning programming environments from the beginning to the middle of the course. No effect on extrinsic motivation was found. Evaluating the transition in motivation throughout the whole course period for both environments (work in progress) will have an impact on educators to retain students' interest in programming and improve their attitudes towards computing.

Mobile-based assessment offers a promising (complementary to paper-based and computer-based) assessment delivery mode. However, its successful implementation depends on users' acceptance. The present study is the first towards the investigation of the factors that influence the acceptance of mobile-based assessment. It combines two theoretical frameworks: Technology Acceptance Model and Self-Determination Theory of Motivation. Partial Least Squares were used to test the proposed structural model. Perceived Autonomy, Perceived Relatedness and Perceived Competency, along with Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, influence Attitudes Towards Use and Behavior Intention to use Mobile-Based Assessment. The study confirms Technology Acceptance Model and showed that Self Determination Theory can be useful in predicting students' acceptance in the context of mobile-based assessment.

The present study reports the experiences from the Hour of Code implementation in the context of two introductory Informatics courses, one in a high school level and one in a first-year University level. It explores learning motivation among 47 high school students and 51 first-year University level students, during their participation in the Hour of Code activity. The theoretical framework is Self-Determination Theory of Motivation. The theory distinguishes mainly four types of motivation, namely Intrinsic Motivation, Identified Regulation, External Regulation and Amotivation. Students were found to exhibit more self-determined types of motivation during the Hour of Code activities. Both groups found the activities to be attractive and useful. The results may be helpful to practitioners in order to design more intrinsically motivated educational scenarios when modeled appropriately.