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This chapter provides the multifaceted ways of how the institution has been supporting teaching and learning (T&L) with the use of technology and how it is equipping the younger generation with the skills required to face a changing job market. The prevailing status of use of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th IR) in T&L was evaluated through: (i) outcomes of a survey approved by the institution undertaken with academics and students for its external audit in 2018; (ii) the continuous support being provided by the Center for Lifelong Learning for fully online programs through the Moodle Platform; and (iii) use of Google Classroom, smartphones, and tablets in faculty-based teaching by the information and communication technologies (ICT) department. This study aimed to identify gaps with a view to enhance the quality of blended/online learning. Findings of the survey reveal that 59.2% of academics who responded were satisfied with the applications of ICT in their teaching, with 42% indicating that there is a need for improvement. Similarly, 55.1% of students who responded indicated that they were satisfied with the use of technology in the classroom. The case studies support the surveys and provide indications of ongoing advancement in the use of ICT following the external audit. The advent of the pandemic has further accelerated our plans in the digital transformation process, leaving us with no choice but to innovate with the use of ICT in the classroom.

Previous studies have mainly discussed the impact of student engagement on different facets of academic performance. Research on the approaches to promote student engagement in a classroom setting (i.e., micro-level practices) is relatively sparse. This paper provides a framework for enhancing student engagement in a university undergraduate classroom setting.

This study builds on action research. At the core of this approach is making interventions through a set of pedagogical approaches, derived from the literature. The impact of these interventions was measured, followed by reflections on the outcomes and developing a future improvement strategy.

Student engagement can be enhanced by using heterogeneous pedagogical approaches that positively influence student performance. Further, the use of mixed pedagogical approaches helps students and teachers acquire meta-cognitive knowledge (i.e., knowledge of their learning preferences) and sets the direction for learning.

The key contribution of this study is providing a student engagement framework applicable in a sophomore-level classroom setting. The framework discusses a set of techniques, their theoretical underpinnings, the course of their execution and the challenges faced in this process. The framework can be used to guide enhancing student engagement.

Contrary to the macro-level measures, research on micro-level measures for promoting student engagement approaches is scarce. This study discusses not only different strategies but also details the dynamic course of their deployment. The study, therefore, is unique in its contribution.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ perception of blended learning instructional design in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the Sultanate of Oman. A course in a bachelor degree was offered using blended learning instructional mode, and students’ feedback was obtained on the impact of blended learning. The study was conducted in Ibra College of Technology, one of the seven colleges under the Ministry of Manpower in the Sultanate of Oman. A course in Business Strategy and HR Management was offered during Summer 2016 using a combination of traditional and online instructional design. A structured questionnaire was administered at the end of the semester to solicit feedback from students. The results of the study highlighted a positive attitude among students towards blended learning courses. The research stressed the requirements for proper infrastructure, training and development initiatives for staff and students, shift to a more focused practical assessment methods to measure the graduate attributes. Student engagement, learner autonomy, connection of learning to real life environments and flexibility all appeared to benefit from the blended learning course.

This paper aims to propose and evaluate a pedagogically sound and innovative strategy to teach a higher education course that prepares future professionals to intelligently use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their personal and professional lives.

The conceptual framework used for the design of the course was the socio-constructivism and activity theories. The implementation of the course was evaluated using the intrinsic case study methodology by including several instruments.

The pedagogical strategy proposed proved to be sound, as the evaluation showed that students were able to describe, use and propose innovative uses of a wide range of cutting-edge technologies in their both everyday lives and professional settings; they also had the skills to analyse the opportunities and challenges that these presented. Moreover, students liked this innovative way of learning and ended with a positive attitude towards ICT.

Although several courses prepare students to be digital citizens or use ICT to enhance the teaching-learning process, millennials are ill prepared to use cutting-edge technologies in an innovative, responsible and critical way in their future professions. The course that was designed is original in that it goes beyond preparing digital citizens to prepare professionals in any domain to use ICT in an informed and responsible way. Moreover, it is a documented, successful example of an undergraduate universal course in a highly important current society dimension. The authors believe that its pedagogical proposal could be transferred to courses dealing with other global issues such as the environment, economy and peace.

This research examines whether a shift to a hybrid classroom, which replaces some face-to-face classroom time with online instruction, adversely affects student learning if the structure and incentives that are characteristic of a flipped classroom are already in place.

This study features a quantitative analysis of individual student data collected over multiple sections of a single course with the same instructor. In all seven sections, over two semesters, principles of microeconomics used a flipped classroom format that features preclass video lectures, daily quizzes and highly interactive class time. In three of the seven sections, the time spent in class was reduced by one-third. For this experiment, student scores on the cumulative final exam evaluate student learning. Students took a survey at the end of the semester to provide feedback on time use during the course and to make observations about the class format.

Results from this study suggest that despite accountability for the work done outside of class, students score 4.4% points lower on the final exam in the class format that features reduced face-to-face time. However, student comments also suggest that this is a worthwhile tradeoff as they balance work, internships and other nonacademic demands on their time. Student evaluations of the course and instructor are statistically unchanged.

Efficiency in educational delivery is an ongoing concern for students and faculty. This research demonstrates that a classroom that is both flipped and hybrid makes better use of student and faculty time, provides a richer learning experience and only modestly reduces student learning. It is notable that students report a preference for the hybrid classroom model, despite modestly lower levels of learning.

While research has been done on flipped and hybrid classrooms separately, this is the first paper to isolate the effect of seat time within the flipped classroom context. This research addresses the flipped classroom design's ability to mitigate the documented reduction in student learning that often results from reduced class time or an increase in online learning.

The purpose of this paper is to document and compare the characteristics of two student-managed investment funds at the University.

This study uses a case study approach to achieve this purpose.

Consistent with other studies, this study finds considerable differences in funding, oversight and the structure of the courses in which the students manage the portfolios. This is the case even though the portfolios are managed by students in courses offered by the same department at the same university.

This study presents different possible ways of obtaining funds and structuring courses in which the students manage investment portfolios.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to assess student perceptions of a flipped classroom model used in an introduction to management course; and second, to determine the relationship between student perceptions and student grades.

A quantitative approach was used, and a survey was created to assess student perceptions of their flipped classroom experience. Correlation analysis was used to explore the possible association between student performance (measured by test scores) and perceptions of the flipped classroom experience.

Results indicate several significant differences in student perceptions of a flipped classroom model between successful (grades A-C) and unsuccessful (grades D-F) students.

During the past several years, an active learning approach called the “flipped classroom model” has begun to be applied to higher education. Research on the effectiveness of the flipped classroom model in higher education has focussed on either grade outcomes or student perceptions, and is recent and limited. Findings can contribute to educators using a flipped classroom model, as well as to researchers investigating the impact of key factors related to student perceptions of their flipped classroom experience. Implications for applying the flipped classroom model are discussed along with implications for much-needed future research.

This paper aims to examine the impact of the learning management system (LMS), in promoting students’ self-directed experiential learning using the flipped classroom approach. This study further evaluates the effectiveness of integrating video lectures, perceived as a social interface, for students to watch, prior to their class session conducted in class.

This is a case study that investigated a group of undergraduate students of English as a foreign language (EFL) to identify the impact of the LMS TES BlendSpace in fostering their self-directed learning capacity, using a flipped classroom approach. Data were gathered through a qualitative approach from student interviews and observations of student activities and video-recordings uploaded on TES BlendSpace.

Flipped classrooms have begun to redesign learning spaces and promote active learning through video-enabled instructional practices. This study provides an overview of flipped classrooms and the benefits students’ gain from the wealth of online content posted on the LMS. The flipped classroom model has clearly shifted the learning paradigm, enabling students the autonomy of their self-directed learning pace and to become acquainted with the currency of video lectures that promote efficacious learning. This study concludes with implications for further research in this area.

This study has the potential to contribute towards the advancement of students’ self-directed learning and proposes its continued application for future EFL classes in this institution, as well as across all courses, to enable self-direction for all students.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse student performance and perceptions when a flipped classroom setting is used, in comparison with the traditional model.

The inverted learning model or “flipped classroom” is a pedagogical approach that attempts to reverse the traditional teaching and learning process, making the student the protagonist of their own learning, and is characterised by the theoretical contents being taught “outside the classroom”, allowing students to spend more class time carrying out other types of more practical activities that encourage much more active learning, such as enquiry exercises, problem solving, collaborative projects and so on. The study was conducted on a biology course of the Primary Education Bachelor’s Degree during the 2017/2018 academic year (n = 240).

The results revealed that better learning outcomes were achieved by students when the flipped classroom methodology was proposed. It has also been found that student perceptions of the teaching approach were more positive when the flipped model was followed. The flipped classroom methodology also seems to foster student participation and motivation more effectively than traditional teaching formats, mainly because the active learning activities that are carried out in this new educative approach manage to involve the students in their own learning processes.

Despite the enhanced popularity of flipped classroom research in multiple educational contexts and the growing number of studies published in recent years, there is little empirical evidence regarding the effect of the flipped classroom on learning outcomes and satisfaction in pre-service teachers.