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Teaching and learning online during the Covid-19 pandemic has forced university instructors to consider online alternatives to the classroom. It is possible to facilitate students’ learning in the digital environment in similar ways to the traditional face-to-face classroom. The inclusion of e-guests in the digital learning space presents one such opportunity. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of e-guests in online learning.

This paper presents a case study, following a postgraduate class and the role of the e-guest in students’ synchronous online learning.

E-guests facilitated student learning. Their approaches to learning ranged from slides to discussions. Students responded well to this method of learning.

There is potential for enhancing student learning through the inclusion of e-guests, who bring their expertise to the classroom. E-guests from different regions offer students an opportunity to learn from specialists they would not necessarily have access to in the traditional classroom.

E-guests offer one important potential means of enriching online teaching.

The purpose of this paper is to recognize that individual learning styles must be taken into account in the instructional design template used in online education. The paper argues that when students' learning styles are identified, it is possible to define an appropriate context of learning.

The paper identifies a set of instructional principles for online learning environments that are derived from multiple theories of learning with a consideration of different learning styles. The VARK questionnaire was used to determine learning styles of students who participated in two online courses. The VARK instrument identifies four distinct learning styles: visual (V); aural (A); reading/writing (R) and kinesthetic (K). These four dimensions are used to analyze the appropriateness of online learning structures.

The paper identifies teaching strategies in online courses while recognizing the four learning styles. The paper concludes that the achievement of online learning can be improved by providing instruction in a manner consistent with each student's learning style. However, it is important to keep in mind that, even if a specific student learns best in a certain way, he or she should be exposed to a variety of learning experiences to become a more versatile online learner.

The new result indicates that students with the auditory learning preference do not select online education as their first choice for learning. The combination of different techniques can make it possible for students with all types of learning styles to be successful in an online course.

The purpose of this paper is to know the personalized online student support system provided by e-learning centers, to find out academic advice as Student Support Services provided by institution running e-learning programs; to find out career counseling as Student Support Services provided by institution running e-learning programs; to find out technical support as Student Support Services provided by institution running e-learning programs; to find out registration assistance as Student Support Services provided by institution running e-learning programs; to find out methods used for paying fee for e-learning programs for LIS education; and to find out financial aid available for students for e-learning programs in LIS education.

The present study is exploratory in nature. In the study, the attempt was made to explore the Student Support Services provided by e-learning institution. It focuses on the various online Student Support Services. Data collection was made through following methods: through Web pages of related departments; by contacting the departments and by sending questionnaires.

Student Support Services provided by institutions – academic advice: it was observed from Table I that the data were significant (p < 0.05) and that high percentage (60.9 per cent) of universities/institutes provide support systems like academic advice to the students opting LIS courses through e-programs; career counseling: it was observed from Table II that the data were significant (p < 0.05) and that high percentage (60.9 per cent) of universities/institutes provide support systems like career counseling to the students opting LIS courses through e-programs; technical support: it was observed from Table III that 100 per cent universities/institutes provide technical support to the students opting LIS courses through e-programs; and registration assistance: it was observed from Table IV that 100 per cent universities/institutes provide registration assistance support to the students opting LIS courses through e-programs. *Mode of payment of fees for e-learning programs for LIS education: it was apparent from the information (Table V) that mode of payment of fees such as credit card, check and purchase order or money order is available for majority of e-learning courses. *Financial aid available for students for e-learning programs in LIS education: it may be concluded on the basis of the study results (Table VI) that for significantly (p < 0.05) high percentage of LIS courses, the financial aid is not available.

The research work, especially Student Support Services, was limited to only 23 institutions which are running courses in LIS education by e-learning technology.

The present study shows that there is a need to strengthen more Student Support Services. The successful implementation of such a system would need efforts by the concerned management of the institutions and substantial support from the apex statutory organizations. The stakeholders have strongly reinforced the necessity of support strategies which need to start from the time the student enrolls to completion of course. Feedback from students, teachers and researchers should be taken for improving the services. It is useful for those who are running e-learning courses.

Students who are taken and studying online courses would be aware of Student Support Services.

This research work is valuable and original, and no prior research has been identified for Student Support Services for e-learning programs in LIS.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the assessment methods used in higher education to assess students' learning, and to investigate the effects of college and grading system on the used assessment methods.

This descriptive study investigates the assessment methods used by teachers in higher education to assess their students' learning outcomes. An instrument consisting of 15 items (each item is an assessment method) was distributed to 736 undergraduate students from four public universities in Jordan.

Findings show that traditional paper‐pencil test is the most common method that is used to assess learning in higher education. Results also show that teachers in colleges of science and engineering and colleges of nursing use different assessment methods to assess learning, besides traditional testing such as: real life tasks (authentic assessment), papers, and projects. Also, the results show that teachers use the same assessment methods to assess learning, despite the grading systems (letter or numbers) used at their institutes.

The sample of the study was limited to undergraduate students and teachers' points of views about the frequent use of assessment methods were not studied.

Higher education institutes should encourage teachers to use new and modern assessment methods as well as traditional paper‐pencil testing, and study the reasons for not using these new methods.

The paper should alert the higher education institutes about the important of developing the assessment process, through knowing their students' points of view about the assessment methods. This will help to get students involved in the learning process.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of WebCT in support of online and blended learning in the Faculty of Architecture of a Hong Kong university.

Paper questionnaires are used to collect students' experiences, perceptions and attitudes towards the online course they have undertaken. Focus group interviews are conducted with two groups of students at the end of the semester. In addition, both formal and informal interviews are conducted with the instructor to understand his perceptions and perspectives.

In general, students prefer to have course management systems (CMS) as a supplement to face‐to‐face lectures rather than as its replacement. They perceive WebCT as mainly a platform for downloading materials and submitting assignments rather than a platform for teaching and learning. Learning fully online is perceived as self‐learning. The traditional lecture is considered more effective and efficient by many students to grasp concepts and principles.

This is an exploratory study at a Hong Kong university. However, it provides initial evidence to shed light on issues concerning the use of CMS in support of online and blended learning.

In order to ensure a more engaging and rewarding online learning experience, teacher's online presence should be strengthened. Other than teacher presence, the cognitive presence could be fostered through engineering the student‐to‐student interaction in co‐located settings.

The paper usefully demonstrates how the blended mode of learning that combines face‐to‐face and online learning has become increasingly popular, while the courses conducted entirely online are comparatively rare at universities in Hong Kong.

This study draws on the experiences of a consortium of UK universities seeking to enhance the quality of undergraduate building education. Their initiative called, student‐centred learning in construction education (SLICE) was funded by the UK government to improve student learning by inspiring and equipping lecturers to develop effective student‐centred learning activities. The benefits of student‐centred and flexible learning are explored and the projects' outputs are described in general. One of the outputs, the “Building Pathology Lecturers' Toolkit” is examined in depth. A review of its content reveals that to be a valuable and practical resource for lecturers, providing them with guidance and ready‐to‐use yet adaptable exemplar learning materials for students. The potential impact of this toolkit and the toolkit programme generally is scrutinised using feedback data from lecturers and students, concluding that the flexible format and content offers considerable opportunities to enhance learning in the building pathology field.

One of the defining characteristics of higher education is the expectation that undergraduates will exercise some responsibility for the management of their learning. In the UK and elsewhere student self‐managed learning has become more salient due to resource constraints and the increasing emphasis on equipping students with what they need to become lifelong learners. At the same time, as a result of widening access policies, developments in compulsory education systems and changing lifestyles, undergraduates appear less well prepared to cope with the demands of self‐managed learning than might have been the case in the past. The problem is further compounded by the diversity of view amongst academic staff concerning the extent and nature of the support, which they should provide in this respect. Although the need for support will vary between institutions, all are faced, to a greater or lesser extent, with the challenge of ensuring that their learning and teaching strategies take account of the contingencies of self‐managed learning

This paper aims to discuss the evolution of a digital learning environment in higher education as a result of ongoing data collection and evaluation.

The manuscript is based on a digital learning environment intervention at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and is informed by evaluation data collected from student and faculty surveys annually between 2002 and 2016. Survey themes changed annually based on student/faculty concerns and interests, and program management used this feedback to make modifications to program scope and offerings.

The digital learning environment at the University of Wisconsin-Stout has been effective in providing faculty and students with the tools they need to be successful. This success is largely due to the ongoing commitment to data collection and evaluation at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and has ensured that the digital learning environment stays modern and adaptive.

This manuscript is the culmination of 15 years of ongoing evaluation practice and thus provides valuable best practices and lessons learned for educators/educational institutions hoping to improve or create their own digital learning environment.