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Spring, 2023 Volume 2 Issue 2 ISSN: 2959-1406 Journal of Online and Digital Education Department of Education University of Sargodha Sargodha-Pakistan www.jode.su.edu.pk

The present qualitative research focused on exploring the challenges and barriers confronted by doctoral students in distance education. The study was conducted on doctoral students of a public sector distance education university in Pakistan and employed a phenomenological case study approach. The study included three focus group interviews and sixteen semi-structured interviews with distance doctoral students, who were selected through snowball sampling. Thematic Analysis (TA) was used to analyze the data gathered through the interviews. The findings showed that doctoral students encountered different difficulties in the context of distance and online learning. To address these challenges faced by doctoral students, organizing on-campus face-to-face workshops during summer and winter vacations and implementing a training session on network troubleshooting before conducting regular seminars, would alleviate the difficulties experienced by distance learners. This research is anticipated to bring about various reforms to minimize the challenges encountered by distance doctoral students. Keyword: Online learning, distance barriers, distance education, digital learning, phenomenological case study.

Reading habits are as important as writing skills for a student. A student can produce only well when he knows what he read and how he read. The survey study was use to explore the reading habits of AIOU students at B.Ed. level. Self-administered open ended questionnaire and interview protocol was use for this purpose. Moreover, several limitations were found in the conduct of the study. It is revealed that reading habits are generally linked with marks orientations and rote memorization but not with learning among AIOU students. Even their leisure is consisting on activities other than readings. Teachers can play role to develop reading habits among students by their methodology and assignments. Although students today engage with internet surfing so this technology can be used to develop reading habits as e- books, online books, pdf and reading material viral now a days. This technology-based reading can motivate them to use computers and technologies for learning by reading. By increasing their motivation to read, the students can be reading more, which can lead to improvement in their language proficiency.

Family literacy plays a key role in students’ learning acquisition, particularly reading skills. This study examined the effects of family literacy on literacy skills of pre-school children. Objectives of the study was to find out the effects of family literacy program on reading skills of pre-school children. In this study, 60 families/parents and 70 preschool students were studied as population. This study employed quantitative research design in which quasi-experimental design (one group pre-test and posttest) was used. Family literacy was taken in terms of parental involvement in reading skills (English, Urdu Mathematics reading) of preschool children. To implement the reading program, “Pre and posttest for parent and children” was designed and administered. Pre and post tests were based upon the family literacy program. Content validity of the tools was checked. Main results of the study indicated that the family literacy reading program had a positive effect on parents as well as children. It is recommended that parents may be directly involved in reading activities with children either using technological gadgets. For future researchers it is recommended to conduct large-scale study with other literacy skills i.e., writing etc. Keywords: Family Literacy, Literacy Skills, Pre-school, Program, reading skills

This study was proposed to investigate the digital literacy skills of teachers at Allama Iqbal Open University, Pakistan. The digital literacy skills of teachers/resource persons were examined under six dimensions i.e. Devices and Software Operations, Information and Digital literacy, Communication and Collaboration, Digital Content Creation, Safety and Problem solving using Global Framework of UNESCO (2016). Data was collected through an online survey from the teachers and resource persons. The sample consisted of 260 teachers of all departments of four disciplines of AIOU i.e. 150 resource persons from AIOU Islamabad manually and 110 teachers/resource persons from different region of Pakistan online. It was found that overall reliability of the scale was 0.894. The research data were analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics. Based on the inferential statistics, it was found that there was a significant difference in the mean score comparison of information and digital literacy of teachers based on teaching experience. It was also found that there was a significant difference in the mean score comparison of sub-scales of digital literacy skills of teachers i.e. information and digital literacy, digital content creation and problem solving on the basis of online teaching experience of teachers. There was no significant difference found between gender, age, region, program, faculty, online teaching courses and online courses design wise mean score comparison of digital literacy skills and online teaching efficacy of teachers at AIOU. Based on the findings, it is recommended that the training programs may be launched with the help of ICTs. Keywords: Digital skills, online learning, online teaching, Collaboration

The present study investigated the impact of Digital Information (PDI) on teachers' Work Performance (WP) within the framework of distance education. A cross-sectional survey employing a quantitative methodology was undertaken to assess the Professional Happiness and Work Performance of teacher associated with the Virtual University Islamabad and Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad. A stratified sampling approach was employed to get feedback from a total of 237 educators. This was achieved by the distribution of two online self-administered surveys, which specifically targeted the topics of DI and WP. Both instruments employed a 6-point semantic difference scale. The conceptualization of DI was based on the idea of digital education proposed by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). The study investigated several aspects such as the manipulation and administration of digital tools, platforms, software, and services, as well as a comprehensive comprehension of digital data. In the present study, the WP metric was constructed based on an extensive review of scholarly literature. This measure encompasses seven primary categories, including Teaching Learning Process, Innovative practices, Teacher Quality, Communication, Task Performance, Learning Resources, and Job Functions. The data analyses conducted in this study encompassed a range of statistical techniques, including descriptive statistics, reliability checks, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The reliability of the assessment instruments was established by calculating Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, which yielded a value of .917 for all dimensions. The study adhered to rigorous ethical protocols, which encompassed obtaining informed consent from participants and ensuring the confidentiality of collected data. The objective of this study was to examine the intricate connection between digital information and its impact on the quality and effectiveness of instruction in distance learning settings. Keywords: Digital Information, Distance Learning, Work Performance, Digital Literacy, Online Education

Education institutions across the globe had to switch to a blended mode of delivery due to COVID-19 related restrictions. Blended learning demonstrated the potential to reduce students’ academic loss incurred due to the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore the prospects of blended learning as a regular feature in underdeveloped countries shortly. The case of Pakistan was explored in this regard. A qualitative research method was followed to reach conclusions. Academicians from four universities located in Pakistan who opted blended learning approach during this period participated in the study. Focused group interviews were used as a source of data collection. Conclusions were drawn following an inductive approach. The study supported the adoption of blended learning to reduce students’ learning gaps in the post-COVID-19 scenario. However, several threats at administration and academic levels also emerged to opting for blended learning as a regular delivery mechanism in Pakistan. The results are discussed in the context of higher education resources and challenges in the developing countries. Keywords: Blended learning; post COVID-19; learning gaps; higher education