Assessing learner readiness for online learning is the starting point for online course design. This study thus aimed to evaluate Japanese learners' perceived e-readiness for learning English online prior to designing and developing an online EGAP (English for General Academic Purposes) course at Osaka University. A sample of 299 undergraduate Japanese students completed a translated and adapted version of the Technology Survey developed by Winke and Goertler (CALICO Journal 25(3): 482-509, 2008). The questionnaire included items about respondents' ownership of and access to technology tools, their ability in performing user tasks from basic to advanced, their personal educational use of Web 2.0 tools, and their willingness to take online English courses. The informants were found to have personal ownership and/or adequate access to technological devices and the Internet at home or at the university. While their keyboarding skills have been reported as relatively low, the self-assessment data indicates that the participants know about general Web 2.0 tools and utilize them in daily life but not within educational settings. The students were also in general unwilling to take online courses, either fully online or blended. This finding further highlights the necessity of digital literacy training before implementing the prospective online course with a focus on EGAP.

With the increase in the number of blended courses in higher education over the past few years, it is now increasingly important to assure the quality of online education by evaluating blended (or hybrid) courses from various aspects such as consistency of learning objectives with assessment, learning materials and technology used, and pedagogical and technical support among others. This article describes the evaluation phase of a blended course of English for general academic purposes (EGAP) targeting second-year undergraduate Japanese students mostly from the Faculties of Law, Letters, Economics, and Human Sciences at Osaka University. In this study, the researchers adopted an inclusive approach to blended course evaluation. In order to ensure the course quality from the outset, the Fifth Edition of Quality Matters Higher Education Course Design Rubric was utilized as the major reference. As part of the evaluation process, students' perception on the usefulness of the course was also measured quantitatively and qualitatively through an attitudinal survey instrument and open ended reflection questions. Eventually, to add an outsider positionality, the blended course was peer-reviewed by a certified reviewer from Quality Matters (QM) after having been self-reviewed by the researchers. The findings of the evaluation survey demonstrated students' overall satisfaction with the course, and their responses to the open-ended questions provided further insight into the educational and technical difficulties they encountered. The QM peer review also yielded a score of 70 out of 99, resulting in failure to meet the essential standards. However, comments from the peer reviewer guided the refinements and improvement of the course design, and the course currently meets all the requirements of the Higher Education Course Design Rubric (Fifth Edition) upon amendment. This study discusses the implications for design, development, and evaluation of English-as-a-foreign-language blended courses and provides practical tips for online/blended course designers. Further refinements to the existing course can be made in the future by implementing it several times with various groups of students.

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This study aimed to clarify the adaptation features of University students exposed to fully online education during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to identify accompanying mental health problems and predictors of school adaptation. The pandemic has forced many universities to transition rapidly to delivering online education. However, little is known about the impact of this drastic change on students' school adaptation. This cross-sectional study used an online questionnaire, including assessments of impressions of online education, study engagement, mental health, and lifestyle habits. In total, 1,259 students were assessed. The characteristics of school adaptation were analyzed by a two-step cluster analysis. The proportion of mental health problems was compared among different groups based on a cluster analysis. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of cluster membership. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The two-step cluster analysis determined three clusters: school adaptation group, school maladaptation group, and school over-adaptation group. The last group significantly exhibited the most mental health problems. Membership of this group was significantly associated with being female (OR = 1.42; 95% CI 1.06–1.91), being older (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.01–1.44), those who considered online education to be less beneficial (OR = 2.17; 95% CI 1.64–2.88), shorter sleep time on weekdays (OR = 0.826; 95% CI 0.683–.998), longer sleep time on holidays (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.03–1.43), and worse restorative sleep (OR = 2.27; 95% CI 1.81–2.86). The results suggest that academic staff should understand distinctive features of school adaptation owing to the rapid transition of the educational system and should develop support systems to improve students' mental health. They should consider ways to incorporate online classes with their lectures to improve students' perceived benefits of online education. Additionally, educational guidance on lifestyle, such as sleep hygiene, may be necessary.

Mobile learning is well established in literature and practice, but under-evolved from a rigorous learning design perspective. Activity theory presents a sophisticated way of mapping and understanding learning design, but for mobile learning this does not always translate into change in practice. The reported research addresses this by coupling a mobile learning specific approach to activity theory with a practice-based framework: the design for transformative mobile learning framework mapped to the pedagogy-andragogy-heutagogy continuum matrix (the DTML-PAH Matrix). Seven case studies are analysed using this approach and presented narratively along with framework informed analysis. Findings include that the DTML-PAH Matrix can be used to provide clearer implications and guidance for mobile learning practice, and that the DTML-PAH Matrix can also be guided by the practice over time. Implications for further research and practice are discussed. Implications for practice or policy: Provide technological and pedagogical scaffolds to students. Learning designs should focus upon enabling elements of learner agency and creativity. To develop learning solutions to real world problems utilise a design-based research approach. Create authentic collaborative learning activities and tasks. Integrate mobile learning affordances in the design of the course and curriculum.