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Background: Studies have acknowledged that social media enables students to connect with and learn from experts from different ties available in the students’ personal learning environment (PLE). The inclusion of experts in formal learning activities through social media such as in scaffolding problem-solving activities helps students see the practicality of experts’ thinking in solving real-world problems. However, studies that evaluate experts’ problem-solving styles and how these influence the experts' thinking process in delivering the know-how to students on social media based on the ties that the students have with the experts in social media are scarce in the extant literature. The study aimed to explore the problem-solving styles that the experts portrayed on Facebook based on their ties with the students.  Methods: This study employed a simultaneous within-subject experimental design which was conducted in three closed Facebook groups with 12 final year management students, six business experts, and one instructor as the participants. The experts were invited by the students from the weak and strong ties in their PLE. Hinging on the Theory of Fluid and Crystallised intelligence and the Strength of Weak Ties Theory, this study employed thematic analysis using the ATLAS.ti qualitative data analysis software to map the experts’ comments on Facebook. Results:  The use of strong ties in combination with weak ties balances out the negative aspects of the business experts’ problem-solving styles.  All the experts used both fluid and crystallised intelligence in scaffolding the students’ learning; however, the degree of its usage correlated with the working experience of the experts. Conclusion: The use of weak or strong ties benefited the students as it expedited their problem-solving tasks since the experts have unique expertise to offer depending on the degree of their working experiences and the proximity of the students’ relationship with the experts.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to all institutions of education having to transition to fully online learning almost immediately. However, research showed that online learning still lacked adequate interactions with students. This is even more problematic when students are online learning on their own, when adequate online scaffolding activities are absent. This study investigated the impact of chatbots as a scaffolding agent to assist student learning during their independent online learning times. A total of 62 Diploma level students participated in this mixed method research study and presented with a multimedia-based AI chatbot named MERLIN. Data was collected on their attitudes towards using it. Results showed that students were motivated to learn more using MERLIN, improved their learning, and wanted more chatbots in their other courses. These findings have important implications for using AI chatbots as a scaffolding and instructional tool in 21 st -century learning environments.

Background: Studies have acknowledged that social media enables students to connect with and learn from experts from different ties available in the students’ personal learning environment (PLE). Incorporating experts into formal learning activities such as scaffolding problem-solving tasks through social media, allows students to understand how experts solve real-world problems. However, studies that evaluate experts’ problem-solving styles on social media in relation to the tie strength of the experts with the students are scarce in the extant literature. This study aimed to explore the problem-solving styles that the experts portrayed based on their ties with the students in problem-based learning (PBL) on Facebook. Methods: This study employed a simultaneous within-subject experimental design which was conducted in three closed Facebook groups with 12 final year management students, six business experts, and one instructor as the participants. The experts were invited by the students from the weak and strong ties in their PLE. Hinging on the Strength of Weak Ties Theory (Granovetter, 1973) and problem-solving styles (Selby et al., 2004), this study employed thematic analysis using the ATLAS.ti qualitative data analysis software to map the experts’ comments on Facebook. Results:  The experts from strong and weak ties who had a prior relationship with the students showed people preference style by being more sensitive to the students' learning needs and demonstrating firmer scaffolding compared to the weak ties' experts who had no prior relationship with the students. Regardless of the types of ties, all experts applied all manner of processing information and orientation to change but the degree of its applications are correlated with the working experience of the experts. Conclusion: The use of weak or strong ties benefited the students as it expedited their problem-solving tasks since the experts have unique expertise to offer depending on the problem-solving styles that they exhibited.

In the era of digital learning, multimedia-based classroom has been commonly used in higher education including Malaysian higher education institutions. A case study has been performed to evaluate web-based learning using Level 1 to 3 of Kirkpatrick's model in a multi-disciplinary course at Multimedia University, Malaysia. In this study, mixed method research was employed in which triangulation was performed from multiple sources of data collection to give deeper understanding. Students perceived that learning with multimedia was enjoyable. They were also motivated in learning and engaged through the use of web module as multimedia was perceived to motivate them and make learning fun. Students showed significant improvements in their knowledge based on the pre-test and post-test results on learning evaluation. Students were perceived to transfer the learning from web-based learning into the learning outcome. The systematic evaluation can provide the feedback that educators and institution as a whole need to improve the learning environment and programme quality. This study contributes to the research field by adding another perspective in evaluations of web-based learning. It also provides empirical evidence on student perspectives, learning and behaviour in a private university. It demonstrated that the Kirkpatrick's model is useful as an evaluation tool to be used in higher education.