The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which selected communication tools used by teachers who teach online are positively perceived by their students in improving feelings of self-efficacy and motivation, and which tools may be perceived to be significantly more effective than the others. Students from the Florida Virtual School, a leader in online course delivery for grades 6-12, were surveyed to find their perceptions about how their teachers' use of email, Instant Messaging, chat, the telephone, discussion area, whiteboard, and assignment feedback affected their motivation and success in an online high school course. Correlations were done to discover if there were any significant relationships between variables that relate to teacher interaction and motivation. In addition, distributions of student responses to survey questions about digital communication tools and demographics were examined. It was found that there is a high degree of correlation between frequency of teachers' use of digital communication tools and student's perception of their level of motivation. It was also found that the digital communication tools most frequently used by teachers in communicating with their students were email, the telephone, and assignment feedback, and that the students found these same tools the most helpful in their learning. In addition, no significant demographic differences were found in students' perception of teacher's use of tools to enhance learning and motivation in their courses except in the number of previous online courses taken. These findings can help direct online high school teachers in their selection of digital tools used to communicate with their students.

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This paper aimed to examine the use of emojis and emoticons in Twitter data. Therefore, the study utilized Twitter data on how emojis and emoticons were used in English in the Curators of Sweden project by Swedish individuals. Moreover, considering the fast and technology-filled world humans live in, new terms and concepts have emerged, such as CMC, a computer-mediated communication, namely, a form of communication or information conveyed through a digital and virtual mechanism, known in the postmodern world today as social media. Furthermore, the study showcased how individuals of both sexes use emojis and emoticons provided on Twitter to express themselves as a new form of virtual emotional language while also considering gender differences. The results of the study indicate that emojis and emoticons have been used extensively in Twitter data and play a huge role in expressing feelings and emotions in Twitter communication. While emojis and emoticons were used more frequently by females than males. The findings of this paper indicated the importance of ample space that social media, namely Twitter and its set of provided emojis and emoticons, occupy in lives. Thus, modern communication tools manifested in the virtual language emojis and emoticons, which in their role supported emotional communication. / nej

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) nowadays is constantly evolving and drastically impacting different fields of human activity, such as higher education. University education, due to ICT, was able to move from the traditional teaching and learning practices to e-Learning. That is, delivering education to the learner regardless of place and time via leveraging technology, such as computer-mediated platforms, based on synchronous video conferencing. The next generation of computer-mediated communication tools is ready to facilitate synchronous holographic communication among users. However, such tools have not been designed specifically for the field of university education and have not been taken into consideration the design requirements and needs of users to be successfully integrated to the e-Learning model.     Hence, this master’s thesis study explores the perceptions of higher education teachers and students about the potential use of holographic ICT tools in the context of e-Learning, as well as their desired characteristics in regard to the design of such tools. For this, an interpretive qualitative ethnographic research was conducted. Data was collected through passive observations and focus group discussions with purposively selected university teachers and students, and by leveraging the method of Thinking Aloud. The collected data was subjected to thematic analysis to conclude to seven themes, which represent the findings of this study. These research findings were discussed in relation to the research aim, research questions and the theoretical framework including the approach of User-Centered Design.     The research findings showed that university teachers and students acknowledge the potential of the holographic ICT tools and have an interest to try them out in the context of e-Learning activities. The potential use of holographic ICT tools was described as improving the quality of communication between teachers and students when on distance; delivering education globally and making it more accessible; lifting the current technological limitations and enriching the e-Learning practices. Some concerns, though, in regard to the use of such tools were expressed in terms of complexity and disturbances. The research findings also showed the university teachers’ and students’ desired characteristics in regard to the design of such tools, which include interoperability with the other systems used in e-Learning activities; high quality of human and non-human holographic representations; and indicators in holographs of the participants’ status, along with additional interactive features. In addition, the university teachers and students suggested the holographic ICT tools to be designed as a pair of comfortable augmented reality (AR) glasses, which can be easy to control and can be connected to personal devices. Finally, it was suggested to include main tools of teaching and learning activities -such as whiteboard, screensharing, slides presentation-; and multiple modes that can be used depending on the users’ teaching and learning needs.  Thus, the research outcome contributes theoretically to the research field of informatics by providing insights and new knowledge about the potential use of novel holographic ICT tools for e-Learning. The research outcome also contributes practically to designers, developers, technology companies, and other interested stakeholders as it shortens the knowledge gap regarding the design principles of holographic ICT tools and their use cases within the context of education, and provides suggestions regarding their design from a user-centered approach.