The advent of online learning has been important due to its convenience, flexibility, and global scope. It caters to various learning styles, encourages independent study, and typically has many resources. In particular, amid advances in technology and the growing need for remote education, online learning environments have taken on even greater importance of late.

usage of online learning mode helps in assisting learners with diverse needs, such as disabled as it enables them to access learning materials, interacting with other colleagues from anywhere at anytime. It is flexible learning that copes with ever-changing world of technology.

Certainly.

With the continuous advancement of technology, online learning environments have become an increasingly significant part of the education sector. The rise and development of online learning can be attributed to several reasons:

1. **Convenience**: Online learning environments provide students with the possibility to learn anytime and anywhere. As long as there is an internet connection, students can access learning resources, which offers equal learning opportunities for students from different regions and backgrounds.

2. **Flexibility**: Online learning environments often offer flexible learning schedules, catering to the needs of different students, especially those who have full-time jobs, family responsibilities, or other time conflicts.

3. **Diversity**: Online learning environments can provide a wide variety of learning resources and methods, such as video lectures, online discussions, and interactive assignments, to meet the learning styles and preferences of different students.

4. **Interactivity**: Although online learning environments sometimes receive criticism for lacking face-to-face communication, many online platforms offer various interactive tools, such as forums, video conferences, and online collaboration projects, to enhance communication and collaboration among students.

5. **Scalability**: Compared to traditional classroom settings, online learning environments can more easily expand to accommodate the needs of more students.

6. **Cost-effectiveness**: For educational institutions, online learning environments can save on the costs of teaching facilities. At the same time, for students, the costs of online learning can sometimes be relatively lower.

7. **Adaptability and Sustainability**: During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and educational institutions around the world were forced to close, causing online learning environments to quickly become the primary form of education. This also shows the adaptability and sustainability of online learning environments in special circumstances.

However, online learning environments also face some challenges, such as technical issues, cybersecurity, and students' self-discipline. Therefore, to ensure the quality and effectiveness of online learning, educators and students need to constantly learn and adapt to this new learning method.

Actually the online learning environment became a necessity after COVID19 when the educational system adopt the online learning. However, the unplanned jumb to this online training caused a gap related to the online environment. This increases the need to study this environment in order to find the standards and qualifications that increase its quality and consequently the quality of learning. In Palestine we face challenges due to the Israeli occupation, these challenges cause closure of schools and universities. Therefore, the online learning became part of our educational system And we gain good experience in this field.

With the ubiquity of the internet and the pedagogical opportunities offered by digital media for education at all levels, online learning is a form of education that is tailored to the individual needs of learners beyond traditional face-to-face instruction. However, we still have to work on the democratization of education, recognize the importance of the presence of teachers and learn to establish educational relationships in virtual environments.

I share research and a book on the subject:

(2) (PDF) La presencia docente conquistando la virtualidad (researchgate.net)

https://a.co/d/btpoihY

Mr Solis, thank you for your question and your work and the opportunity to share knowledge. Having read the title of your dissertation, I was wondering if you are also examining the assessment of information technology of the users as agents/ creators of knowledge and not only as consumers of knowledge?

The use of online learning is not new. Even before the onset of the pandemic, several universities had offered online learning. However, its use was accelerated during the pandemic since it's the learning modality that best fits the situation. After the pandemic, the majority of schools, colleges, and universities have shifted to full face-to-face while others still maintain blended learning where online learning is a part of it. However, it may appear significant to a certain degree if we were to look at the global arena. The education sector has to show how it contributes to making its stakeholders globally competitive - i.e. having cultural awareness, maintaining the needed communication skills, integrating the required technology, among others. These are the specifications needed to communicate with other people nationally and internationally where the exchange of bright ideas and preparation of scholarly work are taking place. Thus, an increase in significance in online learning environments.

All the above answers are good and useful.

Dear Allan, I believe that the application of the Uses and Gratifications Theory in online learning could be discussed in the context of gamification and playful design. Hence, I share with you a couple of relevant studies [1-5] such as a recent review on gamification in online learning [1]. Regarding information literacy, you might find interesting a study with a augmented reality escape room game on fake news [6]. Good luck in your research!

[1] Yazdi, A., Karimi, A., & Mystakidis, S. (2024). Gamification in Online Education: A Visual Bibliometric Network Analysis. Information, 15(2), 81. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15020081

Article Gamification in Online Education: A Visual Bibliometric Netw...

[2] Mystakidis, S. (2021). Combat Tanking in Education - The TANC Model for Playful Distance Learning in Social Virtual Reality. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 13(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGCMS.291539

Article Combat Tanking in Education - The TANC Model for Playful Dis...

[3] Christopoulos, A., Mystakidis, S., Kurczaba, J., Laakso, M.-J., & Stylios, C. (2024). Is Immersion in 3D Virtual Games Associated with Mathematical Ability Improvement in Game-Based Learning? International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-023-10440-4

Article Is Immersion in 3D Virtual Games Associated with Mathematica...

[4] Mystakidis, S. (2022). Sustainable Engagement in Open and Distance Learning With Play and Games in Virtual Reality. In O. Bernardes, V. Amorim, & A. C. Moreira (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Gamification Dynamics and User Experience Design (pp. 409–424). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4291-3.ch019

Chapter Sustainable Engagement in Open and Distance Learning With Pl...

[5] Mystakidis, S. (2020). Distance Education Gamification in Social Virtual Reality: A Case Study on Student Engagement. 11th International Conference on Information, Intelligence, Systems and Applications (IISA 2020), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/IISA50023.2020.9284417

Conference Paper Distance Education Gamification in Social Virtual Reality: A...

[6] Buchner, J., & Höfler, E. (2024). Can pre-service teachers learn about fake news by playing an augmented reality escape game? Contemporary Educational Technology, 16(2), ep504. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/14335

Article Can pre-service teachers learn about fake news by playing an...