THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021)

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Philosophy to Practicalities The article author is an educator who genuinely keeps abreast of the textbooks and academic works of Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat. For thirteen-year working experience with him, the author insisted that the creative and productive education philosophy is his ‘core principle’ that is accommodated to all of his professional aspects in both academic and pedagogical fields, and even executive roles. Putting it in a simple way, he not only acts as a creator or a specialist in the education sector who proposes the notion of the philosopher to other related people, but also he acts as a practitioner who himself applies the philosophy with all co-workers and occupational tasks in his everyday life as if he is one experimented sampler. The following underpinned the aforementioned statement. The Role of an Educator and a Teacher All students in the graduate level classroom taught by Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat has experienced in the philosophy of the creative and productive education. Most of them accomplished their master or doctoral degree from their thesis or research dissertation related to his creative and productive education theory. It is clearly observed that in the classroom, Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat explicitly explained the knowledge source, the rationale, and key principles of the creative and productive education philosophy. He, moreover, assigns his students to create an academic work in various forms relevant to the creative and productive education philosophy. In some occasions, he urges his student to write an academic article in order to compile all his students’ works in the published journals, each of which has its own particular theme and the current trend of the educational field. To illustrate, under Thailand 4.0, Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat gave his doctoral students the challenging assignment to write and submit one article to the published journals under the theme of “Creative Schools” and “Educational Institution 4.0: Productive schools”. Interestingly, he made a decision to have his article published in the same journal as his students’. This makes his students proud of themselves because of their names listed along with their professor. Another interesting issue is the first experience of the academic article publication in his students’ life. The professor addressed that when starting the first publication, there will be another. His teaching approach urges the students to eagerly produce the academic work themselves. He believed that writing the academic article is the crystallization of thought. It coaches his students to organize their idea through the process of synthesizing existing and new knowledge, and carefully arranging the content in order to present an interesting article to the public. According to Sinlarat (2018a), “this process enhances his students in the master and doctoral level to profoundly express intellectual opinions and discuss the academic issues. Due to his lesson plan, the students are always motivated to give an idea, and make a discussion, even an argument on the given academic topics… To develop the academic work, I do the experiment on the implementation of the crystal-based approach. In this approach, each author must put a lot of effort to work on, analyze, criticize, review and then re-correct his/her work for at least 3 times (p.1).” Apart from his classroom students, his graduates who become a teacher or an administrator in renowned educational institutions have been assigned to write academic articles with him or with other educators. This can be recognized as the innovative product valuable for the educational area with reference to the proceeding, the tertiary education: buried courses (Sinlarat, 2017). 95

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Giving students the assignment in forms of the academic article writing is the good example of the implementation of the creative and productive education philosophy to the practicalities. Regarding the CCPR model, when writing an academic article is initiated, the following stage will be emerged. The first one is critical mind drawn from carefully monitoring the surroundings, seeking for the original source, and capturing the major issues of what is written. Secondly, creative mind, is generated for further development with relation to the existing knowledge and literature review by searching new relevant issues for writing. Productive mind is implemented afterwards through considering the methodology, productivity, and quality of the academic work. The last stage is responsible mind, encouraging the public-minded consciousness by transforming the research author into the societal contributor who makes their academic work meaningful for the society. The Role of an Educational Administrator Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat has served as a distinguished administrator under the philosophy of the creative and productive education. He always took the creative and productive education principle into action when he was in the high rank position of any organizations in order to increase productivity and maximize the profitability for those organizations. As the result of the shift and development, he was confident that the innovative products in forms of both paradigms and new operations will take place in his responsible organizations. As easily seen, when the professor became the vice-president of research development sector and the dean of the college of education sciences at Dhurakij Pundit University, he created considerable innovative changes, especially in the structure of management and administration. For instance, he created an innovative shift in the research development sector by putting a greater emphasis on maximizing the number of new researchers, solving the problems of the academic and research work shortage. To list a few, he has made the research development sector a great progress by presenting the remuneration system like monthly rewards for researchers apart from the normal research fund in order to stipulate new researchers to produce many research studies. Besides this, he founded the Dhurakij Pundit University printing house taking charge of publishing and distributing textbooks and teaching materials produced by teachers. Additional, he ran proactively the research management strategy to all faculties of the university. This proactive strategy brought him to participate with the faculty research teams to set up the plan and identify any threats of problems. The objective of the strategy is not only to stimulate teachers in the faculties to production any forms of academic research work, but also to assist those teachers to qualify for the academic title or to make more professional progress in their education field. It is noteworthy that Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat is one of the innovative administrators. According to the viewpoint of Sinlarat (2016b), “under the Thai circumstance, most organizations have hardly looked forward to the future, just follow their routine work…to achieve the managerial goal, we must be a leader of great vision and be an effective forecaster. Instead of working as a routine, why don’t we try or develop something more workable (p.198).” Significantly, after Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat had performed as the head of the instructional field in the department of education sciences, he established the college of education sciences at Dhurakij Pundit University. The college puts a greater emphasis on the innovation of the research studies, theses, dissertations aligning creative and productive principles, the education management cooperating with the communities, the teaching and learning management based on the specific standards of the education sciences college, called “Ten 96

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Approaches”. The approach is defined in brief as the teaching and learning methods that encourages learners to produce the academic projects, reports, and research articles. It is believed that this approach is a higher phase engaging students in the application of their background knowledge. Beyond that, Sinlarat (2016b, p.158) discovered that students have a great chance to accumulate previous literature reviews in order to capture the direction of the educational innovation. Apart from his administrative role with the creative and productive education philosophy at Dhurakij Pundit University, Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat as the board chairman of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand also applied the philosophy towards his administrative work during January 2013 to March 2015. In this managerial part, when he had an opportunity to give a presentation, he introduced the creative and productive education philosophy to the staff of the Teachers’ Council of Thailand. This can be easily explored in the published book, named “Think for teachers”, stemming from gathering and tape coding through his presentations for each occasion. This book clearly reflects the notion and principle of his working in the Teachers’ Council of Thailand. He, for example, encouraged the organization to move forward proactively in order to prepare for the abrupt changes in both the Thai society and the world. Inevitably, the increasing number of ASEAN and international population affects the teaching career. That is why the proactive working strategy is urgently required in the Teachers’ Council of Thailand. Last but not least, Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat suggested that the Teachers’ Council of Thailand needs to make more coordination with the faculties of education and education sciences in terms of teacher development. Well-qualified teachers are essential in the teaching and administrative areas. The standard of the teacher in the educational area must be set up to be the guidance for teachers in new generation, especially in terms of the quality of educational leadership. Those teachers play very crucial roles to lead the society into practical directions: teaching young learners to be responsible, be public-minded, be advanced in technology, and be ready for the change. More importantly, these teachers are those who must perform as a creative and productive teacher who is able to produce the innovative teaching methodology and style, as well as initiatively composing their own academic works (Sinlarat, 2016b, p.2-6). Moreover, those qualified teachers are ready to intuitively search more knowledge by themselves, as well as readily adjusting themselves for change, and conducting the research studies by themselves (Sinlarat, 2016b, p19). That is because Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat realized the importance of the teachers’ role and described that the genuine education reform is commenced by teachers in classrooms (Sinlarat, 2016b, p.7) Conclusion It can be concluded that Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat, in my viewpoint, has become one prestigious philosopher specializing in the creative and productive principle. Even though receiving an educational degree from abroad, as well as acquiring various theoretical knowledge there, he determines to work on creative and productive principle under the Thai societal circumstances such as local wisdom and indigenous knowledge. In this way, he put a lot of attempt to dig up the source of the social problems making an impact on the Thai education system. After he spent more time to synthesize and analyse the problematic source, the ‘Home-Based Theory’ was proposed. This theory, certainly, is derived from the foundation of a Thai society life. Besides being a thinker, Professor Emeritus Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat also acts as an operationalizing person like a man of action, a renowned educator, and an effective administrator under the creative and productive education 97

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" principle. Through his life, he places a lot of concentration on transferring his educational knowledge and motivating his students, his supervisees, and even people in the society to realize the necessity of implementing the creative and productive education philosophy. He believed that this application of the theory brings the cultural shift of the education from consumerism to productivity in order to build more independence and more strength for the Thai society than what it is like at present. Suggestions If Thailand would like to convert from being consumerism to a productive society, educationalists undertake the creative and productive education philosophy into implementation for themselves, for their teaching professions, and for administration as follows: 1. The application of the critical mind principle must be in a focus. That is, the educationalists should have the ability to observe the Thai social surroundings, learn through the original stage, and understand the cause and effect. Besides this, they should emphasize on the administrative process like determining objectives through critical aiming until the final outcome emerges with the reflection to the analysis on current environment. 2. The application of the creative mind principle must be in the next focus. It is expected that the educationalists think and analyse for further or beyond their existing knowledge, applied in the meaningful way. In this point, they have to figure out new educational issues and undertake the administrative process that efficiently direct the organizations through the creative setting. It is finalized with the production of creative works. 3. The application of productive mind must be taken into educationalists’ consideration with regard to the final outcome. The educationalists must create the product more valuable through the virtue of being innovative. In their administrative task, they should have an involvement with the product emphasis by creating or producing new product or works. 4. The application of responsible mind is required for educationalists. That is, they must have the morality and ethics, as well as the high responsibility for their professional careers, learners, and the community. Their administration process must be completed with maintaining responsibility. Their final product must reflect the concept of social responsibility. References Sinlarat, P. (2008). Higher education in globalization: the report on field trips and academic conference abroad (2nd ed). Chulalongkorn University Press. Sinlarat, P. (2014). Strategies of developing administrators and teachers to level up the quality of education. Suratthani Rajabhat Journal, 1(1), p.1-27. Sinlarat, P. (2016a). Education 4.0: the creative and productive education (3rd ed). Chulalongkorn University Press. Sinlarat, P. (2016b). Think for teachers: speech during being a board chairman of the Teachers’ council of Thailand (Khurusapha). Chulalongkorn University Press. Sinlarat, P. (2017). School 4.0: productive schools. The College of Education Sciences of Dhurakij Pundit University Press. Sinlarat, P. (2018a). Changing Thai education to creative one (6th ed). Chulalongkorn University Press. Sinlarat, P. (2018b). Fundamental philosophy (7th ed). Chulalongkorn University Press. Sinlarat, P. (2018c). Principles of curriculum and instruction management (4th ed). Chulalongkorn 98

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" University Press. Sinlarat, P. (2018d). Stepping over the old circle: the proceeding of education and Thai society (2nd ed). Chulalongkorn University Press. Sinlarat, P., Wisaruetapa, W., & Meesan, N. (2017). Buried courses in the higher education (2nd ed). Chulalongkorn University Press. 99

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" What CSR Activities Have Been Performed By the Casino Operators –A Case in Macau Samson Io Kei Leong Institute for Tourism Studies, Macau Email: [email protected] Catherine Zhuo Li Institute for Tourism Studies, Macau Email: [email protected] Abstract The growing concern of controversial role of gaming industry has urged many casino operators to devote management effort in engaging corporate social responsibilities (CSR) activities to enhance its corporate image. This study adopts the pyramid of corporate social responsibility model to understand the performed CSR activities that were communicated through mass media. The study reveals CSR activities that the six casino operators in Macau have been engaged in and also communicated through corporate communications. Results are revealed by conducting content analysis on the new reports covered by mass media. Different types of responsibilities have been revealed from four different CSR dimensions: economic, legal ethical, and philanthropic. The research findings highlight that much of the casino’s efforts have been placed in fulfilling its philanthropic responsibilities namely charitable giving; employee volunteerism; donations; scholarships and sponsorships, followed by its ethical responsibilities namely support to local suppliers; youth development; environmental preservation; employee development; employee benefits and responsible gaming. It further indicates that more efforts should be directed to the other CSR dimensions. The study concludes with implications and limitations. Keywords: corporate social responsibilities; communications; stakeholders; casino 1. Introduction Macau, formally known as China’s Special Administrative Region, despite its recent market turbulence in its gaming sector due to the coronavirus outbreak (McCartney, 2020) , it has continued to remain its leading position in the Asian’s gambling market. The rapid economic growth in its gambling sector has provoked both academics and practitioners’ interest to study this gambling enclave, by examining its online destination image (Tang, Choi, Morrison, & Lehto, 2009), environment impact of casino gaming (Wan, 2012) and human resources related issues to casino dealers (Wan, 2012; Wan & Chan, 2013). Although the development of the casino business has brought huge economic growth in Macau’s tourism industry and provided job opportunities, however casino industry is still regarded as a controversial business due to its potential harm into the society from problem gambling (S. Lee & Park, 2009). Thus responsible gambling (RG) strategies which has emerged within the context of CSR strategy (C. K. Lee, Song, Lee, Lee, & Bernhard, 2013) has been integrated into casino business strategies in order to minimize the negative social impact. Previous study from Porter and Kramer (2006) argues that CSR initiatives can be regarded as a strategic tool to help industry to improve its corporate image, especially prevalent in the casino industry. Recent study from Chen McCain, Lolli, Liu, and Jen (2018) have further revealed the 100

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and casino loyalty in response to CSR’s impact on customer buying intention (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001), the findings of this study have highlighted the salient role on how casino’s CSR activities influence customer behavioral intention. Liu, Wong, Chu, and Tseng (2014) point out that engaging in CSR behaviors are not limited by a firm to fulfill its moral obligations; more importantly it should be better understood as a ‘corporate social agenda’ that a firm tries to fulfill by meeting the society and stakeholders’ expectation towards CSR. Research has pointed out that a stakeholder’s perception of a firm’s CSR engagement is strongly influenced by its corporate communication (Pang et al., 2018), the formation of company’s corporate image is attributed by the CSR communications. It indicates that the management of CSR is largely influenced by understanding of stakeholder expectation and how company communicates its CSR effort. Thus, it has fostered the need to have an in-depth understanding of casino’s CSR communications and its stakeholder expectations. This paper aims to identify type of CSR practices casino operators communicate to the general public through mass media. Through this study, casino operators gain acknowledgement about what other aspects of CSR activities their competitors have been engaging to and hence provide them an opportunity to examine their current CSR plan and corresponding communication strategies. To build corporate reputation, it is important to understand what kind of CSR activities indeed matters to the stakeholders and companies should strategically plan its CSR engagements. 2. Literature Review CSR Definition and its origin The conceptualization of CSR can be found broadly in the literature but there is still lack a common definition of CSR among corporate practitioners and academia. Dahlsrud (2008) analyzed literature concerning CSR and found 37 definitions. Despite the large amount of existing definitions found, they are largely congruent. These definitions encompass a wide range of economic, legal and voluntarily activities that companies have engaged in. Garriga and Melé (2013) classify four major groups of CSR theories pertaining instrumental theories, in which corporations are serving as instruments to generate profits and their social engagements are only alternative ways to make economic benefits; political theories, in which firms are seen having power to influence social constitutions and that they should use these powers in a constructive ways ; integrative theories, in which focus on how firms observe and react to social demands and to incorporate these social values into the firms’ business operations to gain greater social acceptance; and ethical theories, in which principles of ethics are central to the management of all stakeholder relationships. Devinney (2009) argues that the notion of corporate social responsibility is yet to be defined as what constitutes “social” and what “responsibilities” corporate should bear are debatable. He has also noted that corporations would concentrate to solve social problems that they are capable of and can benefit the corporation from solving those problems. Carroll (1979), one of the bellwethers of CSR studies, has underpinned the conceptual model of corporate social responsibility that comprised of four social responsibility categories – economic responsibilities, legal responsibilities, ethical responsibilities and discretionary. Discretionary responsibility was termed philanthropic responsibilities in his later work (Carroll, 1991). Figure 1 portrays Carroll’s (1991). Much of CSR related research has been based on this framework in which categories for responsibility initiatives that society expects business entities to assume. This study intends to employ Carroll’s (1979) model of CSR as the theoretical framework. 101

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Figure 1. The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibilities (Carroll, 1991). CSR to Stakeholders and Society Corporation and its stakeholders alike perceive the relative importance of some of their respective CSR domains differently. For instance, Öberseder, Schlegelmilch, and Murphy (2013) finds that corporation attributes high importance of CSR to the shareholder domain, for its accountability of sustainable growth and long-term profitability, while consumers attribute low importance to this domain. When deciding on the priority of importance to different stakeholder groups, firms tend to place higher priority to stakeholders based mainly on instrumental considerations pertaining to employees, customers and shareholders from whom firms generate wealth (Jamali, 2008). The focus of CSR in the literature is somehow still ambiguous in a sense that there is no agreement on which social constituents and which aspects of responsibility that company should bear. Jamali (2008) argues that firms pay attention only to a limited range of stakeholders, due of paucity of resources being available. Priority of attention is given to stakeholders who have strong attributes to power, legitimacy and urgency. McWilliams and Siegel (2001) assert that company’s decisions on CSR engagement should be based on cost-benefit analysis of the CSR activities invested. The benefit of increased revenue arisen from improved corporation reputation should equal or exceed the cost invested in satisfying multiple stakeholders demand and expectations for CSR. Similarly, Devinney (2009) argues that CSR will only be sustainable if the corporations and relevant stakeholders are both persuaded that their CSR efforts being spent would ultimately benefit the corporations. Large scale corporations tend to make systematic effort to nurture a wide spectrum of stakeholder relationships so as to gain competitive advantage (Jamali, 2008). CSR Communications There are various communication channels that corporations can disseminate their CSR performance. Press releases about companies’ CSR activities are sent to news media including newspapers, radio stations and television stations. However, message exposure is not controlled by the corporations as the editors of these news media decide on what information and news to 102

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" be reported. Companies can also disseminate its performance of CSR activities through their official website in the form of press release and annual CSR report (Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen, 2010). It is a delicate matter for practitioners to communicate their CSR activities in a way that would avoid audience skepticism. Scholder Ellen, Webb, and Mohr (2006) finds that audiences’ perception about firms’ CSR initiatives is not simplistic as if they are serving the purpose of self- economic outcomes or reflecting their altruistic concerns for the society. Rather, audiences see that firm’s engagement into CSR activities is filled with self-centered strategic motives. Audience tend to respond favorably to CSR engagements that are perceived as values driven and being strategic while unfavorably to those that are perceived as stakeholder driven or egoistic for the firm’s economic advantages. They associate the reporting of trivial deeds and boasting of CSR as public relations spins to polish corporate images (Zhang & Swanson, 2006). 3. Methodology The data presented in this study were collected from Macau on casino communicated CSR activities by analyzing the content of CSR related news articles. Content analysis was conducted for news articles related to CSR activities performed by the six casino operators, in alphabetical order, namely Galaxy Casino S.A.; Melco Resorts and Entertainment; MGM Grand Paradise; Sociedade de Jogas de Macau (“SJM”); Venetian Macau S.A.; and Wynn Resort (Macao) S.A. News articles were collected from three main sources –the online news archives of local newspaper (both English and Chinese medium), Google News, and corporate webpage of the six casino operators dedicated to communicate their press releases. The time frame for news articles search was limited to the last ten years, ranged from 1st-October 2010 to 30th-September, 2020. English news articles were collected from the online news archive of “Macau News” and “Macau Daily Times”. These two news archives were chosen because online search function is provided on the company website. For the Chinese medium newspaper, the website of “Macau Daily News” and “Va Kio Daily” were used to search for news articles. These two Chinese newspapers are the two largest ones, among the nine Chinese newspapers in Macau. Google news search was also used to retrieve news articles that might be published in other media other than the aforementioned ones. Keywords used included the names of the six casino operators and “corporate social responsibility”. The article search process has been conducted using English language and Chinese language. Companies utilize press releases to inform media and the general public about the company’s deeds through press room in the corporate website (Callison, 2003). Press releases sent to media might not always be published in their publications. Therefore, by accessing the company’s online press room, news articles reporting the casino operator’s CSR activities are supplemented. Press releases concerning the communications of CSR activities were downloaded from the press release archive from each of the casino operators’ website. A total of 2059 news articles were collected. 4. Findings and Discussions Themes of CSR activities in each domain being reported by media are summarized in table 1. Frequencies Percentage Philanthropic Responsivities 154 7.48% Charitable Giving 103

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Employee Volunteerism Frequencies Percentage Donations 288 13.99% Scholarships 188 Sponsorships 114 9.13% 186 5.54% 9.03% Ethical Responsibilities 175 8.50% Support to Local Suppliers 126 6.12% Youth Development 115 5.59% Environmental Preservations 77 3.74% Employee Development 128 6.22% Employee Benefits 108 5.25% Responsible Gaming Legal Responsibilities 47 2.28% Law Compliance 124 6.02% Corporate Governance 88 4.27% Equality in Employment Opportunities Economic Responsibilities 44 2.14% Return to Investors 97 4.71% Sustainable Development 2059 100% Table 1. Summary of CSR activities reported by media Philanthropic Responsibilities Charitable giving The charitable giving from the six casino operators comes in many forms. These giving usually reflect the special features of the companies that made the offer. To illustrate a few examples, Galaxy has been working with local charitable organizations to organize art events. It has invited orphans and elderly to watch films in the movie theaters that are housed in the resort. Melco has given free tickets to elderly and underprivileged to watch their entertainment shows. The Venetian has invited mentally challenged and their family to experience its “Ice World” event. Employee volunteerism Employee volunteer teams are formed in all the six casino operators and they have been engaging in making contributions to society. Reports of volunteer work have frequently appeared on local media. For instance, MGM’s volunteer team cleans the homes of the lone-living elderly offers free haircut service. Wynn Macau Volunteer team has partnered with the Youth Volunteers Association of Macau to play games and organized art work activities to the mentally challenged. Donations The casino operators have frequently donated money for good cause to various organizations. The beneficiaries include charity organizations, NGOs, and education institutes, etc. For example, donations were made to help victims from natural disasters such as the Nepal earthquake. Other NGOs such as Orbis has received donations from the casino companies. 104

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Scholarships The casino operators have been committed to support educations to nurture the young generation. A good number of news articles reporting the giving of scholarship by the casino operators to local schools and universities were found. SJM has awarded scholarships to the children of staff and granted scholarship to students at the University of Macau. Sponsorships Sports events in Macau have been sponsored by the casino companies. For example, the annual Macau International Marathon has been title sponsored by Galaxy. Venetian has title sponsored the Macau Eco Trailhiker. Ethical Responsibilities Support to local suppliers Support to local small-and medium size enterprises (SMEs) have been observed among the casino operators. Galaxy has offered partnership opportunities to the local SMEs in the retail and food and beverage sectors that they were invited to open outlets in the new phase of its resort development. Social purchasing has also been evidenced. For instance, Venetian Macau has purchased handmade flowers from a local association of the mentally challenged and gave the merchandise to restaurants patrons on the Valentine’s Day. Youth development The casino operators have engaged in developing the talents among the youth. Wynn Macau has offered “Headstart Career Program”, a pre-employment training program to students at higher education to acquire work experience during the years while they are studying. MGM has launched management associates programs that are open for local university graduates to receive hospitality management training at MGM Las Vegas. Similar programs exist in other casino operators. These youth development programs aim to improve the skills and service standard of the local workforce, specifically in the hospitality industry. Environmental preservation The casino operators have been actively participated in environmental protection activities initiated by government bodies and NGOs. For example, all the six casino operators have participated in WWF’s annual Earth Hour that non-essential lights were turned off for an hour. Aside from symbolic actions, pragmatic conservation measures such as replacing conventional lightings by LED lights and installing automatic energy saving controls have not only enhanced energy efficiency but also save costs on utility. The companies have also engaged in emission control by joining the carbon footprint repository coordinated by the environmental protection department. Employee development Programs aiming to develop employees’ professionalism have been frequently reported. These programs are either organized in-house or in collaboration with other learning and training organizations. Melco Crown encourages life-long learning and has collaborated with Edinburgh Napier University to offer a bachelor degree program to its employees. Similarly, SJM sponsors full tuition fees to selective staff that further their studies at a local tertiary education institute. Employee benefits Announcements of pay rise have been reported in media particularly after the Chinese New Year when it is a typical time for companies to revise employee salary schemes. Other extrinsic 105

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" motivations such as special bonus schemes have been observed. Wynn Macau has been reported to give 1,000 company shares to each of its 7,500 staff. Responsible gaming All the six casino operators have been reported to initiate policies and programs of responsible gambling. These programs include self-exclusion and third party exclusion programs and twenty-four hour counseling hotline. To prevent problem gaming among staff and casino patrons, all employees working in the casino have received job orientation and training programs for problem gaming awareness. Legal Responsibilities Law compliance The minimum legal age for patrons to enter casinos in Macau has been raised to twenty- one years old. It has been reported that casino operators have been reinforcing their security check to prohibit patrons under the legal age to enter into their gaming establishments. Starting on January 1, 2013, partial smoking ban has been implemented and full smoking ban was put into effect on October 6, 2014 in all casinos in Macau, with the exemption to VIP gaming venues. Nevertheless, casino compliance to the new law has been reported, alongside with news that smoking lounges where separated ventilation and air exchange systems are installed. Corporate governance Adoptions of code on corporate governance have been communicated on the casino operators’ CSR report. For instance, Melco has adopted its company code in which principles and practices are in benchmarks with that of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The code on corporate governance ensures the company operates in high transparency. SJM has established anti- corruption policies and procedures to prevent money laundering through their casino operations. The company has also incorporated mechanism to report management faults. Equality in employment opportunities The casino operators are found complying with government regulations in their recruitment and employment practices. For example, Melco’s CSR report has explicated their hiring policies are in compliance with local legislations, particularly in respect to the ordinances against sex discrimination; disability discrimination; family status discrimination and race discrimination. Similarly, SJM has reported equal opportunity in hiring employees at all different age ranges and has no preference on candidates’ gender. Economic Responsibilities Return to investors The casino companies are responsible to their investors that profits are made from their business operations. Quarterly and annual reports communicating the company’s financial well- being have been observed in various media. The periodic reporting of the company’s finance fulfills the legal requirement that is stipulated to all listed companies. Sustainable development It is of vital importance that businesses have plans for future development. All the six casino operators have acquired land for developing new properties in the Cotai Strip, an area of reclaimed land between Taipa Island and Coloane Island in the Macau Special Administrative Region. Media reports have been communicating the business development plans of the casino operators, specifically about their effort of diversifications into non-gaming business that help enrich Macau’s tourism attractions. 106

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" 5. Conclusion The current study has identified the CSR activities that have been performed and communicated by the six casino operators in Macau. Content analysis on the reported news articles and company press releases with regard to their CSR activities has indicated that their CSR performance have been coping with stakeholders’ expectations in some CSR domains. It has been observed that philanthropic and ethical CSR activities were mostly communicated. Ethical responsibilities are seen as emerging values and norms that members of the society expect companies to perform. These values and norms indicate the raising standard that are required by the existing laws (Amor-Esteban, García-Sánchez, & Galindo-Villardón, 2018). While the casino operators have been promoting responsible gambling, opinions remain suspicious on the extent of effort as the implementation of such policies results in reducing casino patrons. This is consistent to Devinney (2009) propositions that the ultimate goals of corporations are to make economic returns rather than solving societal problems. They exist to optimize the benefits of their stakeholders but not that of the general public. Hence, the way that corporates report and the amount of substances contained in their CSR activities would affect public perception about the company’s deeds. These reports should not be treated as cheap ways to generate publicity. Managers of the corporate communications should be aware that the public might perceive negatively about the company’s CSR performance if such reports are overly self- congratulatory, leading the public to associate that such deeds are public relations spins aiming to polish the corporate image (Zhang & Swanson, 2006). Several limitations exist in this study. This study has only included CSR activities that have been reported by the media. The findings might not be exhaustive if the performed CSR activities were not being reported, either because the management of the casino operators has considered them too trivial to be publicized or because the editors of the news media did publish their press releases in their publications. Future studies should consider including opinions and expectation from other stakeholders. References Amor-Esteban, V., García-Sánchez, I.-M., & Galindo-Villardón, M.-P. (2018). Analysing the effect of legal system on corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the country level, from a multivariate perspective. Social Indicators Research, 140(1), 435-452. Callison, C. (2003). Media relations and the Internet: how Fortune 500 company web sites assist journalists in news gathering. Public Relations Review, 29(1), 29-41. doi:10.1016/S0363- 8111(02)00196-0 Carroll, A. B. (1979). A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Performance. The Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497-505. doi:10.2307/257850 Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39-48. doi:10.1016/0007-6813(91)90005-G Chen McCain, S.-L., Lolli, J. C., Liu, E., & Jen, E. (2018). The relationship between casino corporate social responsibility and casino customer loyalty. Tourism Economics, 25(4), 569-592. doi:10.1177/1354816618808077 107

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Dahlsrud, A. (2008). How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15(1), 1-13. doi:10.1002/csr.132 Devinney, T. M. (2009). Is the Socially Responsible Corporation a Myth? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Corporate Social Responsibility. Academy of Management Perspectives, 23(2), 44-56. doi:10.5465/AMP.2009.39985540 Du, S., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2010). Maximizing Business Returns to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The Role of CSR Communication. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 8-19. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00276.x Garriga, E., & Melé, D. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory. In A. C. Michalos & D. C. Poff (Eds.), Citation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics (Vol. 2, pp. 69-96): Springer Netherlands. Jamali, D. (2008). A Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Fresh Perspective into Theory and Practice. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(1), 213-231. doi:10.1007/s10551- 007-9572-4 Lee, C. K., Song, H. J., Lee, H. M., Lee, S., & Bernhard, B. J. (2013). The impact of CSR on casino employees’ organizational trust, job satisfaction, and customer orientation: An empirical examination of responsible gambling strategies. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 33(0), 406-415. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2012.10.011 Lee, S., & Park, S.-Y. (2009). Do socially responsible activities help hotels and casinos achieve their financial goals? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28(1), 105-112. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2008.06.003 Liu, T. C. M., Wong, I. k. A., Chu, R., & Tseng, T. H. (2014). Do perceived CSR initiatives enhance customer preference and loyalty in casinos? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(7), 1024-1045. doi:10.1108/IJCHM-05-2013-0222 McCartney, G. (2020). The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Macao. From tourism lockdown to tourism recovery. Current Issues in Tourism, 1-10. doi:10.1080/13683500.2020.1762549 McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2001). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective. The Academy of Management Review, 26(1), 117-127. doi:10.2307/259398 Öberseder, M., Schlegelmilch, B. B., & Murphy, P. E. (2013). CSR practices and consumer perceptions. Journal of Business Research, 66(10), 1839-1851. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.02.005 Pang, A., Lwin, M. O., Ng, C. S.-M., Ong, Y.-K., Chau, S. R. W.-C., & Yeow, K. P.-S. (2018). Utilization of CSR to build organizations’ corporate image in Asia: need for an integrative approach. Asian Journal of Communication, 28(4), 335-359. doi:10.1080/01292986.2017.1420207 Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). Strategy & Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78-92. Scholder Ellen, P., Webb, D. J., & Mohr, L. A. (2006). Building Corporate Associations: Consumer Attributions for Corporate Socially Responsible Programs. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 147-157. doi:10.1177/0092070305284976 Sen, S., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2001). Does Doing Good Always Lead to Doing Better? Consumer Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 38(2), 225-243. 108

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Tang, L., Choi, S., Morrison, A. M., & Lehto, X. Y. (2009). The many faces of Macau: A correspondence analysis of the images communicated by online tourism information sources in English and Chinese. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 15(1), 79-94. doi:10.1177/1356766708098173 Wan, Y. K. P. (2012). The social, economic and environmental impacts of casino gaming in Macao: the community leader perspective. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(5), 737-755. doi:10.1080/09669582.2011.636818 Wan, Y. K. P., & Chan, S. H. J. (2013). Casino employees’ perceptions of their quality of work life. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 34, 348-358. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2012.11.010 Zhang, J., & Swanson, D. (2006). Analysis of News Media's Representation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Public Relations Quarterly, 51(2), 13-17. 109

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" The Effectiveness and Future Trends of Distance Learning in Thailand Sirawit Kamolthip1 Thanaporn Nutim2 Sudkanung Naruponjirakul3 College of Education Sciences, Dhurakij Pundit University 1E-mail: [email protected] 2E-mail: [email protected] 3E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT During the pandemic of COVID-19, the educational system in Thailand has been instantly changed. Schools in Thailand have adopted distance learning strategies as a means to manage teaching and learning for Thai students. In this paper, the implementation of Distance Learning Television (DLTV) learning was discussed as well as its benefits and drawbacks. The paper also includes a flexible online learning model for teachers to consider during unpredictable times. A HyFlex course, a combination between hybrid learning and flexibility, is recommended. Pedagogical implications are proposed to help both teachers and learners prepare for their study. KEYWORDS: Distance learning, DLTV, HyFlex course, COVID-19 pandemic Introduction The Coronavirus disease outbreak has caused challenges in educational contexts worldwide. To reduce the spread of the disease, Thailand has taken strict measures such as a lockdown to force people to stay home. How has Thailand dealt with education? In March 2020, the Ministry of Education launched the guidelines to continue teaching and learning during the school closure by adopting the Distance Learning Television (DLTV) platform. DLTV is not a new learning model to Thailand. The existing video records would be used together with the newly recorded videos to broadcast throughout the country. According to Nataphol Teepsuwan, the Minister of Education, two pedagogical approaches would be implemented. For Prathom 1-6 students, the instruction would be one-way communication where there would be little teacher interaction. Printed exercises and homework assignments would be given to students to practice. For Matthayom 1-6 students who frequently acquired teacher-student interaction, the approach would be two-way communication where teachers had to be ready for students when 110

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" they needed help or immediate feedback. (Unesco Bangkok Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, 2020) What would happen when all students in Thailand did not go to school as part of formal education? How effective are distance learning, DLTV, and DLIT during this pandemic crisis? In this paper, we will investigate and analyze the effectiveness of distance learning especially the DLTV platform and suggest some pedagogical implications that teachers are aware of and prepared for the new threats and changes after the COVID-19 pandemic. What is distance learning? Distance learning, also known as distance education or online learning, is a form of education that is designed for students to learn by themselves. Its purpose is to enhance the possibility to learn anywhere, anytime with any means (Cojocariu et al., 2014). Thanks to modern technology, distance learning enables students to remotely access the courses and materials that the educational institutions prepare for them through telecommunication or broadcasting systems. Distance learning provides two learning environments: synchronous learning and asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning happens when students attend live online classes and have real-time interactions with their teachers. This promotes instant feedback and social interactions with peers like interaction in a real classroom. Asynchronous learning means that teachers and students do not access the course at the same time. Students choose the time to learn according to their convenience while interactions with teachers occur through various communicatio channels such as e-mail or text messages that are operated by teachers (Watts, 2016). Distance Learning Television (DLTV) in Thailand The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Thai government to close schools nationwide. The Ministry of Education is responsible for providing online teaching and learning. However, the major problem that has obstructed progress in education is the lack of qualified teachers, especially in small-sized schools. Apart from this, the report has shown that the results of the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-NET) have not yet reached a satisfactory level. As a result, the Ministry of Education declared the policy for schools to adopt the Distance Learning Television (DLTV) platform to be part of instruction. With limited access to the Internet, small-sized schools could provide learning content and materials through scheduled programs on DLTV channels. By doing this, it was believed that Thai schools could maintain standards to an acceptable level. DLTV has eventually considered the solution in continuing learning during the lockdown. Distance Learning Television (DLTV) is a Thai distance learning program launched on the 5th December 1995 under the royal initiative of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The objective of the 111

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" DLTV is to solve teacher shortages and help students in remote areas to learn through education channels covering a variety of subjects such as mathematics, English, Thai, science, and social sciences. Using television programs as a tool for learning, students can get access to the courses with pre- scheduled programs for each level of study ranging from Prathomsuksa 1 to Matthayomsuksa 6. Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Wang Klai Kangwon School is the master station in the project (Distance Learning Foundation Under the Royal Patronage, n.d.). Distance Learning Information Technology (DLIT) is the latest version of the distance learning model in Thailand. It was developed to supplement DLTV and extend learning resources. DLIT is a complete online platform consisting of DLIT Classroom, DLIT Resources, DLIT Library, DLIT Professional Learning Community, and DLIT Assessment. DLIT promotes learning by allowing teachers and students to access online videos and online task sheets available for each subject. DLIT is more advanced and flexible due to its Internet-based virtual classroom; students and teachers are not thwarted by the conditions of place and time to teach or learn. They visit the official website, https://dlit.ac.th/ organized by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) (Distance Learning Information Technology, 2015). Benefits of DLTV in Thailand During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in Thailand are forced to close temporarily. Adopting DLTV in instruction helps teachers and students in several ways. First of all, DLTV has been designed to reduce the education gap in Thailand. The fact that not all schools can be allocated with sufficient learning materials and high-quality learning is a major reason why DLTV was initiated at first. This program has been broadcasted to more than 1 million students and teachers, especially, schools in rural areas (Distance Learning Foundation Under the Royal Patronage, n.d.). Consequently, underprivileged schools could likely to manage the instruction during the lockdown. Many reports have revealed that DLTV has increased the opportunities for schools especially in the rural areas to be able to manage a classroom properly (Gerdruang, 2017; Phonsirinthip et al., 2015). Some statistics showed that after reinforcing small schools in Thailand to implement DLTV programs in class, the mean scores of O-NET in 2017 increased by 0.93 percent (Mundee & Haruthaithanasan, 2018). Secondly, DLTV reduces teacher shortage problems. With the scheduled programs covering lessons from Prathom 1 to Matthayom 6, DLTV can provide lessons and exercises for all required subjects in schools. As stated by Gerdruang (2017), DLTV helps solve this problem. Furthermore, using DLTV is more affordable than recruiting new teachers especially for small-sized schools in remote areas with a limited budget. Technically, these schools need at least 8 teachers to teach all compulsory subjects as mentioned in the Thailand Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551. This might not feasible for many 112

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" small schools that rely heavily on budget per headcount of students. Apparently, DLTV switches from learning face-to-face with teachers to learning via television programs in all subjects. Lastly, DLTV provides easy access to everyone. It is open to the public to learn through television broadcasting nationally at any time. DLTV can be considered as the foundation of education that covers all forms including formal, informal, and independent study. Furthermore, this model leads to lifelong education. Education is a continuous process for a learner's life from birth to death. Education can be inserted into a normal life and students can direct their study based on their availability, attitudes, needs, and interests. It also gives freedom to students and allows them to study independently (Laal & Salamati, 2012). With DLTV, students learn how to set their class schedule, accomplish tasks, and control themselves while they cannot go to regular school. For those who have laptops or computers at home, they can easily access the DLTV website to explore the lessons, but for remote areas only TV sets equipped with the satellite can help them learn during the school closure. Drawbacks of DLTV in Thailand The implementation of DLTV in schools nationwide has caused some problems to both teachers and students. Firstly, instruction through DLTV needs a teacher’s guidance to encourage students to follow learning procedures properly. To do so, a teacher needs special training. Several studies suggested that it is challenging to run a DLTV class in primary schools when there are no professional teachers or instructors who are well-trained to manage effective classrooms (Manim & Dongsuwan, 2016; Pankhamma, 2008). For example, in Watthapaya School, Nakhon Si Thammarat, in the first year of operating DLTV classrooms, the teachers found it new to them. The teachers had difficulties running the DLTV classrooms efficiently without prior training (Khongkerd, 2010). This issue is also mentioned in the study done by Manim & Dongsuwan (2016) that teachers faced unfamiliar instructions after implementing distance learning in schools under the Office of Nakhon Sawan Primary Educational Service Area 2. Lacking experienced teachers who are familiar with online learning is a crucial barrier in employing DLTV classrooms. Inexperienced teachers are not capable of preparing lesson plans to comply with the DLTV lesson programs. Even in the central areas, the need for DLTV training among teachers has also been discussed as teachers need more understanding about how DLTV works (Manim & Dongsuwan, 2016). Besides, the study conducted by Adulsrisin, Wannasuthi, and Inthanin (2018) revealed that teachers in schools under Yala Primary Education Service Area Office 1 indicated problems occurring with DLTV instruction: lack of experienced teachers, awareness of the benefit of DLTV, and lack of technological knowledge. Apart from the need for experienced teachers, a few studies have shown that not all schools can be fully equipped for DLTV classrooms (Adulsrisin et al., 2018; Seekham et al., 2017). Access to the Distance 113

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Learning Television needs TV sets and satellite receivers. Some schools under Yala Primary Education Service Area Office 1 pointed out that when setting up DLTV classrooms, teachers need to deal with equipment and maintenance. In rural areas, in particular, devices such as a television set or its remote control are not working properly, and the class cannot be performed as planned. Students’ roles are positioned as the receivers of what has been taught through the DLTV programs. The problems could be found when they do not understand what the DLTV teacher is saying. Research studies indicated that all teaching programs from DLTV are narrated in the central Thai dialect and it causes understanding problems among several groups of learners because the students who study with DLTV usually live in the rural areas where they use their own vernacular dialects (Phonsirinthip et al., 2015; Adulsrisin et al., 2018). The students, especially at the primary level, therefore, found it difficult to understand what they had learned because of the language barrier. Suggested Teaching Practices and Pedagogical Implications in Thai Educational Contexts Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, normal teaching could not be administered. In Thailand, instruction has moved from face-to-face classrooms to either a one-way communication through DLTV/DLIT or other online platforms. The major concern for conducting new ways of teaching is to maintain the quality of teaching whereas encouragement for supporting students both mentally and physically is needed as well. Here are some suggested alternative teaching models to broaden options for teachers and students with more flexibility during and after the crisis period in Thailand. Hybrid-flexible course, the next generation teaching model When face-to-face classes are prohibited during the lockdown period, which forms of online learning are suitable for Thai students? Bailey et al. (2020) suggested that teaching online is not convenient for everyone. Even in the United States, all students neither have access to the Internet nor have devices to connect to an online conference. Accordingly, designing a hybrid course is one way to be closely considered. Hybrid learning can be simplified as a combination of face-to-face and online classrooms. Hybrid learning has opened more opportunities for students to choose either to study synchronously or asynchronously. When students can select their learning with no “learning deficit”, it is called “HyFlex” (Hybrid and Flexible) learning (Beatty, 2019). The concept of HyFlex learning has emerged for a while, but the term “HyFlex” has recently and officially been established. The HyFlex learning model allows students to choose whether to attend a face-to-face class or an online environment. This learning regains attention from educators as an interesting strategy during the COVID-19 lockdown because it decreases the gap between students who are competent to go online and the others who are not. It is even more flexible 114

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" for students who are not able to attend the class to catch up with their classmates online. Participation problems and lack of devices thus are not major obstacles to run a classroom. This model can also be combined with other teaching methods. Beatty (2019) mentioned that the assessment process to evaluate students’ outcomes are also various and flexible. Applications for HyFlex course To run a HyFlex classroom, teachers basically need four items. They need an Internet connection to establish an online class. A computer or laptop with a built-in camera is needed as a channel to communicate remotely. Teachers also need a projector to project teaching materials. Lastly, they need a speaker when multimedia and online activities are used. All mentioned items now are not expensive and do not have to be high-end or state-of-the-art technology. Additional implement for HyFlex course As Hattie (2009) stated, the interaction between teachers and students plays an important role and affect student performance. The teacher interaction is key to support student’s learning. Therefore, one- way communication will not be fully successful. Apart from distance learning through DLTV and DLIT, many online applications have been developed to help teachers and students to learn during the school closure. Teachers may consider these options to adapt to their HyFlex courses. Loom is a software available for teachers and students as a medium for online classes. The software will automatically record the screen when the teacher is being live while opening an opportunity for students to interact and control viewing. In response to the COVID-19, the developer has announced to open for students and teachers up to Grade 12 for free. Flipgrid, created by Microsoft, is a free platform that supports learning communities between teachers and students. It can share discussion topics created by teachers. Students can respond with video and comments. Zoom is a video application that supports conference calls and meetings. Each conference can fit people of up to 300 people at the same time. Its features include whiteboarding, breakout rooms, chatting, and nonverbal feedback. Teachers and students can interact promptly and easily. Microsoft Teams is a platform created by Microsoft to support work, school, and life. With instant connection, students and teachers can stay in touch, and students can work and collaborate as a team. Its features include video meetings, screen sharing, file sharing, etc. Not only teachers can webcast to online students, but students can also work together to do their assigned project or work remotely. 115

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Google Tables is a multifunction tool for easily organizing and managing data. It is more useful than regular excel or normal spreadsheets. Teachers can use this tool to create tasks for students and also create a week-planner so that students who choose to study at home can update it in real-time. Modes and styles of teaching Based on the instructional design of HyFlex, teachers are required to create courses that students can simultaneously get access to either online or face-to-face mode of learning as they prefer. It can be synchronous or asynchronous online teaching combined with traditional in-class teaching approach. Teachers have freedom to broadcast live or record the lesson beforehand. In addition, teachers should be aware that when the class provides both in-class and synchronous online teaching, teachers' workloads are different from asynchronous online teaching combined with the traditional one. When conducting asynchronous online teaching, teachers need to prepare learning content before starting the actual face-to-face class. Interestingly, teaching styles including language and dialect choices in the HyFlex model are flexible because teachers indeed have full authority to control the classroom. Teachers can freely manage class and communicate with students in their own ways with full responsibility for operating the instruction. Time management and schedule HyFlex teachers need to concern about time and schedule in order to manage the class efficiently. If students are not familiar with the HyFlex environment, it is going to take some time to adjust themselves to this mode of learning. To help students get used to this environment, teachers may provide students a class schedule and necessary information a few days in advance. In addition, teachers set up an exact time for daily check-in, perhaps in the morning and in the afternoon, for both online and offline groups, so that online students would feel they are studying at school. Teachers may use Google Table, for example, to keep track of the online group during the day. Due assignments should be set and checked regularly. This will mostly help the online group to manage their time for class exercises and school homework easily. Teaching activities: Student interaction and engagement In the HyFlex model, teachers play an important role to pair both online and offline groups together to make all students feel that they are not left behind. Therefore, students’ engagement should be considered because it makes classes run effectively. Teachers may adopt several methods to promote students’ engagement. Snelling and Fingal (2020) suggested that schools may reschedule by separating the morning and the afternoon classes. Students could study subjects in the morning and study independently in the afternoon class to get feedback or response from teachers. This reorganization can 116

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" emphasize the importance of self’s learning and increase the relationship between teachers and students. In terms of activities, brainstorming can create both online and in-class students’ motivation to engage in the HyFlex environment. Teachers can project their live streaming desktop onto the projector screen connecting the sound system to the in-room stereo so the entire class can hear and see their online classmates. Then start the class with a discussion about the topic related to the lesson. Interaction among students and teachers is created naturally. The activities are not necessarily complicated to create a learning environment in the HyFlex model. They should be simple and easily manageable. For example, teachers can give both groups of students the same assignment. Online students do the task through the live stream via Microsoft Team while offline students do the assignment in class using Microsoft Office or Microsoft Excel instantaneously. Even an interesting activity such as virtual field trips can be integrated into the HyFlex class. Virtual field trips (VFTs) is one of the free educational resources for students and teachers provided by various organizations and governments such as Discovery Education. Students could access to experience the virtual places when schools could not take them to visit the real location (Lewis, 2020). The screen will show the location virtually in 360 degrees. Both distanced and in-class groups therefore can exchange ideas and get responses immediately. At present, there are free VFTs for students to visit destinations around the world including art museums, zoos, aquariums, and other spectacular places (Murphy, 2020). Assessing students In the HyFlex model, the assessment methods can be varied. Though, formative evaluation suits the HyFlex learning most because it is designed to assess students’ learning progress rather than the learning outcomes (Beatty, 2019). In this form of evaluation, the teachers’ role is to try checking and guiding the students if they understand what has been taught. The course objectives thus should not focus on students’ achievements. Rather, teachers should monitor the reflection of students’ understanding in order to see if there is something to be fixed and amended. It means teachers may use a technique such as collecting one-minute essays from both online and offline groups (Beatty, 2019). The teachers will tell their students to write down everything they have learned in each lesson within one minute to reflect the effectiveness of the course (UC Berkeley, n.d.). By this option, the students are not graded according to how they can answer or explain things correctly. The collected feedback is for the teachers to detect problems and solve them. Conclusion After facing the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has to adjust to a new normal era where we cannot live a usual life. No matter what we are facing, education has to continue. When the normal classroom can no longer be organized, in Thailand in particular, distance learning such as the DLTV and DLIT platforms 117

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" has been adopted for students across the nation. DLTV and DLIT have been operated in Thailand since 1995. There are several advantages of DLTV implementation during the school closure: reducing the education gap, solving teacher shortage problems, and providing easy access to everyone. However, there are also some drawbacks that may cause the effectiveness of the DLTV: teachers are not well- trained in operating online learning, equipment is not adequate, and language barriers. A hybrid-flexible course is introduced. It is open to more flexible management for both teachers and students and suits individual learning styles. Due to the advancement of educational technology, teachers can employ applications such as Loom, Flipgrid, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Tables as a tool for online teaching. However, in order to design and implement a HyFlex course, teachers and instructional designers should consider how to design a course appropriate for both face-to-face and online learning groups. In conclusion, distance education in Thailand has led to the paradigm shift in teaching and learning. References Adulsrisin, N., Wannasuthi, N., & Inthanin, W.T. (2018). Evaluation the Distance Learning Television School Project of Yala Primary Education Service Area Office 1. Al-Nur Journal of Graduate School, Fatoni University, 13(24): 95-110. Bailey, J. P., & Hess, F. M. (2020). A Blueprint for Back to School. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute. Beatty, B. J. (2019). Hybrid-Flexible Course Design. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/hyflex Cojocariu, V.M., Lazar, I., Nedeff, V., & Lazar, G. (2014). SWOT analysis of e-learning educational services from the perspective of their beneficiaries. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116: 1999–2003. Distance Learning Foundation Under the Royal Patronage (n.d.). About DLTV. Retrieved September 2, 2020 from https://www.dltv.ac.th/about-us. Distance Learning Information Technology. (2015). DLIT: Distance Learning Information Technology. Retrieved September 2, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAJl-Uo_wAg. Gerdruang, A. (2017). Causal factors that influence the policy of distance learning television of a small-size school. Suthiparithat Journal, 31(98): 180-195. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analysis relating to achievement. New York: Routledge. Khongkerd, P. (2010). The evaluation of distance learning via satellite project of Wattapaya School Pakphanang in Nakhon Si Thammarat Education Service Area Office 3. An Independent Study in Administration of Innovation for Development, Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University. 118

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Laal, M., & Salamati, P. (2012). Lifelong learning; why do we need it? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31 (2012): 399-403. Lewis, E. (2020). List of Free Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Retrieved September 27, 2020 from https://dealhack.com/blog/free-resources-during-the-covid-19-pandemic Manim, Y., & Dongsuwan, T. (2016). Guidelines for Administration Distance Education under the Office of Nakhon Sawan Primary Educational Service Area 2. Proceedings in the 1st Rajabhat Nakhon Sawan Research Conference, 315-327. Mundee, N., & Haruthaithanasan, T. (2018). Educational Management of Distance Learning Television of Small-Sized Schools for Thai Education 4.0. Academic Services Journal Prince of Songkhla University, 29(2): 209-218. Murphy, C. (2020). Social distancing: Six virtual tours. USA Today. Retrieved September 12, 2020 from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/03/16/social-distancing-free-virtual- tours/5060244002/. Pankhamma, D. (2008). The Local education through satellite management at Rajaprajanugroh 22 School. Master’s thesis in Educational Administration. Rajabhat Chiang Mai University. Phonsirinthip, S., Thammachai, P., & Romkaew, N. (2015). Educational administration on the utilization of educational satellite television for Samoeng Network School 2, Samoeng district, Chiang Mai. Journal of Graduate Research, 6(1): 1-12. Seekham, A., Poolsook, P.R., & Sittisopol, W. (2017). Development Guideline of Distance Learning Via Satellite of Small Primary Schools under the Kamphaeng Phet Education Area Office One. Proceedings in the 17th Graduate Studies of Northern Rajabhat University Network Conference, 986-999. Snelling, J., & Fingal, D. (2020). 10 strategies for online learning during a coronavirus outbreak. International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved September 12, 2020 from https://www.iste.org/explore/10-strategies-online-learning-during-coronavirus-outbreak. Unesco Bangkok Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education. (2020). Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan on COVID-19 strategy in Thailand. Retrieved September 12, 2020 from https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/education-minister-nataphol-teepsuwan-covid-19- strategy-thailand University of California, Berkeley. (n.d.). Formative Evaluations. Berkeley Center for Teaching & Learning. Retrieved September 27, 2020 from https://teaching.berkeley.edu/formative- evaluations Watts, L. (2016). Synchronous and asynchronous communication in distance learning: A review of the literature. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 17(1): 23-32. 119

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" A Study of Thai University Students’Attitudes towards Social Media Discourse Analysis Project Ryan A. Sarfan Janpha Thadphoothon Faculty of Arts, Dhurakij Pundit University, Bangkok, Thailand Abstract It is generally accepted that social media has become an important part of university learning platforms. In ELT, teachers have started exploiting the functions and potentials of these new media. This paper reports on a classroom study investigating Thai university students’ social media usage and experiences for their Discourse Analysis projects. Data were collected from 46 English majors at a university in Bangkok, Thailand. As part of the course, from April – May 2018, they were assigned to analyze online discourses and present their findings. Data included their responses to the questionnaires and their online presentations. Results showed that students spent, on average, 5 hours per day on social media. They perceived the online project positively. The majority of the student respondents (87%) agreed or strongly agreed that they had learned more about English discourse from the project. Furthermore, they recognized that the project was a challenge, sought help from their friends, and learned from each other’s online presentations. They also expressed their need for more time and language support. Introduction A course on English discourse or discourse analysis has become a common course among university undergraduate, especially English major students. In many universities in Thailand, students are taught to be critical about texts and discourses. As part of the English program requirement, students are expected to apply the concepts and theories in practice. One way to do that was to ask them to engage in several authentic text analyses, including sign analysis, where students were asked to analyze posters, utility signs or logos. One can think of an obvious example: students are asked to analyze newspaper headlines or advertisements. They are expected to apply their content knowledge to the analysis of real-life texts in order to understand patterns and motives or even myths hidden in those texts. Texts or discourses can be broadly classified into two groups: traditional and digital. In the age of digitization, texts are everywhere, including those available on social media websites such as Facebook or Twitter. As expected, researchers and educators have experimented or used these new technologies to enhance students’ language learning. Thailand is among the top users of social media. In 2017, there were up to 49 million Facebook users in the kingdom (Bangkok Post, 2018). Thais were reported as being those who spent heavily on software. Anchalee Sudechawongsakul, a Thai journalist, reported the data from International Data Corporation that Thailand was expected to spend as much as 40.90 billion Baht on software, 120

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" up 7.6% from 2018 (Sudechawongsakul, 2019, February 28th). Thai university students, moreover, were found to be enthusiastic in using the Internet for language learning. Chomphuchart (2017), for example, investigated over 480 Thai English majors and non-English major students and found that they had positive attitudes towards the use of the Internet for English language learning. This research was an attempt to make good use of the available social media websites. The students were asked to analyze texts available on the social media under the project called the social media discourse analysis project. The project was part of the course titled English Discourse. The research questions were: 1. What were the key characteristics of the students’ discourse analysis project? 2. What were the students’ attitudes about the social media analysis project? 3. What were the benefits of the project perceived by the students? Literature Review Discourse studies go beyond grammatical structures and lexical meaning, they encompass the language use and the roles language plays in society. Communication can take place face-to-face as well as online, and online discourse, traditionally known as computer-mediated discourse, is growing significantly. Discourse is referred to as a “text (Halliday and Hasan, 1976, p. 1). They define ‘text’ as “any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, that does form a unified whole (p. 1).” For Halliday and Hassan (1979), a text is different from a collection of unrelated sentences or utterances. The study of discourse, according to McCarthy (2001), is “the study of language independently of the notion of the sentence” (p. 48). For him, the terms ‘text’ and ‘discourse’ are often used interchangeably (p. 49). Discourse also the language used in a community by its members to accomplish their tasks (Swales, 1990). This language, including jargon and conventions, defines the group and identify group members from outsides. Jones (2012) has proposed that there are three approaches to the study of discourse: the formal, functional and social ones. Under the formal (traditional) approach, the language beyond the sentence level is investigated and the language use represents the functional approach. As for the social approach, a discourse is conceptualized as a social construct (Jones, 2012). Studies conducted to investigate the language at the discourse level have gained currency among researchers and scholars. Traditionally, discourse was regarded as having two modes: written and spoken (Brown and Yule, 1983). Lately, however, especially on the online context, the distinction between written and spoken texts has become less clear. McCarthy (2001) has suggested that texts be conceptualized as being writerly or speakerly. Online texts are also visually based, full of icons and indexes. In short, they have their own genres and they are a large ocean of texts for research. Recently, discourse studies have migrated to the Internet, along with the growing number of online texts. Technology and language are, after all, human tools. Warschauer (2002) has suggested their purposes --- both language and technology are tools for “individual and societal development” (p. 453). Online discourse is a growing communication phenomenon, and according to (Beaulieu, Sarker, and Sarker, 2015), it is a challenge to study. 121

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" One approach to study online discourse is to do so through projects. Students independently investigate issues related to online communication using their knowledge and skills of discourse and discourse analysis. Project-based Teaching, according to Beckett (2006), allows students to work in groups and develop their language as well as thinking skills. Gardner (1995) documented the student projects, arguing that the fact that they produced video documentary meant that they had a real reason for using the target language. Project-based instruction has been conceptualized in several different ways. Ravitz (2010), for example, has characterized it as having the following components: • In-depth inquiry: students asked questions and researched to answer those questions. • Time: students engaged in the project over an extended period of time. • Autonomy: student self-directed themselves to some extent • Formal presentation of results: students present their projects to an audience In the Asia Pacific region, for example in Thailand, the use of the Internet has increased significantly (Statista, 2019). Consequently, studies and applications of online elements have increased significantly. In ELT, discourse analysis has been applied to probe into the nature of online communication in various dimensions. Areas of research vary, including social aspects of social media use. For example, Abdul Rauf Ridzuan et al. (2012) reported that the use of social media in Malaysia contributed to the social phenomenon called ethnocentrism among the three racial groups in the country: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Thadphoothon and Prather (2018) analyzed newspapers’ headlines and found that Thailand’s English language newspapers and the western ones had different patterns of connotation with regards to the words ‘China’ and Chinese. Trindade (2018), for example, reported that prejudice against black women in Brazil was found on social media. This represents the social approach to the study of discourse. Research conducted on the use of project-based investigation to apply knowledge of discourse analysis is still in its infancy stage. Our research investigated the students’ attitudes toward the online discourse analysis projects and their perceptions of the teaching method. Method The project was part of the course on English Discourse (EN 253). In the course, students were required to apply their knowledge of discourse and discourse analysis to analyze discourse data. Attempts have been made to make the course up-to-date and relevant to the language and communication in the digital age. Hence, online discourse has been integrated into the course. Our study follows the ESA process proposed by Harmer (2003) as follows: 122

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Engage Study Activate • Study it • getting the • Putting it class into interested production in the lesson Figure 1. The ESA Process (Harmer, 2003, p.27) Under the model, the teacher needs to get the class interested in the lesson. This can be done by an inspiring warm up or introduction. Then it’s the actual learning activity. For example, the students are instructed about the SPEAKING model by Dell Hymes. After that, they put the knowledge and skills that they have learned into production. In this study, the students were asked to analyze an aspect of social media communication. Subjects The subjects of the study were 46 university students. All were English majors. They were asked to give their consent in joining the research study prior to joining the project. The project was part of the course on English Discourse (EN 2153) offering as a major requirement subject for the 4-year degree program. The data collection and analysis were conducted during the 2nd semester of the academic year 2017. Instruments In terms of research instruments, we analyzed the students’ responses to the questionnaires. There were 17 items and all were the 5-point Liker Scale items. We also asked them four open- ended questions (see the appendix). Data analysis Sources of data for the analysis included the students’ responses to the questionnaires, their written responses to the open-ended questions, and their online presentations. Their responses to the 5-point Likert Scale were analyzed to determine the frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Their responses to the open-ended questions were analyzed using basic content analysis. Findings The findings were as the following. Table 1 Number Percent Gender of students 34 73.90 12 Gender 26.10 Female Male 123

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Total 46 100 There were 34 female students (73.90%) and 12 males (26.10%). The majority of them were female. Table 2 Students’ social media use per day Hours of SM Use per Day Frequency Percent 1-2 hrs. 2 4.3 3-4 hrs. 10 21.7 4-5 hrs. 12 26.1 more than 5 hrs. 22 47.8 Total 46 100.0 The students spent a fair amount of time per day using social media. Twenty-two of them (47.80%) spent more than 5 hours per day on social media use. Two of them (4.30%) spent between 1-2 hours per day on it. Table 3 Peer technical support Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree 1 2.2 I asked for technical help Disagree 2 from my friends. 4.3 Undecided 10 21.7 Agree 23 50.0 Strongly Agree 10 21.7 Total 46 100.0 The majority of the students agreed and strongly agreed with the statement: “I asked for technical help from my friends.” There were 46 students who answered this question. The average was found to be at 3.84 (agreed), with SD of .89. Table 4 Time students spend on task Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree 1 2.20 I spent a great deal of time Disagree - working on the assignment. - Undecided 11 23.9 Agree 23 50.0 Strongly Agree 11 23.9 Total 46 100.0 The majority of the students (34 or 73.9%) agreed and strongly agreed that they spent a great deal of time working on the online project. Of the total 46 respondents who responded to this item, only one of them disagreed, eleven (23.90%) were undecided. The mean was at 3.93 with SD of .82. Table 5 Opportunities for lesson revision 124

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Statement Opinion Frequency Percent I reviewed the lessons as I Strongly Disagree 4 8.7 was working on the project. Disagree Undecided 7 15.2 Agree 25 54.3 Strongly Agree 10 21.7 Total 46 100.0 Engaging in the project was found be an opportunity for the students to review their lessons. Of the total of 46 respondents who answered the question, thirty-five of them (76%) agreed and strongly agreed with this statement. The mean was at 3.89 with SD of .84. In short, most students agreed and strongly agreed with this statement. Table 6 Learning from each other’s work Statement Opinion Frequency Percent I watched my friends’ videos Strongly Disagree Disagree 1 2.20 online. 14 30.40 Undecided Agree 17 37.00 Strongly Agree 14 30.40 Total 46 100 The majority of the students have learned from their classmates’ works. Over sixty percent of the students (31 of them) said that they watched their friends’ online presentations. Fourteen of them (30.40%) were undecided. The means was found to be at 3.89 with SD of .84. Table 7 Peer consultation behavior Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree 10 21.7 I talked to my friends about Disagree 13 the topic of my choice. 28.3 Undecided 12 26.1 Agree 10 21.7 Strongly Agree 1 2.2 Total 46 100.0 Twenty-three students (50%) of the students disagreed and strongly disagreed that they had talked to other group members on the topic of their choice. However, twelve of them (26.10%) of them were undecided. Eleven of them (23.90%) agreed and strongly agreed with the statement. Table 8 Opinion Frequency Percent IT skills development Strongly Disagree - - Disagree Statement Undecided 2 4.3 I have developed my IT skills. 13 28.3 125

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Agree 16 34.8 Strongly Agree 15 32.6 Total 46 100.0 Students developed It skills as they engaged in the online projects. The majority of them agreed and strongly agreed with this statement (67.40%). Only two disagreed. 28.30 percent of them (13) were undecided. Table 9 Students’ social media communication Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree - - I contacted my friends on Disagree 1 2.2 social media. Undecided 6 Agree 10 13.0 Strongly Agree 29 21.7 Total 46 63.0 100.0 The students contacted their friends as they engaged in the online project. The majority of the students agreed and strongly agreed with this stamen (84.70%). The mean was found to be as high as 3.95 with SD of .89. Table 10 Learning from the teacher’s comments on their work Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree 1 2.2 I have learned from the Disagree 1 2.2 teacher’s comments on my Undecided 11 work. 23.9 Agree 18 39.1 Strongly Agree 15 32.6 Total 46 100 The comments from the teacher were found to be useful for the majority of the students. The majority of them agreed and strongly agreed with this statement (71.70%). Only two of them disagreed and strongly disagreed with the statement (4.40%). The mean of this item was found to be at 3.97 with SD of .80. Table 11 Importance of technical support Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree - - Technical support is Disagree - - important. Undecided Agree 6 13.0 Strongly Agree 20 43.5 Total 43.5 20 100.0 46 126

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Technical support was found to be crucial for the success of the project. The majority of the students agreed and strongly agreed with this statement (87%). The mean was 4.45 with SD of .93. Table 12 Adequacy of help / support to work on the project Statement Opinion Frequency Percent I have received adequate Strongly Disagree -- help / support to work on Disagree -- Undecided 13 28.30 the project. Agree 18 39.10 Strongly Agree 15 32.60 Total 46 100.0 Help / support was found to be adequate for the students to work on the online project. The majority of the students agreed and strongly agreed with this statement (71.70%). Thirteen of them were undecided. The mean was 4.30 with SD of .69. Table 13 Adequacy of time to work on the project Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree 1 2.2 Time was too short for me to Disagree 4 8.7 work on the project. Undecided 12 26.1 Agree 11 23.9 Strongly Agree 18 39.1 Total 46 100.0 The majority of the students (63%) agreed and strongly agreed that the time given to work on the project was too short. Twelve of them (26.12%) were undecided. Four (8.70%) disagreed. The mean was at 3.89 with SD of 1.10. The following were the findings analyzed from Part 3 of the questionnaire, focusing at the attitudinal elements of the project. Table 14 Project satisfaction Statement Opinion Frequency Percent I enjoyed working on the Strongly Disagree 1 2.2 social media discourse Disagree 3 6.5 analysis project. Undecided 14 30.4 Agree 19 41.3 Strongly Agree 9 19.6 Total 46 100.0 The majority of the students (60%) agreed and strongly agreed that the project was enjoyable. However, about one-third of them (30.40%) were undecided. The mean was found to be 3.69 with SD of .93 127

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Table 15 Learning of discourse and discourse analysis from doing the project Statement Opinion Frequency Percent I have learned more about Strongly Disagree discourse and discourse Disagree 1 2.2 analysis from doing this Undecided 5 10.9 project. Agree 25 54.3 Strongly Agree 15 32.6 Total 46 100.0 The majority of the students (87%) said that they had learned more about discourse and discourse analysis from their undertaking of the project. The mean of this statement stood at 4.17 with SD of .70. Table 16 Time-worth-spending-on project Statement Opinion Frequency Percent I think it’s a waste of time. Strongly Disagree 10 21.70 Disagree 11 23.90 Undecided 15 32.60. Agree 8 17.40 Strongly Agree 2 4.30 Total 46 100 Twenty-one students (45.60%) disagreed and strongly disagreed with the statement. Fifteen of them (32.60%) were undecided. Ten of them (21.70%) agreed and strongly agreed with the statement. The mean was at 2.58 with SD of 1.14. Table 17 Intrinsic factor of the project Statement Opinion Frequency Percent Strongly Disagree 8 17.4 Doing social media analysis is boring. Disagree 8 17.4 Undecided 17 37.0 Agree 12 26.1 Strongly Agree 1 2.2 Total 46 100.0 About one-third of the students agreed and strongly agreed that doing social media analysis was a boring pursuit. Seventeen of them (37.00%) were undecided. The mean was 2.78 with SD of 1.09. Table 18 Opinion Frequency Percent Joy of doing the project Strongly Disagree 2 4.3 Disagree 3 Statement 6.5 I had fun working on the project. 128

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Undecided 18 39.1 Agree 16 34.8 Strongly Agree 7 15.2 Total 46 100.0 About half of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed that the project brought them joy. However, about 40 percent (18) of them were undecided. Eleven percent disagreed and strongly disagreed with the statement. The mean was at 3.50 with SD of .98. Table 19 Perceived usefulness of the project Statement Opinion Frequency Percent 1 2.2 The project is useful for me. Strongly Disagree Disagree 1 2.2 Undecided 5 10.9 Agree 25 54.3 Strongly Agree 14 30.4 Total 46 100.0 The majority of the student respondents (87%) agreed and strongly agreed that the social media analysis project was a very useful project. Five of them (10.90%) were undecided. Only two of them 4.40%) disagreed and strongly disagreed with the statement. The mean was at 4.08 with SD of .83. The following tables show the students’ responses to the open-ended questions. Table 20 Frequency Percent Reported benefits of the project 2 11.76 2 11.76 Benefits of Social media Analysis 2 11.76 It has helped me to improve my listening skills. 2 11.76 It has helped me to improve my writing skills. 1 5.88 I have gained more knowledge. 1 5.88 I have improved my vocabulary skills. 1 5.88 I know how to better back channel in conversations. 1 5.88 I have learned how to analyze text on social media. 1 5.88 I have learned more about conversations. 1 5.88 1 5.88 How to make social media more interesting 1 5.88 1 5.88 How to make social media less ambiguous 17 100 How to analyze online interviews I have learned English grammar. Importance of being spontaneous in speech Importance of words and their connotations Total 129

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" The majority of the students cited language learning benefits and their opportunities to learn more about discourse and discourse analysis. For example, one student noted that “I have learned how to use ellipses and how to analyze the text, both spoken and written” One open-ended question addressed their online activities in general. What the students said they usually did on social media can be summarized as follows: Table 21 Frequency Percent What the students did on social media 4 17.39 4 17.39 Social media use 4 17.39 Listening to songs and music 3 13.04 Watching films or movies, or series 2 8.69 Chatting 2 8.69 Keeping myself updated on new things or events 2 8.69 Reading news 1 4.34 Using Facebook 1 4.34 Searching for information 23 Sharing photos and pictures 100 Listening to news Total The top three activities that the students said they did through social media were (1) Listening to songs and music, (2) Watching films or movies, or series, and (3) Chatting with others. Students’ perceptions of social media communication in general were on the positive side. They recognized the importance of social media as noted by one student, “Nowadays, social media is important, as it allows people to make contact with each other.” Some of them noted the benefits related to language learning. One student wrote, “Social media allows me to communicate with foreigners.” Many of them said that it was an easy and convenient way to communicate with other people”. Others said that is was “faster, less costly, and more convenient”. The students were also asked about their application of discourse knowledge and skills, whether they had applied the knowledge and skills gained from taking a course on English discourse to help them communicate better on social media. Of the 46 students under this study, only seven students (15.21%) answered the question. Their answers were summarized as follows: They have used fillers, as noted by one of the students: “When I’m thinking of what to say in Line Application conversation, I would use stickers instead of leaving my turn blank.” They paid more attention to the accuracy of their language; consequently, they have improved their language skills. They paid more attention to several features of conversation, for example, back channeling behavior, as one students put it: “When I engage in a conversation, I pay more attention to the use of back-channeling behavior.” Characteristics of the students online DA Projects 130

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" The analysis of 46 videos presenting their online discourses analysis showed the following characteristics. - Elements of students’ self-directedness. They asked their own questions and answered it through research. - Online collaboration (learning and sharing) They shared their works online and learned from each other’s works. - Authentic texts (Discourses) from online interaction was collected for their analysis - Applications of skills and knowledge they had learned from the course. Many of them quoted the lines from the course book. Figure 2: First page of one of the student projects All of their projects reflect their application of knowledge and skills of English discourse. The average length of their online presentation was 3.10 minutes each. Their works reflected two salient elements: critical thinking and creativity. Discussions Online Instruction Our study confirms many surveys conducted earlier – that Thai students spent many hours using smartphones. This begs many questions regarding their reality, that is, they have their realities 131

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" online. This may mean that teachers should meet them half way and engage them with online activities. Students also say that nowadays, social media is important, as it allows people to make contact with each other. It allows them to communicate with their friends and foreigners. Moreover, they perceive that it is an easy and convenient way to communicate with other people. It is faster, less costly, and more comfortable. In short, it is convenient when communicating with friends. It was obvious that the students were positively responsive to online and blended instruction, or anything that involves the use of digital technology. Deep and Meaningful Learning Potential Engaging in the online project-based activities was found to be beneficial in promoting deep and meaningul learning. In our study the students collected data from real online communication and applied their skills and knowledge to make sense of the complexity of online discourse. Moreover, they also cited the benefits of learning by doing. Their works also reflect elements of creativity and critical thinking skills. Our study reflects the benefits of following the ESA model proposed by Harmer (2003), that is, students should be encouraged to put what they have learned into practice. Technical Support Despite time and technical constraints, the majority of the students had positive attitudes towards the project as evidenced from the higher means on many items. The discussions in class revealed that the students realized that social media is their reality and they spent on average five hours using social media. Role of Support Support was found to be crucial. Three kinds of support were identified: (1) language, technical, and moral support. With regard to language support, the majority of the students said they had received adequate help / support to work on the project (Mean = 4.30, SD = .69). This study confirms the importance of support in previous studies (e.g. Thadphoothon, 2015). It also confirms the role of support in project-based instruction as noted by O’Neill (2016), which should be given adequately and systematically. Learner Autonomy Many students chose their own topics. They, however, asked for help from their friends. This reflects the nature of online learning. The nature of e-learning is that it requires learners be responsible for their own learning (Clarke, 2018). In short, it requires learners’ autonomy. Our study revealed the fact that students did collaborate on the Internet through social media communication without formal instruction from the teacher. They also helped each other in terms of technical know-how. Project-based learning takes time. The majority of the students said they were given adequate time to complete their project (Mean= 3.93). They mentioned the need to spend more time on their project. The literature said that the success of the project depends very much on the time given (Ravitz, 2010). Sufficient time is cited as a crucial factor for learners to successfully carry out their project-based inquiry (Darling- Hammond, 2008). Conclusion 132

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" The majority of the students had positive attitudes towards the social media discourse analysis project. They said it was enjoyable and brought them educational benefits, ranging from cognitive to non-cognitive dimensions. The project developed their language skills, collaborative skills, as well as IT skills. Their works reflect elements of critical thinking skills and creativity. Two factors were found to be crucial for the success of the research-based online project: time and support. References Abdul Rauf Ridzuan, Jusang Bolong, Siti Zobidah Omar, Mohd Nizam Osman,Rozman Yusof, and Siti Faidul Maisarah Abdullah (2012). \"Social Media Contribution towards Ethnocentrism\" Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 65 (3) December 2012, pp. 517-522 Beckett, G. H. (2006). Project-based second and foreign language education: Theory, research and practice. In G. H. Beckett & P. Chamness Miller (Eds.), Project-based second and foreign language education: Past, present, and future (pp. 3-16). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Bangkok Post (2018, March 1). Thailand Makes Top 10 in Social Media Use. Retrieved from https://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/local-news/1420086/thailand-makes-top-10-in- social- media-use Brown, G. & Yule, G. (1983). Discourse Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Beaulieu, T., Sarker, S., and Sarker, S. (2015) Analyzing Online Discourse: Some Theoretical Ideas and a Visualization Approach (Research-in-Progress). Proceedings of the thirty Sixth International Conference on Information Systems, Fort Worth 2015 11, pp. 1-11. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/27ab/432218fdd9d55bd61987be0fa30339231568.pdf Chomphuchart, N. (2017). Thai University Students' Attitudes toward the Use of the Internet in Learning English in Rangsit Journal of Educational Studies, 4(1), pp. 13-30. Retrieved from http://rjes.rsu.ac.th/Article/Article_RJES_V4N1_Article_13-30.pdf Clarke, A. (2018). E-Learning Skills (2nd Edition). New York: Palgrave. Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Conclusion: Creating schools that develop understanding. In L.Darling-Hammond, B. Barron, P. D. Pearson, A. H. Schoenfeld, E. K. Stage, T. D. Zimmerman, G. N. Cervetti, and J. L. Tilson (Eds.), Powerful learning: What we know about teaching for understanding (pp. 193-212). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Gardner, D. (1995). Student produced video documentary provides a real reason for using the target language. Language Learning Journal, 12, 54-56. Halliday, M. and Hassan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman. Harmer, J. (2003). How to Teach English. London: Longman. Jones, H. R. (2012). Discourse Analysis: A Resource Book for Students. London: Routledge. McCarthy, M. (2002).”Discourse” (pp. 48-55).In The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language New York: Cambridge University Press. McCarthy, M. (1992). Discourse analysis for language teachers. New York:Cambridge University Press. McCarthy, M. (2001). Issues in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. O’Neill, E. (2016, December 11). Scaffolding Student Projects: Seven Decisions. Retrieved from https://campuspress.yale.edu/yctl/scaffolding-student-projects 133

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" Ravitz, J. (2010). Beyond changing culture in small high schools: Reform models and changing instruction with project-based learning. Peabody Journal of Education, 85(3), 290-312.s Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Setting. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sudechawongsakul, A. (2019, February 28th). Thailand software spending to reach B40.9bn. Bangkok Post, p, B4 Statista (2019). Asia Pacific: number of internet users in selected countries 2018. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/265153/number-of-internet-users-in-the-asia-pacific- region/ Thadphoothon, J. (2005). Promoting critical thinking in language learning through computer- mediated collaborative learning: A preliminary investigation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Canberra, Australia. Thadphoothon, J. and Prather, E. (2018). A Discourse Analysis of Newspaper Headlines Containing the Words ‘China’ or ‘Chinese’: A Comparison of Thailand and Western Media. Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on Language, Literature, and Cultural Studies (ICLLCS), July 19-20 2018, Pattaya, Thailand, Pp. 299-309. Retrieved from https://www.icllcs2018buu.com/blank Trindade, P. L. (August 13, 2018). Social Media in Brazil: Distilling Racism Against Black Women. Available online at https://www.socialsciencespace.com/2018/08/social-media-in-brazil- distilling-racism-against-black-women/ Warschauer, M. (2002). A Developmental Perspective on Technology in Language Education In TESOL Quarterly. Vol. 36 (3), pp. 453-475. Appendix The questions ask you about your experience in doing social media discourse analysis. Part 1: 1.1 Gender (1)…………Male (2)…………….Female 1.2 How much time did you spend on your projects? (Please mark X) Less than 1 hr. 1-2 hours 3-4 hours 4-5 hours More than 5 hrs. 1.3 What do you usually do on social media? 1.4 What do you think about social media communication? 1.5 Have you been using/applying the skills and knowledge on English Discourse analysis to help you communicate better on social media? How? 134

THE 5TH NATIONAL AND THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 2021 (APHEIT-EDU 2021) \"EDUCATION MANAGEMENT INNOVATION FOR TRANSITION TO THE NEW NORMAL\" 1.6. What have you have learned from the social media analysis? Part 2 Statement Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1. I asked for technical help from my friends. 2. I spent a great deal of time working on the assignment. 3. I reviewed the lessons as I was working on the project. 4. I watch my friends’ videos online. 5. I talked to my friends about the topic of my choice. 6. I have developed my IT skills. 7. I contacted my friends on social media. 8. I have learned from the teacher’s comments on my work (on social media) 9. Technical support is important. 10. I have received adequate help / support to work on the project. 11. Time was too short for me to work on the project. Part 3 Statement Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1. I enjoyed doing social media discourse analysis. 2. I have learned more about discourse and discourse analysis from doing this project. 3. I think it was a waste of time. 4. Doing social media analysis was boring. 5. I had fun doing it. 6. It was a useful project. 135

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