From Offline to Online Learning: A Qualitative Study of Challenges and Opportunities as a Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UAE Higher Education Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 203-217
Author(s):  
Shirley Leo ◽  
Nizar Mohammad Alsharari ◽  
Jainambu Abbas ◽  
Muhammad Turki Alshurideh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

scholarly journals Online learning - Global Challenges and Opportunities for Students in Higher Education amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Libyan Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-164
Author(s):  
Abdelbasit Gadour
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Changing Times ◽  
High Level

The spread of COVID-19 has had psychological effects on higher education students globally reflected in high level of anxiety associated with worries of failing to complete their studies (Holmes et al., 2020; Sawahhel, 2020). Due to COVID-19 all universities in Libya were closed for ten months causing a massive impact and leaving about quarter a million students without education. However, during this period some universities took preventive measures and maintained functioning from a distance. An attempt was made in this study to explore higher education students’ attitudes toward online learning and appreciate more the advantages and challenges associated with online learning. Of the 100 questionnaires sent out to university students, 58 responded back of whom 40 undergraduate and the remaining postgraduate students. The results of this study suggested that students are more interested in conventional way of learning in favour of face-to-face communication with tutors and peers as opposed to remote learning. For online learning to be successful in Libya, universities ought to upgrade their educational mode of delivery making the learning contents and assessment more desirable and responsive to the needs of the changing times. Furthermore, students must be technically and financially supported with unlimited access to internet.

scholarly journals Perspectives of Canadian Distance Educators on the Move to Online Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Cindy Ives ◽  
Pamela Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Visionary Leadership ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Early Adopters ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Distance Educators

Our qualitative study explored transition in seven Canadian universities—early providers of distance education that transitioned to online learning between 2002 and 2017. We interviewed 16 individuals who were involved in the design, planning, or implementation of online learning. Participants reported their universities experienced significant impacts on organizational structure and roles. Many saw an increased focus on learning and teaching. Access, revenue generation, and technology were identified as drivers of online learning; traditional learning and teaching practices were shifting; challenges experienced included resistance to change and lack of dedicated resources; and effective, visionary leadership was seen to be critically important. We propose that the roots of today’s challenges and opportunities in online learning may be found in the experiences of distance educators who were early adopters. 

scholarly journals Shifting focus to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Universities: Challenges and opportunities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Nouf Aljohani
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Integrate Technology ◽  
The Impact

Since 2020, Saudi administrations have provisionally closed educational institutions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. At the time, employing technology was imperative to accelerate learning efforts and offer methods of enhancing interactions between learners and among learners and tutors. In this review, I first describe the e-learning systems that were used in higher education before the pandemic. Then, I investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Saudi higher education and how universities and public educational institutions responded to the pandemic. In the conclusion, I argue that policymakers, university sectors, and syllabi developers should unify national e-learning strategies, integrate technology in a systematic way, and design e-learning curricula to meet the needs of an ever-advancing world and revolutionise the learning process.

scholarly journals The challenges and opportunities of online learning during Covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
Ho Nhut Quang ◽  
Ha Minh Tri
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Open Mind ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Migration Strategies ◽  
Desk Research

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread over a year after the original outbreak, it is critical to have an open mind about the innovations higher education institutions (HEIs) have implemented to keep teaching going, as they may help HEIs if appropriately implemented. The pandemic has caused many activities, including traditional educational activities, to be shut down. This has necessitated a vast wave of response migration for HEIs with Online Learning (OL) as the educational platform. This paper conducts desk research to review the challenges and opportunities of OL during Covid-19 pandemic. It was apparent that OL is different from emergency remote teaching, and as a result, OL is more justifiable. The unique aspects of the crisis response migration strategies of HEIs, teachers, and learners were discussed. Our findings offer insights for HEIs and especially educational managers, teachers, and learners to be aware of such challenges and opportunities to deal with them.

scholarly journals Editorial 17.5. Strengthening our focus for a post-COVID-19 environment: Learning from a pandemic in higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 2-11
Author(s):  
Joseph Crawford ◽  
◽  
Alisa Percy ◽  
Jo-Anne Kelder ◽  
Kerryn Butler-Henderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Development ◽  
International Markets ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The year 2020 will unlikely be one that any member of the higher education community will forget. It has posed challenges and opportunities to rethink aspects of tertiary learning and teaching, and also confirmation of some of the better practices we have engaged in. For some, the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced bad practice – such as simple and rapid digitalisation of existing curriculum – often bundled into the pedagogically-ambiguous ‘emergency remote teaching’ or ERT (Toquero, 2020). The intense pressure for academics to deliver curriculum online, typically to the exception of time for comprehensive academic development and upskilling. The practice for an overnight transition to online learning, while deemed by many to have been essential at the time, has created a myriad of future decisions to be actioned across the sector. These range from deploying future academic development workshops to transform the workforce for continued online learning to employment of educational technologists, learning designers, or similar to enable purposeful decisions of pedagogy within online learning environments. Financial constraints have tempered the deployment of additional resources, with institutions suffering from financial modelling unexpected in late-2019 budget forecasting meetings. A reduction in student enrolments from international markets offers complexity for higher education exporter nations like Australia (Marshman & Larkins, 2020). Nonetheless, there has been a resilience from the sector to ensure continuity of education under all circumstances. The role of journals like the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice during the pandemic has been to support timely publication of evidence-based practices for responses to COVID-19. This has included a need to balance the acceptance of manuscripts with pre-COVID-19 data and implications, and those authors contributing to the exponentially expanding knowledge base for teaching and learning during COVID-19. For the former, we have encouraged authors during final acceptance to reflect on their work’s role in enabling a positive response to the pandemic. For those in the latter, we have ensured that writers have considered the broader implications of their work beyond the pandemic. These decisions support manuscripts publishing in JUTLP to contribute to the contemporary landscape, and also beyond the pandemic.

scholarly journals Educators’ Perceptions on Refugee Students’ Identity Challenges Following Higher Education Through Virtual Learning

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Cassandra Sturgeon Delia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Refugees experience specific challenges when transitioning into higher education influenced by socio-cultural issues (Kong et al., 2016). Moreover, online learning may impact identity formation leading to duelling identities (Brunton et al., 2019). As virtual learning prevails in higher education due to the globalisation of new technologies, academic needs and competition with international institutions (Olaniran & Agnello, 2008), marginalisation of socially excluded groups such as refugees may surface (Crea & Sparnon, 2017).The purpose of this study is to explore educators perspectives of challenges and opportunities refugee students’ face when following higher education via a virtual space that impedes these specific students identity and sense of belonging. This paper provides the concept based on Erickson’s psychosocial development theory to extend this area of investigation by assessing the impact of learning via online spaces on identity.Five educators working within higher education were interviewed using a qualitative phenomenological methodology to generate an in-depth, unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities observed by teaching refugee students’ and focusing on identity formation. The data generated were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a computer-assisted data analysis software (CAQDAS), NVivo 12 Plus, to classify group-specific codebooks emerging from the data collection.The finding suggests that refugee students’ studying via a virtual space face specific challenges linked to their lived reality; however, pedagogy and educators need to be more culturally responsive to support students from diverse backgrounds and aid in the identity transition. Moreover, opportunities gained through online learning allow a sense of belonging to a global education and skills fostered will prove fruitful academically and beyond. This study concludes with implications for professional practice within the higher academic setting.

The next generation: Experiences of higher educated Turkish-Dutch on The Hague labour market

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-217
Author(s):  
Karijn G. Nijhoff
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Education System ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Market Positioning ◽  
The Hague ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Dutch City

This paper explores the relationship between education and labour market positioning in The Hague, a Dutch city with a unique labour market. One of the main minority groups, Turkish-Dutch, is the focus in this qualitative study on higher educated minorities and their labour market success. Interviews reveal that the obstacles the respondents face are linked to discrimination and network limitation. The respondents perceive “personal characteristics” as the most important tool to overcoming the obstacles. Education does not only increase their professional skills, but also widens their networks. The Dutch education system facilitates the chances of minorities in higher education through the “layering” of degrees. 

UNDERSTANDING DISABILITIES & ONLINE STUDENT SUCCESS

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Betts ◽  
Bill Welsh ◽  
Kelly Hermann ◽  
Cheryl Pruitt ◽  
Gaeir Dietrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Disability Services ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
Academic Goals ◽  
Online Student ◽  
Support Resources ◽  
Legislative Changes

Approximately 11% of all postsecondary students reported having a disability in 2008. Although the percentage of students with disabilities in 2008 closely reflects the percentage reported in 2004, the U.S. Government Accountability Office states that recent legislative changes have the potential to increase the diversity and number of students with disabilities pursing higher education. To support students with disabilities enrolled in higher education and in online learning, it is important to understand disabilities and the resources students need to actively engage in their courses and to achieve their academic goals. This article includes collaborative responses from a diverse group of leaders at eight higher education institutions and organizations who work with disability services and have experience in online learning. Some of the contributors also have disabilities so the collective responses build upon research, professional experience, and personal experience. For this article, the ten contributors answered 20 questions regarding disabilities and online student success as well as provided recommended practices. This article is designed to be interactive. It includes screenshots, simulation links, video demonstrations, and resources to provide a more detailed understanding of disabilities, accessibility, and support resources. JALN readers are encouraged to interact with the simulations and to watch the demonstration videos as a way to learn more about disabilities and supporting online student success.

Reasons for Student Behavior Codes: A Qualitative Study at Two Christian Liberal Arts Institutions

NASPA Journal ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad A. Lau
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Christian Higher Education ◽  
Liberal Arts Institutions ◽  
Institutional Values

One of the great challenges facing Christian higher education is the role and impact of student behavior codes in furthering institutional values and inculcating those values in the students served by such institutions. The perspectives of administrators, faculty members, and students regarding the rationale for codes of conduct at their institution are examined. To obtain data, administrators, faculty members, and students at two Christian liberal arts institutions completed questionnaires and participated in follow-up interviews based on individual responses to the questionnaire. The views of all three groups are described as they see behavior codes relating to institutional purpose and the development and implementation of such codes.

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