Social distancing meet social media: digital tools for connecting students, teachers, and citizens in an emergency

2020 ◽  
Vol 121 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 341-352
Author(s):  
Christine Greenhow ◽  
Amy Chapman

Purpose In a public health crisis where social distancing, or physical distancing while in public spaces, is the new normal, social media offer respite from being alone. Recent statistics show spikes in social media usage worldwide during the Covid-19 pandemic. More than just easing loneliness, such freely available digital tools offer affordances for education in an emergency. Design/methodology/approach This paper summarizes insights from literature reviews of over a decade of research and recent case studies on the benefits of teaching with social media in K-12 education. Findings The authors highlight three affordances of social media for fostering active learning, community building and civic participation and describe how social media can be used in conjunction with conventional learning management systems. Furthermore, the authors argue that the unprecedented health crisis that is faced today requires the participation of responsible citizens of all ages; K-12 public education is on the front lines of preparing informed and active citizens and the integration of social media as part of remote education plans can help. Practical implications The paper includes instructional guidelines for K-12 teachers and instructional designers in various settings who seek to integrate social media as part of their strategy for teaching students at a distance and facilitating their civic participation. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need for evidence-based and pragmatic approaches to K-12 online teaching and learning using technologies already widely in use (i.e. social media).

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ximena D. Burgin ◽  
Sheila Coli Coli ◽  
Mayra C. Daniel

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic is a unique event that forced K-12 schools to rethink the delivery of instruction to protect the well-being of school system stakeholders. Teachers, school administrators and parents had to adapt to and embrace new ways of teaching and learning by utilizing available technology. The purpose of this study is to examine the challenges encountered by in-service teachers when moving from face-to-face to online teaching.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized a qualitative phenomenological research methodology to examine Ecuadorian and Uruguayan teachers' perceptions and experiences transitioning from face-to-face to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. This comparative study used convenience sampling to include 12 K-12 teachers from Ecuador and Uruguay.FindingsThe results of this study produced two themes that evidenced the demands placed on educators. The first theme was job demands, relating to teachers' perceptions about workload, preparation time and curriculum issues. The second theme related to available support provided by the school administrators and technology issues faced by teachers and students. Even though the teachers demonstrated adaptability for educating students during the pandemic, the experiences from both countries should be considered by teacher training programs and in post-graduate professional development.Originality/valueThis article examined how COVID-19 affected teachers in Uruguay and Ecuador. Data analysis documented the challenges encountered by teachers transitioning to online learning during the pandemic. The findings inform a larger audience about the needs of teachers working online.


2020 ◽  
Vol 121 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 513-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Greenhow ◽  
Sarah Galvin

Purpose As higher education moves to formats that are not face-to-face classes in the wake of a global pandemic, educators need research-based guidelines to inform instructional planning and implementation. This study aims to provide recommendations for teaching with social media, as a complement and enhancement to traditional online teaching approaches. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on reviews of the research literature and the authors’ own experiences in studying and integrating social media into remote teaching and learning in university settings. Findings Learning environments that blend asynchronous online elements, where students can go at their own pace, on their own time, have some choice over their learning and are regularly and meaningfully engaging with other students, their teacher and the subject matter are most successful for student learning. Social media, with its affordances for personal profiling, relationship-building, content creation and socializing, when thoughtfully integrated into an online education plan, can help students and teachers stay connected while apart, enhance students’ engagement and make remote learning seem less remote. Practical implications The paper includes instructional guidelines for instructors and instructional designers in various post-secondary settings who seek to integrate social media as part of their strategy for remote higher education. Originality/value This study fulfills an identified need for pragmatic approaches to online higher education using social media.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (09) ◽  
pp. 65-84
Author(s):  
Aditi Gupta ◽  
◽  
Anshika Sharma ◽  
Prof. Patiraj Kumari ◽  
◽  
...  

The current situation of COVID 19 not only involves global health crisis but also economic and social crises. It has brought about a change in the system of education by conducting all academic activities online. Acc. to ILO, a world of universal distance education (as nearly 94% of learners have faced school closures) is created. Online education is a new concept for most Indians, creates room for incivility. Incivility is defined as a lack of manners, courteousness, and respect which deteriorates the decorum leading to disturbance in teaching and learning of the class. This study is focused on incivility in online teaching and learning. A total of 130 college students from around the country were asked to fill an open-ended online questionnaire to know their views on incivility in the online classroom. The overall thematic analysis resulted in the identification of three themes i.e. reported incidents, possible causes, and measures to reduce incivility in the online classrooms. In the time of pandemic where almost all the dissemination of education is done online to minimize the effect of the pandemic on the education system, incivility is a stumbling block. Therefore, it is important to bring incivility in online education in limelight as tackling incivility is the need of the hour.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Barton Essel ◽  
Dimitrios Vlachopoulos ◽  
Dickson Adom ◽  
Akosua Tachie-Menson

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone. In addition, the study aims to identify the associations between the audio teleconferencing and video teleconferencing in a 12-week postgraduate course. Design/methodology/approach The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted at the Department of Educational Innovations at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from March to June 2020. The purposive sampling technique was used to sample 100 postgraduate students who registered for a course in the department. The data for the study were collected using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and 17-item self-administered eQuestionnaire. Multiple Linear Regression analysis, ANOVA, Independent sample T-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to estimate the differences in course achievements of students who experienced education through audio teleconferencing and those who experienced education through video teleconferencing. Findings In total, 59% of the participating postgraduate students chose to attend the synchronous online lectures via audio teleconferencing (dial-in). The participants gave a high SUS score (SUS > 80.3; Grade A; Excellent) for audio conferencing service. Among the students in the audio teleconferencing cohort, the results evidenced a strong positive linear correlation, (r (57) = 0.79, p < 0.05), between the individual adjective ratings and the SUS scores. There was marginal significance among demography of students in the audio teleconference (AT) cohort with regards to their perception about the dial-in lecture. There was no statistically significant difference, (t (98) = 1.88, p = 0.063), in the achievement test for AT students and video teleconference (VT) students. The instructors and the students were satisfied with the AT. Practical implications Based on the students’ preference, AT offers equal benefit as VT with regards to system satisfaction and perceived quality of online teaching. AT, as teaching modality, should be an option for students who reside in communities with high latency internet connectivity. It is recommended that instructors are trained on how to engage and motivate students via AT. Originality/value Higher education institutions in Ghana are facing decisions about how to continue learning and teaching through flexible pedagogy, while keeping their faculty members and students protected from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these institutions have canceled the brick-and-mortar education and other conventional learning practices and have instructed faculty to adopt online teaching through synchronous video teleconferencing platforms. However, the learning experience is not the same for students who reside in remote or rural communities with low bandwidth. There is very little research in this topic, especially in developing countries like Ghana, and the present study aims to bridge the gap in the literature by exploring the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone, in the context of a 12-week postgraduate course.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Muttaqin Choiri ◽  
Mutiara Cahyani Fajrin ◽  
Tanti Alfrida Novianti ◽  
Eva Nur Kholidah Putri Ms

Abstrak: Pandemi COVID-19 adalah krisis kesehatan yang sedang menjadi perhatian negara-negara di dunia saat ini. COVID-19 merupakan penyakit yang belum pernah teridentifikasi sebelumnya pada manusia yang disebabkan oleh virus Sars-CoV-2. Menyebarnya COVID-19 di Indonesia menyebabkan Indonesia perlu melakukan pembatasan sosial untuk mencegah meningkatnya jumlah pasien COVID-19. Pembatasan sosial menyebabkan terganggunya beberapa aktivitas di berbagai bidang, terutama di bidang pendidikan. Kajian yang dilakukan dalam penyusunan paper mengacu pada 10 artikel terbaru pada tahun 2020 yang membahas tentang permasalahan yang sedang terjadi saat ini, berkaitan dengan dampak COVID-19 terhadap pembelajaran online menggunakan metode Systematic Literature Review. Proses pengkajian 10 artikel ini diklasifikasi menjadi 3 kelompok sub topik. Berdasarkan kajian yang telah dilakukan, diperoleh hasil pembelajaran online di era pandemi COVID-19 sangat memacu pertumbuhan pembelajaran online yang memudahkan dalam proses belajar mengajar, namun jika dinilai dari perubahan sikap siswa, sistem tersebut lebih menunjukkan sisi negatif, sehingga diperlukan adanya evaluasi terkait pembelajaran online oleh pemerintah Kata kunci: Covid-19, pembelajaran online, Systematic Literature Review(SLR)Abstract: COVID-19 pandemic is a health crisis that currently has been becoming the concern of countries in the world. COVID-19 is a disease that has never been previously identified in humans, which is caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus. The spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia has made this country need to do social distancing to prevent the increasing number of COVID-19 patients. This social distancing has disrupted several activities in various fields, especially in the field of education. The paper done refers to 10 current articles in 2020 that discuss current problems, with the COVID-19 impact of online learning using Systematic Literature Review method. The review process of these 10 articles was classified into 3 sub-topic groups. Based on the studies that had been carried out, the result of online learning in the COVID-19 pandemic era has greatly accelerated the growth of online learning which eases the teaching and learning process. However, if it is judged by the changes in the students’ attitudes, the system shows more of negative sides. Therefore, there should be an evaluation related to the online learning by the government.Keywords: Covid-19, online learning, Systematic Literature Review (SLR)


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorit Alt ◽  
Lior Naamati-Schneider

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, forcing them to abruptly shift from face-to-face to online teaching and learning. This case study illustrates how a traditional lecture-based activity for undergraduate students in a Management of Health Service Organizations program was transformed into an argumentation-based learning activity using the technique of digital concept mapping and was deployed in an online format during the COVID-19 lockdown.Design/methodology/approachThe students were tasked with solving an ill-structured problem bearing significance for their future professional lives and connected to the contents of their course (entitled “Assimilation of service quality in health systems”). The activity was composed of two phases. In Phase 1, participants were asked to provide five arguments to establish their proposed solution to the problem by using a concept map on a digital platform (Mindomo). In Phase 2, they were asked to substantiate their arguments. Reflective journals were used to ascertain how the participants viewed the activity. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data by searching for themes demonstrating different epistemological positions.FindingsSix themes were inductively derived from the students' reflections: (1) transitioning from passive to active learning; (2) generating epistemic change; (3) social perspective-taking; (4) domain-based knowledge; (5) prior knowledge and experience; and (6) online collaboration with other students. Episodes, thoughts and feelings expressed by the students were reported so as to increase the reliability of the recurrent and common themes.Originality/valueThis study mainly shows that combining constructivist teaching and learning tools with advanced technology in an online course enables the development of lifelong learning capabilities among students in the health management professions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Rudhumbu ◽  
Wilson Parawira ◽  
Crispen Bhukuvhani ◽  
Jacob Nezandoyi ◽  
Cuthbert Majoni ◽  
...  

PurposeThis study aims to establish the online teaching behaviour of university lecturers as well as examine issues and challenges for online teaching in universities in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 era and beyond.Design/methodology/approachThe study assumed a quantitative approach that employed a structured questionnaire for data collection. Structural equation modelling using AMOS version 22 and independent samples t-test were used for data analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for data purification.FindingsThe results of the study showed that organisational factors, technological factors, pedagogical factors, student factors and the gender of lecturers have a significant influence on the behavioural intentions of lecturers to teach online. The results also showed that the behavioural intentions of lecturers to teach online has a significant influence on the actual online teaching behaviour of the lecturers. The results also showed that lecturers mostly used the WhatsApp platform for teaching. Issues and challenges affecting the online teaching behaviour of lecturers in universities in Zimbabwe were also identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study have implications for policy and practice with regard to online teaching and learning during periods of pandemics and beyond.Practical implicationsThe results showed that for effective teaching to be done in universities, universities should not continue focusing on single platforms such as blackboard, Moodle and others, but should allow for a multimedia approach that factors in platforms such as WhatsApp, Google Classroom and others. This will ensure that even universities with limited technology infrastructure will be able to have online teaching occurring.Social implicationsThe study demonstrated the influence of gender in online teaching by showing that there are gender differences in the way university lecturers conduct online teaching. This also has implication on teaching and policy as these results demonstrate a need for universities to come up with strategies and policies that ensure despite gender differences, university lecturers should be able to effective teach online.Originality/valueWhile the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology has been widely used in research, the current study represents the first opportunity that the theory has been used to establish the online teaching behaviour of university lecturers in the context of Zimbabwe.


Author(s):  
Irina Lyublinskaya ◽  
Xiaoxue Du

This chapter describes pedagogical practices and teaching strategies with instructional technology used in an online summer course with preservice K-12 teachers. The course provided preservice teachers (PSTs) with experiences in using technology in K-12 classrooms from both students' and teachers' perspectives, engaged PSTs in active explorations of various K-12 curriculum topics using technology that could enhance high-impact teaching strategies, and supported PSTs in development of virtual lessons using instructional technology. The study identified effective practices with instructional technology to support preservice teachers' development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) for their own online teaching. Study findings suggest that online immersive experience created a virtual student-centered space to nurture collaborative inquiry and that contributed to the growth of PST's TPACK. However, this experience also brought challenges and concerns for sustaining and transforming teaching and learning with instructional technology to an online environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Joshi ◽  
Muddu Vinay ◽  
Preeti Bhaskar

Purpose In India, the COVID-19 outbreak has been declared an epidemic in all its states and union territories. To combat COVID-19, lockdown was imposed on March 25, 2020 which has adversely affected the education system in the country. It has changed the traditional education system to the educational technologies (EdTechs) model, where teaching and assessments are conducted online. This paper aims to identify the barriers faced by teachers during online teaching and assessment in different home environment settings in India. Design/methodology/approach Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of qualitative research methodology has been used in this research. The study was conducted among the teachers working in the government and private universities of Uttarakhand, India. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted among 19 teachers to collect data regarding the barriers faced by them during online teaching and assessment. ATLAS.ti, version 8 was used to analyze the interview data. Findings The findings revealed four categories of barriers that are faced by teachers during online teaching and assessments. Under home environment settings, a lack of basic facilities, external distraction and family interruption during teaching and conducting assessments were major issues reported. Institutional support barriers such as the budget for purchasing advanced technologies, a lack of training, a lack of technical support and a lack of clarity and direction were also reported. Teachers also faced technical difficulties. The difficulties were grouped under a lack of technical support, it included a lack of technical infrastructure, limited awareness of online teaching platforms and security concerns. Teachers’ personal problems including a lack of technical knowledge, negative attitude, course integration with technology and a lack of motivation are identified as the fourth category to damper their engagement in online teaching and assessments. Practical implications The findings of the study can be helpful to the regulatory authorities and employers of higher education institutions who are planning to adopt online teaching as a regular activity in the future. The insights gained from the findings can help them to revisit their existing policy frameworks by designing new strategies and technical structures to assist their teachers in successfully embracing the EdTech to deal with any crisis in the future. Originality/value Many authors have conducted research to address the problems faced by students related to online teaching and learning during COVID-19 in India. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that addresses the challenges faced by teachers during the online teaching and assessment in the home environment settings by using qualitative analysis (IPA) techniques. The current study replenishes the gap by contributing to the literature of online teaching and assessment under the home environment settings during the pandemic situation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 121 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 503-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuko Fujita

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the practical work of learning designers with the aim of helping members of the information science (IS) and learning sciences (LS) communities understand how evidence-informed learning design of online teaching and online learning in higher education is relevant to their research agendas and how they can contribute to this growing field. Design/methodology/approach Illustrating how current online education instructional designs largely ignore evidence from research, this paper argues that evidence from IS and LS can encourage more effective and nuanced learning designs for e-learning and online education delivery and suggest how interdisciplinary collaboration can advance shared understanding. Findings Recent reviews of the learning design show that tools and techniques from the LS can support students in self-directed and self-regulated learning. IS studies complement these approaches by highlighting the role that information systems and computer–human interaction. In this paper, the expertise from IS and LS are considered as important evidence to improve learning design, particularly vis-à-vis digital divide concerns that students face during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value This paper outlines important ties between the learning design, LS and IS communities. The combined expertise is key to advancing the nuanced design of online education, which considers issues of social justice and equity, and critical digital pedagogy.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document