scholarly journals TRANSITIONING TO ONLINE EDUCATION IN ENGLISH DEPARTMENTS IN BANGLADESH: LEARNER PERSPECTIVES

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Bashir ◽  
Md Elias Uddin ◽  
Bijoy Lal Basu ◽  
Rubina Khan

During the brief coronavirus-induced hiatus in March and April 2020, educational institutions in Bangladesh including public universities began preparations for online classes. By the end of June, almost all private universities and a few public universities had started online classes with limited or no preparation which was met with appreciation as well as censure from different stakeholders. Against this backdrop, this study was conducted with a view to examining the online teaching learning scenario at Bangladeshi public universities from the perspective of one important stakeholder, the students, with a specific focus on the challenges they faced in this new mode of instruction. Suggestions were also sought from them regarding how the barriers to online instruction could be overcome. Data were collected from 26 students of English Departments of 11 public universities through semi-structured interviews. The major challenges reported in the data include issues of access and equity, inadequate logistic support and poor infrastructure. Concerns related to curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and psychological issues were also highlighted. In addition, lack of prior experience and training were identified as serious obstacles. Major suggestions from the participants include ensuring access and equity, providing training opportunities and digital devices to students and engaging in curriculum and assessment reforms. 

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-513
Author(s):  
Sumitra Pokhrel ◽  
Roshan Chhetri

This study aims to identify the hindrances to online education students in schools and colleges during the lockdown. The online survey through Google Forms with a structured questionnaire with both restricted and unrestricted responses was designed to identify the hindrance to online education during the third lockdown. Total of 425 responses of students who attend online classes during lockdown from Phuentsholing Higher Secondary, Phuentsholing Middle Secondary, Sonamgang Middle Secondary Schools, and College of Science and Technology in Phuentsholing, Bhutan. The result indicates that socio-economic, technological, and psychological situations hinder effective online teaching and learning. Household chores, large family members, data packages, and poor internet connectivity are other difficulties students face making online education ineffective. Some of the measures to support economically disadvantaged students and provide personal computers/laptops to teachers for preparing and developing teaching-learning materials are suggested. Other recommendations and viable measures based on surveys are suggested to overcome such challenges for students and support providers to make online education effective and focused


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmeen Shamsi Rizvi ◽  
Asma Nabi

PurposeAs online teaching/learning is a new phenomenon with reference to regular degree programs in institutions of higher education in India (the situation having being thrust upon both students and faculty due to COVID-19 pandemic), an exploratory-descriptive study was carried out to find out how public university students in India perceive online teaching/learning (OTL) during the present pandemic, the methods of OTL being used by faculty and the challenges being faced by the students.Design/methodology/approachOnline interviews with 40 students of three public universities in Delhi/NCR were conducted using open-ended and close-ended questions. The questionnaire was emailed to 82 university students of Commerce and Management specialisation out of which 40 responded. We analysed each participants interview responses using content analysis technique and categorised the themes/factors that emerged under suitable headings using the coding method. The frequencies of the occurrence of the themes/factors were thus determined and documented, and percentages were calculated. The questionnaire also had Likert-scale questions as they are useful to measure latent constructs.FindingsInadequate bandwidth and poor network connectivity were found to be major hindrances during OT/L. The other challenges were unsuitable home environment for attending online classes, feeling of isolation and demotivation due to lack of face-to-face interaction and excessive screen-time causing fatigue. Active online methods such as live lectures by faculty and article/case study/discussions facilitated live by faculty were most preferred while the passive method of learning such as online certification courses through education portals such as Swayam/ Coursera/Udemy, etc were least preferred. The level of satisfaction from student–faculty interaction was more than that from student–student interaction.Research limitations/implicationsThe study covered three public universities in India and the sample size was small because of limitations created by COVID-19 pandemic situation as campuses were closed and it was not possible to meet students personally to get responses.Practical implicationsUniversities should provide data cards or access to university computer labs to those students who are from economically weaker sections of society so that online teaching may be effective. This will also help students who live in very small houses and do not have a quiet corner to study online. Other solution would be to reduce online teaching duration. This issue needs the attention of educational institution leaders as most universities have scheduled classes from morning till evening, as it was during real classroom teaching. Eight hours of online classes every day may not be feasible when Internet access is a critical problem. Teachers should encourage interaction between students so that the feeling of isolation may be reduced and students may be motivated to learn and take more interest in virtual classes.Social implications50% of the Indian population does not have access to the Internet, while a large section that does have, cannot afford the cost of high-speed data that is needed for long-duration online classes spanning over months. Those who can afford it, do not have the privacy to engage effectively in classes on video conferencing portals. Both students and teachers suffer due to poor audio and video quality caused by poor infrastructure. COVID-19 has brought to focus, the severe inequality in some societies. Societies need to take serious cognizance of this issue and take appropriate measures.Originality/valueThis study is very unique as the radical change from real classroom to online teaching in Indian public universities is a very unique phenomenon. The disruption was forced due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and students along with their teachers learned the process “on-the-job”. As the issues and challenges faced by students were unexplored, this study aims to contribute knowledge to this existing research gap.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafat Y. Alwazna

The present paper addresses translation teaching during the COVID-19 outbreak, seeking to discover the challenges translation teachers encounter in online education and the solutions available to resolve them. Its importance springs from the fact that teaching almost all over the world had to depend on distant teaching/learning through electronic platforms to face the pandemic of COVID-19. Therefore, the present study seeks to discover the challenges encountered in online translation teaching and the proposed solutions to overcome them. It intends to answer the following questions: how does teaching translation during the COVID-19 outbreak look like? What are the challenges encountered in teaching translation during the COVID-19 outbreak? What are the discoveries found in teaching translation during the COVID-19 outbreak that may serve as advantages/solutions for the challenges faced? The paper uses a comprehensive questionnaire containing closed-ended and open-ended questions to elicit quantitative and qualitative data from sixty translation teachers. The data shows that 40% of the participants evaluate their online translation teaching experience during the COVID-19 outbreak as enjoyable. In contrast, no participant has assessed their online translation teaching experience as not good. About 23.33% of the participants consider their online translation teaching experience very good, and the same percentage applies to those who evaluate their online translation teaching experience as good to some extent. Thus, around 13.33% of the participants consider their online translation teaching experience good. The data also indicates that most participants have encountered obstacles in online teaching and have concurrently proposed solutions to resolve them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Popa ◽  
Angela Repanovici ◽  
Daciana Lupu ◽  
Mariana Norel ◽  
Claudiu Coman

This research focuses on teaching–learning behavior in the online environment under crisis conditions, such as those caused by COVID-19. Data were collected from 427 participants from Central and Eastern Europe and North and Central Asia. An integrative mixed method design was used, combining components of both qualitative and quantitative research. The research method used was the inquiry based on a semi-structured questionnaire, which combined closed items with open-ended and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative results revealed significant differences between professors and students regarding the self-reported adaptability level, creativity, need for help in online teaching–learning, and collaboration with colleagues for solving problems in the online teaching–learning medium. The opinions of professors do not differ from those of students regarding the advantages, disadvantages, vulnerable areas, and aspects of online education. Thematic analysis, used to analyze the qualitative data, emphasized the participants’ perceptions of online teaching–learning efficiency in crises. Based on the results, it was concluded that the aspects that need to become a priority in online education concern mainly the didactic quality of the learning experience.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 86-102
Author(s):  
Rafat Y. Alwazna

The present paper addresses translation teaching during the COVID-19 outbreak, seeking to discover the challenges translation teachers encounter in online education and the solutions available to resolve them. Its importance springs from the fact that teaching almost all over the world had to depend on distant teaching/learning through electronic platforms to face the pandemic of COVID-19. Therefore, the present study seeks to discover the challenges encountered in online translation teaching and the proposed solutions to overcome them. It intends to answer the following questions: how does teaching translation during the COVID-19 outbreak look like? What are the challenges encountered in teaching translation during the COVID-19 outbreak? What are the discoveries found in teaching translation during the COVID-19 outbreak that may serve as advantages/solutions for the challenges faced? The paper uses a comprehensive questionnaire containing closed-ended and open-ended questions to elicit quantitative and qualitative data from sixty translation teachers. The data shows that 40% of the participants evaluate their online translation teaching experience during the COVID-19 outbreak as enjoyable. In contrast, no participant has assessed their online translation teaching experience as not good. About 23.33% of the participants consider their online translation teaching experience very good, and the same percentage applies to those who evaluate their online translation teaching experience as good to some extent. Thus, around 13.33% of the participants consider their online translation teaching experience good. The data also indicates that most participants have encountered obstacles in online teaching and have concurrently proposed solutions to resolve them.


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):  
Sahib Khatoon Thaheem ◽  
Mohamad Jafre Zainol Abidin ◽  
Quratulain Mirza ◽  
Habib Ullah Pathan

PurposeThe shift from physical class to online classes in the pandemic COVID-19 situation has posited opportunities as well as challenges for teachers and students. The primary purpose of this research is to investigate challenges faced and benefits availed by the teachers at the tertiary level in universities of Pakistan and Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the purpose a mixed-method approach is employed to answer the three research questions of the present study. The quantitative data is obtained from the responses of 66 teachers, teaching online in Mehran UET Pakistan and 102 teachers from Indonesian university. The personal, technological, and pedagogical challenges were analyzed by descriptive statistics on SPSS. Thus, the independent-samples t-test was run to test for statistically significant differences faced by teachers in both countries.FindingsThe findings revealed that there were no statistically significant differences found in personal, and pedagogical challenges faced by both countries' teachers, whereas there is a significant difference in facing technological challenges between Pakistani and Indonesian teachers. The benefits of online teaching were investigated qualitatively by conducting semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers 5 from each country. There are very positive aspects of online teaching revealed in the interviews.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper includes implications for the development of Computer Assisted Language Learning, the development of technology integrated courses, and for managing the balance between physical and online classes.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study have implications on finding out the solutions of the derived challenges, further it suggests to concentrate on students of public and private universities in Pakistan and Indonesia so that a comparison of challenges faced by teachers and faced by students can be researched and evaluated and it can generate significantly different results.Social implicationsThe implications on the research society and the teachers and designers' communities are very clear in this research because it paves the way forward towards the blending of technology in any way either synchronously/ asynchronously into education, further researches can be done on designing the new concepts, courses, instructional platforms for students and investigate the new dimensions and effects of them.Originality/valueFindings have value, because two countries' context (developing countries) with respect to the comparison of the challenges and benefits is better understood, it would have different results if had done in the developed countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (02) ◽  
pp. 07-10
Author(s):  
Manpreet Kaur

The process of teaching and learning through online or virtual mode has been gradually becoming an important part of the Indian education sector. Teachers and students in higher education have already been effectively using online education mode to optimize the learning process. Schools, too, have been using educational technologies in many ways at all levels and across all grades. But with the unexpected worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020, a sudden exponential boom has come in the online teaching set up. Until now, online teaching was assumed to be an aid to the teaching-learning transactions and was immediately adopted as the only way out, to continue with the pedagogical process in schools and colleges. This research attempts to make a comparative analysis of the changes in various aspects of online teaching before and during the COVID-19 era, including content development and delivery and type of information shared with students in private schools of NCR of India. Data collected by the investigator from school teachers about their usage of online methodologies from 2017 will be compared with school teachers’ data in August 2020, and its educational implications will be discussed.


Author(s):  
Mary D. Oriol ◽  
Gail Tumulty

This chapter presents a theoretical framework and research base for the successful transition of an established Master of Science in Nursing program from that of traditional classroom delivery to one that is Web-based with no geographic limitations to students. The application of socio-technical systems theory to facilitate creation of a positive learning environment for future nurse leaders is described. Use of social processes and application of technology to optimize learning is explained and the latest research on content presentation and student engagement in an e-learning environment are presented. The authors hope that through examination of successful online teaching/learning strategies, readers will have a clear understanding of the competencies necessary for students and faculty to be successful in online education.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Nicholas E. Santos

This paper explored the pedagogical preparations taken by the researcher in integrating blogs to the traditional classroom experience as well as its use in online classes as a tool for students to write about what they have learned in class and relate it to everyday life. The researcher utilized web blog, combined Facebook and Multiply blogsites, in the online teaching. Utilization of blogsites to supplement the traditional method of teaching was a welcome innovation for most students. The study involved thirty-eight (38) enrolled students of the course English 111. The familiarity and convenience of facebook and multiply blogsites makes learning and complying to requirements an enjoyable task. Blogs as a learning space for English 111 was an effective teaching methodology appreciated by the students. However, the integration of blogs in the traditional teaching learning process requires preparation and planning on the part of the teacher so that applicable and timely activities could be given to the students.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document