scholarly journals Teaching and Assessment through Online Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Benefits and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-415
Author(s):  
Adebunmi Yetunde Aina ◽  
Ayodele Abosede Ogegbo
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Preparation Time ◽  
Case Methods ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Assessment Strategies ◽  
Base Data

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled education systems across the globe to fully embrace online learning as an alternative to face-to-face classes. This has resulted in a paradigm shift, in which online teaching and assessment practices continue to gain prominence at the tertiary level. Hence, this study explores lecturers' teaching and assessment strategies for teaching university students through online platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study has used a framework of SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis as its theoretical base. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with five lecturers from three universities in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The collected data was analysed using content analysis. This study found that lecturers were able to manage the teaching and assessment processes during the COVID-19 school restrictions, using a combination of platforms such as Blackboard-collaborate, WhatsApp, Kahoot, and Google Classroom. The findings also revealed that a wide variety of teaching and assessment methodologies, including small group work, collaborative learning, case methods, discussion posts, multiple choice quizzes, chats, game activities, open-ended questions, and essays were utilized on these platforms. Although the methodologies used for teaching and assessing on these platforms require additional preparation time, they also help increase interaction between students and enable immediate grading of scripts and student feedback. Further findings revealed that online assessment is highly susceptible to test/examination malpractices. This study provided recommendations helpful to policymakers, lecturers, and students regarding online teaching and assessment strategies.

scholarly journals Digital transformation in education: from vision to practice during the pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Paul Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Interaction ◽  
Challenging Situation ◽  
Future Of Education ◽  
Learning Forward ◽  
Future Learning

This contribution addresses the challenges brought on by the pandemic and argues that a forced acceleration in online teaching and assessment practices can become a sustainable model for the post-COVID-19 world. Technology is a great asset that provides learning opportunities for the whole community and the education sector should seek to adopt an innovative approach that firmly integrates face-to-face with virtual interaction. The effort to make the most of an unforeseen and challenging situation has brought Jisc’s prediction for future learning forward: our publication Education 4.0 Transforming the future of education through advanced technology, offers suggestions on how this can be achieved in the current climate.

What Teachers Should and Shouldn't Do During Online Teaching

2021 ◽  
pp. 166-186
Author(s):  
Ka Long Roy Chan
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Online Teachers ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Mixed Feeling ◽  
Education In Hong Kong

COVID-19 has influenced teaching all across the globe. The massive use of online learning has created a problem with teachers because of the differences between face-to-face teaching and online teaching. In this chapter, a discussion on how traditional face-to-face teaching differs from online teaching will be shown. How education in Hong Kong is affected by COVID-19 is also summarized. Additionally, the result of a case study in a linguistics course in a university in Hong Kong will be shown to demonstrate the attitudes of students regarding online learning. The mixed-method case study, which consists of survey data of 100 students and semi-structured interviews of eight students, showed that students hold a general mixed feeling towards online learning because of its drawbacks, such as lack of interactions despite the convenience that online learning provides. This chapter ends with a list of suggestions for online teachers.

scholarly journals Lessons for Staff Development: Lecturers’ Transition from Face-to-Face to Online Teaching for Masters Courses in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Alison Clapp
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Teaching Community ◽  
Online Distance Learning

 AbstractDuring the COVID-19 pandemic there has been an almost universal pivot to emergency online teaching in higher education, requiring staff development as online teaching differs from teaching face-to-face. The transition has been at short notice, with rapidly created training and little time to engage. Past research into the transition to teach online is scarce. The study described here, carried out in the year before COVID-19, aimed to investigate the how previous experiences of learning and training affected transition, and how staff made sense of the experience, adding to knowledge on successful transition to teaching online distance learning courses. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was carried out after interviewing five experienced online teaching staff in a Graduate School, using semi-structured interviews and open-ended questioning. The overarching themes found were connections to online learning and teaching communities, and developing membership of, and activities in, these communities themselves. Staff with good connections to the online teaching community via other experienced staff, training, and prior experience as online students were able to make the transition to teach online with comparative ease, compared to those who did not. With little connection to the online teaching community, transition was slow and staff retained a greater connection to face-to-face teaching and its community. Post-pandemic, the study suggests that designs for staff development, relational agency (working for short periods with online teaching experts) and situated learning within an online environment are beneficial if elements of online learning and teaching are to be retained for the future.

scholarly journals One Head, Multiple Hats – Lessons Learned from Online Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-170
Author(s):  
Brândușa-Oana Niculescu ◽  
Isabela-Anda Dragomir
Keyword(s):  
Human Activity ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Preparation Time ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
And Training

Abstract The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis in all areas of human activity. In the field of education, this new and unexpected situation has led to an extraordinary shift of paradigm, as a considerable amount of institutions and faculty have been forced to pivot from purely face-to-face lessons to wholly online contexts, despite minimal preparation time and training. This paper aims to analyse the implications of this turn, as well as some of the key lessons that can be garnered from it. The gauge of this article will be on lessons learned, from the perspective of the changes that occurred in role of the teacher in the online context and the ramifications these have on teachers’ role and responsibilities.

scholarly journals TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES IN ONLINE FOREIGN LANGUAGES DISTANCE LEARNING

2020 ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Günter Beck ◽  
O. M. Tsaryk ◽  
N. V. Rybina
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Assessment Strategies ◽  
Pedagogical Approaches

The article deals with the leading strategies for organizing students’ learning and assessment in the distance teaching of foreign languages. The work analyzes available online teaching methods and forms, and the most optimal ways, types, and methods of assessing students’ work on the currently available online platforms. The authors claim that pedagogical approaches to teaching foreign languages constantly require the search for new tools that can bring an element of novelty to the educational process while simultaneously increasing the interest of applicants, especially during the current  (Covid-19) quarantine period.

scholarly journals Reconsidering Language Assessment Courses in Teacher Training Programs During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-55
Author(s):  
Ferit Kılıçkaya
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Assessment Literacy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Teacher Training Programs

Assessing learners’ performance is crucial as it informs about learners’ achievement levels in addition to their strengths and weaknesses, not only in face-to-face but also in online teaching. The study aimed at investigating the challenges faced by language teachers in assessing learners during online teaching and to offer some suggestions regarding language assessment courses in teacher training programs. The study adopted a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. The participants included 22 language teachers whose age was between 24 to 48. Of these teachers, 8 were male, while the rest were female. Their teaching experience varied from 2 to 25 years, with an average of 11.8 years. The data was based on the responses of the participants during semi-structured interviews. The participants were asked to attend ZOOM meetings to be held, considering their availability. The interviews lasted 10 to 25 minutes. The results of the study indicated that the challenges faced by the participants included five major themes: Assessment type, assessment item formats, support, previous training (assessment literacy), and academic integrity. Several suggestions were offered considering online testing and assessment literacy and language assessment courses in teacher training programs.

scholarly journals Transitioning from Face-to-Face to Online Instruction in the COVID-19 Era: Challenges of Tutors at Colleges of Education in Ghana

2020 ◽  
pp. 8-17
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Aboagye
Keyword(s):  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Emergency Situation ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Colleges Of Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Face ◽  
Education In Ghana ◽  
Learning Development

Online learning (e-learning) is well established as one of the best pedagogical approaches in recent years. Despite numerous pieces of literature addressing the significance and limitations of this type of approach, little has been done on the challenges involved in the transition from the face-to-face method of teaching without a blended approach to a complete online in an emergency situation. The present study examined the challenges faced by tutors at colleges of education in Ghana to transition from face-to-face (conventional) to a complete online in the COVID-19 era. A mixed methods design was employed to gather data using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed separately, and the results showed how network, pedagogies, Learning Management Systems and students' factors hinder tutors to successfully deliver online. The study further reported the blended approach as an effective method to assist the tutors for a more effective and less painful transition. Based on the findings, it is relevant for all educational institutions that use a conventional method to adopt a blended approach to help transition to a complete online in case of emergencies. However, it was revealed that online teaching and learning development is expensive, therefore, it requires assistance from stakeholders for a successful implementation.

scholarly journals Redesigning Teacher Education in the Wake of Covid-19 and Future Emergencies: A Case of Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-95
Author(s):  
Pfuurai Chimbunde
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Appreciative Inquiry ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Interpretive Case Study ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
Educational Delivery

Globally, the need to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 had rendered the traditional face-to-face educational delivery systems of Higher Education (HE) irrelevant. In light of that, institutions of HE had abruptly introduced online teaching platforms as an alternative, though without auditing the lecturers’ capacities and skills. Informed by the Appreciative Inquiry Model (AIM), this interpretive case study used virtual meetings and WhatsApp discussions to explore the professional limitations of Zimbabwe university lecturers on using the online platforms and their reactions to Teachers Education Programmes in the wake of Covid-19 and future emergencies. 12 lecturers drawn from three purposively selected Zimbabwean universities participated in the case study. Data were generated from questions developed in a way that encouraged the appearance of the Appreciative Inquiry Model stages. Findings suggest that some lecturers in Zimbabwe and possibly in other developing countries are inadequately trained to use online platforms. Institutions of Higher Education are therefore suggested to regularly audit their lecturers’ skills and professionally capacitate them for re-tooling and aligning in order for the skills to match the dictates of future emergencies.

The Era of Hyperconnectivity

2019 ◽  
pp. 192-218
Author(s):  
Emilia Rodrigues Araujo ◽  
Kadydja Nascimento Chagas
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Preparation Time ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
High Acceleration ◽  
Current Context

This chapter presents and discusses the results of a qualitative study developed in Portugal and Brazil regarding PhD time and the scientific supervision processes, focusing on the manner in which digital technologies are used during the preparation time of doctoral theses. Based on the analysis of data collected by 20 semi-structured interviews with students and supervisors, the main advantages and disadvantages of screen time during scientific supervision are examined. In an academic and social context of high acceleration and time fragmentation, research presents valid development perspectives for a re-evaluation of supervision processes, more specifically in the current context marked by high presence of online platforms.

scholarly journals COVID-19 AS AN AGENT OF CHANGE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING STEM SUBJECTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (6A) ◽  
pp. 1078-1091
Author(s):  
Chipo Makamure ◽  
Maria Tsakeni
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Classrooms ◽  
Mathematics And Science

The closing of schools due to Covid-19 has brought a dimension of uncertainty into STEM education. Despite the closing of schools due to the need to observe physical distancing, some schools have found ways to continue teaching and learning on virtual platforms enabled by increasingly pervasive fourth industrial revolution environments. In this study, the teaching of Ordinary level mathematics and science in pursuit of STEM education goals as enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) in online classrooms was therefore, explored. Using an interpretive case study, relevant data were collected from two mathematics and three science teachers during semi-structured interviews. These participants communicated their experiences in transitioning from face-to-face to online classrooms as they worked to promote STEM education during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings reveal teachers’ experiences of this transition and their selection of particular Web 2.0 tools to establish online classrooms. Notably, mobile instant messaging tools proved to be a popular option for being cheap, user-friendly, temporal, and multimodal. The findings also revealed that teachers struggled to adapt the hands-on activities to suit online teaching resulting in the use of teacher-centred approaches. Keywords: Covid-19, mathematics and science, online learning, STEM education, virtual platforms

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