scholarly journals Students’ Digital Media Usage at the University of Tübingen During the CoViD19 Semester 2020 Compared to 2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 118-137
Author(s):  
Taiga Brahm ◽  
Marina Pumptow
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The University

The purpose of this study was to compare students’ digital media use during the so-called corona semester in summer of 2020 when universities worldwide moved to online teaching and learning, with data from 2018. Two research questions were at the center of our study: To what extent did students’ media use during the digital summer semester 2020 differ from media use in 2018? In which ways is media use in 2020 related to individual factors (e.g., emotional states, social integration, self-efficacy)? In 2020, 207 students at the University of Tübingen participated in an online survey on their digital media use. This data was compared with an existing data set from the same university from 2018 (N = 808 students). Results show a significant increase in students’ media use across all categories, in particular Learning Management System, online exercises, learning videos, and video conferencing. We also found a significant relation of students’ usage of online tools for learning with their feeling of social integration, as well as connections between students’ digital media self-efficacy and their learning-relevant emotions. The article discusses these results in the light of other studies on students’ media uses and provides first practical implications for lecturers.

scholarly journals Music Student’s Approach to the Forced Use of Remote Performance Assessments

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ritchie ◽  
Benjamin T. Sharpe
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Performance Assessments ◽  
Free Text ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Year

Music students at the University of Chichester Conservatoire completed questionnaires about their experience of the forced use of remote teaching and learning due to Lockdown, as imposed in the United Kingdom from March to June 2020, and how this impacted their self-beliefs, decision making processes, and methods of preparation for their performance assessments. Students had the choice to either have musical performance assessed in line with originally published deadlines (still in Lockdown) via self-recorded video or defer the assessment until the following academic year. Student’s choice to defer or submit the assessment during Lockdown was influenced by a range of forced factors, such as adaptions required by online teaching, limitations of rehearsal in their home environment, and the challenges in facilitating and recording their own assessments. Students completed online questionnaires about their self-efficacy, resilience, wellbeing, and provided free text responses explaining the reasoning for their decision to record their performance or to defer the assessment were coded to reveal patterns impacting their decision and preparation processes. Those choosing to submit their assessments demonstrated more strategies in their preparation and reported higher perceived self-efficacy scores. The specific conditions for this assessment, as a result of Lockdown, revealed correlations between resilience and both self-efficacy and wellbeing. The impact on teaching and the student experience is discussed and suggestions to support students in future settings of blended delivery are presented. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals An Overview of Chemistry Teaching Transformation during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Experience from University of Botswana

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Girija S. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Mechanisms ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Chemistry Education ◽  
Chemistry Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
University Of Botswana ◽  
National University ◽  
The University ◽  
Teaching Transformation

COVID-19-related disruption in teaching in the University of Botswana led the school to prepare new strategies for running classes and to design innovative way of instruction.  The most notable change was to replace face-to-face lectures with online teaching at least partially (blended teaching and learning). This posed many challenges, especially in the teaching of science and technology subjects. In a laboratory-based discipline such as chemistry the problems encountered were especially daunting.  Moreover, writing mathematical equations, chemical reactions and reaction mechanisms posed their own difficulties.  The present communication provides a brief overview of how chemistry education at the University, the premier national university of Botswana, has been transformed during the last three semesters.  It is based on experience of the author and as judged by the feed-back received from colleagues and the students. Admittedly, the experience is limited and much discussion is still in progress to meet the unresolved challenges. Theory classes at undergraduate levels are now mostly taught online using packages such as Moodle and MS Teams. The tutorial and laboratory sessions have faced the greatest disruptions and the instructors continue to explore ways to conduct these virtually.  Online examinations were found to be limited in their effectiveness, especially in the assessment of drawing chemical structure and reaction mechanisms as well as the students’ ability in scientific writing.

Professional community and student engagement in higher education: rethinking the contributions of professional staff

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaw Owusu-Agyeman ◽  
Enna Moroeroe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Culture ◽  
The University

PurposeScholarly studies on student engagement are mostly focused on the perceptions of students and academic staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) with a few studies concentrating on the perspectives of professional staff. To address this knowledge gap, this paper aims to examine how professional staff who are members of a professional community perceive their contributions to enhancing student engagement in a university.Design/methodology/approachData for the current study were gathered using semi-structured face-to-face interviews among 41 professional staff who were purposively sampled from a public university in South Africa. The data gathered were analysed using thematic analysis that involved a process of identifying, analysing, organising, describing and reporting the themes that emerged from the data set.FindingsAn analysis of the narrative data revealed that when professional staff provide students with prompt feedback, support the development of their social and cultural capital and provide professional services in the area of teaching and learning, they foster student engagement in the university. However, the results showed that poor communication flow and delays in addressing students’ concerns could lead to student disengagement. The study further argues that through continuous interaction and shared norms and values among members of a professional community, a service culture can be developed to address possible professional knowledge and skills gaps that constrain quality service delivery.Originality/valueThe current paper contributes to the scholarly discourse on student engagement and professional community by showing that a service culture of engagement is developed among professional staff when they share ideas, collaborate and build competencies to enhance student engagement. Furthermore, the collaboration between professional staff and academics is important to addressing the academic issues that confront students in the university.

Learning Analytics as a Tool for Planning, Evaluating, and Improving a SMOOC for Teacher Professional Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 170-189
Author(s):  
Cristine Martins Gomes de Gusmão ◽  
Josiane Lemos Machiavelli ◽  
Patricia Smith Cavalcante
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Issues ◽  
Educational Culture ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

This chapter describes how a public university has met the challenge of changing inside the educational culture and preparing its teachers to manage online teaching-learning processes using learning analytics to contribute to the design, evaluation, and improvement of SMOOC. From the results obtained with a survey answered by the teachers, a twenty-hour class SMOOC was developed that focuses on instrumental aspects of digital technological resources in the teaching and learning contexts, as well as in the pedagogical issues, which concern the appropriate use of digital technologies. The findings of this research demonstrate that the SMOOC has been able to meet the teacher training needs, which are changing the way they work since remote education has been the viable alternative to guarantee the functioning of the university in the coronavirus pandemic period. However, it is believed that the knowledge that teachers are acquiring will contribute to changes in professional practice even post-pandemic.

scholarly journals Quarantined, Sequestered, Closed: Theorising Academic Bodies Under Covid-19 Lockdown

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 791-811
Author(s):  
Lesley Gourlay
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Black Death ◽  
Spatial Practices ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
Working Practices ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Abstract The term ‘quarantine’ is derived from the Italian quarantena, from quaranta, referring to the forty days of isolation traditionally imposed during the era of the Black Death in Europe. This paper examines this and related contemporary terms, in order to consider the complex and contradictory nature of enforced sites of isolation, with reference to the historical literature. The centrality of spatial practices in the current pandemic is emphasised, with a focus on the normally unobserved, micro practices of individuals under ‘lockdown’. The paper reports on an interview study conducted at a large UK Higher Education institution during the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’, and analyses the accounts of six academics, focusing particularly on their embodied and sociomaterial practices, with reference to the etymological analysis. The paper considers the extent to which their reported experiences reflect the various meanings of the term sequestrato, going on to propose that their working practices, particularly focused on screens and video calls, are characterised by a need to ‘perform the university’. I speculate on how the ontological nature of the university itself has been fundamentally altered by the closure of the campus and lockdown, proposing that the site of the university is now radically dispersed across these sequestered bodies. I conclude by calling into the question the accuracy of the term ‘online teaching and learning’, instead suggesting that in a fundamental sense, none of these practices is in fact ‘online’ or digital.

Teaching interpreting online for the Translation and Interpreting Degree at the University of Vic

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-182
Author(s):  
María Perramon ◽  
Xus Ugarte
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Teaching Resources ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
University Degree ◽  
The University ◽  
Academic Year

Abstract At a time when the advances in information and communication technologies meant that new approaches to virtual teaching and learning could be proposed, the teaching staff on the degree in Translation and Interpreting at UVic decided to offer part of the degree in distance learning mode. This learning mode was launched in the 2001–2002 academic year, with optional face-to-face teaching sessions some Saturdays and coexisted with the traditional face-to-face courses. During the first years, the fourth-year interpreting specialisation subjects were not taught online for technical and pedagogical reasons. Since the 2014-2015 academic year, we also teach these subjects online. The challenge that we face starting the 2017-2018 academic year is twofold: 1. To adapt the online teaching of interpreting subjects to groups with a high number of students in the new Inter-university Degree in Translation, Interpreting and Applied Languages jointly offered by the University of Vic and the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). 2. To adapt the contents and methodology of interpreting subjects to changes in professional practice: telephone and videoconference interpreting, especially in liaison interpreting. In our paper, we will show some online teaching resources, as well as several online tools which we use in our courses.

scholarly journals Online Learning in a South African Higher Education Institution: Determining the Right Connections for the Student

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy Ruth Queiros ◽  
Mary Ruth De Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
South African ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
The Right

<p class="3">Online learning is a means of reaching marginalised and disadvantaged students within South Africa. Nevertheless, these students encounter obstacles in online learning. This research investigates South African students’ opinions regarding online learning, culminating in a model of important connections (facets that connect students to their learning and the institution). Most participants had no prior experience with online learning. Their perceptions and barriers to learning may apply to other developing countries as well.</p><p class="3">A cross-sequential research design was employed using a survey among 58 fourth-year students who were studying a traditional paper-based module via open distance learning. The findings indicated certain essential connections:  first, a <em>strong s</em><em>ocial presence </em>(through timely feedback, interaction with facilitators, peer-to-peer contact, discussion forums, and collaborative activities); second, <em>technological aspects</em><strong> </strong>(technology access, online learning self-efficacy, and computer self-efficacy); and third, <em>tools</em><strong> </strong>(web sites, video clips). The study revealed low levels of computer/internet access at home, which is of concern in an ODL milieu heading online.   Institutions moving to online learning in developing countries should pay close attention to their students’ situations and perceptions, and develop a path that would accommodate both the disadvantaged and techno-savvy students without compromising quality of education and learning. The article culminates in practical recommendations that encompass the main findings to help guide institutions in developing countries as they move towards online teaching and learning.</p>

scholarly journals Teaching Grenfell: The Role of Emotions in Teaching and Learning for Social Change

Sociology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1026-1042
Author(s):  
Laura Connelly ◽  
Remi Joseph-Salisbury
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Sociological Perspective ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
The University ◽  
Limit Capacity

Although literature on the role of emotions in teaching and learning is growing, little consideration has been given to the university context, particularly from a sociological perspective. This article draws upon the online survey responses of 24 students who attended sociological classes on the Grenfell Tower fire, to explore the role emotions play in teaching that seeks to politicise learners and agitate for social change. Contributing to understandings of pedagogies of ‘discomfort’ and ‘hope’, we argue that discomforting emotions, when channelled in directions that challenge inequality, have socially transformative potential. Introducing the concept of bounded social change, however, we demonstrate how the neoliberalisation of Higher Education threatens to limit capacity for social change. In so doing, we cast teaching as central to the discipline of sociology and suggest that the creation of positive social change should be the fundamental task of sociological teaching.

scholarly journals Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during the Coronavirus Pandemic: Students’ Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10367
Author(s):  
Claudiu Coman ◽  
Laurențiu Gabriel Țîru ◽  
Luiza Meseșan-Schmitz ◽  
Carmen Stanciu ◽  
Maria Cristina Bularca
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Online Teaching And Learning ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Platforms

The research focuses on identifying the way in which Romanian universities managed to provide knowledge during the Coronavirus pandemic, when, in a very short time, universities had to adapt the educational process for exclusively online teaching and learning. In this regard, we analyzed students’ perception regarding online learning, their capacity to assimilate information, and the use of E-learning platforms. An online survey based on a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted. Data was collected from 762 students from two of the largest Romanian universities. The results of the research revealed that higher education institutions in Romania were not prepared for exclusively online learning. Thus, the advantages of online learning identified in other studies seem to diminish in value, while disadvantages become more prominent. The hierarchy of problems that arise in online learning changes in the context of the crisis caused by the pandemic. Technical issues are the most important, followed by teachers’ lack of technical skills and their teaching style improperly adapted to the online environment. However, the last place was assigned by students to the lack of interaction with teachers or poor communication with them. Based on these findings, research implications for universities and researchers are discussed.

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