The cyber classroom: Academic governance and sustainability in the 2020 pandemic context

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1, Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 131-142
Author(s):  
Francisco José Leandro ◽  
Eusebio Chiahsin Leou
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Anticipatory Socialization ◽  
Spring Semester ◽  
Academic Governance ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

From February to December 2020, the Government of Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) implemented strict health measures to control the pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19). Among several other developments, universities in the territory turned to online teaching, which lasted for the entire 2020 spring semester. This paper aims to identify the empirical lessons learned from that period, from both pedagogic and governance points of view, keeping in mind the impact of technological, human-related, and governance challenges. The sustainability of online teaching for a limited period of time was directly related to the effectiveness (and speed) of external coordination (involving the relevant governmental departments) and internal commitment within the university. Despite the relative academic success and the technological transformation, one of the key lessons learned is that online teaching cannot effectively contribute to the processes of secondary and anticipatory socialization in the same way as in-person learning. Therefore, online teaching is not sustainable as a stand-alone tool in higher education. It fails to deliver secondary and anticipatory socialization particularly with regard to the sense of connection and togetherness. Clearly, the current model of academic governance has not been designed to face this type of challenge

Hindsight in 2020? New Zealand's ‘Wait and See’ Approach to Mobile Broadband Regulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-179
Author(s):  
Michael S. Daubs
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mobile Broadband ◽  
Broadband Service ◽  
Spectrum Auctions ◽  
Spectrum Auction ◽  
Wait And See ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Review of the Telecommunications Act 2001, released in 2013, highlighted an increased demand for mobile broadband service, particularly in relation to the 700 MHz spectrum auction of 14 January 2014 – space ideal for next-generation 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile services. The government seemingly adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach to mobile broadband regulation, however, delaying its development until 2020 when there will be ‘a clearer sense of the impact of new networks and technology’. One can look to Canada to see the need for robust mobile broadband policies. Like New Zealand, Canada has relied primarily upon spectrum auctions to stimulate market competition. The spectrum auction frameworks used there, however, have done little to promote market competition. Applying the lessons learned from Canada to a New Zealand context, this article argues for a more assertive regulatory framework sooner rather than later.

scholarly journals CLASSROOM TEACHING IS BETTER THAN ONLINE TEACHING - A SURVEY REPORT IN MEDICAL COLLEGE MANDI H.P

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1165-1170
Author(s):  
Soni Pankaj ◽  
◽  
Kapoor Kanchan ◽  
Rana Susheela ◽  
Bandana a ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Survey Report ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
The Impact

Around the world even the developed countries are stunned by this pandemic causing extensive pain. India is no exception and the Government has imposed a nation – wide lockdown to help restrain the virus. At the onset of the pandemic, medical students in the midst of the session were suddenly pulled out of their studies and same for 3rd and 4th years medical students clerkships were abruptly pulled out of clinical care. Faculty scrambled to adjust learning experiences by switching to online cases and remote activities to prepare students for required exams and to build clinical reasoning skills without the face to face patient encounter. In such a situation, where educational institutions across the country have been closed, both teaching and learning have affected millions of students. As per the orders from the.Government, Universities the colleges have started offering online classes to students. The objective of these online classes is to make sure that students do not lose out on any teaching and learning activities during the lockdown. This paper examines the impact of lockdown on students of medical institutions, the challenges they are facing due to lockdown.

scholarly journals Learning Lessons, Challenges, Impacts & Solutions on the Path of Recovery from Covid-19 in Nepal

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Poonam R L Rana
Keyword(s):  
National Economy ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The People ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The research study focuses on the impact of Covid-19 on Tourism in Nepal and looks into the challenges to face in the path of recovery and to bring to light the lessons learned from COVID 19. It is qualitative in nature including both primary and secondary sources. 50 respondents were chosen as samples. The results showed that, there was drastic impact on tourism sector affecting national economy, It has brought to light various challenges to be faced in path of recovery and the greatest lesson learnt is that the government should develop its health sector and the people should always be strong and prepared to face any disaster or pandemics at all times. Solutions are provided in form of recommendations.

scholarly journals Education Resilience in the Time of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 273-283
Author(s):  
Faisal Al Saidi ◽  
Issa Al Hinai ◽  
Basim Al Mushaifri
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Contingency Plans ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Learning Plans ◽  
Recurrent Patterns ◽  
The Impact

Due to the world pandemic, COVID-19, higher education institutions (HEIs) have found themselves in an unprecedented situation. Like no other time before, this pandemic has posed a serious test of resilience of HEIs – hence, the current study sets off to seize this opportunity to study the resilience of Omani HEIs. HEIs in Oman have devised contingency plans in light of the directives and declarations received from the government Supreme Committee responsible for handling the impact of COVID-19. The study aimed at examining the directives received by Omani HEIs against the framework of the securitization theory in order to identify the substances of the basis on which HEIs built their teaching and learning plans. The study was also planned to closely investigate the individual experiences of various stakeholders directly involved in the implementation of the contingency of the teaching and learning plans. Data were collected using document analysis and analysis of reflective texts. Discourse content analysis was applied in order to understand the lived experiences of stakeholders and to identify what shaped their experiences. The discourse of the collected data was analysed using the approach of thematic analysis which helped to identify recurrent patterns concerning the teaching and learning plans of some Omani HEIs during COVID-19. A number of challenges along with the challenges of other HEIs worldwide were identified, such as uncertainty and lack of resources and experience in online teaching and learning. The discussion of the findings in this study revealed dichotomies, as well as agreement, in the way stakeholders perceive aspects of the contingency plans of teaching, learning and assessment. On the basis of this finding, the study calls for a more nuanced approach to strengthen the resilience of higher education. Particularly, the study recommends incorporating processes of normalization of teaching and learning as well as of assessment in HEIs delivery modes as a way to consolidate HEIs’ resilience.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the World of Education in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-250
Author(s):  
Novianita Rulandari
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Learning Problems ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Since the beginning of 2020, the world has been shocked by the Corona Virus Diseases (Covid-19) pandemic which has spread rapidly throughout the world, infecting more than forty million people, causing more than one million deaths by October 2020. This pandemic has an impact on the education world where all levels of education from kindergarten to postgraduate are required to carry out distance learning through online-based classes. Various problems then arise in distance learning because not all students have the facilities and infrastructure needed in its implementation, even causing casualties. This research examines and discusses the phenomenon of Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the education world in Indonesia. The purpose of this research is to find out government policies in overcoming learning problems in a pandemic situation and finding the right policies so that learning can still be carried out effectively, how the supervision needs to be done by the government so that teaching and learning activities can run effectively and how the teaching communication strategies in using online media so that the delivery of material by lecturers can be easily understood by students. From the research results, several conclusions were obtained. The Minister's policy to carry out the online learning process still faces various challenges in its implementation; The learning process from home must always be monitored through good cooperation between students, parents, and educators, especially for primary and secondary education; and by using some appropriate learning communication strategies, the online teaching and learning process can be carried out more effectively because it does not take up a lot of time and space.

scholarly journals Public Sector Innovation: Case Study of e-government Projects in Pakistan

2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (4II) ◽  
pp. 439-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Irfanullah Arfeen ◽  
Nawar Khan
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Innovation ◽  
The People ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

This study analyses and examines in detail the impact of public sector innovation to improve public satisfaction level, it is about changing the traditional government into a more integrated and efficient one. Innovation is actually the engine of economic growth. Innovation in the public sector is an under-researched area. It deals with governance, political and human issues which are very difficult to solve. Since much of the topic and studies on innovation are focusing on the private sector, it is the aim of this study to analyse the process of innovation, mainly in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the public sector. This study will eventually be able to give e-government model/ guidelines that encapsulates the reality of innovation by the government. Innovation in government is not only about bringing a new breakthrough product to the people, but also to bring in changes to the culture in the organisation, the way a decision is made, and perhaps more importantly, how it can use technology to strengthen its role as the provider of social and economic welfare to the people. This study has also compared the findings of the e-government case study to the literature of innovation mainly in the area of process innovation. There is SWOT analysis with weight rating to judge the e-governance challenges, which Pakistan is facing as a developing nation. The study concludes that the public sector needs to overcome its traditional characteristics of poor agenda setting, unclear objectives, lack of transparency, and bureaucratic layers of decision-making processes. Keywords: Citizens, e-government Projects, ICT, Public Satisfaction, Public Sector Innovation

scholarly journals The COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges Faced and Lessons Learned Regarding Distance Learning in Lebanese Higher Education Institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1259
Author(s):  
Maha Mouchantaf
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Impact

In the past few months, due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, most educational establishments in Lebanon, including schools and higher education institutions, made the transition to distance learning. This research sought to explore the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges that it currently poses to higher education. More specifically, it aimed to evaluate the views of language teachers with regards to online teaching to better understand both its advantages and disadvantages in comparison to face-to-face education. The study also offered insight on the educator’s feedback and their presented solutions that will lead to a better experience with online learning. A quantitative cross-sectional online survey was implemented for the purpose of this study.

scholarly journals Higher Education in the First Year of COVID-19: Thoughts and Perspectives for the Future

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 285
Author(s):  
Stefano Cesco ◽  
Vincenzo Zara ◽  
Alberto F. De Toni ◽  
Paolo Lugli ◽  
Giovanni Betta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pedagogical Issues ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The World ◽  
Learning Software ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

In the last year a new virus (SARS‑CoV‑2) and the disease caused by it (COVID-19) has quickly spread around the world, leading the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency and, then, a global pandemic status. The strategies adopted by many countries to reduce the impact of the pandemic were mainly based on social distancing rules and on stay-at-home measures or lockdowns. These strategies had severe disruptive consequences on many sectors, including all levels of education. While the “traditional” (face-to-face) Higher Education (HE) system was unprepared for the lockdown (e.g., no plans for a massive shift to online teaching were available/ready), it reacted in an extremely quick and effective way, replacing face-to-face teaching with online teaching. While COVID-19 has been extremely challenging for education, the experience has undoubtedly provided positive inputs for the digitalization of the HE system. The question is however, if whether after the COVID-19 emergency everything will go back to the previous situation or instead if the pandemic has irreversibly changed HE. While we are still in the middle of the crisis, it is in our view beneficial to start to reflect on the challenges and open issues that emerged during this period and the lessons learned for the “new normal” (as it is often referred to). In this conceptual paper we seek to start this discussion by focusing on the following relevant aspects that should be considered to succeed in the digital transformation: broadband network infrastructure and hardware devices; e-learning software; organization of teaching activities; pedagogical issues; diversity and inclusivity; and a number of other issues. We conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic will irreversibly change HE and probably for the better.

scholarly journals The Impact of a Lack of Government Strategies for Sustainable Water Management and Land Use Planning on the Hydrology of Water Bodies: Lessons Learned from the Disappearance of the Aculeo Lagoon in Central Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 413
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Valdés-Pineda ◽  
Pablo A. Garcia-Chevesich ◽  
Alberto J. Alaniz ◽  
Héctor Venegas-Quiñonez ◽  
Juan B. Valdés ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Several studies have focused on why the Aculeo Lagoon in central Chile disappeared, with a recent one concluding that a lack of precipitation was the main cause, bringing tremendous political consequences as it supported the argument that the government is not responsible for this environmental, economic, and social disaster. In this study, we evaluated in detail the socio-economic history of the watershed, the past climate and its effects on the lagoon’s water levels (including precipitation recycling effects), anthropogenic modifications to the lagoon’s water balance, the evolution of water rights and demands, and inaccurate estimates of sustainable groundwater extraction volumes from regional aquifers. This analysis has revealed novel and undisputable evidence that this natural body of water disappeared primarily because of anthropogenic factors (mostly river deviations and aquifer pumping) that, combined with the effects of less than a decade with below-normal precipitation, had a severe impact on this natural lagoon–aquifer system.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on Educational Sustainability. Initial Perceptions of the University Community of the University of Cádiz

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5938
Author(s):  
María Alonso-García ◽  
Tamara María Garrido-Letrán ◽  
Alberto Sánchez-Alzola
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation System ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Sustainable Education ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Government ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

This research analyses the impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish university system during the period of home lockdown put in place by the government of Spain between 15 March and 21 June 2020. This period did not involve a change to online teaching. Instead, it involved emergency remote teaching, wherein the content of face-to-face teaching was taught through non-classroom training using media, devices and tools available at that time. The main objective of the paper is related to the perceptions of students and teachers on emergency remote teaching regarding the face-to-face model. We applied statistical techniques of descriptive and inferential analysis over a sample of 2778 students and 221 teaching staff from the University of Cádiz. We also analysed the methodologies used, as well as the acquisition of skills, competencies and knowledge by the students in this situation, in order to detect whether this type of action can achieve sustainable education. This term refers to education that is capable of maintaining the continuous quality of the training of each student, who should acquire the required knowledge and competences regardless of unforeseen events. However, according to the results of this research, the sudden transition to e-learning, based on available technological and computer-based methods, did not guarantee sustainable education or its quality. This study establishes different possibilities for improving non-face-to-face teaching in this kind of situation. The results show greatly concerning levels of training and evaluation, as well as worse acquisition of skills. Both teachers and students declared a preference for face-to-face teaching. This perception should prompt the educational authorities to solve the existing problems in e-learning education, improving the transition and guaranteeing the sustainability of non-face-to-face education. This research highlights the areas for improvement in e-learning education in the ongoing situation, the general uncertainty in the transition, the lack of communication and the completion of a fair evaluation system. The results show that the methods used in this period must be improved to achieve sustainable teaching and learning during a pandemic. The results also emphasize the uncertainty in the educational community about the entire process. This study will help the educational authorities to improve the change of paradigm in higher education in the future.

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