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

Author(s):  
Girija S. Singh

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-182
Author(s):  
María Perramon ◽  
Xus Ugarte

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.


Author(s):  
Rod Byrnes ◽  
Allan Ellis

<span>Assessment is one of the key elements of the teaching and learning process. It provides teachers with a means of evaluating the quality of their instruction. Students also use it to drive and direct their learning. Online teaching and learning will continue to become more important to Australian universities in order for them to remain competitive and economically viable. In the online environment, assessment is no less critical than in traditional face to face environments. However, assessment risks being overlooked or at least marginalised in the rush to place course content online. This paper provides a snapshot of the prevalence and characteristics of online assessment in Australian universities during 2004. It highlights useful information regarding the use of online assessment in the university sector and illustrates that overall this crucial area is not being given the attention or resources it requires.</span>


Author(s):  
Narcisa Roxana Mosteanu

Actual movements in socio-economic life around the world impose e-learning and e-presence and moving digital is more than online teaching. Present research analysis was conducted on two different types of institutions: public and private universities from Europe, with different teaching and learning system: American and European. Information was congregated through face-to-face and online interaction with representative people from universities. The present research paper aims to demonstrate how a digital campus, with all its aspects, can perform a crucial role in enriching the university campus’s structure and culture to ensure the quality of teaching, research, and administrative management using actual innovative technologies. More than this the present paper underlines the society benefits from implementation and running a Digital university campus, especially in a time of socio gathering restrictions.


Author(s):  
Richie Moalosi ◽  
Jacek Uziak ◽  
Moses Tunde Oladiran

The paper discusses how the use of blended learning approach was adopted to deliver a 3rd year Mechanics of Machines course for Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Botswana. The course delivery involved a mix of both face-to-face and Blackboard technology to create an efficient and effective learning environment. A survey of 101 students was conducted over a period of 3 years for the respondents to evaluate their teaching and learning preferences. The results show that students accepted the blended learning approach because of its benefits. More lecturers are encouraged to use blended learning and teaching approaches to promote active, independent and lifelong learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 351
Author(s):  
Ana María Martín-Cuadrado ◽  
Silvia Lavandera-Ponce ◽  
Begoña Mora-Jaureguialde ◽  
Cristina Sánchez-Romero ◽  
Lourdes Pérez-Sánchez

This article describes the consultancy provided by the UTEC-UNED-TECSUP University Consortium to six national universities in Peru, during the COVID-19 state of emergency. This action aims to promote the techno-pedagogical change from a face-to-face to a virtual/online educational context. The process consists of three stages that ensured the continuity of the virtual/online educational service: diagnosis, design, and training, to strengthen instructional and digital competencies, support, and techno-pedagogical monitoring. It includes the basic principles of constructivist and constructionist learning theories for active and quality teaching and learning for the agents involved, and, in addition, the guidelines set by the emerging Peruvian regulations during the pandemic to move towards a digital university model according to the times. After a 157-day intervention, the analysis of the results raises some reflections: the importance of the socio-cultural context and its influence on the concept and development of the instructional act; the concept of distance learning in territories where connectivity is the main difficulty, and the university institution, in terms of a non-presential educational model with open and versatile methodologies, which anticipates a long process, involves a scheduled follow-up, requires fluid communication and demands continuous feedback.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5938
Author(s):  
María Alonso-García ◽  
Tamara María Garrido-Letrán ◽  
Alberto Sánchez-Alzola

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-55
Author(s):  
Mary Kalantzis ◽  
Bill Cope

Universities and colleges have dragged their feet making the move to online teaching and learning. Suddenly, with this COVID-19 crisis, everyone had to move online. Few universities or colleges are prepared for such a rapid shift. Meanwhile, the conventional wisdom remains - the gold-standard for learning is traditional face-to-face, while online is second-best. But perhaps, even without COVID-19, in-person learning is ripe for radical transformation. At the University of Illinois, we’ve been researching this transformation, and developing and testing online learning solutions. Simply put, online can be completely different, and with the right tools, potentially much superior to in-person teaching. To reap the benefits of online learning, we need to abandon the current generation educational technologies—systems and processes that mostly do little more than reverse-engineer traditional classrooms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-46
Author(s):  
Belinda Davey ◽  
◽  
Kristine Elliott ◽  
Maria Bora ◽  
◽  
...  

With the increasing number of students enrolled in fully online programs and subjects across different Australian universities, online education has become a popular higher education alternative. The University of Melbourne has responded to this challenge by establishing the Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education (MSPACE), where the learning designers (LDs), project managers, educational technologists, graphic designers and video producers work collaboratively with subject matter experts (SMEs) from across the university to create high-quality fully online graduate subjects. The case study presented in this article examines how MSPACE used this team-based approach to design and develop Psychodynamic Psychiatry, a six-week elective in the Master of Psychiatry. This paper examines a number of pedagogical challenges that arise when converting a pre-existing face-to-face subject to a fully online subject, as well as some relatively unique aspects in the design and development process utilised by MSPACE. While the approach provided by MSPACE currently focuses on supporting SMEs by providing access to third-space professionals, it is hoped that this will act as a conduit through which the SMEs are enculturated into the ways of design thinking for effective online teaching and learning practice.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1016-1034
Author(s):  
Richie Moalosi ◽  
Jacek Uziak ◽  
Moses Tunde Oladiran

The paper discusses how the use of blended learning approach was adopted to deliver a 3rd year Mechanics of Machines course for Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Botswana. The course delivery involved a mix of both face-to-face and Blackboard technology to create an efficient and effective learning environment. A survey of 101 students was conducted over a period of 3 years for the respondents to evaluate their teaching and learning preferences. The results show that students accepted the blended learning approach because of its benefits. More lecturers are encouraged to use blended learning and teaching approaches to promote active, independent and lifelong learning.


Author(s):  
Richard Caladine ◽  
Brian Yecies

Online learning or e-learning has had an impact on the way many institutions around the world provide opportunities for learning. For the past five years, the University of Wollongong, like many others, has taken a blended approach to online learning. Blended learning combines face-to-face and online learning. In the online component, learners interact with Web pages and online resources under the umbrella of a course management system (CMS). While the CMS has been highly successful, there are some online teaching and learning functions that could not be easily undertaken. These involve group work, and it was believed that an online system that fostered cooperation, collaboration, social and active learning would provide opportunities for deep learning (Ramsden, 1992). For some time many researchers have sought a solution for online collaboration or group work that moved beyond text-based discussions. The work by others in the area of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) has provided insightful theoretical contributions (Crawley, 2003; Jefferies, 2002; Paavola, Lipponen, & Hakkarainen, 2002). To explore CSCL, the University of Wollongong funded an initiative that proved the concept of online collaboration through the use of database-driven Web pages. The initiative was called CUPID.


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