Emergency remote education and smart working at three European higher education institutions

Due to the threat posed by COVID-19, many colleges and universities around the world opted to switch to online courses and smart working to keep their students, professors, and staff safe during the pandemic emergency. Face-to-face classes, including labs and workshops, have been canceled and substituted with online activities. New administrative procedures have also been established to support the emergency remote education. This article analyzes these changes in light of the experiences of three higher education institutions in different countries, namely Latvia, Poland, and Italy. From this analysis, some aspects have emerged that have stimulated a deeper reflection on the use of digital technology in higher education. .

Digital Platforms in the Emergency Remote Education: the Students’ Preferences

One positive side of the Covid-19 pandemic is the unprecedented opportunity it has offered to the Higher Education Institutions to experience digital learning like never before. During the pandemic, Distant Learning platforms, including Learning Management Systems and Video Conferencing Platforms, have been ubiquitous, and no single institution survived without them during the pandemic. Hence, one of the critical lessons that should be learned is the students’ experiences with these platforms. This study aims to investigate the digital platform preferences of English major students in the College of Language and Translation at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia during the Emergency Remote Education due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its significance lies in the fact that it underscores and addresses students’ needs and preferences with regard to the digital platforms to be used for language learning, a pragmatic examination of which has been carried out in the following pages. It focuses on reasons for the preferences of the two leading digital platforms used in King Saud University: Blackboard and Zoom. A Survey with open-ended and closed-ended questions was designed to answer the questions of the study: which digital platforms do students prefer to use during Emergency Remote Education, and what were the reasons behind students’ preferences? A total of 300 students from both male and female campuses at different levels of study participated in the study. The results showed that students preferred the Zoom to Blackboard. Reasons of preferences were mainly the ease of use, followed by supporting smartphones, then having an app for smartphones. The thematic analysis of the open-ended question showed that technical problems and connection latency were the main reasons behind students’ preferences of the Zoom. The findings also indicated gender differences in reasons of preferences.

Remote education and its effects on peripheral areas - summary of Polish research findings in the project "Preventing post-COVID Social Exclusion Together"

Knowledge during remote education was efficiently acquired by about half of the respondents. Every fifth student did not have the technical ability to fully participate in remote lessons. It is worth adding that the long duration of remote learning has created negative habits thate ffectively hinder functioning in the post-pandemic reality. Dark scenarios have come true and show that half of the students have serious problems with adapting to the school reality.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM REMOTE EDUCATION

This paper focuses on some aspects of remote education that can be implemented in face-to-face classes in order to improve and enhance the teaching/learning process. The authors present the results of the questionnaire survey conducted among the teachers of the Institute of Applied Language Studies of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (hereinafter referred to as ‘UWB’) and also among the students of the Faculty of Economics at the same university in the spring term of 2021, evaluating two semesters of remote education. Having analyzed the results of the questionnaires, the authors of the paper aim to share their experience and introduce the best practice that the Business English (hereinafter referred to as ‘BE’) teachers at the UWB have decided to apply to their future BE courses.

A Comparative Study on Online Teaching Practices in China and South Korea in the Time of COVID-19

The transition from traditional teaching practices to remote education was sped up by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic dramatically. The international students who have to stay in their home countries due the travel restrictions rely on the online study. In this manuscript, we examine how the teaching methodology affects the outcome of remote education (e.g., an undergraduate program provided by CUMT, and a graduate program provided by Gachon University). Both SPOC and online streaming classes were evaluated based on the performance of international undergrads majored in chemical engineering. And multiscale simulations were adopted to elucidate the complex transport phenomena in chemical engineering classes to develop a more efficient method for distant engineering education. The preliminary results of this comparative study on online teaching practices indicate that active studies play an important role in online study for international students.

Challenges and Possibilities of Remote Education in Times of Covid-19: Perceptions of Brazilian Teachers about they Effects on Relationships with Students and Families

Este artículo tuvo como objetivo analizar las percepciones de los docentes sobre la implementación de la enseñanza remota y los efectos en las relaciones con estudiantes y familias durante la pandemia Covid-19. La encuesta se realizó durante 2020, a través de un cuestionario electrónico, en el que se analizaron las respuestas de 178 docentes. Teóricos como Morin y Viveret, Saviani y Galvão, González Rey, Ganda y Boruchovitch, Santos, entre otros, apoyaron las reflexiones presentadas en este estudio. El análisis de los registros se realizó, por medio de los principios de la metodología de Análisis de Contenido (Bardin, 2011). Los resultados expresados en los discursos producidos mostraron impactos en las relaciones entre los actores que conforman este escenario de enseñanza a distancia, incluidos docentes, alumnos y familias. Otra reflexión producida fue que, muchas veces, la importancia de la calidad de estas relaciones, en el día a día, pasa desapercibida, pero está fuertemente relacionada con la calidad del aprendizaje. Por lo tanto, se cree que la experiencia del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje remoto, en tiempos de pandemia, puede servir como una oportunidad para un aprendizaje significativo en Post-pandemia.

Barriers and Enablers of Emergency Remote Education amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of English Language Teachers

The aim of this paper is to describe the barriers and enablers in emergency remote education from the views of language teachers amid COVID-19 pandemic. It involved eleven purposively sampled high school English language teachers in the Philippines during the school year 2021-2022. The qualitative data were processed using thematic analysis technique. The results revealed two superordinate themes: 1.) barriers of emergency remote English language education and 2.) enablers of emergency remote English language education. Under the first superordinate theme, barriers of remote emergency education, three subordinate themes emerged: 1.1.) problems in internet connection and materials; 1.2.) unfamiliarity with remote instructional design; and 1.3.) lack of skills in using remote technologies. Furthermore, under the second superordinate theme, enablers of remote emergency education, three subordinate themes were revealed: 2.1.) self-learning in using technology; 2.2.) instructional accommodations; and 2.3.) school and community support. These study outcomes provide practical insights that shape emergency remote education amid the current novel crisis. The barriers should be addressed, and the enablers should be cultivated, so that a successful remote English language education can be attained.

Edukacja oraz pomoc psychologiczno-pedagogiczna realizowana zdalnie w opinii rodziców, uczniów i nauczycieli

Remote education, and thus also psychological and pedagogical assistance, became a necessity during the pandemic, and not a voluntary choice or a tool supporting traditional education. Therefore, it was necessary to consider whether and how the pandemic influenced the entire education process? Did the students, parents and teachers cope with the change and how? Have they encountered difficulties and what difficulties – especially in the field of providing psychological and pedagogical help? Did the pandemic affect the psychophysical functioning of students, parents and teachers, and how? The planned research allowed to show the current situation in education at the level of primary school, and also showed the scope and expectations of respondents regarding the psychological and pedagogical help provided. These studies allowed to show not only the first experiences, suggestions and conclusions, but also to show psychophysical changes among respondents (such as, for example, overloading parents, phobias, fears, etc.), their fears, psychophysical condition and perceived threats (e.g. symptoms). depression among children and parents, lack of motivation, etc.) and expected changes in the future and in education, including the traditional one.