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. .

Decoding and designing massive open online courses (MOOCs)

Purpose This study aims to investigate the attributes of the online programme that are considered and compute their relative importance in the purchase decision. This study aims to identify the most lucrative bundling of these attributes and their levels that can be used by online education companies to craft their product design strategy to attract customers with the most attractive offering. Design/methodology/approach This research paper endeavours to identify the attributes of online education, which customers consider for making a purchase decision. Exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify the key attributes of online education programmes. This paper uses the conjoint analysis technique to identify the most preferred bundling of attributes, which online education companies can package to attract customers. Findings Based on various attributes and their respective levels, it is evident the most lucrative design for attracting customers to buy online education programmes is to provide certification from a reputed international university, which requires an investment to the tune of 3,000–5,000. The duration of four weeks with asynchronous pedagogy and access to course material vial uniform resource locator (URL) is a preferred feature. Access via a mobile application is more preferred over Web access. A phone application is known to be optimised, and most people are using mobile phones to access the internet. Online certification or degrees that are considered as valid employment qualifications were most preferred over other reasons. Originality/value There is a dearth of studies on massive open online courses (MOOCs) from a product design perspective. There is a gap in the context of the features to be included in the MOOCs package so that the customer can find more value in it, and the companies can benefit by expanding their customer base. The research question which this study endeavours to explore is what attributes consumers of MOOCs consider when making a purchase decision. This study will also find the relative importance of these attributes.

Co-Creation of Massive Open Online Courses to Improve Digital Health Literacy in Pregnant and Lactating Women

Background: Digital health literacy (DHL) increases the self-efficacy and empowerment of pregnant and lactating women (PLW) in using the Internet for health issues. The European project IC-Health aimed to improve DHL among PLW, through the co-creation of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Methods: The co-creation of the MOOCs included focus groups and the creation of communities of practice (CoPs) with PLW and healthcare professionals aimed to co-design the MOOCs. The quantitative measures of MOOCs’ acceptability, experience in the co-creation process and increase in DHL (dimensions of finding, understanding and appraisal) were assessed. Results: 17 PLW participated in focus groups, 113 participants were included in CoPs and 68 participants evaluated the acceptability of MOOCs. A total of 6 MOOCs aimed at improving PLW’s DHL were co-designed. There was a significant improvement in self-perceived DHL after using MOOCs (p-value < 0.001). The acceptability of MOOCs and co-creation experience were positively valued. Conclusions: The preliminary results of the quantitative assessment showed a higher self-perceived DHL after the IC-Health MOOCs. These results suggest that IC-Health MOOCs and the co-creation methodology appear to be a viable process to carry out an intervention aimed to improve DHL levels in European PLW.

Students’ Perception of the Role of Online Teachers:Comparing Routine and Emergency Times

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic forced the education system to instantly transition to online learning and teaching. Studies show that the challenges of emergency remote teaching (ERT) differ from those of online learning during routine times. Do student’s perceptions of teachers’ roles during online learning differ between ERT and routine online classes as well? Addressing this question can illuminate different aspects of the role of a teacher at different times, thus facilitating the improvement of online learning. This study compares students’ perceptions of their teachers’ roles in the online courses they attended during the pandemic, with perceptions of students who attended online courses in routine times when distance learning was a regular part of the academic program. The participants who attended online courses during routine times were 520 undergraduates in a teacher-education college. A second group of 475 undergraduates from the same college responded at the end of a semester of emergency online learning during the pandemic. Both groups answered questionnaires regarding their perception of four aspects of the role of online teachers: pedagogical, technical, affective, and differentiating. The findings showed that during emergency times, students had significantly higher expectations for teachers’ technical and affective roles than in routine times. However, students had lower expectations regarding teachers’ differentiating role during emergencies, and similar expectations for teachers’ pedagogical role in both situations. These findings highlight the need to plan curricula to suit different situations and different needs, and emphasize the different characteristics of the teachers’ role in different situations, in order to optimally address students’ needs in times of routine and emergency alike.

Efficiency of the Method of Student Thematic Online Debates in the Development of Professional Competences in Future Specialists

The transition to distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic has led teachers to adapt effective teaching methods to distance education. Theoretical analysis of scientific works allowed determining that student debates have significant potential for the development of critical thinking, communication skills. The aim of the study was to test the effectiveness of the method of student thematic online debates in the development of professional competencies in future specialists. In the experimental study, several complementary techniques were used to determine the level of future specialists’ professional competence. The reliability of the obtained conclusions on the basis of the used methods was ensured by comparing the data obtained by each method, as well as the representativeness of the sample size and statistical significance of the experimental data. It is determined that the following competencies can be developed in students through the method of student thematic online debates: readiness to work in a team, ability to generalize, analyse and adequately perceive information, ability to communicate according to language norms, reasoned and clearly build oral and written speech. The study allowed determining that there are certain methodological features of using the method of student thematic online debates in the distance educational process. The method of debate is an effective approach to the organization of online learning, which allows obtaining not only theoretical knowledge, but also gives the possibility of applying them in professional activities in the future. Proof of the effectiveness of the proposed model of using debate within distance learning is confirmed by the unequivocally positive dynamics in the experimental group to improve the Value-orientation criterion, Cognitive criterion Communicative-activity criterion (in particular, at a high level of 13.79%, 7.38%, 11.56% respectively). The novelty of the presented scientific intelligence in the experimental study of the potential of online debates for students of agricultural universities, but with the potential to adapt the presented model of organization of the pedagogical environment for students of other specialties. The research materials can be used by teachers in the development of distance online courses, heads of distance learning coordination departments in higher educational institutions. The prospect of further research is studying the effectiveness of thematic online debates to increase the level of internal learning motivation in future specialists.