Teaching and Examination Process of Some University Courses before vs during the Corona Crisis

The newly emerged corona crisis in our country, but also much broader – on the entire planet, caused by the pandemic scale of COVID-19 virus, dictated the need for adjustment of the teaching and examination process of many university courses. At our institution, Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering (FCSE) in Skopje, starting from March 17, 2020, until today (March 2021), classes and exams are completely realized through distance learning systems, i.e. using the BigBlueButton video conferencing system, implemented in the Courses and Exams student services – the official FCSE websites on the Moodle e-learning platform. For all faculty courses, lectures, auditory and laboratory exercises, colloquia and exams, all take place via a video conferencing system for distance education. In this paper we present a comparative analysis of the conduction of some courses at FCSE in classical conditions, as opposed to the conditions with distance education. We have considered the analysis mainly from the aspect of the approach to teaching, as well as from the aspect of exam conduction and achieved exam results. The analysis of those aspects leads us to conclusions about several positive and negative sides that we noticed in distance education compared to the classical conditions of classes and exams. Our findings also may apply on the organization of online contests, especially in informatics.

Memory Deficits for Health Information Provided Through a Telehealth Video Conferencing System

It is critical to remember details about meetings with healthcare providers. Forgetting could result in inadequate knowledge about ones' health, non-adherence with treatments, and poorer health outcomes. Hearing the health care provider plays a crucial role in consolidating information for recall. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has meant a rapid transition to videoconference-based medicine, here described as telehealth. When using telehealth speech must be filtered and compressed, and research has shown that degraded speech is more challenging to remember. Here we present preliminary results from a study that compared memory for health information provided in-person to telehealth. The data collection for this study was stopped due to the pandemic, but the preliminary results are interesting because the pandemic forced a rapid transition to telehealth. To examine a potential memory deficit for health information provided through telehealth, we presented older and younger adults with instructions on how to use two medical devices. One set of instructions was presented in-person, and the other through telehealth. Participants were asked to recall the instructions immediately after the session, and again after a 1-week delay. Overall, the number of details recalled was significantly lower when instructions were provided by telehealth, both immediately after the session and after a 1-week delay. It is likely that a mix of technological and communication strategies by the healthcare provider could reduce this telehealth memory deficit. Given the rapid transition to telehealth due to COVID-19, highlighting this deficit and providing potential solutions are timely and of utmost importance.

Case Study of the Exchange Learning Program Established within Three Elementary Schools using Video Conferencing Systems

Three elementary schools located in remote areas, (Kyoto, Shimane and Fukushima Prefectures) join a common program. Each of the school’s students spend “SogotekinaGakusyu no Jikan” (periods of integrated study), together through the use of the Video Conferencing System. The System enables the students to deliver their presentations and exchange ideas, while taking into account the environment and circumstances of the local community, school, and student. In the process, students will develop the ability to conduct research at the school library. The teachers will gain knowledge of, and acquire skills in this subject, and have the ability to implement these tools in their respective classrooms. In this presentation, the effect and problems of the Exchange Learning Program will be shown.

The Application of Video Conferencing in Criminal Proceedings: Prospects of Legal Changes

The article discusses the use of video conferencing systems in criminal proceedings under the current legislation. The prospect of changing the norms of criminal procedure legislation with the extension of the possibility of using videoconferencing systems to the stage of preliminary investigation is considered. Studied problematic and debatable issues of conducting investigative actions remotely via videoconference-studied the types of investigative actions that can be carried out remotely, the grounds and procedure for their conduct and certification. Various points of view on the possibility of using the video conferencing system at the stage of preliminary investigation, as well as the position of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, were studied. It is concluded that it is necessary to introduce such changes in the criminal procedure legislation in the context of the pandemic and the worldwide spread of coronavirus.