Study on acceptance level of online education during pandemic period among under graduate and post graduate students

This study focuses on analysing the acceptance level with the online education among under graduate and post graduate students during period of pandemic especially during Covid-19. In this regard, student perception with the online education was analysed using the secondary data as collected from various sources. As the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the academic calendars, educational institutions around the world have been closed and about 70% of the students are engaged in the online education. Students faced various problems related to depression, poor internet activity and inconvenient home learning environment. The online education by the various e-techniques and methods has proven to a solution for colleges and universities, but still the success of online education depends on student’s perception and satisfaction level. The sudden transition from a face-to-face to virtual space causes a disruption to the students. Based on the findings of these study, the research implications for educational institutions and researchers are discussed.

“…All of a sudden, I realized I was not well prepared for the transition”: A Qualitative Exploration of University Students’ Perspectives on the Emergency Distance Education amidst the COVID-19 Crisis in Jordan

Our current study aimed at exploring the university students’ perspectives on the emergency distance education strategy that was implemented during the COVID-19 crisis in Jordan, one of the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Utilizing a qualitative design supported by Moore’s theory of transactional distance, a total of 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with university students of various study levels and disciplines. Data were inductively analyzed using thematic analysis as suggested by Braun and Clarke. Seven themes have emerged, including, (i) psychological response, (ii) digital preparedness and equality, (iii) technical competencies and technostress, (iv) interpersonal communication, (v) learning materials, (vi) non-reliable evaluation methods, and (vii) opportunities. Our findings provide evidence that the sudden transition from traditional on-campus to the online distance education was significantly challenging in many aspects and was not a pleasant experience for many participants. Various factors under the jurisdiction of academic institutions and decision-makers are considered main contributing factors to the students’ educational experiences amid the pandemic crisis. Therefore, better planning and more sustainable utilization of educational resources have paramount importance in providing a high-quality education. Additionally, more dedicated efforts in terms of equitable, reliable, and credible evaluation systems should be considered in Jordan’s distance education strategy.

Students Experience of Hybrid- Education Model at The University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education models was mainly through the expansion of technology use in the different educational programs. Earlier impact of COVID-19 was manifested in the complete and sudden transition to distance education regardless of institution preparedness status. Gradually, many institutions are moving back to on-campus face-to-face education. However, others including all higher education institutions in Iraq are adopting the hybrid education model. This report presents part of the end of semester evaluation survey conducted at the University of Baghdad College of Pharmacy for the Spring 2021 semester. The survey aims to address points of strength and weakness associated with the hybrid education model and specifically the virtual content delivery aspect of hybrid education. The outcomes of the end of semester evaluation will shape a better experience for upcoming years and guide distance education implantation in the program.

COVID-19 and Rapid Course Adaptations in Saudi Arabia: An Experiential Learning and Recommendations for Online Education

The COVID-19 Pandemic has severely impacted educational systems around the globe, necessitating rapid modifications to the educational milieu while safeguarding human health and wellbeing. Following the closure of universities in Saudi Arabia, the instructors of all theory courses were mandated to switch from face-to-face course delivery to remote teaching and learning. This research examines the challenges and impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the mode of teaching and learning and the numerous adaptations in the pedagogical framework of the Landscape Architecture program at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. It also explores the opportunities the transition to online education presents to faculty and students moving forward. The data were collected using an online questionnaire survey and focus group discussions. Data analyses consisted of descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The research finds that the sudden transition to online teaching and learning disrupted academic activities and had negatively affected the existing teaching and learning framework. Therefore, the research recommends an adaptable and dynamic teaching framework agile enough to cope with sudden disruptions. It concludes with lessons for future teaching and learning frameworks and amendments for upcoming sessions to deal with similar situations.

“It's Doable”: International Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning in the U.S. During the Pandemic

This study aims to understand the learning experiences and challenges of international students enrolled in Master's and PhD programs in various institutions who were forced to transition to online learning during the pandemic. In particular, the study explores the experiences and perceptions of seven non-native English-speaking international graduate students who came from six different countries and studied at different schools of education through phenomenological interviews. Analysis yields insight into these students’ online learning experiences and identifies factors which contributed to the mixed quality of these learning experiences. Overall, students tried to adapt to the “new normal,” while enduring learning and emotional challenges due to the harsh conditions of the pandemic in the United States and their home countries. Instructors’ readiness for online teaching as well as the extra support provided to help students cope with the sudden transition in the learning environment were particularly important factors affecting the students’ learning experiences. Our findings lead us to several recommendations for practice within graduate-level online learning environments and suggestions for further research, as well as broader considerations of what broader implications the case suggests for international education in light of digitalization.

Sustaining Synchronous Interaction Effectiveness in Distance Writing Courses: A Mixed Method Study in a KSA University

The sudden transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for many learners and teachers due to the fact that most universities suddenly shifted to online learning without providing adequate time for preparing and training teachers and learners in using interactive educational technologies. Such challenges are even more pronounced for language instructors in cultivating and sustaining interactions among learners, especially in writing courses that demand active engagement and interactions. Therefore, this study focused on what and how a writing instructor did through technology in creating an interactive writing environment for KSA learners joining five online writing courses and how learners perceived interactions and identifies the major factors affecting their perceptions. The data were collected from multiple sources: WhatsApp chats, Google Docs chats and comments, screencast recorded discussions, students’ texts, and their responses to an electronic (e-) survey as well as follow-up interviews. The study revealed that in connecting Google Docs to the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, the instructor engaged learners in multidirectional and multimodal interactions and text writing and revising. The WhatsApp group was also used for individual learner-learner and learner-teacher interaction illustrating support and consultation-seeking behaviors of learners beyond the online classroom time. The learners’ perceptions of technology-mediated interactions (overall, learner-learner and learner-teacher) in the online writing courses were at high levels, though such perceptions varied according to several factors, including socio-demographic characteristics. The study concludes by offering useful pedagogical and research implications.

Saudi EFL Instructors’ and Students’ Perspectives Towards Virtual Learning During COVID-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic and the sudden transition from face-to-face to virtual learning have given rise to various challenges and obstacles in teaching contexts all over the world. This paper explores the impact of this unexpected transition in the teaching and learning process based on English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ and learners’ experiences at a Saudi university. This research employed a mixed methods approach. Four male and female EFL teachers were involved in addition to thirty-six students from a preparatory year program. The key findings of the study revealed that there were three major challenges encountered in the use of virtual classroom applications during the pandemic, including crucially a lack of technology and Internet connection, having large numbers of students in a virtual learning classroom, and lack of student and teacher interaction when using virtual learning classes. Although Saudi EFL students and teachers viewed the virtual learning classes in a positive light during the pandemic period, they reported that in the post-pandemic period and over the long term, they would prefer traditional face-to-face teaching.

Pivots, pirouettes and practicalities: Actions and reactions of work-integrated learning practitioners

One impact of the global pandemic of 2020 was a rapid shift in the delivery of work-integrated learning (WIL) to remote activity among WIL practitioners, students and educators alike. Along with professional practice research in higher degrees, WIL practice, including placements and non-placements, responded actively and sometimes reactively to the challenges of sudden transition to online environments. What strategies - pivots and pirouettes - did WIL practitioners use to weather the storm of Covid-19? What does this tell us about the nature of WIL? This paper captures the seemingly overnight response to shifting work-based learning to online and other spaces. With change came the opportunity to reflect on the varying areas of WIL: from the practical processes of ensuring students are cared for to pivoting to the learning opportunities it presented in building digital literacies and adapting to the global future of work. This study is a Trans-Tasman collaboration of four WIL practitioners exploring their responsiveness to disruption in WIL contexts. We present collective autoethnographic responses to such themes as disruption, becoming resilient, pivoting to change, changing perceptions of WIL and the legacies of the pandemic. These themes apply to learners and educators alike, and our words embody the experiences of both groups. Our responses to phenomena highlighted this need for resilience and agility. Methodologically, the researchers’ micro-narrative responses to key themes structure themselves into a macro-narrative that demonstrates the lived experiences of the researchers as educators in the WIL space and explores implications for ongoing and future practice.

INVISIBILITY OF WOMEN MIGRANT WORKERS AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN INDIA

The neo-liberal model of development has facilitated the cross-border movements, thereby making both national and international migration one of the survival strategies to fight against persistent poverty, economic insecurity and deepening inequalities. It is known to all that Covid-19 and lockdown measures had a large impact on employment and labour market affecting human lives across the globe. This paper focuses on the experiences of women migrant workers situated within one of the most populous states of India, i.e., Uttar Pradesh. How did they make sense of their lived realities in the face of downsizing being done by the companies, which meant partial wages or losing the jobs permanently, and also the sudden transition that they had to opt for and negotiate with?

Working in the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study

The restrictions of social isolation adopted to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have led many companies to adopt remote work in a mandatory and unplanned way. This sudden transition has caused profound changes in personal and professional relationships. In this article, we present the results of a qualitative observational study on the adaptations made in the activities of the software development process of two companies. These adaptations were intended to support the transition to teleworking during the pandemic. They were analyzed based on the theoretical framework of Olson and Olson for distributed collaboration. Software developers’ motivations and observed challenges are also presented. Based on these results, the article presents recommendations to facilitate the adaptation to remote work in software development teams.