scholarly journals Our Self-Access Experience in Times of COVID

2020 ◽  
pp. 250-262
Author(s):  
Adelina Ruiz-Guerrero

The coronavirus pandemic has without a doubt had an enormous impact on every possible way of our lives. We have felt its effects on an individual personal level and as family members, at work, as members of a community, and particularly as students and teachers. Even in institutions and departments such as ours where online education has been at the forefront of our work for years now, the challenge to survive a fully virtual new reality has left us with a lot of lessons learned and has opened doors to more opportunities for growth. For years now, the Language Department at ITESO has had its language courses in LMS platforms and has offered courses in blended and fully virtual options alongside face-to-face classes. In the English Certificate Programme, we have regular teletandem sessions with universities in other countries. The Language Hub, our self-access centre, offers writing support through an emailing writing desk service and we run virtual conversation clubs on Zoom alongside face-to-face sessions. We are certainly no strangers to online work, but up until now, that was just an option both students and teachers could consider. As of March, this year, our whole university had to move to online classes and the services of our self-access centre had to be adapted to virtual options as well. This report presents our answer to the questions posed by SISAL for this open call to the special issue on how we have lived the experience of self-access during the pandemic.

Author(s):  
Steven Tolman ◽  
Matt Dunbar ◽  
K. Brooke Slone ◽  
Allie Grimes ◽  
Christopher A. Trautman

As online education continues to grow, more and more faculty find themselves transitioning from teaching face-to-face to online environments. Unsurprisingly, this can be challenging for many faculty as they go through this process. This book chapters examines the experience of a faculty member who transitioned from teaching exclusively face-to-face to online and lessons learned are shared. Additionally, four students share their experience learning online and provide recommendations to faculty members.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12152
Author(s):  
Yae-Ji Kim ◽  
Seung-Hoo Lee

The purpose of this study was to identify the problems of online education perceived by learners in a time when non-face-to-face online lectures are conducted due to the spread of COVID-19, and suggest measures to improve educational outcomes. Therefore, the structural influence of cooking practice on the quality of online lessons, learning immersion, learning satisfaction, and the achievement felt by learners was verified. The sample of the study was a college student majoring in cooking, and a total of 509 responses were used for analysis. The results of the study are as follows: First, it was analyzed that there was a significant influence on learning immersion in the order of content, interaction, and educational environment among the quality of online classes. Second, among the quality of online classes, class content and educational environment showed positive (+) influence on learning satisfaction. Third, learning immersion and learning satisfaction showed a positive influence on academic achievement. Fourth, in the direct effect of online class quality on academic achievement, it was analyzed that only class content had a positive (+) effect. Based on the results of this study, the provision of learning materials with detailed explanations was suggested in the online cooking practice class rather than providing a simple cooking video. In addition, it was suggested that as a way to improve academic achievement of online education, it is necessary to provide content that allows learners to immerse themselves in class, as well as class content and educational environment, and consider learning satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shyam Sundar Sarkar ◽  
Pranta Das ◽  
Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman ◽  
M S Zobaer

The disease outbreak COVID-19 pandemic impacted public health and safety and the educational systems worldwide. For fear of the further spread of diseases, most educational institutions, including Bangladesh, have postponed their face-to-face teaching. Therefore, this study explores public university student’s perceptions towards online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Data had collected among students of Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh, through an online survey. The study followed a quantitative approach, where the survey technique was used as an instrument of data collection. Results showed that most students faced difficulty participating in virtual classes and could not communicate with their friends correctly during online classes. Thus, they faced challenges in online schooling, and the majority of the students preferred conventional types of learning to virtual classes and did not understand the content of virtual classes easily. The study also explored that most students did not feel comfortable in online classes. Still, considering the present pandemic situation, they decided to participate in online classes to continue schooling. Besides, the study discovered that female students showed a better view than male students regarding online classes, and urban students have more positive appreciation than rural students. Furthermore, laptop or personal computer users showed more positive perceptions towards online education than mobile users. Moreover, Broadband/Wi-Fi users have more positive perceptions than mobile network users. These findings would be an essential guideline for governments, policymakers, technology developers, and university authorities for making better policy choices in the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. a16en
Author(s):  
Elaine Jesus Alves ◽  
Denilda Caetano de Faria

In 2020, the world was plagued by a pandemic that demanded the social isolation of people from all over the planet to prevent the rapid spread and overcrowding of hospitals. In the educational field, face-to-face classes have been suspended in more than 150 countries. Some institutions started to use technological resources to offer remote education. The pandemic highlighted issues such as the unpreparedness of education systems and teachers, inequalities in access to the internet and students' computers, among others. Considering that technologies have been part of the daily life of schools for more than 30 years, in this atypical moment there is a strangeness among teachers in their improvised use with their students. This article aims to reflect what this pandemic situation has taught us about online education in Brazil and the perspectives that we can see in this field in the post-pandemic scenario.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-23
Author(s):  
Lendel Narine ◽  
Cristian Meier

Extension was forced to rapidly adjust its efforts and program delivery methods to respond to clientele needs during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The pandemic presents a range of unique challenges to Extension including revisions to resource allocations and shifts in programmatic focus. Guided by a needs assessment framework, this paper assesses the rapid response of Utah State University (USU) Extension to meet residents needs during COVID-19. This correlational study gathered data from 199 Extension professionals (n = 199) at USU Extension. Findings show Extension professionals had good capacity to implement outreach activities related to online education, engaging residents, and external partnerships. Further, Extension took rapid actions in several areas in response to COVID-19, including providing online learning activities for youth, and conducting online classes in place of traditional face-to-face classes. Findings show professionals’ outreach capacity was positively related to the total number of actions taken in response to COVID-19. Extension professionals addressed COVID-19 topics such as telehealth, temporary homeschooling kids, and stress management. This study demonstrates the adaptability of Extension to an unpredictable event and provides a framework to assess response. Findings are geared towards effective resource allocation to support Extension’s role in meeting residents’ needs during COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-75
Author(s):  
Farhat Ullah ◽  
Shakeel Ahmad ◽  
Rashid Ishaq

The intent of this research is to analyse female students’ perspective on online education in public sector universities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. To get a better understanding of these perceptions, the Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST) (Kohat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan), has been selected for this qualitative, exploratory, and interpretive study. The data for the study was analysed using the discourse analysis technique, and themes were extracted from the data. This analysis enabled us to delve into specific issues linked to female students’ experiences regarding online learning. This goal was achieved by relating access to and use of technological resources and the effectiveness of online classes. Keeping in view the application of online classes, both pros and cons are discussed as compared to face-to-face classes. The findings indicate the need to adapt and adjust the methodology’s implementation by taking into account not only its unique characteristics but also its merits and demerits. To sum up, incorporating such a technique into the educational environment may be justified if specialised training is obtained to maximise the potential of online classes.


2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Gerardo Quiroz Vieyra ◽  
Luis Fernando Muñoz González

Faced with confinement due to COVID-19, educational institutions with face-to-face models had to continue their activities under conditions and with resources not used up to that moment. For this, the institutions formulated and put into operation continuity plans, which involved everything from remote education to hybrids between the latter and online education. Institutions that already had online or hybrid education programs were able to apply that experience to their face-to-face programs, allowing them to respond more quickly than those that did not. The stages of the teaching-learning process that were "adjusted" during this emergency in order to give continuity to educational activities were the last two, namely: the development of instructional material and teaching. In this work, an intervention is proposed in a previous stage of the process, that is, in the instructional design (ID), using the ASSURE model derived from the ADDIE model or approach. This intervention is based on the lessons learned during the pandemic, for the preparation or reformulation of study plans that consider information and communication technologies as a platform to enhance the effectiveness of learning, selecting them and establishing their use strategy from the stage in which the materials are designed, which may be useful considering that even if the students return to the classrooms, a virtual part will be preserved, that is, a hybrid model, in which the face-to-face-virtual ratio will be determined by the educational strategy of the institution.


2012 ◽  
pp. 1506-1517
Author(s):  
Pamela L. Anderson-Mejías

This chapter describes a successful means of introducing returning, older students to online education in a university setting. After presenting basic background from the literature on retention within online classes, the case is presented in detail as to how 16 fearful learners became confident and successful through the instructor’s taking time for preparation, establishing a sense of achievement using the technology, creating interconnections with peers, and demonstrating the usefulness of the virtual class over the face-to-face class. The author hopes that by describing in detail the case and the principles found, future educators can prepare their traditional students for the culture of virtual learning environments, thus expanding options for their programs while addressing university administrative concerns about student retention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 343 ◽  
pp. 11012
Author(s):  
Maria-Elena Boatca ◽  
Anca Draghici ◽  
Alin Gaureanu

The current pandemic conditions generated new ways of working and learning by shifting from face-to-face to remote and online working environment. From an ergonomics perspective, this change involved a large variety of adaptations to ‘the new normal’, especially inappropriate furniture, and inadequate social and physical environment conditions. Therefore, the paper aims to provide a deeper understanding on the role of education in ergonomics on the basis of a study on students at Politehnica University of Timisoara. There is little to no information available on ergonomic conditions in which students attend online classes and prepare their projects. The study involved several steps: (1) attendance to an educational session where they were informed on how to sit and organise their working space; (2) presentation of their current and wished working space; and (3) response to a detailed checklist targeted at understanding both their perception and effects on their health regarding online schooling. The results were, to an extent, predicted by the authors: students do not have adequate furniture and lighting conditions; furthermore, the effects on their health are already visible, although not severe.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasrin Altuwairesh

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc and caused world-wide disruptions to daily activities, including education. Numerous mitigation measures were taken to slow down the rapid spread of this pandemic. The situation, subsequently, entailed utilizing technology to ensure the continuation of the educational process. The abrupt shift to online education presented significant challenges to teachers and learners alike. Uncovering students’ perceptions of their online education experience will help address and deal with these challenges. This study attempted to explore the perceptions of Saudi female undergraduate students of their online education experience amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The total of 241 female students at the College of Languages and Translation at King Saud University in Riyadh answered a multi-item online survey. The results revealed that many of the respondents were happy with their online learning experience, enjoyed learning online and looked forward to their online classes. However, when asked to compare online learning to brick-and-mortar classes, more than half of the participants stated that they prefer traditional, face-to-face learning. The results of this study also revealed that the significant problems students faced in online education related to staying motivated, technical issues and the absence of face-to-face interaction. Despite the many challenges they face when learning online, the most cited advantage for online education mentioned by the participants is that it is more convenient. The results also indicated that this education mode seemed to suit shy students more, as they stated that they participate and ask questions more in online classes.


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