Creating IoT-Enriched Learner-Centered Environments in Sports Science Higher Education during the Pandemic

Abstract

In the pandemic context, creating IoT-enriched learner-centered environments was not only a tendency but a requirement for sustainable teaching and learning in universities with sports science programs for theoretical classes and practical activities. Our study aims to assess both the extent to which the sports science academic environment has been prepared for online teaching and the key features of dedicated e-learning teaching and training in sports science to provide the highest-quality educational services in pandemic conditions. An online survey was administered to academic staff in the field of sports science from two Romanian universities. The results of the study reveal that online teaching has been associated with major changes in terms of methods and methodology, but also with a new dynamic of external and internal factors regarding teachers and their relationship with students. At the same time, it depends on a solid specific infrastructure and IoT facilities (MOOCs, VR/AR, mobile devices). As a mirror of the student-centered approach, universities in the field of sports science have experienced the same concerns about the outcomes of the educational process. In this regard, universities can become sustainable if they positively integrate e-learning into their teaching system and consolidate their quality standards from an e-learning perspective.