Abstract
This paper presents a qualitative study of the experience of students of the shift from face-to-face learning to online learning during the COVID-19 lockdown in Norway. Detailed inputs were collected from 200 university students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in information technology in Norway through an online survey. Their responses were categorized into three main themes: the teacher’s role, the life of a student, and digital learning. We found that, surprisingly, the students felt that the shift to digital learning had positive effects on their lives, such as the availability of more time for study, study flexibility through recorded lectures which could be reviewed repeatedly and anytime, and more time to pose questions. However, some students also pointed out negative effects such as more distractions, lack of structure, and a perceived invasion of privacy when required to turn on their cameras. The students valued the use of high-quality technical equipment as well as student engagement during online lectures, but also freedom of choice to participate.
Highlights
We summarize these questions in the following main research question: How are higher education students experiencing digital teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic?
In contrast to the traditional alternative known as online education, this sudden move to online learning is described as emergency remote teaching (ERT) [2,3]
The findings showed that satisfaction with online teaching was significantly correlated with the engagement among online students
Summary
In a matter of days or weeks, educational institutions had to transition to online teaching and choose which digital tools their lecturers would use to continue offering education to their students. This necessitated new types of technology infrastructure as well as support and guidance for educational staff who had neither used digital tools to deliver lectures nor taught online before. This was a significant transition for teachers, who suddenly had to use digital tools and to change their teaching plans. It will be impossible for every faculty member to suddenly become an expert in online teaching and learning in this current situation, in which lead times range from a single day to a few weeks. [3]
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