Emergency Distance Education in the Conditions of COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience of Ukrainian Universities

Ivan Bakhov,Mira Bogus,Yulia Biryukova,Viktoriia Anishchenko,Natalia Opolska

doi:10.3390/educsci11070364

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes in education worldwide throughout 2020. In Ukraine, the preparedness for this process was different. There were various technical problems such as the absence of Internet connection, computers, or educational materials on the network, and most importantly, the unpreparedness of teachers to perform distance learning. From 28 April to 8 May 2020 at the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (Dnipro, Ukraine), students were surveyed on the quality of distance learning organized during the quarantine period. A total of 1224 students from almost all faculties and centers took part in the survey and answered 19 questions in an online form developed in Office 365 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA). The survey algorithm is based on the principle of cross-validation. According to the survey, the most important opportunities of distance (digital) learning are as follows: the opportunity to study in a convenient place, in a comfortable and familiar environment—28.57%; the opportunity to combine work with study—16.97%; the development of self-control skills and motivation to self-educate—16.43%; and the technical level of the learning process (use of information technologies)—13.83%. The aspects that negatively affect the organization of full-scale distance learning are as follows: the large volume of tasks—16.80%; the rapid fatigue due to prolonged work in front of a computer—16.35%; the absence of necessary equipment and/or constant (stable) access to the Internet—15.33%. In conclusion, ways to overcome the difficulties of distance learning, both by universities and by the government, are suggested.

Highlights

IntroductionThe introduction of quarantine has changed the lives of everyone, but it especially affected educational institutions, forcing people to adapt to the new conditions of provision of educational services
In March 2020 UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay stated that due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic more than 1.5 billion young people in 165 countries could not attend classes due to the closure of secondary schools [1].The introduction of quarantine has changed the lives of everyone, but it especially affected educational institutions, forcing people to adapt to the new conditions of provision of educational services
From 28 April to 8 May 2020 at the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (Dnipro, Ukraine), students were surveyed on the quality of distance learning organized during the quarantine period

Summary

Introduction

The introduction of quarantine has changed the lives of everyone, but it especially affected educational institutions, forcing people to adapt to the new conditions of provision of educational services. All educational institutions, including universities, were forced to respond quickly to the challenges of the pandemic and transfer the educational process to distance or hybrid (blended) modes. The practices of distance learning, which have developed both in different institutions of higher education (HEIs) and within one university, faculty, and even a department, are very different and diverse [2]. There are some Ukrainian universities that have systematically organized the process of distance learning, but in a number of HEIs, the educational process has become chaotic and continues to be a challenge and a test for both faculty and students [3]. This, in turn, leads to growing skepticism about the quality of such a learning process and rightly raises in society the question: “Can online learning be effective?”

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