Abstract
As coronavirus pandemic has spread all over the world, schools and universities needed to reinvent themselves so that their students could be remotely assisted. In this context, this paper aims to present the experiences of English without Borders Program at the Federal University of XXX with Remote Teaching, highlighting the actions related to the planning sessions, as well as the difficulties teachers and coordinators faced and the adjustments that were necessary. The analysis was carried out using the case study methodology, with teachers’ feedback collected from pedagogical meetings and questionnaires sent by e-mail. The remote teaching modality was contrasted with e-learning, and among the conclusions presented, it was evidenced that the initial difficulties with the promotion of interactions among students were reduced when the feeling of community identity built during the classes was perceived. The teacher training process developed to assist scholarship holders in this new educational scenario was also endorsed as a differential of the program, with the indication that sharing experiences with remote education is necessary so that educators can be prepared for a future surrounded for uncertainties.
Highlights
In 2020, we faced a ‘to be or not to be’ dilemma, and beyond any philosophical reflections upon life and society, we found ourselves forced to reinvent ourselves, take care of families, and begin to fight for survival
Bearing in mind the educational scenarios that were implemented due to COVID19, this paper aims to present some considerations on the differences between on-line learning and remote teaching, as well as present a case study on the remote teaching which was implemented at the Language without Borders Program (EWB) at the Federal University of XXX (UFx)
After describing the classes and the impressions collected from the participants involved, we offer some reflections on the lessons learned and propose an Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) plan to be used in case such measures become necessary again in the future
Summary
In 2020, we faced a ‘to be or not to be’ dilemma, and beyond any philosophical reflections upon life and society, we found ourselves forced to reinvent ourselves, take care of families, and begin to fight for survival. As Hodges at al (2020) discuss, when we talk about online or remote learning, we are referring to specific teaching and learning processes in which instructional design and planning are necessary, a platform is used and prepared for the classes and evaluations, and the synchronous and asynchronous interactions are planned in advance, thereby using a systematic model for design and development This is totally different from the ERT model, in which teachers use technological tools for teaching, without this same type of systematic preparation. We have had to re-plan activities and change strategies after receiving feedback from students and attempting to better understand their needs and suggestions These experiences and subsequent difficulties have been extensively discussed among the EWB leadership, and new actions and decisions were collaboratively taken to improve the students’ (online) classroom experience. We will describe the need for adjustments during the program’s adaptation to this new teaching modality
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