Online Teaching Experience Research Articles

ONLINE BIOCHEMISTRY DISTANCE LEARNING: DENTISTRY STUDENTS’ PERCEIVED OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Undergraduate courses such as biochemistry were prompted to embrace online distance learning triggered by the incursion of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study worked to help solve the issues and concerns related to teaching biochemistry as a foundational course for dental and other health-sciences programs in the status of the educational system. The case study method was deemed a good way to focus on the objectives of this research because the theme was dentistry students’ perceptions and experiences dealing with the opportunities and difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it in this circumstance. 11 purposively sampled dentistry students served as the participants of the study. Data were gathered through an online platform with open-ended questions which were thematically analyzed afterward. The identified opportunities were lumped into ROTE: Research works, Open and independent learning, Technology for education, and Education for health. Challenges encountered were grouped as DARE: Demand for technology, Acquisition of knowledge, Remote learning, and Environmental condition for studying. It is worth noting that the participants were enlightened on the academic and personal benefits of biochemistry online distance learning. The researchers appeal to future researchers and policymakers to anchor forthcoming steps to further augment the online teaching and learning experiences of teachers and learners.

Transition to online teaching during COVID-19 pandemic: Perspective of higher education teachers from India

Objectives: This cross-sectional, anonymous and questionnaire-based study was undertaken to analyse online teaching experiences during COVID-19 lockdown in higher education from teachers’ perspectives. This was thought to help in improving long-distance education. Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from higher education teachers. Results: Benefits identified by online teachers indicate that distance education can cater to a large group and helps the students to access educational resources. Major challenges faced were internet connectivity (78.80%), increased workloads (68.80%) and lack of personal communication with students (84%). They believed that the online mode of teaching is the only alternative for students in such an extraordinary situation. It can be valuable for additional discussions but cannot replace traditional offline teaching. Conclusion: Suggestions pointed toward providing internet facilities and electronic databases to students and the necessity of faculty development programmes.

Identifying student profiles based on their attitudes and beliefs towards online education and exploring relations with their experiences and background

ABSTRACT This exploratory study aims to identify student profiles based on their attitudes and beliefs towards online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then relate these profiles to students’ online education experiences and background characteristics. To do this, in 2020, 676 students from a Dutch university were asked to complete a survey about their attitudes and beliefs towards and experiences with online education, and their background characteristics. By using cluster analysis, three main student profiles were identified: (P1) relaxed/positive students, (P2) stressed/negative students, and (P3) somewhat stressed/neutral students. The results showed that student profiles were related to their online education experiences but that profiles did not differ in terms of background characteristics such as age and gender. The results of this study guide educational institutions to better support their targeted students within online education contexts. We discuss these results and provide an agenda for future research and practice.

Engineering Teaching Techniques and Experience in The Midst of Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has imposed pressure on academic teaching and learning. Conventional teaching methods have to be adjusted in order to meet the new environment. During the last three of learning, online teaching has become one of the main methods of delivering lectures. This paper details a list of skills and methods that would improve the online teaching and learning experience and should therefore be used. The culture of teaching and learning has been modified by the pandemic, and the teaching, learning and assessment have been substantially reformed. The assessment of students and teacher feedback are important issues, and they are described in detail. The methods used in engineering teaching and the student's performances in the final grades are compared. It is found that the proposed method of engineering teaching and assessment for online teaching did not impose any major drawbacks or deteriorate the learning outcome. It seems that after three years of the pandemic, both students and instructors have adapted to the new method of online teaching, and the teaching method, computer-based engineering laboratory, assessment, and mentality have been adopted to the online system.

Online learning and teaching experiences of preservice science teachers during Covid-19 pandemic

The current study was carried out to determine the opinions of pre-service science teachers on the process of teaching practice conducted online. The study employed the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. The study was conducted with the participation of a total of 32 (17 female and 15 male) pre-service teachers attending a state university located in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey in the spring term of the 2020-2021 academic year. The study's data were collected through the online interviews conducted with the participants and the collected data were analyzed using the content analysis method. As a result of the research, it can be stated that they encountered various obstacles in the process of online teaching practice, they had difficulty in providing classroom management and they were anxious. On the other hand, the participants also think that online teaching practice has advantages such as accessing information at the desired place and time, saving time and giving place to different online activities. In the light of these results, suggestions were made such as increasing the knowledge level of educators about online applications, providing hardware support to stakeholders and strengthening the infrastructure.

Together a Catalyst: Learning From Our Co-Creative Arts-Based Inquiry About Our Teacher Selves During the Transition to Online Teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated many adjustments to everyday teaching at higher education institutions. While face-to-face lectures were the preferred teaching method of teacher educators prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to online teaching was heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper draws attention to the shifts we transitioned to as teacher educators teaching and researching via online platforms-specifically Zoom—in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored how three teacher educators used co-creative arts-based inquiry to deepen their understanding of their shifting teacher ‘selves’ as online users. Object-inspired narratives and poetic inquiry were employed to co-flexively engage with our shifting teaching experiences and question our feelings of discomfort teaching online. Framed conceptually by an ethics of care and collaborative-creativity, we discuss the tensions and possibilities we experienced, and shared through our scholarly online conversations via Zoom to think through the shifts in our teacher selves and teaching. We highlight our online teaching experiences amidst the uncertainty and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. We then share the methodological insight of collaborative arts-based inquiry and how it facilitated reflexive dialogues and deep conversations that ignited self-learning and collective insights into the potential and possibilities of online teaching. Findings highlighted that co-creative, online engagement enabled sharing of emotional experiences and offered possibilities for transforming teacher selves. In addition, co-creative, online engagement enabled the cultivation of relational scholarly thinking. The article highlights the methodological insight of co-creative arts-based research in productively disrupting instrumental university discourse of online teaching.

The Meaning of Online Social Work Education for Students and Faculty during COVID-19: Between Preservation and Change

Abstract Academic online social work (SW) education has developed over the decades, fully transitioning to it following the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have examined the emotional responses, coping strategies and resilience of faculty and students to this transition. Our aim is to examine online education experiences and their meaning for faculty and SW students following the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed based on principles of thematic analysis. Interviewees included fifteen SW students and fifteen faculty members at schools of SW (n = 30) from universities and colleges throughout Israel, who also participated in a quantitative survey addressing online SW education. Findings include two themes: (i) Between the illusion of intimacy and the illusion of anonymity: Is it so? (ii) Experiences of difficulty, acceptance and choice relating to online education interactions. Both themes refer to interpersonal dimensions of communication and contact between faculty and students and among students. The desire to preserve a traditional education format versus openness to the online platform is discussed using critical reflexivity. Alternative education programmes combining the two should be developed. The unique and deceptive interplay between intimacy and anonymity in the online space should be considered in courses relying on interpersonal interaction and self-disclosure.

Examination of ELT Lecturers’ Digital Technology Integration Levels Via SAMR Model During Emergency Remote Education

the present study investigated the digital technology integration levels of the English Language Teaching lecturers during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency remote education conditions via SAMR Model. The study employed a correlational design by employing a Likert-type questionnaire with 243 English Language Teaching lecturers employed at 20 universities geographically dispersed into the seven districts of Turkey. Universities were selected by depending on the statistical data of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. The results showed that synchronous teaching platforms were mainly employed as overhead projectors, which underlined the dominant usage of Substitution level without lecturers’ effective interferences to the activities. Transforming either the frame or content of the original materials was also promoted largely under the Modification level but placed after the Redefinition level, which is time and effort-demanding, and promoted densely after the Substitution level. The Augmentation level was the least promoted one since participants were of the opinion that increasing or decreasing the number of robotic activities is less useful than Modification and Redefinition level-appropriate practices. Apart from that, while participants’ digital technology integration levels were found related to their gender, background education, and online teaching experiences; seniority and age were not found to be significant indicators of the participants’ digital technology integration levels.

Effectiveness of Online Pedagogy of welding Skills during the COVID-19 Period: A Systematic Review

Online learning was created as a result of the huge industry disruption that occurred in March of 2020. Online education presented unique difficulties for learning in an entirely virtual setting with a concentration on psychomotor skill development, calling into doubt its efficacy. Finding a practical replacement for lab-based hands-on activities and group or team-based learning experiences was extremely difficult for technology education. This study compares the COVID-19 time to the pre-COVID period to assess how effective online teaching and learning experiences were in technology-based education. Just 20 randomized controlled trial publications, out of which 15 studies were used in the meta-analysis, were included in the review after an electronic search of the literature. Using Review Manager 5.3 to examine the data, Cochrane’s 2 test and I2 were used to determine heterogeneity. The meta-analysis shows a very reliable sensitivity analysis and a substantial pooled effect size of (SMD = 4.49 @ 95%, CI = 2.37 – 3.63 @ p.00001) from the test scores in favor of the experimental group. The results of the included studies’ sub-item achievement test results reveal a statistically positive difference in every category of welding skill tested. Studies demonstrating the effectiveness of online pedagogy in the covid era are the source of the current statistics. These results point to the need for additional investigation into the development of psychomotor skills in other technology education courses.

Experiences of Educators in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Education in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Aim: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical faculties have been trying to adapt their program, their students and educators, which are the main components of education, to new and rapidly changing conditions. For this reason, this study aims to investigate medical educators’ point of view about the effects of pandemic on undergraduate and graduate medical education, and their experiences during the pandemic.
 Methods: It is a basic qualitative study. The study was carried out with the participation of a total of 13 medical educators, 4 from basic sciences, 6 from internal sciences and 3 from surgical sciences, at Hacettepe and Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, between October and November 2020. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with the participants and the findings were evaluated with thematic analysis.
 Results: Participants most commonly shared negative opinions about the effect of the pandemic. Medical educators commonly think that the inability to continue face-to-face clinical education (Terms 4-5) in undergraduate education due to the pandemic negatively affects the acquisition of clinical competencies and professional attitudes and values. During the pandemic process, the negative effects of insufficient number and variety of patients and interventional practices, especially in clinical specialties, are reported in postgraduate education. Clinical teaching activities (visit, bedside discussion, etc.) were applied considering the risk of infection. Medical educators' online teaching experiences have included difficulties in planning/adapting teaching, preparing materials, providing online student participation, teacher-student interaction, motivation, and conducting reliable and methodically rich exams. Developing and increasing the accessibility of educational materials for distance education were evaluated as positive developments. While medical educators see the adaptation process to distance education as a challenge in terms of using technology and rapidly adapting teaching during the pandemic process, they also perceive it as an important gain. The negative effects of the lack of face-to-face interaction with the student in the social and psychological context were widely shared.
 Conclusions: The distance education experiences of medical educators in the COVID-19 pandemic draw attention to the importance of improving the technological infrastructure of medical faculties and supporting educators (use of technology, distance education-assessment methods). In addition, arrangements (social networks, feedback, etc.) that support medical educators socially and motivationally are recommended. In the context of carrying on face-to-face education in pandemic conditions, it is important to provide and maintain safe clinical and learning environments for educators, learners and patients. It is recommended to carry out studies to ensure equal opportunity at the national level, and to increase cooperation and sharing (educational materials and infrastructure) among medical faculties.

Listening to Students’ and Teachers’ Voices: Online Teaching Practices Leading to EFL Learners ' Demotivation

This study was conducted in response to the online teaching practices which demotivate EFL learners in learning English from both the teachers' and students' perspectives so that it can provide an equal point of view. The study was done by distributing a questionnaire to 152 students of the State Islamic Madrasah in Tulungagung, East Java, Indonesia to find data related to those who experience demotivation in learning English and interviewing them in depth both directly and indirectly through voice notes in July to September 2022. The in-depth interview was also done to their English teachers. The result of qualitative data analysis revealed that students were demotivated, bored, and lazy during online learning because of two main factors, namely teachers, i.e., uninteresting teaching methods and techniques, lack of online teaching experience, teacher’s personality, and the usage of the online learning application. Meanwhile, the teachers perceive that their demotivating EFL teaching was resulted from students' learning loss, lack of students' learning involvement, and teachers' feeling insecure caused by some factors, namely the variety of online teaching methods, the accessibility of online learning media, family interference, and students' internal lack of motivation. Still, this demotivating online teaching and learning do not significantly implicate the students' achievement of English. These research results are pedagogically implemented to improve the quality of online teaching and learning English, mainly at the secondary levels.

대학 온라인 수업에서 교수자의 갈등 경험에 관한 질적 사례연구

Objectives This study aimed to identify the limitations of the current online classes by paying attention to instructors' experience of difficulties in the online realm, where role changes have occurred as courses were taught online. Methods This study used the cultural-historical activity theory as the analytical framework. Through a literature review of the cultural-historical activity theory, the framework of the online class activity system was established, and in-depth interviews were conducted for instructors who taught online classes at universities. Results This study was able to derive an online teaching activity system of university instructors with an emphasis on the instructors as subjects of the activity system and the problems they faced in online classes. Some inherent contradictions were derived from the study. These included “teaching experience,” “structural limitations of online teaching,” “lack of online teaching experience,” and “lack of support from the school.” Unlike fundamental contradictions such as ‘teaching experience’, ‘structural limitations of online teaching’, and ‘lack of online teaching experience’, which can be resolved by the instructors through various strategies, the contradiction of ‘lack of support from the school’ had characteristics that were difficult for instructors to solve personally. Therefore, schools and instructors need to expand discussions on class support for the qualitative growth of online courses. Conclusions Studies have shown that the teaching activities of university instructors in online classes were tool-mediated and retained a structure of social and collective activity. In addition, in resolving conflicts arising from the online classes, they have expanded from being a means of content delivery to an actual learning community. These qualitative changes in online classes have resulted in an opportunity to rediscover new roles and capabilities in university education.

From Onsite to Online: Perspectives on Preservice Teachers’ Instructional Engagement

The abrupt transition from onsite to online learning modality has presented educational institutions with both challenges and opportunities. As institutions are slowly moving towards the now normal (post-pandemic), it is vital to reflect on effective online teaching and learning experiences, as these add to the new repertoire of practice, especially for teacher education institutions. The study employed a descriptive quantitative research design utilizing a validated survey questionnaire as the main data-gathering tool. The results of the study reveal that preservice teachers have high instructional engagement with technology and with course content, but the online modality has somehow limited their instructional engagement with instructors and classmates. Furthermore, the results reveal relevant insights on how teachers can maximize technological opportunities while maintaining human connections to enable more engaging online classroom experiences between teachers and students. Universities can therefore continue to actively provide relevant technical and educational training. This is important to accommodate in person, online, and hybrid educational modalities.

Medical Students' Perceptions of Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim: If we consider that online education will maintain its importance after the pandemic; determining the perceived advantages and disadvantages of online education will contribute to improving the online education opportunities of medical faculties. In our study, it is aimed to investigate the characteristics of online education experiences of medical students. Methods: The study group was composed of students who were educated in first – third classes at Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine (total 747 students). A questionnaire created by the researchers was used in data collection. Results: Two-hundred-thirty-two people were included in the research. The most liked aspects of online education were that there was no transportation problem with 83.2% (n=193) and flexibility with 57.3% (n=133). The most common barriers to online education were internet connection problems with 77.6% (n=180) and distractions from family, pets and home environment with 60.8% (n=141). 11.6% of the participants thought that online education was more efficient than face-to-face education, while 24.6% were satisfied with the ongoing online education process. Conclusion: Satisfaction of online education can be increased and can be made more successful by developing the liked aspects of online education and working towards eliminating the obstacles in front of it. Keywords: online education, medical students, perception, COVID-19 pandemic

Challenges and Strategies Taken by English Language Educators in Tertiary Institutions during Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL)

The strike of COVID-19 pandemic has affected various sectors tremendously, including the education sector around the globe. This situation has forced the closure of most educational institutions, which include higher learning institutions. Since the Movement Control Order announcement, most teaching and learning processes in higher learning institutions were transferred online. The shift to online learning brings different challenges for teachers in higher learning institutions, including English teachers, regarding technological skills and assessment. In this study, the researchers adopted a multiple case study to explore the strategies of 34 English teachers from nine universities in Malaysia, Indonesia and Maldives to overcome the challenges during Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning. The data was collected through focused group interview sessions, individual open-ended responses via Google Forms and Whatsapp discussion threads. The recorded sessions were transcribed verbatim and analysed using NVIVO software to identify the common categories and themes. The findings showed that the teachers of English overcome problems concerning their technological skills by seeking help from their colleagues, attending courses, training and webinars and choosing suitable platforms for online learning, also conducting better online assessments. The faculty could also provide more webinars, online training, and courses to help teachers to perform better during online learning. This study is believed to shed some light on aspects that need to be considered while planning and executing a meaningful ESL online teaching and learning experience in higher learning institutions, particularly in developing countries.

Netiquette rules in online learning through the lens of digital citizenship scale in the post-corona era

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the trending term: “Netiquette” as an important element in the effective digital citizenship. The research suggests a systematic framework of netiquette rules in the field of online education based on the classical core rules of netiquette and according to the digital citizenship scale (DCS). The research also studies the corresponding responsibilities of both educators and students to raise awareness towards using technology in a balanced, safe, smart and ethical way as the shift towards the digital activities increased significantly in the post-corona time.Design/methodology/approachThe research used the qualitative data that were based on the everyday observation and analysis of the online education experience at the university of Jordan in the academic year 2020/2021; the online group discussions of students and teachers; and investigating the guidelines of the online learning netiquette rules in various academic institutes. Comparative analysis was conducted to merge and eliminate redundant rules and to add sub rules, and then to cluster them into groups. The suggested clustered groups were distributed into the classical core rules outline of netiquette. In each core rule, the sub rules were reclassified and recategorized according to the DCS by studying the complexity levels and their corresponding factors. The suggested framework updates and adds DCS levels and factors considering the exceptional experience of online education through the pandemic.FindingsThe research finds that “Netiquette” had been neglected in cyber ethics literature, and so it has to be rediscovered through the lens of digital citizenship that becomes very noticeable issue in the post-COVID era. So, the research presents a systematic framework that outlines more than 150 netiquette sub rules in the field of online education, and that were clustered according to DCS and the classical core rules of netiquette. It also adds a new factor to the bottom level of DCS which is the primarily skills and traits, and also updates the internet and political activism fac-tor by adding the social perspective.Originality/valueA novel classification of the classical core rules of netiquette was proposed in the field of online education to serve as a spectrum of identifying the complexity of digital citizenship levels and factors. This research can be a starting point of more works on netiquette research in online education and on other fields such as online business meetings, social media networking and online gaming.

The two-step cluster analysis of pre-COVID-19 experience and cybersecurity concerns about online education for academic staff in Saudi universities

The purpose of this research is to learn about the attitudes of the academic staff of the medical, business, humanities, and science and engineering disciplines concerning online education during the COVID-19 pandemic at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia. While research in online education focuses on learning experiences such as facilities, learning materials, and learning interests, several elements of online education in this research were investigated, including advantages, features, and cybersecurity. The research data were gathered through a survey containing three demographic items, four items on perceptions of online education, and seven questions on perceptions of cybersecurity. Responses obtained from 238 academic staff were used for statistical analysis. After the routine descriptive analysis analyses, the response data were subjected to unsupervised k-means centroid cluster analysis. Two clusters of academic staff differing in teaching disciplines, and pre-COVID experience in online education were identified. Cluster 1 had medical and business and humanities academic staff, predominated by those without pre-COVID experience in online education, and perceived online education and cybersecurity at neutral to a slightly low level. Cluster 2 consisted of science and engineering discipline academic staff predominated by those with pre-COVID online education experience and perceived online education and cybersecurity in the range of neutral to slightly high levels. The result of this study shows that academic staff in the medical, business, and humanities disciplines have less expertise with online education software and a low level of awareness about online education security. On the other hand, academic staff of science and engineering disciplines fields has more expertise with online educational technologies and a better level of understanding of online education security.

Literature Review of Exploring Experience and Coping Strategies of Primary School Teachers and Students During Online Teaching amidst COVID-19 Pandemic in China

The COVID-19 has forced the different level of institutes including universities, high schools, and primary schools around world to carry out online learning and teaching activities, especially in China, nearly all teaching activities having been carried through online platforms. Although there are many benefits of teaching online such as reducing travel costs and saving time and learning space during COVID-19 era, there are still difficulties and challenges faced by both teachers and students, especially for the primary school teachers and students. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences and factors affecting the online teaching and learning of Chinese primary school teachers and students, thus provide coping strategies for both stakeholders when conducting online teaching and learning activities. The mixed quantitative and qualitative research method will be adopted to study their responses to the online learning and teaching experiences in post-epidemic era. Data will be collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews with 1300 primary school students and 80 teachers in Xi’an Foreign Language Primary school. Data collection will be carried out using survey questionnaire and interview questions and analyzed based on descriptive statistics quantitatively and thematic analysis qualitatively. The researcher wants to find difficulties which may pose challenges to their normal online learning and teaching activities during this special occasion, then put related strategies for both stakeholders as well as policy makers for future reference. The findings can be used as a reference in other research or in a comparable scenario by interested scholars. Educators can use these findings to advocate strategies that will provide a better education.

Vocational College Mathematics Teachers’ Perception on Home-Based Teaching and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Johor

This study examines the perception of mathematics teachers at a Johor vocational college on Home-Based Teaching and Learning (HBTL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past research has found out that most teachers are effectively able to conduct online classes. However, the teachers also face difficulties during online classes. This study was conducted to evaluate teacher efficacy in terms of knowledge and skills, instructional strategies, access to technology and motivation. This study also aims to evaluate the challenges in terms of technical barriers, student participation, student situation and online teaching experiences. This study is only limited to vocational college teachers who teach mathematics in Johor. This study used a quantitative survey-based research methodology. The survey's respondents were 46 mathematics teachers at 12 vocational colleges in Johor. The respondents were purposively selected. The 5-point Likert scale was used for the data collection. The data was analysed by using the median value. The findings indicate that the overall median value for teacher efficacy in online teaching is 4.00. Generally, this value indicates the effectiveness in terms of knowledge and abilities, instructional approach, access to technology, and motivation among the respondents. The total median score for challenges faced by the teachers is 4.00, which indicates that most respondents have difficulties with technological barriers, student participation, student circumstances, and online teaching experiences. In conclusion, the teachers need to be ready for online teaching in order to ensure that the HBTL can successfully be implemented and managed during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

A New Concept of the Informatics Curriculum in the Czech Republic: Teacher Reflection on the First Year of the Transition Period

In the Czech Republic, a new concept that proposes an Informatics curriculum for primary schools was prepared to meet the new requirements of the field. For the implementation to be smooth, a two-year transition period was planned from 2021 to 2023. Training seminars were the main tool to help teachers develop missing subject knowledge and didactic skills. After the first year of the transition period, the question was whether the seminars met the needs of teachers. Therefore, the main objective of the investigation was to collect feedback from them (N = 142) in five regions (of 14), consider changes within the first year (from autumn 2021 to autumn 2022), and propose recommendations for the rest of the period (by autumn 2023). The ex post facto method was used. Data were collected by questionnaires in five areas: (1) preference for an original or new concept for a curriculum, (2) and subject knowledge and didactic skills of teachers, (3) school equipment; (4) learning materials and teaching methods used, and (5) experience in online learning and teaching. The results show that in autumn 2022, the support for the new concept increased and the school equipment improved; however, subject knowledge and didactic skills were the weak points. Individualization through the tailoring of the seminars to the needs of teachers represents an efficient way to train them according to their level of knowledge, their preferred form of learning, and the learning content.