Conference Paper

COVID-19 TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES PROJECT: USING THE GREX DASHBOARD TO INVESTIGATE ONLINE SKILL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE PANDEMIC

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

The increased drive towards digital economies, coupled with the transition to online modes of educational access and work during the COVID-19 global pandemic, necessitated a heightened focus on being able to assess digital competencies. Organizations such as the World Economic Forum and Conference Board of Canada state that developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills are vital for individuals to adapt to increasingly digitized and digitalized spaces in a rapidly changing world. The Global Readiness Explorer Project (GREx), a customizable, comprehensive digital toolkit for individuals, institutions, and organizations, offers potential users sets of assessment tools that can provide feedback and insights while using specific indicators regarding digital competency and readiness to engage in fully online learning environments. GREx can also be utilized to develop additional tools to meet the needs of potential users. Utilizing the GREx toolkit, The COVID-19 Teaching and Learning Transition Project (CTLTP) was intended to examine the potential effects of a rapid shift to online teaching and learning at a medium-sized technical university in Ontario. The university espouses a technology-enhanced learning environment using various digital tools. While there were several fully online social and health sciences programs, even before the pandemic, most students learned in physical classrooms and laboratories. This project invited these students, new to fully online learning environments, to participate in responding to three surveys that probed their digital and fully online learning skills and asked about the transition that they experienced during the pandemic. Participants recorded significant negative effects regarding the move to the fully online environment; however, additional research needs to be conducted to determine what lies behind the negative participant perceptions.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Ultimately, the findings from our student survey results revealed that the majority of students had generally positive attitudes towards the fully online learning experience (engagement and feedback which the Institute's staff value in managing educational developments (Adams, 2023)-past, ongoing and future). However, in some other parts of the world, resistance to fully online learning environments has emerged: for instance, research conducted in Ontario found that "significant negative effects regarding the move to the fully online environment were recorded by some participant groups" (McGravey and vanOostveen, 2022). Similarly, Wigati et al. (2023) explore the "rejection" and "refusal" of the pandemic-induced transition to online teaching and learning in the Indonesian context, citing "the tension in the relationship between the people and the state" as the underlying motivation-flagging the need for education communities to feel that they exist within a democracy, both on the level of the education system and on the level of wider governance. ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Taking the Institute of Philology and Journalism at Ukraine's Taurida National University as a case study, this paper overviews and distils the crisis management measures utilised in transitioning to fully online education during the crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and full-scale Russian invasion and violence. Design/methodology/approach With the aim of spotlighting the experiences of the people most directly impacted by these two contemporary crises, this case study documents the lived experience of the authors—all of whom are/were teaching staff at the Institute—and Institute students’ responses to online surveys conducted between 2020 and 2022. Findings The Institute's case study demonstrates that contemporary crisis management via transitioning to fully online learning can be achieved if the following instrumental and methodological components are employed: (1) an initial assessment of the risks and opportunities for the educational community involved; (2) the right choice of online teaching and communications tools; (3) followed by flexibility and gradualism in onward planning (i.e. where technology and pedagogy are understood as interconnected) taking members’ feedback into account. However, the success of these components is contingent upon fulfilling psychological components, with care devoted to: upholding members’ psychological well-being; offering members ongoing technical support; and strengthening trust between members. Originality/value This case study offers transferable and adaptable findings for successful crisis management in education, from the Ukrainian context out to the wider world.
Article
Full-text available
In March 2019, the Ontario government announced that commencing in 2023-24, secondary school students (Grades 9-12) would be required to gain four of 30 graduation credits through online courses. At the time of the policy pronouncement, these four credits (or courses) would become the first mandatory online courses in Canadian K-12 education. The policy decision and process were challenged publicly, and the educational context changed quickly with the ensuing contingencies of the global pandemic. The policy was subsequently revised and, at present, Ontario requires two mandatory online secondary school credits for graduation, which is twice the requirement of any other North American jurisdiction. In this study, the researchers employ a critical policy analysis framework to examine the concept of mandatory online learning in Ontario through multiple temporal contexts. First, they examine Ontario’s mandatory online learning policy prior to the shutdown of Ontario schools during the 2020-2021 global pandemic. Next, they examine aspects of Ontario’s mandatory online learning policy in K-12 during the emergency remote learning phase of the pandemic. In the final section, the authors provide a retrospective analysis of the decisions around mandatory e-learning policy and explore policy options going forward for mandatory e-learning in the K-12 sector post-pandemic.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Recent world events have shifted our educational focus to a greater emphasis on online learning and working environments. Given the immediate and emergency moves to online learning, the effectiveness of these shifts has come into question in many institutions of higher education. What has become clear is that the longer the pandemic lasts, the more ingrained and assimilated virtual learning will become in our educational institutions. We argue that this crisis, while tragic, has also simultaneously created opportunities that would not have presented themselves in a slower, more controlled transition. The rapid changes caused by the pandemic continue to be a catalyst for the evolution of online education, in positive ways; through an unanticipated world event, acting as an essential precursor to disruptive, progressive innovation. This paper examines the critical elements of effective, online learning communities. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2017) calls for immediate paradigmatic shifts in the way employment skills are addressed in educational institutions and society in general. These urgent demands derive from a wide variety of local, regional, national, and international sources, including the Conference Board of Canada (2016), and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2017). These sources recommend increased emphasis on skills development in complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, negotiation, people management and collaboration. Our health as individuals and communities exists within a future that continues to be fraught with complexities related to pandemics, racial inequalities and unrest, climate change, and a digital news media laden with artificial information, misappropriation of facts and manipulation of knowledge to benefit those in power. We are at a critical juncture, and this paper describes key features of effective online learning communities to ensure better, stronger digital learning and working spaces.
Article
Full-text available
This study uses the 2018 Canadian Internet Use Survey to examine reports of the negative effects individuals aged 15 to 64 experience because of their use of social networking websites or apps. Social media refers to digital platforms that allow users to create and share content (e.g., text-based posts, photos and videos) and online profiles, and to interact with other users. Six outcomes attributed to social media use are examined: lost sleep, trouble concentrating on tasks or activities, less physical activity, feeling anxious or depressed, feeling envious of the lives of others, and feeling frustrated or angry. Among all social media users aged 15 to 64, around one-fifth reported that in the previous 12 months, they had lost sleep (19%), gotten less physical activity (22%), or had trouble concentrating on tasks or activities (18%) as a result of their social media use. Around one in eight users (12% to 14%) reported feeling anxious or depressed, frustrated or angry, or envious of the lives of others.
Article
Full-text available
We aim to identify the engagement strategies that higher education students, engaging in emergency online learning in low-resource settings, perceive to be effective. We conducted a sequential mixed-methods study based on Moore’s interaction framework for distance education. We administered a questionnaire to 313 students engaging in emergency online learning in low-resource settings to examine their perceptions of different engagement strategies. Our results showed that student–content engagement strategies, e.g., screen sharing, summaries, and class recordings, are perceived as the most effective, closely followed by student–teacher strategies, e.g., Q and A sessions and reminders. Student–student strategies, e.g., group chat and collaborative work, are perceived as the least effective. The perceived effectiveness of engagement strategies varies based on the students’ gender and technology access. To support instructors, instructional designers, and researchers, we propose a 10-level guide for engaging students during emergency online classes in low-resource settings.
Article
Full-text available
The aim of the study is to analyse the opportunities and challenges of emergency remote teaching based on experiences of the COVID-19 emergency. A qualitative research method was undertaken in two steps. In the first step, a thematic analysis of an online discussion forum with international experts from different sectors and countries was carried out. In the second step (an Italian case study), both the data and the statements of opinion leaders from secondary online sources, including web articles, statistical data and legislation, were analysed. The results reveal several technological, pedagogical and social challenges. The technological challenges are mainly related to the unreliability of Internet connections and many students’ lack of necessary electronic devices. The pedagogical challenges are principally associated with teachers’ and learners’ lack of digital skills, the lack of structured content versus the abundance of online resources, learners’ lack of interactivity and motivation and teachers’ lack of social and cognitive presence (the ability to construct meaning through sustained communication within a community of inquiry). The social challenges are mainly related to the lack of human interaction between teachers and students as well as among the latter, the lack of physical spaces at home to receive lessons and the lack of support of parents who are frequently working remotely in the same spaces. Based on the lessons learned from this worldwide emergency, challenges and proposals for action to face these same challenges, which should be and sometimes have been implemented, are provided.
Article
Full-text available
The recent novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has affected humanity and education worldwide as continued learning amidst massive school closures required the unprecedented decision to make a rapid transition from in-person learning to remote online learning. This abrupt and temporary shift to remote online learning due to crisis circumstances was described as emergency remote teaching (ERT). Using a multi-method approach, this study aimed to explore college students’ emergency remote teaching experiences during the COVID-19 crisis. Analysis of online survey data revealed the various detrimental effects of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 and emergency remote teaching on the participants’ educational and personal experiences. The results revealed not only that the participants have experienced learning loss and lack of motivation, but also that the pre-existing educational and social inequities seemed exacerbated and amplified during ERT and the COVID-19 crisis. Issues in terms of accessibility, digital divide, inequity, and mental/emotional/physical health that the participants, more likely females, experienced during emergency remote learning were especially concerning. The results highlighted the importance of addressing and combating the inequities, creating and maintaining a sense of community, and most significantly providing socio-emotional support, ‘TLC’ (Tender Loving Care; TLC (Tender Loving Care) is an expression, describing extra attention to make someone or something look or feel better), and compassion, to college students and the instructors during the uncertain times and as we move forward.
Article
Full-text available
Digital literacy competence (DL) is an important capacity for students’ learning in a rapidly changing world. However, little is known about the empirical structure of DL. In this paper, we review major DL assessment frameworks and explore the dimensionality of DL from an empirical perspective using assessment data collected using authentic software applications, rather than simulated assessment environments. Secondary analysis on representative data collected from primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong using unidimensional and multidimensional item response theory reveals a general dimension of digital literacy performance and four specific, tool-dependent dimensions. These specific DL dimensions are defined by the software applications that students use and capture commonality among students’ performance that is due to their familiarity with the assessment tools and contexts. The design of DL assessment is discussed in light of these findings, with particular emphasis on the influence of the nature of digital applications and environments used in assessment on the DL achievement scores measured.
Article
Full-text available
Well-planned online learning experiences are meaningfully different from courses offered online in response to a crisis or disaster. Colleges and universities working to maintain instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic should understand those differences when evaluating this emergency remote teaching.
Article
Full-text available
Engaging in an online course has traditionally been perceived to be a lonely experience, with students busy viewing video lectures, working on problem sets and interacting intermittently with others using asynchronous technologies. More recently, over the past 6 – 7 years, online courses have become recognized as viable delivery vehicles for online courses in Higher Education because they have made traditional pedagogical strategies available to large audiences through a heavy reliance primarily on asynchronous technologies. In contrast to this direction this paper outlines an approach to a fully online program that attempts to build community using a broad sampling of both synchronous and asynchronous technologies. The case study reported here is derived from a series of qualitatively analyzed discussions conducted by various stakeholders in the program. The major findings point to a reconceptualization of the way social and cognitive presence can play out in online learning.
Article
Full-text available
This study profiles the digital readiness of university students in Georgia and Ukraine for fully online collaborative learning, theorized as an educational pathway to democratic transformation. The Digital Competency Profiler was used to gather data from 150 students in Georgia and 129 in Ukraine about their digital competences. The analysis grouped students into high-, medium- and low-readiness segments for 52 actions in technical, communicational, informational and computational dimensions. Findings show that large percentages of Georgian and Ukrainian students are ill-prepared for many online-learning activities, and there is generally greater readiness on mobile devices than desktops/laptops. However, large percentages of Ukrainian students appear in high-readiness segments for communicating online and using social networks. In Georgia, many students report high-readiness for technical and computational interactions. Therefore, the researchers recommend using the digital-readiness data in tandem with a well-chosen, online-learning framework to align these patterns of strengths with future educational innovation.
Article
Full-text available
This meta-analysis of the experimental literature of distance education (DE) compares different types of interaction treatments (ITs) with other DE instructional treatments. ITs are the instructional and/or media conditions designed into DE courses, which are intended to facilitate student–student (SS), student–teacher (ST), or student–content (SC) interactions. Seventy-four DE versus DE studies that contained at least one IT are included in the meta-analysis, which yield 74 achievement effects. The effect size valences are structured so that the IT or the stronger IT (i.e., in the case of two ITs) serve as the experimental condition and the other treatment, the control condition. Effects are categorized as SS, ST, or SC. After adjustment for methodological quality, the overall weighted average effect size for achievement is 0.38 and is heterogeneous. Overall, the results support the importance of the three types of ITs and strength of ITs is found to be associated with increasing achievement outcomes. A strong association is found between strength and achievement for asynchronous DE courses compared to courses containing mediated synchronous or face-to-face interaction. The results are interpreted in terms of increased cognitive engagement that is presumed to be promoted by strengthening ITs in DE courses.
Chapter
The growing global attention to online learning, particularly in light of COVID-19, has spurred interest in systematic, robust, and pedagogically sound approaches to online learning like the fully online learning community (FOLC) model. FOLC consists of three overlapping dimensions—social presence, cognitive presence, and collaborative learning—which can function within fully online or hybrid digital spaces. FOLC thus supports the establishment of vibrant online learning communities. This chapter extends prior theoretical and empirical work on FOLC and highlights supportive and challenging academic interactions. Readiness to work within FOLC environments requires developing a range of 21st century competencies, such as complex problem solving and social negotiation, to effectively use the selected digital affordances and collaborate with others. These abilities and potential readiness interventions are addressed here as an intrinsic part of the model. The chapter concludes with reports of several empirical studies that explore the efficacy of the FOLC model.
Article
During the COVID-19 pandemic, universities around the globe frantically and emergently switched to remote teaching. This commentary provides the perspective from a teaching and learning center about the difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning, plus suggestions for preparing for an online fall semester.
Conference Paper
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development calls for immediate paradigmatic shifts in how educational institutions and the broader society address employment skills. A wide variety of local and global sources, including trade magazines, government sites, and pan-governmental sites, echo this urgent call, recommending increased emphasis on skills development in complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. The overarching aim of the Global Educational Learning Observatory (GELO) project is to develop a framework for creating an international network of institutions utilizing data-driven and science-informed evidence of best practices in online and mobile learning, while endeavoring to reach out to a large variety of individuals in formal and informal educational institutions globally. To achieve this, the project aims to (i) assemble a nucleus of formal educational institutions; (ii) construct the necessary tools to extend research on formal learning models; and (iii) reach into workplaces and more public spaces to integrate with informal learning settings. The primary source of data derives from a customizable dashboard, the Global Readiness Explorer (GREx), and a variety of quantitative tools that may be implemented within it. In addition, local initiatives and the development of overarching policies will require the use of qualitative and mixed methodologies for the collection and analysis of textual, video. and other types of artifacts to supplement the quantitative data. In GELO, partner institutions can use the broad range of data types to make decisions about course and professional learning offerings in response to the needs identified through analysis of the data. The results of this project will allow the project team to use digital technology tools to more fully explore informal learning settings around the world as a means of transforming our common understandings of traditional, institutional, and more contemporary, lifelong learning trends.
An entry in Whitepaper: Disruption in and by Centres for Teaching and Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic leading the future of Higher Ed
  • R Vanoostveen
R. vanOostveen (Aug. 24, 2020). "Using digital technology and fully online readiness surveys to develop skills and competencies." An entry in Whitepaper: Disruption in and by Centres for Teaching and Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic leading the future of Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.docdroid.com/L0khasC/whitepaper-disruption-in-and-by-centres-for-teachingandlearning-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-leading-the-future-of-higher-ed-21-08-2020-pdf
The Effects of Generative Strategies in Instructional Simulations on Learning, Cognitive Load, and Calibration Accuracy
  • J R Morrison
J.R. Morrison. "The Effects of Generative Strategies in Instructional Simulations on Learning, Cognitive Load, and Calibration Accuracy." Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Dissertation, STEM Education & Professional Studies, 2013. DOI: 10.25777/dg4e-nz92 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/stemps_etds/83
Student Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching: Impacts of Instructor Practice on Student Learning, Engagement, and Well-Being
  • R J Petillion
  • W S Mcneil
R.J. Petillion and W.S. McNeil. "Student Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching: Impacts of Instructor Practice on Student Learning, Engagement, and Well-Being." J. Chem. Educ. 97 (9), 2486-2493. 2020. Retrieved from https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00733
COVID-19 Pandemic: Academic impacts on postsecondary students in Canada. In StatsCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada
  • A Doreleyers
  • T Knighton
A. Doreleyers and T. Knighton. "COVID-19 Pandemic: Academic impacts on postsecondary students in Canada. In StatsCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00015-eng.pdf?st=Uh_NKRCC
Implementing Deeper Learning and 21st Century Education Reforms: Building an Education Renaissance After a Global Pandemic
  • T Boyd
Boyd, T. "Education Reform in Ontario: Building Capacity Through Collaboration." In F.M. Reimers (Ed.) Implementing Deeper Learning and 21st Century Education Reforms: Building an Education Renaissance After a Global Pandemic. Springer. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-57039-2.pdf