University Education in A Covid-19 World
University Education in A Covid-19 World
University Education in A Covid-19 World
Abstract
The COVID pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives and none more so than how we provide
education to thousands of university students in a locked-down world. Up to now the use of technology
and engagement with students has followed a very traditional and standard approach. Universities and
institutes have provided online learning platforms where technology was used as a support in limited
ways. As academics and students were forced to isolate, technology solutions came to the forefront to
provide an active learning environment. This paper examines the use of these technologies to provide
interactive training and support to students. We reflect on different methods used for student
engagement in providing lectures, laboratories, and tutorial support. Universities struggle to provide
assessment methods that adequately evaluate the student’s knowledge and understanding of the subject
matter. Here we reflect upon and evaluate some of the lessons we have learned about how COVID has
changed our perception of technology in education.
Keywords: education, management learning platforms keywords, student engagement, on-line
technology
1. INTRODUCTION
As the impact of the global pandemic began to take effect in 2020 every aspect of life was affected and
none more so than the education sector. Universities and institutes in the middle of their academic term
were suddenly closed and they had to improvise and develop methods of online content and resources
to students that were distributed nationally and internationally in lockdown. The challenges faced by
these institutes to continue as “normal” required systems, academics and students to adapt on a daily
basis. Many universities have centers for teaching and learning that provide support and resource to both
students and academics. However, these centers assume an on-campus university model where learning
is provided in formal learning environments. Many seismic shifts in educational pedagogy from formal
learning towards informal learning and from a knowledge focus towards a skills focus are being
implemented but sometimes at a slow and reluctant pace.
Jay Cross, in his research on workplace learning approach, viewed learning no about the transfer of
knowledge, but should be about performing and working better[1]. Technology is having a profound
effect on all aspects of education and online education in Covid has accelerated this process[2]. The
impact of technology on education has been steadily increasing for the last 10 years. Some of the
pioneering and leading universities have embraced this change and created professional online course
delivery such as MIT opencourseware[3]. Others like Udemy and coursera are on-line platforms offering
a number of peer-reviewed courses taught by professional tutors globally. Covid has accelerated the
growth in education platforms over the last 18 months. Most universities had to develop online course
delivery from a “standing start” away from traditional modes of education.
Most Universities have learning management systems which provide platforms that include learning
systems, course management systems, content management systems, portals, and instructional
management systems[4]. The use of these systems vary dramatically within and across different
universities and also in the degree to which staff engage with the full range of their features. Typically,
a learning management system provides an instructor with a way to create and deliver content, monitor
student participation and assess student performance. As a result of Covid, learning management
systems were used to provide content and other interactive features such as threaded discussions, video
conferencing and discussion forums. Some popular LMS’s used by educational institutions include
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Moodle, Blackboard Learn and Schoology Table 1. Popular enterprise-level LMS’s include Adobe
Captivate Prime, Docebo LMS, TalentLMS, iSpring Learn and eFront[5].
Most universities and institutes however engaged with technology through their LMS. In most cases
90% of students were located on physical campuses where lectures tutorials and laboratories were
delivered face to face. Most of the interaction with students followed traditional modes of interaction
with technology to support teaching and resources. Assessment also followed classical examination
methods with the requirement to have less 100% exams in order to reduce stress on students and
recognising the fact that not all students perform well in exam situations.
A number of countries are proactive in implementing change for example the Higher Education authority
(HEA) Ireland, Innovation and Transformation Programme, aims at enhancing the digital attributes and
educational experiences of Irish university students through enabling the mainstreamed and integrated
use of digital technologies across the teaching and learning process. The project aims to mainstream
digital in teaching and learning activities in Irish Universities, by addressing the professional
development of all who teach or support teaching and learning. In the context of Covid-19, in May 2020
the project re-focused to support a move to a more blended approach to teaching and learning in the
academic year 2020/21[6].
2. COVID WORLD
2.1. Pre-Covid
Educational institutions normally operate on a structured academic calendar and any plans or changes
to this are slow to happen with curriculum modifications requiring up to two years. Over 80% of students
are physically on-campus and the structure and delivery of courses were previously based on this
physical model. The diversity of students has and is changing from traditional college entrance to mature
and adult learners requiring reskilling or upskilling. The requirement to be on-campus for the changed
student cohorts is, in many cases, impractical and restrictive. Participation in education has changed
from long established models to learning throughout each person’s working life. In many was a
technology changes it is crucial to up skill to meet an increasingly digitalised economy. The labour
market will change in a post-COVID-19 world and to reduce the increased number of unemployed
retrain is essential [7].
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In the pre COVID or BC “Before Covid” on-line courses by universities represented a very small aspect
of delivery. Companies tended to use online training as a means to improve efficiency of employee time
and reduce time away from the organisation. Even before Covid the growth in education technology or
ed-tech had reached investments of over 20 billion dollars and projected growth in online education
expected to reach 300 billion dollars by 2025[8]. The real impact of online ed-tech is its ability to reach
a global market using language apps, video conference tools or mobile apps Figure 1.
2.2 Post-Covid
The last 18 months of online education have provided us with a large amount of unexpected data and
insights on the positives and negatives from this experience both from a technological point of view and
the delivery an assessment for both academics and students. Online education it's not something that can
be switched on and provided generically across the world. Limitations of adequate technology, internet
access, computer equipment and necessary digital skills. The engagement of students and the ability of
academics to delivering traditional work-based learning online is a real challenge[9].
One and a half billon students around the world, according to UNESCO, were engaged in remote
learning at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 [10]. The main challenges of post
COVID education were the delivery of content to students in different geographic locations where
technology access varied significantly. The Internet connectivity for students varied considerability,
resulting in quality of service provision ranging from megabits per second to no connectivity. Fixed
broadband access rates vary depending on the particular technology being used and the service being
accessed, from file transfer, email access, interactive video and live streaming. Mobile technologies such
as the rollout of 5G has enabled access via smartphones and tablets. Broadband access depending on
one's location can vary significantly see Figure 2.
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The average broadband download speed in the U.S. is now 7.12 megabits per second, while the average
upload speed is 2.42Mbps, according to the report "US Residential Broadband Speeds Accelerate,"
based on an In-Stat survey[11][12].
The second challenge for academics and tutors was to deliver content to students, some had no previous
experience of teaching online or at a distance, new approaches to teaching and learning and imaginative
ways to engage students. Some try to directly transfer classroom delivery methods to online lectures
which failed miserably in engaging students. There is much talk on blended learning and how this can
be used for online teaching, this provides new methods for student engagement Figure 3.
Blended learning have been introduced by universities as it means to engage as the demographic profile
of students changes from face-to face classroom interaction. This allows for the opportunity for a more
flexible approach to learning and allows academics and students explore new and teaching and learning.
Different strategies are used in different combinations to improve learning outcomes[13]. The
motivation for blended learning is that it should enhance and develop skills and competence is to allow
students to adapt to have ever changing workplace[14]. Education systems should develop students with
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the skills for life such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, innovation, digital literacy,
and adaptability. How to achieve and developed his skills for all students is not very clear and it's a very
complex problem that providing a lot of technology and online training may not solve. Moore and
Kearsley [15] identified a number of key reasons in respect to distance education:
Increase access to learning and training as a matter of equity
Provide opportunities for updating skills of the workforce
Improve the cost effectiveness of educational resources
Improve the quality of existing educational structures
Expand the capacity for education in new subject areas
Offer combination of education with work and family life
Add an international dimension to the educational experience
This highlights a different question that needs to be asked, if we embrace this new method of online
education then the concept of regional based campuses may have a limited lifespan in this new world.
Students attending these campuses are typically 70% from the surrounding region; universities provide
accreditation of a degree or other qualification. If this service can be provided online in a blended manner
then the question regarding the function of local universities and institutes arises. We have seen already
the Ivy League universities have engaged with multinational technology companies to provide such
programs. Below is a list of some of the top world ranking Universities offering online courses.
This French institute is known for its top-level research and use of cutting-
Ecole Polytechnique
edge science and technology to expand its academic programs [18].
This online university is one of the biggest platforms where you can take free
online college courses. It is absolutely tuition-free and is an American-
University of the accredited university. It provides open-access learning for higher education
People worldwide[20].
There are several free college courses online offered by Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon
University, one of the most renowned universities in the world. It’s called
University
the Open Learning Initiative[21].
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University of Berkeley has a wide range of free online college courses that they offer
California – through their Open Access University[22].
Berkeley
Another Ivy League school, Yale offers a program called Open Yale Courses
where you can choose from a wide variety of free college courses that you
Yale University can take online[23].
It is important to remember that this is pre-Covid and University Education is a big business. Once these
top-ranked universities engage and offer online programs the next step is getting accreditation from
these universities without having to attend. This opens a mass market for global international education
irrespective of your geographic location. The challenge will be for the many thousands of universities
to compete with this model. One of the concerns which we will discuss later is the downside of online
education is motivating learners. Evidence from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) shows
completion rates as low as 10%. In addition to basic digital skills, online learning requires autonomy
and self-motivation [7].
3. PEDAGOGY OF TEACHING
Jon Andrews talks about pedagogy, Andragogy and Heutogogy where each is separated into teaching
basic skills, implementing structures to enable self-directed and finally establishing an environment
where learners can determine their own goals, learning paths, processes [24]. Online learning post-Covid
has moved to Andragogy and Heutagogy where we move to facilitate and assist learners and act as a
mentor as a sound board Table 3.
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This new approach to online education for universities is an ongoing process and developments in
online, blended and lifelong learning provision, with a focus on next generation pedagogy [25].
examines Intelligent, Distributed, Engaging, Agile and Situated pedagogy.
Where Intelligent pedagogy is an approach to teaching in which technology is used to enhance the
learning experience. Distributed pedagogy refers to shared or distributed ownership of different
elements of the learning journey by different stakeholders in the process. Engaging pedagogy is an
approach to curriculum design and delivery in which learners are encouraged to actively participate in
the learning process. Agile pedagogy refers to flexibility and customisation of the curriculum and the
student experience. Situated pedagogy encompasses the idea of contextualisation of learning and
emphasises the need for curricula with real-world relevance [26].
The perception when people consider online courses is that they are all very similar, traditional online
courses and MOOCs. Traditional online courses, follow classroom curriculum which are delivered
online facilitated by an accredited Universities. MOOCs, however are often short, stand-alone courses.
Lectures are pre-recorded and accessible 24/7. There is no deadline to complete a MOOC and the course
provider does not necessarily have to come from a college or university [27]. A study by Brandon Hall
Group, eLearning takes 40% to 60% less employee time compared to traditional learning (Forbes, 2017).
This results in significant cost savings for example Dow Chemical, which reportedly saved $34 million
as it was able to reduce training course costs from $95 to $11 per learner after shifting from physical
classrooms to corporate eLearning tools [28]. With about 90% of corporations now using online learning
compared to just 4% in 1995 (LinkedIn & KPMG, 2015 & 2018), the business sector is bound to be one
of the biggest growth drivers in the online education industry this decade [29].
It is because of this growing adoption that the global corporate online learning market is expected to
grow to $50 billion by 2026, with an annual growth rate of 15% from 2020 to 2026 (Statistics Market
Research Consulting, 2019)
4. ASSESSMENT METHODS
One of the concerns with regard to the impact of pre Covid is how to assess students that meets the
standards and requirements of the universities. Assessment very dramatically from course the course
and from university to university. Students had options on weekly assignments, reports online and oral
examinations. Both academics and students had to rapidly adjust to this new form of assessment. A
concern sometimes raised was the authenticity of the work submitted. Systems like proctoring were used
to prevent students from cheating, however very few courses many universities or prepared already to
incur the costs associated with this form of assessment. Proctoring in itself can lead to other problems
of student assessment which does not always benefit the student assessment [ ].
The purpose of assessment is to evaluate and make a judgement on the collected material and the
performance of the student. We can consider three methods of assessment that can be examined
formative, summative and Holistic. Whatever one method chosen, assessment should always be based
on clearly defined processes and specific standards rather than on opinions and feelings [ ].
Formative assessment takes place throughout a course. The learner is assessed and given feedback as
they learn rather than at the end of the program. Summative assessment is described as assessment
conducted at predetermined points in the learning process or at the end. Holistic, assesses a range of
skills and knowledge. The methods and tools may assess a number of elements of competence or more
than one competency unit at a time [ ].
Assessment of on-line and distance learning poses numerous challenges were competency-based
programmes are being assessed.
Collecting the material form the student
Interpreting this information meets the learning outcomes.
Making a decision on the student’s level of achievement
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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
ENHANCED FACE-TO-FACELEARNING
ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT
CERTIFICATION
TASKS TOOLS
DIAGNOSTIC
ONLINE
COMPETENCY
TECHNOLOGY INTERACTION
TOOLS
TEACHER STUDENT
VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Fig. 4. Framework of Distance Learning Assessment
Source: (Leroux & Bélair, 2015) presented in the Outil de questionnement pour la planification et la
conception des évaluations d’un cours en FAD
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Utterback model) which demonstrates clearly that Industry implements change fundamentally in
response to threats to its profitability [33]. It should also be noted that in an ideal industrial paradigm,
change will be implemented in whatever timescale is required to neutralise the effects of a perceived
threat. Industrial change is fundamentally pre-emptive in nature as its function is to protect the
organisation from being forced into a position of competitive disadvantage rather than to rescue it.
In the case of an educational institution, the idea of a planning process for institutional change followed
by rapid implementation and 100% achievement of the original targets, exists only in the minds of the
very naive. In sharp contrast to their counterparts in Industry, Universities are reactive in nature.
In many cases, change in Universities is often only in response to massive external influences as opposed
to internal stimuli. Covid is such an element; it will clearly be impossible for universities to revert to
pre-Covid environment. Covid has set the seed of change on all fronts, students, academics, universities
and companies which see a massive new market and opportunity. The question will be, can all
universities survive in this new world?
It is important to understand even though universities have highlighted the success of coping in this new
world, many students and academics have struggled to embrace the changes associated with this new
technology.
6. DISCUSSION
The concept of traditional education has changed radically within the last couple of years as technology
platforms evolve. With the arrival of Covid this transition which was taking place in a progressive
manner was accelerated beyond anyone's expectation in the last 18 months. A number of questions need
to be answered with regard to this shock approach in respect online learning in relation to the technology
and whether it's fit for purpose trauma, the academics and tutors their ability to adapt from traditional
education delivery. The impact to the students is more complex in that it provided a different method of
learning however the environment in which this took place due to covid-19 needs to be examined. Many
students even though had access with other students and supports online they were in a very socially
isolated environment.
One of the major issues is that online education systems that existed prior to Covid pended tended to
provide content using a blended learning approach. The difficulty with these systems with regard two
standards and accreditation very dramatically and lacked formal recognition. No however two
universities and institute are providing online education and using traditional accreditation approaches
for this online delivery. So the problem exists not just about advances or how we engage with students
but how technology is changing our whole education system. Why do we need hundreds of academics
to provide online content when companies like Google and Amazon can recruit leading academics in
each academic field and provide this material on a global scale. The question becomes is it accreditation
from a university work more then accreditation from Google or Amazon.
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Technologies in Learning, 11(6).
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30. https://fortresslearning.com.au/
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