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Teaching and Learning Transformation in The Time of The Coronavirus Crisis
Teaching and Learning Transformation in The Time of The Coronavirus Crisis
Research
To cite this article: Geoffrey Dick, Asli Yagmur Akbulut & Vic Matta (2020) Teaching and learning
transformation in the time of the Coronavirus crisis, Journal of Information Technology Case and
Application Research, 22:4, 243-255, DOI: 10.1080/15228053.2020.1861420
ABSTRACT
The education landscape changed almost overnight from the in-
person mode to online due to the onslaught of the ongoing pan
demic, Covid19. As educators, we have a responsibility to build an
online teaching environment that attempts to be as equal as
possible to its face-to-face counterpart, one that will not suffer
from the perception that online classes and programs are
somewhat second-rate. We call for the establishment of a “gold-
standard” for online classes which can serve as a benchmark for
fully or partially online classes. There are implications for extensive
research into the way in which we offer higher education online
classes. The increased dependence on online platforms for course
management and video conferencing requires these systems to be
as seamless, , and inclusive as possible.
Introduction
“ . . . Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give
birth to them, but . . . life obliges them over and over again to give birth to
themselves.” Source: Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
take on a much stronger self-management role. Almost a year since the first
case of Covid19 in China, millions of students are still taking classes in some
kind of mixed mode varying from completely online to partially online.
2
Source: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/042815/how-coursera-works-makes-money.asp#:~:text=
Its%20base%20of%20users%2C%20who,%2465.48%20billion%20worldwide%20by%202026.
3
Source: https://www.classcentral.com/report/edx-2019-year-review.
4
Source UNESCO reports 1.5 billion for all students https://en.unesco.org/news/13-billion-learners-are-still-affected-
school-university-closures-educational-institutions.
JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CASE AND APPLICATION RESEARCH 245
The next challenge that needs to be addressed is: what can be done to achieve
an effective and satisfactory “new normal”? At this point, it seems likely that
online classes in their various modes (fully online, hybrid, blended, flipped)
will continue for many students in their university studies for at least the
foreseeable future. Through necessity at this time, university administrations
have sought solutions to get them through the current crisis in terms of both
the health of academics and students, and the potential loss in revenue
streams.
As most will recognize, the approaches have been motivated by multiple
goals. Educational institutions must minimize loss associated with declining
enrollments and continue academic progression of students. They must bal
ance this with the interest in minimizing health risks associated with proximity
issues with in-class instruction, and with residential students in the dormitory
and cafeteria. Institutions are moving forward in the following tactical ways.
5
An approach to learning where delivery of education takes place is several modes – online, face to face, or recorded
and students have the option of choosing and moving between options.
248 G. DICK ET AL.
While most institutions have had little choice but to adopt some of the above
solutions, a comprehensive strategic approach for the longer term has been
missing. The pandemic continues to persist and we continue to grab at quick-
fix solutions. Whatever the short or medium-term outcomes, the very tenacity
of this pandemic will ensure that we will be forced to continue our love affair
with current online teaching practices. We, therefore have an opportunity to
undertake online education’s next renaissance, knowing it will be around
seemingly well into the future.
It is necessary for us to recognize that many students, particularly undergrad
uate students, enroll at universities for the extra-curricular activities and social life
that college campuses offer. Schools routinely include the Students Activities
Center on their campus during the student recruitment tours. In the US and
several other countries, for most students, “College” is an opportunity to leave
home and experience a different side of life to help them develop independently
into professionals. Traditionally, undergraduate students enroll themselves in
higher education programs for the full “on campus” experience. To quote Sophie
Quinn, the UK undergraduate student who started a petition for fee refunds, “Last
time I checked I didn’t sign up to The Open University” (Quinn, 2020).
There is a perception that students learn by being in the physical class
room and that this does not work quite as well in a virtual environment. We
can perhaps overcome this perception by comprehending the inherent
nuances between the two environments. The technology provides both
a platform and an opportunity for learning activities to take place in an
online environment to achieve the same learning objectives. Students can
successfully complete hands-on exercises, group, and/or individual projects
and participate in meaningful discussions when they are provided with the
resources and instructions to guide them in the process, are kept motivated
and on schedule with regular communication and feedback. In the online
learning environment students can also participate in small-group discus
sions and develop reports in breakout “rooms”, work on shared documents
and develop computer programs. Professors can use the document editors to
provide meaningful feedback, and students can listen to any part of
JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CASE AND APPLICATION RESEARCH 249
cope will benefit from the increased flexibility. They will be able to use
their enhanced skills in these areas in the workplace.
(3) Reassess their need for a “college degree” right now: Widespread accep
tance of online classes may also mean greater acceptance of “as needed”
learning, or, learning directly based on job needs. The online delivery
mode levels the playing field for attracting students to professional
online educational systems such as Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs), EdX, Coursera, Udemy, in comparison to traditional college
driven higher education.
Conclusions
To sum up – given the status of research to date, we suggest that it is time to
look again at the long-term implications for online education. We see two
essential issues here.
(1) The environment in which online classes are offered must be robust
enough to be seen to equal that provided face-to-face. This environ
ment, which provides assurance of student performance, needs to be
assessed against a standard that will ensure the transfer and develop
ment of knowledge and skills.
(2) The landscape is changing – there is an urgent need to review and
research the role that online classes might play in what we perhaps
might begin to think of as the “new normal.” We should not leave this to
serendipity or the whims of university administrations.
Universities will find themselves under enormous financial pressures over the
next year or two and the temptation of online classes will seem to provide a way
to muddle through. The Covid19 virus raging at the moment has presented us
with an opportunity to focus on this form of pedagogy and showcase its benefits
JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CASE AND APPLICATION RESEARCH 253
to the world. If we do not address the shortcomings above, we will see online
education continue to suffer from its current ailments. Maybe something good
can come out of the current maelstrom – let us take this opportunity to remake
the landscape for the new pedagogical paradigm of tomorrow.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to Professor Shailendra Palvia for
his extensive efforts in providing invaluable guidance, insights and suggestions. These have
greatly improved the quality of our paper – we are very grateful to him.
Notes on contributors
Geoffrey Dick is at St John’s University in NYC. Twenty-five years of teaching online or
remotely has had given him several opportunities to watch the rebirth of online education.
He has been President of the Association of Information Systems’ Special Interest Group on
Education three times and is a long-term track cochair of the AMCIS Education track. His
research (100+ publications) is mainly in online education—he is the recipient of the ICIS prize
for best paper in education and was awarded the 2009 Emerald Management Review Citation
of Excellence for one of the best papers published worldwide. He has taught classes in many
countries, including the prestigious programs of the ESAN Summer School in Lima, Peru, the
CETYS International Summer Program in Ensenada, at ITAM in Mexico City, and been
a visiting fellow at UC Davis, University of Malaya, Tec de Monterrey in Mexico, University
of Agder in Norway.
Asli Yagmur Akbulut is a Professor of Information Systems at Grand Valley State University.
She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Information Systems and Decision Sciences from
Louisiana State University. She also holds an M.B.A. degree. Her research interests include IS
education, business analytics, and enterprise systems. She is an SAP-certified business associate
and an ERPsim certified instructor. Her work has appeared in publications including the
Communications of the ACM, Communications of the AIS, Decision Sciences, Journal of
Computer Information Systems, and Journal of Information Systems Education. She has
served as the President of the AIS Special Interest Group on Education and organized the pre-
ICIS SIGED conference for many years, served as an associate editor for the Communications
of the AIS, and is a long-term chair of the IS Education Track at AMCIS. She has received
numerous awards including the Teaching Excellence Award and Outstanding Educator Award.
Vic Matta is an Associate Professor in the Analytics & Information Systems Department at the
College of Business, Ohio University. He received his Ph.D. in 2008 in Industrial Systems. Vic
teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Business Analytics and Strategic Use of
Information Systems. He also conducts seminars in business consulting and project manage
ment in our executive education workshops. He is an accomplished teacher and has won
several awards at the college and university. He has published in several academic journals and
has many editorial engagements. These include editorial boards for multiple journals, associate
editorship for multiple conference tracks and programs, as well as co-editorship for the special
issue on online education for this journal (JITCAR). His research areas include consumer
behavior, analytics applications and pedagogy. He presents regularly at Information Systems
Conferences and is an active member of the Association of Information Systems.
254 G. DICK ET AL.
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