THE EFFICIENCY OF 'ONLINE

EDUCATION' DURING THE

COVID-19 CRISIS
DUHA ALSAYED AHMAD
alsayedahmad.duha@gmail.com
 PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• AN OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT SITUATION IN TURKEY AND HUNGARY.

• MEASURES TAKEN BY THE UNIVERSITIES: WERE THEY READY?
• CHALLENGES IN SWITCHING TO ONLINE EDUCATION
• THE SURVEY: A STUDY OF THE EFFICIENCY OF 'ONLINE EDUCATION' DURING
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
• FUTURE EXPECTATIONS
• INTERNATIONALIZATION DURING COVID-19
• MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
 WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE THE
BREAKOUT OF COVID-19?

Universities Internationalization
switched to was hit as
online transborder
mobility was
learning
restricted due to
The vast borders closure
majority of
European &
Turkish Disruption
universities of research
closed their activities
campuses
 SOME OF THE MEASURES TAKEN BY THE
UNIVERSITIES
• General transformation of learning and teaching from face-to-face learning into online learning

• Hybrid education has become the policy of many universities around the world.

• More than 80% of the HE institutions in Europe indicated that they had in place online repositories for educational
materials, a unit that supports teachers on digitally enhanced learning and teaching, as well as digital skills training (EUA
2020).

• According to The Irish National Digital Experience (INDEx) Survey, 70% of academics had never experienced teaching
online before the pandemic, with similar figures in the UK. Expecting that the results are the same in other European
higher education systems.

• For those international students and staff who were not able to go back to their countries and were in double isolation due
to the pandemic and distance from their established social networks of family and friends, both hosting and sending
universities were trying hard to support them in manifold ways, from psychological counselling and additional financial
support, to extended stays or increased costs of travelling home.
 CHALLENGES

• Some professors’ lack of digital knowledge.

• Autonomous learners may have coped well with working remotely, while students with learning difficulties
may have been overwhelmed.
• Many socially disadvantaged students became even more so during the crisis, and their numbers have likely
increased as many of them might have lost their part time jobs.
• Students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds who lack the means to access technological
devices and proper internet connection may be severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis, increasing
learning inequalities as a result.
• The lack of an appropriate physical space and adequate climate for learning at home for some students.
 THE SURVEY: A STUDY OF THE EFFICIENCY OF 'ONLINE EDUCATION'
DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Students were impressed by:
• The ease of learning online,

• Their increased sense of autonomy and self-regulation as they started learning online at home,

• The accessibility and flexibility of online education.

Procedures/ methods used by teachers which made students’ online experience easier:
• Teachers’ flexibility,

• Well-organization of courses and classes,

• Splitting the class into smaller groups or channels so that each student can have a chance to interact with the other students,

• Providing the class material in advance for the students so they can prepare,

• Recording lectures so they can go back to them later on after the class.
 Challenges students faced in switching to online learning
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Some teachers have a I found it very difficult to I prefer to study from There has not been I found it difficult to I did not face any
low level of pedagogical stay motivated and focus hard materials (books enough direction from organize my study and challenges
digital competence with the teacher and notebooks) rather the school/ university manage my time
than studying digital
materials on my
computer

Column3
• According to the survey, most of the students haven’t received any financial
support from their universities to help them afford the costs of online learning
such as internet connection and an appropriate electronic device to use for study
purposes.
Statements on Online Learning Mean
I am able to easily access the Internet as needed for my studies 4.304

I am comfortable communicating electronically 3.913

I am self-disciplined and find it easy to study by myself at home 3.522

I am able to manage my study time effectively and easily complete 3.609
assignments on time
As a student, I enjoy working independently 3.826
I attend all my online classes and pay attention to the teacher all the time 3.522
I possess sufficient computer keyboarding skills for doing online work 4.304

I can ask my teacher questions and receive a quick response during internet 3.826
activities outside of class.
My teachers reply to my emails and questions constantly 4.087

I feel that face-to-face contact with my instructor is necessary to learn 3.870

 RESHAPING THE WORLD OF HIGHER EDUCATION: FUTURE EXPECTATIONS

• Covid-19 has made education cheaper than ever.

• The current situation has widened access to education and enabled the protection of people and planet

• Increasing the profit as most events and courses are held online.

• To abide by physical distancing measures into the next academic year, most institutions would only be able to
have one-third or less of the students on campus at a given time. This needs diligent planning and instructional
design.
• Over time, this should result in better quality of education that fully considers students’ needs and values the social
experience, be it online, hybrid, or conventional face-to-face education.
• Higher education institutions in Hungary try to provide support, including the option to study remotely in the case
of late arrival or quarantine periods.
• Pre-service training in ICT for teaching may not be enough to ensure effective digital learning. Indeed, as learning
technologies are characterized by a rapid pace of change, it is necessary for teachers to receive in-service training
to update their ICT skills constantly.
INTERNATIONALIZATION DURING COVID-19

• For short-term mobility, such as Erasmus+, some institutions have already cancelled them this
semester or even for the entire academic year, and others are envisaging hybrid or blended
approaches.
• Due to the crisis, the European Commission allowed virtual exchange in (partial) replacement of
physical exchange under the Erasmus+ mobility program.
• Many international students will defer or study at home to avoid quarantines and uncertainties
about the host institutions’ operation modes, as well as the risk of ending up in “online learning
abroad” at relatively high tuition fees.
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Thank you for listening!
 REFERENCES

• https://eua.eu/resources/publications/939:european-higher-education-in-the-covid-19-crisis.html
• http://www.oecd.org/education/Hungary-coronavirus-education-country-note.pdf