The project started looking at the broader spectrum of remote education during research. After a field trip to Dublin and brainstorm workshops the decision was made to focus on the teachers and students at home as this area showed the need for improvement to the current standard. Bringing the classroom home focuses on the transition of switching from on-campus to fully remote education at home and the hardware solutions that can help improve these situations for both teachers and students. Teacher’s pedagogical education does not prepare them to be online teachers and does not focus on things like the need to create engaging content and live lectures that includes and interact with the students on the other end of the screen. The Classmate Live is an all-in-one solution with optimized camera and audio to serve the live streaming and content creation needs of the online teachers. The device is adjustable in height and together with its extra wide curved display allows for ergonomically improved freedom whether you want to sit down or stand up during your lectures. Running Webex UniversityOS, inspired by streaming platforms such as Twitch, allows the teachers to easily transition between programs and input from external devices like a laptop. The Classmate Live allows for interactive and engaging live sessions without the clutter of various products on the desk. Keeping the workspace clean and easy to use, even if you are not a tech wizard. The students are challenged by the fact they tend to feel alone on the other side of the screen, lectures are not built for remote learning in the first place. Keeping a student’s attention and engagement level up can be quite challenging. The Classmate Connect products allow the user to transform a TV or display into an extended online learning environment in one’s living room. It consists of the Connect Hub and the Connect Camera combined together with Webex University app on one’s smartphone or tablet allows for remote control and transforms every living room into an interactive learning experience. a digital assistant allows for voice control and the Connect camera recognizes in session gestures like raising one’s hand to imitate classroom interactions as much as possible.

This study investigates teachers and students challenges in online classes during Covid-19.  Also, the effectiveness of using technology devices in online English classrooms. There are frequent opportunities for students to be actively engaged in the classroom whereas in the online classroom these differences respond a little diversely. In addition, challenges for teachers arose since students should be motivated and involved in the lessons. However, online education has revolutionized the education industry. Learning a foreign language through a computer has been an important issue only for people that have had an interest in this field, but nowadays digital tools are very important and much related to teaching and learning in the global educational process. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, all schools and other educational institutions realized that technology is the tool that they should use since everything was different than it used to be. Previous experimental researches in this field have been positively impacted by the use of technology. In this paper, I present the analysis of different research studies which are focused on switching to distance learning during the initial stage of Covid-19. This study investigates the challenges that teachers encounter in their teaching during the initial stages of Covid-19. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of the studies which include the possible challenges that teachers and students encounter during online classes. Therefore, I also investigate the most effective digital tools in 2L learning and the participants’ attitudes towards learning.

This study aimed to explore and understand the University of Cape Town student perceptions and lived experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) during COVID-19. COVID-19 is a communicable disease instigated by a novel virus (SARS CoV-2 virus). After the inevitable subsequent national lockdown of South Africa, the university placed ERTL measures in place for the second quarter of the first semester to curb the impact of the virus on its students while also enabling learning and teaching activities to continue remotely. ERTL meant that learning and teaching activities were ‘rapidly' shifted from face-to-face learning to remote learning. This study reports on the 707 students who responded to an online survey while engaged in their online courses. The Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (SAMR) and Andersons' Online Learning Model were used to engage with students on the use of technology that enabled their interaction with lecturers, each other, learning and teaching activities, and other remote learning resources. Understanding the student experiences was achieved through a mixed-method study approach that involved undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Google form online surveys, with both open and closed ended questions with some using the 5-point Likert scale ratings, were distributed using social media platforms and university email system to students in order to collect the data. MAXQDA and Excel software were later utilised to analyse and code the data. Findings for this study indicate that the ERTL experience of the participants during the COVID-19 pandemic presented both opportunities and barriers. Some of the perceived opportunities by students were flexibility and convenience, pedagogical improvements, time saving, self-directed learning (working anytime they want and creating and managing their working schedule), and spending time with family. Interestingly enough, some of these benefits turned out to be challenges for some of the students. Hence, some of the barriers students perceived were distractions, internet connectivity and technical issues, inequitable living and environment conditions, lack of hands-on experience and how this made their degree feel incomplete and difficult, mental health issues, and many other barriers. The disciplinary faculties that experienced most of the obstacles and difficulties associated with ERTL were those whose academic experience depended on practical work in labs and studios or needed software that can only be accessed through labs and would need a specific operating system. The carrying out of this research will help ensure the effectiveness, investment, and continual integration of technology in future programs that involve learning and teaching.

The global COVID-19 pandemic plunged higher education, and particularly its teaching modalities, into unprecedented turmoil compelling unintended recourse to remote instructional modalities which have become widely known as Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). To ensure continuity of learning, institutions of higher education resorted to just-in-time instructional design strategies that spawned significantly divergent nuances in a confounding spectrum. Stress levels among faculty and students soared as a result. This research study was conducted to identify the dominant themes among reported interventions in numerous research studies on ERT in Higher Education. These themes were compared with the tenets of an existing just-in-time Instructional Design framework, the Rapid Instructional Design. Differences and similarities were identified in order to streamline prospective interventions for ERT. This study provides a set of implications that may serve as a guidepost for all stakeholders of education in higher institutes of learning, and especially for instructional designers (IDs), faculty, administrators, and policy makers. / Doctor of Philosophy / The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on institutions of higher learning was unprecedentedly tumultuous. Stress levels among faculty and students soared as a result. While most of higher education institutions sought continuity of instructions and learning, there was the need to switch into an emergency remote mode of teaching that necessitated just-in-time instructional design interventions. These interventions spawned significantly divergent nuances in a confounding spectrum. This research study was conducted to identify the dominant themes among reported interventions in numerous research studies on ERT in Higher Education during the pandemic. The themes were matched with the tenets of an existing just-in-time instructional design framework, the Rapid Instructional Design. The differences and similarities that emerged were identified to streamline prospective interventions for ERT. This study provides a set of implications that may serve as a guidepost not only for designing instructions for emergency teaching, but for any just-in-time instructional design need to all stakeholders of education in higher institutes of learning, and especially for IDs, faculty, administrators, and policy makers.

The corona pandemic caused restrictions to be implemented on March 18 on how universityteaching should be conducted. This meant that all teaching formats would be conducted remotely, internationally this came to be described as emergency remote teaching, which has brought about several consequences for students. The purpose of the study has been to understand the positive and negative effects students experienced by studying remotely. To investigate this, Karasek's and Theorell's demand-control and support model and Collins' theoretical concepts of emotional energy have been used. This has been studied through a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews as a research method. The results that have been identified are that students have experienced an increased flexibility with distance learning that entails a better perceived control of the study environment. The study has also identified that social relations have deteriorated, that instrumental support is inadequate, that the study environment has added more distractions and concentration difficulties, that reflection and discussion space has deteriorated, and the form of study has meant that the students experienced insufficient emotional and network support. The study has also identified that small study groups via zoom provide a better space for discussion and reflection than other forms of distance learning. / Coronapandemin gjorde att restriktioner implementerades den 18 mars för hur universitetsundervisning skulle bedrivas. Detta medförde att alla undervisningsformat skulle bedrivas på distans, internationellt kom detta att beskrivas som emergency remote teaching, vilket medfört en rad konsekvenser för studenter. Syftet med studien har varit att förstå vilka positiva och negativa effekter studenter upplevt med att studera på distans. För att undersöka detta har Karaseks och Theorells krav-kontroll- och stödmodellen och Collins teoretiska begrepp om emotionell energi använts. Detta har studerats genom en kvalitativ forskningsansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer som forskningsmetod. De resultat som har identifierats är att studenter har upplevt en ökad flexibilitet med distansundervisningen som medför en bättre upplevd kontroll av studiemiljön. Studien har även identifierat att sociala relationer försämrats, att det instrumentella stödet är bristfälligt, att studiemiljön har tillfört fler distraktioner och koncentrationssvårigheter, att reflektion- och diskussionsutrymme har försämrats samt har studieformen medfört att studenterna upplevt ett otillräckligt emotionellt- och nätverksstöd. Vid studien har det även identifierats att små studiegrupper via zoom medför ett bättre diskussion- och reflektionsutrymme än andra former av distansundervisning.

The covid-19 and the restrictions imposed by the lockdown affected educational institutions across the world and forced them to adopt a new way of teaching called emergency remoteteaching and learning.This master thesis focuses on challenges to teach mathematics remotely experienced bysecondary school teachers during this period. The data collection was conducted through semistructured interviews among secondary school mathematics teachers, active in the Covid-19lockdown. The collected data is analyzed and discussed from the theory of connectivismperspective and research findings are produced and structured based on the themes resultedfrom the literature review. The findings show that mathematics teachers encountered many challenges with the process of teaching especially due to the rapid transfer from traditionalclassroom teaching to online classes. Teachers’ knowledge and skills in using Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools are identified as main factors for a successful andeffective tuition in remote mathematics. The respondents see the opportunities in using ICT intheir teaching processes both from their perspective but also from the student perspective. The conclusions of this master thesis research show that use of ICT tools and platforms in teachingmathematics remotely is effective as extra tools and not as a complete and permanent substitutefor traditional classes. As a suggestion, remote teaching may be seen as a valuable alternativeif the actual pedagogical strategies are adapted, and ICT courses are introduced in the teacher’seducation. Yet, there are not enough studies to support this idea and the findings in this studyand more research could help to get a better understanding. The thesis offers suggestions forfurther research regarding remote mathematics teaching both from the challenges point of view but also in regard to the advantages remote teaching may imply.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore faculty members’ accounts of their experiences as first-time online instructors during the Spring 2020 academic semester as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting mandatory shift to online instruction. The rapid and widespread nature of the outbreak created an unprecedented phenomenon that significantly impacted instructors with no prior experience teaching courses in a fully online fashion. I interviewed 10 professors from various disciplines with at least three years of teaching experience in the traditional classroom. Each instructor was asked to express how the pandemic affected them personally as well as how the mandatory shift to online instruction affected their teaching style. They were also asked to describe the role that institutional support played in their experiences during the pandemic and to share their feelings regarding how COVID-19 has altered the future of higher education. The analysis of this data identified the following common themes: the instructor, the discipline, the students, survival and adaptation, innovation and evolution, on-camera presence and etiquette, synchronous versus asynchronous, administrative leadership, technical support, the new normal and the lasting effects, the balance between in-person and remote instruction, and the notion that higher education is moving forward to a new reality rather than backward to a pre-COVID-19 atmosphere. These results can benefit institutional leadership and faculty in the development of hybrid and online courses.

Instructional design is commonly referred to as the systematic process of creating consistent and reliable learning experiences (Branch & Merrill, 2011). Built on a foundation of learning theory and instructional design theory, instructional design relies heavily on various process models to guide design practice (Stefaniak & Xu, 2020) and to manage and communicate the process of design (Branch & Dousay, 2015). Despite their use, scholars argue that these models do not accurately represent instructional design practice (Bichelmeyer et al., 2006; Rowland, 1992; Smith & Boling, 2009; Visscher-Voerman & Gustafson, 2004; Wedman & Tessmer, 1993) and remain too focused on high-level processes rather than discrete methods and actions (Gibbons et al., 2014). In recent years, human-centered design (HCD) methods have emerged within instructional design practice, providing more methodological guidance for instructional designers within an empathetic design perspective (Stefaniak & Xu, 2020). HCD includes codesign practices (Steen, 2012)that seek to involve users directly throughout the design process. The current study explores the design experiences of 12 participant designers (e.g., teachers, digital coaches) who were purposely selected to engage in a seven-week codesign experience. Tasked with providing direction on resources designed to support K-12 teachers with online and hybrid teaching, these participant designers worked together to share previous teaching experiences, analyze teacher data, and identify and develop learning prototypes. Interviews with eight participant designers following the codesign experience revealed that participants viewed the project as open and ill-defined, lacking in a clear outcome and identified roles and responsibilities. As the codesign continued, participants described impactful moments that clarified the design project and shifted the design process to a focus on details. While the end product of design was described by participants generally, participants viewed their experiences and perspectives as their major contributions to the design process. Results from this investigation reveal important implications for design practice, education, and research.

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and with the closure of schools, the question of how to continue schooling became a major challenge in education systems (Kong, 2020). Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) has since become the only solution to continue the learning process. Moving instruction to ERTL is based on the assumption that virtual learning can be effective in K-12 settings during times of disaster. The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi teachers' experiences in leading ERTL in K-12 settings and employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. This study included six K-12 public schools in Saudi Arabia from different educational levels. Participants were asked to share their perspectives and experiences with ERTL through open-ended questions. The findings revealed the experiences of K-12 teachers during the quick transition to ERTL (redesign support, technological, pedagogical, and classroom management training), the changes that occurred in their practice (teaching and assessment strategies), the implementation of ERTL (challenges and other aspects), the impact of ERTL after the pandemic, and the lessons learned from the crisis. The results of this study suggest that a curse may be turned into a blessing by incorporating the experience of ERTL (using technology, lesson design, and online activities) into the school agenda on a regular basis. In doing so, teachers and students may develop important digital competencies and be better prepared for the next emergency. The implications of our findings and limitations are also discussed. / Doctor of Philosophy / Due to the urgent need for those in the education profession to change teaching modes, Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) which is defined as "a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances. It involves the use of fully remote teaching solutions for instruction or education that would otherwise be delivered face-to-face or as blended or hybrid courses and that will return to that format once the crisis or emergency has abated." (Hodges et al., 2020). ERTL came to serve all levels of learners in response to the crisis of COVID-19. The use of ERTL was unplanned, but helped to assure continuity of learning. This rapid shift forced faculty to take courses that were designed for in-classroom teaching, and transition them to an online learning format, causing challenges to teachers and students. The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi teachers' experiences in leading Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTL) in K-12 settings, and employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. This study included six K-12 public schools in Saudi Arabia from different educational levels. Participants were asked to share their perspectives and experiences with ERTL through open-ended questions. The findings revealed the experiences of K-12 teachers during the quick transition to ERTL (redesign support, technological, pedagogical, and classroom management training), the changes that occurred in their practice (teaching and assessment strategies), the implementation of ERTL (challenges and other aspects), the impact of ERTL after the pandemic, and the lessons learned from the crisis. The results of this study suggest that a curse may be turned into a blessing by incorporating the experience of ERTL (using technology, lesson design, and online activities) into the school agenda on a regular basis. In this way, teachers and students may develop important digital competencies, and be better prepared for the next emergency. The implications of our findings and limitations were also discussed.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, universities throughout the United States closed their campuses and transitioned their face-to-face courses to remote learning. The unprecedented transition created a unique learning and teaching environment. This case-based qualitative study investigates the experiences of business professors from a prestigious school of business that taught during the transition. Findings derived from the digital Likert survey instrument completed by all the business faculty and semi-structured interviews of selected business faculty. Some of the topics of the survey and interviews included communicating with students, developing the learning management system course content, delivering asynchronous material, delivering synchronous classes, and providing instructional feedback. Findings included a significant growth in business professor's perceived skillset in almost all topics, an interest in further developing skills, and an interest in adopting the new skills in future face-to-face courses. Through NVIVO analysis of the interviews, four thematical elements were identified: faculty efficacy, faculty training, course delivery, rapport. The study investigated a deep wholistic view of the data presented and provided an extensive in-depth description of the social phenomenon. A practical framework for incorporating the identified themes was developed for business schools needing to establish and maintain online business programs.