Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching in COVID-19 Era: Challenges and Recommendations

Abstract

Technology-enhanced learning and teaching methods have been in literature and for many years now. Many educational institutes all over the world have been using these methods to deliver their programs and degrees. Nevertheless, some institutes are not very keen on using technology in some disciplines, and deliver their programs in a traditional way for a number of reasons, especially if these have been successful and well-attended (i.e. popular) by students. In the current era, where COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every corner of our life including higher education, technology has become a critical success factor to reduce the negative impact of this pandemic. Accordingly, it is now no longer an option to opt out from using technology in learning and teaching. This doesn’t just refer to providing (dumping) contents to students digitally, but to facilitate learning and deliver engaging and highly interactive experience to compensate for lack of face-to-face interaction between the students and their teachers and also amongst the students themselves. The use of technology in education due to COVID-19 pandemic, however, has confronted by a number of challenges. In some cases, the focus was shifted to the contents (documents, videos…etc.) rather than interactivity and student engagement. Furthermore, the students were highly overwhelmed with contents in a short period of time, which has caused anxiety, dissatisfaction and performance issues. In this paper, examples of teaching methods based on the use of technology that are employed during the lockdown period are provided. Moreover, a number of subsequent challenges due to current situation are discussed, and recommendations for implementation and best practice are shared. Also a proposal for a flipped delivery model to move forward is provided and discussed. Anecdotal student feedback has shown that the used methods and techniques were really helpful and have boosted student learning and enthusiasm in this difficult time.