The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' future online education behaviour

Background

The COVID-19-related pandemic has affected education hugely, particularly in terms of the massive shift towards online teaching and learning. Higher education students and professors have faced new challenges, which might improve future online education behaviour, based on online education experience and learning, and pedagogical strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective/Aim

The aim of this paper is to explore the views of Romanian students towards a possible future online education, highlighting their perceptions regarding the efficacy of digital online learning/pedagogical strategies and of the technological infrastructure, using as support theory the Input-Environment-Outcomes (I-E-O) model.

Methods/Instruments

An empirical quantitative-based investigation was implemented; data being collected from almost 800 students in business and economics. Based on the proposed conceptual model, data were analysed with structural equations modelling via SmartPLS 3.0.

Results

The novelty of the paper is that it tries to address students' perceptions regarding the future of online education, by using a few constructs, some of them validated in the literature, in order to establish pertinent links between these and the future of digital education. Results reveal that Romanian students prefer face-to-face teaching rather than online courses.

Conclusions/implications

In crisis situations, digital education might be the proper solution for future education, as it ensures effective education through efficient teaching-learning strategies and an advanced technological infrastructure.

A virtual reality environment for supporting mental wellbeing of students on remote clinical placement: A multi-methods evaluation

BACKGROUND

Nursing and Allied Health Profession (NAHP) students undertake clinical placements as part of their pre-registration training. The remote nature of some placement sites, shiftwork and the emotionally challenging nature of the workload has led to mental wellbeing issues in many students.

AIM

This project aimed to evaluate a novel 3D immersive virtual reality environment that supports mental wellbeing for NAHP students on clinical placement. It comprises a calming 3D tropical beach environment where students and tutors can meet for reflection and mutual support.

DESIGN

A multi-methods design gathered quantitative impact data with validated measurement tools and qualitative output related to the lived experience of students.

SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS

All 600 pre-registration NAHP students within the institution undertaking clinical placements were invited to participate, irrespective of mental wellbeing status. Students were randomly assigned to either a VR or Conventional cohort; all participants received the control support mechanism in a subsequent placement.

METHODS

All participants completed an initial demographic and Readiness for Therapy survey followed by weekly Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories during placement. All participants were invited to a semi-structured interview.

RESULTS

Overall, 32 participants engaged with the application; although the VR cohort demonstrated improved scores on both Beck inventories, these were not statistically significant. This is probably due to the low response rate for the control cohort. A total of 15 interviews were conducted and several themes emerged from the data in relation. to both experiential outcomes (escapism, anonymity and sense of community) and instrumental outcomes (calming, mindfulness and combatting loneliness).

CONCLUSIONS

User feedback indicates that a VR environment can provide a calming escape from the pressures and anxiety arising from clinical placement for healthcare students. The relaxing beach environment facilitated mindfulness meditation and the additional opportunities for pseudo-anonymous interactions with peers and tutors were wellreceived by students.

ICT Usage for Cross-Curricular Connections in Music and Visual Arts during Emergency Remote Teaching in Slovenia

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire process of teaching and learning moved online. This forced teachers and pupils to heavily rely on information and communications technology (ICT) and make adjustments to the new mode of teaching and learning in educational institutions. We conducted a qualitative case study by interviewing 24 teachers from Slovene primary schools focusing on the implementation of cross-curricular connections in music and visual arts content with the support of ICT during the period of emergency remote teaching. We found that when planning and implementing the cross-curricular learning process, teachers insufficiently took advantage of possibilities offered by modern ICT. The manner of implementing cross-curricular connections showed uncertainties in terms of understanding their specifics, resulting in the inefficient transfer of concepts taught, the results of which were seen in pupils’ work. This might additionally show the negative influence of parental supervision on the creative thinking and expression of pupils. The present study emphasizes the lack of ICT competences on the part of all participants in the educational process. Our findings show the need to educate teachers by eliminating the uncertainties related to the implementation of distant cross-curricular connections while meaningfully applying ICT adapted to pupils’ competences.