Social Connection when Physically Isolated: Family Experiences in Using Video Calls

Digital (video) calls have become a significant tool during the challenging times marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article focuses on the perceived functionality of video calls for maintaining social contacts and overcoming loneliness in celebrating family festivities limited by physical distance policies. The qualitative study conducted at the end of 2021 in Latvia and Spain examines families' cultural socialisation via digital tools and, based on data obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews, assesses the users' digital experiences in celebrating Christmas and the New Year from retrospective and prospective standpoints. The obtained data revealed that although digital interactions were acknowledged as an alternative means for ensuring togetherness, preserving and facilitating emotional connection, and experiencing a feeling of belonging and shared identity, they were perceived as the context of exception. The findings complement existing studies that the pandemic contributed to bridging the digital gap among generations with coordinated and negotiated conceptions of the functionality of digital tools. Video calls ensured a sense of social and emotional connectedness and inspired the appearance of virtual celebration ideas. © 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter.

The Challenges of Digitalization of the Teaching/Learning Process During Covid-19

At present teachers are facing a number of challenges caused by the reform processes in education that require acquisition of new competencies. Digital competence, that includes both technical skills needed to manage the software and cognitive skills that are related to education, has been gradually introduced in the curricula over the past decade. Teachers’ digital competence includes the ability to use technologies efficiently, developing digital content and inspiring students to work in a digital environment. This also requires a wider conceptualization of digital competence in the context of re-conceptualization of flexible learning. The methodology employed in this study is three focus group interviews with forty-three teachers of comprehensive and vocational schools in Latvia on their experience in integrating digital technologies into the remote teaching process during the emergency situation due to coronavirus disease COVID-19 from March until June 2020. The study focuses on digital transformations in education process at schools in Latvia and is aimed at exploring difficulties and challenges faced by teachers while ensuring remote teaching/learning process. COVID-19 was a big push towards the introduction and wider usage of technologies into education process that also greatly impacted the level of pressure and stress experienced by educators due to the demand to adapt to urgent and swift shift. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.