ABSTRACT
This paper presents a framework based on three dimensions (material, educational, and psychoemotional) to explore the characteristics, processes, and outcomes of emergency remote education introduced by in-person universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this aim, two ad hoc questionnaires were designed and administered in April-May to a sample of 220 teachers and 548 students in a Spanish university. The most significant findings show digital inequality between students in terms of technological equipment and the quality of connectivity. Remote education was designed as a way to transfer the in-person teaching model to a virtual environment. Both teachers and students experienced an overload of work, which may help to explain the high levels of stress experienced by both groups. The research concludes with proposals to improve the quality and effectiveness of distance learning in any future crises.
ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on the students of traditional face-to-face universities and on the implemented distance learning models during the lockdown period caused by the COVID-19' crisis. We aim here to analyze the impact of the personal and family context on digital equity, to identify the teaching model received, and to know their assessment and perception of this model. The research is a mixed study of descriptive scope in which qualitative and quantitative methods are combined. Firstly, a survey was carried out with students from the University of Extremadura (n=548) and, then, online interviews were conducted to members of the university governance. The results indicate that students from families with a low educational level have fewer opportunities to use digital technologies. Virtual lessons, which students have received, have essentially been based on presentations uploaded to the virtual campus with asynchronous interactions. The negative assessment of distance learning is explained by the apparent reverse relationship between time spent studying and academic performance and by the lack of teachers' adaptation to students' personal and academic circumstances. In conclusion, the university must move towards more collaborative and student-centered models.