ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced educational institutions globally to resort to the online mode of teaching and learning. In this paper, we examined how the emergency online education was carried out in the Assam state of India. An explanatory mixed methods study methodology was adopted. Perspectives of 92 students and 30 teachers from 30 secondary level institutions of Assam were examined. Students' acceptability of the emergency online education as well as the effects on the mental and physical health of the students were studied. Moreover, the teachers' perspectives on the emerging online threats were also examined. Data were collected using two separate questionnaires administered to the students and the teachers. It was followed with telephonic interviews with the teachers to gain in-depth knowledge on the studied issues. This study examines both the positive and negative effects of the adoption of online education. The results indicated that all the students could not avail the benefits of this mode. Social messaging apps and online tools like WhatsApp, schools' own mobile apps, Google Classroom LMS and Google Meet, ZOOM, recorded videos and audio tutorials were used to provide online support to the students. Impact on the physical and mental health of the students was observed. The online teaching process led to the generation of a large repository of e-resources. The results also indicated the ignorance of teachers regarding the online threats which could severely affect their students. The study recommended awareness programmes and training sessions for teachers and students on educational technology tools, technologies and approaches for the post-COVID-19 period. © 2022, Kazan Federal University. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
In terms of scale, shock, and disenfranchisement, the disruption to formal education arising from COVID-19 has been unprecedented. Anecdotally, responses from teachers and educators around the world range from heightened caution to being inspired by distance education as the "new normal. " Of all the challenges, face-to-face and formal teaching have been most heavily affected. Despite some education systems demonstrating resilience, a major challenge is sustaining quality and inclusiveness in formal education suddenly delivered at a distance. In probing these issues, this article profiles international perspectives on the role of open education in responding to the impact on formal school and higher education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We proceed by highlighting and analysing practices and case studies from 13 countries representing all global regions, identifying and discussing the challenges and opportunities that have presented themselves. Reports cover the period from the beginning of 2020 until 11 March 2021, the first anniversary of the COVID-19 outbreak as declared by the World Health Organization. In our comparative study, we identify seven key aspects of which three (missing infrastructure and sharing OER, open education and access to OER, and urgent need for professional development and training for teachers) are directly related to open education at a distance. After comparing examples of existing practice, we make recommendations and offer insights into how open education strategies can lead to interventions that are effective and innovative-to improve formal education at a distance in schools and universities in the future.
ABSTRACT
Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are the frontline warriors in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and similar health crises. In developing countries, HCWs face high stress because they have to deal with the increased patient load and limited infrastructure. Long-term exposure to stress, anxiety, and depression may lead to impaired mental health in HCWs. It is, therefore, essential to assess the mental health of HCWs as a part of their annual health check-up. Objective(s): The present cross-sectional observational study was aimed to assess the mental health of HCWs by analysing the stress, anxiety and depression during their annual health check-up at a tertiary care hospital in North India. Method(s): Total 200 participants, including the consultants, and junior and senior resident doctors, were included in the study. The stress level was analyzed using PSS-10, and anxiety and depression were analyzed using GAD-7 and PHQ-9 respectively. Result(s): The mean PSS-10 score was 9.39 +/- 8.53, indicating low stress among HCWs;the mean GAD-7 score was 5.20 +/- 4.19, indicating mild anxiety in HCWs and the mean PHQ-9 score was 3.41 +/- 3.59, indicating minimal depression among HCWs. Conclusion(s): The present study revealed that the HCWs faced minimal to mild stress, anxiety, and depression. It is therefore recommended that the mental health check-up should be made a regular part of the annual health check-up in HCWs so that adequate, timely steps are taken to address the same. Copyright © 2022 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been around for some time, but several studies highlighted different issues associated with them, including quality. The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed their second blooming, where MOOCs have seen a surge in enrollments since March 2020. This study intended to explore how this enrollment reflected on the research studies included in scientific publications, indexed by Web of Science. Specifically, the bibliometric mapping analyses of 108 studies have revealed an ongoing trend in the countries contributing to the MOOCs research, namely USA, China, UK and Spain. Additionally, MOOCs research coming from US, UK and other western countries was decreasing before the pandemic and showed a continuous dramatic reduction also during the COVID-19 pandemic. Growing attention in MOOCs research among less represented countries was also observed. Besides, most of the topics focused on by MOOCs research during the pandemic were mainly related to education and engineering. © 2022. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education. All Rights Reserved.