ABSTRACT
The main purpose of the study was to compare and contrast Ukrainian and Latvian university lecturers' views on distance education (teaching and learning) caused by the sudden interruption of the face-to face instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was also targeted at investigating university lecturers' readiness to respond to the educational challenges during the pandemic. The international team of researchers set up a web-based questionnaire aimed at self-assessing Ukrainian and Latvian university lecturers' digital literacy knowledge and skills and finding out their attitudes towards current educational changes. Having absolutely identical content the web-based questionnaire was presented in the Ukrainian, Latvian and English languages. The research sample which was selected with the use of a voluntary response sampling technique consisted of 60 university lecturers from Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design (Kyiv, Ukraine), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine), National Aviation University (Kyiv, Ukraine), Rezekne Academy of Technologies (Rezekne, Latvia). Qualitative data analysis covered a conscientious summing-up of the information received, displaying the processed data in the form of tables and pie charts, comparing and generalizing the data received in Ukraine and Latvia, discussing the obtained findings and making logical conclusions how to cope with educational challenges.
ABSTRACT
Covid-19 pandemic has influenced all fields of life, including education, teaching and learning procedure. Initially the situation seemed vague and uncertain, but still challengeable, by moving almost all processes online and offering the digital or distance learning. The aim of the article to identify key aspects of distance learning from educator's perspective following Covid-19 and basing on the research results to offer transformative digital learning strategy for educational institution. The authors draw attention to the procedure how to redirect weakness and threats into strengths and opportunities, by implementing necessary changes at four indicated levels: individual, institutional, local government and state one. An important part for any strategy creation, including transformative digital learning (TDL) strategy for educational institution, is the detailed situation analyses. SWOT analysis structure has been offered by analyzing respondents' views for the conducted online questionnaire for educators and experts' interviews Additionally literature review has been made to create the list of key elements necessary for the TDL strategy development, including global networking providers and nowadays paradigm shift -the transformative one.
ABSTRACT
The virtual environment has broken into all areas of our lives in the 21st century. Consequently, the issue of using IT at different levels of education, the usefulness or harmfulness of technologies, as well as the readiness of teachers to work with them is becoming more and more important. The Covid-19 pandemic activated the "technology revolution", and Latvia's educational institutions switched to remote learning. Such a transformation revealed the strengths and weaknesses of education, as well as raised the issue of teachers' readiness for work in remote learning and attitude towards rapid change. The paper analyzes the data obtained by the State Research Programme "Life with COVID-19: Evaluation of overcoming the coronavirus crisis in Latvia and recommendations for social resilience in the future (CoLife)" on the attitude of Latvia's teachers towards the remote learning process. Research method: online survey of 559 general education teachers (K-12).
ABSTRACT
Knowledge on universal values in general and common European values in particular and their influence on the process of providing university education to current and future generations may become a basis for building a cohesive world community. In that context, university education has an invaluable role to play. To live in peace and harmony for years to come, people should acknowledge and respect the diversity within the global society. This will be possible only if the content of higher education programmes in universities throughout Europe provides the next generations with insight into European and world culture and multiculturalism. This is most evident now when all the nations of the world have expressed their willingness to help each other in combating the Covid-19 pandemic placing the highest value on the person. In this regard, the article is aimed at investigating the problems Ukrainian and Latvian students face as a result of current challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, providing some scientifically backgrounded ways of their overcoming and reducing their negative consequences. The problems whose essence was found out through conducting a webbased questionnaire were generalized by means of content analysis method. Research sample included 109 Latvian students and 98 Ukrainian students.