5.1 Results
To answer the research question,
189 staff interviews were conducted about their future perceptions of teaching online based on their experience during COVID-19 and analyzed afterward. The future perceptions were represented by 10 symbols as in Fig. 1.
The previously mentioned th emes were among the views expressed by the sample. As shown in the axes below:
This global pandemic exposed a significant gap in staff preparation, a crucial factor, for emergency remote teaching (Tondeur et al. (2016); Bochkareva (2018); Whalen (2020)). Most of the staff identified the relevance of technology training and strategies, where they shared the following:
."It is necessary to reconsider staff training with the emergence of remote training to better comprehend its future role in raising awareness and training instructors" (Pos.19).
"Developing staff’s technical skills are reflected in their improved performance, making it easier for them to communicate with students and develop course presentation processes. This enables the staff to smoothly clarify the content of the course, facilitating materials handling (Pos. 38).
"Post-COVID-19, staff is forced to develop alternative means and use technology in education. It has become important to improve the applications and programs that enable him to enhance their subject presentation" (Pos.72).
"Familiarity with a 21st Century staff skillset, an emphasis on LMS programs, and familiarity with modern technology tools are necessary technological skills " (Pos.53 & Pos.51).
"Staff's position hasn't altered much in light of the epidemic, but the challenges have grown. They must be competent to overcome them and efficiently offer educational content" (pos.22).
New requirements for training educational organization pedagogical staff are linked to developments in educational process organization approaches (Bochkareva, 2018). The willingness to embrace change is a major requirement for the successful integration of technology. Yunus (2007); World Bank (2020); Whalen, (2020) stated that before ICT can be effectively integrated lecturers should be provided adequate training and support technically, socially, and morally in ICT and pedagogy. Staff preparation and motivation are key variables in the successful integration of technology in higher education institutions (Tondeur et al. 2016; Yunus, 2007). Supporting collaborative types of professional development between teachers, e.g., staff networks, would also be important, as it would allow them to learn from their peers (Di Pietro, et al. 2020).
Digital learning has become a strategically irreplaceable choice in exceptional circumstances. The findings of Whalen's (2020); Marwaha, 2021; and Tondeur. et al 2016 investigation was confirmed. The following are the perspectives of the sample staff:
"Hybrid education promotes the efficient diversification of teaching techniques and the development of skills for students" (Pos.21).
"By integrating distant learning and F2F, education becomes more flexible" (Pos.31).
"To attain more diversity, effectiveness, and interactivity, e-learning technologies are permanently employed in parallel with F2F education in educational institutions” (Pos.43).
Many educators believe that instructors need more training in using teaching technology, particularly in blended and e-learning. According to a previous study, online learners do marginally better than students in face-to-face environments (Di Pietro, et al. 2020; Tondeur. et al 2016). COVID-19 motivated educational institutions to begin investing in LMS to improve their response to unexpected situations. Blended learning requires a revision of the curriculum and the identification of the types of teaching and allocating school and home activities (Marwaha, 2021).
The previous results demonstrate the staff's awareness of the growth of technology. With the availability of technology-supported capabilities, a wider scope of guiding methods are available, allowing the advantages of each environment to be realized to the greatest extent possible, and realizing that One-to-One teaching is the most effective.
During the pandemic, many faculty participants changed performance scales. The faculty participants raised several critical points, which we can summarize as follows:
"Some staff have been struggling with supporting colleagues during the crisis (some staff have created their own support groups inside departments) and how to guarantee students’ learning" (pos 3).
"Equality and a reduction in student anxiety should be prioritized. Staff should not rely excessively on simultaneous video conferencing to include students with poor internet infrastructure or other family members who need internet bandwidth for other purposes" (pos14).
"It appears that my teaching priorities have shifted. Rather than pondering how to transmit what I've learned, I've decided to convert my courses to a distant learning environment using appropriate electronic teaching methods" (pos5.).
"Student-centered design is required for online learning. Focus on content alone will produce poor ineffective multimedia. (pos.28).”
COVID-19 prompted stakeholders in the educational sector to rethink the current teaching approaches. Virtual learning offers flexible learning by providing a learner-based approach (Zayapragassarazan, 2020) (Karakaya, 2021). The future of higher education institutions will depend on the extent to which they can provide open and adaptable models to diversify teaching/learning processes (Berlanga et al. 2010).
"We can include listening to a podcast, reading a text, or watching a video among the things students should do. This necessitates a thorough analysis of the task, (position 29), i.e., thinking about the practical aspects. (pos. 12).”
"Online learning relies more on material (readings, videos, exercises, etc.) than on direct in-person interactions (discussions, presentations, etc.), but teachers must source usable good material; on the other hand, it requires students’ independence to interact with multimedia (pos. 13).”
"A precise preemptive design is required for e-teaching (pos. 18).”
Previous mean curricula for remote instruction and broadcast media have not been appropriately created and customized. Therefore, an alternate model that can be used when remote instruction is needed is required. Teachers, according to Byron, et al. (2021) and Mulenga & Marbàn (2020), believe that emergency remote teaching allows them to make a pedagogical shift to a less organized approach to teaching that is more exciting and entertaining. Humanizing pedagogy can be operationalized by pushing beyond purely cognitive approaches and becoming more reflexive (Mehta & Aguilera, 2020). Teachers are expected to carry out pedagogical innovations to increase student engagement through empathy and care (Cahyadi, et al. 2021).
Instead of "predetermined and rigid," the term "curriculum" should be redefined to indicate "adaptable." Schools and teachers should be able to adjust and align their curricula to meet changing societal and individual learning needs. A future curriculum should enable students to learn new skills for the future (Zhao & Watterston, 2021).
Staff perceptions highlighted the relevance of this dimension in the context of establishing and developing the technical infrastructure of educational institutions. Their thoughts were as follows:
"It is critical to improve the structure of e-learning and technological infrastructure and equipment in universities (Pos.82).
We must address the internet's weaknesses obstructing future communication with the instructor (Pos.28) (Pos.).
The IoT is used to disseminate knowledge across all aspects of the learning environment (Pos.49 &Pos.15).
Using iPads or smart devices with the students to convert books into interactive e-books with rich multimedia (Pos 19.).
Building instructional digital content production centers at universities (Pos. 82), providing them with cutting-edge equipment and specialists in digital content production (Pos34.).
People are increasingly turning to digitalization, and universities will follow suit. These modifications could be long-lasting. COVID-19 highlighted that a robust information technology infrastructure is the key to the success of future education Cahyadi, et al. 2021).
However, the World Bank claims that educational systems are not well equipped to provide online learning on such a massive scale. Because technological progress frequently outpaces decision-makers ability to keep up in terms of cost and infrastructure support (World Bank, 2020). To deliver effective online and blended learning, suitable ICT support in the form of infrastructure and tools must be established. There is no doubt that ICT in academic courses has increased dramatically. Therefore, universities and colleges have begun to use LMSs, ARs, CCEs, and educational blogs to enhance existing pedagogy (Ali, 2020). Governments and education providers, according to Huang, et al. (2020), should consider equipping faculty and learners with standardized home-based teaching and learning equipment, conducting online professional development, and supporting academic research into online education, especially for students with online learning difficulties.
Studies show that smart technology will be an important component of learning, especially as the IoT becomes more prevalent in classrooms (Smith & Judd, 2020; Marwaha, 2021).
One of the most crucial aspects of remote education is electronic evaluation. It judges the consequences of the skills offered to the student and their understanding. The following is what the participants said in this context:
"Using current electronic technologies in assessment, such as Microsoft Teams’ reading progress, to improve the assessment process (Pos.67).”
Activating some features of approved e-learning programs expands the use of educational applications for evaluation (Pos.17).
"It is important to use various types of e-assessment effectively (Pos.35) to measure diverse learners' skills (Pos.34).”
Assessment tools should be diverse (Pos87) to increase interest in e-discussions and e-projects, peer evaluation, and the development of more technical assessment instruments (Pos. 16).
Conducting traditional large-scale assessments (written tests/interviews) over the internet was challenging. Online assessments necessitate a complete reassessment (continuous and summative assessments), and staff did their best during the crisis. Assessment is critical since it ensures that learners achieve the course’s goals. Various online assessment options should consider challenges.
Traditional assessments cram knowledge for marks rather than proficiency-based skills (Czerniewicz, 2020; Zhang, Wang, Yang, & Wang, 2020; Oyedotun, 2020). During COVID-19, alternative assessments were utilized because of their real positive benefits. (Ali, 2020; Lavy & Naama-Ghanayim, 2020). Because courseware platforms evaluate students' abilities at each step, assessing their competencies through Q&A may become obsolete or inadequate. Many individuals claim that today's assessments are created so that students cram their materials and forget about the following day (Henny, 2020). These forms of assessments can be used to measure authenticity and performance, acting as a relief during this rapid pedagogical transformation.
Staff assessment in distance education improves staff profession, thus improving learning outcomes and distance learning quality. The perceptions of the specific category to some of the most essential methods for evaluating future performance are as follows:
"Teacher assessment approaches that enhance learning and achievement metrics improve retention of and performance of teachers (pos42).”
It is important to improve staff’s proficiency in ICT use, particularly educational applications software , and to be trained for specialization, the extent to which behavioral characteristics and individual differences are activated ,.
"A teacher's performance is effectively evaluated to assess student’s understanding. Some argue that this is unfair due to some students’ poor and unhandled quality—although a minority. Yet, the instructor must raise his students' standards using all available tools (POs.39).”
Staff perceptions refer to the suggested future evaluation process, ensuring the quality of teaching and remote education (Oyedotun, 2020). The sample determined the responsibility for the evaluation as in Fig. 2.
Deep studies are needed according to the university regulations in force.
The most important means of evaluating performance in the future were also identified in Fig. 3.
These means can all be used with relative weight as indicated by some studies.
Recent educational technology trends surged with the emergence of new learning systems, changing how people learn. Participants referred to the following type of remote learning as follows:
"It is important to source educational platforms that assist students with asynchronous learning and modern teaching methods (Pos.121).”
Using tablets , best social communication methods , designing user-friendly websites, localizing appropriate technology from some educationally experienced countries , , providing appropriate references for all sciences for free or at nominal prices uploading and making curricula available on appropriate media ,. The Ministry of Education should offer relevant educational resources for all disciplines , and for the community to participate through institutions and civic society to encourage digital advancement in all educational activities (POs.129).
The Ministry of Education and private sector firms are responsible for producing the resources (Pos.121).
The most desired significant programs were divided into the following categories:
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Unique programs: interactive learning, cyber security, smart programs, interactive multimedia design, montage, and digital transformation
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Programs that combine personal and technical components, e.g., time management, digital skills and statistics, artificial intelligence, 21st Century skills, and cloud computing
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Purely technical programs, such as design and production abilities for multimedia, and the usage of instructional platforms, infographic design, After Effect programs, programming, learning analytics, and data mining
Using new technologies can promote student self-regulation and self-efficacy. (Bond et al. 2020; Rashid & Asghar, 2016; Alioon & Delialioğlu, 2017). Also, enhancing students’ life quality through advancing knowledge and engaging with society. (Partington, 2021). Distance learning–appropriated resources and technology, including videos, discussion forums, social media, etc., were only assessed as effective by a minority of the simple respondents throughout the remote teaching. (Sofianidis, et al. 2021).
Governments across the globe are trying to devise open-source e-learning solutions to provide barrier-free education to include even the marginalized students. Future education technology will include asynchronous Learning and micro-learning, learning games and simulations, live streaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics, artificial intelligence, data privacy tools, high-resolution videos, blockchain, haptic feedback, and 3D Printing. (Ibrahem& Alamro, 2021; Bond et al., 2020; Ali, 2020).
The participants emphasized the importance of strengthening the university–family relationship and raising parental awareness to improve the distance learning process, extending monitoring and controlling students beyond the university to teachers, students, and parents. Participants referred to the most crucial roles of parents:
"Some parents neglect to follow up on their sons, and we hope that as a result of this problem, parents will be more aware of the need of encouraging and motivating their sons to study" (Pos.25).
"Some parents may receive a high rating, while others may receive a low rating due to their lack of cooperation and interaction with the university. The cooperation of parents might be invested in future positions where the university collaborates with parents" (Pos.27).
"Parents can be inspired and encouraged to maximize their future role by paying attention to their children's attendance, completing projects and tests, attending lectures, and following up" (Pos.30).
University closures and home confinement have fundamentally transformed how students, teachers, and parents engage with education (Anderson, et al. 2021). During COVID-19, parents spent more time at home, with the potential to contribute more to children's learning. This pandemic provides a new opportunity for parents to initiate collaboration. Parents from a higher socioeconomic background were more likely to support their children effectively during school closure, either directly, e.g., with emotional support, or indirectly, e.g., with private tutoring (Di Pietro, et al. 2020). Anger and Heineck (2010) found that individuals’ cognitive skills are positively associated with their parents’, concluding that parental education plays an important role in the transmission of cognitive abilities between generations.
Parents must provide a home-based learning environment, social connection, communication, and academic assistance to help children develop their potential, self-esteem, and enhance academic accomplishment (Paskaran & Yasin, 2020). Parents should be aware of the emotional difficulties of online learning. They must learn to help their children emotionally and in their daily home academic tasks.