Abstract
The chapter characterizes the transformation of the learning process from full-time to distance learning on the example of Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University in Slovakia, during the COVID-19 epidemic in the form of case study. The chapter analyses the strengths and weaknesses of this process during the summer semester 2019/2020 based on the secondary data and results of a questionnaire survey among faculty students realized in 2 rounds – in the first stage of transformation (April 2020) and after the end of summer semester (June 2020). It identifies the key steps that have (or had) to be taken to overcome the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the key challenges for the future development of virtual learning as a full compensation of full-time form of study from the students' and faculty's perspective. This case is an example of smart education in crisis situations. The results show that distance learning can be a suitable complement to the fully presence learning process, and temporarily, it can replace it in emergency situations.
TopIntroduction
The worldwide outbreak of Covid-19 has a great influence on all spheres of life, including delivering higher education services. The implementation of IT tools, and modern software applications involved into the learning process has rapidly speeded up during a few months. In the learning process the lecturers must look for new teaching methods that support the interactions with students and retain their attentions with various IT tools.
In the Slovak Republic, the implementation of virtual technologies in the learning process from primary to university education has been significantly underdeveloped during the last decades. That is why all educational institutions have had to face fundamental changes in the organization of the learning process, from pedagogical as well as technical point of view.
In the chapter, prepared in the form of a case study, we aim:
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to analyse the transformation processes in teaching, from fully presence to fully distance form of study on the case of Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University,
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to compare the findings about the strengths and weaknesses of this process based on a questionnaire survey among faculty students realized in 2 rounds – in the first stage of transformation (April 2020) and after the end of summer semester (June 2020) with a theoretical framework of distance learning as well as results of foreign research studies,
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to identify the key steps that have (or had) to be taken to overcome the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic and the key challenges for the future development of virtual learning as a full compensation of full-time form of study from the students and faculty perspective (represented by managers and lecturers).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Offline Video Lectures: An educational class that is recorded and available for students at exact time or for exact time period. Students can view a recording, sometimes referred to as a lecture capture, on their own time as long as they have access to internet.
Teaching Process: It is a set of steps from planning, implementation, evaluation and revision of teaching.
Virtual Technologies: The tools that allow the transference of a process typically tied to hardware to a virtual instance. It includes a software-based tools as virtual applications, servers, storage and networks.
AIS 2: A comprehensive academic information system designed primarily to manage the university study and support the management of university science and research.
Online Video Lecture: An educational class that is held online. Online delivered lecture, conference, or presentation by a professor.
MS Teams: It is a proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft. It is the fully supported computer software created on the Microsoft 365 family of products.
ICT Skills: Person’s ability to converse with people through various modern technologies, e. g. sending an email, making a video call, searching the internet, using a tablet or mobile phone, and more. It includes also the ability to use older communication technologies such as telephones, radios, and televisions.
LMS Moodle: A learning platform or course management system (CMS) – a free Open Source software package designed to help educators create effective online courses based on sound pedagogical principles. It is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other e-learning projects in schools, universities, workplaces, and other sectors.