‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student Perspective
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent emergency measures had a fundamental and disruptive impact on societies and, in particular, on the educational sector. The transition of the modality of educational delivery from face-to-face to online occurred within days; this research study considered the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Electronics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/11/18/2941 |
| _version_ | 1797489063484194816 |
|---|---|
| author | Isabella M. Venter Desirée J. Cranfield Andrea Tick Renette J. Blignaut Karen V. Renaud |
| author_facet | Isabella M. Venter Desirée J. Cranfield Andrea Tick Renette J. Blignaut Karen V. Renaud |
| author_sort | Isabella M. Venter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent emergency measures had a fundamental and disruptive impact on societies and, in particular, on the educational sector. The transition of the modality of educational delivery from face-to-face to online occurred within days; this research study considered the concepts of digital trust and digital access, using structuration, postmodernism, and critical social theory as lenses to understand Higher Education (HE) student experiences during the first wave of the lockdown. The study compared these aspects in Hungary, South Africa, and Wales (UK) with different digital and network readiness indices. The digital development of the countries is presented using both the Digital Intelligence and Network Readiness indices. The research approach was cross-country, international, comparative, inductive, and quantitative. The research study found that there was a significant relationship between the countries’ GDP and their network readiness, impacting students’ online learning experiences. Significant differences were found between the participating universities in terms of digital access and digital trust; this research provides valuable insights for informing future pedagogical approaches and teaching best practice, specifically for residential universities. Understanding challenges and barriers to student learning experiences, and the impact of inequitable access to digital technologies and communication, is key for future pedagogical policy and practice. Several recommendations are made to inform practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:11:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7366ea3e82344b6f87bb8abf96741578 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:11:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Electronics |
| spelling | doaj.art-7366ea3e82344b6f87bb8abf967415782023-11-23T15:59:12ZengMDPI AGElectronics2079-92922022-09-011118294110.3390/electronics11182941‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student PerspectiveIsabella M. Venter0Desirée J. Cranfield1Andrea Tick2Renette J. Blignaut3Karen V. Renaud4Department of Computer Science, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South AfricaSchool of Management, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UKKeleti Károly Faculty of Business and Management, Óbuda University, 1034 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Statistics and Population Studies, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South AfricaDepartment of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XQ, UKThe COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent emergency measures had a fundamental and disruptive impact on societies and, in particular, on the educational sector. The transition of the modality of educational delivery from face-to-face to online occurred within days; this research study considered the concepts of digital trust and digital access, using structuration, postmodernism, and critical social theory as lenses to understand Higher Education (HE) student experiences during the first wave of the lockdown. The study compared these aspects in Hungary, South Africa, and Wales (UK) with different digital and network readiness indices. The digital development of the countries is presented using both the Digital Intelligence and Network Readiness indices. The research approach was cross-country, international, comparative, inductive, and quantitative. The research study found that there was a significant relationship between the countries’ GDP and their network readiness, impacting students’ online learning experiences. Significant differences were found between the participating universities in terms of digital access and digital trust; this research provides valuable insights for informing future pedagogical approaches and teaching best practice, specifically for residential universities. Understanding challenges and barriers to student learning experiences, and the impact of inequitable access to digital technologies and communication, is key for future pedagogical policy and practice. Several recommendations are made to inform practice.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/11/18/2941COVID-19higher educationstudent learningdigital technologiesdigital trustdigital access |
| spellingShingle | Isabella M. Venter Desirée J. Cranfield Andrea Tick Renette J. Blignaut Karen V. Renaud ‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student Perspective Electronics COVID-19 higher education student learning digital technologies digital trust digital access |
| title | ‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student Perspective |
| title_full | ‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student Perspective |
| title_fullStr | ‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student Perspective |
| title_short | ‘Lockdown’: Digital and Emergency eLearning Technologies—A Student Perspective |
| title_sort | lockdown digital and emergency elearning technologies a student perspective |
| topic | COVID-19 higher education student learning digital technologies digital trust digital access |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/11/18/2941 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT isabellamventer lockdowndigitalandemergencyelearningtechnologiesastudentperspective AT desireejcranfield lockdowndigitalandemergencyelearningtechnologiesastudentperspective AT andreatick lockdowndigitalandemergencyelearningtechnologiesastudentperspective AT renettejblignaut lockdowndigitalandemergencyelearningtechnologiesastudentperspective AT karenvrenaud lockdowndigitalandemergencyelearningtechnologiesastudentperspective |