E-Learning and Digital Transformation: Lessons Learned, Challenges, Moving Forward

Introduction

The current challenges facing higher education globally have provided universities with great lessons that need to be carefully studied. There have been significant challenges to face such as the closure of universities and an abrupt move toward distance education. In Iraq, as in other countries, the global pandemic has caused sudden shock and disruption to many institutions that were not prepared for it (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). The reason for the disruption is that the majority of educational systems are fully implemented based on traditional face-face interaction methods. Additionally, technology is not fully developed and is still in the process of finding its place in educational practice. However, the pandemic has made it imperative for universities to make a quick transition from face-to-face teaching to distance learning so that universities can maintain the delivery of education material for their students (Elnikova et al., 2020). Students in their first years of college may have suffered more than other, more senior peers due to the dual challenge of moving to the new environment of higher education and also applying distance learning (Cicha et al., 2021). The latter requires special experience and technical tools in which new students might be lacking.

Digital technology has become a strategic solution to be utilized in teaching practices to ensure pedagogical continuity for our students (Gafurov et al., 2020). This is especially important since the ongoing health crisis may be long-lasting, and we may encounter recurring related events in the future. Universities have made great efforts and have taken available feasible actions such as using some free and paid services offered by Google Workspace, Microsoft, or other professional bodies. Other universities have moved further professionally with purchasing servers and installing their E-learning platforms and inspecting their computer and network equipment for possible upgrades. Another challenge is that the new software and technology tools require sufficient experience so that when implemented they can handle and manage learning resources as intended. Most importantly, the infrastructure of the whole country in terms of networking and internet services is not fully stable and it can be considered the biggest challenge for all (Ameen et al., 2017; Elameer, 2021).

Remarkable teamwork was established from all governmental levels in the ministry of higher education and scientific research in Iraq and institutions themselves in response to this major health crisis. As an example, many training workshops on educational digital and e-learning platforms were organized and held. Furthermore, universities provided great support to students in all aspects of their education to maintain their learning process. Moreover, lecturers have played a pivotal role in delivering the teaching content online using their facilities and resources such as laptops and internet services. Such considerable cooperation between the ministerial level and institutions, lecturers, and students has led to pedagogical continuity. Despite many success stories, a deep reflection needs to be applied. A strategic methodology should be provided to review and overcome all remaining shortcomings to provide a sustainable solution to prevent any further disruptions in educational delivery. Hence, Universities are required to make every effort towards technological digitalization.

This chapter will firstly discuss a general overview of some Iraqi universities and their great efforts toward distance learning and digital transformation. Secondly, we examine similar initiatives at the University of Wyoming in response to the pandemic. Thirdly, teaching methods will be discussed and how they can be improved to enhance learning especially with the advancements in technology and response to market requirements. Fourthly, Section 5 will discuss in brief the current challenges and opportunities to digital transformation with the existing cutting-edge technologies in servers, networking, software, and hardware developments. Finally, the conclusion is given in Section 6.