Abstract
The transition from face-to-face to synchronous online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge for everyone involved – both educators and learners. This chapter explores the views of students from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki's School of Early Childhood Education on the advantages of synchronous e-learning and the factors that facilitated their learning in both synchronous classes and asynchronous learning sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic era. The study presents the results of a qualitative research that involved 129 students. Among the main advantages of synchronous e-learning cited by students are the ability to participate in the learning process safely, the ease of access, and time and cost effectiveness resulting from reduced commuting activity. Upon discussing the factors that facilitated their learning, students highlighted those that promoted student-centered learning, interaction between participants, and emphasized the role of the instructor and the convenience of attending from home.
TopLiterature Review
The rapid spread of online education following the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many researchers and organizations around the world focusing on investigating the views of learners and educators on education in these unprecedented circumstances, on highlighting best and effective educational practices, as well as on evaluating the factors that influence education and exploring their impact on learning outcomes (García-Peñalvo, Corell, Rivero-Ortega, Rodríguez-Conde, & Rodríguez-García, 2021; Karalis & Raikou, 2020; Pavlis Korres, 2021a, 2021b; Lamanauskas & Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė, 2021, Mukhtar, Javed, Arooj, & Sethi, 2020; Dhawan, 2020; Manea, Macavei, & Pribeanu, 2021; Serhan, 2020; UNESCO, UNICEF, & World Bank, 2020; UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, & OECD, 2021).
The literature has shed light on the positive aspects of online education, investigating the possibilities it offers for overcoming obstacles faced by learners in face-to-face courses –namely the flexibility it offers in terms of time, space, methods, content, learning styles, etc. (Collis & Moonen, 2002; Hill, 2006; Goodyear, 2008; Carey, 2016; Soffer, Kahan, & Nachmias, 2019; Sun & Chen, 2016; Veletsianos & Houlden, 2019). In addition, researchers have been concerned with other issues that impact learner satisfaction and learning outcomes in e-learning environments, such as feelings of isolation experienced by learners (Morgan & Tam, 1999; Woods, 2002; Ludwig-Hardman & Dunlap, 2003), delay in feedback, lack of immediacy (Hara & Kling, 1999; Petrides, 2002; Vonderwell, 2003; Schullo et al., 2005), inadequate teaching, and social presence (Vonderwell, 2003; Akyol & Garrison, 2009). Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of course design (content, activities, online discussions, evaluation etc.), as well as the role of the instructor-facilitator in developing the key types of interaction, i.e. with the content, with the instructor and among learners, and the establishment of a learning community (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000; Wallace, 2003; Tallent-Runnels et al., 2006; Ke, 2010; Pavlis Korres, 2021a, 2021b; Bailey & Card, 2009; Yuan & Kim, 2014; Sun & Chen, 2014; Sun & Chen, 2016; Sher, 2009, Moore, 1989, 2007, 2019; Salmon, 2004; Hodges, Moore, Lockee, Trust, & Bond, 2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Asynchronous E-Learning: The term refers to any learning and educational process that does not take place at the same time for educator and learners and permits learners and educator to reach the content and respond to each other at their own convenient time and pace.
Padlet: An interactive whiteboard which runs via internet browser and allows more than one user to post and receive comments in real time.
Synchronous Online Learning: In online education, the term refers to any learning and educational process that takes place at the same time for educator and learners through the use of technology, e.g., videoconferences, chat, etc.
Interaction: A dynamic process between participants in a learning environment through which participants are both affecting and affected by the exchange of views, beliefs, actions, behaviors, and experiences of their interacting partners. There are four main types of interaction in online learning environments according to the relevant literature: learner-educator interaction, learner content interaction, learner-learner interaction, and learner-interface interaction.
Asynchronous Communication and Collaboration Tool: Any tool which allows and promotes communication, interaction, and collaboration between participants in an educational platform not in real time but in convenient time and pace for each participant, e.g., e-mail, forum, blog, wiki, etc.
Immediacy: Refers to those communicative behaviors—verbal and nonverbal—that increase psychological closeness and interaction between educator and learners and reduce feelings of isolation of learners in an online environment.
Synchronous Communication and Collaboration Tool: Any tool which allows and promotes communication, interaction, and collaboration between participants in an online educational environment in real time, e.g., chat, video, polls, breakout rooms, whiteboard, etc.