COVID-19 Epidemic as E-Learning Boost? Chronological Development and Effects at an Austrian University against the Background of the Concept of “E-Learning Readiness”

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis influenced universities worldwide in early 2020. In Austria, all universities were closed in March 2020 as a preventive measure, and meetings with over 100 people were banned and a curfew was imposed. This development also had a massive impact on teaching, which in Austria takes place largely face-to-face. In this paper we would like to describe the situation of an Austrian university regarding e-learning before and during the first three weeks of the changeover of the teaching system, using the example of Graz University of Technology (TU Graz). The authors provide insights into the internal procedures, processes and decisions of their university and present figures on the changed usage behaviour of their students and teachers. As a theoretical reference, the article uses the e-learning readiness assessment according to Alshaher (2013), which provides a framework for describing the status of the situation regarding e-learning before the crisis. The paper concludes with a description of enablers, barriers and bottlenecks from the perspective of the members of the Educational Technology department.

Students’ and lecturers’ perspective on the implementation of online learning in dental education due to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): a cross-sectional study

“…Although the required transfer from "face-to-face" teaching to online learning accelerated the digitalization process in dental education [8,15], the complete changeover showed that students and lecturers had difficulties in preparing in advance for online learning.…”

“…But also in other countries, digitalization at dental schools has been characterized as a slow process [14]. However, this pandemic does not only create the need but rather may provide the chance to accelerate digital transformation in medical education [8,15]. This could have a positive effect on future dental education even beyond COVID-19.…”

Influence of COVID-19 confinement on students’ performance in higher education

“…Within few days, the COVID-19 pandemic enhanced the role of remote working, e-learning, video streaming, etc. on a broad scale [ 14 ]. In [ 15 ], we can see that the most popular remote collaboration tools are private chat messages, followed by two-participant-calls, multi-person-meetings, and team chat messages.…”

Students’ Acceptance of the COVID-19 Impact on Shifting Higher Education to Distance Learning in Poland

“…Ebner et al suggest assessing the readiness of a university for e-learning by using the "seven S model", i.e., by analyzing strategy, structure, systems, style/culture, staff, skills, and shared value of a university [15]. Finally, the paper explains how a university in Austria has shifted its education process to an internal online platform.…”