Czech and Slovak Educators' Online Teaching Experience: A Covid-19 Case Study

Abstract

The surge in interest in online teaching increased not only due to the pandemic. It had been growing even before. The main objective of this study is therefore to explore how online teaching has changed. It addresses experience and opinions of educators of Czech and Slovak universities in the period from the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown (March 2020) till the peak of its second wave (May 2021). To examine the impact of disharmony, the authors investigated Czech and Slovak university educators' activities and behaviour during their online teaching. A descriptive statistics approach was applied. A total of 172 educators participated in our online survey. Our results reveal that online teaching has become a fundamental component of their education. Our outcomes demonstrate their low preparation for this unexpected event as well as their quick adaptation to the new situation. Additionally, data indicate that their difficulties reconcile their previous experience and teaching practices with online teaching. Finally, they show that about half of them are still sceptical about the future of online education and dream of return to traditional teaching. Our results also indicate that universities should facilitate their efforts in developing online education methodology and overall support to their educators.

Keywords

• covid-19 pandemic
• experience in online education
• higher education
• online teaching
• social informatics