Abstract:

COVID19 caught almost every higher education institution off guard. The pandemic interrupted the teaching and learning process and required immediate implementation of emergency remote learning strategies. Teaching pedagogy turned to new ways of thinking about learning. Consequently, both academic staff and students had to adapt without warning to the challenges of teaching with advanced technology from home which was taking the world by storm. Overcoming this challenge in Egypt has been much easier for private universities in comparison to state universities because of the availability of facilities, funding, smaller cohorts and validation by partner western universities.

This paper shares reflections on teaching online during the pandemic at a private higher education institution in Egypt. Reflections focus on: technological teaching tools, alternative assessment methods, academic and psychological student support, professional development, student experiences and quality review. The paper also shares best practices and recommendations based on the experiences of academics in Humanities, Psychology, Business, Engineering, Informatics and Computer Science, Energy, Environmental Engineering and Law.

Keywords:

Online learning, Emergency Remote Education, Teaching with Technology, COVID19 Coronavirus Pandemic, Higher Education, Egypt, Private Universities, BUE.