Abstract:

As in many countries all around the world, the educational institutions in the Czech republic were faced with an unprecedented challenge during the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak. In March, all schools were locked down and face-to-face learning had to be replaced by distance learning.

In this paper, we describe how this transition was made in the case of a course Mathematics for Economists (MFE), an undergraduate course taught at the University of Economics in Prague. We focus on the usage of the platform MS Teams to facilitate the transition.

We show what tools were used to:
1) deliver the content to the students and provide them with study resources,
2) keep the communication between students and teachers alive,
3) replace the traditional in-class written tests,
4) facilitate the final oral exam.

We discuss the whole process from the viewpoint of educators, who found themselves in the middle of this unexpected situation often quite unprepared. In this respect, we touch on topics like:
1) unavailability of necessary hardware equipment or even internet connection,
2) unfamiliarity with modern technologies and distance learning platforms,
3) general uncertainty in a time that does not allow for a development of a new course design.

Keywords:

Distance learning, MS Teams, coronavirus, COVID-19, mathematics, educators.