Abstract:

The outbreak of the world pandemic has brought swift changes to the organisation of the learning process and challenged higher education institutions by introducing not just the elements of blended learning, mobile learning or flipped learning to create a favourable learner-centred environment, but putting teachers and students under pressure of uncertainty, quick solution search and implementation to ensure smooth transition from face-to-face to remote learning. The University of Latvia English Philology Bachelor Study Programme was also exposed to this rapid change, left to find the efficient use of corporate technological solutions, train its staff and create the learning environment which would foster students’ connection and collaboration during lockdown.

The abovementioned has determined the goal of the present research, which is to describe the process of swift transition from face-to-face to remote learning at the tertiary level, evaluate teachers’ choice of digital tools working remotely and analyse alternative solutions integrated with the Learning Management System and corporate collaboration tool. The theoretical framework underlying the empirical research is grounded in the principles of connectivism (Duke, Harper, Johnston, 2013 ) and Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2018). The empirical research is a cross-sectional, focused, exploratory case study, comprising the description of the workflow determined by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Government of the Republic of Latvia decisions to organise the learning process in lockdown, decisions of the University of Latvia authorities on the use of digital tools and teachers’ response as well as the descriptions of factors, contributing to the problem of digital tools to facilitate students’ connection and collaboration. The yielded data on teachers’ survey between March and June 2020 demonstrate that teachers do not possess extensive prior experience with the use of digital resources and mostly use Learning Management System and corporate collaboration tool to serve their needs working with students remotely during lockdown, therefore, additional software aiming at students’ connection and collaboration is selected, grouped (videoconferencing, mindmapping, collaborative whiteboards, interactive presentation and brainstorming, vocabulary learning, appointment setting, story boards, surveys etc.) and described for further use during second wave of pandemic starting with November 2020.

References:
[1] CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
[2] Duke, B., Harper, G., & Johnston, M. (2013). Connectivism as a digital age learning theory. The International HETL Review. Special Issue 2013 (pp. 4-13).

Keywords:

Face-to-face learning, remote learning, connectivism, Universal Design Learning, collaboration, tertiary level, English studies.