Abstract:

Introduction:
Historically full-time higher education has predominantly taken place in a traditional environment. Face-to-face learning was a habitual concept and taken for granted in many ways. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the implementation of non- pharmaceutical measures to protect society. Consequently, a rapid transition has taken place from traditional face-to-face learning to remote learning.

This study aims to review the existing evidence-based literature and identify gaps in scientific publications and grey literature on the effects of a rapid transition from traditional face-to-face learning to online remote learning. There is a focus on the effects of the transition before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology:
A systematic literature review was conducted by means of a literature search using books, journals and electronic databases. The databases PubMed, Lexis Nexis, Medline, Blackwell Synergy, and Science Direct, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Gateway were utilised within this study.

Results:
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense pressure on educational systems to develop and adopt new methods of learning. Many educational institutions particularly within higher education were using online methods of teaching their students, as a supplement to traditional face-to-face teaching, prior to the pandemic. However, during the pandemic remote systems have become the primary source of educational learning. This rapid transition has an impact on mental health illustrating heighted anxiety in both students and educators. It has highlighted the need to develop good technical literacy skills to operate the chosen E-learning and videoconferencing software. In contrast the transition has provided individuals with the flexibility to learn in familiar personal environments, in their own time and pace and at a lower cost.

Conclusion:
This study has deduced that there are numerous positive and negative aspects pertaining to the transition from face-to-face learning to remote learning. Nevertheless, rapid transitions are always difficult as human beings are habitual. Remote learning has been a beneficial solution to continuing education during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing education to progress despite social distancing regulations. However, face-to-face learning is still required as a component of learning to ensure optimum results. This study suggests a blended learning approach for the future of education, post COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords:

COVID-19, Remote Learning, Face-To-Face, Education.