University Instructors’ Views on Courses Delivered Online

Abstract

The health emergency is compelling us to adopt new habits, including education-related practices. Therefore, it may be worth considering targeted teaching strategies and their future development. Current research in e-learning and technology-supported teaching has recently developed in an attempt to identify possible future transformations at all levels of education.

This paper focuses on tertiary-level education and describes a study on educators’ views on courses delivered via Moodle during the pandemic and on the most commonly used pedagogical models.

Using a case study on methodology, the author analyses some possible forms of online education, from the most basic, to those implemented through a combination of digital activities and resources, and their application at the University of Urbino (Italy). Data were collected by means of a questionnaire administered to 231 university teachers during the first year of the pandemic.

The findings suggest that there is a good basic tendency to use technology but also inevitable stress that is however combined with an underlying sense of satisfaction. The educators’ technological skills, their tools, and the advice offered by the institution appear satisfactory, while students seem to have found some basic difficulties in accessing online lessons. The most commonly used didactic practices are sharing files via Moodle, using web conferencing software and text chats during lessons. Finally, future developments are to be expected as lecturers express their willingness to continue using the same technological resources that they have found most effective during the COVID-19 emergency.