Pandemic-induced constraints on rapid transformation to digital education

Abstract

Once the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, many countries abruptly established a lock down requiring their populations to stay home to avoid any contact with others to stop the spread of the disease. Consequently, most schools and higher education institutions closed access to campuses and face-to-face class meetings were suspended. Students were sent home and temporarily left without access to traditional educational resources. The migratory solution for this situation is moving toward extensive use of distance learning tools and techniques. However, many teachers were not prepared for this transition. There remains a gap in knowledge about how to quickly transform educational content and manage e-teaching. In this paper, we describe the process of transforming a face-to-face course in Augmented Reality to the online format in a rapid way. We wish to establish case evidence for educators regarding how to convert traditional course content to online content, in the face of incidents, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we present an approach including examples and highlighting opportunities for educators in higher education to support the transformation of courses for distance learning. Keywords: distance learning, disruptive education, COVID-19 pandemic