Higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide have been deeply affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures. HEIs are environments at high risk of COVID-19 diffusion, due to the high number of people sharing the same environment, and complex to protect, because of the multiple functions present…

This paper focuses on the impact of changing environment on undergraduate mathematics students' status, described through their engagement, participation, and motivation levels. These parameters were computed through a fuzzy cognitive map, which gathered data from a situation-aware e-learning platform. The main goal is to analyze the students'…

The role universities play in advancing COVID-specific knowledge and long-term management of this global crisis is largely unknown. In this comparative perspective study, we document the ways in which members from universities in the US, New Zealand, Italy, South Korea, and China engage in activities to respond to the pandemic. We frame this study…

The Coronavirus pandemic, forcing all schools and universities to exclusively activate distance learning (DL), has triggered an unprecedented innovative process. E-learning had remained a niche resource for a few innovators, experts and enthusiasts; but, with the forced DL due to COVID-19, teachers of all levels had to engage in a new form of…

The paper revisits the outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy and particularly in Lombardy region, the first and initially most severely affected area among western countries. First, we provide an overview of the impact of the pandemic in the country and in the region, mentioning the turning points and the main effects on the national and local economy.…

This study focuses on a course belonging to the University of Bologna's bachelor's degrees 'Expert in Social and Cultural Education' and 'Educator in Childhood Social Services' called 'Computer Science Lab-based course', which aims to develop digital competences necessary for the educational profession. Before COVID-19, this face-to-face…

The paper presents the activities proposed for the course "Safety at school", organized by the University of Macerata and Safety Education Training Agency Association. Six workshops held by university professors and other experts focused on the topic of inclusive safety both at school and in the city. Both prospective and in-service…

We surveyed a convenience sample of 362 Italian university physics students, asking them to retrospectively assess their experience of emergency remote instruction due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We looked at their psychological well being, motivation for physics, academic orientation, attitude towards physics and physicists, and tried to link these…

This book presents how to keep working on education in contexts of crisis, such as emergencies, zones of conflict, wars and health pandemics such as COVID-19. Specifically, this work shows a number of strategies to support global learning and teaching in online settings. Particularly, it first presents how to facilitate knowledge sharing and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss how long term risk prevention and civil protection may enter in university programs for environmental engineers and urban and regional planners. Design/methodology/approach: First the distinction between long term risk prevention and emergency preparedness is made, showing that while the first has…