It started with a simple little filler in "USA Today" 25 years ago. It showed a broken student desk with cobwebs on it and offered data on "average yearly absences" in Japan, Germany, and the United States. Assessing my own data, I verified that they were on point and proceeded to discuss why this was a major hurdle for our…

The COVID-19 pandemic put academic institutions around the world in the difficult position of suddenly having to organize many lectures and examinations over online channels only, due to students' physical access to their campus buildings being restricted. While the search for possible solutions to this problem was often challenging, this…

In the wake of COVID-19, study conditions in Europe have changed dramatically. To limit contact between students and teachers, since March 2020 teaching has largely taken place digitally (remotely via digital means) and in private. Because the success of digital learning likely relies on many factors beyond good digital infrastructure conditions,…

This research overview investigates the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, focusing on challenges encountered during the shift to online learning. Drawing insights from studies in New Zealand, Oman, Malaysia, and Germany, the overview explores diverse experiences of educators and students. The abrupt transition to online learning…

Due to the precautionary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic many universities offered unproctored take-home exams. We propose methods to detect potential collusion between students and apply our approach on event log data from take-home exams during the pandemic. We find groups of students with suspiciously similar exams. In addition, we…

Purpose: This study offers insight on the impact of virtual team projects (VTPs) of varying types (global vs domestic teams, technology vs non-tech projects) on competency and anxiety outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Paired-sample t-tests and ANOVA tests were performed on student survey responses pre- and…

The social distancing and lockdown measures enacted to address the COVID-19 pandemic entailed an unprecedented shift to digitally-mediated communication. The move to remote learning at schools was one of such important changes. Drawing on privacy and STS literature, we investigate the role of different privacy cultures during the initial moment of…

Physics lab courses permanently undergo transformations, in recent times especially to adapt to the emergence of new digital technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic in which digital technologies facilitated distance learning. Since these transformations often occur within individual institutions, it is useful to get an overview of these…

March 2020 changed the world of learning. Ever since, students have been relying on remote lecturers, virtual fellow students, and electronic learning material. For many, this greatly differs from how they used to learn before and even though technology is incremental to students' everyday life, many are not familiar with using technology for…

This paper presents a study on remote learning of primary school children during the first school closures that were imposed in Germany in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. Data were collected at a primary school covering learners from age 6-12 and include a comprehensive survey amongst parents (n=69) as well as interviews with…

The shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the implementation of digital technology to advance many new applications. Digital applications were believed to be indispensable for changes in learning environments and strategies that would enhance the capacity and quality of learning through focused motivation, communicative…

This paper examines the influence of COVID-19 on social inequality in higher education. In particular, we focus on the study duration of international students compared to domestic ones in Germany. We assume that the pandemic has increased or decreased existing differences between both groups, affecting their study delay. The multilevel analyses…

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, an increasing number of educators around the world have been challenged to support student engagement in online environments. However, there is a lack of research in online learning that considers the role of the country context. This study explores student engagement in online learning, comparing the experiences of…

Teacher self-efficacy for e-Learning (TSE-EL) as well as attitudes towards e-Learning (A-EL) are highly relevant prerequisites for online teaching and learning (OTL). This study therefore analysed individual differences in A-EL and TSE-EL. Conducting latent profile analyses with n = 169 German in-service teachers, we found one group with positive…

This rapid systematic review aims to examine emerging evidence on the effects of COVID-19 on educational institutions and assess the prevalence of e-learning changes in the sector. This paper reviews literature on learning, teaching, and assessment approaches adopted since the COVID-19 outbreak, and assesses the impact on the sector, staff, and…