In March 2020, schools across the country were forced almost overnight to shut their doors in an urgent effort to slow the spread of the deadly Coronavirus (Covid-19). Within weeks or even days, teachers scrambled to move their classes online, and schools rushed to ensure that students had Internet access and computers. For this May/June issue of…

COVID-19 caught everyone by surprise, and even the most advanced higher education institutions around the world probably had challenges moving from Face-to-Face (F2F) to online teaching and learning. For Cameroon, where internet connectivity is still very low, both teachers and students have had a hard time switching to virtual classrooms. This…

Throughout the pandemic, the Getting Smart team (which Tom Vander Ark leads as CEO) worked with public school districts in Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, as well as charter schools in six additional states to support hybrid, virtual, and return-to-school strategies and plans. During the year and a half that education systems spent in crisis…

Practically overnight, the spread of COVID-19 caused a sudden shutdown of classroom-based instruction--the centuries-old emblem of formal education. Fortunately, the capabilities of the technological era--in which broadband connectivity, mobile communication, and video conferencing are increasingly common--meant that for the first time in world…

Although the extent of the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa is unknown, its effect on the socioeconomic and geopolitical spheres is becoming palpable. Its impact on communication and social formations is evident as it has shifted such to a more spatial and virtual sphere. The closure of schools does not only interfere with the…

Considerable claims have been made for the development of e-learning, either as stand-alone programmes or alongside more traditional approaches to teaching and learning, for students across school and tertiary education. National initiatives have improved the position of schools in terms of access to hardware and electronic networking, software…

Describes the use of WebCT course management software to teach a hybrid course in graduate library science at Rowan University (New Jersey). Discusses the combination of conventional face-to-face instruction with distance education; integrating use of the Internet; password-protected Web sites; and technical difficulties, including access to…

Considers how to reform on-campus teaching of large classes by using and adapting distance education methods relying mainly on technology and educational media. Topics include student access to media; skill development needed by students and teachers to use the new technology; and cost effectiveness. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of online learning focuses on course development at a South African residential institution that incorporated online assignments into a face-to-face journalism course to introduce information technology. Describes course structure, activities, assessment methods, student involvement, and problems with students' lack of computer skills…