Abrupt switches to online learning without face-to-face contact between facilitators and students can cause distress and have a negative impact on student success. As students use instant messaging applications (IMAs) to communicate with one another, we have integrated WhatsApp-based mobile learning environments (MLEs) in two disparate higher…

A weekly professional learning community (PLC) was established for faculty members within a special education department for the 2020-2021 academic year. The goal of the PLC was to support the transition to online classes and to maintain the workplace community. Pre and post surveys using the Sense of Community Index-2 (Chavis et al., 2008b) and…

In response to COVID-19, educational stakeholders are transferring traditional, face-to-face instruction to the online learning environment. The purpose of this study was to determine if business instructors' use of immediate behaviors and clarity, which have been found to help business students overcome their writing apprehension in the…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rice University canceled classes for the week of March 9-13, 2020 and shifted all instruction to online only following spring break. For the second half of the semester, animal physiology was taught exclusively over Zoom. Here we describe how a flipped teaching format that was used before the pandemic eased the…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, chemical engineering departments from around the world shifted their course offerings from in-person to online almost instantaneously. The AIChE Education Division immediately responded to this educational shift by developing five Virtual Communities of Practice (VCPs) that allowed faculty to share experiences…

This article aims to offer one perspective on ways that Lancaster University supported its staff in the rapid shift to online teaching and learning in the midst of a global pandemic. The approach centred around the upskilling of staff, with mixed engagement across the suite of support tools and resources, which can be compared to similar…

Online learning discussion formats provide an opportunity for learners to share their experiences, negotiate meaning, and take ownership of the subject matter. Chat rooms also provide learners with anyplace and real-time ways to participate in academic discussions. Shared understanding occurs when individual experience mediated through group…

With a sudden move to remote and online teaching due to COVID-19 pandemic, Organic Chemistry became more challenging for both students and educators with the emergence of new technological challenges and instructional strategies. The Organic Chemistry I class at SUNY Plattsburgh was shifted to an online learning model in an attempt to mimic…

What does it mean to be a productive professor in higher education? What would it feel like to have more peace and productivity? To have nothing fall through the cracks? "The Productive Online and Offline Professor" is written for today's busy higher education professional. Through an exploration of what it means to make work meaningful,…

This chapter examines the experience of teaching English-related courses at Vilnius University (VU), the oldest and largest Lithuanian institution of higher education, in the spring 2020. We discuss arrangements made in the organizational process and implementation of the subjects within the areas taught in English by the staff members of the…

COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an emergency transition to distance education in Turkey as well as other countries in the world; and as in all levels and fields of education, the distance education model has been widely used in undergraduate level music instrument education. This practice has brought certain issues that are required to be…

Distance or online learning is more than simply uploading and delivering learning resources to learners but in fact, it is a process that provides learners with autonomy, responsibility, flexibility and choice. This can be a challenge for many academic teachers. In 2020, as universities globally shifted to online learning, in response to the…

Given that racial and ethnic minorities will comprise the majority of the U.S. demographic population by the 2050s, it is imperative that faculty and staff develop a level of cultural competence to effectively provide all students with a well-rounded classroom learning experience suitable for an increasingly diverse workforce. Previous research…

A researcher with five years' experience of teaching online classes shares what she has seen and experienced while working with her students. Through the evolution of working with Tegrity, Collaborate, and ZOOM the author shares the lived experience. The work of Max van Manen, a phenomenological researcher, serves as the framework. Descriptions…

This article describes an equity-focused professional learning community that used the EQUIP observation protocol to provide data analytics to instructors. The learning community met during Spring 2020, and due to the global coronavirus pandemic, it moved online midsemester. This article describes patterns of student participation and how they…