By Petrea Redmond (University of Southern Queensland) and Chris Campbell (Griffith University)

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the education sector, at least for now. Teaching, learning, and living now are very different than before.  The impacts are being felt socially, emotionally, financially, and educationally. There have been unique challenges, but also exciting opportunities. The effects in higher education have differed depending on the established technology infrastructure and previous use of the technology tools.  In some universities, they had to pivot to online learning and teaching in a very short period of time.

This blog post shares two research projects which are investigating the impact of COVID and sharing the stories of educators.  We’d encourage all readers to support the ASCILITE researchers and complete the two surveys. We appreciate you taking the time and for sharing your experiences.

Project 1: How are educators adapting to the challenges of COVID-19?

COVID-19 has changed the way we work, live, and learn. Most educational institutions have moved to some type of alternative education provision.  Research is required to understand better how these unprecedented challenges and ways of working affect educators and their vital work.

The effects on educators are being investigated by Associate Professor Petrea Redmond and colleagues at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Educators around the world are completing an online survey for this research. The survey includes educators working in a wide range of educational sectors: Higher Education, Vocational Education, workplace trainers, K – 12, and Early Childhood.

The survey takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. If you are willing to contribute, here is the link: https://tinyurl.com/y73yj5fe

A snowballing technique is being used to gather more participants, so feel free to pass on the link to colleagues or your professional networks.

This research project has ethical approval from the University of Southern Queensland (Human Research Ethics Approval Number – H20REA103).

Project 2: Teaching and Learning in COVID-19 Times

In another research study, we recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed education dramatically. The impact on teaching and learning is global, urgent, and likely to alter education practices from this point onwards. We are interested to hear your stories of how you have negotiated these changes and invite you to take part in an online survey. The survey seeks to document and analyse changing education practices to produce reports, case studies, guides, and other resources to support teaching and learning through the COVID-19 socially restrictive national, state, and institutional rulings. Taking part in this study is entirely voluntary. Your responses will be anonymous. It takes about 20 minutes to participate in this study, and we want to hear your stories, so please take the time to let us know.

The study is being conducted by Associate Professor Louise Phillips (James Cook University), Dr Chris Campbell (Griffith University), Associate Professor Susan Davis (Central Queensland University), Dr Melissa Cain (Australian Catholic University), Dr Kate Coleman (University of Melbourne), Dr Geraldine Burke (Monash University), Associate Professor Jenny Ritchie (Victoria University, Wellington), Professor Cynthia Brock (University of Wyoming), and Dr Esther Joosa (Independent Researcher, Singapore).

The project has approval from the James Cook University Human Research Ethics Committee (H8090) and Griffith University Human Research Ethics Committee (2020/311).

Click the link to participate in the survey: https://tinyurl.com/TeachinginCOVID

Our website is available here: https://omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au/teaching-and-learning-in-a-pandemic/