Distance Learning in Higher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 virus pandemic has changed regular work processes in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) all around the world. Regular classes have been suspended, and the traditional learning system has been replaced by an online approach. In order to teach continuously, teaching staff from the HEIs has focused mainly on the Learning Management Systems (LMS), software, online collaboration tools, etc. The aim of this research was to explore and highlight the key elements of the used LMS and other collaboration tools that were used as the support for online classes during the spring semester 2020 (ZOOM, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Viber, Go to Meeting, Active Presenter, Discord, Google Meet, Jitsi Meet, etc.), as well as their specific features, and to discover whether the distance learning platforms and tools can facilitate the process of education during the emergency situations. The results of this study highlighted the benefits of different online tools and platforms for distance learning.