Comparing Face-to-Face, Emergency Remote Teaching and Smart Classroom: A Qualitative Exploratory Research Based on Students’ Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Josep Petchamé, Ignasi Iriondo, Eva Villegas, David Riu and David Fonseca
Additional contact information
Josep Petchamé: Department of Engineering, Universitat Ramon Llull (URL), 08022 Barcelona, Spain
Ignasi Iriondo: Department of Engineering, Universitat Ramon Llull (URL), 08022 Barcelona, Spain
Eva Villegas: Department of Engineering, Universitat Ramon Llull (URL), 08022 Barcelona, Spain
David Riu: Department of Management and Technology, Universitat Ramon Llull (URL), 08022 Barcelona, Spain
David Fonseca: Department of Architecture, Universitat Ramon Llull (URL), 08022 Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted traditional face-to-face teaching worldwide and forced education institutions to adopt new, online teaching formats to enable students to continue with their studies. This research focuses on students’ perceptions of three teaching different modalities: face-to-face (F2F), Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) and Smart Classroom (SC), which were implemented in response to the restrictions enforced to combat the spread of COVID-19. A qualitative study based on two user experience techniques, Pocket Bipolar Laddering and Emotional Appraisal, was carried out on a group of second-year ICT engineering university students at La Salle Campus Barcelona. The former technique consists in identifying a maximum of three positive and three negative salient items, while the latter is intended to rate pairs of opposite feelings. In the SC format, saving time on travel to university was considered an advantage of online learning, while disadvantages included less effective instructor–student interaction, distractions when off-campus and teamwork issues. These shortcomings can be addressed by specific online teaching training to develop a more active form of learning and foment student participation. However, both ERT and SC modalities were considered effective solutions to cope with the social and mobility restrictions imposed during the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Emergency Remote Teaching; engineering education; face-to-face; higher education; ICT; online learning; smart classroom; user experience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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