Teaching online: from shy to interested

An hour of online teaching and learning at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) - Photo: NV

“I was really stressed in the early stages of teaching online, the workload was much heavier”, “Teaching online is very annoying, the only convenience is not having to choose clothes to wear to the lecture hall”, “So miserable”...

That was the feeling of many university teachers in the early stages of online teaching, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the education sector to rapidly transform digitally. Now, when the pandemic is gradually under control, the situation is different...

reluctantly

Digital transformation has been in the plans of many universities, but it was only when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred that online training was really strongly implemented.

Dr. Tran Ngoc Hieu - Faculty of Literature, Hanoi National University of Education - confessed that he was very stressed in the beginning: "The school implemented online teaching very early, before the 17th case. Most lecturers of the Faculty of Literature reluctantly attended training, because they thought this was just a temporary solution. No one thought online teaching would last until the end of the semester. Personally, I was very stressed because I had to adapt to all kinds of software, thinking of ways to make the lectures not boring."

Hanoi National University has had to provide psychological support materials for both lecturers and students, showing the severity of this period. Dr. Truong Thi Bich Hanh - lecturer of the history department at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Hanoi National University) - said: "In the first weeks, both teachers and students were unsteady because they were not used to the new teaching and learning method. In addition, the internet connection was unstable and learning tools were lacking, so both teachers and students were under pressure. Then, teaching social subjects while only seeing students through the screen, it was difficult to know whether students understood the lesson or not, so lecturers had to give homework continuously."

Despite being experienced in online teaching and learning, Dr. Ngo Bich Ngoc - lecturer of the PR, advertising and branding program at Middlesex University (UK), Academy of Journalism and Communication - said that in the first few weeks, she had to spend a lot of time supporting students. Teachers and students had to use all kinds of software and applications in a "combined Eastern and Western medicine" style to overcome technical problems.

Opportunity in challenge

At the management level, university leaders all feel that COVID-19 has brought positive aspects because it has made the process of online training from plan to reality faster.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Hanoi) - said: "The school implements online teaching based on the voluntary spirit of teachers and students, not forcing or forcing lecturers to skip stages. Initially, when opening the training class, we thought only 30 teachers would participate, but in the first week of class, 150 people participated. Up to now, 350 lecturers have participated (equivalent to 95% of the school's lecturers)".

Dr. Tran Ngoc Hieu admitted that at first he was not enthusiastic about online training, but after a while of teaching, he saw the advantages of this method. "When giving the test, I realized that there were many students in the class who were very quiet, but when they gave feedback to the teacher in the form of writing, they were very good. Meanwhile, students who spoke very enthusiastically in class gave wrong answers."

According to Dr. Truong Bich Hanh, her school previously instructed lecturers to create their own websites to post documents and take multiple-choice tests, but few teachers paid attention: "After teaching online, I realized that there are so many applications that support teaching. For example, I can set the time for students to submit their assignments. The assignments are graded by the computer very accurately, fairly, and transparently. I will probably take advantage of those utilities after this period."

After the online teaching period, schools were surprised when teachers and students, who had complained and were not enthusiastic, now said they wanted to continue using online training methods. According to a survey by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Hanoi), 75% of teachers wanted to continue teaching online, and at the end of the semester, they would spend about 1-2 weeks in the classroom to review knowledge for students.

"Previously, schools planned to spend 20% of their training hours online, but after this period, I think schools will tend to increase the percentage of hours for online training," said Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan.

According to Tuoi Tre online