Lessons Learnt from Online Teaching and Beyond: What now? Three Countries Speak

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges and changes to higher education. More than 100 countries went into lockdown, severely affecting education systems worldwide. There was an expectation that higher education institutes would “find solutions” — and fast. Many questions arose concerning the role of online courses, technology-mediated learning resources, and the long-term effects of the pandemic on students, faculty, and institutions. Information systems educators from Southern Africa came together at the 51st Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers’ Association (SACLA 2022). The panel reported on here was part of that conference and brought together information systems educators from three countries, South Africa, Mexico, and the United States to share their experiences and reflections regarding the effects of the COVID-19 transition and its aftermath. A wide-ranging discussion ensued, that ran the gamut from micro-level individual experiences to macro-level effects and challenges. These perspectives cover “big picture” challenges and observations, inclusion and exclusion considerations, threats and opportunities, and two reports of experiences and the resulting modifications in COVID-19 classrooms. This panel report also focused on the lessons learned from the conference attendees' discussion and suggested a possible future research agenda.