Moving on from emergency-remote-teaching: university teachers’ perceived challenges of networked learning

Abstract

This paper presents part of the findings of a phenomenographically-informed investigation into higher education (HE) teachers’ perceptions of personal learning networks in the context of the recent COVID-19 emergency-remote-teaching (ERT) period, with a specific targeting of perceived challenges. This ERT period has magnified teachers’ use of personal learning networks with an absence of a coherent institutionalized approach to ERT, which has presented itself as a unique opportunity through which to explore how Networked Learning (NL) can be incorporated to help teachers manage the longer term shift towards the technologization of HE. The research therefore aims to explore the perceptions of 18 Academic English teachers at a leading English-instruction university in Kazakhstan that was forced to move online at the beginning of COVID-19. The chapter reports the teachers’ perceived challenges of using their networks for online teaching and learning—particularly for connecting to people and resources online. The results suggest that teachers perceive the challenges of network use in at least five different ways: i) technological tools, ii) technological skills (training), iii) fractious group communication, iv) subdued communicative spontaneity and v) a sense of isolation. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the results for teachers and how the challenges can be overcome.