Barriers in Times of Digital Teaching and Learning – a German Case Study: Challenges and Recommendations for Action

The Covid-19 pandemic has raised significant challenges for universities. Digital inclusion “of all learners regardless of their circumstances, learning prerequisites and needs” is a major challenge (Walgenbach, Compes & Lambrich 2019: 9, authors’ translation). Starting with accessibility and related concepts such as digital inclusion and digital divide, we intend to create a wider view of barriers in the context of digital teaching and learning. Barriers in online learning environments also arise for people who have previously studied without any barriers (e.g. technical equipment is missing, lack of digital skills). New barriers have been added, and others have been mitigated. For example, the compatibility of family and work has improved in part through asynchronous online formats (Knoblich 2020; Hassel 2020). Digital teaching and learning should enable students to expand their study opportunities and flexibility, not limit them (Traus et al. 2020). This article addresses these and other challenges by quantitatively surveying students and lecturers at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences about the digital “Corona Semester”. As the results show, a barrier rarely comes alone – students who face one barrier in the digital semester also face others. The article provides initial strategies for dealing with new barriers. Our findings point to a low-barrier learning design and financial or technical support measures. We conclude by pointing out that the establishment of a culture of openness is important if we are to support every student in the learning process in the best possible way and enable (digital) participation and learning.