THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

ABSTRACT:

The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has brought several challenges to higher education and education in general. The nationwide lockdown disrupted traditional face-to-face teaching and forced teachers and students to stay home. The closure of all educational institutions led to the need to think about alternatives to continue the teaching-learning process. Thus, the educational field has experienced significant variation in terms of including a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) tools. This qualitative and exploratory research starts from a universe of 283 online journalistic articles from the first two years of the pandemic that, after selection, resulted in 27 articles for a more detailed analysis. The results converge to three major areas: (1) structural aspects, (2) those concerning the teaching staff, and (3) those on the students. The analysis of the selected materials verified that, as support tools, the ICTs gave the educational system more flexibility, adaptability, and dynamism, allowing the continuity of the teaching process. Though these technologies have brought new and significant possibilities for educational practices, they have faced, and still face, several challenges related to teacher training, educational teams' resistance to changes, educational institutions' structural characteristics, and the need for students' motivation.

Keywords: Information and communication technologies; Distance Education; Higher Education; Covid-19