Introduction
The demand for online and distance education has expanded dramatically around the world since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020. Most notably, the ongoing and evolving global COVID-19 restrictions have heightened the importance of online teaching and learning in higher education broadly and international education particularly (Dwivedi et al., 2020; Paudel, 2021). Today, the pandemic has presented the world with never-before-seen global challenges. Many colleges and universities have been grappling with unclear recruitment priorities and severe financial constraints while at the same time collaborating and cooperating with new industry partners and philanthropic organizations to navigate the shifting COVID-19 landscape (de Wit & Altbach, 2021). Institutions of higher education, especially those from middle- and upper-income countries, have purchased and deployed new technologies and approaches (face-to-face, online, synchronous, asynchronous) in all departments as a direct consequence of the pandemic, yet there has been little consideration of how those information and communication technologies (ICT) will be used for the future (Altbach & de Wit, 2020). As many postsecondary institutions continue to confront the challenges of remote instruction, the need to understand the purposes and functions of online teaching and learning is vastly needed not only to prepare students for the complexity of digitalization but also to help prepare them for the globally competitive knowledge-based economy (Oleksiyenko et al., 2020).
The most common way to provide students with remote instruction is the use of audio and video conferencing (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, Skype). Since the COVID-19 lockdown, the use of audio and video conferencing has become crucial for faculty members and staff to present content in multiple ways and formats. According to the International Association of Universitiesā (IAU, 2020b) global survey on the impacts of COVID-19, two-thirds of the responding institutions worldwide have replaced classroom teaching with distance learning. In the United States, the American Council on Education (ACE, 2020) COVID-19 survey of 268 college and university presidents found that more than half (55%) planned to offer āpredominantly online, with some in-person instructionā in the spring 2021 semester, which meant that the entire academic year would be online. The integration of hybrid and blended learning formats has provided students with added convenience, flexibility, and a safety net to pursue tertiary education at a distance. Furthermore, video conferencing and learning management systems (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle) have helped students who are unable to attend in the real world to optimize learning remotely. Although online and distance education has grown substantially over the past decade, and most notably since the COVID-19 lockdown, limited research has examined the role of distance education in shaping accessible learning. Furthermore, very few studies have examined the impacts of COVID-19 on student success during the transition to online learning.
In this introductory chapter of the book, we discuss how the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the status quo in global higher education, with faculty members and staff forced to engage in developing professional development opportunities (teaching training) to stay competitive and relevant for its constituents (students, alumni, parents, policy makers). Specifically, we illustrate how the expansion of ICT and information technology specialists has affected institutionsā abilities to survive in the future, as several colleges and universities begin to shut down (The College Crisis Initiative (C2i), 2021). We also share how the COVID-19 restrictions have widened the digital gap across all teaching and learning spaces (due to the lack of a national response to the public health crisis), while exacerbating economic and structural inequalities with regards to ICT access (i.e., Internet, electricity, computers) among historically vulnerable populations (e.g., rural children, families of color, students with disabilities, students of refugee status; Salmi, 2021). As technological advancements and travel bans continue to grow around the world, we highlight the changing examples, patterns, and frameworks afforded by online and distance education from an international and comparative lens. We also provide alternative assumptions, paradigms, and reflections for teacher-scholars and advanced practitioners to consider that will inspire, challenge, and connect them during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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