Facilitating Emergency Remote K-12 Teaching in Computing-Enhanced Virtual Learning Environments During COVID-19 Pandemic - Blessing or Curse?

This study explored teacher experience in leading Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) in K-12 and conducting blended synchronous and asynchronous instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study’s purpose was to understand the pedagogical, technological, and organizational challenges and benefits of computing-enhanced digital learning environments, and to explore teachers' pedagogical strategies. This study employed a qualitative research paradigm using nation-wide, online samples, which included 133 elementary and secondary school teachers from Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking schools in Israel. Participants were asked to share their perspectives and experiences of ERT through open-ended questions in an online questionnaire. The bottom-up analysis of the data, based on the Grounded Theory approach, yielded 1,822 statements reflecting teachers' perceptions of pedagogical, technological, and organizational challenges (N = 580) and benefits of ERT (N = 827). The analysis also revealed a variety of pedagogical distance learning strategies used by teachers (N = 415). The study raises the need to turn a curse into a blessing by incorporating the experience of remote technology-enhanced learning and online activities into the school agenda on a regular basis. Thus, teachers and students would develop important digital competencies and be prepared for the next emergency event. The implications of our findings for educational theory and practice of educational computing are discussed.