ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted, altered, and forever changed the institution of education from early learning through the rapid adoption of online education in colleges and universities. The urgency of rapid adoption required educators across disciplines to navigate complex logistics and unique situations by quickly employing a variety of teaching technologies through alternative modalities and pedagogical approaches. Some efforts were tried and true, others unproven and new. Students and instructors were met by both physical workspace-related constraints and limitations, as well as mental and physical health challenges and concerns; all while attempting to meet and exceed a host of expectations. The present exploratory and descriptive study, drawing on a sample of 1,810 college students and 217 instructors (n = 2,027) from a large midwestern university, examines both student and instructor experiences with online education addressing technology, individualized impacts, and satisfaction. Results suggest while students and instructors had similar experiences in some areas of online education, there were distinct differences in others. For example, students and instructors both reported a 176high degree of technological skill for online learning, however, students were much more likely to report technology difficulties and unreliable internet service impacting their ability to interact with their courses. Students also struggled more than instructors to stay motivated and fit coursework in with other responsibilities. Students also reported feeling too unwell emotionally/ mentally to fully engage in their courses significantly more than instructors. Students, consequently, reported less satisfaction with online education than instructors. The chapter concludes with several recommendations that may further improve student and instructor experiences in future online courses as the opportunity presents to more deliberately plan for online education.
