The COVID-19 Pandemic and Transformation of Distance Education: Web 2.0 in Higher Education


Özdiyar Gedik Ö., Demirkaya A. S.

in: Beyond COVID-19: Multidisciplinary Approaches and Outcomes on Diverse Fields, Şefika Şule Erçetin,Nihan Potas,Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın, Editor, World Scientific Publishing , Singapore, pp.277-292, 2022

  • Publication Type: Book Chapter / Chapter Research Book
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Publisher: World Scientific Publishing
  • City: Singapore
  • Page Numbers: pp.277-292
  • Editors: Şefika Şule Erçetin,Nihan Potas,Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın, Editor
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This chapter introduces the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak to educational systems. The pandemic exerted serious pressure on higher education systems, prompting the search for innovative solutions and triggering structural transformation. Online education had to replace face-to-face training and environments, with its opportunities and uncertainties. Web 2.0 tools promise to increase the effectiveness of online education with the opportunities it offers. The advantages offered by Web 2.0 tools should be taken into account and should be involved in the transformation process of higher education systems. Higher education institutions and their stakeholders should evaluate the experiences gained during the COVID-19 pandemic in detail, the opportunities and risks offered by technological transformation, and build the future of higher education aligned with the results. If the outputs of this process are evaluated effectively, accurate and operative inferences are made and innovative and sustainable solutions are developed. This process can carry educational systems to a brighter future.