Regional Directorate for Primary and Secondary Education of Education of Attica, Greece
* Corresponding author

Article Main Content

The suspension of schools’ operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020-2021 academic year led to the establishment of an Emergency "Online School" for students having serious illnesses, who were deemed to be vulnerable. In detail, vulnerable students were supported by teachers who were also facing serious health problems and were also deemed to be vulnerable. Innovative teaching methods such as blended learning and synchronous and asynchronous e-learning were implemented in the Online School. The Online School aimed at offering active learning experiences to students. This paper focuses on the operational and organizational characteristics of the Online School, directing attention into the implementation of Blended Online Learning and its reverberation at the students and teachers involved. ?Appropriate open-ended interviews were conducted to assess the success of the entire Online School expedient. It is important to underline that favorable comments were made by both students and teachers on the Online School Implementation.

References

  1. König J, Jäger-Biela DJ Glutsch N. Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: Teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education, 2020, 43;4:1–15.
     Google Scholar
  2. UNESCO. COVID-19 education response. [Internet]. 2020. Avaivable from: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/globalcoalition.
     Google Scholar
  3. Hodges C, Moore S, Lockee B, Trust T, Bond A. The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Educause review, 2020;27:1–12.
     Google Scholar
  4. Bubb S, Jones MA. Learning from the COVID-19 home-schooling experience: Listening to pupils, parents/carers and teachers. Improving Schools, 2020;23(3):209–222.
     Google Scholar
  5. Onyema EM, Eucheria NC, Obafemi FA, Sen S, Atonye FG, Sharma A, Alsayed AO. Impact of Coronavirus pandemic on education. Journal of Education and Practice, 2020;11(13):108–121.
     Google Scholar
  6. Dimopoulos K, Koutsampelas C, Tsatsaroni A. Home schooling through online teaching in the era of COVID-19: Exploring the role of home-related factors that deepen educational inequalities across European societies. European Educational Research Journal, 2021;20(4):479–497. https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041211023331.
     Google Scholar
  7. Hodges C, Barbour ?. Assessing learning during Emergency Remote Education. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 2021;29(2).
     Google Scholar
  8. Jimoyiannis A, Koukis N, Tsiotakis P. Rapid design and implementation of a teacher development MOOC about emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. In Reis A, Barroso J, Lopes JB, Mikropoulos T, Fan CW (Eds.), Technology and Innovation in Learning, Teaching and Education. Springer, 2020.
     Google Scholar
  9. Azorín C.? Beyond COVID-19 supernova. Is another education coming? Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 2020;5(3/4):381–390.
     Google Scholar
  10. Li C, Lalani F. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how. World Economic Forum. [Internet]. 2020. Available from:
     Google Scholar
  11. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/.
     Google Scholar
  12. Martin F, Polly D, Rithzaupt AD. Bichronous Online Learning: blended Asynchronous and Synchronous Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Review. [Internet]. 2020. Available from: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/9/bichronous-online-learning-blended-asynchronous-and-synchronous-online-learning.
     Google Scholar
  13. Utomo DTP, Ahsanah F. The implementation of bichronous online learning: EFL students’ perceptions and challenges. Journal of English Language Teaching, 2022;11(2).
     Google Scholar
  14. Hrastinski S. What Do We Mean by Blended Learning? TechTrends, 2019;63:564–569. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528- 019-00375-5.
     Google Scholar
  15. Taghizadeh M, Yourdshahi ZH. Integrating technology into the young learners’ classes: Language teachers’ perceptions. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 2019;33(8):982–1006.
     Google Scholar
  16. European Commission. Council recommendation on blended learning for high quality and inclusive primary and secondary education. 2021.
     Google Scholar
  17. European Commission). Blended Learning in School Education: guidelines for the start of the academic year 2020/21. Education and Training. [Internet]. 2020. Available from: https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/downloads/Blended%20learning%20in%20school%20education_European%20Commission_June%202020.pdf
     Google Scholar
  18. Jiang W. Interdependence of roles, role rotation, and sense of community in an online course. Distance Education, 2017;38(1):84–105.
     Google Scholar
  19. Simonson M, Smaldino SE, Albright M, Zvacek S. Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson, 2012.
     Google Scholar
  20. Palloff RM, Pratt K. Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.
     Google Scholar
  21. Sana S, Adhikary C, Chattopadhyay KN. Synchronous Vis-a-Vis Asynchronous Learning: A Blended Approach. Inquisitive teacher, 2018;5(2):31–39.
     Google Scholar
  22. Angelone L, Warner Z, Zydney JM. Optimizing the technological design of a blended synchronous learning environment. Online Learning, 2020;24(3):222–240.
     Google Scholar
  23. Martin F, Sun T, Turk ?, Ritzhaupt AD. A Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Synchronous Online Learning on Cognitive and Affective Educational Outcomes. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2021;22(3):205–242. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=c59676a6-7cb3-4e8b-b321-c6b59da12ab7%40redis.
     Google Scholar
  24. Innes MC, Wilton D. Guide to blended learning. Burnaby: Commonwealth of Learning, 2018.
     Google Scholar
  25. Moorhouse BL, Wong KM. Blended asynchronous and synchronous digital technologies and instructional approaches to facilitate remote learning. Journal Computer Education, 2021;9:51–70 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40692-021-00195-8.
     Google Scholar
  26. Woltering V, Herrler A, Spitzer K, Spreckelsen C. Blended learning positively affects students’ satisfaction and the role of the tutor in the problem-based learning process: Results of a mixed-method evaluation. Advances in Health Science Education, 2009;14:725–738.
     Google Scholar
  27. Willging PA, Johnson SD. Factors that influence students’ decision to drop-out of online courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 2009;13(3):115–127.
     Google Scholar
  28. Wong KT, Hwang GJ, Choo Goh PS, Mohd Arrif SK. Effects of blended learning pedagogical practices on students’ motivation and autonomy for the teaching of short stories in upper secondary English. Interactive Learning Environments, 2018;28(4):512-525.
     Google Scholar
  29. Wu JH, Tennyson RD, Hsia TL. A study of student satisfaction in a blended e-learning system environment. Computers and Education, 2010;55(1):155–164.
     Google Scholar
  30. Hudson H. How to implement a station rotation model in blended learning. [Internet]. 2013. Avaiable from: http://www.dreambox.com/blog/thoghts-implementing-blended-learning-model.
     Google Scholar
  31. Fowler R. Effects of Synchronous Online Course Orientation on Student Attrition. PhD dissertation, University of South Carolina. 2019.
     Google Scholar
  32. Peterson A, Beymer P, Putnam R. Synchronous and Asynchronous Discussions: Effects on Cooperation, Belonging, and Affect. Online Learning, 2018;22(4):7–25.
     Google Scholar
  33. Garrison DR, Cleveland-Innes M, Fung TS. Exploring causal relationships among teaching, cognitive and social presence: Student perceptions of the community of inquiry framework. The Internet and Higher Education, 2010;13(1–2):31–36.
     Google Scholar
  34. Doukakis S. A Management Approach of an E-Tutoring Program for High School Students. International Journal of Managing Information Technology (IJMIT), 2021;13(1):21–31.
     Google Scholar
  35. Picciano AG, Seaman J, Allen IE. Educational transformation through online learning: To be or not to be. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 2010;14(4):17–35.
     Google Scholar
  36. Lo C. Grounding the flipped classroom approach in the foundations of educational technology. Educational Technology Research and Development, 2018;66(3):793–811.
     Google Scholar
  37. Halverson LR, Graham CR. Learner engagement in blended learning environments: A conceptual framework. Online Learning, 2019;23(2): 145–178.
     Google Scholar
  38. Nikiforos S, Tzanavaris S, Kermanidis KL. Post?pandemic pedagogy: Distance education in Greece during COVID?19 pandemic through the eyes of the teachers. European Journal of Engineering and Technology Research. 2020. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejeng.2020.0.CIE.2305.
     Google Scholar
  39. Nikolopoulou K, Kousloglou M. Online Teaching in COVID-19 Pandemic: Secondary School Teachers’ Beliefs on Teaching Presence and School Support. Education Sciences, 2022;12:216. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/educsci12030216.
     Google Scholar
  40. Giavrimis P, Nikolaou SM. Teachers’ views on the digital divide in Greece. A qualitative approach. International Journal of Social Science Research, 2020;8(2):46–58.
     Google Scholar
  41. Morgan H. Best practices for implementing remote learning during a pandemic. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 2020;93(3):135–141.
     Google Scholar
  42. Snelling J, Fingal D. 10 strategies for online learning during a coronavirus outbreak. International Society for Technology in Education. 2020. https://www.iste.org/explore/10-strategies-online-learning-during-coronavirus-outbreak.
     Google Scholar
  43. Yamagata-Lynch LC. blended Online Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2014;15(2):189–212.
     Google Scholar
  44. Bergmann J, Sams A. Flip your classroom: Reach every student in every class every day. Washington: International Society for Technology in Education, 2012.
     Google Scholar