&e research by Hjelsvold et al.

[14] is also one of the first

studies which investigated educators’ feedback on the distance
learning during the COVID-19 lockdown, as a result of
a survey conducted on 303 university students and 56 educators
in Norway. &e study reported that short time and
lack of ready resources were important barriers to sudden
shift to distant learning. Even though learners and educators
report a lack of practice in online education, the study
declared that they both adapted fast, showing a positive
attitude towards the change. According to the results of the
survey, key factors affect the online experience during the
first weeks of distance learning, and these are as follows:
from learners’ side: feedback to instructors, engagement in
discussion forums, use of online tutorials, and participation
in group work; from educators’ side: timely communication
and clear instructions about formative and summative assessments,
exams, quizzes and assignments, informing
learners of how to get help, providing support using synchronous
and asynchronous tools, ensuring virtual place for
students-to-students and students-to-instructor online interaction,
and giving advice to students to set their study
place and schedule for an effective study-at-home experience;
from leaders and administrators’ side: timely communication
with students especially with exam regulations
and petitions, supporting learners in preparing new pedagogical
approaches to teaching as well as learning new tools,
and providing a more collective approach to the coordination
of activities and collaboration between educators.

Demuyakor (2020) investigated Ghanaian international students’ levels of satisfaction of online learning in
higher educational institutions in China. The results of the study indicated that students supported the
implementation of online learning programs. They were satisfied with their online learning experience during
the transition from FTF to online and perceived the online courses as effective. On the other hand, students
who participated in the courses while outside China indicated that they spent a lot of money to secure internet
data for online learning. In addition, students who lived in dorms indicated that the internet connectivity was
very slow.

Knipe and Lee (2002) examined the concern that teaching and learning using video conferencing is not of the
same quality of the one experienced in a traditional classroom environment. The results indicated that the
teaching and learning that the students in the remote site experienced was of less quality then students in the
traditional classroom. Candarli and Yuksel (2012) conducted a study to explore students’ perceptions of video-
conferencing in higher education. The participants of the study were second and third-year university students

Gonzales et al (2020) conducted an experiment among 450 students from three subjects in different
degrees of higher education at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain to identify the effect of
COVID-19 confinement on students’ performance. The results of this study answer fourresearch
questions:

1. Is there any effect (positive or negative) of COVID-19 confinement on

students’ performance?
2. Is it possible to be sure that COVID-19 confinement is the origin of the
different performance (if any)?
 3. What are the reasons of the differences (if any) in students’ performance?
4. What are the expected effects of the differences in students’ performance (if
any) in the assessment process?
The results showed that there is a significant positive effect of COVID-19 confinement on students’
performance. Students obtained better scores in all kinds of tests that were performed after the
beginning of confinement.

Yang & Li (2018) support the idea that online teaching training is necessary both for students and
instructors

ASSESSMENT PAHASE

Validity
As assessment main objective is to evaluate the students’ learning on the specific
learning outcome, the assessment method should be appropriate to evaluate the
achievement of the learning objectives (Hsiao & Watering, 2020).
2.4.2 Reliability
The most difficult issue in remote assessment is ensuring academic integrity. The
assessment design should consider preventive measures to make assessment free from
cheating and fraud. The preventive mechanisms during the assessment time and
detecting mechanisms after submission should be employed (Hsiao &Watering, 2020).
2.4.3 Clarity
During the assessment time, since there is no face-to-face communication and students
may not have a chance to ask clarification, the assessment should be clear to students.
Particularly when students are not familiar with the new assessment method, it is
essential to explain the procedures and expectations clearly and provide related examples.
This also applies if questions are asked at a different level than would normally be
expected. Make sample questions, and if possible discuss these questions online with
the students before issuing the assessment (Hsiao & Watering, 2020).

R. Hjelsvold, A. Bahmani, and M. Lor˚as, “First impressions

from educators as NTNU transitions to an online only mode
of learning,” 2020, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
341042510.

Demuyakor, J. (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19) and online learning in higher institutions of education: A survey
of the perceptions of Ghanaian international students in China. Online Journal of Communication and Media
Technologies, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/8286

Knipe, D., & Lee, M. (2002). The quality of teaching and learning via videoconferencing. British Journal of
Educational Technology, 33(3), 301–311.

Hsiao, Y. P., & Watering, G. A.v. d.. (2020). Guide for choosing a suitable method for remote assessment
considerations and options: University of Twente.

Gonzalez T, de la Rubia MA, Hincz KP, Comas-Lopez M, Subirats L, Fort S, et al. (2020) Influence of
COVID-19 confinement on students’ performance in higher education. PLoS ONE 15(10): e0239490.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239490

Yang F and Li F W B 2018 Study on student performance estimation, student progress

analysis, and student potential prediction based on data mining Computers & Education 123
97–108 URL https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.04.006
Serhan
who attended a videoconferencing English class for about thirty minutes. The results of the study indicated that
students had a negative attitude towards the use of videoconferencing in the class.