How has teaching and learning transformed over the past couple of years? Describe your personal experience.
The use of technology transformed the system of teaching and learning significantly. I remember handing papers in person to the teacher in the class and taking notes solely with a pen. Of course, we all already used the Internet to search for information, phones to communicate via social media, and computers to create presentations, but that was all. With the forced lockdown, everything, including classes, taking tests, and handing in assignments, became managed through some platform. And it partially stayed that way even after we started taking classes in person again.
Is there anything positive the forced lockdown and distance learning has brought to higher education?
The lockdown introduced ways to make education more accessible and flexible. As mentioned in the article, it isn't enough when teachers take "traditional learning and put it on a platform". But it was a start, and the means of online education improved since, bringing many benefits. Students can follow their own schedules, study more interactively, at their own pace, and sometimes even attend classes remotely.
Do you do a significant amount of online learning? What does online learning mean to you?
I do a bit of online learning - for me, it means accessibility. Even though I attend only two blended learning courses, I use the Internet and various applications every day to take notes, study, and do homework. I still read books from the library, and sometimes I indeed miss taking notes with a pen on an actual paper however it's more convenient for me to have most of my materials digitally in one place and always available.