Narratives of time and visibility: a study of student participation in digital teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic

Copyright © 2021 Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 License.Denne studien fokuserer på studenters egne opplevelser av hvordan omleggingen fra fysisk til digitalt mediert undervisning preget læringsrommet i høyere utdanning under covid-19-pandemien. Studien bygger på seks dybdeintervjuer utført ved Høgskolen i Innlandet høsten 2020, og utforsker i hvilken grad digitalt mediert undervisning som følge av covid-19-pandemiens smitteverntiltak, påvirker forutsetningene for læring gjennom deltakelse. Med utgangspunkt i forskning på digital pedagogikk og teori om læring som deltakelse avdekker analysene tre ulike narrativer om digitalt mediert undervisning under pandemien: opplevelse av økt deltakelse, forvandling fra deltakende til passiv og taus, men også oppfatninger av egen deltakelse som upåvirket. Videre viser analysene at temaene synlighet og tid går igjen i narrativene og har forklaringskraft for hvordan mulighetene for deltakelse i det digitale klasserommet oppleves. Funnene antyder at deltakelse i digitalt mediert undervisning innebærer en ny type kompleksitet og følger andre spilleregler enn tradisjonell klasseromsundervisning. Vi argumenterer for at en bevissthet omkring hva som påvirker deltakelse og interaksjon i digitalt mediert undervisning, er nødvendig for å sikre hensiktsmessig bruk.Abstract: On 12 March 2020, all higher education in Norway was redirected onto digital platforms and communication programs overnight to prevent further spread of the Covid-19 virus. During the academic year of 2020–2021, large student groups received all or part of their teaching through digital tools. This transition forced teachers and students to reorient and change their practices from meetings in classrooms and auditoriums to engagement in digital rooms. The present study focuses on students’ experiences with digital teaching during the early phases of Covid-19 and how the abrupt transition from physical to digital teaching affects learning opportunities in higher education by studying students’ own narratives on digital teaching. The study draws on six in-depth interviews collected in autumn 2020 and explores the impact of digitally mediated teaching on learning through participation. The analysis reveals that there is no single shared narrative of digitally mediated teaching; rather, while some students are being silenced by the digital room, others’ narratives emphasize new opportunities to interact and participate. Experiences related to visibility and time represent recurring topics in the narratives and we argue that these two factors capture important aspects of obstacles and opportunities for participation in the digitally mediated classroom.publishedVersio