Online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pandemija uzrokovana virusom SARS-CoV-2 obustavila je redovno izvođenje nastave u Republici Hrvatskoj u ožujku 2020. godine. Sva se nastava premjestila u virtualni svijet te je započelo razdoblje nastave na daljinu na koju nijedan sudionik odgojno-obrazovnog procesa nije bio spreman. Nekoliko godina prije pandemije započelo se s provođenjem projekta e-škole, koji je za cilj imao implementaciju digitalnog sustava, no taj projekt nije zahvatio sve škole na prostoru RH niti su svi učitelji bili dovoljno kompetentni za prijelaz na nastavu na daljinu. U toj situaciji učitelji su se trebali naglo prilagoditi obvezama koje nosi rad od kuće – višesatno gledanje u računalo, virtualna komunikacija s učenicima i njihovim roditeljima, osmišljavanje nastavnih jedinica uz pomoć raznih digitalnih alata i platformi za čije korištenje su se najčešće samostalno usavršavali itd. Osim navedenog, učiteljima razredne nastave bio je veliki problem na koji način vrednovati učenike u tom razdoblju te odrediti optimalnu količinu opterećenosti učenika tijekom nastave na daljinu. Kako bi se doznalo kako su se učitelji organizirali tijekom perioda nastave na daljinu te s kojim su se sve problemima susreli, osmišljen je anketni upitnik naslova „Stavovi učitelja razredne nastave o provedbi nastave na daljinu tijekom pandemije COVID-19“. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 100 učitelja razredne nastave na području Krapinsko-zagorske županije. Rezultati su uspoređivani s obzirom na dob učitelja, radni staž te vrstu osnovne škole u kojoj rade. Sve navedene hipoteze su potvrđene s vrlo niskom razinom značajnosti.In March 2020, a pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus disrupted the traditional learning model in the Republic of Croatia. All classes were transferred online and the shift to distance learning has begun, which is something the participants in the educational process were not prepared for. A few years before the pandemic happened, an e-Schools pilot project has been initiated, aimed at digitizing teaching processes. However, not all schools in Croatia were included in this project, nor were all teachers competent enough to transfer to distance learning. In these circumstances, teachers had to adapt quickly to the responsibilities that come with working from home: long hours of looking at the screen, virtual communication with pupils and their parents, designing lessons with the aid of various digital tools and platforms (for the use of which they were mostly self-trained) etc. Apart from the abovementioned, primary school teachers had great trouble deciding how to grade pupils and how to determine the optimal workload during the period of distance learning. In order to find out how the teachers organised themselves during the period of distance learning and to recognise the problems they encountered, a questionnaire “Primary school teachers’ perspectives on the implementation of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic” has been developed. The study involved 100 primary school teachers in the Krapina-Zagorje County. The results of the study were compared with respect to the teachers’ age, years of service and the type of primary school they work at. All the above hypotheses have been confirmed with a very low level of significance