Title: COVID-19 and the new situation in higher education

Authors: Eduardo Carlos Dittmar; David López Jiménez; Jenny Patricia Vargas Portillo

Addresses: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, P.º de los Artilleros 38, 28032 Madrid, Spain ' EAE Business School, UNIE Universidad, C. Joaquín Costa 41, 28002 Madrid, Spain ' Universidad de Sevilla, Av. de Ramón y Cajal 1, 41018 Sevilla, Spain

Abstract: The appearance of the coronavirus disease 2019 has had effects on different levels. Many people were forced to confine themselves to their homes and the suspension of classroom teaching involved the transformation of higher education. Professors had to adapt to the new situation, make use of certain virtual teaching tools, resort to certain remote assessment systems and carry out their teaching work together with their family and domestic responsibilities, which were enhanced by the pandemic. However, the use of new technologies was not homogeneous for different social groups because certain sectors of the population did not have the appropriate tools (information technology and techniques), in addition to the fact that they did not have suitable housing or residential spaces. This scenario has provided an opportunity to reduce inequalities with respect to digital skills.

Keywords: COVID-19; higher education; virtual classes; digital technologies; online teaching.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKL.2025.145124

International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 2025 Vol.18 No.2, pp.204 - 214

Received: 18 Nov 2022
Accepted: 12 Dec 2023
Published online: 19 Mar 2025 *

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