Teachers around the globe had to change from in-class teaching to remote teaching in a matter of days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a value sensitive approach as an analysis method to investigate how Finnish teachers experienced the utilisation of educational technology to support learning and interaction during the remote learning period. The experiences resulted in valuable insights about remote teaching. Thematic analysis of nine Finnish teachers' interviews showed that, overall, the teachers did not compromise their teaching-related values but wanted to offer ideal teaching. They managed to create a successful remote learning environment consisting of several systems and services. However, there was room for improvement, as the technology did not fully support all of the teachers' relevant values. The main finding was the need to develop a more comprehensive visualisation of the pupils' learning activities in order to better monitor their progress and the need for support.
The remote learning period in spring 2020 due
to the COVID-19 pandemic showed the
importance of educational technologies. It also
provided valuable information on how the
technologies could better serve the needs of
teachers, pupils, and families. In Finland,
educational institutes, from basic education
schools to vocational institutes and universities,
had to switch from contact teaching to alternative
teaching methods in a matter of days in March
2020 [
In this study, we concentrate on the
experiences of Finnish basic education teachers
during the first remote teaching period in spring
2020 lasting from March till May [
We focus on investigating the ICT learning
environment the teachers used to support pupils’
learning during this time. This environment refers
to all the teaching and communication systems the
teachers used when they were in remote contact
with the pupils, both in teaching and in monitoring
their learning process. The main objective of the
study is to discover what the teachers’ experiences
reveal about the various needs in relation to the
use of remote learning technologies. We explore
this by identifying the teachers’ relevant values
and how the technological learning environment
supported or hindered them. Understanding
values and their meaning in this context can help
in designing better products for online learning
[
Our study aims to provide answer to research questions: what kind of values do the teachers describe when reflecting on their remote teaching experiences? Also, we aim to discover, how did the teachers experience the technological learning environment as a support or hindrance for the realisation of their teaching related values?
The current technological transformations in
modern societies are extending people’s learning
and interaction opportunities in educational and
professional contexts generally [
Increasingly, the teacher’s role is changing
from the imparting of information and knowledge
to the designing of the learning experience [
The findings regarding the effects of the
remote teaching periods due to COVID-19 show
the concerns of both parents and pupils regarding
meeting social needs through interaction with
peers and teachers [
Remote learning also has decided effects on
interaction. During the remote teaching period in
spring 2020, many teachers had concerns around
communicating with pupils and their families [
The interest in values as part of ICT design has
grown as technology has become an almost
inseparable part of our everyday life and
environment [
Value sensitive design (VSD) is an approach
for designing and exploring technology taking
into account human values [
By investigating the values that are important
to the relevant stakeholders and how they are or
should be realised in a technology, it is possible to
influence the use of a technology and enhance its
effects. For example, VSD were used to study
how the values important to diabetic patients are
or should be embedded in a self-management
technology [
However, some identified values might
conflict [
Previous studies have indicated that teachers
use technology when they believe it will promote
the underlying value of student learning [
To study teachers’ experiences during the remote learning period, interviews with nine Finnish basic education teachers were conducted. The interviewees volunteered to be interviewed when they filled in an online survey about their remote teaching experiences during the COVID19 pandemic. The survey was done in collaboration with the company Qridi in order to reach teachers who had utilised its learning management system. The system, also called Qridi, is a tool for formative evaluation, which also supports teachers to organise their teaching in a way that allows their pupils to take responsibility for their learning. A total of 196 teachers completed the online survey. The nine participants in this study were selected from these 196 according to their willingness and availability. The interviews were conducted between the 9th and 24th of June 2020 and lasted between 59 and 83 minutes each. The aim of the interviews was to collect teachers’ perceptions about use of technology for teaching and interacting during the remote learning period. All the interviewees were Finnish, and all but one teacher was teaching in a Finnish school; that one teacher, Paul_Subject, taught Finnish pupils in a European school (see Table 1).
The interviews were analysed using thematic
analysis, a method for identifying themes and
patterns from qualitative data [
female Cristy_2ndGrade Jenna_Subject female female Paul_Subject
male Marge_1stGrade
female Liz_4thGrade John_3rdGrade Katy_5thGrade Barb_4thGrade female male female female 9th grade subject teacher (Mathematics, Computing) 1st grade teacher 4th, 5th, and 6th grades subject teacher (Religious Education) 4th grade teacher 3rd grade teacher 5th grade teacher 4th grade teacher Four authors took part in forming the categories. The main analysis of the themes was done by the first author, while the four authors made several iterations to combine the themes into suitable categories. Both deductive and inductive analyses were used to determine the final categories and subcategories. The first iterations after identifying some of the values resulted in the two main themes: learning process and interaction. These themes emerged as some of the values related to pedagogical process and some clearly related to interaction and communication. Further analysis by four authors produced subcategories to differentiate the two main themes at a deeper level.
The analysis produced a total of four value categories related to learning process and interaction, namely organising teaching, supporting pupils, utilising interaction, and interaction form (see Table 2). The values in the organising teaching category (stability, routines, and versatility) affected the ways the teachers planned the daily and weekly schedules as well as how they kept the pupils interested and motivated data. The analysis was conducted using NVivo 12.
The aim was to identify teachers’ relevant, context-related values and how the technological remote learning environment hindered or supported them. during the remote learning period. The second
Pupils’ ICT devices School provided Chromebooks and tablets to those who did not have access to any Technological learning environmenta 2nd grade teacher Google Drive, Seesaw 7th grade subject teacher (Textile Qridi at first, later Google work) rCelsatsosrfotohmescthoooulnify with
Qridi 2nd grade teacher Some devices provided by school to those who did not have access to any 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grades Qridi, Microsoft Teams for None from school. All had access to at subject teacher (Mathematics live online teaching least a smartphone at some point in the and Computing) day
Teams as required by the Physics, school, Qridi partly with one group Qridi
None from school. All had at least smartphones; some had a computer
Pupils used tablets and smartphones Qridi, Teams, Pedanet Every pupil had access to a
smartphone, tablet or laptop at home Qridi, Teams, WhatsApp School provided laptops for those who
did not have access to them at home Qridi, Forms, Classroom, Chromebooks for each provided by Meet the school two years before the
pandemic Qridi, Teams School could lend devices if needed category of supporting the pupils includes the values of being in charge, reinforcing selfmanagement skills, and acknowledging different needs. The values describe how the teachers promoted the pupils’ learning process. Promoting a sense of belonging, encouraging active participation, enabling informal interaction, and involving parents constitute the values in the third category of utilising interaction. This category describes how the teachers utilised interaction to support their pupils and their learning process in various ways. The fourth category, interaction form, relates to the values guiding the form of the interaction.
One of the first tasks for the teachers when switching to remote learning was to organise the teaching. Many decisions had to be made in order to build a suitable solution for the unique situation with the resources they had. The decisions not only pertained to the technological environment but also to the various practices and teaching methods. The teachers took pride in their work and wanted to do their best in this remote learning period, during which they learned what worked in their situation and what did not. When something was found as hindering the learning process or effective communication, changes were made accordingly. As Marge_1stGrade explains: “For about the two first weeks, I taught through Wilma [a system for school-home communication]. This meant that I informed the parents about my expectations, assignments, and homework. When the parents replied [only] that the assignments were done, I understood that I had no idea what was actually happening in the homes.”
The teachers valued stability and routines. This was shown both in their desire to keep the same old routines, when possible, but also to adapt quickly to develop new ones suitable for remote learning. For example, if the pupils had already Definition Keeping suitable routines as classroom teaching and creating new ones for the remote learning period Utilising a variety of teaching and learning methods Providing all the guidance and support the pupils need Supporting the development of pupils’ self-management skills, including self-assessment, and taking responsibility for one’s own learning process Considering pupils’ individual needs and skills regarding learning and understanding assignments Feeling of being part of a group. The pupils form a team among themselves and with the teacher Creating opportunities for everyone to actively participate Discussing non-school-related matters as well as using humour to lighten everyday life and strengthen the team spirit Being in contact with each pupil’s parents to keep them up to date and to discuss any concerns Low barrier and multiple ways for the pupils (and parents) to contact the teacher Aim to respond quickly, at least with something, when a pupil asked a question Having personal contact with each pupil Paying attention to the variety of non-verbal signs to verify, for example, if the pupils had learned the lesson or if they needed some support used an online learning platform or office software, the teacher continued using them unless there was a clear need to change them. Also, the study books used in the physical classroom were also used during the remote period. However, in all cases, the teachers had to make some adjustments to the old teaching routines, since remote learning differs significantly from classroom learning.
It was challenging for the interviewees to adhere to the same previously structured days with lessons scheduled at specific times. However, according to the teachers, there was still an apparent need for a daily and weekly rhythm. At the very beginning, the practices varied among the teachers, as they were still discovering what options they had to organise their teaching and what seemed to be working for their class. As the basic practical issues were taken care of (e.g. checking that all pupils had access to the online learning environment), all the teachers discovered that giving assignments for the day worked the best. The daily assignment list provided the backbone for each school day and helped to form a rhythm. Some had online teaching sessions and online meetings for doing the assignments together, but in most cases, the pupils could do the assignments independently as long as they returned them during the day. There was some variety in how the assignments were provided. For example, Ann_2ndGrade gave the assignment list via Drive together with a instruction video, but most found the Qridi’s task list tool to be enough. Ann_2ndGrade stated, “We had this kind of plan for a day. I showed it always in the morning video and explained it. I wrote it like a summary. Since they were accustomed to having symbols [in the timetable], that now we have mother tongue and now mathematics … It suited them that there was a plan for every day that they could follow according to their own schedule at home.”
Having versatility in the teaching methods was a struggle for some of the teachers. On the one hand, the remote situation opened up new kinds of opportunities, while some methods were hard to fit to the new situation. The teachers could make use of the technology to create new types of assignments, as well as teach in different ways. Some began making and using teaching videos and utilising a bigger variety of online learning materials and services. Liz_4thGrade gave an example of technology-oriented assignments: “We had all kinds of vlogging assignments. Many of the ones who don’t normally blow their own horns turned out to be quite the vlogging personalities when they sent their videos. Also, these kind of great traits would be nice to bring up also in the contact teaching. And use a similar type of assignments.” On the downside, interactive contact teaching did not seem to easily transfer to the remote setting, although the new means compensated for this to some extent.
process pupils’ learning For all the interviewed teachers, it was important to support and help each of their pupils as much as reasonably possible. This could be seen from the various actions the teachers described. For example, they mentioned that it was important for them to be easily approachable and to closely monitor each of their pupils’ progress to notice immediately if anyone needed help. As John_3rdGrade put it: “In practice, it went like I had Teams open or I had the computer open at home while I did something, and all the time somebody called to ask what to do with this [assignment] and what I should put here, etc.” The technological learning environment affected and, in some instances, determined the ways the teachers were able to support their pupils.
Being in charge of the pupils’ learning process was found to be an important value for the teachers. To achieve this, they needed to know what their pupils were doing. As Jenna_Subject explained: “After all, I think that is one of the most important things, that it is somehow visible what the pupil has done. Since if the pupil does the assignments at home, you don’t see it.” The teachers explained that they aimed to monitor each pupil’s learning progress as well as their overall coping during the remote teaching. There were many different methods for monitoring the learning processes depending on the age of the pupils and the subject. For example, some teachers checked and assessed every assignment the pupils returned, while some checked only certain assignments. Teaching remotely greatly affected the workload, which the assignment checking increased even further despite the tools digital educational tools offered. The teachers described that Qridi’s assignment tool was useful in showing at one glance all the returned assignments and how the pupils perceived their difficulty. From this tool, the teachers could relatively easily notice the pupils who needed help. However, monitoring each pupil individually became much harder when the class size was bigger and the amount of assignments grew. In certain subjects, such as mathematics, the pupils could assess their own answers by comparing them to the correct ones given by the teacher. In those cases, the teachers perceived the pupils as mature and trustworthy enough not to need close monitoring. As Jenna_Subject described: “You could see it from the returned assignments in Qridi. As an example one pupil commented, simply that they didn’t understand at all the assignment and did not return anything at that time. With Qridi you could see quite clearly how things were understood. You could say that, at least in my case, I had a much better picture about how each [pupil] understood the subject area than in contact teaching.”
The teachers valued reinforcing selfmanagement skills supporting pupils to take greater responsibility for their own learning process compared to classroom teaching. In fact, all of the interviewed teachers promoted selfmanagement skills, e.g. by giving the pupils more freedom to do the school assignments according to their own schedules. For example, regarding her 1st graders, Marge_1stGrade described: “It suited them that the daily instructions were there and they followed them according their own schedule.” In a similar manner, Paul_Subject explained how he perceived his high school pupils: “I think they like doing those daily assignments on their own more than being there with the whole class.”
The teachers took into account the pupils’ individual needs. Technology proved useful in supporting these individual needs, since the learning progress became more visible. The teachers could be in contact with each individually to help understand an assignment or a topic or by arranging daily online meetings for them to do the assignments together. They also offered additional assignments and (online) learning material for those who wanted to do more. Some teachers, however, faced challenges in this respect, as the use of technology was not always straightforward. As Marge_1stGrade explained: “I knew that there were those extra assignments, but I sweated for two days before I found them and another two days about how to attach them to our class’s assignment lists [via Qridi].”
With the younger pupils especially, the teachers had to pay attention to their still evolving reading and writing skills. For instance, the written instructions for the daily assignments needed to be very clear and appealing. As Marge_1stGrade put it: “For the first graders, it was not enough to refer them to the ABC book page 127 and the assignments from page 52. No, instead I took into account their imperfect reading skills and wrote, for example, that ‘today we will visit the Rinkelimäki swimming hall and swim race and read how Tarmo races and what Lempi does’. I was pleased that you could use different colours; for example, the homework pages were always in red, and I tried to indicate this so the ones with poorer reading skills would know they need to check the red ones.” It also helped to have pre-recorded videos or online meetings to explain the assignments in addition to the written instructions. The instructions for the assignments had to be very clearly phrased also for the older pupils to decrease the amount of misunderstandings. Some teachers utilised joint online meetings for doing the assignments at the same time so the pupils could easily ask for help. In many cases, however, it was practically impossible to find a time which would suit the whole class, since the situations at home varied: for instance, many pupils did not have their own device to bring to the online meetings but had to share it with their siblings or parents. 4.3.
The teachers highlighted interaction as an essential part of the classroom activities. Marge_1stGrade described the significance of interaction: “I must say that the interaction, which is rewarding also for the teachers, was almost completely absent, and it made this spring hard.” Close interaction between teachers and pupils was important especially in the lower grades but important also in the higher grades, although the type of interaction varied. Transferring to the remote mode had a huge impact on the interaction on many levels, revealing the related values. There were several objectives to the interaction, but they all related to supporting pupils.
One of the challenges was to maintain and promote a sense of belonging. As everyone interacted only via technology, a big part of the usual daily interaction was missing. The technological environment did not seem to encourage the feeling of belonging to a team, but the teachers were able come up with new practices to increase the sense of communality. Actions such as making time for informal interaction, forming smaller groups for easier interaction, and being in contact with each pupil helped to increase the sense of belonging. However, there was still room for improvement. As Ann_2ndGrade put it: “Maybe, in thinking about Qridi, the environment could be developed to be more communal, more interactive. It is quite dismal.”
Some teachers faced challenges in organising common online classes due to scheduling problems but also due to the technology itself. Some teachers were able to utilise the video conferencing tools successfully, whereas some found those hindering their teaching: the teaching became more a lecturing type of teaching, whereas in class it had been more active and participatory. Thus, they wanted to find ways to promote active participation. On a positive node, a few teachers noticed that the normally quiet pupils were more eager to comment when they could do it via chat. But even the chat, video, and audio communication possibilities did not seem to fully compensate for the loss of classroom interaction. Some teachers found it beneficial to divide the class into smaller groups. As Liz_4thGrade explained: “Yes, it was quite a lecturing type of teaching. Also, the pupils just did the assignments and returned them. It was quite monotonous and one-sided. Maybe there was a little development when I took a small group at a time, and at least there was some discussion.”
The switch to the remote learning mode and the decreased time spent together also affected the amount of informal and spontaneous interaction. Especially the teachers with younger pupils mentioned how the remote learning period affected informal interaction. According to the teachers, informal interaction has many benefits, such as strengthening team spirit and bringing joy to the school experience. Although the teachers and pupils knew each other before the remote period started, their interaction was not immediately as close when it occurred via technology. To encourage informal communication, some teachers organised nonteaching related activities., like Ann_2ndGrade who had twice-a-week online group meetings: “They were very light. Not so much about teaching, since we had separate teaching videos, where we taught, for example, math and the mother language … They were mainly for seeing classmates and their teacher and being able to share news. Once we had a joke meeting, where someone could tell a joke if they wanted to.”
In addition, having direct contact with the parents was a topic that almost all the teachers highlighted. As Cristy_2ndGrade explained: “I called my pupils’ parents regularly, and they spoke to me quite openly and revealed what had been challenging.” Usually, the communication with the parents happened via the same multiple channels as with the pupils.
In addition to the teachers’ objectives for interaction, some identified that interaction values were related to the form of interaction. Technology plays a huge role in how those values were realised.
One the main values regarding interaction in our study was for the teachers to be available and easily reachable not just by the pupils but also, in many cases, by the parents. Teachers made sure there were multiple ways to contact them, such as via SMSs, messages via a phone application, voice calling, video calling, and leaving comments when returning assignments. Technology made it possible to use a variety of simultaneous channels, which was one of the positive aspects of the challenging situation. As Liz_4thGrade described: “Pupils mostly asked via WhatsApp when they encountered problems with an assignment, but some used Teams. They knew how to call with Teams and asked questions through it.”
The teachers also wanted to respond quickly. They could reply to messages and give feedback also in the evenings and on weekends, as some pupils preferred to do their schoolwork only when their parents were home. Marge_1stGrade described her reasons for giving feedback to her pupils as soon as possible even though that oftenmeant long workdays, sometimes over 12 hours: “I couldn’t limit it, since I thought the kids needed the feedback right away. So, I tried to give it immediately, and I tired myself physically and mentally.”
The teachers also valued having a personal/individual connection with each pupil. Some had regular calls or chats with the pupils, while some contacted a pupil if there was any sign of their needing support. As mentioned, the teachers monitored the pupils’ learning activities and responded if the assignments were late or the answers were not as expected. With the remote connection tools, the teachers felt it was easy to make a (video) call or send a message to a certain pupil. However, there were cases where the teachers felt that the remote interaction was not always enough. In such situations, the teachers might ask the pupil to meet face-to-face, as Paul_Subject did: “Last week I asked a couple of the pupils to visit the school. They had an important deadline coming, and there were some problems working independently at home or some motivation issues, so I asked them to come to the school for a short time.”
Naturally, the contact with the pupils revealed how they were doing, but the teachers also utilised their own instincts and paid attention to the nonverbal signs. For instance, if the pupils did not respond to the messages from teachers or returned their assignments late, if at all, the teacher could infer that something was off. Although, for example, Qridi’s assignment list tool provided an overall view of each pupil’s assignments, there was also a need for other ways to easily see the pupils’ actions. Marge_1stGrade suggested a useful feature: “One thing I missed in Qridi was, like in WhatsApp, one can see if the recipient has read the message. I would have liked to have that kind of feature to know if they have seen it [feedback] or not.” Regardless of the various ways to monitor pupils’ learning progress via technology, in the end, the teachers could not always be fully confident about the pupils’ level of knowledge. For example, Cristy_2ndGrade had some doubts: “I saw their learning [from how they returned their assignments], but when we got back to contact teaching, I wondered if the kid had actually done those assignments themselves. The competence at the end of May was not quite what could be expected based on the assignments in Qridi
The results of this study indicate that several values affected teachers’ actions and choices during the remote learning period. The identified values and their meaning in the context help in understanding the different needs in using remote learning technology. The values were categorised into two main themes: learning process and interaction. These categories were considered important areas that might affected when switching from the classroom to remote learning.
In previous studies, primary school teachers
had concerns about remote learning and felt that
the lack of technological skills might negatively
affect the learning progress [
For all the teachers merely surviving the
remote period was not enough, but they strived to
uphold their values even when it made their work
more burdensome. The teachers cared about their
pupils and supported them and their learning in
many ways, which is in line with [
One of the themes mentioned most often in our
study was monitoring the pupils’ learning
progress and their overall coping in order to offer
them suitable support. Monitoring was mentioned
as one of the concerns of teachers regarding
remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic
[
Not surprisingly, some of the teaching
methods used in classroom teaching could not be
used the same way in remote learning. Some
studies have also found the limited teaching
methods available when teaching remotely as a
concern [
The change to remote learning had a
significant effect on interaction. In our study, the
teachers found it highly important to promote a
sense of belonging, encourage pupils’ active
participation, and enable informal interaction.
They also wanted to be available and respond
promptly when a pupil needed help, as well as to
involve parents. In addition, connecting with each
pupil individually was highlighted. However, in
earlier studies, teachers reported their concerns
about the difficulties in reaching all the pupils and
knowing if they understood the issues and
instructions when interacting remotely [
Using education technology does not mean that everything must happen online. Most likely, tools that are able to work in a hybrid mode, combining classroom and digital teaching, would contribute to potential success stories. For example, the clear visualisation of the learning progress of each pupil and the classes as a whole would help teachers to modify their teaching further in this context.
According to our findings, the teachers were able to utilise education technology successfully during the remote learning period in spring 2020, especially when taking into account how little time they had to prepare for the change. Following our results, the ICT skills of pupils and teachers appear to be more than adequate, and the teachers were satisfied with pupils’ learning and progress, although in some cases after returning to the classroom some pupils had learned less than anticipated.
However, the monitoring and visualisation of the pupils’ learning progress and overall coping need to be developed. More advanced monitoring would make the teachers but also pupils more aware of the learning progress and the possible challenges. There is also a need to support various teaching and learning methods more comprehensively to give teachers more freedom to choose the methods they see most suitable. Now the teachers had to make many compromises with teaching methods and prioritize some school subjects over others as some were too challenging to teach remotely.
In addition, attention should be put also into developing versatile interaction means to serve the various needs better. Although in spring 2020 the technology made it already possible to use different means to interact, the interaction was not at the same level as it is in classrooms and a big part of human interaction was missing.
Value analysis was beneficial in creating a more profound understanding of the teachers’ needs for remote learning technology. A deeper understanding helps education technology designers to design better and more suitable solutions in the future. However, further studies are needed to identify more context-related values. Future studies will help to create a more comprehensive picture of the teachers’ relevant values and needs, as in this study, the values were not the focus of the interviews but were used as an analysis method. It is also necessary to study other relevant stakeholders, such as pupils and their parents, and take into account other issues such as cultural differences.