Opinions of academicians who switched to compulsory distance education due to the pandemic and earthquake

In this study, the opinions of academics who experienced compulsory distance education due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the February 6 earthquakes were examined regarding the new situations encountered and their experiences. Qualitative methods and phenomenology model were used to conduct the research. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview form in April 2024. The study group consisted of 15 academics with different titles working at Anadolu University, Osmangazi University and Eskişehir Technical University in Eskişehir province. The findings indicate that for the two compulsory distance education processes in which the academics are involved, there are negatives such as low quality of education, limited interaction and distance education is not suitable for vocational university education. The most prominent of the instructor-related difficulties faced by academics is the lack of knowledge and experience in distance education technologies. It was emphasized that the most prominent of the student-based difficulties is the low participation of students in the courses and the most prominent of the external-based difficulties is that the infrastructure for distance education is not sufficient and distance education restricts interaction. In this process, it was inevitably observed that academics inevitably developed themselves in distance education, gained new knowledge and experience by making efforts, and that experienced academics adapted more easily, while inexperienced ones had difficulties. However, the inexperienced ones were able to reach the desired results by consulting those who knew better and seeking solutions on their own. In order to continue distance education with high motivation and efficiency, it was concluded that the academics showed dedication to learn the details of distance education, started to use new tools, enriched the content of the course in an interesting way, interacted closely with the students, communicated with them and constantly encouraged them. For this purpose, in live lectures, academics mostly utilized tools such as cameras, microphones, videos, slides and other visuals.