Voices from the Digital Classroom: 25 Interviews about Teaching and Learning in the Face of a Global Pandemic

The sudden shift to remote education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic created both a unique challenge and a unique opportunity. Students and instructors alike were required to quickly adapt to the digital classroom, adjusting methods, material, and pedagogical approaches on the fly.

Bringing together twenty-five interviews from the frontline of emergency remote education, Voices from the Digital Classroom portrays the struggles, innovations, and resilience of students, instructors, and educational professionals in the face of COVID-19. These interviews offer a unique, of-the-moment perspective on an exceptional time.

Complemented by additional voices that expand on stories told to reflect on challenges, successes, and lessons learned, Voices from the Digital Classroom is both a time-capsule and a vision for the future. It provides new insights into pandemic teaching and learning, a remarkable lens into the daily realities of the digital classroom, and an inspiration for the future of remote education in a post-pandemic world.

Sandra Abegglen is a researcher in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape at the University of Calgary. She is the project lead for TALON, the Teaching and Learning Network, and has published extensively on emancipatory learning and teaching practice, creative and playful pedagogy, and remote education.

Fabian Neuhaus is associate professor in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape at the University of Calgary. He is the research lead for the Richard Parker Initiative and principal investigator for TALON.

Kylie Wilson is a graduate student in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape at the University of Calgary. She is a graduate assistant researcher for TALON.