Barriers against and opportunities for distant higher education in the coronavirus COVID-19 situation

The aim of the conducted quantitative and qualitative research was to determine the barriers that students encounter when participating in classes taught distantly. The pilot study covered 50 NCU students in Toruń and was carried out in March and April 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the classes were completely transferred to the distant mode. A questionnaire consisting of 26 open and closed questions was the tool used in the research. The research focused on identifying the barriers faced by students during classes. The students described their needs in relation to the use of communicators and social networking sites by academic teachers, they were asked to describe how they imagined an ideal online lesson. The students drew attention to technical problems, disruption, and problems with access to the Internet. They find it difficult to use many tools (enabling synchronous classes). The research has shown that academic teachers do not have the necessary methodological competence to carry out the didactic process in distant forms. The students stress the existence of difficulties in contacting the teachers; they are often left without explanations or comments with the teaching materials uploaded on the platform.