Adopting Online Teaching and Learning Utilizing AI Technology Enhancements Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Abstract

Since 2019 the Covid-19 Pandemic has had a significant impact on the daily lives of the populations of the world. Education was no exception, this was a sharp change to online teaching, which was the only available option to keep the education system working. At that time, the education sector was rapidly adapting and attempting to use a variety of online tools, such as Microsoft Teams, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and Zoom to name a few. Therefore, using these tools for online teaching and learning required significant operational change, that had to happen at pace, as current teaching and learning was scheduled for Face-to-Face (F2F). In addition, greater use was made of Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs) such as Moodle and Blackboard, which was an existing set of tools. Contemporaneously, these tools were adapting to the teaching and learning by adding additional features, based upon feedback for users. This paper examines some experiences of delivering higher education courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, where it examines the online teaching and learning tools Microsoft Teams and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, and explores how AI can be used to enhance the process of teaching and learning online. Finally concludes with a summary of the main outcomes.