The opportunities and challenges of emergency, remote learning for large class students during the Covid-19 pandemic

In April 2020, the Dublin City University (DCU) Educational Trust launched the Covid-19 Research and Innovation Hub, which was designed to address key challenges arising globally as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The research findings presented in this paper emerge from one of the Hub’s technology projects, entitled ‘Moving Large Classes Online’ (Farrell et al., 2021). This research project was evaluative in nature with the aim of illuminating the innovation (Parlett & Hamilton, 1972) of promptly moving large, face-to-face classes online in the immediate response to the Covid-19 pandemic at DCU, Ireland. While the overall research illustrates both the staff and student perspective of emergency, remote large class teaching and learning from March - May, 2020, this paper specifically focuses on the opportunities and challenges faced by large class students during this unprecedented move online. Findings from the data are shared and implications for addressing the opportunities and challenges are addressed.