Shifting Modalities: Lessons of the Transition to E-learning due to COVID-19

Online and distance learning is not new to higher education, as different versions and modalities have existed for several decades. However, COVID-19 forced instructors who had never planned for e-learning to suddenly prepare for and execute a massive shift to online education. The forced shift to e-learning provides an opportunity to examine how U.S. higher education institutions prepare and integrate systems and policies for e-learning. The pandemic forced open a window to help inform instructors and students about the benefits and struggles of e-learning, as well as tested our assumptions about students’ technology access and literacy. This chapter will examine e-learning and reflect on how the pandemic may impact the way that institutions manage instructional modality moving forward.