Examining Ways COVID-19 Adaptation Derailed our Assumptions about Online Learning Nicole Anderson, PhD Department of Computer Science Weber State University Ogden, Utah, USA nanderson1@weber.edu Abstract—In the past, many assumptions were made about the benefits and perils of online learning. In addition, many conversations were had as to which populations of students were best suited for and most accepting of online coursework. With the dramatic shift online forced upon us by the onset of COVID, some of these assumptions were tested. Several assumptions are discussed in this paper. Current US university data reporting is reviewed and a case study examining the way some of these assumptions are playing out in an online CS I course are examined. There is much we can learn from our online teaching during the pandemic, here we examine a few of the discoveries that have come to light. Keywords—online, Covid, equity, delivery methods I. INTRODUCTION Across the world, many institutions of learning were forced into some form of online or eLearning in 2020. Never before has online teaching and learning been so broadly applied in so many educational settings. In this paper, we examine some of the assumptions made about outline learning and whether they held true when tested in this content. While COVID responses demonstrated that online learning is possible on a broad scale, it also made us aware that we still have a lot to learn about how it can be employed, who can and will choose to utilize it, and the planning that can help best put it into action. II. BACKGROUND A. Debating the use of online learning The merits and deficits of eLearning, and specifically fully- online and remote eLearning have been debated for the last twenty plus years [1]. For example, is online learning as effective as face-to-face learning [2]? Can it help us reach a larger audience [3]? Who is best suited to this style of learning [4, 5]? What tools and techniques are required to teach and learn effectively online [6]? While all of these are valid and important questions, COVID-19 forced a swift, required switch to eLearning at all levels of education that circumvented the ability to answer these questions before proceeding with change. While this was challenging, it also gave us a window into the answers to those questions that we would not have had without the forced shift. B. Assumptions made about online learning Assumptions about online learning have been examined and questioned in the past [7, 8]. For example, Puzziferro questioned if we really understand what quality is with respect to online education and whether online learning would transform the academy. A related assumption challenged by Fawns is that “Changing from on-campus to online can be done smoothly, without significant additional time, support and faculty development.” We personally don’t see this as a widely accepted assumption and cannot think of a single faculty member that would support this assumption. We do look at a similar assumption in this paper. Another assumption that has recently been questioned whether online teaching is actually cheaper [9]. Their conclusion: sometimes, but this shouldn’t be the goal. Many higher ed institutions today are doing only online learning while still having all of the expenses of a bricks-and-mortal campus. This certainly doesn’t appear to provide the cheapest model for delivering education of any type. There are many other assumptions that have been examined in the past, however this forced shift to online for all students gave us an even larger window into the validity or invalidity of some of our assumptions. For example, in the past, the group electing to participate in online learning was self-selecting. We currently have a much larger portion of our collective student body taking online courses. This allows us to evaluate some of the assumptions we have made about online teaching and learning more thoroughly and through a new lens. We hope the ideas we present and data we share make readers reevaluate their own assumptions regarding online teaching and learning even if they are not the specific categories we have addressed, and that our body of knowledge regarding online course offerings continues to grow. III. REVISITING FOUR ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE LEARNING In these section, we examine four categories of assumptions and realities related to online learning: • Online learning as a choice • Online learning for specific individuals or populations • Online learning and enrollment • Planning for online teaching and learning We will utilize many resources in our discussion, include data from a survey given to students registered for and active in two online sections of the CS I course at Weber State University. The survey was administered using a quiz in Canvas, the Learning Management Systems used in the course, and by the university for all online coursework. 2020 IEEE Conference on e-Learning, e-Management and e-Services (IC3e) © IEEE 2020. This article is free to access and download, along with rights for full text and data mining, re-use and analysis 67