Teacher's Asynchronous Engagement in an Online Distance Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Most higher education institutions in the Philippines shifted to online distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global health crisis has impacted various sectors, including the education sector. However, that is not a hindrance to stoppingachieving our goals; online distance learning is a go-to method of pursuing education for teachers and learners. This paper aims to measure teachers'asynchronous engagement during online distance teaching. Specifically, it seeks to profile teachers' asynchronous engagement in a learning management system, the utilization of resources and activities, and the engagement challenges they encounter in learning practices. Profiling and utilization levels were measured using the LMS logs forthe second semester school year 2020-2021 of a private university in the Philippines. Challenges were determined using a focus-group discussion among selected senior high school and tertiary teachers. The study reveals that the average number of visits per virtual classroom per visit is 621, and the longest time spent per college in a virtual class is 37 hours. "File" LMS resource is the most utilized, and "assignment" is the most utilized LMS activity. Further, technology unfamiliarity, pedagogical, disengagement, and preparation are the top challenges experienced by the teacherrespondents. It is concluded that the degree of asynchronous engagement among the teachers is varied. Teachers are challenged but able to cope with the egagenemtnchallenges through upskilling. It is recommended that upskilling activities, workshops, and training must emphasize assessment and feedback management.