Table 1
Age Distribution (Percentages).
| AGED 19–29 | AGED 30–39 | AGED 40–49 | AGED OVER 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 1% | 7% | 18% | 74% |
| Male | 6% | 30% | 24% | 40% |
Table 2
Frequency of Employing the Various Teaching Modes (Percentages).
| NEVER | FOR A FEW MONTHS | FOR ABOUT HALF OF THE SCHOOL YEAR | MOST OF THE TIME | ALWAYS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Face-to-face | 10.3% | 13.6% | 15.6% | 25.5% | 35% |
| Distance | 41.2% | 28.4% | 9.9% | 11.5% | 9.1% |
Table 3
Frequency of Teaching Methods Adopted in Face-to-Face Mode (Percentages).
| NEVER | RARELY | SOMETIMES | OFTEN | ALWAYS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 4.4% | 2% | 12.3% | 33% | 48.3% |
| Group work | 51.2% | 20.7% | 13.8% | 9.9% | 4.4% |
| Brainstorming | 26.1% | 10.3% | 31% | 22.2% | 10.3% |
| Drill & practice | 21.2% | 3.9% | 25.1% | 33% | 16.7% |
| Project-based learning | 23.2% | 19.7% | 29.6% | 22.2% | 5.4% |
| Gamification | 31.5% | 17.7% | 31% | 15.3% | 4.4% |
| Playful activities | 13.8% | 14.8% | 22.2% | 0% | 49.3% |
| Teaching essential knowledge | 6.4% | 3.9% | 26.1% | 46.3% | 17.2% |
| Other strategies | 56.4% | 5.4% | 21.3% | 14.9% | 2% |
Table 4
Frequency of Teaching Methods Adopted in Distance Mode (Percentages).
| NEVER | RARELY | SOMETIMES | OFTEN | ALWAYS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 8.4% | 7.6% | 10.7% | 0% | 73.3% |
| Group work | 71,8% | 12.2% | 7.6% | 0% | 8.4% |
| Brainstorming | 25.2% | 13% | 31.3% | 20.6% | 9.9% |
| Drill & practice | 20.6% | 6.1% | 25.2% | 33.6% | 14.5% |
| Project-based learning | 37.4% | 16% | 26% | 16% | 4.6% |
| Gamification | 45.8% | 10.7% | 26.7% | 14.5% | 2.3% |
| Playful activities | 33.64% | 12.2% | 22.9% | 24.4% | 6.9% |
| Teaching essential knowledge | 7.6% | 4.65% | 28.2% | 38.9% | 20.6% |
Table 5
Changes in Frequency of Use of Different Devices (Percentages).
| DECREASED | STABLE | INCREASED | NO DATA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC/laptop | 2.7% | 24.4% | 56.4% | 16.4% |
| Tablet | 3.6% | 31.1% | 40.9% | 24.4% |
| Smartphone | 0.9% | 30.4% | 53.1% | 15.6% |
Table 6
Resources Used for Carrying out Face-to-Face Lessons (Percentages).
| USED | NOT USED | |
|---|---|---|
| One or more common productivity applications (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.) | 73.1% | 26.9% |
| Shared online workspaces (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) | 66.5% | 33.5% |
| Collaborative writing applications (Wiki, Google Docs, Book creator, etc.) | 43.7% | 56.3% |
| Educational robotics and coding applications (Bee bot, Ozobot, Scratch, etc.) | 17.9% | 82.1% |
| Other cloud applications (i.e., Padlet, Kahoot, etc.) | 40.4% | 59.6% |
| Online educational resources | 83.8% | 16.2% |
Table 7
Changes in the Use of Resources (Percentages).
| DECREASED | STABLE | INCREASED | NO DATA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One or more common productivity applications (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.) | 5% | 35.8% | 37.8% | 21.4% |
| Shared online workspaces (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) | 2% | 26.3% | 49.8% | 21.9% |
| Collaborative writing applications (Wiki, Google Docs, Book creator, etc.) | 1% | 32.3% | 31.4% | 35.3% |
| Educational robotics and coding applications (Bee bot, Ozobot, Scratch, etc.) | 4% | 35.7% | 7.5% | 52.8% |
| Other cloud applications (i.e., Padlet, Kahoot, etc.) | 2.5% | 30% | 28% | 39.5% |
| Online educational resources | 1.5% | 35.86% | 47.3% | 15.4% |
Table 8
Resources Used for Carrying out Distance Lessons (Percentages).
| NEVER | RARELY | SOMETIMES | OFTEN | ALWAYS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic school roll | 36.9% | 3.1% | 1.5% | 3.8% | 54.6% |
| Videoconference systems (Skype, Zoom) | 12.3% | 4.6% | 10.8% | 15.4% | 56.9% |
| Instant messaging (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) | 10.8% | 3.1% | 11.5% | 40.8% | 33.8% |
| Platforms for remote education (Moodle, Classroom, etc.) | 30.8% | 8.5% | 19.2% | 14.6% | 26.9% |
| Publishers’ applications | 53.1% | 9.2% | 12.3% | 16.2% | 9.2% |
| Shared online workspaces (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) | 27.7% | 7.7% | 20.8% | 26.9% | 16.9% |
| Collaborative writing applications | 51.5% | 13.8% | 13.1% | 14.65% | 6.97% |
| Other cloud applications (Padlet, Kahoot, etc.) | 54.65% | 9.2% | 17.78% | 13.1% | 5.4% |
| Online educational resources | 6.2% | 6.9% | 32.3% | 42.3% | 12.3% |
Table 9
Themes, Codes, Descriptions, and Examples Emerging from the Questionnaire’s Open-Ended Questions.
| THEMES | CODES | DESCRIPTIONS | EXAMPLES | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1: Positive Aspects | ||||
| Technologies | Learning new technological skills | Teachers recognizd the positive effect of improving their skills in the use of technology | “The spread of the pandemic, however, forced us to specialize more in the educational and technological tools available to us.” | |
| Teaching innovation | Blended teaching | Teachers recognized the positive effect of blended instruction on hospitalized students’ learning path | “One significant benefit was continuity of the personal learning paths started in the hospital, which, with integrated digital didactic, could continue throughout the periods of students’ precautionary isolation and also during brief hospital discharges.” | |
| Need to plan educational activities | Teachers reported that they had improved their planning of educational activities | “We learned how to plan our synchronous and asynchronous lessons more efficiently.” | ||
| Use of new teaching methodologies | Teachers reported that they had tested new teaching methodologies in response to the emergency condition | “Increased creativity in the use of different and innovative teaching tools, especially digital-based ones.” | ||
| Distance Learning | Teacher resource | Teachers recognized that distance learning can be a resource in their practice | “The [forced] discovery of distance learning as a viable resource.” | |
| Student resource | Teachers reported that distance learning had improved the social well-being of hospitalized students | “Distance learning made it possible for hospitalized children to feel like peers who are unable to be present in the classroom.” | ||
| Q2: Negative Aspects | ||||
| Teaching limitations | Inability to perform group activities | Teachers reported that they had not been able to implement group teaching activities | “Inability to implement group activities with other hospitalized students.” | |
| Inability to use some traditional educational tools | Teachers reported that they were unable to use some traditional teaching tools (e.g., Lego, books, games) | “Inability to quickly share materials such as pencils and paper.” | ||
| Distance Learning | Internet connection problems | Teachers reported that Internet connection problems in the hospital had been a problem for distance learning | “Internet connection failures throughout the hospital.” | |
| Organizational issues | Teachers reported problems in planning distance education in the hospital school setting | “Difficulties in organizing distance learning lessons with students admitted for [only] a few days.” | ||
| Distance learning difficulties related to school subject area | Teachers experienced more difficulties in science subjects than humanities during distance learning lessons | “Difficulties were more likely to occur in science subjects. In humanities subjects. there were no major problems.” | ||
| Distance learning difficulties with foreign students | Teachers noted more language difficulties when interacting with foreign students during distance learning | “It was extremely difficult (also) to get through to foreign students. For them, the main trouble was understanding instructions without body language support.” | ||
| Distance learning is less stimulating | Teachers reported that distance learning reduced their capacity to convey passion as they used to do during face-to-face activities | “The side effect of distance learning is, because of the distance, teachers are not able to convey the same passion as they normally do during face-to-face activities. Distance learning is surely less successful in stimulating students’ minds.” | ||
| Q3: Issues to be improved | ||||
| Distance Learning | Improving distance learning implementation | Teachers considered the possibility of improving distance learning teaching with technology solutions | “Distance learning effectiveness could be improved using technology solutions so as to stimulate and involve the pupil even at a distance.” | |
| Distance learning as mediation with schools of origin | Teachers considered distance learning as a solution for increasing connections and mediation with mainstream schools | “Interaction with schools also could be increased through distance learning.” | ||
| Technology | Improving technology resources | Teachers expressed the need to increase the technological resources available in hospitals dedicated to educational purposes | “There is certainly a need to increase the multimedia tools available to teachers and improve Wi-Fi connections in the wards.” | |
| Improving hospitals’ Wi-Fi connection | Teachers expressed the need to improve Wi-Fi connection to ensure a good standard of distance learning | “Internet connection troubles throughout the hospital. The only alternative is using the connection of students’ own devices.” | ||
| Adopting digital school roll | Teachers expressed the need to enhance the digital school roll system so it is as easy to use as the one adopted in mainstream schools | “The hospital school roll is a bit intricate; could be more user-friendly, more similar to digital school records adopted in mainstream schools.” | ||