ERT stands for Emergency Remote Teaching. ERT emerged in the midst of COVID-19. ERT is a part of online education. However, it has very different distinguishing features. Educators were rushed to convert entire implementations from traditional contact teaching to a virtual classroom without much training or time to prepare. A well-designed and thoroughly planned online course differs from ERT in pacing, student-instructor ratio, pedagogy, the role of assessment, the instructor’s role, the role of the students, communication channels, and feedback.
Regular online education carries a stigma of being lower quality than face-to-face learning, despite research showing otherwise. Why does it matter? - When the newly emerged paradigm of ERT is being compared with a rather established mode of online education, it potentially affirms the stigma and general perception that online education is of lesser quality. Therefore, it deteriorates the reputation of an educational paradigm that is likely to grow in the future.
