Welcome to the website presenting the results of project TL 04000147 Development of a screening tool for identifying students at risk of reduced distance learning effectiveness.

The project was implemented from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2022, and was supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.

This page presents the main project output: a simple screening tool that, based on input data, can identify students at risk of reduced distance learning effectiveness and recommend optimal teaching settings in terms of active learning methods and the ratio of synchronous to asynchronous teaching.

Although the tool is simple and requires only a limited set of input data, it is the result of a comprehensive research effort involving 70 teachers of Czech language, physics, mathematics, German language, and geography, and more than 1,400 elementary and secondary school students (thank you again!).
Over 100 potentially relevant variables were initially considered, from which the key predictors of distance learning effectiveness were identified. The entire research process and the development of the screening tool are described in three scientific articles published by the project research team.

Outputs:

Output	Link
Article *Effectiveness of Distance Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic* – presents theoretical and methodological aspects of measuring distance learning effectiveness and research design.	PDF Link
Article *Factors Influencing Effectiveness of Pandemic Distance Learning – Preliminary Findings From a Complex Survey* – presents basic research results and the development of a computational model for the tool.	PDF Link
Article *Predictors of the Effectiveness of Different Approaches to Pandemic Distance Learning* – presents the actual model forming the basis of the tool.	PDF Link
Application for calculating distance learning coefficients. The application is zipped. Download and unzip to any location. The application is not digitally signed, so Windows may flag it as potentially unsafe.	Download DistScreening.zip
WEB version of the application for calculating coefficients related to distance learning. It does not allow data export but is sufficient as a basic overview tool.	Link
User Manual for the Applications. The content of both the desktop and web applications is equivalent; only the presentation and data input methods differ.	Link

The tool works by allowing teachers from elementary and secondary schools to input selected data about their class, school, or themselves (based on instructions). Based on a statistical model, the tool provides feedback in the form of brief comments derived from calculated values:

• Assessment of how well the class as a whole is prepared for distance learning in terms of expected effectiveness.
• Evaluation of the preparedness of individual students and identification of those at particular risk.
• General recommendation on the use of active learning methods in the class.
• General recommendation on the ratio of synchronous and asynchronous teaching suitable for the class.

All outputs should be considered indicative only, based on statistical models. The tool is intended to support, not replace, the teacher's own professional judgment and experience.

We highly appreciate your feedback on this tool and the research! Please send comments, suggestions, or improvement ideas regarding content and methodology to the project leader and head of the research team, Assoc. Prof. Jiří Kohout, Ph.D., at jkohout4@kmt.zcu.cz. For technical feedback or issues with the website or the tool itself, please contact Dr. Pavel Masopust at pmasop@kmt.zcu.cz.