Conducting creative workshops in the process of distance learning at higher education institutions

Abstract

In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic taking over the world, many educational institutions began to implement distance learning processes. As a result of the introduction of hasty quarantine, there have been challenges in schools and higher education institutions in organizing creative workshops that have previously taken place in direct contact with physical materials. In the course of any teaching or study, there are important free workshops on which students can grow their creativity. But some higher education institutions have refused to carry out such activities remotely during the quarantine period due to the lack of effective contactless creative workshop methodologies. The article raises the idea that former contact creative workshops can be enforced in a virtual space or at a safe social distance, describes the programs, methodologies, and results used. The publication discusses the 2020-2021 period and the results of the study “Conducting creative workshops online” conducted in higher education institutions. The research aims to investigate the specifics of remote ways of conducting creative workshops and to identify techniques and tools suitable for revealing the student's creative potential in performing contact tasks in a virtual environment. In preparing the article, the methods of literature analysis, synthesis, and comparison were used, the method of the online survey was chosen for the collection of empirical data, and the data processing was performed by the methods of descriptive statistics and evaluation of qualitative indicators. The results of the research revealed that by working remotely and using certain techniques and distance learning and work tools, it is possible to successfully organize creative workshops, thus achieving the goals set in the study programs and developing creativity. It was found that the most acceptable object of creative workshops from the point of view of all respondents is a certain object or image, and the participants would choose materials and tools for remote workshops from their surroundings, but would not want to buy in a store. It was also found that a significant number of respondents find it difficult to carry out creative processes remotely and the vast majority offer workshops in open spaces (outdoors) in the event of a pandemic. The article presents the detailed results of this study and a discussion of how to effectively organize creative workshops remotely when it is not possible to do by contact way, such as during a pandemic period.