This paper analyses higher education teachers' representations of changes in academic work associated with digitisation, focusing on the pedagogical lessons learned from the pandemic. It is part of an ongoing doctoral research project in Sociology and is based on a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with teachers from different scientific fields. The results highlight the digitisation of teaching and academic work – mediated by information and communication technologies and, more recently, by artificial intelligence tools – as a central element in the reconfiguration of teaching-learning practices, assessment and work coordination. The transition to remote/online formats has led to a reduction in face-to-face contact and accelerated the experimentation with digital methodologies and devices, generating new pedagogical experiences and forms of interaction with students. At the same time, perceptions of increased workload, hyperconnectivity and increased administrative tasks are emerging, as well as impacts on research and scientific dissemination. Technological learning (platforms, digital skills, and communication practices) is described as a structural requirement, but one accompanied by effects on health and well-being, with reference to stress, anxiety, and erosion of rest time. In the post-pandemic period, representations point to the consolidation of remote/digital work in everyday academic life (meetings, guidance, examinations and events), as well as the normalisation of hybrid models, valued by some as potentially motivating and transforming pedagogical dynamics. The paper contributes to debates on innovation and technology in higher education, teaching and learning experiences, and professional development for teachers.

Authors:
Helena Antunes, University of Porto, Portugal

About the Presenter(s)
Helena Antunes is a PhD research fellow at the Institute of Sociology of the University of Porto with a scholarship awarded by IS-UP & FCT. Her PhD subject is about career paths and working conditions of academics.

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