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Background: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) at the beginning of 2020 forced most higher education institutions to shift immediately from traditional learning to distance learning and emergency remote teaching (ERT). Objectives: This research aimed to capture the authentic sounds of this unusual learning experience from the field while it was still fresh and to explore congruence with existing models of online learning success factors. We also aimed to examine the differences between freshman students and more advanced students (second year onwards) with regard to the emerging data and its respective model. Methods: During the second semester of 2020, 170 Tel Aviv university students majoring in various fields responded to an online questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions. Results and conclusions: The researchers classified the themes retrieved from 1559 statements into a framework of critical success factors for distance learning. The framework included five dimensions: course, student, instructor, learning environment and institution. Well-known benefits of distance learning emerged, among them flexibility and personalized learning pace. Nevertheless, the findings revealed that the rapid transition to distance learning posed challenges and difficulties, mainly concerning the readiness of students and instructors for this form of teaching and learning. The number of statements in instructor dimension indicated the importance of providing support and training to instructors and staff. Significant differences were found in students' perceptions according to the year standing. More advanced students made more 'internal' references, attributing more statements to student and learning environment dimensions. In contrast, freshman made more 'external' references, attributing more statements to instructor and course dimensions than students in their second year and onwards.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, "Emergency Remote Teaching through Online Learning" "(ERT-OL") has become the prevalent form of learning at many universities worldwide. At the same time, voices around the world have pointed to "difficulties" in online learning in general and to concerns regarding "educational equity" in particular. The current study sought to increase knowledge about specific "hindering elements" in ERT-OL and about the relationships between these elements from the standpoint of the following "equity factors"--"socioeconomic status," "language," and "juggling" among students who are also parents or working. To this end, the study analyzed 154 open-ended textual statements concerning the difficulties perceived by students at a university in Israel. The qualitative thematic analysis generated a "map" of hindering elements categorized in terms of a) "processes": technology, pedagogy, content, situation and individual characteristics, and b) "outcomes": cognitive, affective, social, and physical. The map revealed a mesh of intricate mediating and moderating links whose effect can intensify for each equity factor. On the positive side, seeds of mitigating strategies emerged as well. The study advances knowledge regarding ERT-OL hindering elements and their relationships and provides a better understanding of how these debilitating relationships may be exacerbated when equity factors are considered. Researchers and teachers interested in ERT-OL or in "normal" online learning in the future can use the map as a "research and teaching framework" to identify inequities and prevent further gaps.