Bridges and Mediation in Higher Distance Education: HELMeTO 2020 Report

In this paper, we report the scientific experience of HELMeTO 2020, the second edition of
the International Workshop on Higher Education Learning Methodologies and Technologies Online,
held virtually in Bari (Italy) in September 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The call received
59 proposals from nine countries, 39 papers were accepted to the virtual workshop and 26 full papers
were finally selected to be published in the proceedings. The workshop illustrated a fast-developing
scenario in which the epidemic emergency accelerated the dissemination and consolidation of
online learning in higher education. A specific focus of the workshop can be identified as students’
learning experience, with studies on tutoring and active learning approaches, personalized solutions
supported by data analysis, virtual reality and an in-depth analysis of human–computer interactions.