The COVID-19 pandemic has caused, among other things, the closure of educational institutions to reduce the spread of the virus through human contact. From March 2020, higher education, like most other levels of education, is done at a distance. Optimal motivation and concentration are two crucial factors for quality education, therefore research is conducted on the experiences of maintaining motivation and concentration during the period of transition from traditional to online teaching. Goal: The goal of this paper is to describe the experiences of motivation and concentration of FFST pedagogy students during online classes at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents and methods: Respondents are female students of FFST pedagogy (N = 32) because the ratio of men and women at FFST is less than 1:20. A semi-structured interview was used to collect the data, and they were processed using thematic analysis. Results: The results indicated the need to improve student motivation and concentration, especially during distance education. Numerous respondents stated that their motivation online is lower than live due to the perceived decrease in activities in which they can participate and comment, due to a decrease in the influence of professor authority and control, and due to changes in the spatial conditions in which they study. Some respondents noticed a higher concentration online, compared to traditional teaching, and cited the comfort of their own home as an incentive. Others argued that the concentration was lower online due to the influence of numerous distractors at home. Others did not notice significant changes in concentration and motivation. When comparing motivation at the beginning of online teaching and later, a large number of respondents claimed that with the introduction of a new teaching model, their motivation increased, but gradually decreased by getting used to the situation. Likewise, a decrease in motivation during online classes was experienced by some as a result of the accumulation of obligations at the end of the semester. Some respondents reported an increase in concentration during online classes due to adjustment of assessment methods. Regarding the impact of teaching, many respondents noticed the reciprocity of engagement: in a positive sense due to receiving feedback and perceived effort of the professor (experienced level of motivation is high), but also in a negative sense due to the experience of superficial lectures and lack of feedback from teachers (perceived level of motivation is low ). Respondents claimed that the decrease in motivation was also influenced by too much engagement with too high expectations of professors. Some respondents found that professor engagement did not affect their motivation or concentration. Furthermore, a large number of respondents perceived that the lack of vigilance in teaching and the non-encouragement of activities caused a decrease in their concentration, and that the professor's encouragement to communicate and participate maintained their concentration. Conclusions: The results show that there is a need to develop distance education in higher education institutions, with the aim of improving the quality of education.