scholarly journals Online learning during a global pandemic: Perceived benefits and issues in higher education

The COVID-19 pandemic has created substantial challenges across higher education, requiring academic institutes to conduct all teaching, learning, and assessments remotely online. To obtain a stronger understanding of the opinions of teachers and students in Hong Kong during this period, an anonymous online survey was distributed to all teachers and students at a higher education institute. Overall, 48 teachers and 425 students responded to the survey. This paper specifically analyzes the responses to open-ended questions from the survey to identify key topics and concepts. Open coding was used to obtain key terms, which were further grouped into categories. Results indicated that higher education teachers and students had similar issues (e.g., access to digital devices and software) and benefits (e.g., flexible scheduling and time arrangements) regarding online education. However, some categories were reported as both issues and benefits by teachers and students (e.g., communication/interaction), demonstrating that individual circumstances, abilities, preferences, and experiences, may influence satisfaction levels. Furthermore, results indicated that the delivery of quality online education enforced during a pandemic requires a multi-factorial and tailored approach. The information presented in this study will help higher education institutes to develop, redefine, and re-conceptualize online learning initiatives.

Communicology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
S. V. Chugrov ◽  
D. V. Galitskaya

Nowadays, the ability of the higher education system to adapt to external conditions is facing the challenge of online transformation and digitalization against the background of changes in the format of social relations in the direction of greater pluralism, demassification of information sources, channels and recipients. The relevance of the study lies in the need to assess the consequences of the transition to online communication of teachers and students in order to identify new functional / dysfunctional effects of digitization of the educational environment. The paper represents the results of an online survey (spring – summer of 2020), when the pandemic of the new coronavirus led to the transition to distance learning. The survey was conducted among students of Russian and German universities to identify the attitude of students to online education. Possible unintentional consequences of digitalization of the educational environment were identified. On the basis respondents’ answers, the authors have analyzed emotional attitude of Russian and German students to the compulsory transition to online learning as well as their assessments of its positive and negative aspects. The authors provide ratio of the advantages and disadvantages of online learning in the perception of Russian and German students, highlight some side effects of online communication between teachers and students, as well as the concerns of students caused by the transition to a new communication format. According to students of Russian and German universities, online communication is not beneficial for the quality of education. The increased time spent in front of the computer screen is considered harmful. Besides, students in both countries are concerned with the weakening of social ties and the loss of social contacts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-85
Author(s):  
Pitambar Paudel

The pandemic COVID-19 has forcefully shifted the mode of teaching and learning from only face to face to online in the higher education of Nepal, which is new experiences and practices for many of the teachers and students. In this context, this study investigated teachers’ and learners’ perspectives on online education in relation to its benefits, challenges and strategies during and after COVID-19 in higher education of Nepal. To achieve this objective, online survey research design was employed. Survey questionnaire were used in the study to determine the perspectives of 280 teachers and students from five universities of Nepal. The results showed that the participants experienced online education beneficial primarily for promoting online research, connecting the practitioners to the global community and getting huge and authentic resource of knowledge though they have found time-management skills, more freedom to the teachers and learners, and   reliable internet at workplace as the extreme challenges. The research also revealed time management skills, technological prepared and computer literate are the basic qualities for the practitioners who want to have online education. The participants suggested that ICT policy should be clear and courses should be developed accordingly. Only online mode of teaching and learning in the context of Nepal cannot be effective so the participants preferred blended learning. The findings of the research indicated that online education can be an alternative means of traditional education. Thus, if blended approach is implemented, the education process would be more effective and successful in the contexts like Nepal.


Author(s):  
Pamela A. Lemoine ◽  
John P. McElveen ◽  
Robert E. Waller ◽  
Michael D. Richardson

Technology for learning and globalization make the business of global higher education more complicated and competitive each day particularly in the unfolding pandemic of COVID-19. Innovation and change in global university instruction require adaptive technologies in response to the demands of a knowledge economy where students are engaged in rapid technology acclimatization in a constantly changing world. As the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century unfolds, significant changes are taking place in global universities to accommodate the needs of more students, different students, and challenged students. The global pandemic has forced most of the global higher education community to offer instruction through online learning. Although universities extensively use e-learning, distance learning, online education, remote learning, or some other form of technology-driven education currently, what are the prospects of online learning in the future after the pandemic?


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Heather Herman

Online education is no longer a peripheral phenomenon in higher education: over one-third of faculty have taught or developed an online course. As institutions of higher education expand their online education offerings, administrators need to recognize that supporting faculty through the use of incentives and through effective faculty development programs for online instruction is important to the improvement of the quality of educational programs. This quantitative study used an online survey to investigate the types and frequency of faculty development programs for online instruction at institutions with an established teaching and learning development unit (TLDU). The average TLDU offered about fifteen different types of faculty development programs, the most common being websites, technical services, printed materials, and consultation with instructional design experts.


Author(s):  
Nancy J. Stone

To evaluate students’ online learning environments, the relationship between personality and online learning success, and students’ perceptions about online proctoring during mandatory remote delivery due to the pandemic, students responded to an online survey. Learning environments generally included houses and rarely included on-campus housing. The specific room type was predominantly the bedroom. Only conscientiousness was related positively to anticipated semester GPA. The positive relationship between anticipated and overall GPA supports the notion that more conscientious students tend to be successful in online learning situations, as online education was rated as slightly ineffective. A majority of students did not see a need for online proctoring due to the inability or time required to search for materials, which would only harm one’s performance. There is a need to research further the impact of the study environment, relationship of the students’ personality to learning success, and consequences of online proctoring during remote learning.


Author(s):  
Risna Amalia Izati ◽  
Lies Amin Lestari ◽  
Slamet Setiawan

The pandemic of COVID-19 has forced the teachers and students to hold the teaching and learning remotely. All the process of learning was conducted online via various mobile applications. Students widely use smartphones as a medium to receive learning materials, join online classes, and study. However, it was questioned whether students are engaged with their reading materials when they have to read the texts on screen or digitally and learn from them. It is expected that the use of digital devices has influenced students' reading engagement, especially when the reading is to learn. This study aims to find out about the students' engagement in reading digital texts during online learning. The study collects the data from self-report questionnaires, interviews, and observation. The result shows that students do not experience behavioral and affective engagement as well as a negative response while they are reading the texts onscreen during online learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 116-130
Author(s):  
K. Fuchs ◽  
S. Karrila

Introduction. Online learning is a well-established pedagogical paradigm that has been researched and discussed from a number of perspectives. Educators associate a variety of opportunities and challenges with online education, and recently an unprecedented global pandemic, COVID-19, made traditional classroom teaching temporarily impossible. Emergency remote teaching (ERT) is a newly emerging sub-paradigm that possesses characteristics and challenges that differ from traditional online learning.Methodology and research methods. This study quantitatively examined undergraduate students' (n = 219) perspectives on the most important attributes that are associated with ERT. Moreover, the students' satisfaction with ERT was assessed, and the relationships between socio-demographic factors were analysed.Results and scientific novelty. A descriptive analysis revealed that most students preferred a traditional on-site classroom arrangement, while they were satisfied with the alternative ERT having fully virtual delivery. Also, the study highlighted that the students rated being knowledgeable, friendly, and patient as the most important characteristics of their lecturer in these unusual circumstances.Practical significance. The current research informs educators about student perceptions and preferences during these extraordinary circumstances of uncertain duration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 929-943
Author(s):  
Olga A. Gritsova ◽  
Elena V. Tissen

The quality of online learning mechanisms, widely implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is a significant issue for regional higher education systems. The research aims to assess student satisfaction with the quality of online education by identifying discrepancies between their requirements and the actual learning process. In order to examine the gaps between students’ expectations and perceptions, a new approach was proposed based on the integrated use of Gap analysis and SERVQUAL methodology, combining qualitative and quantitative aspects. SERVQUAL questionnaires for measuring student satisfaction with online learning include the following criteria: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy. Full- and part-time undergraduates of humanitarian and socio-economic departments of two universities participated in the study. Ural Federal University bachelors, learning via Moodle and Microsoft Teams platforms, could directly communicate with their peers and professors, while students of National Research Nuclear University MEPhI were engaged in massive open online courses (MOOC). As a result, all five criteria were analysed in the proposed model for quality assessment of online learning to reveal the gaps between students’ expectations and perceptions of the educational process. Significant discrepancies in the «empathy» and «responsiveness» criteria in both groups demonstrate low student satisfaction with the quality of communication and individualisation of learning. The research findings can be used to construct resource allocation models for implementing educational programmes and developing support measures for regional higher education institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-155
Author(s):  
Diana-Crina Marin ◽  
Mușata Bocoș

"In the context in which the teaching, learning, and assessment processes take place in the online environment, the question arises whether the currently organized learning situations are as effective as the learning situations carried out in the classroom, before the beginning of the pandemic. One of the disadvantages of online learning is related to the teacher’s low control over students’ activity. Factors such as initiative, creativity, efficient time management, intrinsic motivation, responsibility, and intellectual curiosity play an important role in students’ success in learning activities. Attendance at courses should not be formal and superficial and should be a process that involves the active and interactive participation of the students in the learning process. Providing high-quality educational opportunities to all students is a goal that is increasingly difficult to achieve in the context of the absence of face-to-face interactions. Also, applying a curriculum focused on the needs of the learner is becoming hard to achieve. Through this research, we aim to investigate issues related to how online learning takes place and to establish ways in which we can increase the efficiency of current teaching and learning processes. The study revealed that in the opinion of most of the students, the current epidemiological context has influenced in a negative way the quality of teaching and the student-teacher educational relationship. Keywords: Interactive learning, eLearning, independence in learning, higher education, efficient strategies "


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