Online Learning Experiences of University Students

Author(s):  
Johanna Lammintakanen ◽  
Sari Rissanen

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of university students’ experiences of online learning, based both on some previous empirical studies and literature during the last decade. Online education has become widespread in many countries during recent years, and the paradigmatic shift from traditional to online education (e.g., Harasim, 2000; Karuppan, 2001) has occurred as part of planned educational policy, with both international and national experiences supporting its growth. Similarly, students now have increasingly higher expectations regarding the quality of learning, and they expect a more individual, flexible, and humanistic approach in education. Students are increasingly demanding online access and universities are working to meet these demands (e.g., Song, Singleton, Hill, & Hwa Koh, 2004). In addition, technology is expected to improve access to education, reduce costs, improve the cost-effectiveness of education, and maintain the competitive advantage in student recruitment in higher education (Katz & Yablon, 2003; Newton, 2003). It is also important to note that no consistent paradigm for online education exists; rather there are multiple ways of making use of the Web in education, and these will vary for many reasons, for example, the needs of the learner and the subject being taught.

2011 ◽  
pp. 1370-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Lammintakanen ◽  
Sari Rissanen

Online education has become widespread in many countries during recent years, and the paradigmatic shift from traditional to online education (e.g., Harasim, 2000; Karuppan, 2001; Kilby, 2001) has occurred as part of planned educational policy, with both international and national experiences supporting its growth. Similarly, students now have increasingly higher expectations regarding the quality of learning, and they expect a more individual, flexible, and humanistic approach in education. In addition, technology is expected to improve access to education, reduce costs and improve the cost-effectiveness of education (Bates, 1997, cited in Alexander, 2001).


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
Pham Thi Thu Huong ◽  
Tran Thi Ngoc Giau

Online education has rapidly become popular worldwide in higher education. There are massive open online courses which could be found in Coursera and EDX. These courses ensure the availability and the accessibility of the online learning through videos with subtitles. Online learning not only gives students unprecedented opportunities to learn, but also reduces the cost of higher education. However, online learning presents unit challenges compared to traditional learning, especially in Vietnamese education. In this paper, we present the advantages and disadvantages of online learning. In particular, we will show the advantages and disadvantages of taking online courses of Vietnamese students. We will also share our experience as a tutor of Funix University which is the first online university in Vietnam. In addition, we will give feasible suggestions to improve the quality of online learning in Vietnamese universities, especially the quality of assessment in online learning. These suggestions could be applied in building new online courses in the universities.


2020 ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Yu. M. Tsygalov

The forced work of Russian universities remotely in the context of the pandemic (COVID-19) has generated a lot of discussion about the benefits of the new form of education. The first results were summed up and reports were presented, the materials of which showed that the main goal of online education — the prevention of the spread of infection, - has been achieved. Against this background, proposals and publications have appeared substantiating the effectiveness of the massive introduction of distance learning in Russia, including in higher education. However, the assessment of such training by the population and students in publications and in social networks was predominantly negative and showed that the number of emerging problems exceeds the possible benefits of the new educational technology. Based on the analysis of the materials of publications and personal experience of teaching online, the potential benefits and problems of distance learning in higher education in Russia are considered. It is proposed to consider the effects separately for the suppliers of new technology (government, universities) and consumers (students, teachers, society). It is substantiated that the massive introduction of online education allows not only to reduce the negative consequences of epidemics, but also to reduce budgetary funding for universities, optimize the age composition of teachers, and reduce the cost of maintaining educational buildings. However, there will be a leveling / averaging of the quality of education, and responsibility for the quality of training will shift from the state/universities to students. The critical shortcomings of online education are the low degree of readiness of the digital infrastructure, the lack of a mechanism for identifying and monitoring the work of students, information security problems, and the lack of trust in such training of the population. The massive use of online education creates a number of risks for the country, the most critical of which is the destruction of the higher education system and a drop in the effectiveness of personnel training. The consequences of this risk realization are not compensated by any possible budget savings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Khalid Ayad ◽  
Khaoula Dobli Bennani ◽  
Mostafa Elhachloufi

The concept of governance has become ubiquitous since it is recognized as an important tool for improving quality in all aspects of higher education.In Morocco, few scientific articles have dealt with the subject of university governance. Therefore, we will present a general review of the evolution of governance through laws and reforms established by Moroccan Governments from 1975 to 2019. The purpose of the study is to detect the extent of the presence of university governance principles in these reforms.This study enriches the theoretical literature on the crisis of Moroccan university and opens the way to new empirical studies to better understand the perception of university governance concept in the Moroccan context and to improve the quality of higher education and subsequently the economic development of the country.The findings of this study show an increasing evolution of the presence of university governance principles in reforms and higher education laws.


Author(s):  
Angel M. Dzhambov ◽  
Peter Lercher ◽  
Drozdstoy Stoyanov ◽  
Nadezhda Petrova ◽  
Stoyan Novakov ◽  
...  

Background: Online education became mandatory for many students during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and blurred the distinction between settings where processes of stress and restoration used to take place. The lockdown also likely changed perceptions of the indoor acoustic environment (i.e., soundscape) and raised its importance. In the present study, we seek to understand how indoor soundscape related to university students’ self-rated health in Bulgaria around the time that the country was under a state of emergency declaration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Between 17 May and 10 June 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey among 323 students (median age 21 years; 31% male) from two universities in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Self-rated health (SRH) was measured with a single-item. Participants were asked how frequently they heard different types of sounds while at home and how pleasant they considered each of those sounds to be. Restorative quality of the home (the “being away” dimension of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale) was measured with a single-item. A priori confounders and effect modifiers included sociodemographics, house-related characteristics, general sensitivity to environmental influences, and mental health. Our analysis strategy involved sequential exploratory factor analysis (EFA), multivariate linear and ordinal regressions, effect modification tests, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: EFA supported grouping perceived sounds into three distinct factors—mechanical, human, and nature sounds. Regression analyses revealed that greater exposure to mechanical sounds was consistently associated with worse SRH, whereas no significant associations were found for human and nature sounds. In SEM, exposure to mechanical sounds related to lower restorative quality of the home, and then to poorer SRH, whereas nature sounds correlated with higher restorative quality, and in turn with better SRH. Conclusions: These findings suggest a role of positive indoor soundscape and restorative quality for promoting self-rated health in times of social distancing.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Diana Vilela Azzi ◽  
Júlia Melo ◽  
Armindo de Arruda Campos Neto ◽  
Paula Midori Castelo ◽  
Eric Francelino Andrade ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Abdullah Ghobain ◽  
Abdullah Ahmed Zughaibi

Nowadays, especially after the COVID-19 crisis lockdown, the heavy reliance on technology and online platforms led to a greater expectation of more learning autonomy among English learners in EFL contexts such as Saudi Arabia. The sudden shift to online learning requires an investigation into students’ readiness and willingness for such a mode of learning. This can provide educators with many prospects about learning outcomes achievement and assessment, test performance, and interaction during classes. Therefore, the current study seeks to contribute to the well-known area of learner autonomy research, which is still lacking in the context of the study, by exploring the readiness of Saudi first-year undergraduate English learners towards online education. Participants’ level of readiness is identified according to their autonomous behaviors and activities. The study will also assess the investigated concept considering the influence of gender and field of study of the participants on their autonomy levels. A total of 802 students participated in this study. It was found that Saudi first-year university students are moderately autonomous, that both males and females have similar levels of aptitude and readiness for taking responsibility for their learning, and that English-major and non-English-major groups showed comparatively similar levels across different learning autonomy dimensions. Yet interestingly, English-major participants displayed a relatively lower autonomy level than students of other majors.


Author(s):  
Margaret Anne Carter ◽  
Marie M'Balla-Ndi ◽  
Ariella van Luyn ◽  
Donna Goldie

As a result of the rapid online expansion of digital learnscapes, resulting in university students regularly engaging in online learning communities, cyberbullying has increasing potential to become a serious issue for higher education institutions. The effectiveness of educating students and staff in higher education on the elements and impacts of cyberbullying has driven this innovative study, which involves the development of an action research-led and student-directed interactive educational website to inform higher education students and staff about the consequences of cyberbullying. In describing the ongoing development and generalisation of the site, this chapter highlights the third cycle of an action research inquiry, and more generally the need for such resources to support higher education so that users understand what constitutes cybersafety and cyberbullying. As such, the research is directed toward understanding, sharing, participation, reflection, and change. Findings are discussed in relation to the information on the site for users in higher education.


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.


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