Devices and Platforms Used in Emergency Remote Learning and Teaching During Covid19: A Case of English Major Students in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigates the experiences of English major students at the College of Language and Translation (COLT) in King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, with Emergency Remote Learning and Teaching (ERLT) during the Covid-19 crisis. It focuses on the students’ preferences for devices and platforms, and gender differences influencing their choices. The study is of significance because it considers the student-centered learning approaches. The paper also seeks to answer the question as to the factors that lead students to make their preferences for the online teaching tools and devices. A total of 150 students, both men, and women, participated in the study. An online survey was carried out in the form of questionnaires to elicit their responses. The results showed that laptop computers were the dominant devices students used and preferred. They also revealed that the Zoom platform came first in students’ preferences, followed by Blackboard. Also, the findings showed that although participants used smartphones in their ERL, they did not recommend it, and it came last compared to laptops, tablets, and desktop computers in their order of preference. Gender differences existed in preferences to desktops and tablets in ERL. Another gender difference existed in preferences to platforms. Women students preferred Blackboard to Zoom while men students expressed the opposite.