Evaluation of the online learning of veterinary anatomy education during the Covid‐19 pandemic lockdown in Egypt: Students' perceptions

Abstract

The sudden shift of veterinary anatomy teaching from traditional to online mode during the Covid‐19 pandemic lockdown was a major challenge used for the first time in Egyptian veterinary medical schools. This study aimed to evaluate students’ perspectives regarding the shift of veterinary anatomy teaching to online mode during the lockdown in Egypt. A total of 502 students from all veterinary medical schools in Egypt (n = 17) answered the questionnaire. The results revealed that nearly two‐thirds of students felt enthusiastic about studying anatomy online during the pandemic. Moreover, approximately 63% of students were satisfied with the provided learning materials, 66% were able to understand anatomy using the online learning system during the lockdown period, 67% were comfortable with technological skills during their online study, and 47% believed that online learning of anatomy could replace face‐to‐face teaching. Therefore, despite the problems associated with the emergency switch to remote teaching, it appears to be a suitable alternative in teaching veterinary anatomy in Egyptian universities during this pandemic crisis in Egyptian universities. Moreover, the study provided several measurements to overcome the common problems associated with this challenging method for future application, such as providing three‐dimensional (3D) virtual tools and electronic devices with either free or low‐priced internet packages, and measuring students’ understanding before and after each lecture. This is the first study to solicit the early students’ feedback regarding the emergency shift to online veterinary anatomy teaching which might help decision‐makers in Egypt for future implementation of online learning of veterinary anatomy.

Evaluation of the Emergency Remote Learning of Veterinary Anatomy During the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Global Students’ Perspectives

“…This abrupt shift to the virtual mode needs extra efforts due to the lack of practical cadaver dissection, embryology models, bone specimens, microscopic slides, and face-to-face interaction with teachers. Moreover, it will have a great impact on students (Brassett et al, 2020;Franchi, 2020;Ross et al, 2020;Singh et al, 2020;Mahdy and Sayed, 2021). The current situation provides an opportunity for a careful assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the online teaching of anatomy and compares it with conventional teaching methods (Brassett et al, 2020;Byrnes et al, 2020).…”

“…The current situation provides an opportunity for a careful assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the online teaching of anatomy and compares it with conventional teaching methods (Brassett et al, 2020;Byrnes et al, 2020). It is crucial to assess the impact of shifting to online teaching of anatomy on students based on their concerns and views, student knowledge, and professional capabilities (Mahdy and Sayed, 2021). These studies will help the decision-makers to put plans to switch to online anatomy teaching, apply blended learning combining campus and online teaching together, and find a substitution for cadaveric specimens for the coming years (Brassett et al, 2020).…”

“…Recently, it has been reported that the COVID-19 lockdown negatively affected the academic performance of veterinary medical students and researchers (Mahdy, 2020). Mahdy and Sayed (Mahdy and Sayed, 2021) evaluated the online learning of veterinary anatomy during the lockdown period in an Egyptian veterinary medical school. Moreover, Longhurst et al (Longhurst et al, 2020) analyzed the strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) of the adaptations to anatomical education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the perspectives of anatomical educators.…”

“…On the contrary, many universities used online teaching for the first time after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic (Aristovnik et al, 2020;Cuschieri and CallejaAgius, 2020). Furthermore, at the beginning of the online education, several aspects were considered non-functional, such as platforms, communication, and interaction between students and professors, which negatively reflected on students' attitudes (Popa et al, 2020;Mahdy and Sayed, 2021).…”

“…These studies showed that it is crucial for students to adapt to the new situation during the COVID-19 pandemic (Baticulon et al, 2020;Pather et al, 2020). However, online learning is associated with several problems, such as availability, connectivity, cost and speed of internet, lack of electronic devices to access the online materials, and lack of effective communication between students and teachers (Brassett et al, 2020;Mahdy, 2020;Sahu, 2020;Mahdy and Sayed, 2021).…”