Opinion of students on online education during the COVID ‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic forced universities around the world to shut down their campuses indefinitely and move their educational activities onto online platforms. The universities were not prepared for such a transition and their online teaching‐learning process evolved gradually. We conducted a survey in which we asked undergraduate students in an Indian university about their opinion on different aspects of online education during the ongoing pandemic. We received responses from 358 students. The students felt that they learn better in physical classrooms (65.9%) and by attending MOOCs (39.9%) than through online education. The students, however, felt that the professors have improved their online teaching skills since the beginning of the pandemic (68.1%) and online education is useful right now (77.9%). The students appreciated the software and online study materials being used to support online education. However, the students felt that online education is stressful and affecting their health and social life. This pandemic has led to a widespread adoption of online education and the lessons we learn now will be helpful in the future.

Attitude towards online classes among school and college going students during lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic

“…These findings are similar to the findings of the other studies conducted in India and other countries. 9,10,15,16 The present findings indicate that a majority of the respondents believed that online classes save time and it is adequate for the students who live far away from the schools. These findings are correspondents to the findings of the previous studies.…”

Education Shift During COVID-19: Students’ Satisfaction with Emergency Distance Learning

“…Contrary to this finding, there was communication gap between teacher and student during online class. 7,8 If students are valued and informed, they will be satisfied. 9 This suggests that unlike others, nursing students have a sense of belongingness in online class and were satisfied with the lectures delivered by the teachers.…”

“…Although 73% respondents in this study were satisfied with the instructor's supportiveness and responsiveness towards their questions, >1/3 rd were not satisfied with the instructors pace of punctuality in the class. Sometimes neither lectures are managed as course 8 nor students are valued. 7 If teachers cannot be in time for lectures, students will be dissatisfied 8 that affect the outcome of the lecture.…”

“…5 Educational institutions are not prepared for transitions of emergency distance learning 6 although, various online learning tools are available. 7 Despite teachers' teaching skills, online class is stressful for students 8 and satisfaction with class decreases student's dropout. 9 Although combination of both distance and conventional face-to-face teaching-learning strategy is effective for nursing education, 10 students are less satisfied with the distance learning classes.…”

“I Feel Quite Hopeful that My Future Is Still Going to be Okay”: Educational Aspirations During COVID-19

“…For example, a poll conducted by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (2020) reported that 62% of students and 76% of faculty feel that online learning during the pandemic has negatively impacted the quality of university education in Ontario. Similarly, a study in India reported that 69.5% of surveyed students felt that better learning takes place in physical classrooms than online (Chakraborty et al, 2020). Some reporting suggests that remote learning may be beneficial for some students who experienced social pressures or distractions in classroom settings (e.g., Gilman, 2020;Harris, 2020).…”