The COVID-19 pandemic and E-learning: challenges and opportunities from the perspective of students and instructors

Abstract

The spread of COVID-19 poses a threat to humanity, as this pandemic has forced many global activities to close, including educational activities. To reduce the spread of the virus, education institutions have been forced to switch to e-learning using available educational platforms, despite the challenges facing this sudden transformation. In order to further explore the potentials challenges facing learning activities, the focus of this study is on e-learning from students’ and instructor’s perspectives on using and implementing e-learning systems in a public university during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study targets the society that includes students and teaching staff in the Information Technology (IT) faculty at the University of Benghazi. The descriptive-analytical approach was applied and the results were analyzed by statistical methods. Two types of questionnaires were designed and distributed, i.e., the student questionnaire and the instructor questionnaire. Four dimensions have been highlighted to reach the expected results, i.e., the extent of using e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, advantages, disadvantages and obstacles of implementing E-learning in the IT faculty. By analyzing the results, we achieved encouraging results that throw light on some of the issues, challenges and advantages of using e-learning systems instead of traditional education in higher education in general and during emergency periods.

An Emergency Shift to e-Learning in Health Professions Education: A Comparative Study of Perspectives between Students and Instructors

“…Instructors were more satisfied with their elearning experiences than students, which may have been due to BB's regular training and the accessible technical support provided by the university to all faculty members (Alqabbani et al, 2020). Additionally, Maatuk et al (2021) explained that lower satisfaction levels among students had resulted from the increased workload caused by e-learning. This influence could be particularly present during the emergency shift to e-learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Countries with excellent and complete infrastructure were better able to resume the teaching process with minimal or no interruptions (Marinoni et al, 2020). Meanwhile, poor internet connections and a lack of preparedness (such as a lack of electronic devices) were found to present significant obstacles for both students and instructors during this emergency shift to e-learning (Maatuk et al, 2021). Additionally, the literature showed that satisfaction with e-learning is a key factor for the success of e-learning experiences themselves (Bolliger, 2004;Liaw et al, 2007).…”

The long road to learn the meaning of p-value in medical schools: challenges for a research methodology training in medical schools

“…The majority opinion was that the introduction to e-learning was difficult and the biggest obstacle to smooth application was the low-quality internet service. At the same time, students acknowledged the usefulness of online learning, explaining that it improved their academic standards (Maatuk et al, 2021). Taking these different aspects into account, it seems that online learning could be beneficial if the necessary resources and training are given to students and teachers to develop this methodology with success.…”

“…In one study published this year at the University of Benghazi, students shared their perspectives on the shift to remote learning (Maatuk et al, 2021). The majority opinion was that the introduction to e-learning was difficult and the biggest obstacle to smooth application was the low-quality internet service.…”

Detecting the Institutional Mediation of Push–Pull Factors on International Students’ Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, various studies have focused on the issues related to education settings. For example, the impact on education [15][16][17], innovative learning technology issues [18][19][20], and even the impact on international higher education and student mobility [10] have been explored. Studies on international students have not sufficiently explored the effects of situational factors on students' satisfaction.…”