Faculty and students’ attitude toward e-learning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Authors

  • Nazdar Ezzaddin Alkhateeb Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University
  • Ali Shakir Dauod Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University
  • Nazar P Shabila Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University
  • Ali A Al-Dabbagh Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22317/jcms.v8i2.1178

Keywords:

E- learning, Students attitude, Faculty's attitude, Medical education, COVID-19

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the students and faculty staff attitude for e-learning at the emergence of COVID-19.

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional Google form based online survey was conducted at a medical university in Iraq between March and April 2020. The online survey was distributed to a sample of 190 faculty staff and 1706 students of a medical university in Iraq. Knowledge and attitudes towards e-learning and perceived barriers to implementing e-learning among participants were the primary outcome measures.

Results: The majority of students had a negative view of the simplicity of using e-learning compared with higher agreement among faculty staff. Most students disagreed with most aspects of the usefulness or strengths of e-learning. Both students and faculty staff agreed that e-learning faces challenges, including poor internet connectivity (79%) and computer literacy (71%). The highest percentage of the students (42.8%) preferred to have paper examinations in the study halls for the final written assessment. The percentages of the faculty staff who preferred paper examination in the study halls (31.6%), online assessment (31.1%), and delay assessment for the following year (33.2%) were almost similar.

 

Conclusion: The students and faculty staff are not ready for e-learning, with technical inadequacies being the main barrier. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted medical education, proper technical and institutional foundations are essential for successful e-learning, especially during social distancing measures.

Retrospectively registered at clinical trial.gov with registration number NCT05223465 on 4th February 2022

 

 

 

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Published

2022-04-26

How to Cite

Alkhateeb, N. E., Dauod, A. S., Shabila, N. . P., & Al-Dabbagh, A. A. (2022). Faculty and students’ attitude toward e-learning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Contemporary Medical Sciences, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.22317/jcms.v8i2.1178