Does Previous Experience with Online Platforms Matter? A Survey about Online Learning across Study Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on society, including teaching within higher education that was forced to adapt to online teaching. Research on this phenomenon has looked at pedagogical methods as well as student perceptions of this way of teaching. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have looked at the wider perspective, within the entire student populous of a university, what students’ perceptions are and how these correlate with the students’ previous experiences and habits with online platforms, e.g., online streaming or social media. In this study, we perform a questionnaire survey with 431 responses with students from 20 programs at Blekinge Institute of technology. The survey responses are analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis to draw its conclusions. Results show that there is no correlation between previous habits and student experience with online platforms in relation to online learning. Instead, other factors, e.g., teacher engagement, is found central for student learning and therefore important to consider for future research and development of online teaching methodologies.

[1]  D. Peart,et al.  Online learning in higher education in the UK: Exploring the experiences of sports students and staff , 2022, Journal of hospitality, leisure, sport & tourism education.

[2]  Versavia Curelaru,et al.  Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Approach , 2022, Sustainability.

[3]  O. Garaschuk,et al.  All-digital training course in neurophysiology: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic , 2022, BMC medical education.

[4]  J. Selco,et al.  STEM Students’ Perceptions on Emergency Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Successes , 2021, Education Sciences.

[5]  Slaviša Radović,et al.  Higher education students' experiences and opinion about distance learning during the Covid‐19 pandemic , 2021, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[6]  A. Abas,et al.  Virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: What are the barriers and how to overcome them? , 2021, Journal of education and health promotion.

[7]  Chrysi Rapanta,et al.  Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education , 2021, Postdigital Science and Education.

[8]  Carla Morais,et al.  An exploratory study on the emergency remote education experience of higher education students and teachers during the COVID‐19 pandemic , 2021, British Journal of Educational Technology.

[9]  Nicolae Nistor,et al.  Online teaching and learning in higher education: Lessons learned in crisis situations , 2021, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[10]  A. Lapillonne,et al.  Perception of medical education by learners and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey of online teaching , 2021, Medical education online.

[11]  David Sweetman,et al.  Making virtual learning engaging and interactive , 2020, FASEB bioAdvances.

[12]  Å. Nygren,et al.  Online Media Platforms' influence on student perception of Blended Learning , 2020, Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at Malmö University.

[13]  L. Țîru,et al.  Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education during the Coronavirus Pandemic: Students’ Perspective , 2020, Sustainability.

[14]  Digital Learning Interventions in Higher Education: A Scoping Review. , 2020, Computers, informatics, nursing : CIN.

[15]  I. Magomedov,et al.  The negative and positive impact of the pandemic on education , 2020, Journal of Physics: Conference Series.

[16]  Aida Abdelwahed,et al.  Perceptions of medical students towards online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national cross-sectional survey of 2721 UK medical students , 2020, BMJ Open.

[17]  Y. Wimardhani,et al.  Student perspective of classroom and distance learning during COVID-19 pandemic in the undergraduate dental study program Universitas Indonesia , 2020, BMC medical education.

[18]  Wei-min Wang,et al.  Association between medical students’ prior experiences and perceptions of formal online education developed in response to COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in China , 2020, BMJ Open.

[19]  Anique B. H. de Bruin,et al.  Undergraduate Radiology Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of Teaching and Learning Strategies , 2020, Canadian Association of Radiologists journal = Journal l'Association canadienne des radiologistes.

[20]  Chrysi Rapanta,et al.  Online University Teaching During and After the Covid-19 Crisis: Refocusing Teacher Presence and Learning Activity , 2020, Postdigital Science and Education.

[21]  Bianca Nightengale-Lee,et al.  Emergency remote teaching across urban and rural contexts: perspectives on educational equity , 2020, Information and Learning Sciences.

[22]  M. Manzanares,et al.  COVID‐19: The immediate response of european academic dental institutions and future implications for dental education , 2020, European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe.

[23]  Stefan Hrastinski,et al.  What Do We Mean by Blended Learning? , 2019, TechTrends.

[24]  Doo Hun Lim,et al.  ONLINE VS. BLENDED LEARNING: DIFFERENCES IN INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES AND LEARNER SATISFACTION , 2019, Online Learning.

[25]  Cne,et al.  Educators' Preparation to Teach, Perceived Teaching Presence, and Perceived Teaching Presence Behaviors in Blended and Online Learning Environments , 2018 .

[26]  William S. Rayens,et al.  Creating a Student-Centered Learning Environment Online , 2018 .

[27]  Cassandra M. D. Hart,et al.  Online Course-taking and Student Outcomes in California Community Colleges , 2016, Education Finance and Policy.

[28]  Charles R. Graham,et al.  Blended learning: the new normal and emerging technologies , 2018, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education.

[29]  E. Bettinger,et al.  Virtual Classrooms: How Online College Courses Affect Student Success , 2017 .

[30]  A. Madani,et al.  Systematic review of e‐learning for surgical training , 2016, The British journal of surgery.

[31]  Oskar R. Harmon,et al.  A Randomized Assessment of Online Learning , 2016 .

[32]  Frank Nielsen,et al.  Introduction to HPC with MPI for Data Science , 2016, Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science.

[33]  Heather Kauffman,et al.  A review of predictive factors of student success in and satisfaction with online learning , 2015 .

[34]  Hope E. Kentnor,et al.  Distance Education and the Evolution of Online Learning in the United States , 2015 .

[35]  Stavros Stavru,et al.  A critical examination of recent industrial surveys on agile method usage , 2014, J. Syst. Softw..

[36]  Camille Dickson-Deane,et al.  e-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same? , 2011, Internet High. Educ..

[37]  Olivier Le Bohec,et al.  Procrastination, participation, and performance in online learning environments , 2011, Comput. Educ..

[38]  Brooks C. Holtom,et al.  Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research , 2008 .

[39]  M. Ash,et al.  Bachelor of What, Master of Whom? The Humboldt Myth and Historical Transformations of Higher Education in German-Speaking Europe and the US1 , 2006 .

[40]  William R. King,et al.  External Validity in IS Survey Research , 2005, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[41]  Stephen R. Porter,et al.  Multiple Surveys of Students and Survey Fatigue. , 2004 .

[42]  Thomas C. Reeves,et al.  Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments , 2003, ASCILITE.

[43]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Revisiting activity theory as a framework for designing student-centered learning environments , 2014 .

[44]  J. Biggs.  Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment , 1996 .

[45]  A. L. Boberg,et al.  The Delphi Method: A Review of Methodology and an Application in the Evaluation of a Higher Education Program , 1992, Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation.

[46]  A. Strauss,et al.  The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research aldine de gruyter , 1968 .