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Perception of 1st Year BDS & Allied health sciences students towards virtual learning in the pandemic lockdown.
A. Devi niraikalai 1, Yuvaraj M*2, Sankaran PK3, Balaji K2, Karthikeyan D4 Siva T5, Kirthika CP6.
1Department of Anatomy Asan Memorial Dental College and Hospital,
2 Department of Anatomy, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Thandalam,
3Department of Anatomy, AIIMS Mangalagiri Andhra Pradesh,
4Department of Microbiology, Vinayaka Missions Medical College and Hospital, Karakial, Puducherry,
5,6 Department of Anatomy, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research.
ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of 1st year BDS & Allied health sciences students towards virtual learning during the covid-19 pandemic lock down.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Asan Memorial Dental College and Vinayaka Missions Medical College and Hospital. Bachelor of Dentistry (BDS) and B.Sc. AHS (Allied Health Sciences) Phase –I students participated in the study with a sample size calculated as 425. A self designed questionnaire was prepared. After validation from the experts, the questionnaire was shared through mail and messaging application to the participants for data collection. Reliability of the questionnaire was determined and statistical analysis was done through Microsoft excel.
Results: Total of 425 responses was received out of which there were 142 males and 242 females. Overall, 68%
of students had negative perception towards virtual learning. 56.76% of the students used mobile device for their virtual learning. Out of which 54% had eye problems, neck and back issues.
Conclusion: Students appreciated the virtual learning classes but are not interested in continuing the same way after the covid -19 pandemic. They also felt that face to face teaching was more effective than virtual learning due to issues related to net connectivity and increased screen timing..
Keywords:
Covid-19 pandemic, Face-to-face teaching, Perceptions and virtual learning.
1. Introduction
The COVID-19 outbreak was declared as a pandemic by WHO on 11th March, 2020 and created a sense of fear and panic all around the globe [1, 2]. In the wake of this emergency situation and considering about the social distancing, most of the educational institutions around the world have shifted their normal face to face learning to virtual mode of learning [3,4]. The famous educational institutions of India like Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University etc., have stopped their offline mode and have shifted to their teaching - learning procedure through online platform [5]. Virtual mode of teaching has become widely accepted mode of education in many universities due to the crisis. Many researchers have highlighted the growing need for execution of virtual learning [6]. In this pandemic, the need to encourage virtual learning in the modern world of education becomes clear. Virtual learning platforms can be utilized to deliver lectures remotely at one’s convenience and students are beneficial in many ways. It is important to consider both the pros and cons of virtual learning to be better prepared to face the challenges as in the pandemic times as well as embrace the new opportunities. When the lockdown was announced, the students did not expect it to be a long break and did not carry their books along with them. But many institutions are giving their students access to e-books and digital library. This was the need of the hour as every day is important for students and the learning has to be uninterrupted, structured and aligned. With virtual learning platforms the study continued and students did not have to rush to attend their
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whole‐class sessions and they could re‐visit the lecture as many times as they wished. Medical and paramedical students can then log in at scheduled time for discussions, which can be facilitated using recorded video session and audio conferencing. Virtual learning has many beneficial effects when students participate actively [7]. Many authors have suggested that digital health platforms for students will remain an integral part of care even after the COVID-19 pandemic [8]. Thus, having a greater understanding of the perceived advantages and drawbacks will allow medical institutions to improve their delivery of online mode of teaching. The COVID- 19 pandemic has put us in a unique position to evaluate the significance of online teaching platforms in medical education. The covid-19 pandemic has transformed the centuries-old, face to face teaching to e-learning classes driven by technology. The lockdown and the social distancing norms brought by the covid-19 pandemic emphasized the need and scope of virtual learning strategies. Virtual learning classes are more flexible and convenient. Although helpful, this is, of course, a far cry from face‐to‐face interaction between students and faculty. You need to be highly self-motivated and creating a work space with minimal distractions can help immensely. The aim of this present study is to analyze the perception of BDS and BSc AHS students about virtual learning in the COVID -19 pandemic and also discuss the problems faced by the students in adapting to the new environment.
2. Materials and Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy after obtaining Institutional Ethical Clearance (IEC), from the Asan Memorial Dental College and Hospital and Vinayaka Missions Medical College and Hospital Sciences. Around 425 students participated in the study which included BDS and B.Sc., AHS phase I students. Convenience sampling technique was used to select the participants for the research. A self-designed pre-validated questionnaire was prepared in Google form which fulfills the criteria of the study and was shared with the students. Around 25 questions were prepared based on the 5-point likert scale. The students voluntarily participated in the study and their responses were confidentially maintained.
Microsoft excel 2010 version was used for data analysis.
3. Results:
A total of 425 BDS and paramedical students participated in the survey out of which 142 (33.41%) were males and 283 (66.59%) were females. All of them were phase-I students, who underwent their regular academic sessions through virtual mode. The demographics and gadgets used in the study are described in Table I. The various gadgets were used for virtual learning, among them 55.76% used mobile phones, 37.41% used laptops, 4% used computers and the remaining 2.82% used tabs. The overall perception of students towards virtual learning in Covid- 19 Pandemic is recorded in Table II. Table III demonstrates the practical barriers faced by the students towards virtual learning in Covid-19 Pandemic.
Table: 1 shows the Demographic details and gadgets used for virtual Learning during Covid-19 Pandemic.
Variables Total number of students Percentage
Gender
Male 142 33.41
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Female 283 66.59
Discipline
BDS 100 23.52
BSc AHS 325 76.48
Area of stay
Rural 187 44
Urban 238 66
Gadgets used for E-learning
Tab 12 2.82
Mobile phone 237 55.76
Computers 17 4
Laptop 159 37.41
Online Platforms used for E-learning
Google meet 57 13.41
Cisco webex 287 67.52
Zoom 81 19.07
Table- 2: Overall perception of students towards Virtual learning in Covid-19 Pandemic ( N=425)
Questions Responses Percentage
Does virtual learning substitute the traditional learning Positive 23%
Negative 73%
Preferred mode of learning Positive 67%
Negative 33%
Preference of Future learning Positive 62%
Negative 48%
Student – Pedagogy interaction Positive 76%
Negative 24%
Practical demonstration Positive 22%
Negative 78%
Over all perception of virtual learning Positive 32%
Negative 68%
Table- 3: Practical barriers faced by students towards Virtual learning in Covid-19 Pandemic
Barriers faced by students Percentage
Continuous use of mobile phone leads to problems like neck and back pain and vision related problems
12%
Overload of online classes 27%
Power fluctuation 11%
Network issues 28%
Difficulty to concentrate 9%
Lack of extra and co curricular activities 13%
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4. Discussion:
COVID-19 has emerged as a global pandemic with 114 million confirmed cases and 2.5 million deaths worldwide, as on 2 March 2021. Medical education in India always depends on the traditional lecture hall method of teaching. The prevailing COVID-19 pandemic brought a situation where virtual classes have taken precedence over the traditional teaching platforms [9].
Over the period of last few decades, there has been tremendous emphasis on the use of technology in medical education including online classes, simulations, flipped classrooms, mobile devices with various applications [10]. The COVID-19 pandemic has enabled students at various places to communicate with each other with sound and vision as part of their academic necessity [11]. Applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, cisco-WebEx, Google Classroom offer platforms for team-based collaboration. Each platform has unique features and most are free for basic use [12]. In the present study cisco webex platform was the most commonly used online communication media. Cisco-webex has high on connectivity, ease of use, security, interactivity, and features such as screen sharing, video record option. Although virtual classes cannot replace the classroom teaching model, it can be added as a compliment and a way to encourage self- directed learning skills [13]. It is also reported that virtual classes have an extensive potential for improving soft-skills and research skills which will be helpful for undergraduate students.
According to Viswambharan, et al 2021 based on the place of residence (rural and urban) for questions related to network issues such as audio and video quality revealed no statistically significant difference between the groups. Based on the responses obtained from the perceived disadvantages of online learning, it was observed that 83.4% of rural and 91.6% of urban residents reported network issues [14]. Similarly in this study there was not much difference observed between the rural and urban based residents. In which 44% were from rural and 66%
from urban based residence. In this study report we are presenting responses received from students regarding their experience with use of e-learning facilities for medical subjects. The availability of Gadgets, platform and network connection were a big problem for any of the students. The type of barriers faced by undergraduate students are as follows , continuous usage of gadgets can cause vision, back and neck problems, power fluctuations and network issues, these are expressed in Table 3. Mobile phone has become one of the most accepted devices among the students for virtual learning as compared to computers, laptops and tabs [15].
Similarly, in one of the studies conducted on medical students, it was found that 66% use mobile devices for virtual learning, which is similar to our study that shows 55.76% students prefer mobile phones and the computer (4%), laptop (37.41%) and tab (2.82%) respectively. A research conducted in Spain revealed that students chose mobile phones for their virtual learning because faculty-student interaction through mobile phones was much comfortable as compared to other gadgets. [16] Raymond et al revealed in his study that in comparison to face to face learning, students were satisfied with virtual learning.[17] However, there are also existing literature reports that students preferred face to face teaching over virtual e-learning [18]. Similarly in our study wherein student’s preference was more towards face to face learning compared to the virtual learning and it correlated with Sahar Abbasi 2020. It was also reported that virtual learning is perceived to have little impact compared to face to face learning.
5. Conclusion:
Covid-19 pandemic situation wherein considering the safety of students, no regular face to face learning classes could be conducted , instead virtual learning platform has significantly reshaped
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and innovated teaching methods for BDS and BSc AHS students. Virtual learning classrooms can be a feasible alternative to the conventional learning for undergraduates during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond the prevailing pandemic era, they can be used as an adjunct to conventional classroom learning, which will be of greater advantage for the students as it is perceived to be less stressful. In times of crisis, a video conferencing platform should be seen as a powerful tool that enables educators to continue the delivery of their teaching to students and which works to ensure a physical distance whilst maintaining social connectivity between the faculty and students and also among the peers.
Source of Support: Self funding Conflicts of interests: None References
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