Online Education - Education For Live

August 7, 2022

Online education: WGU celebrates 25 years innovating higher education

Before he became Utah’s 14th governor, Mike Leavitt served on what was then the Utah State Board of Regents, overseers of the state’s public colleges and universities.

He was well versed on how brick-and-mortar college campuses operated and that the higher education establishment awarded degrees based on seat time in classes and demonstrated mastery of content.

So it was hardly a surprise when Leavitt, early in his decadelong term as governor, got a chilly reception when he told the Regents, “We just can’t continue to build all these buildings. By the way, they’re not all that well used.”

The Regents all but patted him on the head.

“It was clear that wasn’t going to happen. It’s not just the system. Higher education is constrained to some degree by its ability to add modules of campus and infrastructure,” he said.

A while later, he discovered an audience that shared his concerns about the sustainability of higher education, fellow members of the Western Governors Association.

At the time, the internet was taking off and the tech world and users had just scratched the surface of its many utilities.

“It became clear to me and to others that the concept of distance education was going to be quite dramatically changed, and that we were going to achieve a point where information and knowledge could be procured by having it come to you as opposed to you always going to the campus to procure it,” Leavitt said.

Instead of seat time, students could advance in their learning as they showed competency.

Leavitt credits then-Colorado Gov. Roy Romer for furthering the group’s understanding of competency-based education. Romer was an attorney but also an experienced pilot who had been a flight instructor.

“He said, ‘You know, we’d never let a person fly an airplane who hasn’t demonstrated the competency to do it. Enough time studying isn’t good enough,’” Leavitt recalled.

The Western Governors Association began to rally around the concept of a university that was wholly online and organized around the convenience of the student, understanding that their “startup” likely wouldn’t bode well in traditional higher education circles.

Western Governors University, headquartered in Millcreek, Utah. — Western Governors University, headquartered in Millcreek, turned 25 on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.

Bucking tradition

The late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen’s book “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” was instructive.

According to Christensen, “good ideas often get crushed inside mature institutions because they don’t want to be disrupted. The theory was that if you’re going to disrupt or be disruptive to long-standing traditions, you needed to do it outside that tradition,” Leavitt explained.

So the members of the Western Governors Association made “a deliberate decision” to create what would later be named Western Governors University outside the higher education community and establish it as a nonprofit “so we could operate as a more nimble creature,” Leavitt said.

But that was easier said than done.

“We needed capital so I went to state legislatures across the entire western United States to lay this out,” he said. Sixteen states agreed to appropriate $100,000 each.

Leavitt met with technology leaders in Silicon Valley, some of whom immediately embraced the concept and offered financial support.

He wrangled a meeting with Scott McNealy, then-chairman and CEO of Sun Microsystems. McNealy shared that when he was a student at Stanford University, he couldn’t move quicker than what the course structure dictated.

“We talked for about an hour. At the end of the time he stood up, went over to his desk and brought out his checkbook and wrote out a check for $500,000,” he said.

McNealy not only put his financial resources behind the nascent university, he helped connect Leavitt to other tech leaders.

Despite the growing interest and support of WGU, “I just wasn’t sure how we were going to keep it going,” Leavitt said.

He asked Charlie Johnson, then his former chief of staff, to review the organization. Johnson introduced Leavitt to Bob Mendenhall, founder, president and CEO of Wicat Systems, Inc., a publicly traded company considered a leader in providing computer-based curriculum, instructional management and testing to schools.

Mendenhall had just sold his business and he was working toward his doctorate degree.

“He saw (WGU) and instantly understood what it could become. He had the skill to nurture it through that very difficult startup phase. I kind of managed the politics and the money and Bob began to shape it into an education enterprise. He was there for 20 years,” he said.

Exponential growth

Bit by bit, WGU has grown from its first graduate Gennie Kirch, who earned a master’s degree in learning and technology on Dec. 1, 2000, to more than 285,000 graduates in all 50 states. WGU’s principals, decked out in academic regalia, conducted a commencement ceremony solely for Kirch.

Upon her graduation, Kirch wrote a thank you note to Mendenhall that said in part, “At times when the going was rough, I knew there were others out there pulling for me. This is a credit to the WGU format. In a school environment it is fairly easy to fade into the woodwork. With the WGU you are the focal point, and it is hard to not notice the supreme care.”

Registered nurse Katie Byrge leaves her home in Riverton for a shift at Primary Children’s Hospital on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.

Personal touch

Twenty-five years later, nursing student Katie Byrge said she likewise experiences mentoring and a network of support from WGU’s faculty and staff.

“There’s just so much offered for you,” she said. “Your mentors are calling each week and your professors are checking in with you, so it’s been really good and I feel very supported.”

It’s one of the reasons Byrge chose WGU, that and the convenience of doing her school work as her work and family schedules allow. A registered nurse, Byrge works at Primary Children’s Hospital’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic.

Byrge had always intended to go back to college to further her education but life got in the way. She was enrolled in classes at a state school when her mother became seriously ill.

“The first time, my mom was really sick so I had to stop for a little while to take a break to take care of her. Then, she passed away,” she said.

Byrge’s plans to resume her studies were once again shelved after her husband was struck and killed by a truck while riding his bike to work. The couple had four children.

Byrge said her registered nursing training from Salt Lake Community College enabled her to support her family after her husband’s death. It also helped that she was already in the workforce and didn’t have to reboot her career while helping her children deal with the loss of their father.

A couple of years later, she remarried a man whose wife had died of cancer. They had three kids, making for a blended family of seven children.

Now that their youngest is 16 years old, Byrge said she feels like she’s in a good place to return to school. She and her cousin’s spouse, Melinda Vranes, also employed at Primary Children’s Hospital, decided to seek their bachelor’s degrees at the same time.

An ode to nurses sits among family photos at registered nurse Katie Byrge’s home in Riverton on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.

Byrge has completed one six-month term at WGU and just started her second. She will need three terms total to complete her degree.

“This program just fit me so much better because with the seven kids and working,” she said.

A lasting idea

One of WGU’s defining characteristics is that it offers degrees in four key areas: business, education, information technology and health professions, including nursing. There is high demand for skilled workers in each of those disciplines.

Byrge said earning her degree will qualify her for other positions in health care, although one of her goals is to spend more time on humanitarian trips where she can apply her new skills and knowledge to help others.

WGU President Scott Pulsipher said Leavitt and Romer demonstrated courage “to think differently about a higher education design.” They took it a step further persuading other governors to say, “Hey, this is a good idea and you should put some seed money into this thing.”

Perhaps more important, it wasn’t a one-off.

“If you think about some of the ideas that governors advance, they may be in existence for two or three years or maybe for as long as their administration exists but then they kind of peter out and that’s not been the case with this,” said Pulsipher.

WGU President Scott Pulsipher poses for photos at Western Governors University in Millcreek on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.

Then-Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer, who was an early and ongoing champion of WGU, deserves credit, too, Leavitt said. Geringer has had the longest ties to the university, serving on its board of directors until recently.

Leavitt School of Health

During a gala held at La Caille restaurant on Thursday evening, WGU leaders acknowledged Leavitt’s contributions to the university and the nation, announcing that its College of Health Professions has been renamed the Michael O. Leavitt School of Health. The announcement coincides with the university’s 25th anniversary.

Leavitt served as secretary of Health and Human Services during the President George W. Bush administration where he oversaw a $750 billion budget and 67,000 employees. He led the implementation of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

After his government service, Leavitt founded and chaired the health care consulting firm Leavitt Partners. In August 2021, Leavitt was called by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the eighth president of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

After leaving government, Leavitt continued to advocate for WGU and expanding student access to high-quality education, Pulsipher said.

At the same time, Leavitt lifted up important issues such as disparities in health care outcomes related to income, living in rural communities and among people of color.

“There’s a 10-year difference in life expectancy between a woman in the top 1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of income and those in the bottom 10{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}. That disparity for men even gets bigger and that’s not acceptable,” Pulsipher said.

Malena Johnson exits the cafeteria of Western Governors University in Millcreek on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. The school celebrated its 25th anniversary Wednesday.

Leavitt’s ability “to advance thinking around value-based health care, integrated care, population health, behavioral health, these all became core tenants for WGU’s School of Health,” he said.

Naming the school for Leavitt acknowledges his “advocacy for how education and health care can advance the worth of an individual,” Pulsipher said.

The university also announced it is launching long-term plans to help address national workforce gaps in health care.

National leader

A new analysis by the Utah Foundation found that WGU leads the nation in nursing graduates.

According to the findings, the university has provided 84,390 nursing graduates from all 50 states since 2009 — 60,368 of whom received bachelor’s degrees in nursing and 24,022 of whom received master’s degrees in nursing.

“In 2021, WGU produced a whopping 17{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of the nation’s registered nurses earning a bachelor of science in nursing, suggesting that its already outsized role in educating national nursing personnel will rapidly expand,” the report states.

Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard described WGU’s impact as “eye-popping.”

As the nation faces critical shortages in staffing hospitals, “Western Governors is deploying an innovative approach to open opportunities and lead the way forward,” Reichard said.

According to the analysis, WGU nursing graduates make up 2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of all the registered nurses with an active license in the nation. The numbers of health care professionals the university expects to graduate is expected to proliferate as new degree and credentialed programs are offered by the Leavitt School of Health.

Western Governors University, headquartered in MIllcreek, turned 25 on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.

July 27, 2022

Online Schooling a Bad Idea That Won’t Go Away

(TNS) — Nearly all of the 20 largest U.S. faculty districts will give on the net education alternatives this slide. About half of them will be featuring far more whole-time virtual school courses than they did ahead of the pandemic. The pattern appears to be very likely to continue on or accelerate, according to an investigation by Chalkbeat.

That’s a challenge. University closings around the past two decades have inflicted intense academic and emotional harm on American college students. Schools should now be focusing on innovative techniques to fill lecture rooms, socialize little ones and convey the joy of collaborative mastering — not on furnishing options to keep home.

Traditionally, several forces have pushed for on the web instruction — not all of them focused on improving upon education and learning. These consist of: the quest for less expensive, a lot more successful modes of schooling the press to restrict the affect of teachers unions by concentrating virtual teachers in non-union states and a wide variety of health-related and social factors that lead some pupils and families to choose online understanding.

Due to the fact the pandemic, some digital plans have fairly pressured medically fragile learners. But other people are seizing on on the internet schooling in a rushed work to shore up general public-faculty enrollments, which plummeted in some metropolitan areas. The prevalence of these courses in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas and New York is specifically stressing, as they focus on inadequate and minority pupils who are probably to be notably sick-served by on line college solutions.

A new examine exhibits that whilst young little ones, particularly, are bouncing again from the pandemic-period educational doldrums, the hole involving large-poverty and lower-poverty educational institutions stays bigger than it was pre-pandemic.

Analysis, exactly where it exists, demonstrates persistently even worse academic results for on the web colleges than for common community colleges.

Learners in cyber schools do their coursework primarily from residence and in excess of the Online, with academics often positioned in distinct states and time zones. There is minimal comprehensive info about the curricula, pupil-instructor ratios, how substantially precise training takes place, or what if any educational supports are presented by the educational institutions.

The adverse effect of the pandemic on the psychological very well-becoming and social abilities of little ones — a person-3rd of university leaders reported a surge in disruptive student actions during the earlier school yr — is a cautionary lesson for on-line discovering.

Graham Browne, the founder of Forte Preparatory Academy, an impartial constitution school in Queens, New York, mentioned not long ago that he saw a sharp boost in “aggressive or threatening” conduct, especially among sixth graders who invested much of the past two several years on-line.

All through a new multi-working day discipline trip to a camp operate by the New Air Fund, Browne claimed he observed that for the duration of crew-making physical exercises, this sort of as figuring out how to have a substantial item around a reduced bridge, pupils resorted to screaming at every single other. Earlier, he said, they would have worked out a technique for maneuvering the item together.

Equally relating to, when the school available an on the web solution for the duration of the 2020-2021 school calendar year, Browne found that near to half of his optimum achieving eighth graders — those people using algebra alternatively than pre-algebra — chosen the solution due to the fact it gave them the versatility to go after lecturers at their individual rate.

“Our school is compact, so having this sort of a substantial part of large-executing students out of the developing has an impression on peer tutoring, student morale, and a culture of crew constructing that we emphasize at university,” Browne reported.

The most instant danger, even so, comes from the non-public sector and in particular from for-financial gain virtual constitution faculties, which are of notoriously very poor good quality just 30 percent achieved point out school-functionality specifications, as opposed with 53 per cent for district-run virtual faculties prior to the pandemic. These colleges, which invest heavily on marketing, boomed all through university lockdowns, when classic schools had been battling to give on the web instruction. At the nation’s premier for-financial gain network, enrollment grew 45 p.c to 157,000 college students through the previous yr.

What children want most are strong in-particular person discovering chances and the chance to experiment. Educational facilities also have to have to retain reassuring safety protocols as COVID-19 variants continue on to unfold.

This is the time for schools to undertake engaging learning strategies, this kind of those people of a superior-poverty faculty in the Bronx that employs the Bronx River as a science laboratory, and of the Leander, Texas university district that turned about the growth of an anti-bullying method to high school pupils, in the process developing young leaders.

Some of these jobs could be tailored to a hybrid format by giving college students the option to do some get the job done remotely, while also emphasizing in-particular person collaboration.

What can make no academic sense is the rush to embrace on line education. Experience has demonstrated its severe down sides. Condition oversight is not solid enough to mitigate them. Right before barreling forward, analysis should be financed and executed by unbiased students to pinpoint the likely advantages. Until that occurs, colleges really should do everything they can to retain kids in classrooms.

Andrea Gabor, a previous editor at Company 7 days and U.S. News & Earth Report, is the Bloomberg chair of organization journalism at Baruch University of the Town College of New York and the writer of “Just after the Instruction Wars: How Sensible Schools Upend the Business of Reform.”

July 26, 2022

Online education’s reputation jumps, survey says

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Dive Quick:

Almost 50 percent of grown ups in the U.S., 47{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, imagine on the internet instruction is of roughly the very same high quality as in-human being instruction, expanding sharply from about a third who stated the same last calendar year, according to survey data produced Tuesday by remaining-leaning consider tank New America.
But 4 out of five respondents claimed on line education and learning ought to expense much less than in-individual instruction, the study observed. Additional normally, individuals are pretty much evenly divided above no matter if students can get very affordable, substantial-quality education and learning soon after large school.
The belief that greater education is benefiting the U.S. is declining. In 2020, 69{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of respondents to the New The usa survey claimed colleges have been obtaining a constructive effect. This year, just 55{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} mentioned that. Democrats had been a lot a lot more probably than Republicans to say higher ed was constructive, 73{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} vs. 37{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}.

Dive Perception:

New The usa has been gathering information for its Varying Degrees study for six decades. That handles a period of major adjust in the U.S., such as divisive election cycles, the coronavirus pandemic, a reckoning with racism spurred by the police killing of George Floyd, and economic turmoil.

In gentle of people variations, New The united states would make the situation that views on higher ed have altered small.

“Though there has been relative consistency in Americans’ sights about instructional prospects after substantial college, there are some signals over the earlier couple of a long time that positivity has declined somewhat,” a report on the study claimed.

But a variety of knowledge points reveal critical modifications more than time, partisan splits and unique experiences centered on race.

Most respondents, 64{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, mentioned U.S. older people need some variety of postsecondary credential to have monetary protection. A bit a lot more than a quarter said a bachelor’s diploma or additional is wanted. Republicans were being additional probably than Democrats to say a large university diploma was ample to generate money stability.

Equally, 76{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of respondents called schooling soon after higher school a good return on expenditure for college students. That share has been mostly steady considering the fact that information assortment started off in 2017. But all over again, Republicans have been much less likely to favor greater ed than Democrats.

Effectively about fifty percent of respondents reported the govt really should do far more to fund higher education and learning, with 80{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} expressing states need to devote extra tax dollars to make increased ed much more cost-effective and 78{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} declaring the federal federal government should do so.

Nonetheless, public faculties and minority-serving establishments are the only segments of higher ed that must get tax bucks, in accordance to most respondents. About eight in 10 reported they have been at ease with paying tax cash on community neighborhood faculties, 68{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} supported this kind of paying for public four-yr universities, and 63{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} reported it should really be expended on minority-serving establishments.

Fewer than fifty percent of respondents, 45{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}, were being snug with taxpayer dollars going to personal nonprofit faculties. That was nonetheless better than the 33{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} who supported general public dollars for for-financial gain faculties.

A considerable greater part stated colleges need to reduce entry to some govt funding if they inadequately perform — 78{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} supported constraints based mostly on reduced graduation premiums, 73{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} supported limits centered on no matter whether graduates make a living wage, and 70{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} favored yanking funding when pupils had significant debt compared to their earnings.

A 3rd of people today with student debt owe a lot more than they did when they initial borrowed. One-third of borrowers have defaulted on their loans at some place, the facts exhibits. Even extra debtors who are Black or receive small wages have defaulted at some issue — 46{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of Black debtors have defaulted, as have 48{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of borrowers making considerably less than $30,000 per 12 months.

The study also features some insight into examination-optional admissions procedures, which have distribute widely all through the pandemic. Just 6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of respondents mentioned ACT or SAT scores must be demanded and applied heavily through admissions, even though 38{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} mentioned they should be expected but used in blend with indicators like grades.

On the other hand, 42{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} stated examination scores should be optional and used in combination with grades. Only 11{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} were in favor of disallowing check scores and necessitating schools to use other data in admissions.

New America interviewed far more than 1,500 older people in April and May for the survey. The assume tank oversampled many comparatively compact groups — Black, Latinx, Asian American and university student mortgage debtors — to get statistically trusted information and facts about them.

July 24, 2022

After $6 million, Idaho’s online higher education program moves closer to launch

After million, Idaho’s online higher education program moves closer to launch

This tale was initially posted on IdahoEdNews.org on July 20, 2022.

This fall, two college students at just about every Idaho faculty will sign-up for their drop classes on a new statewide on-line portal — and the point out will decide on up the expenditures.

The 16-college student pilot represents a “stress test” for On-line Idaho, a new hard work to present faculty programs outside of the state’s school campuses. It is also a infant phase of a milestone, millions of bucks into the Point out Board of Instruction project.

The Condition Board has place much more than $6 million into On the internet Idaho so considerably, all from federal coronavirus assist. A several yrs down the street, when the federal help runs out, ongoing annual expenses could pencil out at $3 million a 12 months. And so far, only just one scholar has registered as a result of On-line Idaho.

Point out Board officials say they are consciously steering clear of enrollment goals, for now. As a substitute, they say they are hoping to create a beneficial encounter, wherever students can find the courses they need to have. By definition, that is a qualitative purpose.

“But qualitative is what retains our pupils coming back to our establishments,” explained Jonathan Lashley, the board’s associate chief educational officer.

But Point out Board staffers acknowledge that, at some place, the board’s appointees will want to see some quantifiable signals of enrollment progress.

“The board has to be intrigued in the numbers, at some point,” Main Educational Officer TJ Bliss mentioned.

A application that predates the pandemic

Policymakers begun chatting about an On-line Idaho-variety notion in 2017, long ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic pressured bigger schooling to go virtual.

5 yrs ago, then-Gov. Butch Otter assembled a better education task drive, to look at approaches to persuade more Idahoans to entire university. One suggestion: a statewide digital campus to serve “place-sure or time-bound” pupils, such as rural citizens or grown ups hoping to juggle a task and coursework.

Then arrived 2020. A couple of months into the pandemic, the condition agreed to use federal coronavirus help to start off up what was then recognised as Idaho On the web, starting with a $4 million installment. Making off of an stock of current on the internet systems at the state’s two- and four-year faculties, the purpose was to determine out how to share out those classes statewide.

That could sound simple, but it isn’t effortless, or low-priced. Considerably of the federal income went into pursuing a shared mastering administration program, a community to share and administer on the net coursework. The point out has adopted Canvas, an sector chief in the LMS field. 7 of Idaho’s 8 colleges and universities are relocating on to Canvas, and the a single holdout, Idaho State College, is thinking about it.

While software program has been a big cost in the Online Idaho rollout, the pandemic has also offered the State Board with an instruction in how digital school need to operate.

Classes in online learning

The pandemic didn’t just prod the Condition Board to launch the on the net portal — even though delivering an infusion of federal revenue that the condition desired to devote in schooling.

The pandemic also compelled educators and learners alike to seem extra closely at the opportunity and pitfalls of on the internet mastering.

As professors moved lessons on the web, out of requirement, they also took classes from colleagues who experienced encounter and abilities in a virtual environment. There arrived a developing appreciation that powerful on the internet studying indicates a lot additional than only going a class to Zoom.

“Online education is a craft,” Bliss explained. “There are strategies to do it well and there are methods to do it really badly.”

In the meantime, policymakers got a much better notion of what students wished in phrases of on-line university instruction. Students could possibly not want all of their courses on line, but they may well want the solution of functioning an online course into their schedule. And substantially like instructors have to have qualified progress as they go into on the web educating, learners sometimes require support to become on-line-completely ready, Lashley stated.

And even though the Condition Board has been hoping to build the infrastructure for On the net Idaho, Lashley has also used a ton of his time internet hosting informal chats with staffers and students, to far better have an understanding of how to make the application by itself.

Who On the web Idaho might serve

Fully designed, the platform could provide a range of student teams.

On the net Idaho could present a platform for the state’s online cybersecurity big — a shared program across the better training technique.
On the internet Idaho could offer the backlink that will allow a scholar at one school or university to just take a class from another faculty or college. This could make it simpler for pupils to get the general education and learning credits they have to have, staying on keep track of for graduation. And the one scholar who has registered by On the internet Idaho was a North Idaho University university student hunting to get a class and lab by means of the College of Idaho — an on-line lab unavailable by means of NIC.
And On the net Idaho could give the pathway for grownup students and rural students to get back again into college or university. That is a complicated undertaking. Logistically, it’s less complicated to serve faculty students who are previously registered in the process, as opposed to signing up new students from rural Idaho. And there is not much worth to a scholar basically signing up for a random class, with no the assistance that could place that university student on a path to a diploma. “It’s so uncomplicated for that pupil to get shed in the mix,” Lashley reported.

A gradual rollout

The On the internet Idaho rollout has been intentionally gradual.

The State Board has not advertised the services, focusing instead on coaching advisers about how the class exchange could enable pupils.

“As anticipated, we have restricted registrations so much for the reason that we have confined our advertising of the company,” Lashley stated. “This will evolve all through the educational yr now that implementation is finish.”

At a Point out Board presentation in June, board users dug into the ongoing cost projections — a feasible $3 million-a-year invoice, driven mainly by the ongoing price of Canvas subscriptions.

Board member David Hill took a very long look at of the route to enrollment advancement. Hill said he needs to see college students inside the method, crossing boundaries to choose courses on other campuses. Then he’ll want to see new pupils coming in from outside the house the standard campus composition. “(Which is) the genuine aim here,” he claimed.
When board member Cally Roach requested Lashley for a forecast on how many students it will acquire to spend for the application — and when Idaho will get there — Lashley didn’t make a prediction.

Instead, he said it will be difficult to get to full-scale class sharing across eight campuses. What Idaho requires to do first is determine out which pupils will advantage the most from the on the net portal, and which college students will advantage very first.

“We actually have nonetheless to have that obvious, particular point out method,” he said.

July 23, 2022

Online Schooling Is the Bad Idea That Refuses to Die

Remark

Approximately all of the 20 premier US college districts will present on-line education solutions this slide. About fifty percent of them will be offering much more whole-time virtual school packages than they did just before the pandemic. The development would seem likely to carry on or speed up, according to an examination by Chalkbeat.

Which is a trouble. College closings around the past two yrs have inflicted critical academic and psychological damage on American learners. Universities should really now be focusing on innovative means to fill lecture rooms, socialize little ones and convey the joy of collaborative finding out — not on providing prospects to remain property.

Historically, a variety of forces have pushed for online instruction — not all of them targeted on bettering schooling. These incorporate: the quest for much less expensive, more successful modes of schooling the push to restrict the affect of instructors unions by concentrating digital lecturers in non-union states and a range of health care and social factors that guide some pupils and households to want online learning.

Considering the fact that the pandemic, some virtual plans have fairly stressed medically fragile students. But some others are seizing on on the web schooling in a rushed hard work to shore up community-faculty enrollments, which plummeted in some towns. The prevalence of these plans in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas and New York is particularly stressing, as they goal bad and minority students who are probably to be especially unwell-served by on the net school solutions.

A new study reveals that though youthful young children, in particular, are bouncing again from the pandemic-period educational doldrums, the gap amongst significant-poverty and small-poverty schools stays increased than it was pre-pandemic.

Investigate, where by it exists, reveals constantly worse academic results for on line faculties than for traditional public colleges.

Pupils in cyber schools do their coursework primarily from dwelling and more than the online, with teachers typically located in various states and time zones. There is minimal complete facts about the curricula, university student-instructor ratios, how significantly genuine instructing happens, or what if any academic supports are offered by the faculties.

The adverse effect of the pandemic on the psychological properly-currently being and social capabilities of children — just one-3rd of faculty leaders reported a surge in disruptive pupil actions all through the earlier college yr — is a cautionary lesson for on-line understanding.

Graham Browne, the founder of Forte Preparatory Academy, an impartial constitution university in Queens, New York, said not long ago that he observed a sharp improve in “aggressive or threatening” behavior, primarily amid 6th graders who invested significantly of the earlier two years online.

For the duration of a latest multi-day subject vacation to a camp operate by the Fresh new Air Fund, Browne explained he seen that in the course of workforce-building exercise routines, this sort of as figuring out how to carry a large item in excess of a minimal bridge, college students resorted to screaming at every other. Beforehand, he claimed, they would have labored out a system for maneuvering the item with each other.

Similarly concerning, when the school supplied an online choice through the 2020-2021 college calendar year, Browne observed that shut to half of his best achieving 8th graders — all those having algebra fairly than pre-algebra — picked the selection due to the fact it gave them the flexibility to go after teachers at their individual tempo.

“Our school is small, so obtaining these types of a huge part of higher-executing college students out of the creating has an effect on peer tutoring, pupil morale, and a culture of crew building that we emphasize at school,” Browne said.

The most rapid menace, having said that, arrives from the private sector and especially from for-earnings digital charter universities, which are of notoriously bad top quality just 30{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} satisfied condition faculty-efficiency benchmarks, in comparison with 53{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} for district-run digital universities ahead of the pandemic. These educational facilities, which devote seriously on promoting, boomed in the course of school lockdowns, when regular educational institutions were being having difficulties to provide on-line instruction. At the nation’s major for-revenue community, enrollment grew 45{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} to 157,000 pupils for the duration of the past 12 months.

What little ones require most are robust in-individual learning options and the possibility to experiment. Universities also need to manage reassuring safety protocols as Covid-19 variants continue on to unfold.

This is the time for educational institutions to undertake partaking mastering methods, this sort of all those of a significant-poverty university in the Bronx that utilizes the Bronx River as a science laboratory, and of the Leander, Texas college district that turned above the progress of an anti-bullying system to superior college college students, in the course of action constructing young leaders.

Some of these projects could be tailored to a hybrid format by supplying students the alternative to do some perform remotely, when also emphasizing in-person collaboration.

What helps make no academic sense is the rush to embrace on the web schooling. Experience has demonstrated its intense shortcomings. State oversight is not potent more than enough to mitigate them. Before barreling forward, study need to be financed and executed by impartial students to pinpoint the opportunity advantages. Until eventually that occurs, colleges ought to do every little thing they can to keep young children in lecture rooms.

Extra From Bloomberg Opinion:

• Remote Finding out Can Be a Lot Greater: The Editors

• Distant Schooling’s Perverse Social Divide: Justin Fox

• Stop These Cruel Experiments With Our Kids’ Schooling: Andreas Kluth

This column does not necessarily replicate the view of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Andrea Gabor, a previous editor at Enterprise 7 days and U.S. Information & Planet Report, is the Bloomberg chair of small business journalism at Baruch Faculty of the Town College of New York and the creator of “After the Education and learning Wars: How Intelligent Universities Upend the Organization of Reform.”

Much more stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/view

July 22, 2022

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Medical Education in Saudi

Summary of Study

The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a significant influence on medical education and healthcare institutions. To support the learning objectives during the pandemic, several learning management systems were used. In Saudi Arabia, the majority of colleges adopted the online teaching methods. There is considerable similarity between online and traditional education. While several research have concluded that there are no substantial differences between traditional and e-learning, some have found the opposite. One of the most serious drawbacks of e-learning is the lack of clinical access. In Saudi Arabia, e-learning is not the favored mode of teaching in medical schools. The majority of the students thought of e-learning as an interactive system that allows them to learn.

Background

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China-pneumonia-like symptoms characterize the virus. The disease spread rapidly globally, resulting in an outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) declared it a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.¹

Since March 25, 2020, over 150 countries have temporarily shut down colleges and educational institutions, affecting more than 80{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of the world’s student population. According to the Saudi Ministry of Education, health authorities have recommended “preventive and precautionary” measures to ensure that students and staff are appropriately protected.²

This has led to a shift in education in most academic faculties, transforming learning from traditional to online. Consequently, colleges provided students with several learning management systems.³ One of the most suggested approaches is scheduled live-online video lectures with interactive discussions using different applications or self-study online recorded lectures.^4,5 Virtual clinical experience was another approach to the suspension of clinical clerkship rotation. This idea supports the concern of the Ministry of Health regarding medical students’ exposure to the virus during training as well as their potential to act as spreaders of the virus in the community.⁶ They were limited patient care and bedside learning opportunities during the pandemic, as doctors and other healthcare workers were required to focus on COVID-19 cases. Hence, students were safe at home, complying with social distance guidelines; they learned about the dynamics of patient interaction by interviewing patients, collaborating with treatment planners, assisting with paperwork, and counselling patients.⁷

Online and traditional education shares several similarities. Students still have to attend class, learn new topics, submit assignments, and participate in group projects. While many studies have found no significant differences between traditional and e-learning, others have reported opposing results.⁸ E-learning offers more program choices, compared with traditional face-to-face learning. It is classified as synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous e-learning allows live interactions between tutors and students, such as live-video conferences and chats.⁹ Asynchronous e-learning can involve e-mails, recorded videos, etc., where there are time lags between the tutor and their students.⁹

With traditional classroom education, students are confined to taking courses at specific centers on a fixed schedule. Thus, e-learning helps save up to 60{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of traditional learning time, with the only requirements being an adequate computer, internet connection, and basic computer skills.^10,11

In contrast, online classes involved an absence of in-person, face-to-face classroom, or office interactions. For many students and programs, interpersonal communication is crucial. For example, consulting lecturers in person and discussing matters in groups is an essential motivational activity and learning strategy; however, it is not easy to practice medicine online.^12–16

Additionally, the on-campus atmosphere and the opportunity to meet many people face-to-face is another motivation for students; moreover, it has an essential impact on student performance and understanding lectures. Nevertheless, in e-learning, online classes depend on personal factors, such as: student’s home environment, socioeconomic factors, and parents’ level of education. Unfortunately, conducive surroundings are not always available to many students.

Another essential factor in students’ comprehension; online teaching can easily create a sense of boredom while listening to a monotonous lecture, devoid of interaction and visual stimulation. This reduces students’ motivation to attend future lectures.¹⁷

The perceived benefits of both teaching methods must be thoroughly outlined and assessed to determine which medium generates better student performance. Both approaches are generally beneficial; however, we still need to examine whether one is more superior compared to the other. Hence, this study aimed to measure the effect of online classes on medical students’ comprehension attending campus classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Study Design

We conducted a cross study using an online survey between 2020 and 2021. Data were collected from medical students in their basic and clinical years in the western region of Saudi Arabia using a questionnaire. Questionnaires with incomplete or missing data were excluded from the analysis.

Questionnaire Tool

The survey was adapted from previously validated assessment scales.^3,18 The survey involved 45 multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions, including primary demographic data, such as age, gender, academic year, and the name of the school they attended, without recording any identifying data for confidentiality. Additionally, the survey included general questions about the students’ knowledge of e-learning and the status of the technology tools used during the education process. It also had questions to assess the students’ attitude toward the e-learning system as well as their evaluation and suggestions for improving online teaching. Finally, specific questions were asked to appraise the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students.

Sampling Strategy

A convenience sampling method was used. All medical students in the Western region of Saudi Arabia were invited to participate in the study. The inclusion criteria were clear in the invitation letter and sent along with the survey link. There was no incentive was provided to the participants to be involved in the study. The survey was conducted online using the Google Forms© and was distributed through social media platforms such as: WhatsApp, and Twitter. A total of 922 respondents were included.

Study Outcomes

The primary outcome was measuring the effect of online classes on medical students’ comprehension of attending campus classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary outcomes included comparing the level of medical students’ morning excitement for attending lectures before and during COVID-19; further, we also assessed medical students’ attendance rate before and during COVID-19 and the effect of students’ limited clinical exposure on their knowledge. A copy of the questionnaire will be found in Supplementary Section.

Statistical Analysis

Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and synthesize a report of the variables. The data description includes proportions and frequencies, for continuous variables. The statistical analyses were carried out using S.P.S.S. (version 27).

Results

Demographics Characteristics

Of the 3700 questionnaires, we collected 922 completed online questionnaires from students of 11 medical schools in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Participants were predominantly women; the sample included 693 (75.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) women and 229 (24.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) men; their mean age was 22 (28.3{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) years. Umm AL-Qura University had the highest response rate with 232 responses (25.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), followed by King Abdulaziz University with 186 responses (20.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) and Taibah University with 112 responses (12.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). Two (0.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) of those who completed the survey were not included in the western region of Saudi Arabia. A more significant number of respondents included medical students who had finished their fourth year with a response rate of 325 (35.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), followed by those who completed the fifth year with 310 responses (33.6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}). Finally, 33 (3.6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) responses completed by prior-year students or interns were not included in the sample size. For details see Table 1.

Table 1 Demographic Data of the Study Participants

Students’ Experience About e-Learning

Approximately 49.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} students started online classes during the first week of lockdown. The majority of institutions preferred Blackboard and Zoom as video-conferencing platforms for e-learning. A total of 624 (67.7{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students used Blackboard, whereas 612 (66.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) used Zoom. Microsoft Teams and Webex Meet were less preferred, as 237 (25.7{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) and 128 (13.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) used Microsoft Teams and Webex Meet, respectively. Overall, 727 (78.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students had five or more online classes per week, 30.3{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of them had live classes (synchronous), 6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} had recorded classes (asynchronous), and 63.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} had both (synchronous and asynchronous) (see Table 2).

Table 2 Students’ Experience About e-Learning

Effect of COVID-19 on the Medical Education Process and Evaluation of e-Learning

A total of 395 (42.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) had experienced suspension of their education by the faculty, and 529 (57.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) had suspended their clinical training. In addition, 17.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} students suspended their education program by themselves due to social status and personal responsibilities. Thus, 410 (44.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students stated that the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect their career plans and future interests, but 331 (35.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) reported the opposite. Moreover, owing to the lockdown students had more free time than earlier. Overall, 490 (53.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students spent their time resting and relaxing, 456 (49.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) spent time with family, and 386 (41.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) spent their time watching television. However, our study showed that many students invested their time wisely, as 619 (67.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students participated in programs related to medical education. Further, approximately 396 (43{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) participated in medical research activities and 401 (43.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) in volunteering activities; for details (see Tables 3 and S1).

Table 3 Effect of COVID-19 on the Medical Education Process

Student’s Attitude During COVID-19 Pandemic

Regarding students’ attitudes toward e-learning, 391 (42.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students were worried about losing opportunities to apply for specialty training due to the lockdown. Regarding the students’ perspectives on e-learning, the study shows that a majority of students, that is 451 (48.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), believed that e-learning depends on the comprehensive digital electronic environment displaying educational curriculum through electronic networks. In comparison, 423 (45.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students believed it was an interactive system that provided an opportunity to learn information and telecommunication technology. Moreover, 367 (39.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students believed that e-learning provides digital multimedia content (ie, written text, audio, video, and images). Less than one-third of the students, that is 255 (27.7{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}), believed that e-learning in the medical field is not less expensive than conventional learning. A total of 248 (26.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students considered e-learning as a type of tele-education, and for 207 (22.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) instant feedback from the instructor was a benefit of online-learning. E-learning has benefits and drawbacks that affect students’ lives differently. Overall, 603 (65.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students agreed e-learning helps save money and energy, that is typically expended during commuting; moreover, they believed it was a more straightforward learning method.

Furthermore, 365 students (39.6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) believed that it limits the consequences of social contact and 355 (38.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) thought it causes fewer absences than traditional teaching, whereas 296 (32.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students believed that e-learning caused more absences. A total of 232 (25.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students believed that it resulted higher academic achievement, whereas 230 (24.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) agreed that results in better student interaction in classes. However, as Table 4 shows, 555 (60.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) of students believed the limitation of clinical access was one of the biggest disadvantages of e-learning. Moreover, 466 (50.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students disliked the absence of direct contact with a lecturer in e-learning, whereas 386 (41.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) believed that technical requirements were a disadvantage of e-learning. In contrast, 323 (35{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students did not have a conducive environment in the house during online classes. Approximately one-third (32.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students believed that e-learning courses lower academic achievement; moreover, 160 (17.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) felt that online classes were not safe, whereas 280 (30.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students were unable to adapt to e-learning. Regarding student attendance, 727 (78.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students attended five lectures or more per week, and 376 (40.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students were able to participate in more than 80{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of the classes per week. Moreover, 409 (44.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students attended only 50–80{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of the classes, whereas 137 (14.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) were able to participate in only less than 50{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}. For details see Table 4.

Table 4 Student’s Attitude During COVID-19 Pandemic

Status of Educational Technology Tools During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Table S2 describes the students’ proficiency with using various electronic devices: 108 (11.7{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) reported themselves as proficient, 171 (18.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) were perfect, 371 (40.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) were good, 228 (24.7{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) had an acceptable level, and 4.8 (44) had an inadequate level. In medical education, the students’ computers varied between tablets (683 [74.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}]) and smartphones (457 [49.6{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}]). Further, 543 (58.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students used personal computers. Around, 698 (75.7{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) were dependent on the university’s lectures for their study, 619 (67.1{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) were dependent on self-study and utilized various educational sources, whereas 254 (27.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) attended extra courses provided by private education centers.

E-Learning Improvement

Finally, the students could help assess e-learning, as shown in Table S3. Overall, 518 (56.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students did not want to continue using e-learning on its own in the future, whereas 668 (72.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) wished to use e-learning in combination with traditional learning.

Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a remarkable shift in education and learning methods. Additionally, some medical colleges have adopted open-book examinations, which have shifted toward an entirely new online teaching and examination system. Therefore, studying the effects of e-learning using several parameters on medical students is imperative e-learning. This study aimed to measure the impact of online classes on medical students’ comprehension of attending campus classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, we compared the different changes in medical students’ levels of excitement and rate of attendance in e-learning before and after the pandemic.

According to medical students’ responses, our findings revealed that the advantages of e-learning vary among students. Of the students, 423 (45.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) thought e-learning to be an interactive system that provides a learning opportunity. In contrast, a minimal number of students agreed that they had interactive classes. Consequently, 232 (25.2{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) believed that it offered high academic achievement. Likewise, in the study conducted by Cicha et al, the majority of participants demonstrated a positive feedback about distance learning.¹⁹ In contrast, when asked about the disadvantages, most students believed that the limitations of clinical access were one of the worst disadvantages of e-learning. Moreover, 466 (50.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students disliked the absence of direct contact with the lecturer during classes. In contrast, 323 (35{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students did not have a calm home environment during online classes. Finally, 280 (30.4{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) could not adapt to their online environment. Compared to our study, similar advantages and disadvantages were found in many reports in the literature.^17,19–22

Technology knowledge is one of the most important factors for easy transition and success in e-learning.^23–25 In our study, the participants reported the need of technical knowledge was one of the major disadvantages of e-learning.

Based on the previous responses of our survey, we noted that medical students believed that e-learning has far more disadvantages, compared with traditional methods that allow for clinical exposure. These disadvantages are considered critical parameters that facilitate each student’s comprehension and understanding. A total of 302 (32.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) students believed that e-learning lowered academic achievement.

The survey results indicate a change in the attendance rates during the pandemic, compared with those recorded before the pandemic. A total of 376 (40.8{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) of students could attend more than 80{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of classes per week. In contrast, 137 (14.9{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf}) attended less than 50{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of the classes. The underlying reasons behind their absenteeism include poor internet connection, inappropriate class timing, and discomfort with virtual teaching.

Several studies have supported the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education using different perspectives. A study that took place in United Kingdom has identified the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on final year medical students’ examinations, electives, and assistantship placements and the subsequent impact on preparedness and confidence. Many students felt less prepared to begin work as doctors. This study shows that disruptions to student assistantships significantly impact preparedness, which results in lowered academic achievement.²⁶

Another study investigated medical students’ perceptions regarding the role of online teaching in facilitating medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study suggests that most students prefer face-to-face teaching.²⁷ This study reported that the cancellation of clinical examinations and the conversion of written examinations into open book ones reduces student engagement, which was in line with the findings of our study.

A few limitations of e-learning mentioned in this study was related to technical issues. Moreover, many teachers are inadequately prepared and face many technical difficulties. The quality of the sessions delivered may have been affected by several factors, such as poor internet connection, family distractions, and the timing of the tutorials, as demonstrated by our results.

Students’ mental health is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be adversely affected by the lack of interaction with friends and colleagues, leading to an increase in anxiety.¹⁸ As mentioned in the same study, the main advantages of online teaching are the time and money saved from the lack of travel, flexibility, and the ability for students to learn at their own pace.²⁷ This is similar to our results.

Another study conducted in Jordan,³ which assessed students’ class experience, lecturers’ interaction, and e-learning advantages and disadvantages. Their results show that the e-learning experience was not favorable for most medical students due to limitations with regard to technology, and that traditional face-to-face teaching method is preferred for various reasonse-learning. Furthermore, the non-direct contact between lecturers and students is a significant obstacle, as students and lecturers have had on-ground interaction during regular lectures prior to COVID-19. Finally, the lack of clinical access to medical students is one of the most significant disadvantages due to the essentiality of patients’ exposure to medical students in clinical years.³ In contrast, their students’ online attendance rate was lower than ours. Thus, the cause of this difference in attendance rates required further investigation.³

Another study evaluated the comparison between face-to-face learning and e-learning modalities in teaching an environmental science course and additionally evaluated factors of gender and class rank.¹¹

The results of this study did not show significant difference in performance between online and traditional classroom students by modality and gender. Further, as there is no significant difference in student performance between the two mediums, higher education institutions may gradually shift away from traditional instruction and implement web-based teaching to capture a larger worldwide audience.

If administered correctly, this shift to web-based teaching could lead to a higher cost efficiency, and higher university revenue.¹¹

Many hospitals have suspended medical student clerkships during COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, in our study, student clerkships in the hospitals were suspended or postponed in about 50{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} of participants. This is can be a major defect in their medical education journey and needs to be compensated as soon as applicable (12,J).

Our study had some limitations. First, the design of the study is cross-sectional in nature, some missing data could limit the conclusion of the study. The independent variables were not adjusted for real-life accuracy. Furthermore, students have different skills, abilities, preparation, and familiarity with online instructions. Experienced traditional classroom students who take online-based classes and lectures may lack the technical requirements of e-learning. Therefore, they may not be prepared to use e-learning efficiently, thus leading to lowered scores. Second, some medical schools may have been disproportionately represented with more significant numbers of responses from some schools. Finally, some aspects of our survey depended on students’ memory, which may have influenced their reporting.

Implications and Recommendations

Our study is relevant as it explored a crucial educational topic. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the widespread use of electronic learning in medical education without pre-preparations. This fast acceleration should be investigated to determine its advantages and disadvantages. The results of this study will help make critical decisions for the future of medical education. Moreover, it would help improve electronic education and adapt it to the needs of medical education and medical students by considering all the benefits. According to the student’s responses, as shown in the results, 72.5{e4f787673fbda589a16c4acddca5ba6fa1cbf0bc0eb53f36e5f8309f6ee846cf} (668) wished to use e-learning in combination with traditional learning. Face-to-face learning is essential to increase the academic achievement of medical students and has higher clinical exposure. Additionally, online-learning helps save time, money, and energy. Additionally, we recommend that medical students should be prepared for online applications and platforms to improve their knowledge and experience.

Future studies are needed to investigate the same topic in the broader field of medical education, including the basic years. Moreover, further examination is necessary to find alternative models of clinical exposure that would be effective in compensation during situations similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, additional studies are needed to investigate an appropriate and effective way to use e-learning alongside traditional learning.

Conclusion

This study found that advantages of e-learning vary among students. Most of the students thought e-learning to be an interactive system that provides a learning opportunity. In contrast, many of the students believed that there were many disadvantages regarding online teaching methods. These findings has been seen in many reports in the literature recently and indicates that further studies are needed to identify the potential causes.

Ethical Statement and Institutional Review of Board Statement

The study was approved by the Faculty of Medicine at Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia (NO. HAPO-02-K-012-2021-06-696). This study was performed in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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