importance of online education in covid 19

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how 

With schools shut across the world, millions of children have had to adapt to new types of learning. Image:  REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

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• The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut all across the world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom.
• As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms.
• Research suggests that online learning has been shown to increase retention of information, and take less time, meaning the changes coronavirus have caused might be here to stay.

While countries are at different points in their COVID-19 infection rates, worldwide there are currently more than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries affected by school closures due to the pandemic. In Denmark, children up to the age of 11 are returning to nurseries and schools after initially closing on 12 March , but in South Korea students are responding to roll calls from their teachers online .

With this sudden shift away from the classroom in many parts of the globe, some are wondering whether the adoption of online learning will continue to persist post-pandemic, and how such a shift would impact the worldwide education market.

Even before COVID-19, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology, with global edtech investments reaching US$18.66 billion in 2019 and the overall market for online education projected to reach $350 Billion by 2025 . Whether it is language apps , virtual tutoring , video conferencing tools, or online learning software , there has been a significant surge in usage since COVID-19.

How is the education sector responding to COVID-19?

In response to significant demand, many online learning platforms are offering free access to their services, including platforms like BYJU’S , a Bangalore-based educational technology and online tutoring firm founded in 2011, which is now the world’s most highly valued edtech company . Since announcing free live classes on its Think and Learn app, BYJU’s has seen a 200% increase in the number of new students using its product, according to Mrinal Mohit, the company's Chief Operating Officer.

Tencent classroom, meanwhile, has been used extensively since mid-February after the Chinese government instructed a quarter of a billion full-time students to resume their studies through online platforms. This resulted in the largest “online movement” in the history of education with approximately 730,000 , or 81% of K-12 students, attending classes via the Tencent K-12 Online School in Wuhan.

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Other companies are bolstering capabilities to provide a one-stop shop for teachers and students. For example, Lark, a Singapore-based collaboration suite initially developed by ByteDance as an internal tool to meet its own exponential growth, began offering teachers and students unlimited video conferencing time, auto-translation capabilities, real-time co-editing of project work, and smart calendar scheduling, amongst other features. To do so quickly and in a time of crisis, Lark ramped up its global server infrastructure and engineering capabilities to ensure reliable connectivity.

Alibaba’s distance learning solution, DingTalk, had to prepare for a similar influx: “To support large-scale remote work, the platform tapped Alibaba Cloud to deploy more than 100,000 new cloud servers in just two hours last month – setting a new record for rapid capacity expansion,” according to DingTalk CEO, Chen Hang.

Some school districts are forming unique partnerships, like the one between The Los Angeles Unified School District and PBS SoCal/KCET to offer local educational broadcasts, with separate channels focused on different ages, and a range of digital options. Media organizations such as the BBC are also powering virtual learning; Bitesize Daily , launched on 20 April, is offering 14 weeks of curriculum-based learning for kids across the UK with celebrities like Manchester City footballer Sergio Aguero teaching some of the content.

What does this mean for the future of learning?

While some believe that the unplanned and rapid move to online learning – with no training, insufficient bandwidth, and little preparation – will result in a poor user experience that is unconducive to sustained growth, others believe that a new hybrid model of education will emerge, with significant benefits. “I believe that the integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an integral component of school education,“ says Wang Tao, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Vice President of Tencent Education.

There have already been successful transitions amongst many universities. For example, Zhejiang University managed to get more than 5,000 courses online just two weeks into the transition using “DingTalk ZJU”. The Imperial College London started offering a course on the science of coronavirus, which is now the most enrolled class launched in 2020 on Coursera .

Many are already touting the benefits: Dr Amjad, a Professor at The University of Jordan who has been using Lark to teach his students says, “It has changed the way of teaching. It enables me to reach out to my students more efficiently and effectively through chat groups, video meetings, voting and also document sharing, especially during this pandemic. My students also find it is easier to communicate on Lark. I will stick to Lark even after coronavirus, I believe traditional offline learning and e-learning can go hand by hand."

These 3 charts show the global growth in online learning

The challenges of online learning.

There are, however, challenges to overcome. Some students without reliable internet access and/or technology struggle to participate in digital learning; this gap is seen across countries and between income brackets within countries. For example, whilst 95% of students in Switzerland, Norway, and Austria have a computer to use for their schoolwork, only 34% in Indonesia do, according to OECD data .

In the US, there is a significant gap between those from privileged and disadvantaged backgrounds: whilst virtually all 15-year-olds from a privileged background said they had a computer to work on, nearly 25% of those from disadvantaged backgrounds did not. While some schools and governments have been providing digital equipment to students in need, such as in New South Wales , Australia, many are still concerned that the pandemic will widenthe digital divide .

Is learning online as effective?

For those who do have access to the right technology, there is evidence that learning online can be more effective in a number of ways. Some research shows that on average, students retain 25-60% more material when learning online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom. This is mostly due to the students being able to learn faster online; e-learning requires 40-60% less time to learn than in a traditional classroom setting because students can learn at their own pace, going back and re-reading, skipping, or accelerating through concepts as they choose.

Nevertheless, the effectiveness of online learning varies amongst age groups. The general consensus on children, especially younger ones, is that a structured environment is required , because kids are more easily distracted. To get the full benefit of online learning, there needs to be a concerted effort to provide this structure and go beyond replicating a physical class/lecture through video capabilities, instead, using a range of collaboration tools and engagement methods that promote “inclusion, personalization and intelligence”, according to Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent and President of its Cloud and Smart Industries Group.

Since studies have shown that children extensively use their senses to learn, making learning fun and effective through use of technology is crucial, according to BYJU's Mrinal Mohit. “Over a period, we have observed that clever integration of games has demonstrated higher engagement and increased motivation towards learning especially among younger students, making them truly fall in love with learning”, he says.

A changing education imperative

It is clear that this pandemic has utterly disrupted an education system that many assert was already losing its relevance . In his book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century , scholar Yuval Noah Harari outlines how schools continue to focus on traditional academic skills and rote learning , rather than on skills such as critical thinking and adaptability, which will be more important for success in the future. Could the move to online learning be the catalyst to create a new, more effective method of educating students? While some worry that the hasty nature of the transition online may have hindered this goal, others plan to make e-learning part of their ‘new normal’ after experiencing the benefits first-hand.

The importance of disseminating knowledge is highlighted through COVID-19

Major world events are often an inflection point for rapid innovation – a clear example is the rise of e-commerce post-SARS . While we have yet to see whether this will apply to e-learning post-COVID-19, it is one of the few sectors where investment has not dried up . What has been made clear through this pandemic is the importance of disseminating knowledge across borders, companies, and all parts of society. If online learning technology can play a role here, it is incumbent upon all of us to explore its full potential.

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• Published: 25 January 2021

Online education in the post-COVID era

• Barbara B. Lockee 1  

Nature Electronics volume  4 ,  pages 5–6 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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The coronavirus pandemic has forced students and educators across all levels of education to rapidly adapt to online learning. The impact of this — and the developments required to make it work — could permanently change how education is delivered.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to engage in the ubiquitous use of virtual learning. And while online and distance learning has been used before to maintain continuity in education, such as in the aftermath of earthquakes 1 , the scale of the current crisis is unprecedented. Speculation has now also begun about what the lasting effects of this will be and what education may look like in the post-COVID era. For some, an immediate retreat to the traditions of the physical classroom is required. But for others, the forced shift to online education is a moment of change and a time to reimagine how education could be delivered 2 .

Looking back

Online education has traditionally been viewed as an alternative pathway, one that is particularly well suited to adult learners seeking higher education opportunities. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has required educators and students across all levels of education to adapt quickly to virtual courses. (The term ‘emergency remote teaching’ was coined in the early stages of the pandemic to describe the temporary nature of this transition 3 .) In some cases, instruction shifted online, then returned to the physical classroom, and then shifted back online due to further surges in the rate of infection. In other cases, instruction was offered using a combination of remote delivery and face-to-face: that is, students can attend online or in person (referred to as the HyFlex model 4 ). In either case, instructors just had to figure out how to make it work, considering the affordances and constraints of the specific learning environment to create learning experiences that were feasible and effective.

The use of varied delivery modes does, in fact, have a long history in education. Mechanical (and then later electronic) teaching machines have provided individualized learning programmes since the 1950s and the work of B. F. Skinner 5 , who proposed using technology to walk individual learners through carefully designed sequences of instruction with immediate feedback indicating the accuracy of their response. Skinner’s notions formed the first formalized representations of programmed learning, or ‘designed’ learning experiences. Then, in the 1960s, Fred Keller developed a personalized system of instruction 6 , in which students first read assigned course materials on their own, followed by one-on-one assessment sessions with a tutor, gaining permission to move ahead only after demonstrating mastery of the instructional material. Occasional class meetings were held to discuss concepts, answer questions and provide opportunities for social interaction. A personalized system of instruction was designed on the premise that initial engagement with content could be done independently, then discussed and applied in the social context of a classroom.

These predecessors to contemporary online education leveraged key principles of instructional design — the systematic process of applying psychological principles of human learning to the creation of effective instructional solutions — to consider which methods (and their corresponding learning environments) would effectively engage students to attain the targeted learning outcomes. In other words, they considered what choices about the planning and implementation of the learning experience can lead to student success. Such early educational innovations laid the groundwork for contemporary virtual learning, which itself incorporates a variety of instructional approaches and combinations of delivery modes.

Online learning and the pandemic

Fast forward to 2020, and various further educational innovations have occurred to make the universal adoption of remote learning a possibility. One key challenge is access. Here, extensive problems remain, including the lack of Internet connectivity in some locations, especially rural ones, and the competing needs among family members for the use of home technology. However, creative solutions have emerged to provide students and families with the facilities and resources needed to engage in and successfully complete coursework 7 . For example, school buses have been used to provide mobile hotspots, and class packets have been sent by mail and instructional presentations aired on local public broadcasting stations. The year 2020 has also seen increased availability and adoption of electronic resources and activities that can now be integrated into online learning experiences. Synchronous online conferencing systems, such as Zoom and Google Meet, have allowed experts from anywhere in the world to join online classrooms 8 and have allowed presentations to be recorded for individual learners to watch at a time most convenient for them. Furthermore, the importance of hands-on, experiential learning has led to innovations such as virtual field trips and virtual labs 9 . A capacity to serve learners of all ages has thus now been effectively established, and the next generation of online education can move from an enterprise that largely serves adult learners and higher education to one that increasingly serves younger learners, in primary and secondary education and from ages 5 to 18.

The COVID-19 pandemic is also likely to have a lasting effect on lesson design. The constraints of the pandemic provided an opportunity for educators to consider new strategies to teach targeted concepts. Though rethinking of instructional approaches was forced and hurried, the experience has served as a rare chance to reconsider strategies that best facilitate learning within the affordances and constraints of the online context. In particular, greater variance in teaching and learning activities will continue to question the importance of ‘seat time’ as the standard on which educational credits are based 10 — lengthy Zoom sessions are seldom instructionally necessary and are not aligned with the psychological principles of how humans learn. Interaction is important for learning but forced interactions among students for the sake of interaction is neither motivating nor beneficial.

While the blurring of the lines between traditional and distance education has been noted for several decades 11 , the pandemic has quickly advanced the erasure of these boundaries. Less single mode, more multi-mode (and thus more educator choices) is becoming the norm due to enhanced infrastructure and developed skill sets that allow people to move across different delivery systems 12 . The well-established best practices of hybrid or blended teaching and learning 13 have served as a guide for new combinations of instructional delivery that have developed in response to the shift to virtual learning. The use of multiple delivery modes is likely to remain, and will be a feature employed with learners of all ages 14 , 15 . Future iterations of online education will no longer be bound to the traditions of single teaching modes, as educators can support pedagogical approaches from a menu of instructional delivery options, a mix that has been supported by previous generations of online educators 16 .

Also significant are the changes to how learning outcomes are determined in online settings. Many educators have altered the ways in which student achievement is measured, eliminating assignments and changing assessment strategies altogether 17 . Such alterations include determining learning through strategies that leverage the online delivery mode, such as interactive discussions, student-led teaching and the use of games to increase motivation and attention. Specific changes that are likely to continue include flexible or extended deadlines for assignment completion 18 , more student choice regarding measures of learning, and more authentic experiences that involve the meaningful application of newly learned skills and knowledge 19 , for example, team-based projects that involve multiple creative and social media tools in support of collaborative problem solving.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, technological and administrative systems for implementing online learning, and the infrastructure that supports its access and delivery, had to adapt quickly. While access remains a significant issue for many, extensive resources have been allocated and processes developed to connect learners with course activities and materials, to facilitate communication between instructors and students, and to manage the administration of online learning. Paths for greater access and opportunities to online education have now been forged, and there is a clear route for the next generation of adopters of online education.

Before the pandemic, the primary purpose of distance and online education was providing access to instruction for those otherwise unable to participate in a traditional, place-based academic programme. As its purpose has shifted to supporting continuity of instruction, its audience, as well as the wider learning ecosystem, has changed. It will be interesting to see which aspects of emergency remote teaching remain in the next generation of education, when the threat of COVID-19 is no longer a factor. But online education will undoubtedly find new audiences. And the flexibility and learning possibilities that have emerged from necessity are likely to shift the expectations of students and educators, diminishing further the line between classroom-based instruction and virtual learning.

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Beyond disruption: digital learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 education disruption and response, UNESCO’s flagship digital technologies in education event (formerly named Mobile Learning Week, 12-14 October 2020) highlighted innovations for technology-enabled futures of learning. Held virtually for the first time, the three-day event, under this year’s theme of ‘Beyond Disruption: Technology Enabled Learning Futures’ started the first day with sharing distance learning policies and evaluating effectiveness, followed by showcasing innovative solutions throughout the second day, and concluded on the third day with setting out policy and research agendas to build back better.

Organized in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union and in collaboration with Ericsson, GIZ, Huawei, Microsoft, Norad, and ProFuturo amidst the  largest education disruption in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic , this year’s conference focused on distance learning solutions to build back better. It examined the medium and long-term implications of the learning crisis that forced 1.6 billion learners worldwide out of the classroom, and the challenges that lie ahead. The event also shared best practices and explored innovative solutions to resolve this crisis. 

“Technology and connectivity are integral to building more resilient, flexible, and open systems,” said Stefania Giannini during the Opening Ceremony. “Let us together define how to use technology to help meet the enormous challenge before us inclusively and fairly. What we do need now is another evaluation of what didn’t work”.

Effective policies – sharing policies and evaluating effectiveness

After months of large-scale experimentation with distance learning, panel discussions with high-level representatives of UN agencies, ministers, and experts attempted to draw specific forward-looking policy advice. The first day featured a ministerial level panel to present various country-level responses. Ministers of Education from Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, and South Sudan recounted their national efforts to provision distance learning at unprecedented speed and scale.

“Exceptional times require flexible measures and a lot of creativity by teachers,” said Li Andersson, Finland’s Minister of Education. “While the ability of teachers to transfer teaching online proved even better than had been expected, it is clear that distance learning can never fully replace the physical classrooms. Schools are much more than places for learning. They provide social networks, safety and well-being for children and youth.”

Gabriel Changson Chang, South Sudanese Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology stated, “technology-enabled learning futures can help shape the future of South Sudan’s higher education opportunities. The Republic of South Sudan hopes to draw lessons from a range of education responses during COVID-19 to inform the planning of technology-enabled inclusive and resilient learning systems for the future.”

Innovative solutions – showcasing innovative distance learning solutions

The second day of the conference showcased solutions from sponsors and members of the  Global Education Coalition , and featured exhibitions from technology providers. One highlight was the EduTech keynote session focusing on the Khan Academy, whose Founder, Salman Khan, shared his experience during the pandemic in creating online educational tools, “the digital divide is the number one headline of COVID-19. What we are trying to do is to build for the rebuilding phase.” Barbara Holzapfel, Vice President of Microsoft Education, contributed to the day’s discussion by stating, “COVID-19 has accelerated the transformation [in education] that was well underway and we’ve seen years’ worth of change in just a matter of weeks. On the other side, the acceleration of change also brings an opportunity to reimagine the future of education and chart a path that is inclusive for all students around the world. “

The future – setting out policy and research agendas to build back better  

The conference concluded with the exploration of how education systems can emerge from the crisis stronger and more resilient to future disruptions. Sessions highlighted successful policy interventions in India and Finland, solutions to build back more gender-equal education systems, and innovations to digitize educational content and pedagogy. The event concluded on a positive note with a High-Level Panel outlining the way forward in the presence of the Minister of Education from Ecuador. She put forward the importance of the “flexibility of the education system” in addressing gaps and inequality in education, “in order to respond to the different situations”. She was joined by key representatives from UNESCO, Dubai Cares, ITU, the World Bank, UNICEF, ProFuturo Foundation, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).

In her closing remarks, the Assistant Director General for Education Stefania Giannini underlined: “Change is possible. Education is a promise to provide an equal chance to students for education. However, the way to address inequalities is still a challenge.”

• Videos, presentations, agenda, speakers’ bio and more resources available at https://mlw2020.org/#/home
• Six months into a crisis: Reflections on international efforts to harness technology to maintain the continuity of learning

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Online Education in STEM and Impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic led to school building closures in March 2020 and an unprecedented, near-total transition to online or alternative learning, affecting approximately 55 million students in 124,000 U.S. public and private schools (Education Week 2020a). In fall 2020, the majority of school districts continued to rely on a distance-learning model for instruction, including some of the nation’s largest school districts, such as Los Angeles Unified School District and Chicago Public Schools (Education Week 2020b). In response to these shifts in instruction, many researchers are endeavoring to understand the impact on students and are finding that there may be long-term effects on student learning (see sidebar Learning Losses and COVID-19).

Learning Losses and COVID-19: The Pandemic’s Potential Long-Term Impact on Students

Studies from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University and the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University project that there may be substantial learning losses for students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These studies estimate, for example, that some students may lose up to a full year of math learning. These studies find that learning losses are not distributed evenly among all students and that some groups of students may be more negatively affected than others, such as students from low-income households or those with disabilities. These researchers caution that the results of these projections are estimates and should be interpreted carefully. However, based on their research, they conclude that the educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have the potential to negatively affect student learning and education. As a result, they suggest, schools should allocate additional resources to help students, especially the most vulnerable, accelerate their learning and regain these losses (CREDO 2020, Kuhfeld et al. 2020).

A report from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University estimates that students began the 2020–21 school year with a third to a half of the learning gains in math relative to a normal school year (Kuhfeld et al. 2020). The study used data from 5 million student test scores and utilized models based on student learning loss due to absenteeism, school closures, and summer break to project the effects of COVID-19 educational disruptions on student learning from spring 2020 (when most schools temporarily closed and then shifted to online instruction) through fall 2020 (the start of the 2020–21 school year). The authors note that their estimated reduction in the expected year-to-year math gains is not evenly distributed; some students may experience little loss, while others, particularly those from low-income households and students who were already low performing, may experience greater losses. The authors estimate that these more vulnerable students may have returned to school in fall 2020 already nearly a full year behind in math.

CREDO also estimates that some students may have lost up to a year of learning in math (CREDO 2020). The researchers used information based on prior years’ achievement scores, days of instruction lost due to the pandemic, and projected learning losses associated with out-of-school time to estimate the amount of learning students lost by the end of the 2019–20 school year. CREDO provided estimates for 19 states and suggested that these learning losses could result from students not learning new concepts and not experiencing reinforcement of concepts already learned.

In a paper from the World Bank, researchers used data from 157 countries to estimate global learning losses due to education disruptions caused by COVID-19 and determined that students on average could lose from a third of a year to almost a full year of schooling as a result of the pandemic (Azevedo et al. 2020). They also estimated larger losses for more vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities and students with disabilities, who could be more adversely affected by school closures.

In addition to estimating learning losses, researchers have estimated the economic impact of education losses resulting from COVID-19. These projections reflect current thinking about the economic impact of these losses, but they are based on economic conditions that are subject to change over time. As with learning loss, however, most researchers do agree that there will likely be some economic impact due to education losses resulting from the pandemic. A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that the global closure of schools could lead to a 3% lower income for K–12 students over their lifetime and a corresponding average of 1.5% lower annual gross domestic product for countries for the remainder of the century (Hanushek and Woessmann 2020). A report from McKinsey Insights estimates that the average K–12 student in the United States could lose the equivalent of a year of full-time work income over the course of his or her lifetime, and these losses may be higher for Black and Hispanic students (Dorn et al. 2020).

This sections draws on education data from the Household Pulse Survey, a nationally representative survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in collaboration with five federal agencies to gather data on the effects of COVID-19 on American households. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/technical-documentation.html ." data-bs-content="The questionnaire is a result of collaboration between the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Center for Health Statistics, NCES, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Household Pulse Survey has been conducted in three phases. Data presented here are from Phase 1 and Phase 2. Each phase utilizes an overlapping weekly panel of respondents, each of whom are surveyed once per week for 3 consecutive weeks before being replaced by a new panel. Each phase is designed to be nationally representative of the U.S. population, though different panels responded in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 data collections. For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/technical-documentation.html ." data-endnote-uuid="59ecfbd8-3626-4789-a2de-3966661d1832">​ The questionnaire is a result of collaboration between the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Center for Health Statistics, NCES, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Household Pulse Survey has been conducted in three phases. Data presented here are from Phase 1 and Phase 2. Each phase utilizes an overlapping weekly panel of respondents, each of whom are surveyed once per week for 3 consecutive weeks before being replaced by a new panel. Each phase is designed to be nationally representative of the U.S. population, though different panels responded in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 data collections. For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/technical-documentation.html . Although they are not specific to STEM classes, these data offer insight into student access to computers and the Internet as well as the amount of time families spent on education during the pandemic, both in spring 2020, immediately after the transition to distance learning for most students, and in fall 2020, when students returned to school either in person or virtually. To provide context for the pandemic-related shift to digital instruction, this section also presents data about teachers’ and students’ use of technology before the pandemic. These data show that the use of technology and online instruction were not widely prevalent before COVID-19 and underscore the challenges of a shift to fully remote and hybrid learning approaches during the pandemic.

Education during COVID-19

Household Pulse Survey data help illustrate how the COVID-19 pandemic affected schools, students, and families, including how schools and districts were able to make some adjustments by fall 2020 to improve access to teachers and digital devices needed for online learning. In the first week of May 2020, adults in households with children enrolled in K–12 schools reported an average of 13 hours per week spent on teaching activities with children , with Asian households reporting the lowest amount of time at about 10 hours per week. On average, students spent about 4 hours per week in live virtual contact with their teachers, but this fell to about 3 hours for households in which the respondent had less than a high school education ( Table K12-7 ).

Average number of hours in the past week spent on home-based education in households with children enrolled in K−12 school, by selected adult characteristics: 7−12 May 2020

a Hispanic may be any race; race categories exclude Hispanic origin.

The table includes adults 18 years and older in households with children enrolled in K−12 school.

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, special tabulations (2020) of the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey.

Science and Engineering Indicators

In September 2020, respondents reported how much time their child spent on learning activities in the last week compared with a regular school day prior to the pandemic ( Table K12-8 ). About half reported “as much,” “a little bit more,” or “much more” time spent, while one-fourth reported “a little bit less” time spent. More than one-fourth of respondents reported that their child spent “much less” time on learning activities compared with pre-COVID-19 instruction.

Adults who reported time that their children spent on all learning activities in the past week relative to a school day before the COVID-19 pandemic, by selected adult characteristics: 16−28 September 2020

The table includes adults 18 years and older in households with children enrolled in K−12 school. Adults in households with only homeschooled children are not included. Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.

A majority of respondents (85%) reported that their children had at least 2 days a week of live contact with their teachers, either in person or by phone or video ( Table K12-9 ). More than two-thirds of respondents reported that their children had 4 days or more of contact with their teacher in the last week. However, 11% of respondents reported that their child had no contact with their teacher in the last week. In addition, live contact with teachers varied by students’ household income and parental education. About 16% of households with the lowest income levels (below $25,000), as well as 20% of households in which the respondent had less than a high school education, reported no teacher contact. This compared with 6% of households at the highest income level ($200,000 and above) and 7% of households in which the respondent reported a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Adults who reported frequency of live contact of children with their teachers in person, by phone, or by video in the past week, by selected adult characteristics: 16−28 September 2020

Although the proportion of respondents indicating that their child’s classes were delivered fully online declined from 73% in May 2020 to 66% in September 2020 ( Table SK12-30 ), in the majority of households with K–12 students, the students continued to receive fully online instruction in fall 2020, which underscores the importance of understanding students’ access to computers and the Internet. The percentage of respondents reporting that a computer or other digital device and the Internet were always available for children to use at home for educational purposes increased from about 70% in May 2020 to about 77% in September 2020, although these proportions varied by household characteristics ( Table K12-10 ). For example, 44% of households at the lowest education level of less than high school reported in May 2020 that a computer was always available for educational purposes compared with 62% in September 2020. However, this was still lower than the 85% of households with a bachelor’s degree or higher who reported the same in September 2020.

Adults who reported that a computer or other digital device and the Internet were always available for children to use at home for educational purposes, by selected adult characteristics: 7−12 May 2020 and 16−28 September 2020

Adults in households with only homeschooled children are not included. Percentages may not add to 100% because of rounding.

Schools and districts made progress in providing computers to students to use for educational purposes between May 2020 and the beginning of the new school year in fall 2020. About 40% of respondents reported that the child’s school or district provided a computer for educational use in May 2020. That figure rose to 61% in September 2020 ( Table SK12-32 ). The percentage of respondents reporting that the school or school district paid for Internet services changed slightly from 2% to 4% between May 2020 and September 2020, and nearly all respondents (97%) reported paying for these services themselves in both months.

Student and Teacher Use of Technology Prior to COVID-19

Pre-COVID-19 data on eighth-grade students’ use of the Internet and computers to complete various learning activities indicate that there may have been a significant learning curve involved in the shift to remote instruction, when most schoolwork needed to be completed online. The 2018 ICILS offers insight into how students used information and computer technology for a variety of learning activities before COVID-19 ( Figure K12-28 ). Almost three-fourths of students reported using the Internet to do research at least once a week. It was less common for students to use computers for other activities, such as completing worksheets or exercises (56%), taking tests (43%), using software to learn skills or subjects (33%), and working online with other students (30%).

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U.S. students in grade 8 who reported using information and communications technologies for learning activities every school day or at least once a week, by activity: 2018

International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), 2018. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/icils/icils2018/theme1.asp?tabontop .

ICILS also offers insight into the extent to which U.S. eighth-grade teachers participated in professional development in using information and communications technologies (ICT) for various teaching tasks before the pandemic ( Figure K12-29 ). These numbers suggest that eighth-grade teachers had some familiarity with using technology for instruction before the pandemic, although likely not at the levels needed to be fully online or responsive to the individual needs of students. About two-thirds of teachers reported participating in training on subject-specific digital resources or taking a course on integrating ICT into teaching and learning between 2016 and 2018. Less than half of teachers reported taking a course on how to use ICT to support personalized learning by students, and only a third reported taking a course on using ICT for students with special needs. About 60% of teachers reported that they had sufficient time to develop lessons incorporating technology and to develop expertise in the use of technology for teaching during the 2017–18 school year ( Table SK12-35 ).

U.S. eighth-grade teachers who reported participating in technology-related professional learning activities at least once in the past 2 years, by type of activity: 2018

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

Abdelsalam m. maatuk.

1 Faculty of Information Technology, Benghazi University, Benghazi, Libya

Ebitisam K. Elberkawi

Shadi aljawarneh.

2 Faculty of Computer and Information Technology, Irbid, Jordan

Hasan Rashaideh

3 Department of Computer Science, Prince Abdullah Ben Ghazi Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Technology, Al-Balqa Applied University, Salt, 19117 Jordan

Hadeel Alharbi

4 Computer Science, Ha’il University, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

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

Introduction

The unexpected closure of educational institutions as a result of the emergence of COVID-19 prompted the authorities to suggest adopting alternatives to traditional learning methods in emergencies to ensure that students are not left without studying and to prevent the epidemic from spreading.

The formal learning system with the help of electronic resources is known as e-learning. Whereas teaching can be inside (or outside) the classrooms, the use of computer technology and the Internet is the main component of e-learning (Aboagye et al. ( 2020 ). The traditional educational methods were replaced by e-learning when the COVID-19 virus appeared because social gatherings in educational institutions are considered an opportunity for the virus to spread. E-learning is the best option available to ensure that epidemics do not spread, as it guarantees spatial distancing despite the challenges and studied figures, which indicate that students are less likely to benefit from this type of education (Lizcano et al. ( 2020 ).

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer unique educational and training opportunities as they improve teaching and learning, and innovation and creativity for people and organizations. Furthermore, the use of ICT can promote the development of an educational policy that encourages creative and innovative educational institution environments (Abdullah et al. 2019 ; Altawaty et al. 2020 ; Selim, 2007 ). Therefore, attention is given widely to efforts and experiences related to this type of education. This technology is commonly used by most universities in several developing countries. In an educational environment, there are lots of learning-related processes involved, and great amounts of potential rich data are generated in educational institutions continuously in order to extract knowledge from those data for a better understanding of learning-related processes (Aljawarneh, 2020 ; Lara et al. 2020 ; Lizcano et al. 2020 ).

E-learning is playing a vital role in the existing educational setting, as it changes the entire education system and becomes one of the greatest preferred topics for academics (Samir et al. 2014 ). It is defined as the use of diverse kinds of ICT and electronic devices in teaching (Gaebel et al. ( 2014 ). Most students today want to study online and graduate from universities and colleges around the world, but they cannot go anywhere because they reside in isolated places without good communication services.

Because of e-learning, participants can save time and effort for living in distant places from universities where they are registered, so, many scholars support online courses (Ms & Toro, 2013 ).

Many users of e-learning platforms see that online learning helps ensure that e-learning can be easily managed, and the learner can easily access the teachers and teaching materials (Gautam, 2020 ; Mukhtar et al. 2020). It also helped reduce the effort and travel expenses and other expenses that accompany traditional learning. E-learning reduced significantly the administrative effort, preparation and lectures recording, attendance, and leaving classes. Teachers, as well as students, see that online learning methods encouraged pursuing lessons from anywhere and in difficult circumstances that prevent them from reaching universities and schools. The student becomes a self-directed learner and learns simultaneously and asynchronously at any time. However, there are many drawbacks of e-learning, the most important of which is getting knowledge only on a theoretical basis and when it comes to using everything that learners have learned without applied practical skills. The face-to-face learning experience is missing, which may interest many learners and educators. Other problems are related to the online assessments, which may be limited to objective questions. Issues related to the security of online learning programs and user reliability are among the challenges of e-learning in addition to other difficulties that are always related to the misuse of technology (Gautam, 2020 ; Mukhtar et al. 2020).

Web-based education, digital learning, interactive learning, computer-assisted teaching and internet-based learning are known as E-learning (Aljawarneh, 2020 ; Lara et al. 2020 ; Yengin et al. 2011 ). It is mainly a web-based education system that provides learners with information or expertise utilizing technology. The use of web-based technology for educational purposes has increased rapidly due to a drastic reduction in the cost of implementing these technologies. Nowadays, many universities have recognized the importance of E-learning as a core element of their learning system. Therefore, further research has been conducted to understand the difficulties, advantages, and challenges of e-learning in higher education. These issues have the potential to adversely affect instructors' quality in the delivery of educational material (Yengin et al. 2011 ).

Technology-based E-learning requires the use of the internet and other essential tools to generate educational materials, educate learners, and administer courses in an organization. E-learning is flexible when considering time, location, and health issues. It increases the effectiveness of knowledge and skills by enabling access to a massive amount of data, and enhances collaboration, and also strengthens learning-sustaining relationships. Although e-learning can enhance the quality of education, there is an argument about making E-learning materials available, which leads to improving learning outcomes only for specific types of collective evaluation. However, e-learning may result in the heavy use of certain websites. Moreover, it cannot support domains that require practical studies. The main drawback of using e-learning is the absence of crucial personal interactions, not only between students and teachers but also among fellow students (Somayeh et al. 2016 ). Compared to developed countries, it was found that developing countries face many challenges in applying e-learning, including poor internet connection, insufficient knowledge about the use of information and communication technology, and weak content development (Aung & Khaing, 2015 ). The provision of content such as video and advanced applications is still a new thing for many educators, even at the higher education level in developing countries (Aljawarneh, 2020 ; Lara et al. 2020 ; Lizcano et al. 2020 ).

This study aims to identify issues related to the use, advantages, disadvantages, and obstacles of e-learning programs in a public university by extrapolating the perspectives of students and educators who use this mode of learning in long-lasting unusual circumstances. The research population consisted of students and faculty members at the Faculty of IT at the University of Benghazi. Two types of questionnaires have been distributed to students and instructors. To achieve the expected results, four dimensions are defined, i.e., the extent to which E-learning is used and the benefits, drawbacks, and obstacles to the implementation of E-learning by the Faculty of IT. The descriptive-analytical method is used in the statistical analysis of the results. By evaluating the results, we have obtained promising findings that demonstrate some of the higher education sector's problems, obstacles, and advantages of using the E-learning method. Students believe that based on the study’s results, E-learning contributes to their learning. This reduces the instructor workload, however, and raises it for students. The teaching staff agrees that E-learning is beneficial in enhancing the skills of students, although it needs financial resources and the cost of implementing them is high. Despite the advantages of using E-learning, some of the obstacles to its implementation in Libya include the degradation of the Internet infrastructure that supports these education systems in Libya in general. The high cost of buying the electronic equipment needed and maintaining the equipment, which is unemployed.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 gives some background and related work about E-learning. Section 3 describes the methodology. Statistical analysis is presented in Sect. 4. Section 5 explains the study outcomes. Finally, Sect. 6 discusses the conclusion of this work and provides some recommendations.

Related work

Several studies have addressed the opportunities and challenges associated with the transition to traditional learning instead of e-learning. One of the main reasons for faltering e-learning initiatives is the lack of well-preparedness for this experience.

A study that aims to examine student challenges about how to deal with e-learning in the outbreak of COVID-19 and to examine whether students are prepared to study online or not is presented in (Aboagye et al. 2020 ). The study concluded that a blended approach that combines traditional and e-teaching must be available for learners. Another study that aims to explore the e-learning process among students who are familiar with web-based technology to advance their self-study skills is described in (Radha et al. 2020 ). The study results show that e-learning has become popular among students in all educational institutions in the period of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A study that aims to investigate the characteristics, benefits, drawbacks and features that impact E-learning has been presented in (Ms & Toro, 2013 ). Some of the demographic features such as behaviors and cultural background impact student education in the E-learning domain. Therefore, for lecturers to design educational activities to make learning more effective, they should understand these features. The study is applied to students in Lebanon and England to assist instructors to understand what scholars expect from the learning management systems.

Analyzing the effectiveness of E-learning for students at the university level has been introduced in (Ali et al. 2018 ). A questionnaire was applied to a sample of 700 students, 94.9% of them are utilizing different e-learning techniques and tools. To measure the reliability and internal consistency of the factors, Cronbach’s alpha test is applied. To take out the variables and to calculate the factors loading in the study, the exploratory feature analysis is applied. The results demonstrate that students support that E-learning is easy to use, saves time, and affordable.

Various predictions of e-learning for educational purposes have been illustrated in (Samir et al. 2014 ). The study aims to show how to keep students motivated in e-learning. The evaluation of student motivations for online learning can be challenging because of the lack of face-to-face contact between learners and teachers. The study shows that one way to increase student’s motivation is by allowing them to complete an online assessment form on motivation. The study suggests five research hypotheses to be inspected to identify which hypothesis should be accepted and which should not.

The strength of the relationship between students’ motivation and e-learning is illustrated in (Harandi, 2015 ). Data was gathered from students at Tehran Alzahra University, and Pearson's correlation coefficient was utilized for data analysis. The outcomes of this study revealed that some points should be considered before using E-learning. However, this study was restricted to one culture, which can limit the generalization of its results.

The study described in (Oludare Jethro et al. 2012 ) showed that e-learning is a new atmosphere for scholars, as it illustrates how to make e-learning more effective in the educational field and the advantages of using e-learning. The outcome of the study showed that the students were willing to learn more with less social communication with other students or lecturers.

A study that aims to highlight and measure the four Critical Success Factors from student insights is described in (Selim, 2007 ). These factors are instructor and student characteristics, technology structure, and university support. The outcomes of the study showed that the instructor characteristics factor is the most critical one followed by IT infrastructure and university support in e-learning success. The least critical factor to the success of e-learning was student characteristics.

The work described in (GOYAL & S., 2012 ) has tried to emphasize the importance of e-learning in modern teaching and illustrates its advantages and disadvantages. Also, the comparison with Instructor Led Training (ILT) and the probability of applying E-learning instead of old classroom teaching was discussed. In addition, the study showed the major drawbacks of ILT in institutions and how using E-learning can assist in overcoming these problems.

The purpose of the study in (Gaebel et al. 2014 ) is to conduct a survey on the varieties of E-learning organizations, skills, and their anticipations for the forthcoming. Blended and online learning are taken into account. Some of the questions related to intra-institutional management, arrangements and services, and quality assurance. The outcomes of the survey showed that from 38 diverse countries and systems, there are 249 organizations broadly conceived the same causes for the increasing use of e-learning.

The study in (Yengin et al. 2011 ) illustrated that the most vital role in the e-learning design outlook is online lecturers. As a result, considering the issues impacting lecturers’ performance should be taken into the account. One of the features that impact the usability of the system and lecturers’ presentation is satisfaction. The results showed, to produce a simple model called the “E-learning Success Model for Instructors’ Satisfactions” that is related to public, logical and technical communications of instructors in the entire e-learning system, the features associated with teachers’ satisfaction in e-learning systems have been examined.

The comparison between different E-learning tools in terms of their goals, benefits and drawbacks are presented in (Aljawarneh et al. 2010 ). The comparison assists in providing when to use each tool. The outcomes show that instructors and students prefer to use MOODLE over Blackboard in the e-learning environment. One of the major challenges that face the E-learning environment is security issues since security is not combined into the active learning development process.

The effect of e-learning at the Payame Noor University of Hamedan, Iran on the innovation and material awareness of chemistry students was examined in (Zare et al. 2016 ). The research used a control group's pre-test/post-test experimental design. Data analysis findings using the independent t-test showed significantly better scores on calculated variables, information and innovation for the experimental group. Consequently, E-learning is beneficial for the acquisition of knowledge and innovation among chemistry students, and that a larger chance for E-learning should be given for broader audiences.

A study in (Arkorful & Abaidoo, 2015 ) aimed to explore the literature and provide the study with a theoretical context by reviewing some publications made by different academics and universities on the definition of E-learning, its use in education and learning in institutions of higher education. The general literature described the pros and cons of E-learning, which showed that it needs to be enforced in higher education for teachers, supervisors and students to experience the full advantages of acceptance and implementation.

Assessing the learning effectiveness of e-learning was studied in (Somayeh et al. 2016 ). This analysis study was conducted using the databases of Medline and CINAHL and the search engine of Google. The research used covered review articles and English language meta-analysis. 38 papers including journals, books, and websites are investigated and categorized from the results obtained. The general advantages of E-learning such as the promotion of learning and speed and process of learning due to individual needs were discussed. The study results indicated positive effects of E-learning on learning, so it is proposed that more use should be made of this education method, which needs the requisite grounds to be established.

It is important to focus on analyzing the learner and student characteristics and motivating students to ensure their involvement in e-learning. Also, it is necessary to focus on the impact and extent of teacher acceptance of e-learning. The age difference between the teachers and the students indicates that the teachers received most of their studies and teaching skills through traditional teaching and learning methods, which may make their acceptance of e-learning different from the student’s acceptance of modern methods of e-learning and education in general.

The methodology

The descriptive-analytical method was used for this study and the five-point Likert-scale range was calculated based on (1) Strongly disagreed, (2) Disagree, (3) Neutral, (4) Agree, and (5) Strongly agree, with the analysis of results using a statistical application called the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

Study population

The study targets the sample society that includes teaching staff and undergraduate students of all departments in the IT Faculty at the University of Benghazi.

Study boundaries

• Scientific restrictions: Assessment of the extent of application of E-learning in higher education.
• Administrative Field: Faculty of IT, University of Benghazi, Libya.
• Period: The Year of 2020.
• Human Resources: Teaching staff and students in the faculty.

Study sample

The study involves two types of questionnaires to be prepared and developed: one questionnaire for students and another for instructors. The following details were obtained after the questionnaires were randomly distributed and collected individually. The study sample was selected based on the awareness of the size of the population:

• Student Questionnaire: The total number of distributed questionnaires was 140 copies, without invalid copies, and 5 copies were missing. Therefore, the copies being analyzed are 135.
• Teaching Staff Questionnaire: The total number of distributed questionnaires was 20 copies, while 20 legitimate copies were returned without invalid or missing copies.

Some of the demographic characteristics are shown in Table ​ Table1 1 .

Distribution of student study sample

Study dimensions

The study has emphasized four dimensions to achieve the expected results as follows:

• The extent of using E-learning in the Faculty of IT.
• Advantages of E-learning.
• Disadvantages of E-learning.
• Obstacles to implementing E-learning.

Statistical analysis

Data analysis.

The Means and Materiality statistical relations are used to analyze the results. By evaluating the findings, we gain crucial information based on these statistical relations according to the rank of inquiries as shown in Tables ​ Tables2 2 – 3 .

Descriptive statistics of students' perspective

Descriptive statistics of teaching staff perspective

The students' perspective

The analysis of data as a statistical relationship regarding the perspective of the students is shown in Table ​ Table2 2 .

Dimension 1: the extent of using E-learning in IT faculty.

Inquiries (6), (7) and (10) are of similar materiality and inquiry (6) is chosen because it has the lower standard deviation, which states that "E-learning technologies are used for scientific research purposes" with the materiality of 82.6% and a mean 4.13, while inquiry number (7), which states "Search engines are used to obtain curriculum needs". However, inquiry (2), which states that "the Internet is available to students at the faculty” has the lowest materiality of 40% and a mean 2.

Dimension 2: advantages of E-learning

Inquiry number (1) states that "E-learning contributes to raising your educational level" has the highest materiality of 88.2% and a mean of 4.41. However, inquiry number (7), which states that "E-learning reduces the burden because learning becomes a conversation between teaching staff and students instead of traditional learning", has the lowest materiality of 75.8% and a mean of 3.79.

Dimension 3: disadvantages of E-learning

Inquiries (5) and (6) are of similar materiality and inquiry number (5) is chosen because it has the lower standard deviation, which states that "E-learning reduces the burden of teaching staff and increases the burden of students” with the materiality of 75.4% and a mean of 3.77. Nevertheless, inquiry number (1), which states that "E-learning isolates you from the community by connecting you to your computer for long periods ", was the lowest materiality of 72.6% and a mean of 3.63.

Dimension 4: obstacles to E-learning

Inquiry number (3) states that "the lack of the Internet in the faculty to apply E-learning" has the highest materiality of 79% and a mean of 3.95. Yet, inquiries (4) and (5) are of similar materiality and inquiry number (5) has been chosen as it has the lower standard deviation, which notes that "Lack of experience of students with E-learning techniques” with the materiality of 71.8% and a mean of 3.59.

Teaching staff perspective

The analysis of data as a statistical relationship regarding the perspective of the teaching staff and the important analyzes of mean and materiality is given in Table ​ Table3 3

Dimension 1: the extent of using E-learning in IT faculty

Inquiry number (10), which was about that “Use email to communicate with colleagues”, has the highest materiality of 91% and a mean of 4.55. However, inquiry number (2), which states that "internet accessible always available to teaching staff in the faculty", has the least materiality as 41.8% and the mean is 2.09.

Dimension 2. advantages of E-learning

Inquiry number (4) which states that "E-learning contributes to increasing students' skills in using computers” has the highest materiality of 84.6% and a mean of 4.23. However, inquiry number (7), which states that "E-learning reduces the burden because learning becomes a conversation between teaching staff and students instead of traditional learning” with the lowest materiality of 68.2% and a mean of 3.41.

Inquiry number (6) which states that "E-learning needs financial capability compared to traditional education" has the maximum materiality of 79% and a mean of 3.95. Nevertheless, inquiry number (3), which reports that "students face a greater burden during the educational process while reducing the burden of teaching staff", has the lowest materiality of 58.2% and a mean of 2.91.

Inquiries (4) and (7) are of similar materiality and inquiry number (4) is chosen because it has the lower standard deviation, which states that "The lack of internet in the faculty to apply e-learning" with the materiality of 82.8% and a mean 4.14. Yet, inquiries (3) and (6) are of similar materiality and inquiry (6) is chosen, which states that "E-learning needs high costs" has the lowest materiality of 71.8% and a mean of 3.59.

Results and discussion

Students' perspective.

As shown in Table ​ Table4, 4 , we found the T-Test value = 8.733 and the P -Value = 0.00 to the extent of using E-learning during the pandemic. T-Test value = 22.86 and P -Value = 0.00 for the advantages of E-learning. The T-Test value = 12.786 and P -Value = 0.00 for the drawbacks of E-learning. The obstacles to E-learning in the last dimension are the T-Test value = 11.961 and the P -Value = 0.00. Accordingly, all T-Test values are greater than the T table value = 1.96. On the other side, all P -Values are smaller than the level of significance = 0.05. Thus, in each dimension of the four dimensions of the sample, there were statistically significant differences from the student's perspectives.

Statistical tests (students' perspective)

As shown in Table ​ Table5, 5 , the extent, to which E-learning is used are T-Test = 6.021 and P -Value = 0.00, the advantages of E-learning are T-Test = 9.015 and P -Value = 0.00, the disadvantages of E-learning are T-Test = 3.813 and P -Value = 0.001, and the obstacles to E-learning are T-Test = 6.505 and P -Value = 0.00 respectively. Depending on the T-Test values are higher than the T table value = 1.96, P -Values are less than the level of significance = 0.05. There were statistically significant differences from the teaching staff perspective in each dimension of the study's four dimensions.

Statistical tests (Teaching staff perspective)

The data analysis of the four dimensions is summarized as follows:

• The extent of the use of e-learning: the findings indicate that the student's approval of the use of e-learning and the teaching staff’s viewpoint is (Agreement), where the mean are (3.44) and (3.59) respectively.
• The advantages of e-learning: the results consider this dimension indicates the approval of the advantages of e-learning from the perspective of students and teaching staff was (Agreement), where the mean of the perspective of students was (4.13) and the mean of the perspective of the teaching staff was (3.99).
• The dimension that constituted the disadvantages of e-learning: This indicates that the student's acceptance drawbacks of e-learning are (Agreement) of the mean (3.78) and the teaching staff's opinion was (Undecided) of the mean (3.35).
• The factor defining obstacles to e-learning indicates that there were acceptance obstacles for e-learning from the perspective of both students and teaching staff (i.e., Agreement), where the mean was (3.75) and (3.82).

A comparison between the two perspectives

As shown in Fig.  1 , it is noticeable that the viewpoint of both the teaching staff and the students in all four dimensions of the study is identical. This demonstrates that they are almost standardized, with little variation in the third dimension of the data considered for the disadvantages of e-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. This factor achieves the agreement from the teaching staff's perspective and is undecided from the students' perspective to achieve the agreement as to the outcomes.

A comparison of students' and teaching staff' perspectives

The study outcomes

The study outcomes could be summaries as follows:

Findings based on students' perspective

• The students believe that e-learning is used and that one of the most significant uses is a replica of the scientific method learned on electronic/multimedia forms.
• The students agree that e-learning is useful and that it helps them to be safe and improved their academic standards.
• The students claim that the introduction of e-learning is difficult and that the low-quality of internet services is the biggest obstacle to its application.
• The students demonstrate that there are limitations to e-learning and that the biggest downside is that it decreases the workload for teaching staff and raises the pressure on students.

Findings based on teaching staff perspective

• The teaching staff believes that e-learning is beneficial and that helping to develop students' technological skills is one of the most critical positive elements.
• The teaching staff agrees that the use of e-learning is common and that the possession of faculty members via e-mail and other e-services is the most significant use.
• The teaching staff agrees that there are barriers to the introduction of e-learning and that the high cost of its implementation is one of the main difficulties.
• The teaching staff accepts that e-learning has disadvantages and that the biggest downside is that, relative to traditional learning, it requires financial support.

Pedagogical aspects

Any e-learning strategy follows one of the commonly known learning theories, i.e., behaviorism, cognitivism, or constructivism (Mödritscher, 2006 ). Furthermore, each didactic strategy has a more or less strong impact on the factors that influence the learning process and the self-assessment of the characteristics of the learner. Therefore, based on what has been achieved through the opinions of teaching staff and students, we found that the certain characteristics of the learner, in particular, the motivation need to be analyzed. It is also necessary, as an appropriate pedagogical step, to choose an e-learning strategy that suits the characteristics of students and the electronic environment they are living in nowadays.

Conclusion and recommendations

This study aims to identify the major issues and challenges by extrapolating the opinions of students and faculty instructors on the use of e-learning systems in a public university during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study society sample consists of students and faculty members at the Faculty of IT, University of Benghazi. The descriptive-analytical approach has been applied with statistical analysis of the results. Two types of questionnaires have been distributed for students and instructors. Four dimensions have been determined to reach the expected results, i.e., the extent to which e-learning is used and the advantages, disadvantages and obstacles to the implementation of E-learning in the Faculty of IT. Learning and teaching in an electronic environment still provide many advantages, including, reducing expenses and affords. It was also a successful alternative for many students to return to study in educational institutions during the spread of the Covid-19 virus, despite facing many issues and challenges. By analyzing the results, we have achieved encouraging results to highlight some of the issues, challenges and benefits of using the e-learning system in the higher education sector.

Issues such as technical and financial support, training, improved working conditions, technological background, skills, copyright protections and professional development are always important in the implementation of e-learning in public universities. Based on the study results, students believe that e-learning contributes to their learning. However, it reduces the workload on faculty and increases it on students. The main obstacle to e-learning is the low-quality of Internet services in Libya during the pandemic period. Faculty members agree that e-learning is useful in increasing students' computer skills, although it requires significant financial resources. We can claim that it is important to highlight many of the recommendations, which could have a positive impact on the possibility of implementing e-learning. The university has to provide internet service to students and teaching staff members with enough computer devices to apply e-learning. A modern electronic library and dedicated classrooms with all types of equipment and tools needed are also necessary to apply e-learning instead of coming to the main campus. Conducting online training and seminars regularly is important, for teaching staff, in particular, to support the application of e-learning, in addition to constant attention to IT infrastructure and periodic maintenance of computers and supporting equipment. In addition to all of this, the role and importance of focusing on many things related to the characteristics of the learner, such as the characteristics of the student's background knowledge and how to motivate the students as one of the pedagogical impacts.

Biographies

is a professor, Software Engineering, at Benghazi University, Libya. He received his B.Sc. degree in Computer Science from Benghazi University, Libya, in 1995, and received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in 2004 and 2009, respectively from Northumbria University, UK. Dr. Maatuk returned to Omar Al Mukhtar University in Nov. 2009 as a lecturer. Dr. Maatuk joined Benghazi University in Aug. 2014, as an assistant professor in the Faculty of IT. He was appointed as Vice Dean of IT Faculty, Benghazi University in July 2015 to April 2019. Since May 2019, he is the Dean of IT Faculty, Benghazi University. Dr. Maatuk has published several articles in journals and conferences in the field of database systems and software engineering. His primary work and research interest spread over several research fields, e.g., object-based databases, database reengineering and software engineering.

is currently a lecturer in the Faculty of IT, University of Benghazi where she has been a faculty member since 2013. She received BSc in software engineering from Benghazi University and an MSc from the Academy of high studies, Libya in June 2010. From 2015-2018 she was the head of the information systems department at the IT Faculty, University of Benghazi. She has many publications and is presently workings on many more papers.

is a professor, Software Engineering, at the Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan. He holds a BSc degree in Computer Science from Jordan Yarmouk University, an MSc degree in Information Technology from Western Sydney University, and a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from Northumbria University-England. His research is centered on software engineering, web and network security, elearning, machine learning, cloud computing and ICT fields. Aljawarneh has presented at and been on the organizing committees for a number of international conferences and is a board member of the International Community for ACM, Jordan ACM Chapter, ACS, and IEEE. Multiple papers have been selected as “Best Papers” in conferences and journals. He is also the Associate Editor for IEEE ACCESS and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

is an associate professor, Computer Science, at Al-Balqa Applied University, Jordan. He received his BSc and MSc degrees in computer science and information technology from Yarmouk University in 1999 and 2002 respectively. In 2008 he obtained his Ph.D. degree in computer science from Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical State University-Russian Federation. Then, he joined the department of computer science at Prince Abdullah Bin Ghazi Faculty of ICT / Al-Balqa Applied University-Jordan as an assistant professor. He was appointed as Head of the department from July 2015 to July 2018. His research interests include machine learning, image processing, and computer vision, information retrieval, and optimization.

is an assistant professor, Computer Science at Hail University. She is head department for computer science and software engineering in the female branch, Hail University, Saudi Arabia. Her research interests include e-learning, recommendation systems, and information retrieval.

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Contributor Information

Abdelsalam M. Maatuk, Email: [email protected] .

Ebitisam K. Elberkawi, Email: [email protected] .

Shadi Aljawarneh, Email: oj.ude.tsuj@henrawajlaas .

Hasan Rashaideh, Email: oj.ude.uab@hediahsar .

Hadeel Alharbi, Email: [email protected] .

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Original research article, impact of the covid-19 pandemic on online learning in higher education: a bibliometric analysis.

• 1 Faculty of Public Administration, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• 2 Department of Primary Level Education, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted higher education by forcing the transition to online learning, which became a mandatory teaching process during the lockdowns. Although the epidemiological situation has gradually improved since then, online learning is becoming ever more popular as it provides new learning opportunities. Therefore, the paper aims to present recent research trends concerning online learning in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic by using selected bibliometric approaches. The bibliometric analysis is based on 8,303 documents from the Scopus database published between January 2020 and March 2022, when repeated lockdowns meant most countries were experiencing constant disruptions to the educational process. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic increased interest in online learning research, notably in English-speaking and Asian countries, with most research being published in open-access scientific journals. Moreover, the topics most frequently discussed in the online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic were ICT and pedagogy, technology-enhanced education, mental health and well-being, student experience and curriculum and professional development. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged explorations of emergency remote learning approaches like e-learning, distance learning and virtual learning, which are intended to limit physical contact between teachers and students, where the specific requirements of a given field of study often guide which online learning approach is the most suitable. The findings add to the existing body of scientific knowledge and support the evidence-based policymaking needed to ensure sustainable higher education in the future.

1. Introduction

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted higher education by forcing the transition to online learning, which became a mandatory teaching process during the lockdowns ( Aristovnik et al., 2020a ). Despite the educational process saw disruptions on all levels of education, i.e., primary, secondary and tertiary ( Tang, 2023 ), as well as in adult education ( James and Thériault, 2020 ), worker education ( Dedeilia et al., 2023 ) and lifelong education ( Waller et al., 2020 ), higher education students proved to be one of the worst affected groups because the social distancing measures, on top of their education, challenged their financial and housing situation ( Aristovnik et al., 2020a ). Challenges arising from the density of students in educational facilities (e.g., campuses, faculties, dormitories etc.) meant higher education institutions were forced to offer education relying on various information and communication technologies (ICTs) and tried to ensure education comparable in quality to traditional learning, noting that the quality of online learning delivery holds important implications for student satisfaction and student performance ( Keržič et al., 2021 ). Nevertheless, the lockdown periods were devastating for many students also in terms of their emotional functioning ( Raccanello et al., 2022 ). The COVID-19 pandemic eventually grew more predictable and manageable, allowing higher education institutions to gradually shift back to traditional learning approaches. Although the epidemiological situation has improved over time, online learning is becoming increasingly popular as it provides new learning opportunities, especially when combined with traditional learning.

The rapid, yet from the health protection point of view necessary ( Aristovnik et al., 2020b ), shift from traditional learning to online learning considerably affected teaching and learning. The transition to online learning was made without adequate consideration of whether the study materials and teaching methods were suitable for this mode of higher education delivery. This was an ad hoc shift in a situation of great uncertainty for both teachers and students. The transition to online learning has also brought to the surface gaps in higher education providers’ preparedness and their lack of ICT infrastructure, resulting in unequal access to quality education for all, particularly students from rural areas and regions with lower socio-economic development. It is important to note here that the rapid shift to an online learning environment in emergency circumstances should not be confused with properly planned online education equipped with appropriate infrastructure that enables and supports pedagogical work and study in an online environment ( Hodges et al., 2020 ; Fuchs, 2022 ; Misiejuk et al., 2023 ). Apart from the changes in teaching and learning, the social aspect of students’ lives has been affected as well. The most worrying consequence has been social isolation leading to a lack of crucial social interaction for students ( Elmer et al., 2020 ; Bonsaksen et al., 2021 ; Fried et al., 2021 ; Van der Graaf et al., 2021 ) and in some cases also in coronavirus-related post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) ( Ochnik et al., 2021 ). According to Gavriluţă et al. (2022) , three dimensions affected students during the COVID-19 pandemic: educational, social, and emotional. The transition from traditional to online learning entailed a significant transformation in education, requiring changes in teaching practices and new learning approaches. Further, the social aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns is evident in the absence of relational, economic and professional problems (in)directly affecting the transition to adulthood. The new reality changed attitudes to various aspects of life and, in turn, also affected emotional responsiveness. Briefly, substantial changes to everyday student lives were made during the COVID-19 pandemic that may hold far-reaching effects of currently unknown scope in the near and distant future ( Campos et al., 2022 ; Gao et al., 2022 ; Keržič et al., 2022 ; Rasli et al., 2022 ).

Therefore, the educational community requires greater insights into different aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on online learning, e.g., students, teachers, pedagogy, ICT technology, online learning approaches and implications for various fields of study. In the context of higher education, some bibliometric studies (e.g., Gurcan et al., 2022 ; Saqr et al., 2023 ) have already sought to address issues involving online learning during the pandemic. Yet, they relied on a limited and narrow bibliographic dataset of peer-reviewed literature or lacked a qualitative synthesis of the results beyond the metrics, thereby neglecting some general comprehensive outlines of the global research into the topic ( Saqr et al., 2023 ). Moreover, despite some bibliometric studies focusing on technical aspects (e.g., Navarro-Espinosa et al., 2021 ; Bozkurt, 2022 ; Tlili et al., 2022 ), the identification of the most effective ICT tools for specific online learning approaches remains unclear. Finally, there are also some bibliometric studies that attempt to determine the effectiveness of online learning in providing higher education ( Brika et al., 2021 ; Baber et al., 2022 ; Bilal et al., 2022 ; Bozkurt, 2022 ; Fauzi, 2022 ; Küçük-Avci et al., 2022 ; Yan et al., 2022 ), however, they often overlook the specific requirements of individual fields of study, thereby neglecting the crucial aspect of tailoring online learning provision to different disciplines.

The bibliometric study presented in the paper accordingly aims to fill the presented gaps in the literature. Specifically, it aims to present a global overview of the recent research trends in online learning in higher education using a comprehensive dataset of literature encompassing different varieties of online learning approaches that can facilitate online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, provide some relevant qualitative synthesis of the results beyond the metrics and examine the relationships between ICT tools, online learning approaches and fields of study. Thus, the present bibliometric study, focusing on higher education, tries to answer the following three research questions:

• RQ1: What is the current state of the online learning research by conducting a descriptive overview and identifying top-cited documents?

• RQ2: What is the scientific production of online learning research across countries and sources?

• RQ3: Which are the main research hotspots and concepts in online learning research?

The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. The next section provides a literature review of recent bibliometric studies. The following section outlines the materials and methods applied in the study before the results of the present bibliometric analysis are described in the next section. At the end, the final section provides a discussion and conclusion while summarizing the main findings and implications.

2. Literature review

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led many governments to expand the use of online learning approaches as a solution to the global health challenge. Researchers thus showed rising interest in investigating the field of online learning, its dimensions, and its trends on all levels of education, particularly higher education. Such research relied heavily on bibliometric approaches to analyzing scientific research in the higher education context. Pham et al. (2022) concluded based on the 414 articles that although in the decades prior, there was an increase in the number of articles touching on the components of e-learning, such as the learning management system, this rise was accelerated during the pandemic in both developed and developing countries. This may be attributed to the attention of governmental policies that considered the topic of e-learning to be critical and worthy of priority. Similarly, Fauzi (2022) investigated 1,496 articles and concluded that the research focused on a few specific topics. The first is the delivery factor, which refers to selecting the appropriate learning practices. The second is the health and safety factor that relates to minimizing any risk that e-learning could bring to the mental and physical health of learners or teachers, such as stress, anxiety or even depression. The third topic refers to the field of study and the impact of e-learning. In areas like medical education, where clinical activities and labs have to be attended in person, some online learning approaches might be less appropriate than when used in other areas, such as social studies, where the requirements are less complex or different. Zhang et al. (2022) confirmed this finding after performing bibliometric research on 1,061 articles published between January 2020 and August 2021. They explained that theorists and researchers showed a growing interest in ways to respond to crises, such as the pandemic, and how to develop the best practices to ensure the quality and efficiency of e-learning. Examples of such practices might be inquiry-oriented learning and hands-on activities. This could derive from the already existing tendency of education researchers to respond to unprecedented global challenges or changes. The authors explain that this conclusion addresses interest in e-learning practices holistically.

In the same context, Yan et al. (2022) employed a bibliometric approach and identified that various digital tools are used in e-learning in the field of health studies. After investigating 132 studies, they concluded that selecting appropriate tools depends on many factors, including the field of a given course, the aims, and their effectiveness. They add that these findings can be significant for groups of people such as experts or trainee teachers. Okoro et al. (2022) researched 1,722 articles published between 2012 and 2021 and detected a surge in interest in the mental health of postgraduate students, as revealed by the research trends discussed in these articles. Still, they describe this surge as having been greater between 2020 and 2021, which may be attributed to the COVID-19 restrictions and their implications. Moreover, they believe that this research focus will likely continue soon.

After looking at 2,307 articles published between 2017 and 2021, Baber et al. (2022) detected an increasing trend in researching digital literacy. While this was underway before the pandemic, the latter caused a statistically significant further surge. Digital literacy is approached in the studied articles through parameters like instruction, teachers, learners, ICT and its applications, content knowledge, competencies, skills, perceptions, and higher education. It is also associated with acquiring the qualities required to deal with topics such as misinformation, fake news, technological content knowledge, health literacy, COVID-19, and distance education. The authors state that their study identified dynamics hidden in these research trends, which will likely continue in the next few years.

In higher education specifically, based on 602 articles, Brika et al. (2021) corroborated the growing trend of publishing articles on e-learning during the pandemic and outlined certain sub-topics of it, namely: motivation and students’ attitudes; blended and virtual learning comparison; types of online assessment; stress, anxiety and mental health; strategies to improve learners’ skills; quality; performance of the education delivered; challenges; and the potential of technology to lead to change and reform of higher education syllabi or curricula. The scope of those articles was to paint a bigger picture of how higher education communities and institutions use and treat online learning. This is expected to help with efficient decision-making in the future in order to have better results and functions in higher education and appropriate response to crises.

The bibliometric studies carried out during the pandemic identified a trend among researchers in higher education institutions to investigate more the technology factor and how the progress of the Internet, along with information and communication technologies generally, can further assist new modes of learning, such as online learning and distance learning. This might be attributed to a vision for a better means for new types of learning, as Küçük-Avci et al. (2022) claimed after carrying out a bibliometric analysis of 1,547 articles published between 2020 and 2021. The authors detected certain trends regarding distance learning in higher education. A main finding of their study, along with the increase in studies on distance education and e-learning in higher education, is that before the pandemic, the fact that these approaches were not so mandatory meant there was greater efficiency, probably due to the learners’ motivation. The authors further claim that researchers show a stronger interest in the technological means that can assist these types of learning. In addition, while researching 1,986 articles, Bozkurt (2022) established an increase in the implementation of blended learning by researchers who also aim to investigate the relationship between technological applications and learning institutions. Within these tendencies, researchers consider four thematic fields: a comparison of online and onsite learning with regard to effectiveness and efficiency; the experience, impressions and attitudes of stakeholders and learning community members with respect to blended learning; teacher training and curriculum development that will assure the appropriate and challenge-free implementation of blended learning; and the use of mostly a quantitative approach to research of blended learning.

Bilal et al. (2022) also examined research trends concerned with e-learning in higher education during the COVID-19 period by researching 1,595 studies published between 2020 and 2021. The four main trends they identified were supplementary to those mentioned by other authors: the first is about the challenges regarding online learning or blended learning along with the appropriate strategies in response; the second is student-centered collaborative learning and appropriate curriculum design; the third concerns home-based learning through a type of laboratory and the general conditions surrounding it; and the fourth addresses teachers’ background, training, professional competencies and interdisciplinary learning.

Tlili et al. (2022) focused on mapping COVID-19’s impact on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The overall finding from the 108 articles they considered is that there has been growing interest in these courses generally, and more specifically in research around their function and quality. This interest encompasses the main features of such courses, which provide easy accessibility and flexibility. However, they noted that this interest followed another trend among researchers in the context. In other words, the countries that published on MOOCs before the pandemic are the same countries that published during the period under study. Moreover, they stated that there is interest in the technical characteristics and requirements of such courses. Finally, the authors concluded that although most MOOCs were ICT courses, research has escalated into courses that refer to business, personal development or the humanities.

Several conclusions can be drawn from the above bibliometric studies. First, the series of bibliometric studies conducted during the pandemic demonstrates the rise of interest in online learning in higher education during the pandemic. Of course, there was a tendency toward e-learning before the pandemic, but between 2020 and 2022, this seems to have accelerated. The phenomenon is more intense in countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, India and China. Concerning the area of study, the focus of researchers appears to be greater in fields such as Engineering, Sciences, and Health Sciences, albeit all fields seem to be investigated ( Djeki et al., 2022 ; Pham et al., 2022 ; Vaicondam et al., 2022 ; Zhang et al., 2022 ). Various studies have focused on determining the effectiveness of e-learning classes and courses or pointing out parameters that influence their effectiveness. These could be the appropriate conditions or subtopics like motivation, blended learning, learning tools, teacher training, cooperation between different institutions or efficient practices ( Brika et al., 2021 ; Baber et al., 2022 ; Bilal et al., 2022 ; Bozkurt, 2022 ; Fauzi, 2022 ; Küçük-Avci et al., 2022 ; Yan et al., 2022 ). A specific trend of authors is to examine virtual classes and laboratories ( Kartimi et al., 2022 ; Rojas-Sánchez et al., 2022 ; Zhang et al., 2022 ). Finally, there is a focus on the technology factor. Namely, researchers have concentrated on technical issues and conditions related to e-learning courses and their proper functioning ( Navarro-Espinosa et al., 2021 ; Bozkurt, 2022 ; Tlili et al., 2022 ).

3. Materials and methods

Comprehensive bibliometric data on online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic were retrieved on 1 March 2022 from Scopus, a world-leading bibliographic database of peer-reviewed literature. The Scopus database was preferred because it has a broader coverage of scientific research than other databases such as Web of Science ( Falagas et al., 2008 ). This was confirmed by an initial search using the same search query in each database, revealing that Scopus provided more relevant documents than Web of Science. Moreover, compared to the Scopus database, the Web of Science has been found to be a database that significantly underrepresents the scientific disciplines of the Social Sciences and the Arts and Humanities ( Mongeon and Paul-Hus, 2016 ). Although English dominates in both Scopus and Web of Science, Scopus generally offers wider coverage of non-English documents, given that the titles, abstracts, and keywords are in English ( Vera-Baceta et al., 2019 ). According to the basic statistical theory, which can also be applied in the context of bibliometric analysis, larger samples lead to analytical outcomes that are likely to be more accurate ( Rogers et al., 2020 ). Therefore, Scopus appears to be a more relevant bibliographic database meeting the specifics of online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The search strategy was based on title, abstract, and keywords search using the advanced search engine and the search query covered keywords related to different online learning types (using the Boolean operator ‘OR’) and the COVID-19 pandemic (using the Boolean operator ‘AND’). The search was further limited to the period 2020–2022 (using the Boolean operator ‘AND’) to capture documents published between January 2020 and March 2022, when most countries were experiencing constant disruptions in the educational process imposed by repeated lockdowns. As the search query had no language restrictions, the full text of the obtained documents can be in any language, provided that the titles, abstracts, and keywords are in English. Therefore, the language has no impact on the results, as the bibliometric analysis is conducted solely based on the titles, abstracts, and keywords of the documents. According to the presented search query, 9,921 documents were obtained. After further revising the obtained documents, it was identified that some of them are not explicitly related to the context of higher education. By machine screening of documents by title, abstract, and keywords, those related to lower levels of education (i.e., primary and secondary education), as well as adult and worker education (i.e., lifelong education), were excluded from the database. There were 1,618 or 16% of such documents. The remaining 8,303 documents were identified as eligible for further bibliometric examination of online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bibliometric analysis utilized several bibliometric approaches ( Figure 1 ).

Figure 1 . Bibliometric approaches used in the bibliometric analysis. Own elaboration.

First, a descriptive overview was conducted to examine particular general bibliometric items, including timespan, number of (all, cited, single-authored) documents, authors, sources and author keywords and authors, references, and citations per document as well as to identify the most relevant documents. Scientific production was also examined to determine the most relevant countries and sources. Finally, network analysis was performed to identify the research hotspots according to the keyword co-occurrence network and examine the relationship between the main concepts based on a three-field plot analysis. The presented bibliometric approaches required the use of several different software tools. The descriptive overview was conducted using the Python Data Analysis Library Pandas ( McKinney, 2012 ), scientific production was visualized by the Python Visualization Library Matplotlib ( Hunter, 2007 ), while network analysis was performed using VOSviewer (keyword co-occurrence) ( Van Eck and Waltman, 2010 ) and the Python Visualization Library Plotly (a three-field plot) ( Pandey and Panchal, 2020 ). Specifically, the calculation for the three-field plot analysis included the following steps. Suppose that C 1 , C 2 , … , C m are analysed concepts where each concept C i is defined by a set of keywords and represented by binary indicators W i 1 , W i 2 , … , W i k i , expressed as C i = max j = 1 , … , k i W i j for i = 1 , … , m (matrix column). Using this notation, the relationship between C i and C j can be defined as C 1 T ∗ C j (matrix multiplication) where i and j are from three different sets (ICT tools, online learning approaches, fields of study).

The descriptive overview presented in Table 1 shows the main characteristics of online learning and COVID-19 research in the higher education context. This research area covers a total of 8,303 documents (of which 7,922 (95%) have the full text in English) published in 2,447 sources between January 2020 and March 2022. Slightly less than half (46%) of these documents have at least one citation, while a relatively small number (15%) were written by a single author. The average number of references per document in this research area is 31.39, which is below the general scientific area of Educational Research (44.00) ( Patience et al., 2017 ), suggesting that online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic is grounded on fewer existing studies than general research. Finally, 3.50 citations per document can be observed for this research area. Due to the potential benefits of online learning, especially when combined with the traditional learning approaches and hence the development of the blended learning environment, this research is expected to further develop and be extended in the ensuing years ( Fauzi, 2022 ). Further, upon analyzing the documents, it is evident that the average year of references is 2014.03, with an h-index of 60 (indicating at least 60 papers with 60 or more citations each) and a g-index of 94 (denoting that the top 94 publications have accumulated citations equal to or greater than the square of 94). Finally, it was found that within the examined dataset, a total of 1,334 documents (16%) have achieved a minimum of 5 citations (C5), while 691 documents (8%) have attained at least 10 citations (C10), 302 documents (4%) have obtained a minimum of 20 citations (C20), 79 documents (1%) have acquired at least 50 citations (C50), and 31 documents (0.4%) have obtained more than 100 citations (C100).

Table 1 . Descriptive overview of online learning and COVID-19 research (2020–2022).

The most relevant (top-10) highly cited documents in online learning and COVID-19 research in the context of higher education are shown in Table 2 . The overview of the most relevant documents reveals several important topics that were intensively discussed. The first most relevant topic concerns ICT. The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for higher education, especially for medical and surgical education, which requires personal attendance in clinical activities and labs. Accordingly, several innovative ICT tools (i.e., videoconferencing, social media, and telemedicine) and online learning approaches (i.e., flipped classroom or blended learning and virtual learning) were proposed to address this challenge. It is also stressed that by using appropriately established ICT solutions, online learning can lead to more sustainable education ( Adedoyin and Soykan, 2020 ; Chick et al., 2020 ; Dedeilia et al., 2020 ).

Table 2 . Most relevant documents in online learning and COVID-19 research (2020–2022).

The next top-cited topic relates to pedagogy. The disruption of education around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic required teachers to possess specific pedagogical content knowledge related to designing and organizing better learning experiences with digital technologies. At the same time, challenges for online assessment and post-pandemic pedagogy are also highlighted ( García Peñalvo et al., 2020 ; Iyer et al., 2020 ; Murphy, 2020 ; Rapanta et al., 2020 ). Finally, life and work is another of the most cited topics. Namely, the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably reshaped education and other aspects of life and work, often also through the perspective of mental health or emotional well-being ( Dwivedi et al., 2020 ; Kapasia et al., 2020 ; Aristovnik et al., 2020a ).

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that all of the highly cited documents were published in 2020. However, it is also evident that there are notable and highly relevant publications that emerged in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, there are two documents with a minimum of 100 citations published in 2021. In the COVID-19 pandemic context, Watermeyer et al. (2021) , with 148 citations, examined the implications of digital disruption in universities within the United Kingdom, highlighting the challenges and opportunities arising from the emergency shift to online learning. Meanwhile, Pokhrel and Chhetri (2021) conducted a literature review to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning.

The scientific production across countries and sources is presented in terms of the number of documents and citations, whereby additional information is provided by a circle’s size, revealing the h-index as a measure of the scientific impact ( Harzing and Van Der Wal, 2009 ) and by its color, presenting the time dimension in scientific production. The most relevant (top-10) highly cited countries in online learning and COVID-19 research are shown in Figure 2 . While the United States of America stands out among all countries, the United Kingdom, China and India have a relatively large number of documents and citations. The findings are similar to those of other bibliometric studies on this topic ( Saqr et al., 2023 ).

Figure 2 . Most relevant countries in online learning and COVID-19 research (2020–2022). Own elaboration based on the Scopus database.

The most relevant (top-10) highly cited sources in online learning and COVID-19 research in the context of higher education are presented in Figure 3 . Despite conference proceedings being prominent in terms of the relatively high number of documents, the most prominent journals, considering the number of citations, are Journal of Chemical Education, with the highest number of citations as well as documents, followed by Sustainability, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and Education Sciences. More specifically, the most relevant journals address different topics. First, Journal of Chemical Education covers the attempts, successes and failures of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in chemistry education. It covers various topics, including the development of at-home practical activities ( Schultz et al., 2020 ), student engagement and learning ( Perets et al., 2020 ), online assessments ( Nguyen et al., 2020 ) and virtual reality labs ( Williams et al., 2021 ). Further, Sustainability is focused on student and teacher perceptions of e-learning and related challenges ( Khan et al., 2020 ; Aristovnik et al., 2020a ) and sustainability in education during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Sobaih et al., 2020 ) to improve online learning and sustain higher education during uncertain times. Further, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health covers various topics like the health and psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic ( Sundarasen et al., 2020 ), including well-being and changes in behavior and habits. Finally, Education Sciences publishes some general research on the challenges and opportunities for online learning ( Almazova et al., 2020 ), including student and teacher experiences ( García-Alberti et al., 2021 ; Müller et al., 2021 ).

Figure 3 . Most relevant sources in online learning and COVID-19 research (2020–2022). Own elaboration based on the Scopus database.

The keyword co-occurrence network is presented in Figure 4 . Note that the nodes indicate keywords and the links the relations of co-occurrence between them. The node size is proportional to the number of keyword occurrences, showing the research intensity (node degree), while the link width is proportional to the co-occurrences between keywords (edge weight). In addition, the node color indicates the cluster to which a particular keyword belongs ( Wang et al., 2020 ; Ravšelj et al., 2022 ). The keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals five research hotspots in online learning in higher education research during the COVID-19 pandemic. These are ICT and pedagogy (red cluster), technology-enhanced education (green cluster), mental health and well-being (blue cluster), student experience (yellow cluster) and curriculum and professional development (purple cluster).

Figure 4 . Keyword co-occurrence network in online learning and COVID-19 research (2020–2022). Own elaboration based on the Scopus database.

A detailed synopsis of the research hotspots, including representative (the most frequent) keywords and documents (with several representative keywords), is presented in Table 3 . The first research hotspot highlights the relevance of ICT and pedagogy in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most representative documents looked at the quality of online learning mechanisms ( Gritsova and Tissen, 2021 ), active learning activities ( Yan et al., 2021 ) and the role of e-learning departments in controlling the quality of academic processes ( Hamdan et al., 2021 ). The second research hotspot refers to technology-enhanced education from different perspectives, such as opportunities to incorporate technological and curricular innovations ( Shapiro and Reza, 2021 ), the adoption of different virtual experiences such as telehealth and virtual learning ( Kahwash et al., 2021 ), and the utilization of social media to reach higher education students ( Leighton et al., 2021 ). The third research hotspot emphasizes the problem of mental health and well-being issues that became a prevalent topic of discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic. Namely, several studies showed an increase in depression, anxiety and stress levels among higher education students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ( Abu Kwaik et al., 2021 ; Keskin, 2021 ; Yaghi, 2022 ). The fourth cluster is about student experience during the COVID-19 pandemic with specific focus on the between interaction and online learning satisfaction ( Bawa'aneh, 2021 ; Bismala and Manurung, 2021 ; She et al., 2021 ). The fifth research hotspot underscores the relevance of curriculum and professional development. Several studies described the ways in which courses were adapted to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the related challenges and strategies ( Chen et al., 2020 ; Gonzalez and Knecht, 2020 ; Rhile, 2020 ).

Table 3 . Research hotspots based on the author keyword co-occurrence network in online learning and COVID-19 research (2020–2022).

Finally, the three-field plot analysis of the relationship between the main concepts (i.e., ICT tools, online learning approaches, fields of study) is presented in a Sankey diagram shown in Figure 5 . The size of a rectangle corresponds to the number of documents for each theme, while the edge width reflects the inclusion index for connected themes ( Wang et al., 2020 ; Ravšelj et al., 2022 ). These three concepts have been proven to be relevant in the context of online learning. Namely, ICT tools are a precondition for delivering course content through different online learning approaches, while the choice of online learning approaches may depend on the field of study ( Ferri et al., 2020 ). During the COVID-19 pandemic, most attention was devoted to exploring e-learning (a combination of asynchronous and synchronous learning), distance learning (pre-recorded online lectures), followed by virtual learning (real-time online lectures). Since all these online learning approaches limit physical contact between teachers and students, they have been referred to as emergency remote learning approaches ( Hodges et al., 2020 ; Fauzi, 2022 ; Fuchs, 2022 ), while other online learning approaches (computer-based learning, blended learning, m-learning) do not necessarily take place in an online learning environment. The emergency remote learning approaches were primarily supported by several ICT tools, particularly by social media (e.g., Facebook), gamification/simulation and virtual reality (integration of game-like elements into online learning platforms, mobile applications, or virtual reality simulations), Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms, as well as telehealth (for educating health professionals). Regarding the fields of study, e-learning, distance learning and virtual learning were mostly addressed in the context of medical/health education, while computer-based learning (i.e., specific engineering software programs etc.) was examined in the context of engineering education. This implies that the specific requirements of a given field of study often guide the selection of the most suitable online learning approaches ( Fauzi, 2022 ).

Figure 5 . Three-field plot showing the network between ICT tools (left), online approaches (middle), and fields of study (right) (2020–2022). Own elaboration based on the Scopus database.

5. Conclusion

The presented bibliometric study provides several important insights arising from research into online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this period, a large volume of scientific knowledge was produced in the context of education that considered a range of aspects ( Saqr et al., 2023 ). Therefore, a combination of selected bibliometric approaches was utilized to extract some general comprehensive outlines of the global research. The bibliometric analysis revealed the following.

As suggested by the descriptive overview of the state of Educational Research ( Patience et al., 2017 ), the research into online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic is characterized by greater cooperation between authors, which coincides with the general observation that (international) scientific collaboration grew significantly during the pandemic ( Duan and Xia, 2021 ). Further, online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic is grounded on fewer studies than Educational Research ( Patience et al., 2017 ), which may be explained by the absence of COVID-19-related literature at the time these documents were published. Nevertheless, noting the potential benefits of online learning approaches also when the epidemiological conditions are favorable, this line of research is expected to further develop and be extended in the ensuing years ( Fauzi, 2022 ). The potential benefits refer especially to the development of a blended learning environment, which combines online and traditional learning approaches ( Rasheed et al., 2020 ). The overview of the most relevant documents revealed three topics that were intensively discussed in the academic community, i.e., ICT, pedagogy, and life and work. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance and role of reliable ICT infrastructure for ensuring effective pedagogy in the online environment, as was needed to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect public health. Apart from the devastating health consequences for those directly affected by the virus and the disrupted educational process, the COVID-19 pandemic also dramatically affected students’ social life and work ( Aristovnik et al., 2020a ). The educational community is increasingly interested in finding ways to respond to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and develop effective pedagogical practices that assure high-quality and efficient education in the online learning environment ( Zhang et al., 2022 ).

The scientific production of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was geographically uneven. The greatest scientific production in terms of citations and number of documents can be observed in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, China and India. Besides developed English-speaking countries, emerging Asian economies also seem to have played a crucial role in online learning research. Similar findings also emerged from other bibliometric studies on this topic ( Saqr et al., 2023 ). Moreover, despite conference proceedings being prominent in terms of the relatively high number of documents, the most prominent journals, considering the number of citations, are Journal of Chemical Education, Sustainability, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and Education Sciences, indicating that online learning research at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic was primarily published in open-access journals, as already observed in other research ( Zhang et al., 2022 ).

The network analysis revealed five research hotspots in online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of higher education: (1) ICT and pedagogy, focused on the quality of online learning mechanisms ( Gritsova and Tissen, 2021 ), active learning activities ( Yan et al., 2021 ) and the role of e-learning departments in controlling the quality of academic processes ( Hamdan et al., 2021 ); technology-enhanced education concentrated on opportunities to incorporate technological and curricular innovations ( Shapiro and Reza, 2021 ), the adoption of different virtual experiences such as telehealth and virtual learning ( Kahwash et al., 2021 ), and the utilization of social media to reach higher education students ( Leighton et al., 2021 ); (2) mental health and well-being issues facing higher education students, including depression, anxiety, and stress levels ( Abu Kwaik et al., 2021 ; Keskin, 2021 ; Yaghi, 2022 ); student experience with specific focus on the between interaction and online learning satisfaction ( Bawa'aneh, 2021 ; Bismala and Manurung, 2021 ; She et al., 2021 ) and (3) curriculum and professional development, focused on the ways in which courses were adapted to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the related challenges and strategies ( Chen et al., 2020 ; Gonzalez and Knecht, 2020 ; Rhile, 2020 ).

Further, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the exploration of emergency remote learning approaches such as e-learning, distance learning and virtual learning, which are intended to limit physical contact between teachers and students. These approaches were chiefly supported by several ICT tools, including social media, gamification/simulation, virtual reality, videoconferencing platforms, and telehealth. While computer-based learning, blended learning and m-learning do not necessarily occur in an online learning environment, they may still be suitable for certain fields of study, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period. This implies that the determination of which online learning approach is the most suitable is often guided by the specific requirements of a given field of study ( Fauzi, 2022 ).

Before generalizing these conclusions, it is important to note the limitations of the paper. First, the bibliometric analysis relied on documents indexed in the Scopus database, which might not cover the entire collection of research. Namely, documents that are published in journals indexed in other databases such as Web of Science, Education Research Index, Educational Resources Information Centre, etc. are not included in the analysis. However, to achieve the comparability of bibliometric metrics across documents, the bibliometric metrics are obtained from the single and, in general, broader Scopus database. Given the substantial overlap of documents across different databases of peer-reviewed literature, this limitation might not significantly affect the general observations on global research trends. Nevertheless, to check the robustness of the findings, it is still valuable to consider other bibliometric databases for future research. Second, the bibliometric analysis is conducted the bibliometric is based on a short time period (January 2020 – March 2022), which may also impact the metrics of documents published in closed-access (subscription-based) journals, placing them at a disadvantage compared to documents published in open-access journals. While it is not possible to overcome this limitation at present, conducting a bibliometric study with a longer time span would provide further time-dimensional insights. This would also be beneficial in terms of achieving better comparability between documents published in closed-access and open-access journals. Finally, despite the detailed search queries, some other relevant keywords may have been overlooked in the document search. Finally, the bibliometric method, as a method based on big data analysis, may miss certain highlights from the scientific literature that a systematic literature review would otherwise capture. Therefore it would be beneficial for future bibliometric studies also to incorporate a systematic literature review methodology, as the combined approach can provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on online learning in higher education.

The bibliometric study provides some possible avenues for future research. First, in future bibliometric studies, it would be beneficial to conduct in-depth analyses of the relevant contexts that have emerged as highly significant in online learning during the pandemic. These include ICT and innovation, mental health and well-being, online learning and engagement, and curriculum and professional development. Examining these contexts more comprehensively can provide valuable insights into the specific dynamics and trends within each area, contributing to a deeper understanding of the implications of online learning during the pandemic. Second, it would be beneficial to conduct separate bibliometric analyses and comparisons to examine the differences between developed and developing countries. This approach can shed light on the unique research trends, contributions, and challenges faced by each group of countries in the context of online learning during the pandemic. This can provide a more nuanced understanding of the global landscape and identify potential areas for collaboration and knowledge sharing between developed and developing countries. Finally, it would be valuable to investigate the long-term impact of rapid publishing in open-access journals on the recognition and dissemination of scholarly findings in the field of online learning in higher education during the pandemic.

From the practical perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted higher education, but at the same time, it also accelerated the use of online learning tools in the educational process. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has gradually subsided over time, online learning approaches developed during this period continue to hold relevance and value for future education. Therefore, higher education institutions should prioritize leveraging ICT tools and innovative solutions in their educational delivery, which proved effective during the pandemic. Moreover, higher education institutions should also prioritize adapting appropriate online learning approaches and curricula to align with modern realities and the corresponding fields of study. This adaptation is crucial for enhancing student engagement and ensuring that educational programs remain relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of students in various disciplines.

The findings may help not only the scientific community in detecting research gaps in online learning research during the COVID-19 pandemic but also evidence-based policymaking by assisting in identifying appropriate educational practices in emergency circumstances. Specifically, the findings may help higher education policymakers to address the underlying shortcomings of the existing educational framework exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and to design proactive mechanisms to deal effectively with such disruptions, thereby enabling them to create a more resilient and adaptable education system that can successfully navigate unforeseen challenges and ensure the continuity of quality higher education in the future.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

Author contributions

AA contributed to the design of the study. DR and LU assisted with the data identification, cleaning, and analysis. DR and KK wrote the manuscript in consultation with AA. All authors contributed to the manuscript’s revision and read and approved the submitted version.

This research and the APC were funded by the Slovenian Research Agency under grant numbers P5-0093 and Z5-4569.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding no. P5-0093 and project no. Z5-4569). A preliminary version of the paper was presented at the International Conference on Information, Communication Technologies in Education (ICICTE) in July 2022. The authors are grateful to colleagues who attended the presentation and provided interesting comments and suggestions. Further, they wish to thank the reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: online learning, e-learning, higher education, bibliometrics, mapping, visualization, VOSviewer, COVID-19

Citation: Aristovnik A, Karampelas K, Umek L and Ravšelj D (2023) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on online learning in higher education: a bibliometric analysis. Front. Educ . 8:1225834. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1225834

Received: 19 May 2023; Accepted: 14 July 2023; Published: 03 August 2023.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2023 Aristovnik, Karampelas, Umek and Ravšelj. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Aleksander Aristovnik, [email protected] ; Dejan Ravšelj, [email protected]

This article is part of the Research Topic

Increased Quality Education Through Cross-Campus Learning Environments

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Research Article

Online education and its effect on teachers during COVID-19—A case study from India

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Area of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management Indore, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

• Surbhi Dayal

• Published: March 2, 2023
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287
• Reader Comments

COVID pandemic resulted in an initially temporary and then long term closure of educational institutions, creating a need for adapting to online and remote learning. The transition to online education platforms presented unprecedented challenges for the teachers. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of the transition to online education on teachers’ wellbeing in India.

The research was conducted on 1812 teachers working in schools, colleges, and coaching institutions from six different Indian states. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected via online survey and telephone interviews.

The results show that COVID pandemic exacerbated the existing widespread inequality in access to internet connectivity, smart devices, and teacher training required for an effective transition to an online mode of education. Teachers nonetheless adapted quickly to online teaching with the help of institutional training as well as self-learning tools. However, respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of online teaching and assessment methods, and exhibited a strong desire to return to traditional modes of learning. 82% respondents reported physical issues like neck pain, back pain, headache, and eyestrain. Additionally, 92% respondents faced mental issues like stress, anxiety, and loneliness due to online teaching.

As the effectiveness of online learning perforce taps on the existing infrastructure, not only has it widened the learning gap between the rich and the poor, it has also compromised the quality of education being imparted in general. Teachers faced increased physical and mental health issues due to long working hours and uncertainty associated with COVID lockdowns. There is a need to develop a sound strategy to address the gaps in access to digital learning and teachers’ training to improve both the quality of education and the mental health of teachers.

Citation: Dayal S (2023) Online education and its effect on teachers during COVID-19—A case study from India. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0282287. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287

Editor: Lütfullah Türkmen, Usak University College of Education, TURKEY

Received: November 13, 2021; Accepted: January 27, 2023; Published: March 2, 2023

Copyright: © 2023 Surbhi Dayal. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: Data apart from manuscript has been submitted as supporting information .

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

As of November 4, 2021, the spread of novel coronavirus had reached 219 countries and territories of the world, infecting a total of 248 million people and resulting in five million deaths [ 1 ]. In March 2020, several countries including India declared a mandatory lockdown, resulting in the temporary closure of many institutions, not least educational ones. Since then, various restrictions and strategies have been implemented to counter the spread of the virus. These include wearing masks, washing hands frequently, maintaining social and physical distance, and avoiding public gatherings. The pandemic has greatly disrupted all aspects of human life and forced new ways of functioning, notably in work and education, much of which has been restricted to the household environment. The closure for over a year of many schools and colleges across the world has shaken the foundations of the traditional structures of education. Due to widespread restrictions, employees have been forced to carve out working spaces in the family home; likewise, students and teachers have been compelled to bring classes into homes [ 2 ]. Nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries have been physically out of school due to the pandemic. In total, 94 percent of the world’s student population has been affected by school closures, and up to 99 percent of this student population come from low-to middle-income countries [ 3 ].

According to the World Economic Forum, the pandemic has changed how people receive and impart education [ 4 ]. Physical interaction between students and teachers in traditional classrooms has been replaced by exchanges on digital learning platforms, such as online teaching and virtual education systems, characterized by an absence of face-to-face connection [ 5 ]. Online education has thus emerged as a viable option for education from preschool to university level, and governments have used tools such as radio, television, and social media to support online teaching and training [ 6 ]. Various stakeholders, including government and private institutions, have collaborated to provide teachers with resources and training to teach effectively on digital platforms. New digital learning platforms like Zoom, Google Classroom, Canvas, and Blackboard have been used extensively to create learning material and deliver online classes; they have also allowed teachers to devise training and skill development programs [ 7 ]. Many teachers and students were initially hesitant to adopt online education. However indefinite closure of institutions required educational facilities to find new methods to impart education and forced teachers to learn new digital skills. Individuals have experienced different levels of difficulty in doing this; for some, “it has resulted in tears, and for some, it is a cup of tea” [ 8 ].

Teachers have reported finding it difficult to use online teaching as a daily mode of communication, and enabling students’ cognitive activation has presented a significant challenge in the use of distance modes of teaching and learning. Teachers have also expressed concerns about administering tests with minimal student interaction [ 9 ]. Lack of availability of smart devices, combined with unreliable internet access, has led to dissatisfaction with teacher-student interaction. Under pressure to select the appropriate tools and media to reach their students, some teachers have relied on pre-recorded videos, which further discouraged interaction. In locations where most teaching is done online, teachers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities (i.e., semi-urban areas) have had to pay extra to secure access to high-speed internet, digital devices, and reliable power sources [ 10 ]. Teachers in India, in particular, have a huge gap in digital literacy caused by a lack of training and access to reliable electricity supply, and internet services. In rural or remote areas, access to smart devices, the internet, and technology is limited and inconsistent [ 6 ]. In cities, including the Indian capital Delhi, even teachers who are familiar with the required technology do not necessarily have the pedagogical skills to meet the demands of online education. The absence of training, along with local factors (for example, stakeholders’ infrastructure and socio-economic standing), contributes to difficulties in imparting digital education successfully [ 10 ]. The gap in digital education across Indian schools is striking. For example, only 32.5% of school children are in a position to pursue online classes. Only 11% of children can take online classes in private and public schools, and more than half can only view videos or other recorded content. Only 8.1% of children in government schools have access to online classes in the event of a pandemic-related restrictions [ 11 ].

The adverse effects of COVID-19 on education must therefore be investigated and understood, particularly the struggles of students and teachers to adapt to new technologies. Significant societal effects of the pandemic include not only serious disruption of education but also isolation caused by social distancing. Various studies [ 7 , 12 , 13 ] have suggested that online education has caused significant stress and health problems for students and teachers alike; health issues have also been exacerbated by the extensive use of digital devices. Several studies [ 6 , 11 , 14 ] have been conducted to understand the effects of the COVID lockdown on digital access to education, students’ physical and emotional well-being, and the effectiveness of online education. However, only a few studies [ 13 , 15 – 17 ] have touched the issues that teachers faced due to COVID lockdown.

In this context, this study is trying to fill existing gaps and focuses on the upheavals that teachers went through to accommodate COVID restrictions and still impart education. It also provides an in-depth analysis of consequences for the quality of education imparted from the teachers’ perspective. It discusses geographical inequalities in access to the infrastructure required for successful implementation of online education. In particular, it addresses the following important questions: (1) how effectively have teachers adapted to the new virtual system? (2) How has online education affected the quality of teaching? (3) How has online education affected teachers’ overall health?

Because of lockdown restrictions, data collection for this study involved a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in the form of online surveys and telephonic interviews. A questionnaire for teachers was developed consisting of 41 items covering a variety of subjects: teaching styles, life-work balance, and how working online influences the mental and physical well-being of teachers. In the interviews, participants were asked about their experiences of online teaching during the pandemic, particularly in relation to physical and mental health issues. A pilot study was conducted with thirty respondents, and necessary changes to the items were made before the data collection. The survey tool was created using google forms and disseminated via email, Facebook, and WhatsApp. A total of 145 telephonic interviews were also conducted to obtain in-depth information from the respondents.

The data were collected between December 2020 and June 2021. The Research Advisory Committee on Codes of Ethics for Research of Aggrawal College, Ballabhgarh, Haryana, reviewed and approved this study. A statement included in the google survey form as a means of acquiring written consent from the participants. Information was gathered from 1,812 Indian teachers in six Indian states (Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, and Rajasthan) working in universities, schools, and coaching institutions. Nearly three-quarters of the total sample population was women. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 60, with an average age of 34 and a clear majority being 35 or younger. Nearly three-quarters of participants work in private institutions (25% in semi-government entities and the remainder in government entities). In terms of education, 52% of participants have a graduate degree, 34% a postgraduate degree, and 14% a doctorate. Table 1 summarizes the demographic characteristics of the participants.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.t001

Results & discussion

Upon analyzing the survey responses, three crucial areas were identified for a better understanding of the effect of COVID-19 on the Indian education system and its teachers: how effectively teachers have adapted, how effective teaching has been, and how teachers’ health has been affected.

1. How effectively have teachers adapted to the new virtual system?

The first research question concerns how willing teachers were to embrace the changes brought about by the online teaching system and how quickly they were able to adapt to online modes of instruction. This information was gathered from December 2020 to June 2021, at which point teachers had been dealing with school lockdowns for months and therefore had some time to become conversant with online teaching.

While 93.82% of respondents were involved in online teaching during the pandemic, only 16% had previously taught online. These results were typically different from the results of a similar study conducted in Jordon where most of the faculty (60%) had previous experience with online teaching and 68% of faculty had also received formal training [ 16 ]. Since the spread of COVID-19 was rapid and the implementation of the lockdown was sudden, government and educational institutions were not prepared for alternative modes of learning, and teachers needed some time for adjustment. Several other factors also affected the effectiveness of the transition to online education, namely access to different types of resources and training [ 18 ].

a. Access to smart devices.

Online teaching requires access to smart devices. A surprising number of teachers stated that they had internet access at home via laptops, smartphones, or tablets. A more pertinent question, however, was whether they had sole access to the smart device, or it was shared with family members. Only 37.25% of those surveyed had a device for their exclusive use while others shared a device with family members, due to lack of access to additional devices and affordability of new devices. During the lockdown, an increase in demand led to a scarcity of smart devices, so that even people who could afford to buy a device could not necessarily find one available for purchase. With children attending online classes, and family members working from home, households found it difficult to manage with only a few devices, and access to a personal digital device became an urgent matter for many. Respondents admitted to relying on their smartphones to teach courses since they lacked access to other devices. Teachers on independent-school rosters were significantly better equipped to access smart devices than those employed at other types of schools. The data also indicates that teachers in higher education and at coaching centers had relatively better access to laptops and desktop computers through their institutions, whereas teachers in elementary and secondary schools had to scramble for securing devices for their own use.

b. Internet access.

Internet access is crucial for effective delivery of online education. However, our survey shows that teachers often struggled to stay connected because of substantial differences between states in the availability of internet. Of the respondents, 52% reported that their internet was stable and reliable, 32% reported it to be satisfactory and the rest reported it to be poor. Internet connectivity was better in the states of Karnataka, New Delhi, and Rajasthan than in Assam, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh. Internet connectivity in Assam was particularly poor. Consequently, many teachers with access to advanced devices were unable to use them due to inadequate internet connection.

The following comments from a teacher in Assam capture relevant situational challenges: “I do not have an internet modem at home, and teaching over the phone is difficult. My internet connection is exhausted, and I am unable to see or hear the students.” Another teacher from Haryana reported similar difficulties: “During the lockdown, I moved to my hometown, and I do not have internet access here, so I go to a nearby village and send videos to students every three days.” Another teacher from Madhya Pradesh working at a premier institution reported experiencing somewhat different concerns: “I am teaching in one of the institute’s semi-smart classrooms, and while I have access to the internet, my students do not, making it difficult to hear what they are saying.”

These responses indicates clearly that it is not only teachers living in states where connectivity was poor who experienced difficulties in imparting education to students; even those who had good internet connectivity experiences problems caused by the poor internet connections of their students.

c. Tools for remote learning.

Teachers made use of a variety of remote learning tools, but access to these tools varied depending on the educator’s affiliation. Teachers at premier institutions and coaching centers routinely used the Zoom and Google Meet apps to conduct synchronous lessons. Teachers at state colleges used pre-recorded videos that were freely available on YouTube. Teachers in government schools used various platforms, including WhatsApp for prepared material and YouTube for pre-recorded videos. To deliver the content, private school teachers used pre-recorded lectures and Google Meet. In addition to curriculum classes, school teachers offered life skill classes (for example, cooking, gardening, and organizing) to help students become more independent and responsible in these difficult circumstances. In addition to online instruction, 16% of teachers visited their students’ homes to distribute books and other materials. Furthermore, of this 36% visited students’ homes once a week, 29% visited twice a week, 18% once every two weeks, and the rest once a month. Additionally, a survey done on 6435 respondents across six states in India reported that 21% teachers in schools conducted home visits for teaching children [ 19 ].

d. Knowledge and training for the use of information and communication technologies.

With the onset of the pandemic, information and communication technology (ICT) became a pivotal point for the viability of online education. The use of ICT can facilitate curriculum coverage, application of pedagogical practices and assessment, teacher’s professional development, and streamlining school organization [ 20 ]. However, the effective adoption and implementation of ICT necessitated delivery of appropriate training and prolonged practice. Also the manner in which teachers use ICT is crucial to successful implementation of online education [ 21 ]. While countries such as Germany, Japan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States recognized the importance of ICT by integrating it into their respective teacher training programmes [ 22 ], this has not been case in India. However, there are some training programmes available to teachers once they commence working. In accordance with our survey results, the vast majority of respondents (94%) lacked any ICT training or experience. In the absence of appropriate tools and support, these teachers self-experimented with online platforms, with equal chances of success and failure.

The transition from offline to online or remote learning was abrupt, and teachers had to adapt quickly to the new systems. Our data indicate that teachers in professional colleges and coaching centers received some training to help them adapt to the new online system, whereas teachers in urban areas primarily learned on their own from YouTube videos, and school teachers in rural areas received no support at all. Overall, teachers had insufficient training and support to adjust to this completely new situation. Policy research conducted on online and remote learning systems following COVID-19 has found similar results, namely that teachers implemented distance learning modalities from the start of the pandemic, often without adequate guidance, training, or resources [ 23 ]. Similar trends have been found in the Caribbean, where the unavailability of smart learning devices, lack of or poor internet access, and lack of prior training for teachers and students hampered online learning greatly. Furthermore, in many cases the curriculum was not designed for online teaching, which was a key concern for teachers [ 24 ]. Preparing online lectures as well as monitoring, supervising and providing remote support to students also led to stress and anxiety. Self-imposed perfectionism further exacerbated these issues while delivering online education [ 15 ]. A study conducted on 288 teachers from private and government schools in Delhi and National Capital Region area, also found that transition to online education has further widened the gap between pupils from government and private schools. It was more difficult to reach students from economically weaker sections of the society due to the digital divide in terms of access, usage, and skills gap. The study also found that even when teachers were digitally savvy, it did not mean that they know how to prepare for and take online classes [ 10 ].

2. How has online education affected the quality of teaching?

Once teachers had acquired some familiarity with the online system, new questions arose concerning how online education affected the quality of teaching in terms of learning and assessment, and how satisfied teachers were with this new mode of imparting education. To address these questions, specific questionnaire items about assessment and effectiveness of teaching has been included.

a. Effectiveness of online education.

Respondents agreed unanimously that online education impeded student-teacher bonding. They reported several concerns, including the inattentiveness of the majority of the students in the class, the physical absence of students (who at times logged in but then went elsewhere), the inability to engage students online, and the difficulty of carrying out any productive discussion given that only a few students were participating. Another significant concern was the difficulty in administrating online tests in light of widespread cheating. In the words of one teacher: “I was teaching a new class of students with whom I had never interacted in person. It was not easy because I could not remember the names of the students or relate to them. Students were irritated when I called out their names. It had a significant impact on my feedback. I would like us to return to class so I do not have to manage four screens and can focus on my students and on solving their problems.”

For these reasons, 85.65% of respondents stated that the quality of education had been significantly compromised in the online mode. As a result, only 33% reported being interested in continuing with online teaching after COVID-19. The results show slightly higher dissatisfaction in comparison to another study conducted in India that reported 67% of teachers feeling dissatisfied with online teaching [ 25 ]. Findings of this study were similar to the findings of a survey of lecturers in Ukraine assessing the effectiveness of online education. Lower quality student work was cited as the third most mentioned problem among the problems cited by instructors in their experience with online teaching, right behind unreliable internet connectivity and the issues related with software and hardware. Primary reasons for lower quality student work were drop in the number of assignments and work quality as well as cheating. Almost half (48.7%) of the participants expressed their disapproval of online work and would not like to teach online [ 26 ].

Due to the nature of the online mode, teachers were also unable to use creative methods to teach students. Some were accustomed to using physical objects and role-playing to engage students in the classroom, but they found it extremely difficult to make learning exciting and to engage their students in virtual space. Similar trends have been reported in Australia, where schoolteachers in outback areas did not find online education helpful or practical for children, a majority of whom came from low-income families. The teachers were used to employing innovative methods to keep the students engaged in the classroom. However, in online teaching, they could not connect with their students using those methods, which significantly hampered their students’ progress. Some teachers mentioned difficulties with online teaching caused by not being able to use physical and concrete objects to improve their instructions [ 27 ].

b. Online evaluation.

Of our respondents, 81% said that they had conducted online assessments of their students. Teachers used various online assessment methods, including proctored closed/open book exams and quizzes, assignment submissions, class exercises, and presentations. Teachers who chose not to administer online assessments graded their students’ performance based on participation in class and previous results.

Almost two-thirds of teachers who had administered online assessments were dissatisfied with the effectiveness and transparency of those assessments, given the high rates of cheating and internet connectivity issues. They also reported that family members had been helping students to cheat in exams because they wanted their children to get higher grades by any means necessary. In response, the teachers had tried to devise methods to discourage students and their families from cheating, but they still felt powerless to prevent widespread cheating.

As one respondent stated: “We are taking many precautions to stop cheating, such as asking to install a mirror behind the student and doing online proctoring, but students have their ways out for every matter. They disconnect the internet cable or turn it off and reconnect it later. When we question them, they have a connectivity reason ready”.

Teachers are also concerned about the effects of the digital skills gap on their creation of worksheets, assessments, and other teaching materials. As a result, some private companies have been putting together teacher training programs. The main challenge pertains to be implementation of a type of specialized education that many teachers are unfamiliar with and unwilling to adopt [ 28 ]. Because of the lack of effective and transparent online assessments, school teachers have reported that students were promoted to the next level regardless of their performance. Thus, only time will tell how successful online education has been in terms of its effects on the lives of learners.

3. How has online education affected teacher’s overall health?

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a situation that few people had experienced or even imagined living through. Governments and individuals tried their best to adjust to the new circumstances, but sudden lockdown, confinement to the household periphery, and working from home had adverse effects on the mental and physical health of many people, including educators and students. To clarify the effects of online education on teachers’ overall health, a number of questionnaire items were focused on respondents’ feelings during the lockdown, the physical and mental health issues they experienced, and their concerns about the future given the uncertainty of the present situation.

a. Physical health issues.

COVID-19 brought a multitude of changes to the lives of educators. Confinement to the household, working from home, and an increased burden of household and caregiving tasks due to the absence of paid domestic assistants increased physical workload and had corresponding adverse effects on the physical health of educators.

Of the study participants, 82% reported an increase in physical health issues since the lockdown ( Fig 1 ). Notably, 47% of those who were involved in digital mode of learning for less than 3 hours per day reported experiencing some physical discomfort daily, rising to 51% of teachers who worked online for 4–6 hours per day and 55% of teachers who worked more than 6 hours per day. Respondents reported a variety of physical health issues, including headaches, eye strain, back pain, and neck pain.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g001

The number of hours worked showed a positive correlation with the physical discomfort or health issues experienced. A chi-square test was applied to determine the relationship between the number of online working hours and the frequency of physical issues experienced by the participants and found it to be significant at the 0.05 level ( Table 2 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.t002

As Fig 2 shows, 28% respondents’ complaint about experiencing giddiness, headaches; 59% complain of having neck and back pain. The majority of the participants had eye-strain problems most of the time; 32% faced eye problems sometimes, and 18% reported never having any eye issue. In addition, 49% had experienced two issues at the same time and 20% reported experiencing more than 2 physical issues at the same time.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g002

The data in this study indicates a link between bodily distresses and hours worked. As working hours increased, so did reports of back and neck pain. 47% respondents reported back and neck pain after working for 3 hours or less, 60% after working for 3–6 hours, and nearly 70% after working for 6 hours or more.

The analysis also indicates link between physical issues experienced and the educator’s gender. Women experienced more physical discomfort than men, with 51% reporting frequent discomfort, compared to only 46% of men. Only 14% of female educators reported never experiencing physical discomfort, against 30% of male educators.

In terms of types of discomfort, 76% of female teachers and 51% of male teachers reported eye strain; 62% of female teacher and 43% of male teachers reported back and neck pain; 30% of female teachers and 18% of male teachers said they had experienced dizziness and headaches. The gender differences may be caused by the increase in household and childcare responsibilities falling disproportionately on female educators compared to their male counterparts. Several studies [ 17 , 29 – 31 ] have reported similar results, indicating that the gender gap widened during the pandemic period. The social expectations of women to take care of children increased the gender gap during the pandemic by putting greater responsibilities on women in comparison to men [ 29 ]. Women in academics were affected more in comparison to the men. Working from home burdened female educators with additional household duties and childcare responsibilities. A study done [ 32 ] in France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom discovered that women were immensely affected by lockdown in comparison to men. On top of this, women with children are affected more than women without children.

No effect of age on physical discomfort was observed in this study but increasing use of online tools (such as class websites) for content creation and delivery and extended working periods were major contributors to health problems.

b. Mental health issues.

The psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemics have also proved difficult to manage. Being at home all day with limited social interaction, not to mention other pandemic-related sources of stress, affected the mental health of many people. The majority of the participants in this study admitted experiencing mental health issues including anxious feelings, low mood, restlessness, hopelessness, and loneliness. According to UNESCO [ 33 ], due to the sudden closure of schools and adaptability to new systems, teachers across the world are suffering from stress. Studies conducted in various parts of the world confirmed similar trends [ 34 , 35 ]. In Israel, teachers reported psychological stress due to online teaching. 30.4% teachers reported being stressed in comparison to 6.1% teachers in traditional classroom settings [ 34 ]. In Spain, teachers experienced various kinds of mental health issues like anxiety, stress, and depression [ 36 ]. An Arabian study found an increased number of cases related to anxiety, depression, and violence during the pandemic [ 37 ]. In New Zealand teachers in Higher education reported being overwhelmed due to the online teaching [ 15 ].

Online teaching appears to have negatively affected the mental health of all the study participants. Women (94%) reported more mental health issues than men (91%), as shown in Fig 3 . Nearly two-thirds of participants said they had been dealing with mental health issues regularly and a third occasionally; only 7% said they never dealt with them. Findings of this study are in line with other studies which found that female teachers had higher levels of stress and anxiety in comparison to men [ 36 ]. Studies conducted in China reported that teachers developed mental health issues due to online classes [ 37 , 38 ].

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g003

Our analysis indicated a positive relationship between the number of working hours and the frequency of mental health issues. Of the respondents who worked online for less than 3 hours, 55% experienced some kind of mental health issue; this rose to 60% of participants who worked online for 3–6 hours, and 66% of those who worked more than 6 hours every day. A chi-square test was applied to determine the relationship between the number of online working hours and the frequency of mental issues experienced by the participants and found it to be significant at the 0.05 level ( Table 3 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.t003

In terms of types of mental health issues, respondents reported restlessness, anxious feelings, and a sense of powerlessness, along with feelings of hopelessness, low mood, and loneliness as shown in Fig 4 . The stress of adapting to a new online working environment, the extended hours of work required to prepare content in new formats, the trial-and-error nature of learning and adopting new practices, uncertainty caused by lockdown, and an overall feeling of having no control were some of the contributing factors.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.g004

Mental health issues were more common among those under the age of 35, with 64% reporting a problem most of the time compared to 53% of those over 35. It has been found that job uncertainty is one of the primary causes of a higher prevalence of mental health concerns among younger respondents than among older respondents. These findings are in line with other studies which found higher levels of stress among the young people in comparison to older one [ 36 , 39 ]. Feelings of loneliness and a sense of no control were reported by 30% of respondents under the age of 35, with these feelings occurring constantly or most of the time; only 12% of respondent over the age of 35 reported experiencing these feelings always or most of the time. Of respondents under 35 years of age 61% felt lonely at some point during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to only 40% of those age 35 or older.

This study also found gender-based differences in the frequency of mental health issues experienced, with 62% of male respondents and 52% of female respondents reporting that they had always experienced mental health issues. The types of issues also differed by gender, with men more likely to report restlessness and loneliness and women more likely to report feeling anxious or helpless. More female respondents reported feelings of hopelessness than male respondents (76% compared to 69%), and they were also more anxious (66%).

The uncertainty of the pandemic seems to have caused helplessness and anxious feelings for female teachers in particular, perhaps because a lack of paid domestic help increased the burden of household and caregiving tasks disproportionately for women at a time when the pressure to adapt to new online platforms was particularly acute. In some cases, respondents left their jobs to accommodate new family dynamics, since private employers offered no assistance or flexibility. Deterioration of mental health also led to the increased number of suicides in Japan during COVID-19 [ 39 ].

However, female teachers fared better than their male counterparts on some measures of mental health. Although half of the respondents (men and women equally) reported low mood during the pandemic, the men reported more restlessness (53%) and loneliness (59%) than the women (50% and 49%, respectively). Restrictions on eating and drinking outside the household may have had a disproportionate effect on male respondents, making them more likely to feel restless or lonely than their female counterparts, who may have handled COVID-related isolation better by being more involved in household work and caregiving.

Number of hours worked online was also a factor contributing to mental health issues. Just as respondents had more physical complaints (including eye strain, back and neck pain, and headaches) the more hours they worked online, respondents who worked longer hours online reported more mental health issues.

One of the major drawbacks of online education is the widespread occurrence of physical and mental health issues, and the results of this study corroborate concerns on this point. This study found that online teaching causes more mental and physical problems for teachers than another study, which only found that 52.7% of respondents had these problems [ 12 ].

A report by the University of Melbourne has also indicated that online teaching and learning have a negative effect on the physical and mental well-being of individuals. Teachers working from home, in particular, have reported isolation, excessive screen time, inability to cope with additional stress, and exhaustion due to increased workload; despite being wary of the risks of exposure to COVID-19, they were eager to return to the campus [ 27 ].

c. Support mechanisms.

In general, teachers experienced good support from family and colleagues during the pandemic, with 45.64% of teachers reported receiving strong support, 29.64 percent moderate support (although the remainder claimed to have received no or only occasional support from family and colleagues). 9.39% of male respondents reported that they have never received any support in comparison to 4.36% females. Female respondents reported receiving more support than male respondents perhaps because they have access to a more extensive network of family members and coworkers. Children, parents, and siblings were cited as the provider of a robust support system by most female respondents. For example, maternal relatives called or texted children to keep them engaged and helped them with homework, and female participants said their peers helped them to prepare lectures and materials. A link was also found between age and support; the older the respondent, the stronger the support system. A possible explanation for this difference is that older people have had time to develop stronger and longer-lasting professional and personal ties than younger people.

This study explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Indian education system and teachers working across six Indian states. The effectiveness of online education methods varied significantly by geographical location and demographics based on internet connectivity, access to smart devices, and teachers’ training. While premier higher education institutions and some private institutions had provided teachers with the necessary infrastructure and training to implement effective successful online learning with relatively few challenges, teachers at schools and community colleges have more often been left to adopt a trial-and-error approach to the transition to an online system. Further, it indicates that online education has had a significant effect on the quality of education imparted and the lives and wellbeing of teachers. While online learning has enabled teachers to reach out to students and maintain some normalcy during a time of uncertainty, it has also had negative consequences. Owing to the lack of in-person interaction with and among students in digital classes, the absence of creative learning tools in the online environment, glitches and interruptions in internet services, widespread cheating in exams, and lack of access to digital devices, online learning adversely affected the quality of education. Teachers experienced mounting physical and mental health issues due to stress of adjusting to online platforms without any or minimal ICT training and longer working hours to meet the demands of shifting responsibilities. A positive correlation was found between working hours and mental and physical health problems.

The long-term impact of COVID-19 pandemic on both the education system and the teachers would become clear only with time. Meanwhile, this study sheds light on some of the issues that teachers are facing and needs to be addressed without further ado. These findings will provide direction to the policy makers to develop sound strategies to address existing gaps for the successful implementation of digital learning. However, researchers should continue to investigate the longer-term effects of COVID pandemic on online education.

Supporting information

S1 file. supplementary material..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282287.s001

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Examining Students’ Flexibility in Online Learning: Exploring the Impact of E-Learning Adoption on Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic

• Pierre Clement Cyemezo Department of Information and Communication Technology
• Marie Noella Shema Academic Advising Faculty of Management, Kepler College, Kigali campus
• Jean Pierre Akingeneye Department of Information and Communication Technology,
• Jean Baptiste Ukwizabigira Department of Information and Communication Technology
• Wilson Musoni Department of Information and Communication Technology
• Leopord Uwamahoro Lecturer for IT, Rwanda Polytechnic, IPRC East

The importance of Learning Management Systems (LMS) for self-directed learning called for a rapid shift from learner -centered to fully online learning due to COVID-19. This paper examines the effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on education. The study explores the advantages and disadvantages of online education and pertaining challenges that need to be addressed for its successful implementation. During the study, an online survey was used to gather insights on   students’ experiences and difficulties they encountered during the pandemic. During this survey, a total of 582 participants; the majority of whom were undergraduate students (68%) and were women (68%). While mobile phones were revealed to be the most popular e-learning tool (55%), 43% chose laptops or desktops. Importantly, it is worthy to note that 56% of respondents reported not having access to the internet, likewise 54% spend four to five hours daily on online learning. According to the study, for over a half of the participants, the shift to online classes equally led to a shift in their routines. Additionally, of the participants 10% found it challenging to balance between study time and personal time. Distractions at home and participation in other activities were the main causes of non-participation. The mean scores of 3.19 and 2.98, respectively, in the study underscores the challenges of obtaining online classes and the absence of in-person interactions. We therefore strongly recommend that future studies concentrate on these areas as they have the potential to produce even more precise and significant results.

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• Open access
• Published: 17 May 2024

Self-regulated learning of anatomy during the COVID-19 lockdown period in a low-income setting

• Tapiwa Chapupu 1 , 3 ,
• Anesuishe B Gatsi 3 ,
• Fidelis Chibhabha 4 &
• Prince L. M. Zilundu 1 , 2  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  548 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

In March 2020, universities in Zimbabwe temporarily closed and switched to remote learning to contain the spread of SARS Cov2 infections. The sudden change to distance learning gave autonomy to students to direct their own learning. To understand how the students at the University of Zimbabwe and Midlands State University adapted to emergency remote learning, focus group discussions and a self-administered questionnaire survey based on the self-regulated learning inventory were conducted to capture cognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of anatomy learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns among these students’ lived experiences. Two coders analyzed the data independently and discussed the codes to reach a consensus. The results showed that students at the two medical schools cognitively and meta-cognitively planned, executed and evaluated self-regulated strategies in different ways that suited their environments during the COVID-19 lockdown. Several factors, such as demographic location, home setting/situation, socioeconomic background and expertise in using online platforms, affected the students’ self-directed learning. Students generally adapted well to the constraints brought about by the lockdown on their anatomy learning in order to learn effectively. This study was able to highlight important self-regulated learning strategies that were implemented during COVID-19 by anatomy learners, especially those in low-income settings, and these strategies equip teachers and learners alike in preparation for similar future situations that may result in forced remote learning of anatomy.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

In March 2020, universities in Zimbabwe temporarily closed and switched to emergency remote teaching following a government lockdown directive meant to curtail the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The lifting of the COVID-19-induced lockdowns proved premature, resulting in a three-time opening and closure of universities between March 2020 and September 2021 as the country battled three waves of infections [ 1 ]. This situation, which was also reported in other parts of the world, forced university teachers and students alike to adapt to a new mode of teaching and learning that had never been tested before [ 2 ]. The closure of medical schools meant that cadaver dissection was foregone, potentially depriving students of teamwork, a visuospatial picture of the organization of the human body, experience of the texture of human tissues, understanding of pathological as well as anatomical variations, and inculcation of humanistic values [ 3 ]. Remote anatomy teaching was conducted virtually [ 4 ], thereby placing the burden of mastering content-heavy anatomy courses on preclinical medical students who were at home.

Compared to traditional face-to-face learning, emergency remote teaching offers flexible scheduling, ease of distributing information, opportunities to individualize learning processes, and the potential to enhance self-regulated learning skills [ 5 ]. However, preclinical medical students still face challenges associated with transitioning from high school to higher education, such as managing study time effectively and becoming self-regulated learners who can cope with the exponential growth of knowledge in medical education [ 6 ]. The sudden transition to remote online learning pushed students to direct their own learning, but the greater flexibility afforded by emergency remote teaching places high demands on them to quickly adapt and self-regulate their learning. The COVID-19 pandemic-induced distance education is different from regular online anatomy education in that it was abrupt, unplanned and often a case of learning on the job for teachers and new to students for a hands-on subject such as cadaver dissection-based anatomy [ 7 ]. In a study from Botswana by Mogodi and colleagues [ 8 ] noted that while there was high smart phone penetration, internet access and affordability was a challenge for both teachers and learners. Therefore, it is important to understand how medical students adapted to this emergency remote learning [ 9 ]. This understanding could inform future instructional modalities, such as blended, hybrid, or remedial medical education/learning.

Due to recent pushes toward student-centered learning in higher education [ 10 ], pre-pandemic university students already enjoyed a considerable amount of autonomy in covering course content and ensuring skills acquisition. As a result, they are expected to plan, monitor, and control their own learning process during self-study and thus engage in self-regulated learning [ 11 ]. Under self-regulated learning, students use cognitive, metacognitive, and resource-management strategies to meet curriculum goals [ 12 ]. Cognitive and metacognitive strategies encompass skills used to process information and monitor and control one’s mastery of subject content [ 13 ]. Resource-management strategies include regulating effort, attention, motivation, and time use [ 14 ]. Because remote learning is typically less structured, it places the burden of learning on students to autonomously regulate and organize their learning processes [ 15 ].

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a cyclical process wherein students plan for a task, monitor their performance, and then reflect on the outcome [ 11 ]. SRL includes cognitive skills, which are the ability to critically plan and execute strategies of studying; metacognitive skills, which are the ability to know how to implement formulated strategies; behavioral skills; motivational skills, which are self-efficacy; and emotional/affective aspects of learning [ 12 ]. The theory is an extraordinary umbrella under which a considerable number of variables that influence active learning (volition, cognitive strategies and self-efficacy) are studied within a much more comprehensive and holistic approach [ 14 ]. For that reason, SRL has become one of the most important areas of research within educational psychology [ 12 ]. Self-regulated learning strategies are actions directed at acquiring information or skills that involve agency, purpose (goals), and instrumentality of self-perceptions by a learner [ 16 ]. Zimmerman [ 17 ] pioneered this theory and suggested that the self-regulated learning process has three stages:

Forethought, learners prepare work before the performance of their studies.

Volitional control, which is also called “performance control”, occurs in the learning process. It involves the learner’s attention and willpower.

Self-reflection occurs in the final stage when learners review their performance toward final goals. At the same time, focusing on their learning strategies during the process is also efficient for their final outcomes.

Under the SRL theory, students are active participants who proactively use forethought, performance and self-reflection on their learning tasks, thus generating important experiences [ 12 ]. They included goal-setting, environmental structuring, self-consequences (self-rewarding and self-punishment), and self-evaluating. Several other categories were included on the basis of closely allied theoretical formulations, namely, the strategies of organizing and transforming [ 18 ] seeking and selecting information [ 19 ], and rehearsal and mnemonic strategies [ 20 ]. Also included were the strategies of seeking social assistance and reviewing previously compiled records such as class notes and notes on text material, which showed that self-regulated strategies are not anti-social mechanisms of study [ 19 ]. The issue of interactive learning between tutors and students and peer-to-peer discussions is one of the factors of the theory of seeking social assistance.

The ability of an individual to use the self-regulation skills is more crucial in distance learning than in traditional classroom settings due to reduced or absent supervision and guidance [ 21 ]. Understanding how students generally use the SRL strategies is important as previous studies have investigated how performance is associated with several aspects of it in medical leaning [ 22 ]. The importance of SRL in Anatomy education is justified because due to several studies it has shown that academic success is mostly influenced by the students’ ability to control their learning independent of the instructor`s support [ 23 ]. The aspects include self-efficacy, motivation, metacognitive monitoring and strategy use [ 24 ].

A research on first year medical students studying gross anatomy showed that their use of cognitive, resource management and metacognitive strategies was positively associated with higher marks [ 25 ]. A study underscored the need for the student to regularly monitor their study as it was shown that successful students undertaking online courses generally use SRL strategies [ 26 ]. Prior research has explored self-directed learning in anatomy among students in various environments pre-pandemic finding it important. A study in Zimbabwean medical schools found prevalent self-regulated learning traits [ 27 ]. Anatomy study, requiring intensive memorization, often involves rehearsal techniques. In self-regulated learning’s performance phase, students need effective memorization strategies [ 28 ]. Many students at the University of Cape Town research reported a heavy reliance on mnemonics and sticky notes for anatomy learning, with mnemonics and sticky notes being perceived as key to effective study [ 29 , 30 ]. However, mnemonics’ limited generalizability and English-centric nature disadvantage non-English speakers [ 31 ]. Some nursing educators critiqued mnemonics as a ‘lazy’ method, and their use in patient care is viewed as potentially undermining a humanistic approach by oversimplifying symptoms [ 32 , 33 ].

During the COVID-19 lockdown, anatomy at the University of Zimbabwe and Midlands State University was taught in three parts, gross anatomy, histology and embryology, for a year (allied health students) or two years (medical and dental students). The topics covered in gross anatomy regional format were upper limb, lower limb, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, perineum, neuroanatomy, head and neck. The histology and embryology would correspond to those regions in gross anatomy. In gross anatomy, the students were required to know the structure, relations, vascular supply, innervation and clinical correlates. After each region, an exam was written that contributed to the course’s continuous assessment mark. The courses were described previously by Zilundu [ 27 ]. The current study participants are post high school university entrants. This is a major transition whereby “college students need to be more independent and self-organized in their learning behavior than in high school”. Research among low income setting students, like the present sample, noted a significant moderating effect of social adjustment on academic adjustment and transition experiences [ 34 ]. Therefore, self-regulated learning (SRL) skills became even more essential when switching to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow students to direct their own learning [ 35 ].

Preclinical medical students are post-high school students in Zimbabwe [ 27 ]. As younger adults, they need guidance and motivation to find their footing in self-regulated learning and subsequent lifelong learning. Motivation and the use of self-regulated learning strategies have been positively correlated with superior academic performance [ 36 ]. However, stress and maladaptive behaviors such as low self-control, low self-discipline, and disorganization, which are possible in remote learning settings, are usually associated with poor outcomes [ 37 ]. Therefore, self-regulated learning (SRL) skills became essential when switching to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 38 ].

The transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic created a critical research gap in how it affects self-regulated learning among preclinical medical students, especially in under-resourced settings like Zimbabwe. This shift was particularly impactful in anatomy education, which moved from hands-on dissection to virtual learning, potentially impairing essential skill and knowledge development. These challenges could be compounded by the difficulty of transitioning from high school to university education, that necessitates advanced SRL skills. This study seeks to address the urgent need to understand the effect of remote learning on SRL strategies crucial for the success of medical students. By exploring their challenges and adaptations, the research aims to guide the creation of educational interventions and models that enhance learning and support the academic and mental well-being of future healthcare professionals in similar environments. Therefore, this study was designed to use a phenomenological approach to highlight the lived experiences, self-regulation during anatomy study, and the potential impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the education of preclinical medical students in a low income setting.

Materials and methods

Study design.

This study used an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to explore the lived experiences of medical students learning anatomy during lockdown. IPA is a qualitative research method that seeks to understand the meaning and significance of people’s experiences through in depth, reflective inquiry [ 39 ]. According to Sparkes and Smith [ 40 ], human lived experience can be understood by examining the meanings that people ascribe to it. Since medical students in this study shared a common experience of learning anatomy during lockdown, focus group discussions were used as a data collection method. Focus group discussion, a research method involving a small participant group, centers around a specific topic to gather data. This approach is characterized by the interactions between the moderator and participants, and among the group members themselves whose aim is to provide researchers with insights into the participants’ views on the discussed subject [ 41 ].

Flowers, [ 42 ] argued that focus groups can enhance personal accounts by capitalizing on peer-to-peer interactions and rapport. This is particularly relevant in a homogeneous sample such as that of the present medical students, who share experiences and are emotionally invested in the same topic of exploring learning anatomy during the lockdown. Focus group data can also promote experiential insight and reflection that may not be achieved in an interview, thereby enriching the topic under study. Additionally, the researchers have prior experience using this approach in the design, conduct, and analysis of medical education studies [ 27 ]. The interpretive nature of IPA was particularly well suited for this study, as it builds on the researchers’ experience with this approach and its intersection with the self-regulated learning approach to medical education.

Study setting

University of Zimbabwe and Midlands State University. The two Universities, at the time, were part of three medical schools in the country and enrolled students from all the residential areas in Zimbabwe as they cater for all 10 provinces in the country.

Study participants

A total of 86 students comprising first- and second-year medical students registered at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and Midlands State University (MSU) who attended a compulsory anatomy course during the multiple COVID-19 lockdowns between March 2020 and September 2021 voluntarily participated in this study.

Recruitment of participants

Messages introducing the study (participant information sheet), a consent form and an invitation to participate were sent to all first- and second-year medical students enrolled at UZ and MSU via their WhatsApp groups opened for purposes of online learning. In the message was a link to Google forms that directed them to a data-gathering tool as well as flexible scheduling of online focus group discussion slots. Students who were willing to participate were asked to self-identify, return signed informed consent sheets and fill in the Google Forms slots of the scheduled times that they would be available to take part in a focus group discussion of approximately 5 to 7 students each.

Data collection instruments

Focus group discussions were conducted following the guidelines contained in the Self-Regulated Learning Interview Schedule [ 43 ]. The Self-Regulated Learning Interview Schedule has 15 items covering self-evaluation, organization, transformation, goal-setting and planning, seeking information, keeping records and monitoring, environmental structuring, self-consequating, rehearsing and memorizing, seeking peer, teacher, or adult assistance, as well as reviewing tests, notes, and texts. Study participants described and reflected on how they used any of these during their anatomy learning when under lockdown.

Data collection

The focus group discussions comprising 5 to 7 participants were conducted by TC and PLMZ over the Zoom video conferencing platform. They were conducted serially until a point of saturation was reached, that is, after the 6th session. Saturation in focus group discussions refers to the point at which no new information or themes are observed in the data, indicating that enough data has been collected to understand the research topic [ 28 ]. They normally lasted one to one and a half hours each. The audios of the focus group discussions were recorded and stored securely. Data was collected from June to August 2021.

Data analysis

The audio recordings of the focus group discussions were transcribed verbatim by TC, FC and ABG. The transcripts were subjected to an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) using the approach described by Pietkiewicz and Smith [ 44 ]. First, the authors immersed themselves in the data by reading and rereading the transcripts. During this process, they made notes on the transcripts, highlighting distinctive phrases and emotional responses, as described by [ 44 ]. Next, the notes and transcripts were reviewed to identify initial emergent themes. These emergent themes were then scrutinized to identify relationships between them, leading to the generation of analytical theme clusters. Finally, the theme clusters were compared back to the original transcripts to ensure that they were representative of the data. Disagreements were discussed and reanalyzed until the final analysis was agreed upon in this iterative process.

The qualitative data were systematically analyzed using the converging coding process. All qualitative data were coded using a priori coding using the 15 strategies outlined in by Zimmerman and Pons [ 43 ]. Responses captured from the participants using Zoom recorder were grouped into four main self-regulated learning themes: cognition, metacognitive self-regulation, effort regulation and resource management. The data were analyzed qualitatively with notes written down initially from the student responses to the 15 questions in the interview guide.

Each strategy was analyzed to determine how it was affected by the COVID-19-induced lockdown. Students in different geographical locations were assessed on how they were positively and negatively affected by the lockdown. The locations were classified from low-density suburbs to rural areas, and the distribution in each class was noted. Adaptation to the home-based learning of anatomy was investigated by examining how each student faced every challenge to achieve their self-set goals. Associations between responses and demographics were analyzed to observe the common use of specific strategies within groups.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and Midlands State University (MSU) departments of anatomy and the Joint Research Ethics Committee (JREC/329/2021) approved this study. Informed consent was obtained from all students participating in this study prior to their involvement in this research.

A total of 13 focus group discussions were conducted with 86 participants (male = 36, female = 50). The age of the students ranged from 19 to 22 (20 ± 1.2) years. The distribution of residency was 8 for rural areas, 37 for low density, 20 for medium density and 21 for high density. Table  1 below shows the distribution of study participants by sex, residence area, learning institution and academic year.

Cognitive regulation

Organizing and transforming.

Most students who participated in the focus group discussions reported self-initiated rearrangement of instructional materials to improve learning. These students said that they recapped the objectives of each class and then grouped related information for easy understanding during lockdown learning. For example, one student mentioned that: “I normally just prefer listing down related information as well as tabulating differences so that my studying is neater” (#20, M, 22). Another student agreed: “I can list down structures found at every significant vertebral level” (#5, F, 21).

The majority of the students also compressed information into short notes. However, a minority struggled to organize learned information due to their fears of capturing incorrect information in the process and inadequate time to do so. A student in this group that struggled to organize learned information noted: “I do not usually organize my study because at the end of the day I am supposed to know everything, and with the vast of information and little time we have it is difficult” (#79, M, 22).

The use of an atlas alongside reading anatomy textbooks was noted by some students, as they claimed that it fills the gap that the dissection room was supposed to fill. Atlases helped visualize the information as well as used to annotate lecture content. A female student quipped that: “My atlas textbook is almost like my dissection cadaver at home” (#11, F, 22). Another reported that she uses the atlas reduce lecture content by “annotating lecturer notes on the pictures in the atlas” (#30, F, 22). A greater fraction of students from both universities reported that organizing their anatomy study and content while studying the subject at home was rewarding.

Rehearsing and memorizing

In their study of anatomy during the COVID-19 lockdown while at their respective homes, the students gave statements indicating self-initiated efforts to memorize material by overt or covert practice indicating that they employed a great deal of memorization and rehearsing. Almost all the students reported using this strategy frequently and in several ways. The majority of the students used commonly known mnemonics, while others preferred homemade mnemonics derived from common words in their home environment, such as the names of pets (#12, M, 20), siblings (#41, F, 20) and friends (#16, F, 21) For example, a commonly used strategy was captured by one student who noted the following: “I find mnemonics being the fast and easy way to bring back information, especially in an exam setting, because large sets of information are generally compressed to common words or statements” (#7, F, 21).

A minority of the students were not using mnemonics as they claimed to be “extra work” but used other techniques instead, such as “reproducing concepts through discussions with classmates” (#62, M, 22), “homemade notes” (#50, F, 19) and “self-initiated rehearsal sessions” (#33, F,23). One such student captured this as follows: “I might end up having a mini textbook for mnemonics, so it is better that I understand the concept only” (#02, M, 20).

Instead of mnemonics and self-study, a larger fraction of students who participated in the focus group discussions resorted to doing “mock presentations of the anatomy content” (#09, M, 22) that they would have learned to each other via the WhatsApp platform despite the challenges of electricity and internet access. The remainder reported not doing so because of “internet access problems and prohibitive costs” (#76, F, 21), especially those who were residing in remote and high-density areas during the lockdown period. These students, however, utilized their family members by conducting mock lecturing sessions just to help them recall the anatomy they would have learned or been reading from textbooks. For instance, one student quipped: “I teach my mom or sister, even though they don’t understand it, but it helps me remember.” (#22, F, 20) .

The majority of the students also used paper as well as soft copy “flashcards” (#70, M, 21) that have “questions, short statements, and reminders that they would stick on several places in their homes”. The students reported that they found it challenging to memorize structures and relations without dissection, so they used atlases such as Gray’s Atlas of Anatomy and Netter’s Essential Histology for both gross anatomy and histology, respectively. In addition, they said it was easier to recall a photographic image than written statements. Some students preferred using their artistic abilities to draw anatomical structures as part of their memorizing.

Meta-cognitive regulation

Self-evaluation.

Self-evaluation during the lockdown was necessary for the anatomy students to keep themselves in check to effectively monitor their study habits. The whole sample of students who participated in the focus group discussions showed self-initiated evaluation of the quality and progress of their work in different ways. The majority revised anatomy using multiple choice questions (MCQs) obtained from several internet anatomy sites. They also set their own questions before and after the study to check their progress. Many students echoed the following sentiment of one student: “I find MCQs being the most useful tool to evaluate my study because they indicate areas of weakness to me” (#44, M, 23).

The students also “wrote notes from memory and compared them with the anatomy textbook” (#47, M, 21) to show them how much information they obtained from their study. Some students also utilized their peers using online platforms such as WhatsApp during the discussions to see how much they were lacking in comparison to other students. The following statement by one student received concurrence from the majority of the group members during discussions: “My discussion group helps me see where I am, relative to others, and then I know the amount of effort that I need to put in later on” (#45, F, 20). However, some students reported facing challenges in carrying out such as a “lack of a reliable internet connection” (#54, M, 22) as well as “failing to synchronize the lockdown-era learning schedule” (#38, F, 21) and peers’ free time with “household chores” (#65, F, 21). For instance, one said: “It is hard to constantly have discussions at a fixed (time) because anyone can get caught up with anything at any time” (#19, F, 20).

Some students reported resorting to “spaced repetition and retrieval” (#80, M, 21) in which they repeated anatomical information over spaced intervals to remember and judge how much they remember.

Goal setting and planning

The majority of the students reported that they were able to set goals and plans for sequencing, timing, and completing activities related to learning anatomy during the lockdown. However, a minority of students reported having “less time to fulfil the set goals” (#64, M, 20). They reported that the home environment, especially in high-density areas, did not have space for effective study undisturbed, while others, especially females, noted that “household chores” (#77, F, 21) assigned to them at home made it hard to set goals, plan and follow them. They were demotivated to continue with meticulous goal setting such that they ended up stopping carrying out study plans over time. Both male and female students reported similar patterns of goal setting and work planning.

Some students chose to balance their attention on all courses instead of just anatomy during the lockdown period. However, they largely admitted that anatomy is challenging, leading to the subject receiving more attention than others, as captured below:

“I plan to spend 60% of my week’s study time reading anatomy because it is tough and then divide the rest into other courses” (#37, M. 22).

“I draft timetables because they prevent the overlapping of Anatomy study into sessions for other courses” (#03, M, 20).

Female students highlighted experiencing more disruptions to their set goals due to disproportionate participation in household chore compared to their male counterparts. For example:

“It’s hard to plan and set goals knowing that there are high chances of not being able to achieve them with all disturbances at home” (#84, F, 19).

“It is hard to follow timetables when at home… being a woman at home you get to perform most of the duties such as cleaning, cooking, laundry and taking care of younger children, something male members of the family do not do, I guess it’s the culture” (#57, F, 21).

Overall, studying from home during the COVID-19-induced lockdown was generally viewed as challenging, with female students being affected more due to the patriarchal home environment as well as the skewed nature of the distribution of numerous “household duties falling on women” (#26, F, 20).

Keeping/reviewing records and monitoring anatomy learning during lockdown

Most of the students reported keeping records of the anatomy information they learned in many different forms for future use. However, a few focus group discussants did not keep records due to the challenges of revisiting citing the “heavy workload and limited time” (#14, M, 22) during the lockdown. The majority of such students were male.

The widely used record-keeping method was “note-taking during online lectures” (#13, M, 20) and when studying. Many students felt that this method helps them to boost their focus, as explained below: “I wrote some notes to keep myself motivated during studying, and I wrote down everything I got wrong in an exam to work on them as objectives.”

Other records were kept in form of “short notes” (#66, F, 20), “flashcards” (#18, F, 20), audio and even videos. Modifying the notes was done in successive study sessions as the students added more information. A small fraction of anatomy learners found it challenging to keep records, as they never had enough time to revisit them due to ever-increasing workloads and other competing needs in the home environment. One such student quipped: “It’s hard to write notes that you know you will never read them again in such pressure-filled times .” (#10, M, 21).

Reviewing handwritten notes, textbooks, and MCQs were widely used by the majority of the students. Many students reported that reviewing past MCQs was an effective tool in evaluating their level of learning and understanding as well as exam preparation and was mostly used by second-year anatomy students as shown below.

“I revise MCQs with my (handwritten) notes and also revisit the anatomy textbooks” (#07, F, 22).

“In the first year, I relied more on the textbook to prepare for anatomy examinations, but now I do MCQs then discuss with peers.” (#30, F, 22).

On the other hand, a minority reported that using MCQs just before exams increased panic and anxiety as exemplified by: “I cannot use MCQs just before an anatomy exam because I may panic by seeing several questions whose answers I do not know” (#41, F, 20).

Most students did not review textbooks before exams due to their large volumes of information in a short period, hence the use of notes, audio, YouTube videos and flashcards, but could do so in preparation for a discussion group with classmates.

Effort regulation

Environmental structuring.

Effort regulation refers to the student’s ability to continue performing a task even when faced with inherent difficulties [ 44 ]. The majority of students who participated in the focus group discussions portrayed how they managed their anatomy studies on their own in different environments during the lockdown. Some students residing in high-density suburbs and rural areas had “trouble finding a conducive study environment” (#71, M, 20), with most of them resorting to studying at night when most family members are asleep, as captured by some below:

“I need to check what my environment is like before I sit to study” (#61, F, 19).“It is hard to find a quiet place unless, during night time, that is why I study during the night” (#25, M, 22).

On the other hand, a few students who stayed in low-density suburbs that provided a quiet, clean and isolated environment during lockdown could not care much about the state of the surroundings for studying anatomy, as one noted below:

“I am not much affected by my environment at home” (#54, M, 22).

However, studying at new places was found to be “motivating” (#85, F, 21); hence, some students rotated around their homes trying to find suitable places to study anatomy during the lockdown. The use of music during the study was noted by some students as an effective tool to support effort regulation, while some students opted for “total silence for maximum concentration” (#23, F, 20).

Self-consequences

Statements indicating self-initiated imagination of rewards or punishment for success or failure to achieve self-set goals were noted in approximately half of the focus group discussions participants. Many students reported rewarding themselves more than punishment, as they felt that there was no need to punish themselves if the “workload was already heavy” (#73, M, 19). Those who rewarded themselves did so by temporarily stopping reading for a while to gain motivation, spending time with the family, watching television, surfing the internet and visiting social media. For example:

“I feel like my end goal is to pass exams so better I motivate myself by constant rewards than punishments” (#33, F, 23).

A few students punished themselves by depriving themselves of social media, friends, and family time until a specific task was completed. Other students never used any of the two strategies, as they said that passing is the reward and studying hard is the price for it.

“I am punished and rewarded by my result on the exam results noticeboard, so I don’t do it myself” (#49, F, 21).

Resource management

Seeking social assistance (elder, teacher and tutor, peers).

All students who participated in the focus group discussions reported seeking educational assistance from either an elder/mentor in medical school, a lecturer, a tutor, or peers. Most students mentioned being uncomfortable seeking assistance from their lecturers but could frequently approach their tutors (BSc intercalated anatomy students) instead:

“I find it hard to text my lecturer so I usually pass my question to the tutors” (#65, F, 21).

The use of mentors/elders, especially those who are streams ahead, was noted, as students preferred someone who once studied anatomy and understands for emotional support:

“Parents and friends were necessary for emotional support, as students needed constant mental support during the pandemic.” (#01, F, 22).

The majority of students showed that the assistance that comes from a peer was very helpful. This was noted as many students raised the issue of discussion groups being the best learning platform at all times, especially toward Anatomy exams”.

“… my discussion group is almost my everything from academic to emotional support because we are in the same boat and we face everything together.” (#40, M, 22).

Team work was a very useful tool in anatomy studies during the pandemic season, as the students stayed connected in their work and discussions through social media.

Seeking information

The ability to search for information from several online sources was important in studying anatomy during the lockdown, where the student had to hunt for the source of information to keep up with the subject content and everyone else. The majority of students looked for information mostly online through Google searches, retrieving uploaded videos, and classmates.

“I go online to check textbooks, notes and videos to try and understand more about what I know already” (#58, M, 21).

Some students preferred to search for other texts online just to remain motivated on the subject. Social media platforms such as WhatsApp were used more commonly to ask for books, notes, videos, recordings and extra sources of anatomical information from colleagues. A few students preferred sticking to the recommended anatomy textbooks to minimize confusion between texts as well as because of the limited time.

“I already have no time to finish up all the anatomy books. So, why do l have to fish for other books?” (#72, F, 20).

However, a considerable number of students reported facing “poor internet connectivity” in some areas of Zimbabwe, as almost all the accessible sources for anatomy during remote learning were available online. This was captured by representative students, one lived in a rural setting and another in a medium density suburb:

“in my rural environment, the network boosters are far apart and mobile internet connectivity was very poor and often offline whenever there was no ZESA ( electricity )” (#63, M, 20).

“I lived in the city but with frequent power outages and expensive broadband internet activity, sometimes the only time I could access mobile internet to study would very late in the night” (#29, F, 22).

The study aimed at exploring how anatomy learners in a low-income country employed self-regulated learning skills during the Covid-19 lockdown induced distance learning. The ten focus group discussions that were conducted involving 86 students showed that anatomy learners at UZ and MSU demonstrated use of self-directed learning skills during the COVID-19 remote learning period. They showed mostly relatively similar use of cognitive, meta-cognitive and effort regulation despite their differences in gender, socioeconomic background or academic year.

The present study revealed that learning anatomy during lockdown was very challenging due to the absence of physical interactive learning, poor internet connectivity, disturbances at home and the absence of cadaver dissection and histology practicals. As a result, the students resorted to directing their learning as an adaptative strategy to pandemic-induced online remote learning. The study has shown that the majority of students were able to reorganize and transform as well as employ rehearsal and memorizing techniques despite the several challenges faced during home learning. The majority of the students actively utilized different cognitive and metacognitive skills in self-regulating learning anatomy during the lockdown. However, a minority reported some challenges partially due to COVID-19-induced home learning warranting a look back so that similar problems could be approached by anatomy teachers in the future.

The present study’s findings are concordant with previous studies that have shown that students can also initiate task transformation for effective learning [ 25 ]. During the home-based learning of anatomy, students from both universities (UZ and MSU) found ways to tackle the vast anatomical information by rearranging, transforming and selecting the required information. This was done by the use of homemade mnemonics, drawings, tables and paraphrased notes. However, experts in cognitive and educational psychology have questioned the utility of some of these learning techniques, such as the use of mnemonics, for the majority of students [ 30 ]. Therefore, while current students reported using and drawing some benefit from the said techniques, further research is needed to identify which techniques have generalizable effects.

In the present study, most students relied on memorizing and rehearsing to effectively understand anatomy content during the lockdown. Due to the absence of physical peer-to-peer interaction, students tended to mock-teach close family members to try and memorize anatomy content. They also asked family members to test them on specific anatomy concepts and content. The students also utilized atlases, mnemonics, sticky notes and repeated reading. This way of learning portrays the skills of self-regulated learning [ 14 ].

Some students who participated in the present study reported using mnemonics created in native Zimbabwean languages which proved to be useful in their understanding of anatomy basing on their testimonies. Mnemonics are useful only for memorization and are not tools for higher-order learning skills such as analysis, understanding or application [ 45 ]. They only encourage shallow learning rather than developing an in-depth understanding of concepts in learning [ 32 ]. It is important for teachers to be aware of the mnemonics their students are using, as these can be valuable tools for learning. However, it is also important to check these mnemonics for mistakes, as students may not be creating them accurately. Teachers can help students create accurate mnemonics by providing them with examples of mnemonics that work well and by teaching them how to create their own mnemonics. They can also help students check their mnemonics for mistakes by asking them to explain how the mnemonic works or by having them quiz each other on the information that the mnemonic is supposed to help them remember.

One of the key aspects of memorizing anatomy concepts is visualization, which was aided by the use of cadavers during campus learning time. However, at home, the students utilized online 3D anatomy software and atlases that worked efficiently to boost learning and appreciation of spatial relationships between anatomical structures in lieu of actual dissection and teamwork.

In the present study, it was observed that students were able to control their thoughts and actions, hence showing meta-cognitive skills use in anatomy learning. With reduced constant supervision, the skill was employed differently among anatomy learners in both universities during COVID-19-induced home learning. The majority of the students were able to self-evaluate, set goals, plan their work, and keep, monitor and review the information records in several different ways. Studies have examined the use of metacognition in the learning of anatomy before [ 46 ] and after the COVID-19 lockdown [ 47 ]. In Zimbabwe, students were finding challenges in meta-cognitively monitoring their anatomy learning due to several factors, such as the nonfixed learning schedules during the pandemic or disruptions caused by doing household chores. However, students were planning their study for a shorter period (within a few days) and monitored their notes regularly to keep the information easy to recall. They also worked with other students to evaluate each other using online platforms such as WhatsApp.

Self-evaluation skills are necessary at every stage of self-regulated learning, especially for anatomy learners who have to cover a large amount of information in a short period. The students used multiple-choice questions, online discussions and homemade review questions to evaluate their own learning. These results indicated that anatomy learners at UZ and MSU were able to evaluate themselves at home during the self-reflection phase of self-regulated learning amid challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic [ 16 ]. The use of self-evaluation by anatomy students before the lockdown [ 48 ] and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has been noted as an important tool that provides room for improvement [ 49 ]. The results from the current study on self-evaluation reports are in agreement with those of previous studies that evaluated its use among medical students and particularly anatomy learners in India [ 47 ] and in the USA [ 47 ]. Zimbabwean anatomy learners at UZ and MSU developed self-evaluation strategies to compensate for the reduced in-person discussions, quiz sessions and practice tests. Family members were utilized to evaluate the learner by employing randomly set questions and presentations as a way to use a multisensory learning strategy.

Due to the different environments in which students lived, a wide range of evaluation strategies were employed. The students who lived in remote areas did not have reliable internet connections to engage in online academic activities like their peers. Hence, such students are more prone to depression, less motivation [ 50 ], and even poor academic performance than expected [ 51 ]. However, while many studies in resource-limited settings listed similar challenges with the internet, overall anatomy learning has largely been reported as comparable to pre-pandemic levels [ 52 ]. Future studies must find connections between different student circumstances and academic performance as well as posit solutions that would be relevant in crisis and normal education times.

Self-initiated study plans and goals are crucial in the learning of anatomy, which is a content-heavy subject [ 25 ]. Most students from both institutions in the present study planned and set goals for their daily and weekly studies. However, a minority showed weakness in this skill, mainly due to disturbances at home. For instance, participating in household chores, attending to visitors and other unplanned events disrupted plans and goal attainment during the lockdown period. This reflects the use of goal- and plan-setting strategies by anatomy students in Zimbabwean medical schools, which is an element of the forethought phase of self-regulated learning [ 53 ]. Previous studies have shown results similar to those of this current study on the employment of self-initiated goals and plans. A study conducted in the USA [ 54 ] before and during the COVID-19 lockdown showed that anatomy students planned and set goals. Anatomy learners in Zimbabwe planned and set goals to make it easier to study anatomy. This skill is an important lifelong tool in different aspects of life, of keynote in the medical field [ 55 ]. However, a minority have also faced challenges due to the instability of home environments, which slowed down the student’s work rate. Most Zimbabwean female students reported more difficulties due to frequent house chores and related disturbances. Student residency [ 52 ] and gender [ 56 ] have previously been shown to affect learning differently. Several studies have reported that many students generally face challenges in learning anatomy at home and eventually become worried and stressed over their study progress [ 57 ]. Therefore, it is crucial for anatomy educators to be aware of the breadth of students’ challenges so that they can offer support.

Students at UZ and MSU kept records of past online lectures, tutorials, personal study sessions and discussions in the form of short notes, audio, videos and pictures for future use, hence proving a meta-cognitive skill in anatomy learning that reflected their metacognitive skills in the performance phase [ 58 ]. Previous studies have shown results similar to those obtained in the current study. A study that was performed in Spain showed that anatomy students kept track of what they had learned for future reference as self-regulators [ 59 ]. Note writing, as a way of keeping simplified and compressed information, also motivated students during their studying and online lecture sessions. Some students were not able to revise their notes due to the vast information they had to take in every daytime as well as accumulated over time. Students who stayed in remote areas of Zimbabwe depended more on their self-kept records to frequently visit and revise because they could not participate more frequently in online classes, which proved to be useful.

In the performance phase of self-regulated learning, effort regulation is an essential skill during home-based anatomy learning [ 60 ]. Self-control was assessed in students during focus group discussions, and students generally showed abilities to govern their environments and actions by self-reward and punishment in different ways, which is effort regulation. Challenges in sustaining effort were widely reported, but some students could still adapt during the lockdown, as was described previously in a similar study [ 49 ].

Environmental structuring is an important aspect of student learning during the COVID-19-induced phase of online learning at home [ 61 ]. The environment affects the productivity of students’ learning, as noted previously [ 62 ]. Some students structured their environment to be suitable for effective study before time. Students from different residential areas managed their environments differently. For instance, students who resided in high-density residential areas and semi-urban and rural areas were greatly affected by the lockdown, even though they came up with ways to manage even in such places. Other studies have reported similar results to those of the current study, showing that students could also manage their study environment during the pandemic lockdown [ 62 ]. Self-isolation from other family members was used to reduce disturbances and boost their focus during the anatomy study. Most students tended to utilize the night time more than they normally did before the lockdown. This change in study time was to escape the busy and noisy daytime at home. Music was also used to close out the noise at home, and some students gained concentration through it [ 63 ]. Concentration and motivation to study are affected by the environment; hence, anatomy students in Zimbabwe regulate their environment to achieve personal study goals.

Self-reward and punishment are required for the learner to control their actions and increase motivation [ 64 ]. The current study reviewed how first- and second-year anatomy learners at UZ and MSU controlled themselves when studying anatomy during the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The majority rewarded themselves mainly with food, social media and sleep. Upon achieving a specific study goal, students tend to reward and punish themselves accordingly, hence showing an element of self-control [ 65 ]. This is in line with reports from other studies concerning the balance between self-reward and punishment [ 66 ]. Students had minimum supervision at home over their studies compared to the time they were on campus; hence, some controlled their actions by reward and punishment mechanisms to boost motivation and self-discipline, respectively [ 67 ]. Anatomy learning is difficult for most students [ 68 ]; hence, punishment after not reaching a specific self-set goal seemed to add pain to pain. Most students commonly rewarded themselves with more time on social media because it is the most commonly used form of leisure and entertainment and a way of connecting with other peers in several places. Students also rewarded themselves with sleep because it is an aspect of their lives that is commonly deprived due to long late-night studies. This was important in refreshing their minds and boosting motivation as well as confidence, which led to a healthy mental state.

The transition from campus to a home-based learning environment required the students to search for anatomy information from many sources. Most students studying anatomy in Zimbabwe sought information on the internet from online libraries. This finding showed that students were self-regulators by seeking information during the performance phase of the regulation process [ 69 ]. Studies in the USA have also examined the utilization of learning resources by medical students, which reflects results from the current study [ 69 ]. Most physical libraries closed in line with COVID-19 pandemic regulations, which is why students resorted to online libraries and information platforms. The main challenges faced by most students who resided in remote areas were limited internet data access and connectivity as well as resources to fund such pursuits [ 70 ]. A minority of the students could not search for extra sources of information beyond what was provided by the lecturer because of the limited information and to reduce confusion in their studies.

As part of self-directed resource utilization, seeking social assistance is an important strategy in the learning of anatomy. The results from the present study at two medical schools showed that students sought social assistance and that females reached out more for help than males, as previously reported by a study on university students at the University of Edinburgh [ 71 ]. Most students in the present study sought help with anatomy from peers, elders and teachers, which is in line with previous observations [ 65 ]. Harmon and colleagues recently demonstrated that anatomy students can utilize available resources to enhance their learning and academic performance [ 69 ]. However, most challenges were faced by students who could not obtain good internet connectivity, as they could not seek help from their friends, tutors and lecturers. Students at UZ and MSU preferred peer-to-peer interactions, which were also more common and comfortable than student-to-lecturer interactions. Family members played a crucial part in providing emotional and psychological support to the student during the home learning period; hence, the role of the family is significant, as noted in other studies [ 72 ]. Therefore, awareness of students’ help-seeking behaviors and student counseling during the lockdown was essential and could be incorporated into future student support systems.

Study limitations

The current study has some limitations. The study may not have captured a good picture of the student’s self-regulated learning behaviors due to the unequal numbers between students at UZ and MSU. Further studies must consider larger samples of medical students across many subjects in crises and normal times. The online questionnaire may have largely been responded to by those who had an internet connection at the time of data collection; hence, the majority of students in remote areas could not have fully participated. The online focus group discussions that were conducted using Zoom meetings were only attended by those who could also afford and access an internet connection. Future studies must provide equal opportunities for the full participation of all in the target population.

From this present phenomenological study, it has been noted that students were generally self-regulators despite the challenges they met during the COVID-19-induced home-based learning period. There was no specific difference in how the students from both universities directed their anatomy learning during lockdown. The effect of student location during lockdown had a significant effect on how students regulated learning, with grave challenges affecting students coming from low-income homes and remote areas. This study sheds light on the dynamic interplay between individual agency and external challenges faced by preclinical medical students in a low-income setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings underscore the necessity of adaptable, supportive educational frameworks that can accommodate the diverse needs of students, especially in times of crisis. The resilience, adaptability, and collaborative spirit demonstrated by the students offer valuable insights for future educational planning and the development of more inclusive and flexible learning environments.

Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due guarantees given to audio data confidentiality but quantitative data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all the students who participated in this study. We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to the UZ and MSU Anatomy departments for allowing us to give us permission to collect data from anatomy students. learners and creating a favorable environment for research. We are grateful to Ms. Phillipa, who accommodated us well in Gweru during data collection at MSU.

This research and manuscript was not funded by any external sources or organizations.

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PLMZ and FC conceived and planned the study. ABG and TC carried out the survey. PLMZ, FC, TC and ABG planned and carried out the focus group discussions. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results. ABG took the lead in writing the manuscript. All authors provided critical feedback and helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript.

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Chapupu, T., Gatsi, A.B., Chibhabha, F. et al. Self-regulated learning of anatomy during the COVID-19 lockdown period in a low-income setting. BMC Med Educ 24 , 548 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05329-x

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05329-x

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