This paper aimed to shad the light on the student’s online experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The coercitif of current situation by the unexpected circumstances caused by COVID-19 has led the universities around the globe to come up with an urgent solution and ideas to overcome those effected aspects of teaching and learning. Many universities have been compelled to close their doors and focus their efforts on online learning. Many universities has been forced to shut down the entire university and shifted onto online educational activities. The study targeted universities students in different university in Bahrain. To fulfill the study’s objectives, quantitative method was applied in this study. The major instrument for the study was a questionnaire, which was utilized to obtain the desired sample size. The study used Smart PLS to analy ze the gathered data. The study findings reported that students’ online experience on virtual education during the COVID-19 pandemic era seems to be different from physical learning; the majority of them believe that learning is better in physical classrooms than through online education. More engagements from the relevant authorities by put in place more legislation and strict regulations in order to ensure the process and the effectiveness of virtual education.
KeywordsCOVID-19Physical ClassroomsTechnology IssuesVirtual EducationTeaching and Assessment
Abi-Rafeh, J., &Azzi, A. J. (2020). Emerging Role of Online Virtual Teaching Resources for Medical Student Education in Plastic Surgery: COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 73, 1575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjps.2020.05.085
Aguilera-Hermida, A. P. (2020). College Students’ Use and Acceptance of Emergency Online Learning Due to COVID-19. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 1, Article ID: 100011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100011
Bahrain Ministry of Education (2021). List of Universities in Bahrain. https://www.mofa.gov.bh/Default.aspx?tabid=10813&language=ar-BH
Bao, W. (2020). COVID-19 and Online Teaching in Higher Education: A Case Study of Peking University. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2, 113-115. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.191
Beaunoyer, E., Dupéré, S., & Guitton, M. J. (2020). COVID-19 and Digital Inequalities: Reciprocal Impacts and Mitigation Strategies. Computers in Human Behavior, 111, 106424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106424
Bojovic, Z., Bojovic, P. D., Vujosevic, D., & Suh, J. (2020). Education in Times of Crisis: Rapid Transition to Distance Learning. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 28, 1467-1489. https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.22318
Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., Dong, J., & Zheng, J. (2020). The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on College Students in China. Psychiatry Research, 287, Article ID: 112934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934
Carroll, N., & Conboy, K. (2020). Normalising the “New Normal”: Changing Tech-Driven Work Practices under Pandemic Time Pressure. International Journal of Information Management, 55, Article ID: 102186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102186
Chakraborty, P., Arora, A., & Gupta, M. S. (2020). Opinion of Students on Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Human Behaviour and Emerging Technology, 3, 357-365. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.240
Chatterjee, I., & Chakraborty, P. (2020). Use of Information and Communication Technology by Medical Educators amid COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49, 310-324. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520966996
Chick, R. C., Clifton, G. T., Peace, K. M., Propper, B. W., Hale, D. F., Alseidi, A. A., & Vreeland, T. J. (2020). Using Technology to Maintain the Education of Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Surgical Education, 77, 729-732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.03.018
Copeland, W. E., McGinnis, E., Bai, Y., Adams, Z., Nardone, H., Devadanam, V., Hudziak, J. J. et al. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on College Student Mental Health and Wellness. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 60, 134-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.08.466
de Regt, A. et al. (2020). The Virtual Reality Chain. Business Horizons, 63, 737-748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.08.002
Dhawan, S. (2020). Online Learning: A Panacea in the Time of COVID-19 Crisis. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49, 5-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520934018
Diaz, M. C. G., & Walsh, B. M. (2021). Telesimulation-Based Education during COVID-19. The Clinical Teacher, 18, 121-125. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13273
Essadek, A., & Rabeyron, T. (2020). Mental Health of French Students during the COVID- 19 Pandemic. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 392-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.042
Gandhi, S., Srivastava, A. K., Ray, U., & Tripathi, P. P. (2020). Is the Collapse of the Respiratory Center in the Brain Responsible for Respiratory Breakdown in COVID-19 Patients? ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 11, 1379-1381. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00217
Graham, C. R. (2013). Emerging Practice and Research in Blended Learning. In Handbook of Distance Education (3rd ed., pp. 333-350). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203803738.ch21
Greenhow, C., & Galvin, S. (2020). Teaching with Social Media: Evidence-Based Strategies for Making Remote Higher Education Less Remote. Information and Learning Sciences, 121, 513-524. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-04-2020-0138
Grishchenko, N. (2020). The Gap Not Only Closes: Resistance and Reverse Shifts in the Digital Divide in Russia. Telecommunications Policy, 44, Article ID: 102004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2020.102004
Hasan, N., & Bao, Y. (2020). Impact of “e-Learning Crack-Up” Perception on Psychological Distress among College Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mediating Role of “Fear of Academic Year Loss”. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, Article ID: 105355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105355
Islam, M. A., Barna, S. D., Raihan, H., Khan, M. N. A., & Hossain, M. T. (2020). Depression and Anxiety among University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey. PLoS ONE, 15, e0238162. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238162
Jaeger, M. M., & Blaabaek, E. H. (2020). Inequality in Learning Opportunities during Covid-19: Evidence from Library Takeout. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 68, Article ID: 100524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100524
Jain, D., Chakraborty, P., & Chakraverty, S. (2018). Smartphone Apps for Teaching Engineering Courses: Experience and Scope. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 47, 4-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239518785166
Khan, A. H., Sultana, M. S., Hossain, S., Hasan, M. T., Ahmed, H. U., & Sikder, M. T. (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health & Wellbeing among Home-Quarantined Bangladeshi students: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 121-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.135
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining Sample Size for Research Activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308
Lembani, R., Gunter, A., Breines, M., & Dalu, M. T. B. (2020). The Same Course, Different Access: The Digital Divide between Urban and Rural Distance Education Students in South Africa. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 44, 70-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876
Li, Y. C., Wang, Y., Jiang, J. W., Valdimarsdóttir, U. A., Fall, K., Fang, F., Song, H., Lu, D. H., & Zhang, W. (2021). Psychological Distress among Health Professional Students during the COVID-19 Outbreak. Psychological Medicine, 51, 1952-1954. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720001555
Ministry of Health (2021). Bahrain’s Ministry of Education Announces the Operational Strategy for Educational Institutions under the COVID-19 Alert Level Traffic Light System. https://healthalert.gov.bh/en/article/News-139756
Mishra, L., Gupta, T., & Shree, A. (2020). Online Teaching-Learning in Higher Education during Lockdown Period of COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 1, Article ID: 100012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100012
Nash, C. (2020). Report on Digital Literacy in Academic Meetings during the 2020 COVID- 19 Lockdown. Challenges, 11, 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe11020020
Osina, D. M., Tolstopyatenko, G. P., & Malinovsky, A. A. (2020). Digitalization of Higher Legal Education in Russia in the Age of Covid-19. In International Scientific and Practical Conference (pp. 392-398). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53277-2_47
Patsali, M. E., Mousa, D. P. V., Papadopoulou, E. V., Papadopoulou, K. K., Kaparounaki, C. K., Diakogiannis, I., & Fountoulakis, K. N. (2020). University Students’ Changes in Mental Health Status and Determinants of Behavior during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Greece. Psychiatry Research, 292, 113298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113298
Raja, M. A. S., & Kallarakal, T. K. (2020). “COVID-19 and Students Perception about MOOCs” a Case of Indian Higher Educational Institutions. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 18, 450-474.
Ray, S., & Srivastava, S. (2020). Virtualization of Science Education: A Lesson from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Proteins and Proteomics, 11, 77-80.
Sandhu, P., & de Wolf, M. (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum. Medical Education Online, 25, Article ID: 1764740. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2020.1764740
Savage, M. J., James, R., Magistro, D., Donaldson, J., Healy, L. C., Nevill, M., & Hennis, P. J. (2020). Mental Health and Movement Behaviour during the COVID-19 Pandemic in UK University Students: Prospective Cohort Study. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 19, Article ID: 100357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2020.100357
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2019). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Skulmowski, A., & Rey, G. D. (2020). COVID-19 as an Accelerator for Digitalization at a German University: Establishing Hybrid Campuses in Times of Crisis. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2, 212-216. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.201
Vasiliadou, R. (2020). Virtual Laboratories during Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 48, 482-483. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21407
Yan, Z. (2020). Unprecedented Pandemic, Unprecedented Shift, and Unprecedented Opportunity. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2, 110-112.
Zhu, X., & Liu, J. (2020). Education in and after Covid-19: Immediate Responses and Long-Term Visions. Postdigital Science and Education, 2, 695-699. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00126-3