Online Learning Readiness

As many of us end another term of teaching mostly online, I would like to share a recent 2021 article on the topic entitled, "Medication of Band-Aid? Revisiting University Students Readiness for Online Education" by Cinar, Ekici and Demir. The study explores students’ e-readiness for the changeover phase to online education. Over four hundred undergraduate students from 59 departments across 33 universities were recruited. The data collection tools consisted of a personal information form and an online education readiness scale. The results indicate that students’ readiness levels for online education were above average; have a high level of internet self-efficacy, yet their motivation towards learning is low. Lack of hardware; low interaction; inappropriate instructional methods; or a sense of isolation may have contributed to the decrease in motivation towards online learning.

Readiness differs significantly in computer ownership, internet connection, daily internet usage duration, gender, and online learning experience. Results showed that the grade year does not affect online education readiness. The authors found that as daily internet usage increases, online learning readiness also increases.

The authors conclude that "authentic online education studies focusing on course design, enhancement of interaction, and e-content development can contribute to up-to-date developments and foster the quality of the online education processes."

References

Cinar, M , Ekici, M , Demir, O . (2021). Medication of Band-Aid? Revisiting university students readiness for online education. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 22 (2). 176-191.