Article 3: Transitioning from Face-to-Face to Remote Learning: Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions of using Zoom during COVID-19 Pandemic

From Digital Culture & Society

Serhan, D. (2020). "Transitioning from face-to-face to remote learning: Students’ attitudes and perceptions of using Zoom during COVID-19 pandemic." International Journal of Technology in Education and Science (IJTES), 4(4), 335-342.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1271211

Contents 1 Context 2 Overview 3 Strengths and Weaknesses 4 Assessment

[edit] Context

During the COVID-19 pandemic, students worldwide had to find digital alternatives to continue their education. The platform Zoom was the most popular option in which students could easily attend virtual conferences hosted by their administrators and engage with their classmates. For this reason, Serhan conducted a university-focused study in which he investigated the opinions and attitudes students had towards Zoom and its overall effectiveness. This study had a sample of 31 students and utilized a 5-point Likert-type survey as the method. Serhan also includes various international studies that he utilizes as examples and support for his own conclusions. The primary objective of this article is to provide a detailed account of the way students felt about Zoom in comparison to face-to-face education and gauge the platform’s effectiveness as an educational tool.

[edit] Overview

This article is separated by four distinct sections to relay the information in an organized manner: Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion. The first section details the difficulty students, faculty, and administration faced when transitioning from F2F learning to Zoom education. It addressed the question: How did people in the educational sphere (students, faculty) react to the implementation of Zoom? Since this was a sudden shift, many teachers and students did not have enough training with the platform to effectively navigate it. In one study based in Australia, a researcher found that Zoom created more feelings of isolation as students would often turn off their cameras and refuse to utilize their microphones during class. On the other hand, another study based in the U.S concluded that students pursuing health-related careers prefer to be interviewed on Zoom due to its user-friendliness and convenience. Moving on to the Method section where Serhan explains the student survey which ranged from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). This survey included four main sections: Student’s attitudes/opinions of Zoom, Student’s perspective of utilizing Zoom for learning, Student’s opinion of classroom engagement on Zoom, and Student’s perspective on the difference between in-person and remote learning. Then, the article shifts into the Results and Discussion category where Serhan details the results of the student survey. Here, he addresses the question: What are the student’s opinions, perspectives, and attitudes towards Zoom in terms of learning? Overall, the survey concluded that student’s had a negative attitude towards Zoom as an educational tool and found it ineffective for learning in comparison to F2F education. The students also listed advantages and disadvantages of the platform. Some advantages included flexibility, working from home, and comfortability while the disadvantages appeared to be increased distractions, unstable Wi-fi connection, and inability to stay focused. To conclude, the last section ties the article together by reasserting the student’s negative perspectives and including some recommendations on how to improve Zoom conferences in the future. This included providing resources like adequate training for teachers and students and a contingency plan to better deal with technological related issues.

[edit] Strengths and Weaknesses

This article is concise and effectively organized by section. Serhan successfully conducts his own study in the perspectives and attitudes students have towards Zoom, which gives him credibility to speak on the subject. He also provides thorough examples of international studies so the audience has a clear understanding of student opinions worldwide. I also think it was beneficial to provide both negative and positive student perspectives from different studies to create a comparison. Although he delivers a detailed article, there are a few weaknesses. I think the author could have included a larger sample of university studies to be more representative of their perspectives towards Zoom. Further, the author could have elaborated more about what specific challenges students faced when utilizing the platform.

[edit] Assessment

In conclusion, this article effectively achieves its objective in providing a detailed account of the way students felt about Zoom in comparison to face-to-face education. Serhan conducted a thorough study in which he questioned students on their perspectives about Zoom and the majority reported negative feelings associated with the platform. Here, he could conclude that Zoom is ineffective for students as an educational tool. The article also addresses the two main questions. It explained how the students reacted negatively to the sudden transition since they were unfamiliar with how to navigate the platform and many felt more isolated at home. Further, the students reported multiple disadvantages and advantages like inability to stay focused and flexibility, respectively. Thus, this article is a valuable resource in understanding the way university students perceived Zoom during the pandemic.

Vj23je 20:34, 30 November 2023 (EST)