Distance Learning in Moroccan Higher Education: Students' Attitude towards ENS -Ecole Normale Superieure - Classroom Platform and Effective Recommendations

Mohamed Merouane El Hammoumi,Safaa El Youssfi

doi:10.13189/ujer.2020.082657

Abstract

Distance learning is developing at high speed in Morocco as well as in the rest of the world. With the inability to move from home due to the COVID 19 outbreak, it may seem obvious that it represents a solution and a good way to develop skills and knowledge and to guarantee academic continuity. As we live now in a society with constant social and cultural change, information and communication technologies have been contributing towards the construction of a new kind of society- the information society, where students need to be equipped with skills to do research, analyse and select knowledge from different paths and digital resources [1]. So, the purpose of this study is to find out about Moroccan university students' attitudes towards ENS Classroom platform which they have been using during quarantine and how they are discovering distance learning for the first time. The study revealed that although the platform has truly enabled them to overcome the distance that separates students from the university, a set of challenges appeared during their e-learning courses and hindered the best understanding and retention of the course content. The results are significant since they show how unsatisfied ENS students are towards their distance learning experience. The study also suggests a set of recommendations to cater for better academic outcomes.

Highlights

The entire world has been widely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, which pushed most governments around the world to close schools and universities temporarily and put an end to face-to-face courses and replace them with distance courses, with the aim of ensuring the continuity of academic programs and containing the spread of the virus
A questionnaire and an online interview were used as research methods to obtain information about the attitudes of ENS students towards distance learning and their experience with ENS classroom, and the extent to which they were satisfied with e-learning in general and the platform in particular
An interviewee states that ENS classroom provides a chatroom for the teachers to explain the lessons they post in the platform

Summary

Introduction

The entire world has been widely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, which pushed most governments around the world to close schools and universities temporarily and put an end to face-to-face courses and replace them with distance courses, with the aim of ensuring the continuity of academic programs and containing the spread of the virus. In this respect, the Moroccan government released a statement announcing its decision to suspend all school activities until further notice due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, known officially as COVID-19. Students can manage their time, and can take their courses remotely at any time

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Conclusion