K-12 Students’ Online Learning Experiences during COVID-19: Lessons from China

Online learning is currently adopted by educational institutions worldwide to provide students with ongoing education during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Even though online learning research has been advancing in uncovering student experiences in various settings (i.e., tertiary, adult, and professional education), very little progress has been achieved in understanding the experience of the K‐12 student population, especially when narrowed down to different school‐year segments (i.e., primary and secondary school students). This study explores how students at different stages of their K‐12 education reacted to the mandatory full‐time online learning during the COVID‐19 pandemic. For this purpose, we conducted a province‐wide survey study in which the online learning experience of 1,170,769 Chinese students was collected from the Guangdong Province of China. We performed cross‐tabulation and Chi‐square analysis to compare students’ online learning conditions, experiences, and expectations. Results from this survey study provide evidence that students’ online learning experiences are significantly different across school years. Foremost, policy implications were made to advise government authorises and schools on improving the delivery of online learning, and potential directions were identified for future research into K‐12 online learning. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Online learning has been widely adopted during the COVID‐19 pandemic to ensure the continuation of K‐12 education.Student success in K‐12 online education is substantially lower than in conventional schools.Students experienced various difficulties related to the delivery of online learning. What this paper adds Provide empirical evidence for the online learning experience of students in different school years.Identify the different needs of students in primary, middle, and high school.Identify the challenges of delivering online learning to students of different age. Implications for practice and/or policy Authority and schools need to provide sufficient technical support to students in online learning.The delivery of online learning needs to be customised for students in different school years.

Online learning has now become a prominent characteristic of global higher education, and students’ experiences of online learning have become a focal issue in research on online learning. This is not only the premise for assessing the quality of online learning but also the key to promoting regional equity in higher education. This study drew upon the theoretical framework for experiences of online learning, adopting the methods of analysis of variance, multivariable linear regression, Shapley value decomposition, and so on to examine regional differences in college students’ experiences of online learning and influencing factors on the basis of a survey of 226,679 students at 334 institutions of higher education across the country during the pandemic. The study found that both students’ online learning outcomes and their satisfaction exhibited characteristics whereby Eastern China was the best, followed by Central China, and Western China was the worst. Although the regional expression of each factor influencing experiences of online learning also exhibited the aforementioned characteristics, comparatively speaking, technological platforms had the biggest regional differences. Furthermore, social interactions, technological platforms, and environments were the most important factors influencing experiences of online learning among students at institutions of higher education in Eastern, Central, and Western China, and they were also important explanatory factors resulting in regional differences in learning experiences. The most important influencing factors with respect to learning satisfaction were course content and design, while the most important influencing factor with respect to learning outcomes was the learners themselves. This conclusion points to an avenue for improvement of online learning at institutions of higher education in different regions.

BACKGROUND:Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has become the main method of instruction. This study aimed to evaluate Moroccan medical students' perceptions of medical online learning experience and to list its probable related advantages and barriers.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional study on 400 medical students randomly selected from the different national medical institutions was conducted. A questionnaire evaluating the online learning experience during the pandemic was distributed via institutional e-mails. Statistical analyses were carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).RESULTS:51.2% of students were satisfied with the online learning experience and reported several benefits including no need to travel (35.8%), cost savings (20.7%), and flexibility of home studying (32.3%). Technical issues related to the use of platforms or internet connection, limited interaction between students and their instructors, and lack of motivation were the major barriers to online learning. Moreover, results also showed a significant difference when comparing the attendance frequency between presential classes and online learning (i.e., before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic) (P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:The experience of medical online learning was reported in our study to be associated to several advantages and disadvantages. Hence, students' perceptions should be considered to evaluate and improve the quality of this instructional method for a successful and more active approaches implementation.

Higher Education is in the midst of a digital revolution, with institutions bidding to harness the potential of technology. Periods of online learning experienced during recent times have accelerated the move towards widespread adoption, affording institutions the opportunity to evaluate and reflect on digitally mediated approaches. This report focuses on student (n = 584) and staff (n = 54) experiences of online teaching and learning in a large UKHEI Psychology department. Findings from mixed methods surveys suggest that while staff and students were largely satisfied with the online teaching and learning experience, differences were evident in undergraduate and postgraduate perceptions. Further, a thematic analysis identified emergent themes from staff (teaching and working online, student engagement with online learning and looking to the future) and student (experiences of emergency provision, accessing support, and teaching methods) qualitative responses. This paper reflects on how the perceptions and experience of online learning will influence the future success of flexible online learning in a post-pandemic era of Higher Education.

IntroductionSince digital transformation has become a priority in the higher education landscape, it is unlikely that higher education institutions will return to traditional face-to-face teaching and learning. Many higher education institutions have adopted a hybrid approach to teaching and learning in a post-Covid-19 setting. This unplanned forced change has raised concerns about the quality of online teaching and learning, as well as issues related to the student experience thereof. Therefore, it is necessary to consider possible factors that may influence students’ perceived enjoyment of the online teaching and learning experience. To date, very few studies have considered the antecedents of perceived enjoyment of online teaching and learning. The purpose of this paper was to determine the influence of selected factors of online teaching and learning on the perceived enjoyment of students.MethodsQuantitative data was collected, and the final sample consisted of 501 students enrolled at higher education institutions.ResultsThe findings showed that cognitive benefits, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are statistically significantly correlated with students’ perceived enjoyment of the online learning experience.DiscussionThe current study contributes to existing knowledge regarding the intention of continued use of online teaching and learning. The findings of this study are also practically relevant for enhancing students’ online learning experiences in a post-Covid-19 setting.

This research aims to evaluate the level of postsecondary student satisfaction with online learning platforms and learning experiences during the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This paper is based on the premise of transformative learning theories [1], which describe the learners’ authority and investment over their learning. Quantitative research was carried out using a survey that was sent out to 283 students enrolled at one higher education institution in KSA. These data were analyzed using SPSS. Average Mean Score (AMS) was used for data analysis, where the results are validated using the Standard Deviation (SD), Skewness and Kurtosis test, and Cronbach Alpha test. The research findings revealed that the students are satisfied with the university staff and faculty members who agreed on specific online platforms to use, grading system, assessment options, training workshops, online technical support, and more. The research findings also showed that participants were highly satisfied with Google Hangouts the most for lecture delivery, followed by Google Classroom and LMS (Moodle) for course management and assessments. With only respect to the students’ online learning experiences, the COVID-19 situation within this study context was handled adequately. This study calls for further research into the integration of professional development workshops and practical training courses for online learning and teaching to endorse innovative teaching techniques and alternative assessment plans for instructors, learners, administrators, and policymakers.

Studies have been conducted on university students’ continuous intention to learn online from the perspectives of learning motivation and capability, perceptions or attitudes, and online learning experiences. However, few have examined how the above factors will relate to each other and contribute to students’ online learning intention. This research explored 94 university students’ online learning attitudes and experiences in a blended course. The researchers investigated the changes in the participants’ attitudes toward online learning and the relationships between their self-regulated learning capability, online interactions, attitudes, and online learning intention. These students participated in a pre- and post-survey at the beginning and end of the course. They also completed six weekly reports commenting on their learning activities of the week. At the end of the course, interviews were administered to eight participants to gather detailed information about their online learning experiences. It was found that (a) the participants’ online learning attitudes were generally positive and increased when completing the course; and (b) the participants’ continuous intention to learn online was significantly predicted by four self-regulatory factors and attitudes, mediated through perceived online social interactions. The analysis of the interviewees’ further comments provided more insights about the potential factors contributing to their online learning attitude changes. The strategies for future online course design with a view of improving students’ self-regulated learning skills are discussed in this paper.

The experiences of students in first-year university modules continue to be an area of global interest. The grand narrative in higher education literature during the COVID-19 pandemic was students’ experiences with online learning challenges. This paper departs from this narrative to focus on students’ best online experiences at one public higher education institution in one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. The study was a mixed-method instrumental case study in a predominantly ‘face-to-face’ institution before the pandemic. Our theoretical architecture employed Connectivism (Siemens 2005) learning theory closely aligned with collaborative learning. We draw on the data from one campus, in a large class where 667 first-year students were asked to complete an online questionnaire (a high response rate of 35% was achieved). Students’ best online teaching and learning experiences included their supportive lecturers, enhanced interactions and engagement with the lecturer, easy access to teaching and learning materials uploaded to the ‘learn’ platform and access to technological advancements and training, which led to improved online skills. Given students’ best teaching and learning experiences, we recommend upscaling the study with a larger sample of first-year modules across multiple campuses of the institution. There is the potential to provide the impetus for fashioning a more nuanced hybrid teaching and learning environment for first-year students in the future. We recommend, for the future, a greater balance in the curriculum between multiple modes of instruction. Keywords: COVID-19, online learning, connectivism, students’ experiences

This study aimed to gain a better understanding of nursing/midwifery students' perspectives on a pedagogy of caring and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it aimed to determine if the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students' perceptions and experience of online learning and students' desire to enter the nursing/midwifery workforce. Mixed methods. A multi-centre cross-sectional survey of Australian nursing and midwifery students was undertaken to explore students' experience of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several key findings from this study that may be relevant for the future delivery of undergraduate health education, students transitioning to practice and healthcare workforce retention. The study found that although students were somewhat satisfied with online learning during COVID-19, students reported significant issues with knowledge/skill acquisition and barriers to the learning process. The students reported feeling less prepared for practice and identified how clinical staff were unable to provide additional guidance and support due to increased workloads and stress. The textual responses of participants highlighted that connection/disconnection, empathy and engagement/disengagement had an impact on learning during COVID-19. Connection, engagement and isolation were key factors that impacted nursing students' online learning experiences. In addition, graduates entering the workforce felt less prepared for entry into practice due to changes in education delivery during COVID-19 that they perceived impacted their level of clinical skills, confidence and ability to practice as new graduate nurses/midwives. Not applicable. Attention must be given to the transition of new graduate nurses and midwives whose education was impacted by pandemic restrictions, to support their professional career development and to ensure retention of future healthcare workforce. Connection, engagement and isolation were key factors that impacted nursing students' online learning experiences. Educators should consider how connection and engagement can be actively embedded in the online learning environment.

Purpose–This paper attempted to describe the online learning self-efficacy of Teacher education students from two groups with and without prior online learning experience in one state university in the Philippines. It further determined whether the self-efficacy of the two groups are comparable as to learning in the online environment, time management, and technology use. Methodology–The researchers utilized the Online Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (OLSES) to collect the necessary data to assess and compare the level of online learning self-efficacy of the respondents from the two groups. Three hundred and eighty-seven Teacher Education students with and without prior online learning experienceparticipated in the study. Results–The study revealed that both groups rated their self-efficacy in learning in the online environment, time management, and technology use as very good. However, the students with online learning experience yielded a relatively higher online learning self-efficacy in all three domains compared to the students without an online learning experience. The study further showed that there is no significant difference in the online learning self-efficacy betweenthe two groups. Conclusion–The Teacher Education students assessed their online learning self-efficacy as very good regardless of their online learning experience. Based on the results of the study, since the p-values of all variables do not exceed the critical value of 0.05, the null hypotheses were all accepted. This implied that there is no statistical difference that exists in the online learning self-efficacy of the students from the two groups.Recommendation–The academic institution, instructors, and students should include the online learning self-efficacy of the students in designing a comprehensive online learning program. It is also recommended to conduct experimental research and explore other demographic factors for future research directions to substantiate the results of the present study.Practical Implications–The higher education institutions would be able to develop a comprehensive design of online delivery of teaching and learning, grounded on the self-efficacy in online learning of the students, to accommodate the needs of various students who lack learning experiences in the context of online learning.

The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic provide opportunities to improve dental education. This study explored students’ experiences of emergency remote learning (ERL). A descriptive, cross-sectional, online survey was sent to 154 Bachelor of Dentistry students at the University of the Witwatersrand in October 2020. The questionnaire included questions about demographics and 25 questions about device ownership, data and Internet usage, online teaching and learning experiences, and future needs. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential tests and content analysis. The survey response rate was 67.5% (99/154). After ERL, 63.3% fewer respondents preferred contact teaching over online teaching, while more preferred mostly online (percentage change of 216.7%) and some online components (percentage change of 80.6%). The number of respondents with no preferred modality decreased by 88.2% from before to after ERL. Respondents’ main reasons for preferring contact learning before ERL (n=51) were that it ‘allows more interaction’ (n=30) and having had ‘no or limited experience of online learning’ (n=9). Beyond ERL, the main reason for preferring online learning was ‘promotes effective learning’ (n=20). Changes in respondents’ preferred teaching modalities after ERL have important implications for integrating online learning into the dental curriculum.

Technologies bring a new era of content presentation for online teaching and learning. With more instructors adopting new tools to design online teaching materials, students are often put into learning contexts with certain new design components. Assessing learner experience and outcome in these contexts is challenging because of the complexity involved, as social and individual factors and behavioural impacts of using the new components have to be considered. Few studies have been reported in the literature identifying behavioural factors of learners' online learning experience when they interact with the content. Factors that affect learners' online learning experience, especially the affect factors, are less understood. This study therefore proposed and tested a model that explains the relationships among the affect factors and outcome behaviours of participants' online learning experience, taking into account individual difference, and employing a comparison based on a difference in content presentation. The data were collected from a professional training course offered by a university in the United States. The results support the assumption that time spent in study affects learning outcome and other outcome related behaviours. Also, positive relations between perceived quality of content design and outcome behaviour were found, indicating the effects of sense of presence and feeling of enjoyment on performance of creative tasks. The study intends to foster a deeper understanding of motivation and behaviours of online learning under innovative content design.

To analyze health, physical education &amp; sports sciences students' perception and their experience in online learning. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 220 students of Health, physical education &amp; sports sciences which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The questionnaire which was used in this study was "Students' perception of online learning units", "Students' experience in online learning" and "Attitudes towards and experience of e-learning and learning of clinical skills". Most students reported positive perception and experience with online learning however, lack of interaction with teachers, and negative influence on gaining clinical skills was also observed. The study revealed that there is a significant association of online learning with the perception and experience of health, physical education &amp; sports sciences students as the p value was found to be &lt;0.05. The majority of students faced problems in utilizing the mode of online learning although overall satisfaction was found in more than 50%.

The COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand forced tertiary education providers to rapidly transition to online teaching with minimal preparation time. Synchronous online classes were delivered using platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Moodle. This study explores the post-COVID-19 online learning experience of construction students, focusing on both the perceived effectiveness of online learning and students' overall experiences. It captures insights from students enrolled in the New Zealand Diploma in Construction and the Bachelor of Construction at a selected tertiary institution. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire (103 respondents) and a focus group interview with selected students (8 participants). Respondents highlighted several benefits of online learning, including the convenience of staying at home (69%), continuous access to online materials (69%), flexibility to learn at their own pace (64%), and the comfort of their surroundings (54%). However, challenges were identified, with the most common being a lack of interaction with peers (70%) and technical difficulties with IT equipment (54%). While no significant difference was found between face-to-face and online learning in terms of increasing knowledge (P = 0.46), students rated online learning as less effective for skill development (P < 0.001) and social competencies (P < 0.001). Students also reported being less engaged in online classes compared to traditional settings (P < 0.001). Despite these challenges, 73% of students found the online experience enjoyable. The study concludes that while students adapted to online learning and became more autonomous, they still valued face-to-face learning for skill development and social interaction. The findings suggest that a blended learning approach, combining online and in-person elements, could be a beneficial post-pandemic strategy to enhance student autonomy, motivation, and engagement.

Online learning has been widely adopted in higher education, because it can help both teachers and students to achieve educational goals through better accessibility, flexibility, and interaction. As the Internet and educational technologies have evolved, however, educators indicate that online education and the related technology is more than just a technical consideration; thus, online educators and scholars should address the pedagogical perspectives of online learning. Therefore, this study attempts to provide an effective online teaching method and to investigate the effects of online competency-based learning (CBL) and design-based learning (DBL) on enhancing students’ learning performance, self-directed learning readiness (SDLR), and experience of online learning in an online computing course. The experimental design in this study involved a 2 (CBL vs. non-CBL) × 2 (DBL vs. non-DBL) factorial pretest/posttest design. Four classes in a course titled “Applied Information Technology: Office Software” were chosen for this research. Students involved in this experiment were from non-computer field departments at a comprehensive university. Based on the analysis carried out in this research, students who received the intervention with online DBL showed significantly better skills in using PowerPoint. However, learners who received the intervention with online CBL and/or DBL did not have significantly better SDLR or experience of online learning. The potential reasons for this insignificance in students’ SDLR and experience of online learning as well as their implications are reported in this paper.