Abstract
The Covid-19 has made a huge impact on higher education. Online teaching and learning became essential to deliver educational activities in all areas including medical education. In this study, we aimed to investigate medical students' perceptions on the role of online teaching and learning in facilitating medical education. A cross-sectional study using a self-administered online questionnaire was conducted. Students eligible were medical students across all years at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. Perceptions analysis was conducted using SPSS software. A total of 563 students participated in the study (prominent category female 64%, n = 361). There was a significant increase in the number of hours devoted to online learning during the pandemic. Live lectures/tutorials platform via zoom showed the highest rate of interaction compared to pre-recorded lectures and learning materials uploaded on blackboard. 50% of the students disagreed that online teaching is as effective as face-to-face teaching. The greatest perceived enjoyable aspect included the online accessibility of materials. Whereas the most frequent perceived barrier to online learning included internet connection. 17% of students reflected a poor understanding of scientific materials through online PBL. More than 50% of students revealed that online theoretical lectures are as good as classroom or better. Whereas the majority (70%) were unable to learn clinical skills online. The results indicated high impact on students' physical activities (80%). Impacts were higher on pre-clinical students' health and social life than on clinical students. Our findings reported that during emergency situations due to the pandemic, online teaching enables the continuity of medical education and provides adequate efficiency. The use of live online platforms showed high level of interaction. However, some barriers need to be addressed especially at the clinical skills development level to maximize the benefit of online teaching and learning.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
