Study of the effectiveness of e-learning to conventional teaching in medical undergraduates amid COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic created panic, anxiety among the population worldwide. The education sector was among many which had taken a strong blow due to pandemic. In the wake of institute shut down, this was a challenging time for professional education which was combated through introduction of e-learning through online classes so as to ensure continuation of teaching-learning process for the medical students. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to rank the effectiveness and satisfaction of online classes compared to classroom conventional teaching among medical students. Materials and Methods: After the Institutional Ethical Clearance, this online cross-sectional survey study was done on medical students. A total of 983 students participated in this study. This online survey was carried out from April 10, 2020, to April 18, 2020, after completion of 3 weeks of online classes. A set of self-designed questionnaire based on 5-point Likert scale was given to the students, to rank the effectiveness of learning through e-classes and their understanding with the satisfaction level on various parameters. This was pre-tested on 20 students for standardization. All the students voluntarily participated in the survey. Results: The study result shows that online classes were equally effective in five parameters and less effective in the other but were not at all superior than the conventional classroom teachings. We could come to an interpretation that students were not much satisfied with this way of teaching but definitely it was the need of the hour. Conclusion: We could conclude from our study that e-education can supplement the process of present education, but it cannot be a substitute for the established system of education.