The Effectiveness of Implementing “Digital Tool” for the Reading and Writing Skills during Endemicity: Students’ Perceptions

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic which began in early 2020 has brought a big change in the Malaysian education system and around the globe. In Malaysia, all the students from pre-school until the postgraduate level had to learn to manage with the Emergency Remote Lessons (ERL). Also, many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) around the world had to survive with the rapid shift to ERL with lesser time for preparation. In Malaysia, it was a requirement for students to equip themselves with digital technological devices such as tablets, lap tops, I-pads, mobile phones, computers and other suitable gadgets with appropriate internet to continue their studies. Nevertheless, as Malaysia moved to the endemic phase from the beginning of April 2022, online learning is still something that can be considered relevant in higher education institutions (HEIs). As technology has become ubiquitous, the teaching methodology has also undergone a radical change. The use of digital tools has enhanced learners’ engagement and true interactivity within the classrooms. Hence, the aim of this research is to find out students’ perceptions on the effectiveness of implementing “digital tool” for the reading and writing skills during the endemic phase in a private university using the convenience sampling, quantitative research method. This study demonstrates that students highlighted positive consequences when digital tool and digital learning devices with sufficient internet connection are implemented for the reading and writing skills in the classroom. The benefits of using digital tool in the reading and writing skills are discussed in the study. It can be suggested that in the near future, activities using technological devices such as mobile phones and digital learning tools could be used to boost and motivate students’ capability to incorporate technology in their learning.