The Use of e-Learning Course during the COVID-19: A Systems Thinking Approach

Chin-Yen Alice Liu

doi:10.17722/ijme.v15i1.1148

Abstract

In the era of theInternet, most educators have been supported by powerful tools ranging from e-books and e-learning sites to cloud services, and students’ learning environment has been a mix between traditional study (in class) and e-learning through some kind of online learning platform. Due to the uncertainty of the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, all colleges and universities have to shutter their physical campuses and move their courses to remote and online formats hastily. This prompted many to wonder if all of the faculty are ready and qualified to teach online courses and/or if all of the students are ready to learn in the comprehensive online environment. If not, what ultimate impact will be to our higher education during this national emergency virus pandemic since there is no choice but depend on where they sit currently, not to mention the negative reviews and concerns regarding the online education. To make this transfer seamlessly and conflict mitigation, this paper applied systems thinking for an e-Learning course and proposed a flexible grading method for an e-learning environment, which will enhance students’ grades by allowing students to control their own study paces and the amount of efforts spent in the course, which can bring a successful online learning experience.

Highlights

The concept of online learning has been with us for many years, but only around a quarter of students and educators have acquired the off-campus lifestyle and learning skills associated with online learning according to the report from the National Center for Education Statistics (2018)[13]
Over the course of a couple of weeks, as it was getting abundantly clear that the COVID-19 virus would pose an imminent threat to the citizens of the US mainland and social distancing guidelines were introduced to all aspects of our lives, online learning is reality for all college students
The majority of US college students have chosen a traditional on-campus type education over the online college option. Whether their choice of an on-campus learning experience was driven by the need for belonging in a student community, the structure of a class schedule or an easier way for the student to stay focused and disciplined, that choice was taken away from them the day when their campus closed down

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The concept of online learning has been with us for many years, but only around a quarter of students and educators have acquired the off-campus lifestyle and learning skills associated with online learning according to the report from the National Center for Education Statistics (2018)[13]. Over the course of a couple of weeks, as it was getting abundantly clear that the COVID-19 virus would pose an imminent threat to the citizens of the US mainland and social distancing guidelines were introduced to all aspects of our lives, online learning is reality for all college students. By acknowledging a student’s current challenges, as described in the Student Learning Process section of this paper, great efforts should be made by the educator to accommodate the student through this transition. Institutions, including faculty, academic advisors, dormitory administrators, and various department officers, have to work with each student individually to assess their status needs and academic progress to determine the best course of action for their enrollments in the current and up-coming semesters; if they are international students, institutions will need to consider how to maintain their legal status on their U.S campus. By the same token for the prospective students, institutions will need to rely on online communication, host virtual events, and/or consider alternatives to application criteria as well as changes to application and enrollment timelines (Martel, 2020[7])

BACKGROUND

STUDENTS’ SUCCESSFUL ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

CONCLUSION