Jenny PANGE, University of Ioannina, GR
Distance learning has become long ago, an effective learning process and, in a way, has changed the teaching and learning standards. Applications of online learning are highlighted nowadays to illustrate the ways technology can enhance teaching and learning in all levels of higher education by supporting active engagement of students, interaction with classmates and accurate feedback from tutors. During the pandemic of covid19, the University of Ioannina, decided to offer online teaching, providing at the same time for free, suitable ICT tools to all students. All undergraduate students attended and participated actively in the online courses throughout spring semester. For the purpose of this study, a convenience sample of 200 undergraduate students from the University of Ioannina was selected, and they asked to express their views on distance learning. The questionnaire was online, written in google forms, and students were free to give their replies. According to their responses, the main disadvantages of online courses, were the time (hours) students had to spend in front of a computer screen (39%), the interrupted internet connection at home (21,5%), the missing face-to-face cooperation with other students (27,5%), and the missing university campus facilities (27,5%). The main advantages of online learning were the friendly environment of the LMS MsTeams (79,3%), and the easy access to online course material (81,8%). Additionally, the undergraduate students continued their communication between them using social media (81,8%). In conclusion, we can indicate here, that the university professors were able for this change in the teaching method, during the epidemic. The conversion from traditional teaching to online teaching was successful, although some students find online learning exhausting.
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