Satisfaction of E-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: case study of University College of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all educational institutes were switched from traditional classroom teaching to e-learning. Switching to e-learning ensures that the students carry out the learning process continuously without disturbances. E-learning facilitates the exchange of knowledge and information between students and teachers. The study aimed to analyse the satisfaction of e-learning in teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted among National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 6 students and the University College of Jaffna (UCJ) teachers. The volunteer sampling method was used to gather data. Online questionnaires were sent electronically to 135 participants (110 students and 25 teachers). Of them, 91 participants (18 teachers and 73 students) responded to the survey. The online questionnaires consisted of both Likert scale and open-ended questions. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 was used for data analysis. The correlation analysis was used to examine the association between the independent variables (internet speed, awareness of LMS, LMS access, learning practical skills, submitting assessments, students' interest, accessing e-learning tools, teaching practical skills and conducting assessments) and dependent variables (student's satisfaction, teacher's satisfaction). According to the results, 71.2% of students claimed that teachers used only Moodle as an effective tool in e-learning and teaching, while 24.7% of students claimed that a combination of tools (Moodle, social media, Google Classroom) was used by teachers as an effective tool in e-learning. Further, the study investigated students' and teachers' satisfaction in e-learning. Based on the results, only 15.1% of students and 16.7% of teachers satisfied with the e-learning approach. Approximately 50% of students and teachers were not satisfied with e-learning. Based on the correlation analysis, internet speed at home, awareness of LMS, and LMS access at home have significant associations with student' satisfaction (r = -0.359, 0.385 and 0.455, respectively and p < 0.05). Learning practical skills and submitting assessments have no significant association with students' satisfaction (r = 0.043 and 0.221, respectively and p > 0.05). Students' interest, accessing e-learning tools at home, and teaching practical skills have significant association with the teachers' satisfaction (r = 0.503, 0.517 and -0.573, respectively and p < 0.05). Conducting assessments had no significant association with teacher satisfaction (r = 0.078 and p > 0.05). The study reveals that students' and teachers' satisfaction need to be improved in e-learning. Therefore, it is important to conduct training programs and improve other support to enhance the status of e-learning.