The current study aimed at exploring university students’ perspectives on the emergency distance education strategy that was implemented during the COVID-19 crisis in Jordan, one of the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Utilizing a qualitative design supported by Moore’s theory of transactional distance, a total of 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with university students of various study levels and disciplines. Data were inductively analyzed using thematic analysis as suggested by Braun and Clarke. Seven themes have emerged, including, (i) students’ psychological response to the sudden transition in educational process, (ii) students’ digital preparedness, equality, and digital communication, (iii) students’ and teachers’ technical competencies and technostress, (iv) student–student and student–teacher interpersonal communication, (v) quality and quantity of learning materials, (vi) students’ assignments, examinations, and non-reliable evaluation methods, and (vii) opportunities with positive impact of distance learning. The study findings provide evidence that the sudden transition from traditional on-campus to online distance education was significantly challenging in many aspects and was not a pleasant experience for many participants. Various factors under the jurisdiction of academic institutions and decision-makers are considered main contributing factors to the students’ educational experiences amid the pandemic crisis. Therefore, better planning and more sustainable utilization of educational resources have paramount importance in providing a high-quality education. Additionally, more dedicated efforts in terms of equitable, reliable, and credible evaluation systems should be considered in Jordan’s distance education strategy.
The current study aimed at exploring university students’ perspectives on the emergency distance education strategy that was implemented during the COVID-19 crisis in Jordan, one of the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Utilizing a qualitative design supported by Moore’s theory of transactional distance, a total of 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with university students of various study levels and disciplines. Data were inductively analyzed using thematic analysis as suggested by Braun and Clarke. Seven themes have emerged, including, (i) Students’ psychological response to the sudden transition in educational process, (ii) Students’ digital preparedness, equality, and digital communication, (iii) Students’ and teachers’ technical competencies and technostress, (iv) Student-student and student-teacher interpersonal communication, (v) Quality and quantity of learning materials, (vi) Students’ assignments, examinations, and non-reliable evaluation methods, and (vii) Opportunities with positive impact of distance learning. The study findings provide evidence that the sudden transition from traditional on-campus to online distance education was significantly challenging in many aspects and was not a pleasant experience for many participants. Various factors under the jurisdiction of academic institutions and decision-makers are considered main contributing factors to the students’ educational experiences amid the pandemic crisis. Therefore, better planning and more sustainable utilization of educational resources have paramount importance in providing a high-quality education. Additionally, more dedicated efforts in terms of equitable, reliable, and credible evaluation systems should be considered in Jordan’s distance education strategy.
Background Due to the high transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2, accurate diagnosis is essential for effective infection control, but the gold standard, real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), is costly, slow, and test capacity has at times been insufficient. We compared the accuracy of clinician diagnosis of COVID-19 against RT-PCR in a general adult population. Methods COVID-19 diagnosis data by 30thSeptember 2021 for participants in an ongoing population-based cohort study of adults in Western Sweden were retrieved from registers, based on positive RT-PCR and clinician diagnosis using recommended ICD-10 codes. We calculated accuracy measures of clinician diagnosis using RT-PCR as reference for all subjects and stratified by age, gender, BMI, and comorbidity collected pre-COVID-19. Results Of 42,621 subjects, 3,936 (9.2%) and 5,705 (13.4%) had had COVID-19 identified by RT-PCR and clinician diagnosis, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of clinician diagnosis against RT-PCR were 78% (95%CI 77-80%) and 93% (95%CI 93-93%), respectively. Positive predictive value (PPV) was 54% (95%CI 53-55%), while negative predictive value (NPV) was 98% (95%CI 98-98%) and Youden’s index 71% (95%CI 70-72%). These estimates were similar between men and women, across age groups, BMI categories, and between patients with and without asthma. However, while specificity, NPV, and Youden’s index were similar between patients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sensitivity was slightly higher in patients with (84% [95%CI 74-90%]) than those without (78% [95%CI 77-79%]) COPD. Conclusions The accuracy of clinician diagnosis for COVID-19 is adequate, regardless of gender, age, BMI,and asthma, andthus can be used for screening purposes to supplement RT-PCR.
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