Distance learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A study of Moroccan university students

Abstract

Because of COVID-19, distance learning was adopted by the majority of educational institutions as a strategy to ensure the continuity of education. In Morocco, forcing students to change their traditional learning methods has put them through an unprecedented learning experience. This study aims at investigating Moroccan university students of English experiences with distance learning during the pandemic in terms of readiness, satisfaction and perceived barriers. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers relied on an exploratory descriptive approach through a self-developed online questionnaire involving 138 respondents. The results indicate that students’ readiness to engage in distance learning was found to be at a moderate level. Additionally, the participants reported a low level of satisfaction with their experience of distance learning during COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, they preferred face-to-face learning over distance learning. Lack of previous experience with distance learning, lack of needed technology and inadequate internet connection were found to be among the major barriers to distance learning during the pandemic. Furthermore, the respondents expressed concerns on issues related to motivation, interaction and lack of technical skills. The findings of this study were discussed and compared to the findings of other related studies.

Perceptions of University Teachers and Students on Hybrid Teaching in Morocco

“…The two categories II and IV (14%) are complementary to each other, as both indicate that contact between students helps reduce feelings of isolation. This result is in line with data from our literature search, where several researchers [20][21][22][23] have highlighted that distance learning can create a sense of isolation among learners. For category III, respondents chose face-to-face teaching because of its effectiveness in assessing students' knowledge.…”

“…This teaching and learning modality preserves interaction between students and teacher. It minimizes the disadvantages generally associated with online courses, such as lack of support, feelings of isolation and reduced interaction [20][21][22][23]. As a result, many authors identify hybrid courses as an alternative for increasing student engagement and thus improving learning quality [24][25][26][27][28].…”

Assessing actual usage and satisfaction factors of Microsoft Teams in online learning

“…Most of the educational institutions have turned to e-learning platforms to pursue their learning goals [4], [5]. The COVID-19 epidemic has compelled governments, corporations, and other organizations in addition to colleges to organizations to rapidly scale their electronic service offerings [6], [7]. Most tertiary organizations, especially in Indonesia, had to introduce and utilization of online technology in emergency distance learning to maintain learning activities during the novel coronavirus pandemic [8].…”

Adaptation and validation the integration scale for Indonesian university students: academic and social

“…Further, since the COVID-19 outbreak, educational challenges have increased, leading to the adoption of distance learning. Studies indicated that distance-learning students have a moderate level of readiness engagement, are less satisfied with this learning method, prefer classroom instruction, and have issues interacting with lecturers and peers [20]. These changes, challenges, and obstacles can affect the success of higher education completion.…”