Perceptions of Business Students toward Online Education before and in Transition Period of COVID-19

Abstract

Covid-19 affects our lifestyles dramatically. It also affects the education styles. Spurred by the Covid19 pandemic, most of the learning in a traditional classroom setting were transferred to online format. This study was designed to assess the students’ perception on the traditional and online learning before Covid-19 pandemic and in transition to the Covid pandemic when all classroom learning is closed and transferred to online based learning. Students were sampled to obtain their general perceptions regarding traditional and online learning. The data were collected via an online survey during October/November 2019 and March/April 2020. Findings indicate that the perceptions of students changed negatively in transition period. A large majority of students agreed before Covid-19, but they disagreed in transition period on the following: online education increases learning levels; students learn more with online courses; zoom is much better than learning in the classroom environment; online courses are easier than traditional courses; I would recommend taking online courses instead of in class courses to a friend or colleague; and I would like to take my other courses in online form. The results show that a sudden change to the system will negatively impact the students and it did not allow time for students to adjust to the change. They are simply not ready to take all the courses online. However, students all agreed the use of technology in classroom increases their engagement and interest in the subject matter