Impact of Online Education during COVID-19 Pandemic among the Pharm. D. Students, A Web - Based Survey
Ambika Nand Jha1*, Varsha R. Gaikwad2, Mashfa Asar2, Akshay H. Shah3,
Sangita Shukla4, Varsha Galani4
1Pharm.D Intern, Indubhai Patel College of Pharmacy and Research Centre, Dharmaj Anand, Gujarat, 388430.
2Shri Pandit Baburao Chaughule College of Pharmacy, Bhiwandi, Maharashtra 421302.
3Anand Pharmacy College, Anand, Gujarat 388430.
4Indubhai Patel College of Pharmacy and Research Centre, Dharmaj Anand, Gujarat, 388430.
*Corresponding Author E-mail: nandjha99@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Aim and objective: The Novel COVID-19 is global pandemic and Lockdown and leads to revoked of Ward Round participation and all Practical subjects Due to online study. In the First as well as second wave of Novel COVID 19 The country had to forcefully impose a lockdown as a preventive measure and lockdown had serious impact on Education of Pharm.D students. The current study is addressed to distinguish the impact of Novel COVID-19 on Study. Methodology: This cross-sectional online survey study by the sharing of Google form gathered demographic as well as questions related to impact of online study is conducted from 31th July to 30 August 2021. The survey google form is circulated using What Sapp, Email, Linked in and other social media platforms. Result: Total 180 participants in which 69 male and 111 female involve in our study and their Response received in Google Drive. The majority of the participants in the survey, especially those in their 5th, (clerkship) and 6th year (Internship) of study, were reported that lack of interaction with patients. Clinical clerkships have been cancelled or postpone in many of the college. Conclusions: The impact of Novel COVID 19 on Pharm.D student’s education has been significant, particularly affecting the practical knowledge in those subject which practical study is not possible during online study. The perception of Pharm.D students is classes taken via online platforms {Meet, Zoom etc} as beneficial as the conventional classroom study. This pandemic condition was associatory with frustrate and irritating impact on online study among the pharm.d students. During online study via any platforms learning outcomes should be regularly and strictly monitoree of knowledge towards their syllabus is may beneficial for us.
KEYWORDS: Online Study, Pharm. D, Novel COVID 19, Pandemic, Lockdown, Social Media.
INTRODUCTION:
Indian education institutes including school, college and universities were forced to shut down due to the sudden outbreak of novel corona virus COVID-19, resulting as an emergency to migrate towards online education serving as the teaching platform.1,2,3
The pandemic has modified the education sector. The institutions have moved online but the question is have they really moved online? If offline traditional methods are moved online they can limit the success of training. The impact is not limited to education system but has also affected student’s learning experience.4,5,6
Online education has the benefits of studying from anywhere at any time, saving time and money but still there are numerous issues to be faced when moving from offline to online learning, including how does one provide social interactions, how to ensure student’s attentiveness or how to encourage an active involvement? Is the teaching speed adequate? Are some students lagging behind? These questions emerge even in an on campus classes, but it gets more difficult to address in an online class. Most institutions face difficulties with this issues since neither there teaching resources addresses this nor they have proper training skill on this.5
Moreover, India enjoys a wide geographical and cultural diversity, it also suffers from a huge socio-economic divide. Currently, only a small part of the Indian citizens have access to online education. Disturbed power supply, weak or absence of internet access, and unable to afford to buy the required devices are of major concerns.7,8
Pharm D education has been profoundly disturbed in this pandemic as it involves in person academic lectures and tutorials, clinical exposure in hospital including ward rounds, laboratory experiences, and difficulty to perform group projects, observing and assisting relevant clinical cases.9,10,11
With this scenario, the present study aims to identify learning status, mode of learning, online assessment and problems related to study of the PHARM D students throughout this lockdown admits this deadly COVID-19 pandemic and to emphasize on expected benefits and impact on student satisfaction and performance.12,13,14
METHODOLOGY:
Study Design:
A cross-sectional online based survey study was conducted from 31th July 2021 to 30th August 2021 among the PHARM D students to determine their perception towards their E-learning experience during COVID-19 pandemic.
Study participants:
The study data was collected from the PHARM D students engaged in E-learning during COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the survey study was specified to the participating students and their consent were obtained assuring that the confidentiality of the obtained information will be maintained. A total of 180 students responded providing their complete information regarding the survey.
Data collection method:
A questionnaire link was created using Google form and shared to the students through Whatsapp, Email, Linkedin and other social media platforms. The questionnaire was made up of two parts. In the first part, student’s demographic details (gender, residence, year of study) were collected. In the second part, 30 questions were included and the data collected was about impact on experience, knowledge, academic skill, access to internet and to assess their activities/problems towards E-learning of the PHARM D students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The type of questions asked were Yes/no questions, multiple choice question and Likert scale questions.
Statistical Analysis:
No statistical test was conducted due to descriptive nature of study. The analysis of the data was performed by using simple percentage and frequency counts.
Study Result Analysis:
As mentioned earlier, this study has been conducted among the Specific course i.e Pharm.D (Doctor of Pharmacy) students.
Respondent’s Demographic detail:
The data shown in figure 1 i.e in Pie chart form represent the gender distribution of respondents. Total 180 Response collected in Google Drive out of 69 Male and 111 Females.
Figure 1: Gender Distribution
Figure 2: Current Year of Studying
The Data shown in figure 2 I.e in pie chart form represent the current year of studying of respondents out of 180 . 11 Participants From first, 21 from Second, 26 from third, 37 from fourth,67 from fifth year and 18 From internship. The maximum proportion of respondents was from the Gujarat, followed by Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The Data Shown in figure 3 The majority of participants were resided in urban areas 112 followed by rural 68.
The data shown in Table 1 shows the questionnaire and respondents answer Related to Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and misconceptions regarding online education during the COVID-19.
Figure 3: Residential Area
Table 1: Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and misconceptions regarding online education during the COVID-19.
|
Particular |
Frequency N=180 |
Percentage % |
|
1. How do you feel overall about online education? Excellent Average Good Poor |
6 96 37 41 |
3.3 53.3 20.6 22.8 |
|
2.Do you have a stable internet connection? Yes No Sometimes |
90 29 61 |
50 16.1 33.9 |
|
3. Which device do you use for online learning? Smart Phone Laptop Desktop Tablet |
113 61 2 4 |
62.8 33.9 1.1 2.2 |
|
4. How much time do you spend each day on an average for online education? 1-2 Hour Daily 3-5 Hour Daily 5-7 Hour Daily 7+ Hour Daily |
32 109 37 2 |
17.8 60.6 20.6 1.1 |
|
5. Are you provided with a separate room to study at home? Yes No Sometimes |
116 43 19 |
65.2 24.2 10.7 |
|
6. How effective has online learning proved for you? Ineffective Slightly effective Moderately effective Extremely effective |
34 80 61 5 |
18.9 44.4 33.9 2.8 |
|
7. Are you satisfied with the online teaching quality? Not satisfied Somewhat satisfied Satisfied Very satisfied |
58 83 32 7 |
32.2 46.1 17.8 3.9 |
|
8. How supportive the College/University has been in offering you the resources to learn from home? Unsupportive Slightly supportive Moderately supportive Extremely supportive |
26 53 81 20 |
17.4 29.4 45 11.1 |
|
9. Do you enjoy studying through online education? Yes, indeed Yes, but I would like modify some things No, there are various challenges Absolutely not |
21 53 65 40 |
11.7 29.6 36.3 22.3 |
|
10. How often could you manage time during online education? Never Sometimes Always |
15 119 46 |
8.3 66.1 25.6 |
|
14. How often have you interacted with your teacher? No interaction with my teacher this week. Interaction with my teacher one time this week. Interaction with my teacher 2-3 times this week. Interaction with my teacher every day this week. Interaction with my teacher every day this week, multiple times a day. |
32 41 77 18 12 |
17.8 22.8 42.8 10 6.7 |
|
17. How often do your teachers respond and leave feedback? Almost never Once in a while Sometimes Almost all the time |
19 20 76 65 |
10.6 11.1 42.2 36.1 |
|
26. Had you Attended online classes before the COVID-19 pandemic.? Regularly attending (daily) Often attending (5-6 days a week) Irregularly attending (2-4 days a week) Somewhat attending (1-2 days a weeks) Almost never attending |
44 20 8 19 89 |
24.4 11.1 4.4 1.6 49.4 |
|
27. Are you pressured from college to attend lectures with regard to your attendance? Almost all the time Sometimes Once in a while Almost never |
60 64 22 34 |
33.3 35.6 12.2 18.9 |
|
28. Were you completely attentive during your online class or busy with your personal work while the class is ongoing? Always attentive without any personal work Somewhat attentive due to personal work Once in a while attentive due to personal work Almost never attentive as mostly busy with personal work |
65 84 26 5 |
36.1 46.7 14.4 2.8 |
The data shown in Table 2. shows the questionnaire and respondents answer Related to Impact of online education during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Table 2:- Impact of online education during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
|
Particular |
Frequency N=180 |
Percentage |
|
11. How stressful is online learning for you during the COVID-19 pandemic? Never Sometimes Fairly often Very often |
18 83 52 27 |
10 46.1 28.9 15 |
|
12. Do you understand the lecture in a satisfactory manner? Yes No Sometimes Never |
43 32 103 2 |
23.9 17.8 57.2 1.1 |
|
13. How helpful are your teachers while studying online? Never helpful Little helpful Moderately helpful Extremely helpful |
7 40 90 43 |
3.9 22.2 50 23.9 |
|
15. how difficult it was to stay focused for long time to complete your assignments at home? Not at all difficult Slightly difficult Somewhat difficult Extremely difficult |
27 66 56 31 |
15 36.7 31.1 17.2 |
|
16. How often are your teachers adjustable with the deadlines? Almost never Once in a while Sometimes Almost all the time |
17 30 113 20 |
9.4 16.7 62.8 11.1 |
|
23.Had your ongoing academic project been affected? Almost never affected Once in a while affected Sometimes got affected Almost all the time affected |
25 29 44 46 |
13.9 16.1 44.4 25.6 |
|
24. Had your hospital ward round been affected? Yes, always Once in a while Sometimes Never |
126 10 33 11 |
70 5.6 18.3 6.1 |
|
25.Did you perform your practical sessions in ONLINE Mode? if yes, do you get the actual knowledge like you performed in your lab? Yes No |
30 150 |
16.7 83.3 |
The data shown in Table 3. shows the questionnaire and respondents answer Releted opinion towards the online education during the COVID-19.
Table 3: opinion towards the online education during the COVID-19.
|
Particular |
Frequency N=180 |
Percentage |
|
18. How much are you agree with the following statement: I am learning new things even while studying at home.? Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree |
18 93 54 15 |
10 51.7 30 8.3 |
|
19. How much are you learning during an online session compared to regular class? Learning much less Learning somewhat less Learning about the same Learning more |
65 85 22 8 |
36.1 47.2 12.2 4.4 |
|
20.Which of the digital software motivate you to learn? Animated Videos Whiteboard and pen PowerPoint presentation Digital pen and slate |
62 33 77 8 |
34.4 18.3 42.8 4.4 |
|
21.How well regulated was the course in terms of time frame, assessment and access to materials? Very regulated Somewhat regulated Dysregulated Highly dysregulated |
46 103 42 7 |
25.6 13.3 3.9 |
|
22.Do you suggest online teaching for Pharm. D courses? Yes No May Be |
20 128 32 |
11.1 71.1 17.8 |
The Data shown in figure 4 is impact of covid 19 on online education affect the hospital posting and ward round participation due to several factor.
Figure 4:- impact of covid 19 on online education affect the hospital posting and ward round participation due to several factor.
The Data shown in figure 5 is which practical subject affected due to online study.
Figure 5 which practical subject affected due to online study.
CONCLUSION:
The Covid pandemic associated with lockdown has significant impact on academic activities. The present study assessed Impact of online education during the COVID-19 Pandemic among the PHARM.D Students. E-learning is not without its disadvantages. The main problem for participants in the survey, especially those in their 5th, (clerkship) and 6th year (Internship) of study, was the lack of interaction with patients. Clinical clerkships have been cancelled or postpone in many of the college. Learning from real patients in a clinical setting is crucial for clinical practice and it can't be fully replaced with distance learning.
LIMITATIONS:
Limitations of this study include the response rate. 180 participants is a small number in comparison to the amount of all Pharm.D. To ensure the safety of all participants (the anonymous and voluntary nature of the study) and in order to reduce bias in our results, the survey did not ask where each student attends university. That is why the possibility of institutional bias cannot be excluded.
AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND MATERIAL:
All data are available from the corresponding author upon request.
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
This Study not received any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
ETHICAL APPROVAL:
Ethical approval was taken from the ethical Not Applicable
CONSENT:
Written informed consents were obtained from all the participants.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT:
The authors would like to acknowledge all the participants who gave their voluntarily participation in this study also we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Akshay H. Shah, Professor Department of Pharmacology, Anand Pharmacy College, Anand for their support in completion if this survey.
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Received on 19.05.2023 Modified on 23.08.2023
Accepted on 16.10.2023 ©Asian Pharma Press All Right Reserved
Asian J. Res. Pharm. Sci. 2023; 13(4):269-274.
DOI: 10.52711/2231-5659.2023.00046