Perception, impact, and barriers of online learning among dental students in Chennai City

Abstract

Background: Electronic learning is an influential technological tool that blends the traditional teaching and electronic resources and had become an imperative platform in supporting the education system in recent years due to COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among the dental students across Chennai to evaluate the impact of online learning and to identify the barriers faced that will aid in formulating alternative strategies to reduce the difficulties and improve the quality of learning. The study population was selected based on certain inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data collection was done through a validated questionnaire with assistance from Google Forms. Results: It was found that around 67% of the participants had not attended any online classes before COVID-19. Half of them had Internet connectivity issues during online classes and about 62% of the students faced lots of distractions during online classes. When the participants were asked about their learning preference, majority of them responded that they were comfortable with the traditional method. Conclusion: It was concluded that students had experienced connectivity and other technical issues during these classes and most of them were able to manage it. The major disadvantage of online classes was they were not able to reproduce a practical and clinical hands-on experience, which is indispensable for health-care students. However, the student…