Student Perspectives of Online Teaching and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This exploratory study explores an array of student perceptions regarding their online learning experience. In the present circumstances where the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all fields of life, most educational institutions have resorted to online instruction and virtual meetings. The present study explored the variables contributing to student satisfaction with online teaching and learning effectiveness. Data were collected through an online survey. Python with Scikit-Learn was used for data analysis to implement regression functions and classify the data. The results of the study defined effective online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. In combination, eight criteria contributed to the definition: motivating students to accomplish, communicating effectively, meeting students' needs, providing access to a wide range of content, providing a well-organized course structure, providing numerous sources, providing explanatory feedback, and facilitating meaningful discussions. The results of the study are beneficial to understand what kind of factors contribute to student satisfaction concerning online transition during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will also help them develop a future support plan to help youth cope with virtual classes and online instruction.

What is online teaching effectiveness? Many researchers conducting studies on effective teaching have investigated this construct with numerous different techniques. Research studies have investigated student validity ratings (Murray et al., 1990), the personal effectiveness of instructors on student ratings (Feldman 1984), the relationship of student characteristics on student ratings (Greenwald & Gillmore, 1997;Arbuckle & Williams 2003), and the relationship between student accomplishments and student ratings (Centra & Gaubatz 2000;Cohen, 1981). However, effective online teaching might look very different to some students, although several research studies have agreed on the principal types of teaching effectiveness in traditional classrooms.
Researchers have asserted the active role of students' perceptions by aggregating the different domains to determine efficiency. Marsh (1984;2007) provides an evaluation of the reliability of students' perceptions in validating teaching practices in university teaching. He stated that "student ratings are clearly multidimensional, quite reliable, reasonably valid …, and are seen to be useful to students, faculty and administrators" (1984, p.749). Marsh (2007) proposed that effective teaching is contextual; to be valid, it must be studied in different settings and with different criteria. Greenwald (1997) is further concerned with concerns and usefulness of student ratings of instruction. He suggested that students' perceptions are affected by various dimensions other than teaching effectiveness while favoring the use of these ratings effectively. Likewise, the present study investigates the various domains of students' perceptions and illustrates the significance of virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the current study, participants provided a definition of effective online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. In combination, eight items contributed to the definition: motivating students to accomplish, communicating effectively, meeting students' needs, providing access to a wide range of content, providing a well-organized course structure, providing numerous resources, providing explanatory feedback, and facilitating meaningful discussions. These items, in an online classroom, may enhance connections between the instructor, the students, and the course content. This study created a dataset concerning the effectiveness of online teaching and learning during the present COVID-19 pandemic. The study highlighted the differences between online and traditional courses and assessed student perspectives on online teaching effectiveness. This study is important because the results will be beneficial to understand what kind of factors contribute to student satisfaction concerning online transition during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as help them develop a future support plan to help students cope with virtual classes and online instruction.

Research Question
How do students describe effective online learning during the present circumstances where COVID-19 pandemic?

Literature Review
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a real challenge for educators everywhere in the world. Hence, a need exists to investigate the perceptions of students who are enrolled in face-toface classes and had to switch to online classes in a very short time. The current literature review focuses on investigating the different factors contributing to the students' perceptions of online learning.

Domains of Students' Satisfaction
Certain features distinguish online learning from face-to-face learning. Those features become the main factors that shape student experiences. Student satisfaction in various studies covers various domains or factors that are directly related to the success of the learning experience. In some studies, satisfaction is explored within an instructor's directions and support, satisfaction with their commitment to learning, and satisfaction with the course design and policies (Lo, 2010). Others have focused on dimensions of social presence, social interaction, and satisfaction (Bali & Liu, 2018). Some studies use student satisfaction as a parameter among other factors of online success. Other satisfaction domains that are explored are social presence, social interaction and collaborative learning (Spears, 2012), group learning environment, technology and preferences (Fortune, Spielman, & Pangelinan, 2011), as well as course design, learner interaction, student engagement and instructor presence (Gray & KiLoreto, 2016).
One of the most critical factors that affects the overall experience of students is the structure and instructional design of online courses. Instructional design and delivery is a common component of the success of the online learning experience. Several studies have explored the efficiency of instructional design (Bozarth, Chapman, & LaMonica, 2004;Wegner, Holloway, & Garton, 1999). However, linking factors like course structure and design to student performance and satisfaction require further study. Dabbagh affirms the link between student satisfaction and an adequate instructional method, support, and course structure (Dabbagh, 2007). Furthermore, Dabbagh (2007) identifies both the instructors and the students as key to achieving an effective learning environment, a view that builds on previous research identifying both parties as primary elements of a successful experience (Wegner, Holloway, & Garton, 1999). Gomez-Rey, Barbera, and Fernandez-Navarro (2018) link course design to the role of instructors because course design includes the design of instructional strategies for the learning environment.
Another important feature that affects the students' overall satisfaction with online classes is the role of the online teacher. Even though an extensive body of literature tackles the importance of the role of teachers in online classes, each has identified its unique elements based on their students' needs and learning environment. Thach and Murphy (1995) have identified eleven online instructor roles: "instructor, instructional designer, technology expert, technician, administrator, site facilitator, support staff, editor, librarian, evaluation specialist, and graphic designer" (p.59). Goodyear et al. (2001) identified "the additional roles of content facilitator, technologist, designer, manager/administrator, process facilitator, adviser/counselor, assessor, and researcher" (p.69). Abdulla (2004) combined Thach and Murphy's model of students' perceptions and Berge's (Berge, 1995) role-based educational model to report the differences between the perceptions of students and experts regarding the role of the online instructor. The findings pointed out a significant difference between students' perceptions and experts' perceptions regarding the most crucial online instructor roles. To the experts, the social role was the most important one, whereas the students considered the instructor role of provider of content knowledge as the most important one.
Gomez-Rey, Barbera, and Fernandez-Navarro (2018) acknowledged that the way studies have approached the role of a teacher (using what they call a "top-down or deductive" approach) was not the most representative of the efficiency of such a role. They promoted student perceptions as a bottom-up measure to assess the role of a teacher in online instruction (Gomez-Rey, Barbera, & Fernandez-Navarro, 2018). Moore (2003) said that offering support for students in an online environment should be "proactive" rather than reactive (Moore, 2003, p. 143). He said that areas of student support included student-generated issues, technical issues, and emotional stress.
The interaction between teachers and students is an essential feature of the success of online learning. A lack of interaction between the teachers and the students is a major challenge for students in online classes and has been found to be an issue (Wilkes, Simon, & Brooks, 2006;Gregory, 2003). Thus, it becomes crucial to attend to this element to improve the quality of online courses. Research shows that learner-to-instructor interaction leads to higher student engagement in online courses (Dixon, 2010;Gayton & McEwen, 2007;Jung et al., 2002;Ozfidan, & Mitchell, 2020).
Among the most critical factors that affect overall student experiences is the quality of feedback that they receive from their teacher. Feedback is an essential element in the educational cycle of learning. In most research conducted about successful online learning environments, student satisfaction with interaction and feedback was key (Awofeso & Bamidele, 2016;Eom, Wen, & Ashill, 2006;Muilenburg & Berge, 2005;Ruey, 2010;Ozfidan, 2021;Song et al., 2004). Gaytan includes feedback as one of the means of creating interaction in an online environment, thus recommending that teachers utilize immediate and ongoing feedback (Gaytan, 2005). The idea of interactive feedback as an element of communication is further validated as support for the success of online courses (Harris, 2014).
The feedback given must be constructive and effective. For feedback to be considered constructive, it must include certain features as "being descriptive; timely; honest; useful; respectful; clear; issue-specific; supportive; motivating; action-oriented; solution-oriented; strictly confidential; trust; collaborative and informative" (Hamid & Mahmood, 2010, p. 226). For online classes, the constructive feedback students receive becomes even more important. Effective feedback is essential for the students to keep them engaged in their courses and the feedback must be given in a timely manner to compensate for the distance between the teacher and the students (Tanis, 2020). Instructor feedback can take several forms. Corrective instructor feedback, which is usually focused on the specific content of the task performance, may be categorized as no feedback is given, simple verification or knowledge of results, knowledge of correct response, elaborated feedback, and try-again feedback (Dempsey, Driscoll, & Swindell, 1993).

Method Design and Participants
The study used a survey instrument to investigate students' perspectives on effective online learning and teaching. According to IRB protocol (#2020-03-0033), all participants and instructors (who helped in data collection), were completely informed regarding the procedures of the study. Participation in the study was voluntary, and all data were stored confidentially. None of the participants' identities were exposed. The data were collected in the spring semester in 2020. The survey link was emailed to 3465 undergraduate and graduate students in April 2020 and the last response was received in June 2020. Totally, 890 participants (Male=452; Female=438) completed the survey instrument for a response rate of about 25.6%. Of the responses receive, the descriptive statistics of participants indicated that 70% of the participants were undergraduate students, and the rest (30%) were graduate students. The data was collected from a diverse population consisting of two U.S. institutions (408 participants) and one Saudi institution (482 participants). All the participants were able to speak English fluently. Additionally, 479 participants spoke Arabic; 118 participants spoke Spanish; 25 participants spoke Urdu; 9 participants spoke French; 7 participants spoke Mandarin; and 5 participants spoke Turkish. Participants' majors were social science (83.5%) (e.g., Education, Political Science, Sociology, Business, Psychology, and so on) and the rest of them (16.5%) had an engineering background (Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Civil Engineering, and so on).

Instrument
The survey began with demographic questions to identify the background information of the participants, and it continued with 5-point Likert-type scale questions (strongly disagree=1; disagree=2; neutral=3; agree=4; strongly agree=5). Thirty items highlighted the general perspective of effective online teaching, and the remaining six items reflected specific characteristics of teaching effectiveness. Thirty items measured teaching effectiveness consisting of student satisfaction on the effects of instructional design and delivery, effects of teacher roles on student satisfaction, student-faculty interaction on student satisfaction, and effects of quality of feedback on students' satisfaction. All items on the instrument were generated from the literature review. Each item on the instrument was grounded in various studies such as Hara and Kling (2000), Abrami et al. (1990), Cohen (1981, Marsh (1987), Northrup (2002), and Feldman (1984. These all items collectively form a measure for effective online teaching and learning. Additionally, there were two open-ended questions to describe the overall impression of online courses at the end of the survey instrument.

Data Collection
The researchers started collecting data in April 2020. The survey instrument was prepared in the Qualtrics program and sent out to participants. To collect the data, the researchers used their personal contacts with the department heads at three different universities. The prepared survey link was emailed to the department heads, and they spread the link to the instructors in their departments. Afterward, each instructor emailed the prepared survey link to all of their students before starting the class. Each instructor allowed their students to complete the survey during their class period. Each participant had to accept the consent form on the first page of the survey instrument before filling out the survey.

Data Analysis
For the data analysis of the study, the researchers conducted descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, and correlations (rp). The researchers used multiple regression to explain the level to which there was a linear relationship between a dependent variable and independent variables and classified the data. Multiple regression analysis, according to Dupont and Plummer (1998), "refers to a set of techniques for studying the straight-line relationships among two or more variables" (p. 592). The form of the multiple regression equation is as follows: As indicated above, the Y represents the dependent variable, and Xs are the independent variables. For the present study, the overall effectiveness of online teaching and learning items was the dependent variable, and this was regressed onto the thirty items, which were independent variables of the study. Because the study had many independent variables, the analysis indicated a multicollinearity issue. In other words, there were two items that were highly correlated with each other.
This caused an issue with understanding which independent variable contributed to the variance explained in the dependent variable. To solve the issue, the highly correlated items were removed from the scale. As a weighted average in which the regression coefficients (β's) were the weights, this multiple regression indicated the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables. Linear regression in Python with Scikit-Learn was performed, which is a library in Python that provides numerous supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms. The purpose of using Python with Scikit-Learn is to implement regression functions and classify the data.
The researchers also proposed two open-ended questions at the end of the survey instrument to allow students (participants) to reflect their attitudes, feelings, and understanding of online learning. The data downloaded from Qualtrics and categorized and identified repeating themes by coding (a word or simple phrase that summarizes the idea). After the data were downloaded, the researchers coded the data manually.

Findings
All thirty items in the instrument were found to be internally consistent (Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha = .9), and Table 1 below shows that the item-to-overall correlations were all affirmative and at least moderate, showing some proof that the set of 30 items captured the principle of effective online teaching and learning. All items were found to be reliable. Therefore, the survey questionnaire that measured online teaching effectiveness for the students was reliable and valid.
How do students describe effective online teaching and learning? By using regression analysis, the researchers addressed this research question. The purpose of using regression was to find a principal group of items in the instrument that most intensely related to online teaching and learning effectiveness. Additionally, the students (participants) who completed the survey also wrote statements that described their overall impression of online courses.
The results of open-ended questions were determined, in part, by the regression analysis's results. The table displayed "the means and standard deviations" for each of the thirty items and "the overall item." Likewise, Table 1 highlighted the overall effective online teaching and learning item of the correlation between each item. Item correlations and the overall item ranged from .57 to .81. Table 1 also indicated that the Standard Deviation (SD) range of the study is .79 -1.19. According to Leys et al. (2013), "a high standard deviation indicates a heterogeneous group" (p. 765). Leys et al. also highlighted that "low standard deviation means data are clustered around the mean, and high standard deviation indicates data are more spread out" (p.765). The low SD of the study highlighted that the data points tended to be very close to the mean; the high SD of the study indicated that the data points were spread out over a large range of values. An analysis of multiple regression was conducted to find the items to explain overall online teaching and learning effectiveness statistically. The dependent variable was online teaching and learning effectiveness, which was regressed onto the thirty items in the instrument (see the regression analysis Appendix A). Additionally, a plot of the residuals for the thirty items scaled against the anticipated values showed a linear relationship. The R2 was .881 once all 30 items in the scale were included. Some of the items were removed based on their contribution from the scale. The items dropped from the scale were based on low B-weights, which were judged to be comparable because all items were measured on the same metric. First, the researchers removed seven items (see the last five items in Appendix A) from the scale because they had nonsignificant B-weights, which were almost zero. The remaining 23 items after removal generated an R2 of .875. The researchers totally removed three groups of items from the scale (see the entire scale in Appendix A). Eight items, which were not significant and had low B-weights, were removed because they had very small unique contributions, and the remaining fifteen items after removal generated an R2 of .866. Finally, seven items, which had nonsignificant B-weights, were also dropped from the scale, and the remaining eight items had an R2 of .859. These last eight items remained on the scale were clearly and statistically reflected in overall online teaching and learning effectiveness.
Table 2 above shows that these eight items had very similar B-weights, and the t-test values of the items were measured and found higher than 2. Besides, these eight items were significant with p < .05. The eight items in the scale (as displayed in Table 2) included motivating a student to accomplish, communicate effectively, meet students' needs, provide access to a wide range of content, provide a well-organized course structure, provide numerous sources, provide explanatory feedback, and facilitate meaningful discussions. The remaining 22 items, which were removed from the scale, were generally very useful and helpful for an instructor and student but did not essentially predict online teaching and learning effectiveness (see Appendix A). The respondents of the study described a definition of online teaching effectiveness along with the eight items, as seen in Table 2.

Analysis of Open-ended Questions
The analysis of open-ended questions helped the researchers identify how instructors facilitated effective online teaching and learning. The students reflected their positive and negative perspectives. For instance, one of the students stated, I believe online classes are beneficial for both students and instructors since both of them have more time to study and to achieve certain goals rather than time being lost on the face-to-face classes. Online courses require more self-motivation and time-management skills because we spend more time on our own without someone physically close to keep us focused on deadlines. Our instructor was always motivating us to accomplish. I had a great experience with online classes, and I developed new skills. Overall, online courses are well structured and provide too many informative documents for us.
Students highlighted that effective online teaching and learning consisted of motivating students and providing a well-organized course structure for sufficient academic success. According to one student, "Teachers should provide opportunities for students to personally connect to the subject matter and have them set their own goals and set up a system for self-monitoring and progress-tracking" to motivate students. The students reflected that instructors for effective online teaching and learning should provide numerous sources to meet student needs.
The open-ended data analysis reflected that effective online teaching and learning facilitated meaningful discussions among the students. It builds natural interaction among the students and between students and instructors. According to the response of one student, Online classes increase the quality of education. I think online classes are more interactive than traditional classes. In my online classes, we had a very useful online discussion, and I learned lots of things from my classmates. My online classes' instructors were well-prepared and provided many useful sources.
Students reflected that effective online teaching brings strong and interactive work. To have an interactive class, one of the students stated, "Teachers need to incorporate an interactive element on each slide and use digital storytelling in their courses. They should also create a simulated environment where learners can freely practice." The students highlighted that instructors should be well prepared for their courses and provide access to a wide range of content in their field.
Providing explanatory feedback was also an essential factor in online teaching effectiveness. The open-ended data highlighted that giving explanatory feedback helps students with suggestions for development, learning strategies, and corrections for errors. One student summarized the online experience this way: My online writing course was very good, and I was receiving useful feedback from my instructor. My instructor was explaining to me every single detail of my issues. When I didn't understand the written feedback, I was meeting with my instructor via Google Hangout to understand the problems clearly.
Most students in the study reflected that feedback was important because it encourages them to think critically about their work and reflect on what they need to do to develop it. According to a student, "My instructor's meaningful feedback enhanced my critical thinking, reflective practice, and developed my relationships with my instructor, which is important in an online environment." On the other hand, some students reflected negative perspectives of online education and how this affected their courses. The open-ended data highlighted that some students did not like online courses since they cause too much stress. One student stated: I had many technical issues (Internet, submission issues, etc.), and it was affecting my learning negatively. I was also not able to reach my professor easily. My professor was responding to my emails after a week, or I was being ignored. The instructions of the assignments were not clear enough, and I was not getting clarification from the instructor. These all were causing mental issues for me. Some students indicated that traditional courses were better than online courses because they failed to learn the subject sufficiently.
Overall, the responses to the open-ended questions mostly reflected that the participants were happy with online courses, and with the instructors who made a strong effort to enable meaningful, well instructed, and carefully structured courses. The students expected instructors to engage with them. An effective instructor, according to the students, should help students motivate themselves, adapt to their numerous needs, and demand high-quality work. The instructors should also create an atmosphere to encourage students to work collaboratively and interactively with their instructors and peers.

Discussion
The study provides data on the unique situation in which the Covid-19 pandemic posed challenges for educators everywhere in the world. Most of the research about online classes lies within a very different context than the one governing this study, as most previous research draws from the experience of students' choice of an online learning environment when face-toface classes are not "convenient" (Haugen, LaBarre, & Melrose, 2001;Liaw & Huang, 2002;McEwan, 2001).
The current study examines the unique situation of a forced and abrupt online transition due to the COVID-19 lockdown. This variable is considered for two reasons that give this study substantial significance. First, it situates the study among the first to contribute to the initial body of knowledge in that area. The second is the global nature of the COVID-19 online transition, as most schools and universities from all over the world had to adopt this mode of education. Thus, it was relevant to report the experiences of students from a Saudi and a U.S. university, and the data collected had more depth because they were international rather than national. Ultimately, the correlation between the specified domains and student' perceptions offer a dataset for online instruction that validates theory through practice. The results were irrespective of the demographic differences related to gender, undergraduate/graduate status, academic major, age, and the number of online courses.
Thus, the emergent definition of effective online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic encompassed the student satisfaction domains. In this study, participants provided a definition of effective online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. In combination, eight items contributed to the definition. These items were the following: motivating students to accomplish, communicating effectively, meeting students' needs, providing access to a wide range of content, providing a well-organized course structure, providing numerous sources, providing explanatory feedback, and facilitating meaningful discussions. In an online classroom, these items may enhance connections between the instructor, the students, and the course content.
The respondents recognized the importance of self-motivation for succeeding in online classes. This can be explained by the fact that the students in the study did not choose to be enrolled in online classes and that this enrollment was imposed on them due to the pandemic. This required a high level of self-motivation to continue and succeed in the online medium. This is also consistent with previous research that points to the importance of self-motivation for online classes (i.e., Stark, 2019;Berndtson & Makanyama, 2018;Lawrence, 2018;and Yurdugül & Menzi Çetin, 2015). Therefore, an effective online class for respondents was one that successfully motivated them to learn and made it easier for them to motivate themselves. This was done by creating multiple opportunities to connect to the course material and creating a system for the students to monitor and track their progress.
The respondents recognized the importance of an effective course structure and related that structure to the ease of accessing content. Interest in content is directly linked to motivation and, in turn, affects student learning. This finding is consistent with several studies that emphasize how students are more motivated with what they perceive as interesting content, or content related to their jobs (Brass, 2002;Burke & Moore, 2003;Adler, Milne, & Stablein, 2001). In addition to content, the respondents also pointed out that their online classes provided them with all the resources they needed to succeed.
The results indicated that one primary attribute of their online learning was that it provided them with a comfortable learning environment. This is consistent with findings of previous studies (i.e., Skordis-Worrall, Haghparast-Bidgoli, & Batura, 2015;Harris, 2014;Perreault et al., 2008) that also indicated that convenience and flexibility were key features that distinguished online classes from face-to-face classes.
Another essential attribute of online learning, according to the respondents, was that it provided them with the feedback they needed. The respondents in the study were isolated from their teachers and their classmates. Therefore, it was essential for them to receive quality feedback regarding their progress and performance in their courses to improve their learning and to hold them to a high standard of performance. This result is consistent with previous findings that students perceived feedback as an important attribute of online learning to improve their learning and to keep them motivated (Pan & Shao, 2020;Tanis, 2020;Filius et al., 2018). This further strengthens the importance of receiving quality feedback to improve learning in online classes.
The respondents also highlighted interaction and discussions as important attributes of online classes. Interacting with the teachers and classmates became challenging during the lockdown due to the social distancing constraints. Therefore, the respondents valued the interaction opportunities and discussions in their online classes. The respondents viewed interaction as an important quality in a productive and effective online class. Creating an interactive online class can be very challenging for the teacher but might be facilitated by using videoconferencing tools, i.e., Google Meet and Zoom.
In their open-ended responses, the respondents highlighted some challenges that they faced in online classes. Technical difficulties were probably the most stated challenge. Another challenge was related to time management. Therefore, to ensure that online classes are effective, students must receive technical support regularly and receive guidance regarding managing study time.

Limitations and Future Research
The strengths of this study relate to number of participants and methodology. The researchers chose the group of participants to explore the perceptions of students towards their online learning and to use it as way to define and depict a picture of effective online learning. One of the areas of strengths of the study is that the sample size of the study allowed for generalizability of the findings. Although the size of the sample is a major area of strength, the study precludes conclusions regarding the socio-economic backgrounds of the participants and how it affected their perceptions of effective online learning. The Saudi participants, for instance, were all students in a private university and hence it is reasonable to assume similar socioeconomic backgrounds. The major area of strength of this study is that it captures an exceptional situation where the students were forced to transit to online learning almost overnight. The study sheds light on a situation that affected students in almost every part of the world. However, that could also be a limitation to this study since this situation cannot be easily replicated. Another limitation of the study is that the perceptions of graduate and undergraduate students were not compared and may suggest an area for future research. Future research would also include comparing the results based on a racial breakdown and based on the students' perceptions of effective traditional face-to-face learning. Another factor deserving of future research would be comparing the perceptions of the online learning students to those of teachers.

Conclusion
The change of classes from face-to-face to online almost overnight due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing constraints posed a severe challenge to the educational system. This change might be sudden and inconvenient and might last for some time, but quality online classes that resemble the quality of education the students receive in a regular face-to-face class must be offered. The students in this study were able to paint a picture of what they perceived as an effective online class. The eight criteria that the students identified are motivating students to accomplish, communicating effectively, meeting students' needs, providing access to a wide range of content, providing a well-organized course structure, providing numerous sources, providing explanatory feedback, and facilitating meaningful discussions. Those are the criteria that the students recognized as the definition of effective online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the results, it is recommended to use the picture that was painted by the participants in preparing online classes and to incorporate it into any teacher training course that targets improving online learning. Even though the context of the COVID-19 pandemic limits the results of the study, it has changed education forever, and many universities are currently planning to have online learning as the new norm going forward. Therefore, its of utmost importance to understand how students perceive their online learning experience. The future progress of online learning relies upon how we define it in the present.

Declarations
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Instructors need to provide sufficient contact information for the students. Online classes provide access to a wide range of content. Online classes provide activities for critical thinking. Online classes provide different types of assessment. During online classes, students are able to get help as needed. Students are provided adequate opportunity to discuss with instructors Beliefs of students on online classroom platform SA A N D SD Online classes' design follows a consistent structure. Online classes encourage interactions with the classmates. Online classes provide good interaction between instructor and student Online classes provide a good quality discussion. Online classes provide valuable course materials. The assignments in online classes help students master course content. The exams in online classes provide an accurate assessment of knowledge of course content. Online classes' platforms provide online technicians when needed. Online classes increase academic success. Online classes contain enough learner support that links to campus resources. Online classes deliver adequate resources.
Effects of student-faculty interaction on students' satisfaction Online vs. face-to-face classes SA A N D SD I think I learn more in online courses than in face-to-face courses. I prefer online courses to face-to-face courses I feel more comfortable participating in online course discussions than in face-toface course discussions. Online classes require more study time than face-to-face courses. Online classes are harder than face-to-face classes. Retention rates are higher with online learning Online classes require more selfmotivation and time-management skills Face to face classes build a better interaction between student and instructor Open-ended Questions • Describe your overall impression of online classes.
• In your opinion, what are the strengths/weaknesses of online classes?
• What are one to three specific things about transitioning to online classes that you liked/disliked? • What are one to three specific things about transitioning to online classes that especially supported your learning? • What parts of the online classes aided your learning the most? • What parts of online classes were obstacles to your learning? • Do you have any specific recommendations for improving online classes? What changes that can be made to online classes to improve your learning?