Future Proposals for E-Learning at Conventional Tertiary Institutions as they Move on Past the COVID Experience

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading rapidly throughout the world, the most widespread reaction in many countries to curtail the disease was lockdown. As a result, educational institutions had to find an alternative to face-to-face learning. The most obvious solution was e-learning. Conventional tertiary institutions with little virtual learning experience had to deal with an unprecedented challenge. This study delineates practices that can be suggested for conventional institutions of tertiary education that may be planning to acquire more e-learning experience in the post-COVID era so that they may be better prepared to move on beyond traditional classroom teaching. The qualitative research method was utilized to carry out this study. The data collected for the study comprised mainly two sources: the existing literature that tackles the issue of how tertiary institutions around the world shifted to e-learning during the pandemic, and an analysis by the researchers of COVID-related circulars that were issued by the Saudi Ministry of Education and by Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University. The review of related literature and the analysis of the circulars enabled the researchers to produce a number of suggestions aimed at improving the e-learning experience of conventional tertiary institutions. The researchers followed five steps in their literature review: (1) pinpointing search terms and then creating a search strategy and implementing it, (2) sorting the studies gathered, excluding duplicates and studies deemed irrelevant, and decreeing standards for deciding what to keep and what to rule out, (3) evaluating the studies in the light of those standards, (4) obtaining data, and (5) analysing data. This study does not recommend that conventional tertiary institutions become 100% online, but it does suggest that those institutions should make some learning content digitally accessible, build community partnerships, encourage self-study skills among students, help students change their learning style from passive to active, and revisit their e-assessment practices. This paper also stresses the importance of giving further support to teaching staff, sheds light on how institution buildings can reopen smoothly as the restrictions ease, discusses what factors influence the outcomes of e-learning, and tackles the issue of student dropouts during the pandemic. This study concludes by outlining the important notion of adopting blended learning and developing e-learning programs on an international scale.