The Transition from In-Person to Online Classes

Presently, online learning environments are more prevalent than ever before. In Spring 2020, all universities in the United States and many other parts of the world switched from in-person to online instruction. At the University of Hartford, some classes were held through live video conferencing environments (Synchronous), and some others were taught by recorded materials (Asynchronous). In this study, we present survey results on students' perception of the transition to online learning. Surveys were conducted on two synchronous and two asynchronous engineering courses. The survey's goal was to allow students to share their challenges and overall experiences of the transition. Another goal of the survey was to ask students' opinions on how certain features of the online classes impacted their learning. The specified features for the synchronous lectures were: (1) live discussions, questions, and answers; (2) connecting with the class on a regular basis; (3) receiving lessons at certain times of the week; and (4) keeping pace with the live lectures on a virtual environment. For the asynchronous lecture, the features were: 1) online videos and discussions, questions and answers via email/blackboard; 2) not being connected with the class in a live setting; 3) flexibility in accessing the lectures at any time; and 4) keeping pace with the recorded videos. In addition to discussing the survey results, refinement methods are proposed to address the challenges and issues indicated by students. Although this is a case study, the survey data results denote some aspects of each instruction mode that might generate some insights for online classes.