First survey data and findings on our switch to e-learning during COVID-19 Emergency

1. 1
When you switch to e-learning
overnight…....
National University
of Science and Technology
www.nu.edu.om
April 2020
Simon Jones

2. Background
2
National University of
Science and Technology
5 Sites across
Sultanate of Oman
Medicine
(6-Year MD)
Engineering
(4-Year
BEng, 1 Year
MSc)
Approximately
5000 students
Pharmacy
(4-Years
BPharm)
Foundation
Year
(1-Year)

3. 3
Relatively Little On-line learning.
1 week per semester online learning week.
Covid-19 required us to move to online learning 22nd March
2020.
Staff suddenly required to create online lectures.
Legacy issues required us to use a wide range of platforms.
Important factor was to produce material right here, right
now.
Background

4. 4
Survey
2 weeks into delivery (2nd April 2020) all students asked
to complete survey on experience so far.
Most responses came over weekend (Friday Saturday)
and form the basis for the analysis.
Colleges responded roughly in proportion to their size.
Each year of study responded roughly in proportion to the
cohort size.
Data is likely reasonably representative.

5. 5
95% of population have internet access
(Source Ooredoo) 2018 - 4G or better
But 19% of our students do not?
Why?
Cost is not issue as all .edu.om sites are
free access.
Interim Conclusions

6. 6
Internet Access Speed
54% of students rate internet access as
‘Slow’ or ‘Very Slow’.
Why?
Voice Annotated PowerPoint is typically a few MB
Video Lectures circa 2MB/S - Oman 4G speed @
24MB/S is fastest in GCC

7. 7
Device
The preferred device is a mobile device.
How is this impacting the learning experience?
Tablets are rarely used.
Let’s not re-engage with the iPad community!
But our design flow assumes a PC.

8. 8
Delivery Platform
The preferred device is a mobile device.
The platform students use the most and rate the
highest is WhatsApp.
We design for our LMS’s though!
Blackboard is most popular LMS - driven by
Engineering College Investment
Despite access to all of Google’s Educational Tools,
WhatsApp is by far the more favoured by our
students.
How can we redesign our learning
content to reflect this?

9. 9
Completing Learning Tasks
Are we overworking students?
Around 1 in 5 complete everything
Around 1 in 3 say they do nothing.
Needs verification
Do we have an issue with a
disengaged minority?

10. 10
What Next
Data Sets available for internal use to permit drill down to college levels
We have group of students who state they do not possess necessary technology.
Needs further verification & resolution
We seem to be overworking them in terms of the self-study they get.
Can we check this against regular requirements?

11. 11
Summary
Support
Groups
Students in
difficulty
Staff who
want support
in e-learning.
I suspect the unfamiliarity of our students with
e-learning has made this very challenging for
them. Can we evidence this?
We need to address the technological
challenges, some we can do (USB delivery)
some we need external assistance
Congratulations! You got a functional 5-site
e-learning system up almost overnight.

12. Finally
Questions?
12