Analysis of Students' Perceptions towards the Efficacy of Online Teaching

Abstract

A new era has dawned, exemplified by the online education revolution. Because of the advent of the internet and new technology, attending a classroom is no longer the only way to study. Nowadays, you can acquire a high-quality education anytime and wherever you choose if you have internet connectivity. This paper examines students' perceptions toward the efficacy of online teaching in distance learning programs of Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan. The study falls under the descriptive paradigm. All students of the B.Ed Program in the session 2020–2021 were the population. A convenience sampling technique was applied to a sample of two hundred students. A researchers-designed instrument having fifteen statements was used in this study. The validity and reliability of the instrument were confirmed before its execution. Data were collected using an online instrument created in Google Forms. SPSS version 24 was used to analyse the data. Frequencies were used to compare quantitative data's mean, standard deviation, and percentages. The t-test was applied to find out the significant differences on the basis of students' gender. The results of the study showed that the majority of the respondents agreed regarding the efficacy and quality of online teaching in distance learning programs. The majority of the students agreed that they feel happy to attend their online classes in distance learning programs; they lose much information if they remain absent; online teaching boosts their knowledge, tutors teaching online classes and classmates support them; they can manage time to attend online classes quickly; the online environment of classes was good; their expectations of teaching and university services were excellent, and students of distance learning programs were highly motivated. Moreover, this investigation revealed that students of both genders equally agreed regarding the efficacy of online teaching in distance learning programs. This study recommended that the online tutors of distance learning programs provide more support to the students through various online activities and innovative teaching methods to enhance their learning.