Are Medical Undergraduates Ready for Online Learning? A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Health Care Institution in Coastal South India

Abstract

Purpose:  COVID-19 pandemic has caused a shift from offline to online teaching and learning in all educational institutions. One of the important factors which impact the effectiveness of online learning is the online learning readiness of the students. This study was undertaken to measure the readiness of undergraduates of a medical college in India.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among medical undergraduates of second, third and fourth academic years. An online learning readiness scale covering five dimensions, i.e., self-directed learning, learner control, motivation for learning, computer/internet self-efficacy and online communication self-efficacy, was administered. Independent samples t-test and one-way multivariate analysis of variance were used to analyse the association between age, gender, grade of study and previous use of e-learning with online learning.

Results: The mean scores of study participants ranged from 2.90 to 3.22 on the five-point Likert scale. The mean score for motivation for learning was the highest followed by that for self-directed learning. The least score was in the domain of learner control which is one of the important predictors of online learning. The mean scores in all the five dimensions were similar among males and females. The difference in mean scores were statistically significant for the previous experience of online learning. Technical issues and network problems are major barrier for online learning.

Conclusion: Medical undergraduates are ready for online learning to a certain extent, with good motivation for learning in the online context. However, they need to have self-discipline to focus on work and avoid distractions while learning online.