UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE AND MARKETING

FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

ACADEMIC REPORT
Problems of online learning
during the pandemic

LECTURER: Hà Thành Thảo Em

STUDENT: Triệu Minh Thông

STUDENT ID: 1821004166

CLASS: 18DTA03

HCM City, 10/2021

 UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE AND MARKETING
FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

ACADEMIC REPORT
Problems of online learning
during the pandemic

LECTURER: Hà Thành Thảo Em

STUDENT: Triệu Minh Thông

STUDENT ID: 1821004166

CLASS: 18DTA03

HCM City, 10/2021

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 SUPERVISING LECTURER’S REMARKS

1. Progress Score:

2. The report’s Score:

No. CRITERIA SCORE

• Form
• Accuracy
1 1
• Images, graphics
• References, sources

2 • Academic style 1

• Rationale
3 2
• Purpose of the study

• Perspectives on the topic

4 • Knowledge of the topic and 4
Application

• Conclusion
5 2
• Recommendation

Total 10

Comments:

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 REVIEWER’S REMARKS

No. CRITERIA SCORE

• Form
• Accuracy
1 1
• Images, graphics
• References, sources

2 • Academic style 1

• Rationale
3 2
• Purpose of the study

• Perspectives on the topic

4 • Knowledge of the topic and 4
Application

• Conclusion
5 2
• Recommendation

10
Total

Comments:

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Abstract

COVID-19 has disrupted most of the industries in the world. Education is the only
industry that is completely transferred to online mode in most countries around the
world. Online learning was the best solution for continuing education during the
pandemic, especially in tertiary education. This study aims to determine the
challenges and obstacles confronted by students over the country, while switching
to online learning in the second semester of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contribution of this study is to evaluate the learners’ new experiences in online
education and to assess the feasibility of the virtual methods of learning. This is
achieved by analyzing and gathering statistics with information from various article.
It is found that the main problems that influence and impact online learning during
COVID-19 are related to technical, academic, and communication challenges. The
study results show that some of the learners are not satisfied with continuing online
learning, as they could not fulfill the expected progress in learning performance.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, online learning, learning challenges, learner

satisfaction

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 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The SARS-CoV-2 disease or COVID-19 as we all know has struck more than 200
countries around the world and problems started to appear in the society, not only
for the government and businesses but also for students and to-be-graduates.
Governments around the world has issued various policies, from isolation, social
and physical distancing to Large-Scale Social Restriction (Indonesia), this requires
citizens to stay at home, also to work and study from home.

Vietnamese education institutions (schools, colleges, and universities) were just

traditional methods of learning (face-to-face lectures in a classroom/hall). The
outbreak of this deadly COVID-19 disease which WHO declared it as a pandemic
had left the education no option but to switch entirely to online teaching-learning.

Online learning (E-learning) is described as the use of information technology to

improve educational quality. Many elements influence the success of e-learning,
including accessibility, the use of appropriate methodologies, course content, and
evaluation criteria. E-learning, like any other type of instruction, offers benefits and
drawbacks for both students and teachers. Aside from the epidemiological benefits
of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, other advantages worth highlighting
include enhanced convenience, access to materials regardless of location or time,
and cost and air pollution reductions, such as carbon dioxide emissions due to
reduced transportation. Online classes have limits as well, such as issues with
internet access, poor internet connection quality, and respondents' limited digital
abilities. Some advantages, such as schedule flexibility, can also be disadvantages,
particularly for students who struggle with self-discipline.

Despite the advantages online learning have brought so far, we also have to face the
problems during virtual classes are attended, facilities some students may unable to
afford at their hometown – rural areas.

After 2 consecutive semesters of only online learning with no face-to-face learning

at the university, I decided to have a deeper look into the students’ perception of
this teaching method.

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 CHAPTER 2: DISCUSSION

1. Student’s online learning situation

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, schools and institutions across the country have been
required to undertake online training in order to continue with teaching and to
prevent epidemics. In the period of last March till now, with the intricate motions of
the pandemic, the government has announced the overall direction on Covid-19
prevention and control.

“The issues with online education are much the same. It has a direct negative impact
on interactions between teachers and pupils. Furthermore, many topics related to
practice or intellectual sensation cannot be adequately taught online. However, in
the current situation, online education is the only viable choice. Hopefully, both
teachers' and students' teaching and learning skills would steadily develop.
Simultaneously, online learning will lay the groundwork for pupils to become
acquainted with self-learning using diverse online materials. As a result, it is
possible to construct a new generation of students that study in a completely unique
method.” (Dương, 2021)

The ability to choose the time and place to study, as well as the ease of access to
educational materials, were seen as the most significant advantages of online
learning. Remote access is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic,
but it can also help to cut the expense of lodging and transit in other situations. E-
learning allows learning materials to be supplied to students promptly, standardized,
and, if necessary, updated. There are two methods for delivering content to students:
self-directed learning and instructor-led learning. Self-directed e-learning allows the
learner to handle their own activities.

2. Advantages and disadvantages of online learning

a. Advantages

The primary benefit of online learning is that it allows students to participate in

high-quality learning scenarios. Students can join lessons from anywhere in the
world as long as they have a computer and an internet connection. Furthermore, the
online format gives physically challenged students (and professors) more flexibility
in participating in class. Instead of physically "going to class", participants use their
computers to access the Virtual Classroom.

The Virtual Classroom is accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Another advantage of the online learning style is its ability to save time. There is no
doubt about doing the task, just do it when it is more convenient. Students get

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access to their courses at all hours of the day and night. They also have constant
access to lectures, course materials, and class discussions. This is especially useful
for people who need to review a lecture or spend extra time reflecting on some
content before moving on.

The online learning method facilitates dynamic interaction between the lecturer and
students, as well as among students. Resources and ideas are shared, and the
learning process generates ongoing synergy. Each student can contribute to course
discussions and comment on the work of others. One of the most distinctive and
important characteristics of the online learning format is the synergy that exists in
the student-centered Virtual Classroom. Individual students respond to course
material (lectures and course materials, for example) and comments from other
students in an online conversation. Students frequently respond to the themes in the
larger conversation that most clearly speak to their personal concerns. As a result of
these circumstances, smaller dialogues within the group take place at the same time.
While students should read all of their classmates' contributions, they actively
participate in just those sections of the discussion that are relevant to their own
interests. In this approach, students have control over their learning experience and
can adjust class discussions to their unique needs. With this way, students are
making their contributions to the course while taking away a unique combination of
useful information.

b. Disadvantages

Online learning is not without its disadvantages. Problems are raised and some of
them about technology: equity and accessibility to technology, knowledge about
computers and limitations of technology.

Students must be able to access the online learning environment before any online
program can expect to succeed. Inaccessibility, whether for financial or logistical
reasons, will prevent otherwise qualified students from enrolling in the course. This
is a big problem in rural and economically disadvantaged areas. Furthermore, from
an administrative perspective, if students cannot afford the technology used by the
university, they are lost as clients. Internet users in Vietnam pay a fixed monthly or
annual fee for their connection, while others are charged based on the amount of
time they spend online. If participants' online time is limited by the amount of
Internet connectivity they can afford, then education and participation in the online
program will be unequal for all students in the course.

According to survey results, a few positive aspects, such as 90 percent of students

participating throughout the classroom, there are many ideas that online learning

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helps to increase the capacity to use information technology and to participate in
virtual classes. However, this survey also reveals a shocking numbers of the actual
online teaching situation. As a result, most students learn online through phone and
do not have access to internet connection. Up to 85% of students, online learning is
less expensive than traditional schools (classrooms). 36% Three-quarters36 of the
students polled claimed they have seen the subject of classroom harassment. 14-
18% of students also claim that teachers have not changed their teaching methods to
the online format, that they merely provide lectures to the system, and that they do
not have much interaction with students. Furthermore, according to this survey,
64% believe that teachers assign a lot of exercises and that all topics have a weekly
test and harvest. The lecturer demands that numerous documents be read; the
program has not reduced the load, therefore the learning content is especially high.
(Hà Ánh, 2020)

Quick survey cards also highlight a variety of causes that contributed to this
condition. As a result, nearly 80% of students said that they were learning online
but had poor connections, were 'crashed' by the zoom/ MS Teams system, or could
not hear the lecturer clearly. The second ranked constraint stated that "online
learning causes headaches, earaches, and eye pain as a result of studying for too
long and staring at the computer screen, and using too much phone" (accounting for
nearly 68% research sample). Additionally, the internet cause is difficult to focus on
many surroundings when noisy or external elements interfere, accounting for 62
percent of the time. This format restricts contact and interchange between students
and professors, resulting in boredom. Furthermore, several challenges of this type of
learning are noted, such as using the phone, so the operation is limited, looking at
the slide and watching the video unknown, unable to open a huge capacity file and
haven't got familiar with online learning. (Hà Ánh, 2020)

3. Solutions and future recommendations

“This survey aims to capture the desires of the mind as well as learners in the
process of learning in the form of online learning. On that premise, solutions to help
learners learn more effectively in the future will be developed.” (Tô Văn Phương,
2020). Some students encountered issues with internet connectivity, access to
classes, and downloading course materials. Online tests could not be accessed using

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mobile devices by students. In terms of language communication challenges,
learners were unable to successfully connect with teachers during virtual English
language skills lessons, as seen by their responses to "loose" questions.

“It is necessary to shorten the period of online learning so that it is appropriate.

Based on my personal experience, I believe you should not study more than 20
hours each week. Students should be given time to self-study and read the textbooks
on their own. In order to do this, the curriculum must be reduced and modified to
focus on the main ideas, the emphasis of the subject's knowledge. Otherwise,
students will be overloaded. The teacher's class administration needs to be improved
in the online setting as well, so that you can maintain the connection and the rhythm
of the lesson. Furthermore, since students can only focus for 10-20 minutes at a
time, there should be a break between sessions for youngsters to relax and protect
their eyes. In general, these are little techniques that must be observed and improved
progressively during teaching and learning.” (Dương, 2021)

What can be done to reduce the negative consequences? When schools reopen, they
will require resources to make up for the loss of learning. The question of how these
resources will be used and how to target the children who have been particularly
affected remains unanswered. Given the evidence that evaluations are important for
learning, schools should consider postponing rather than skipping internal
assessments. Policies should encourage new graduates to enter the labor force in
order to minimize prolonged durations of unemployment.

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 CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSION

E-learning is a significant and growing trend in the use of technology to enhance

student learning, particularly in universities where programs and curricula must
develop to meet the changing needs of a virtual classroom. The current study
focuses on students' impressions of online learning modules that use self-paced,
independent study learning units among users who have had little prior e-learning
experience. Yet, this study only uses e-learning in one single context, although there
are numerous more methods to apply this notion. Researchers are encouraged to
research e-learning through the use of different disciplines, online learning tools,
courses, and blended learning designs.

Future study could evaluate student learning outcomes in classes that use a hybrid
learning approach to those that use traditional instruction. Another alternative is to
investigate user impressions of online learning modules with much shorter online
learning units than those used in this study. This method is expected to reduce the
"fatigue factor" reported by certain participants and result in higher user
satisfaction. Additionally, there are researchs that conducted to determine which
types of e-learning components - synchronous chat, email, simulations, and so on -
are most beneficial in terms of learner satisfaction and achievement of targeted
student learning objectives.

Furthermore, when students gain experience with online learning, their perspectives
toward e-learning and hybrid techniques may develop. Additional study can be
conducted to investigate concerns of familiarity and technical expertise in relation
to successful e-learning experiences. Overall, more study will most certainly
provide educators and trainers with more information about where, when, and how
to apply e-learning and blended learning most successfully to meet the shifting
needs of individuals both in school and in the business..

This study is not about comparing online vs. face-to-face training; rather, it is about
how we might use technology effectively in the classroom and how students react to
it. Technologies employed in online and hybrid learning circumstances have the
ability to enhance the learning experience and do more than face-to-face or other
ways. The results of this study provide insights into how online components and
strategies might be implemented to improve teaching and learning in the twenty-
first century, particularly as we work to engage students actively in learning,
provide real-world contexts for learning, and promote critical thinking and deep
learning.

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3. Richardson, L. (2003). A challenge to change business education. Mid-
American Journal of Business, 18(1), 5-6.
4. https://www.uis.edu/ion/resources/tutorials/online-education-
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5. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3652757