Tang, Chun Meng, and Chaw, Lee Yen (2021) Media and public opinion about online learning during the Covid pandemic: a content analysis of newspaper articles. In: 20th European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL 2021). pp. 471-479. From: ECEL 2021: 20th European Conference on e-Learning, 28-29 October 2021, Berlin, Germany.

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Abstract

Amid the Covid breakout in 2020, the Malaysian government was forced to temporarily close education institutions in the country to prevent the spread of the virus among students. All of a sudden, students found themselves struggling to accommodate to an online learning environment in which they no longer met their classmates and lecturers in person in a physical classroom. Instead, they needed to sit in front of a computer screen watching live-streamed or pre-recorded lessons, participating in online discussion forums, or submitting their homework to a virtual dropbox. Although some students might have had some experience with a blended learning environment, a complete online learning environment was entirely new to many. Apart from students, lecturers and education institutions from the primary and secondary to the tertiary levels also had to cope with the changing circumstances and technical challenges of online learning. This study attempted to better understand people’s discussions about teaching and learning in an online environment during the pandemic period, particularly the issues faced by students, lecturers, and education institutions. Using a text analytics software, this study performed a content analysis on a total of 322 newspaper articles that were published between January to September 2020 in the top three English newspapers in Malaysia. These articles covered issues pertaining to private and public education institutions from the primary to the tertiary levels. The findings show that the discussions can be categorised into twelve underlying themes, i.e. internet accessibility, learning continuity, learning environment, learning design, learning activities, learning resources, learning technology, learning performance, online learning benefits, online learning challenges, self-directed learning, and skill sets. The findings from this study can be useful to stakeholders in the education and training sector, e.g. students, parents, lecturers, governments, education institutions, etc., in different ways to further improve the overall teaching and learning experience in an online environment.

Item ID:	69970
Item Type:	Conference Item (Research - E1)
ISBN:	978-1-914587-18-4
Keywords:	content analysis, learning environment, teaching and learning, online learning, pandemic
Related URLs:	Publisher
Copyright Information:	Copyright the authors, 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Date Deposited:	23 Nov 2021 23:08
FoR Codes:	39 EDUCATION > 3901 Curriculum and pedagogy > 390102 Curriculum and pedagogy theory and development @ 70% 39 EDUCATION > 3904 Specialist studies in education > 390412 Teacher and student wellbeing @ 30%
SEO Codes:	16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1601 Learner and learning > 160199 Learner and learning not elsewhere classified @ 30% 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1602 Schools and learning environments > 160201 Equity and access to education @ 20% 16 EDUCATION AND TRAINING > 1603 Teaching and curriculum > 160304 Teaching and instruction technologies @ 50%
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