Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-767nl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T16:09:13.410Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 3 - Online Learning

Expectations versus Reality

from Part I - (R)evolution of the Higher Education Sector

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2022

By
Irina Shcheglova ,
Ksenia Vilkova  and
Oksana Dremova
Edited by
Andreas Kaplan
Andreas Kaplan
Affiliation:
ESCP Business School Berlin
Get access

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to student experiences. A sudden switch to an online learning mode may serve as a natural experiment for the educational system. In this chapter, we test four "promises" of online education, which were widely discussed before the pandemic. Based on survey data of 5,464 undergraduate students from eight Russian universities, we compare the expectations to the reality of online learning. As the results show, the massive forced transition to online learning gave students more time to sleep, but they are not less tired than in traditional educational formats. Students find it difficult to ask questions, focus their attention when an instructor delivers material and find a comfortable place for studying. Consequently, the majority of students estimate their learning as ineffective. Relying on these results, we formulate lessons learned from this natural experiment.

Keywords

Covid-19digitalizationexpectationshigher educationinnovationonline learningrealityundergraduates
Type
Chapter
Information
Digital Transformation and Disruption of Higher Education , pp. 22 - 33
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agasisti, T., and Soncin, M. (2021) Higher Education in Troubled Times: On the Impact of Covid-19 in Italy. Studies in Higher Education, 46(1), 86–95.Google Scholar
Chirikov, I., Semenova, T., Maloshonok, N., Bettinger, E., and Kizilcec, R. F. (2020) Online Education Platforms Scale College STEM Instruction with Equivalent Learning Outcomes at Lower Cost. Science advances, 6(15), eaay5324.Google Scholar
de Boer, H. (2021) COVID-19 in Dutch Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education, 46(1), 96–106.Google Scholar
Driscoll, A., Jicha, K., Hunt, A. N., Tichavsky, L., and Thompson, G. (2012) Can Online Courses Deliver In-class Results? A Comparison of Student Performance and Satisfaction in an Online versus a Face-to-Face Introductory Sociology Course. Teaching Sociology, 40(4), 312–331.Google Scholar
Horzum, M. B., Önder, İ., and Beşoluk, Ş. (2014) Chronotype and Academic Achievement among Online Learning Students. Learning and Individual Differences, 30, 106–111.Google Scholar
Huen, L. L. E., Chan, T. W. G., Wai-Man, M. Y., and Wing, Y. K. (2007) Do Medical Students in Hong Kong Have Enough Sleep? Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 5(3), 226–230.Google Scholar
Kaplan, A. M. (2020) Covid-19: A (Potential) Chance for the Digitalization of Higher Education. In Bunkanwanicha, P., Coeurderoy, R. and Ben-Slimane, S., eds., Managing a Post-Covid19 Era. ESCP Impact Papers. ESCP Business School, 307–311.Google Scholar
Kaplan, A. M., and Haenlein, M. (2016) Higher Education and the Digital Revolution: About MOOCs, SPOCs, Social Media, and the Cookie Monster. Business Horizons, 59(4), 441–450.Google Scholar
Khalili, M., and Ostafichuk, P. M. (2020) Online Interaction Tools: Impacts on Students’ Participation and Learning. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kizilcec, R., Saltarelli, A., Reich, J., and Cohen, G. (2017) Closing Global Achievement Gaps in MOOCs. Science, 355(6322), 251–252.Google Scholar
Li, F., Zhou, M., and Fan, B. (2014) Can Distance Education Increase Educational Equality? Evidence from the Expansion of Chinese Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education, 39(10), 1811–1822.Google Scholar
Markova, T., Glazkova, I., and Zaborova, E. (2017) Quality Issues of Online Distance Learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 237, 685–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ni, A. Y. (2013) Comparing the Effectiveness of Classroom and Online Learning: Teaching Research Methods. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 19(2), 199–215.Google Scholar
Paul, J., and Jefferson, F. (2019) A Comparative Analysis of Student Performance in an Online vs. Face-to-Face Environmental Science Course from 2009 to 2016. Frontiers in Computer Science, 1, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Platonova, D., and Semyonov, D. (2018) Russia: The Institutional Landscape of Russian Higher Education. In Huisman, J., Smolentseva, A. and Froumin, I., eds., 25 Years of Transformations of Higher Education Systems in Post-Soviet Countries: Reform and Continuity. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 337–362.Google Scholar
Pradella, M. (2018) Is There a Future for the University Campus? Studiosity. www.studiosity.com/blog/universities-of-the-future.Google Scholar
Roscorla, T. (2012) What Will Higher Education Look Like in 25 Years? Government Technology. www.govtech.com/What-Will-Higher-Education-Look-Like-in-25-Years.html.Google Scholar
Rose, S., and Ramanan, S. (2017) Effect of Sleep Deprivation on the Academic Performance and Cognitive Functions among the College Students: A Cross Sectional Study. Journal of Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences, 14(2), 51–56.Google Scholar
Roshchina, Y. M., Roshchin, S. U., and Rudakov, V. N. (2018) The Demand for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC): Evidence from Russian Education. Educational Studies Moscow, 1, 174–199. doi.org/10.17323/1814-9545-2018-1-174-199.Google Scholar
Salmi, J. (2020) Learning from the Past, Coping with the Present, Readying for the Future: Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education from an Equity Perspective, Lumina Foundation.Google Scholar
Saunders, S. (2019) Flexible and Accessible: How to Make Online Learning Effective. Studiosity. www.studiosity.com/blog/flexible-and-accessible-how-to-make-online-learning-effective.Google Scholar
Urtel, M. G. (2008) Assessing Academic Performance between Traditional and Distance Education Course Formats. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 11(1), 322–330.Google Scholar
Yang, B., and Huang, C. (2021) Turn Crisis into Opportunity in Response to COVID-19: Experience from a Chinese University and Future Prospects. Studies in Higher Education, 46(1), 121–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, B. J. (2008) Investigating Self-Regulation and Motivation: Historical Background, Methodological Developments, and Future Prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 166–183.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×