Students’ Perspective on the New Normal Virtual Learning

Abstract

COVID-19 has brought a drastic change in the educational system as many universities in the world were obliged to move from face-to-face interaction to online learning as a preventive measure against the spread of the disease infection. This study aimed to explore the thoughts and opinions of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology students (BSIT) on the new normal virtual learning using NVivo software to facilitate the process of defining and analyzing the themes and to determine the common difficulties experienced by the students in the new learning set up. The study used a qualitative design. 150 BSIT students served as the respondents. The data gathered were processed in the NVivo software to get important verbalizations and describe what was common among the students’ opinions. The derived meaning or statements were formulated and categorized into codes and themes. There were five themes derived such as learning is hard due to limited or poor internet connectivity; in this time of the pandemic, gadgets are the teachers; money is most needed to buy prepaid load for phones; learning is harder because of lack of tools like a laptop, and; problems in the module requirements are high. With the Students’ Perspective on New Normal Virtual Learning, with its pros and cons, online classes must not prevent students from getting the education they need and deserve even amid the pandemic. Hence, it is advised that virtual learning should be planned, implemented, and evaluated to lessen the problems thus, achieve better learning objectives for each course.