Comparative analysis of e-learning during covid-19 pandemic: a cross sectional survey among health sciences students in northern India

Background & Aims : To prepare qualified doctors for today’s environment in which the internet provides universal digital information, the teaching methods used for educating and training medical school students should be reconsidered for their effectiveness. The aim of this study was to investigate effectiveness of online teaching in facilitating medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic in northern India. Materials & Methods : This Cross-sectional, online survey study was conducted on total 334 students of 18-22 years' age by giving questionnaire which consisted of 10 questions. Informed consent was also taken. Questionnaire was given through online Google forms and link shared through social media and responses were collected. Questions were 5-point Likert-type questions, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Responses were collected in a one-week period. Statistical analysis was done using MS Excel program (ver. 2019, Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA). Results : It was shown that 36.5% of the students disagree for “effectiveness of online teaching whereas 69.9% of them agree for “preference for online teaching to offline teaching. The commonly perceived disadvantages as perceived by students to using online teaching platforms were problematic internet connection (42.5%) and lack of two-way interaction. (22.2%). P values calculated for mean of paramedical and medical group was 0.03, which was statistically significant . Conclusion : Our study results showed that 82.6% of the students agreed that online teaching has not successfully replaced the offline teaching. Whereas 91.5% of the students felt they could not learn practical skills through online teaching. This indicates practical skills remain as potential disadvantage for online teaching.