IADR Abstract Archives
Challenges and impact of e-learning as a teaching tool among staff members at the SOHS.
Objectives: To determine:
1.challenges experienced by dental staff at Wits with respect to e-learning.
2.Attitudes of dental staff about e-Learning at Wits.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 104 full-time staff members and periodical dental staff members who are involved in the teaching for the Bachelor of Dentistry and Bachelor of Oral Health Sciences degrees. An online questionnaire was used as a data-collection instrument to obtain information and get responses to all the research questions.
Results: The study results revealed that some dental staff members had been involved in online teaching before the COVID-19 pandemic 53.4%, and 46.6% of dental staff members had not been involved in online teaching before the COVID-19 pandemic. As to whether the institution provides sufficient materials such as laptops and Wi-Fi, 68.5% responded yes, and 31.5% responded no. The most significant disadvantage of online learning reported by the dental staff was technical difficulties 84%, network issues reported by 78.1%, lack of student interaction 71.2%, and 49.3% mentioned lack of training of staff members. Followed by the advantages of online learning, 91.8% of the participants responded that lessons can be recorded, 69.9% indicated that online can be done from home without barriers, 64,4% indicated that online materials are accessible, 20.5% responded that students are interactive and participative, and feedback is not delayed. Participants responded to the question, “what do you use for online teaching?” the majority of the participants used laptops for online teaching 78.1%, 24.7% used cell phones, 23.3% used a desktop, the rest of the participants 16.4% use whatever is available at the time, and 5.5% used tablets.
Conclusions: The current study supports the use of online learning across the entire health sciences faculty, citing its numerous benefits. E-learning teaching promotes interaction between educators and students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, online education is simple to manage. It began as ‘emergency remote learning,’ but we can overcome any limitations with additional investments. There is a need to train faculty on how to use online modalities and create lesson plans with less cognitive load and more interactivity
1.challenges experienced by dental staff at Wits with respect to e-learning.
2.Attitudes of dental staff about e-Learning at Wits.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 104 full-time staff members and periodical dental staff members who are involved in the teaching for the Bachelor of Dentistry and Bachelor of Oral Health Sciences degrees. An online questionnaire was used as a data-collection instrument to obtain information and get responses to all the research questions.
Results: The study results revealed that some dental staff members had been involved in online teaching before the COVID-19 pandemic 53.4%, and 46.6% of dental staff members had not been involved in online teaching before the COVID-19 pandemic. As to whether the institution provides sufficient materials such as laptops and Wi-Fi, 68.5% responded yes, and 31.5% responded no. The most significant disadvantage of online learning reported by the dental staff was technical difficulties 84%, network issues reported by 78.1%, lack of student interaction 71.2%, and 49.3% mentioned lack of training of staff members. Followed by the advantages of online learning, 91.8% of the participants responded that lessons can be recorded, 69.9% indicated that online can be done from home without barriers, 64,4% indicated that online materials are accessible, 20.5% responded that students are interactive and participative, and feedback is not delayed. Participants responded to the question, “what do you use for online teaching?” the majority of the participants used laptops for online teaching 78.1%, 24.7% used cell phones, 23.3% used a desktop, the rest of the participants 16.4% use whatever is available at the time, and 5.5% used tablets.
Conclusions: The current study supports the use of online learning across the entire health sciences faculty, citing its numerous benefits. E-learning teaching promotes interaction between educators and students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, online education is simple to manage. It began as ‘emergency remote learning,’ but we can overcome any limitations with additional investments. There is a need to train faculty on how to use online modalities and create lesson plans with less cognitive load and more interactivity