Opportunities and Challenges of Online Teaching and Learning during COVID-19 Lockdown from Faculty’s and Students’ Perspective at Women Medical & Dental College Abbottabad
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic originated in Wuhan, China, and it rapidly spread across the globe halting all activities and confining everyone indoors. Almost all matters were limited to computer screens and the internet, including education. All the schools, colleges and universities resorted to online learning and teaching. This transition from traditional to online learning has occurred in almost all the educational institutions in Pakistan. E-learning brought many opportunities like safety from contracting COVID-19, time conservation and comfort of home. Challenges such as poor internet connection, inadequate experience with online study platforms and lack of motivation for students and teachers also came forward. The study concluded that 88.5% of students and 60% of faculty members preferred physical classes because of lack of focus and internet connectivity issues. 40% of the faculty faced internet connectivity issues, and 28% faced lack of participation as the main challenge. 74% of faculty members were familiar with MS Teams, while 26% were not. 65% of students did not find their level of assessment to be the same as it was in physical classes. Secondly, the opportunity for faculty was that 60% of the teachers found online teaching helpful in their financial stability during COVID-19. For students, the ability to continue their education despite the pandemic was the biggest advantage.