Title: Effectiveness of online learning and the most preferred video conferencing software amid COVID-19: perception of Indian students using mixed methods

Authors: Naman Doshi; Aditya Jain; Eesha Martis; Sejal Rastogi; Shubha Puthran; Prathamesh Churi

Addresses: Department of Computer, NMIMS, Mumbai, India ' Department of Computer, NMIMS, Mumbai, India ' Department of Computer, NMIMS, Mumbai, India ' Department of Computer, NMIMS, Mumbai, India ' Department of Computer, NMIMS, Mumbai, India ' Department of Computer, NMIMS, Mumbai, India

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a shift from traditional classroom education to online learning. This paper aims to discover the impact of this transition through four research questions - students' perceptions of online learning, most preferred e-learning software, the preferred mode of post-pandemic learning, and software features to enhance class interactivity. 215 survey responses of engineering students from NMIMS University were collected for quantitative analysis, and ten students were interviewed for qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis reveals that online learning is not significantly effective as compared to traditional offline learning. The most popular platform is Microsoft Teams, followed by Google Meet and Zoom. The qualitative analysis reveals that the majority of students would prefer offline learning even for disciplines that do not require any hands-on training. The results of our study can help in deciding on the e-learning environment which promotes effective learning.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; online learning; offline learning; software; questionnaire; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFSE.2022.123981

International Journal of Forensic Software Engineering, 2022 Vol.1 No.4, pp.348 - 377

Received: 08 Sep 2021
Accepted: 05 Oct 2021
Published online: 05 Jul 2022 *

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