Switching from face-to-face to electronic-mediated education caused by COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of student perceptions

Abstract

Mozambique, like several other countries in the region and all over the world, faces the dilemma of the need to guarantee the minimum learning conditions for students during the state of emergency due to COVID-19. It is in this sense, which the present study aimed to analyze the perceptions of students of the Pedagogical University of Maputo (UP-Maputo) in the use of electronic platforms as a resource to support classroom teaching during the State of Emergency. The research had a quanti-qualitative character, where the analysis and control of the different variables was foreseen. It consisted of collecting information on the objectives of operationalizing the teaching and learning process in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, through the application of an electronically administered questionnaire. A sample of 1787 students was obtained, corresponding to 13.61% of the universe of students enrolled in the year 2020. The survey showed that most of the students, around 64% used some electronic platform to support their teaching and on-site learning process, after the declaration of a state of emergency the percentage of users of electronic platforms increased to 100%, highlighting the use of WhatsApp to the detriment of the others (SIGIUP, MOODLE® Institutional, Google Classroom and ZOOM®). The device they use, because 95% of the students access the platforms using their mobile phones, justifies the massive use of WhatsApp. Regarding the use of different electronic platforms, most of the students revealed a platform usage that varies from “Many Times” and “Always”. Students refer to the need for training in the use of the different platforms made available to them to support their teaching and learning process. The research made it possible to conclude that students are aware of the need to appropriate the new form of teaching they are subject to, despite having significant financial difficulties in the acquisition of internet packages and in the use of some of the electronic platforms made available for learning.