The satisfaction of faculty members should be adequately considered by policy makers in educational institutions using e-learning (Yengin, Karahoca and Karahoca 2011). This study aimed to examine faculty members' satisfaction with e-learning transition during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a recent study on the challenges and opportunities of e-learning in Libya, Maatuk et al. 2021) stated that faculty members perceived e-learning as useful in developing students' technological skills and facilitating their learning during the pandemic.
The study showed that faculty members who received appropriate training were more satisfied than those who did not receive training. In another study, Hodges and colleagues investigated faculty members' perceptions of online delivery at a US-based research university (Hodges, Way, and Shepherd 2013). However, faculty members felt that online teaching is more demanding and intensive than face-to-face teaching.
Similarly, in their study to investigate the readiness of medical faculty to deliver e-learning, Houshmandi et al. 2019) reported that faculty members' technology readiness was less than ideal and recommended continued technological professional development to ensure faculty readiness for e-learning. The study followed a cross-sectional survey design to investigate faculty members' satisfaction with e-learning in the UAE. The study was conducted at Fatima College of Health Science (FCHS), one of the leading nursing and allied health education providers in the UAE.
Each of the researchers started by marking and identifying possible codes for the units of meaning in the text.
Results
Most of the participants had more than five years of academic experience working in various roles and belonged to the 31-40 age group. Among the five domains of the OISM tool in Table 3, Course was the highest rated. The highest level of satisfaction in this domain (as in Table 4.) was seen among the prompt 'I am accessible to students in an e-learning environment' (M=4.07, SD of respondents agreed and strongly agreed.
73% of participants disagreed with the request "My institution offers fair compensation or incentives for teaching online." (M=2.74, SD=1.182) Moreover, 60% disagreed with "Teachers have enough time to design and develop online courses. ' (M=2.85, SD=1.314). One of the main issues described by faculty members was the need for training in the management of the new technologies needed to deliver online instruction.The perceived lack of training placed undue pressure on those who were not sufficiently proficient in fully online courses.
My feedback from the students is that they do not enjoy the current e-learning and prefer face-to-face teaching. The faculty members expressed concerns about both the teaching and assessment aspects of online education. They realized that online teaching was a good temporary substitute for face-to-face sessions in light of the COVID-19 situation.
One of the main concerns was the prevention of academic misconduct, consistency and appropriateness of the examinations in the assessed knowledge or skills. For the health care professions, online education should be limited to some extent, which does not affect the quality of education. -learning is a substitute for on-campus learning during a challenging time or for specific courses that do not require a hands-on or interactive session, especially in the health field.
The integrity of the assessments cannot be preserved. inaccuracy in evaluating students, clinical and laboratory components are affected, less one-to-one interaction. One of the main disadvantages was that students interacted less during the online environment than classroom-based sessions. Students' e-learning sessions are not optimal as there were some distractions at home during the sessions.
I feel that most students do not take e-learning seriously. however, they do not represent the non-engaging majority.
Discussion
Al-Zahrani (2015) also reported a similar observation regarding institutional support, where Elshami et al. 2021) reported high levels of satisfaction in this area. Despite the institution's requirement that faculty pass IC3 certification courses, most faculty members expressed concerns about the lack of training and support related to e-learning implementation. Also, the rapid transition to e-learning may not have prepared faculty members to deal effectively with emerging instructional technology, and faculty may have expected more training, especially in preparing and conducting assessments.
Dealing with student difficulties during teaching and assessment, such as internet failure, technical failure, broken camera, and student understanding of instructions, may have affected overall faculty satisfaction. The need for more training has been similarly expressed among professors at other universities (Hodges, Way, and Shepherd 2013; Maatuk et al. 2021; Jarab et al. 2022). Faculty workload was a major concern among respondents due to the long preparation and administrative time required to convert face-to-face sessions to full online sessions.
In Wingo, Ivankova, and Moss' synthesis of empirical studies of technology acceptance among faculty and their perceptions of teaching online, workload was also cited as a common concern of faculty members, as online programs require significant time and commitment to deliver (Wingo, Ivankova, and Moss 2017). While the prevailing opinion among faculty members in this study was that online teaching is an excellent substitute for face-to-face sessions during the COVID-19 situation, faculty members in Elshami et al. 2021) and Chiasson, Terras and Smart (2015) studies expressed divergent opinions. Faculty members with a positive experience with e-learning agreed that it is equivalent to traditional classroom learning, while those who never taught online or had a negative experience with e-learning did not see it on par with classroom learning.
However, faculty were not sufficiently satisfied with both student-to-student and instructor-to-student interactions for similar reasons as Johnson et al. It included how necessary the following factors contribute to effective and robust online teaching: 'regular communication with students', 'know the students', 'improvement of teacher-student relationship', 'guide student learning', 'create a interactive learning environment,' and 'integration of student feedback'. One of the concerns is the lack of focused attendance, in which students attend the sessions but do not have the necessary attention to the subject matter.
Regarding academic misconduct in online exams, faculty members have expressed concerns about academic misconduct during online courses. Faculty may use measures to prevent potential misconduct, such as a learning management system that monitors student activity during an exam. Faculty members should continually reinforce good practice and inculcate the values of honesty, ethics and good behavior that are essential to a professional's success.
Conclusion
They may also consider alternative assessment types rather than regular recall questions, such as scenario-based activities and written assignments in which students must synthesize learned information instead of simply recalling concepts. These efforts can encourage and motivate faculty members to achieve their role, strengthen effective e-learning strategies, improve student enrollment and satisfaction, and develop overall institutional performance.
Recommendations and Limitations
Specific guidelines and uniform settings are recommended to maintain consistency across all courses taken by the students. One of the limitations of this study is that the participants' attention to complete the survey items may have been influenced by their high workload, work commitments or time-related factors. Therefore, there is the possibility that some participants gave impulsive responses that do not necessarily reflect their actual experiences.
Statement of Ethics
In addition, all participants were from a single institution representing different faculties of health sciences in the United Arab Emirates. All electronic and hard copy data were stored and secured with the principal investigator throughout the study.
Disclosure Statement
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