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E-Learning at the University of Petra During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons and Recommendations

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Higher Education in the Arab World

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Abstract

The fear of COVID-19 spreading in 2019 led many governments over the world to close down their institutions, including schools and universities. Such a decision was challenging as the education sector in Jordan was not ready to offer the uncommonly used e-learning. On the other hand, this challenge was converted into an opportunity following the rich experience gained by both students and instructors in the education sector. The opinions of the stakeholders in the education sector were diverse, with some encouraging e-learning, and others believing that the traditional learning style is more fruitful. Many investigators have studied the advantages and disadvantages of this form of learning. Such studies focused on solving e-learning issues related to student support, assessment, course development, course structure, infrastructure and institutional support, faculty support, the use of technology, and course interaction. These previous studies, however, did not consider the computer skills of instructors or the academic level of the students, both of which play a major role in their satisfaction with the new e-learning experience. By the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have embraced e-learning in their academic curricula. It seems that e-learning is a must as whole aspects of life are converting to digital formats; but such a conversion has to be accompanied by offering new policies and infrastructures that make such learning more attractive. The opinions of instructors and students from the University of Petra (UOP) regarding their satisfaction with e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are presented and analyzed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Arab Academy for Science (AAS) for giving them the opportunity to share the experience of the University of Petra at the esteemed conference held in Beirut (Lebanon) from 11–12 November 2022. The feedback of speakers and participants in the AAS conference helped the authors significantly to improve the content of this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Petra, Amman, 11196, Jordan

    Rami A. Abdel-Rahem

  2. Department of Software Engineering, Faculty of Information Technology, University of Petra, Amman, 11196, Jordan

    Nuha El-Khalili

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  1. Rami A. Abdel-Rahem
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  2. Nuha El-Khalili
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Correspondence to Rami A. Abdel-Rahem .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chancellor Office, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan

    Adnan Badran

  2. Department of Biology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

    Elias Baydoun

  3. Dundee, UK

    Sandra Hillman

  4. Department of Biology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

    Joelle Mesmar

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Abdel-Rahem, R.A., El-Khalili, N. (2023). E-Learning at the University of Petra During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons and Recommendations. In: Badran, A., Baydoun, E., Hillman, S., Mesmar, J. (eds) Higher Education in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33568-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33568-6_8

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