Online Study versus Face-to-Face Study During COVID-19: Perceived Students’ Feelings Before and After Their First Online Course

This article presents the results of a study about the students’ perception of face-to-face study versus online study before and after a first online course. The project uses surveys of the students of the Dalat University in Vietnam conducted during the fall term of 2021. After analyzing the sample of 708 students, it appears that the main finding is that the perceived positive and negative feelings remain very stable before and after their first online course, with a large majority of positive feelings. The second finding is that a majority of students would have a preference for face-to-face courses before and after their first online course.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic and its many implications, particularly the numerous lockdowns in many countries, has led most educational institutions to resort to distance learning on a large scale. Real challenges arose from this particular situation that have resulted in many recent studies around the world aiming at understanding the students’ perception of the differences between online learning and face-to-face learning. Even before the pandemic, this question has been addressed, for instance, in Paechter and Maier (2010) within which students’ experiences and preferences in e-learning have been presented, and an emphasis is placed on which “aspects of e-learning courses students experience as being favorable for learning?”. Even before that, Johnsonet al. (2000) underwent an empirical study comparing a graduate online course with a similar face-to-face course and concluded that “the students in the face-to-face course held slightly more positive perceptions.” Heckman and Annabi (2005) explored similarities and differences between the learning processes in online asynchronous and face-to-face learning, whereas Kellyet al. (2007) compared online and face-to-face courses from the point of view of student evaluations. Otteret al. (2013) presented a comparison not only to the students’ perceptions but also to the faculty’s perceptions as well.

More recently, but before the COVID-19 pandemic, Wanget al. (2019) explored the need satisfaction and the need dissatisfaction between these two learning contexts for undergraduate students. On the other hand, Yilmaz (2019) explored face-to-face students’ metaphorical perceptions versus distance learning. This study showed that the most repeated metaphors in distance learning were “a golden blessing, a great opportunity, and indispensable,” whereas “essential” was the most repeated metaphor for face-to-face students (Yilmaz, 2019, p. 191). Some studies focused on stress in both contexts (e.g., Lazarevic & Bentz, 2021), within which stress determinants were explored. The main findings of this study show “a significant difference in the perceived level of stress associated with learning in the online group … and the group of students who took the course in the classroom” (Lazarevic & Bentz, 2021, pp. 6–7).

In Vietnam, online training has been developed since late 2010 to enable students living far from educational institutions to access higher education (Ministry of Education & Training, 2016). However, before COVID-19, this form of training only applied to distance education (non-formal) (Ministry of Education & Training, 2017). During the COVID-19 pandemic, to promote the implementation of tasks and solutions to safe teaching, as well as fulfill training plans, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam has allowed universities to deploy online learning (Ministry of Education & Training, 2021). Since then, there have been many works concentrating on online learning in Vietnam, such as barriers to using this learning form at universities (Danget al., 2020; Van & Thi, 2021), students’ feelings when experiencing online learning (Phanet al., 2020), student perceptions of first-time online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam (Kang & Duong, 2021), etc. Nevertheless, there have not been any studies working on the dynamic of students’ perception of online and face-to-face learning before and after their first online course yet.

This article explores the students’ perception of online learning versus face-to-face learning of the students of Dalat University (DLU) in Vietnam before and after their first online course. The research is based on a survey sent by e-mail to all the students of DLU during the fall term of 2021, i.e., right during the COVID-19 pandemic (hereafter referred to as the pandemic). In response to this survey, 708 valid responses have been collected. Some of these responses are presented and commented on in the following sections. The main finding is that the perceived positive and negative feelings remain very stable before and after their first online course but with a large majority of positive feelings. The second finding is that a majority of students would have a preference for face-to-face courses before and after their first online course.

This article is organized as follows: After the Introduction, Section 2 is dedicated to the studies about the perception of online courses vs. face-to-face courses during the pandemic, Section 3 presents the survey and its global data, Section 4 presents the results of the survey, Section 5 concludes this article.

The Perception of Online Courses vs. Face-to-Face Courses During the Pandemic

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in studies comparing these two different learning contexts, face-to-face and distance. For example, Fooet al. (2021) compared the performance of students using distance learning using a problem-based learning approach with traditional learning using the same approach. Their main finding is that “the performance of students utilising the distance learning PBL [problem-based learning] tutorials was lower than that of students participating in the conventional face-to-face approach” (Fooet al., 2021, p. 5).

Chisadzaet al. (2021) investigate the elements that forecast students’ academic achievement following the shift from traditional in-person instruction to online learning. One of their findings suggests that the digital infrastructure and the reduction of the cost of the internet may be necessary to improve the performance of distance learning.

Several studies were dedicated to a specific country. For instance, Muradet al. (2020) focused on the impact of the pandemic in Indonesia, making the same kind of comparison between face-to-face versus online learning. A smart learning multimedia platform for students has been developed as a solution for this pandemic in the Indonesian regions (Murad & Darwis, 2022). This solution aimed at addressing the issue of reduced engagement in learning as the root cause of decreased student academic performance.

Finnegan (2021) studied the impact on student performance when moving from face-to-face to online delivery during the pandemic in an Irish higher education institute. The main finding is that the student’s performance was marginally worse in the COVID-19 context, but the perceptions of “their achievement of learning outcomes were worse in the online environment” (Finnegan, 2021, p. 1).

Early during the pandemic, Baber (2020) examined the determinants of undergraduate students’ perceived learning outcomes and their influence on their satisfaction in both South Korea and India. The main findings is that the students’ perceived learning outcome and satisfaction are positively influenced by “Variables such as interact in the online class, student motivation to participate in the online class, course structure, and instructor facilitation and knowledge are important determinants of perceived student learning and student satisfaction” (Baber, 2020, p. 290). It also appeared that there is no significant difference between the two countries in these students’ perceptions.

In the case of Agasisti and Soncin (2021), the study is related to Italy and particularly to the Lombardy region. The main findings are that focusing on student needs and strong community involvement was the key factor that united the organization in responding to the crisis and preparing for the future, with both digital and physical aspects intertwined.

Other studies of interest regarding how different regions reacted to the pandemic of COVID-19 in higher education in other countries may be found in De Boer (2021) for Ducthland, Junget al. (2021) for Hong Kong, van Schalkwyk (2021) for South Africa, Yang and Huang (2021) for China, and Moja (2021) for the USA. Tettamanziet al. (2023) address a new perspective after the pandemic and emphasize the necessity of transitioning to active learning methodologies. A meta-analysis (Fernández-Bataneroet al., 2022) showed that online education served as a valuable option for advancing higher education; however, various shortcomings were noted during the shift to online learning. Another meta-analysis methodology by Ali (2020) showed that universities worldwide are moving more and more towards online teaching.

Paudel (2020) highlights the benefits, challenges, and strategies for online education during and after the pandemic, whereas, in the same orientation, Adedoyin and Soykan (2023) explore the challenges and opportunities induced by the pandemic for online learning.

In Vietnam, there were four main barriers to learning online, namely economic barriers, interactive barriers, psychology barriers, and environmental barriers (Danget al., 2020; Phanet al., 2020). Phanet al. (2020) point out differences in satisfaction levels of students in universities in Ho Chi Minh City that teach online by using learning management systems, including learner interface, learning community, system content, and personalization. Results prove that students were satisfied with the system content, the usefulness in private learning of LMS, and the learner interface; however, students were neither dissatisfied nor satisfied with technical problems, the ease of finding information, user-friendliness of the LMS, timely support from the learning community, and connection speed with LMS (Phanet al., 2020).

Our research follows the same objective: comparing the students’ perceptions of online courses versus face-to-face courses during the pandemic. Although Vietnam was less affected by the pandemic than a lot of countries, many courses were offered online in response to this unexpected situation (Ministry of Education & Training, 2021). This was the case for Dalat University, Vietnam (DLU). To better know the students’ perceptions about this objective, a questionnaire was sent to all the students of DLU by e-mail during the fall term of 2021. 708 valid answers were received. The analysis of this sample is presented hereafter. As the questionnaire comprises questions that may lead to quantitative analysis as well as qualitative analysis, this article only focuses on the first kind of analysis.

Method

The survey is based on a questionnaire comprising both open-ended and close-ended questions. This may lead to quantitative analysis as well as qualitative analysis. It is written in Vietnamese with an English translation. It comprises 18 questions, whereas the 11 first require a choice among multiple possibilities (close-ended questions). The 4 last questions are open-ended. The other questions are close-ended, with a possible extension to be open-ended depending on the chosen choice (the questionnaire was created using Google Forms).

The first questions are of general descriptive interest: major, progress in their program, gender, use of computer at home. Then, questions about courses: Did they have an IT class at the university? What kind of delivery mode was used for their first online course (asynchronous, synchronous, or a mix)? What were their feelings regarding their first online course? Would they have preferred a face-to-face course instead? Their feelings regarding ANY course after having completed their first online course; their feelings regarding ANY course after having completed their first online course; the number of online courses already completed; overall, would they have preferred to take a majority of their courses online; what did they like or dislike in online asynchronous courses; what did they like or dislike in online synchronous courses; what did they like or dislike in mixed online courses.

Results and Discussion

Sample Characteristics

In the sample of 708 students, 76% were females, and 24% were males. This may be explained by the great number of responses received from the students of the Faculty of Pedagogy: 226 from the secondary programs and 130 from the newly opened primary program, for a total of 356, which represents 50.28% of the total sample. This may be partially explained by the fact that the survey has been sent from this faculty. The high proportion of females reflects the large proportion of female students in the Faculty of Pedagogy (Bari & Nguyễn, 2022).

The distribution according to the major of the students is shown in Table I. In decreasing order, there is the Law program, followed by Primary education. The Biotechnology and the Secondary English Pedagogy programs occupy the third rank, and so on. Within the item “Other majors,” there are Chemistry, Mathematics, Electronic engineering, Environmental science, and Biology.

Table I. Distribution According to the Major of the Students

Major	N	%
Law	159	22.46%
Primary education	130	18.36%
Biotechnology	102	14.41%
Sec. English pedagogy	101	14.27%
Other sec. pedagogy	64	9.04%
Sec. chemistry pedagogy	61	8.62%
Other majors	52	7.34%
English language	39	5.51%
TOTAL	708	100.00%

For the purpose of this research, it was interesting to find out the proportion of students having access to a computer at home. This is shown in Fig. 1. Almost 78% of the students have access to a computer. It is understandable that almost 22% of the students who have no access to a computer at home will experience many difficulties, especially during the short lockdown periods established in Dalat City. This may lead to a more negative perception of online courses for those students.

Fig. 1. Access to a computer at home.

Fig. 2 shows the progression of the students in their program (from the 1^st year to the 4^th year). The more advanced the progression is, the fewer responses there are; since 263 students were in their 1^st year, whereas only 95 were in their 4th year. One of the factors that explains this situation is the attrition of the student number during the progression in their programs. It is also possible that the more the students are advanced in their programs, the more they are engaged in their learning activities and, thus, feel they have no time to complete such surveys.

Fig. 2. Progression of the students in their program.

Next section shows the results of the survey from the point of view of the students’ perception about the online courses.

Students’ Perception About the Online Courses

Before exploring the students’ perception about the online courses, let’s begin with some general responses about their courses. Table II shows the number of IT courses taken at the university. This information is useful because online courses suppose a certain ability to use computer applications and the necessity for a minimal IT infrastructure. Even though two thirds of the students did not have any IT course at the university, all the students have had an IT course at their high school. Some programs provide courses on IT for teaching and learning, especially the secondary teaching programs.

Table II. IT Course at the University

Course	N	%
No IT course	473	66.81%
IT in teaching and learning	77	10.88%
Basic informatics	73	10.31%
Basic informatics and IT in teaching and learning	55	7.77%
Prefer not to say	30	4.24%
Total	708	100.00%

Table III shows how many students have already had a first online course along with the modality of that course. It appears that a very large majority, i.e., 91%, already had a first online course. This number reflects the important means undertaken by DLU to respond to pandemic situations inducing a large shift from face-to-face teaching to online teaching. Most of the online courses were delivered synchronously whereas only 8% were delivered asynchronously and 21% were mixed.

Table III. First Online Course

Mode	N	%
Synchronous	491	69.35%
Mixed (asynchronous and synchronous)	150	21.19%
Asynchronous	58	8.19%
No online course yet	9	1.27%
Total	708	100.00%

Table IV shows the perceived feelings of the students before their first online course. Let’s call the first feelings’ category the positive one and it groups the items “comfortable” and “enthusiastic”. The second category which groups the items “uncomfortable” and “anxious” will be called negative feelings’ category.

Table IV. Feelings before the First Online Course

Feelings	N	%
Comfortable	391	55.23%
Mixed feelings	108	15.25%
Anxious	68	9.60%
Enthusiastic	62	8.76%
Uncomfortable	61	8.62%
Prefer not to say	18	2.54%

It appears that a majority, 64%, had positive feelings: 55.23% comfortable and 8.76% enthusiastic, whereas 18.20% had negative feelings; around 15% were having mixed feelings.

Table V shows the feelings of the students after their first online course. One can see that almost the same majority, 63%, still had positive feelings (60.59% comfortable and 2.54% enthusiastic). The same thing happened with negative feelings: 18.51% (anxious or uncomfortable); the “mixed feelings” remains almost the same, and a little bit prefer not to express their feelings.

Table V. Feelings after the First Online Course

Feelings	N	%
Comfortable	429	60.59%
Mixed feelings	104	14.69%
Uncomfortable	77	10.88%
Anxious	54	7.63%
Prefer not to say	26	3.67%
Enthusiastic	18	2.54%
Total	708	100.00%

Even though the two categories of the perceived feelings are very stable, the components of each category are slightly different. As shown in Table VI, 5.37% of students became more comfortable whereas 6.21% became less enthusiastic. Overall, it appears that the perceived students’ feelings remain the same. One possible explanation of this stability may be found in the great number of the online courses that have been taken by many students (see Table VI). We can hypothesize that the feelings relating to the first online course are rather distant, and therefore diffuse.

Table VI. Perceived Feelings’ Differences after vs. before the First Online Course

Feelings	N	%
Comfortable	38	5.37%
Uncomfortable	16	2.26%
Prefer not to say	8	1.13%
Mixed feelings	−4	−0.56%
Anxious	−14	−1.98%
Enthusiast	−44	−6.21%

Fig. 3 shows that at the time of the survey, 23.73% of the students have completed 1 online course. More than a quarter have completed over 9 online courses.

Fig. 3. Number of online courses already completed at the time of the survey.

Table VII shows the feelings of the students regarding their preference between online courses and face-to-face courses before their first mandatory online course. It appears that almost two thirds of the students would have preferred face-to-face courses. Whereas the remaining are divided equally between those who are undecided and those who would have preferred online courses.

Table VII. Preference for Face-to-Face Courses before the First Online Course

	N	%
Yes	457	64.55%
No	124	17.51%
I don’t know	127	17.94%
Total	708	100.00%

When asked the same question but after their first online course, it appears that a majority of 60% have the same attitude: they would have preferred face-to-face courses (see Table VIII). The undecided remain almost the same whereas those who would have preferred online courses has increased a little bit (+3.39%).

Table VIII. Preference for Face-to-Face Courses after the First Online Course

	N	%
Yes	427	60.31%
No	148	20.90%
I don’t know	133	18.79%
Total	708	100.00%

When asked the same question but with no reference to the first online course, the responses are somehow different. It appears that almost half of the students (49.22%, see Table IX) still would have preferred face-to-face courses. Whereas, same as for the responses in Tables VII and VIII, the remaining are still divided equally (but with higher scores) between those who are undecided and those who would have preferred online courses.

Table IX. Overall Preference to Online Courses

	N	%
No	347	49.22%
Yes	179	25.39%
I don’t know	179	25.39%
Total	705	100.00%

Conclusion

This article explored the students’ perception of online learning versus face-to-face learning of the students before and after their first online course. The research is based on a survey sent by e-mail to all the students of DLU during the fall term of 2021, i.e., right during the Covid-19 pandemic. After analyzing the 708 valid responses, the main findings is that the perceived positive and negative feelings remain very stable before and after their first online course but with a large majority of positive feelings. The second finding is that a majority of students would have a preference for face-to-face courses before and after their first online course.

Future work will analyze the responses of the open-ended questions of the same survey in order to have a better understanding of the students’ motivations.