Students make positive evaluation of remote learning

The majority of Macau residents who are currently university students are satisfied with the e-learning and remote study being offered during the coronavirus outbreak, according to the latest survey conducted by the Macau Youth Summit.

In late January, Macau recorded its first two Covid-19 cases. As part of the city’s response to the epidemic, the local government promoted the use of an e-learning platform to help students of non-tertiary education to resume their studies.

In the first half of February, local universities also started teaching courses on e-learning platforms.

Recently, the Macau Youth Summit sent questionnaires out to local students. The respondents were Macau local residents enrolled in programs in either local Macau universities or overseas universities.

The survey intended to learn about Covid-19’s influence on Macau’s higher education. In total, 68 valid responses were collected, 62 of which were from students at local Macau universities. The rest were from students at mainland and Taiwanese universities.

According to the survey results, 55% of respondents spent more than six hours on e-learning per week.   

Most respondents made positive evaluations of their schools’ arrangements amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The respondents endorsed e-learning for its flexibility regarding time and location, but considered the learning experience inferior compared to traditional teaching in physical classrooms.

Forty-seven percent of respondents believe that e-learning is helping students keep up with the pace of study.

The association submitted the survey results to the local government, hoping that it would improve e-learning software and hardware.

Based on the results of the survey, the association made four proposals: set up a real-time communication platform; train teaching staff in online teaching; improve hardware; and provide online translation.

As of today, the city’s education authority has not decided on a school reopening date. Previously, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau had stated that schools would resume only if two criteria were met: there must be no new infections in the neighboring Guangdong province for a period of 14 days, and the cities of Zhuhai and Zhongshan must both resume classes.