IMPACT OF ONLINE CLASSES ON

COLLEGE STUDENTS IN CHENNAI

DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

S. RAMYA
PH.D RESEARCH SCHOLAR
GURU NANAK COLLEGE
 INTRODUCTION
COVID-19 has completely disrupted the routine and
normalcy of people since March 2020. The number of
COVID cases and death rates registered are drastically
increasing in India day by day. As such, the
Government of India has taken the decision to shut
down educational institutions, commercial buildings
and organizations.
MHRD & University Grants Commission (UGC), the
statutory body responsible for higher education in
India, constituted committees for issuing guidelines on
promoting online learning. As per the guidelines
various universities and colleges in India have started
online classes. Cont….
 UGC GUIDELINES ISSUED DURING
COVID-19 PANDEMIC

MHRD and UGC has been emphasizing

on continuing with the teaching-learning
process for students using online platforms
such as Google Classroom, Webex, Zoom,
and YouTube streaming with time
restrictions.
 NEED FOR THE STUDY

The aim of this paper is to bring out the

positive and negative impacts of attending
online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, this study will also help instructors
by providing valuable suggestions for the
improvement of online classes.
 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To analyze the problems faced while attending online classes.

To study the impact of online classes on college students.

To offer suggestions for improving online classes.

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
There is no significant difference in mean rank concerning

problems faced by students during online classes.

There is no association between gender of respondents and

overall experience with online classes .

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Primary data
• was collected through online questionnaire
(Google form) by adopting purposive sampling
method from 143 college students who attended
online classes in Chennai city. Further the
collected data was analyzed using tools like
descriptive analysis, chi-square test and
Friedman test on SPSS Version 20 for attaining
statistical results.
• Secondary data for the study was collected from
published sources like academic journals and
websites.
 FINDINGS
Demographic variable

• 73.4% of the respondents are female and 26.6% are male.

• 92.3% are undergraduates and 7.7% are postgraduate degree holders.

Opinion on online classes

• There is a decent number of respondents who are excited to attend online

classes even during COVID pandemic which depicts the positive impact of
online classes.

• Majority of the respondents have agreed that online classes helped in

continuing studies inspite of COVID barrier

• Cont………………
• The backbone of online classes are the instructors who
have got adapted to teaching classes online and have put in
hard work for preparing PDF notes and PPTs while
balancing their family and professional duties during this
pandemic. It is evident from the study that majority of the
respondents understand and respect the efforts taken by their
instructor for conducting online classes even during COVID
pandemic situation.

• Majority (70.7%) of the respondents have agreed that the

teaching environment of a classroom helped in better
learning compared to online classes where it is understood
that these students are habituated to a traditional
classroom setup for acquiring education.
Cont…….
Inferential analysis
• Friedman’s test shows that there is no significant difference
in mean ranks concerning problems faced by students during
online classes at 5% level. It is understood that problems like
Adaptability struggle, Computer literacy, Technical issues,
Time management and Lack of self-motivation faced by
students has equal importance and cannot be ranked.
• Chi-square test shows that there is no association between
gender of respondents and overall experience with online
classes, at 5 % level.
 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 The study is based on a small sample, due to time

constraint.
 Data has been collected from college students who
were attending online classes in Chennai city. Hence,
the findings of the study cannot be generalized.
 Health issues are not covered in the study.
 SUGGESTIONS
Instructor should manage class timings by not taking
extra time, and should finish the class on time.
It is advised to wear headphones as it has microphone
facility to have better voice clarity.
The instructor should make sure to allot time at the end
of every session for students to clarify their doubts.
Clear instructions in bullet points to be given to students
while they login and attend online classes as this can help
students to have clarity and manage their time better.
 CONCLUSION
College students get adapted to a new way of learning
when it is the only option to continue their studies in this
COVID-19 pandemic. The sincere efforts of the instructor in
preparing PDF notes and PPTs while balancing their family
and professional duties are really appreciable. The emotional
state during the pandemic is challenging for both instructor
and students. Success of online class not only depends upon
the instructor but also on the audience. The two systems of
education- traditional classroom teaching and online
teaching have got their own benefits and drawbacks and
cannot be judged particularly. Overall, online classes have
left a positive impact on students which will be effective in
the long run, even after the end of the COVID pandemic.
THANK YOU.