Assessment of University Students on Online Remote Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea: An Empirical Study

Satisfaction of Online University Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The rapid global spread of the coronavirus disease affected the education sector, which had to adapt its teaching methodology to an online scenario to curb the increase in infections. This study aimed to determine the satisfaction level of university students regarding the online education they received during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with nursing degree students. Convenience sampling was used because of the accessibility of the sample, estimating 168 as the minimum sample size needed. The satisfaction level was measured using the "Questionnaire on Satisfaction of University Students with Online Training" (CUSAUF). The sample consisted of 215 participants. The overall level of satisfaction was high. Subject content and teaching methodology were the most highly rated aspects, while aspects related to lecturer-student communication and communication among students were rated the worst. The Cronbach's α for the satisfaction scale was 0.94, showing high internal consistency and reliability of the sample. Online education could be considered an alternative methodology for teaching learning modules or complementing face-to-face training in future training programs.

How Will Video Conference Fatigue Affect Participants of MICE in the With-COVID-19 Era? Focusing on Video Conference Quality, Social Presence Theory, and Flow

Is our mental health at risk due to spending a significant amount of time online due to the COVID-19 pandemic? In the new era that we are living in, where we live a life that coexists with the virus, we are participating in video conferences held online rather than on-site in order to slow the spread of the virus. Video conferencing has become our necessity since March 2020, and is becoming a new standard, especially in the MICE industry. Recently, however, people who have excessively used video conference platforms are complaining of video conference fatigue, which is a new negative emotion such as stress, anxiety, and worry as well as general work fatigue. Therefore, this study focused on the mechanism of video conferencing in MICE, which is rapidly digitally converted by the virus, and the digital psychological factors of the participants. This study derived the quality attributes of video conferencing in MICE and empirically analyzed the relationship with digital psychological factors of the video conference participants, such as video conference fatigue, social presence, and flow. One hundred and thirty-eight valid questionnaires collected from participants of several international academic conferences held in EXCO, Daegu, Korea, from 23 to 28 May 2021, were analyzed. The main results are as follows. First, unlike general video conference fatigue, MICE video conference fatigue was not found to be related to the preceding and following variables. This is due to the characteristics of the MICE video conference and the expertise of the participants. Second, social presence was identified as an important variable in MICE video conferencing. Although media-mediated, the feeling of being present with the presenter and participants was found to affect the participants' flow in the video conference. Third, in this study, the fun factor was identified as the most important video conference quality that can enhance the social presence of the video conference participants of MICEs.

Sustainable Development of University EFL Learners’ Engagement, Satisfaction, and Self-Efficacy in Online Learning Environments: Chinese Experiences

This study investigated the sustainable development of university EFL learners regarding their engagement, satisfaction, and self-efficacy in online learning environments during the outbreak of COVID-19. In a questionnaire survey with a sample of 428 Chinese undergraduate EFL learners, the students reported a favorable view of online learning environments and subjective learning outcomes. Behavioral engagement was positively related to involvement. Emotional engagement was positively related to student cohesiveness and negatively related to teacher support. Satisfaction was not related to any of the learning environment factors. Self-efficacy mediated the effect of student cohesiveness and student involvement on behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and satisfaction. These results of the study have implications for creating a sustainable online learning environment and promoting EFL learners’ sustainable development.