Zooming In: Online Learning in the Face of a Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of my research was to gauge the success and satisfaction of the fall 2020 online semester for both students and educators. The literary analysis aspect defined factors that affect online education and what seems to be required for success. The fall 2020 semester had unique circumstances such as COVID-19, forcing many classes online, and the preparedness that factored into the efficiency of online education. Previous research also allowed me to hypothesize how the semester would go; I hypothesized that online education would not be satisfying and successful, especially for students and educators who would not have chosen online education otherwise. I distributed a survey to students and educators asking similar questions about their experiences to discover what worked and what did not for each group. These results exemplified the challenges as well as future potential benefits online education provides.