Students' Attitude to Distance Learning Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A survey of students regarding their assessment of distance learning before the pandemic (2017) and during the pandemic (2020-2021) was conducted. The survey involved about 1,500 full-time students, mostly first-year students. The overwhelming number of students surveyed are against replacing the traditional «face-to-face» form of education with distance learning, considering such a transition as a forced measure, but a quarter of respondents do not exclude such a possibility. During the pandemic, students have become more appreciative of the effectiveness of their both face-to-face and distance learning, the ability to plan time and study from home, quickly obtain unique knowledge, the quality of knowledge gained, their accessibility to people with disabilities, the value of theoretical and practical knowledge gained. Students rate the characteristics of distance learning below average. More than 90% of students stated that they need a tutor (curator) always or from time to time. The statements of students describing the disadvantages of distance learning are given. It is concluded that the massive transition to distance learning has not reduced, but rather increased the number of its opponents.

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