The Covid-19 pandemic caused a great deal of fear among people all across the world, and the education sector was no exception. In particular for the educational institutions that were entirely offline, this caused a fast, drastic shift from "brick and mortar" to online instruction. The current research study compares face-to-face instruction to online instruction to understand the students' perspectives. Graduate students (UG & PG) from particular educational institutions in Hyderabad were asked to fill out a Google form survey questionnaire in order to obtain primary data. As a result, the current study also assessed how satisfied students were with their performance on numerous metrics, such as their acquisition of graduate-level competencies, which include knowledge, abilities, and behaviour.

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET)
Volume 11, Issue 10, October 2020, pp.2034-2040, Article ID: IJARET_11_10_195
Available online at https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJARET?Volume=11&Issue=10
ISSN Print: 0976-6480 and ISSN Online: 0976-6499
https://doi.org/10.34218/IJARET.11.10.2020.195
© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed
A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF ONLINE
TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Dr. K. Kalaichelvi
Assistant Professor and Head, P.G. & Research Department of Commerce,
Government Arts and Science College for Women, Orathanadu, Tamil Nadu, India.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic caused a great deal of fear among people all across the
world, and the education sector was no exception. In particular for the educational
institutions that were entirely offline, this caused a fast, drastic shift from "brick and
mortar" to online instruction. The current research study compares face-to-face
instruction to online instruction to understand the students' perspectives. Graduate
students (UG & PG) from particular educational institutions in Hyderabad were asked
to fill out a Google form survey questionnaire in order to obtain primary data. As a
result, the current study also assessed how satisfied students were with their
performance on numerous metrics, such as their acquisition of graduate-level
competencies, which include knowledge, abilities, and behaviour.
Key words: Online teaching, Face-to Face teaching, pandemic, higher education,
student perspective.
Cite this Article: K. Kalaichelvi, A Study on the Effect of Online Teaching in Higher
Education, International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology
(IJARET), 11(10), 2020, pp. 2034-2040.
https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJARET?Volume=11&Issue=10
1. INTRODUCTION
On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified the pandemic as
Covid-19. The Covid-19 pandemic outbreak was an unexpected, astronomically rare, and so-
called "Black Swan" event. Nassim Taleb first used the phrase "Black Swan" in his book "The
Black Swan" in 2007. A pandemic is a very unlikely and unpredictable event that could have
serious repercussions.
The economic climate and other sectors, including education, have been severely impacted
by the Covid - 19 pandemic. More than 285 million young learners in India had their learning
stopped by the epidemic, which had a significant influence on the sector of education, which is
a key economic determinant.
According to a UNESCO report, the epidemic afflicted more than 90% of all students
worldwide in the month of April 2020. According to the survey, the country's restrictions had
an impact on close to 32 crore pupils in India.

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Classes and in-person exams were cancelled as a result of the national lockdown. The
educational institutions were initially perplexed and unsure of how to handle the issue in March.
The educators and institutions were forced to seize the chances that were presented by this
abrupt catastrophe. Although initially, educational institutions lacked the necessary information
technology infrastructure to link students online, Covid gave them the chance to improve that
infrastructure (Pravat, 2020a).
The majority of the pupils were raised in regular classrooms with face-to-face
instruction and learning. The contemporary educational institutions are dealing with a new
challenge in the form of online learning. The majority of educational institutions across
the nation were not fully prepared for this abrupt, severe transition. Online instruction has
abruptly replaced face-to-face instruction in educational institutions. A learner and an
instructor can interact in real time when they are teaching and learning face-to-face.
Singh and Thurman (2019) also mentioned that online learning has learning
experiences which are either in synchronous or asynchronous environments by using
different devices like mobile phones, desktops, laptops, etc. with internet access. Online
teaching occurs when the content is delivered via internet and platforms using google meet,
Zoom, etc.
With the aforementioned as a backdrop, the researcher delved into the following study questions
to comprehend from the viewpoint of the students.
1. How can a disturbance in the way the course material is delivered be handled?
2. How do students view online instruction in comparison to face-to-face instruction?
3. Can the graduate characteristics be attained through online learning more successfully than
through in-person instruction?
This article compares the effectiveness of face-to-face instruction against that of online
instruction. A thorough study of the literature is conducted to comprehend graduate
characteristics, with an emphasis on outcome-based education, studies of online and in-person
instruction, and the difficulties that previous researchers have examined. The study also
summarises theoretical and empirical data on the effectiveness of online instruction in
comparison to in-person instruction.
The following describes the structure of the current research project. First, a backgrounder
on the pandemic's effects on the education sector, ideas on online and in-person instruction, and
research questions are provided. The second is a review of the literature on online and in-person
instruction. The third section outlines the research methodology and provides information on
the methods and tools that were utilised to collect and analyse the data. The study's discussion
and results were presented in the fourth section. The conclusion, which summarises the findings
and suggests future study directions, brings the essay to a close.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The goal of outcome-based education (OBE) is to provide learning experiences that result in
particular learning objectives or course outcomes. It directly contributes to the improvement of
a student's proficiency in a certain knowledge, skill, or behaviour. According to Spady (1994),
the OBE curriculum provides students with a clear image of the learning goals that are crucial.
Curriculum, instruction, and evaluation should then be coordinated to ensure that learning
ultimately takes place.
Any teaching and learning exercise should provide learning results, which should then
produce attainment of programme outcomes or graduate qualities, which, in turn, produces
employability skills. Whether instruction takes place online or in person, the end result should

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be the development of employable skills. Therefore, the student's employability serves as a
gauge of a teacher's efficacy.
Early distant learning approaches, according to Lauzon (1992), were based more on issues
that touch on education than learning. The integration of digital and telecommunication
technology has significantly boosted the popularity and accessibility of distance learning.
One of these theories, Keegan's (1996), which concentrated more on how technology may
help students become more independent, was one of four such theories that Tebeaux (1995)
reviewed. The focus of this idea is on how teachers and students can be liberated from the
necessity of sharing a physical area.
The second theory examined that is comparable to Keegan's (1996) theory of distance
learning is Peters' (2002); it looks at how technological advancements have affected distance
learning. According to this view, technology will change the roles of teachers and students,
promoting more independent and autonomous learning. The function of the instructor will
resemble that of a facilitator or a guide who helps the students.
According to Wuensch et al (2008) .'s evaluation of the pedagogical aspects of the two
delivery methods, students perceive online lessons as being much more convenient and
allowing for self-paced learning than face-to-face instruction.
According to Berger et al. (2008), "blended learning," which combines the two learning
styles, is more relevant and gives teachers the tools they need to create and implement
successful mixed-mode programmes.
In their research, Song et al. (2004) and Parkes et al. (2014) noted that online teaching
presents a number of challenges for students, including technical difficulties with installation,
login issues, issues with audio/video, recording, etc., boredom and disengagement, a lack of
individualised attention, difficulties with interaction, difficulties juggling work, family, and
social commitments with their academic lives, and low levels of preparedness among students.
3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. To examine and contrast the graduate characteristics attained through online and in-person
instruction from the viewpoint of the students
2. To assess which distribution method—online or offline—is more successful in producing the
graduate qualities.
3. Researching students' preferences for teaching styles from their point of view
4. To make recommendations in light of the research.
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
For the study, both primary and secondary data are gathered. Through the use of a structured
questionnaire and a three-point scale, primary data is gathered (high, medium & low).
Electronic resources are used to gather secondary data.
Chi-square and the paired t-test are used as tools for descriptive statistics and SPSS for
Windows 16.0's analysis of the data. The study used a sample size of 119 final-year
undergraduate BBA students and final-year MBA students from the two colleges in the twin
cities. The sample is taken using the convenience sampling approach.
5. DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
The survey included 67.5 percent of undergraduate and 32.5 percent of graduate students in
their last years, with 56.3 percent females and 43.7 percent males. Ten parameters/graduate

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qualities were collected for the study, including topic knowledge, acquired skills, and
behaviour.
Table 1 Percentage Analysis of Parameters
Parameters FACE TO FACE TEACHING ONLINE TEACHING
H M L H M L
Domain
Knowledge
69.7% 26.9% 3.4% 10.9% 53.8% 35.3%
Critical Thinking 58.8% 37% 4.2% 11.8% 46.2% 42%
Problem Solving
Skills
63% 31.9% 5% 10.99% 41.2% 47.9%
Decision Making
Skills
62.2% 32.8% 5% 12.6% 47.1% 40.3%
Communication
Skills
71.4% 23.5% 5% 11.8% 41.2% 47.1%
Leadership Skills 58.8% 37% 4.2% 9.2% 41.2% 49.6%
Team Skills 65.5% 30.3% 4.2% 10.9% 42.9% 46.2%
Entrepreneurial
Skills
51.3% 43.7% 5% 9.2% 50.4 40.3
Ethics & Values 58.8% 37% 4.2% 9.2% 52.1 38.7
Awareness And
Sustainability
61.3% 36.1% 2.5% 10.1% 49.6 40.3
Life Long
Learning
59.7% 33.6% 6.7% 8.4% 44.5 47.1
From the above table, it can be shown that the students believed that online learning was
more effective than face-to-face instruction in achieving graduate characteristics.
Null Hypothesis (H0): Online and in-person accomplishments of competencies are independent
of one another.
Alternate Hypothesis (H1): The acquisition of skills online and the acquisition of skills in
person are interdependent.
Table 2 Chi-Square Tests
Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 4.133a
4 .388
Likelihood Ratio 4.502 4 .342
Linear-by-Linear
Association
.245 1 .621
N of Valid Cases 116
a. 5 cells (55.6%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .48.
Chi-Square was used with SPSS to carry out the aforementioned test. It is evident from the
preceding table that the P value =.388 is greater than the level of significance of = 0.05. The
null hypothesis is therefore accepted. It implies that skills acquired online and skills acquired
in person are independent of one another.

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The percentage study also revealed that whereas just 6.7 percent of students believed that
the competencies they had acquired through online learning were high, 59.7 percent of students
said that the competencies they had acquired through face-to-face instruction.
H02: When comparing online and face-to-face instruction, there is no discernible difference in
the graduate qualities attained.
H12: The attainment of graduate qualities through online education versus face-to-face
instruction differs significantly.
The annexure shows ten pairs of factors that are used to assess how graduate attributes
(knowledge, skill, and abilities/behavior) affect employability skills. The null hypothesis is
rejected because, according to the T-test analysis in the annexure, the p significant value (0.00)
is less than 0.05. Thus, face-to-face instruction has a considerable impact on students'
attainment of graduate traits and competences, which in turn has an impact on employability
skills.
Graph 1 Mode of teaching preferred by students
According to the aforementioned graph, 61.3 percent of students prefer in-person
instruction, 9.2 percent prefer online learning, and 29.4 percent prefer hybrid learning.
6. SUGGESTIONS
The following are the suggestions from the study:
• Case studies can increase the effectiveness of hybrid and blended modes, depending on
which is most advantageous.
• In order to give high-quality content, instructors or educators must invest a lot of time
in devising successful teaching and learning methodologies.
• Make the sessions interactive to encourage students to participate more.
• The teachers might choose students at random and ask them to interact instead of always
providing a forum to them. • Appropriate e-material should be developed and shared
with the students.
• Groups can be formed in class to facilitate reciprocal learning, increase interaction,
and—most importantly—familiarize students with the material they will be studying.
• The usage of well-designed software tools that take into account the various mentalities
of a student can be used to give the instructor an idea of the tasks the student is
completing in class.

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• To carry out subject-based activities to foster students' capacity for critical thought.
• Face-to-face engagement aids in developing a student's aptitude for research.
• By recording video lectures in advance and having a Plan B ready, technical issues can
be greatly reduced, allowing the teaching-learning process to go without interruption.
• Teachers should give students deadlines and reminders to keep them focused and aware
so they can finish their assignments on time.
• The best effort will be made to give each student individual attention and a personal
touch during the learning process.
• A variety of social media sites and forums for communicating with students.
7. CONCLUSION
The path to normal is through blended learning. Combining in-person instruction with online
learning will help students develop employability and attributed skills. Thus, during a
pandemic, highly technical teaching abilities are needed, and teaching and learning approaches
must be adjusted appropriately to engage the pupils. To create and deliver top-notch material,
professors must receive the appropriate training and upgrade their skills. To have an efficient
teaching-learning process, educational institutions also need to have a fully functioning learning
management system and a good recording studio. After a pandemic, blended learning may be
used. Every educational institution must therefore make significant efforts to ensure that
students graduate with the qualities that will improve their employability abilities.
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