Effectiveness of Online Learning vs Traditional Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic in Chennai: A Questionnaire Study

Digitalization of education became a need of the hour when the COVID-19 pandemic affected the traditional modalities of learning, and it was widely implemented in various fields including dentistry.

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of online learning against traditional learning systems among dental students in Chennai.

A Google Form questionnaire comprising 29 dental learning-based questions was designed and distributed to dental students across colleges in Chennai using online distribution platforms. The study responses were closed after the stipulated period of 1 month. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 17.

The survey was answered by 834 participants comprising 76.9% females and 22.3% males. Of the total study population, 71.1% of them did not have previous online learning experiences. Approximately, 15.5% of the study population were not satisfied with the facilities provided by the online learning platforms. Also, one-third of the study population reported difficulty during the presentation. Three-fourths of the study participants did not prefer online learning over traditional learning and reported that the attention span and communication between the students and teachers were lower in online classes. Overall, 43% of the study participants rated the quality of online video-based learning to be good and 8.5% found it to be poor.

Online-based learning systems are evolving and can provide a wide array of knowledge from global experts. However, structured planning and technique may be needed for the dental curriculum.