Resumen

KHAN, N B et al. Is blended learning the way forward? Students' perceptions and attitudes at a South African university. Afr. J. Health Prof. Educ. (Online) [online]. 2021, vol.13, n.4, pp.219-222. ISSN 2078-5127.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/ajhpe.2021.v13i4.1424.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions to rethink delivery of education. Blended learning (BL), particularly online/eLearning, has become the life support for continued education. BL is a pedagogical approach that combines online asynchronous and/or synchronous and face-to-face (F2F) interaction between lecturers and students, enabling learning to occur independently of time or place. Perceptions and attitudes of students towards BL are important predictors of successOBJECTIVE: To determine the attitudes and perceptions of audiology and speech-language pathology students towards BL at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South AfricaMETHODS: A descriptive survey design with quantitative methods of analysis was used. Eighty-six participants completed an online questionnaire through Google forms. The tool demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach a score of 0.82RESULTS: Most participants agreed that combining traditional and eLearning - BL - improves learning skills and enables more student involvement in learning. Comparisons between attitudes and year of study yielded a statistically significant association, with senior students having a more positive attitude towards BL than second-year students (p=0.003). Attitudes between male and female participants were generally similar; however, females felt that BL helped them to understand lecture material better and to increase interaction (statistically significant; p=0.021). While 93% perceived the online platform, Moodle, which is used by UKZN, as being useful, only 51% indicated that it improved efficiency of learning to a great extentCONCLUSION: Despite the challenges around connectivity, computer illiteracy, system and technical problems, students concluded that BL enhanced the learning experience and fostered a student-centred approach to teaching and learning

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