An Exploration of Online Learning Readiness for University Students in Myanmar

บทคัดย่อ

While the growing COVID-19 pandemic halted all universities, public and private
education centers, decision makers and education officials across the world have to shut
down universities because of the growing corona virus pandemic. Conventional education
process was forced to be suspended. Education community all over the world had to
deliver online courses via Skype, Zoom, digital tools and other video conferencing services,
and to be remotely engaging with students to keep in touch with education ongoing. We recognized
that very few countries had the necessary digital system, infrastructure, methodology,
software, trained human capital and experience for such a sudden shift from classrooms to
online after an initial temporary excitement and success. Online courses are completely different
than face-to-face courses. There are many specific skills that an online student should have
in order to be successful in her or his online learning. It is critical for students to know what is
expected from them and what is needed to be a successful online learner. The rise of online
education has highlighted a need to figure out students’ readiness for online learning and
to predict their success. The primary purpose of this study was to understand the online
learning readiness of Myanmar university students. There are 331 Myanmar university
students participating in this study, including 104 from the University of Arts and Sciences
and 227 from the University of Computer Science. To assess this construct of online
readiness, several survey instruments have been developed. The present study examined undergraduate students’ online readiness
using a questionnaire that included constructs such as self-efficacy (Computer/
Internet & Online Communication), self-directed learning, learner control (in an online
context), and motivation for learning (in
an online context). This study found that
students who are attending at Computer
Universities showed greater readiness in the
dimensions of self-directed learning, online
communication self-efficacy and motivation
for learning than did the students from Arts
and Science Universities but for learner control dimension in which both students are
not very different. The results of our questionnaire also showed that non-information
majors lack information literacy. Information
literacy can be strengthened through short
courses or boot camps, and this is an urgent
task to be followed up