The Efficacy of COVID Forced Online Education : A Case Study from Hong Kong

This paper explores Hong Kong university students’ experiences of remote learning during the COVID semesters. Drawing on a survey we conducted in the summer of 2021 at City University of Hong Kong and additional interviews with students, we examine the effectiveness of online classes and the advantages and disadvantages of distance education as perceived by the students. Our results show that (1) a majority of students welcome more online teaching; (2) there are significant differences between science and non-science students in the perceptions about difficulties and effectiveness of online teaching and learning; (3) students and teachers both have a role to play to enhance the effectiveness of online classes. The COVID pandemic has forced governments around the world to put public health as a priority for governance. Although pandemic scares seem to have subsided significantly in many countries by April 2022, cautious policies are still in places in many countries to avoid outbreaks. In Hong Kong and China, for example, policies are particularly stringent. We foresee a mainstreaming of online classes in universities in the face of an unstable global environment and sporadic public health risks. In the paper, besides delineating the students’ perceptions and reflections of online learning experiences, we will suggest ways of improving learning that will take advantage of technology-abled teaching tools and innovative pedagogical approaches to cater to students across different disciplines.