THE ROLE OF E-LEARNING IN ENHANCING IHL RESILIENCE AMIDST COVID-19 AND BEYOND

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a myriad of problems for global citizens. This pandemic has led thousands of people to become sick and further thousands dying across the globe.  Due to the severity of the situation, governments started implementing movement restriction orders and lockdowns. In fact, due to efforts to isolate people and reduce close physical contacts, the various sectors have been affected.  The economy has also been crippled and this also meant shutting down day-cares, preschools, schools and institutions of higher learning (IHL).  This paper focuses on the IHL, which began its work from home (WFH) approach for general staff and academicians.  Students returned to their homes either in towns, sub-urban districts or rural villages, while some remained on campus to benefit from the available ICT infrastructure.  To keep the teaching and learning going on, online teaching and learning became the new norm, although ICT usage and online platforms were introduced with flipped learning and blended learning for the past few years.  Data was collected from 443 samples from Malaysia and India using the google survey form since 20 to 27 May 2020. Data was analysed to produce suggestions for better online classes and learning methods for future emergencies and possibly different learning tools for a stable and sustainable approach.